tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53158050490251394772024-03-06T01:10:41.022-08:00Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes AssociationBy Paul Mullis, Chief Executive.Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-17334789078756354932022-05-13T06:35:00.004-07:002022-05-13T06:37:49.188-07:00Increasing life chances<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvco1C6U8QQWdZ-VvHsLvZHB8kh_j9vR5gTx3y8PnfYtcWLZ5ZQe4i96tA-5-5GwTwN5u2IqjudplMGu8a4NjVzJjUpcgDewDtxAHSjK8k9vi0sarLhYnIQFTh4BJdTGwQMhqxgV6IhFg6Fri1Zhtsn7Yyobd2SWn272Wl7tebVEDKlLzDEpe65ag/s3000/Consett6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvco1C6U8QQWdZ-VvHsLvZHB8kh_j9vR5gTx3y8PnfYtcWLZ5ZQe4i96tA-5-5GwTwN5u2IqjudplMGu8a4NjVzJjUpcgDewDtxAHSjK8k9vi0sarLhYnIQFTh4BJdTGwQMhqxgV6IhFg6Fri1Zhtsn7Yyobd2SWn272Wl7tebVEDKlLzDEpe65ag/s320/Consett6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">As the
largest almshouse association in the country, we’re thrilled to be part of a major
research project which is looking at the impact almshouses can have on people
and communities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At the
heart of what is being explored is development of some initial research in 2017
by the <a href="https://thewhiteleyhomestrust.org.uk/who-we-are/the-whiteley-foundation/" target="_blank">Whiteley Foundation</a> (another almshouse) that suggested almshouse living
may have a measurable, positive impact on life expectancy for the “less well
off”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The research,
which has received £300,000 funding from the Dunhill Medical Trust, is being
extended to the wider almshouse population and hopefully it will show that life
expectancy of almshouse residents is almost indistinguishable from that of
people with much higher incomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To an
extent, it is obvious that housing people well will increase your life chances
through factors such as having the stress of maintaining your own home, having
a level-access and being well-insulated will reduce the risk of stress, cold accident
and/or injury.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But beyond
that (something any good landlord should offer) good almshouses also offer
community, independent living, friendship, fellowship, companionship, which are
not always available in other forms of tenure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So, to be
able to validate this and put a number and value on it will be amazing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We know
from our own experience the importance our residents place in being part of a
community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Whether
it’s just a handful of homes, or much larger schemes, we encourage our residents
to take pride in where they live and actively get involved in the community or with
the work of DAMHA.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This can be
something as simple as entering our annual gardening competition or becoming a
resident representative which involves being the point of contact between DAMHA
and people living in one of our many schemes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There’s
lots of good examples where our residents have taken it upon themselves to organize
events that benefit not just people living in a DAMHA scheme but the wider
community as well. These include scarecrow competitions, arranging themed
displays outside their homes or fundraising for charity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We’ll know
more about the ‘bigger picture’ when the research project ends in June 2024,
but to be part of it is a great honour.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-4913711331427694952021-02-08T05:24:00.002-08:002021-02-08T05:24:58.449-08:00A shot in the arm<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwcMPgdz01NvXOfmbDQVdcYIc89nk5icWiWCtVvjIPDkOVU7M1ueACBxZRbQjt8VnJgScnJsCfFxKLoZY86zPRNNrt8iKa8ggaZufXRwF48SqhAP8spiMg6Ka-AE1a1hzYviUQ0fs2Jw/s2048/Wheatley+Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwcMPgdz01NvXOfmbDQVdcYIc89nk5icWiWCtVvjIPDkOVU7M1ueACBxZRbQjt8VnJgScnJsCfFxKLoZY86zPRNNrt8iKa8ggaZufXRwF48SqhAP8spiMg6Ka-AE1a1hzYviUQ0fs2Jw/s320/Wheatley+Hill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Whilst we are in our 3<sup>rd</sup> (and hopefully the
last!) national Covid-19 lockdown, the one crumb of comfort is that the vast
majority of our residents will by now have received, or about to receive, their
first vaccinations.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That is because 80% of our residents are aged 70 and over.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whilst they will still need their second jabs, they are now already
well on their way to having the risk of contracting Covid-19 greatly reduced.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And because some residents will also have underlying health
conditions, this is potentially a life-saving moment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have few people living in our homes who are of working
age, so even those under 70 will also soon be vaccinated with the head of AstraZeneca
revealing this week that the UK’s head start in rolling out vaccines (only
Israel has been quicker), nearly everyone aged over 50 will be inoculated by
March.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, by the spring, hopefully all our residents will have
been vaccinated and as this will be replicated across the UK, we may be able to
finally begin to look forward with a bit more optimism.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Until then, we continue to take the precautions to protect
the people in our homes. This includes still carrying out repairs but working
with our residents to determine the urgency of the repair. So, for example, if
a boiler needs to be repaired that will obviously be a priority over a leaky
tap.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our residents appreciate this and in fact we have noticed a
drop in the number of repairs being reported during the pandemic,
understandably because they want to minimise the number of people coming into
their homes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have also continued to develop during the pandemic.
Several schemes completed in 2020 and whilst the handover and move-in process
had to be done following Covid-19 secure guidelines, we were able to welcome
many new residents to DAMHA properties.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And we continue to develop today. Just before Christmas I
visited our latest scheme where work is underway to build 23 new homes in
Wheatley Hill, near Peterlee.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There’s still some way to go before we can begin to do the
things we took for granted 12 months ago, but with the continuing roll-out of
vaccines hopefully leading to lower infection and death rates, especially among
the old and most vulnerable perhaps 2021 will be the year where we can properly
begin to look at Covid-19 in our rear-view mirror.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-2555461724176293112020-11-10T02:37:00.000-08:002020-11-10T02:37:04.909-08:00There's no place like home<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSpCnsJSXsI0eFtexguhKg5zwuFYExppOW9IhHJfvAK1bOprLoZMp8pDM7J7NhzxIA-pfRuek9rUTF7vYcTSqkAZ2EPj_rUE7-qOfce2clrqR4CPYwZ8gB4cQ3Egg4iriYNFsPn4FUHE/s2048/Consett1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSpCnsJSXsI0eFtexguhKg5zwuFYExppOW9IhHJfvAK1bOprLoZMp8pDM7J7NhzxIA-pfRuek9rUTF7vYcTSqkAZ2EPj_rUE7-qOfce2clrqR4CPYwZ8gB4cQ3Egg4iriYNFsPn4FUHE/s320/Consett1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />If the last 9 months have taught us anything, it’s about the importance of having a home.<p></p><p>Thankfully, for the vast majority of us, the Government’s ‘stay at home’ mantra, which we are now doing again in Lockdown 2.0, has not been the end of the world.</p><p>Of course, not being able to visit and hug loved ones, visit the cinema, pop out to the pub or even enter a shop without worrying about covering your face has been difficult, but it pales into insignificance against having a warm, secure and comfortable home.</p><p>Unfortunately, some people don’t even have this.</p><p>Their home, perhaps because they can’t afford to heat it, or because it’s damp and affecting their health, or there’s simply not enough space to home school four children has become more like a prison than a sanctuary.</p><p>Everyone deserves a safe, secure, comfortable place to call home. Not just now in these difficult and challenging times but always. Global pandemic or no global pandemic.</p><p>That’s why the National Housing Federation’s <a href="https://www.housing.org.uk/HomesAtTheHeart" target="_blank">Homes at the Heart</a> campaign is so important.</p><p>They are arguing that homes need to be at the heart of recovery and investing in social housing makes this possible.</p><p>My own association recently welcomed residents to a new development in the North East and earlier in the summer we completed another scheme – all during the pandemic.</p><p>At the newest scheme, one of the residents was effusive in her praise, not just about her home, but the ‘community’ she said it had created.</p><p>This is why we do what we do, and it perfectly reflects the ethos of the <a href="https://www.almshouses.org/" target="_blank">Almshouse Association</a>, of which we are its largest member.</p><p>But it’s not also just about the bricks and mortar.</p><p>The investment housing associations make in their areas has numerous positive knock-on effects. The money we receive from rents are ploughed back into the area. We don’t have shareholders looking for a profit, so we can invest the money building new homes or upgrading existing properties which benefits not just residents, but local businesses, such as building contractors, plumbers, electricians etc.</p><p>Homes have been at DAMHA’s heart since 1898 and nothing has changed in 2020.</p><div><br /></div>Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-66527120790996387322020-10-15T07:31:00.004-07:002020-10-15T07:31:55.901-07:00On the Streets of Philadelphia<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CZBMOX5SRYOarseH7dWU4P830YNHkovQlRAndF4wqCda9ivUUxZwK3e1IRFiWaunOYXxlaMT8M-MmSRv5X5yMzkH2ZcmXss7IOLpoV_oTzUchtR4xWVjyxxxU3s-6_BtKFjV4TdLNUg/s2048/Philadelphia3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CZBMOX5SRYOarseH7dWU4P830YNHkovQlRAndF4wqCda9ivUUxZwK3e1IRFiWaunOYXxlaMT8M-MmSRv5X5yMzkH2ZcmXss7IOLpoV_oTzUchtR4xWVjyxxxU3s-6_BtKFjV4TdLNUg/s320/Philadelphia3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />This week I visited our newest affordable housing scheme, a 13-home, two-bedroom bungalow development in Philadelphia.<p></p><p>Before you ask, no, we haven’t started building homes in the good old US of A; I am of course talking about the County Durham village which was, to be fair, named after the American city.</p><p>This scheme is the third we have completed in 2020, which marks one of the busiest development years in recent history, so we have at least been able to take some positives from this wretched year.</p><p>The timing of the development couldn’t have been any better, in more ways than one.</p><p>Not only does it bring some respite from all the doom and gloom around Covid-19, it also coincides with the fantastic news that the title “almshouses” – of which DAMHA is the biggest in the UK – has officially been recognised by the Charity Commission.</p><p>The Almshouse Association – the membership charity representing over 1,600 independent almshouse charities – has long persevered for credible recognition of almshouses as a distinct type of affordable housing provider, and it has now achieved the official seal of approval.</p><p>Of course, almshouses like DAMHA have been providing affordable housing for over seven centuries, but this just further validates what we do.</p><p>Almshouses are growing at the fastest rate since the Victorian era, with a thousand new homes having been created in the last ten years and some 36,000 residents enjoying affordable living in 30,000 properties around the UK. Another 700 are being built or are in the pipeline, and DAMHA is proud of the contribution it is making to this.</p><p>So, we’ll take Philadelphia, Tyne and Wear, over Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, any day – plus we have more history!</p><div><br /></div>Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-82203779903792098602020-06-08T09:27:00.001-07:002020-06-08T09:27:46.419-07:00The thoroughly modern Almshouse Association<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOuG5q2HCvKmQGmlqPGUe2qaqVwzckG0JqK70jTTUyTFqhdr17az-ntSTCUYT9UIohBcO5emLFwcM0YW0sNPO0Y0SFb6iM-_3U9uAIAEkZpyHsTzcAQKDSF96BEQ5_G2IkSVPyKW8BHU/s1600/2020-06-08+15.09.47-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOuG5q2HCvKmQGmlqPGUe2qaqVwzckG0JqK70jTTUyTFqhdr17az-ntSTCUYT9UIohBcO5emLFwcM0YW0sNPO0Y0SFb6iM-_3U9uAIAEkZpyHsTzcAQKDSF96BEQ5_G2IkSVPyKW8BHU/s320/2020-06-08+15.09.47-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
If you are very observant you may have noticed a new logo appear at the bottom of our <a href="https://www.durhamhomes.org.uk/" target="_blank">website pages.</a> It’s a striking blue one and it denotes DAMHA’s membership of The Almshouse Association.<br />
<br />
Now, you could be forgiven for not having heard of The Almshouse Association before, even though it will be celebrating its 75th anniversary next year, as it is a fairly specialised endeavour. However, if you are interested in DAMHA (and I presume because you are reading this blog, you will be!) then I am sure there will be much about The Almshouse Association that will also be of interest to you. You may also be interested to know that DAMHA is the largest almshouse in the UK, something we are very proud of.<br />
<br />
The Almshouse Association supports almshouse charities throughout the UK, and this currently stands at over 1,600 individual organisations providing nearly 30,000 homes. Quite a sizeable organisation. When you consider that some of those almshouse charities date back centuries with their own origins, and have looked after many generations of elderly and vulnerable people, and people with particular housing needs, then you can understand the body of knowledge and the legacy of support that the Association has become custodian of.<br />
<br />
Almshouses are a very local response to the needs of the people they serve and were the original “social housing” in this country. They predate all our political parties, the NHS, council housing, housing associations, and indeed most of the modern institutions that exist to help people these days.<br />
<br />
However, as will all charities, there is a constant need for them to keep on top of the way the world is moving, and to ensure they continue to meet those local needs as they evolve over time.<br />
<br />
Which is where the Almshouse Association comes in. It acts as a support to the bodies of Trustees up and down the country who are on the front line, looking after their residents. They provide guidance, advice and training; they encourage good practice co-operation; they act as a champion and advocate before government and the press, can provide interest-free loans and grants, and are generally a great source of encouragement.<br />
<br />
I have often heard the role of Almhouses questioned in the 21st century, and there are occasional voices that challenge the validity of an institution so old. This could be a valid criticism, after all the world is a very different place to what it was even since DAMHA’s founding in 1898, let alone some of the even older almshouses, so it could be the case that institutions become decrepit and out of date during that time. But this is one of the great things about the Almshouse Association. It is a thoroughly modern itself and is constantly seeking to research and resource and enable the local almshouse charities, so that they are able to maintain themselves to modern standards. It prevents the need for every small charity to reinvent the wheel.<br />
<br />
So I hope this has opened your eyes a little to this largely hidden, but hugely important organisation, and if you would like to find out any more, please visit their website as there is always lots going on.<br />
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I should also say before I close, that I have been honoured to be a Board Member of the Almshouse Association since 2016, and while that does make me somewhat biased in my opinion, it also lets me see “beneath the covers” and has made me even more appreciative of the hard work and support that the Almshouse Association undertakes. <br />
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<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-74526425705912270552020-03-26T09:23:00.000-07:002020-03-26T09:24:42.752-07:00Everything will be ok in the end<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwl_4dxVt2DAZtzYCdXKK97cRW1rQJGLmkHvmLtQkvWU9u4h4k3u-YjUin-VwaqA0xsQZGBUYgcBiuoZOETTIkxYh63HQCt4ioFFJXjvSG6J4C3Ret8j6SWnElVHOHpxcDTp06zacNNA/s1600/Business+continuity+planning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1600" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwl_4dxVt2DAZtzYCdXKK97cRW1rQJGLmkHvmLtQkvWU9u4h4k3u-YjUin-VwaqA0xsQZGBUYgcBiuoZOETTIkxYh63HQCt4ioFFJXjvSG6J4C3Ret8j6SWnElVHOHpxcDTp06zacNNA/s320/Business+continuity+planning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an organisation founded in 1898, it’s fair to say we have
shared in many national crises which, at the time, may have seem almost
impossible to overcome.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two world wars, the depression of the 1930s and the threat
of nuclear war which seemed ever-present in the early 1980s are all things which
took us to the edge of precipice with, seemingly, no way back, but we always
managed to overcome everything which was thrown at us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And even on a local level we have managed to keep going despite
the closure of the mining industry which so decimated the communities we have
always served.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, even though we’re now, in the words of the Prime
Minister,“facing the worst public health crisis for a generation”, we are not
about to let a global pandemic get the best of us either.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like most organisations, once the social distancing measures
were announced, we quickly made arrangements for our staff to work from home
and, following the guidelines from the government and Public Health England,
ensured our front-line staff had the necessary equipment, including PPE, to
ensure they could continue to carry out our legal obligations in relation to
areas such as gas servicing etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of our biggest challenges is the demographic of our
resident group.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a housing association which only provides homes for older
people, we have a very high proportion of residents (2,425 in fact) who are
over 70 and therefore fall into the vulnerable bracket. To give this even further
context we have around 1,700 homes and 1,333 of these have an occupant aged
70-plus. That’s almost 80%.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, we are being very careful because nothing is more <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>important to us than the health, safety and
well-being of the people in our homes. And the same goes for our staff too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next few weeks and months are not going to be easy, but
we’re well placed to be able to get through this, just like we have overcome
hardship before during our 122 years and counting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And as John Lennon once send:"Everything will be ok in
the end, and if it’s not ok, it’s not the end.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-30245775245825916682020-01-07T03:18:00.000-08:002020-01-07T03:18:42.948-08:00Hungry for homes<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CaIxfCixE3-e39buqRUidw0d3ALQBKtxr5RxXLFiTlTdjimbiO-9JZhmcrRJyMzaHtyGozsiuTw1DyMsWOtT6kaL-AfGTEWhYYSKnjQPCMqQeYKil2OGXZghYr9hVtEWNFjVmaKhg1w/s1600/Eshwood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CaIxfCixE3-e39buqRUidw0d3ALQBKtxr5RxXLFiTlTdjimbiO-9JZhmcrRJyMzaHtyGozsiuTw1DyMsWOtT6kaL-AfGTEWhYYSKnjQPCMqQeYKil2OGXZghYr9hVtEWNFjVmaKhg1w/s320/Eshwood.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It was good to see DAMHA’s name mentioned in the national press recently, in none other than <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/04/return-almshouses-vulnerable-could-help-solve-britains-housing/" target="_blank">The Daily Telegraph.</a><br />
<br />
We were referenced as part of a great article looking at how charitable almshouses (DAMHA is the largest almshouse in the UK) are now being built at their fastest rate in decades, so much so they are now being seen as an effective way of helping to tackle the shortage of social housing.<br />
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We work locally – primarily within the boundaries of the Durham Coalfield – but we address a problem that is a national one: that the market is not providing sufficient homes of a type and at a price that meets the needs of the increasingly ageing population. This is not a new problem, as our 122 years of activity proves, but it is one that only recently appears to be getting the airtime it finally deserves. After all we all, if we are fortunate, will become old one day so it is a problem that every citizen of the UK will be all too likely to face eventually.<br />
<br />
The question arises therefore; why is it taking almshouse charities and housing associations to recognise and address the problem? Why won’t larger players, e.g. the national house builders, see and meet the demand? The tired old mantra always appears to be “bungalows are land hungry” which they somehow believe excuses them of even thinking seriously about the issue. <br />
<br />
Well that can be true, if the bungalows are not designed very well, and even dare I say it, designed without reference to the needs and experiences of the residents. But a group of well-designed bungalows built with the real needs and aspirations of the residents in mind, need not be land-hungry at all. <br />
<br />
And as many of the private sector organisations who we have worked with to develop our new homes have discovered, much to their surprise, the demand for the product once built is enormous - usually far outstripping that for “family” or “executive” housing. And it is important to say that in meeting this need, almshouses like DAMHA do more than simply provide bricks and mortar dwellings – we provide the bones on which a nurturing community can exist and thrive, something all too lacking in housing development outside the voluntary sector.<br />
<br />
So, for now we are pleased to be leading the way in providing the age-appropriate housing this country needs, and we are very pleased to be recognised in the national press. We have built over 500 new two or three-bedroom bungalows so far this century – about a third of our entire stock of homes. And we continue to have an ambitious development programme that is set to deliver another 60 this year alone.<br />
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But it is hard to get away from the fact that there is a need for charities like DAMHA to exist and grow primarily because the market is failing to do its job properly in meeting the huge demand that exists for decent, affordable housing for older people. <br />
<br />
I am proud to be heading up a successful, needed organisation that is making large inroads into a major problem faced by every individual living in the UK.<br />
<br />
I would nevertheless be happier if that problem ceased to exist within my lifetime!<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-40980103794993993812019-11-06T04:13:00.000-08:002019-11-06T04:13:40.699-08:00Here to stay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJq-huqXXbBMrCaq6sBQfa2Daq8iAbJSh4pESG_CXQIBrqonXLzBKurQlP688n1Nke2dYfml3GXJdIMX8itawC23U2CvR25GF9dRnX43KqXvshCZzDUKGwJRs6b4FEESxqQBxi-1DsgdI/s1600/Eshwood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJq-huqXXbBMrCaq6sBQfa2Daq8iAbJSh4pESG_CXQIBrqonXLzBKurQlP688n1Nke2dYfml3GXJdIMX8itawC23U2CvR25GF9dRnX43KqXvshCZzDUKGwJRs6b4FEESxqQBxi-1DsgdI/s320/Eshwood.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
So, we’re about to have our third General Election in just four years.<br />
<br />
Aside from what this says about the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (remember that?), it once again focuses, at least in our sector, minds on housing.<br />
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Granted, Brexit is bound to take centre-stage throughout the campaign but regardless when we leave, or stay, we will all still need somewhere to live when the dust settles, so hopefully housing will become one of the main issues during the hustings.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, the parties will take heed of a new 10-strong coalition of charities and trade bodies which is calling on whatever Government is elected to tackle a ‘time-bomb’ over the lack of suitable housing for disabled and older people.<br />
<br />
The coalition, known as <a href="https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/news/new-coalition-formed-tackle-lack-suitable-housing" target="_blank">Housing Made for Everyone (HoME)</a> and including organisations such as Habinteg and the National Housing Federation, has written an open letter to the housing secretary calling for a new design standard baseline on all new housing as the UK grapples with the needs of an ageing population.<br />
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As far as my housing association is concerned, this is music to our ears as it’s something we have been leading the way in the Durham Coalfield in regard to this agenda for over 120 years. Yes, it’s not a new issue as far as we are concerned!<br />
<br />
Households headed by someone aged 65 years and over will account for 88% of total growth in households over the next 25 years, so the design of new homes needs to reflect this.<br />
<br />
We only ever build our new homes with older people in mind. So, they always have lots of space, two bedrooms and accessible bathrooms.<br />
<br />
This means that we are not limiting people’s independence but providing homes that are fit for the future, ensuring people can live in the comfort of their own home longer. There’s a reason for the phrase ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’ after all!<br />
<br />
Here’s hoping someone listens on the campaign trail with the election imminent. <br />
<br />
Brexit will come and go, one way or another, but housing will always be here to stay!<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-56190361469529593442019-06-17T10:11:00.000-07:002019-06-17T10:11:20.826-07:00Supporting communities<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQx7PYHRhTZISnp4lfaGtCLMfhL-ogH8FLXByUXYLt8DpkDljPZrQIS4M2S6CxN1IXLwJfP3jKhMRQZxKHNiSiHkLoHzK4_S31Rqn9-1exp2k-7xIgNNlYR2aYCmr5iXdw7Ul5PCQgu4/s1600/Greta+100+years+young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQx7PYHRhTZISnp4lfaGtCLMfhL-ogH8FLXByUXYLt8DpkDljPZrQIS4M2S6CxN1IXLwJfP3jKhMRQZxKHNiSiHkLoHzK4_S31Rqn9-1exp2k-7xIgNNlYR2aYCmr5iXdw7Ul5PCQgu4/s320/Greta+100+years+young.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As Chief Executive of a small (but perfectly formed!) housing
association, I am in the enviable position of being able to meet lots of our
residents and to hear about the great things we are doing in the communities
where we have homes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One of the best parts of my job is getting to make presentations
to residents who are celebrating special occasions, such as a golden or diamond
wedding or 100<sup>th</sup> birthday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was therefore delighted recently to present flowers to a
resident called Greta Halpin who reached her centenary in April. It’s always
interesting to hear the life stories of people who reached the magical three
figures and Greta was no exception. She puts her longevity down to eating a
banana every day of her life. Now, bananas were in short supply during the era
of ration, but Greta says she managed to get a penny from her mother to enable
her to but one each day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Until recently, Greta hadn’t needed to see a doctor for ten years,
so her in case it’s not an apple a day that keeps the doctor away!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was also very pleased to hear about the success of an initiative
dreamt up by Barbara Smith, the Concierge of our Rutherford House sheltered
scheme in Easington.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Conscious that more people were coming to live at Rutherford who
were used to going out for meals socially, Barbara conceived the idea of a
monthly tea-time club. This consists of a two-course meal, such as spaghetti
bolognese and shepherds’ pie, prepared by Barbara and her fantastic team and
costing just £1, Yes, you heard me correctly, just £1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The meal is followed by bingo and bran tub with the money raised
from these activities effectively paying for the meals and believe it or not,
there’s still a profit. This is added to the residents’ fund which pays for
themed events throughout the year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not one to rest on her laurels, Barbara also started a weekly
coffee morning, which is also well attended, so Rutherford has become a real
hub the community and that’s great to see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We also continue to build good relationships with organisations in
our community. One of these is Cestria Primary School, which is close to our
head office in Chester-le-Street. A few years ago, the children came to sing
Christmas carols at our annual residents’ forum, and have now become a fixture
at the event, much to the delight of our residents, who also receive hand-made
Christmas cards from the children. To show our appreciation we have made small
donations to help the school, the latest which has helped them buy things for
the school garden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As a housing association, we are doing our part to build
communities by providing new affordable homes, but as you will see from this
small snapshot, we’re also supporting them in lots of other ways too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-88867787402205839232019-05-13T04:02:00.000-07:002019-05-13T04:02:26.359-07:00A country of two halves?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnDrETKH3ObenA4cAhVxjpe8MZhwgSD_uzZMjRSEwDTA2dAKXEF5se3FTsBOznFX6UY1KO4vP2v7c4E0znvPiGLbTz0ERoeOXmCAleFDcb1QKLZIuIj4bjhWr0TA20b9n-ttmKvmpiSM/s1600/North+South+divide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnDrETKH3ObenA4cAhVxjpe8MZhwgSD_uzZMjRSEwDTA2dAKXEF5se3FTsBOznFX6UY1KO4vP2v7c4E0znvPiGLbTz0ERoeOXmCAleFDcb1QKLZIuIj4bjhWr0TA20b9n-ttmKvmpiSM/s320/North+South+divide.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The government recently announced a £1.6bn fund to help towns and neglected communities outside of the big cities.<br />
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Much of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/16-billion-stronger-towns-fund-launched" target="_blank">Stronger Towns Fund</a> will be allocated to the north of England (£105 million) and the Midlands and will go to areas that have not “shared the proceeds of growth”.<br />
<br />
This is obviously welcome, but compared to the reductions faced in local government funding by Northern local authorities this year it is small change, perhaps only 1/3 in many cases. You could argue that all it amounts to is a return of a portion of the money that was cut from the regions under austerity measures.<br />
<br />
So if that is not going to solve the malaise faced in much of the country outside of the “big growth cities” such as London and Manchester, what will?<br />
<br />
Well, I can’t answer for all of the country, but here in the North there is something being called for that might address at least some of the problem.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.homesforthenorth.co.uk/" target="_blank">Homes for the North</a> charter was released in February, and other than a couple of reports in the specialised housing press it has not seen much fanfare, but it really gives some ideas for injecting some re-invigoration into the Northern economy. <br />
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An economy that was largely passed over by the housing boom of the nineties and noughties, and doesn’t see the demand-led pressure for regeneration that has occurred in the South East.<br />
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I should explain here that Homes for the North is a group made up of 18 of the largest housing associations in the region who came together to look at ways to influence policy and solve the housing crisis.<br />
<br />
The Charter makes the case for a sustained and intentional housing-led regeneration policy in the North which could, in their calculations increase the Northern economy by 15%, raise productivity by 4% and created 850,000 new jobs by 2050. All this by focusing on creating a housing and infrastructure policy for the North that is designed for the North rather than as seems to be so often the case operating under a policy regime which is designed to solve Southern problems, but which only increases problems for the North.<br />
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For instance, it wasn’t so long ago that government housing development grants could not be applied to the costs of demolition – something so often needed in this area with its over-abundance of poor quality, cheaply built, Victorian, industrial terraced housing.<br />
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Homes for the North say that at least 50,000 new homes are needed every year to keep up with demand. This may seem achievable, but when you consider house building completions were much lower at 35,560 in 2017/18 across the Northern local authority areas, then we still have some way to go.<br />
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Housing associations big and small in the North need to play their part, but we can only do this with the support of government and on a level playing field.<br />
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So in this country of two halves – the North and the South, I hope that something comes of this and the North gets the investment strategy it really needs to finally break free of the legacy of its dead 19th century industries, and become a true Powerhouse in the UK.<br />
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One can but hope!<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-343841975231931012019-03-04T23:50:00.001-08:002019-03-04T23:50:46.338-08:00Under attack<br />
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You read in the news regularly these days about cyber-attacks on businesses and government agencies, in fact only recently it was reported that Chinese and Iranian hackers have been aggressively targeting the USA because of Donald Trump’s ongoing conflicts with the two countries.<br />
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But you never expect it to happen to a small County Durham-based housing association.<br />
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Needless to say, it did!<br />
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The story begins in September 2018 when a laptop in our office used for web chat and another PC were infected by a Trojan agent which caused the computers to reboot frequently. This was detected by our security system and deleted, so we thought we had nipped it in the bud.<br />
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We were wrong!<br />
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During the next few days the trojan kept reinstalling itself on the computers; then with really bad timing we had a power cut which disabled the firewall. We later discovered that the first trojan was not dangerous but acted as a way of bringing in other viruses and trojans, so when we installed a new firewall after the power cut, unfortunately another trojan had got in and infected all the PCs in the office, as well as every server.<br />
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It was here that calm heads were needed and thankfully when you are talking about an organisation established in 1898, there were plenty of those around!<br />
<br />
We moved lock, stock and barrel to a business continuity centre whilst business continuity partner, Pulsant and our IT officer, Keith Flook worked on cleansing our systems of the virus. All our staff deserve a special mention for the way they rallied round and ensured it was business as usual, and Keith, in what was the most stressful time in his career, was brilliant.<br />
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Importantly, none of our customers’ data was compromised and we’ve taken several steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again, so I am very proud of the way we responded.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, we have since been contacted by anti-virus software companies asking for copies of the trojan so they could investigate it and have their software amended to deal with this new threat.<br />
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So we’re once again leading the way!<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-58509000073931805552019-02-19T02:42:00.001-08:002019-02-19T02:42:31.825-08:00Time to deliver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
It was sad to read recently that 165,000 homes for social rent have been lost across England in just six years, largely as a consequence of the Government’s Right to Buy scheme.<br />
<br />
And the Chartered Institute of Housing is predicting that this will rise to just shy of 200,000 by 2020, making it even harder for people on lower incomes to access decent homes at a price they can afford.<br />
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In 2017/18, just 6,463 homes were built in England for social rent. In the 1970s, councils built more than 100,000 homes a year, but Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy, along with a cutback on local authority spending, put paid to this and we have never caught up – despite countless Governments pledging to tackle the housing crisis.<br />
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The whole focus now is on Brexit, so housing has once again slipped off the agenda, and you do worry whether it will ever get the priority it deserves.<br />
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In the meantime, it is once again up to housing associations to deliver what they can.<br />
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I am pleased to say that after a quiet year, by our standards, my own small housing association will be doing its part over the next 12 months.<br />
<br />
We have 60-plus new homes planned in 2019 and into 2020, which for an organisation our size is substantial.<br />
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We are again focusing on older person’s bungalows, something which is in very short supply in our part of the world here in the Durham coalfield area. This will mean that we will be able to provide high quality, two-bedroom homes for people living in areas such as Consett, Houghton-le-Spring and Philadelphia – former coalfield communities undergoing regeneration.<br />
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We do need support to keep this going though and the removal of the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap to help councils build more homes and the new investment partnerships between housing associations and Homes England will definitely help.<br />
<br />
But government investment needs to move away from the private market, and I endorse the CIH’s call for right to buy to be suspended, so the amount of new affordable homes being built can catch up with those that have been lost.<br />
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This would be the very best case, but you can’t help feeling we have been here before……….<br />
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<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-12833011480466307982018-10-10T04:52:00.000-07:002018-10-10T04:59:17.946-07:00All that glitters is not GoldWhilst I think it is important to acknowledge that the Government's recent Green Paper was the first positive report about Social Housing from a Conservative administration that I can ever remember seeing, one of the more concerning aspects, at least from the perspective of those of us interested in providing housing for older people in the North of England, is that there is still an observation that home ownership is some sort of Gold Standard that everyone would want if they could have it.<br />
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The reality though is that this is a very South-centric view, and is certainly not the case in many areas of the North East, and for many older people here in particular. For many, access to the housing market via right to buy in the 1980’s and 90‘s was not the best experience as they ended up owning a home they could not afford to maintain well, and which perhaps was located in an area where house prices declined rather than increased as they did in other areas. For DAMHA we find over 40% of our applicants on our waiting list already own their own home, and it is certainly NOT the gold standard at all, and they can’t wait to enter the “social rented sector” where they will have access to an accessible, comfortable and well maintained property that suits their needs and will not represent a drain on their finances in their later years!<br />
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Some research has been recently undertaken by the Northern Housing Consortium on this issue, and today they have published it in their report <a href="https://www.northern-consortium.org.uk/hidden-cost-of-poor-quality-housing/" target="_blank">The hidden costs of poor quality housing in the North</a>. I hope that this report is read and understood by the Government and as they consider responses to their Green Paper and that it's observations are addressed in any forthcoming legislation and development proposals.<br />
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This aside and on the whole, we have seen a very important u-turn from the days when the Cameron-Osborne administration seemed to view housing associations, and social housing in general as part of the problem not the solution to Britain’s housing crisis!<br />
<br />
So the direction of travel is welcome, and it is a shame that it has taken a disaster such as the Grenfell fire to focus senior minds on the importance of the issue. Nevertheless, it is really good to see that having had their attention drawn to the sector, Government are taking the opportunity to really understand what is going on around the country, and that they are particularly trying to do so from a resident’s perspective, not just from the “top down”.<br />
<br />
One of the key issues that they raise, aside from asking some very important questions about the involvement of residents in decisions made about their homes, is that of the stigma that many residents feel that they suffer from living in social housing. It is often the case that broad brush labels are made and negative stereotypes are laid on to housing association and council tenants, with the assumption that many are “benefit scroungers” or simply just too poor to afford their own home.<br />
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This is indeed unfair and a problem for us all, not least because it is simply untrue. Most housing association and council tenants are simply ordinary people most of whom work or have retired from work and contribute well to society. So why should this stigma be attached when recipients of other government subsidised services, such as schools or the NHS? I wholly support the government in its attempts to dismantle this prejudice which is so unfair. I look forward to the day when it appears as ridiculous to express a negative opinion of a social housing resident simply because of their tenancy as it is to do so about someone receiving treatment at an NHS hospital or sending their kids to the local comprehensive school!<br />
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Perhaps the first step would be for everyone, including the government to avoid using labels such as “social housing tenant” at all, and simply treat people as people and housing as housing!<br />
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<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-6684361350204361102018-09-17T23:03:00.000-07:002018-09-17T23:03:05.603-07:00Housing interventionsI read lots of blogs and sometimes you have to take your hat off when people get something so spot on.<br />
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This is the case in a blog written by Dr Andrew Furber from Public Health England (Yorkshire and the Humber) who asked whether housing interventions can improve health outcomes.<br />
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He cites research which includes evidence that there was a 39% reduction in hospital admissions from living in homes which had been upgraded to meet national housing quality standards.<br />
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As the head of a housing association which exists to provide high quality, affordable housing to older people, this resonated with me because there's few things more important than ensuring the health and well-being of those who have contributed so much to our society over the years.<br />
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Anyway, I don't want to steal Dr Furber's thunder any further, so here's the link to his <a href="https://www.housinglin.org.uk/blogs/Do-housing-interventions-improve-health-outcomes/" target="_blank">blog</a> it's well worth a read.<br />
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<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-59788619270074919342018-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:002018-08-20T08:11:18.430-07:00A welcome U-turn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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U-turns are nothing new in politics, but I am particularly pleased about the one performed by the Government following the publication of its housing green paper last week,<br />
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Where as once the Government seems to be waging war with housing associations, it appears that we have now become allied again in the struggle to provide enough, good quality housing for the people of the UK and in particular those that are not adequately served by the inadequate supply of new homes coming from the private sector.<br />
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Whilst it is a shame that it took the Grenfell Tower tragedy to bring the seriousness of the issue to the government’s attention, it's now good that they are re-looking at the issue of quality in housing provision and perhaps they are regretting demolishing the Tenants Services Agency in 2010 which has the remit to do just that?<br />
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DAMHA has always had this belief in quality and as a result we are the largest provider of two-bedroom bungalows in County Durham, and largest builder of new ones in a county that is oversupplied with poor quality housing that is often unsuitable to the needs of older people and can prove detrimental to their health and wellbeing.<br />
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Much has been made of the 'league tables' but good quality housing associations have nothing to directly fear from this. However looking at what league tables have achieved (or not achieved!) in schools, I wonder whether league tables are really going to achieve anything in a market where very often customers have very little real choice as to what home they have access to as social tenants. Very often there is a choice of one for them, which of course is no choice, and in that case league tables are irrelevant. However the devil is in the detail, and if out of this comes some sort of measurable objective standard of quality to make sure that rogue organisations cannot fall too low below it, then that will be a good thing.<br />
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There is of course, no new money. Without new money the Government can talk all it wants and blame whoever it wants, but it will stand zero chance of building the tens of thousands of new, good quality, homes that the country needs. Hopefully before the green paper becomes a white paper, and Brexit has been and gone, which is proving so distracting for ministers, some serious new money will be found, to reflect the importance with which the Government now claim to be treating the housing crisis.<br />
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Sajid Javid, former housing secretary, trailed this as “the most substantial report of its kind for a generation”. So far this seems to be a bit sensational. But hopefully in its response to feedback the government will yet achieve that aspiration.<br />
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<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-74981435804807528392018-06-22T02:48:00.001-07:002018-06-22T03:27:29.177-07:00A kick up the backside<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I read that Durham County Council is hoping to become the first in the UK to include guidelines on how much housing suitable for older people should be included in new developments, it's fair to say I was very pleased.<br />
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The authority wants to make at least 10% of residential developments suitable for older people. This is not surprising given a snap survey they did a few years ago which found only 2 bungalows on the market for private sale across the whole county!<br />
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The private sector is massively under-providing for the over-50's market and frankly needs a good kick up the backside, so this may be what it takes to do this.<br />
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They always make the excuse that “bungalows are land hungry”, but that needn’t be the case (look at our schemes which are well designed and have adequate parking and small gardens) and there is MASSIVE demand for new 2-bedroom bungalows.<br />
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Durham’s “demographic timebomb” is more exaggerated than the national average according to the 2011 census, and the proportion of people over retirement age is forecast to rise faster than the national average too. A lot of those people own their own home already and just need a more appropriate design now their children have moved out and they are finding stairs a challenge.<br />
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I don’t like the phrase “timebomb” as it implies this is a problem, when the reality is that if you facilitate and accommodate the changing needs of us all as we get older, then the contribution to society of older people balances out the costs of their extra needs, and it is an opportunity, not a problem! So for instance think of all the hours of free child care provided by grandparents that otherwise would have to come out of someone’s pockets and be unavailable for them to spend!<br />
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Investing in appropriate housing so that older people can access it and live independently for longer, means that the time-bomb becomes a time-benefit and everyone is better off.<br />
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Decent, age-appropriate, affordable housing for older people is absolutely key to preventing falls, illnesses caused by damp, stress caused by worrying about repairs etc. And in general the older people can afford to pay for it, if the product is there to be bought. We endlessly hear about how the “baby boomers” are wealthier than millennials, so it makes no sense that private sector builders are ignoring that sector of the market.<br />
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Its about time frankly that more public sector organisations took a leadership role on this issue like Durham County Council have, and encouraged the private sector to start providing the homes that the country really needs, and not just cherry pick the elements that they think they want to build.<br />
<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-45634525989078449292018-05-03T09:39:00.000-07:002018-05-03T09:39:15.634-07:00Part of the fabricAs Chief Executive of the largest Almshouse charity in the UK it was with great pleasure that I accepted a position on the Board of the National Almshouse Association (NAA) in 2016.<br />
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Almshouses have been a part of the fabric of social responsibility in the UK for centuries, with some dating back to medieval times when religious orders cared for the poor, so being on the Board carries a lot of responsibility.<br />
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As a Trustee, I represent Northumberland and Durham on the Board, with other Trustees representing other geographical areas. This has involved hosting a seminar for clerks and trustees in and giving formal advice and assistance to almshouse clerks and trustees who may be looking to develop, repair or expand their provision.<br />
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I attend four meetings annually in London, which involves catching the 6am train from Newcastle and getting back around 9pm. It’s hard work, but also very exciting and interesting working with people with a very similar ethos throughout England and Wales in very different situations.<br />
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The NAA represents 1,600 charities providing 65,000 homes. DAMHA is the largest with 1,800 homes in management, while some charities have only a small handful of properties.<br />
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Some, like DAMHA, are still providing newly built properties and on the whole homes are allocated to older people or those and/or those who have difficulty accessing appropriate market-provided housing, e.g. retired mineworkers, soldiers, estate workers, and “spinsters of the parish”.<br />
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Most have widened their remit as circumstances have changed to make sure they remain relevant to the current needs in society, so in our case, for example, you no longer need a mining background to get one of our homes. Other charities also specialise in homes for key workers in cities like London where property prices make it nigh on impossible to get on the property ladder.<br />
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Recently the NAA has been working hard lobbying government on behalf of all almshouses at a time when social housing has been under attack – particularly under the previous (Conservative) government, making legal arguments as to why key elements (e.g. Right to Buy, LHA cap on housing benefit, etc) either were not legal (Right to Buy), or would result in undue hardship to vulnerable residents (LHA cap on housing benefit).<br />
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The campaigning aspect of the NAA is just one of the many reasons why I am proud to serve on its Board and through this blog I will update on the work we are doing to provide equality for all when it comes to housing and social responsibility.<br />
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In the meantime, please also have a look at the new NAA website – <a href="http://www.almshouses.org/">www.almshouses.org</a><br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-7168320182712875112017-12-04T10:22:00.001-08:002017-12-04T10:22:50.675-08:00A (retrospective) Gold star<br />
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So, it was the budget that promised so much for the social housing sector, something we have pressing for so many years, but did it deliver?<br />
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On the whole I would say yes. Overall, the budget formalised a welcome change of heart from this Conservative Administration, compared to the last one headed by David Cameron and George Osborne which was decidedly antipathetic towards social housing. <br />
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Theresa May’s Government has recognised that social housing contributes a very important part of the housing needs of the UK, particularly as a large proportion of the population still cannot, and probably never will, be able to buy their own homes.<br />
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There’s has been very little funding for affordable social housing to rent but over the past few months, we have seen a huge change in direction, and now we see mention of several billion pound being allocated again to supply new homes of this tenure type.<br />
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A (retrospective) gold star to the government for finally listening and responding to what a lot of people and organisations have been telling them for years!<br />
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It’s good to see the need for “regeneration” (demolition of old stock and replacement with admittedly fewer, but unarguably better, homes) in the North East has at last been recognised again, having been a dirty word since 2010. There are even stories of ministers and Whitehall mandarins getting out of their ivory towers and being taken around housing estates in the North and shown what exactly is needed up here and how it is so very different from what is needed in the South East where they live. Let’s hope this happens.<br />
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Another measure that is welcome is the announcement of £42m new money to support Disabled Facilities grants. These are grants administered by the Local Authorities to fund adaptations in peoples’ homes so that they can continue to live there and not move into hospital, specialist accommodation or a care home. Clearly this makes an awful lot of sense and the backlogs that have been building up because of recent cuts to LA budgets in this area are scandalous and make no economic sense. Clearly it is in everyone’s interest, taxpayer included, if people can continue to live in their own home, rather than move into expensive and unfamiliar accommodation, or stay in hospital “bed blocking” following the onset of a disability! Is £42m enough? Again, we shall see!<br />
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Whilst the Government has announced changes in Universal Credit, they don’t quite go far enough for me. The administrative problems of the UC system have always been “unfit for purpose”, with smaller housing associations and almshouses in particular being vulnerable to the negative cash flows that were caused due to a high level of rent arrears in pilot areas.<br />
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It appears that the designers of the original system were not appropriately trained in the facts of housing law and practice in the UK, so these late stage fixes are welcome, but should never have been necessary in the first place if the DWP and the Treasury had actually consulted properly in the first place 7 years ago! <br />
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The LHA cap removal is of course the biggest thing, and a very, very positive step. As is the previously announced rent settlement post-2020. This is hugely welcome, however only restores us to the position we were in in 2015 before George Osborne announced his war on housing associations! More needs to be done in relation to long term funding for supported and sheltered housing, and the government is consulting well and wisely on this. We are participating in the consultation and trust that the government will listen well and come up with a workable system for the long term to secure accommodation of sufficient quantity and quality for this vital sector.<br />
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<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-16875372821950637012017-11-20T04:21:00.000-08:002017-11-20T04:28:45.551-08:00Weightlifting <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When Theresa May announced that plans to introduce the LHA cap for both general needs social housing and supported housing was to be dropped, it’s fair to say that I (along with other housing association Chief Executives across the land), felt a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders.<br />
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For the past few years since George Osborne (whatever happened to him?) first announced the gap, we have been budgeting for the worst, which was rent arrears, evictions and the inevitable social consequences of this.<br />
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At time, it felt like we were running up an escalator with no-one to help us, but thankfully that escalator has now been switched off – at least for now!<br />
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So, we are now able to look at our financial numbers with a lot more optimism and the money we had budgeted for the cap can now be used elsewhere for future good.<br />
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It always amused me that previous Governments (and I am talking about both blue and red sides here) had said repeatedly that we should build more affordable homes and wondered why were not able to do this with things like the cap hovering over our head, if you will pardon the pun.<br />
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Now, as well as no LHA cap, we also know that increases to social housing rents will be limited to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1% for five years from 2020.<br />
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This means we have more certainty in our business models, which will please our lenders and hopefully we can, and will, get back to the job of building new homes, whilst ensuring our existing customers remain happy with their homes and services.<br />
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Let's hope with the Chancellor's Autumn Statement just days away, there is more good news for the housing sector on the way. Watch this space...<br />
<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-63815075057024492572017-06-04T07:46:00.000-07:002017-06-04T07:46:00.524-07:00Will Cinderella go to the (Election) Ball?Well, by now I expected to be completely bored by the whole election process. <br />
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British elections are not normally the most exciting of events, despite so much often being at stake, and with Labour’s approval ratings so low and the Conservatives so high, back when the election was called, I fully expected this to be something of a formality. How wrong I was! <br />
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Against all the odds, Labour have narrowed the gap and the Conservatives fallen in their ratings, so completely unexpectedly the prospect of a hung parliament is once again before us. Not something I would have foreseen only two weeks ago!<br />
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So, that being the case , where do the two parties stand in respect of housing policy, the rather unglamorous Cinderella topic that seems despite its fundamental importance to the wellbeing of the people of these Isles, to be reported on by the media rather less than Jeremy Corbyn’s historic links with the IRA, or Theresa May’s no-shows at televised debates.<br />
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Housing is important, because without access to decent a decent place to live, there is very little that someone can do to improve their lives. Housing has a proven impact on health, access to work and education, life expectancy and so much more. In recent decades, the housing market in the UK has become dysfunctional, to say the least. In the “South” and the more wealthy areas of the UK, where an investment bubble has distorted the market, there are simply not enough homes available and so prices have been pushed out of the reach of most “ordinary people”. <br />
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Here in the “North” and in the more economically challenged areas of the country, the problem is more nuanced. There are homes available, but their isn’t the investment capital available to make enough of them decent to live in – a legacy of the death of Victorian heavy industry which many of the houses of the region were built to service. And with average wages much lower than in the wealthy areas, access to decent homes is still a major problem for too many.<br />
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So what are the main parties promising to do about it, if they get their say in government?<br />
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Well, for once all three do include the need to increase the supply of new homes and in particular the supply of “affordable” homes.<br />
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The Conservatives promise in their manifest to meet their existing target of 1 million homes by 2020 with an additional half million by 2022.<br />
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Labour promises to build more than 1 million with at least 100,000 per year “genuinely affordable” council and housing association homes for rent and sale by 2022.<br />
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The Liberal Democrats intend to commission directly 300,000 a year by 2022 (which totals 1.5 million over the 5 years of the parliament), with 500,000 affordable homes and 10 garden cities.<br />
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All three parties recognise that local authorities have a key role as developers of new, affordable housing. This is refreshing as this has been ignored in recent years, yet was a key element in addressing the previous housing crisis in the UK after the second world war.<br />
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The Conservatives will allow some councils to build housing for social rent, with a proportion sold after 10-15 years, with sitting tenants being given first refusal and proceeds reinvested into new homes.<br />
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Labour promises to remove restrictions, although it is not specific in which way it will do this.<br />
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The Liberal Democrats will lift the cap on local authority borrowing.<br />
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And when it comes to the acute problem of homelessness there are aggressive targets in all three manifestos as well.<br />
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The Conservatives promise to half rough-sleeping by 2022 and eradicate it altogether by 2027, setting up a homelessness task force and implementing a Homelessness Reduction Act.<br />
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Labour intends to make 4,000 homes available for people with a history of rough sleeping, and pledges to protect residents of homelessness hostels and other supported housing from planned cuts to housing benefit.<br />
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The Liberal Democrats expect to increase support for homelessness prevention and ensure there is adequate provision of emergency and supported housing.<br />
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Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats propose the idea of “housing first” – an approach that moves homeless people straight into permanent housing as quickly as possible, thereby enabling the addressing of wider problems they may face to be put on a sound footing.<br />
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A major issue that has arisen out of George Osborne’s austerity plan, post-2010, has been cuts to welfare, particularly access to housing benefit, more of which is planned by the current government with the full implementation of Universal Credit, and the imposition of the Local Housing Allowance cap on housing benefit for all housing association tenants to the lowest 30% of rents, with further restrictions on 18-35 year-olds.<br />
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The Conservatives say there are no further welfare cuts planned other than announced already. Labour and the Liberal Democrats both pledge to cut the “bedroom tax” and reinstate housing benefit for the under 21’s. The Liberal Democrats plan also to increase the calculation formula for the Local Housing Allowance from 30% to 50% - i.e. peg it at the average private rent in the area. Labour also plan to end the 6 week waiting time for Universal Credit and the sanctions regime – the impact of which were highlighted in the recent Ken Loach film “I, Daniel Blake”.<br />
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So I am pleased that all three main parties are promising much that may help improve the housing situation in the UK over the next 5-10 years. But of course these are only “election promises”, and we all know what can happen to those once real life intervenes! The issue is therefore also of credibility? Which party is more likely to be able to deliver real, sustainable change over the long term?<br />
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There we enter the realm of faith!<br />
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Whatever happens on June the 8th, I hope the government that comes out of it is able to do something, because for too long housing has been hidden behind more urgent, but less fundamental priorities. Whoever wins, I hope it is finally time for Cinderella to get the new clothes she urgently needs!<br />
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Please vote.<br />
<br />Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-29653893739135163112017-04-18T04:33:00.000-07:002017-04-18T04:33:23.821-07:00The Trump card<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As a Chief Executive of a small housing association in the North East of England I never thought I would write a blog that references Donald Trump – but bear with me as there’s a method to my madness!<br />
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You see, whether you like him or loathe him, President Trump has demonstrated one thing and that he has been able to connect with a demographic that mainstream advertising, politicians and business cannot.<br />
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His use of social media before the election meant he was able to bypass the ‘traditional’ media and reach those who helped him defy all the odds to become President.<br />
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There’s lessons to be learned this side of the Pond.<br />
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The relative wealth of older people is talked of in the media, yet from the advertising you see you would think the only thing older people are interested in buying is life insurance and incontinence wear! <br />
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Advertising loves advertising to millennials (people born in the 1980s), but these guys have limited economic clout, and that is diminishing. That may be undesirable for the country, but it is a fact nevertheless. Ignoring the needs, aspirations, desires of older people is clearly economic suicide for a business, but nevertheless it seems to happen.<br />
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Similarly, we get the same happening in housing policy. If older people figure in the reporting of policy at all it is because they are undesirable “bed blockers” with poor quality of life.<br />
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There’s nothing much coming out about the benefits of properly catering for older people in regards to housing that PREVENTS problems and ENABLES older people to continue to have a positive economic impact on society, rather than become ill or injured and start costing society more etc.<br />
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This is where we (housing associations) come in, particulary with regard to ensuring our residents don’t get written off by society, and are instead helped to fulfil their potential, whatever their age or ability.<br />
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The big challenge of course is making sure this point is understood by society at large. Certainly our residents and their families understand it. I hope that the positive experiences they have will eventually make a greater impression on society than our youth-obsessed media! <br />
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After all, we all will get old one day, so it makes sense to ensure society is in a fit state to cope with us when we get there!<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-82593247322547565132017-03-06T07:26:00.000-08:002017-03-06T07:27:50.527-08:00Staying positive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was pleasing to see the Government, in its recent Housing White Paper, recognise the positive contribution of housing associations.<br />
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Less than a year ago, it looked a whole lot bleaker with David Cameron’s Conservative government putting the squeeze on us, whether it was the rent reduction or the Local Housing Allowance cap, but more on the latter shortly.<br />
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Under Teresa May, the same Government’s tone has changed completely and it now appears much more constructive than it was under Cameron.<br />
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By admitting the housing market is broken and by pledging to build a million new homes by 2020 it is clear the Government now understands that a ‘fix’ is not possible without the support of housing associations.<br />
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There remains much work to be done to deliver this housebuilding target, although I am pleased we will be doing our own bit by providing 91 new two-bedroom bungalows between now and 2022. This represents one of the largest housebuilding programmes in our history, increasing the number of homes we have by 5% - which is no mean feat!<br />
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I am, therefore, hopeful that goodwill has been restored, but significant issues remain; the most notable being the impact of the LHA cap on the affordability of rents for the most vulnerable.<br />
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The Government’s consultation on supported housing ended this month so we don’t know yet whether it will be included in the cap, but I have written before about the impact it will have on areas like County Durham.<br />
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I am hoping that common sense will prevail and that we can all get on with the job in hand – that of providing more affordable homes for people in housing need.<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-30705005027385120062016-10-11T07:14:00.000-07:002016-10-11T07:14:01.116-07:00Lighting quick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It’s not uncommon for the Great British weather to cause us maintenance problems, after all, rain, snow and wind can cause lots of damage.<br />
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It was slightly more surprising, though, to discover recently that lighting had been the cause of an issue at some of our homes in Stanley, County Durham.<br />
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At first, we were called to what we thought would be a routine repair, namely a boiler that had stopped working.<br />
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But it was only when one of our contractors went to the home that they discovered there was a lot more to it.<br />
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The clue came when the contractor saw sparks coming from a phone socket. He put two and two together and realised the thunderstorm the night before had been the culprit, with a few of our houses having been hit by lighting.<br />
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Thankfully, no-one was injured but it was particularly pleasing to see how quickly our contractors responded to the situation.<br />
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We are too small to have our own in-house maintenance team so we rely on a roster of local contractors. These contractors are small, local companies, with many other jobs to do, other than ours, but they dropped everything to come to our assistance.<br />
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So we would like to thank our electricians Vince Elwick & Son and heating engineers Phil Dobson Gas Technical Services.<br />
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Great work guys; now, we are hoping that lighting doesn’t strike twice!<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-15071889447009174302016-05-26T03:19:00.001-07:002016-05-26T03:19:55.455-07:00Retirement housing<br />
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I read with interest a <a href="http://www.nhbcfoundation.org/Publications/Primary-Research/Retirement-housing-residents-experiences-NF69" target="_blank">report </a>on retirement housing from the National House Building Council Foundation.<br />
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As part of the report, people aged 55 and over were asked to share their experiences of living in private sector retirement housing.<br />
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The research showed that residents’ needs are being met and that they are enjoying life, which is great.<br />
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Whilst the report focused on the private sector, the fact it demonstrates a need for good quality, affordable housing for older people is good news for social housing providers too.<br />
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Not everyone can afford to buy a home, or circumstances change which mean they need to find something smaller which meets their changing needs, e.g. disabilities.<br />
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The report specified the need for retirement housing to be designed to include facilities which allow those with reducing mobility to maintain an independent lifestyle for as long as possible. Our new purpose-built homes do this and have, for example, wet rooms and walk-in showers.<br />
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The fact is we have an ageing population so in the years to come, all housing providers, whatever the sector they are in, will have a very important role to play, along with the Government in ensuring older people continue to have access to the housing they deserve.<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5315805049025139477.post-10706808962668978742016-05-15T08:06:00.001-07:002016-05-15T08:06:25.314-07:00Start the bidding<br />
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I welcomed the recent news that the Government has approved funding for 8,000 units of specialist homes for older, disabled and vulnerable people.<br />
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The funding will form part of £4.7 billion in capital grants which will be disbursed for the shared ownership and affordable homes.<br />
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The two-bedroom bungalows we build and provide will come under this specialist category, so we are hopeful of being successful if, and when, we bid for money to deliver further affordable homes for older people in County Durham in the coming years.<br />
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Unfortunately, the money available on this ‘pot’ only represents 4% of the overall funding package, with the majority being focused on shared ownership and starter homes.<br />
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Whilst helping people onto the property ladder must be applauded, there will be a definite bias in the south where this kind of equity is more in demand.<br />
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Another big unknown is what is going to happen to the proposed Local Housing Allowance cap for Housing Benefit. The Government is currently reviewing this, and we are hopeful for a favourable outcome, but if the cap is instigated at the same level as people in privately rented homes, it could make bidding for the new development money almost pointless.<br />
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This would be because the rents required to sustain investment in the homes would be likely out of the reach of residents on full housing benefit. <br />
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We hope this is not the case, however, and that we can successfully bid for money to enable us to continue to provide the high quality older peoples’ homes that we are renowned for.<br />
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Paul Mullis - Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Associationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06499166917452778552noreply@blogger.com0