Topic
/ Announcement / Date/ Source /Environment / Government sets out strategy to tackle Ash dieback
A new strategy to tackle Ash dieback has been published today by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson alongside the Tree and Plant Health Task Force’s interim report. The Chalara Control Plan sets out the Government’s objectives for tackling the disease and outlines what further action we will take over the next few months. The Chalara Control Strategy can be found at:-http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/2012/12/06/pb13843-chalara-control-plan/ / 6 December
DEFRA
Public Service Reform / Use of 'Mutuals' to deliver local services needs stronger and more coherent support warn MPs
Effort by the Cabinet Office to promote the development of employee owned cooperatives must be married more effectively to the work of DCLG to deliver localism reforms before mutual models of local service delivery can flourish, says the Communities and Local Government Committee. In its report, the CLG Committee concludes that if the government wants mutualism to transform the shape, responsiveness and quality of local service delivery then effort is required to remove a number of significant barriers. / 6 December
Parliament
Housing Finance / Government ditches plans for social housing REITs
The government has ruled out setting up social housing real estate investment trusts. Documents published alongside yesterday’s autumn statement say setting up the tax efficient investment companies for social housing is ‘neither viable nor necessary at this time’. REITs are tax-efficient, listed companies, that buy and develop properties and attract investment from pension funds and life insurance companies. The government consulted on setting up social housing REITs following the March 2012 Budget, but now appears to have shelved the plans. Plans to allow REITs to invest in other REITs were given the go ahead. / 6 December
Inside Housing
Topic
/ Announcement / Date/ Source /Autumn Statement
(formerly Pre Budget Statement) / Autumn Statement 2012
The Chancellor has delivered his autumn statement to parliament. Key points in his speech were:
Local Government
§ 2% cut to local government funding from 2014. The LGA has responded to this.
§ Government will support local authorities wishing to create a combined authority or implement other forms of collaboration.
§ Government will accept findings of pay review bodies, including that there should be no new centrally determined local pay rates or zones.
§ Public sector workers to get 1% pay increase.
Tax and Welfare
§ Threshold for personal income tax to rise to £9,440 in April 2013.
§ Most working age benefits to rise by 1% over next 3 years in line with public sector pay increases.
§ State pension to rise by 2.5% in April 2013.
§ Local Housing Allowance rates to increase in line with the CPI inflation rate in April 2013, but future increases will be capped to 1 per cent in most areas in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
§ Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) for homeowners facing difficulties will continue at current level to March 2015.
§ Government likely to implement full market rent for social tenants on higher incomes after 2013 budget following its Pay to Stay consultation earlier this year.
Growth
§ £474m of recoverable investment for infrastructure projects comprising: c. £60m to support infrastructure in a limited number of Enterprise Zones; c. £225m to accelerate delivery of large housing sites, supporting around 50,000 homes; c. £190m used to de-risk public sector land and enable quicker disposal of surplus sites for new homes. Alongside this, the Government will provide £100m to bring forward public sector sites for development.
§ Growth-related spending to be devolved to LEPs and a single funding pot to be created by April 2015. Government intends that LEPs will be given funding for local transport, housing, schemes to get people back into work, skills and any additional local growth funding. More details to emerge after the Spending Review in April 2013.
§ LEPs to be given opportunities to apply for up to £0.25m per year additional funding per year to support the development and delivery of their strategic plan.
§ LEPs to be given a new strategic role in skills policy in line with the recommendations of the Heseltine Review.
§ An additional £350m for regional growth funds. / 5 December
HM Treasury
Homelessness / Crisis: Homelessness Monitor predicts rising homelessness
Crisis is to publish its findings from the second year of a five-year study being undertaken with Heriot Watt and York universities into the impact of the economic downturn and policy developments on homelessness across the UK. This new analysis highlights how homelessness in all its forms continues to rise in England. Reforms to welfare and housing, particularly cuts to housing benefit, are already having an impact and combined with the continuing economic downturn, are making more people vulnerable to homelessness. The summary also says there is much worse to come, particularly for young people and families with children. Further reports for each of the home nations are to follow. / 4 December
Crisis
Housing related support / Mencap’s housing report reveals barriers to independent living
Mencap warns that the housing crisis will turn back the clock for people with a learning disability. In its ‘Housing for people with a learning disability’ report Mencap warns that local authorities are moving backwards from a long-established national policy to support people within their communities. It shows that aspirations towards providing independent living options for people with a learning disability are at risk of being derailed by government cuts and reforms to the welfare system. / 4 December
Mencap
Adult Social Care / Social Care Worker Survey exposes cuts.
The extent of the social care crisis is highlighted in a new Age UK and College of Social Work survey of members. The study of over 200 social workers with responsibility for adult social care showed that 85% have witnessed the impact of a reduction in front line services over the last year, with implications for the care and dignity for England’s most vulnerable older people. The discussion paper argues the case that investing in social work not only promotes the care and dignity of service users but is a cost effective way of meeting the growing need for older people’s social care. The paper was presented at a parliamentary briefing on 4 December. / 3 December
Age UK/College of Social Work
Housing Finance / Welfare reform puts dozens of housing associations at risk – research
The viability of dozens of housing associations is at risk from the financial impact of welfare reform according to Peter Hall, managing director of housing consultancy PHHS. Findings from his latest research suggest that uncertainties over the financial impact of welfare reform, at the same time as banks, the traditional financiers of the sector, are reigning in their lending or seeking to renegotiate terms of existing loans, could create the ‘perfect storm’ for the sector. / 3 December
24-Dash
Trading Standards / New penalties for scrap metal dealers
From 3 December, legislative changes mean that metal dealers will not be able to pay for metal in cash and will face tougher sanctions for rogue trading. Traders can be fined up to £5,000; and police now have new powers of entry to tackle illegal trading in metal yards. / 3 December
Home Office
Topic
/ Announcement / Date/ Source /Enterprise and Growth /
Chancellor risking 'fatal error' on growth, warns LGA
The Chancellor risks making the ‘fatal error' of undermining the potential of local economies to drive economic growth if councils are made to bear the brunt of further cuts to public spending, town hall leaders warn today. The warning comes as new figures reveal that cuts to the funding councils receive from Government have already forced a reduction of between 16 and 44 per cent in councils' spending on pro-growth services such as roads and transport, culture, housing and planning and development. These cuts sit alongside smaller, but still significant, reductions in the amount of money available for core services such as adult social care and child protection. The figures, contained in an independent report for the Local Government Association (LGA) by Professor Tony Travers published today, also show that since 2009/10, funding for local government has fallen by 15 per cent in real terms at the same time central government spending has risen.
/ 3 DecemberLocal Government Association
Adult Social Care /
New protections if care providers fail
New measures to protect people who rely on care services in the event of a provider failure like Southern Cross have been set out by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb today. A tough system of checks on the finances of the largest care companies is proposed to give early warning of problems and to challenge financial models which could be unsustainable or compromise quality. Under these proposals the Government would introduce regulation of major care providers and if a provider failed there would be plans to support a well-managed exit. The plans announced today aim to protect those being cared for should another Southern cross happen.The Department of Health is asking people to respond to its plans by visiting the website and commenting on its proposals. If these proposals are taken forward, the legislation would come into force with the Care and Support Bill. / 1 December
DH
Welfare Reforms / People on sickness benefits to be offered work experience to help them back into a job
From Monday, people on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who have been assessed as being able to go back to work eventually and are placed in the Work-Related Activity Group for the benefit, will be able to take part in voluntary work. These periods of work experience at an appropriate employer are designed to help people with limited employment history prepare for a return to work. In some situations, having taken into account an individual's circumstances, a Jobcentre Plus adviser or Work Programme provider may feel that an appropriate mandatory work placement would be helpful. This includes circumstances where someone refuses to take reasonable steps to address a barrier which is stopping them working. People who fail to carry out any agreed work-related activity without good reason may face having their benefits sanctioned. From Monday, penalties for those who don’t comply with the rules will be changed to be brought in line with Jobseekers Allowance. / 30 November
DWP
Trading Standards / Eight supermarkets sign up to OFT principles on special offers and promotions
Following the Office of Fair Trading’s investigation into supermarket promotional practices, it has worked with a number of major supermarket chains to develop a set of principles to establish a more consistent approach to promotion, display and advertising, so that consumers can rely on them being fair and meaningful regarding the value of the product or the existence of a discount. So far, Aldi, Co-Op, Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose have signed up. The OFT also identified activities that would be of concern to enforcers and will be working with local authority trading standards services and other stakeholders to ensure business guidance is up to date and achieving its purpose. / 30 November
OFT
Homelessness / Shelter's helpline sees surge in calls
Shelter’s helpline received 23,086 calls about homelessness in the 12 months to September this year, compared with 12,852 between October 2009 and September 2010. The charity’s website giving homelessness advice has seen a 17 per cent increase in visits over the past year, whereas it rose just 3 per cent the year before. In its press release Shelter states that number of people seeking its help because of homelessness, or at risk of homelessness, has increased by 80% in the last three years. / 30 November
Inside Housing/ Shelter
Housing Market, Development and Planning / Grand plan is unveiled for Birmingham city centre car park
A Birmingham city centre location – used as a car park for more than a decade – may be developed into a new commercial district with a hotel and offices. Plans for the second phase of Nikal Group’s Masshouse scheme, 60,000 sq metres of commercial space, retail and a 200-bed hotel and apartments, all set around a new central square, are due to be decided upon by Birmingham City Council next Thursday. / 30 November
Birmingham Mail
Health & Well Being (Care and Support Funding) / Personal health budgets to be rolled out
The roll out of personal health budgets has been announced today by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb. A personal health budget is an amount of money given to someone, to help them design a package of care support from clinicians and others, giving them more control over the nature of the treatment provided. Personal health budgets have been piloted at 20 in-depth sites for the last three years, and an independent evaluation of the pilot programme published today has found that:
§ people’s quality of life had improved
§ if half of the people eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare chose to take the offer of a budget, this could imply a potential saving of around £90 million
§ the amount of times people had to attend hospital decreased overall. / 30 November
DH
Customer Satisfaction and Engagement / BSHF: Better tenant involvement needed
The Building and Social Housing Foundation has published a report based on research, which focused on tenants’ experiences of stock transfer and the importance of education to allow tenants to engage effectively. The research, summarised by BSHF, suggests that current support for tenants is often ineffective and that a new approach is needed to enable tenants to effectively influence processes such as stock transfer. / 30 November
BSHF
Health and Well-being / ONS: Excess Winter Mortality in England and Wales, 2011/12 (Provisional) and 2010/11 (Final)
The Office for National Statistics has released provisional data for 2011/12. Analysis suggests that there was an 8 per cent reduction compared to 2010/11. It also shows that the number of excess winter deaths in the over 75s was 19,500 compared to 4,500 for under 75s. According to the EWM Index, Birmingham’s rate was 16.2, lower than the England average of 17, although numerically Birmingham had the highest number of excess winter deaths in 2010/11 at 410. / 30 November
ONS
Financial Services / Bank Of Dave star wants to start business in Birmingham
A self-made millionaire who set up a ‘bank’ in his home town for those who couldn’t get credit anywhere else wants to duplicate the scheme in Birmingham – and bring a historic building back to life. Dave Fishwick – star of Channel 4’s Bank of Dave – claims there is now a two-year waiting list to pay in to his Burnley Savings and Loans and is aiming to repeat the model in the Midlands to serve individuals and businesses. Part of the plan could see Mr Fishwick revive the former Birmingham Municipal Bank in Broad Street, which has stood empty for more than a decade. / 29 November
Birmingham Post
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