Liverpool Law

Recommendations

Info

16 22 NEWS LAW SOCIETY NEWS Council Member’s Report There has been no Council meeting since my last Report in Liverpool Law in September. The next Council Meeting is scheduled for 28 October, after the deadline for this issue, and so I will report upon that meeting for the December issue. I did attend a Membership Board meeting on the 6 October, upon which I reported at the LLS General Committee Meeting on 13 October. Issues discussed included Veyo, the Legal Sector Alliance, Solicitor Brand and The Logo, Pro Bono and a Pro Bono Guide, and the potential for a Civil and Commercial Mediation Accreditation Scheme run by the Law Society. If anyone has any enquiry points re the above, please contact me. We also discussed the fact that despite the announcement by the Law Society of the vacancy for the Co Council Member for Merseyside and District, inviting candidates to stand, no one had put their name forward. When I raised this issue, there was a sea of blank faces at the table. Upon further enquiry it seems that the position was adveritised on the ( TLS )website, in PU, and by email to all Council members. For by-elections, TLS tend to use the website rather than hard-copy Gazette, though they do use the latter for the ‘main’ annual elections. Exploring additional and /or alternative media, which could be more effective for future adverts, may be sensible. Any thoughts ? In any event, I believe the Secretaries of the relevant local law Societies, Wigan, Warrington , Southport and Ormskirk , and Liverpool , have now been contacted direct , and I understand they have the situation in hand and that there are now volunteers available to stand for election which is great. A volunteer is always better than a pressed person, but how anyone could be pressed in this situation I do not know. Incidentally, a by election in Yorkshire resulted in the same difficulty. The awarding of legal aid contracts has now taken place, and my commiserations to all those who were disappointed. The process has, in my view, been conducted in a shambolic and farcical way which completely shows up the MOJ , and seriously calls into question their competence. Important issues seriously affecting peoples livelihoods, and deadlines given cannot be met. Many people have commented elsewhere so I shall not belabour my own incredulity, but I am conscious that if we as lawyers miss deadlines, we are in the goo. The goo is created by the edicts of the MOJ and their ilk, but do they need to meet deadlines…………..?. It is a totally disrespectful shocker in my view. By the time of the next report, the LS Strategy will have been announced. Let me have your views on it when you have read it. Don’t just let is pass you by. The profession did that with Clementi. This is not so fundamental, but it affects your profession , so please read it and express your view Charlie Jones Weightmans LLP Council Member Merseyside and District Charlie.jones@weightmans.com MySpire Corporate Have you got yours yet? Spire Healthcare e is pleased to introduce MySpire Corporate which offers fers a number To register your company’s interest email myspirecorporate@spirehealthcare.com or visit www.spirehealthcare.com/myspire .com/myspire
Gill Payne, Director of Policy and External Affairs at the National Housing Federation (NHF), spoke candidly about the challenges faced by the housing sector and how changing perceptions of housing associations is key to the future of the sector. Sharing her thoughts with over 200 delegates who had gathered at the annual North West Housing Conference, Gill explained there are differing views of the sector across Government; at a local level relationships are usually very good but at a national level the social housing sector needs to build relationships with ministers at the centre of Government. She urged the sector to concentrate its efforts on changing perceptions and promote the role of housing associations in society and the positive work they do. Gill advised the sector to look for ways to promote its proud history, adaptability and resilience, its strong local relationships, its ability to deliver over the long term, its core charitable purpose to house people in need and how it supports aspiration. In addition, she said there are real opportunities for housing associations within the areas of localism, devolution and the development of the Northern Powerhouse. Gill also touched on the impending changes to the housing landscape following the recent publication of the Housing and Planning Bill. She told delegates how the NHF want to rebuild a relationship with Government based where possible on delivering a shared ambition on supply and opening up ownership but she warned that there is a long journey ahead and that the full picture on Right to Buy won’t become clear until the end of 2016. Speaker Matt Jones, Director of Customer Operations at ForViva, focussed on the need to establish better links between health and housing when he addressed the region’s housing community at the event. Due to the increasing need to cater for an ageing population, he said social housing providers have a real opportunity to put strategies in place which protect the future of the social housing environment. He spoke about housing associations having access to the areas of greatest health inequality and how there needs to be a shift towards services in the community with more emphasis on prevention and self reliance. Matt then went on to say that housing associations have to be more than landlords and it makes business sense to see health improvements which will result in asset protection, income protection and income opportunities. He suggested collaboration between health, social care and housing could see the housing sector become the partner of choice for the health sector in the future. Attendees also heard a local perspective on housing from Deborah McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Manchester Place, a unique collaboration between Manchester City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency formed to accelerate the pace and quality of housing development in the city. Deborah spoke about how Manchester Place’s role is to create a pipeline of private and public sector schemes and work with developers and funders to identify new opportunities to help the city meet its target of creating 55,000 new homes by 2027. The initiative will also collaborate with housing associations to develop a programme of affordable homes/shared ownership. It will support developers and house builders to access public finance, including the £300m Greater Manchester Housing Fund which is available as part of the Manchester devolution agreement. The conference included a panel session called "Foundations for the Future", which featured up and coming young housing professionals Ben Osu, Community Project Officer, Your Housing Group; Natalie Pryor, Customer Involvement Officer (Co-Regulation), Liverpool Mutual Homes; Danielle Sheldon, Neighbourhood Team Leader, The Regenda Group; Chris Fray, Business Intelligence and Customer Insight Manager, ForViva; and Michael Arndt, Corporate Project Manager, The Riverside Group. Delegates heard the panel’s ideas for the future of social housing and their opinions on whether social media is a way forward for interaction with tenants, how housing associations can provide in an era of austerity and how they can make a positive impact in order to benefit their customers. Housing specialists also presented a programme of workshops, offering practical advice on a range of topics specific to the sector, including improving the links between health provision and housing, catering for an ageing population and empowering communities. The event was chaired by Derek Long, Director, arc4. Brabners and Mitchell Charlesworth hosted the conference at Liverpool’s BT Convention Centre with support from a project group made up of ForViva, Liverpool Mutual Homes, Riverside, Symphony Housing Group, The Regenda Group and Your Housing Group – and additional sponsorship from Procure Plus and PSL Print Management. Alistair Fletcher, Partner at SOCIAL HOUSING 23 Changing perceptions is key to the future of the social housing sector Derek Long – arc4, Deborah McLaughlin – Manchester Place, Alistair Fletcher – Brabners, Gill Payne – National Housing Federation, Matt Jones – ForViva, Paul Wainwright – Mitchell Charlesworth Brabners, which has one of the largest housing and regeneration specialist legal teams in the North West, said: “This was a very timely conference. The Government has made clear its intentions for the sector and this conference provided delegates with an opportunity to consider how they should respond. There are, as everyone acknowledges, many challenges that lie ahead but there are also opportunities for those who are willing to grasp them.” Social housing specialist and Partner at Mitchell Charlesworth, Paul Wainwright said: “We have heard speakers talking about the significant changes that the sector is currently experiencing. Despite the pressures this will inevitably bring, it was pleasing to hear the young speaker panel and their confidence in the sector’s ability to react to the changes and continue to be a major player in the construction and management of affordable housing in the future. It was good to see the strength and depth of personnel from the various housing providers on the panel.”
Page 1 and 2: Liverpool Law The magazine for lawy
Page 3 and 4: EDITORIAL 3 Welcome to the November
Page 5 and 6: NEWS 5 Professional Liverpool and S
Page 7 and 8: Lawyer in Lights Matt Humphries, In
Page 9 and 10: LEGAL WALK 9 NWLST Liverpool Legal
Page 11 and 12: Probate: The Myth of Accounts Integ
Page 13 and 14: Carpenters are a leading provider o
Page 15 and 16: LOCAL NEWS 15 Weightmans Managing a
Page 17 and 18: Are you missing out on our latest s
Page 19 and 20: YLAL 19 Young Legal Aid Lawyers Liv
Page 21: Amy’s first day of school began w
Page 25 and 26: CHARITY & CSR 25 Volunteering Oppor
Page 27 and 28: Liverpool Law Society Employment Co
Page 29 and 30: ZebraTD is a personal injury focuss
Page 31 and 32: FEATURE 31 Justice, Malaysian Style
Page 33 and 34: “SAN CARLO HAS THE INGREDIENTS OT
Page 35 and 36: S Code Date Time November 2015 Spea
Page 37 and 38: WLD 37 News from the WLD October ha
Page 39 and 40: At Clayton Legal your talent matter

Liverpool Law

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?