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Morning Briefing: Liverpool mayor hits out at Channel 4 ‘£1 houses’ programme
A Channel 4 show displeases Joe Anderson, a housing association takes its repairs in-house, and a reminder that the Addison Act wasn’t just about councils
In the news
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has criticised a new Channel 4 programme for its portrayal of an area of the city where the council’s ‘homes for a pound’ scheme is running, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The second series of the show £1 Houses: Britain’s cheapest street aired last night and featured homes in the Webster Triangle area of Wavertree.
Mr Anderson criticised the programme for not explaining the context and reasons for the homes being in disrepair, blaming the then-coalition government’s removal of funding for the Housing Market Renewal Initiative. He also accused the programme makers of “selective editing”, by putting too much emphasis on anti-social behaviour and crime.
Believe Housing, an 18,000-home housing association in east Durham, has completed the in-sourcing of its repairs service, reports East Durham News.
The planning applications for the first homes in a 3,200 scheme to build two “giant garden suburbs” in Calderdale, Yorkshire, could be submitted later this year, reports local newspaper the Telegraph & Argus.
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A new academic study has found homeless people are 60 times more likely to go to A&E than the general population, The Guardian has reported.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has put a press notice on the government website outlining a new £5m fund to encourage lenders to develop “green home finance products”, such as mortgages that allow better rates if homeowners upgrade their home’s energy rating.
Whether to house homeless people locally or re-home them further afield in cheaper accommodation is a dilemma faced by many local authorities over the past few years. West Berkshire Council is responding by looking to purchase more accommodation so it doesn’t have to move people to Slough, reports Newbury Today
Oxfordshire newspaper the Henley Standard is reporting warnings from union GMB about a shortage of affordable homes for workers.
What can the next prime minister do to help Britain’s cities? That’s the question tackled by Andrew Carter, chief executive of thinktank Centre for Cities, in a piece for website Citymetric.
The Local Government Association is warning that councils are “in the dark” over their funding for next year, the BBC reports.
On social media
As Inside Housing calls for your council housing stories in the run up to the 100th anniversary of the Addison Act, website Housing Association Histories reminds us that the 1919 legislation also benefited housing associations:
@natfednews 1919 Act also enabled HAs to provide new #ukhousing as part of the post-war push to tackle scarcity in partnership with central/local govt. Also sparked formation of new HAs focusing on abolition of the slums. #100yearsofcouncilhousing t.co/IDINH2vUgB pic.twitter.com/yaFwgqsU6D
— Housing Association Histories (@HAHistories)@natfednews 1919 Act also enabled HAs to provide new #ukhousing as part of the post-war push to tackle scarcity in partnership with central/local govt. Also sparked formation of new HAs focusing on abolition of the slums. #100yearsofcouncilhousing https://t.co/IDINH2vUgB pic.twitter.com/yaFwgqsU6D
— Housing Association Histories (@HAHistories) July 1, 2019
What’s on
- An event called “Shaping the new regulatory system for building safety” is being held in London today from 10am, organised by the National Housing Federation
Future of Work Festival
New for 2019, Inside Housing’s Future of Work Festival will bring together HR and organisational development professionals from the housing sector to discuss and explore the challenges of how to successfully evolve towards the working environment of the future.
Seize this opportunity to rethink your workforces and workplaces by reconsidering the roles of individuals, organisations, automation technology and how society will approach work.
Assess and benchmark your business strategy with the leaders in the housing sector:
- Defining the Future of Work: what does it look like, what will be the implications, how do you rethink your workforce strategy?
- How to embed Electronic Data Interchange into your workforce, attract the widest pool of talent, be authentic and innovative, keep your workforce happy and productive, and position your brand
- Identifying, assessing and closing the skill gaps: what skills will be required in the future and how do you prepare for the undefined?
- Appealing to and maintaining a multi-generational workforce: how to address differing career aspirations, expectations, behaviours and values
- How best to implement the best tech, for example, big data, artificial intelligence, automation, blockchain and the Internet of Things. How will this change workplace skills and wages? How do you evolve towards a ‘STEMpathetic’ workforce?
- Providing your HR and OD department with the right skills and toolkits to revise talent, organisational structures and business models. Be social and environmentally friendly, and data driven – investing in disruptive tech, skills training and ethical use of tech
- Promoting well-being and employee experience
- Introducing training and learning as part of the career path
- Embracing agile working – understanding how flexible and alternative working arrangements can boost productivity
The festival will take place on 17 September, at Westminster Bridge, County Hall in London.
