The BBC briefing paper outlines evidence that proves the UK housing market is in a much-needed state of change. It portrays the message that when looking at the situation from the perspective of the individual, you can see the true effects, denoted in the famous quote by philosopher Confucius on the opening page “The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home”.

Among the key concerning points raised by the paper were that government investment in social housing has halved, with two million fewer social housing units than there were in 1979 and more than one million people in the UK are on council-housing waiting lists due to lack of social housing.

The paper also addresses some significant issues across homelessness, the housing supply gap which has now reached a substantial 1.2 million homes and various case studies on the devastating effects that the lack of housing has had on local families. You can read the full report here

In Other News

The Welsh Government has made significant progress towards its target of 20,000 new affordable homes by 2021 with a recent £24m funding boost to support the goal. They are already 65% of the way there with two years remaining. A large proportion of the funding will be injected into loans for Help to Buy Wales and Property Loan schemes. It is great to see the Welsh Government paving the way for change.

The Tuff Form8 wet room former has been added to the Tuff Form range to offer specifiers and installers even greater installation flexibility and increased weight capacity. With pre-formed fixing points and an innovative octagonal waste plate, all obstructing joists can be quickly navigated, making installation trouble-free. Made from high strength Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC), Tuff Form8 has a weight capacity of 381kg (60 stone), making it ideal for heavier wheelchair users and their carers. Available in nine sizes, the Tuff Form8 former can be tiled or covered with safety flooring and used to create complete level access solutions on both timber and concrete floors.

Stuart Reynolds, Head of Product and Marketing at AKW comments: “The Tuff Form8 former is a great addition to our range, as it offers installers and specifiers even more choice. As well as being ideal for use where increased load is an issue, the Former’s innovative octagonal fitting plate helps navigate those trickier installation challenges. With a lifetime guarantee, this former is ideal for installers and specifiers looking to create the perfect foundation for a modern wet room.”

For more information, please contact AKW on 01905 823298, email: sales@akw-ltd.co.uk or visit www.akw-ltd.co.uk.

12.00 – 12.40

Legal Q&A – Quick Fire Questions

CHIC expects to be launching our new Legal Services Framework, which is planned to be effective from 1^st July 2020, managed by Kennedy Cater. In anticipation of this, we have invited a panel of representatives from legal firms across our current framework to provide you with free legal advice!

On the day, you can expect to benefit from a 30-minute Q&A session where you can receive great advice on your question across the following topics.

• Corporate, Governance & Finance
• Housing & Asset Management
• Property & Development

We currently have representatives from Devonshires Solicitors, Forbes Solicitors, Capsticks and Shakespeare Martineau.

If you have not registered your place at the conference yet, you can do so by CLICKING HERE. Please pass on the invitation for free attendance to your colleagues.

If you will be attending on 10^th June and would like to anonymously provide some of your questions prior to the day so they don’t get missed, you can do so HERE

Do you want to find out more on the best compliant solutions when protecting your residents and assets against fire risk?

CHIC has partnered with supply chain partners Gerda Security and Novus Property Solutions to provide advice on compliant solutions to fire precaution, helping your organisation make effective decisions and promote smart asset management.

Taking place on Tuesday 31^st March, this half day event will advise on the latest fire door set regulations and how these affect new build & refurbishment, covering key topics such as:

• Building regulations & CE marking
• What to look for to meet legislative and regulatory requirements.
• What type of door set is needed to be compliant?
• Achieving cost savings & compliance through correct specification.
• Auditable compliance to assist with RR(FS)O (BM Trada Q-Mark and FIRAS systems)

A word from the CHIC Supply Chain Management Team...

CHIC works directly with our supply chain partners to ensure that we are able to provide the very best services and materials required by our members.

Between Brexit and the Coronavirus epidemic the coming year looks to be a challenging one for suppliers and manufacturers in the social housing sector.

With regard to the Coronavirus, CHIC has been working closely with our supply chain to monitor development of the epidemic and now believe the outbreak has reached a stage where our suppliers and distributors may start being affected by disruption to the supply chain. At this stage this will only apply to some of the larger international suppliers.

Over the past few weeks we have engaged with our suppliers and distributors to assess the associated risks and will be releasing a Risk Assessment Report once the full extent of the exposure is understood.

From initial conversations we believe disruption will be kept to a minimum, with the majority of suppliers having already taken steps to address any risks. CHIC will continue to work with the supply chain to ensure that our members are not unduly affected.

If you are worried that your business might be affected please contact Marius Marisca mmarisca@chicltd.co.uk