Strategy and policy England/Wales

   

Housing and related strategies

• 30 June 2008

  Local initiatives to help workless people find and keep paid work Joseph Rowntree report into Worklessness

   

• 11 June 2008

  Tackling overcrowding in England This note summarises the lessons learned so far from five Communities and Local Government-funded pilot schemes in London and work to strengthen capacity to address overcrowding in each of the five London sub-regions

   

• 11 June 2008

  House Price Index - April 2008 The latest UK house price index statistics produced by Communities and Local Government

   

• 9 June 2008

  Reaching Out - working with ethnic communities in housing Complimentary SUNnet briefing for Network members on addressing the issues surrounding worklessness

   

• 6 June 2008

  Two housing associations appointed to manage distribution of the Corporation's £50,000 IGP Grant to tackle overcrowding Bradford Community Housing Trust and Peabody Trust have been appointed by the Housing Corporation to manage distribution of its £50k Innovation and Good Practice (IGP) Grant to tackle overcrowding, it has been announced

   

• 4 June 2008

  Rural housing in Wales The paper presents the findings and recommendations of the independent JRF Commission on Rural Housing in Wales

   

• 29 May 2008

  New drive to get long term unemployed back to work Local Government Minister John Healey has announced details of a new review team to advise how steps to improve our most disadvantaged communities can make a real difference

   

• 8 May 2008

  £50,000 available to housing associations to help tackle overcrowding The Housing Corporation is seeking expressions of interest from eligible housing associations to manage a £50,000 IGP grant to help tackle overcrowding. The grant supports the December 2007 launch of the Governments National Overcrowding Action Plan that announced 38 local authority led overcrowding pathfinder areas covering London, Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester and Liverpool

   

• 2 May 2008

  Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 Regulatory Impact Assessment This revised Regulatory Impact Assessment assesses the likely impact of the policy proposals outlined in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It takes into account minor policy amendments made before the Act received Royal Assent in October 2007

   

• 2 May 2008

  Participatory Budgeting Participatory budgeting is one of the key practices that can successfully empower large numbers of local people. It engages with local people to take decisions on the spending priorities for a part of a public budget in their local area, for example for activities such as local environmental issues, community facilities, road safety measures or local crime initiatives

   

• 1 May 2008

  Good Practice Note 16: Working with local authorities Housing Corporation Good Practice Note aims to promote more effective joint working between housing associations and local authorities, to encourage wider thinking and to generate improved practice

   

• 25 April 2008

  Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A national strategy for housing in an ageing society Network briefing by Hazel Summers outlines the key elements and implications of the national strategy for housing in an ageing society

   

• 16 April 2008

  House Price Index Statistical Release - February 2008 The latest monthly house price index statistical release has just been published by CLG. The link below provides the latest release and an archive of previous releases

   

• 9 April 2008

  Housing and planning: the crucial role of the new local performance framework Central and local government are both aware that housing delivery is a key issue. Local Area Agreements (LAAs) will form part of a range of measures through which local authorities and their partners can achieve their objectives on housing growth. This publication describes how the local performance framework (including LAAs and the national indicator set) allows local authorities and partners to prioritise and address housing delivery through targets that are tailored to a three-year timescale

   

• 8 April 2008

  Modernising Housing Advice Housing advice has always played a key role in preventing homelessness but could housing advice offer more? CIH believes a more expanded role should be considered, a role that focuses on helping more individuals realise their long-term housing aspirations – whether in the private sector or in affordable housing. It published its report in March 2008

   

• 2 April 2008

  Investing in lifetimes Plans to address the housing needs of an ageing population outlined in new Housing Corporation Strategy

   

• 20 March 2008

  The public value of social housing: a longitudinal analysis of the relationship between housing and life chances This research study looks at the life chances of people living in social housing from the Second World War up to the current day

   

• 20 March 2008

  Flint announces next steps to link housing advice and opportunities Housing Minister Caroline Flint has announced a package of measures to step-up action to tackle worklessness, promote opportunity and strengthen the link between access to housing services, training and jobs

   

• 20 March 2008

  Expanding Choice, Addressing Need CLG document which outlines a new vision for the provision of housing advice in England

   

• 12 March 2008

  House Price Index - January 2008 CLG statistical release

   

• 6 March 2008

  Supporting Evidence for Local Delivery The SELD pilot programme was introduced in 2005 to promote better use of data, research and evidence in neighbourhood renewal through the provision of technical assistance to Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) and neighbourhood renewal partnerships. This research is a national evaluation of the quality, impact, fitness for purpose, benefits, and cost effectiveness of the Supporting Evidence for Local Delivery (SELD) programme

   

• 6 March 2008

  Lifetime homes, lifetime neighbourhoods Speech by Baroness Kay Andrews OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

   

• 4 March 2008

  Risk management strategy Housing Corporation

   

• 27 February 2008

  Working Neighbourhoods Fund allocations CLG Good practice and guidance, Reports and summaries

   

• 26 February 2008

  The Big Picture Network briefing by Chloe Fletcher highlights the main policy changes over the past year and outlines what it will mean for housing providers in the coming few years

   

• 25 February 2008

  Lifetime Homes, lifetime neighbourhoods: A national strategy for housing in an ageing society The ageing of the population will be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century for housing. This strategy sets CLG’s response to this challenge and their plan to create Lifetime Homes in Lifetime Neighbourhoods

   

• 25 February 2008

  Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: Housing in an Ageing Society – Blears Hazel Blears and Housing Minister Caroline Flint announce a range of measures to bring about a fundamental change in the way we build future communities alongside an expansion in existing support available to older people that will help them to live safely and, where they choose, independently in their own homes

   

• 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

   

• 25 February 2008

  Housing Choices and Aspirations of Older People: Research from the New Horizon's Programme This report was commissioned by Communities and Local Government as part of a larger project to support the development of the National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society

   

• 6 February 2008

  CLG speech The Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP - Minister for Housing

   

• 6 February 2008

  Minister confirms funding to combat worklessness Councils in the most deprived areas of the country are to receive additional funding to tackle the acute problems their communities face, Local Government Minister John Healey confirmed.

   

• 1 February 2008

  Statistical release - English House Condition Survey 2006 The 2006 English House Condition Survey headline report

   

• 23 January 2008

  A New Deal for Local Devolution? CLG speech by the Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

   

• 28 December 2007

  Overcoming worklessness Network briefing by Janis Bright explores the role that social housing can play in addressing worklessness within the sector

   

• 17 December 2007

  ‘People not just houses’ - Yvette Cooper announces next steps for social housing Councils and landlords should ensure social housing services focus on people, not just the homes they live in, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said in a speech to the Housing Corporation and Chartered Institute of housing

   

• 17 December 2007

  The 2008 Housing Transfer Programme The 2008 Housing Transfer Programme Letter and Programme for Disposals (Applications) Direction 2008 provide formal notification to stock owning Local Authorities of the existence and criteria for applying for a place on the 2008 Housing Transfer Programme. Applications must be submitted by Monday 31 March 2008

   

• 13 December 2007

  FRS Circular 55/2007 - Key consultations on new local performance framework This circular provides details of consultations and other material related to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, implementing the new Local Area Agreement (LAA) framework set out in the Local Government White Paper Strong and Prosperous Communities published in October 2006

   

• 6 December 2007

  Green light for five flagship Unitary Councils Local Government Minister John Healey announced final decisions on re-structuring today taking forward five successful proposals put forward by councils for unitary status, alongside a timetable for first elections and a package of measures to ensure that they are all up and running effectively on 1 April 2009

   

• 6 December 2007

  National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society Speech by Baroness Kay Andrews OBE - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

   

• 28 November 2007

  The Callcutt Review of Housebuilding Ministers asked John Callcutt (former Chief Executive of English Partnerships and prior to that Chief Executive of Crest Nicholson) to undertake an independent review of the house building industry structure and business model, including land holding, and the capability of the industry to deliver increased housing supply in a low/zero carbon environment. The purpose of the review was to examine how the supply of new homes is influenced by the nature and structure of the housebuilding industry, the business models and its supply chain, including land, material and skills

   

• 7 November 2007

  Queen's Speech 2007 - Building better homes and empowering communities Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and Housing Minister Yvette Cooper welcomed the publication of the government's Queen's Speech, with legislation to help build the homes future generations need and create places where people want to live and work

   

• 5 November 2007

  Strong and prosperous communities The Local Government White Paper Implementation Plan: One Year On

   

• 11 October 2007

  Stock rationalisation pilot projects launched in Croydon and Havering Housing Corporation News Release

   

• 10 October 2007

  Strategic housing - Green Paper response and housing headlines from the pre-budget report and CSR Complimentary SEN briefings by Gill Leng are intended to highlight the kind of areas where you may feel it appropriate to focus your responses and has been made under headings that will be more relevant to local authorities rather than Green Paper headings Additional files: Document

   

• 3 October 2007

  Housing in England 2005/06: A report principally from the 2005/06 Survey of English Housing This report is mostly based on information from the 18,386 households interviewed for the Survey of English Housing (SEH) in the year beginning April 2005. The SEH is a continuous survey which started in April 1993. It provides key housing data on tenure, owner occupation and the social rented sector, and is the principal source of information about the private rented sector

   

• 3 October 2007

  Housing in the regions Speech by Housing Minister Yvette Cooper

   

• 20 September 2007

  Negotiating new local area agreements This is the first part of two-stage guidance on the negotiation process for negotiating a new LAA. This first part tells the 'narrative' of each level of government with respect to the LAA process. It also incorporates the lessons learnt from feasibility testing, helps to 'de-mystify' the negotiation process and helps to set expectations that each can have of each other.

   

• 20 September 2007

  LAA Dry-run negotiations: Final Report: Headline Messages - September 2007 This report outlines the headline findings of the LAA dry-run negotiation process which was undertaken between April and July 2007. This exercise was undertaken in preparation for the introduction of new LAAs as set out in the Strong and Prosperous Communities: Local Government White Paper

   

• 20 September 2007

  Blears: Time to deliver on devolution Hazel Blears unveiled the first phase of guidance for new Local Area Agreements (LAAs) today marking a radical letting go of Whitehall controls to give councils and communities more power to decide their own local priorities.

   

• 10 September 2007

  Housing market assessments Network briefing by Stacey Sleeman offers an overview on how local authorities and regions can work together to identify sub-regional housing markets

   

• 3 August 2007

  Gypsies and Travellers: the housing agenda – an update Network briefing by Vanessa Morton seeks to provide an update on developments since the Networks earlier briefings and to clarify further, how and why housing organisations should be involved

   

• 26 July 2007

  A quick summary of the new housing Green Paper Network summary by Andy Selman of the housing Green Paper published on 23 July

   

• 25 July 2007

  Statement about housing supply By Yvette Cooper MP, Minister for Housing

   

• 29 June 2007

  Respect: an update Network briefing by Natalie Pace, provides an update on some key parts of the Respect Action plan for landlords as well as outlining forthcoming changes in relation to local crime and disorder reduction partnerships

   

• 28 June 2007

  Indicative LAA negotiating timetable for 2007/08 CLG broad overview of likely milestones leading up to sign-off of agreements in June 2008

   

• 28 June 2007

  Local Area Agreements Road Shows Report April 2007 Independent report produced by OPM and the LAA Evaluation Consortium for Communities and Local Government on the LAA Regional Roadshows held across England throughout March. It details the key messages for Central Government and for localities. An indicative LAA negotiating timetable for 2007/08 is also included

   

• 28 June 2007

  Response to the Local Area Agreements Road Shows Report During February and March over a thousand people participated in a series of roadshows organised by the Government Offices to discuss the new arrangements for Local Area Agreements (LAAs). The feedback from the roadshows has been captured in this report written by the Office of Public Management OPM

   

• 21 June 2007

  Inspection report Maidstone Housing Trust Limited - Housing Management Services

  Star rating: Comments: Promising prospects

   

• 21 June 2007

  CLG Guidance notes on the completion of the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) - 2006/07 Supplement The purpose of this appendix is to bring together statistical information relevant to the formulation of your Housing Strategy. The presentation of this data will enable your authority, partners and other interesting parties to gain a quick overview of your position and will inform development of the Regional Housing Strategy

   

• 19 June 2007

  Delivering Housing and Regeneration: Communities England and the future of social housing regeneration CLG consultation paper explains more about Communities England and offers an opportunity for you to comment on its roles and responsibilities and suggest how it might operate. This document also invites views on the Government’s proposals for the future system of regulating social housing providers, taking forward recommendations made by Professor Martin Cave in his Review of Social Housing Regulation. Consultation period 19th June to 10th September

   

• 19 June 2007

  Every Tenant Matters: A Review of Social Housing Regulation Report of the independent review of social housing regulation led by Professor Martin Cave, Director of Management under Regulation at Warwick University

   

• 19 June 2007

  Tenant Empowerment - A consultation paper CLG consultation which sets out proposals to increase tenant empowerment and includes: a new draft Statutory Instrument to simplify the Right to Manage regulations for local authority tenants; a proposal to promote a voluntary Tenant Management process for all social housing tenants and landlords; a proposal to establish a National Tenant Voice; and proposals to increase tenant voice in stock transfers. Consultation period 19th June to 11th September

   

• 15 June 2007

  The Cambridge Challenge The Housing Corporation has launched The Cambridge Challenge, a pilot programme trialling a different way of managing large strategic sites which have national and regional significance

   

• 25 May 2007

  Housing and community cohesion Network briefing by Wendy Hayhurst uses and builds on a number of presentations in a recent round of HQN seminars to suggest how housing might contribute to community cohesion

   

• 18 May 2007

  The Government response to the House of Commons Communities and Local Government committee on costal towns The House of Commons, Communities and Local Government Committee published its report on coastal towns on 7 March 2007. This is a cross-government response to the coastal towns report that recognises the unique challenges and opportunities facing all towns including those on the coast

   

• 11 May 2007

  Feature Fifteen" schemes launch Housing Corporation’s Design Week The fifteen housing schemes chosen by the Housing Corporation to illustrate different aspects of good design for affordable homes are now released

   

• 10 May 2007

  SEN Newsletter Our April issue, with all the latest from SEN

   

• 8 May 2007

  The Lyons Inquiry and the future of local government: one step forward and two steps back for housing? Network briefing by Tim Brown and Nicola Yates will be of particular interest to housing organisations in order that they can contribute effectively to the issue of the future of local government

   

• 18 April 2007

  Changing neighbourhood lessons from the JRF Neighbourhood Programme An evaluation of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s work with 20 neighbourhoods in England, Scotland and Wales

   

• 17 April 2007

  Community Strategies: Working at different levels CLG paper which focuses on how community strategies are being developed in two-tier authorities and link in with the regional agenda

   

• 11 April 2007

  The future of social housing: an HQN conference Network briefing by HQN Associate Janis Bright, summarises the presentations at HQN’s recent conference which explored the changing roles, responsibilities and expectations of the sector

   

• 27 March 2007

  The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill Network briefing by Michael Sander focuses on issues of potential relevance to senior staff in local authorities, ALMOs and housing associations, either in terms of setting a work context, or in terms of the Bill’s detailed substance

   

• 22 March 2007

  Ends and means - the future role of social housing - The Hills Report Network briefing by Doug Edmonds focusing on the actions that local government and other social landlords might take in advance of any policy or legislative change

   

• 22 March 2007

  Lyons Inquiry - published report Place-shaping: a shared ambition for the future of local government

   

• 13 March 2007

  Options for the future of sheltered housing stock Network briefing by Trudi Kleanthous aims to summarise the key issues that need to be addressed, and makes recommendations as to the options available when considering a strategy for the future

   

• 9 March 2007

  Coastal towns: second report of session 2006/7 CLG select committee report

   

• 6 March 2007

  Savills to fix it for the Corporation The Housing Corporation has commissioned leading real estate consultancy Savills to undertake research into the future of deliverable residential development land across England

   

• 26 February 2007

  Understanding housing demand in rising markets Interest in housing markets has grown in recent years, but relatively little is known about how and why they change. New research by a team based at CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University, explores housing demand by examining the aspirations, attitudes and wants of households

   

• 23 February 2007

  The future regulation of housing Response from the Audit Commission to the call for evidence from Professor Martin Cave in connection with his review of regulation across the housing sector, being undertaken at the request of the Department for Communities and Local Government

   

• 23 February 2007

  Housing Corporation responds to Cave Review on regulation The Housing Corporation set out its radical vision of a new regulatory system for social housing in England, based around a new relationship between housing providers and consumers

   

• 20 February 2007

  Housing Corporation news release Unlocking up to £7 billion is key to meeting Barker target of delivering 50,000 new homes every year says Housing Corporation report.

   

• 20 February 2007

  Developing the future arrangements for Local Area Agreements CLG narrative which supplements the recently published Local Government White Paper Implementation Plan setting out further details about the shape of the new LAA framework, the importance of the Sustainable Community Strategy and an approach to implementing changes in a way that local authorities and partners can realise the benefits of the White Paper at the earliest opportunity.

   

• 20 February 2007

  Evidence of savings, improved outcomes, and good practice attributed to local area agreements A piece of research carried out on behalf of CLG by Henry Peterson of the LGA which provided evidence of savings, improved outcomes and good practice that could be attributed to Local Area Agreements (LAAs) at the end of the pilot LAAs first year of operation.

   

• 20 February 2007

  236: The Demand for Social Rented Housing CLG research which provides a synthesis of data and statistics on the social rented sector and provides an overview of who currently lives in social housing in England and uses evidence on flows and attributes to predict patterns of the likely future demand for social housing.

   

• 20 February 2007

  Hills report Launch of a report by John Hills on the assessment of the aims of social housing;Ends and Means: The future roles of social housing in England

   

• 16 February 2007

  Housing Corporation welcomes the direction of the Mayor’s housing strategy The Housing Corporation has responded positively to the vision set out in the Mayor of London’s consultation paper ‘Towards the Mayor’s Housing Strategy’, welcoming the clear strategic leadership that the Mayor will be able to provide to housing in London as a result of his new powers and responsibilities

   

• 16 February 2007

  Towards the Mayor's housing strategy Lord Mayor of London's housing strategy consultation response

   

• 14 February 2007

  The future of housing policy Speech by Ruth Kelly MP to the Fabian Society

   

• 5 February 2007

  Crossing borders - Responding to the local challenges of migrant workers This report is intended to help local authorities and their partners manage changes brought about by migrant workers moving to an area, by understanding better what is going on locally and developing appropriate strategies and services

   

• 2 February 2007

  Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council signs housing agreement with the Housing Corporation Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the latest authority to sign a housing protocol agreement with the Housing Corporation that will bring together the resources and skills of both organisations to deliver affordable housing across the borough.

   

• 22 January 2007

  Implementation Plan - The Local Government White Paper This implementation plan gives further information on how the Government will play its part in implementing the key proposals in Volume One of Strong and prosperous communities - the Local Government White Paper

   

• 22 January 2007

  Communities and Local Government News Release Ruth Kelly sets out timetable for devolution

   

• 7 December 2006

  Local Government White Paper – Implementation DCLG Discussion Forum - What are the priorities for local government in implementing the white paper?

   

• 24 November 2006

  Local Area Agreements 2006: Shaping Your Place Speech by Yvette Cooper MP

   

• 16 November 2006

  Strong and prosperous communities: the local government White Paper October 2006 Network briefing by Doug Edmonds explores the White Paper in detail in order to identify the important issues for housing

   

• 10 November 2006

  Derby City Council becomes country's first local authority to sign housing protocol agreement with the Housing Corporation Derby City Council will this week become the first local authority in England to sign a housing protocol agreement with the Housing Corporation which will bring together to the resources and skills of both organisations to deliver affordable housing across the city

   

• 8 November 2006

  Developing the local government services market to support the long term strategy for local government DCLG report presents key findings from an analysis of the local government market. It considers key challenges and opportunities faced by markets in local government services and identifies issues influencing the effectiveness of competition across the sector

   

• 27 October 2006

  Local Strategic Partnerships: Shaping their future An analysis of responses

   

• 17 October 2006

  Corporation launches strategy for neighbourhoods and communities Housing associations need to work harder with the communities they serve, says the Housing Corporation as it launches its Neighbourhoods and Communities Strategy.

   

• 29 September 2006

  Age discrimination legislation: are you age-neutral? Network briefing by Stephanie Harper explains key parts of the new legislation and potential hotspots

   

• 28 September 2006

  Housing links – summer 2006 Network briefing by Sheila Camp with a full round-up of what’s been happening in the housing world

   

• 22 September 2006

  Monitoring housing and neighbourhood trends 2006 Report by the Joseph Rowntree foundation on how the UK’s housing and neighbourhoods are changing, and how these changes measure up against government policy targets

   

• 14 September 2006

  Process Evaluation of Community Strategies and Plan Rationalisation: Annual Report 2006 This DCLG report is a progress report bringing together findings to date from the wider components of this long-term evaluation

   

• 2 August 2006

  Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society One year on - A progress report on the Government's strategy for race equality and community cohesion