ISSUE 11: SEPTEMBER 2022
Interview: Ian Wardle on rents, Covid-19 and asset management Inspections are coming – are you ready?Making homes safer for longer through adaptations
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fiction 50 The
As his time at Thirteen Group comes to an end, Ian talks about the big issues facing the sector as he gets ready to take on a bigger role.
We’ve got a roundup of the final of the competition, as well as what the finalists thought of the process, and why you should get involved next year.
In issue: Welcome15
14 EVIDENCE HOUSINGQUALITYMAGAZINE 1428 September 2022
Editor,JanisBrightEvidence
News insights 5 Welcome 6 From the Chief Executive 8 Housing by numbers 10 How to solve a problem like social rents Click ListenWatchGet interactive
Published six times a year. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.
22FeaturesNavigating the Building Safety Act
retrofitenergy
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48 Fact
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construction both increases the risk that people
There’s plenty of new rules and regulations on the way. How can you prepare? And what does ‘good’ look like?
28 Interview: Ian Wardle
Evidence
Tel:co.ukgemma.meeks@hqnetwork.to:07548092297
34 Housing’s Next Generation final
CONTENTS Published by RockinghamHQN House St Maurice’s Road YO31York 7JA Editorial Alistair McIntosh Mark Lawrence Janis
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EVIDENCE update Thelatestresearchandanalysis–inplainEnglish Issue38 September2022 Welcome The drastic increases in energy bills are forcing everyone from politicians to housing providers to think about the efficiency of our housing stock. It
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In the frame life in day in the life or last word
Want some analysis of the latest policy in the sector? Our friends at CaCHE and HSA have you covered. modernisdoesn’tmakeprettyreading:ourstockold,muchhasnotbeeninsulatedtostandards,andgasboilersarestillbeingfittedtonewhomes. alsotheThelinksbetweenthestateofourhousingstockandhealthofthepeoplewholiveinthosehomesareinthespotlight.Inthisissue fromtheUniversityofGlasgowcalls therecentCaliforniatheearlyprison,forbasedqualitylowestandinsulationprogrammestargetedtothosewiththeincomeswhoarelikelytobelivingpoorhousing,especiallyintheprivaterentedsector.AndstayingwithGlasgow,largescalepopulation-researchtracesthemultiplehealthdisadvantagepeoplewhoarehomelessandalsoexperiencedrugaddictionorpsychosis.Theriskofandeathisfargreateramongthesegroupsthangeneralpopulation.Turningtotherelatedissueofclimatechange,hasseenhugedamagefromwildfiresinyears.Nowresearchidentifieshousebuildinginareasofgreatestfireriskasakeyproblem.Thenew willpublishedfacilitatingfromhousingbuildinginitiativesprogrammeincreaselevels.the‘affordable’achievehousingthemorereducedtheignitefires,andalsomakesitmoredifficulttoachievenaturallow-intensityfirethathashistoricallytheriskout-of-controlspread.PartofCalifornia’sproblemisthepressuretocreatehousingthatwouldbeaffordable.ThisisalsocaseinItaly.Here,researchersfoundthatsocialfundedinpartbygovernmentdidnotalwaystheresultsintended.ThehousingshouldofferrentsbelowmarketratesbutinpracticehousinginsomeareascostmorethanmarketInTaiwan,housingpressuresalsoledtoabiginthecreationsocialhousing.Theisland’sisonlydecadeold,andinterestingareunderwaytoincreasethecommunityandtenantparticipationaspectsofthenewschemes.ResearcherslookedhowlessonsJapanandtheUSAcanbroughtbearinlocalinitiatives.Andfinally,wehaveourregularroundupofnewlyresearchbyHQNAssociateEmmaLindley.
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Welcome to the September edition of Housing Quality Magazine.
On the topic of support, we also give you a guide through the incoming inspections regime as we see it. We’ve plenty of help available, with some top tips in a variety of areas.
Our topical feature is on a hugely important topic: rent setting. As we wait to see what the inflation figure is later this month, we set out some practical ways in which the sector can try and get on top of the situation and areas in which we can provide support.
You’ll also find our regular Evidence special, with thanks to our partners CaCHE and HSA. This time we look at the latest research on homelessness deaths, retrofit and building homes in wildfire hazard areas.
Keeping on with the safety theme, we look at the importance of adaptations in homes and how installing stigma-free design throughout housing stock can improve residents’ health, prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and save the organisation money.
Mark SeniorLawrence,ContentEditor, HQN
With new legislation and regulations coming into force over the past year, housing providers will need to make sure they’re up to speed on safety.
NEWS INSIGHTS 5HOUSING QUALITYSEPTEMBERMAGAZINE2022
Our views section contains some interesting reads, from tips for income collectors to the Housing Ombudsman’s column on improving record keeping. We’ve also got a resident’s perspective on how to better engage residents in safety.Finally, our spotlight section does exactly that and shines a light on the people that make the sector tick. With a Day in the Life of a Building Safety Manager to a CEO’s journey from Wales to Guernsey, there’s plenty to get stuck into.
They also offer information on areas of improvement, as well as a timeline of how the secondary legislation will develop.
Elsewhere in the edition, I interview Thirteen Group’s outgoing CEO, Ian Wardle. He looks back on his time as the Northeast landlord’s boss, as well as at some of the big issues currently facing the sector.
As always, if you have any feedback for the magazine or would like to be involved in a future edition, please email me: mark.lawrence@hqnetwork.co.uk
This month’s cover feature is in collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive, giving you a guide to the Building Safety Act and what the Building Safety Regulator expects from providers.
welcomeEditor’s
I hope you enjoy the edition.
we’ve got to see things from the customer’s point of view and act on it. Tenants aren’t asking for the moon. All they want is for us to be honest and provide reliable services.
precise e-mails too. Like it or not, they were unforgiving on poor written English. But these are the standards you need to meet if you want to call yourself a professional. Leaders should put in place programmes to make sure staff hit the mark. There is nowhere to hide as ‘Ofstedstyle’ inspectors are bound to probe here.
We know the disaster at Grenfell had its roots in ill-considered attempts to save money. Landlords have got to pin down what they need to spend to bring their homes up to a good standard.Housing must professionalise and government needs to help us find the cash to create effective landlords with homes to be proud of. We know only too well the risks of bodging like amateurs.
Before lockdown staff picked up a lot of good (and bad) practice on the job by working side by side with more experienced people. What impact will working from home more bring? I’m not sure. Trainee operatives will continue to do their jobs on site so nothing much should change there. Surely, estate managers are better out in the field than in the office anyway? Do the leaders need to go to the staff rather than the staff coming to the office? I talk to people I respect who make a good case for getting back to the office more and those that want to keep going with hybrid working.Finally, you can’t be professional without money. Everyone I talk to tells me that workloads have increased dramatically since lockdown. If pay levels fall behind other less stressful jobs we will struggle to get the right calibre of people.
NEWS INSIGHTS HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 20226
Over the last couple of years, I’ve worked with our Housing’s Next Generation of young leaders and the Housing Diversity Network’s mentees. There are some fantastic people coming through. But we need more of them. That’s the prize within the grasp of the government’s professionalisation review.
We need to step up professionalisationon From the Chief Executive...
One big lesson from the Grenfell Inquiry is that staff need the right sort of training. The lawyers went through each and every job to identify the skills and knowledge required. Then they asked staff witnesses what training they had received. All too often the answer was little or none. Crucially, the lawyers did not accept housing degrees at face value but drilled down to find out if the staff members had received training pertinent to their actual responsibilities.
Staff can only do that if leaders shape up too. When staff complain about blockages like slow IT, pointless procedures, and duff contractors, leaders must sort these out.
The lawyers at the Grenfell Inquiry were firm on the need for accurate record keeping and
We need staff who know what’s what and who can get things done. That means they directly answer questions from tenants and don’t let matters lie. It’s far too easy to get bogged down in sending ping-pong e-mails between departments and/or contractors. We want staff with the right attitude which means a relentless focus on bringing each and every job or enquiry to the best possible conclusion.
It’s time to get a lot more professional. That’s the message coming loud and clear from the Grenfell Inquiry, ITV News and far too many Ombudsman reports. So, what’s gone wrong and how do we fixFirstly,it?
But let’s not dismiss degrees. Graduate trainee schemes with the right content can be a good way of growing your own experts. The Grenfell Inquiry exposed the shortcomings of over relying on outside consultants of dubious quality. There is a big – and dangerous – gap in our defences here that the universities can help us to close.
Health and Safety Network residentdownconferenceannual–countingtoaneweraofsafety Thursday 22 September 2022 The clock is ticking on safety. New legislation and regulatory requirements will place new responsibilities on social housing providers. The cost-of-living crisis and climate change pose safety challenges of their own. Are you prepared? Find out at this year’s Health and Safety Network annual conference. Speakers include: • Chair: Debbie Larner, Lead Associate Health and Safety Network, HQN • Isobel Ames, Policy Lead – Social Housing Safety, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) • Matthew Breakell, Partner Regulatory – Safety, Health & Environment, DAC Beachcroft • Paul Dockerill, Director of Energy & Programme Management, whg • Alison Harvey, Group Asbestos Manager, Gentoo • James Carpenter, Head of Strategic Fire Safety, L&Q • Michelle Rice, Head of Construction Safety, L&Q • Mark Sayer, Director of Safety & Resilience, Abri VirtualGroupconference To book your place hqnetwork.co.uk/hqneventsvisit
council homes the Mayor of London aims to build after beating his previous target of 10,000 (City
the amount the Social Housing Pension Scheme’s deficit has fallen by
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Housing numbersby
of adults in Great Britain are using less gas and electricity in their home due to the cost-ofliving crisis (ONS)
organisations on the newly-formed ASB panel (DLUHC)
rate of inflation in August, the first time the country has had double figures since February 1982
Stamp Duty rebates if households install heat pumps and energy efficiency measures within 24 months, in a new idea pitched by a think tank (Onward)
NEWS INSIGHTS HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 20228
increase in the number of people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness in the past year (DLUHC)
households could be in fuel poverty by October (National Energy Action)
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• The CPI increase is based on the September figures which will come out on October 19 – CPI for July was at 10.1%
NEWS INSIGHTS HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 202210
• The one-year 5% ceiling will yield welfare savings of £4.6bn over a five-year period while a two-year ceiling saves £7.9bn
• The options for rents are to do nothing and leave the consumer price index (CPI) +1% policy in place or to keep going with CPI +1% subject to a 3%, 5% or 7% ceiling
• Housing associations will lose an estimated £4.9bn over a five-year period based on a 5% rent ceiling for 2023/24 only, if the cap runs into 2024/25 the loss rises to £8.4bn
• Landlords should “endeavor” to keep service charges within the cap too
The rent cap: It’s one step forwards and two steps back for housing business plans
By Alistair McIntosh and Ian Parker.
• The preferred option is the 5% ceiling to strike a balance between what tenants can afford while keeping landlords viable
• The 5% ceiling will run for 2023/24 only or for an additional year
The government agreed a deal with landlords to allow annual rent increases for tenants at the rate of CPI + 1% to bring stability to housing. The idea was that landlords would go on to make firm plans for net zero, regeneration and development. As it turns out, the government has as much ability to predict inflation as King Canute had to stop the tide.
• The consultation on the rent cap ends on October 12.
Uncharted: How to map the future together, Margaret Heffernan
• Councils will lose an estimated £2.5bn over a five-year period based on a 5% rent ceiling for 2023/24 only, if the cap runs into 2024/25 the loss rises to £4.3bn
their executives believe that these are accurate – in private they roll their eyes –but because old habits die hard, you have to start somewhere and an old broken system offers security, however false.”
Commentary
“…housing associations are required by law to present five- and 30-year plans, not because
The consultation paper gives us the big figures for the losses against a CPI+1% rent hike of around 11%. But according to the financial forecast returns sent to the RSH, most landlords hadn’t been planning for an increase anything like this. In fact, the 5% ceiling will give them more cash than they were expecting. Here’s a chart showing the significant boost the 5% rise gives a sample landlord:
The cost-of-living crisis is coming home to roost. Our government is trying to get prices under control and now it’s our turn. For most of the summer well-informed rumours of a rent cap have been circulating. And so, it’s come to pass. Here are the main points from the government’s consultation paper:
• The ceiling applies to social and affordable rents
What do you need to do?
business plan – but it’s two steps back when you factor in a modest 5% increase in operating costs and a mere 1% increase in arrears. Don’t forget that research for the NHF finds that repair and maintenance material costs went up by 14% in the year to July. See how the graph flips and huge losses arise.
4. Make sure you comply with the rent standard
NEWS INSIGHTS 11HOUSING QUALITYSEPTEMBERMAGAZINE2022
1. Model the options
The rules get more complex every year and the RSH is there to make sure that councils and housing associations stick to the letter of the law. So, take care here. There’s some flexibility
If it’s a 5% increase, that will be a blow to tenants on top of other price rises for essentials. What support can you give tenants? Do you know who’s likely to need help? Early and personalised interventions work best. Could you offer up disused offices as heat banks for tenants? Good communications will be vital. Residents need to know you are pulling out all the stops to help them. What are you doing to save money? How do your costs of service compare to others? People may be desperate and use alternative forms of heating and cheap e-bikes to get around. So, there should be a campaign to alert residents to the fire risks here. Make sure tenants know who to talk to and that staff are watching out for people. If tenants switch off heating then damp and mould problems will only get worse.
2. Help the tenants
four million households in social housing? You can just hear the Martin Lewis comments.
Shared owners could be looking at a double digit rent increases. Why’s that? It’s because these rents move in line with the retail price index. Right now, RPI is at 12.3%. Usually, it sits a bit higher than CPI. This increase will arrive at the same time as mortgage payments go up. You know what’s coming! An avalanche of bad publicity and perhaps lasting damage to shared ownership. The consultation says nothing about a cap on shared ownership. But landlords need to think carefully about what levels of rent and service charges are realistic to pass on.
Find out what the 5% ceiling does to your finances. Would you still be viable? What would you have to cut? Is safety compromised? Will your services stand up to scrutiny from the Housing Ombudsman and RSH “Ofsted-style” inspection?Giventhe cost-of-living crisis, tenants won’t welcome any rent increase at all. You need to plan for zero or a 3% ceiling, as a 5% price increase is very steep. Will the government and social housing sector be able to ‘sell’ 5% to the
3. Help the shared owners
7. Should you apply for an exemption from the Thisceiling?isindeed a possibility according to the consultation paper. We expect the bar to be set high. You will need to show that:
Many staff will be struggling with the cost of living too. What are you planning to do? Attempts to hold down wages may result in staff leaving or going on strike. Contractors are feeling the pinch also. How are you supporting the good contractors that you need to keep?
• You have looked at every conceivable option to save money
Councils will face pressure on all services. This may result in a drive to combine departments to save money. That is fine so long as the HRA ring fence holds tight and there is a controlling mind making sure you’re up to the challenges of the Housing Ombudsman and consumer regulation.
over rents for new lets and for charging higher rents to higher income tenants. It might be worth exploring these options.
• There will be serious adverse consequences if lower income halts things like fire safety work.
6. Examine solutions – critically
All our networks have been taking steps to address the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. We can assist with stress testing the business plan, complying with the rent standard, income collection, value for money exercises, resident consultation, stock condition and assetContactmanagement.AnnaPattison to discuss by calling 01904 557195 or emailing anna.pattison@ hqnetwork.co.uk
• Will better IT and transformation programmes ride to the rescue? It’s a possibility. But these can backfire and result in large impairments. This is an option only open to landlords that are highly skilled in this area and/or exceptionally well advised.
Let’s hope the new PM listens and puts cash into making our homes warmer and cheaper to heat.
How can HQN help?
NEWS INSIGHTS HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 202212
• Can you get finance on better terms? This will be difficult as interest rates are rising. Funders may agree to soften covenants – but the RSH will disregard this and use their own interest cover test when assessing your viability
• The data you rely on for stock condition and viability is rock solid
For housing associations, it’s likely that any exemption will be time limited. Perhaps it will be conditional on saving money through a merger. But beware: any wise merger partner will look under the bonnet to make sure they’re not taking on a liability that will get them into trouble down the line on financial or consumer regulation.
5. Look after your staff and contractors
8. Work as if you live in the early days of a better Stephennation Fitzpatrick the founder of OVO Energy has called for action. He wrote in The Telegraph: “One of the biggest blunders of the last 10 years is how little we have done to tackle energy waste… we have some of the least efficient housing in Europe…but improving energy efficiency will save money, improve our energy independence and will create tens of thousands of jobs.”
• Briefings for councils on the expectations of the RSH at their in-depth assessments
To find out more contact Anna Pattison in confidence on 01904 557197 or anna.pattison@hqnetwork.co.uk
If we do get a 5% cap on rents that’s a huge increase for hard pressed tenants. But at the same time, it falls well short of the price rises landlords are seeing for goods and services. How will you square the circle? Let’s not forget the shared owners who could well see double digit rent hikes. So, with rising costs and falling incomes it’s a tough time all round. And life is set to get even more demanding with the introduction of ‘Ofsted-style’ inspections for our services.
• Events, training, and selfassessment toolkits for all aspects of consumer services
• Training courses on all aspects of housing management and maintenance to boost professionalism
Living with the rent ceiling –HQN has got it covered, thanks to you
• Confidential stress testing to pin down the impact of the rent ceiling versus rising costs on your business plan (including considering the pros and cons of applying for an exemption from the ceiling)
• Sharing good practice on health and safety through our Health and Safety Network
• Sharing good practice with peers on income collection and supporting residents through our Rent Income Excellence Network and Residents’ Network
• Access to professional advice on treasury and financing deals from Adrian Jolliffe at 2tix
• Pooling live information on setting and monitoring service standards across the Housing Quality Network and our service specific networks
• Events, training, and health checks to give you vital information on complying with the Rent Standard
Helping you to manage within the rent ceiling
• Reviewing complaint handling by experts with long track records of working at the Housing Ombudsman Service.
Overall, the government calculates that a 5% ceiling for one year will take £4.9bn out of housing association business plans with councils set to lose What£2.5bn.can
HQN do to help you? Here are a few examples of what we’re already doing with members. If you want something not on the list – please ask us.
• Membership of our Finance Network gives access to our easy-to-use downloadable model to assess the cash impact of merging
• Sharing good practice on driving VfM across our Leasehold, Asset Management and Estate Services networks.
• Interactive board and councillor training on stress testing so they can make better-informed decisions
• Indicative methodologythoroughlyinspections:‘Ofsted-style’HQNhasroadtestedouracrossLondonboroughsnorthernandsouthernstocktransferassociationsanationalassociationaspecialistassociation
Getting ready for inspection
The drastic increases in energy bills are forcing everyone from politicians to housing providers to think about the efficiency of our housing stock.
16 The high cost of building homes in wildfire hazard areas
Turning to the related issue of climate change, California has seen huge damage from wildfires in recent years. Now research identifies house building in the areas of greatest fire risk as a key problem. The new
14 EVIDENCE HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022
Welcome
It doesn’t make for pretty reading: our stock is old, much hasn’t been insulated to modern standards, and gas boilers are still being fitted to new homes.
housing pressures also led to a big increase in the creation of social housing. The island’s programme is only a decade old, and interesting initiatives are underway to increase the community building and tenant participation aspects of the new housing schemes. Researchers looked at how lessons from Japan and the USA can be brought to bear in facilitating local initiatives.
The research and analysis –
And staying with Glasgow, large scale populationbased research traces the multiple health disadvantage for people who are homeless and who also experience prison, drug addiction or psychosis. The risk of an early death is far greater among these groups than in the general population.
Janis Editor,BrightEvidence
in plain English Issue 38 | September 2022
14 Welcome
15 Combining retrofit action with tackling health inequalities
16 Risk of early death increases with homelessness and other disadvantage
18 What does ‘affordable’ housing mean?
19 Research roundup
EVIDENCE update
Part of California’s problem is the pressure to create more housing that would be affordable. This is also the case in Italy. Here, researchers found that social housing funded in part by government did not always achieve the results intended. The housing should offer ‘affordable’ rents at below market rates but in practice the housing in some areas cost more than market levels.InTaiwan,
In this issue:
18 Taiwan placemaking offers a new approach in social housing
latest
construction both increases the risk that people will ignite fires, and also makes it more difficult to achieve the natural low-intensity fire that has historically reduced the risk of out-of-control spread.
The links between the state of our housing stock and the health of the people who live in those homes are also in the spotlight. In this issue Annika Hjelmskog from the University of Glasgow calls for retrofit energy and insulation programmes targeted at those with the lowest incomes – who are likely to be living in poor quality housing, especially in the private rented sector.
And finally, we have our regular roundup of newly published research by HQN Associate Emma Lindley.
We have good evidence on what causes health inequalities. To reduce them, we need to focus on the unequal social conditions that drive unequal health outcomes, with an emphasis of support for people who are most disadvantaged. This ‘proportionate universalism’ means resourcing and delivering universal services at a scale and intensity proportionate to the degree of need.
• Affordability: current measures don’t support households living in the private rented sector, even those on low incomes, whose landlords aren’t prepared to make a significant contribution to the costs of the improvements. Better use of means testing and progressive funding, combined with
For housing retrofit to take a health equity approach, it needs to be implemented with the following principles in mind:
Housing retrofit is an essential public health intervention, writes Annika Hjelmskog from the University of Glasgow. We cannot meet our climate change targets without decarbonising our housing stock, and the CCC has repeatedly identified large gaps in existing policy efforts. This urgent priority creates an opportunity to reduce the health harms associated with fuel poverty and inefficient housing
• Proportionate universality: benefits of retrofit need to be available to everyone, but with targeted additional support to those who need it the most. Support should not be allocated competitively, which creates winners and losers
Actions needed
EVIDENCE 15HOUSING QUALITYSEPTEMBERMAGAZINE2022
• Ease of access: a unified service/single point of contact is needed to reduce the fragmentation of services and the amount of effort and agency required. Our current system requires time, energy and different forms of capital, which disadvantages particular groups
These health harms are not felt equally, however, and the impacts of spiralling energy costs will be felt disproportionately by both those who live in poorly-insulated housing, as well as those with low incomes. As we witness a perfect storm of injustice for poor households, these intersecting crises create an opportunity for policymakers to address health inequalities, energy poverty and climate breakdown through holistic retrofit action in the right places.
Combining retrofit action with tackling health inequalities
Our existing efforts are falling short, and much retrofit assistance is only on offer to the owners of homes (owner-occupiers and landlords). Yet the largely unregulated private rented sector (particularly at the lower end) is home to the highest proportion of fuel poor households. Social landlords/registered providers have been able to apply for retrofit funding, but this has typically been on a competitive basis (such as the Sustainable Warmth competition, now closed).
Other attempts to boost or accelerate energy efficiency measures in homes have been either extremely short lived or scrapped before they could achieve their goals. Installation of insulation in lofts and cavity walls has plummeted since 2012, when grant support for households via the Green Deal was scrapped under Prime Minister David Cameron. Similarly, the Green Homes Grant scheme in England was only open 2020-2021 and was described as a “slam dunk
Thefail”.short-term, reactive response to entrenched issues is the antithesis to a public health approach, which would argue that prevention is better than cure. As with recent ‘sticking plaster’ responses to the rising energy prices, offering one-off emergency vouchers or loans can deal with neither the root causes of the issue (neoliberal energy markets, poverty and inequality) nor the long-term problems that make these worse (historically poor housing quality, old housing stock).
• Empowerment: delivery is needed at all levels, and local authorities and community organisations are essential players in this, but they need national support to enable and equip (including with finance) them to fulfil their role
Gathering data from more than half a million Glasgow residents over a five-year span, they found that premature death was much more likely among people experiencing both homelessness and several of the other indicators than those who experienced only one. And experiencing any of the indicators was also more likely to lead to premature death than among people who experience none.
The grim links between poor health and homelessness are brought into the spotlight once again, in a study from Glasgow.
California is increasingly experiencing extreme weather, including wildfires – and the pace at which the wildfires have ignited has dramatically risen in the last two decades. Since 2017 alone, several thousand homes have been lost to wildfires and dozens of residents have been killed. In addition, the smoke from the fires is causing widespread air pollution.
How can the need for new homes be met in areas that are at risk of wildfire? That’s the question posed by researchers from California, USA, which has seen devastating fires in recent years.
The high cost of building homes in wildfire hazard areas
had a 2·4 times greater risk of premature death than those who didn’t. The combination of homelessness, opioid dependence and involvement in the justice system was particularly high risk for early mortality.
They add: “These findings suggest the need for wideranging policy and service efforts across the population to prevent these experiences and mitigate associated poor health outcomes.”
Risk of early death increases with homelessness and other disadvantage
We need to insulate as many homes as possible, quickly – but huge escalations in fuel poor households (and more to come in October) makes it essential to target this activity at the households with the lowest incomes and least efficient homes first. Through housing retrofit we can improve the wellbeing of our population while stopping our depletion of nature’s resources, if we just take care to embed justice for both public and planetary health.
Premature mortality in people affected by cooccurring homelessness, justice involvement, opioid dependence, and psychosis: a retrospective cohort study using linked administrative data Emily J Tweed, Alastair H Leyland, David Morrison, S Vittal https://bit.ly/3pnUJocKatikireddi
Of the population studied, 2.4% made a homelessness application, 1.4% received opiate substitute therapy, 2% either went to prison or had a court report in the absence of prison, and under 1% were recorded as experiencing psychosis.
universal obligations for property owners to meet insulation standards could address some of this gap • Holistic/joined-up thinking: this policy issue needs to be understood in terms of the wider system it sits within – it won’t be enough to simply retrofit the homes of those who can afford it, and we could lose the opportunity of creating co-benefits (such as the green, sustainable, good quality jobs needed for a Just Transition) that are also vital components for ‘levelling up’ health.
16 EVIDENCE HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022
The most significant finding was that most of the causes of premature death were either preventable or treatable. In other words, many of the deaths could be avoided with timely and appropriate interventions.
Researchers writing in The Lancet tracked the links between an early death and people experiencing homelessness, drug addiction, prison and psychosis.
The authors suggest that current public health and health care provision is “failing to benefit many of those with the experiences of interest, creating unjust inequalities in risk of death”.
The study found that people who experienced homelessness alone (not any of the other indicators) accounted for almost 2% of the Glasgow population yet
The authors say the findings could help identify groups particularly at risk. They also call for more attention on preventing and treating non-communicable illnesses among these groups. Current policy tends to focus on communicable diseases.
While climate change is undoubtedly contributing to the increased wildfire incidence, researchers have also identified building in the ‘wildland-urban interface’ (WUI) as a critical factor. These are areas of high fire risk, and once homes have been built there it also makes it more difficult to generate low-intensity fire that’s historically a means of avoiding catastrophic wildfire.Theresearchers looked at the use of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), by which local authorities can mitigate developments in high fire risk
The researchers found that generally the fire risk assessment looked at schemes individually, not landscape-wide. Thus, the focus was on making the buildings and surroundings more resilient. Similarly, the fire protection plan tended to focus on whether the building was safer, had sprinklers, etc, and whether residents could evacuate easily.
Eric Biber & Moira https://bit.ly/3C5swdiO’Neill
The researchers studied three counties in California that have approved new developments in high or very high fire hazard areas. They found that in San Diego before 2018 the CEQA was little used in decisions on WUI development and that most development was in these areas. More recently it’s been implemented in somewhat reducing development in those areas. By contrast, only a small percentage of Los Angeles development was allowed in high hazard areas.
Interviewees in the study pointed to developers’ preference for sprawl, as building on former agricultural land was cheaper and more attractive to them.More
Building to Burn? Permitting Exurban Housing Development in High Fire Hazard Zones
There was little or no consideration of whether a development would increase the risk of fire in the area, the researchers said.
Using risk assessment
Several legal cases are underway alleging inadequate review via CEQA and challenging particular housing developments. The researchers suggest that a way forward to meet housing demand without increasing fire risk will be to concentrate on infill building on already developed land. They speculate that state government will have to intervene more in the planning and development process, and that regional planning and analysis for fire hazard will be needed.
areas having carried out risk assessment. In theory local authorities have considerable power to limit development but in practice they’re under pressure because of severe housing shortages and lack of affordability.
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review via the CEQA.
recently San Diego has somewhat reduced development in higher risk areas – but two thirds of all new units were still in these areas. Nevertheless, the schemes did undergo more stringent environmental
Taiwan placemaking offers a new approach in social housing
They found that in Bari the systems worked as planned and affordable rents remained relatively low. In contrast, ‘affordable’ rents in Milan often ended up being higher than market rents. The Milan schemes therefore were “failing to meet the primary goal of the law” to create affordable homes.
The researchers noted that the great majority of
But more recently there has been a ‘flurry’ of experimentation with a more placeshaping-led approach, where residents are encouraged to become active and participate in the management of their housing.Thelocal community-driven ideas stemmed from a longstanding approach in Japan, and also from community activism mainly by ethnic minority groups in the USA. A Youth Innovation in Social Housing (YISH) programme was chosen as the vehicle to promote the new approaches.
The researchers conclude that a placeshaping approach can strongly mitigate the potential problems of a fast-paced social housing construction programme that’s ‘hardware led’. The new approach promotes social inclusion and can help to overcome the stigma associated with social housing, they find.
Beyond Conditionality: Community Placemaking in Taiwanese Social Housing Management Hsinko Cinco Yu, Tsai-Hung Lin & Marcin Dabrowski https://bit.ly/3dmhZjt
A study from Italy has questioned how the country’s affordable rents policy is working in practice.
Social Housing and Affordable Rent: The Effectiveness of Legal Thresholds of Rents in Two Italian Metropolitan Cities Grazia Napoli, Maria Rosa Trovato and Simona https://bit.ly/3PtcSvpBarbaro
Researchers outline the approach to Taiwan’s social housing, almost all of which has been built in the last decade. The programme is government-driven, with local authorities doing the construction and contracting the management to outside firms. Though influenced by social housing in the Netherlands, the approach is ‘hardware’ first, they say – the focus is on getting the housing built and the tenants living there.
Italy part-funds construction of new affordable housing for people on lower incomes. This housing is termed ‘social housing’ although it isn’t intended for people in the greatest need and poverty. Instead it’s created for people in an intermediate situation who can afford modest rents but not full market prices.
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Three types of stakeholders were recruited to support the community placeshaping initiative. The first were initiators, who chose potential YISH teams and worked to develop the landlord and tenant relationship. This began at the planning stage of developments.Nextcamethe facilitators – planning specialists who worked with potential residents to decide how the YISH initiative would function locally and carry through the development plans. And, finally, there were the placemakers – actually residents whose role was to set up and encourage interest-based clubs, special services for vulnerable or older people, social media channels and so on, in line with the proposals they had made. The aim was for residents to take an active role in shaping their neighbourhood and what happened in it.
Throughout, the idea was to foster actions that promote social inclusion. This stands in contrast to the more widespread ‘conditionality’ approach where residents are given responsibilities as a condition of being allocated a home. Here, YISH residents were chosen for the new housing on the basis of their proposals for community projects.
The rent for the affordable housing is set relative to a benchmark in each locality. The benchmark rent is agreed between national landlords and tenants’ associations in a process promoted by local authorities and regulated by government. They decide what is an acceptable benchmark rent within each of a number of zones for each city. Type and condition of the housing is taken into account. The rents should therefore reflect local conditions. Landlords who agree to set their rents according to the benchmark receive tax breaks. However, not all providers are part of the system.
What does ‘affordable’ housing mean?
The researchers conclude: “The use of the agreed rents as benchmark rents for social housing causes inefficiencies and spatial inequalities.”
A fascinating study from Taiwan considers the island’s very new social housing policies, and how community building can be enhanced.
social housing schemes and most of the funding has gone to northern and central Italy, with few schemes in the south. They chose two examples: Milan in the more prosperous north, and Bari in the economically disadvantaged south.
Homelessness and Children’s Social Care in England
Research roundup
English Housing Survey: a segmentation analysis of private renters
This article published by the European Journal of Homelessness reviews the incidence of homelessness among young people leaving care, the pathway that leads them there, and the evidence base on how this might be prevented. It concludes that we still know far too little about “what works” in this area.
This roundup by HQN Associate Emma Lindley provides a selection of recent research and reports across a range of strategic housing topic areas. If you would like to suggest any research to be included in future editions, please get in touch.
Census 2021 results
Survey 2021: main report
This research report from DLUHC segments private landlords based on patterns of compliance with legislation and good practice when letting a property.
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Housing demand
This report from Homeless Link and NACCOM – The No Accommodation Network – offers an ambitious roadmap for building inclusive homelessness systems.
The end of ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions (England)
moved 25,000 people from the streets into homes of their own
Thissectorarticle from Just Life shares insights from interviews with residents of temporary accommodation who have disabilities on their experience of living in the TA.
Renters and landlords face perfect storm as benefit freeze bites
Howchange.Houston
Faceless, nameless, invisible: a visual content analysis of photographs in US media coverage about ThishomelessnessHousing Studies Journal article (subscription required) highlighted the dehumanising nature of news photographs about homelessness and recommend partnering with the media to raise awareness of stigma and ultimately bring about policy
This annual DLUCH report shares survey findings regarding landlord and letting agent circumstances, properties, tenants and the possible impact of legislative and policy changes in the sector.
Homelessness
This is the end of programme report for the Fulfilling Lives Programme in Nottingham.
Property guardians: headline report
Roadmap for tackling non-UK national homelessness
English Private Landlord Survey: segmenting private landlord compliance
Ending the disconnect: engaging local authorities with private renters
Disability recommendations for the homelessness
Opportunity Fulfilled: The Fulfilling Lives Programme in Nottingham, 2014-2022
This DLUHC report presents findings from a study carried out by CRESR at Sheffield Hallam University exploring property guardianship in England. It found that poor conditions prevail in this sector and that very few local authorities appear to engage with this sector.
This research report from DLUHC segments privately rented households based on the economic and family circumstances that impact their ability to access highquality Englishhousing.PrivateLandlord
Makingreleased.sense(sus) of it
This report from Generation Rent shares key learning from their project working with five local authorities to develop best practice models for engagement with private renters.
This long read from the New York Times reports on how the fourth-largest American city is making progress to ending rough sleeping.
The first results of the Census 2021 have now been
This article from Lichfields looks at the initial Census data, and considers how geography, affordability and housebuilding might offer an understanding of this imbalance and what it means for communities.
This House of Commons Library paper covers the
PRS
This report presents findings from a study to explore local authority enforcement in the private rented sector. The research was commissioned by DLUCH and carried out by Sheffield Hallam University.
Local authority enforcement in the private rented sector: headline report
This article from the NRLA highlights data showing that 820,000 private rented households in Britain experience a shortfall between their housing benefit payment and their monthly rents.
More than £130m in public money handed to housing providers names and shamed by regulator
A Manifesto for Change: Older People’s Care in Social ThisHousingreport from Altair looks at the future role of social housing providers in supplying housing with care.
This reports sets out the recommendations from a group of 30 social housing tenants from across the North of England – this work was commissioned by the Northern Housing Consortium in partnership with five housing associations.
The(England)House of Commons library briefings provides an overview of the regulation of supported exempt accommodation and calls for increased oversight, improved funding and better standards of support
Progress in reducing emissions: 2022 report to ThisParliamentreport from the Climate Change Committee provides their annual assessment of the Government’s performance in combatting climate change – chapter 4 assesses Housingbuildings.supply;indicators of new supply, England: January to March 2022
Slowly,provision.and
This investigation by The Independent and openDemocracy has found that huge sums in housing benefit for “exempt accommodation” have been given to organisations since 2018 despite judgements or notices from the Regulator of Social Housing.
The social value of aids and adaptations
then all at once: reflecting on six years of work and campaigning around exempt accommodation
This is a statistical release from DLUHC on indicators of housing supply.
heat pumps work? What are the costs? Where can they be installed? How does the Boiler Upgrade Scheme work? How does UK progress compare to the rest of Europe?
This Spotlight briefing from Savills shares insights on
Local authority interventions to improve quality in social housing
Development
the emergence of Integrated retirement Communities.
• Events grant scheme enabling members to disseminate and discuss their work,
Meeting the needs of specific groups (disabled, domestic abuse survivors, care leavers, prison leavers, veterans, NRPF/refugees/asylum seekers, etc)
See Followwww.housing-studies-association.orgusontwitter@HSA_UK.
20 EVIDENCE HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022
HowSchemedo
UK Senior Living: The Inflection Point
Research briefing: supported exempt accommodation
• Conference bursaries to early career and/or nonwaged housing researchers and practitioners
background and reactions to the government’s plans to abolish ‘no-fault’ evictions.
A report commissioned by Foundations Independent Living Trust sets out the social value of home
Heat pumps and the Government’s Boiler Upgrade
This DLUHC guide brings together work undertaken by the five local authorities who participated in the 202021 supported housing pilots.
• The prestigious annual Valerie Karn prize for best paper by an early career housing researcher.
The Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury
Thisreformblog
article from Spring Housing reflects on their research and campaigning work to improve quality and accountability in the supported housing sector.
Grey going green? Longevity for our planet and people through Integrated Retirement Communities
Become a member from just £25 a year and access these benefits plus reduced rates to our events.
• Seminar Series grant competition
This report from ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators) shares articles from member organisations exploring a different angle of the net zero challenges and what integrated housing communities can be doing to achieve it.
JOIN NOW!
Supported housing / specialised housing
The Housing Studies Association (HSA) is a UK-wide membership organisation which brings together researchers, practitioners and professionals to promote the study of housing. HSA runs a programme of events including our annual conference and our public lecture on housingrelated themes. The Association also offers:
This report from Future Health and IPPR shows a clear place-based inequality in health – it makes a number of recommendations to ensure more people can live more of their lives in good health.
Low-cost homeownership
This explainer from the Kings Fund explains the different types of health inequality and the different way the term is used.
Embedding informed approaches: trauma, gender and Thisculturedocument shares the Fulfilling Lives LSL learning journey to becoming a more trauma, gender and culturally-informed organisation, and a toolkit for other organisations seeking to implement informed
Sustainable healthcare – practical steps to build back better in the English NHS
Engaged Lives: End of Project Report 2022
The Khan tobacco control review: a magic bullet for health inequalities?
Multiple disadvantage and co-occurring substance use and mental health conditions
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This LGA report guides teams on how to consider sight, sound, smell, and tough, when designing or commissioning spaces.
This research commissioned by Greater Manchester Older People’s Network examines the housing options information provided by each of the local authorities in greater Manchester,
Rates of intimate partner abuse and substance misuse reduced with combined care
This guide published by The Kings Fund aims to support systems to listen to and learn from people and communities about their experience of integrated Drugcare.
Considering and meeting the sensory needs of autistic people in housing
Leadership in strengths-based social care
Partnerships with health and social care sector
information for older people in Greater Manchester
This briefing from the Social Care Institute for Excellence identifies the leadership behaviours and practices associated with successfully implementing and embedding strengths-based approaches in adult social care.
Researchers from King’s College London interviewed participants on a 16-week intervention that simultaneously addresses intimate partner abuse perpetration and substance use.
Evidencerenters.newsletter
editor: Dr Janis email:www.hqnetwork.co.ukBrightevidence@hqnetwork.co.uk follow us on twitter @hqn_news
Engaged Lives is a project run by The Extra Care Charitable Trust and supported by the National Lottery Community Fund. The main aims of the project are to build community and connection amongst the UK’s older population.
Housingapproaches.options
Mapping of domestic abuse services across England and Wales
This report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs focuses on the prevention of drug misuse in vulnerable groups. It explores the factors that contribute to vulnerability and the evidence of what works in preventing misuse.
adaptations – the research explores the stories of the people helped by home improvement agencies to find, fund and use adaptations to their homes.
Healthy foundations: integrating housing as part of the mental health pathway
This Kings Fund article highlights the impact of smoking on health inequalities.
What are health inequalities?
This report from NHS Confederation and HACT explores the steps needed to achieve a more integrated and strategic approach between health, housing and social care.
Understanding integration – how to listen to and learn from people and communities
This report from the Centre for Policy Studies sets out the scale of the discrimination within the benefits system against low-income owners as opposed to working
misuse and prevention review
This report from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner provides the early findings of its mapping exercise.
The Right to Own
This briefing from MEAM explores access to appropriate support and treatment for people facing co-occurring mental health and substance misuse needs.
After the Grenfell Tower fire, major changes were needed on building safety. Five years later the changes are here in the form of the Building Safety Act, which aims to ensure a tragedy such as Grenfell never happens again. With help from the Health and Safety Executive, Mark Lawrence looks at the key areas of the act, where providers need to improve and what the perfect provider looks like on safety.
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SAFETYTHENAVIGATINGBUILDINGACT
Coupled with the new Fire Safety Act and incoming Social Housing Regulation Bill, there’s a lot for providers to be aware of.
• BSR then intends to assess the estimated 13,500 existing buildings in scope over a five-year period from April 2024, with rolling reassessments.
On the Building Safety Act, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) points towards the establishment of the new Building Safety Regulator as one of the key elements of the new legislation.Thenew regulator has “responsibility for oversight of the entire built environment, to promote competence across the industry and deliver the new regulatory regime for high-rise buildings”.Asthebuilding control authority for high-rise buildings, the regulator will oversee the planning, design and construction of new buildings. It will come with a new regulatory regime that will mean new legal responsibilities for buildings over 18m in height (or of at least seven stories) to ensure they’re managed safely. Other key components of the act are:
Ignored and underestimated for far too long by politicians and industry, the passing of the Building Safety Act was welcomed by residents and many in the sector as a fresh start and an opportunity to create a new safety regime after the tragedy at Grenfell Tower.
“The HSE say the sector needs to ‘start thinking about their buildings holistically and how they can ensure they remain safe for the people who live in them’”
which allows residents to raise safety concerns directly to the owners and managers of their buildings — the Building Safety Regulator will step in if resident(s) are being ignored
• A strengthening of the construction products regulatory regime, with new requirements to make sure all construction products on the UK market are safe for their intended use
• A new, clear and proportionate framework for the design, construction and management of safer, high-quality homes
• A duty to register high-rise residential buildings with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) between April and September 2023
New building safety regime timeline:
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• All other duties commencing from October 2023
• Introduction of the ‘accountable persons’
• Those who don’t meet their obligations may face criminal charges
• Building owners won’t legally be able to charge qualifying leaseholders for any costs in circumstances where a building requires cladding to be removed or remediated
• All homeowners have 15 years to claim compensation for sub-standard construction work
• The principal designer and principal contractor will be required to manage building safety risks, with clear lines of responsibility during the design, construction and completion
• Qualifying leaseholders will also have robust protections from the costs associated with non-cladding defects, including waking watches
• A new developer tax and levy on developers to ensure the industry contributes to setting things right
The HSE say the sector needs to “start thinking about their buildings holistically and how they can ensure they remain safe for the people who live in Andthem”.top of making that happen is the importance of accountable persons and developing a safety case for high-rise buildings.
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This includes engaging effectively with residents and involving them in decisions about the safety of the buildings they live in.
Developing a safety case
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ (DLUHC) guidance on the act can be found here
The HSE says the safety case approach will help housing providers “implement measures that are proportionate and effective” and ensure that people in and around high-rise residential buildings are safe and feel safe.
The recently published safety case ‘toolbox’ guides sets out what providers will need to know and do to meet the new requirements of the safety case approach.
There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes in housing providers and local authorities across the country, but where are providers currently not meeting regulations? And what more does the Health and Safety Executive believe can be done in these areas?
The new safety regime will be expecting preparation for this to be starting now, with some key questions for providers: • Are the measures you have in place to prevent
So, how can housing providers make sure they get that right? It all starts with good data and strong management.
In her Building a safer future report, Dame Judith Hackitt highlighted that “the lack of complete, accurate and maintained building information causes a number of challenges”. These include changes that may have been made between original design stage and final construction, building owners not having safety information for the whole lifecycle of the building, and how changes to the building postconstruction may alter its safety.
This will complement existing building and fire safety legislation, requiring that those responsible think critically about the potential fire and structural hazards in their buildings and show how they’re keeping their buildings safe.
As for the accountable person, they will be expected to “really get to know the building they’re responsible for, understand what risks there are, and how they manage them”.
“It also means sharing key information on the buildings characteristics with the regulator and having a robust storage of any important information necessary for managing the building safely”
• How can their concerns be raised and
• What practical measures can you put in place to enable effective communication with your residents? How will you seek their views?
It’smanaged?always
As for providers with high-rise residential buildings, it says: “Social housing providers will need to meet the new legal requirements around safety cases.
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a case of continuous improvement when it comes to safety, with new challenges and changes occurring constantly. The Building Safety Regulator has been clear about what it wants to see in terms of the industry as a whole, but what does it believe a “good social housing provider” looks like?
The Building Safety Act secondary legislation consultations are currently live and the Health and Safety Executive is encouraging the industry to have its say.
It urges providers to “engage with and learn from each other’s experiences as the new system beds in”, with best practice sharing key, as it promotes competence.
and limit the consequences of a major accident sufficient and effective?
“In practice this means considering each individual building as a whole, assessing its risks, and developing a safety case approach to managing those risks.
“It also means sharing key information on the buildings characteristics with the regulator and having a robust storage of any important information necessary for managing the building safely.”But,most crucially, the new regulatory regime comes back to the importance of a “good engagement strategy with residents”, ensuring
• How will you make sure they remain effective?
the views of residents are considered and that complaints are dealt with effectively.
While many providers will already be doing some of the work outlined in this piece, the sector as a whole needs to step up and share any learning it can – as well as build each other up to ensure a safer future for all.
With the Building Safety Act a huge 265 pages long, there are many changes coming into force. But the Building Safety Regulator and new regulatory regime, being overseen by the Health and Safety Executive, is on hand to ensure that the social housing sector keeps its buildings and residents safe.
“Dame Judith Hackitt highlighted in her Building a safer future report that ‘the lack of complete, accurate, and maintained numberinformationbuildingcausesaofchallenges’”
TO SEE OURSELVES AS SEEINSPECTORSUS!
“Ofsted-style inspections and unlimited fines for failing social landlords.” That’s what a government told us was coming. How can we make this work well for tenants? In this piece, HQN Deputy CEO, Lydia Dlaboha, provides a snapshot of the tests we’re using in our pilot inspections at major landlords. Of course, we’ll update this as the regulator develops its regime.
• Senior people grasp the consumer standards and regulatory regime and allocate resources accordingly
• There’s a realistic vision and strategy (that means it’s funded and that staff at all levels understand their role in delivering the objectives)
Stewardship – do you understand the key characteristics of all your homes? Have you the resources to maintain your homes properly?
• Evidence of effective procurement and benchmarking of cost/quality versus a relevant and named peer group.
• Stress testing with mitigations for the business plan (how would you cope if rent increases were capped at, 3%, 5%, 7%, or even 0% if England follows in Scotland’s footsteps)
Through interviews and examination of key documents we’d look for evidence that:
• Proof of Rent Standard compliance
• A credible business plan (including plans for decarbonisation)
• A validated stock condition survey feeding into a fully-funded programme of works (the RSH already insists on this at in-depth assessments – ministers are sceptical about the Decent Homes data from landlords)
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Governance – do you have effective leadership in place?
• Timely reporting on progress and action plans to rectify problems.
• Robust financial management (quality of budgeting, timeliness and accuracy of cash flow reporting, clean audits, and fraud prevention measures)
Do you have:
• All staff are aware of the standards and behaviours required of them (the regulator will be following up on the government’s drive for professionalisation)
• Whether you can meet the new consumer standards
• Reading a sample of complaint files (the Ombudsman is critical of landlords that do not respond fully and who send formulaic letters)
• Analysing complaints and reports about you from the Housing Ombudsman
Relationship with residents – do you seek out, listen to and act on the tenant voice?
Does your landlord listen to you and act on what you say?
• Seeking evidence that defects identified in safety reports get sorted
Our reality checks would investigate whether your stated policies and procedures actually get delivered. We would do this by:
• Reviewing your annual report to tenants.
How does your landlord compare to other landlords in your area?
Do visitors comment on where you live? What do they tell you?
Reality checks – what are services like on the ground? Are you sticking to your promises?
What could your landlord do better?
If you’d like to speak to HQN about getting ready for inspection, please call
• Your strengths and weaknesses
• Checking internal audits and independent expert reports on safety (Kensington and Chelsea TMO witnesses at the inquiry say they lacked access to expert advisers and this weakness contributed to fatal mistakes)
• Running focus groups with a cross section of residents, possible questions: How good are the services you receive?
• Checking that there’s a named health and safety lead with access to all the support they require.
Do you have the following in place:
• Practical suggestions for improvement based on what we’ve seen working elsewhere.
• Checking frequency, accuracy and reliability of reporting on gas, asbestos, fire, electrical, lifts and water
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• Checking that tenders for major works are professionally specified and not subject to the socalled ‘value engineering’ criticised in the Hackitt report
• Reviewing your approach to the new mandatory indicators on building safety and Decent Homes (how will you calculate these? What controls are in place?)
How would they personally rate your services?
on
Compliance – are your homes safe? How do you know?
We would verify this by:
• Listening to recordings of first point of contact/ call centre (tone, quality and handoffs to other departments – does everyone pull together to solve problems or are frontline staff left in the lurch?)
How do they think tenants would rate your Canservices?staff get things fixed?
557197 or email anna.pattison@hqnetwork.co.uk
After all that we sit down with you and talk about:
• Examining your satisfaction surveys and follow up action plans
• Organising our own estate inspections and void visits, and accompanying officers and operatives
Would they recommend working here to their friends?
Do you talk to your friends about your experiences with your landlord? What do you say?
• Undertaking a sweep of social media comments
• Looking at why satisfaction differs and what you plan to do about this
• Examining the accuracy and responsiveness of your IT systems (a common bugbear in IDAs is that IT cannot be relied upon to generate accurate safety data)
Are other departments helpful?
What help do staff need to do their jobs better? How good is training/induction? Do they feel supported by leaders? Is IT working well?
• Inspecting a sample of case files by local area, type of stock and function (eg, repairs, dealing with ASB and domestic abuse – are the letters accurate? Do they address the issues squarely? Is the spelling and grammar up to scratch? Is the tone respectful?)
• Seeking the views of activists, ward councillors, local advice agencies and local journalists. Anna Pattison 01904
• Running focus groups with staff at all levels. Possible areas to Whatprobe:issues are they coming across?
If you’d like to hear more about the Social Housing Regulation Bill and how it’s set to impact the sector, we’re holding a practical event on 29 September looking at how the sector can get on top of the incoming regulation.
• Seeking evidence of compliance with legislation on tall buildings
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BRIDGING DIVIDENORTH-SOUTHTHE
As he soon moves onto pastures new, Thirteen Group’s CEO, Ian Wardle, sits down with Mark Lawrence to look back on his time in the role and how he sees the future of the sector.
The life of a chief executive is never easy, but it seems that now, more than ever, it’s an unrelenting task. From Covid-19 and the huge upheaval that took place back in March 2020 to everything that’s happened since, it’s been a time of massive change and uncertainty.
He says: “It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked; keeping people safe, stress testing the business plan, we weren’t sure what would happen to income, thinking about what customers needed. It was also a really enjoyable time, but I really missed colleagues. We feel a very different organisation now. The faces are different in two years, there are lots of new faces and there are people I’ve never met. We’ve had to all adapt and I still am adapting to how this works.”
Engagement is a key part of the Social Housing
“Through the strength of engagement, they just call it out now and we couldn’t be any clearer about how we need to improve. We’ve just said to customers that we need to know and that they’re likely to know issues before they get to us”
find solutions”, saying plenty of initiatives that would’ve normally taken months were rolled out over weekends. This has led to cost savings for the housing association but also a change in structure.Withmore involved residents than ever before due to a mix of in person and virtual engagement routes, Ian believes the organisation is “getting better at joining dots and getting better at complaints and levels of dissatisfaction on social media and acting quickly”.
“Through the strength of engagement, they just call it out now and we couldn’t be any clearer about how we need to improve. We’ve just said to customers that we need to know and that they’re likely to know issues before they get to us.
“We’ve then from there been able to create service improvement groups with customers. The next big issue after communications is antisocial behaviour. There’s lots we can do that customers aren’t aware of. The new approach is a lot more direct, which I think is a real positive.”
Add into the mix what’s coming down the line — decarbonisation, inflation and consumer regulation, to name just a few — and it doesn’t look as if it’s getting easier.
But it wasn’t all fighting the negatives, with operational and financial performance remaining strong and satisfaction holding up (bar a dip in repairs when the storms hit the northeast six months ago).
He praises people’s “resilience and ability to
But it’s something that Thirteen Group CEO Ian Wardle relishes, and he’s soon to be taking on the top role at BeforeA2Dominion.wetalk about that, Ian reflects on the past couple of years and how he found the pandemic.Heinitially thought everyone would be back in the office “within eight weeks” and subsequently found the first six months “really tough”.
And while things do obviously go wrong, the organisation has now put structures in place to take the learning from them when that time wasn’t taken before.
Ian believes that the resident engagement side has been really positive: “What we’ve got now is a broader view around some issues. What mostly drives dissatisfaction at the organisation is communication.“Eitherthings drop off, or they aren’t communicated properly or people aren’t contacted. Therefore, customers don’t feel listened to.
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How have Ian and Thirteen juggled the issue?
“Prices are going up much more than our income now and that’s really hurting our financial plan. It’ll be fine but
Regulation Bill and getting this right will be hugely significant when providers are dealing with consumer regulation.
Another key part is asset management. Previously overlooked slightly during the drive to development at all costs, the issues around decarbonisation, safety and disrepair now mean housing associations have had to rethink their approach.
And while these are huge issues waiting on the horizon, there’s another pressing concern.
Ian’s housing journey 2016 – 2022 Chief Executive – Thirteen 2013 – 2016 Managing Director – Reading Borough Council 2007 – 2013 Director of Regeneration Services – Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council 2006 – 2008 Head of Regeneration Services – Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council 2003 – 2006 Director –Partnership,SunnisideSunderland 2001 – 2003 Development Director –George Wimpey (now Taylor Wimpey) 1998 – 2001 Land Manager – George Wimpey 1997 – 1998 Land Negotiator – George Wimpey 1995 – 1997 Graduate trainee – George Wimpey “The big thing we’ve been looking at with the board and customers is the integrity of the data and making that transparent with customers” FEATURES HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 202230
Ian says one of the big things for Thirteen has been the “good level of surveying and investment” which has allowed the organisation to stay on top of issues.
Inflation is set to hit double figures later this month, which could have catastrophic impacts on business plans.
But he adds that the other big issue is data: “The big thing we’ve been looking at with the board and customers is the integrity of the data and making that transparent with customers.“Thatmeans being open with the data we have on their homes, particularly the health and safety data, and explaining the terminology and testing of those homes. We’re going into a lot more granular information with teams and customers.
On decarbonisation, Ian shares that the association is currently undertaking some pilot projects with the help of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
“Our board is really interested in this, and they want to make sure the reporting on safety is tested by internal audit regularly. Even though it’s all green, there’s now an annual sample taken by internal audit.”
He adds: “Decarbonisation is a huge opportunity, the technology is coming on, the unit prices are falling, it’s the right thing to do, and if it reduces someone’s bills and the feeling of their home, it’s great. I’ve not seen people in the sector get competitive, unlike development.”
things will have to give.
“The tensions are different and there’s a lot of learning there for me too. When I got to know the organisation through the process, I got a strong feeling about it and knew I wanted it. There’s so much more they can do.
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“When we run the inflation numbers over the next few years, it hurts and it’s development that has to give. I’ve never known need like it, we have very few voids but the need is phenomenal. Raising rents isn’t the thing to do.
“There’sunnecessarily.a lot of resource that’s untapped and we forget that people are in some desperate situations and all that people want is a home. We need a proper strategy that isn’t based on politics but is cross party and involves the DWP and other agencies.
“I have two points of contact for A2 and that’s when I worked in Reading, we partnered on a project with them, and they were amazing. The other was that my wife works in housing, and she gave a very glowing reference to the organisation.“Shedeals with the frontline and said that they always come back to her, think about the customer and have empathy. That’s the kind of organisation I like.
“The result of that is that the board has been clear that the priorities are health and safety first, what we need to invest in customers’ homes and then development. Our numbers have decreased in terms of the development programme.
And so, with this hugely tricky and challenging backdrop, Ian moves to a larger housing association in A2Dominion. What attracted him to the role and what does he hope to achieve there?
“We did a scenario and I think it was £210m out of the business plan over 30 years. It’s really tricky. We can withstand it, but it’s lost capacity that could be doing good things at the time it’s most needed.”
“It’s an amazing organisation, and the needs are so much higher, so the work is much harder. The operating environment is very different, and I really enjoy the thought of Asthat.”Ian moves on, he leaves a legacy behind at Thirteen that’s customer focussed and trusts staff to make positive decisions. The operating environment may be hard, but the tracks Ian has laid at Thirteen stand them in good stead to be able to deal with the challenges that are coming, as well as make further improvements.
“When we run the inflation numbers over the next few years, it hurts and it’s development that has to give. I’ve never known need like it – we have very few voids, but the need is phenomenal. Raising rents isn’t the thing to do”
A last word from Ian, then, on what he’d like to see in a year’s time, were he given a magic wand.
“It’s an economic impediment, an impediment to the NHS. There are loads of solutions, but we just need clarity and resource.”
“I’d like to see a proper national housing strategy that’s resourced properly and brings everyone together, as it’s non-existent. We work in silos
“Could we get some sort of convergence over time? Hopefully, if the economy does rebound quickly and we have fiscal packages that work, then we need growth. At the minute people cannot afford the rent and they’re making some horrid choices.
However, according to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, falls in people aged over 65 are as serious an issue, costing the NHS in England £435m a year. The total annual cost of fragility fractures to the UK has been estimated at £4.4bn, which includes £1.1bn for social care. Hip fractures alone account for around £2bn of this sum.
But it isn’t just about the cost that these falls have on the NHS. An increased one-year mortality of 18%-33% and negative impacts on daily living such as shopping or walking are common outlooks.
Over half (54%) of housing association tenants have a long-term illness or disability and almost a fifth (18%) of new lettings are to households with specific disability needs.
When the word safety is mentioned, the sector is usually referring to overall building safety or one of the five fundamentals – electric, gas, legionella, asbestos or fire.
The key statistics
• 21% of disabled tenants say their accommodation is unsuitable for them
Safety in all of our homes is of paramount importance. Usually the safety debate revolves around high-rise blocks, but there are major safety issues going on in traditional housing. Mark Lawrence looks at how the sector can solve some of these issues and save wider society money in the process.
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• 56% of tenants that need adaptations don’t have them
And that’s exactly what Invisible Creations does. They say
21% of housing association households with at least one person with a long-standing health condition said their accommodation was unsuitable, and 56% of those who need adaptations lack them. To further compound this, the number of accessible social homes has declined in recent years.So,what’s a potential solution? An adaptation that can be installed for whoever is living there, doesn’t cause stigma, and fits with the design of the home.
• Falls and fractures in people aged 65 and over account for more than four million hospital bed days each year in England
• Almost 44% of social housing tenants are 55 and over and the average age of all tenants is 52
• Households with adaptations had a 31% reduction in the rate of fall injuries at home per year
• 16% of people aged over 65 have difficulty with at least one activity of daily living
Simply put, many don’t like them as the traditional grab rails and other adaptations look ugly and come associated withButstigma.there’s a huge need within social housing for these adaptations to be made and for the safety of residents to be placed as high in importance as those living in tower blocks.
• 54% of housing association tenants have a long-term illness or impairment
SAFETY BY DESIGN
• If all necessary remedial work were undertaken, NHS treatment costs alone would be repaid within seven to eight years.
There’s plenty of research showing the importance of adaptations to homes in preventing falls – falls that negatively impact both people’s lives and the health budget. So, why isn’t it easy to install adaptations in people’s homes?
20% of hip fracture patients end up in long-term care within a year of a fall, losing their independence.
Karbon resident Susan Devan, who didn’t feel like she necessarily needed them yet, found herself using them occasionally for support and stability.
“We don’t want a label, we want more inclusive products. And these are just nice products that look good in my home but they give me the support and reassurance I need to keep me safe”
The products are often moulded into the fabric of the room, be it a metal rail on a mirror or as part of the shower rack where shampoo is placed. On the outside of the home there are rails made up of plant potholders, adding a bit of colour to what’s usually a stark white piece of equipment.
The practical lessons from the early adopters
• Changing mindsets in the business is a long-term challenge – not only change products, but to change processes, policies and strategies
“We’re all going to need them at some point so why not just have them there in all homes.”Paul Fiddaman, Chief Executive of Karbon Homes, said: “At Karbon we believe everyone should have access to a home that helps them to thrive and remain independent.“Working closely with Invisible Creations and installing their products in to both our new and existing homes has been really valuable to Karbon and the feedback from residents has been fantastic. We’re hoping the rest of the housing sector will get behind them too.”
So, is it time for housing to think more strategically about the future challenges it may face with an ageing population? Installing these kinds of invisible adaptations is one way to make residents lives better, while playing a significant role in community healthcare.
• Adopting a more universal approach to design across assets programmes has been a challenge so far due to budget restrictions, legacy specifications and a lack of importance for including future-proofing solutions
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• Involving residents is key — positive feedback from residents on how valued they feel as a tenant and that their landlord is thinking about their future health needs
She says: “The subtle support is actually so important because you use them subconsciously because they’re just there when you need them and that makes all the difference.”Herhusband had also fallen ill since moving into the property and she said: “Having that built in support already there, but without it feeling clinical or obtrusive, was so valuable and more landlords should be thinking about adding more supportive products into homes as a normal, standard thing.
These adaptations being appropriate for those who don’t need them is a major plus for many housing associations who’ve already taken on the adaptations, saying that there’s a reduced need for delays in void turnover because they now don’t have to rip out the adaptations and start again.
Delores Taylor, a tenant who’s had them installed in her home, said: “I love that they really blend into the home, they’re there doing an important job, helping me get around my house easier, giving me something sturdy to grab onto if I was to fall, but they don’t stand out as a grab rail, or look like a product for an older person or a disabled person.
“We don’t want a label, we want more inclusive products. And these are just nice products that look good in my home but they give me the support and reassurance I need to keep me safe.”
Poor design can also have a serious detrimental impact. A report on doorstep crime showed that 43% of victims had a handrail, grab rail, a ramp to their door or a key safe for use by carers. Related statistics in relation to anti-social behaviour shows that targets are found through similar means.Karbon
Homes is one of the early adopters of the adaptations, and have received fantastic feedback.
• There’s a massive lack of data across the sector when it comes to
• Important that this isn’t just seen as something ‘done to tenants’ – that it’s something done with tenants
their products “remove the negative stigma” and that their aim is to make homes “a haven, not a hospital”.
• Critical to involve all key stakeholders in the process — the message often gets lost once it makes its way down to contractors and there’s a risk that all the hard work done at the frontend to make the design of homes more inclusive and universal gets replaced for cheaper alternatives
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“These are obviously fictional solutions (because it was part of this competition) but I do believe that asking different people’s thoughts around these issues can open up the opportunity for some great, new and radical ideas – which is why getting more young people in to leadership positions is such a fundamental move.”
He called for an extension to the empty homes and Housing First funding pots, saying this would significantly help the country get to building 300,000 homes per year.
Tom committed to bringing through the Social Housing Regulation Bill, saying it would ensure safety and disrepair was top of the agenda. He also set out that he would scrap the proposed Right to Buy for housing associations.
Tom’s presentation in the final saw him take on the role of housing minister, outlining what he’d do were he in charge.
On his presentation, he said: “What I aimed for senior housing leaders to gain from this speech was recognition of these top issues across the sector, and to hear some of my ideas about how we can tackle them, of which I offered at least two solutions to each problem.
Tom Leon-Grimes, 25 Service Development Manager Orbit Group
Tom also said he would recommend organisations nominating their young housing professionals next year, saying that the competition “offered me the opportunity to: push me out of my comfort zone; research the wider housing sector and increase my knowledge; think of potential solutions and how they could be funded; articulate ideas better; and it developed my leadership skills more, so I can aim for that kind of position in the future.”
After several gruelling rounds of blogs, presentations and live addresses to delegates at HQN’s annual conference, Tom Leon-Grimes of Orbit Group was crowned winner of this year’s competition. We sat down with the winner, and the other finalists, to see how they found the competition.
Hanifa’s final presentation focused on the need to engage better with young people and built on her semifinal presentation that called for a Youth Charter.
Hanifa Blakemore-Raqaz
And on the competition as a whole, she was full of praise: “It was a great opportunity to network, hear about the work other colleagues in different HAs are doing and gain brilliant experience presenting.”
Looking at tackling climate, supply and affordability, quality and safety — Kemba used her presentation to call for a systems overhaul, saying the issues stem from a “profits at all costs” approach.
Kemba Mitchell Project Coordinator South Yorkshire Housing Association
Focusing on the climate emergency and energy crisis as how to shape the future of housing, Gemma used her presentation to put forward some passionate ideas about helping residents with the cost-of-living crisis while also positively contributing to the climate agenda.
Clarion Futures
She called for better definitions of “a net zero home” as well as creating supply chains that would allow scaling up, developers paying for safety defects through a levy and implementation of the renters reform bill.
Kemba said she wanted to “challenge senior housing leaders to think holistically about what we can do to resolve these problems and encourage them to be moreCallingradical.thecompetition a “really valuable experience”, she added it was “brilliant to have the opportunity to reflect on the sector as a whole”.
She said the sector should take a “youth-led joined up approach” which would put young people at the heart of decision-making, as well as looking strategically at mental health, youth homelessness and employment.
On why she would encourage organisations to put people forward for next year, Kemba commented: “It’s very rare that you find a platform specifically for people who are early in their career. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the young people in your organisations and give them space to explore sector wide issues.”
Looking at how to help the country on an array of housing issues, Gift used his final presentation to talk about affordability, availability, climate and homelessness. He called for rent regulation in parts of the market, as well as increased transparency and regulation to ensure that landlords aren’t taking advantage of “desperate tenants”.Onthe competition, Gift said: “It took me out of my comfort zone because presenting to CEOs and senior managers in the housing sector wasn’t something I was accustomed to, but it’s one of the best things that I’ve done in my career. Now I feel more confident putting my ideas forward as it’s given me validation that my ideas are not just important to me.”
Reflecting on the competition, Gemma said it had “allowed me to meet and engage with other young professionals in social housing, hear different views from various areas of the sector and the chance to network with a wealth of sector professionals. The competition has also helped develop my confidence in presenting.”
She said it was “a great opportunity for the young professional to network in the sector and open their minds to new concepts and ideas which can then be fed back to their own organisation” as well as being great to be recognised within the business.
Gemma Brook Project Surveyor & Retrofit OrbitCoordinatorGroup
If you’d like to put someone forward for Housing’s Next Generation in 2023, look out for nomination links in February.
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She said it’s important these changes allow “tenants to have the power to drive these conversations”.
She added that she “gained lots of experience presenting to large audiences, and answering questions on the spot”.
Her vision for achieving this included recruiting young peer researchers and working with housing association youth networks, while also creating a housing and financial education working group.
Hanifa wanted to show “the importance of using Youth Voice to shape the future of the sector”.
Gift Ngubane Employment Support Advisor Abri Group
He added that he’d put young people forward for this competition as “it’s an opportunity for them to express their ideas, listen to peers and to develop professionally”.
Youth Project Manager
She said she’d reduce social housing rents by 1% each year but allow housing associations and local authorities to claim this money back in “decarbonisation cashback” if they put energy efficiency measures in place.
The final case highlighted involved Dudley Council (ref 202015427) concerning major works and a resident’s request for additional information. The landlord acknowledged it hadn’t notified leaseholders when it became apparent that the work would result in additional costs. We found the landlord had offered a reasonable remedy for its acknowledged failures by reducing its charges and recommended that it review the case to identify where it can improve communication and record keeping with respect to major works carried out at leasehold properties.
learning.Thepoor practice of some landlord services can be a direct result of poor information and intelligence and landlords need to be more alert to the risks. There will be few landlords we have investigated where, at some point, poor records and information have not resulted in maladministration. Inadequate record keeping has also been repeatedly identified in Spotlight reports, from cladding to damp, as a driver of poor service.
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As part of our routine fortnightly publication of casework, we recently highlighted decisions where issues with record keeping was a significant feature. They show the human consequences of poor record keeping, as well as the organisational consequences. These cases included our first case to be published involving a joint investigation into two landlords and two sets of orders, using new powers in our scheme.
Our searchable online casebook now totals more than 2,000 decisions, and there are many others that involve record keeping, as well as other valuable
This is a systemic, sector-wide issue. Governing bodies should be asking ‘how good is our record keeping’ and if the response is ‘good’ they should be troubled because it’s possible the landlord may not know how bad it is.
There are real benefits for services by getting record keeping right, as our investigation will seek to demonstrate, with best practice and recommendations to support landlords. Our aim is to publish the Spotlight report next year.
CornerOmbudsman
By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman
“The poor practice of some landlord services can be a direct result of poor information and intelligence and landlords need to be more alert to the risks”
Right to Buy.
We also highlighted a finding of maladministration for L&Q (ref 201916247) for its record keeping and complaint handling. The landlord failed to keep robust records in a complaint about the end of a resident’s tenancy and his deposit following a bereavement which led to additional distress andAnotherinconvenience.investigation concerned Stonewater (ref 201915252) and redress for reports of an inadequate water supply, rent arrears and its complaint handling. We found maladministration for the landlord’s repeated failure to open a complaint over more than two years so there was no record to keep track of events.
Strong record keeping practices are core to good services and will be the focus of a future systemic investigation by the Housing Ombudsman, with the aim of making recommendations and sharing learning across the social housing sector.
This investigation involved two landlords and two sets of orders for thoughtexchangeandtenancyaboutgaveWe(ref(PCH)CommunityPlymouthHomesandGuinness202012435).foundthatPCHmisinformationtheresidents’beforeafteramutualsotheytheyhadPreserved
seem overwhelming when you consider housing delivery in the UK has not reached these levels since the 1960s. It seems obvious then, that attracting bright young people into the sector should be high on theHowever,agenda.
The UK housing market is broken. In April, the ONS reported the average house price had risen to £281,000 – nearly nine times the average salary. Last December, the NHF found that 400,000 people were classed as homeless or at immediate risk of homelessness. They also reported 2.5 million people could not afford their private rent or mortgage payments.
why young people choose not to join the sector from theWithoutset.organisations facing an unprecedented array of challenges – from the implications of the Building Safety Act, the government’s zero carbon agenda, Future Homes and ongoing labour and supply shortages, perhaps it is not surprising that training and recruitment budgets are feeling the pinch.
By Neil DevelopmentClements,Trainer & Consultant, HATC (part of M3)
Despite these hurdles, I firmly believe the sector can offer exciting and immensely rewarding career choices. Never has the need for sharing knowledge and experience been more important, and by investing in robust training and recruitment programmes, housing development teams can ensure they have the right people in place to tackle the inevitable challenges ahead. Perhaps now is the right time for us to be focusing on the long-term value of investing in a skilled workforce – or in the words of Henry Ford, “The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave, is not training them and having them stay.”
With nearly 35% of the population living in privately rented homes, many letting agents are noticing a huge discrepancy in demand outstripping supply. Add to this the 2.5 million ‘hidden households’ and there is no doubt that the cost-of-living crisis is set to hit the UK hard this winter.
020 8274 4000 sales@m3h.co.uk www.m3h.co.uk ADVERTORIAL 37HOUSING QUALITYSEPTEMBERMAGAZINE2022
In its 2019 election manifesto, the current government included a pledge to help ‘rebalance the UK housing market’ and increase the number of homes built per year to 300,000 by the mid-2020s. However, there is little clarity over what the government figures mean and the NHF believes the annual target number of new homes should be 340,000 at least until 2031 (circa 3.5 million).Thefigures
ask any student if they have come across affordable housing representatives at a careers fair and I am fairly sure the answer will be ‘No’. In my role as a housing development consultant and trainer, I meet hundreds of people every year who tell me they happened upon a career in the sector and just ‘fell into it’. Given its importance, it seems incomprehensible that currently, there no housing development degree courses available in the UK. Perhaps this is due to the diverse range of knowledge required and ever-changing regulatory guidelines, but this is one possible reason
To train or not to train? Investing in development teams for the future
• The latest health and safety legal case studies
Hope to virtually see you there!
Our SafetyNet annual conference, on 22 September, will look at all these important areas and we will also focus in on:
• A consultation on electrical safety standards in the social housing sector, which will conclude at the end of August, will likely result in mandatory checks
• The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill will: Give the regulator the power to request that social landlords collect and publish information relating to their compliance performance Require all providers to appoint a health and safety Createlead a new consumer standard specifically related to Requiresafetylandlords to report against a new set of tenant satisfaction measures that assess tenant satisfaction with the health and safety of their homes
We’ve seen a lot of change already this year in the arena of health and safety and, once again, it’s a core area of the Regulator for Social Housing’s sector risk profile.
• Make sure that you have robust risk assessment processes in place that: identify any hazards; set out who could be harmed; evaluate the risks; identify control and mitigation measures; record findings and actions
• Continually evaluate and monitor your risk assessments
As we know, meeting statutory health and safety obligations is an essential part of keeping tenants’ homes safe.It’s essential that compliance teams and boards adequately understand all the changes and new legislative requirements – and there’s a lot to keep up with:
• Review the data you have on your stock and tenants to make sure it’s good quality, robust and accurate
Debbie Larner, Lead Associate, HQN Health and Safety Network
• New requirements on electrical safety in housing
• The Fire Safety Act was finally enacted – alongside a new risk prioritisation tool – which strengthens our responsibilities around fire safety across all residential buildings
• How to develop your safety case as required under the Building Safety Act 2022
“To make sure that residents are safe, and feel safe, in their homes, it’s really important to stay on the front foot. Largely, this involves data integrity, being proactive and demonstrating robust and effective processes”
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• The Building Safety Bill received Royal Assent in April –this will bring about seismic changes in how we manage and mitigate fire and structural safety issues in high-rise buildings
All of this against a backdrop of media and government focus on the condition of social housing stock; the oftenshocking reports from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry; and reports of poor practice and maladministration from the Housing Ombudsman.
• Adopt a proactive, rather than a reactive approach to managing risks and respond promptly to identified issues.
• Managing and prioritising fire safety risk, and Fire Risk Assessments
• Social landlords will be required to provide a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarms from 1 October 2022.
• Effective governance on compliance.
• The ‘big 6’ – gas, fire, legionella, lifts, asbestos and electrical safety
• Ensure that you have up-to-date policies in place that reflect the latest health and safety legislation, regulations and guidance
• Collect and present the right, up-to-date and accurate information to enable your board or committee to have robust assurance about your compliance with statutory health and safety obligations
Getting ahead on building safety
To make sure that residents are safe, and feel safe, in their homes, it’s really important to stay on the front foot. Largely, this involves data integrity, being proactive and demonstrating robust and effective processes:
• Managing the day-to-day health and safety legal risks
If housing’s response to Covid showed us anything, it’s that housing associations were at the forefront of an incredible crisis
In the face of the latest crisis, it’s to be expected that we get into reactive advice and help mode. This feels better than preventing the crisis in the first place and to prevent it you have to spot it ‘upstream’ anyway.
• Ask open questions – these help people explore solutions. And this builds inter-dependence (less dependence on you!), as they realise that previously they’ve turned to family, friends and
By Rebecca White, Founder, Your Own Place
• And here’s a free budgeting exercise – we call it ‘I buy monthly, weekly, save’. On the biggest sheet of (coloured if possible) paper and with all the gold stars and funky coloured pens you can find, put four columns and title them ‘I Buy’, ‘Weekly’ ‘Monthly’ and ‘Save’. With your non-judgemental and open questions, if comfortable, invite them to think up four or five things they buy every week and write them in column one. It might be milk or cigarettes – it doesn’t matter. Work onto the next column inviting them to estimate how much they spend a week. You can then move to monthly and have the really useful conversation about a month not being four weeks and how this might have an impact on budgeting (52 weeks divided by 12 is 4.3 weeks on average!). You might even multiply up to a yearly spend to see the big numbers! The conversation ends positively and upbeat with the final column and open questions about the things they can do to save money. You’ll probably learn something too!
How to free up time during the cost-of-living crisis
• Triage the need – start with a statement and invite the person to place themselves on a scale from disagree to agree. This allows a nuanced conversation about why they feel that way. It helps to identify whether they’re in crisis or not and what type of support might make a difference. An example could be, ‘I’m on top of my monthly spending’
“Alongside open questions, drawing out what they do day to day can help identify the skills they have already and in so doing build their confidence and resilience”
• Find their strengths – alongside open questions, drawing out what they do day to day can help identify the skills they have already and in so doing build their confidence and resilience. A great example of a strengths-based and open question could be ‘So what skill did you use last time you faced a difficult problem?’ – proving that they have that skill within themselves already!
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other networks. These might be as simple as ‘Who did you ask the last time you needed help?’ If it starts with W, then it’s probably a great open question
Using our tips below, see how you can prevent crisis by building resilience and creating interdependence (resulting in freeing you up too):
This might be why prevention has a reputation for taking longer and being harder. In the long run, however, it saves you time and money.
Fromresponse.delivering medicines and food parcels, to lending and giving away devices – and right through to writing off rent arrears.
For our new developments, we produce building-specific resident fire safety guides, which outline the safety features for the building and key contacts, as well as advice to keep safe. Our Resident Communications Group are involved in the creation of the safety guides, ensuring that the information is clear and concise.InMay,
When you think about building safety, you probably think about high-level strategies, surveyors and (I’d hope!) involved residents in a board room, analysing plans and figures. But we have to think beyond that.
Our ‘Chat & Chips’ events also play a key role. We hold consultation activities throughout the year to engage with residents on topics including safety. Residents who attend get a free fish and chip dinner for the family and, more importantly,
Resident’s view
Our involvement doesn’t stop there, though. While resident leadership and understanding of policy is crucial to the BSPB, we mustn’t overlook the value of simple safety communications. We know that we must find ways to engage with everyone in a way that’s accessible and meaningful.Atabasic level, we include key safety themes from the BSPB, such as compliance and safety checks, in every issue of our resident newsletter and on Phoenix social media. It’s simple, but if one resident takes notice then repeated messaging can save a life.
By Carmen Simpson, Chair, Phoenix Community Housing
What does it truly mean to involve and engage with residents on safety? Well, that differs for everyone and as we’ve just reached the five-year anniversary of the tragic events at Grenfell, we must continue to do more.
So, in summary, as a board member, I expect to be updated on risk and detailed safety measures, but as a tenant I expect to feel empowered with essential safety information. Engagement takes many forms and whether that’s through reading a tenant handbook or having a go with a fire hose, it doesn’t take away from the seriousness of the message, so long as landlords get the message out there!
“While resident leadership and understanding of policy is crucial to the BSPB, we mustn’t overlook the value of simple safety communications. We know that we must find ways to engage with everyone in a way that’s accessible and meaningful”
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we held our first Fire Safety Day. Residents had an introduction to the history of fire safety, met with the London Fire Brigade and took part in a hazard spotting exercise. After an afternoon of learning, residents made pledges to stay fire safe as they left the event. This included basic changes, such as “I pledge to keep my kitchen door closed at night”.
Last year, we launched our Building Safety Programme Board (BSPB). I chair the BSPB and am joined by other resident members. Our role is to work with Phoenix to ensure that residents are safe and feel safe at home.
If you’re not familiar with Phoenix, we’re a resident-led housing association, which means our chair and vice chair are tenants. We have over 3,440 resident shareholders who play a central role in our decision-making and the services we offer. Resident involvement is, then, at the heart of what we do, but in my role as chair of Phoenix, I’m passionate that we must improve – especially when it comes to the topic of safety.
a refresher on how to stay safe at home.
Why we must involve residents in safety
provided by the many reputable and competent fire safety advisors, sector groups and, of course, the local fire and rescue service.Allresidents should be safe in their own homes, regardless of whether they live in a private rented sector or a social housing property. The shake-up of the sector was evidently required, and the weight of change is understood as being fully necessary in seeking real and determined change.Thedevasting events of summer 2017, and the subsequent lessons learned, must continue to focus the minds of those in positions to make these changes. NFCC are working with fire and rescue services across the UK, and partner organisations, to drive changes to increase fire safety. By ensuring sufficient measures are in place to increase safety in the event of a fire, and to prevent fires from happening in the first place, housing providers are central to these crucial efforts.
be
Housing providers are well placed to increase the standard of fire safety within their properties, without waiting for legislative measures to be put in place. NFCC would urge all those with fire safety responsibilities to familiarise themselves with these developments to undertake – and continue – this critical work to improve safety and reduce risk.
“The devasting events of summer 2017, and the subsequent lessons learned, must continue to focus the minds of those in positions to make these changes”
By Gavin Tomlinson, Chair of NFCC Protection and Business Safety Committee
It comes with little surprise, given the horrifying and tragic events of the Grenfell Tower fire five years ago, that the fire safety obligations of housing providers have come under intense scrutiny.
Prior to this, the Fire Safety Act hit the statute books to, among other things, provide clarity to the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. This clarity is very significant to housing providers and needs to be fully understood. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 set out a number of requirements of the responsible persons of multi-occupied residential buildings.
Outside view
Government continues to press on with reform. Even now, a bill to make provision for the regulation of social housing –about the terms of approved schemes for the investigation of housing complaints and for connected purposes – is making its way through Parliament. And whilst in its early stages, the bill seeks to further enhance the government’s levelling-up agenda. These are all welcome developments.
Reform in this area is immense – but, perhaps, not moving as speedily as many would wish. Nevertheless, the need for these improvements is clear.
From this, we’ve seen a raft of new legislation, guidance and policy. Just recently, the Building Safety Act received Royal Assent. The act seeks to augment the regulatory regime for all buildings, including a more stringent fire and structural safety regime. It’s yet to come fully into force and will be supported by many new regulations in due course.
What can housing providers learn from the past few years on fire safety?
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While the breadth InformationCouncilNationalgovernmentbehelpguidanceInformation,available.there’soverwhelming,mightdevelopmentsoffeelhelpandsheetscanfoundontheandFireChiefs(NFCC)websites.canalso
As a sector, we have the potential to make a difference by prioritising DE&I efforts, continuously discussing ways to provide equity, and break down systemic barriers.
From a corporate performance lens, there’s a plethora of research demonstrating the positive correlation between diversity in the workplace and the benefits to decisionmaking, productivity, profitability, customer satisfaction and employee performance.
Overseas housing Housing: The future is inclusive
It’s about the employees within our organisations who want to make a difference in the communities they work in, and it’s about the tenants who live in those communities. Innovation happens when the two align.
To begin, there’s a lack of research and forinclusionwithgapsleadershipthehelpboardatallwithinemploymentquantitativedatathesectorofjoblevels(notjusttheleadershipandlevel)thatcouldustounderstandlackofprogressiontorolesandotherweface.Asasector,weshouldpartneraglobaldiversity,equityandorganisationtocreateastandardtheindustry,toprovideasocialnetwork and resource hub for housing organisations to tap into and share.This global housing DE&I network would also provide a framework with an overall strategy (that would, of course, be flexible based on the tenant population of the region),
With an aging workforce, the sector is going through a talent replenishment. This is a unique opportunity to look at different ways to build a workforce that reflects the communities that we serve.
Within our organisations, we need to look at diversity, equity and inclusion as a priority and competitive advantage, with strategies and metrics that promote accountability. It’s time to evolve the discussion into tangible change with concrete tools.
For us as organisations, we must be representative of the diversity present within the communities we serve in order to better understand and serve their needs.
A deep sense of community and purpose is a major driver for the new generations of employees – and as a sector it’s a unique advantage we have, as we have a direct impact on people who really need it.
By Taylor Skirda, Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, Ottawa Community Housing Corporation
and progress evaluation on how each involved organisation is doing regarding tracking progress and the development of strategies and tools to address DE&I needs. Best practices can then be trained out, shared and centrally administered through the DE&I partner organisation.
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This looks like engaging our employees, our leadership, our communities, and integrating DE&I into everything that we do.
Given the nature of our work, we naturally attract people who want to make a difference in their communities. But we also need to provide them with a corporate culture where their diversity can thrive, be acknowledged, celebrated and promoted.Weneed to create a culture of inclusivity and belonging, where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and provide an environment where they have the capacity to work theirManybest.tenant-facing positions deal with people of various cultures, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious backgrounds, and different perspectives and mental health.Providing the necessary tools to our employees –such as communitiesorganisationscultureourprepareatraining,aid,competencycross-culturaltraining,employeeresourcegroups,trauma-informedintervention,mentalhealthfirstunconsciousbiastonamejustsmallfew–canbetterthemtoservicecommunities.Creatinganinclusivewillimpactnotonlyourbutalsoimpacttheinwhichwework.
Working in community housing, you quickly realise it’s all about the people.
98% of social housing tenancies are let without any povertytheTacklingfurniturefurniturepuzzlewww.nfsfurniture.org.ukfurnitureservice@yhn.org.ukFindoutmoreabouthowourflexiblefurnishedtenancysolutiontransformslives.
Wonderful wildflowers Thirteen Group
Family fun Ongo Homes
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Carnival celebrations Broadland Housing
The organisation has been working with greenfingered enthusiasts at Pennyman Primary School in Middlesbrough to help the children learn about wildflowers and the benefits they bring to the environment.
Thousands flocked to Manor Park in Scunthorpe for the Ongo Carnival, making it the biggest and best one yet, after two years off due to Covid-19.
In the frame
Veterans visit ForHousing An allotment that’s helping veterans improve their wellbeing has been paid a visit by Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, as part of an open day.
The association put on arts and crafts activities for the children, face painting and games to celebrate Gypsy and Roma Traveller Month. There was also a fascinating GRT heritage display, with archive photos, plus lunch and refreshments.
Promising partnerships Orbit Group
The organisation has partnered with Ethstat Ethical Stationery, who use their profits to provide food for rough sleepers, help vulnerable people back into employment and support families affected by dementia, as part of its work in the community.
If you’d like to be featured In the Frame, please email your pictures to mark.lawrence@hqnetwork.co.uk
SPOTLIGHT 45HOUSING QUALITYSEPTEMBERMAGAZINE2022
A local Residents R Us group has taken on a piece of land and transformed it into an outdoor space to be enjoyed by residents both young and old.
The authority recently completed its Spring Neighbourhood Walkabouts, visiting every estate with neighbourhood officers, tenant involvement officers, police officers and members from the repairs team, engaging with tenants taking and dealing with any reports including repairs.
Neighbourhood natter Mid Devon District Council
Magic murals Longhurst Group
Beach bonding Southdown Housing Association
Colleagues from across Southdown’s services got together after work to take part in a volleyball tournament to celebrate the organisation’s 50th year (photo by: Tom Gallagher)
Promoting Pride Stonewater
A group of colleagues attended Brighton Pride, celebrating LGBTQ+ colleagues and customers, as well as the work of specialist refuges like Safe Space.
Save some for a rainy day. The rest I would spend on a new home.
The Lies of the Land: An Honest History of Political Deceit by Adam Macqueen.
15. Tell us a secret about yourself That would be telling!
Gulam Hussain
14. The best piece of television in the last 12 months?
11. Biggest regret? Not sure I have one. Life is too short, and tomorrow is a new day.
Head of Regulatory Assurance and Neighbourhoods, Tower Hamlets Homes
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12. Most overused phrase? Running around like a headless chicken.
I’d learn to drive! I’ve resisted the urge so far but now might be the time I finally cave in.
I know at the time that the world of social housing would become my new calling.
7. If you won £1 million on the Lottery, what would you spend it on?
1. Tell us about your career and how you ended up in your current role Like many in the sector, I didn’t plan on joining the world of housing and fell into it by chance. I started off life working initially in schools before moving into local government and working in a range of policy roles.
8. Most treasured possession
13. Recommend a book
In July of this year I also took on the role of Head of Neighbourhoods in addition to my substantive role where I now also oversee the work of our housing officers, income collection and a dedicated fire safety team.
It was an incredibly challenging period and there were times I considered throwing in the towel, but with perseverance I finally did manage to write the five 3,000-word essays I had to write to obtain my qualification. My experience gave me a new found respect for everyone that’s studying whilst also working.
2. Describe yourself in three words Caring, passionate, perfectionist.
Drawing on my policy background I quickly found myself once again getting to grips with policy in the form of the Social Housing Green Paper. Since then, I’ve been working with our executive team and board to help shape our response to the changing regulatory framework.
10. Biggest achievement?
I arrived in housing a month after the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, taking up a role with Tower Hamlets Homes (THH). Whilst I didn’t have a housing background, what I did have was a strong sense of what good services should be like and the ability to relate to the lives of those living in social housing.Littledid
My flat is located on the edge of the city and overlooks Tower Bridge and the locations of some of Jack the Ripper’s infamous murders. As a dad to three little boys, my home often resembles Legoland.
5. Describe your home
‘Life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon so pace yourself.’ Ironically it was given by someone who was on a permanent sprint!
9. What makes you angry? Seeing people get treated poorly.
Undertaking my Chartered Management Institute Qualifications whilst in full time work and with a very young family.
3. Favourite place on earth? Anywhere beside the sea.
4. What would you change about yourself?
A life in 15 questions
I’m a Londoner through and through. Born and raised in Tower Hamlets, I still live in the borough.
As well as my day job with THH, I also serve as a board member for New World Housing Association, a small south London association which works primarily with the Vietnamese
My phone! I do almost everything on it, from organising myself to doing the grocery shopping. Can’t be without it.
6. Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
With the support of an amazing manager and the encouragement of a supportive executive team, in June 2021 I assumed the role of Head of Regulatory Assurance with responsibility for business planning, performance, resident engagement and complaints.
This is Going to Hurt – the BBC’s adaptation of the book of the same name. Painfully funny and heartbreakingly honest in its exploration of the emotional effects of working within the health service.
community and also volunteer as a school governor.
Print presentation
I usually listen to BBC Radio 4 during my drive to work. Although I can work from home as part of our hybrid working, to manage high-rise residential buildings well it’s necessary to be available on-site.
The autumn is my favourite time of year. I love putting my wellies on and going on a long countryside walk with my family, a few drinks in the village pub and roast dinner. If I could then watch England beat the All Blacks in a Rugby World Cup Final, that would be
10:008:007:208:309:009:3012:4516:00
I help to pack up the information stands and set off to collect my daughter from her nursery. At home later that evening, I continue my studies for a CIOB Level 6 Diploma in Building Safety Management.
Employee since: May 2022
I arrange a meeting with Newlon Housing for later in the month to see our electronic asset and compliance management system. I also approve a draft letter to confirm that BM Sprinklers, the contractor we’re working with to install sprinklers within our high-rise blocks, is notifying residents when diamond drilling in the communal areas is due to commence.
Checking progress
A day in the life of...
When I get to the office, I authorise payment for a fusible link shutter and arrange the repair to the door entry system to prevent any further unauthorised access. Then, a bit of time to catch up on my emails.
Lee Ford Building Safety Manager bpha
Location, location, location: bpha’s offices in Bedford, then multiple sites between Oxford and Cambridge
Previous employment: Leicester City Council
My perfect day
Addressing concerns
Reporting
Collaboration is key
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On my way to the office, I drop into one of the high-rise buildings to inspect works to replace a fusible link shutter. While there I record that an electronic latch to a side entrance has failed, and there’s evidence that people have accessed the communal area.
Site inspection
My Fire Safety Co-ordinator is on annual leave, so I run a report that shows our contractor’s progress for the cyclical inspection of fire doors in all 16 high-rise blocks. I write a brief progress summary and, together with the supporting data, this information feeds into our weekly report on the ‘big six’ compliance areas.
Musical mornings
We publish a magazine for residents living in our high-rise blocks in Bedford. The next issue is out shortly and introduces me to the residents, so they’re already familiar with me when we meet on site. I check over the final copy to make sure it’s ready to go to print.
Along with BM Sprinklers, this is the second of two information sessions for residents to hear more about our joint plans for the upgrade and sprinkler installation. Residents are interested to learn that bpha is installing sprinklers in all our high-rise residential buildings. Other residents share concerns that the sprinklers might activate when their smoke alarms go off. I can reassure one resident that burning some toast won’t activate the sprinklers.
Home to study
Safety campaigners now want stricter steps taken to temper the scourge, as well they might.
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Mark Jones, the government’s refrigeration czar, says “we should be careful” when dealing with fridges, and has set out a 284-point plan that he believes should lead to a “significant drop” in appalling instances, creating “happier kitchens and saving the NHS over £16 billion a year”.
After2017!suffering a vast spate of misadventures during the late 1990s, the Swiss government began a campaign with cross-party support to eliminate undesirable outcomes from public
Stay in, stay safe – that was the slogan during the darkest days of the pandemic. It was also my slogan before the pandemic. Sadly, turns out, as various housebound injuries attest, the sanctuary of an Englishman’s castle also, horribly, poses threats of all kinds. It’s a dangerous world out there…and in here. Anyway, here are some truths and some lies. Can you tell which are which?
So, let’s talk about Britain’s most accident-prone man, Mick Wilary. In 2010, the County Durham farmer was pinned against a wall by his own JCB, causing severe damage to a leg and his shoulder. According to Wilary, it was his 30th gruesome accident, a catalogue leaving him with 15 broken bones.Events include both ankles snapped after tripping on a potato; smashed collar bone after a horse was spooked by a plastic bag; head split asunder after tripping on a cat; end of finger removed with Stanley Knife; stabbing himself in the stomach while cutting a stick; and ribs shattered when a trailer toppledDespiteover.this litany of excruciating mishaps, Wilary refuses to resign, often mumbling something about a “mandate from the people”.
Last year, over 132,000 Brits were hospitalised while interacting with their refrigerators. Common cases include poorly-stacked foodstuffs tumbling, badly-fitted doors coming loose, malfunctioning coolers exploding, mistakenly trapped pets leaping, unstable ice particles splintering, improperly installed shelves careening and even toohighly-set freezer compartments frostbite yielding.
We know that accidents are rife in the UK (Farmer Wilard, above, e-scooters, above, Brexit, etc) but which is the safest country in the world? That would be America. Only joking! It’s actually Switzerland, where there hasn’t been a recorded accident since March
4. Treemendous
Some think them a small component in the vital battle against climate change; others see them as a modern pestilence – either way, riders of e-scooters should probably start taking a bit more care: stats show that users of the things are three times as likely to do themselves a mischief as riders of old-fashioned bicycles.
Fact or fiction: Safety first
1. Self-harmer farmer
On Christmas Eve 1924, an enormous and popular elm was brought crashing down by an extremely heavy snowfall. The elderly tree crashed into the arboretum of Sir Titus Hawthorne, the Sussex-based entomologist who discovered the Mediterranean cat beetle.Enraged and deeply saddened, Sir Titus began sifting through the wreckage of his specialist greenhouse as the thick snow swirled – and it was amongst the mangled debris that he fortuitously spotted the effect maple leaf has on cauliflower, when sufficiently cold and crumpled: and paracetamol was born.
Withlife.a huge marketing campaign and unlimited funding, by 2012 the policy had seen incidents of broken bones drop to six a year, cuts down to four a year, and sprains dropping toThiszero.in a country with a population of over eight million! And that last official accident? A Zurich man lightly bruised his knee on a dog.
What’s the most innocuous activity you can think of? How about getting something from the fridge? What could be safer? Think again.
Facts:1.Self-harmerfarmerand2.Onyerbike
5. Land of the accident free
2. On yer bike
3. Cold comfort
Looks like another pin in the eye for green travel, then: the things are naturally outrageous, like people who want a sustainable future. Not quite: e-scooter calamity victims tend to be helmetless and, naturally, drunk.
Sometimes seemingly terrible accidents can lead to wholesome outcomes.
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• Recognition that the gas strategy of your organisation compares favourably with private and public sector housing organisations judged to be operating at optimum levels
The complexities are a definite draw. But, despite the challenges, the proximity to government and willingness to find shared solutions, as in Wales, is a real strength.Thereare so many similarities to the things that I love about Wales. Guernsey has a proud and fascinating history, a powerful sense of identity, and vibrant and connected communities.
Wexit and ffarwel gynnes i gymru
That’s the point of this article. It’s a good question. I’m a couple of months away from leaving all those things that I love, as well as an organisation I love working for, to start anew.
The last word
Younger people are leaving the island, and people coming back to their communities after the pandemic are struggling to find homes they can afford. Add in the difficulty of retaining key skills and it’s obvious why affordable housing is critical for securing a sustainable future for the island.
SPOTLIGHT HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 202250
But if you asked me and wanted more than a one-sided discussion about Wales having the best flag in the world, I’d say this: it’s got some serious history, culture and values; a beautiful and ancient language; revolutionary history, not just industrial, but social justice (think Merthyr Rising and the Chartists); birthplace of the NHS; the beauty of the national parks, mountains and beaches; it has five areas of outstanding natural beauty, and Barry Island.
“The beauty is undeniable, but the wealth isn’t a reality for most. The drivenonceyourthanmarkethousingishotterwearingalljumpersatinacarbon-heatwave”
As a relative newcomer to Wales of 11 years, I’m probably not yet qualified to explain all of the reasons why it’s a superior place to live and work.
So, if you’ve been lucky enough to settle in this glorious country, working in housing under a Welsh Labour government that thinks housing policy should benefit people, rather than punish them, why would you ever leave?
Well, sometimes life throws you an opportunity. For me, it’s Guernsey-shaped. An island of 25 square miles in the English Channel, closer to France than the UK. It conjures images of beautiful beaches and nature, but also of wealth. Big houses, enormous swimming pools. You see them on the flight over*. Some are visible from the ISS. But that’s not the whole story and it’s not the why.
*Minimal flights offset by carbon-reducing lifestyle adjustments
Wales is vibrant, with a strong identity, and, more than anything else, community means something here.
By Victoria Slade, Group Chief Executive, Cynon Taf Community (ChiefHousingExecutive at Guernsey October)AssociationHousingfrom
It, too, has a beautiful and old language, Guernesiase. There’s also an Eisteddfod. It has some beautiful quirks. No milk other than from the Guernsey herd and a 30mph speed limit, with reliance on civility at junctions rather than trafficHardlights.asit is to say hwyl fawr to Wales and the lovely Cynon Taf Community Housing Group, this is an opportunity I can’t pass up. Victor Hugo, exiled from France, called Guernsey the “rock of hospitality and freedom”. Life’s too short. And Guernsey also has a pretty cool flag.
The beauty is undeniable, but the wealth isn’t a reality for most. The housing market is hotter than wearing all your jumpers at once in a carbon-driven heatwave. For many islanders, purchasing or renting a home in the local market is out of reach. Think of London housing costs, then some.
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Fire and MonoxideCarbon(CO)
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With the HomeLINK Resident App, residents are provided with a healthy home rating, handy advice on how to improve the quality of their home, and Fire and CO alarm testing reminders.
The SmartLINK App enables quick and easy installation of alarms and sensors with SmartLINK technology, while the Gateway is the central hub for data, extracting information from connected devices.
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Our 3000 Series offers full circle Fire and CO protection, wirelessly connecting to the SmartLINK Gateway via Radio Frequency for remote wholesystem data monitoring.
EnvironmentalHomeLINK Sensors
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THE CONNECTED HOME LIFE SAFETY SOLUTION
Data is extracted from all connected alarms and sensors with actionable insights presented on the dashboard, segmented by high, medium and low risk.
Aico with HomeLINK offer a network of alarms and sensors to improve the health and safety of homes throughout the UK.
could be a dry subject was delivered in such a way that kept the audience engaged and interested” Our health and safety training has one primary goal – the wellbeing of your residents and employees, whilst keeping you up to date with the latest regulatory requirements. HQN’s training is great for getting you up to speed. It’s developed for both technical and non-technical staff –either as a refresher, to gain more indepth knowledge or for new starters. For more information or to get an in-house quote, please hqnetwork.co.uk/trainingcalltraining@hqnetwork.co.uk,contact01904557150orvisit The Building Safety Act 2022 14 September 2022 RIDDOR 2013 3 October 2022 Introduction to fire safety and fire warden duties (IFSM Accredited) –Scotland 10 October 2022 Health and safety – the five fundamentals 13 October 2022 An introduction to HHSRS and housing standards 27 October 2022 Fire safety for Responsible Persons (IFSM Accredited) (England and Wales) 14 November 2022 Introduction to fire safety and fire warden duties (IFSM Accredited) –England 5 December 2022
“What
