Social Housing Regulation, continued...

So, the next chapter in the long-running saga of social housing regulation has been released. The coalition government has now concluded its review of regulation (which was prompted by Grantt Shapps' premature announcement that the TSA was 'toast', before realising that the treasury might also have a view on the matter). Anyway, the TSA will indeed be toast, and being added to the quango bonfire will certainly ensure its fate. The TSA's responsibilities will now be undertaken by an 'independent' committee within the Homes and Communities Agency. Evidently, the regulatory role will be kept separate from the HCA's investment role and will have its independence assured due to its members being appointed by the Communites Secretary, Eric Pickles. Does anyone share my misgivings about this? Shapps has said that he wants to retain standards for social landlords, but that there will also be some kind of role for local tenant panels too. Will these also be appointed by Mr Pickles, or will Mr Shapps be involved in their selection? Or better still, will the local panels be chosen by the landlords that they are supposed to regulate at a local level? Don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of local decisions being taken at a local level, but there has to be a framework and direction that is set by national government in some way, or else we will be going back to the bad old days when there was little in the way of standards that tenants could measure their landlord against. This is particularly important as the Audit Commission has also been despatched to the bonfire...