Newcastle to make decision on ALMO

Newcastle City Council will next week make a decision on whether to transfer its housing stock to an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO).

The proposals to help address the council's maintenance backlog, valued at £477m, will be put to the cabinet on Tuesday.

Discussions to transfer the council's housing responsibilities to a not-for-profit organisation have been ongoing since November last year.

However a council source was confident the plans would be approved as without the ALMO "it was unlikely that we will meet the government's Decent Homes standard by 2010".

A total of £15bn to £20bn is needed to get all council houses to meet the government's standard.

If approved, funds should be made available in 2005.