The Almshouse Association regularly posts a news summary of the latest Policy and Governance legislation that could impact/requires action from member charities, with links to further information where applicable.
Our latest update can be found below and previous updates are listed at the end of the page.
New coding to specifically highlight almshouses!
The Charity Commission has been reviewing how it classifies charitiesā operations so that it can better understand and analyse the charity sector.
Under the proposed changes, almshouses would be specifically noted alongside a memberās operations. This does not materially change how the charity operates or interacts with the Charity Commission, but marks improved recognition of the model as a distinct tenure in housing.
Information on the changes can be found here.
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
- Housing Ombudsman Call for Evidence on Noise Complaints ā The Housing Ombudsman has launched a call for evidence to support its next systemic investigation which will look at noise complaints. The investigation will explore how social landlords manage reports of noise nuisance and what drives complaints about how these are handled.
The surveys close on 13 May 2022.
The Charity Commission
- Implementation Timetable for Charities Act 2022 ā The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have announced when they will implement changes brought in as part of the Charities Act 2022. Changes will begin to be made from Autumn 2022 until Autumn 2023.
Miscellaneous
- Inside Housing Awards Nominations ā Housing trade magazine, Inside Housing, has opened nominations for their Development Awards. There are a number of award categories almshouse charities could apply for, including:
- Best older peopleās housing development
- Climate change retrofit project of the year
- Best regeneration project
- Best affordable housing development
- Best healthy homes development
It would be fantastic to see some of our members receiving national recognition for their incredible work!
Nominations must be submitted by midnight on May 12th. More details can be found here.
- Research Opportunity ā The Dunhill Medical Trust are supporting a project led by Housing LIN and TSA as part of the latterās TAPPI Phase 2 project. The project āseeks to co-produce a āTAPPI Frameworkā by working with four locality ātestbedsā (or demonstrator sites), led by community-based organisationsā¦This phase will gather the evidence of what is possible and challenge what is perceived to be impossible, building upon the learning gathered during the pandemic and creating new and scalable housing service models using technology-enabled care which supports personalisation and, simply, delivers better outcomes for people.ā
As part of the project, a call has been put out for community-based organisations who are already interested in integrating technology with housing, health and social care and would be receptive to testing the TAPPI Principles, together with those that are new to the concept but recognise its importance. Those selected to act as ātestbedsā would receive Ā£75,000 (inc. VAT) for resourcing and enabling technology solutions.
Members interested in taking part should read the bid guidelines and make an application here. Applications close on May 16th at 5pm.
The Almshouse Association is also supporting another Dunhill funded bid which is looking specifically at almshouses.
RECORD OF PREVIOUS 2021/22 Policy and Governance updates:
Posted 28 April 22