Make a Stand was launched in June 2018 as part of Alison Inman’s presidential appeal in June 2018 .

http://www.cih.org/makeastand

It centres around a pledge  developed in partnership with the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) and Women’s Aid.

There are 4 commitments:

• To put in place and embed a policy to support residents who are experiencing domestic abuse

• To make information about national and local domestic abuse support services available on your website and in other places which are easily accessible to residents and staff

• To put in place a HR policy and procedure on domestic abuse, or to incorporate this into an existing policy, to support members of staff who are experiencing domestic abuse

• Appoint a champion in your organisation to own the activity you are doing to support people experiencing domestic abuse.

Organisations have until September 2019, until Jim Strang’s presidency comes to an end, to put the commitments in place.

For more information click here.

A full list of the organisations which have signed up is available here.

The Metropolitan Police has expanded its investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire to look at 460 companies now thought to have been involved in the tower’s refurbishment.

At the same time….

The Chartered Institute of Housing have produced this excellent summary for  us on the Hackitt review of building regulations published a few weeks before.

WYNTK Hackitt Review

Here is a helpful report from Equality and Human Rights Commission:

housing-and-disabled-people-britains-hidden-crisis-easy-read-report

housing-and-disabled-people-britains-hidden-crisis-main-report

The report suggests:

• disabled people are too often demoralised and frustrated by the housing system
• there is a significant shortage of accessible homes
• installing home adaptations involves unacceptable bureaucracy and delay
• disabled people are not getting the support that they need to live independently

Grant Thornton, in collaboration with the District Councils Network (DCN) has produced a report showcasing some case studies on how working together can transform the services councils deliver for their residents, capitalise on the opportunities available and help them manage transformation in the most efficient and effective way in the 21st Century.

They admit that this is not a prescriptive guide on how to work well together or thrive successfully in the current economic climate but they have produced guidelines on how to manage such challenges effectively.

The report can be used by Scrutiny Panels and all Governance collaborators – take from it what you will.

Please click here to read the full report – beware its a large document 😉

The Institute for Government has written a blog directed at new councillors and the top 5 questions they need to ask their officials.

With research to back up this article, it makes an interesting reading and is also suitable for Boards and tenants:

Here you go from CfPS:
Please follow this link to discover these 5 important questions.

Anne Power at LSE has been working with the National Tenants centre in Cheshire.

Here is her fabulous blog:

How a tragedy changed the way we think about housing: Ten lessons from Grenfell

Lesson 1: There should be a single point of control for any multi-storey block so that everyone knows, whether it is staff, residents or emergency services, where to go and who is responsible whenever an emergency arises.

Lesson 2: A full record of work that has been done must be kept, including the costs, the rationale, the specifications and implementation, with a continuous sequence of recorded information from start to finish, handed over on completion to the responsible owner/manager.

Lesson 3: There should be the equivalent of an MOT test for all multi-storey, high-rise and tower blocks as they have complex and linked internal systems, involving the interaction of many different technical features including plumbing, electrical wiring, heating, lift maintenance, roofs, windows, walls, fire doors, fire inhabitors, and means of escape.

Lesson 4: The containment of fire within each individual flat (commonly known as compartmentation) is absolutely crucial. A breach in the party or external walls of flats, often caused by installing television wiring, gas piping, electric wiring, plumbing or other works, creates a conduit for fire.

Lesson 5: In-depth fire inspections should happen every year in every block, using qualified inspectors, checking walls, doors, equipment, cupboards, shelves, etc. to ensure there are no breaches of fire safety or containment.

Lesson 6: Knowing who lives in all the flats within a block, including leasehold properties, private lettings, and subletting with the right to enter, inspect and enforce where there is a potential hazard affecting the block, is essential to exercising control over conditions and safety. Leasehold agreements should specify the obligation to provide access keys in case of leaks, fire, or breaches of containment.

Lesson 7: On-site management and supervision maintains basic conditions and is essential for security. The landlord can then enforce a basic standard, both in the stairwells and within units. The proximity of neighbours makes enforcement of tenancy conditions vital.

Lesson 8: The maintenance of multi-storey blocks is an engineering challenge where precision and quality control are essential. Judith Hackitt’s Interim Review of Building Regulations recommends higher standards, stronger enforcement, and far greater professionalism in designing, delivering, and running complex multi-storey buildings.

Lesson 9: There should be no shortcutting on cost and quality as short term savings can lead of long-term costs, as Grenfell Tower shows.

Lesson 10: Tenants are entitled to have a voice in the safety, maintenance, and general condition of their blocks. They often know more than staff about who lives in blocks and about earlier works as they have often been around longer than housing staff. They know what changes have been made. They are valuable conduits for vital information, and can thus help their landlords and their community.

Thanks for all your support and the great feedback.

Here are the flip chart bullet point notes of the Unconference:

Unconf FChart NotesV2 26Apr2018

Here is the feedback:

Thanks its great and the ideas are good.

I like the idea of splitting up the bit at the beginning too, so i don’t have to talk so much and so you can all engage better – consider it done for next year

Unconference Feedback Form Summary 28Apr2018

Here is my policy and regulation presentation:

Environmental scan Unconf 18 26Apr

The newsletter will follow in a few weeks i promise ad i will send it out! ;)

CfPS have been reviewing how governance and scrutiny can be enhanced by the worforce.

Tim Gilling at CfPS says in their newsletter:

“A priceless asset of any organisation or business is insight from the workforce – the knowledge, skills and experience that people use every day to get the job done. But how many organisations or businesses make best use of that insight – to help identify risks and opportunities, build organisational resilience and improve the performance of projects or services? How do senior leaders or an executive board know that the decisions they make are informed by good insight from every part of the business or organisation?

Refreshing your approach to governance and scrutiny can help provide that assurance and help you deliver better outcomes for citizens or customers and better financial performance for your organisation or business. This means that governance and scrutiny need to become everyone’s responsibility, just like health and safety for example. All employees need to understand what good scrutiny is and do it well, as part of the ‘day job’. And there need to be effective ways for the outcomes from scrutiny to influence decision-making.

Creating the right culture and behaviours is vital, as well as training and processes. There is no quick fix, but by helping leaders and managers to change how they run meetings, interrogate data and work and think differently, scrutiny can become integral to your governance arrangements to fuel future success.

Skanska UK is a global construction company renowned for its value-based approach to business. In 2016, CfPS starting working with Skanska on a a new Quality of Scrutiny programme aimed at improving the quality and quantity of scrutiny carried out at all stages of their projects. As well as introducing new project gateways, the programme focused on scrutiny behaviours, skills and techniques with coaching and training aimed at the most senior leaders and now being rolled out UK-wide.

You can read a full case study of the programme here.

Councils, NHS organisations, housing associations, education providers, voluntary/community sector bodies and private businesses can all learn and benefit from this approach by:

• increasing the confidence and ambition of your employees to spot risks and opportunities in projects or services and speaking up about them
• developing a culture where everyone takes responsibility for better quality projects or services, supporting each other to succeed
• planning a more solution-focussed approach to project or service review meetings
• providing assurance for decision-makers that they have the best insight from the frontline
• reducing risk of project or service failure and increasing prospects for better financial performance and/or outcomes for citizens or customers

Housing First is an evidence-based approach to successfully supporting homeless people with high needs and histories of entrenched or repeat homelessness to

live in their own homes. It has been widely adopted across the US, is central to the national homelessness strategies in Canada, Denmark, Finland and France, and is growing in popularity in countries including Italy, Sweden, Spain and, increasingly, the UK. Successful Housing First pilots are operating in Newcastle, London, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, on the South Coast and in Wales and Scotland.

The overall philosophy of Housing First is to provide a stable, independent home and intensive personalised support and case management to homeless people with multiple and complex needs. Housing is seen as a human right by Housing First services. There are no conditions around ‘housing readiness’ before providing someone with a home;

……….rather, secure housing is viewed as a stable platform from which other issues can be addressed. Housing First is a different model because it provides housing ‘first’, as a matter of right, rather than ‘last’ or as a reward.

Here is one of the many useful publications on the shelter website on Housing First.

Many LAs have started to look at this collectively and are working together to use the methodology in this pilot here in the UK:

Housing First in England The Principles