This year the conference will be held at the prestigious Radisson Blu Hotel at Stansted – the only hotel with a direct link to the airport – useful if the sector’s news keeps on getting worse! The hotel has ample parking and is easy to get to by public transport. The hotel itself is a mere two minutes walk from the main terminal building along a covered walkway so let the train take the strain and leave the car at home.

This is the hotel with the famous tower of wine – a 16 metre structure with “wine angels” soaring up and down to collect your favourite vintage while you take the opportunity to network with colleagues from other organisations. The larger hotel will more easily cope with our 450+ delegates and exhibitors from across the region and we are aiming to seat as many as 300 guests on the first night for our conference gala dinner.

The theme for this year’s conference is “The Sky’s the Limit – Striving for Excellence” and the line up will enable everyone to gain an understanding of excellence and will give you an insight into some of the key issues in the region. There is something for everyone at this, the region’s premier housing event.

Alistair McIntosh will be present to chair both Day One and Day Two in his inimitable style. He will also be hosting a debate on both days – the first will be a view from tenants and providers on how well we are doing with Mick Leggett,

James Turner, Abigail Davis, Michelle Reid and Peter Marsh giving their views on the first 6 months of national regulation. The debate on Day Two will be looking at the National and Regional picture with Sarah Webb, Sue Chalkley, Mark Rogers and David McQuade sharing their ideas of where we’re at and where we’re going as a sector.

Day Three’s focus on Specialist and Supported Housing is unchanged again this year and our Keynote Speaker is Professor George Giarchi from the University of Plymouth. The Professor has devoted his life to social gerontology, the study of physical, mental and social changes in people as they age, and will be sharing his thoughts on how housing can meet the changing needs, expectations and aspirations of older people. We close our conference this year with Liam O’Connell, Business and Culture Change Consultant – ‘My

fire’s gone out! How to cope with change and take a positive outlook on life.’

A fitting end to a conference focussing on striving for excellence – no yellow ducks this time!

With our usual Master Classes on all three days of the conference there

will be plenty of ideas for you take back with you to help your organisation get even better at what it does. For

those with more stamina however we are pleased to announce

the return of the Quiz Night which will run alongside the second night’s dinner – so plenty of brain foods please!

Other speakers include Oliver Kamm, former banker and columnist for

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The Sky’s the Limit Striving for Excellence

www.cih.org

It’s nearly time for the annual CIH Conference in the Eastern Region. We are very pleased to announce that Alastair Campbell – the former Director of Communications and Strategy for Tony Blair will be the closing speaker on Day Two. He will be giving us his ideas on how we can raise the profile of the sector. While the Comprehensive Spending Review may well have been written up by the time of the conference it will still be important that we take every opportunity to keep housing on the agenda of every politician in the country. Alastair Campbell’s unique insights into the British political scene will give us all some very useful food for thought.

The newsletter for the Chartered Institute of Housing Eastern Region » Summer 2010

Eastern Region Chief Officers EventWhat? Not With a Bang!When? 17 September 2010Where? Trinity Centre, Cambridge

The annual event for Chief Officers and this year: Chairs and Portfolio Holders

Speakers include David Orr, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, James Tickell of Campbell Tickell and Roger DeLaMare, Assistant Direct of Risk and Assurance at the Audit Commission

To Book Contact Jayne Anderson on jayne.anderson@cih.org or 02476 851786

Contents2 Netherlands Study Trip7 The benefits of Tenant membership8 The launch of a unique model of

housing organisation9 Achieving excellence in Equality

and Diversity10 Sector gets new Housing Degree11 Its only Governance11 A view of the House – A post election

analysis12 Are we winning the ‘regulation game’?

17Sept

The Times and Dr Graeme Codrington – Speaker, Author, Trends Strategist and expert on the New World of Work!

This conference is a must for everyone working in housing – Chief Officers, Directors, Managers, Frontline Staff, Tenants, Councillors and Board Members across the Eastern region. Professionals working in health and social care may also find this conference of interest.

For further information and to book on-line please go to www.cih.org/events/conferences/EasternConf10/, or email Tracey Cassidy, conference lead at tracey.Cassidy@scambs.gov.uk

Alastair Campbell, former Director of Communications and Strategy for Tony Blair

By Phil Lyons, Communications Officer Eastern Region Committee

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Hoogvliet, RotterdamWe were met by three members of staff from Vestia, a large housing organisation with properties across most of the

Netherlands. They met us in their Information Centre in Hoogvliet which contains a large model of the town showing the development that has taken place and what is yet to come. Approximately one third of the properties here have been demolished to allow for large-scale restructuring and to give this post-war district a new impetus and a new image. Approximately 60% of all properties are social housing, which is typical in the Netherlands. Along with the more usual types of development, the site will also include several co-housing communities.

A co-housing community is a relatively small group of people (20 to 40 families) who choose to share certain common facilities. Their housing units are completely individual (co-housing is not a form of communal living), but they share certain extra facilities and exterior space. Exactly what these facilities consist of (e.g. a common house, a vegetable garden or a barbecue spot) is up to the residents themselves. Co-housing therefore gives a great deal of responsibility and control

The Netherlands Study Tripeasternoutlook

Despite threats of volcanic ash in the preceding weeks, on the 12 May at some ridiculously early hour, twenty Eastern region members met at Stansted airport, destination Schiphol. Just time for a quick breakfast and then we were on our way. We had the use of a coach for our entire trip so it was great to find our driver, Henry, waiting for us outside Arrivals in Amsterdam. And he spoke perfect English, as most of the Dutch seem to do. Our first two days were spent in Rotterdam and the third in Amsterdam. Our fourth and final day (Saturday) was spent as free time in Rotterdam before Henry took us back to Schiphol to catch our flight home. We were so lucky to avoid the volcanic ash that was closing other airports in the UK, literally as we landed.The different places we visited as part of our trip are described here.

Hoogvliet Information Centre

By Gill Cook, Vice Chair, Eastern Region Committee and organiser of the study trip

Court of Today, Hoogvliet 2

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to the residents, who decide about their neighbourhood, its architecture, the type of facilities and exterior space they want, and are also in charge of managing everything themselves.

The schemes we were then taken to are examples of co-housing projects.

Court of TodayCourt of Today has a large, communal garden for use of all the residents. There is a residents group and together they are involved in all decisions relating to the garden, including the original design, the maintenance and they were even involved in the planting too. At the time of our visit, the planting had been started but was not finished and an imminent Saturday had been chosen as another day for them all to get together to continue with this. There is nothing formal in place to ensure residents take their share of the work although before anyone new is allocated a property here, a member of the residents group will speak to them to make sure they understand their responsibilities. Time will tell how well this works!

Fields of SoundsFields of Sounds, just round the corner from Court of Today, is for music lovers and everyone living here has use of a central, soundproofed room where they can play their music without disturbing anyone. If you climb up onto the grass mound (see photo) and look down into the strange, metal shapes with glass windows in the top to allow light in, you can just about see into the rooms below.

We were all surprised by how clean and litter-free everything seemed to be and how Dutch architects certainly weren’t afraid to make a statement using bold colours and designs.

For further information, see: www.vestia.nl

www.wimby.nl/modules.php?op=modload&name=overzicht2&file=index

www.wimby.nl/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=170

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The Netherlands Study TripSUMMER 2010

SS Rotterdam

SS Rotterdam bell

Fields of Sounds, Hoogvliet and Fields of Sounds, Hoogvliet

Presentation on housing, planning and Rotterdam’s urban vision

Presentation by the City Information CentreOur final stop as a group was to visit Joep to hear his presentation on housing, planning and Rotterdam’s urban vision. Perhaps it was fitting that we met him in the Montevideo Building, the tallest building in Rotterdam. Not only did he give us great detail on some of the building that has taken place in the city, we even learned about the planning involved for the waterways too. He talked about the incentives they could offer to attract people and businesses to less popular areas and how this has helped to make them attractive places to be again. Joep was an extremely knowledgeable man who was even able to answer any questions we had about places we hoped to visit later in our free time and he provide us with the maps to get there too.

SS RotterdamOur first visit on Day 2 was to SS Rotterdam, a cruise ship that had been bought by Woonbron, a large Dutch housing organisation, with the

intention of using it for temporary accommodation. The project went hugely over budget with an €80 million budget turning into a €240 million spend. This caused Woonbron to go into supervision and the regulator ordered it to sell a percentage of the ship. To date, this still hasn’t happened because due to the recession, nobody has been interested in buying. Today, the ship is used as a hotel, for conferences and meetings and as a place to eat. There is a small amount of temporary accommodation available on the ship but from what we could gather from our tour guide, Ap, it was more for private rent, either as a short-term place to live or as office space.

The general public can take audio tours around the ship but we experienced a 1½ hour guided tour during which we saw many areas of the ship, some of which were not normally open to people taking the audio tours. I was hoping for a little more detail on the housing side but Ap, who had been a sailor on the ship many years earlier, seemed to prefer to tell us about his seafaring days and the many places the ship had visited! It was very interesting nevertheless!

For more information, visit: www.opderotterdam.nl/Nederlands/Tours/index.aspx

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IJburg

Cube Houses

Cube HousesFollowing an “interesting” lunch in Betty Bear’s Restaurant (those who came on the trip will smile with fond memories of Betty’s when they read this!), we visited the famous Cube Houses.

These very unusually shaped houses were designed by Piet Blom to put the fun back into architecture. Built in 1984, the idea is that they look like a forest with the cubes at

the top and the pole-like structures on which they sit representing trees. The cube houses are occupied as residential homes with some being used as part of a hostel. There is one show house though, which is what we visited. The owner used to be asked so many times if people could look round his property that he bought another one to live in whilst keeping the original as a show house.

The properties are on three levels with a rather narrow, winding staircase going up through the middle. Different people use the three levels differently but in the show house, the first level was the lounge and kitchen area, where the walls and windows sloped outwards, away from you. On the next

level were the bathroom and sleeping area with the final floor being an additional seating area. Here, the walls and windows sloped inwards resulting in only a relatively small floor area that it was possible to stand upright in. The seating was, in places, fitted right into the corners using as much of the space as possible but you did need to mind your head when you stood up!

We debated how we might bring this concept back to the Eastern region. Student accommodation in Cambridge perhaps.....!

For more information, visit: www.galinsky.com/buildings/cubichouses/index.htm

Remainder of Day 2We then had a couple of hours or so of free time before meeting up again for dinner and we spent it in a variety of ways. Some of the group went off exploring on Rotterdam’s wonderful tram system. A few of the girls and I decided to experience what Rotterdam had to offer in the way of shopping. There were some shops we hadn’t seen before

but many we had, although with the exchange rate definitely not in our favour, spending was possibly slower than it otherwise might have been! Of course, we really only went along to experience the architecture of the De Lijnbaan, the oldest shopping centre in Rotterdam. Opening in 1960, the concept of this covered centre was revolutionary, not just for the Netherlands but for the whole of Europe. The Lijnbaan became the prototype for similar centres, not only in Europe but in America too, that allowed only pedestrian traffic.

The only remaining decision of the day – Chinese or Italian for dinner?

The Netherlands Study Trip continued

Cube Houses

Amsterdam Canal

Almshouses in Amsterdam

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SUMMER 2010

IJburg

IJburg

AmsterdamThe whole of Day 3 was spent in Amsterdam. We were grateful for the use of the coach because although public

transport is good in the Netherlands, trying to keep twenty people together whilst getting on and off trains and trams would not have been easy.

Walking tour of historic AmsterdamWe were fortunate that Colin Wiles, our committee chair, has a friend who lives and works in Amsterdam as a translator. Chris very kindly offered to take us on a walking tour of the city and he made a very interesting job of it, taking us to some places none of us had ever seen before, despite the fact they were only a few steps from the main street and many of us had visited Amsterdam many times before. He pointed out so many different buildings and told us of the history that went with

them. We visited the courtyard at Begijnhof, dating back to the early 14th century which was once occupied by single ladies living practically like nuns and even today, only single women can live there. It was so peaceful with its beautiful gardens and was a huge contrast to the shops, cafés and restaurants only one street away. Amsterdam’s smallest house can also be found here. We crossed Dam Square in the heart of the city and saw the Royal Palace, originally used as the Town Hall. There were many other interesting and little known sights, too numerous to describe here.

After lunch, we said goodbye to our guide and the rest of the day was free for us to visit places of our own choice. These included the following:

Canal boat tripAn hour long narrated tour down Amsterdam’s canals and out into the harbour, learning about the city and its waterways. The canals were first used for defence and water management but later acquired an important new use - the transportation of goods. Many old warehouses can be seen along the canal banks as evidence of this. The canal system has been expanded considerably over the years resulting in the maze that exists today.

IJburgIJburg is an area consisting of seven man-made islands to the east of Amsterdam, created to accommodate the expanding city. Today, it houses over 30,000 residents and there are over 18,000 dwellings there and it is still under construction. Each of the islands has its own character. The ideas for IJburg were first expressed as far back as 1965 but the final approval was only given in 1997 despite lots of opposition. The islands were created by spraying many layers of sand on top of each other.

Anne Frank’s HouseThis is now a museum which contains the actual part of the house that Anne, her family and another family hid in from the Nazis during the Second World War. It was whilst she was hidden here that she wrote her famous diaries. Very interesting and well worth a visit.

Several other places were visited too including a trip to Ajax F.C.’s stadium (I’m sure there was some architecture there somewhere!). Others, I’ve promised not to tell you about!

At the end of the day we met up for a drink and a group dinner in Humphreys restaurant which I think we all thoroughly enjoyed and we were pleased that Chris, our guide, was able to join us for this.

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Amsterdam Canal

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Humanitas Foundation

Sonneveld House lounge

Sonneveld House stairs

Humanitas Foundation

Sonneveld House

Free time on Day 4We had reached our final day (Saturday 15 May) but we still had a few hours to go before we had to meet up with the

coach again to go back to Schiphol.

Most of us decided to visit the Netherlands Architecture Institute but a couple visited an older persons’ sheltered scheme and one person even went to Blijdorp Zoo!

The Netherlands Study Trip continuedThe Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI)We must be so dedicated to still be visiting housing related places, especially on a Saturday! What possibly helped was that the following day this building would close for renovation so we were really lucky that they had waived the entrance fee for this day and we all got in for free.

There were several exhibitions going on, the biggest being a huge public consultation on whether certain developments should be allowed to be built or remain in the city – “Disputed City”. Each of the forty areas had an information board, a model and two buttons, red for no and green for yes. I hope they didn’t mind us “non-locals” having our say!

The most interesting part for me was a visit to the Sonneveld House which stands adjacent to the main NAI building. Designed by architects Brinkman and Vin der Vlugt, the house was built in the early 1930s for the wealthy Sonneveld family in what was then, a hypermodern style known as Dutch Functionalism. Much of the furniture in the house today has been preserved from the 1930s and with the use of an audio handset, we were taken around the three floors of the house. There were ensuite bathrooms, a laundry chute running from the upstairs down to the domestic staff and a fantastic spiral staircase clad in black granite, inset with rubber to minimise slipping and deaden noise, all very forward

thinking for that time. But the most striking thing was probably the amount of light let into the house through the large windows. We were also amazed at the number of hi-

tech gadgets, including a music system that could be heard in several different rooms with independent volume controls in each.

Humanitas Foundation scheme for older peopleHumanitas Foundation owns many units across the Netherlands and its philosophy is the ‘enhancement of human happiness for clients’. It aims to promote “happiness in an ageing world”.

This particular scheme contained over 60 flats, most of which have one large bedroom which can be converted into two if required. The importance of maintaining independence was very evident. Care and support staff are based at the

scheme. The flats are situated around a large communal area with facilities like a restaurant, a games area, an IT room, a hairdresser’s, a bar and an informal meeting area available. There is also a reminiscence museum on site. Outside there is a play area for children and the communal areas are open to the general public. Apparently, the coffee and cake was very reasonably priced!

The accommodation is mixed tenure and the care needs of the residents vary.

The basement contains staff offices and an extensive array of medical services including a physiotherapy unit and doctors’ surgery. Because of this, residents are able to return to their home directly after any hospital stay without having to move into a rehabilitation unit.

I would like to thank all those people in Rotterdam and Amsterdam who kindly gave up their time to share with us their experiences and also the Eastern region committee for agreeing to subsidise the trip which made it more accessible to more people.

I would love to be able to organise a further trip in the next couple of years but this will be subject to committee decision and the amount of money we are able to raise from our annual three day conference in November.

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SUMMER 2010

Humanitas Foundation

Sonneveld House lounge

Humanitas Foundation

By joining the CIH, tenants, leaseholders and residents can ensure their voices are heard within one of the most influential organisations in the social housing sector; can benefit from supported learning within a fast changing housing sector; and can access active learning opportunities designed to give recognition to achievements through a new range of qualifications.

What can tenant members expect from their membership?• Access to good practice

• Access to the CIH Membership Directory

• Active learning opportunities

• Career and personal development support

• CIH’s own bi-monthly journal ‘Housing’

• Discounts for CIH Annual Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate

• Local branch offers such as newsletters and free or discounted local events

• Online knowledge

• Other flexible benefits in additional to the standard package, such as: 20% reduction on CIH publications, 50% discount on ‘Roof’ magazine and discounts on selected training courses, conferences and events

• Quarterly ‘CIH Policy Bulletin’

• Weekly copy of ‘Inside Housing’

• Weekly ‘Housing E-zine’

Plus much more….What can organisations expect from tenant membership?...

• Access to up-to-date information, training courses, conferences and events

• Better informed tenants, leaseholders and residents

• Demonstrates that the interests of communities and developing good quality housing and associated services to communities is at its heart

• Increased involvement and commitment from tenants, leaseholders and residents in a sector that is striving for greater involvement from local people who live in the communities in which they serve

• Low annual tenant membership fee

• More involvement from tenants, leaseholders and residents keeps housing high on the political agenda

• Promotes professionalism in housing

• Resident led self-regulation to help strengthen resident scrutiny of organisational performance;

The fee…Tenants, leaseholders and residents with an interest in housing can join at the appropriate membership grade depending on experience and qualifications but will receive a discounted tenant membership rate of just £49 per year.

Find out more and apply…It’s quick and easy to find out more and apply:

Phone: 024 7685 1700

Email: customer.services@cih.org.uk

Visit: www.cih.org/services/membership/tenantmembership.htm

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) offers discounted membership for active tenants, leaseholders and residents involved in the management of social housing, even if they are not qualified and working in the housing sector. Joining the CIH is the best way to keep up-to-date with the latest thinking on key and emerging housing issues.

The benefits of Tenant Membership

“Membership gives me a broader view on the national housing picture”

Catherine Manley, Tenant Board member

“The CIH keeps me up to date – even more than my organisations ‘umbrella’ body!

I find it really, really useful”Wendy Greenberg, Tenant Board member

The Housing Trust was created in response to the wishes of tenants of Welwyn Hatfield Council, who wanted more say in how their local housing and community services are managed.

With the Decent Homes target on track for being achieved this financial year the Housing Trust will not be seeking government funding. Instead it will focus on delivering the highest quality, housing and community focused services for the residents of the Welwyn Hatfield Borough.

The Housing Trust has a unique community-focussed remit and will provide a number of services beyond those traditionally offered by ALMOs, including a greater emphasis on community and neighbourhood schemes. With a new ‘Communities’ Team dedicated

to engaging local people and innovative governance arrangements which see tenants and leaseholders jointly holding 7 out of

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Mayor Kim Langley with local Hatfield school children launching the Housing Trust

At the opening: (l-r) Management Board Chair Paul Wren; Mayor Kim Langley;

Housing Minister Grant Shapps (then Shadow Housing Minister); Council CE

Michael Saminaden; Trust CE John Briggs

The Welwyn Hatfield Community

Housing Trust opened its doors for business on 1 April 2010. The Housing Trust represents a new approach to managing homes on an ‘arms length’ basis.

Unique Model of Housing Organisation

By Simone Russell CIH Eastern Region Committee Policy Officer/Director (Operations), Welwyn Hatfield Community Housing Trust

the 15 seats on the management Board, the Housing Trust is forward thinking and totally committed to delivering the homes and communities which local people can be proud of.

Alison Inman, Chair of the NFA (National Federation of ALMOs) said ‘Although there are a small number of ALMOs considering stock transfer, I believe that examples such as Welwyn Hatfield could provide a possible model for other local authorities to follow in the future’.

Grant Shapps, Housing Minister and MP for Welwyn Hatfield said that the Housing Trust will...

“...give local council tenants a greater say in how the services they receive are run and greater involvement in decisions that affect them and their homes”

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SUMMER 2010

Organised Jointly by CIH Eastern Region E&HRC.

When? Friday 8th October 2010.

Where? At Government Offices for the East of England, Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8DF.

Cost? The conference is free

To reserve your place please contact the CIH Regional Support Team on Tel: 02476 851798 or e-mail regions@cih.org or fax-back this form on 02476 695110

Booking and other details From: Jayne Anderson the Regional Support Officer at jayne.anderson@cih.org

This year’s theme has been chosen because: -• The Housing Inspectors believe that most

housing organisations could do better

• The EHRC intend to promote and enforce high standards in the enactment of the equality legislation.

• The TSA’s new regulatory Framework (which the Government intends to adopt) has Equality & Diversity one of its themes.

• Large parts of the Equality Act 2010 come into effect in October.

• We want an event that is relevant to everyone involved with Housing Services.

Are providers of Housing Services able to respond to all of these expectations?

Conference Speakers: -• Nick Billingham: Partner - Head of Housing

Management: Devonshires – Legal implications of the Equalities Act 2010 for Housing Services.

• Mark Elsworth: Lead Housing Inspector for the East of England.

• Barbara McLellan: Equality & Diversity Advisor TSA

• Arvinda Gohil: (Gohil Consulting) – The critical role of leadership & Governance.

Excellence in Equality and Diversity: Can Housing Providers Improve Their Service?

Regional Equality and Diversity Conference – Friday 8th October 2010

www.cih.org | your work is our business

Keynote speaker:Alastair Campbell,Journalist & Political Aide

Headline Sponsors:

10% discount if you bookby September 6th 2010(offer does not apply to Thursday day delegates,student/tenants or conference dinner bookings)

• A Commissioner from the EHRC.

• Simone Russell: Dir. of Op. Welwyn Hatfield CHT – E&D in a new organisation

• Mary Gibbons: Swan Housing – Turning evidence into strategy, with the resident

• Cllr David Norman – South Essex Homes - Local Govt Framework Housing Inspection Pilot.

Who should Attend? Practitioners, Tenants, Senior Managers, Councillors & Board Members.

The results of this consultation were enlightening. “It was striking that there was very little appetite for traditional housing degrees”, says Alison. “People working in housing are very busy and many university courses aren’t meeting their needs. In contrast we found a very strong demand for the practical skills that enable people to respond to a rapidly evolving sector – for example change management, leadership, commercial awareness, project management, customer

service and multi-agency working. We also found that many people found it difficult to travel to a university campus every week. However, although they liked the flexibility that work-based learning can offer, housing is very people-focused and they wanted to be able to physically meet and interact with their tutors, guest lecturers and fellow students. So our challenge was to design a course that not only provides the skills that the sector needs, but also delivers in a way that offers

both the flexibility of distance learning and the human contact of workshops.”

Alison’s colleague Tom Taylor takes up the story. “It struck us that the sector was asking for a course that covered diverse subject areas; perhaps unsurprisingly given the complex nature of housing. We decided that this was a great opportunity to bring together our University’s expertise in Social Policy, Social Work, Business and the Built Environment in order to design a new programme that reflects the needs of the sector. So we worked with our colleagues from across Anglia Ruskin in order to design the course. However, getting a new higher education course approved is a complicated process. Every new university

Sector gets new Housing Degree

degree has to go through a rigorous quality assurance procedure that will ensure that the content reaches the required academic standards, that the course is relevant and that the students will be supported throughout. Our Foundation Degree in Management of Social and Affordable Housing was approved last month and so we are starting to recruit students for the first cohorts in September 2010 and January 2011.”

So how will the new course be delivered? “Students will learn through their work, with additional study at home”, explains Tom. “For example if they are learning about customer service, rather than sending them to the library to read a case study about how someone in California approaches customer service, we can ask them to look at their own practice and what is happening around them, reflect on what they see and assess any changes they might make. This approach makes the learning more real and relevant to their work. Of course they’ll be supported throughout by their tutors and also by their fellow students through our online learning community. In addition there will be four workshops each year when they can come in to our Cambridge campus and meet each other. By reducing the burden of travelling we hope to make the new course viable for a much more diverse group of students.”

The response from the sector has already

been very encouraging, as Alison explains: “The course generated a lot of interest and positive feedback when we went to the CIH Annual Conference in Harrogate recently.”

Perhaps as a result of Anglia Ruskin’s in depth consultation with the sector, the Foundation Degree in Management of Social and Affordable Housing is a unique course which opens up exciting possibilities in the East of England – not only to enhance the opportunities for people working in housing but for the students to create new networks, to share best practice, to feed their learning back to their organisations and to support a thriving sector across our region.

If you are interested in finding out more about Anglia Ruskin University’s Foundation Degree in Social and Affordable Housing, please contact Alison Greig: alison.greig@anglia.ac.uk, 07545 204 359 or Tom Taylor: tom.taylor@anglia.ac.uk, 07454 204 362

easternoutlook

Anglia Ruskin University has just launched a new degree for the housing sector. The Foundation Degree in Management of Social and Affordable Housing is a unique 2 year course which has been designed especially for people already working in the sector, and marks a new direction for the University. So how do you go about creating a brand new degree? Anglia Ruskin’s Alison Greig explains: “We wanted our new course to be up-to-date and relevant and so it seemed obvious to start by asking the sector what they want. We talked to over a dozen housing associations all over the country – urban, rural, large and small – and asked them what they would like to see in the new course, and how they would like it delivered”.

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The results were surprising.

“Many university courses aren’t meeting the sectors’ needs”

“The housing sector is forever changing”Alison Greig of Anglia Ruskin University

The critical and overwhelming focus for the government is reducing the deficit; although they are keen to emphasise their concern to maintain front line services – of which health is clearly number one. The housing minister has already said that the ‘coffers are empty’ in relation to housing, and reiterated traditional conservative focus on raising home ownership aspirations. But the reality is, with cuts to public services likely to be profound, many more will not be able to meet that aspiration, and the demand for social housing will grow. At the same time, restrictions to the Housing Benefit bill announced in the budget will bring additional pressure on the household budgets of some of the most disadvantaged that the sector supports.

The mantra of the secretary of state of communities and local government, Eric Pickles, is localism and devolution, and already anecdotally, some housing developments have hit the buffers. CIH supports the key involvement of local authorities in shaping their communities, but there is concern that the voice of a vocal and articulate minority will make progressing the development of the homes we need a long and more problematic experience. In some cases there are real worries that much needed development will stop – in spite of the evidence of need. In the East of England, although a higher percentage than average thinks that housing should be a Government priority (54%), there is still a high level of opposition to local building of 20%.

In the face of such opposition, the effectiveness of incentives through matching council tax receipts to encourage development are likely to be limited indeed, and probably will get more take up in the areas that need it less, simply because there will be less opposition. And with the removal of the regional planning level, supported schemes for less politically acceptable groups may be pushed out of areas altogether,

and lead to more strain on sustainable communities, increased risk of anti social behaviour etc. The cuts to local government funding of £1.165 bn, capping of council taxes, and the removal of all ringfences for special grants mean cash strapped councils will have a hard time arguing for investment in specialised services compared to other services that the whole community uses.

And it is not just in funding that the sector faces major challenges. The localism agenda may shift the balance of relationship between local authorities and the HCA – this is already being proposed in London, but may happen more widely too. And where the regulator will sit and the extent of its remit (beyond economic regulation) will also influence the way the sector works. CIH is a strong supporter of the importance of co-regulation and sector led improvement, and the importance of tenant and customer focused services. With all the changes taking place, the sector must continue to focus on delivering its core services well, and managing the balance between efficiencies and improvement through a robust tenant involvement approach. As more people will need the services of a strong housing sector than ever, we still need to try and think outside the box in terms of hoe we can invest in and deliver more quality housing, and maximise the use and benefits of our stock. Demonstrating the value of good housing to our partners in health, social care and education will be more important than ever, to try and lever in investment wherever possible, for improvement, for adaptations and for new housing – all critical for long term sustainability in communities.

For a full briefing on Government announcements, including the budget, see www.housingfutures@cih.co.uk

A view of the House

11

SUMMER 2010

Sarah Davis, Senior Policy and Practice Officer, Chartered Institute of Housing

Now we are nearly three months into the new coalition government, what kind of picture is emerging for the future of investment in housing, and the impact for our sector? After the publication of the programme for government and several announcements on cuts, plus the budget, it is becoming clearer that the times ahead are going to be bumpy, to say the least.

It’s only governance!‘’It’s only governance’’ as someone said at one of the many discussions of the CIH governance review over the past year. I attended the CIH AGM at Harrogate on 22nd June when the great and the good debated many of the burning issues of the day. What will happen following the abolition of the TSA? What will be the impact of the budget? What will be the impact of Housing Benefit reforms? Will England lose to Slovenia in the World Cup and return home to public humiliation?

Back to the AGM – after almost two years of debate, consultations, many diverse and passionate views, the AGM agreed the Framework Proposal to review CIH Governance arrangements.

By the time you read this article you will have probably received more detailed information from CIH HQ and so I will spare you the excitement by not going into the details here! So what does all this mean? Well it means we have agreed the direction of travel to shape the new governance arrangements.

Some headline points of the governance review:• The Governing Body (Council) will be

reduced from 32 to a maximum of 15 people (the turkeys have voted for Christmas!)

• Up to 2 people may be non CIH members – but would only be recruited if the required skills cannot be identified from within the CIH membership

• The appointment to the Governing Body will be undertaken by an open form of recruitment and selection on the basis of skills & experience

• Any member of any grade can throw their hat in the ring if they fancy the job.

• A full consultation will take place with the membership over the summer to consider the detail of the appointment process

• Regional committees including our own Eastern Region will be formally recognised as delegated boards – with new powers and new terms of reference.

Yes, governance can be dull but it is important for the CIH to get it right. Luckily England got it right against Slovenia on 23rd June – that certainly wasn’t dull!

John Morris,CIH National Council & Regional Committee Member

When the event was first planned the Regional Committee aimed to bring to our colleagues in the East of England information and guidance on the Regulatory Framework, one year on from its launch. However following the general election and the ensuing speculation about future arrangements for the regulation of our sector, as the date for the conference approached, we knew that this may be easier said than done!

In the end no one was disappointed. Our excellent speakers brought key issues to delegates in an informative, entertaining and thought provoking ways. With a mix of national regulatory issues, practical suggestions for developing local standards and some great ideas on how to shape services around the needs of tenants and communities, there really was something for everyone.

Peter Marsh, Chief Executive of the TSA, gave the message that despite all the uncertainty one thing remained clear – it is essential that landlords work with their tenants to set meaningful, locally focussed standards

and challenge themselves to deliver improvements.

Abigail Davies, Head of Policy, CIH, gave a thought-provoking presentation on how providers can ensure they understand the needs of their customers and shape services accordingly, whilst Jon Warnock, Head of Consultancy, TPAS, gave an entertaining insight into how we can ensure tenants are empowered to scrutinise the services we provide.

Martin Palmer, the Audit Commission’s Head of Housing Inspections for the Central Region provided food for thought in his discussion on the possible shape of housing inspections in the future, to include replacement of the KLOEs with Standard Assessment Questions (SAQs) and an increased emphasis on short notice inspections.

We were also pleased to welcome representatives from Croydon Council and East Midlands Housing Association, who had participated in the Local Standards Pilots. Following an introduction by the TSA’s Barbara Mclellan, a wealth of useful information and key learning points were shared.

‘The Regulation Game’ a great success!

‘As good an event as there has been for a long time’. This was the comment made by one of the 95 delegates who attended the Eastern Region’s policy event ‘The Regulation Game – Raising the Stakes’, held in Cambridge in June. The high level of attendance, which included 35 Chief Executives, Directors of Housing and Heads of Service, came as no surprise, given the top line-up of speakers and with no charge to delegates!

These included:• Local offers should be realistic and

achievable

• Focus on your tenants’ priorities and involve them at all stages of the process

• Keep it simple!

• Tenants must decide what ‘local’ means to them

• Be prepared to put the time and resources in – it will pay off!

The Eastern Region Committee would like to thank our speakers for making the day so successful, Committee volunteers and our Regional Support Coordinator, Jayne Anderson, who organised the day, delegates for attending and creating such a ‘buzz’ and a special thanks to BPHA, who sponsored the conference, enabling us to bring such an excellent event to the region.

Copies of the presentations from the Regulation Game event are available to download at www.cih.org/branches/east/presentations/the-regulation-game

easternoutlook SUMMER 2010

Simone Russell, Regional Policy and Practice Officer

(l-r) Simone Russell, Policy Officer for Eastern Regio

n Committee;

Abigail Davis, Head of Policy CIH; Colin Wiles, Ch

air Eastern

Region Committee; Peter Marsh, CEO Tenant Services Author

ity