Several months before the general election BSHF planned a Consultation to be held from 22 – 24 June at St George’s House, Windsor Castle, which brought together practitioners and academics from a wide range of housing-related backgrounds to examine the subject of support with housing costs. This meeting proved to be more timely than could have been expected, with an emergency budget being presented on the first day of the meeting, containing a substantial focus on housing benefit. The initial results of the Consultation have been published as 'Housing Benefit and the emergency budget of June 2010'. A full report on the findings of the Consultation will be published in due course.

This work builds on a previous report which was launched in the House of Lords on 14th October 2009. ‘The Future of Housing: Rethinking the UK housing system for the twenty-first century’ is a wide-ranging examination that asks:

• Where are we now?

• Where do we want to be?

• How can we get there?

It summarises the discussions of a Consultation at St George’s House, Windsor Castle in June 2009. This Consultation brought together experienced practitioners and academics from different housing-related disciplines as well as those with experience from Continental Europe and North America. ‘The Future of Housing’ can be downloaded for free.

A companion publication: ‘Perspectives on the Future of Housing’ has also been released. This is a collection of new and emerging ideas about the UK housing system by a wide range of academics and practitioners who contributed towards the Consultation.

Research published in June 2010 builds on the 'future of housing' theme and is titled 'Tenure Trends in the UK Housing System: Will the private rented sector continue to grow?' 

General 

BSHF's Housing Policy and Practice team highlights innovation and encourages good housing practice in the UK. A range of activities are carried out including:

• Annual policy consultations at St. George’s House in Windsor Castle on contemporary housing issues;
• Collaborative research with a range of local and national partners
• Knowledge transfer activities to share the information and experience gained.
  

Our activities are designed to influence both policymakers and practitioners and to bring about positive change in housing conditions and provision in the UK.  

The current key areas of activity are:

• Rethinking the UK housing system
• Accommodating Gypsies and Travellers
• Refugee Housing and Integration
• Community Land Trusts
• Homes from Empty Properties
• Housing for Migrant Workers 

Wherever possible, we also seek to carry out practical projects in collaboration with organisations in our local area of the East Midlands. Further information on these projects can be found in the Local Activity section.

Comments and feedback

We would welcome your comments on any aspect of the work that we are carrying out. If you would like to contact us please click here