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Almshouse Consortium Limited Press Release

There is great news in the housing world as the Government has announced details of the next Affordable Housing Programme, providing grants to providers of affordable housing, including Almshouse Charities. The new programme will support projects across England from 2021 – 2026.

In a statement by the Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick, plans were unveiled for a new affordable housing programme. This new grant funding is expected to deliver an additional 180,000 affordable homes.

Significantly, the Government announcement makes particular reference to almshouses which builds on the heightened recognition of the understanding and appreciation of the role and uniqueness of almshouses.

Whilst generally the funding is targeted at the construction of new homes, significantly for almshouses the government are offering grant for projects which involve remodelling existing properties.

One route to grant is through the Almshouse Consortium Ltd which has been in operation for 12 years enabling almshouse charities to access grants from Homes England. To date ACL has secured in excess of £20 Million grant funds for almshouses developing new build projects, remodelling or refurbishing existing Almshouses and works closely with The Almshouse Association in support of its aims.

The Almshouse Consortium Ltd holds preferred partner status with Homes England (the Government Agency) for the delivery of schemes under the affordable housing programmes and can help you access grant if you are thinking of bringing a project forward. 

Sean Stafford, Programme Manager at the Almshouse Consortium Ltd explains:

The new funding is very welcome. The scale of funding available is significant; the highest amount for the past few decades. There are clear routes which enable almshouses to access this funding for either building new homes or remodelling existing homes. It will not cover single investment items; say replacement of the heating system but it will contribute to many, many schemes.

Kathy Green, Programme Manager adds:

The Almshouse Consortium has been accessing such grants for 12 years now and has secured over £20Million of grant funding. We would encourage almshouses to contact us to discuss whether there is scope to attract grant to support their ambitions.

The Government will release a timescale for grant requests which for initial applications is likely to be the end of November 2020, although this is yet to be confirmed.

If you have a project which you are considering requesting grant support for would like to get in contact with ACL, their contact details have been listed below:

Sue Holden the Almshouse Consortium Administrator by email to acltabitha@gmail.com or on 07464 021046 

Sean Stafford on sean@saffercooper.com or 07714 255520.

Kathy Green on kathy.green.projects@gmail.com or 07940 590173

Posted 30 Sept 20

Government announces funding for the Affordable Housing Programme

The Government has today announced £12 billion in funding for the Affordable Housing Programme for 2021-2026.

The aim of this fund is to provide 180,000 homes around the country. The Almshouse Association welcomes this funding, which has previously been used to support almshouse charities to grow and develop. We hope to see many more examples of this fund being used to support our members. Further guidance on the specifics of the fund will be published shortly.

After discussions over recent months, The Almshouse Association is particularly pleased to see almshouses specifically mentioned in the Government’s announcement, reiterating the exemption from Right to Buy which almshouses benefit from.

The full Government announcement can be found here.

Posted 8 September 2020

AGM 2020 Report

This year, due to coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings, our 69th Almshouse Association 2020 Annual General Meeting was held by webinar on 1st September 2020.

Please find below the CEO’s AGM Report:

Not to be held back by the current climate we held our 69th Almshouse Association’s AGM on Tuesday 1st September over Zoom. We were pleased to have 60 people signed up to view and although one or two dropped out it was a good virtual turnout. I won’t repeat the AGM blow by blow as you can watch the video virtually here. Votes were cast before the event and all matters were carried.

Chair, Elizabeth Fathi, thanked all the staff and my fellow board members and confirmed with thanks the re-election of the Board members who put their names forward: Willie Hartley-Russell, John Broughton and Elizabeth Fathi.

Each member for re-election received over 95% of votes in favour. Simon Ling, Honorary treasurer presented his excellent report and the accounts were approved and Auditors were re-appointed.

A special resolution to change the name of The National Association of Almshouses to The Almshouse Association at Company’s House was approved and had one against.

Elizabeth gave a far thinking and inspirational vision for the almshouse movement setting out clearly where the Association and the movement stands in the “sea” of housing options. I have reproduced part of the presentation because I feel it helps set our compass clearly in the right direction.

“A model that has survived for 1000 years can show a maturity and foundation to younger models that depend upon government funding and the political incentives and projects of the day.… Self-sufficient low cost housing held in trust by local people for local people is an impressive model.  Even more so when that housing has been shown to improve residents’ well-being and sense of belonging and community.  The small scale, intimacy of their distinctive built form, may not single-handedly be able to solve the nation’s housing crisis but, in a similar way that a hospice complements the NHS, the almshouse movement complements the governments’ social housing programme.   ……independence from government funding and limited regulation enables it to offer added value to its residents.  A value that cannot be quantified and is held in perpetuity.

From a personal view, however, I see the strength in the future of the movement not just in new 21st century build but also in new benefactors.  The creation of brand new almshouse charities will do much to spread the word, to help local communities house local people in need and to sustain the model. 

This is not to forget those hard-working trustees of current almshouses, giving their time and care and attention voluntarily day in and day out (often year in and year out possibly even decades in and decades out).  I would like to end today by thanking you, wholeheartedly and on behalf of my fellow board members for the care you give to our 35,000 almshouses across England and Wales.  It is you who provide the foundation upon which we can all champion the movement and take it forward into the centuries to come.

Let us celebrate what we have and what we can do and raise a toast to new and established almshouses …………..”

I thanked the Board, staff and members and although the focus of the AGM was on 2019, I felt it was right recognise how staff, Board and members have responded so positively to the current challenges. I gave a summary of some of the work of the association, where we are moving forward with the strategy and the exciting times ahead particularly in 2021 with the celebration of the associations 75th year.

You will probably be aware of the Government White Paper – Planning for the Future. This paper sets out far reaching plans to change the planning laws for the country. The key changes that impact almshouse charities are the loss of the current affordable housing fund, Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levey. They will be replaced with a single levy. We are very concerned that almshouses are exempt from the new levy when building new and are considered as proper recipients of the funds. We will be working with key partners, MP’s and Lords to see that almshouses are properly supported under any new planning policy. We will keep you informed.

In closing, sadly, just before starting the AGM we heard the terrible news that our former colleague and friend to so many, Sue Turner, had passed away. Sue was such a passionate supporter of almshouses and had great love for so many of the clerks and trustees she worked with. Sue was such a professional, friendly, kind and efficient a great guide to me and my colleagues. All our thoughts are with Sue’s family and friends.

We will say more as we know it. If anyone would like to send a card we will forward them on from the office in Billingbear.

Nick Phillips CEO

Posted 7 September 2020

Telecare Digital Switchover 2025

Members who make use of telecare services may be aware that in 2017 BT announced that they would be switching off their long-serving analogue telephone network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) network by 2025, moving to a digital (IP) network.

Although there is still over 4 years before the switchover, it is vital that members are aware of the change and ensure that the necessary changes are made to their service.

The rollout of the service will be gradual on a region by region basis. Members should receive a letter from BT when they region is due to switch, but at the time of writing there is no available timetable for this. BT should also provide additional support for vulnerable residents.

Members may wish to take part in a survey currently being carried out by the Chartered Institute of Housing which is looking into the preparedness of the social housing sector for the switchover.

For further guidance on the switchover please see our article on the switch here.

Posted 7 September 2020

1.9.20 update: Government extends eviction ban

Last week, The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced an extension of the evictions ban by a further 4 weeks. The ban was initially introduced to prevent tenants being evicted during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Almshouse Association has encouraged our members to follow the guidance as best practice during the current situation. We understand that this will not be a good position for all members.

The ban extension means:

  • Evictions cannot be legally sought until September 21st 2020
  • A new requirement to provide 6 month notice periods has been introduced which will remain in place until 31st March 2021, except in ‘those cases raising other serious issues such as those involving anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse perpetrators’.
  • Courts will not resume eviction hearings until the ban ends. When the ban is lifted, cases will be prioritised based on how serious they are, i.e. those involving anti-social behaviour, or rents which have not been received for over a year.

We have been working with MHCLG over the last month or so to move to a ‘set of guidance‘ that fits with how our members manage rare cases of necessary set aside rather than a blanket ban on evictions. To date, it seems we have not been able to persuade them to move to pragmatic guidance rather than control.

We will continue to work with MHCLG to persuade them to develop a ‘set of guidance’ that fits with how almshouse charities manage residents in the very rare cases that set aside is the only option.

UPDATE 1/9/2020

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has provided a further update regarding the notice period required for cases involving serious issues such as anti-social behaviour.

These changes mean that from 29 August notice periods must be at least:

  • 4 weeks in relation to anti-social behaviour. Some discretionary grounds relating to nuisance/immoral or illegal use of the property require no notice at all. 2 weeks’ notice is required for notices in relation to rioting.
  • 2 – 4 weeks’ notice periodsin relation to domestic abuse (depending on the type of tenancy notice period will vary – 2 weeks’ notice for grounds under 1988 Housing Act and 4 weeks under the 1985 Housing Act)
  • 2- 4 weeks’ notice periodsfor false statement (depending on the type of tenancy and ground used, the notice period will vary – 2 weeks’ notice for grounds under 1988 Housing Act and 4 weeks under the 1985 Housing Act)
  • 4 weeks’ notice period where over six months of rent is due (if less than six months is owed, then six months’ notice must be given)
  • 3 months’ notice periodwhere the tenant is unlawfully present in the UK in breach of immigration rules (known as no ‘Right to Rent’) or where the tenant has passed away.
  • 6 months’ notice periodfor all other grounds, including Section 21 notices and rent arrears under 6 months.

Notice served on and before 28 August are not affected by these changes, and must be at least three months if served on or after 27 March. If a landlord wishes to serve a new notice in order to take advantage of the new shorter notice periods required for certain serious cases, they should, where they are issuing a new notice of the same type, withdraw the first notice before they serve a new notice. These regulations will apply in England only.

Posted 25 August 2020; updated 1 September 2020

Patrick Vernon OBE, community activist & campaigner for voluntary sector, to be Ambassador for the Association

The Almshouse Association is delighted to welcome the British community activist Patrick Vernon OBE as an Ambassador for The Almshouse Association.

As an influential social commentator, campaigner and cultural historian of Jamaican heritage, The Almshouse Association believes that Patrick can play a prominent role in increasing diversity in local communities and help the organisation to grow and adjust to changes that will better reflect today’s local housing needs.

“We are delighted to welcome Patrick to the almshouse movement. With Patrick’s 20 years of working across mental and public health, heritage and race equality, and because of his influence across the voluntary and local government sectors”, says Nick Phillips, CEO of The Almshouse Association, “we feel he will be the ideal person to help us raise the profile of almshouses and their importance to local communities; give us a voice in the current housing agenda, and take us forward as a significant and very relevant solution to the housing needs of today. Patrick will bring new thinking at an important time for us – as our membership is expanding and we are seeing increased interest in our model of community housing.”

In response to his appointment, Patrick Vernon says:

“I am extremely pleased to have been asked to lend my experience and support to The Almshouse Association. I am well aware of the existence of almshouses and believe that they can be great assets. I am greatly encouraged by the progress being made to reflect the changing demographics in local communities, and excited to see The Almshouse Association’s new building programme that is being so well designed in every way to fit the housing needs of the twenty first century and beyond.”

Posted September 2020

Patrick Vernon OBE. Biographical details
Patrick was born in the constituency where Enoch Powell was an MP. His family still lives in Wolverhampton and he is proud of his roots and the contribution of migrant communities from the Windrush Generation have made to Britain which forms a larger of his values and principles – Windrush Day Matters.

Patrick is a Clore and Winston Churchill Fellow, Fellow at Imperial War Museum, fellow of Royal Historical Society and former Associate fellow for the department of history of medicine at Warwick University. He has over twenty years’ senior experience working across mental health, public health, heritage and race equality and is well known in health, local government and the voluntary sector.

Patrick is currently Associate Director for Connected Communities at the Centre for Ageing Better, Equality and Diversity Adviser to Lambeth Council, Chair of Citizens Partnership for Healthcare Investigation Branch (HSIB) and Senior Associate at OLMEC. He was the first director of Black Thrive a mental-health multi-agency tackling mental health in Lambeth, former non-executive director of Camden and Islington Mental Health Foundation Trust, Health Partnership Coordinator for National Housing Federation, former director of Afiya Trust, committee member of Healthwatch England, NHS England Equality Diversity Council, director of Brent Health Action Zone and regional director for MIND. Patrick was former Independent Chair of Westminster Partnership for Race Equality where he played a key role with the Met Police and the Muslim community with the aftermath of 7/7 bombings in Westminster in 2005.

He is a former member of the Labour and the Coalition Government Ministerial Advisory for Mental Health. Patrick was a former councillor in Hackney between 2006- 2014 and was appointed by Jeremy Corbyn as Race Equalities Adviser to the Shadow Equalities Ministerial Team between 2015 to 2017.Patrick is also founder of Every Generation Media and 100 Great Black Britons, which develops education programmes, publications and films on cultural heritage and family history. Patrick was made Pioneer of the Nation for Cultural History by the Queen in 2003. He is a leading expert on African and Caribbean genealogy in the UK. In 2017 was appointed editor for Black History Month magazine (2017 and 2018 magazines) and in 2018 for Windrush Commemorative magazine.

Since 2010 Patrick has been leading the campaign for Windrush Day and in 2018 kick started the campaign for an amnesty for the Windrush Generation as part of the Windrush Scandal which led to a government U-turn in immigration policy and resignation of Amber Rudd as Home Secretary. Patrick was awarded an OBE in 2012 for his work in tackling health inequalities for ethnic minority communities in Britain. In 2018 Patrick was an honorary PhD by Wolverhampton University for his work on migration history and equalities.
Patrick is a Patron of ACCI a long established black mental health charity in Wolverhampton and Patron of Santé a social enterprise in Camden which supports and befriends refugees and asylum seekers across London. Patrick is Vice Chair of the Bernie Grant Trust and a board member of 38 Degrees.
And as news item is posted , Patrick has just featured in the in Vogue September 20 edition named in the top 20 remarkable activists.

Sue Turner – RIP

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of former Almshouse Association Head of Member Services, Sue Turner.

Our good friend and coworker passed away last night; her husband Tim has sent us this message...

Tonight at around 8pm Sue passed away.

She had been fighting the illness for a long time now and in the past few weeks it became clear that the end was near.  Sue certainly didn’t want her life to continue in the way she was and we know now she is in no more pain.  Obviously this news is unwelcome but, it is for the greater good. 

When we have more information regarding COVID-19 funeral arrangements we will distribute them.  Thank you for all the support you’ve given Sue, and the whole family, in the past year. It has been and will continue to be appreciated.

Tim, Adam, Laura & Leon Turner

Here at the Association, we have been missing Sue since December 19 when she retired from the Almshouse Association after 18 years of dedicated and passionate service to our members who she felt so close to and worked tirelessly to support and guide. Her dedication to the Association and knowledge of the almshouse movement was second to none and an inspiration to us all. On a personal level, we all remember Sue’s loyalty and kindness, her dry sense of humour, boundless energy, passion for travel and good wine and the joy and love she felt for her family. She will be so very sadly missed by us all and we all send our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends at this saddest of time.

Posted 1 September 2020

Standards of Almshouse Management Manual (SAM) and Support and Care Manual Update

Dear Members

You will recall that we are currently in the process of reviewing our guidance manuals, which we plan to have in place in 2021.

The new guidance manual will be an improvement and amalgamation of both Standards of Almshouse Management and the Support and Care manuals. It will be available online in an easy downloadable format and all future updates and reviews will be made available online and in a downloadable format. We hope to be able to also offer a ring-binder for those wishing to download hard copies.

The manual will have three sections:

  1. Overview
  2. Governance
  3. Operational

It will include policies, templates and checklists that each charity can utilise for their individual requirements.

We are aware that when we post updates on the website in ‘Latest News’ and ‘Current Issues’, sometimes the current online manuals lag behind the update. Please accept our apologies if you find this is the case, and thank you for your patience whilst we work on the updated guidance manual.

In the meantime, if in any doubt please do not hesitate to contact the Almshouse Association Member Services for the latest update.

Posted 1 Sept 2020

Almshouse communities: a solution to loneliness?

Over the next few weeks the Homes at the Heart campaign, run by the National Housing Federation and supported by The Almshouse Association, is focusing on different issues affecting the housing market. This week the focus is on living well.

Loneliness is a growing problem for many in our society. During the coronavirus pandemic many of us have become more comfortable with using our computers and phones to communicate with one and other via FaceTime, WhatsApp and Zoom. These apps have provided us with an effective stopgap enabling grandparents and grandchildren to continue to see each other, whilst allowing many to work from home. These are benefits that we cannot underestimate, but these apps are still missing the key human elements which can only be achieved by in-person communication. Those same grandparents still want real life hugs and kisses.

It would be wrong, however, to assume that this problem has only arisen with the pandemic and its associated lockdowns and as such, will ease once life returns to some kind of normality. Loneliness, particularly within the older members of our society, has recently received much needed attention from media and the Government. Similarly, research, such as a recent piece conducted by UCL, highlight that loneliness is linked to a higher risk of developing dementia. Moves such as the appointment of Baroness Diana Barran as the Minister for Loneliness are steps in the right direction, but are not solutions in themselves.

At The Almshouse Association, we turn to our thousand year history for lessons in how to deal with and manage loneliness through the homes that people live in. By design, the almshouse model helps to tackle the issue through the creation of micro-communities which promote engagement and interaction between residents. Many of our members oversee almshouses with beautiful communal gardens which allow residents to mix and socialise (although recently this has had to be social distanced). They also host events which connect residents with their wider community. Although the majority of almshouse residents tend to be older, our members are starting to see younger residents living in their homes. This allows for greater inter-generational interaction as young and old mingle and contribute to each other’s’ lives. Continued interaction both within and outside the almshouse means that we can tackle loneliness and contribute to improve mental and physical wellbeing.  

If you would like to learn more about almshouses, please take a look around our website. We would be more than happy to discuss how you can start your almshouse journey. 

#HomesAtTheHeart

Further Reading: Homes at the Heart – affordability and supply

Posted 24 Aug 2020

Planning for an Affordable Future

……..Support Almshouses – Community-led, Truly Affordable Housing For Your Community……

Is Boris’s new white paper, “Planning for the Future”, good news for those needing affordable homes?

In sentiment, it looks good. Who could argue with a paper that starts off aligning its spirit with the great housing philanthropist George Cadbury? But, like a proverbial curates cream egg, it may be good in parts but there is more than one layer to this and the devil may lurk in the sugar coated detail.

The Government’s mission is presented as the solution to the country’s housing crisis. But this terminology has always been, in my view, a misnomer. The real crisis is one of affordability, not just availability. There seems to be no lack of 4 bedroom executive homes being built, however, for young families and single people living in substandard housing at ever increasing rents, there is a crisis. Roughly, 90% of those on lower incomes find that housing benefit does not cover their rent. While an estimated 8.4 million people in England are living in an unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable home, according to the National Housing Federation *. This is unsustainable.

So the good first. There is an ambition that most developers will pay something towards the affordable housing provision locally. This paper asks for a national, clear and unambiguous policy. It points to an uncertain and inconsistent implementation of section 106, a levy on developers to provide a percentage of housing onsite or negotiate a fee to the council for the provision of affordable homes.

Certainly the current Section 106 agreement process needs reviewing, for example, it could work more effectively if properly applied and standardised and not negotiated and haggled down by the best lawyers. Also, it does not properly prioritise community housing and truly affordable housing, with the current wording suggesting the best beneficiaries are housing associations, not locally led and accountable community housing charities such as almshouses.

The new paper wants a standard levy across the country, but with the potential for regional variations. Does that sound familiar? I wonder what the difference would be in practice.

What we need is a simple levy set for affordable housing on new development by commercial developers. If its 20% then let it be 20% from Ipswich to Islington. Let’s make sure that almshouses, as the truly affordable form of community-led housing, are recognised as a priority beneficiary, if not we would like to see almshouse charities being offered the opportunity on all sites where the levy is applied. Let’s make sure that no almshouse charity is charged the affordable housing levy (I know how mad that sounds but some local authorities have tried!)

There are definitely some good elements of the paper around protecting Greenbelt, AONB and focusing development on brown field sites and I don’t want to detract from that. Overall, the White Paper has some good intentions but in places is contradictory or, at least, appears so.

We would like to see:

– All almshouse charities exempt from the new Infrastructure Levy just as they are from the current Community Infrastructure Levy.

– All almshouse charities to be able to apply for affordable homes benefits or partnerships on a level playing field with other affordable housing providers.

– Community led housing supported on small scale sites as a preferred option to large corporate style housing associations.

* Affordable housing stats from – Statistica and ONS

Posted 19 August 2020