The Government are today announcing 49 schemes, involving 38 local authorities, that will ensure social rented homes meet and maintain minimum standards of decency. These schemes should deliver around £3 billion of investment, of which at least £1.8 billion will be levered in from the private sector. They will tackle over 80,000 non-decent homes, and ensure that a further 100,000 are maintained at the standard that tenants have a right to expect.

These new schemes, which are subject to continuing consultation with tenants, will establish arrangements to transfer local authority social housing to registered social landlords.

Some 29 schemes have been awarded places on the disposals programme. These schemes are in Blaby, Braintree, Bracknell, Brighton, Castle Morpeth, Castle Point, Daventry, Fenland, Gedling, Gravesham, Harborough, Lewisham (two schemes), Mole Valley, North Shropshire, Oswestry, Rochford, Salisbury, Sheffield (five schemes), South Kesteven, South Northamptonshire, Sutton, Three Rivers, Watford, and Wellingborough.

A further 18 schemes have had places on the transfer programme held open primarily for further discussions to take place over covering funding gaps arising from negative housing stock valuations. These schemes are in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Cannock, Chester le Street, Crawley, LB Havering, Manchester (4 schemes), NW Leicestershire, Plymouth, Ribble Valley, Salford, Tamworth, Torridge, LB Tower Hamlets (four schemes) and Wansbeck. I expect all these schemes to gain programme places over the coming months.

These schemes mark our continuing commitment to ensuring that all social sector tenants have the decent homes that they deserve, and keeps the decent homes strategy firmly at the heart of the sustainable and mixed communities agenda. Many of the schemes will encompass works outside the properties to ensure that it is both homes and local neighbourhoods that receive investment to ensure they are both good places to live in.

The results of the Round six ALMO Programme will be announced later in the year.

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