Housing Corporation News Release

Housing Corporation Gold Award 2008  new themes announced

20/06/07                 ref: 62/07

The three new themes for the Housing Corporation's Gold Award competition in 2008  for housing associations have been announced. They are:

• Building Cohesive Communities
 
• Tackling Worklessness

• Delivering Joined-up Development

Sir Duncan Michael, Housing Corporation Board Member and Chair of the competition's judging panel said, “ This competition has gone from strength to strength.  The response from housing associations has been fantastic.

"The current knowledge sharing programme showcasing the work of the awards first ever winners is contributing to raising standards across the sector.  The current award winners are to embark on a similar programme and will also be sharing  best practice across the sector.

 “We want to continue to build on this success and want even more associations to take up the challenge and tell us how they  are delivering innovative services worthy of recognition and bringing significant benefits to residents and communities across the country.”

Each winning association will receive a cash boost of £50,000 to help fund their involvement in a nine month programme of knowledge sharing.

Building Cohesive Communities
Entrants to this theme must be able to demonstrate creative and effective plans and policies for bringing together people of different backgrounds, beliefs, interests and cultures in ways that genuinely contribute to the strengthening of communities.

Tackling Worklessness
Entrants will be contributing to the delivery of the national PSA floor target for worklessness and contributing to meeting Local Area Agreement targets for economic development and enterprise.  Partnership working with other bodies will feature strongly and there will be clear and measurable evidence of positive outcomes over time.

Delivering Joined-up Development
Entrants to this theme will demonstrate effective and close working relationships with a range of public and statutory partners which collectively improve both the built and social environment for local communities.  Actively linking programmes of development to the provision of services such as education, transport and healthcare – the eventual winners will have done most to ensure their developments are fully integrated with the wider and longer term vision for cohesive and productive neighbourhoods. 

A record number of housing associations submitted bids to take part last year - 40% up on the first year of the competition. Winners of the 2007 competition received their awards at a ceremony in London last month.

Applications for the 2008 awards  will be invited from September 2007.

Ends.

Notes to editors:

• Press enquiries to Sandra White 0207 393 2094.

• Launched in June 2005, the Gold Award competition is open to housing associations able to demonstrate outstanding performance in key areas of business. The award aims to identify excellence and raise operational standards for the benefit of residents across the sector. 

• Short listed associations for the new award will showcase their projects to a Gold delegation of judges and experts during March and April 2008.  Up to three winning entries in each theme will be selected to receive an award. 

• PSA floor targets are those PSA targets which promote a minimum standard for disadvantaged groups or areas, or a narrowing of the gap between them and the rest of the country. The achievement of all the floor targets would demonstrate a step-change in the quality of service delivery in the most deprived areas, a step change which is only likely to be achieved if there is successful policy integration.

• The Housing Corporation is the Government agency responsible for investing in new affordable homes and regulating over 1,500 housing associations across England.  Its biggest ever investment programme of £3.9 billion for 2006-08 will fund 84,000 homes; 49,000 of these will be for affordable rent, and 35,000 will be for affordable sale through the Government's new HomeBuy initiative, helping people to get a foot on the property ladder.

• The Housing Corporation is working with English Partnerships and Communities and Local Government to establish the proposed new national housing and regeneration agency, Communities England.