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
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 18th 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
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
It gives the Almshouse Association great pleasure to invite our members to our inaugural Members Day Conference.
The event will take place at Haberdashers’ Hall in London on Wednesday 5th June 2019 and we hope that as many of our members as possible will be able to join us to make our first Members Day Conference a very special and successful event.
The conference offers a wonderful opportunity to meet almshouse trustees, clerks and wardens from all of the UK, attend tailored training seminars and consult our panel of experts. We have planned a full day which includes:
- Key Note Speakers
- Seminar sessions on current topics
- Guest speakers
- Q & A with our panel of experts
- Exhibitor stands
- Announcement of the Almshouse Association 2018 Awards
- Lunch, teas and coffees included.
Tickets cost £50 per person and we recommend booking early as places are limited.
For more details click here
The news item below has been written and supplied by the Almshouse Consortium Limited (ACL).
Further information is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-housing-fund
The Community Housing Fund (CHF) is designed to provide seed
corn funding for the initial investigations and works relating to the provision
of affordable housing, where other resources are limited.
To be eligible:
The scheme must:
- increase housing supply in England by increasing
the number of additional homes delivered by the community-led housing sector;
- provide housing that is affordable at local
income levels and remains so in perpetuity; and
- deliver a lasting legacy for the community-led
housing sector in the form of an effective financially self-sustaining body of
expertise within the house building industry in England.
The organisation applying must be:
- a registered charity;
- a Company Limited By Guarantee;
- a Community Benefit Society
- a Co-operative Society;
- a Community Interest Company;
- an organisation of another type operating as a
social enterprise and principally reinvesting their surpluses for social
benefit;
- a Registered Provider; or
- a local authority.
Eligible costs include:
- the costs of forming a corporate body
- feasibility studies
- surveys
- architects fees
- legal fees
- training and capacity-building
The fund is not available to cover the costs of construction
or the purchase of land which is grant fundable from other funding routes.
Schemes may include a number of community facilities, but it
is only the housing element which will attract the funding.
Applications are made online, but not through Homes England’s Information Management System, but using an online form. Almshouse Consortium Limited already has access to this system and can advise on the suitability of schemes and assist with submission.
Applicants are expected to make meaningful consultations with the local community and be able to fund 10% of the costs themselves. 100% funding is not available, but the Almshouse Association may, in certain circumstances, make a grant towards the 10% required.
Other information required includes a copy of the latest
accounts, location of the site and the proposed number of dwellings and the
action taken towards obtaining planning permission.
The bid for grant funding will be assessed on 5 criteria:
- Value for money. This is to ensure that as many schemes are helped as possible. If an almshouse can afford some, but not all of the initial costs, then applications at below the 90% level will have a higher chance of success.
- Deliverability. Projects which have progressed furthest towards the development phase are likely to be able to make the strongest case for funding on deliverability grounds. Almshouses should be abed to achieve a layout pan, indicative costs and pre-application comments from the planning authority before they start to incur costs. The stopping point often comes when the Architect is asked to prepare plans at sufficient detail to submit a planning application, the application fee itself and the various reports which are required to support an application.
- Strategic fitness. The purpose of the CHF is to support genuinely led community projects. It will therefore assist the application if the scheme is addressed to a wider audience than simply the existing Trustees. Homes England expects the close collaboration of the community to lead to community-led housing delivering important additional benefits in respect of the quality of design, innovative construction technologies, tenures and approaches to financing. Proposals that are innovative in these regards may be more likely to receive a favourable assessment than those that are not.
- Knowing your Customer requirements. There will be checks on the viability of the organisation and certain personal checks will be made to ensure the grant is not being used for money laundering or fraud.
- Equalities, diversity and health inequalities. It is expected that housing funded under this fund will meet the diverse housing needs of all sections of our communities, whether defined by geography, need or interest. Applicants will be asked to confirm as part of their application that their proposals will meet key equalities priorities that are identified and agreed by local authorities.
Other State Aid towards the same costs is not permitted and this grant will have to be declared if a subsequent application for capital funding is made.
Enquiries can be sent to ACL's Administrator:
Sue Holden email: acltabitha@gmail.com
For more detailed advice, ACL's Programme Managers can be contacted via email:
Kathy Green: kathy.green.projects@gmail.com
Sean Stafford: sean@saffercooper.com
Housing LIN has published their first case study of 2019, and their 150th case study overall. Their subject matter is a 21st Century eco-almshouse: St Johns Almshouses, Lichfield.
The Housing LIN case study shines the spotlight on the award-winning St. John’s Almshouses, a new Passivhaus certified residential scheme for older people in Lichfield, completed in August 2017.
The client, St. John’s Hospital, are a charitable trust and historic almshouses organisation which has had a presence on the site since 1129. The existing Grade I listed buildings date from 1495 and the new 21st century development comprises 18 new flats contained within two separate buildings, which are arranged around a new landscaped courtyard.
The design won this year’s Architect’s Journal Housing Project of the Year (up to £10 million). To read more, please click here.
Key Decisions made at the most recent Almshouse Association Board Meeting are posted on ‘Latest News’ on our website for all registered member charities to access.
At the Board Meeting held on 15 November 2018 at The National Council for Voluntary Organisations London N1, the following Key Decisions were made:
- Organisational strategy reviewed – discussed at length and some changes made – to be re-presented for approval at the March 19 Board Meeting
- Proposal to appoint Willie Hartley-Russell to the F&GP sub-committee approved
- Agreed that future F&GP meetings will be held in London
- Noted that 2019 member subscription fees had been increased by 2% across the board
- Following consideration by the Sub Committee and the Board, Quentin Elston, Jim Kennedy, Andrew Barnes and David Healey were individually proposed and unanimously elected to the board.
A record of all Key Decisions made at Board Meetings (from June 18 onwards) can be found in ‘Current Issues’.
The deadline for entries to the 2018 Almshouse Association Awards is 14th January 2019.
To honour the vital role almshouse charities play in today’s social structure, The Almshouse Association introduced 2 new awards to complement the Patron’s award and to make our awards more inclusive to all members.
Our three categories of awards distinguish and recognise the many wonderful innovations taking place throughout our membership to benefit their almshouse residents.
The Patron’s Award – instituted by HRH The Prince of Wales and introduced in 2000 to encourage and celebrate excellence in architectural and living standards and to recognise outstanding projects and developments.
The Gardens and People Award – New for 2018 – For charities that can show how they have enhanced the lives of their residents by providing gardening and/or outdoor activities.
The Innovations for Living Award – New for 2018 – For charities who can demonstrate unique innovations within a project that have added significant value to a resident’s life.
The awards are open to all member charities that have completed projects in 2018 and there is still time to submit your entries. If you are in any doubt about your idea, please do not hesitate to call us on 01344 452922
Full details including criteria, guidance and submission formats can found by clicking here.
Closing date for submissions is 14th January 2019 – now closed
Back in October 2018, the Association asked our members to complete a questionnaire that would evaluate our current position and influence our direction and the type of services the Associate will provide moving forward, and in doing so, help us develop our strategy for the next 5 years.
The response rate was excellent and your input invaluable. With your help, we have now set out our goals and the milestones we need to reach so that we can achieve our mission:
‘The Almshouse Model is recognised as an exemplar for Community Housing’
We have consolidated the results of the 2018 Members Survey into a report which can be downloaded here.
Are you aware of the Warm Home Discount Scheme ?
Qualifying residents could get £140 off their electricity bill between September 18 and March 19 in the form of a one off discount.
If their supplier provides them with both gas and electricity, some suppliers will allow the resident to use their discount on the gas instead. The scheme does not effect either the Cold Weather Payment or the Winter Fuel payment.
Not all energy suppliers are participating but it seems that the major ones are. You can check this out by clicking here www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/energy-suppliers .
Eligibility:
There are 2 ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme:
- The resident gets the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. If a resident is eligible they should have received a letter by the 7th December 2018 informing them of how to receive the discount. www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/guarantee-pension-credit
- If a resident is on a low income, they get certain means-tested benefits and their energy supplier is part of the scheme they may be entitled the discount. The resident would need to contact their supplier direct and to be aware that there is only a limited amount of discounts available. www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/low-income
Further Information:
www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme
NB: The current scheme does not allow for residents who are not billed directly (i.e. they are re-charged by the charity due to a shared utility system) to apply for the discount. The Almshouse Association is making enquiries with the appropriate authority to see whether this can be reviewed.