Housing associations

Building owners and operators have always played a vital role in ensuring the fire safety of their properties. However, with the Fire Safety Act 2021 becoming law this April, the responsibilities of those managing multi-occupant residential buildings are now more stringently defined. It states that they are accountable for reducing fire risk of the structure and external walls, and any entry doors between flats and communal areas. Although we are still waiting for the updated guidance to be released, it is imperative that housing associations of all kinds get to work now to ensure the safety of their tenants, including ensuring effective passive fire protection.

LEADING independent pensions and employee benefit advisors Quantum Advisory has addressed corporate members of Community Housing Cymru, highlighting the importance of reviewing their FRS 102 pension disclosures to potentially improve balance sheet positions, and providing an insight into current market trends in the major pension schemes used by the sector.

Corporate pension actuaries at Quantum, Stuart Price and Adam Cottrell, spoke during the hour-long webinar on Friday 7 May, focussing on issues surrounding the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and the Social Housing Pension Scheme (SHPS).

If you were selecting a car for security reasons, would you be looking for one that just had 4 wheels, an engine and a door you could lock? No, of course not! You would rightly be interested in its overall performance, verified roadworthy tests, the quality of its components, not to mention other safety features and naturally its appearance and stylish kerb appeal.   
Selecting the right Secured By Design (SBD) Doorkit is not dissimilar. It’s not simply a case of meeting the minimum requirement, with a piece of paper that says SBD Tested, anything will do! After all there is so much more to consider in the modern build environment, from fire rating to life cycle expectations and installation to design flexibility.  Portaro SBD Interior timber Entrance Doorkits from Vicaima provides just that scope, with ease of assembly, quality materials, outstanding performance and design appeal as standard, all encased in one of the most comprehensively certificated products on the market.

In this episode of Aico TV, our National Sales Manager, Daniel Little, and CEO of HomeLINK, Luke Loveridge, explore the Leeds Smart City Strategy. Following this, Luke takes the opportunity to interview Steven Blackburn, Data and Innovation Manager at Leeds City Council.

In this episode we welcome Barcud Housing Association for an interview with RSM, Dan Thomas. As one of the largest not-for-profit Housing Associations in Wales, they discuss how they have dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic, their recent merger and their experiences with our SmartLINK Gateway. Next, we join two more of our RSMs, Steve Bulley and David Richmond and hear about the day in the life of an RSM. Lastly, we join David Watts from SparkyNinja for the second installment of the four-part mini-series - this week the topic of discussion is the best practice for circuits. As always, we finish the episode with an FAQ.

In this episode, we will be joined by David Watts from Sparky Ninja for a sit-down discussion with our Regional Specification Managers, Andy Sturgess and Carl Traynor.
Check out Sparky Ninja here: www.sparkyninja.com

Next, our National Accounts Manager, Paul Cartwright, speaks with Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Join Regional Specification Manager, Dan Thomas, in our final segment for an interview with Stop MS Champion, Laura. In support of MS Awareness Week, Laura shares the MS Society’s plan to raise awareness of the condition.

And of course… we will be answering an FAQ to conclude the episode!

As fire-safety concerns continue to pose major challenge for housing providers across the UK, successful remediations are to be celebrated. We spoke with Richard Izzard, managing director at aluminium decking manufacturer AliDeck, about a recent retrofit project in Lewisham.

With the ongoing flammable cladding and fire-safety crisis occupying the trade headlines on a daily basis, it is easy to begin to feel an uncomfortable familiarity with the scandal and to perhaps start to lose sight of its devastating impact, both on building owners in the housing sector and on residents.