Law Commission: Housing - Proportionate dispute resolution

The Law Commission has published a consultation document aiming at review the law and practice on how housing disputes are resolved, with the aim of reforming it to make it simple, effective, fair and proportionate.The consultation deadline is set as 28/09/2007.

To access the relevant page click here.
|

£500,000 boost for action to reduce youth homelessness

A £500,000 fund is today being awarded to innovative schemes to tackle youth homelessness, ranging from crash pads for teenagers to supported lodgings and a text message service offering housing options. Housing Minister Yvette Cooper announced that 27 local authorities and partnerships would receive the investment for their plans to reduce youth homelessness.

National Statistics released today show that new cases of homelessness reported by local authorities have fallen by 17 per cent in comparison to the same period last year to 17,230 - the lowest level since the early 1980s. However, more than a third of new cases of homelessness last year were young people aged under 25. The funding builds on a package of measures announced last year in the Government's National Youth Homelessness Scheme, including a new target to end the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds by 2010.

Projects being funded include mediation schemes to resolve family relationship breakdowns, which is one of the biggest causes of homelessness, and supported lodging schemes which provide short-term respite support to young people, giving them a place to stay whilst they work through problems and increase the chances they can return to the family home.
|

Reform of the planning system

This page on the Communities and Local Government website gives links to information about the reform of the planning system, including the planning white paper and associated documents, the review of planning enforcement and the spatial plans in practice project.
|

English Partnerships fires starting gun in race to develop England’s first zero carbon communities

Expressions of interest invited to build 150 homes in Bristol. Housebuilders were invited to submit expressions of interest to build England’s first large scale development of zero carbon homes today, as national regeneration agency English Partnerships published its pre-qualifying questionnaire (PQQ) for a 150 home site in Bristol.

Hanham Hall – a 6.1 ha former hospital site in Bristol, owned by English Partnerships – has been identified as the first site in the country to be suitable for development under the agency’s Carbon Challenge.  Read More...
|

Thematic review: Decent Home Standard

Them-Rev-Decent-Homes-cover
This Thematic Review of housing association progress towards the Decent Home Standard (DHS), looks at the data that housing associations supply about DHS performance. It carries out an in-depth analysis of one set of data, the statistics from the Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR). Data have been scrutinised in order to reach a conclusion about whether housing association claims stand up. The conclusion that the data indicates is that they do.
|

People first - Delivering change through involvement

Involving residents improves the effectiveness with which housing services are delivered, brings benefits of new skills and increased confidence to residents. It is a core component of helping to ensure that neighbourhoods and communities are places where people want to live, now and in the future.
People-First-cover
The Housing Corporation is clear that involvement is critical to housing associations' success as effective businesses meeting the needs of the people who live in and around their homes. An amendment has been made to their tenant involvement policy, published 31 May, to clarify the application of provisions on resident board members to charitable associations (see page 20 of People first).

Click here to access document.
|

Procuring High Quality HIA Services

This one-day seminar is for current and potential commissioners of housing improvement agency (HIA) services from Supporting People, health and housing services, and senior management from HIA service providers. It will be held in Birmingham on 26 June 2007 and in London on 18 September 2007. It will look at how good commissioning practice will lead to effective service delivery and value for money outcomes. Read More...
|