Welcome to HQN and The Housing Quality Network

Supporting People - Quarterly Client records and Outcomes - April 2009 to March 2010 (Finalised)

Supporting People client records data provides information about characteristics of clients entering Supporting People services

Clearing the path to public service complaints

Law Commission consultation paper proposing reforms to the main public services ombudsmen procedures. The Commission is seeking responses by 3 December 2010

Local authority capital expenditure and receipts, England: 2009-10 2nd provisional outturn

The latest national statistics shows an increase in capital expenditure of 8% from 2008-09 to £21.3bn while capital receipts remain well below the 2007-08 level, at £1.4bn

What inspectors say about prospects for improvement

Network briefing by John Wheeldon

Regulatory Advisory Note: financial risk and viability

The Scottish Housing Regulator has published a Regulatory Advisory Note on financial risk and viability which highlights some key risks that it sees emerging for the sector over the next few years

Inspection report

Uttlesford District Council - Re-inspection of strategic housing services

Inspection report

Northumberland Council - Strategic housing services

Inspection report

North Tyneside Council - Strategic housing services

Policy Exchange calls for ‘more radical’ housing policy

A conservative think-tank has criticised the government’s policy on housing for being ‘not radical enough’, and has called for a wide-ranging shake-up to cut public spending by an estimated £20bn a year

What inspectors say about allocations and lettings

Network briefing by John Wheeldon

Time for a fair deal for the travelling and settled community

Announcement of CLG plans to give travellers the same rights as other mobile home residents in authorised sites while scrapping planning rules on providing traveller pitches in favour of incentives through the New Homes Bonus scheme. Councils will be given stronger powers to tackle unauthorised development

Roles and working relationships: are you getting it right?

Audit Scotland report to help councils steer through the tough financial pressures they are facing. It builds on the lessons learned from audits to show how clarity about roles and effective working relationships are essential to improving performance and achieving value for money

Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England

2009-10 provisional outturn

More affordable homes

The Scottish Government is helping deliver more low cost homes than at any time since the early 1980's, official figures have confirmed

Housing Statistics for Scotland

The Housing Statistics for Scotland web pages include comprehensive time series data to allow in-depth analyses of housing activity in Scotland

What inspectors say about access and customer care

Network briefing by John Wheeldon

Business Planning Self Assessment Tool – An Introduction

The Scottish Housing Regulator has published ’Business Planning – A Self Assessment Tool’ to help RSLs check how well their business planning process works

Sanctuary Schemes for Households at Risk of Domestic Violence

Practice Guide for Agencies Developing and Delivering Sanctuary Schemes

Homelessness Prevention and Relief

England 2009-10

The distributional effect of tax and benefit reforms to be introduced between June 2010 and April 2014: a revised assessment

Report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies

Local Authority Housing Statistics, England: 2009-10

Business Plan Statistical Appendix Non-Decent Homes 2009/10

Sanctuary schemes

A report on the effectiveness of schemes to enable households at risk of domestic violence to remain in their own homes

Short notice inspection report

Chiltern Hundreds Charitable Housing - Short notice inspection

Consultation on Revenue Support Grant Top-Slice for Improvement Services to Local Authorities

Consultation closing date 6 October 2010

Councils get power to decide how best to support service improvements

A major new 'localism' proposal to cut red tape and hand over financial control of council service improvements and training to local government leaders has been announced by Communities and Local Government Minister Bob Neill

Questions and answers

Network members have a wealth of housing expertise so help spread the word by adding your questions and answering those already posted by our members on our questions and answers page. Click on the title above to view all our current member questions

HB news

By Sue Beasor, with contributions from Claire Turner, Head of Network Services at HQN, and Tony Newman, RIEN Lead Associate

Minister praises Dartford for binning fortnightly collections

Local Government Minister Bob Neill has praised Dartford Council for listening to the public on keeping weekly bin collections alive on a visit to the area

Neighbourhood Network

House Building

June Quarter 2010, England

The NHS White Paper: opportunities and insight for the housing sector

Network briefing by Gill Leng

Short notice inspection report

Somer Community Housing Trust - Short notice inspection

Housing Benefit inspection report

Mendip District Council - Benefits service inspection

Power to local people to preserve village life

A new report backs government plans to put power in the hands of rural communities to protect and preserve village life.

What inspectors say about asset management and major works

Network briefing by John Wheeldon

TSA statistical release covering data from the 2010 Regulatory and Statistical Return

The annual survey completed by all registered providers of social housing in England

Proposals arising from a cost review of the English Housing Survey (EHS)

Consultation – closing date 17 September 2010

Response to the TSA review

Revised HQN paper in light of the disbanding of the Audit Commission. The audit role remains integral to regulation, but a bigger role is mooted for the NAO and private firms

Audit Commission to go

Summary of proposals by Eric Pickles with initial thoughts from HQN's Chief Executive Alistair McIntosh

Supporting People Quarterly Client Records and Outcomes

April-June 2010

Giving up home ownership

A qualitative study of voluntary possession and selling because of financial difficulties

Local referendums to veto excessive council tax increases

Consultation closing date 10 September 2010

Hidden victims of recession show need for homeowners to seek help early

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has issued a reminder to struggling homeowners to seek help early to have a better chance of staying in their homes

Blazing a trail on spending transparency

The Secretary of State opens the books to an army of armchair auditors as all departmental spending over £500 goes online

Inspection report

Maldon District Council - Strategic housing services

Inspection report

London Borough of Haringey - Allocations, lettings and homelessness re-inspection

HQN Your questions answered – health and safety – cold water storage systems

Network briefing by Steve Mount

House Price Index

June 2010

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2010

Consultation on draft regulations. Consultation closes 25 October 2010

Time called on the Town Hall pollsters

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps has scrapped the Place Survey, one of the largest surveys in Europe that was due to be conducted by local authorities this autumn

Cutting red tape to give a green light for greener development

The new government is taking swift action to shorten and simplify environmental regulations so it is easier for developers to green-proof their building projects

HQN Your questions answered – health and safety

Network briefing by Vicki Cutler

HQN guidance on the annual report to tenants

Guidance note and mocked-up annual report to help organisations prepare their annual report to tenants

Inspection report

City of Edinburgh Council - The Scottish Housing Regulator has awarded the council an ‘excellent’ rating overall for housing management

Inspection report

River Clyde Homes - The Scottish Housing Regulator has awarded the River Clyde Homes a ‘fair’ rating overall for the housing management service

Extra funding for councils who go for growth now

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has told councils that local communities who go for growth now and in the future will receive direct and substantial extra funding to spend as they wish

Best Value toolkits

Audit Scotland has produced a suite of 18 Best Value toolkits, for use across the public sector

Garden grabbing concerns raised by new figures

CLG figures on increase in the number of 'gardens grabbed' for development in the last 12 years

Housing Benefit inspection report

Wealden District Council - Benefits service inspection

Future of building regulations

CLG launches an exercise to identify what changes are needed to ensure the building regulations continue to operate effectively in the future and invites ordinary people, businesses and local authorities to submit their ideas by the end of August about what needs to be done

Grant Shapps: 'freedom pass' for tenants trapped in unsuitable homes

Housing Minister pledges to introduce a new National Affordable Home Swap Scheme to give tenants the chance to see details of every council and housing association tenant looking to exchange homes - not just in their area but across the country

Report of the Mobility Task Force

Report published by NHF on ways of making it easier for social housing tenants wanting to move home to find a property

Why sexual orientation is important for social housing providers

Network briefing by Joanna Jeffery and Richard Seager

HQN Your questions answered – income management

Network briefing by Tony Newman

Following the Prime Minister's announcement of plans for National Citizen Service pilots, a competitive commissioning process is being launched

Council tax and Housing Benefit

Urgent Bulletin

Housing Benefit Newsletter

August 2010

Consultation on a new policy direction for the Big Lottery Fund

Closing date 29 October 2010

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has set out plans to revolutionise the existing benefits system in a Command Paper entitled 21st Century Welfare

The proposals set out within the document are open for consultation until 1 October 2010

Contractor insolvency: a survival guide

Complimentary TEAMnet briefing by Emma Wiltshire

Housing Quality Network annual conference 2010

Newsletter

New steps to cut the cost of moving home and open up the books

Home buyers can access more information about their new home without having to pay for the information, the government has announced

Local Government Finance Formula Grant Distribution

Consultation paper – consultation closes 6 October 2010

Inspection report

Herefordshire Council - Strategic housing services

Inspection report

Borough of Telford and Wrekin - Strategic housing services

Inspection report

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council - Stockport Homes ALMO

Housing Benefit inspection report

Bristol City Council - Benefit service inspection

Housing Benefit inspection report

Northumberland County Council - Benefits service inspection

Capitalisation directions (excluding equal pay) 2010-11

Policy and procedures

Three actions needed to help the big society grow

In a major speech to the Policy Exchange, Greg Clark set out three key actions that will be fundamental to decentralising power and building the Big Society

Grant Shapps outlines local approach to delivering zero carbon homes by 2016

Councils and developers could be given much more flexibility to meet ambitious eco-standards to ensure all new homes are zero carbon from 2016

Planning for the future – a checklist to inform homelessness prevention post emergency budget

Network toolkit by Sheila Spencer

Evaluation of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme and Homeowners Mortgage Support

Interim report

Business backs local enterprise partnerships

Eric Pickles CLG secretary met with the British Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Business to discuss the importance of business leadership and vision for local enterprise partnerships

New estimates offer truer picture of street sleeping

New additional estimates show that the number of people sleeping rough on the streets could be more than treble the official national Rough Sleeping Count

Grant Shapps meets Essendon's junior architects with designs on their village

Essendon is the birthplace of the ‘community right to build’

Rough Sleeping England

Total Street Count and Estimates 2010

The community right to build

This leaflet offers information and advice to communities interested in setting up right to build organisations

TSA annual report and accounts

2009-10

Proposed changes to guidance on evaluating the extent of rough sleeping

Consultation closing date 3 September 2010

Housing and Local Government LCO gains Royal Assent

The approval was granted following a meeting of the Privy Council and means that Wales now has the legislative power to introduce measures on housing in Wales

HQN accredits two high-performing DLOs

HQN is proud to announce the DLO accreditation of two clients: Merlin Housing Society, based in Gloucestershire and Calico Housing based in Lancashire

Key issues from short notice inspections – resident involvement

Network briefing by John Wheeldon

Regional government

Speech by Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Short notice inspection report

Windsor and District Housing Association - Short notice inspection

Housing Benefit inspection report

Waveney District Council - Benefit service inspection

Housing Benefit inspection report

Thurrock Council - Benefits service inspection

Resilience and the recession in six deprived communities: Preparing for worse to come?

Joseph Rowntree Foundation report

Government support for struggling homeowners

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has outlined how the coalition government will provide much-needed support to homeowners at risk of repossession

What inspectors say about diversity

Network briefing by John Wheeldon

Modelling and forecasting UK mortgage arrears and possessions

Report

Super-Green Homes

Create local training opportunities in Leeds

HRA reform consultation - response from HQN

Rough Sleeping England

Total Street Count 2010

Grant Shapps to overhaul rough sleeper counts

The Minister has said he is sceptical of the methodology behind the street counts

Short notice inspection report

Severn Vale Housing Society Limited - Short notice inspection

The impact of spending cuts on housing – update

Network briefing by Neil Merrick

Park homes reforms

Statement by Grant Shapps Minister for Housing and Local Government

House Price Index

May 2010

Councils and business pick up local enterprise partnerships baton

Local businesses and councils are rallying to the government's call to lead their economies, following the invitation to develop 'local enterprise partnerships'

Key issues from short notice inspections – void repairs

Network briefing by John Wheeldon

New plan locks-in radical decentralisation course

New action plan for the radical shift of power from Whitehall to local councils and communities has been published by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles

Time to stop the councillor pay hikes at time of public pay freeze

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps has hit out at recommendations by the LGA for hikes to councillor allowances at a time when public sector workers are facing a two-year pay freeze

Community and mutual ownership: a historical review

Joseph Rowntree report

CLG structural reform plan

The plan sets out a new 18 month programme for the department that will deliver radical decentralising and transparency reforms that put citizens and councils in control of their communities

English housing survey dissemination strategy

Summary of responses to consultation exercise

New government makes housing design a top priority

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has called on the country's architects to ensure their great designs deliver more benefits for the local community

Inspection report

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council - Re-inspection of landlord services

Short notice inspection report

Home Group Limited - Short notice inspection

Short notice inspection report

Sanctuary Midlands - Short notice inspection

Short notice inspection report

South Liverpool Housing Group - Short notice inspection

Inspection report

Sheffield City Council - Sheffield Homes ALMO

Housing Benefit inspection report

City of Westminster Council - Benefits service inspection

Housing Benefit inspection report

Daventry District Council - Benefits service inspection

Housing Benefit inspection report

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council - Benefits service inspection

Fresh thinking, new ideas

Network briefing by Anna Evans

Cash for house building

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has welcomed the confirmation of £390m to build over 8,500 new much-needed homes

Letter to chief planning officers

Revocation of regional strategies

A minimum income standard for the UK in 2010

Joseph Rowntree report

Is an increase in accident reports a bad thing?

Complimentary SAFETYnet briefing by Morag Brown

Peter Marsh's letter to providers regarding the review of social housing regulation

Appeal to council workers for their cost-cutting ideas

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is calling on frontline local government workers to send Downing Street their best cost-saving ideas via the newly launched Spending Challenge website

Home renewables grants

Householders are being urged to snap up grants for home renewables from the Scottish Government

Speeches to the CIH conference 2010

Speeches from Anthony Mayer and Peter Marsh

Grant Shapps signals start to housing 'revolution'

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has confirmed that he will take forward legislation allowing the creation of Local Housing Trusts

Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England

2010-11 Budget

Councils and businesses to rebalance local economy

The Government has set out plans for local enterprise partnerships, replacing the current Regional Development Agencies

Incorporating equality and diversity into procurement

Network briefing by Joanna Jeffery and Richard Seager

Data protection for frontline staff – quick legal guidance on eight topics

Network briefing by David Hall

Local authority tenant satisfaction in 2008

Results from STATUS surveys of local authority tenants for 2008 were released on Tuesday 29 June 2010

Local authority capital expenditure and receipts

England: 2009-10 provisional outturn and 2010-11 forecast

Housing initiative for North East

The biggest development of low cost homes ever built in the North East will form part of a new urban village in Aberdeen

Credit and debt in low-income families

Joseph Rowntree study

The emergency budget

Network briefing by Steve Wood

Tackling homelessness - assessing the needs of 16- and 17-year-olds

Network briefing paper by Jon Cook

Future of local planning

Planning Minister Bob Neill has called on the planning profession to lead the revolution to put power back into the hands of local people

Help for homeless in Leeds

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has revisited a homelessness charity in Leeds to see how recent refurbishments have meant a range of services under one roof to local homeless people

Inspection report

Crawley Borough Council - Re-inspection of housing services

Short notice inspection report

Irwell Valley Housing Association - Short notice inspection

Housing Benefit Inspection report

Borough of Poole - Benefits Service Inspection

New research shows a nudge helps people develop the tools to build the Big Society

A nudge in the right direction and tailored feedback from councillors and members of voluntary groups, increases people's willingness to get involved in their neighbourhoods

Moves to protect social housing

A new law that will ditch the right to buy for new council house and housing association tenants moved a step closer

Hammersmith and Fulham Council publishes all spending over £500

The move comes in response to recent calls made by the Secretary of State for transparency to be the default setting for the way all councils do business

Taking action against anti-social behaviour

This report sets out the findings of a survey on anti-social behaviour

Brownfield residential redevelopment in England

Joseph Rowntree report

Lower council taxes and rates for hard-working families and local firms

The measures announced by Chancellor George Osborne will bring around £1.1bn of benefits to local people

Greg Clark talks about the Big Society

Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark has appeared on the BBC Politics Show to talk about the Big Society and his new role in government to pull power away from Whitehall and hand it back to local people

Housing Benefit inspection report

Forest of Dean District Council - Benefits service re-inspection

The Governor

The fourth issue of HQN's magazine for boards, executives and leaders

Local offers toolkit

TSA toolkit, written by HQN

More councils must be savvy shoppers

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is calling on councils to make every pound go further in the face of the nation's £156bn deficit

Short notice inspection report

Bournemouth Churches Housing Association - Short notice inspection

Short notice inspection report

Places for People Group - Short notice inspection

Short notice inspection report

Great Places Housing Group - Short notice inspection

Rough sleeping count masks real scale of the problem

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has now removed the mask on the true scale of the problem of rough sleeping, with plans to overhaul the flawed system for measuring homelessness

More power to councils to solve local problems with shared homes

Housing Minister Grant Shapps is handing over more power to councils so they can manage high concentrations of shared housing in their area, without putting off landlords from renting the homes people need

Going local – landlords and tenants working together to raise standards

TSA report written by HQN

Top tips for annual reports and communicating with tenants

Network briefing by Kate Murray

RICS Housing Market Survey May 2010

House prices edge up again but supply jumps on the back of the abolition of HIPs

Grant Shapps welcomes good news on housing market

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has welcomed a new report from an independent industry body showing that the abolition of Home Information Packs is giving a boost to the house market

Planning Policy Statement 3

Housing

House Price Index

April 2010

Groundbreaking partnership work paves way for better services and value for money

A groundbreaking trailblazer programme, which has seen thousands of tenants working with 130 landlords on issues that matter most locally, has led to increased tenant engagement and understanding of what tenants want, better services and improved value for money

Helping homeless people

Local authorities will offer more options to those facing the prospect of losing their home, the Scottish Government have announced

HCA exceeds its end of year homes targets

The HCA has exceeded its end of year housing targets, despite the economic downturn and challenging operating conditions

Support for powers to end 'garden grabbing'

'Garden grabbing' is currently keeping CLG ministers' inboxes full as the recent announcement ignites a debate across the country

New study shows support for new homes

The British public are far more supportive of new housing developments in their area than commonly thought, according to a new study

Shapps promises 'no more red tape' for private landlords

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has promised England's one million landlords that the government has no plans to introduce new regulations on the private rented sector

Local government savings

Speech by Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Government sets out further detail on local government savings

The government has published details of the £1.166bn local government contribution to the £6.2bn cross-government savings in 2010/11

Statutory Homelessness

1st Quarter (January to March) 2010, England

Response to the HM Treasury consultation on the private rented sector

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation's response to the HM Treasury consultation 'Investment in the private rented sector'

Victory for common sense on flag flying during the World Cup

Councils across England are being encouraged to support communities who want to fly flags and show their support for teams competing in the World Cup

Short notice inspection report

Old Ford Housing Association - Short notice inspection

Housing Benefit inspection report

Barrow Borough Council - Benefits service re-inspection

The impact of spending cuts on housing

Network briefing by Neil Merrick

Age of aspiration

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has heralded the return of an "age of aspiration" for those struggling to get their first foothold on the property ladder

Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing

Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) underpins the delivery of the government's strategic housing policy objectives

New powers preventing unwanted 'garden grabbing'

Councils and communities are being given new powers to prevent the destructive practice of 'garden grabbing' and to decide what types of homes are suitable for their area

Government will overhaul unfair council house finance system

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has said that the government is committed to giving councils more financial freedom to deliver a better deal for the four million people living in council housing

New era of transparency will bring about a revolution in town hall openess and accountability

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is urging all councils to publish details of all spending over £500 in full and online

Housing taxation and subsidies

A review and analysis of evidence on the housing taxation and subsidy systems in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA

It's time for recycling rewards, not bin taxes

The new government will scrap the last government's plans for the imposition of bin taxes on family homes

New government – new rules: the hitchhiker's guide to the coalition’s housing policies

This briefing by Alistair McIntosh explains exactly where the coalition is coming from on all the major issues. Don’t get caught off guard – read it

Gone but not forgotten - Former tenant arrears training

Tuesday 17 November,
Manchester

Wednesday 25 November,
Birmingham

Don't get caught in the regulation funding loop

For assistance with board appraisal and training, governance, performance improvement, inspection, business planning, options appraisals and funding solutions HQN is available to help at all stops

It's time to get real... use mystery shopping and reality checking to check what your services are really like

Whether you are preparing for inspection or looking to drive service improvement, HQN offers a cost-effective, credible and independent health check of your frontline housing services designed to complement your existing performance management mechanisms and quality checks