Housing associations

In a sector where the demand far outpaces supply, and as the cost of living continues to rise in the UK, housing associations are under increasing pressure to deliver affordable housing. 

Spindogs addresses the challenges faced by housing associations and discusses the opportunities offered by digital. 

Technological capabilities and tenant expectations are rapidly changing, placing even greater pressures on housing associations. Increased demands create an increased need to invest in new technologies to better service users. 

A campaign to change-up the national conversation around social housing safety and compliance with landlords, residents, government and suppliers, is calling for safety pledges ahead of the first annual National Social Housing Safety and Compliance Week. 

Running 21st – 25th June, the inaugural awareness week is spearheaded by the Association of Safety and Compliance Professionals (ASCP), in association with CORGI, to raise standards in safety, compliance, learning, competence and collaboration for a safer future for social housing.

We begin this episode with Regional Specification Manager Alex Parker and special guest Paul Meadows, Director of Salus Approved Inspectors. Alex and Paul discuss the changes in building control over the last 15 years and how Salus work to support their clients.

Next, Will Lloyd, Technical Manager from the Fire Industry Association, returns to the studio alongside Andy Speake and Paul Cartwright; together, they explore the change in industry standards, working groups and best practice.

Lastly, we revisit our CIH Ideas Lab with Regional Specification Manager, Tony Boyle, to examine the Scottish Standards.

Welcome to the tenth episode of Aico TV!

For the first segment, we will be speaking to Aico’s four Mental Health First Aiders, Jane Pritchard, Lily Ellis, Julie Weaving and Andy Sturgess, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.

Next, we are joined by Curtis Langley from local charity, The Movement Centre; Curtis discusses the work they do and the Captain Tom 100 Challenge.

Finally, we join David Watts from Sparky Ninja for the final discussion in the mini-series. This week, David, Carl and Andy discuss the E5 Group and their goals of improving standards.

Solar panels have formed an ever-expanding feature of the UK roofscape, and regulation changes, allied to the Government’s Future Homes Standard, intend to make UK new homes ‘zero carbon ready’ by 2025.  The prospect is for roofs to become a mainstream element of the renewable energy economy.

Building owners and operators have always played a vital role in ensuring the fire safety of their properties. However, with the Fire Safety Act 2021 becoming law this April, the responsibilities of those managing multi-occupant residential buildings are now more stringently defined. It states that they are accountable for reducing fire risk of the structure and external walls, and any entry doors between flats and communal areas. Although we are still waiting for the updated guidance to be released, it is imperative that housing associations of all kinds get to work now to ensure the safety of their tenants, including ensuring effective passive fire protection.

LEADING independent pensions and employee benefit advisors Quantum Advisory has addressed corporate members of Community Housing Cymru, highlighting the importance of reviewing their FRS 102 pension disclosures to potentially improve balance sheet positions, and providing an insight into current market trends in the major pension schemes used by the sector.

Corporate pension actuaries at Quantum, Stuart Price and Adam Cottrell, spoke during the hour-long webinar on Friday 7 May, focussing on issues surrounding the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and the Social Housing Pension Scheme (SHPS).