Social Housing Associations Contractors
Author : georgehowell georgehowell | Published On : 28 Dec 2023
Housing associations are non-profit organisations that play an essential role in providing social and affordable housing solutions. Their financing includes rent payments and long-term loans from renters; in addition, the government provides operating subsidies.
Recent cases have raised serious concerns regarding standards in new-build properties. Issues including broken lifts, poor security measures and interruptions to heating and hot water services.
The role of a contractor
Social housing associations contractor providers are experiencing difficulty hiring contractors due to a combination of rising demands related to COVID catch-up, fire safety, net zero and other schemes and an emerging skills gap; building firms are now choosing only those jobs they find attractive, leaving others behind.
Associations may choose from various development approaches when selecting their development approach, which should be justified with best available market evidence that shows it will deliver value for money.
On-costs are expenses incurred by an Association during construction of a scheme and which are allowed for in the grant calculation, such as stamp duty, legal fees, borrowing fees, consultant fees and insurance premiums - these must all be agreed with the Department at Project Approval stage.
The role of a sub-contractor
Subcontractors are businesses that provide materials and services under contract for another. Subcontractors may be small or large companies; large corporations sometimes hire subcontractors; local governments hire subcontractors as well.
The role of a project manager
Project managers are the drivers behind the overall success of any given project. Their skills lie in managing projects on time and within budget while working closely with clients to keep them updated about its status.
At this point in a project's planning phase, project managers identify goals and develop an integrated project plan to help meet them. They then create key deliverables, communicate responsibilities to team members and set deadlines; finally working with stakeholders to verify scope and costs.
Project managers oversee all aspects of project execution during its execution phase, including communication between team members and overseeing communications and procurements. They'll monitor project progress closely for any deviations from its original scope (known as "scope creep") resulting in potential delays; furthermore they'll conduct post-mortem meetings to evaluate success of each project.
The role of a health and safety officer
Health and safety officers are charged with overseeing compliance with safety regulations, rules, and laws. Additionally, they can create policies for staff regarding these topics as well as train them on them. Typically they work standard office hours but may also need to be on call during weekends and evenings.
They must also be knowledgeable of current UK legislation on health and safety at work, with excellent communication skills that enable them to convey messages clearly and confidently while being an excellent team player. Furthermore, they should have the ability to effectively analyse and report on safety concerns.
They must also appoint someone as lead for their group's health and safety obligations towards tenants (known as a health and safety lead) which must have sufficient authority, capacity, and resources for this role to fulfill its obligations effectively. In 2008 Act Amendment 3, safety was added as one of several consumer standards the regulator could set; this allows it to regulate safety proactively instead of waiting until complaints from tenants surfaced to do so
