This week’s HLINks: 3-7 August 2020

Jeremy talks….

Welcome to Jeremy talks and my weekly piece to audio to coincide with the Housing LIN's free weekly bulletin, HLINks, week ending 7 August 2020.

Usually in August we have a news 'holiday' and there is a summer break from HLINks for the whole month. This year, with Covid-19 still impacting on our daily lives, we will be reporting throughout August and capturing relevant sector news. We recognise the importance of keeping you informed and the information is certainly unabated. It’s been another busy week!

On the national stage, the government published its long awaited Planning White Paper. The measures outlined are a green light for housebuilders to construct new housing within certain confines; namely, on sites designated for growth. Despite lobbying with other sector bodies for more favourable planning conditions for housing an ageing population, the paper did not propose anything specifically to boost planning for accessible homes for an ageing population, although they do invite suggestions on how best to meet the needs of diverse groups and to meet equalities legislation.

It also released its updated Covid-19 guidance on supported living. It builds on the previous advice to supported living providers and is primarily for supported living settings, but many of the principles are applicable to extra care housing for older people. It also references the resource on our Coronavirus Info Hub.

And staying with government announcements, the NHS' 2020/21 People Plan was issued this week. It focuses largely on workforce issues to support training and learning in our health and care services in a more integrated way, including the use of digital; for example, for remote assessments. However, while home based care is acknowledged, disappointingly, there is no mention of housing or multi-disciplinary working with our sector. So much for integration!

In other news, In other news, I was interviewed by BrouHappy on behalf of Ian Williams Ltd for an exciting new series of podcasts that delve into social housing. I shared my thoughts on affordable housing for older people, gave examples of designing for ageing and looked into my crystal ball on what the future of social housing could be, especially through the lens of housing for older and disabled adults.
 

We also put the spotlight on technology with the publication of the findings of our joint survey with Appello. The resulting paper is the first that will be coming out in the coming weeks. It makes interesting reading and evidences the rapid adoption of digital in our sector and commitment to transform services.

We also released two guest blogs. One on value of housing the homeless during the pandemic by Dr Rachel Manning at the Warwick Business School, and continuing our look at HAPPI balcony designs from last week's blog, the other is on the use of public and private space under lockdown, by architect, Stuart Carr.

In this week’s HLINks you can also read our curated round-up of other relevant news and events on later life living through the lens of homes and communities, health and social care, design and technology, and planning matters. There is also a new survey for you to take part in, in partnership with the Workhome Project. This is seeking your feedback on working from home in social housing and how your organisation has responded in the light of Covid-19. Take part by Friday, 28 August 2020.

Check all of this out in our latest weekly bulletin on our website or register online to receive our alerts and other notifications of your choice sent direct to your inbox.

And remember, if you would like to talk to us about any matters highlighted, share learning about your work and/or require our expert advice and guidance, email ‘Jeremy talks’ at: info@housinglin.org.uk

You can also listen to Jeremy talks… here

Best wishes and stay connected and be safe,

Jeremy


This week HLINks also includes:

  • a round-up of latest/updated Covid-19 resources and guidance relevant to the sector
  • our usual a round-up of news headlines and new resources on housing, ageing, design and technology, planning, health and care, calls for information
  • In association with Tetlow King Planning, the updated Older People’s Care Development – Local Development Plan Monitoring

And next week, following the refreshed Supported Living guidance, we are looking forward to releasing our updated Covid-19 Practice Briefings on specialist housing and the other on housing and dementia. In addition, we will be featuring two new guest blogs. One on homelessness and the use of temporary accommodation and the other reflecting the lead up to the VJ celebrations.

The Housing LIN would like to thank Willmott Dixon for their support in producing this newsletter.

Stay well, stay connected and be safe!