10 INDUSTRY NEWS


Events & awards


2018


Risk Management Conference 23 January, Birmingham www.housing.org.uk/events


CIH Annual Housing Awards 23 February, Belfast www.cih.org/eventsfinder


Scotland’s Housing Festival 27 – 28 February, Edinburgh www.cih.org/eventsfinder


Ecobuild 6 –8 March, London www.ecobuild.co.uk


Housing Technology Conference & Executive Forum 6 –8 March, Oxford www.housing-technology.com/events


CIH South East & London Regional Conference & Exhibition 7 –8 March, Brighton www.cih.org/eventsfinder


Housing Finance Conference & Exhibition 14 – 15 March, Liverpool finance.housing.org.uk


Materials for Architecture 25 – 26 April, London www.materialsforarchitecture.com


UK Housing Awards 2 May, London ukha.secure-platform.com


RESI Awards 16 May, London www.resiawards.com


CIH South West Regional Conference & Exhibition 16 – 17 May, Bristol www.cih.org/eventsfinder


Housing Governance Conference & Exhibition 14 June, London governance.housing.org.uk


Housing 2018 26 – 28 June, Manchester cihhousing.com


The Government has been condemned by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for delivering ‘the most anti-London Budget in a generation’.


He criticised what he saw as the Budget’s failure to tackle housing issues in London, as well as air pollution, infrastructure, and issues including counter-terrorism, policing or security in a what he said was a “particularly troubled year for the capital.” The Mayor said: “The Government’s most astonishing failure today is on housing – today’s measures will not even paper over the cracks. The Chancellor did not announce a penny of extra grant for afford- able housing in London – even though we know the current spending is less than a fifth of what we need. Everyone knows we need councils to be able to build more, but there was no commitment that any councils in London will be given the powers to do so. This Government is all talk and no action on housing.”


He also called the measures to clean up polluted air “totally inadequate,” bemoaning the lack of action to introduce a “desperately needed diesel scrappage fund.” Khan concluded: “The Government today committed just £220m for a national pot to improve air quality, while the capital alone requires £515m just for a vehicle scrappage fund. It is a kick in the teeth for Londoners who deserve the right to breathe clean air and are encouraged by the Government to buy more polluting vehicles.”


He also had harsh criticism for issues around terrorism and policing in the capital: “The Government refused to back the Metropolitan Police today – and the Chancellor didn’t even mention counter- terrorism. It is sadly now inevitable that police officer numbers will continue to fall – potentially to as few as 27,500 by 2021, and we are left with no choice but to scrap London’s strategic target for 32,000 police officers that has been in place since 2012.” “The Government has shown contempt for Londoners. Hammering London in this


WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK


Mayor condemns ‘most anti- London Budget in a generation’


way will not encourage growth elsewhere in the UK.


“Londoners know that I have put aside party politics over the past 18 months and worked hard to get a good deal for the capital from the Government – but the Government have thrown that work back in our face.”


Maintain our current UK standards on asbestos, says testing body


With softer asbestos regulations being considered in the UK, testing body Bureau Veritas called on the Government to maintain current standards to tackle the still ‘very real’ risk.


The UK has led within the EU in terms of Health & Safety regulations, particularly in relation to asbestos, said the firm. The UK’s Asbestos Regulations 1999 came into force five years ahead of the European deadline for the ban on asbestos use in building materials. With Brexit Minister Steve Baker having spoken recently of plans to relax asbestos laws, Bureau Veritas said this could have serious consequences. Kyle Veitch, technical, quality and risk management director at Bureau Veritas, explained: “Despite the huge progress which has been made over the last two decades, the reality is that there is still a massive job to do in eradicating asbestos from our older building stock. “According to the latest HSE statistics, there are over 2500 people per year in the UK diagnosed with mesothelioma (the most serious form of asbestos related cancer) and at least a further 2500 cases of lung cancer which are also likely to be caused by asbestos exposure. “As such, we simply cannot afford to go


backwards with watered-down asbestos regulation, rather, we must continue to take informed and decisive action to negate the risk of future tragedies happening, going forward.”


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