Feed aggregator

A former managing director of an NHS Foundation Trust has been selected for the top job at the hospice charity

The commission concludes that trustees handled the matters raised ‘appropriately’

The local authority have outlined plans to support 2,000 new homes a year, tackle homelessness and reduce the number of empty properties.

Just yesterday Liverpool City Council launched the public consultation on their draft housing strategy. At the heart of the plans, which will shape a more than £1bn building programme if completed, is the local authorities aim to provide more affordable housing after they discovered that of the 10,700 new homes built in the past five years, a mere 11% are classed as affordable.  

Liverpool are looking to deliver 8,000 new properties by 2027 and 20% of them will be earmarked as affordable. Likewise, the local authority will be writing to landlords of more than 8,000 empty properties as part of a review of empty homes.

The timing of this new draft strategy couldn’t have been better. At the beginning of this year, it emerged that Liverpool council’s costs for placing homeless households in temporary accommodation had increased by 10,000% in five years. What’s more, earlier this month the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed that the percentage of councils’ total housing budget being spent on homelessness and temporary accommodation has tripled since 2015.

In addition to addressing the homelessness problem, the strategy also outlines a commitment to develop brownfield sites to help deliver homes. The council is currently working on schemes including Festival Gardens, Liverpool Waters, King’s Dock and Paddington Village.

News of building on brownfield sites has come just after Chancellor Rachael Reeves outlined the Labour party will be prioritising these areas.

Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool council, said: ‘The council recognises the challenges people face to get on the property ladder, which is why our new draft housing strategy has set out a target for 2,000 new homes a year, with a fifth being affordable.

‘The underlying problem of supply and demand is also at the heart of our mission, which is why we are working with a range of partners to unlock key brownfield sites and to systematically reduce the number of empty properties.

‘Together this will help kick-start a £1bn boom in housebuilding across the city, which will have a huge impact on our economy and workforce.

‘I’m confident Liverpool can get the country moving in launching a new era of quality, affordable homes.’

Cllr Sam East, cabinet member for housing, added: ‘Housing provides the cornerstone of peoples’ lives – shaping the social fabric of the places we live, our health and wellbeing, and the opportunities we have to learn, work and play.

‘Whilst the recent homelessness crisis in Liverpool has necessitated emergency action, we want this strategy to provide a longer-term framework to ensure individuals and families can always access homely and sustainable living in the future.’

‘This draft strategy reflects feedback we’ve already gathered which highlighted overwhelming support for providing more homes for social rent, improving energy efficiency and insulation on homes, and tackling homelessness and rough sleeping,’ Cllr East said. ‘We now want to hear views on the specific proposals within this draft strategy so we can improve and sharpen these proposals.’

The consultation is set to run until 6th September and can be found here.

Once this stage has passed the council will develop an action plan based on the publics reaction – the final Liverpool Housing Strategy is scheduled to be approved by the cabinet in autumn 2024.

Image: Neil Martin

More on this topic:

Liverpool to undergo a major ‘Swiftie’ regeneration

‘Once-in-a-generation’ Liverpool Central station plans begin

There are 500 slots up for grabs in the draw, which is open to UK-registered charities with no places in the 2024 or 2025 event

Welsh language campaigners are expecting Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet to approve the introduction of an Article 4 direction which would limit the number of second homes and holiday lets in the area.

The most recent figures from the Welsh government display their housing situation isn’t a cause for a concern, it’s an emergency. The data shows that by May 2023 10,872 people, including children had been placed in temporary accommodation, an increase of a third compared with 2022. In an attempt to address the housing crisis, Welsh language group, Cymdeithas yr laith, are calling on Cyngor Gwynedd’s cabinet to limit second homes and holiday lets and expect other local authorities to follow suit.

In a bid to address the national housing emergency, in 2021 the Welsh government granted councils the power to introduce an Article 4 direction, which would make planning permission mandatory before turning a property into a second home or holiday accommodation.

Following a long consultation process, Cyngor Gwynedd’s cabinet are set to make a final decision on whether to introduce this policy on 16th July. If it is passed, they will become the first local authority in Wales to implement it.

Dr Jeff Smith, Chair of the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Sustainable Communities Group, said: ‘We are pleased to see Gwynedd Council proceeding with the process of introducing an Article 4 Direction across the whole county, but the housing crisis in Wales exists beyond the borders of Gwynedd.

‘We are now calling on other local authorities to follow this example across their counties.

‘It is evident that financial considerations, administrative capacity and uncertainty about the process have prevented them from proceeding, so the Welsh Government has a duty to prepare a support package that includes funding for additional staff in order to administer it along with clear guidelines.

‘What is the purpose of these new powers if local authorities cannot make use of them due to a lack of resources or leadership?’

As well as the number of families being without a permanent home increasing, the lack of housing is driving people out of Gwynedd. According to figures from the last Census, the population of the county fell by 3.7% and the proportion that spoke Welsh by 1%.

Image: HS Spender

More on this topic:

Renting Homes Act to bring major changes to Welsh housing law

Welsh campaigners have gathered to protest the country’s housing ‘tragedy’

Ofwat have announced water bills will rise by £94 over the next five years to address the climate crisis, however, politicians have described the plans as a disgrace for households.

The announcement from the regulator this morning came after under-fire water companies outlined plans to charge customers to pay for investment to stop sewage spills and fix leaky pipes. However, the overall sum is less than the increase requested by organisations and amounts to a rise in bills of around £19 each year over the period.

Details of the plans can be seen in a review by Ofwat, which examined the spending plans of English and Welsh water companies for 2025-30. The plans were submitted last October, and the report represents Ofwat’s drafts view, with a final decision due to be released at the end of this year.

Within the report it is highlighted that some water companies will be charging more than others. For example, Thames Water – which has been publicly struggling for a while – will be allowed to increase bills by £99 to £535, £92 less than the company proposed. What’s more, the biggest increase Ofwat granted was for Southern Water, with a £183 rise to £603.

However, although these plans have been created to essentially save the environment, a number of MPs have voiced their concerns about how impactful this will be for struggling households.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesperson, said: ‘Any insulting price hikes by water companies must be blocked. It is a national scandal that these disgraced firms are demanding more money from families and pensioners in a cost-of-living crisis, all while dumping raw sewage into our rivers.’

Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, added: ‘Millions of people will feel upset and anxious at the prospect of these water bill rises and question the fairness of them, given some water companies’ track record of failure and poor service.’

In addition, Paul de Zylva, senior sustainability analyst at Friends of the Earth, has claimed that whilst the plans seem positive, they won’t even scratch the surface when it comes to making a real difference.

‘This decision yet again proves that our current form of water privatisation is not fit for purpose. It sees water companies pile pressure on Ofwat to allow them to hike customers’ bills, to subsidise long overdue investment in our crumbling sewage infrastructure which might cut or prevent some, but by no means all, pollution,’ Zylva said.

‘Ofwat’s draft view shows it isn’t pandering to everything water companies wanted by giving them the sky-high bill increases they seek, but many will still see this considerable hike as unfair given how much we’ve already paid. People are willing to pay for essential bill rises when they get good service and real action to prevent pollution, but not to reward ongoing failure.’

‘It’s good to hear the new Environment Secretary Steve Reed saying he’ll “never look the other way” and make changes in water company governance, but tough talk won’t wash without greater funding for the Environment Agency and putting a Green Duty on Ofwat alongside its economic focus,’ Zylva said. ‘It’s now up to the new government to set a better standard by imposing tougher sanctions on irresponsible water companies and enshrining the right to a healthy environment law.’

It should be noted that bills will rise for customers of all water companies in England and Wales bar those of Wessex Water and Sutton and East Surrey Water.

Image: Imani

More on this topic:

Households to save £122 on energy bills as prices drop

Government announces £80m for social housing upgrades to cut energy bills

The latest Charity Digital Skills Report is based on research conducted with more than 600 voluntary sector organisations

The Core Grant Funding Scheme supports organisations delivering front-line or central support services and was reduced from £3.6m to £1.8m last year

The Charity Commission’s statutory inquiry into the transgender support charity was opened in November 2022

Mayor Brabin has outlined plans to build over 38,000 new homes on previously developed land across the regions five local authorities.

Following the appointment of a new government in Westminster, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has vowed to deliver tens of thousands of new homes by working in lock-step with local housing providers. 

These plans were included in The West Yorkshire Housing Strategy 2040, the first of its kind for the region, which was revealed on a visit to Saxton Lane in Leeds, where 204 affordable apartments are being developed by WDH – one of the UK’s largest social housing providers.

For the first time, the plans will bring together the five local authorities of West Yorkshire to deliver across four core missions – boosting housing supply, building affordable homes, improving existing homes, and creating vibrant communities.

The strategy aims to build on the progress made since the devolution of the £90 million Brownfield Housing Fund to the region, which has helped to deliver more affordable homes than at any other time since the global financial crash, including 1,500 in the year 2022-2023.

‘Our fifteen year housing strategy gives us the long-term, joined-up approach we need to tackle this intolerable housing crisis, ensuring that everyone has a safe and secure place to call home,’ Mayor Brabin said. ‘Growing up in a good quality council flat we didn’t have to worry about unaffordable rent, mould on our walls or the looming threat of a no-fault eviction, and no one else should have to either.’

She added: ‘Housing is a basic human right and the foundation for a good and healthy life. By working in lock-step with the new government and our brilliant local housing partners, we will deliver a new dawn for housebuilding across West Yorkshire.’

The launch of the strategy follows a speech made earlier in the week from the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, who vowed to ‘get Britain building again’. To help deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of the parliament, the Chancellor and MP for Leeds West and Pudsey has pledged to work closely with Mayors and local leaders, restore housebuilding targets, and reform planning rules whilst bolstering planning teams.

According to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, there are approximately 85,000 people and families on waiting lists for a council home across the region, with house prices reaching six times the average annual wage, as compared to only three times the average annual wage in 2002.

Private renters have also been hit hard by the ‘double-whammy’ of high inflation and poor conditions, with rents in Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield rising by around 20% since 2018, and two in five privately rented homes failing to meet the government’s definition of a ‘decent home’.

To address rising fuel poverty, the Combined Authority and its partners have committed £40 million to modernise social homes with solar panels, heat pumps and better insulated walls and windows. The new housing strategy sets out an ambitious vision to create greener and more secure communities, driving down energy bills across West Yorkshire.

Cllr Denise Jeffery, Leader of Wakefield Council and Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Place, Regeneration and Housing Committee, added: ‘Thousands more families are living in safe, secure and affordable homes because of the decisions of our West Yorkshire Mayor in partnership with local councils. We’ve really made the most of the powers and funding devolved to our region so far.

‘But now we need to accelerate this work even more. For too long, strict Government rules over where our brownfield housing fund is spent have blocked our plans. This has limited too much of what we’ve been able to achieve to places where land values are already high.

‘With the backing of a new Government, and the promise of greater flexibility in how we can make decisions, we can build 38,000 new homes. That is at the heart of delivering a region which everyone can be proud to call home.’

Andy Wallhead, Chief Executive Officer of WDH and Chair of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership, said: ‘Housing associations are already leading the way on housebuilding in West Yorkshire, with our partnership members collectively providing a fifth of all homes across the region.

‘But, by working with the new Government and continuing our close collaboration with the Mayor, we’re determined to do even more and will keep on building to provide the affordable and sustainable homes needed to unlock West Yorkshire’s true potential.’

Image: Mayor Brabin 

More on this topic:

New framework tackles disability housing needs

London boroughs ‘ready with hardhats’ to boost housebuilding

The charity’s former chief executive alleges its communications with supporters around its general election appeal were misleading after the Labour Party watered down an earlier commitment to take action to close all hunting loopholes

What is a public appointment and how to apply for one.

Campbell Tickell have created a new framework for councils on how to develop a housing support pipeline for autistic people and people with a learning disability.

Drawing on direct case studies from local councils, the framework provides practical advice for adult social care commissioners and council housing departments, as well as health commissioners and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) on developing inclusive housing.

Focussing on housing with support developments for people who are Care Act eligible, as well as those with moderate or low needs, the guide outlines five key stages to forecasting the need for housing with support for people with a learning disability and autistic people. It addresses models of housing with support, access to diverse funding sources, partnership arrangements with registered providers and arrangements to secure affordable housing.

In addition, the model is looking to gather information from people who have a learning disability and autistic people, to understand their preferred types of accommodation. The guide also emphasises the importance of a partnership approach between adult social care, health, council housing departments and planners.

‘From working with councils, we known strategic demand assessment of housing with support is the cornerstone to developing a housing pipeline,’ Liz Zacharias, Director of Campbell Tickell said. ‘A demand assessment can be incorporated into strategic plans such as the Local Plan and Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA), as well as Market Position Statements. This guide covers each stage of developing and financing a housing with support pipeline and explores how to make reasonable adjustments to the process for accessing general needs housing. We hope it will prove a valuable tool for councils and housing providers.’

Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, added: ‘Ensuring people who have a learning disability and autistic people have access to the right housing for their needs is a critical part of helping people to live an equal life. It’s incredibly important to engage with people who draw on these services to understand their preferred types of accommodation, and this framework will help councils deliver more collaborative care.’

To read the full guide visit: Developing a housing with support pipeline for people with a learning disability and autistic people | Local Government Association.

Image: Laela

More on this topic:

Newcastle architects submit planning application for disability housing scheme

Government delivers extra £50m home adaptation funding through Disabled Facilities Grant

Mark Gifford is to become chief executive of a housing association

The Nursing and Midwifery Council apologises and says the report into its culture will be a turning point for the organisation

Authorities in the capital have campaigned for the government to address homelessness ever since the crisis skyrocketed in 2020. Now, officials have expressed their enthusiasm to tackle the problem following the Chancellor’s speech.

Yesterday, the first-ever female Chancellor, Rachael Reeves, delivered her first speech in the role in which she set out new housing targets. Among the plans were ideas to establish a new taskforce to accelerate stalled housing sites, invest in council planning officers and restore mandatory housing targets. Each of these promises will be beneficial for a number of reasons, but London Boroughs have expressed that the greatest outcome will be tackling the homelessness crisis.

According to recent statistics, London faces the most severe housing pressures in the country. London Councils estimates that one in 50 Londoners is currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation. What’s more, over 320,000 households are on waiting lists for social housing.

Against this backdrop, the cross-party organisation has also highlighted that a pipeline of 283,000 potential new properties have been granted planning permission in London and are waiting to be built.

Cllr Claire Holland, deputy chair of London Councils, said: ‘Boroughs are strongly pro-housing growth and welcome the Chancellor prioritising this pivotal issue. We’re standing with hardhats on, shovels in hand, and ready to work with the government on our shared housebuilding ambitions.

‘There is a desperate need to build more homes in the capital. Without new housing – particularly affordable housing and homes for social rent – London’s homelessness crisis will only continue to worsen. The capital’s future success depends upon us tackling this.’

‘Boroughs have a key role to play. We have a good record in supporting housebuilding and in granting planning permission, but we’re keen to go even further in ensuring more homes get built, more quickly,’ Cllr Holland added. ‘As well as reforming the planning system to maximise delivery, we also need to look at the wider challenges undermining housebuilding – such as lack of crucial local infrastructure, construction skills shortages, and insufficient long-term funding for developing affordable homes.’

On the topic of supporting housebuilding, London Councils have recognised how boroughs can help boost housing targets. The group have remarked that planning departments perform comparatively well when making decisions. According to figures from the Department of Levelling up, over the last two years, 88% of major planning applications across England and 93% in London were approved within 13 weeks or within an agreed time period.

With this in mind, Boroughs have claimed that additional resources, such as funding, for planning teams will bolster capacity and their ability to support more housebuilding in communities. At the minute, London Councils have estimated that boroughs resources are 28% lower than in 2010.

While the cross party group have outlined areas that boroughs would perform well, London Councils have also pointed out factors that could act as barriers to growing the housing supply.

These include:

• Capital funding is insufficient to deliver the scale of affordable housing required, especially after skyrocketing construction costs in recent years.
• Land in London is more scarce and more expensive than elsewhere in England.
• Available sites require remediation and infrastructure investment to unlock housing supply. For example, longer-term funding is vital for new transport investment that will enable new homes to be built on sites across London.
• Insufficient development capacity, especially in the public sector, and a shortage of skilled construction workers.

Image: Lucas Davies

More on this topic:

Mayor of London pledges to end homelessness under one condition

London council pursues registered provider status to help tackle homelessness crisis

This page hosts the public-sector facility time data submitted to the Cabinet Office by organisations using the reporting service.

Jane Lyons has led Cancer52 for nine years

The Sheltered Work Opportunities Project says its new name better describes what it does

The campaign to save Oldham Coliseum was led by the actor Julie Hesmondhalgh