The report prepared by Lancashire County Council's Internal Audit Team into the Rossendale/PLACE Empty Homes Project reveals an extraordinary number of flaws in basic processes of management and procurement associated with the HCA-funded scheme.
Background
Problems with the Empty Homes Project emerged in spectacular style when the private sector contractor with responsibilty for nearly all aspects of delivery went into liquidation in February 2015, leaving Rossendale with numerous half-completed, unoccupied and in some cases untenantable properties to deal with. The financial liabilities of the Council are still uncertain but look to run to several hundreds of thousand pounds.
The "Empty...
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The clearly-written 150+-page report (accessible via our information library from here) is the outcome of high-quality research using a variety of methodologies and its main recommendations, listed below, are thoroughly documented. If you are interested in what makes things work well, the report is essential reading.
Recommendations
The recommendations are as follows:
Extract Key Learning From Case Studies: Undertake research to inform sector legacy...
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September 28, 2015
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September 21, 2015
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September 14, 2015
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September 11, 2015
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According to a report in the Lancashire Telegraph, and confirmed by a statement on the Rossendale Borough Council website, a key provider in £5.6million empty homes programme has gone into administration. The company, AAAW Ltd., is reported to have debts of over £275,000.
It is understood that most if not all of the reported £5.6 million was funding from the Homes and Communities Agency under the empty homes programme. In addition, AAAW seems to have been involved in a wide range of leasing and letting services connected with homelessness.
The Lancashire Telegraph news story reports:
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