First Law

Social housing giant puts coveted adviser panel under the spotlight

Legal week - Thursday 18th January 2007

The Housing Corporation, the Government agency that funds affordable housing and regulates the sector in England, is reviewing its legal advisers.

The body is planning to appoint a range of advisers to its panel, which currently includes national firms and City boutiques.

The agency is responsible for investing public money in and regulating England’s 2,000-plus regional housing associations and is currently investing £3.3bn of public money in 62,000 homes across the country as part of an initiative to upgrade social housing.

The organisation ran its first panel review in 2004, when it appointed to its panel legacy firm Masons (now Pinsent Masons), Cobbetts, Trowers & Hamlins, Bircham Dyson Bell, Newcastle high-flier Dickinson Dees, Birmingham firm Anthony Collins, London firm Devonshires and boutique Jenkins & Hand.

Firms were appointed to advise on property, public law, judicial reviews and IT, with Masons and Cobbetts taking on employment work and Jenkins & Hand dealing with social housing. The tender process will be managed by independent consultants First Law.

Director Anthony Armitage ran the body’s last tender in 2004, for which 28 firms competed for work. On that occasion, contracts were agreed to run for one year with the option of renewal for a further two years.

Before the appointment of the panel, the corporation looked to its own in-house department and the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (the Government¹s main in-house legal team) for its legal advice.

The agency continues to work separately from the Government’s centralised L-Cat panel (now called Catalyst), which has become increasingly active in recent years as Whitehall attempts to cut its legal spend.

The Housing Corporation operates nine offices throughout England and also functions as a regulatory body, ensuring that housing associations are providing affordable housing.

Author: Michelle Madsen