The winners of the Housing Corporation's Gold Awards 2008 were announced at a special ceremony in London. There were three themes for the annual awards:
Building Cohesive CommunitiesWinners:
Ashram Housing Association
Old Ford Housing Association
The Papworth Trust
Finalists:
Bradford Housing Community Trust and Manningham HA
Industrial Dwellings (1885) Ltd
William Sutton Homes
Winners:
Great Places Housing Group
Newlon Housing Trust
Nomad E5 Housing Association
Finalists:
Gentoo Group
Peak Valley (Contour Housing Group)
Sentinel Housing Association
Winners:
Accent Group
Derwent and Solway Housing Association
Places for People Group
Finalists:
East Thames Group
St Mungo's Community Housing Association
Wakefield and District Housing
Now in its third year, the Housing Corporation's Gold Award scheme is established as one of the most coveted and valued annual housing award in England. Entries were attracted from 71 housing associations, both large and small.
The National Federation of Arms Length Management Organisations announced the winners of its 2008 Awards at a ceremony held at the Royal York Hotel in York.
The NFA has 70 member organisations that collectively oversee more than one million council owned properties across England. Over 200 entries were received across the seven categories that made up the 2008 Awards:
The Most Innovative Project category winner was Colchester Borough Homes for its Extra Care Scheme, which provides 24hour home care to the terminally ill and older individuals in their final days. The ALMO has established two fully managed extra-care schemes, where residents have access to an enhanced package of care and support 24 hours a day.
Valerie Schneider, from Nottingham City Homes, who has been a council tenant for more than 29 years and an active board member since July 2006, was announced as Board Member of the Year. She was rewarded for her passion and enthusiasm in establishing a Disability Forum to address and overcome disability issues in housing services. She has also been integral to the launch of the Homes 4 Us initiative - a new inclusive service for disabled tenants and leaseholders.
Brent Housing Partnership was recognised as the Most Effective Partnership Project for the collaboration between Brent Housing Partnership and Brent Action for Responsible K9s. The partnership includes the Police, the RSPCA, Brent Council and the Mayhew Animal home. The aim is to reduce antisocial behaviour, irresponsible dog ownership and mistreatment of pets, as well as providing an outlet for the young. As a result, reported antisocial behaviour has been reduced by 47% and environmental crimes by 52%.
A new Audit Commission report concludes that the strategic housing service provided by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is 'poor' but has 'promising prospects' for improvement. The inspection team gave the service a zero-star rating.
The Council provides a strategic and enabling role for housing in the Borough. It no longer owns any housing, having transferred this to a housing association in 2000. The Council provides planning services, and services to maintain and improve housing conditions in the private sector.
The report list areas for improvement, including:
Inspectors also identified strengths, including:
Recommendations made in the report include:
The housing management services delivered by Wokingham Borough Council are judged to be 'fair' with 'uncertain prospects for improvement', according to a report published by the Audit Commission. The Commission inspection team awarded the services a one-star rating.
The inspectors found a number of positive features of the service, including:
The report also highlights issues that need to be addressed, including:
Inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
Members of the West Wales BME Housing Consortium worked in partnership with Tai Pawb to develop a 'Contractor Guidance Manual for Working with Diverse Communities'. The booklet aims to encourage and assist contractors to adopt good practice in terms of their equal opportunities performance, both in terms of service delivery and recruitment practices.
The Consortium is made up of a number of key housing organisations and local authorities, working together to develop a comprehensive and united approach to promoting equality of opportunity.
The aim of the Consortium is to ensure that services are equally accessible to everyone and appropriate to the differing needs of all sectors of the community. All members are committed to working towards eliminating racial discrimination in all aspects of the work they undertake, actively promoting equality of opportunity.
