Chief Executive's Blog - How to Nudge
Matthew Fox: Viridian Housing
The creation of our Social Impact Directorate on 1 April is for me the realisation of a dream - something that I have been working towards for at least two years.
I think it is incredibly important that we re-connect with the idealism of the earlier years of our sector and I really do believe that our focus on Social Impact will help us do that.
The job of the Social Impact Directorate is to work with residents to help them improve their lives in whatever way matters the most to them. Inevitably however we won't be able to customise its services to each individual customer. We will need to devise a few "products" that we hope will be attractive to lots of residents and then we will need to market those products to residents.
At this stage, we think that some of our key products will be: jobs help, money advice, going digital, etc.
To read the full blog click here.
__________
David Orr's Blog - The Housing Crisis and Questions That Need Answering
Chief Executive: National Housing Federation
As Newham Borough's attempts to ease their housing crisis hit the headlines, the extent of the housing crisis is demonstrated. With much uncertainty around the future of housing, now is the time to be asking some crucial questions about how we deal with this crisis.
The London Borough of Newham has written to housing associations and private landlords in Stoke on Trent and other places seeking rented accommodation, to offer to people on their housing waiting list. It offers a deal to potential landlords that could appear to be financially attractive and seems to make financial sense for Newham.
Is this a desperate measure, or a legitimate and rational response to a serious problem? When Newham claims it has no choice, is it right? Or is housing minister Grant Shapps right to say that "the system is still very generous and I think Newham are perhaps playing politics, given that we are in election season"?
To read the full blog click here.
George Clarke, presenter of the TV show The Great British Property Scandal, has been appointed as independent adviser to the Government on bringing empty homes back into use.
Ministers have asked him to assume the role to help bring thousands of empty homes back into use for families in need of a decent home.
The announcement follows the success of The Great British Property Scandal campaign and series, which exposed the scandal of 350,000 perfectly decent homes lying long-term empty across the country - despite the fact that two million families are in need of a decent home.
The programme illustrates how in virtually every city in Britain there is a huge problem with empty homes - many of them privately owned - blighting local communities. In it, George Clarke has been calling for a low-cost loan fund that would help get these individual properties back into use for families who need a home. And while that is set to become a reality in Scotland and Wales, there is still a long way to go before the campaign aims become fully realised across the UK.
The campaign also revealed how whole streets of houses have been left empty since funding for the controversial Pathfinder regeneration scheme dried up, and contact has been made with a range of organisations to try and find ways to save as many of these homes as possible.
The role of independent empty homes adviser includes:
24housing published its first ever 'Power Players' list - a comprehensive guide to the most influential people currently working in, or impacting on, the housing sector.
Its 'Top 50' list was compiled after polling more than 200 of the country's most senior housing chief executives, politicians, commentators, academics, lawyers, and other movers and shakers, as well as frontline managers. It asked respondents to rank, from one to five, the people they considered to be the most influential in the sector.
The list is headed by Grant Shapps: Minister of State for Housing and Local Government, Department for Communities and Local Government.
Second position is filled by David Orr: Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation. Third in the list is Iain Duncan Smith: Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The full list can be accessed via this this link.
