In November 2001 we were reporting:
Communities Scotland, the successor agency to Scottish Homes, officially started work on 1 November. The new agency is part of the Scottish Executive, with direct accountability to ministers - unlike Scottish Homes, which was a non-governmental organisation. The new agency's responsibilities will include:
The Housing Corporation published a new good practice note: Preparing for Supporting People. The paper highlights the importance for housing associations to prepare effectively for the Government's Supporting People Programme.
Supporting People will commence in April 2003, significantly altering the way all housing with support is funded. This affects supported housing, sheltered housing, and home improvement agencies. The guidance recommends that associations should take action now...
Housing Minister, Lord Falconer, announced the setting up of a Homelessness Directorate, which will aim to co-ordinate existing work to help the homeless, as well as prevent and discover the underlying causes of homelessness.
He also referred to the recent establishment of a new Bed & Breakfast Unit, to respond to the growing number of homeless households in bed and breakfast accommodation, especially families with children...
The Government announced it is going ahead from April 2002 with plans to make rents charged by councils and housing associations fairer. There will be a safeguard against large rent increases, with a maximum amount any tenant should pay weekly in 2002/03 being set in relation to property size. Rents already exceeding these maximum amounts should be frozen or reduced.
Housing Minister, Lord Falconer, confirmed that the changes to rents will be introduced gradually over the next ten years...
The Government published details of how its commitment to provide decent social housing will be met. The delivery plan explains what action must be taken by the DTLR, to meet its target of ensuring social housing of a decent standard within ten years and eliminating the £19 billion backlog of repairs and modernisation work. The target requires one third of the problem to be tackled within three years, the majority of which will be in deprived areas...
Consultation responses from associations indicated support for the Housing Corporation's proposals for the introduction of the new Regulatory Code and for inspection. The outcome-focused Code will replace the more detailed performance standards by which associations are currently regulated.
The Corporation will launch the Regulatory Code and the new style inspection service in January 2002. The new arrangements will apply from April 2002...
Glasgow Council received consent from the Scottish Executive to commence consultation with tenants on proposals to transfer their homes to Glasgow HA. A decision on whether to proceed to ballot will be taken in light of the outcome of the consultation processes.
If the transfer proposal is accepted by tenants, arrangements will be made by the Scottish Executive and the Treasury to tackle the Council's £900 million housing debt burden...
In November 2005 we were reporting:
A new report from the left-of-centre Institute of Public Policy Research recommends community offender panels to deal with antisocial behaviour and small crime. The report suggests a new level of local court sitting below magistrates...
New radio adverts introduced in November warn benefit cheats of a different kind of fraud investigator. They warn listeners that these investigators work relentlessly, never take a day off, and don't even sleep. They describe powerful computer systems that help identify fraudsters by constantly cross-referencing information across government departments...
The Housing Corporation's Gold Award for Excellence was launched in October and entries must be submitted by 6 January 2006. The application form, along with a comprehensive set of supporting guidance notes, are available at the Corporation's web site.
Over 140 housing associations have already expressed their interest in taking part in the competition, which is based on the ODPM's Beacon Council scheme operating in local government...
A new study commissioned by the homelessness charity St Mungos concludes that the average life expectancy of a rough sleeper and hostel resident is now only 42 years. Of particular concern is the comparison with findings ten years ago, when the average was five years higher at 47 years...
Only three out of ten of today's ten year olds will be able to afford to buy their own homes unless house building increases, according to figures released by the ODPM.
If the UK carries on with current building rates, by 2026 the proportion of thirty-something couples able to afford to buy is set to fall to approximately a third, compared to half of couples today and two thirds in the late 80s. The figures show that unless more new homes are built to meet the needs of the next generation, tomorrow's thirty year olds will be denied the opportunities their parents and grandparents had to own a home of their own. Currently 71% of households are homeowners, but 90% say they would like to own their own home at some point...
Figures released by the Housing Corporation indicate that the Key Worker Living Programme (KWL) is running well ahead of target. Between 6,500 and 7,000 key workers are projected as being helped by the end of 2005/06, against a target of 5,722...
Housing Minister Baroness Andrews announced that the Housing Corporation will administer the ODPM's Section 16 Tenant Empowerment Grant Programme, which is aimed at improving housing management in local authority housing through greater tenant participation and the development of tenant management organisations.
The Housing Corporation will have day-to-day operational responsibility while the ODPM will continue to have prime policy responsibility...
The Government wrote to all ALMOs to ask if they would be interested in building homes, and, if so, to comment on how they would do so. The ODPM confirmed the letter was part of its programme of considering longer term options for ALMOs...
