ASB Awareness week

As part of National ASB Awareness Week, we teamed up with colleagues at The Guinness Partnership and West Yorkshire Police on Friday 23rd July 2021 to focus on locally-based initiatives for tackling cuckooing in our neighbourhoods.

This partnership-focussed session was able to capture the essence of ASB Awareness Week as effective multi-agency working is essential in order for us to protect vulnerable victims and achieve successful outcomes for the wider community.

Our Head of Housing Consultancy, Darren Burton was joined by Inspector Michael Cox (Serious & Organised Crime Co-ordinator), Jess Clayton (Force Drugs Co-ordinator) and Guinness staff from throughout the UK.

The discussions which took place continued to highlight the important role that Housing can play when dealing with these increasingly prominent issues. This included local knowledge, evidence gathering, information sharing, education, awareness and resident consultation. Delegates also explored the impact of cannabis cultivation in Social Housing properties.

The Housing Best Practice Partnership Network for West Yorkshire

The next meeting of the Housing Best Practice Partnership Network for West Yorkshire will take place on Wednesday 29th September 2021 (1:00pm – 3:00pm)

On this occasion, the key themes will be:

• The Community Trigger 
• Operation Cuckoo
• Crime Plan for West Yorkshire 

Building a greener future: Government commitment leads to sector-wide net zero approach

2021 has already seen the introduction of rigorous new energy efficiency standards for homes, in the Government’s attempt to lower energy consumption and bills, furthering their legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Now, with the help of the Future Homes Task Force, developers, suppliers and regulators alike have agreed to take a sector wide approach to the current and future development of net zero homes.

In January 2021, the Government announced new energy efficiency standards for homes. The Government’s plan includes a commitment to low carbon heating and being zero carbon ready by 2025. Alongside this, new homes are expected to produce 31% lower carbon emissions from 2021. In discussing their target, the Government suggest that these standards are a vital step forwards, towards their commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, a legally binding target introduced in 2019. Now the housing sector is demonstrating its commitment to playing its part in delivering this goal.

Q&A – Repair free period for new shared ownership leases

What is the “repair free” period?

A new 10 year “repair free” period has been introduced by the new shared ownership model lease, during which time shared owners of new builds will receive support from their landlord to pay for essential repairs. Following this 10 year period, or if they staircase to 100% ownership before that time, the purchaser will take on full responsibility for repairs and maintenance.

What are “essential repairs”?

Landlords will be responsible for assessing in advance of works whether repairs claimed are essential and genuine. There is no definition within the model lease of essential and genuine, only that the landlord is to act reasonably in its assessment.

Linkedin

Make sure you’re following the Forbes Housing and Regeneration Linkedin page to keep updated with the team.

Hate Crime in Social Housing – we want to hear from you!

The Housing Litigation Team are seeing an increase in ASB cases where a hate crime, whether it be motivated by racism, homophobia or disability, has been committed. We’d really appreciate your input to help shape our next event by taking a few minutes to complete a survey

Tackling cannabis smoking in residential areas

15th September 2021, 10am

ASB and housing teams often receive complaints about cannabis smoking within resident’s homes and gardens. Tackling these issues can prove problematic for a wide variety of reasons.

Co-hosted with Janine Green ASB this free online session will draw together a number of professionals from different agencies, in order to discuss the issues and explore possible solutions. Practitioners will share examples of what has worked well, leaving delegates with practical tips and guidance that they can implement in their casework.

This session will be delivered as a roundtable, allowing delegates to view the debate between all parties and pose questions. 

The invite will be sent out w/c 30th August.

ICO Calls for Views on Data Protection and Employment Practices Code

This month the ICO has announced that it has opened its public consultation for the revised version of its Employment Practices Code ('the Code').

This new guidance will be useful for RPs who collect and hold a large amount of employee information. Since the introduction of the UK GDPR, we have seen a marked increase in complaints our clients receive from employees about their data protection practices. The new Code will provide welcome guidance to RPs, particularly when introducing new technologies and ensuring compliance with data protection law whilst staff are working remotely.

PD Rights set to be more restrictive for Office to Residentials Conversations

The planning laws are there to monitor what can and can’t be built in certain areas to keep within the local policy and that of the country as a whole. Permitted development rights are, to some degree self-explanatory, as they are those rules that allow certain aspects of development to progress without some or all of the application of the more ridged elements of planning law.

The UK & Ireland Housing & Organised Crime Webinar

17th November 2021, 10am

Organised crime has a devastating impact on our communities in both the UK and Ireland. As home to some of the most vulnerable members of society, social housing neighbourhoods are heavily exposed to this increasingly prominent issue where families and young people become targeted and trapped in a cycle from which it is hard to escape.

Housing Professionals have a key role to play in tackling organised crime given their extensive local knowledge, presence within these neighbourhoods and access to other services.

For the first time, we will be bringing together colleagues from both nations to focus on the role of Housing when dealing with cuckooing, county lines and other forms of organised crime. This will include sharing best practice around support for vulnerable victims, effective partnership working, the use of legal enforcement action, research and evidence gathering.

We will hear from a wide range of guest speakers such as UK Police, An Garda Siochana, Registered Housing Providers, Local Authorities, Criminologists, Academics, Charities, people with lived experience from community groups.

The full programme is currently being finalised but to reserve your place, please click here.

Safeguarding in Housing Virtual Conference

 Monday 27th & Tuesday 28th September 

In collaboration with Zurich UK, we are taking an innovative look at safeguarding through the lens of housing providers. Safeguarding remains a huge issue for the UK’s Social Housing Sector and the importance of “getting things right” has never been greater. Our conference will focus on the key role that housing plays within the national safeguarding arena and will include:

The sharing of best practice between like-minded organisations and highlighting the value “lessons learnt”

Developing robust policies that stand up to scrutiny and challenge

Avoiding risk and preventing the occurrence of Serious Case Reviews/ Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews

Facilitating effective partnership links with other agencies to support vulnerable customers

It will also provide an ideal opportunity to engage with a range of expert guest speakers, build networks with other housing professionals at a regional and national level and reflect upon organisation’s current approach to Safeguarding.

CLICK HERE to book your place.

Spotlight on...

Rebecca Webster

Associate Solicitor in the Housing Litigation Team dealing predominantly with anti-social behaviour for Claimant Registered Providers of Social Housing and Local Authorities

Qualifications

LLB (Hons) Business Law

3 words that describe me

Confident, Calm, Wise 

Hobbies

Yoga practice, anything creative, learning Spanish

Favourite Food and Drink

Chocolate and a freshly brewed coffee au lait

Copy of Domestic Abuse Act 2021 - Housing Provider Involvement in England

Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act (2021) places a duty on local authorities to appoint a multi-agency Domestic Abuse Partnership Board and to carry out a Needs Assessment for accommodation-based domestic abuse support in their area for all victims (and their children) who reside in relevant safe accommodation, including those who come from outside of their area. 

This survey is seeking information from housing providers, to complete the survey please click here.