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The Regulator of Social Housing has appointed six firms to join its Legal Services Framework Panel following a competitive tender process.

The panel is split into two Lots.

• Lot 1 is for the provision of advice on public, administrative and regulatory law; charity law; and corporate, commercial, and financial law. The four firms we have appointed are: Devonshires, Field Fisher, Trowers & Hamlins and Mills & Reeve.
• Lot 2 is for the provision of advice on Insolvency and Special Administration law. The five firms we have appointed are: CMS, Devonshires, Norton Rose Fulbright, Trowers & Hamlins and Mills & Reeve.

The Framework, which commenced on 1 May 2018, will be for a four-year term.

Further information

The regulation of social housing is the responsibility of the Regulation Committee, a statutory committee of the Homes and Communities Agency. The organisation refers to itself as the Regulator of Social Housing in undertaking the functions of the Regulation Committee. Homes England is the trading name of the HCA’s non-regulation functions.

The regulator’s purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.

For more information visit the RSH website.

Our media enquiries page has contact details for journalists.

For general queries to RSH, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.

The successful community groups will receive up to £30,000 each to help support the vital work they do to educate young people about the dangers of carrying weapons.

Last year, hundreds of charities bid from an initial £765,000 worth of funding. By investing a further £1 million this year in early intervention initiatives the Home Office will provide critical support to local communities to help tackle knife crime.

This additional funding forms just one of over 60 measures announced in the Serious Violence Strategy which stresses the importance of early intervention to tackle the root causes of serious violence, backed with £40 million of Home Office funding.

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said:

I have seen the fantastic work charities have delivered with the community fund and I’m thrilled the next round will allow us to build on these successes.

Knife crime has devastating consequences for families and local communities and we are determined to provide necessary support for those most at risk.

Our Serious Violence Strategy places a new emphasis on early intervention and steering young people away from crime in the first place.

Already, 47 charities across the country have benefited from the Community Fund, including the London-based Ben Kinsella Trust and the Coventry-based Positive Youth Foundation.

CEO of the Positive Youth Foundation, Rashid Bhayat said:

Knife crime is a serious issue that the youth-work sector has been addressing sensitively for many years. Whilst not all areas have the same level of challenges, even one incident is one too many.

As an organisation, we are working very closely with young people, voluntary sector groups, the local authority and the police to ensure that young people in Coventry have a safe place to learn about the devastating consequences of carrying weapons.

The funding from the Home Office provided the opportunity to have these meaningful conversations. I would encourage organisations to apply to this funding round, as it will allow for much needed support and interventions for young people most at risk.

The Serious Violence Strategy recognises the importance of preventing often hard-to-reach young people from becoming involved in serious violence.

Alongside the strategy the Home Office launched #knifefree a communications campaign which helps share information on social media about the risk of carrying a knife, its effects and how to make the right decisions.

By investing in early intervention and education we will help give critical support for young people to provide them with the tools and opportunity they need to live violence-free lives.

Fintech – short for Financial Technology – is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy. It encompasses innovation in financial services including digital banking, payment technologies, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms. Georgina will be responsible for promoting Northern Ireland’s thriving fintech sector and championing it as a place for firms to develop and grow their business.

Georgina is the digital transformation leader at Allstate and is known as a highly-accomplished technology expert in Northern Ireland. She has over 20 years of experience in tech businesses from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:

Fintech is the future of financial services, and we want each corner of the UK to be able to harness its power.
Our new regional fintech envoy for Northern Ireland, Georgina O’Leary, will help the sector to grow and flourish > throughout Belfast and beyond.

I want to congratulate Georgina on her new role. With her wealth of experience in the technology sector, I am
certain she will build on the success of the existing envoys in helping the UK to remain at the cutting edge of the
digital revolution.

Georgina joins the current envoys in championing fintech in their regions:

• David Ferguson, CEO of Nucleus Financial and Louise Smith, Head of Current Account Design for RBS (envoys for Scotland)
• David Duffy, CEO of CYBG (envoy for England)
• Chris Sier, Professor of Financial Technology at the University of Leeds (envoy for the Northern Powerhouse)

The Chancellor also announced today that Richard Theo, Co-Founder and CEO of Wealthify, would become the government’s new fintech envoy for Wales.

Further information:

• fintech is the apps, computer programs and other technologies that support and improve how we bank and access finance. It encompasses innovation in financial services such as crowdfunding, e-banking, payment technologies, peer-to-peer lending, and cryptocurrencies
• fintech contributes roughly £6.6 billion to GDP and employs over 61,000 people across the country. More people work in UK fintech than in New York fintech or in the combined fintech workforce of Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan

A man involved in drug-dealing and gang conflict has had his sentence increased after the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC MP, referred it for being too low.

Javarni Cato, 17, was originally detained as he and another male fled a flat in Gloucester where police had found heroin, crack cocaine, and over £500 in cash.

While on bail for the drug offences, Cato fired a pistol at a group of people but no one was hit. Less than a week later, he was involved in a similar shooting which seriously injured a taxi driver. The crimes are believed to be related to Huddersfield gang activity.

Cato was originally sentenced to 5 years 4 months imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court. Today, after the Attorney General’s reference, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 9 years.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Attorney General said:

“I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed with me that this sentence was too low. Gang-related crimes are serious offences, especially when firearms are involved, and a longer sentence more accurately reflects the damage that Cato’s actions have had on individuals and the wider community.”

The government has today (17 May 2018) welcomed Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, and has made a series of commitments to make sure people living in high-rise buildings are safe.

The government has committed to:

• launching a consultation on banning the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise residential buildings
• banning desktop studies if the current consultation – which closes on 25 May – does not demonstrate that they can be safely used
• ensuring residents have a better mechanism for blowing the whistle on landlords who do not maintain safe buildings
• changing the law to achieve meaningful and lasting reform of the building regulatory system, with strong sanctions for those who fail to comply
• inviting views to inform how the government could implement major reform of the regulatory system
• restructuring building regulations fire safety guidance to ensure it is clear

This is in addition to the £400 million of funding announced by the Prime Minister yesterday to fully fund local authorities and housing associations with the removal and replacement of aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding, the type used on Grenfell Tower, on social housing buildings above 18 metres.

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

It has been deeply moving to hear directly from the Grenfell Tower survivors and community in my first few weeks as Secretary of State.

This was a terrible tragedy that should never have happened. I welcome Dame Judith Hackitt’s comprehensive report and her calls for fundamental reform in the building sector. I am committed to making that happen as quickly as possible.

The cladding believed to be on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing building regulations. It should not have been used.

I will ensure there is no room for doubt over what materials can be used safely. Having listened carefully to concerns, I will consult on banning the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise residential buildings.

We must ensure the tragedy at Grenfell brings change and I call on the industry to work with me to achieve the urgent reform needed.

The government is already acting on Dame Judith’s interim recommendations by consulting on restricting or banning the use of ‘desktop studies’ as a way of assessing the fire performance of external cladding systems.

Dame Judith Hackitt’s review was commissioned in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and has concluded that significant systemic reform is needed spanning every aspect of the ‘life’ of a high-rise building – from design to construction to ownership and on-going management.

The review has found that regulations and guidance are misunderstood, and oversight and enforcement are inadequate. The recommendations set out a new regulatory system. Dame Judith says a collaborative approach is crucial, bringing together government, industry and the community.

Further information

Dame Judith Hackitt’s report is separate to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and, importantly, does not replace the criminal investigation or seek to identify the cause of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

• Dame Judith Hackitt’s final report was published today
• She has published a press release summarising her findings
• Her interim report was published in December 2017
• The consultation on the use of ‘desktop studies’ – a method used to assess fire performance of construction products and systems – will close on 25 May

Background to the review

The review of building safety and fire regulations was commissioned in July 2017 following the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017.

It was commissioned by the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, and the then Home Secretary, Amber Rudd.

The review’s terms of reference were published in August 2017.

An interim report was published in December 2017.

Dame Judith brought industry representatives together for a summit held in January 2018.

Working groups were established and their findings were reported back to Dame Judith in March 2018.