Stop nagging, Minister, and make yourself clear

If ever David Orr has felt tempted to refer to Grant Shapps as being like a ‘dog with a bone’, he’s kept it to himself, but once again he has found himself in a spat with the Housing Minister over the increasingly nagging issue of transparency...

“Time is running out,” Grant Shapps has warned, urging housing associations to “throw open their books” to public scrutiny before it’s too late and the Government takes steps to enforce greater “openness” and “transparency” within the sector.

The Housing Minister has threatened housing associations with the prospect of being made subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) if they fail to comply with his demand that they publish details of their expenditure over £500 to demonstrate how they are spending Government money. The issue isn’t exactly new. Shapps has banged this particular “transparency” drum ever since assuming office, but now he’s emphasised the ultimatum in a letter – and made it public.

Well, two can play and that game – and so David Orr, the NHF’s chief executive chose to publish his cordial reply to point out that housing associations have led the way in transparency issues for the last 15 years – and also suggested that the Minister is far from making himself clear over the demands he is making of the sector.

In his letter to the NHF, Shapps said: “After 18 months of asking, housing associations have still failed to follow our lead and open themselves up to wider public scrutiny. Taxpayers and tenants have a right to know how much they spend, from repairs, to rents and expenses.”

He warned that the Government is soon to consult on a proposal to extend the remit of the FOI to cover housing associations.

“Greater transparency is not an added extra but a vital means of cutting costs and ensuring efficiency by helping every pound work harder,” Shapps added. “So I am sending out a clear message: housing associations are running out of time to come up with plans that will dramatically transform transparency, throwing open their books and publishing details of what they spend.

“With Whitehall taking the lead, and Town Halls following suit, these landlords are increasingly looking outdated and out of touch. And with our plans to consult on the potential extension of the Freedom of Information Act to housing associations, the clock is ticking for those landlords who keep their books stubbornly closed.”

In his reply, Orr effectively threw the issue of transparency back at the Minister, pointing out that he demonstrated no similar expectation or demand of private sector companies in receipt of public funding.

“In our discussions in July, you explicitly ruled out any requirement for private sector companies in receipt of funds under the Affordable Rent programme to make wider arrangements for the other parts of their business to be ‘transparent’,” Orr wrote. “As yet, we can see no evidence that the Government intends to extend these requirements to major recipients of public funds elsewhere (e.g prime contractors under the W ork Programme and a wide range of charities and voluntary organisations) or that there is any consultation on the extension of FOI to these organisations.”

Orr emphasised that housing associations are not public bodies andalso reiterated the efforts that the sector has made to increase openness, transparency and accountability. He also said there is “no actual evidence of members refusing to provide information” and said that Shapps has failed to make it clear as to why he thinks the measure is helpful, or indeed explained why “it is a matter for Government given our members are not public sector bodies”.

“As we have previously discussed, housing associations have already put in place a raft of measures to ensure they are transparent, accountable and open in their operations,” Orr wrote, outlining the NHF’s governance code, codes on openness and the recommended practice the organisation has developed along with its members. The housing sector has been at the “forefront” of openness for 15 years, he said.

“We have, of course, no objection to housing associations choosing to publish all expenditure over £500, or indeed publishing anything else they see fit to discharge their obligations to their residents and stakeholders,” Orr added. “However, we do not think it appropriate for the National Housing Federation, or the Government, effectively to require housing associations to use measures that have been designed for government departments and local government. Housing associations are not public
bodies and do not wish to become so by default.”