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More councils to offer homes and jobs advice

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT News Release (276) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 20 November 2008

Sixty councils will benefit from increased funding to boost their housing and employment advice options for local residents, announced Communities Minister Iain Wright.

The Minster revealed the winners of the second round of 'Trailblazers' housing advice programme today. The twenty projects cover sixty council areas and each scheme will receive up to £260,000 to develop their housing advice services, making links to employment advice, and giving local residents more personalised information about the range of housing options available to them.

The Trailblazer schemes will offer a greater range of advice to people looking for housing, whether it is helping people to stay in their own homes, social and private rented or shared ownership. The personalised advice service will take into account the person's individual circumstances to ensure they make the best choice for their specific circumstances.

Housing Minister Iain Wright said:

"We all know the importance of having all the facts to hand when making any decision, let alone one of the big life choices such as choosing where to live and in what sort of home. These Trailblazer schemes make sure people are fully informed of their options and able to make the decision that is right for them in their individual circumstances, not someone else's."

The first round gave twelve councils across the country the opportunity to develop their services. As well as the twenty schemes announced in this round a further ten projects will receive 'kick start' funding to begin developing their own approach to linking housing and employment advice, using the mentoring skills and expertise of the original twelve councils to help them in setting up their schemes.

Notes to editors

1. The twenty 2nd round local authority Trailblazer projects are:

* Greater Haven Gateway - covering Babergh Braintree Colchester, Ipswich Maldon, Mid-Suffolk Suffolk Coastal Tendring
* Broxtowe
* Home Options Subregion - covering High Peak, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, Amber Valley
* Islington
* London Learning Disabilities Partnership - Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Richmond, Lambeth, Wandsworth
* County Durham - Easington, Chester Le Street, City of Durham, Sedgefield, Teesdale, Wear Valley, Derwentside
* Blackburn with Darwen
* Cheshire West - Chester, Vale Royal, Ellesmere Port and Neston
* Manchester
* Salford
* Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire
* East Surrey - Reigate and Banstead , Elmbridge Mole Valley Tandridge , Epsom and Ewell
* Tunbridge Wells and Rother
* Exeter Partnership - Exeter, East Devon North Devon West Devon South Hams, Torridge Torbay Plymouth Mid Devon Teignbridge
* West Dorset
* Redditch
* Solihull
* Stoke on Trent
* Bradford
* Wakefield

Authorities receiving 'kick start' funding will be:

* Newham
* Hull
* Cambridge Sub-regional housing board - Cambridge City, Fenland, Forest Heath, St Edmundsbury, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire
* Harborough
* Mansfield
* Sevenoaks
* Eastbourne
* Oxford
* Rotherham
* West London Housing Partnership - Harrow, Ealing, Hillingdon, Brent, Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea.

2. The projects will each receive funding over two years starting April 2009.

3. John Hills report 'Ends and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England' (February 2007) suggested that authorities could offer more integrated housing and employment advice to tackle worklessness. The successful councils will offer a broader approach to housing advice and employment advice to ensure that people are more aware of all the options and opportunities available to them.

On 20 March we published 'Expanding Choice, Addressing Need, Addressing Housing Need through the Enhanced Housing Options Approach', (http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/expandingchoice) which set out the government's vision for the future of housing options services.

4. The first round of trailblazers was announced by Housing Minister Caroline Flint in July. Successful trailblazer projects were: Camden, Croydon, Greenwich, Southwark, Hammersmith and Fulham, Calderdale, Ashford, Kettering, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Norwich, Nottingham.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for people involved in housing and communities. A registered charity and not-for-profit organisation, the CIH have a diverse and growing membership of over 21,000 people - both in the public and private sectors - living and working in over 20 countries on five continents across the world. The aim of the organisation is to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities.

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