On 25^th June 2019, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the report – ‘An Independent Review of the Use and Effectiveness of Selective Licensing’. The Almshouse Association is enormously pleased to learn that the report recommends that all almshouses should be exempt from Selective Licensing fees.

The report contains a dedicated section on almshouses (see 11.4 of the full report  and extracted here for ease) and concludes….

“There is a strong case to be made that purpose-built student accommodation (where operating under a Government approved code), and non-profit charities (operating under the guidelines of the charity commission) that are not registered providers of social housing, should be added to the list presumed exempt from the licence fee. In the case of purpose-built student accommodation, the code of practice adhered to holds them to a much higher standard than a licensing scheme. Non-profit charities (e.g. almshouses, veterans housing charities) provide a valuable service to the local community whilst often working on the slimmest of margins. The cost of licensing adversely affects their financial viability, and Charity Commission guidelines already prescribe good management and maintenance practices.”

We will update members as soon as we have an indication of next steps. In the meantime, if you have been impacted by Selective Licensing and would like to discuss it further with the Almshouse Association, please contact ChrisTargowski@almshouses.org

To recap on how we got here, please click on the link.

Published 25/06/19

The Almshouse Association continues to apply the pressure to government with regards to our call for almshouses to be excluded from the financial burden of selective licensing legislation.

On 25^th Feb 2019, Baroness Eaton tabled the below written parliamentary question to Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the selective licensing regime, introduced in the Housing Act 2004 to tackle rogue landlords, has resulted in Almshouse Charities that are not registered providers of social housing being financially penalised. (HL13979)

Answered:
Only registered housing providers are exempt from selective licensing. This is to ensure that all privately rented accommodation is properly regulated. We take this approach to ensure that high standards are maintained in all rental properties and all tenants are protected. Almshouse Charities are free to register as providers of social housing and some 25 per cent already are. Where almshouses decide not to register, local authorities have discretion to discount or waive fees associated with the licensing process.

Going forward, the Government has commissioned a thorough and independent review into the effectiveness of selective licensing. This is on schedule to report in Spring 2019. The Department will consider the outcomes of the review carefully, including how selecting licensing works for local communities and charitable organisations.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Recap on Almshouse Association Campaign for Exemption

On 20th June 2018, the Almshouse Association alerted members to the government announcement of a review ( link to government web page) to look at how selective licensing is used and find out how well it is working and called for evidence of almshouse charities impacted by the legislation.

On 23^rd January 2019, the Almshouse Association met with a Government representative regarding the issue of selective licensing and put forward our strong case for almshouse charities to be exempt from selective licensing.

On 30^th January 2019, having received a number of excellent case studies from member charities, the Almshouse Association put forward our written evidence to government.

On 17^th Feb 2019, we were further supported by Stella Creasy, Labour and Cooperative MP for Walthamstow who submitted the below written parliamentary question [218301] which was tabled on 7th February 2019

Question:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish the outcome of the Selective Licensing Review announced in June 2018 [218301] 

Answer:
Good progress is being made on the review by our independent researchers and the final report is on schedule to be published in Spring 2019.

Mrs Heather Wheeler MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

*On 21^st May – Met with Heather Wheeler MP (Minister for Housing and Homelessness to discuss the impact of the Selective Licensing regime on almshouse charities

If you have been impacted by Selective Licensing, but you have not yet contacted the Almshouse Association about your experience, please get in touch with ChrisTargowski@almshouses.org

Published 20/03/19 and *updated on 21/05/19

Birmingham and Solihull based almshouse charity, Sir Josiah Mason Trust has written to the Almshouse Association about the £78, 806 funding they were awarded from the Warm Home Fund at the end of 2018. They wanted us to share their experience with our members and encourage other almshouse charities to apply.

“We know that we work with some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society and not providing adequate and affordable heating for these residents is not in line with our values.   This funding is invaluable and will really enable us to improve the heating in our homes and achieve the vision of our founder.”

Chief Executive, David Healey

The funding will enable the Trust to install modern gas fired central heating in 36 bungalows and 16 apartments.   These homes are currently heated by inefficient electric storage heaters.   The current cost of energy and the energy efficiency of these identified homes was a real concern to the Trust and a priority to resolve.  

The Trust has partnered with E.ON Energy Installation Services and as such have secured a significant amount of ECO funding for eligible installations.   ECO is the Government’s umbrella term for its programme to make houses in the UK more energy efficient.   The ECO scheme means that large gas and electricity suppliers are obliged to help households with energy efficiency measures.

The Warm Homes Fund was established by National Grid and administered by the Community Interest Company, Affordable Warmth Solution (AWS) to support local authorities, registered social landlords and other organisations working in partnership with them, to address some of the issues affecting fuel poor households.  

The £150 million fund is set to support over 22,500 households through funding for the installation of affordable heating solutions in fuel poor households which do not use mains gas as their primary source of heat.

For more information about the Warm Homes Fund, visit www.affordablewarmthsolutions.org.uk/warm-homes-fund/overview

If you want to know how E.ON Energy Installation Services can assist you, please contact Andrew Edwards on Andrew.edwards@eonenergy.com or call 07815 502613

Dated: 7th May 19

Dr Alison Armstrong is a Visiting Research Fellow from the University of Surrey who is currently working as Project Director, at Whiteley Foundation for Ageing Well.

Her work there has unearthed some very encouraging findings on the benefits of almshouse living and now the Almshouse Association has commissioned Alison to undertake research across the whole of the almshouses movement.

In order to do this, we need the help of our members!

Alison writes..

A couple of years ago, one of the trustees of Whiteley Village received a tip-off that there were archived records of past residents in the loft of the Village’s care centre. After a dusty exploration, they were rewarded with a treasure trove of information dating right back to the founding of the Village in 1917.

It was clear to the Trust that this quantity of data could yield some very interesting and useful insights into ageing over the past century – but also that it would require expert analysis. Through a contact of one of the Trustees, Whiteley Homes approached actuarial academics at Cass Business School to ask if they would decipher and analyse the records as part of a joint project (majority funded by The Company of Actuaries Charitable Trust Fund), to explore what insights these data might yield.

Cass Business School agreed and what transpired has confirmed what we always suspected: that residents at Whiteley Village live longer than their compatriots in the general community [1] click here to access Whiteley Village Case Study . This outcome diminishes or even removes the link between socioeconomic group and longevity, whereby lower socioeconomic groups generally live shorter lives.

Almshouse Association member, the Whiteley Homes Trust, has responsibility for Whiteley Village; a purpose-built retirement community, set in 225 acres of beautiful Surrey woodland, featuring a large collection of almshouse properties dating from 1917. There are over 260 cottages, 50 extra-care apartments, and from May 2019 a brand-new care facility with 30 state of the art care suites, which current residents of the Village’s care centre will move into when it opens.

The research findings offer an intriguing insight into the positives of almshouse living. We found that women lived on average 2.7 years longer (and up to 4.9 years longer) compared to the same socioeconomic group in the general population, taking some to having a life expectancy equivalent to the highest socioeconomic group. For men, the effect was more modest, taking Whiteley Village men’s life expectancy to be equivalent to the middle socioeconomic group in society. This still represents a very positive outcome.

Discovering that historically, residents have lived longer than would be expected for their socioeconomic group, has been enormously valuable for raising the profile of the Trust and the Village and in establishing a research foundation to investigate this further.

We have started to ask more considered questions about well-being, ageing and the benefits of almshouse living. One fascinating question that you could help answer is this one – is this longevity gain only a Whiteley Village phenomenon, or does it apply more generally to almshouses? This is a question the Almshouse Association are rightly asking, and if you have an interest in helping us answer it, please click on the link below and fill in the enclosed questionnaire telling us what historic data you hold, so that we can assess whether there is enough comparable information for us to find out.

Dr Alison Armstrong
Project Director, The Whiteley Foundation for Ageing Well

(1) Does living in a retirement village extend life expectancy? The case of Whiteley Village
Les Mayhew, Ben Rickayzen and David Smith www.cass.city.ac.uk

If you able to to help, please click here to fill out our survey.

Alternatively, you can download a printable version and send to the address detailed on the document.

Closing is 31st May 2019. Thank you so much for your help.

Dated: 29 / 04 / 19

The Affordable Housing Commission has been established to achieve policy changes that will make a lasting difference around the affordability of housing.

Almshouse charities are the oldest form of charitable institution in the United Kingdom and have successfully provided their unique model of affordable housing for over a thousand years.

Today there are around 1700 almshouse charities across the United Kingdom, with the overwhelming majority situated in England. Almshouse charities provide homes for 35,000 residents making them collectively one of the largest specialist providers of affordable community housing.

Whilst almshouse charities may not be the only answer to meeting large-scale housing demand it can provide an exemplar model of community led affordable housing, either through individual almshouse charities or in conjunction with other partners. To that end, the Almshouse Association believes that almshouse charities can make positive contributions to all of the Commission’s work but in particular;

• Helping those who face affordability issues in older age
• Demonstrating a new affordable housing offer – increasing supply

In support of this, the Association has submitted evidence which can be downloaded here.

Further information on the Affordable Housing Commission can be found at www.affordablehousingcommission.org.

05/04/19

Update 12/04/19
Since submitting our evidence on 05/04/19, the Affordable Housing Commission has confirmed receipt of our submission and advised if we wish to send in supplementary information or updates on the evidence provided, we are encouraged to do so.

If any member charities would like to contribute, please contact Chris Targowski, Head of Policy and Engagement by email at christargowski@almshouses.org