Ealing homes to return to council control

The provision of housing services in Ealing is to be taken back in-house, the council has decided, once the existing management agreement with its ALMO Ealing Homes expires next year.

Officers from both the council and the ALMO are said to be now working out the detailed plans for a smooth handover on 31 March 2011, after the council’s cabinet reached the decisions to directly manage its stock and service provision.

The decision was backed by the results of a postal survey carried out by Ipsos MORI, published by the council, that reported 61 per cent of tenants and leaseholders supported the plan to bring Ealing Homes back in-house, while six per cent opposed the plan and 33 per cent said they didn’t know or didn’t have an opinion either way.

“We know that tenants and leaseholders want to see improvements to the way their homes are run, so I am delighted that they back our decision to bring housing management back under the council’s direct control. We strongly believe that this decision will not only allow us to improve services, but also help us to save money through ending needless duplication,” said the council’s leader, Councillor Julian Bell.