Calls for rental income from public sector homes to be ring-fenced were made in the House of Keys this week.

Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey) voiced concern that some of the £1m surplus that government received from public sector rentals was used to fund programmes connected with ’national housing policy’.

He said that funding should come from general taxation, while the rental income should be ’ring-fenced to be spent on maintenance, investment and administration of public sector housing’.

Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer MHK had earlier revealed that rental income for public sector housing administered by his department - as opposed to public sector homes administered by local authorities - amounted to £5.4 million.

’The operational housing team works with a fixed annual budget for the delivery of both maintenance and management of public sector housing, in a similar way to the budget allowance local housing authority providers use for carrying out their housing function,’ said Mr Harmer.

’The remaining income from the department’s rent is utilised in the provision of the national strategic housing function, including a significant proportion towards the costs of the housing divisions who paid payments made to local housing authorities.’

For local authorities, any remaining rental income is used finance capital investment in housing or, if there was no debt, the operating surplus would be moved to the authority’s housing reserve.

He added: ’Currently, the rents collected from the department’s public sector housing exceed the total costs of the housing division by over £1 million.

’This operating surplus is used towards the deficiency payment to local housing authorities whose current total is almost £4 million. This operating surplus reduces the requirement for the taxpayer funding for the local authority deficiency.’

Mr Hooper said the remaining surplus for the DoI, after all deficiency payments, still came in at £744,000.

’The rent income collected by the minister’s department exceeded the cost of funding his department’s operations and local authority operations, which means the rental income has contributed to other functions within his department,’ said Mr Hooper.

Mr Harmer said how the rental income was distributed would be considered as part of an over-arching review of national housing policy.

Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas MHK said many housing initiatives were funded from taxation.

’There is between £15 million and £20 million paid for housing from central Treasury funds for benefit assistance on housing costs, of which about half is in the public sector,’ said Mr Thomas.

He said the review of housing policy was already under way as the current five-year housing plan was due to expire in November next year.