Have you checked whether you have unconcious bias and is it possible to o mroe to acheive a diversity of thought in decision making?
Is there more you could do for a diverse tenant involvement, staff or board/council.
Here is the latest new from HDN who can help you with this.
The government has announced 30 areas where construction of the first Starter Homes will begin this year.
The homes will be reserved for first-time buyers aged between 23 and 40, with a discount of at least 20% on market value.
According to Inside Housing:
“The 30 areas have been selected “on the basis of potential for early delivery” according to a government statement.
They will receive cash from the £1.2bn Starter Homes Land Fund to fund the construction.
The Land Fund was launched in March last year, and provides local authorities with funding to prepare brownfield sites for the development of 30,000 Starter Homes by 2020
The government has not yet specified how many of these homes will be built by the first 30 councils named.
The HCA received 79 expressions of interest from 120 local authorities across the country outside London, many involving joint submissions, before selecting the 30.
The fund has already been used to invest in 71 sites across the country, including land at: Plymouth, Bury, Basildon, Stockport, Bridgwater, Cinderford, Minehead, Bristol, Trafford, Isle of Wight, South Ribble and Swindon.
The 30 named areas include a joint bid from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Liverpool City Council in association with neighbouring Sefton, Knowsley, Halton, Wirral and St Helens.”
Starter Homes partnership areas:
Almost 150 councils will benefit from a new annual £60m fund to tackle the problem of high levels of second homeownership in their communities.
According to 24 Housing:
The Community Housing Fund will put local groups in the driving seat and help them deliver affordable housing aimed at first-time buyers in response to the problem second homes can cause in reducing supply.
One third of the funding – almost £20m – will be allocated directly to local authorities in the South West, as this is the most popular region for second homes in England. It accounts for 21% of all second homeownership.
Second home ownership in England is at an all-time high and is crowding out first time buyers and causing a shortage of available properties. Often second homes stand empty for a large proportion of the time, which can also affect community cohesion, affect the demographics of an area and distort local housing markets.
The government has announced the locations for 14 new garden villages across England.
With access to a £6m fund, the new projects will consist of between 1,500 and 10,000 homes each. The government said the sites have the potential to deliver 48,000 new homes.
According to Inside Housing:
In addition to funding, the government said it will provide support in terms of “expertise, brokerage and offer of new planning freedoms”.
In its statement, the government said it will use the cash to provide “additional resources and expertise to accelerate development and avoid delays”.
It said the new villages will not be extensions to existing areas, but distinct locations.
The 14 new planned locations are:
Long Marston in Stratford-upon-Avon
Oxfordshire Cotswold in West Oxfordshire
Deenethorpe in East Northants
Culm in Mid Devon
Welborne near Fareham in Hampshire
West Carclaze in Cornwall
Dunton Hills near Brentwood, Essex
Spitalgate Heath in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
Halsnead in Knowsley, Merseyside
Longcross in Runnymede and Surrey Heath
Bailrigg in Lancaster
Infinity Garden Village in South Derbyshire and Derby City area
St Cuthberts near Carlisle City, Cumbria
North Cheshire in Cheshire East
New research from Crisis, the national charity for homeless people, shows some staggering statistics on rough sleepers.
The findings come as Crisis opens its Christmas centres to an expected 4,000 homeless guests in London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Newcastle and Coventry offering a safe, warm welcome over the Christmas period.
According to 24 Housing:
“Drawing on a survey of 458 recent or current rough sleepers in England and Wales, the report shows how almost eight out of 10 have suffered some sort of violence, abuse or anti-social behaviour in the past year – often committed by a member of the public – while nearly seven in 10 (66%) report that life on the street is getting worse.
The report shows that for current or recent rough sleepers:
More than one in three have been deliberately hit or kicked or experienced some other form of violence whilst homeless (35%)
More than one in three have had things thrown at them whilst homeless (34%)
Almost one in 10 have been urinated on whilst homeless (9%)
More than one in 20 have been the victim of a sexual assault whilst homeless (7%)
Almost half have been intimidated or threatened with violence whilst homeless (48%)
Almost six in 10 have had been verbally abused or harassed whilst homeless (59%).
The charity is also calling for action to prevent people from having to face the horrors of the street in the first place.
The Homelessness Reduction Bill now going through parliament would help to make sure homeless people can get support at an early stage, ideally before they lose their home.”
The Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, says the impact of loneliness and isolation on health and social care means it must be recognised as a major public health issue.
According to a report in 24 Housing:
“There are thought to be more than one million people aged over 65 who are lonely – around 10-13% of older people. But this is likely to only increase as people live for longer, councils are warning.
And while in the season of good will neighbours will make an effort to look out for those who are alone, councils say loneliness needs to be something we think about all-year-round.
Doctors say it is becoming more of an issue, with more than three quarters of GPs reporting they see between one and five lonely people a day.
A recent study featured in the BMJ found loneliness and isolation are associated with a 30% higher risk of having a stroke or developing heart disease.
The health impact of loneliness is also said to be the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
The review into energy efficiency and renewable energy standards suggests that HAs are well placed to lead on energy efficiency work and called on HAs to work with the energy industry and the government to make sure energy efficiency measures are built into stock maintenance programmes.
Here is the report:
The review said one in 10 association homes are in fuel poverty, despite a “better than average” performance compared with other sectors.
It suggests that HAs are hindered from making energy efficiency improvements to their homes because of financial pressures and “competing regulatory priorities”, a government-commissioned review has concluded housing associations are “committed” to tackling fuel poverty but are “constrained” by budgetary pressures, “competing regulatory priorities” and national energy efficiency programmes that are “not aligned with social housing investment planning and asset management practices”.
HAs have “actively encouraged” the uptake of energy efficiency measures in social housing and can offer a “unique opportunity” to deliver those measures “at scale” by bringing expert knowledge of their housing stock, an understanding of their tenants and a “proven track record of innovation and established partnerships with industry, government and service providers”.
Local government leaders have called for a two-pronged approach to the funding of sheltered housing.
In the report the LGA housing commission said the Local Housing Allowance cap is “not sufficient” to meet the higher rents charged in supported housing.
LGA Housing Commission Final Report
The commission said older people in sheltered housing should receive payments from a nationally administered fund, whereas vulnerable people with support needs should partly be supported by grant funding from their local council.
The government announced a top-up fund would be given to councils to cover any costs for supported housing tenants above the Local Housing Allowance rate. However, no further detail has been published on the amount of the fund or how it will be allocated.
This follows a reent announcemrnt of an enquiry by the Governmant into funding for supported hosuing:
MPs have launched a joint inquiry into the government’s proposal to radically overhaul the funding of supported housing.
The Work and Pensions Committee and the Communities and Local Government Committee will scrutinise plans to cap rents in supported housing from 2019, with local authorities providing top-up funding.
The plans have been met with scepticism from the sector, with organisations saying it provides insufficient certainty to encourage them to develop new units.
The committees will examine whether the new system will adversely affect tenants, and how existing tenants should be protected.
It will also look at the effect the uncertainty about the new model is having on the sector and investigate whether separate funding mechanisms are required for refuges and other short-term supported housing units.
Richard Graham MP, Work and Pensions Committee co-chair of the inquiry, said: “Supported housing is more expensive for housing providers as residents often need personal care, support or supervision. However… it can also be a crucial step in a person’s transition into employment and in preventing re-offending, with all the human and economic benefits that it can bring.”
The committees are inviting written submissions on the following areas via the inquiry webpage.
Whether separate funding models are needed for:
How the localised funding pot for supported housing would work, including:
How existing supported and sheltered housing tenants will be protected following their transfer in April 2019.
The effects of uncertainty about the new funding model on tenants and development in the supported housing sector.
Whether the new system should be piloted before its full implementation.
Whether the new system will resolve the shortfall in supported housing placements over the long term.
Whether the new system will ensure that the varied rate of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap will not adversely affect tenants and providers in low-value parts of the country.
What alternatives there are to the LHA cap, such as a supported housing cap and a sheltered housing cap.
The relative effects of different funding model options on tenants.
What steps should be taken to mitigate the effects of the 1% rent cut.
How the LHA cap will affect pensioners and whether housing benefit acts as a disincentive to work.
Here is the list published on 5th jan 2017:
Allocations for the first round of funding under the Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016/21. Bidding closed in September.
| Lead provider | Total Funding | Grant-funded homes |
|---|---|---|
| New Charter Homes Limited | £87,299,567 | 2,758 |
| Sanctuary Housing Association | £89,984,647 | 2,265 |
| Affinity Sutton Group Limited | £60,356,311 | 1,998 |
| Westleigh Dev | £48,105,000 | 1,590 |
| Accent Corporate Services Limited | £41,440,000 | 1,406 |
| Kier Group | £41,949,000 | 1,378 |
| Waterloo Housing Group Limited | £43,842,250 | 1,326 |
| The Wrekin Housing Trust Limited | £58,088,000 | 1,322 |
| Great Places Housing Association | £36,198,000 | 1,191 |
| Longhurst Group Limited | £36,733,500 | 1,133 |
| Derwentside Homes | £29,465,000 | 965 |
| Riverside Housing Association Limited | £26,332,053 | 891 |
| East Midlands Housing Association Limited | £26,609,000 | 866 |
| Tees Valley Housing Limited | £30,861,225 | 775 |
| Walsall Housing Group Limited | £22,074,014 | 751 |
| Yorkshire Housing Limited | £26,504,000 | 748 |
| Contour Homes Limited | £23,431,000 | 709 |
| Housing & Care 21 | £20,450,000 | 689 |
| Accord Housing Association Limited | £18,289,600 | 652 |
| Spectrum Housing Group Limited | £23,177,026 | 602 |
| Isos Housing Limited | £20,559,000 | 586 |
| Paradigm Housing Group Limited | £16,214,000 | 583 |
| Galliford | £18,835,000 | 530 |
| Devon and Cornwall Housing Limited | £14,632,000 | 500 |
| Wakefield And District Housing Limited | £15,000,000 | 500 |
| Newcastle City Council | £11,840,000 | 449 |
| Keepmoat Plc | £17,722,000 | 439 |
| Stonewater Limited | £10,613,516 | 422 |
| Lovell | £11,760,000 | 420 |
| Together Housing Association Limited | £14,190,000 | 376 |
| Home Group Limited | £17,455,000 | 352 |
| Ashley House | £11,512,250 | 331 |
| WM Housing Group Limited | £9,367,500 | 307 |
| Orwell Housing Association Limited | £7,428,846 | 294 |
| Southway Housing Trust (Manchester) Limited | £7,356,950 | 291 |
| The Guinness Partnership Limited | £7,864,999 | 259 |
| Ongo Homes Limited | £7,750,000 | 257 |
| Fortis Living | £7,257,600 | 250 |
| The Swaythling Housing Society Limited | £8,420,000 | 248 |
| Shropshire Housing Limited | £7,875,378 | 238 |
| Cross Keys Homes Limited | £5,879,000 | 236 |
| Knowsley Housing Trust | £7,480,726 | 232 |
| Knightstone Housing Association Limited | £7,945,000 | 227 |
| Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council | £6,810,000 | 227 |
| County Durham Housing Group Limited | £6,772,500 | 195 |
| Sovereign Housing Association Limited | £9,908,582 | 189 |
| Central Bedfordshire Council | £5,610,000 | 187 |
| First Choice Homes Oldham Limited | £5,973,000 | 181 |
| Almshouse Consortium Ltd | £5,594,000 | 179 |
| Hyde Housing Association Limited | £4,840,000 | 168 |
| Stoke on Trent City Council | £7,215,000 | 161 |
| Plus Dane Housing Group Limited | £4,970,000 | 159 |
| Southern Housing Group Limited | £4,887,500 | 155 |
| Orbit Group Limited | £4,620,000 | 154 |
| Countryside Northern | £4,200,000 | 150 |
| The Havebury Housing Partnership | £4,135,250 | 144 |
| Broadacres Housing Association Limited | £4,075,000 | 139 |
| First Step Group Ltd | £4,325,378 | 136 |
| Grand Union Housing Group Limited | £4,868,000 | 135 |
| Chelmer Housing Partnership Limited | £4,500,250 | 129 |
| A2Dominion South Limited | £3,752,000 | 120 |
| B3 Living Limited | £4,485,000 | 116 |
| One Vision Housing Limited | £3,285,000 | 116 |
| Gentoo Group Limited | £3,901,500 | 115 |
| Adactus Housing Association Limited | £2,483,000 | 113 |
| Wyre Forest Community Housing Limited | £2,835,000 | 113 |
| Watford Community Housing Trust | £3,900,000 | 112 |
| Colne Housing Society Limited | £3,630,000 | 110 |
| City of Lincoln Council | £4,210,000 | 103 |
| Chestnut Homes | £3,000,000 | 100 |
| Viridian Housing | £3,194,111 | 100 |
| Wulvern Housing Limited | £4,134,500 | 100 |
| Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Limited | £3,382,000 | 99 |
| Merlin Housing Society Limited | £2,498,280 | 89 |
| SLAYCO LIMITED | £2,476,000 | 89 |
| Keelman Homes Limited | £2,725,000 | 86 |
| Empowering People Inspiring Communities Limited | £2,075,000 | 83 |
| Loddon Homes Limited | £1,538,290 | 78 |
| Soha Housing Limited | £1,975,000 | 77 |
| Estuary Housing Association Limited | £2,250,000 | 75 |
| Manchester City Council | £2,850,000 | 75 |
| Hightown Housing Association Limited | £2,003,500 | 73 |
| Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council | £1,830,000 | 70 |
| Two Castles Housing Association Limited | £2,310,000 | 70 |
| Incommunities Group Limited | £2,312,250 | 69 |
| Connect Housing Association Limited | £2,240,000 | 68 |
| Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council | £1,876,000 | 67 |
| City of York Council | £2,762,500 | 65 |
| AmicusHorizon Limited | £1,600,000 | 64 |
| Halton Housing Trust Limited | £1,940,000 | 62 |
| Sempra Homes Ltd | £1,708,145 | 59 |
| MHS Homes | £1,590,000 | 53 |
| Town and Country Housing Group | £1,386,080 | 53 |
| The ExtraCare Charitable Trust | £2,561,000 | 52 |
| The Abbeyfield Kent Society | £1,828,150 | 51 |
| Cherry Management Ltd | £1,620,000 | 50 |
| City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council | £1,750,000 | 50 |
| Leeds City Council | £1,750,000 | 50 |
| Magenta Living (Wirral Partnership Homes Limited) | £1,400,000 | 50 |
| Salvation Army Housing Association | £1,750,000 | 50 |
| South Yorkshire Housing Association Limited | £1,770,000 | 50 |
| Trent & Dove Housing Limited | £1,945,000 | 50 |
| Esh Acorn Homes | £1,560,000 | 47 |
| Curo Places Limited | £1,380,000 | 46 |
| Jessup | £1,408,000 | 44 |
| Salix Homes Limited | £1,320,000 | 44 |
| The Abbeyfield Society | £1,502,000 | 42 |
| Grand Total | £1,283,280,182 | 39.40 |
| SIRONA CARE & HEALTH | £1,095,038 | 39 |
| Swan Housing Association Limited | £822,000 | 39 |
| Gloucester City Homes Limited | £971,000 | 37 |
| City West Housing Trust Limited | £1,080,000 | 36 |
| Sentinel Housing Association Ltd | £614,600 | 35 |
| GreenSquare Group Limited | £829,000 | 34 |
| Victory Housing Trust | £963,000 | 34 |
| Hastoe Housing Association Limited | £985,000 | 31 |
| Abbeyfield Braintree, Bocking and Felsted Society Limited | £900,000 | 30 |
| Ashford Borough Council | £660,000 | 30 |
| South Tyneside Housing Ventures Trust Limited | £1,050,000 | 30 |
| Broadland Housing Association Limited | £644,000 | 28 |
| Bristol CLT Limited | £1,125,000 | 25 |
| Abbeyfield Southern Oaks | £960,000 | 24 |
| YMCA Downslink Group | £546,000 | 21 |
| Elim Housing Association Limited | £700,000 | 20 |
| Midland Heart Limited | £800,000 | 20 |
| Alpha (R.S.L.) Limited | £324,000 | 19 |
| Creative Support Limited | £630,000 | 18 |
| Harrogate Borough Council | £480,000 | 16 |
| J & M Residential Lettings Limited | £636,000 | 16 |
| Captiva Homes Limited | £325,000 | 13 |
| Elite Property Services | £310,550 | 13 |
| Hellens Residential Limited | £297,000 | 11 |
| BHA Housing 2014 Limited | £300,000 | 10 |
| Calico Homes Limited | £345,000 | 10 |
| East Riding Of Yorkshire Council | £350,000 | 10 |
| Nottingham City Council | £140,000 | 10 |
| Wolverhampton City Council | £300,000 | 10 |
| Catalyst Housing Limited | £270,000 | 9 |
| Craven District Council | £372,394 | 9 |
| Chapeltown Cohousing Ltd | £360,000 | 8 |
| Cherwell District Council | £160,000 | 8 |
| Adur District Council | £227,627 | 7 |
| Oxford City Council | £350,000 | 7 |
| South Lakes Housing | £245,000 | 7 |
| Aster Group Limited | £180,000 | 6 |
| Fairoak Housing Association | £310,749 | 6 |
| South Derbyshire District Council | £180,000 | 6 |
| Cheltenham Borough Homes Limited | £150,000 | 5 |
| Flagship Housing Group Limited | £112,500 | 5 |
| South Staffordshire Housing Association Limited | £45,000 | 3 |
| Aldwyck Housing Group Limited | £0 | 0 |
| London & Quadrant Housing | £0 | 0 |
| Metropolitan Housing Trust Limited | £0 | 0 |
| Moat Homes Limited | £0 | 0 |
| Paragon Community Housing Limited | £0 | 0 |
| Places for People Group Limited | £0 | 0 |
| Thames Valley Housing Association Limited | £0 | 0 |
| Worthing Homes Limited | £0 | 0 |
In the CSR in November 2016, chancellor Philip Hammond announced an extra £1.4bn to build 40,000 affordable homes and flexibility around the £4.7bn Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016 to 2021 to include affordable rent and rent-to-buy homes.
However, in an addendum to its prospectus, the government said while it would allow affordable rented homes to “underpin swift build out” it still expected “the majority of expenditure” to support homeownership.
The Housing White Paper will be published “later this month”.
It said £1.3bn was left available following the allocation of £1.28bn of funding and the provision of £3.15bn to London for the Greater London Authority’s programme. This is in addition to £1.4bn of extra cash announced at the Autumn Statement.
It described affordable rent as “at or below 80% of market rents” and encouraged providers to convert vacant socially rented homes to provide additional funding.
The funding will be allocated outside London by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
There is no set closing date for applications and the HCA will assess bids on an ongoing basis.
