Decent Homes
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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)
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20 September 2006
English House Condition Survey 2003 Regional Report
Key regional findings from the 2003 English House Condition Survey on decent homes; private sector vulnerable households living in non-decent homes; energy efficiency and liveability
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20 September 2006
English House Condition Survey Bulletin No 8
Overview of main findings from 2004 Annual Report and 2003 Regional Report
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20 September 2006
English House Condition Survey 2004
As well as updating the profile of the housing stock the EHCS annual report covers a number of key policy areas including Decent Homes, Vulnerable Households, Liveability, Disadvantage and Living Conditions and, for the first time, living conditions in Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder areas
Procurement
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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
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24 July 2006
HAIAF Internal Audit Programme Guide
Procurement and the EU Procurement Rules
Property maintenance
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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
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26 July 2006
Housing maintenance - the challenges for DLOs and contractors
New seminar series, see forthcoming events section to book a place
Performance measurement, Management and Improvement
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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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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
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26 July 2006
Housing maintenance - the challenges for DLOs and contractors
New seminar series, see forthcoming events section to book a place
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24 July 2006
HAIAF Internal Audit Programme Guide
Partnering Arrangements
Sustainable development
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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
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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20 November 2007
Towards Lifetime Neighbourhoods: Designing sustainable communities for all
CLG discussion paper
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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.