The seminars for 2018 will retain the same high standards for which 'AWICS' is well known and will include some new and topical subjects.
The 2018 series of seminars are as follows. Further sessions will be added to the website as and when the dates and venues are confirmed:
This series of seminars is designed to give an introduction and overview to this important subject and is fully up to date with all developments. It explains how the housing revenue account, housing general fund and housing capital programme works and considers the threats and opportunities facing local authority housing especially in view of the government's recent policy initiatives.
For further information or to make a booking please click HERE
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Seminars are planned on the following subjects:
Further information will be posted on our website as it becomes available and can be requested by emailing: enquiries@awics.co.uk
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Service charges are an integral part of landlords' work in financing value for money services and sustaining customer satisfaction. They have always been relatively complex but with increased financial challenges and legal and financial complexity there is an increased need to understand how service charging works. This seminar gives an introduction and overview to this important subject and is fully up to date with all developments.
For more information please click HERE
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Service charges are an integral part of landlords' work in financing value for money services and sustaining customer satisfaction. They have always been relatively complex but with increased financial challenges and legal and financial complexity there is an increased need to understand how service charging works. This seminar gives an introduction and overview to this important subject and is fully up to date with all developments.
For more information please click HERE
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Local housing companies are independent arms-length commercial organisations wholly or partly owned by councils. They can develop, buy and manage properties within and outside of a local authority area. The homes they provide sit outside of the local government housing financing system and are not subject to the Housing Act and most of the social / affordable housing regulations. Over the past few years the number of companies has increased among councils across the whole of England. It is estimated that there are over 150 local authorities that have set up local authority housing companies However, they are not the only housing delivery vehicles that are available to Councils and this is still an emerging area in terms of policy and best practice.
This seminar will explain and examine why and how local authorities are setting up local housing companies and other delivery vehicles.
For more information, please click here
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The Government is planning to change the way in which Supported Housing is funded with separate arrangements for sheltered housing, short-term supported housing and long-term supported housing. In future, landlords will be expected to set rents and service charges in sheltered housing based on a new ‘sheltered rent’ set by government that will also be used to cap housing benefit and the housing element of universal credit. Short-term supported housing will be funded through a new locally administered grant. Long-term supported housing will be funded largely as it is now. The Government states that it is committed to protecting and boosting the supply of supported housing and ensuring it provides value for money and works for those who use it as well as those who pay for it. The government made a policy statement and started a consultation in October 2017.
This seminar will explain and examine the government’s proposals and their implications for local authorities, housing associations and their tenants.
For more information, please click here
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Social housing is becoming increasingly important in Scotland at a time of rising demand for affordable housing. Terms on which loans are available are less favourable than in the past. The Scottish Government has passed the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, reformed the Scottish Housing Regulator, ended the ‘Right to Buy’ ended in Scotland on 31st July 2016 and is promoting and funding an ambitious development programme. The Scottish Housing Regulator’s new approach emphasises ‘Value for Money’. The United Kingdom government is ‘reforming’ welfare with significant implications for Scottish tenants and landlords but some welfare powers have now been devolved to Scotland. Scottish local authorities and housing associations therefore face significant challenges, not least the need to meet the Scottish Government's aspirations for development.
This seminar provides an introduction and overview of this important subject.
For more information, please click HERE
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We are holding seminars on ‘Developments in Local Authority Housing Finance’ in July and October 2018. This seminar looks in depth at current developments in local authority housing finance in England – especially the implications of government policies, public finances, rent policy, welfare reform including universal credit, the reinvigorated ‘right to buy’, the funding of supported housing including the sheltered housing rent, the homelessness reduction act, the flexible homelessness reduction grant, the affordable housing programme (including the new funding for social housing), the selective raising of the borrowing cap, the social housing green paper, local housing companies (what they can offer, how to establish them and how to set one up) and new development.
If you want to be up to date with the world of local authority housing finance, this is the seminar for you!
For more information please click HERE
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This seminar considers social housing finance in the local authority and housing association sectors including the issues that are common to both and the issues that are specific to one side of the sector. It is designed for people who are not experts in housing finance, but who need to understand the basics and achieve an overview of what is going on. It is fully up to date with all developments. It refers to rents, service charges, development, sources of capital funding including grants and borrowing, housing benefit, welfare reform, business planning and much more. Many people have already benefitted from this seminar. Whether you are in a Housing Association, Local Authority or the Welsh Government; whether you are a Housing Manager, Tenant Representative, Elected Member, Board Member or even a member of the Housing Finance Team, you could also benefit from attending our seminar.
For more information, please click here.
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An AWICS seminar about to start at the Conference Centre at the Novotel Hotel (Waterloo) in London.
To make enquiries about seminars please contact us at enquiries@awics.co.uk or 017683-51498.