What are the options other than Council retention?
(a) Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) is a way of placing the management and maintenance of Council homes in a separate operating company, owned by the Council, but run by a Management Board including tenants. Money may be raised, subject to Government controls, to repair and improve Council housing. The funding may be applied for, in competition with other Councils, but is not guaranteed. (b) Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a way of getting private money into repair and improvement works to Council Housing. Being trialled for repair and improvement works to Council homes in England, it involves a contractor taking on the risks of providing building services and providing housing management services over a long period – for example, 30 years. PFI is not generally used to deal with the whole Council stock – only a part of it. It would, therefore, only solve part of a Council’s housing funding needs, and other solutions would need to sit alongside PFI. (c) Partial transfer i
