Statistics for the Use of Assets of Community Value so far and Proposals for Future Reform
| Author | Simon Adamyk |
| Pages | 299-304 |
STATISTICS FOR THE USE OF THE ASSETS OF COMMUNITY VALUE PROVISIONS SO FAR
9.1 The latest Government figures available at the time of writing were that more than 3,000 assets had been listed as ACVs, including 1,200 pubs and over 256 local sporting assets (including football stadiums, bowling greens and cricket pavilions).
9.2 Towards the end of 2015, the Government figures were that more than 2,600 assets had been listed as ACVs, including nearly 900 pubs, and that 150 assets had been transferred into community ownership,
Local Government and Marcus Jones MP, 7 March 2016 (www.gov.uk/government/news/ community-rights-hit-a-landmark-5000-uses). The press release states that the data on ACVs was based on information obtained from lists of ACVs published on local authority websites, where available, at the time of production. It is therefore likely to be an understatement of the number of ACVs, as some local authorities may not publish their list of ACVs on a website or the list may not be entirely up to date. See also the answer given by Marcus Jones MP (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) on 6 June 2016 to one of the Topical Questions, House of Commons Hansard, vol 611 (https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-06-06/debates/1606064000026/TopicalQuestions).
Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) on 28 October 2015 (www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-10-23/13194); see also Marcus Jones MP, House of Commons, Oral Answers to Questions, 9 November 2015, col 10.
Department for Communities and Local Government and Marcus Jones MP, 10 March 2016 (www.gov.uk/government/news/new-36-million-programme-to-help-communities-take-control-of-their-local-pub).
300 Assets of Community Value: Law and Practice
9.3 The January 2015 report of the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee contained more detailed data on the use which had by that stage been made of the ACV provisions.
(a) more than 1,800 assets had been listed as ACVs, of which about 500 were pubs;
(b) 122 groups had indicated an intention to bid and thereby triggered the 6-month moratorium period; and
(c) either nine or 11 assets
9.4 The Department for Communities and Local Government did, however, emphasise in its written evidence that there is currently no requirement for local authorities to inform the Department of the number of community assets listed, and therefore the Department had ascertained these figures to the best of its ability.
9.5 Further research by one of the Committee’s own members based on freedom of information requests to local authorities revealed that, of the 122 groups which had triggered a moratorium, 60 were unsuccessful in their bid, 27 bids were at that stage outstanding and only 11 had so far resulted in a community buyout.
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