NIFHA Events
On tour with the Social Development Chair
After meeting with NIFHA representatives in August Simon Hamilton MLA agreed to visit a selection of housing association schemes. He wanted to gain a further insight into the work undertaken by members of the movement. On 11 Sept 09 Chris Williamson, NIFHA's Chief Executive, accompanied him to a variety of our members' schemes. There he met with tenants and housing association representatives to discuss the challenges faced and success experienced. |  |
Simon visited schemes throughout Belfast, in Lisburn and Banbridge. They included homes offering supported living, general needs and ones under construction. Click here to view more images of the visits via Flickr.
Four Federations' meeting
 | Respresentatives of the Four Federations (Community Housing Cymru, National Federation of Housing, NIFHA and theScottish Federation of Housing Associations) met in the Stormont Hotel Belfast, 15 - 16 May 08. They came together to discuss a variety of subjects impacting on the housing association movement in the UK. |
Minister Ritchie accepted an invitation to speak to the group on the Thursday evening giving her perspective on the housing agenda for Northern Ireland. She welcomed this opportunity to exchange ideas and experience with key players in social housing. The GB Federations’ Chief Executives and their Chairpersons shared their experience of procurement. They answered a range of questions on this important issue for our members. Those attending took an opportunity to discuss a report on significant European issues. They also considered the impact of the “credit crunch” and agreed making a joint response about the level of VAT on energy efficiency measures.
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| Chris Williamson with Doiran Jones | Minister Ritchie meeting Community Housing Cymru | Members of the Scottish, Northern Irish and English Federations |
Home Adaptations and OT recommendations training
 | The training on 29 April 08 was taken by Brid DeOrnellas. She is Chair of Community Occupational Therapy Managers Forum and has worked as the Community Occupational Therapy Service Manager in North and West Belfast since 1980. The training was fully booked. Part of the session was an explanation of why Occupational Therapists do what they do and why they require certain information. The training helped operational staff better understand the home adaptations process and highlight the factors for successful outcomes. It helped to identify recurring or persistent problems and allowed participants to share information and record good practice points. |
Procurement Seminar
NIFHA's members were keen to read and discuss the draft procurement strategy presented by representatives for the Department for Social Development (DSD) at our seminar on 28 April 08. The seminar was attended by representatives from all registered housing associations. The ensuing discussions resulted in written response to DSD. |  |
Members may read the response to the draft procurement strategy made on 29 April 08 in the members' only section of NIFHA's website.
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| The seminar was chaired by Frank Dunne | Chris Williamson discussing the survey undertaken by NIFHA | Katie Saunders from Trowers Hamlin and Colin Procter from Davis Langdon(who currently operate the National Change Agent role in England) with Heather Cousins, DSD and Frank Dunne of NIFHA |
