Valuers are currently engaged in high-level meetings with the National Housing Federation (NHF), the regulator and lenders to assess the impact of deregulatory measures on the way Existing Use Value Social Housing (EUV-SH) is calculated.

EUV-SH is the most-frequently used method for valuing social housing, and dictates its value for loan security and year-end accounts.

Changes to the rules for selling social housing units, which removing the need to apply to the regulator for consent impact directly on the assumptions made when calculating EUV-SH.

According to CIH:

“The changes were contained in the Housing and Planning Bill, which came before parliament last week, and are aimed at reversing the Office for National Statistics decision to reclassify associations as public bodies.

In a briefing document sent to members, the NHF said: “The significant relaxation of disposal consent powers is likely to precipitate a fundamental review by valuers of the way in which housing association property is valued.”

This is the second time in a year valuers have been required to enter urgent talks over the definition of EUV-SH, the first coming after the rent cut last summer.

EUV-SH assumes properties will be sold between social landlords and sub-market rents will be charged. The changes, which remove the need to apply to the regulator for permission to sell stock, challenge this assumption.

Both the sector’s key valuers – Savills and JLL – declined to comment on the potential impact of the change.

It is understood they are working together, and in consultation with the Homes and Communities Agency, lenders and the NHF to work out the impact of the change.

John Butler, officer at the NHF, said: “If a financialinstitution picks up a property [after a housing association insolvency], their ability to sell is restricted by needing to get authorisation to sell, but all these restrictions are being removed.

“It will probably increase valuations, but we still need to figure out what the exact impact is.”  “

Regeneration can play a key part in creating vibrant, mixed, sustainable communities throughout the UK. So on Monday, we listened with interest to David Cameron’s plans to ‘transform’ 100 housing estates across England through a new £140million fund.

According to Inside Housing:

“The news follows a report last year from CIH and Poplar HARCA which called for a renewed national focus on regeneration, after recognising the positive impact it can have on improving people’s homes, boosting economic activity, increasing housing supply, helping to create more balanced communities and improving results in areas like health, education and crime.

The programme will see the government work with residents, housing associations, councils and private developers to either “radically transform” estates or, in the worst cases, “knock them down and replace them with high-quality homes”. ”

Here is the report:

Regeneration intial report [single] 19.6.15

“If we don’t act now to improve housing supply, housing costs will continue to rise, homeownership will continue to fall, families and businesses will bear the brunt, and more people will feel that private renting – expensive, often poor quality and increasingly insecure – is their only option.

How did we get into this mess? The reasons are widespread – it’s not just about planning and nimbyism. Tackling them at their core requires a focus on why we are not producing enough homes. In this short pamphlet we highlight what we see as the fundamental issues holding back the delivery of housing in the capital. These issues cut across the four main elements of housebuilding: land, planning consent, finance, and the housebuilders.

London’s housing problems are unique in England but are not unassailable. Other cities in the world are more densely populated, more affordable, and better able to deliver more homes. There is no single magic bullet solution or simple policy fix. Tackling London’s deeply entrenched problems demands an equally unique strategy and set of reforms, led from within the capital.”

The Homes and Communities Agency has been given a central role in plans to sell enough government land to build more than 160,000 new homes, after it was announced a separate new body would be created to take on ownership of government land and property.

According to Inside Housing:

“The Spending Review, published in November, said the new body would be launched in March 2017. Former British Property Federation chief executive Liz Peace has been appointed shadow chair to oversee its implementation.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has now confirmed that all government land marked for sale would be transferred to the agency. The HCA previously acted as the diposal agency for Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and had an administration role for other departments. The initiative is being delivered by the existing Government Property Unit, with the Cabinet Office as the lead department.

A spokesperson for the HCA said: “We will use our local market knowledge and experience of managing large portfolios of land to make disposal as quick and efficient as possible, working with house builders and other government bodies as appropriate.”

The Spending Review said government departments had committed to release enough land to develop 161,000 new homes by 2020, raising the target of 150,000 set by communities secretary Greg Clark earlier this year.

This includes land for 55,000 homes from the Ministry of Defence, 38,000 from the Department for Transport, 36,000 from DCLG and 26,000 from the Department of Health.”

Councils in the North of England and the Midlands have raised doubts over the “financial viability” of regenerating council estates using loans under a new £2.3bn estates regeneration programme.

In the Spending Review in November Chancellor George Osborne announced £2.3bn in loans would be made available to “help regenerate large council estates and invest in infrastructure needed for major housing developments”.

Accoridng to Inside Housing:

The government announced a £150m estates regeneration programme last year. The entirety of these loans went to London councils.

There is no detail yet on how the £2.3bn in loans can be accessed but bids last year had to be submitted by developers in partnership with a local authority partner. The loans must be fully repaid with interest.

However, councils in the Midlands and North are concerned the model is not “financially viable” for them because any regeneration would be on low value land, making it more difficult for developers to make a sufficient return.

Most of the cash – £5.6m – will be given to councils to help unlock housin development on the brownfield sites designated as Housing Zones (see table below).

The government claims 34,000 homes could be built within the 20 zones, and 11,000 in eight further shortlisted potential zones.

Private landlords could be required to check the immigration status of 2.6 million people a year when strict new measures are introduced in England next month, new analysis has revealed.

Research by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has revealed the extent of the government’s new Right to Rent scheme which will come into force in February.

According to CIH:

“It found there were 2.6m moves within the private rented sector (PRS) in 2013/14.

Under the scheme, private landlords could face a jail sentence or a fine of up to £3,000 per tenant if they fail to carry out immigration checks on prospective tenants.

Charities have warned the scheme could cause them to discriminate against renting property out to immigrants, even if they have the right to live in the UK.

Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), an immigrant rights charity, said the Right to Rent scheme will create a “hostile environment” for migrants in the UK.

Research conducted by the charity in September showed 42% of landlords are unlikely to rent property out to people without British passports, as immigration documents can be difficult to understand and might not be able to be provided immediately by a prospective tenant.

The study also revealed that over 25% of landlords would be less likely to rent to people purely on the basis if they had a foreign name or foreign accent.

A Home Office evaluation in October also found the scheme could lead to private landlords refusing to let to “all foreigners”, after a pilot in the West Midlands.

The CIH is calling for the ‘Right to Rent’ scheme to be postponed and trialled in London before it is launched nationally on February 1.

Terrie Alafat, chief executive of the CIH said it is “vital” for landlords to be given proper training on how to conduct immigration checks in order to “combat the risk of discrimination against people who have every right to be in the UK” “

“Communities secretary Greg Clark has tabled an amendment which says a planning application can be “determined… to be processed if the applicant so chooses, not by that authority but by a designated person”.

In a Commons debate last night, housing minister Brandon Lewis said the amendment, aimed at speeding up the planning process where necessary, would “test the benefits of introducing competition in the processing of planning applications”.

“The new Clause 43 would give the secretary of state the power, by regulation, to introduce pilot schemes for competition in the processing of applications for planning permission. It will also give him the power to designate who participates in a pilot scheme.”

Mr Lewis stressed the move is about “competition for the processing of applications” and not about planning decisions, which will remain with local authorities.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has not been able to confirm what types of bodies are likely to be classed as “designated persons” by the secretary of state. The amendment said the government could designate alternative local planning authorities.

The chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee and Labour MP, Clive Betts, said the amendment is “effectively about the privatisation of the planning service”.

Mr Betts raised concerns that the “designated person” might be in a position to influence planning decisions. He said: “How an applicant engages with a planning officer can lead to an eventual decision on the application. Just because a committee may make the final decision and say yes or no, the idea that the process has no role to play in shaping that eventual final decision is fundamentally wrong.

He said: “This is a worrying proposal that could undermine the accountability of the planning process to local communities.”

In these pilot areas planning authorities could set their own fees but the secretary of state can prevent the charging of fees if they are considered “excessive”, according to the amendments.

Steve Ingram, junior vice-president at the Planning Officers Society, said he was unsure how “contentious” planning applications could be dealt with by a person separate to the local planning authority.”  “

Office for Civil Society (OCS) Local – December 2015 North West Update

More information below on:

• Successful Youth Social Action Fund applicants announced
• Honours and Awards – we are open for Nominations for New Year 2017 Honours
• Youth Count! Democracy Challenge and Rock Enrol!®: engaging young people in democracy
• National Citizens Service (NCS) impact and latest evaluation
• Big Potential
• Charity Commission – Charity Fundraising: a guide to trustees duties consultation
• Youth-led website launched to end FGM
• Charity Governance Awards

1. Successful Youth Social Action Fund applicants announced –  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cabinet-office-and-pears-foundation-announce-successful-youth-social-action-fund-applicants

Nine organisations from across England (including Blackburn Youth Zone) have been awarded a share of £1.2 million from the Cabinet Office and the Pears Foundation as part of the Youth Social Action Fund.

The National Youth Social Action Fund is committed to helping young people in deprived or rural areas to get involved in social action. The successful applicants are a mixture of national and local organisations. This announcement links to work by supporters of the #iwill campaign, a UK-wide initiative promoting social action among 10 to 20-year-olds.

Step Up To Serve and the #iwill campaign

Government, through the Cabinet Office, have pledged to support the #iwill campaign, run by Step Up To Serve. The campaign aims to increase, by 50%, participation in youth social action (volunteering, fundraising and campaigning) among 10 to 20-year-olds by the year 2020.

2. Honours and Awards – we are open for Nominations for New Year 2017 Honours

The UK honours system recognises people who have made achievements in public life or have committed themselves to serving and helping Britain. There are two awards rounds each year; The New Year Honours (1 January) and the Queen’s Birthday Honours (June).

Candidates can be nominated for an outstanding contributions in a wide range of sectors, however the Office for Civil Society (OCS) Honours and Awards Team in the Cabinet Office are responsible for Honours relating to the Charity and Voluntary Sector and manage awards for voluntary and charitable work in general, as well as youth related voluntary activities.

As part of the wider interest of OCS in harnessing the achievements and functions of the Voluntary, Community and Enterprise sector, it is vital to recognise outstanding work within this area. Individuals may come from various backgrounds, with their contributions rooted in the UK and/or abroad. The strongest nominations will reflect the OCS policy agenda:

• Supporting people to come together and improve their lives through the giving of time (volunteering) and supporting the growth of social action initiatives
• Supporting the VCSE sector by opening public service markets to VCSE’s and improving sector capability
• Supporting Civil Society organisations to access the finance they need for scale and sustainability by growing the social investment market

To nominate someone for an honour please visit https://www.gov.uk/honours/overview to start the process and to obtain further information.

3. Youth Count! Democracy Challenge and Rock Enrol!®: engaging young people in democracy

The Youth Count! Democracy Challenge programme and Rock Enrol!® are part of the Cabinet Office’s work on democratic engagement.

The Youth Count! Democracy Challenge programme has been designed to help young people develop an understanding of democracy and voting and is a programme of activities for young people developed by UK Youth and young people from UK Youth Voice, a national steering group of young people from all over the UK. It uses imaginative activities to engage participants in discussions about democracy, registering to vote and their role as active citizens.

The 15-hour programme can be accredited as part of the Youth Achievement Award or run as up to 14 individual sessions. It was designed for youth workers to use with groups of 16 to 24-year-olds in a non-educational setting, but the programme can also be used in schools or colleges.

Read more about the programme and watch the film to find out more – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-count-democracy-challenge

Rock Enrol!® is a high quality, interactive resource pack to encourage young people to register to vote.

There has never been a better time to engage young people in the democratic process, encourage them to be active citizens and register to vote. The Rock Enrol!® resource pack creates that opportunity by using fun, interactive activities.

The original Rock Enrol!® lesson framework, which includes the ‘Vote with your feet’ and ‘Show me the money’ activities, was co-created by the Cabinet Office and youth-led organisation Bite the Ballot.  Session 2 and 3 activities – ‘Critical issues’, and ‘Power game’ are taken from the Youth Count! Democracy Challenge toolkit developed by UK Youth.

Who can use it?  Anyone including teachers, youth group leaders and young people themselves can use Rock Enrol!®.  Sessions are straightforward to prepare and run.

Read more about Rock Enrol!® and watch the film to find out more – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rock-enrol-engaging-young-people-in-democracy

4. National Citizens Service (NCS)

“Where is my son and what have you done with him? Today, he’s a social animal with too many friends to count and never at home. What a transformation. I cannot thank you enough. It has truly been the making of him. He now has a social circle of friends and a feeling of belonging.”

The NCS programme arrives at a pivotal moment in a young person’s life. At 16 or 17 they’re on the cusp of adulthood, trying out new experiences and working out who they are and what they want to do. At a time when teenagers are making big choices about their future, NCS is there to instil confidence and self-belief. The programme doesn’t just tell people they’re capable, it challenges them to find that out themselves.  Graduates of the programme emerge excited about their future, open to other people around them and convinced they can make their mark on the world. The NCS programme breaks down into four packed weeks, each with different challenges to push and inspire young people.

As NCS passes the milestone of 200,000 young people having taken part, the latest evaluation of the 2014 programme – conducted by Ipsos MORI – confirms that NCS is helping to build a more confident, capable, connected and compassionate generation. For details see http://www.ncsyes.co.uk/our-impact

For more information on NCS please visit http://www.ncsyes.co.uk

5. Big Potential – http://www.bigpotential.org.uk/

Big Potential provides further information and grants to organisations looking to explore their investment readiness.  The website provides many useful resources for organisations looking to explore social investment – http://www.bigpotential.org.uk/accessing-support – including a Guide to Social Investment and a diagnostic tool which are available to all, not just those looking to apply to Big Potential for funding.

Big Potential has two possible application routes –

Breakthrough – Eligible VCSE organisations will be able to access specialist one to one support from the Big Potential programme partners before making an application for grants between £20,000 and £75,000 to undertake more in-depth investment readiness work with one of Big Potential’s approved providers.

Advanced – The Advanced route of Big Potential will be available to VCSEs that are clear about how social investment could work for them and can describe a potential deal or interest from investors and need help to close that deal. The Advanced route is also available to organisations that need help securing a contract. Grants of between £50,000 and £150,000 are available.

Big Potential is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and delivered by the Social Investment Business in partnership with Charity Bank, SEUK, Locality and evaluated by the University of Northampton.

6. Charity Commission – Charity Fundraising: a guide to trustees duties consultation – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/trustees-must-take-responsibility-for-fundraising-says-revised-charity-commission-guidance

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has published new draft guidance which states more clearly than ever that trustees must take responsibility for the fundraising undertaken by their charities. On 3 Dec, the commission launched a public consultation on its revised guidance for trustees.

Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (CC20) is the Charity Commission’s guide to charity trustees’ responsibilities in the fundraising context. It will replace the commission’s current guidance which is called Charities and Fundraising (CC20). The commission wants to make this guide as clear as possible about trustee duties, and to support them in complying. The commission wants your views on this revised version.

The Charity Commission has launched a public consultation on revised guidance for trustees, views are sought by 11 February 2016 – https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/charities-and-fundraising-cc20-consultation

7. Youth-led website launched to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/youth-led-website-launched-to-end-fgm

Everybody’s Business is run by young people for young people to help spot the signs of abuse and help others they think may be at risk. It offers videos and interactive guides to help others find out about a practice which can have serious consequences for women and girls affected.

The website was set-up by Rosa, the UK Fund for Women and Girls as part of its 6-year initiative across the UK, and is one of 17 community projects funded by a government grant which aims to end FGM and ‘honour’ based violence by creating a network of community champions.

Rosa, the UK Fund for Women and Girls, has a new grants programme now open for applications.  Voices from the Frontline is an innovative new programme aimed at shining a light on women at the front of the fight for gender equality. Supporting charitable advocacy work, Voices from the Frontline will increase the skills, capacity and credibility of women who wish to challenge gender inequality and promote awareness and change, moving us closer to social justice and equality for women in the UK. Voices from the Frontline is open for grant applications until 11 January 2016.  More information at – http://www.rosauk.org/resources/blog/voices-from-the-frontline/

8. Charity Governance Awards

Entries are now open for the inaugural Charity Governance Awards – the new UK awards that recognise and reward good charity governance. The awards are being organised and funded by The Clothworkers’ Company, a City Livery company that supports trusteeship initiatives and supported by New Philanthropy Capital, Prospectus and Reach.

The Charity Governance Awards are free-enter, will shine a spotlight on the best of the sector and there is the opportunity to win one of six prizes of £5,000 of unrestricted funding. All the partners are keen to seriously use these awards to significantly “raise the bar” of governance to ensure higher standards of quality, outputs and outcomes.
Find out more here.  Applications by 15 January 2016.

Here is the latest at 16th December 2015 of all regulatory judgements from th HCA:

Regulatory_judgements_2015.12.17_

CurrentRegulatory_judgements_2015.12.17_Archived

This month’s batch includes 3 new narrative judgements.