Archives for September 2008
CIH unveils housing jobs scheme
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has unveiled plans to help more people with disabilities get jobs within the housing sector.
Moves by the institute will see it help 120 adults with disabilities to find work with housing organisations across Britain over the next five years.
In addition, individuals on the scheme will receive mentoring and training, while housing organisations will benefit from support on how best to adapt and benefit from the talents of those people with disabilities.
Overall, the scheme is worth some £480,000.
It was also reported that those with disabilities account for a high proportion of those living in social housing.
Richard Warrington, manager for the CIH project, said: "Disabled people are over-represented in social housing as a proportion of the population and under-represented as the employees of housing organisations."
In other news, the Liberal Democrats recently reported that housing associations and councils should have more power to be able to purchase land to build social housing developments.
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Cowlin reports student housing jobs boost
Housing jobs at construction firm Cowlin have been given a boost by the demand for student accommodation in Wales, it has been revealed.
The Western Mail reports that some 2,800 residential units have already been constructed by the Cardiff-based firm.
A total of more than £150 million has been created through the housing jobs undertaken by the company since 2004.
Now it is to work on further student accommodation in Wales, including domiciles at Winchester and Bangor.
Divisional managing director David Harris tells the publication: "We are acutely aware of the unique challenges of working within occupied and operational educational establishments."
He adds that the company therefore collaborates with its clients in an attempt to minimise exposure to any disruption the construction process could cause.
Initially founded in 1834, Cowlin was known as William Cowlin & Son until the decision was taken to change the name to Cowlin Construction Limited in 1997.
Norcare launches housing scheme
A new housing scheme targeting those from vulnerable sections of the community has been launched, it has been revealed.
The Move On initiative has been rolled out by housing charity Norcare and will see the organisation purchase up to ten properties across the north-east each year which it will then lease to those consumers who are already using its services.
In addition, the charity will provide support to other housing providers struggling to find accommodation for vulnerable people.
Susan Bickerton, chief executive of Norcare, reported that the availability of social housing has diminished as an increasing number of landlords look to rent their properties "to tenants who they consider to be less of a risk".
"This has created a black hole for people in need of supported housing and we have moved to fill that void," she stated.
Worth a total more than £3 million, the scheme was opened by housing minister Caroline Flint.
Such news could be of interest to those with housing jobs.
Earlier this week the National House Building Council revealed that applications to build social housing developments between June and August were up by eight per cent compared to the same period in 2007.
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Viability reviews of housing associations to get underway
The Housing Corporation has announced details of its 2008 assessment into the financial viability of housing associations, it has been revealed.
Under the plans, the corporation is set to establish a panel consisting of five members from the institutions and two external consultants from a rotating panel of the following firms: PKF, the Tribal Group, KPMG and Grant Thornton.
The panel will look to review the assessments made by regional financial appraisal teams to make sure any housing associations which are struggling through the current economic decline.
Such news could be of interest to with housing association jobs.
Clare Miller, director of regulation for the Housing Corporation, said that the new validation process has been "designed to provide enhanced comfort to those who depend on our assessments – including the soon to be launched Homes and Communities Agency, the wider lending market, boards and tenants".
She went on to report that the system will be transferred over to the new social housing regulator Tenant Services Authority, which is set to be launched in December 2008.
Earlier this month Wayne Hemingway, chair of Building for Life, offered advice to housing associations on the planning and construction of affordable homes.
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Staffordshire housing body secures NHF accolade
South Staffordshire Housing Association has won a prestigious prize from the National Housing Federation (NHF), it has been revealed.
In news that may be of interest to those with jobs in housing, the association was named as the overall winner at the federation’’s annual Neighbourhood Awards ceremony.
The award was given for the housing body’’s Independent Living project, which looks to reduce waiting lists for the adaptation of properties for those people with disabilities.
Robert Marshall, deputy leader for community services at South Staffordshire council, said: "Our partnership with South Staffordshire Housing Association on this project is proving to be a great success."
The win follows up the association topping the What We Are Proud Of category at the NHF’’s midlands regional final Neighbourhood awards event held earlier this year.
In other news, the NHF recently revealed that about one in ten people across England directly benefited from the neighbourhood services offered by a housing association during the past 12 months.
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Social housing applications ”on the up”
Despite the difficulties being experienced by the residential property sector as a whole, there continues to be demand for social housing, it has been reported.
In figures released by the National House Building Council (NHBC) it was revealed that applications to build social housing developments rose by eight per cent between June and August in comparison to the same period in 2007 to stand at 10,432.
Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of the NHBC, pointed out that the social housing sector "is currently showing more resilience to the downturn" than the private housebuilding industry.
However, over the same length of time requests to build private homes stood at 14,665, with this figure representing a fall of 65 per cent from the equivalent period last year.
Such news might be of interest to those seeking jobs in planning.
Earlier this month Anthony Mayer, chairman of the Tenant Services Authority, recently claimed that those working for housing associations should be more proactive in their provision of social housing.
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Housing associations receive new guidance
New advice has been given to those with housing jobs in regards to the planning and construction of affordable property developments, it has been revealed.
Speaking at the annual National Housing Federation (NHF) conference, Wayne Hemingway, chair of Building for Life, commented on the launch of a new guide – "Achieving Building for Life" – which explains some of the various technical terms and concepts involved with such housing projects.
Steve Douglas, chief executive of the Housing Corporation, claimed that reaching standards of high quality design is a key requirement of the organisation’’s investment programme and is "a core objective of the new Homes and Communities Agency".
Meanwhile, Mr Hemingway claimed that publication will help those working for housing associations to take the lead in "delivering great places to live, work and play".
Building for Life is the national benchmark for English housing developments, with those properties built following investment from the Housing Corporation’’s £8.4 billion 2008-11 National Affordable Housing Programme required to meet such standards.
Earlier this month, Neil Griffiths, spokesperson for the NHF, commended plans to give housing associations more money to carry on building homes during the credit crunch.
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Associations ‘’should improve social housing”
Those working for housing associations should do more to improve their provision of social housing services, it has been reported.
Speaking at a National Housing Federation conference, Anthony Mayer, chairman of the Tenant Services Authority (TSA), also suggested that housing associations and councils must ensure that they communicate with their residents.
He reported that different communities will have differing priorities and demands from housing associations – whether this is tackling anti-social behaviour in the community or carrying out repairs.
Mr Mayer went on to report that there is far too large a gap "between the best and worst-performing housing associations in terms of the deal they give to their tenants and their engagement with their tenants".
"The key is to listen to tenants and not to tell them," the TSA chairman reminded those in the sector.
As such, he claimed housing associations will have to use a number of approaches if they wish to engage effectively with those people who are living in the properties they manage.
Earlier this month, Ruth Davison, director of campaigns and neighbourhoods for the National Housing Federation, claimed that the range of measures unveiled by Gordon Brown in a bid to boost the flagging property sector were deemed to be "excellent news" for social housing.
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One in ten people ”benefit from housing associations”
A tenth of people in England directly benefit from the neighbourhood services provided by those working for housing associations, it has been reported.
In news that could interest people with housing jobs, research by the National Housing Federation showed that some 6,800 projects were made available by such organisations over the course of last year, in areas such as energy-efficiency schemes and business start-up advice, as well as the maintenance of hundreds of local amenities.
Overall, it was claimed that some 5.5 million had made use of such facilities and services during the past 12 months.
David Orr, chief executive of the federation, claimed that housing associations have ploughed some £435 million into such services each year.
He said: "This is the first time a nationwide audit has ever been conducted into the value of the services and facilities housing associations provide."
Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrat party claimed that housing associations should be able to borrow against their assets to purchase land on which to build social housing developments.
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Housing associations ‘’should have more power to increase social properties”
Those working for housing associations and councils should be able to do more to purchase land in which to build residential property during the current financial downturn.
So claims the Liberal Democrat party, where at is autumn conference, it was stated that councils and housing associations should be able to borrow against their assets to buy land and new homes which have laid vacant to use as social housing.
Vince Cable, economic spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, stated: "With rising mortgage repayments and soaring food and fuel bills, many families are finding it impossible to make ends meet."
The political party also reported that those households struggling with mortgage repayments should be able to sell all or part of the equity built up within their home and then rent their property back from a housing association or a private company.
Such comments might be of interest to those people who are seeking jobs in housing.
Earlier this month, the National Housing Federation commended the government for plans to give larger grants to housing associations to help them carry on building homes during the credit crunch.
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