On 27 January 2010, 60 temporary housing practitioners heard Nick Caprara, Senior Business Development Manager at Pathmeads, part of Genesis Housing Group, present at a Chartered Institute of Housing's (CIH) conference in Manchester. The conference, in its fifth year, was entitled 'Everything you need to know about Temporary Accommodation' and was held at the Park Inn Hotel in Manchester.

Pathmeads' Nick Caprara made reference in his presentation to the story of the Gruffalo to amuse and drive home the serious point about the potential pitfalls faced by temporary accommodation providers. Like the Gruffalo, there were dangers in choosing to be ignorant or running away. However, benefits were to be gained by facing up to the challenges and adapting.

The Pathmeads-sponsored event was aimed at anyone associated with temporary accommodation (TA) and homelessness. There was a particular focus on service managers and frontline staff in local authorities and housing associations. Also among the delegates were housing associations and those working in the voluntary sector dealing with homelessness strategies and temporary accommodation.

Other speakers included representatives from Communites and Local Government, Ealing Council, Shelter Cymru, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Tenant Services Authority.

For organisations participating in the Housing Association Leasing Scheme (HALS), themes such as quality of management, flexibility of provision and the sustainability of tenancies were explored at the Manchester event. Best practices were explored through the example of Pathmeads' successful HALS Direct offer which values being resident-focussed, working through partnerships and equalising the rental choice. Nick demonstrated how Pathmeads is moving towards becoming 'a dynamic local lettings agency'.

In recognising the critical part managing temporary accommodation effectively plays in any homelessness and housing options service, the CIH conference addressed the many questions a local authority needs to be able to answer, such as: 'How much temporary accommodation does a local authority need?'; 'Should it be procured directly, or through partners?'; 'How does temporary accommodation pay for itself, including rents and housing benefit subsidy?'; and 'What about all the legal agreements from licences, tenancies, leases and management agreements?'

Delegates also enjoyed the chance to receive an update from the Government on what's new in temporary accommodation, receive information on legislative and policy changes, learn about the best ways to prepare for the DWP reforms on temporary accommodation subsidy for April 2010, and hear examples of good practice in sourcing accommodation.

Feargal Ward, Managing Director of Pathmeads, said "Pathmeads is proud to be a sponsor at this CIH Conference. The event provided an excellent opportunity for us to connect with other temporary housing managers and practitioners and to update delegates with current and future issues in temporary accommodation and homelessness while sharing with them the additional support services that we provide."

Elizabeth Banner, who works in Neighbourhood Management at City West Housing Trust, said "I found Nick's presentation really interesting. He spoke from a different perspective on the issues of sourcing and managing temporary accommodation. It gave me some food for thought in terms of thinking about alternative sources of accommodation. Leasing schemes in the private sector is not really something that is currently used in Salford."

Jodie Willis, Seminar and Conference Organiser at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said "This was the second of two successful one-day conferences we have organised this year. We are very happy to have Pathmeads as the events' headline sponsor again, helping to bring temporary accommodation issues to the fore."

Picture caption: Nick Caprara, Senior Business Development Manager at Pathmeads, part of Genesis Housing Group

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For further information please contact
Diana Evans on 020 7563 0028 / diana.evans@ghg.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

Pathmeads Housing Association is a leading provider of property management services for around 20,000 homes. Its operations cover a number of key areas, including:

• Temporary housing provision whereby Pathmeads manages privately leased homes around London;
• A contracts division which manages homes for other landlords, such as local authorities, housing associations, primary care and NHS trusts, developers and private investors;
• Managing a pilot Settled Lettings Agency scheme on behalf of the Communities and Local Government department and five south east London local authorities;
• Has developed a range of 'temporary to settled' leasing schemes;
• Works with local authorities across the south of England on refurbishing and managing empty homes;
• Provides a range of contract management, block management and mixed tenure management services for local authorities and private investors.

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east, with the overiding aim of putting customers first and providing excellent service to all. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. Genesis also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community and is one of the largest and most diverse housing groups in the UK, owning and/or managing more than 40,000 homes.