Month: July 2018

New government funding schemes will no longer be able to use the money for unjustified new leasehold houses, in a continuing push to tackle unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system.

The move was announced by Communities Secretary, the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, as he outlined the government’s next steps towards delivering both the homes the country needs and a fairer, more transparent system for homebuyers.

Among the measures announced today are:

• New proposals for 3-year minimum tenancy terms, with a 6-month break clause, to make renting more secure helping renters put down roots, and give landlords longer term financial security.
• The release of £450 million to speed up delivery of homes on sites of surplus public sector land and encouraging pace and modern methods of construction as a part of the building process.
• The launch of a new £100 million Community Housing Fund, to deliver affordable housing tailored to local needs, putting communities in the driving seat.

The Communities Secretary also confirmed that through Homes England almost 1,000 new affordable homes will be built on a previously undeveloped site at Burgess Hill, Sussex demonstrating how a more strategic – and assertive – approach to getting homes and large scale projects built was delivering results.

The Burgess Hill site will also see essential, new infrastructure built with two new primary schools, a secondary school and a range of leisure facilities including a new public woodland.

Speaking to an audience at the Policy Exchange the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Communities, said:

We need to get everyone on board to build at scale and pace to build the homes this country needs.

But this isn’t just about getting the numbers up. We don’t have to make a false choice between quality and quantity.

It’s also about building places that people are happy to call home. Places where they can come together in strong, thriving communities for generations to come.

Leasehold generally applies to flats with shared spaces, making multiple ownership more straightforward, but developers have been increasingly selling houses on these terms – adding further costs to over-stretched house buyers.

The government is already working to make it cheaper and easier for existing leaseholders to buy-out their freehold and improve information available about redress for those consumers who face the most onerous terms.

Changes will also be made so that ground rents on new long leases – for both houses and flats – are set to zero.

And with 1.4 million leasehold houses across England and the number of leasehold sales rapidly growing, this latest announcement is another example of the government taking action to make the leasehold market fairer.

The Secretary of State continued:

We have seen leaseholders in new-build homes facing unexpected costs rising every year that bear no relation to services and that’s not fair.

So from now on any new government funding scheme will contain the condition that the money cannot support the unjustified use of leasehold for new homes.

Further information

These measures relate to England only.

Almost £19 million of funding to expand support for survivors of domestic abuse services across the country has been launched today (2 July 2018) by the Secretary of State for Communities.

Councils working in partnership with charities and other organisations will be able to bid for a share of funding to support survivors of domestic abuse.

This will be available for a wide range of services to help survivors rebuild their lives; including the provision of refuge beds, education, and employment and life skills training.

This funding builds on £20 million allocated in 2016 to 2018 which has helped provide more than 2,200 new bed spaces in refuges and other specialist accommodation, supporting more than 19,000 survivors with a safe space to rebuild their lives.

Secretary of State for Communities, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said:

Domestic abuse is a devastating crime and this government is committed to ensuring all survivors have access to the support they need, whenever they need it.

This funding will expand the support available for survivors to help them rebuild their lives.

This fund has already helped to support diverse projects across the country, including:

Lancashire County Council – Jane’s Place of Recovery Refuge

• Funding was used to establish ‘Jane’s Place’, to accommodate 46 residents, across 15 self contained flats. In the first 7 months the refuge, specialising in providing safe accommodation for those at most risk of harm, accommodated 52 women and their families.

The Hampshire Making Safe Scheme’, led by Hart District Council

• Covering 11 local authorities in Hampshire, this project aims to fund 3 approaches including access to safe houses, enhanced security measures within client’s own homes and effective ways for life after living in safe houses or refuges. This project is particularly targeted at those from BAME communities or those with complex needs.

The government has also published updated guidelines, created in partnership with experts for councils to share best practice with charities and other organisations in meeting the needs of diverse communities including BAME, disabled and LGBT victims.

Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said:

The release of the next round of funding for refuges and other accommodation for women escaping domestic abuse is desperately needed, and much welcomed. Our national network of refuges not only save lives but transform them, helping women and their children to rebuild their lives.

With a decision about the future of refuge funding after 2020 due to be made in the coming months, we look forward to working with the government to ensure the future safety of survivors.

Together we need to ensure that there is a sustainable, long-term funding solution for all domestic abuse services, including lifesaving refuges. Only then can we guarantee that every survivor and her children can get the support they need to build a life free from domestic abuse.

Further information

The 2015 Spending Review contained dedicated long term funding of £40 million to support victims of domestic abuse.

• The first allocations of the £20 million fund was announced November 2016 led by local authorities working in partnership with service providers for work in 2016 to 2018
• A further £1.2 million will be allocated towards domestic abuse services in due course
• See the full list of allocations

Further case studies of the 2016 to 2018 fund:

• Royal London Borough of Greenwich – The Multiple Needs & Intensive Support Project
  Greenwich used part of the funding to employ a Complex Needs support worker, providing intensive support to survivors across the lifetime of the project.
• North Lincolnshire Council
  Grant funding was used to secure additional resources to ensure that both female and male victims of domestic abuse were able to access immediate support at times of crisis.

Today’s announcement builds on steps taken by government to end domestic abuse, support victims and ensure offenders are prosecuted. Including:

• new powers and laws – a new domestic abuse offence to capture coercive and controlling behaviour, the criminalisation of forced marriage, and the introduction of new stalking laws
• the national roll-out of domestic violence protection orders and the domestic violence disclosure scheme
• £15 million, 3-year Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Service Transformation Fund
• £3.5 million provided in 2015 that funded 46 successful bids from around the country, providing 710 extra bed spaces
• £10 million funding announced by the coalition government for strengthening provision of safe accommodation in the last Spending Review period
• we will shortly be introducing a new landmark Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill to protect and support victims, recognise the life-long impact domestic abuse has on children and make sure agencies effectively respond to domestic abuse

View the government’s updated priorities for domestic abuse services.

Reporting of serious safeguarding incidents by charities continues to increase, according to the Charity Commission. The regulator has published an update on the work of its interim safeguarding taskforce, and has confirmed that it received 620 safeguarding related reports in April and May 2018, compared to 196 during the same period in 2017.

In total, since February, the Commission has received and been responding to 1,152 reports of serious incidents (RSIs) about safeguarding (to end May 2018).

The Commission established a temporary safeguarding taskforce in February, which has been managing and handling increased serious incident reports, and undertaking a review of historic serious incident and whistleblowing reports on safeguarding issues.

New reports of serious safeguarding incidents

• 1,152 reports of serious safeguarding incidents received between February 2018 and May 2018, compared to
  1,210 during the whole of 2016-17, and 1,580 during 2017-28
• 734 new cases have been opened relating to safeguarding concerns

As set out in previous updates, the reports cover a wide spectrum; some relate to risks of harm that a charity has identified, rather than to incidents of harm – for example internal audits showing that safeguarding procedures were not followed in certain situations.

The Commission has previously raised concerns about under-reporting of serious incidents by charities.

Among the reports are those from some of the 179 charities to which the Secretary of State for International Development wrote in February to seek reassurances that all appropriate incidents had been reported to the Commission. Of the 179 charities DFID issued the assurance request letter to, 34 charities have submitted incident reports to the Commission. In total, these 34 charities have reported 298 incidents. Of these, 218 related to historic incidents.

The Commission has also opened 734 cases relating to safeguarding concerns raised in serious incident reports from charities, or complaints and whistleblowing reports. These have been prioritised according to risk.

Review of historic reports of serious safeguarding incidents

• 5,501 incidents received between 1 April 2014 and 20 February 2018 were selected for review
• 5,238 incidents (95%) have now been analysed

The taskforce has been undertaking a ‘deep dive’ of its records of serious incident reports on safeguarding matters to identify any gaps in full and frank disclosure by charities, and to establish whether appropriate follow-up actions were taken by charities, including whether incidents were reported to other primary regulators or agencies.
This has required the team to analyse a total of 5,501 serious incidents reported to the Commission between 1 April 2014 and 20 February 2018. 5,238 or 95% of the relevant records reports have now been analysed. Analysis so far has not identified any cases where the Commission has serious and urgent concerns that require it to take immediate action, or where it has had to engage with the authorities about any ongoing risk or unreported criminality.

Of these incidents, 3,000 involved allegations of potential criminal behaviour; the Commission’s analysis has identified that in only one of those incidents was it unclear from its records whether it was reported to the authorities at the time. The Commission has now followed this up and verified that this incident was reported appropriately.

Once the work of the taskforce has concluded, the Commission will publish a report setting out the key findings and lessons for charities.

Ends

Notes to editors

1. Of the 179 charities to which the Secretary of State for International Development wrote in February, 158 are registered with the Commission, the remainder are registered with Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or are exempt charities