“@stevebatkin why do you put a link which goes to a page with a BNP image everytime you post . :(”

“Councils get to choose what type of housing association takes over their properties. Neath chose a mutual association, where all the tenants have a share in the ownership and have the opportunity to have their voice heard and vote for their representatives. Other councils have chosen what are in effect, businesses to take over. One association, Affinity Sutton owns 50,000 houses right across England, from Newcastle to Southampton. Their tenants are treated awfully, the properties are badly maintained and the rents are beyond. In recent months they have demolished many old blocks of flats and replaced them with buy to rent or buy only homes.”

“weslangdon
I remember when Housing Associations were invented. At that time, local councillors could fight any increase in council house rents, and "thumb their noses" to the government.
The government then came up with a special plan. Take all council housing out of council control.
Housing associations are government funded, and as such, do what the government tells them, when it tells them. Having said that, housing associations are expensive organisations to run. There were many that only managed about 1,000 properties (with a large management staff). However, there is now a trend for them to merge, but, they probably employ more staff than the former council housing staff, with some staff on big money !
Within the next few years, no UK council will "own" council houses.”

“Thinking about this a bit more, this amounts to the loss of public assets. NPT's council housing stock belonged to the people of the area as a whole not just the current tenants but to future tenants too. This has been effectively privatised. I do not accept that a Housing Association is a public body, they aren't accountable for their actions in the same way as Councillors are. This could be a matter for the Police, someone who lives in the area ought to make a formal complaint.”

“The tories broke up the old, larger councils. Why ? Because they had too much power. Maggie T broke them up so that parts could be privatised for friends of her party. It cost millions to make the changes forced on the councils. Now they are finally running with staff working together, not spread out like Neath PT had, the latest lot of spivs want them changed again. Great idea, who's going to pay ? Us.”

“Wales has a population of 3 million people, and 22 local authorities. Birmingham City Council, the UK's biggest has a population of 1 million people. 1 Chief executive, 1 head of Education etc. We get 22 of each. Whilst I am not arguing for only one, we do not need 22 sets of chief officers or local authorities or councillors...less is more. If we could get back to the old county boundries it would be a start. Nor do I agree that all are corrupt they vary enormously in quality, some are close to basket cases, others are very well run indeed.”

“merging them, why? They are all corrupt?? We are the only losers in this!”

“Totally agree with you Weslangdon”

“NPT has a bit of a track record, remember the gas pipeline? The sooner the Authority disappears the better, merge NPT with Swansea and bring back West Glamorgan County Council”

“The council spokesman's claim to be disappointed because there was "no legal moderation of information provided by a third party." seems a little naive if not completely weasel worded when you consider the Information Commissioner had already ruled in favour of the addresses being release in two other Local Authorities, i.e. Mid Devon and Braintree, and thus a president in law had already been set. The Council were well aware of this fact because campaigners, myself included, repeatedly informed them of these previous rulings, including via these very pages...”