Halton Housing Trust has appointed Sure Maintenance to deliver its gas appliance maintenance and servicing contract to its 6,200 homes in the Cheshire towns of Runcorn and Widnes.

On 25 November 2008 the Communities and Local Government and the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform published the long awaited 'Prosperous Places: taking forward the review of economic development and regeneration: the Government response to public consultation' which sets out how the government intends to proceed with the implementation of SNR.

The Northern Housing Consortium would like to announce the retirement of Assistant Chief Executive Mr Allan Kelley.

"The social housing sector should be treated as a key partner in the commissioning of services for mental health. The valuable role of housing, and housing support, providers in helping to articulate the needs of those most marginalised and disempowered means that housing must now be seen as a health issue." This was the key message from Nick Brown MP, the North East Regional Minister at a high profile event organised by the Northern Housing Consortium and sponsored by the Care Services Improvement Partnership, the National Social Inclusion Programme and the Regional Assembly.

The number of people with dementia in the North of England will increase by 35% between 2007 and 2021. Dementia is one of the main causes of disability in later life and around 63% of people with dementia live in their own homes.