Entries by dellwood

Changes to the New Homes Bonus – we want your views

The Government is consulting on potential changes to the New Homes Bonus.  The NHC will be responding to the consultation as part of our efforts to make housing policy work for the North, and we’d like to hear member views. The New Homes Bonus was introduced in 2011 as part of the Coalition government’s localism […]

Decent Homes Review – update

The NHC is a core participant in the Sounding Board for Government’s Review of the Decent Homes Standard. The Review is now underway, and the Sounding Board met for the first time in February. MHCLG are running the Review in two phases – the first phase, running over Spring and Summer, is considering the case […]

Northern Housing Consortium Universal Credit – Resources Report Published

The current health crisis has had a significant impact on employment levels across the north. This has had a knock-on effect on the welfare system with one-third of claims to Universal Credit since it’s roll out being made during the pandemic. The Government has offered low-income families the lifeline of the £20 uplift in Universal […]

Select committee recovery report cites NHC evidence

An influential House of Commons committee has cited the NHC’s evidence on net zero and levelling up three times in their latest report on ‘greening the recovery’. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee, chaired by Conservative MP Phillip Dunne, published their latest report Growing back better: putting nature and net zero at the […]

Ward Hadaway appoints new director to head up social housing offering in Manchester

Law firm Ward Hadaway has extended its social housing offering with the appointment of an experienced new lawyer in its Manchester office. Melanie Dirom has joined as director, responsible for advising and providing legal advice and litigation services to many of the firm’s social housing clients and local authorities. Melanie is recognised in both Legal […]

The Social Housing White Paper – Cautious Optimism for Race Equality

Blog by Positive about Inclusion – consultants. Released in November 2020 the Social Housing White Paper was the long awaited Government response to the Grenfell tragedy. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said that the Paper had been prepared with the ‘views of those devastated by Grenfell in mind’ and set in this context […]

National Energy Action (NEA) and Energy Action Scotland (EAS) survey

Fuel poverty charities National Energy Action (NEA) and Energy Action Scotland (EAS) are undertaking research to investigate pre-payment meters (PPM) and the rollout of smart meters for pre-payment customers. We would like to hear your views through this call for evidence, which aims to collect information to inform this research. In particular, NEA and EAS […]

Disrepair Claims: Reconvened Network and Full-Day Conference for NHC Members

The Dealing with Disrepair Network for NHC members reconvened this week after a short hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The group, organised by the NHC and Ward Hadaway, was originally formed in response to the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act. Since March 2020 the Act has imposed upon landlords an implied contractual obligation […]

Fuel Poverty Strategy Published

BEIS has finally published the updated Fuel Poverty Strategy called “Sustainable Warmth: Protecting Vulnerable Households in England.” The new strategy makes 21 commitments to “ensure everyone can afford the energy required to keep their lights and heating on.” It sets out how it will meet the UK’s legal target to “improve as many fuel poor […]

Modern Methods of Construction – time for some honesty?

Synopsis There is a growing body of experience of MMC in the social housing sector now, with a number of Registered Providers in the North having conducted pilot projects, large and small. LHC has worked on hundreds of projects for social landlords all around the UK, totalling more than 5,300 homes to date.  However, it’s […]