The rise of the digital age means that more of us than ever are beginning to integrate smart technology into our homes to make our lives safer and easier.

This is putting pressure on landlords and housing associations in the UK rental market to stay up to date with the latest trends so they can reduce vacancy rates and capture quality housing tenants.

As well as tenants beginning to demand even more for their money, it has also been found that demand for private rentals and rentals through housing associations schemes has risen.

How are tenant demands changing?

Landlords and property management businesses are now expected to provide the clearest, cleanest tenant experience possible. This includes increasing ease of access to services such as property maintenance, rental payment records and community engagement through the development of innovative online platforms.

Furthermore, those who support vulnerable people through housing solutions are being called upon to integrate new technologies that can assist an ageing population, as well as those with disabilities and mobility issues so that potential health deterioration can be monitored and treated faster where required.

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Child safeguarding professionals will be well aware that identifying when a child is in a high-risk environment is a crucial step in taking action to prevent both abuse and neglect.

There are over 600,000 children in the UK who are living in what is described as a “high-risk” environment. This is a crisis within our child welfare services; therefore, the government is providing £17m of additional funding to inspire organisations like yours to modernise child services by improving information sharing across safeguarding organisations.

If you are involved in child safeguarding, you will be aware that time is an essential factor in preventing both emotional and physical damage from ruining the lives of young people. Representatives in this area need to be up to date with the best methods for identification, prevention and taking action against child cruelty.

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Super Fast Broadband

Huge strides have been made in delivering broadband to all parts of the UK, with nearly one in three receiving superfast Broadband.

Ofcom’s strategic review concluded that this improvement has been down to a number of government initiatives, yet 54% of those living in rural areas are not satisfied with the government’s programme to improve broadband in rural areas.

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Ahead of the Northern Powerhouse Conference our official PR partner for the event Frontier PR have met with some of the conference speakers and sponsors. The interviews show a glimpse of what the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ means to them, and what they plan to address at the conference. Tickets are limited, and are available on our Conference webpage.

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Cyber Security Breach at TalkTalk

Last week TalkTalk one of the UKs largest mobile phone and broadband providers, suffered a ‘substantial and severe’ cyber-attack to its website. It comes at a time when cyber security is becoming talked about increasingly, and is now seen as a critical factor for any business with an online presence. In this blog we look at what caused the Cyber-attack at TalkTalk , the company’s response, as well as what this could mean to the online security landscape.

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Future of Digital Housing: Sponsor Insight

In the run up to the Digital Housing Conference 2018, we will be sharing some insight about the digital housing landscape and refreshing what we have already learned from previous events.

You can learn about the latest Digital Housing trends for this year’s event here. 

Alternatively, you can go straight to the 2018 event page and learn about this year’s speakers here.

This insight is from Property Tectonics, a previous digital housing event sponsor, and was gathered for last year’s Digital Housing conference with a view to showcase the work they do and how their support and services can help improve your company’s digital development.

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The Basics

An under occupancy charge was brought in as part of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, by the then coalition government. The Act is set out to improve work incentives and cut unnecessary administrative duties. It was hoped simplifying the benefits system would contribute to the deficit reduction, as well as freeing up properties to help families in overcrowded council homes. Shelter report 1 in 4 properties would be deemed as over occupied.

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Over 43% of people in the UK aged 5+ own, or have access to a bike. This stat is not surprising given the UKs passion for all things cycling. This has been propelled by British Olympic success in the velodrome, during the 2012 home games. Alongside the fact that brits have taken the yellow jersey, 3 times in the last 5 Tour De France events.

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UK threat level is now at severe, an attack is highly likely. The severe threat level came into place last August, having been at a substantial rating since 2010. The level has been brought into question over the last year, as a result of high profile worldwide terrorist attacks. The terrorism threat status has not reached critical since the London Bombings in 2007.

“There is no doubt we face a very severe threat in our country and we have done so for many months and years. “ David Cameron

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On the 6^th of August last week more than 300,000 households were warned by United Utilities of a public health risk. All tap water in Blackpool, Flyde, Preston, South Ribble, Wyre, and areas of Blackburn should be boiled before consumption.

Martin Padley, Chief Scientific Officer at United Utilities, said: “The advice is being given purely as a precautionary measure as we carry out additional tests today. We apologise for the inconvenience but the health of our customers is absolutely paramount.”

It has now been confirmed that a contamination had occurred, with the identification of low levels of microbial parasites, known as cryptosporidium in the water system. Cryptosporidium commonly referred to as crypto, is a parasite passed on by accidental ingestion of contaminated faeces. This can cause gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and can have more serious complications for those with weak immune systems.

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