In July and August 2000 we were reporting:
Bids for schemes under a special programme to promote innovative construction techniques in new housing developed by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) were invited by the Housing Corporation today.
The Corporation announced plans in April 2000 to carry out a competitive selection process, to pre-select a small number of suppliers for pre-assembly and off-site fabrication methods. The selection process for the Kickstart programme has now been completed and seven suppliers selected.
The aim of the special programme is to provide additional volume and continuity in order to demonstrate the benefits from standardisation, pre-assembly, and modular techniques. Bids from RSLs submitted under the special programme will be subject to similar allocation criteria as bids submitted through the Corporation's main Approved Development Programme...
The Minister for Communities, Wendy Alexander, launched the Disabled Persons Housing Service (DPHS) Renfrewshire, which aims to make sure that all disabled people in the area are aware of their housing options and help them find accommodation most suited to their needs.
Disabled Persons Housing Services already existed in the Lothians and Glasgow. Three more - in Forth Valley, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City - were scheduled to open over the following couple of years...
An important new approach for assessing the likely sustainability of demand for social housing was revealed in two Housing Corporation commissioned reports.
Produced by the European Institute for Urban Affairs, the Toolkit of Sustainability Indicators is a significant innovation, included for the first time in the Corporation's bidding process for Social Housing Grant. The Toolkit's set of 49 detailed indicators and its companion work, Key Issues for Sustainable Communities, establish a practical basis on which social landlords can identify the sustainability of the communities where they manage or intend to develop housing...
Following three pilot studies to encourage and assist householders to carry out radon remedial works, the DETR embarked on a new programme in partnership with 31 local authorities from the areas most affected by radon.
Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas. Without proper action to lower levels in the home it can add to the risk of lung cancer.
The radon measurement programme carried out since 1987 has meant that every home in England with a greater than 5% probability of being above the radon action level has been offered a Government-funded radon test. Some 40,000 homes have been found to be above the action level, but only 10-20% of those households have taken any action to reduce radon levels in their homes...
A progress report from the Rough Sleepers Unit claimed that the number of rough sleepers in England has fallen by one third. The Unit's target was to reduce the number by a similar total by 2002. The programme to attain this includes £29 million for 23 projects to provide 850 additional hostel bed spaces in London and 4,500 permanent move-on homes...
Homeless Big Issue vendors were taking part in a pilot project, selling copies of Construction News outside 10 large building sites in London. Vendors received a percentage of sales income plus a flat fee...
Scottish Homes launched a new policy, A Wider Role for Registered Social Landlords, which sets out a package of measures to help housing associations carry out non-housing activities, such as creating jobs and training for local people and opening community cafés.
The national housing agency will spend £10 million over three years: £2 million in 2000/01 and a further £8 million up until March 2003...
The Housing Corporation appointed Dr Norman Perry as its new Chief Executive, to take over from Anthony Meyer who left in February 2000 to join Transport for London as Transitional Chief Executive. Dr Perry takes up his new role on 2 October 2000...
In July and August 2004 we were reporting:
Eight further councils were named as taking part in the second pilot stage of Housing Benefit reforms. They will introduce and test the Local Housing Allowance, which allows for a flat rate of Benefit to be paid directly to private sector tenants instead of to their landlords.
The second stage pilots, which commence in April 2005, will examine operational issues, including IT and money advice services...
The Department for Work and Pensions announced that temporary accommodation is to be exempt from plans to pay Housing Benefit directly to tenants.
The move was generally welcomed by housing associations, especially those that manage temporary homes for local authorities. There had been fears expressed that a change to paying local housing allowance to tenants, rather than Housing Benefit to the landlord, would lead to higher rent arrears...
Ten London-based housing associations announced plans for a £1 million project to encourage tenants to open bank accounts, so they can receive direct payment of their welfare benefits. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had set a target of April 2005 for most welfare benefits to be paid directly into bank or post office accounts. The exception is Housing Benefit. It was estimated that some 3.8 million claimants had yet to respond to a DWP letter, about direct account payment arrangements...
The Audit Commission unveiled details of new criteria to be used in assessing the performance of social housing landlords in England and Wales. The revised methodology will see housing inspectors adopting Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) to assess and measure the effectiveness and efficiency of housing services. The Audit Commission claimed the new methods will ensure consistency across its inspection regimes and help housing organisation's undertake their own self-assessments. Inspectors will also be in a position to explain what is expected for ratings of excellent and fair services...
Homelessness charity Crisis published research suggesting that over 380,000 people were currently slipping through official homelessness figures, and called for a Government census of the country's hidden homeless. The Charity said the figure was set to hit one million by 2020.
Crisis claimed that hidden homelessness was costing £1.4 billion annually in benefit payments, theoretical earnings, and costs to the criminal justice system...
A new website designed to reduce the number of empty properties in the Capital was officially launched. The initiative was funded by a grant from the ODPM, which covered initial set up costs and the site's operation for two years.
The website - accessed at www.empro.co.uk - puts housing associations and other prospective landlords and developers in touch with opportunities offered by long-term empty properties in West London. Details of properties recorded on the website can be viewed free of charge by registered users and include a description of the property (including a photograph), its size, and Council Tax band. The address of properties is protected...
According to new research, 84% of home buyers are prepared to pay an extra 2% on the purchase price for an eco-friendly home and want to know how their homes rate for energy efficiency and running costs.
Of those polled, 87% of buyers wanted to know whether their homes were environmentally friendly, and 66% said they were given inadequate information about the technical specifications of a new home...
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) rejected the finding of the ODPM Select Committee that the Government had failed to show the merits of stock transfer.
The Committee concluded that there was no evidence that transferring homes to registered social landlords (RSLs) or arms length management organisations (ALMOs) made improvements to housing stock more likely. It reached a similar conclusion with regard use of the private finance initiative (PFI) route.
The ODPM also rejected a call by the Select Committee to give local authorities access to the extra funding available to RSLs, ALMOs, and PFI projects in order to improve their housing stock...