An MHK has warned that the creation of a housing association could prevent proper oversight and led to the issues the public already have with trust and accountability of other arms-length organisations.
Jason Moorhouse was speaking at members debated the Housing and Communities Board report which, in part, outlined a proposal for 1,000 homes over the next 10 years.
During the debate, the issue of housing association was raised, with Mr Moorhouse one of several members to voice his concerns saying it “horrifies” him and is something he is deeply concerned about.
The Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK told members he was concerned it amounted to “selling the family silver”.
He said: “I’ve said before, it really does worry me that this is a Trojan horse.
“It looks nice, it looks attractive, and we are simply wheeling it in again, the advantages of what if, but really it is a great way to enable us to get some cash ASAP.
“My concerns are the really, the ownership question. Who owns the houses going forward, is the housing association going to come in and manage the properties, or is it going to be transfer of ownership?”
Arms-Length
Mr Moorhouse said that he also had concerns about where funding for the homes would come from and what oversight there would be.
He said: “If you say to average person, tell me what you think about arm’s length bodies, arms length organisations, and we “go, oh, horror story”, isn’t that Manx Care, isn’t that the boat, isn’t that whatever, whatever, whatever.
“I’m worried that then we’re going to come up with something that does appear to be a solution for in reality, it’s going to cause us many more problems.
“In terms of the housing associations, is it just going to be a Manx Care 2? Is it simply going to be a situation where the department outlines key areas, such as the rents, access to housing, all those key things, or will the Housing Association take on that role?
“Again it’s a fundamental thing which has got to be considered at some point.”
Governance
Onchan MHK Julie Edge also criticised the potential development of a housing association, arguing that any such arms length organisations need to have robust oversight and governance in place.
She said: “We’ve seen what’s happened by throwing something out to an organization like Manx Care and the consequences end up back here three years later.
“These arms length organisations should have robust oversight, otherwise they’re going to lead to exploitation and inequality of our most in need.”
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