The housing revenue account self-financing determinations

Under section 173 of the Localism Act 2011, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is required to consult representatives of local government and each affected local authority before making determinations to implement self-financing for council housing.

Consultation on amendments to the 2011 to 2012 housing revenue account subsidy determination, amendments to the 2011 to 2012 item 8 determinations, and the item 8 determinations which will apply from April 2012, take place under powers conferred by sections 80 and 87 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

We are consulting on 5 draft determinations:

• the settlement payments determination: this sets out the amount each local authority will either pay the government or receive from the Government on 28 March 2012 in order to exit the current subsidy system, and the way in which the payments will be made
• the limit on indebtedness determination: this places a cap on the amount of housing debt each council may hold
• the housing revenue account subsidy amendment determination for the year 2011 to 2012: this adjusts the subsidy entitlement for this financial year in order to take account of the interest costs or savings arising from the settlement payments; these payments will be made before the end of the financial year
• the item 8 credit and debt amendment determination for the year 2011 to 2012: this enables the appropriate charges to be made between the housing revenue account and a council’s general fund to reflect the borrowing costs or savings in this financial year arising from the settlement payments
• the item 8 credit and debit determinations for 2012 onwards: these provide a framework for the housing revenue account ring-fence to continue to operate under a devolved system of funding

Alongside the draft determinations, we are publishing the spreadsheet models which have been used to calculate the self-financing valuations, settlement payments and debt limits set out in the determinations. As part of the consultation we ask you to consider whether the data and calculation for your authority are correct.