5th October 2006 updated 8th October 2006

An option to adopt a Choice Based Lettings scheme will be decided tonight at a Stroud District Council Cabinet meeting. The scheme is a new way to allocate social housing - instead of the local authority or Registered Social Landlord deciding who shall be allocated a property, available void properties are advertised weekly on a webpage. Applicants then "bid" for the property they choose. Research has shown that although it does not make any more homes available it dioes offer more choice.

Cllr Philip Booth commenting to Stroud District Council Cabinet members on the proposed new scheme said: "I applaud the Councils efforts to improve the current poor system and can see many considerable advantages of the new scheme, however a number of serious concerns were raised at the policy panel regarding the proposals. In particular, concerns about how many people will find it enormously difficult to seek out access to a webpage to make their regular bids."

Philip Booth continued: "A weekly paper newsletter was mentioned as a possibility but the impression given was that this would be too expensive. I am sure all will agree that this issue of access needs to be thoroughly explored when looking at the options. I am not reassured at present that this has been done in the current proposals. We do not want to put in place a system that discriminates against those who for whatever reason may not be able to access the web regularly - this may be a considerable number of those on the waiting lists as many of those are currently living in very difficult circumstances." 

Updated 8th October: the proposals were adopted by Cabinet and assurances given that consideration would be given to how to develop the scheme locally.