Gas Safety Week: Fighting for a Gas Safe Nation
Helping the public stay Gas Safe
As we celebrate the tenth year of Gas Safety Week, organisations from across the UK are working together to raise awareness of the dangers of poorly maintained gas appliances, which can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
This year, Gas Safety Week is addressing a whole range of gas safety matters with a focus on community safety in these difficult times - from advice about how to stay gas safe, to raising awareness of using a registered engineer who is legally qualified, to ensure consumers don’t suffer from the effects of illegal gas work though lack of awareness.
Susie Crolla, at GLM said: “We are immensely proud to support the continued work that has been carried out by the Gas Safe Register. It has been an honour to witness the level of professionalism and dedication Gas Safe continues to execute .”
Jonathan Samuel, chief executive for Gas Safe Register, said: “It’s great to see so many people supporting Gas Safety Week this year to help share important and, in some cases, lifesaving advice about gas safety. It’s vital in these uncertain times to look out for the safety of our local communities and ensure people always use a suitably qualified Gas Safe registered engineer to work on gas appliances at their home. It’s how we can all work together to stay gas safe.’
Adapting to Change
Almost six months since Lockdown, almost six months when the Coronavirus became a reality in the UK, almost six months since we were ALL required to adapt to change.
In a country of almost 70 million people not everyone has been impacted by the pandemic in the same way, some more so than others, yet regardless of how different the experience may or may not have been, we were connected and united by the exact same thing.
The virus forced us to change in a way that we had never needed to and there was no “game plan” or rule book because there was nothing that anyone could compare it to. The Second World War perhaps with its global impact, but how do you fight something you can’t see?
Chartered Institute of Housing 2020: Housing Minister's speech
Today’s speech from the Housing Minister at the Chartered Institute’s Housing 2020 Festival
Homelessness and evictions ban
Nearly 15,000 vulnerable people, including rough sleepers and the homeless, were housed in emergency accommodation at the start of this pandemic.
And we are building on these achievements through funding longer-term accommodation – 3,300 homes this year alone – along with tailored support so as few people as possible return to life on the streets.
Last month, we also announced additional protections for renters with a further stay on all housing possession proceedings in court.
That means that no action to progress new or existing claims for possession can be progressed for several weeks.
Thanks to new legislation we brought forward in August, landlords are also required to give 6 months’ notice to evict any tenant (private or social) – up from the 3 months required by the original provisions in the Coronavirus Act – except in the most serious of cases.
We also recognise that there are some occasions in which it is right that landlords should be able to start progressing cases quicker.
Changes to Notice Periods One Week on
Friday afternoon on the 4th September was a bit strange. Why? The two previous Fridays the Housing Secretary made announcements which were extremely important and had an impact on businesses across England.
It is difficult to understand why these pivotal announcements are made late Friday afternoon, one of which was the Friday before a bank holiday weekend. Would it make any difference if it were a Monday or a Wednesday? May be, may be not, however, it is important to understand that these changes require a certain element of “change management”. It is not a simple as swapping one document for another, there are quite critical points to consider.
1. Understanding the “Why” behind these changes - cynics, conspiracies, anti-landlord bodies, we have read about the aforementioned over and over again. However, we must look at things from a different perspective - public health and homelessness. We know what we have witnessed and experienced to date, therefore the Government are thinking “worse case scenario” and the possibility of a second-wave over the winter months. Where will that leave housing provision and homelessness? Many people understand that the Government does not want another overwhelming burden as a result of Covid-19, however, the Government have not factored into the equation the impact of these changes on landlords.