ALMOs Win Corporation Accreditation
For the first time, arms length management organisations have been accredited by the Housing Corporation under its Housing Management Accreditation Scheme.
Northwards Housing, Carrick Housing and Derby Homes received accreditation under the Housing Corporation's housing management framework.
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Northern Housing Challenge Projects Update
Fourteen innovative housing projects were given the green light to bid for investment, in the drive to deliver affordable homes and boost economic growth in the North of England.
The Northern Housing Challenge was launched by the Housing Corporation in 2006 to promote new housing-led projects that will help shrink the £30 billion difference in economic performance between the North and the South, while providing homes for over 10,500 people.
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Improving Green Areas Around Estates
A new guide has been published providing a toolkit of practical advice and case studies to help improve wildlife among green spaces in and around social housing.
Published by Notting Hill Housing Group and Peabody Trust, and commissioned by Natural England as part of the Neighbourhoods Green project, A Natural Estate provides simple techniques to encourage biodiversity on the spaces managed by social landlords, and highlights examples of good practice.
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Training Fund for Homeless People
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Iain Wright announced a new £450,000 fund to develop education and training schemes in hostels, to help rough sleepers make a permanent move away from the street.
The new funding will provide trainers and tutors in hostels to help rough sleepers gain vital skills and qualifications, and is part of a £90 million hostels improvement programme, which is transforming hostels into modern places of change.
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Media Training Centres Launched in Foyers
Communities Minister Iain Wright launched a network of 10 media training centres, which aim to give hundreds of young homeless people the skills to take up jobs in the media and music industries.
The media centres, based in hostels for young homeless people run by the Foyer Federation, will give residents the opportunity to develop skills ranging from cinematography, to radio and music production. New partnerships with media organisations will help young homeless people get into careers.
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Shared Equity Competition Shortlist
Twelve new shared equity proposals, which aim to help more people on low incomes onto the housing ladder, have been shortlisted following the successful first phase of the shared equity competition.
The competition was launched by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown in March this year. It aims to offer a wider choice of shared equity mortgages for homebuyers through the Open Market HomeBuy scheme.
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Largest Ever New Housing Programme
The Government announced it would be investing £8 billion over the next three years in affordable and social housing, a 50% increase on current spending.
With this funding, the Housing Corporation will deliver its largest ever programme, helping to provide 70,000 new affordable homes a year by 2010-11, including 45,000 new homes for social rent.
Scottish Research Looks at Use of Reasonable Preference in Allocations
The Scottish Office has published new research into the use of reasonable preference in the allocation of Scottish social housing.
It was commissioned as part of the Scottish Government's commitment to review the reasonable preference categories - following recommendations made by its Allocations Policy Advisory Group.
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Audit Commission to Outsource Audit Practice
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced that the Audit Commission will outsource all its in-house local public audit work to the private sector in the next financial year.
The Commission has already been asked to begin substantive preparations for outsourcing. The contracts, which start from 2012/13, are expected to run for three or five years - giving local councils and other public bodies the time to plan for appointing their own auditors.
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Housing Organisations will Need to Transform their Businesses to Thrive
A new publication explores how housing organisations will need to transform their businesses if they are to thrive and succeed in the future.
Tomorrow's World Today: Transforming the Housing Sector is the outcome of a joint project between the Chartered Institute of Housing and Orbit Group, with support from Just Housing. It aims to instigate a much-needed debate about change and transformation in the sector, what it may look like and how it might best be managed.
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NEA Responds to British Gas Hike in Prices
British Gas has announced substantial price increases to both its gas and electricity prices. The dramatic price increases of 18% for gas and 16% for electricity comes after weeks of speculation, following an announcement from its parent company Centrica that price rises were inevitable due to high wholesale power prices.
The fuel poverty charity National Energy Action estimates that over 5.4 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty and, if six largest energy companies raise their prices by a similar amount, it will increase this number to about 6.1 million.
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No Second Night Out Scheme Extended Nation-wide
Housing Minister Grant Shapps announced the Government's target to put an end to rough sleeping by pledging to work with councils and the voluntary sector to ensure that nobody spends a second night sleeping rough on Britain's streets.
The national roll out of 'No Second Night Out' to tackle rough sleeping aims to protect the most vulnerable in society. A new £20 million 'Homelessness Transition Fund' is being set up to help the voluntary sector to deliver the necessary package of actions.
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Supported Housing Benefit Proposals
The Department for Work and Pensions has recently outlined its proposal to reduce the amount of benefits spent on supported housing.
According to the consultation paper, the current system is outdated and unfair - denying support to some people in need and providing almost unlimited help to others.
Under the new proposals, the current system where the total cost of an individual's supported accommodation is met by Housing Benefit would be replaced. Instead, two payments would be made: Housing Benefit plus a separate sum dependent on the level of support needed.
__________Consultation on Proposals to Make Squatting a Crime
A new crime of squatting has been proposed by Justice Minister Crispin Blunt. Making squatting an offence for the first time, sending persistent offenders to prison and abolishing so-called 'squatters rights' are among a range of proposals put forward as part of a new Government consultation.
