New threat to social homes
13 February 2007
A statement from Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has raised fears that the number of social homes in the UK - council houses and tenants association properties - could be under renewed threat.
The Communities Secretary says consideration is being given to proposals that would allow social housing tenants the opportunity to get on the property ladder by buying a smaller stake in their home than at present - stumping up 10 per cent of the value instead of the current 25 per cent.
She told the Today programme that this would help close the gap between people who are aided by their parents to buy their first home and those who are not.
But Shelter's chief executive Adam Sampson said: 'We're talking about something that is at best irrelevant to the housing crisis and at worst could exacerbate it.
'Helping poorer people share in the nation's wealth is welcome - but this measure will only help around five per cent of current social tenants.'
At present, more than half of social housing tenants have an annual income of less than £10,000.
Since the introduction of the Right to Buy scheme in 1980, more than 1,700,000 homes have been sold off. But between 1980 and 2005 only 790,342 new social rented homes were built.
Mr Sampson called for a commitment to reinvest any money raised in new social housing. 'Unless the money raised by this scheme is ploughed back into building desperately needed new social homes, it will only serve to exacerbate the existing crisis.'
Today almost 94,000 homeless households - including almost 130,000 children - are trapped in temporary accommodation with nowhere permanent to call home.
Homelessness is estimated to cost between £700 million and £1 billion each year in extra housing costs and wider public costs such as welfare benefits, health, crime and education.
To address these problems, 'Significant investment in increasing the supply of new social housing must be the government's first priority,' Mr Sampson declared.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Smiths helps St Mungo's make London's homeless healthier
Smiths helps St Mungo's make London's homeless healthier
13/11/2006Smiths Current Share Price1076.00p +3.50p
At 14/02/2007 11:38:43
Investor Centre
SMITHS Group, the global technology business, today announced that it is funding a new Health Manager for St Mungo's as part of an initiative to make London’s homeless healthier.
St Mungo's, London’s leading homeless charity, provides practical support for thousands of homeless and vulnerable people each year by helping them find a place to live; develop their skills through education and training programmes; build positive relationships with other people and improve their mental and physical health.
The new Health Manager, who will work across the London boroughs, will train staff on key health issues and build strong relationships with local health authorities to help the charity’s 1,700 residents gain access to vital health services from GPs, hospitals and statutory services.
This training will enable staff to recognise symptoms of serious conditions and will also include awareness of healthy eating, sexual health and access to exercise for all residents.
The cooperation between St Mungo’s and Smiths was launched formally on Thursday 9th November at the Endell Street Hostel in Covent Garden. Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, Chief Executive of Smiths Group, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to contribute towards such an important initiative in our community.”
Homeless people can suffer from poor health due to sleeping rough but are often unable to obtain the health care services they need due to social exclusion.
Kate Whalley, the new Health Manager for St Mungo's, said: “This crucial support from Smiths will enable us to train all our staff about all of these key health issues and help our clients to get the help they need. Given the seriousness of some residents’ health conditions, this work could save around 100 lives each year.”
Smiths is also investigating employee volunteering opportunities with St Mungo’s to benefit both the charity and Smiths people, who can build their skills whilst giving something back to their local community.
ENDS
About St Mungo's
St Mungo's is London’s leading homeless charity, opening doors for thousands of homeless people each year.
Around 88% of their clients have two or more medical support needs. St Mungo's provides specialist help to address the complex physical and mental health problems that many of their most vulnerable clients face. Last year, the charity supported 800 people with their mental health issues, and referred 600 people into rehabilitation and prescribing services. Health clinics are based within several of their larger hostels, which have visiting nursing, dentistry and chiropody services.
Smiths Group
Smiths seeks to contribute to the communities in which it operates by participation in, and support for, community and charitable initiatives. Smiths is a global technology business, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Smiths Group is a world leader in the practical application of advanced technologies. Our products and services make the world safer, healthier and more productive. Smiths Group has four divisions: Aerospace, Detection, Medical and Specialty. It employs 32,000 people and has over 250 major facilities in 50 countries. For more information visit www.smiths-group.com
13/11/2006Smiths Current Share Price1076.00p +3.50p
At 14/02/2007 11:38:43
Investor Centre
SMITHS Group, the global technology business, today announced that it is funding a new Health Manager for St Mungo's as part of an initiative to make London’s homeless healthier.
St Mungo's, London’s leading homeless charity, provides practical support for thousands of homeless and vulnerable people each year by helping them find a place to live; develop their skills through education and training programmes; build positive relationships with other people and improve their mental and physical health.
The new Health Manager, who will work across the London boroughs, will train staff on key health issues and build strong relationships with local health authorities to help the charity’s 1,700 residents gain access to vital health services from GPs, hospitals and statutory services.
This training will enable staff to recognise symptoms of serious conditions and will also include awareness of healthy eating, sexual health and access to exercise for all residents.
The cooperation between St Mungo’s and Smiths was launched formally on Thursday 9th November at the Endell Street Hostel in Covent Garden. Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, Chief Executive of Smiths Group, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to contribute towards such an important initiative in our community.”
Homeless people can suffer from poor health due to sleeping rough but are often unable to obtain the health care services they need due to social exclusion.
Kate Whalley, the new Health Manager for St Mungo's, said: “This crucial support from Smiths will enable us to train all our staff about all of these key health issues and help our clients to get the help they need. Given the seriousness of some residents’ health conditions, this work could save around 100 lives each year.”
Smiths is also investigating employee volunteering opportunities with St Mungo’s to benefit both the charity and Smiths people, who can build their skills whilst giving something back to their local community.
ENDS
About St Mungo's
St Mungo's is London’s leading homeless charity, opening doors for thousands of homeless people each year.
Around 88% of their clients have two or more medical support needs. St Mungo's provides specialist help to address the complex physical and mental health problems that many of their most vulnerable clients face. Last year, the charity supported 800 people with their mental health issues, and referred 600 people into rehabilitation and prescribing services. Health clinics are based within several of their larger hostels, which have visiting nursing, dentistry and chiropody services.
Smiths Group
Smiths seeks to contribute to the communities in which it operates by participation in, and support for, community and charitable initiatives. Smiths is a global technology business, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Smiths Group is a world leader in the practical application of advanced technologies. Our products and services make the world safer, healthier and more productive. Smiths Group has four divisions: Aerospace, Detection, Medical and Specialty. It employs 32,000 people and has over 250 major facilities in 50 countries. For more information visit www.smiths-group.com
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Islington Tribune - News: Town Hall to shut hostels no longer fit for homeless
Islington Tribune - News: Town Hall to shut hostels no longer fit for homeless: "
Islington Tribune - by MARK BLUNDEN
Published: 9 February 2007
Town Hall to shut hostels no longer fit for homeless
Years of neglect blamed as closure opens way for homes on sites
TWO homeless hostels in Highbury are to close next month after being left without essential maintenance for so long they are rotting away.
After final approval last week, the hostels in Petherton Road and Grosvenor Avenue will shut so the sites can be sold for affordable housing.
For years the hostels, known as “reception centres”, have been excluded from cyclical maintenance programmes, with electrical wiring at Grosvenor Avenue so out of date that one resident claims power cuts are a frequent occurence.
Experts commissioned by the Town Hall found it would cost more than £7 million to bring the hostels – and another which is not due to close – up to modern standards.
An executive briefing document, dated October 2005, states: “The lack of maintenance over the past 30 years has contributed to the poor living environment. The quality of the accommodation provided in the centres does not meet the council’s medium or long-term aims.”
Islington currently has nine homeless hostels, with 304 rooms. They employ 26 staff and are run by Homes for Islington, the company in charge of the borough’s housing.
Notices have been pinned to the doors of people living in the Grosvenor Avenue hostel telling them to be out by next month.
One Grosvenor Avenue resident claims the council is winding down maintenance for the block as it prepares for closure.
The man, a reformed drug user, was taken in after seeking refuge from intimidating dealers. He said: “They put the heating back on now but it took them some time.
“This place is scruffy with paint peeling off everywhere and lots of cobwebs. I just hope they can find me somewhere safer, preferably away from the area.”
The man, who did not wish to be named, added: “But it’s the families who are here I feel sorry for. They’re going to have to uproot them to entirely different places. That’s going to be hard on the children.”
Money from the sale of Grosvenor Avenue and Petherton Road hostels will be ploughed back into providing better services at the remaining seven centres.
The two centres to close were not the “worst of the worst”. Three other centres were singled out in the October 2005 report as being in a worse condition.
It is unclear what the future of these centres – known in reports as Herongate, Peregrine House and Hornsey Road – will be until the money from the hostels’ sale is secured. Plans to close the Highbury centres and sell the sites were rubber-stamped at last week’s council overview committee and will be sent back to the executive for final approval.
Cllr Terry Stacy, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Communities, said: “There are 13 people staying at Grosvenor Avenue – none of them will be left homeless when the building is sold.
“Our strong track record tackling homelessness means there are now fewer people coming into hostels. What Islington really needs is more affordable permanent housing.”
spacer"
Islington Tribune - by MARK BLUNDEN
Published: 9 February 2007
Town Hall to shut hostels no longer fit for homeless
Years of neglect blamed as closure opens way for homes on sites
TWO homeless hostels in Highbury are to close next month after being left without essential maintenance for so long they are rotting away.
After final approval last week, the hostels in Petherton Road and Grosvenor Avenue will shut so the sites can be sold for affordable housing.
For years the hostels, known as “reception centres”, have been excluded from cyclical maintenance programmes, with electrical wiring at Grosvenor Avenue so out of date that one resident claims power cuts are a frequent occurence.
Experts commissioned by the Town Hall found it would cost more than £7 million to bring the hostels – and another which is not due to close – up to modern standards.
An executive briefing document, dated October 2005, states: “The lack of maintenance over the past 30 years has contributed to the poor living environment. The quality of the accommodation provided in the centres does not meet the council’s medium or long-term aims.”
Islington currently has nine homeless hostels, with 304 rooms. They employ 26 staff and are run by Homes for Islington, the company in charge of the borough’s housing.
Notices have been pinned to the doors of people living in the Grosvenor Avenue hostel telling them to be out by next month.
One Grosvenor Avenue resident claims the council is winding down maintenance for the block as it prepares for closure.
The man, a reformed drug user, was taken in after seeking refuge from intimidating dealers. He said: “They put the heating back on now but it took them some time.
“This place is scruffy with paint peeling off everywhere and lots of cobwebs. I just hope they can find me somewhere safer, preferably away from the area.”
The man, who did not wish to be named, added: “But it’s the families who are here I feel sorry for. They’re going to have to uproot them to entirely different places. That’s going to be hard on the children.”
Money from the sale of Grosvenor Avenue and Petherton Road hostels will be ploughed back into providing better services at the remaining seven centres.
The two centres to close were not the “worst of the worst”. Three other centres were singled out in the October 2005 report as being in a worse condition.
It is unclear what the future of these centres – known in reports as Herongate, Peregrine House and Hornsey Road – will be until the money from the hostels’ sale is secured. Plans to close the Highbury centres and sell the sites were rubber-stamped at last week’s council overview committee and will be sent back to the executive for final approval.
Cllr Terry Stacy, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Communities, said: “There are 13 people staying at Grosvenor Avenue – none of them will be left homeless when the building is sold.
“Our strong track record tackling homelessness means there are now fewer people coming into hostels. What Islington really needs is more affordable permanent housing.”
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
Paraplegic 'dumped' on skid row
Paraplegic allegedly 'dumped' on skid row
L.A. police say man was dropped off in front of dozens of witnesses by van linked to Hollywood Presbyterian hospital.
click to enlarge'I can't think of anything colder than that.'
— LAPD Det. Russ Long, on the alleged skid row dumping
| Related Stories | |
| - | Suit accuses Kaiser of blackballing |
| - | L.A. files patient `dumping' charges |
The incident, witnessed by more than two dozen people, was described by police as a particularly outrageous case of "homeless dumping" that has plagued the downtown area.
"I can't think of anything colder than that," said LAPD Det. Russ Long, who called the case the most egregious of its kind that he has seen in his career. "There was no mission around, no services. It's the worst area of skid row."
Los Angeles Police Department detectives said they connected the van to Hollywood Presbyterian after witnesses wrote down a phone number on the van and took down its license-plate number.
They are questioning officials from the hospital, which the LAPD had accused in an earlier dumping case that is now under investigation.
Witnesses shouted at the female driver of the van, "Where's his wheelchair, where's his walker?"
Gary Lett, an employee at Gladys Park, near where the incident occurred, said the woman driving the van didn't reply, but proceeded to apply makeup and perfume before driving off.
"She didn't make any attempt to help him," Lett said. "He was in bad shape. He was incoherent."
Kaylor Shemberger, executive vice president for Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, said, "Obviously we are very concerned about the information that has been presented to us. We are continuing to investigate the incident. If some of the facts are correct, it is clearly not in line with our policy of handling these types of patients."
When the hospital was previously accused of dumping in 2005, a top executive said the facility takes discharged patients to Los Angeles Mission at their request.
The case comes three months after the L.A. city attorney's office filed the first indictment for homeless dumping against Kaiser Permanente. The charges stem from an incident earlier last year when a 63-year-old patient from Kaiser Permanente's Bellflower medical center was videotaped as she stepped from a taxi in gown and socks and then wandered the streets of skid row.
Los Angeles officials have accused more than a dozen hospitals, as well as some outside law enforcement agencies, of dumping patients and criminals on downtown's troubled skid row. The city attorney's office said it was considering filing charges against several other medical facilities.
Police describe the homeless people who congregate around Gladys Park, in the heart of skid row, as a tough crowd who have seen much and say little.
But there was no shortage of people willing to describe what they saw about 10:45 a.m. Thursday morning, when the white hospital van pulled up several feet from the curb.
"They were lining up to give their story," Long said. "They were collectively appalled. We were as shocked as the homeless folks."
Witnesses told police that the man propped himself up in the door of the van. He then hurled himself from the vehicle, tumbling to the street. He pulled himself along, dragging a bag of his belongings in his clenched teeth.
Police said several people began shouting at the driver, who in addition to applying makeup was more concerned that the seats of the van had been soiled, investigators said.
LAPD Officers Eric de la Cruz and Pernell Taylor said they arrived to find the man being carried out of the street on a chair that had been retrieved from the nearby park offices.
De la Cruz later asked the victim if he had wanted to be dropped off at the location.
"He said he had nowhere else to go, and the hospital staff told him he could no longer stay there," De la Cruz said of the man, who is being treated at County-USC Medical Center.
The LAPD has accused several hospitals of dumping patients on skid row over the last two years, including Kaiser's West Los Angeles hospital, Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center and Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center.
Officials at those hospitals have denied dumping patients, but some said they had taken homeless patients to skid row service providers.
In 2005, at attorney for Hollywood Presbyterian denied that the hospital had dumped patients, but he said skid row service providers offered treatment and care for some patients who had nowhere else to go.
City officials are trying to crack down on crime and blight in the district, which has the largest concentration of homeless people in the western United States. In recent months, a police crackdown has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests and a drop in crime.
Monday, February 05, 2007
House of Commons
House of Commons
Friday 2 February 2007
Emily Thornberry (Islington, South and Finsbury) (Lab): What would the hon. Lady say to people in my constituency, which has the least amount of green space in the whole of Britain, and where 13,000 families are on the waiting list for housing? What hope does her Bill offer those of my constituents who have been waiting for many years for housing?
Mrs. Spelman: I can give some comfort to the hon. Lady on protecting the small residue of green space that remains in many urban constituencies. The point of my Bill is that it would increase her local council’s capacity to protect what little green space she has. If she reads her own party’s most recent guidance, she will find that the preservation of open space is not referred to and that gardens are spoken about only in relation to new build. Just as she has 13,000 people on the housing waiting list in her constituency, I have 7,000 people in mine. I expect that her constituents, like mine, face the problem that flats built on the back gardens of Victorian properties are often beyond the pocket of those on the waiting list.
I have made it clear from the outset that I do not believe, and have never said, that the Government set out to develop back gardens. It is the unintended consequence of three different elements of their planning policy coming together. Rectifying the unintended consequence of back gardens being classified as brownfield, and thereby getting caught up in its prioritisation, would direct developers to genuine brownfield sites. There are many such sites in my constituency and in the city of Birmingham, which my constituency shoulders—and, I suspect, in the constituency of the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry). In that way, more affordable housing could be brought into the supply.
Friday 2 February 2007
Emily Thornberry (Islington, South and Finsbury) (Lab): What would the hon. Lady say to people in my constituency, which has the least amount of green space in the whole of Britain, and where 13,000 families are on the waiting list for housing? What hope does her Bill offer those of my constituents who have been waiting for many years for housing?
Mrs. Spelman: I can give some comfort to the hon. Lady on protecting the small residue of green space that remains in many urban constituencies. The point of my Bill is that it would increase her local council’s capacity to protect what little green space she has. If she reads her own party’s most recent guidance, she will find that the preservation of open space is not referred to and that gardens are spoken about only in relation to new build. Just as she has 13,000 people on the housing waiting list in her constituency, I have 7,000 people in mine. I expect that her constituents, like mine, face the problem that flats built on the back gardens of Victorian properties are often beyond the pocket of those on the waiting list.
I have made it clear from the outset that I do not believe, and have never said, that the Government set out to develop back gardens. It is the unintended consequence of three different elements of their planning policy coming together. Rectifying the unintended consequence of back gardens being classified as brownfield, and thereby getting caught up in its prioritisation, would direct developers to genuine brownfield sites. There are many such sites in my constituency and in the city of Birmingham, which my constituency shoulders—and, I suspect, in the constituency of the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry). In that way, more affordable housing could be brought into the supply.
House of Commons
House of Commons
Friday 2 February 2007
Emily Thornberry (Islington, South and Finsbury) (Lab): What would the hon. Lady say to people in my constituency, which has the least amount of green space in the whole of Britain, and where 13,000 families are on the waiting list for housing? What hope does her Bill offer those of my constituents who have been waiting for many years for housing?
Mrs. Spelman: I can give some comfort to the hon. Lady on protecting the small residue of green space that remains in many urban constituencies. The point of my Bill is that it would increase her local council’s capacity to protect what little green space she has. If she reads her own party’s most recent guidance, she will find that the preservation of open space is not referred to and that gardens are spoken about only in relation to new build. Just as she has 13,000 people on the housing waiting list in her constituency, I have 7,000 people in mine. I expect that her constituents, like mine, face the problem that flats built on the back gardens of Victorian properties are often beyond the pocket of those on the waiting list.
I have made it clear from the outset that I do not believe, and have never said, that the Government set out to develop back gardens. It is the unintended consequence of three different elements of their planning policy coming together. Rectifying the unintended consequence of back gardens being classified as brownfield, and thereby getting caught up in its prioritisation, would direct developers to genuine brownfield sites. There are many such sites in my constituency and in the city of Birmingham, which my constituency shoulders—and, I suspect, in the constituency of the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry). In that way, more affordable housing could be brought into the supply.
Friday 2 February 2007
Emily Thornberry (Islington, South and Finsbury) (Lab): What would the hon. Lady say to people in my constituency, which has the least amount of green space in the whole of Britain, and where 13,000 families are on the waiting list for housing? What hope does her Bill offer those of my constituents who have been waiting for many years for housing?
Mrs. Spelman: I can give some comfort to the hon. Lady on protecting the small residue of green space that remains in many urban constituencies. The point of my Bill is that it would increase her local council’s capacity to protect what little green space she has. If she reads her own party’s most recent guidance, she will find that the preservation of open space is not referred to and that gardens are spoken about only in relation to new build. Just as she has 13,000 people on the housing waiting list in her constituency, I have 7,000 people in mine. I expect that her constituents, like mine, face the problem that flats built on the back gardens of Victorian properties are often beyond the pocket of those on the waiting list.
I have made it clear from the outset that I do not believe, and have never said, that the Government set out to develop back gardens. It is the unintended consequence of three different elements of their planning policy coming together. Rectifying the unintended consequence of back gardens being classified as brownfield, and thereby getting caught up in its prioritisation, would direct developers to genuine brownfield sites. There are many such sites in my constituency and in the city of Birmingham, which my constituency shoulders—and, I suspect, in the constituency of the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry). In that way, more affordable housing could be brought into the supply.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Blair on the street?
Blair interviewed for second time | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics: "Blair interviewed for second time
Matthew Tempest and agencies
Thursday February 1, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
A police officer outside 10 Downing Street on Thursday February 1 2007. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PA Wire.
A police officer outside 10 Downing Street on Thursday February 1 2007. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PA Wire. "