From our market towns to our major cities, the North is home to a diverse range of town centres with a wide variety of assets and opportunities. But changing retail habits and the impact of Covid-19 pose challenges. The focus is now on how we can renew and reshape town centres to ensure they continue […]
An influential Conservative-led House of Commons Select Committee has recommended urgent action to improve energy efficiency of homes, citing written and oral evidence provided by the NHC. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has this week recommended rolling out the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Homes Upgrade Grants ‘without delay’ with funding front-loaded. The […]
Regional climate coalitions in Yorkshire & Humber and the North East have gathered pace this month. The North’s housing sector is playing an important role in both coalitions. On 17th March, the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Comission held a well-attended launch event, which is available to watch again on YouTube. The Commission is an independent […]
As part of our efforts to influence housing decarbonisation plans, NHC Chair Paul Fiddaman and CEO Tracy Harrison met with Climate Change Minister Lord Callanan earlier this month. A former MEP and local councillor in Tyne and Wear, Lord Callanan is now a minister at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The meeting […]
Future facing digital marketing agency, Mediaworks is celebrating after its work for one of the UKs biggest housing groups was named as one of the best new websites. The prestigious UK Dev Awards 2021 has named Home Group’s new website as the best Third Sector website in the last 12 months. Mediaworks developed a site […]
Susan Borrow, Care and Support Manager (contracts) at Thirteen, reflects on Thirteen’s experiences since the roll out of Universal Credit, the measures we’ve put in place and investments we’ve made to ensure tenants have been able to manage their claims and maintain their tenancies. Universal Credit (UC) has been with us in the Tees Valley […]
Newcastle upon Tyne was one of the first areas where Universal Credit was introduced, and Your Homes Newcastle have been managing its impact for 6 years. We have seen the progress of roll-out, from minor tweaks around the edges, to significant overhauls in IT systems and legislation. We are now in a position to reflect […]
The Government is consulting on potential changes to the New Homes Bonus. The NHC will be responding to the consultation as part of our efforts to make housing policy work for the North, and we’d like to hear member views. The New Homes Bonus was introduced in 2011 as part of the Coalition government’s localism […]
The NHC is a core participant in the Sounding Board for Government’s Review of the Decent Homes Standard. The Review is now underway, and the Sounding Board met for the first time in February. MHCLG are running the Review in two phases – the first phase, running over Spring and Summer, is considering the case […]
The current health crisis has had a significant impact on employment levels across the north. This has had a knock-on effect on the welfare system with one-third of claims to Universal Credit since it’s roll out being made during the pandemic. The Government has offered low-income families the lifeline of the £20 uplift in Universal […]