Decent Homes
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26 August 2008
National Register of Social Housing Bulletin: Spring 2008
Communities and Local Government newsletter about the National Register of Social Housing (NROSH) which collects social housing data at individual property level directly from the housing management systems of local authorities and housing associations
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22 May 2008
Cracking the Code
The Code for Sustainable Homes is a new tool to assess the environmental performance of new-build homes
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2 July 2007
Thematic review: Decent Home Standard
Housing Corporation Thematic Review of housing association progress towards the Decent Home Standard (DHS)
Procurement
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4 November 2008
Effective procurement/VfM/contract arrangements
Network briefing by Rob McNaughton looks at joint procurement, whole life costing, partnering and other common issues
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29 October 2008
Best Value and Procurement: Workforce Matters in Best Value Authority Contracting: Statutory Guidance - Draft for Consultation
This consultation paper seeks views on updating and re-issuing existing guidance which sets out how staff who work on best value authority contracts are treated. Consultation closing date is 19 January 2009
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5 August 2008
Hand drill or PDA? A compendium of tools for managing value for money
Network briefing by Dylan Chipp has brought together the various measures and checklists that HQN has produced to assist asset management practitioners who are seeking to develop, embed and review their approach to VfM
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28 April 2008
Construction companies – Office of Fair Trading announcement and guidance
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced that it has issued a Statement of Objections to 112 companies alleged to have engaged in bid-rigging activities, particularly cover pricing, in the construction sector. This OFT guidance note will be of interest to all housing associations in relation to their procurement of construction, repairs and maintenance and other related services
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18 April 2008
OFT Statement of Objections against 112 construction firms in England for bid rigging activities
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on 17 April issued a Statement of Objections against 112 construction firms in England for bid rigging activities
The OFT has also issued an information note for local authorities and other procuring entities -
1 February 2008
Better buys - improving housing association procurement practice
A third of efficiency savings by housing associations in 2006-07 came from procurement, but new research published jointly by the Audit Commission and the Housing Corporation shows that further annual savings of about £100 per home could be made through the better procurement of housing maintenance services
Property maintenance
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26 November 2008
English House Condition Survey - 2006 Annual Report
CLG report which was based on a random achieved sample of 16,670 dwellings comprising a detailed non-intrusive physical inspection of the dwelling (including an assessment to its environment), and an interview with the householder
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20 November 2008
Energy performance certificates: the new requirements
Network briefing by Janis Bright which considers the new requirements and some of the issues arising from a pilot of EPCs carried out by social landlords last year
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14 October 2008
Tackling fuel poverty
Network briefing by Chris Bowen, explores amongst other things, the extent of fuel poverty, government targets and what a housing organisation can do to help reduce fuel poverty
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9 September 2008
Research to assess the cost and benefits of the government's proposals to reduce the carbon footprint of new housing development
CLG research, which provides an analysis of the costs and benefits of the proposed policy options for all new homes being zero carbon from 2016
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8 September 2008
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and renting homes: A landlord's guide
This booklet gives advice to landlords on Energy Performance Certificates which will be required if renting to a new tenant from 1 October 2008
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31 July 2008
A guide to generating Energy Performance Certificates for similar dwellings owned by the same landlord
The guidance is intended to help landlords
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8 July 2008
Eight million free energy-efficient light bulbs to be sent to two million housing association households
The biggest free energy-efficiency initiative ever launched for the social housing sector was kicked off today with Housing Corporation Chief Executive Steve Douglas encouraging housing association chiefs to take up a new scheme aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of over two million households
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11 June 2008
Environmental retrofit manual to tackle household CO2 emissions launched
Housing Minister Iain Wright has launched a guide to tackling environmental emissions currently generated by households. He also announced that 8m Osram energy efficient light bulbs would be given out to housing association households over a 12-month period beginning in September 2008
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19 March 2008
Crackdown on cowboys to benefit home owners, local authorities and the building industry
The building industry, local authorities and home owners will all benefit from a shake-up to the building control system proposed by Housing Minister Caroline Flint which cracks down on illegal construction
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25 February 2008
Impact Assessment of National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society: Advice and Information, Rapid Repairs Service
The national strategy for housing in an ageing society (the Strategy) includes a number of key initiatives and recommendations, two of which are subject to, and included in, this impact assessment: (i) new advice and information services, and (ii) a rapid repairs service
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2 October 2007
Homeowners to get green boiler rating
Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper called on developers to refocus their efforts to deliver the eco homes of the future as Communities and Local Government published revised guidance to help the construction industry respond to the challenge of meeting the zero carbon homes target
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17 July 2007
Let's call the whole thing off: is your responsive maintenance service as good as you think it is?
Wayne Hughes explains why tenants and responsive repairs providers disagree about maintenance performance and what to do about it
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4 May 2007
HSE issues maintenance warning after council fined £125,000 over boy’s death
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned councils to ensure that they carry out prompt and effective repairs to communal areas of their properties, following the death of Ryan Dean, 13, on a stairwell that was allowed to remain in an unsafe condition for over six months
Performance measurement, Management and Improvement
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9 July 2008
Managing Risks in Asset Transfer: A Guide
CLG guide which has been designed to give practical advice from the experiences of both local government and the third sector in how to manage risk and shows where it has worked well in practice
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2 May 2008
FRS Circular 15/2008 - A Framework for Local Authority Asset Management
Guidance has been produced by CLG to assist in the more effective use of asset base as a foundation for delivering high performing public services. As part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, each Government department is developing an asset management strategy. As part of that process CLG were asked to produce an asset management strategy for local government
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4 February 2008
Building on stronger foundations - a framework for local authority asset management
Asset management has a strong role to play in establishing the vision for an area and this strategy aims to show how it can underpin the visions set out in the Sustainable Community Strategy, Local Area Agreement and the Local Development Framework
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1 October 2007
New sustainability guidance launched for housing sector
Two new Housing Corporation publications offering guidance on the key industry issues of improving the environmental performance of existing homes and for developing a comprehensive sustainability strategy are now available, to all organisations involved in the housing sector
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28 August 2007
Your questions answered: the Housing Corporation's new performance indicator suite
Network briefing by John Wheeldon tackles common problems with definitions, validation, void periods, appointments and STATUS questions
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1 August 2007
Energy certificates
Energy certificates rate the energy performance of a building. Two types of energy certificate are required in different circumstances: Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for all buildings when they are constructed, sold or rented out; and Display Energy Certificates (DECs) for large, public buildings occupied by public authorities or institutions providing a public service to a large number of persons which need to be displayed at all times
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1 May 2007
Home builders federation
Speech given by Yvette Cooper MP to The Home Builders Federation Annual general meeting
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6 March 2007
Determining the comparative value of responsive repairs
Network briefing by Rob McNaughton describes an HQN research project that developed and tested a new method of comparing the value of responsive repairs
Service providers (DLO and contractor information)
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17 November 2008
Partnering and open-book – till dispute do us part?
TEAMnet briefing by Wayne Hughes and Rob McNaughton, made available here to Network members, explores the benefits and pitfalls of partnering
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2 March 2007
Developing the local government services market: working paper on local government asset management and construction
This working paper sets out key findings in relation to the development of the asset management and construction services market in local government
Sustainable development
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2 December 2008
Metropolitan Housing Partnership and sustainability
This Network case study by Matthew Bush summarises what they have achieved so far and where they are heading
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14 November 2008
Before the well runs dry: sustainable building to save water
Speech by The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP, Minister for Housing
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6 November 2008
New climate change duty and parliamentary scrutiny to strengthen Planning Bill
New amendments to the government's Planning Bill have been laid in Parliament to strengthen the scrutiny of national policy statements by the House of Lords, and tackle climate change
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4 November 2008
Eco-towns: Living a greener future - Summary of consultation responses
The Eco-towns: Living a greener future consultation ran from 3 April 2008 to 30 June 2008 and sought the public's views on the vision for eco-towns and the shortlisted locations proposed
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4 November 2008
Eco-towns: Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment of the Eco-towns Programme: Introduction
Introduction to the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) of the eco-towns Programme, including an overview of the process and methodology, the initial scrutiny of bids received, and an outline of likely significant effects as part of the HRA
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4 November 2008
Public consultation opens on toughest ever green standards for eco-towns
Local communities will get their next chance to have their say on the eco-town proposals as Housing Minister Margaret Beckett has now launched the government's second round of formal consultation on the proposed locations and standards for eco-towns
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21 October 2008
Tackling the green agenda
Network briefing by Richard Lupo outlines the main initiatives taken in the UK and what they mean for building practice with a particular reference to social housing providers
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16 October 2008
Secretary of State's formal invitation to Local Authorities to submit proposals under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007
This is the first formal invitation to local authorities to submit proposals under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007. Councils have until 31 July 2009 to submit their proposals to the selector (the LGA)
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1 October 2008
Tenants home in on bills
New research shows that 79 per cent of renters are worried about the cost of their household bills
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1 October 2008
Evaluation of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) pilot for social housing: Final Summary Report
This publication evaluates the pilot scheme developed to support the roll-out of Energy Performance Certificates to rented properties, in particular social housing
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9 September 2008
Research to assess the cost and benefits of the government's proposals to reduce the carbon footprint of new housing development
CLG research, which provides an analysis of the costs and benefits of the proposed policy options for all new homes being zero carbon from 2016
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13 August 2008
Consultation on PPS4: Planning for Sustainable Economic Development - Summary of key issues and analysis of consultation responses
In December 2007 Communities and Local Government launched a consultation on the draft Planning Policy Statement 4: Sustainable Economic Development. This summary reflects the views of 321 organisations and individuals who responded
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1 August 2008
Eco-town plans shape up, say experts
Significant progress has been made in the proposals for eco-towns, according to a report published by the Eco-Town Challenge Panel, an independent group of experts in sustainability and urban development set up by Housing Minister Caroline Flint
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22 July 2008
Cost Analysis of the Code for Sustainable Homes: Final Report Cost Analysis of The Code for Sustainable Homes: Final Report
CLG report which presents the findings of research to update and enhance existing cost benchmarks for achieving different performance levels under the Code for Sustainable Homes (the Code)
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9 July 2008
Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities: Statutory Guidance
This document provides statutory guidance to local authorities and their partners on creating strong, safe and prosperous communities. It covers the duty to involve and duties around Local Area Agreements in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
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25 June 2008
Experts lay down the gauntlet to eco-town developers
The fifteen experts on the Eco-towns Challenge Panel have today set out a series of recommendations for potential eco-town developers, designed to improve their plans to create world-leading sustainable developments
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22 May 2008
Cracking the Code
The Code for Sustainable Homes is a new tool to assess the environmental performance of new-build homes
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24 April 2008
Code for Sustainable Homes: Technical guide - April 2008
This technical guidance manual is the April 2008 version. This technical guidance sets out the requirements for the Code, and the process by which a Code assessment is reached. It aims to make gaining a Code assessment as simple, transparent and rigorous as possible
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22 February 2008
Sustainable Development 08 Conference
Speech by Iain Wright MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
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19 February 2008
Sustainable Communities Act 2007
CLG Consultation on Draft Regulations and Statutory Guidance
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9 January 2008
Sustainable development
This document is the first Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) published by the new Communities and Local Government
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20 November 2007
Towards Lifetime Neighbourhoods: Designing sustainable communities for all
CLG discussion paper
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20 November 2007
The Future of the Code for Sustainable Homes - Making a Rating Mandatory: Summary of Responses
This document provides a summary of responses to the July 2007 consultation on this proposal and sets out the Government's final policy. The principle message is that as a result of consultation, the Government will be proceeding with the implementation of mandatory rating against the Code for all new homes
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8 November 2007
Successful cities, sustainable communities
Speech by The Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
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20 September 2007
Five steps to creating quality places revealed in new urban design manual
A new urban design manual that sets out strategies for creating quality places and promoting community cohesion has been launched by the Government’s key agencies responsible for delivering housing and regeneration. The Urban Design Compendium 2, published by national regeneration agency English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation, highlights leadership, integration, collaboration, long-term involvement and legacy as being the five fundamental building blocks of sustainable development.