The Almshouse Association is very pleased to announce that we have teamed up with an online training company and we are now able to offer our members access to a selection of online courses.

We are currently offering three courses:

• GDPR Essentials
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
• Mental Health Awareness

As we assess new courses for relevance to our members, more courses will be made available to you.

As part of your membership with the Almshouse Association, your charity has been allocated 6 credits. Two of the credits have been allocated exclusively for use against the Mental Health Awareness course. The four remaining credits can be used against the other courses on offer.

Full details and access to each course offered by the Almshouse Association can be found by clicking in the links below.

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Dated: 9th May 19

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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

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The Almshouse Association 2019 Annual General Meeting

will be held in the
Haberdashers’ Hall, 18 West Smithfield, Farringdon, London EC1A 9HQ
(by kind permission of the Master)

on Wednesday 5^th June 2019   12.20pm – 12.35pm

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Main Business:

• Approval of Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday 13^th June 2018 at The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, Merchant Taylors’ Hall, 30 Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8JB
• Election of Board Members
• Presentation of 2018 Annual Report and Accounts

You are cordially invited to attend*. Admission to the Hall is from 12.10pm

RSVP to admin@almshouses.org  with the following information no later than 24th May 2019*.

1. Number of Representatives attending the AGM
2. Name of Voting Member representing Charity (please note only this person will be authorised to vote)
3. Position in Charity
4. Name of Charity/organisation
5. Membership number ( if applicable)
6. Names of other people attending

*IMPORTANT NOTE – If you are already attending the Members Day Conference on 5^th June, there is no need to confirm your attendance to the AGM. Your voting papers will be in your Conference Pack which you will need to collect on the day.

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Haberdashers’ Hall is opposite St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and approximately five minutes walk from these rail and tube stations:

City Thameslink – First Capital Connect
Barbican – Circle/Metropolitan/Hammersmith & City lines
Farringdon – First Capital Connect/Circle/Metropolitan/Hammersmith & City lines
St Paul’s – Central line

Dated 29/04/19

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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

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It gives the Almshouse Association great pleasure to announce the shortlist for the 2018 Patron’s Award.

The Finchley Charities
The James Goodman Charity, Cranfield
The Mills Charity, Framlingham
King’s Lynn General Charities
Worcester Municipal Charities
Chandos and Dent’s Almshouses, Winchcombe
Peter Birtwistle Trust, Colne
Mabel Luke Charity, Newbury

The Patron’s Awards are sponsored by

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We hope to be able to announce the Patron’s Awards at the Almshouse Association Members Day Conference on Wednesday 5th June 2018.

Dates 23/04/19

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We are delighted and very privileged to have secured two inspiring key note speakers for the Almshouse Association Members Day Conference on Wednesday 5th June 2019.

General Sir Mike Jackson GCB CBE DSO DL

Arguably the most high-profile army general since WW2. An ex-serviceman known globally in both the military and civilian world, he served as Chief of the General Staff and Head of the Army until 2006. He commanded the British forces in Iraq, UN forces in Kosovo and peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. With an emphasis on leadership and strategic insight, General Sir Mike draws on a wealth of unique experience combining sharp-end military action and the heavy responsibility of many life-and-death policy and command decisions. His presentations are sharp and memorable, featuring remarkable personal anecdotes and thoughtful examples of both success and failure.

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis

Energetic and passionate, Jon Sparkes has been Chief Executive of Crisis since 2014. Previously he was Chief Operating Officer of UNICEF UK and Chief Executive of SCOPE, the national disability charity. Jon also had a successful commercial career as Human Resources Director of the international technology firm The Generics Group. He is a Non-Executive Director of South Yorkshire Housing Association, recently Chaired the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Action Group created by the Scottish Government to find short and long term solutions to homelessness, and was a member of the UK Government’s Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel.

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The Almshouse Association Members Day Conference is sponsored by

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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

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You will recall the Almshouse Association has been in discussion with the BBC for almost a year regarding the interpretation of the legislation with respect to almshouse accommodation that qualifies for a concessionary licence for their residents under the ARC (Accommodation for Residential Licences) Scheme.

Confusion had arisen from the wording ‘Established before 1 November 1949’. The BBC’s interpretation led to a number of almshouse charities whose almshouse charity had been founded before 1 November 1949, but whose almshouse buildings had not been built before this date, or were now on land not part of the original endowment, being denied the concession.

The Almshouse Association made a substantive case that the wording should be interpreted to mean when an almshouse charity was founded rather than when a particular building was built. As a consequence the BBC have written to the Association and advised that they have been …

“persuaded that, on balance, yours is the better interpretation, and we will be altering TVL’s future practice in this regards (and amending our guidance)”

Pipa Doubtfire, Head of Revenue Management, BBC

This is brilliant news and if any members have been declined an ARC Concessionary TV License because of this misinterpretation we would urge them to re-apply.

To read the BBC’s letter in full, please click here

20/03/19

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The Almshouse Association is in discussions with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to assist them in gaining a better understanding of almshouse charities.

They would like to speak to a selection of our members that provide housing to those below pension age, irrespective of whether your almshouse charity provides homes for residents claiming Universal Credit or not.

They would like to speak about:

• your understanding of Universal Credit, including how DWP verifies housing costs and how landlords may receive payments direct to landlords
• your organisational resources to manage the almshouses (processes and procedures used, staffing – if any, number of almshouses etc.)
• your use of IT (including email).

These enquiries would be carried out by telephone on an individual basis.

If you are able to help and interested in being involved, please send the following details to ChrisTargowski@alms

houses.org

• the name of your charity
• membership number
• contact name, email and telephone
• number of residents accommodated

Deadline for responses: Monday 18^th March 2019

Thank you for your help. It is so important we constantly engage with government. In doing so, we will raise the profile of almshouses, be in a stronger position to highlight the value of almshouses and be better placed to influence government legislation in the way in which it impacts almshouse charities.

Click here to read about an almshouse charity’s experiences when their young residents applied for Universal Credit

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On 23rd January 2019, the Almshouse Association met with a Government representative regarding the issue of Selective Licensing – see also our news item https://www.almshouses.org/news/selective-licencing/

As a result of the meeting, the Almshouse Association was asked to provide written information to support our strong case for exemption. Through our work with members and our previous calls for evidence, we have excellent case studies to put forward to government and we submitted our evidence on 30th Jan 2019.

In addition, we have been 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:

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]

Mrs Heather Wheeler MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government replied as per the below:

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.

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

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