The Almshouse Association was delighted when our Royal Vice Patron, HRH The Duke of Gloucester accepted our invitation to visit the Hammersmith United Charities almshouses in celebration of their 400 year anniversary and to present the Patron’s Awards for 2016 and 2017.

The event took place on Monday 10th December at Sycamore House in London. HRH arrived at 2pm and was greeted by Kevin McGrath Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Mike Smith Chair of Trustees Hammersmith United, Elizabeth Fathi Chair of Trustees, The Almshouse Association and Nick Phillips the Association’s CEO.

HRH was invited to sign the visitor’s book and the Chair presented Victoria Hill CEO and HUC trustees.

HRH then met David Simpson, the architect and was shown the wonderful display that traced the history of the charity right back to 1618 when Dr Thomas Edwards made a gift of £20 for the immediate benefit of the poor of Fulham and left £100 to buy land for their longer term benefit. Visit  https://hamunitedcharities.org.uk/400th-anniversary/ to find out more.

Following this, HRH visited two residents’ homes and walked through the award winning gardens to the residents’ lounge.

HRH was full of admiration and commented on the importance of having a garden, whatever the size.

Our Chair Elizabeth Fathi then presented the Patron’s Award recipients for 2016 and 2017 to the Duke and he joined residents for a delicious afternoon tea.

HRH The Duke of Gloucester was then invited to present Patron’s Awards scrolls and plaques to:

Peter Brown and Andrew Clague (architect) – The Sir Roger Manwood Trust project

Rev Canon Tim Harper – Amersham United Charities

Richard Auger  – Shrewsbury Drapers’ Company

David Corney  – The Davenport Homes

At the end of his visit,  the Chair of Hammersmith United thanked HRH and it was a very proud moment when he accepted the invitation to unveil a plaque to commemorate the day.

The Almshouse Association was delighted to put forward one of our member charities in Ely to be included in a Royal “Awayday”.  

On 27th November 2018, the Association was very proud when HRH The Prince of Wales in his capacity as Patron of the Association, visited Thomas Parsons’ Charity.  Upon arrival His Royal Highness was greeted by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant who presented Nick Phillips, CEO of The Almshouse Association and David Brand, Chair of the Trustees of Thomas Parsons’ Charity.

HRH was then invited to visit a resident in her almshouse.  Jennifer Millard, Receiver for the Thomas Parson’s Charity greeted His Royal Highness and presented June Hewes, who has lived in one of the almshouses for 10 years. Once inside, he admired her living room and had a tour of the kitchen and bathroom.  “This is not a bad little place is it and they are all nice neighbours too, I hope,” he said.

Speaking after the visit, June said: “That was wonderful but very nerve-wracking in advance as I’ve had to do a lot of cleaning in preparation. It’s not every day you get a royal guest.”

Prince Charles was then invited to join some of the Thomas Parson’s Charity residents in the Poet’s House and shared a cup of tea with each table in the dining room while chatting to residents, staff and trustees.

“You must have all been waiting very patiently and I would like to wish you a very merry early Christmas,” he said.

Vera Ford, 91, who has lived in an almshouse for five years, said: “He was so nice and asked me about Christmas and my holiday plans and I would be quite happy for him to be king one day.”

John Moore, who works for the Thomas Parsons’ Charity, said: “What a friendly and nice man, he was very interested in speaking to everyone about their houses and he was extremely down to earth.”

At the end of the visit, David Brand thanked His Royal Highness for taking the time to visit the charity and presented him with a bound copy of the history of the charity. His Royal Highness then unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit.

It was an incredibly busy day for The Prince of Wales as he also met with many Cambridgeshire dignitaries, visited the stained glass museum and undertook a walkabout of Ely farmers’ market, all the while chatting with and shaking the hands of the many well-wishers along the way.

The Almshouse Association is very honoured that His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales is Patron of the Association. It is our hope that he will be able to continue to visit as many of our member charities as possible in the future.

Housing LIN recently featured a blog by the Almshouse Association Chair, Elizabeth Fathi.

Its an informative read with lots of really helpful links and references, as well as providing a real insight into the vision for the almshouse movement of the future.  The blog can be accessed by clicking on the link below:

Almshouses – leading the way in the sustainable provision of low-cost homes and community

The Almshouse Consortium Ltd (ACL) held  a Grant Funding Seminar Event in Birmingham on Tuesday 13th November 2018.

It was free to attend, with lunch and no obligation, and a number of charities took them up on their offer to find out more about how the ACL can assist their charity access government grants – for both new builds and remodelling. The ACL delivered an excellent presentation and were able to answer lots of questions and demonstrate to the charities how they will work directly alongside them and the individual almshouse to ensure they deliver a successful project.

The ACL has kindly provided the Association with a copy of the presentation. If you would like to learn more, please click here to download.

Note: The Almshouse Consortium Ltd is an independent company. It is important that members satisfy themselves that the services, qualifications and relevant membership of professional bodies meet their particular needs.

On 14th August 2018, the government published the social housing green paper (A new deal for social housing). A consultation was launched alongside the paper and will run until the 6th November 2018.

Although the proposals in the paper will only affect registered providers, there may be implications for the wider membership – for example the proposed review of the Decent Homes Standard and the development of affordable homes.

For more details on the green paper, please refer to our previous news article  – A New Deal for Social Housing

The Almshouse Association has composed a draft response to the consultation which can be found here. 

Some almshouses charities may also wish to respond independently and may find our draft useful as a template.
Alternatively, please send any comments or suggestions to Chris Targowski, Assistant Director (Policy),Tel: 01344 452922 email: christargowski@almshouses.org

Deadline for feedback: 31st October 2018 – Closed

The Scheme Managers and Wardens Seminar on 25th September 2018 was very well attended and covered an array of interesting topics. One of these was ‘Understanding Mental Health Issues’ presented by Supt Sean Russell, Implementation Director, West Midlands Mental Health Commission.  In follow-up, Sean has forwarded information to the Association about online CPD (Continued Professional Development) courses that are available, together with The Skills Network Level 2 Certificate in ‘Awareness of Mental Health Problems’. These can be accessed by clicking on the below:

• Online CPD Courses
• The Skills Network Level 2 Certificate in ‘Awareness of Mental Health Problems

There was also an excellent talk given by Sherwin Criseno, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, University Hospitals, Birmingham on Osteoporosis and Brittle Bones.  Sherwin had been unable to provide his PowerPoint in advance and many delegates were keen to have a copy.  This can now be downloaded here

During the day there was some discussion about difficulties experienced by almshouse residents in claiming Housing Benefit.  We have put the legislation pertaining to this topic in Latest News. Click here to access.

Issue:

The government published the social housing green paper (A new deal for social housing) on the 14th August 2018. A consultation was launched alongside the paper and will run until the 6th November 2018. This briefing note summarises the paper.

Although the proposals in the paper will only affect registered providers, there may be implications for the wider membership – for example the proposed review of the Decent Homes Standard and the development of affordable homes.

Background:

The government defines social housing as housing to rent below market level rents or,  to buy through schemes, such as shared ownership. Around 3.9 million households, approximately 9 million people, live in the social rented sector in England, just under a fifth of all households. It is estimated that around 14 per cent of social housing is supported housing. Supported housing is accommodation provided alongside support, to help people live independently.

The Government defines affordable housing as housing for sale or rent, including social housing, for those whose needs are not met by the market.

The green paper contains five principles:

1. Ensuring homes are safe and decent.
   • Reviewing the Decent Homes Standard. This has not been reviewed since 2006 and will be reviewed to consider whether it is demanding enough and delivers the right standards.
2. Effective resolution of complaints.
   • Residents should have a stronger voice to influence decisions and challenge their landlord to improve performance
   • Strengthen the mediation opportunities available for landlords and residents to resolve disputes locally
   • Review the ‘designated person’ arrangements
   • Residents should be aware of all routes open to them to raise concerns and feel confident using them
   • Ensure that landlords’ processes for dealing with complaints are fast and effective
3. Empowering residents and strengthening the Regulator
   • Arming residents with information on landlord performance
   • Key performance indicators should be focused on issues of key importance to residents
   • Consider a new stock transfer programme to promote the transfer of local authority housing particularly to community-based housing associations
   • Helping housing associations and others develop more affordable homes
4. Tackling stigma and celebrating thriving communities
   • The design and quality of homes and their surrounding area is important to wellbeing, integration, tackling stigma and encouraging existing communities to accept new homes in their area.
5. Expanding supply and supporting home ownership
   • The level of new housing delivery from the community-led housing sector in England is much lower than in comparable countries
   • Helping housing associations and others develop more affordable homes

Alongside the Green Paper, a Call for Evidence which seeks views on how the current regulatory framework is operating was published.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-housing-green-paper-a-new-deal-for-social-housing

Next Steps

The Almshouse Association will respond to the consultation and will consult with members as appropriate.

For further information please contact Chris Targowski, Assistant Director (Policy),
Tel: 01344 452922 email: christargowski@almshouses.org

24 Sept 18

Nick Phillips has been forging a relationship with the National Association of Local Councils and writes to Ben Murray, Policy and Projects Officer:

I am delighted to have been offered the post as Chief Executive of the Almshouse Association – an organisation steeped in history, supporting 1600 member almshouse charities housing 35,000 residents.

One of my priorities has been to get in touch with NALC. I have always seen Town and Parish Councils as the main link to community led housing and often it’s the same people giving up their time to make things happen. The Almshouse Association is here to help promote the great value of almshouses, to encourage more to be built, to support those trustees and clerks who are running them and to gain recognition as the exemplar model for local housing in perpetuity.

I have always known almshouses for their architectural value and often distinctive design, but I have very quickly come to realise that they are more about people, local community and a proud history, than bricks and mortar. A recent study by one almshouse (Whitely Village), even suggests people can live years longer in almshouses. (The Almshouse Association is commissioning further research to find out more.)

If, like me, you listen to the radio in the morning, you may feel that there is a national crisis of affordable housing and loneliness having a real life impact on so many people. I can’t help feeling that almshouses are part of the solution.  Whilst the origins of  almshouse charities goes back in some cases to the Middle Ages, funded often through true philanthropy and enterprise, there is something in the spirit of almshouses that captures the best in community and localism today.

I hope to work with parish councils and town councils over the years supporting these great assets to our community and seeking opportunities for more to be built where there is a local need and interest.