CIEH Housing Policy Bulletin #54
29 June 2016
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Government
- All Party Parliamentary Group on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency – call for evidence
The All-Party Parliamentary Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Group are preparing a prospectus outlining the benefits of current local and national schemes that do/can provide affordable warmth or warm and healthy homes across the UK. The Group is currently running a call for evidence, in the form of a survey in support of this objective. A link to the survey can be found here
- Renters’ Rights Bill
A private members’ Bill is currently before the House of Lords which seeks to amend the recently passed Housing and Planning Act. Proposed measures include giving access to the rogue landlords database to tenants, the ending of certain letting fees for tenants, mandatory electrical safety checks every 5 years and the prevention of rogue landlords from obtaining an HMO licence. http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2016-17/rentersrights.html
- Consultation on Energy Company Obligation: Help to Heat
This DECC consultation seeks views on proposed changes to ECO for 2017-18 and aspects of the high level design for a longer term supplier obligation (2018-22).
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/energy-company-obligation-eco-help-to-heat
- Warm Home Discount Scheme – result of consultation
This document sets out the Government’s response to the Warm Home Discount (WHD) 2016/17 consultation that closed on 6th May 2016. It gives a summary of the responses that were received, which were broadly supportive and in-line with the proposals made within the consultation. The government response also outlines the changes which will be introduced to the scheme for 2016/17.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/warm-home-discount-scheme-201617
- New House of Commons Library Briefing Papers
Planning for Housing. House of Commons Library Briefing Paper Number SN03741 # May 2016
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Partner Updates
- NICE Falls Prevention Quality Standard – consultation
The NICE falls prevention Quality Standard Consultation will run from 28th July to 25th August 2016. For further information on the quality standard or the quality standards programme in general please see the links below.
The CIEH is registered as a stakeholder for this quality standard and we would very much welcome your comments on the draft consultation. Please send any comments you might have to Bob Mayho at the CIEH. Alternatively, you may wish to register as a stakeholder for the consultation yourself. Further details can be found by clicking here.
- Care and Repair Integration Briefing
Care and Repair England have produced a new Integration Briefing: Innovation in home adaptations – a fresh chance considers how the substantial increase in funding for home adaptations offers opportunities to improve integration and meet performance targets, particularly reducing delayed transfers of care.
Backed by Public Health England, the Integration Briefing explains the connections between Disabled Facilities Grant finance, this year’s new Better Care Fund Policy Framework and the interests of Public Health & the NHS.
The Briefing will be particularly useful for anyone involved in related service planning including Directors of Public Health; Members of Health and Wellbeing Boards; Local Councillors; Patient and Service User Representatives; and all those involved in the field of home adaptations.
- Overheating Guidance and Assessment Protocol
The BRE have produced the Overheating Guidance Document and Assessment Protocol documents, now published and available on the BRE website:
http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=1930
- Rogue Letting Agents – new enforcement toolkit
Thanks to Richard Tacagni of London Property Licensing for alerting me to the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) Effective Enforcement Toolkit, published this week. The toolkit is designed to assist local authority enforcement officers to take effective action to tackle rogue letting agents that fail to comply with the law. In particular, it explores the requirement for letting agents to belong to a government approved redress scheme and to display their fees, redress scheme membership and client money protection status.
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Notice Board
- University of the West of England HHSRS Consistency Survey
Phil Gilbert, senior lecturer in environmental health at the University of West England is currently undertaking a project looking at the consistency of assessment using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The project includes a short survey (link below) with a few questions about officer background and two HHSRS scenarios. The survey should only take around 10 minutes to complete:
There is an option at the end of the survey to request a copy of the finished report if you are interested. The data collected is anonymous.
- Derbyshire: Adaptation Practice in two-tier areas
Thanks to Dave Arkle of Amber Valley District Council for alerting me to Derbyshire’s districts/boroughs and the county council undertaking a transformation of adaptation services, not just delivery of DFG but also looking at the whole system of how the needs of disabled residents can be met from 2017
As part of the transformation processes they are completing a work programme to look at how well they are delivering and how they can genuinely transform services supporting the aspirations and opportunities presented by the Better Care Fund. They are particularly keen to share learning with other areas of the country where there is two-tier collaboration and to potentially benchmark our services
They are looking to find colleagues that would be prepared to participate in external validation of what their Transformation Programme is delivering. This could include providing opinion on our service locally and across the county.
Delivery across the county looks different in each area, but their current system is supported in most areas by a Disability Design Service commissioned by Adult Care that undertakes, feasibility, design, tendering and on site oversight.
If you are interested or want to know more please contact
Lucy Wardle – Transformation Challenge Award Coordinator
01629 538909
Dave Arkle Housing Manager – Amber Valley Borough Council 01773 841334
- National Energy Action (NEA) – call for evidence on supporting vulnerable households following utilities disconnection
NEA are running a survey to learn more about what happens for a household when a gas engineer has to either disconnect or turn off an unsafe gas appliance from supply, for example, a gas boiler in the home.
You may be interested in either completing the survey or advertising it to your networks. More information and the link to the survey can be found here.