KCTMO ‘Strong-Armed’ Consultant Into Removing Criticism Of Its Management Of Grenfell Refurbishment

The consultant who advised Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment was “strong-armed” into removing criticism of the organisation from a report, the inquiry into the fire has heard. Simon Cash, project director at consultants Artelia, said the firm had written a report about why the refurbishment had stalled in spring 2013. It had identified a number of failures in KCTMO’s management of the project.But this criticism was edited out of the version presented to KCTMO’s board after complaints from Peter Maddison, director of assets at the company which managed social housing in the borough on behalf of the council. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/kctmo-strong-armed-consultant-into-removing-criticism-of-its-management-of-grenfell-refurbishment-68120?utm_source=Ocean%20Media%20Group&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11879482_IH-DAILY-7-10-2020-GR&dm_i=1HH2,72M9M,8CKJV9,SKB0S,1 

Green Deal Benefits Overstated, Study Claims

The system used to calculate energy savings under the Green Deal, which is critical to the flagship energy efficiency programme’s success, is unreliable and inflates the savings a householder can expect to achieve from retrofit work to their home by as much as 77%, a study has found.  Social housing provider Affinity Sutton, which produced the study, monitored the effect of retrofit work carried out by contractor Keepmoat on 102 homes over the course of a year.  The data, analysed by consultants Verco, Baily Garner and Parity Projects, found that the SAP model, which is used to calculate building performance, on average predicted that tenants would save 77% more on their energy bills than they actually did.  Read more on the Building website.

Councils Urged To Ease Section 106 Criteria

Building homes that are affordable for people on middle incomes should be seen as enough of a benefit to satisfy planning obligations, a consultant has argued. Robert Grundy, director of housing investment at Savills, told the CIH’s annual conference that housing the ‘squeezed middle’ is a huge challenge for the sector.  He said households with an income of between £30,000 and £60,000 per year fall outside both social housing and owner occupation, and are reliant on the private rented sector for a home.  New housing projects which provide much needed homes for these people should satisfy section 106 obligations, he said. Read more on Inside Housing.

Universal Credit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on external consultants for the universal credit project, in addition to spending on the universal credit IT system, since May 2010.

Mr Hoban: The total cost of the consultants employed on the universal credit programme in each of the last three years is as follows: £5.6 million in 2011-12 and £3.2 million in 2012-13.  There was no consultancy expenditure in 2010-11 recorded against the universal credit programme.

Outsourcing Model to Fund New Build

A new repairs outsourcing model has been developed that could increase the borrowing power of councils and finance new house building projects.  If successfully implemented, it could create hundreds of millions of pounds of additional ‘headroom’ underneath councils’ government-imposed borrowing caps following reform of the housing revenue account system. The new model works by delivering a minimum 10 per cent saving on major works by using private sector partners.  The savings would be used to make regular payments to a private sector company, which it could use to borrow against and return the capital funding for investment.  According to proposals from housing consultancy Is4, councils faced with limited borrowing capacity as a result of self-financing rules would be able to fund new house building programmes by outsourcing major repairs work.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Tenants Could Be Charged For Benefit Advice

Private companies are looking to charge tenants for benefit advice because of planned changes to legal aid rules, consultant Maggie Fitzsimons has warned. The government is planning to restrict legal aid for civil matters including some housing and benefit issues. Ms Fitzsimons said she would encourage social landlords to look at what kind of welfare advice they can offer tenants. She also expressed doubts about plans to move eight million households on to the new universal credit. The government says it is aiming for 80 per cent of claims to be made online by 2017, sparking concerns about availability of internet access. Read more on Inside Housing.

ALMO Denies Employing £4,500-A-Week Consultants

ALMO Lambeth Living has categorically denied claims by the GMB that it's employing consultants earning more than Lambeth council's chief executive. The union claimed Lambeth Living is cutting front line jobs and is employing consultants on up to five times the market rate. Two of these "many consultants", it claimed, are being paid more than £4,500 per week and that this was higher than the council's Chief Executive.” A Lambeth Living spokesperson said: "We categorically deny GMB's allegations. There is absolutely no truth in the allegation that any member of Lambeth Living staff - including temps, agency workers, or consultants earns £4,500 per week or earns more than the Lambeth council Chief Executive". The GMB said it had submitted its claims to the council who were now investigating the allegation. Read the story on the 24dash website.