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New
service lets tenants take control
HOME seekers
on Merseyside will be able to benefit from a new lettings service
giving them greater control over where they live. The
Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has granted
£100,000 to a partnership of local authorities and housing
associations for the development of a sub-regional choice based
lettings service.
The partnership - which includes Knowsley, Liverpool and Wirral
councils plus The Riverside Group, Arena, CDS, Cosmopolitan,
Contour, Hornby, Knowsley Housing Trust, LHT, Maritime, New
Generation, One Vision, Pierhead, SLHA, Venture, Villages Housing, was one of 18 across the UK whose bid for funding was successful.
Rather than the landlord attempting to match an applicant to a
property, choice-based lettings requires people to bid for
advertised homes and the person with the highest priority will be
made the offer. By introducing choice based lettings on a
sub-regional basis, the partnership is bringing together a larger
pool of available housing, giving home-seekers more choice and
flexibility.
It is intended that the web-based service will provide access to a
directory of available and affordable housing options. With a range
of access points and methods customers will be able to choose when,
where and how they use the service.
Anna Bishop, of The Riverside Group, said:- “Most of our
subsidiaries have already operated choice based lettings for a
number of years but by joining together with other housing
associations and local authorities we are taking this service to the
next level.
We believe a partnership approach is the best way of
meeting home-seeker's housing needs.
The aim is to provide a
one stop shop offering access to a series of solutions from social
rented, shared ownership and sheltered accommodation to care and
repair schemes.”
Jill Wilson, Head of Housing, Planning and Building Control at
Knowsley Council added:- “As the lead authority, Knowsley is
very excited about this opportunity.
There are a number of benefits
of cross-local authority schemes.
Not only do they enable greater
regional mobility, break down artificial boundaries and recognise
existing housing and labour markets but they also help to ease
localised problems of high demand.”
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SINGLE GIRLS FED UP WITH DAILY GRIND
SINGLE women
aged between 34 and 44 and living in the West Midlands are most
likely to feel unfulfilled in the workplace, according to research
by ethical volunteering organisation Global Vision International (GVI).
The research conducted by Gfk NOP on behalf of GVI reveals that 15%
of British workers feel unfulfilled at work. When asked what
would make them more fulfilled, 43% of respondents said they would
like the opportunity to help people less fortunate than themselves,
while 17% said that volunteering to help save the planet would
increase their feeling of fulfilment. Money also ranked highly with
54% of people surveyed feeling that earning more money would
increase their fulfilment while 30% think that more responsibility
in the workplace will make them happier.
Andy Woods-Ballard a Director at GVI comments:- “While it is
worrying that so many people find their jobs unfulfilling, it is
encouraging that people are developing a green conscience and
wanting to volunteer to make a difference. It’s interesting that
those in the 34 to 44 age group were the most likely to feel
unfulfilled at work as this is the age group that we are seeing the
biggest rise in volunteers year on year. GVI volunteers often come
back from their trip with a new lease of life, so volunteering is a
fantastic option for those fed up with the monotony of the daily
grind.”
The trend for taking sabbaticals has doubled. In 2007, 23% of people
have either considered or actually taken sabbaticals, compared with
only 12% of the people surveyed by GVI in 2006. The research
findings also show the continual importance for companies to have a
sabbatical policy, as a quarter of those surveyed by GVI in both
2006 (26%) and 2007 (26%) cited this workplace benefit as important
when selecting a company to work for.
Andy continues:- “We are definitely seeing an increase in
those going on volunteering expeditions, as our bookings are
increasing on average each year by 37%. Our most popular
destinations are Latin America and Mexico, South Africa and the
Seychelles, all of which involve performing crucial conservation and
development work to help the planet.”
The 2007 GVI survey also found that twice as many people had been
away on sabbaticals compared to a 2006 survey. To find out
more visit
www.gvi.co.uk or call 01727 250 250.
What do our female readers 34 and 44 in
Merseyside think about this? Please
email our newsroom with your
views! |
