HLINks - This week’s essential news, views, resources and upcoming events from the Housing LIN
Welcome to #Jeremytalks and my weekly piece to audio to coincide with our must-read weekly bulletin, HLINks, week-ending Friday, 26 February 2021.
To coincide with our latest HAPPI Hour session yesterday afternoon on Community-led housing and building resilient communities, we published two new resources from the Housing LIN. The first is a Viewpoint by Jim Hudson at the LSE and researcher partners from a variety of Universities entitled, ‘What collaborative housing offers in a pandemic: Evidence from 18 communities in England and Wales’. And staying in Wales, the second is a guest blog by Claire White at the Wales Cooperative Centre who has written about their upcoming research findings on the values and experiences of cooperative living during lockdown.
In this week’s HLINks, you can also take a tour of other news and events on later life housing and independent living with regard to homes and communities, health and social care, design and technology, planning matters and more, including three new reports, all relevant for our sector. The first of these is a report by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, ‘Coming Home: Tackling the housing crisis together’. This was followed by a report by the Centre for London on housing for older Londoners and then Look Ahead Housing Association’s report, ‘The financial case for integrated mental health services and supported housing pathways’. They are all worth a read!
Check these out and register here to keep in touch with all our news alerts and other notifications of your choice, sent direct to your inbox. And remember you can also follow us via our Twitter feeds: @HousingLIN, @HousingLINews and @HLINConsult
And on the social media front, we are recruiting for a Digital Communications Intern. If you are a recent graduate, take a look at our recruitment pack.
Finally, if you would like to talk to us about any matters highlighted in this week’s issue, share learning about your work and/or discuss how you can engage our highly regarded consultancy services to assist you, email ‘Jeremy talks’ at: info@housinglin.org.uk
You can also listen to #Jeremytalks… here
Thanks for listening, stay connected and, above all, be safe.
Jeremy
New Housing LIN Resources
New Housing LIN Viewpoint on what collaborative housing offers in a pandemic
This Housing LIN Viewpoint looks at the impact of Covid-19 and captures the responses and experiences of how 18 Community-led housing (CLH) projects in England and Wales have coped during the pandemic. It highlights how the benefits of CLHs have fostered community and neighbourly support but also how this has been challenged by the restrictions necessitated by the pandemic.
New Housing LIN Blog: Co-operative values and the strength of community through the pandemic
This guest blog by Claire White from Communities Creating Homes, the Wales hub for Community-Led Housing (CLH) previews the publication of their forthcoming research into how Welsh CLH residents have endured and survived the pandemic.
We are recruiting!
Housing LIN Digital Communications
We have an exciting opportunity to join our small team in Bristol as a full-time post for a year to support our highly regarded housing learning and improvement programmes. It's a great early career position for someone who wants to make an impact and quickly gain experience working in a dynamic company passionate about communicating innovations and examples of good practice in meeting the housing and care needs of older people and people with disabilities. The closing date is Friday, 12 March 2021.
Coronavirus Update
With the Prime Minister’s announcement this week of the 4 steps to unlock the current national lockdown, check out our Coronavirus Info Hub for the latest government guidance, a range of Housing LIN practice briefings for the sector and links to other useful information and websites.
We have also identified the following items as useful reads:
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing service for extra care and supported living settings
- Extra care and Supported living - testing webinar
- Inviting all people on the Learning Disability Register for vaccination
- COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable
- Mencap guide and coronavirus (COVID-19): Vaccine
Do also post any or reply to questions on our discussion forum. It allows you to share information, raise issues and ask questions to solve a tricky issue. For example, can you share your organisation’s COVID-19 risk plan or information about how you are engaging with residents remotely?
Housing, Community, Disability, and Ageing
Coming Home: Tackling the Housing Crisis Together
This report, commissioned by the Archbishops of Canterbury & York, sets out actions for the Church, Government and other stakeholders, focusing on building better communities and homes, not just houses. At the heart of the report are 5 core values; namely, good housing should be sustainable, safe, stable, sociable and satisfying. Examples in the report include the DHSC-funded Trafford Housing Trust’s development Limelight on Shrewsbury Street which has a church on site.
Third Age City: Housing for older Londoners
This report makes the case for a stronger and more coordinated approach to providing homes for older Londoners that work for them. Published by the Centre for London, it highlights that there is a particular gap in the availability of specialist housing, with less than half of the new specialist homes required being built. It finds that this gap is also likely to grow as London’s older population increases.
Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit Survey
And remember, to help the government with understanding the barriers that disabled people face and what it may need to focus upon to improve the lives of disabled people, the Cabinet Office in preparing a National Strategy are seeking the views people with disabilities to know more about their experiences.
If you are a disabled person, a carer or parent or as someone who has an interest in disability issues, please complete the online survey by 23 April 2021 if you would like to inform the development of the strategy. The survey is also available in other formats.
Other news and opinions
- EHRC Briefing on Development of National Disability Strategy
- Centre for Ageing Better: Range of free-to-use ‘age-positive’ icons launched to replace stereotypical symbols of ageing
- Homes England set to launch bidding for strategic partnerships
- Mortgage Introducer: Half of over-55s want more suitable housing options for older people
Design, Construction, Planning and Technology
TAPPI: call for written submissions extended
Further to the call for evidence for examples and research on how the use of technology has transformed how you operate, design and build new or retrofit existing homes and/or deliver better outcomes for your customers, the deadline has now been extended to the end of March 2021. Have your say to inform and influence Inquiry Panel!
Housing Design Awards 2021 – deadline extended to 3 March
We are proud to sponsor these awards organised by Design for Homes and, in particular, draw attention to designing a range of HAPPI-inspired, beautifully designed housing that meets the needs and aspirations of an ageing population. To take inspiration from HAPPI and past winners, view our dedicated design hub webpage.
Tunstall Healthcare commits to developing leaders of the future
Tunstall Healthcare has announced it is investing in the future talent of health, housing and social care professionals with the launch of a free online course to help participants develop key leadership skills.
The ‘Rising Stars’ programme consists of three modules and will be delivered in a blended learning format through distance learning, coached assignments and webinars. Free to a group of up to 30 individuals, the virtual course will cover presentation skills, effective meetings and media interactions to build participant confidence for professional success.
Other news and opinions
Health and Social Care, Mental Health and Learning Disability
Integration of mental health and supported housing could save NHS £1bn a year
This report on the financial case for integrated mental health services and supported housing pathways was commissioned by housing and support services provider Look Ahead and outlines that if integrated mental health and supported housing systems currently used in parts of London and the South East were implemented across the rest of the country, approximately £950 million could be saved to the NHS.
Less than 6 months to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) – Are you prepared?
The UK government has introduced a new form of immigration status to enable eligible European Union citizens, European Economic Area citizens, or Swiss citizens currently living in the UK or resident in the UK before 31 Dec 2020, to stay in the UK after the end of the transitional withdrawal period on 30 June 2021.
For anyone who hasn’t yet seen this, the Home Office have produced a EUSS toolkit Local authority toolkit specifically aimed at Local Authorities. And for more information, please visit the ADASS dedicated EUSS web page below:
We have also teamed up with ADASS to run a HAPPI Hour session for Housing LIN members on 11 March 2021.
Other news and opinions
Housing and Dementia
APPG Inquiry report on housing and dementia
Missed this last week? Watch and listen again to the launch of the new APPG Inquiry report on housing and dementia here and be inspired by Wendy Mitchell as she shares her personal story about living with dementia.
Wales and Scotland
Wales
For Welsh government guidance on COVID-19, visit: https://gov.wales/coronavirus
This week, the Welsh Government published its national development framework - Future Wales: The National Plan 2040. It makes reference to ageing in several places and replaces the Wales Spatial Plan and forms part of the development plan for Wales.
Also, a reminder that the Welsh Government also has two important consultations out, highly relevant for Housing LIN Cymru members. They are:
- Strategy for an ageing society: age friendly Wales (deadline 15 March 2021)
- Improving social care arrangements and partnership working (deadline 6 April 2021)
Scotland
Scottish government guidance on COVID-19 can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance/
Events
Preparing our Spring HAPPI Hour series
We are now working on a new HAPPI Hour programme and look forward to sharing our full Spring schedule of webinars in the coming weeks. However, you can already sign up to upcoming HAPPI Hour sessions.
As highlighted earlier, we are also partnering ADASS to run a session on the EU Settlement Service and implications for the care sector on 11 March and the following week, a year on the outbreak of Coronavirus, and following the release of their major report last week, a session with Central & Cecil Housing Trust entitled, ‘One year on: being innovative and flexible in the face of a pandemic'.
And following the launch of the latest APPG Inquiry report, we are holding 2 HAPPI Hour sessions on design, and adaptations and technology. These are taking place on 22 April 2021 and 13 May 2021 respectively. Register on our events page for further details.
Other events supported by the Housing LIN
We are pleased to be involved in the following virtual events:
- SCIE webinar: Future options for housing and care - Monday 8 March 2021, 10.30 - 11.30 am
- CADR - Centre For Ageing & Dementia Research Conference 2021: A time of change; A time to change? - 23, 24 and 25 March 2021
- TSA's International Technology Enabled Care virtual conference - 22 to 25 March 2021
In next week’s HLINks
We look forward to publishing two new blogs. The first from Sue Weston on her reflections from the recent launch of the APPG report on housing for people for dementia, and the second by Anchor Hanover's Nick Sedgwick on their partnership with Re-engage and supporting residents with 'BeSupportive' calls during lockdown to reduce loneliness and isolation.
Lastly, the Housing LIN would like to thank Willmott Dixon for their support in producing this newsletter.