The Heat Network Regulations

Devonshires Solicitors have provided the Almshouse Association with an informative factsheet regarding the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 that you can download here.

As far as we are aware, there have been no changes to the Regulations since they came into force in 2015. The Almshouse Association will notify members of any updates in ‘Latest News’.

New Chief Executive Nick Phillips

Nick Phillips has joined The Almshouse Association as Chief Executive.

Nick has worked in the Charity Sector for the last 20 years and joins us from Community Impact Bucks, where he was Group Chief Executive. Prior to his last appointment, Nick’s career includes 8 years with the National Trust as a Property Manager, leading and evaluating European grant programmes supporting charities and rural businesses, as well as a selling and letting property, training property companies and setting up a property investment service for banks and pension funds in the commercial sector.

Nick was invited to a Question and Answer session with The Almshouse Association and we have a snippet below:

‘What will you bring to The Almshouse Association?’

“The first and most important aspect for me is to really understand what we do for our members. The Association is there to deliver support to the charities that have the challenging task of running these great communities. I intend to raise the profile of the Association but predominantly raise the profile of the almshouse charities that we are there to support. I do not think nearly enough is known about the value almshouses make to society. With 35,000 people being part of that community, it is a great force and I intend to raise the flag. I feel that the value of almshouses has never been higher with an ageing population, lack of affordability of housing and financial pressures on people that we have yet to see the impact. It is my sense that almshouse charities are leading the way in terms of developing sustainable, healthy communities.”

The full interview will be published in the Almshouses Gazette this Autumn.

See also: Meet the Team

Almshouse Association Announce New Chief Executive

Press Release                                                       

– for immediate release: 21/08/18

New Chief Executive, Nick Phillips, joined the Almshouse Association on the 17th August 2018.

Nick Phillips is an experienced Chief Executive and has worked in the charitable sector for over twenty years. His early career as a Chartered Surveyor was in commercial property management and investment. He has a long-standing interest in historic buildings.

Elizabeth Fathi, Chair of Trustees for the Almshouse Association said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Nick to the Almshouse Association. Nick brings with him a valuable combination of knowledge, experience and understanding that meets our requirements perfectly. We are at an exciting time within our membership organisation as well as in the world of social housing and I am confident that Nick will lead us through to achieving our strategy and vision for the benefit of our membership and the almshouse movement as a whole.”

Nick said: “Almshouses are amongst the oldest form of charities in the UK and I feel that the value of the almshouse model for social housing has never been higher. There is growing evidence that almshouses contribute to improved well-being and decreased loneliness for residents due to their unique characteristics and inherent sense of community. I am looking forward to working with our membership.”

“Amongst my list of priorities I intend to ensure a higher political and public profile for our members and almshouses in general so that they are recognised and supported for the vital part they play in providing enduring low-cost community housing.”

Notes for Editors

  • The Almshouse Association is the membership body for almshouse charities throughout the UK
  • There are 1700 almshouse charities across the UK providing homes for 35,000 residents making them collectively one of the largest specialist providers of low-cost community housing. Despite the large numbers housed, 80% of almshouse charities provide less than 20 homes.
  • Almshouse charities differ from other providers of housing as they;
    • Charge a maintenance contribution for the upkeep of the property rather than rent
    • Appoint residents as beneficiaries of the charity rather than on a short term tenancy
    • Holding their housing stock in perpetuity
  • Almshouse charities are regulated by the Charity Commission with approximately 25% being additionally regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing, as a consequence of receiving government funding.

Press Release Contacts

Elizabeth Fathi: Tel: 01884 251444 Mob: 07767 384784   E: elizabeth@tivertonalmshouse.org.uk
Nick Phillips: Tel: 01344 452922 E: nickphillips@almshouses.org

The Almshouse Association       www.almshouses.org

Key Decisions

The Almshouse Association will be posting Key Decisions made at our Board Meetings onto our website for all registered member charities to access.

The Key Decisions will first be posted in the ‘Latest News’ section of our website and all members that have signed up for email alerts will also be sent a direct link to the news item. After a period of time, our ‘Key Decisions’ news item will be moved to the ‘Current Affairs’ section of our website, where you will be able to access a record of all Key Decisions made by the Board (from June 2018).

At the Board Meeting held on 13th June 2018 at The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, Merchant Taylors’ Hall, 30 Threadneedle Street, London the following Key Decision was made:

The Board instructed the Directorate to prepare a policy and procedure for issuing grants to member charities.

 

TV Licensing

The Almshouse Association is currently in discussions with the TV Licensing Authority 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.

The Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 state that the following types of accommodation are able to apply for an ARC Licences:

A. A care home or care hospital (Registered under the Care Standards Act 2000)

Or

B. An almshouse (Established before 1 November 1949)

Or

C. Sheltered/supported accommodation that is:

housed in a building that has been erected or converted for the purposes of occupation by residents that are retired and over 60, or disabled and form part of a group of at least four dwellings within a common and exclusive boundary and with a person whose function is to care for the needs of the residents (e.g. a warden) and who either lives on site or works there for at least 30 hours a week, excluding on-call hours.

In addition, in order for the residents to qualify, they must be:

  • Retired (they must be 60 years old or over. If they’re in paid work, this must be for no more than 15 hours per week. They can only work for more than 15 hours per week if they’ve had an ARC Concessionary TV Licence since 31 March 2004.)

Or

  • Disabled (They must have substantially impaired sight, hearing or speech, a mental disorder or be substantially physically disabled by illness, any impairment present from birth or otherwise)


Confusion has arisen from the wording ‘Established before 1 November 1949’ (see Point B above). Assistant Director, Sue Turner is continuing discussions with TV Licensing and would advise the current situation is as follows:

  1. The TV Licensing Authority will only consider an application from an almshouse charity if the building for which the concessionary licence is to apply, is built on land that was endowed (or gifted) to the charity prior to 1 Nov 1949. They insist that if the charity has moved to another parcel of land they will not consider it complies with the regulation. They do, however, state that if new almshouses were built (after 1 Nov 1949) on the same land, they are eligible – they do not consider the age of the property or the age of the charity – only the original site of the dwellings.  . . . . . . .  . . . . . . .     . ……………            ……………………..    . . . . ……………………………………..                    ………………………………………….                          ……………………………….                          …  . .
    The Almshouse Association is going to take this further with the Licensing Authority to see if they can be persuaded that the word “established” should equate to when the charity was founded – at present they will not accept this. … . . . . . . . . . . . . . ……………………..  . . . ..  .. . . . .  . .. . . .. . . . . … . .. . . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..  . . . . . . . ..  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  2. The TV Licensing Authority has accepted that applications from almshouse charities under the clause that they are “sheltered accommodation”  are acceptable. This means any almshouse charity that provides more than 4 dwellings within a common and exclusive boundary and fulfils the criteria as stated in Point C above

For those charities that have been refused concessionary licences, as their properties were built after 1949 or are now on land not part of the original endowment, please re-submit your application and state clearly that ‘the charity is an almshouse charity providing sheltered accommodation’.

We will keep you posted with any further developments.

 

GDPR Presentation by Protecture

At the recent Trustees and Clerks Seminar held  at the Bristol and Anchor Almshouse Charity on Tuesday 19th June 2018,  charity members received training on a number of topics, including The Application and Appointment Process, Managing Challenging Situations with Residents, Fire Safety and Data Protection.

As many are aware, there have been a number of changes to General Data Protection Regulations this year and to assist charities with compliance, we invited a company called Protecture, which has a team of data protection experts, to attend our seminar, give a presentation on GDPR and answer members’ questions. They have kindly given us permission to post their presentation on our website which can be accessed by clicking here.

More information on Protecture can be obtained by visiting their website at  https://protecture.org.uk/

The Almshouse Association has produced a model policy and guidance notes which can be accessed by clicking on the links.

 

Important Note: The products and services of third parties should be compared with others in the market place

Controlling Legionella Risks – the legal requirements

The Almshouse Association has recently received enquiries from a number of member almshouse charities concerning Trustees’ responsibilities in controlling legionella.

All almshouse providers are legally obliged to arrange for a legionella risk assessment to be carried out:

Once a reputable firm has been appointed to carry out the risk assessment, a senior member of staff or a Trustee should attend a legionella awareness course. The remedial works itemised in the risk assessment should be carried out and monitoring control measures put in place which should be recorded in a logbook. The logbook must be completed each time actions are carried out, such as the cleaning of water tanks, fitting new lids with vents, removing dead leg pipework, cleaning shower heads etc.

There are three steps to compliance with the legislation:

Step 1

Risk Assess the Property: All actions carried out will be based upon the contents of the risk assessment taking into account water supply, storage, form of heating water and hot and cold water distribution, including the outlets. Any remedial works and control schemes stipulated will be included in the document irrespective of whose responsibility it is to take necessary actions.

Step 2

Remedials: Remedial works should be carried out in a planned, prioritised way to reduce the risk of legionella.

Step 3

Put in place control measures: These should relate to individual dwellings as well as communal areas if applicable. Residents should be made aware of their individual responsibilities i.e. regularly cleaning showerheads, informing the charity if the hot water is not working properly or any other problems with the water system. It is important that residents are advised that after periods of absence from their almshouses they should flush through the water system by turning on taps and letting the water run for a while. Residents should be informed to take care when running showers before use as running water at pressure causes an aerosol effect and increases risk to the operator. It is recommended therefore that a plastic bag is placed over shower heads while the system is flushed through.

Training in legionella control is provided by various companies, one of which is Eplus Global Ltd (www.eplusglobal.co.uk) For further information contact Ben French at benfrench@eplusglobal.co.uk,  Mobile: 07788 421651

Quinquennial Inspections

The Almshouse Association strongly recommends that almshouse charities carry out a Quinquennial Survey (or stock condition report) every 5 years.

Based upon the Quinquennial Inspection Report, trustees should be able to plan routine and cyclical maintenance for the following five years.

A management tool – The quinquennial report is there to:

  • help create budgets for repair maintenance and improvements
  • help make informed decisions about how to manage the building stock in your trust
  • help plan preventive maintenance. The word preventive is the important one – you want to  avoid reactive maintenance – fixing the fault after it has developed and instead think about preventive maintenance – fixing it just before it goes wrong in order to avert all the problems that flow from a building element failing.

Selecting an architect, architectural technician or building surveyor is key.
Trustees should seek references and draw up a short-list. The charity must ensure that the person chosen is someone they feel they can work with and who understands almshouses. A fee basis should be agreed for the project and there may be an element of commission for supervision of repairs and maintenance work.

A Quinquennial Report is very practical as it will give an overview with recommendations for upcoming maintenance issues, enabling the charity to ensure they are not faced with a crisis. One of the Association’s Panel members stated that the Quinquennial allowed trustees to adopt a “stitch in time” approach so that they could spread the cost of future repairs and maintenance.

Many of the Association’s Panel of Consultants undertake Quinquennial Inspections regularly for almshouse charities. Details of Panel members and the areas they cover can be found on our website: www.almshouses.org/panel-of-consultants

The Quinquennial will involve an inspection of the dwellings, inside and out and is carried out with residents present. The charity may be required to provide ladders and, on occasion, a cherry picker.

The report will normally prioritise items that need to be addressed, immediately, in the 1st year, in the 2nd year etc. and will often include an indication of costs for each item. This assists trustees in drawing up both their maintenance plan and budget. The report should suggest priorities for the work and there are 3 main categories for this

  • Urgent items that you cannot and must not ignore
  • Things that you really ought to do if you can
  • The wish list.

The priorities of the surveyor might not coincide with yours, especially if a vacancy occurs giving the chance for refurbishment work. This is where understanding the the fundamental purpose of the report is important. The report should give the ability to be flexible in what you do.  If,  for whatever reason, trustees decide not to do something then they should have made an informed decision.

With a structured programme, if something is not managed one year, then it can be allocated to another year. This is why it is vital that once trustees have established a programme it is renewed every five years. That way anything not done in the front end of the programme can be reassessed and re-prioritised.

Click here for a link to our template Quinquennial Inspection Report 

Patron’s Awards go to three superb projects

At the recent AGM, The Almshouse Association was delighted and very proud to be able to announce the names of the three almshouse charities chosen by HRH Prince of Wales to receive the Patron’s Award for 2017.

  • The Davenport Homes, Solihull
    12 brand new one bedroom cottages with landscaping, car parking and improved access – replicating the best design elements of the original cottages, incorporating the highest standard of modern living, all set within the traditional almshouse quadrangle format.
  • Shrewsbury Drapers’ Almshouses – Drapers Place
    After rising to a number of the challenges which included raising the level of the building and complementing a conservation area, the Charity were able to create a contemporary high quality new development of 25 flats with community facilities, that is fuel efficient, noise insulated and both disabled and dementia friendly.
  • Amersham United Charities – Miss Day’s Almshouses
    Having consulted with residents, Trustees converted 9 very small 19th century dwellings to 7 larger almshouses with new staircases designed to accommodate a stair lift, downstairs toilets, 2 with kitchen extensions and the remaining 5 having an interlocking design which enabled the provision of a much larger bedroom and shower room upstairs.

It is anticipated that the charities will be presented with their awards by HRH The Duke of Gloucester later in the year.

Well done and many congratulations!

posted 20 June 2018

Selective Licencing

Government has announced today (20th June 2018) a review to look at how selective licensing is used and find out how well it is working. Click here for further details

The review will see independent commissioners gather evidence from local authorities and bodies representing landlords, tenants and housing professionals. The review’s findings will be reported in spring 2019. There will be an update on progress in autumn this year.

The Almshouse Association is acutely aware of the detrimental financial effect selective licensing has had on almshouse charities and will respond appropriately. In order to properly evidence our response to Government, the Association would be grateful if almshouse charities that have been impacted by selective licensing would contact Chris Targowski  – christargowski@almshouses.org directly.