It’s 27 November and I have seen my first drunk street argument where one of the participants is bedecked with a cracker hat. Merry Christmas!

Massive CONGRATULATIONS to @drblez.bsky.social for being the runner-up in the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social Early Career Researcher’s Prize for ‘Measuring What Matters: Tackling Structural Stigma in Social Housing​​‘ www.thinkhouse.org.uk/about/early-...

I know there's a budget n all, but a huge CONGRATULATIONS to @mauricelange.bsky.social for winning the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social Early Career Researcher's Prize for his paper 'The past, present and future of public housebuilding in England'. www.thinkhouse.org.uk/about/early-...

The OBR's latest economic forecasts alongside the Budget says net additional new homes in 2023/24 & 2024/25 were lower than it expected but they will be much higher than expected this year (2025/26)??? despite... #autumnbudget #AutumnBudget2025 #AutumnBudget25 #Budget #ukhousing #ukconstruction

Having a little cry about this. This is what building a better future looks like, well done to everyone who campaigned for this.

Do you work for a housing association or local authority providing general needs housing? Altair is exploring how tenant mental health interacts with social housing services and what support is needed, through this short survey: survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90939915/...

This is a worrying loss of supported housing. That is 939 people who won't be getting the support they need to leave hospital, exit homelessness, or be supported to live independently.

Link: longwall.substack.com/p/buckaroo-t...

Webinar incoming! I'll be talking through results of the CIH Futures research on 9 Dec, sharing what young people think about working in the housing sector and what is needed to attract and retain talent. The legacy of leaders is who follows in their footsteps! www.cih.org/events/a-sec...

"A lot of the supported housing that we used to have, including some very good quality services, have simply ceased to exist. "What's left is struggling along. It can't be delivered safely or effectively. Most supported housing is in a desperate plight." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Interesting findings around type of support for accessing employment: www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/social-...

Enjoying this single cover. When I was younger, I was obsessed that tv and film never showed any clothes marks on people’s skin when doing nude scenes. And the fact they never arranged where to meet, just the time. Or locked their car doors.

Catching up on this and welling up about how much representation matters to young people’s future aspirations and the importance of funding community youth services to help achieve those dreams www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Sometimes feel the legacy of AI will be the death of British English spelling.

“A country that once turned out visionaries, engineers, inventors and artists is raising a generation that can swipe, scroll, and like – but not make, see or imagine.” observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Looking at Labour Force survey data for June, I see that every single one of the 4,666 government-supported trainees in UK construction are male. Every. Single. One.

Nothing about statistics on population and housing makes me feel the UK is united. It’s exhausting having to look in so many different places for even basic information.

Spotted in @theweek.com, this says a lot about the British public 21% of British adults believe that tea is grown in the UK, rising to 46% for those aged 25 to 34. Kantar/The Independent

Altair Ltd is recruiting for both Senior Development Consultant and Development Consultant roles within our Development & Regeneration team - fantastic opportunities to work on projects that shape new homes and communities. Find out more and apply here: altairltd.co.uk/working-at-a...

Generation New Era is a rubbish name, but great news that this has been commissioned www.ukri.org/news/ukri-an...

Doing Altair's latest stocktake, and find this from the Regulator's latest quarterly survey very striking: capital market investment in social housing is at a six-year low. It's expensive to borrow long-term with gilt yields and interest rates high, which makes short-term bank loans more attractive.

Has anyone seen any studies on whether extending the state pension age had any impact on young people entering or progressing in the labour market? Suspect @theifs.bsky.social and @resfoundation.bsky.social may have looked at this?

Looking forward to the third London Council Housing Complaints Forum, with very special guest Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway. Great opportunity for local authorities in the capital to network and share practice on complaints. Thanks to Camden for funding and City of London for hosting.

Just two weeks left to apply for the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social 2025 Early Career Researcher's Prize. Deadline is 25th Sept. You could follow in some great footsteps. Get in touch if you have a paper you're considering submitting: www.thinkhouse.org.uk/about/early-...

So, how’s England’s housing pipeline looking? Short answer? Weak.

We are looking for a Senior Consultant to join our Transformation & Change team! 🌟 Fantastic opportunity to make a real difference. If you're a strategic thinker with solid project management experience + a flair for driving change, we’d love to hear from you. altairltd.co.uk/current-role...

This would make a great launching point for some tax reform. ‘The rules are so complicated even the deputy prime minister acting in good faith can’t follow them’.

Whatever your political views, Rayner's resignation has big implications for social housing. She fought hard for much-needed investment in new homes, reforms to right to buy, and rent convergence. She listened to what was needed and had the political skill to get it.

The @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social Early Career Researcher’s Prize (ECRP) closes on 25th Sept, don’t miss out! @anyamartin.bsky.social, Former Director of PricedOut, won the 2019 ECRP and says it "was a great step in my research career". Find out how to apply👉 www.thinkhouse.org.uk/about/early-...

Two things sing out at me from this article: 1. "We created one single technology platform that works across every aspect of the business" 2. "A big advantage of being brand new is that we have very solid customer data in a single system" www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/how-...

Fantastic to see this investment and very proud to have contributed to the debate through @altairltd.bsky.social research for @sfha.bsky.social and Wheatley Group on the impact of the wait for social housing and need for long-term funding. www.sfha.co.uk/news/still-w...

I'm off to Housing Community Summit next week. Who wants to meet for beverages? Don't leave me hanging, Bluesky.

A piece from me about some interesting questions in housing research right now and how submissions to @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social might help to answer them. Get your papers in by 25th September.

After a conversation with @alisoninman.bsky.social about the power of community singing, I spent the night at the local pub singing along (with everyone else) to the karaoke classics from the excellent live music - we do still do it! 🌈❤️

Welcome to the 21st century: "some landlords are still managing data on “myriad spreadsheets” instead of single systems that provide the “single version of the truth” that the regulator and the ombudsman want." www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/how-...

Interesting, given that this is the third such story in July. L&Q, NHG and Bromford all exiting the private rented market: www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/bromfor...

Not too late to complete the survey: survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90846176/... Why is it important? www.housingtoday.co.uk/comment/its-...

Anyone think a long-term housing strategy is still coming? Not long til civil servant spring is over...

One week since we went live and we have 200+ responses but we need more! If you work in housing (policy, management, repairs, campaigns, sales, finances, housing support, managing agent) and are 35 and under, please complete the survey. If you're over 35, share! Let's hear what young people think.

Good reading for those preparing for Awaab's Law: "The 1.3 million damp occupied homes contained 470,000 vulnerable households, 1.0 million dependent children (of which 482,000 were in relative low income), and 324,000 people aged 65 or over." www.gov.uk/government/s...

Thrilled to announce the launch of the CIH Futures survey of young housing professionals. We'd love to hear your experiences. 🗓️Open until 8th August 2025 👥 For housing professionals under 35 🎁 Complete the survey for a chance to win one of two £50 vouchers! 👉 survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90846176/...

Can’t believe all these headlines about someone displaying an emotion. Do we want robots running the country or people with actual feelings?

Floor coverings is included in the Decent Homes Standard consultation, hooray! www.gov.uk/government/c...

Having a lot of fun getting into the detail on hbinfo forums today 🤓

"The difference between the number of disabled people in England and the number of fully accessible homes has grown by more than two million in just over a decade."

Great nuggets in this, including “We talked to residents very openly and very honestly about what the potential options were”...“We did the same with staff, there was almost an amnesty...so that when we start to build this programme, we can build it knowing all the areas that we need to address”

Pleased to see this published (though not my huge face), hopefully some food for thought and helpful links for social landlords considering retrofit. With thanks to @katedes.bsky.social and Jenny Brierley for reviewing the draft version.

I moan enough about how family UNfriendly most UK trains are, so only fair to say a big thanks to the @gwr.com conductor who took pity on me & the kids sitting on the floor of the overcrowded train & gave us a table and drinks in 1st class, even carrying our bags there. Thank you for the kindness.

My 2yo’s morning traffic jam now has #Housing2025 ducks