Monday, March 14th, 2011

Rhodri questions why Carmarthenshire still looses over £5million a year

Carmarthen East & Dinefwr AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas has questioned the Welsh Government’s Minister for Business and Budget over the Housing Revenue Account Scheme which will force Carmarthenshire County Council to once again pay back approximately £5million to the UK Treasury. 

Following the work carried out in the Assembly by Plaid Cymru’s Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration, and in Westminster by Carmarthen East & Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards, we have come to learn that Welsh local authorities have paid a reported £1billion to the UK Treasury from its Housing Revenue surplus over the past 10 years.

The Housing Revenue Account Scheme was set up by the Conservative Government in 1989 which forced local authorities in England and Wales to pay any unspent monies generated from its housing services to the UK Treasury. Scotland was never included.  In 2000, the UK Labour Government altered the Scheme to allow authorities in England to retain their surpluses by introducing a Major Repairs Allowance.  Welsh local authorities still faced the burden of returning monies.  In September 2010, the now Conservative and Lib Dem UK Government completely scrapped the Housing Revenue Account Scheme for English local authorities.  Wales remains the only nation in the UK to be stuck with this scheme.

Rhodri Glyn Thomas said:

“The system is grossly unfair.  There is simply no justification for Welsh local authorities to be the only authorities in the UK to have to return surplus funds from their Housing Revenue.

“The Labour party recognised that the Scheme was unfair in 2000 by introducing the Major Repairs Allowance which allowed local authorities to spend on improving their housing stock.  Unfortunately Labour excluded Wales from this scheme and the Labour administration in the Assembly did nothing about it.

“The unfairness has resulted in over twenty years of chronic under investment in social housing.

“Over the past ten years a reported £1billion pounds has been sent back to the UK Treasury from local authorities in Wales.  Carmarthenshire alone has returned approximately £50million during this time, and as the unfairness continues, looks set to return an additional £5million again this year.

“The Conservative-Lib Dem Government in Westminster completely scrapped the Scheme for England in September last year.  It has taken Plaid Cymru members to expose these unjustifiable actions.

“The Westminster Government must take action immediately to stop this discriminatory scheme”.

ENDS/DIWEDD

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