Location: Best practice groups –
Virtual
15 August 2022 – 10:00am – 12:00pm
Housing Quality Network news feed
Government cost of living support ‘will fall at least £1,600 short’ in helping families
A new report concludes that the current flat-rate payments offered by the government will fall “at least £1,600 short” of making up for recent changes to living costs and benefits faced by a couple with two children. The report, written … Read more
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51% of adults ‘using less gas and electricity in their home’ due to cost of living crisis
A new Office for National Statistics survey has found that around 24 million people in Great Britain were reducing energy use in their home between March and June 2022, and around 16 million cut back on food and essentials. Around … Read more
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Interest rates rise by 0.5%
The Bank of England has announced that interest rates set to rise to 1.75% — the highest jump in 27 years. There is also a recession forecast in the latest update, as well as a prediction that inflation will hit 13% … Read more
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Government releases first £6m from Supported Housing Improvement Programme
Government has released the first £6m from its £20m Supported Housing Improvement Programme. Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Hull councils will receive the funding to carry out more frequent and thorough inspections of supported housing. This programme funds councils … Read more
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Severe maladministration for housing association’s response to silverfish infestation
Metropolitan Thames Valley’s failings in responding to a silverfish infestation at a resident’s flat has led to a finding of severe maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman. The compensation offered by the landlord did not reflect the ‘significant impact’ on the family by … Read more
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Government’s changes to accessibility standards on new homes ‘can’t come soon enough’
The Government’s proposal to raise accessibility standards on all new homes has been welcomed by national learning disability charity Hft, saying the changes “cannot happen soon enough”. This comes as the Government responds to a consultation on raising accessibility standards … Read more
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3% increase in people ‘at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness’ since last year
New homelessness statistics from government show that households at risk of homelessness due to a section 21 eviction has risen by 142% in the past year. It continues a worrying trend, with a rise of 18% from the previous quarter … Read more
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Managing disrepair – top tips (1)
Due to the unprecedented amount of disrepair claims being filed against social landlords, we ran a hugely popular event last week – focusing firstly on how to get your house in order to ensure you remain on the front foot … Read more
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Government reopens Building Safety Fund for applications
More leaseholders in high-rise homes will be “spared unfair bills for building safety costs” as the government’s £4.5bn Building Safety Fund reopens for new applications. Buildings over 18 metres with cladding issues are eligible to apply for the fund, which … Read more
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Energy Bills Support Scheme details released
The government has set out further details of the Energy Bills Support Scheme. The £400 discount, administered by energy suppliers, will be paid to consumers over six months with payments starting from October 2022, to ensure households receive financial support … Read more
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Government sets out £54m to develop further heat networks
Government has set out £54m in funding from the £320m of Heat Networks Investment Project to develop further heat networks. Almost £28m will fund 2 innovative heat network projects in Haringey in London, with nearly £17m going to a project … Read more
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Next-gen heat pump could ‘cut energy bills and carbon emissions’
Researchers from the University of Glasgow have developed a new type of heat pump, a flexible heat pump technology, which could help households save on their energy bills and contribute towards net-zero emissions goals. Around the world, about 40% of … Read more
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Latest member question: management structures
An HQN member is keen to find out about different management structures for organisations with between 5,000 and 12,000 properties. They are looking at sharing their senior management arrangements with another council and would like to find out about approaches … Read more
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Updates from the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry (11-21 July 2022)
By Danielle Aumord. The final moments of the Grenfell victims presented at the inquiry (11 – 21 July 2022) National guidance in place at the time of the Grenfell fire stated that it was “usually unrealistic” to expect landlords to … Read more
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Housing Ombudsman finds severe maladministration for Clarion’s failings on resolving leak
The Housing Ombudsman found severe maladministration for Clarion’s cumulative failings in handling repairs to resolve a leak and the problems that followed with the resident’s shower and electrics. The resident had consistently reported leaks into his shower room from the … Read more
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Councils could receive grants to help build homes on ‘underused and derelict sites’
Councils across England could soon receive grants to help them build homes on underused and derelict sites. Under plans announced by the Government, the grants would refund the costs of Landfill Tax where it acts as a barrier to redeveloping … Read more
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Mayor of London doubles council housebuilding target
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has doubled his council housebuilding target, supporting councils to start work on 20,000 new council homes by 2024. Sadiq is aiming for a total of 20,000 new City Hall-backed council homes by 2024, after … Read more
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ASB Awareness Week
This week has marked ASB Awareness Week with the government launching two new initiatives aimed at improving community safety. The Home Office has launched new set of Anti-Social Behaviour Principles, aimed at encouraging more people to report ASB, improving partnership … Read more
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8.2 million households could be in fuel poverty in October
National Energy Action is predicting that 8.2 million UK households will be in fuel poverty, if bills increase by 60%. That amounts to one in three households. Energy experts Cornwall Insight predicted that when the price cap rises in October, … Read more
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Lack of social housing ‘no excuse’ for disrepair and poor conditions
The lack of social housing in the country needs addressing but is “no excuse” for housing people in squalor, says social housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa. Speaking at HQN’s annual conference in London, Kwajo said the conditions he’s seen are “inhumane … Read more
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Housing’s Next Generation 2022 winner revealed
We are delighted to reveal the winner of Housing’s Next Generation competition 2022. Tom Leon-Grimes, Service Development Manager at Orbit Group, was awarded the prize at the HQN annual conference. Tom saw off competition from 80 other young people in … Read more
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Opinion: A blog of two halves
By Colin Wiles, housing consultant. I was mainly going to write about the Conservative leadership race, but then I was side-tracked by this week’s excessive heat and lack of rain, and ended up speculating about climate change. So this is … Read more
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Social housing tenants’ complaints of ‘uninhabitable homes’ must be addressed, say MPs
The condition of some social housing in England has “deteriorated so badly as to be unfit for human habitation”, and social housing providers “must significantly improve their complaint handling process”, says the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. The … Read more
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Government launches new ASB panel for social housing
Social housing landlords will be “given support to tackle anti-social behaviour through a new advisory group”. Housing Minister Eddie Hughes has announced a new panel of experts to advise on the best approach for dealing with anti-social behaviour from tenants … Read more
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Housing association agrees £50m funding package with Santander UK
Santander UK has provided Watford Community Housing with a £50m funding package to “support its delivery of more than a thousand new homes in Hertfordshire by 2028.” The five-year revolving credit facility will assist the housing association in “significantly growing … Read more
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Housing Ombudsman finds severe maladministration for council’s delayed repairs
The Housing Ombudsman found severe maladministration for Birmingham City Council’s delays in repairing an extensive water leak that caused damage to the resident’s property. The landlord failed to offer any compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused to the resident, … Read more
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Housing association and local authority agree new housing partnership
The Hyde Group and Chichester District Council have agreed a new partnership, which aims to continue improving housing standards and increasing affordable housing across the district. As the largest provider of social housing in the district, Hyde has also developed … Read more
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Government launches guidelines to protect victims of ASB and make communities safer
The government are to launch new guidelines to encourage more people to take a stand against anti-social behaviour and help make communities safer. The Home Office is using the launch of ASB Awareness Week to publish a new set of … Read more
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Housing association says customer data ‘not accessed’ in cyber attack
Clarion Housing Group has given an update on the recent cyber security incident, saying that “we are now confident that our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, which is our main store of customer data, was not accessed”. The housing association … Read more
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HQN annual conference day one and two round up
The HQN annual conference heard powerful and touching stories from survivors of Grenfell Tower as part of a conference that had plenty of learning and reflection for the sector. Day one kicked off by looking back over the past 25 … Read more
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Location: HQN event, Summer school –
Virtual
11 August 2022 – 10:00am – 11:30am
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training in all categories
Public training –
Live virtual
28 September 2022 – 10:00am – 1:00pm
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