Lunchtime news March 23

Thousands of military personnel will have to live in sub-standard accommodation for the next 20 years, according to a report today by the National Audit Office. A third of single bedspaces will still not meet the highest standard in five years time and a 19,000 sub-standard family homes are only being improved at a rate of 900 a year.

The National Housing Federation and Royal Bank of Scotland have announced a partnership to promote financial inclusion among housing association tenants.

The Housing Corporation has posted the official version of Jon Rouse’s decision to quit as chief executive for a new job at Croydon council.

But Inside Housing reports on the void it leaves at the top of Communities England, with English Partnerships chief executive John Callcutt leaving in January and its chair, Baroness Ford, saying she does not want to chair the new body.

55% of councils are looking to cut the number of supporting people providers they employ, according to Inside Housing.

Housing associations made £536m from asset sales in 2006, a rise of 16.5% on 2005, according to an Inside Housing report of the global accounts published by the Housing Corporation this week.

Evan Davis reveals why he thinks price falls would be good for home owners – and why property is still a good investment – in a Times interview following his Radio 4 series on the housing market.