ASBO or the Anti Social Behaviour Order has been with us for 11 years. First launched in 2000 as a major tool to tackle the anti social element of the youth culture the government is now considering doing away with the controversial tool in place of more localised controls by communities and local government. The approach has been outlined by the home secretary Teresa May MP who has outlined her plans which has been heralded as the most significant reforms of policing in the country for 50 years. The home secretary wishes to replace the bureaucratic accountability that has meant police forces looking to Whitehall, and targets and bureaucracy. With democratic accountability: the election of a police and crime commissioner for each police force to represent peoples needs locally, the home secretary has stated these reforms will make policing more accountable. She also announced the strengthening of the way we deal with serious organised crime by creating a FBI type organisation: The National Crime Agency.
Since the launch of ASBOs in 2000 there has been more than 17,000 ASBOs issued in England and Wales. With the oldest being 88 years and the youngest just 8 years. The controversial approach supported by parents and communities alike at the time was claimed to put a halt to offending behaviour. However, it has had mixed reviews over the past decade. While the ASBO itself firmly said to offenders the next step is jail, only 5,000 offenders actually went to jail despite more than 55% of ASBOS being breached. Supporters of the approach say that the ASBO was never meant to be a solution to a problem but one tool in the armoury of the police, judiciary and agencies that wanted to work with offenders.
For many in social rented housing it was a knee jerk and populist approach to dealing with crime and nuisance on housing estates popularised by the media. It did however send a clear message to wanna-be-gangsters who sought to cause nuisance in the community the threat of having an ASBO early in your life could wreck your chances of employment and opportunity for years. In a recent Welsh Tenants Seminar held in Swansea and Rhondda there were clear support for the use of these measures, however with varying degrees of success, while the cost of issuing and monitoring ASBO also came under criticism. In Swansea it was reported that ASBOs were a useful deterrent that enabled crime enforcement and educationalists to work proactively with youngsters on offending, while in the Rhondda the tool was also extensively used to target hot spots of nuisance. Whatever the verdict the intention of the government’s revised approach is to do away with them.
If you want to comment on the proposals the full reforms are outlined in the paper Policing in the 21st century: Reconnecting police and the People. If you want a copy of the report can be obtained by emailing Nigel.Lawrebnce@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk or by visiting the home office web site.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Statement on the overhaul of the Housing Revenue Account System
Many members and supporters of the Welsh Tenants Federation would have seen the news reports in the Western Mail on the 13th September 2010, ‘Wales loses £1bn to London in ‘rent scandal’ by Martin Shipton. The report highlighted that over £1billion has been sent back to the HM Treasury since devolution from Council House rents.
The Housing Revenue Account Subsidy System requires that any surplus be sent back to the HM Treasury and redistributed among all England and Wales Local Authorities who still retain their stock. The report highlighted that given the condition of some of the stock in Wales this was a scandal and that the system is in need of overhaul.
An Independent reviews of Housing Revenue Account Subsidy (HRAS) and Social Sector Rent Policies were launched by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2009. The groups were set up as a consequence of the Essex review which has the objective of working collaboratively with the sector to address the common themes of the report. The joint working group looking at the HRA and Rent Setting process comprises key stakeholders and officials, the Welsh Tenants Federation among them and has met on three occasions.
In general the HRAS applies to all local authorities with housing stock and, in Wales, all authorities are in a negative subsidy position. This means that in 2010/11, approximately £78m will be collected from Welsh local authorities and forwarded on to HM Treasury.
Options for reform for Wales are currently in development, through the Review, working in conjunction with the Welsh Local Government Association and others. It is impossible to make substantial changes to the arrangements without a negotiation with the Treasury and possibly changes to primary legislation and devolved funding arrangements.
Tenants in England will be aware through the Tenants And Residents Associations Of England (TAROE), our sister organization, that the former UK Government launched a consultation in March 2010 which proposed a settlement with local government in England abolishing the HRA Subsidy in return for an allocation of debt and other conditions. If there is agreement, the former Government proposed to work towards voluntary implementation from 2011/12, subject to confirmation at the next spending review in October 2011.
Alternatively, they would seek to implement self-financing through new primary legislation as early as 2012/13. We can report that the Assembly Government is liaising closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government to monitor progress on the review in England and to ensure that provisions within the forthcoming Decentralisation and Localism Bill, announced in the Queens Speech, are appropriate for Wales and made in the Welsh context
The Welsh Tenants Federation shares the concern regarding the impact of the HRAS on local authorities in Wales. In 2003 we had a substantial debate among the 320 member organisations and produced the manifesto which supported tenants who wished to transfer their stock forming new community mutual’s or housing associations. The newly formed transfers have been able to spend 100% of their revenue with no restrictions with the overhanging debt being written off by HM Treasury. This has enabled considerable investment of £1.17bn to be levered into former council housing to meet Welsh Housing Quality Standard while creating substantial employment and regeneration opportunities. We will continue to support tenants who wish to transfer in order to get better services and standards of housing.
Steve Clarke, Managing Director, Welsh Tenants Federation
The Housing Revenue Account Subsidy System requires that any surplus be sent back to the HM Treasury and redistributed among all England and Wales Local Authorities who still retain their stock. The report highlighted that given the condition of some of the stock in Wales this was a scandal and that the system is in need of overhaul.
An Independent reviews of Housing Revenue Account Subsidy (HRAS) and Social Sector Rent Policies were launched by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2009. The groups were set up as a consequence of the Essex review which has the objective of working collaboratively with the sector to address the common themes of the report. The joint working group looking at the HRA and Rent Setting process comprises key stakeholders and officials, the Welsh Tenants Federation among them and has met on three occasions.
In general the HRAS applies to all local authorities with housing stock and, in Wales, all authorities are in a negative subsidy position. This means that in 2010/11, approximately £78m will be collected from Welsh local authorities and forwarded on to HM Treasury.
Options for reform for Wales are currently in development, through the Review, working in conjunction with the Welsh Local Government Association and others. It is impossible to make substantial changes to the arrangements without a negotiation with the Treasury and possibly changes to primary legislation and devolved funding arrangements.
Tenants in England will be aware through the Tenants And Residents Associations Of England (TAROE), our sister organization, that the former UK Government launched a consultation in March 2010 which proposed a settlement with local government in England abolishing the HRA Subsidy in return for an allocation of debt and other conditions. If there is agreement, the former Government proposed to work towards voluntary implementation from 2011/12, subject to confirmation at the next spending review in October 2011.
Alternatively, they would seek to implement self-financing through new primary legislation as early as 2012/13. We can report that the Assembly Government is liaising closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government to monitor progress on the review in England and to ensure that provisions within the forthcoming Decentralisation and Localism Bill, announced in the Queens Speech, are appropriate for Wales and made in the Welsh context
The Welsh Tenants Federation shares the concern regarding the impact of the HRAS on local authorities in Wales. In 2003 we had a substantial debate among the 320 member organisations and produced the manifesto which supported tenants who wished to transfer their stock forming new community mutual’s or housing associations. The newly formed transfers have been able to spend 100% of their revenue with no restrictions with the overhanging debt being written off by HM Treasury. This has enabled considerable investment of £1.17bn to be levered into former council housing to meet Welsh Housing Quality Standard while creating substantial employment and regeneration opportunities. We will continue to support tenants who wish to transfer in order to get better services and standards of housing.
Steve Clarke, Managing Director, Welsh Tenants Federation
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