Archives for July 2007
Wigan council ‘aiding independent living’
Wigan Council’s Supporting People programme has “promising” prospects for improvement, according to an independent report by the Audit Commission.
The £7.6 million initiative provides housing-related support to vulnerable people to enable them to live independently in a stable environment and is part of a long-term government public sector policy.
In the Audit Commission report, Wigan Council’s Supporting People scheme, which has been running for three years, was given a two-star ‘good’ rating out of a possible three stars for delivering high-quality and strategically planned housing-related services.
A local government partnership of public sector representatives, service users, support agencies and third sector organisations, Supporting People serves a range of people, including those with drug and alcohol problems, homeless families and single citizens, those with learning disabilities, offenders and older people.
The commission’s inspectors found that service users’ views have been sought and fed into the programme, housing support services for vulnerable people have improved, improvements in value for money and sustainable efficiencies have been made and there is strong and consistent leadership.
However, the report also notes that improvements can be made in engaging service users in strategic decisions, better re-configuring of services and greater development of medium term plans.
Audit Commission senior manager Melanie Rees said: “Strong leadership has ensured that the programme is well supported by partners and integrated with complementary services for vulnerable people. While we found some weaknesses, the council’s progress to date gives us confidence that services will improve further in the future.”
Supporting People programmes in Britain are facing a tough few months following the devastating floods in Yorkshire and the south of England, with more than a million people affected by the worst floods in 60 years.
Seeda welcomes housing green paper
The South East England Development Agency (Seeda) has welcomed the provision of the new government green paper on housing, claiming that it “offers strong practical direction to local authorities and their partners” in the region.
According to Seeda, the new green paper brings together all the growth points for housing in the UK from Communities and Local Government (CLG) and outlines ways in which ministers plan to reach the prime minister’s target of three million new UK homes by 2020.
Pam Alexander, Seeda chief executive, said: “It is vitally important that we achieve a balance between the provision of affordable and sustainable housing in the South East which will support the economic growth ambitions for the region, and the absolute necessity to ensure that all housing is built in areas that can sustain the extra development in a socially supportive and environmentally responsible way.”
Taking forward housing strategy for the region, Seeda has been working alongside the Regional Assembly to support new homes and identify new mechanisms for providing extra capacity and infrastructure to release delayed development opportunities.
Ms Alexander praised the government for identifying growth points within the south east of England, which will enable development partners to press ahead with the Regional Economic Strategy (RES), work towards sustainable efficiencies and focus resources from network partners for the best possible outcomes.
Meanwhile, Seeda has announced that it is making grants of up to £2,500 available to businesses in the region affected by the devastating summer floods as part of an initial package to help the south east recover as soon as possible and has teamed up with local Business Links to offer support.
The government has unveiled a three-pronged strategy to tackle Britain’s housing crisis, including rapidly increasing house building, improving the design of new homes to meet changing social and environmental demands and delivering new homes for the poorest members of society.
More about sustainable efficiencies.
Shelter: New housing will make a “huge difference”
Shelter has declared that the government’s housing policy is a “significant step forward” in attempts to tackle Britain’s growing housing crisis.
Commenting on a new green paper, which outlines how government housing targets will be met, Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson said: “Low-cost home ownership will help many hard-working people get a foothold on the housing ladder. But the government’s commitment must be met with ensuring it provides the right product for the market to guarantee people are getting value for money.”
Mr Sampson welcomes the government’s commitment to “the long-term future of housing in Britain” and estimated that around a quarter to a third of the new homes built by 2020 should be for social housing, to ensure “a safe, secure home for all”.
The charity official pointed out that around ten per cent of England’s land mass is at risk of floods, so it is impractical to rule out building on flood plains, but stressed that any building must be done sensibly, with proper investment in flood defences and drainage. He added that new housing should be created with a sensitivity to climate change issues and sustainable efficiencies.
According to the housing green paper, the government will invest £8 billion in affordable housing by 2020 and ministers have set a target for all new homes to be carbon neutral by 2016.
Changes to PSAs ‘will break down barriers’
Proposed changes to public service agreements (PSAs) will help to dissolve barriers between different professions in the not-for-profit sector, it was claimed yesterday.
Speaking on the subject of the government’s relationship with public services delivery, chief secretary to the Treasury Andy Burnham MP suggested that “radical changes” were to be made in the new set of PSAs.
One of the key strategies Mr Burnham outlined was increasing collaboration, “breaking down barriers so public service professionals – nurses, social care staff, police, youth workers – can work side by side on shared goals to tackle those big social challenges”.
He also stated that the new agreements would allow public services to become move streamlined, ambitious, outward looking, motivating, empowering and local, PublicTechnology.net reports.
In closing, he stated that increased trust would be placed in public sector organisations, while providing a skills framework to support and empower individual workers.
Having recently taken over the role of chief secretary to the Treasury, Mr Burnham remains in charge of the Gershon efficiency initiative.
Further information on sustainable efficiencies in public sector jobs.
Government has launched a review of processes across the nation for regeneration strategies
The government has launched a review of processes across the nation for regeneration strategies, in a move intended to support the economic development of the poorest regions.
It is suggested that ensuring the least prosperous six regions are brought in line with the rest of the UK could contribute up to £60 billion to the national economy, alongside tackling deprivation in such areas.
Local government minister John Healey said: “We want to give local authorities who know their communities best a greater role leading jobs, housing, regeneration and sustainable growth to ensure that no-one is disadvantaged by where they live.”
He added that greater freedom would be provided for local leaders to make the most of their talent pools and to develop a skills framework through education.
The changes which the review will consider include focusing neighbourhood renewal funding on deprives areas, concentrating the role of regional development agencies on increasing economic growth and transferring funding for further education establishments to local authorities’ education budgets.
Meanwhile, the minister’s assertion that new housing would also be provided to support new jobs informs the recent commitment by prime minister Gordon Brown to build three million new homes in the UK by 2020.
NLGN ‘recommendations backed’ for Redesigning Regionalism
The redesign of local government suggested in a government statement, the Sub National Review of Economic Development, takes on board a number of principles set out by the New Local Government Network (NLGN), the think-tank has asserted.
NLGN director Chris Leslie welcomed the government proposals in the review, which he said granted local government partnerships significant devolved decision-making powers.
“The delegation of funds down from the RDAs to councils – for instance the billions devolved to councils in pre-19 skills – is a welcome shift in the balance of power from central to local government,” Mr Leslie observed.
He added that regional development agencies, given broader responsibilities but subject to more stringent evaluation, would be able to provide a mast of leadership for their region.
In recent planning news this week, NLGN responded to government proposals on waste stating that waste charge plans should be determined at a local level.
More on regional recruitment portals.
CIH investigating disabled candidate attraction and support
New research investigating ways that housing organisations can help disabled people looking to pursue a career in the sector is being undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).
It is the second phase of research into the subject carried out by the institute and follows data suggesting that significant interest has been expressed in an initiative by both education centres and employers.
Proposals which have sparked the interest of such institutions include the development of a trainee scheme which combines academic study with work experience.
Research now being undertaken by the CIH is funded by an advisory group of housing organisations and will use an online survey to investigate means of developing the careers of disabled people hoping to engage with the housing recruitment system.
Martin Winn, CIH director of professional development, said: “There is a strong ethical and business case underpinning the project which all employers in the sector can benefit from.
“We hope employers will take part in the survey to help us gauge demand and support the design of a sustainable trainee scheme”.
In recent days the CIH welcomed new commitments from prime minister Gordon Brown to build more affordable housing – with three million homes set to be built by 2020.
Brown cites housing as a top priority
Gordon Brown has pledged that he will address the UK’s growing housing crisis as a top priority during his term of office.
Preparing to outline his first legislative programme, the new prime minister has insisted that housing in the future will be more affordable, with more unused public and brownfield land freed up for development and new house-building programmes established.
Unveiling plans for new legislation ahead of the Queen’s Speech this autumn, Mr Brown announced that he would carry out extensive public consultation on proposals, which include plans to provide new forms of finance for homebuyers, such as 20-year fixed rate mortgages.
“You are not going to solve this problem overnight but you can make housing more affordable for a large number of people who have been squeezed out of the market,” he told BBC Radio 4.
The housing minister now has a place in the cabinet and Mr Brown wants to improve social housing, with more homes to rent across the UK and local authorities given greater power to boost access to the property market. A target of three million new homes by 2020 has been set by the new prime minister to improve affordability.
Creating more affordable housing in Britain is likely to lead to more planning jobs and proposed improvements to the education and health services announced by Mr Brown will boost the number of public sector jobs available.
Public housing bucks construction trend
A slowing in the pace of growth in the construction sector was not felt in the public housing market, according to new figures from one industry body.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has observed that, while the construction sector across the UK remains strong and above its survey’s long-run average, there was a general slowing in growth in the last three months.
However, growth in public-sector housing continued to increase at the same pace as in the previous quarter, with Scotland demonstrating the fastest expansion to workloads.
Despite the slight downturn in other markets, confidence remains high, Rics suggests.
Rics senior economist David Stubbs said: “Construction projects in the public-housing sector are leading the way.
“With the economy running at almost full capacity and spurring on business investment, the construction boom is steady and sustainable.”
Rics provides information and commentary on matters of land, construction, property and environmental concerns on both commercial and public sector issues.
Cooper ‘to announce the return of the council house’
Housing minister Yvette Cooper is set to announce a green paper promoting the return of council house building by local authorities, it has emerged.
The Independent has reported that Ms Cooper has discussed the move with ministerial colleagues, stressing that rather than returning to the estates of previous decades, councils will be able to commission more homes suitable for families.
It is hoped that, through the green paper’s proposals, many first-time buyers will be able to gain a foot on the housing ladder, since councils will be encouraged to build a wide range of affordable properties and offer them on a range of terms, for instance allowing for partial ownership.
One former minister told the publication that it was the biggest change to the sector since Mrs Thatcher introduced the “right to buy”.
The post of housing minister was newly created last week as part of prime minister Gordon Brown’s cabinet reshuffle and now heads up a separate department Communities and Local Government.