» News » Blogs - Jon Land

Jon Land

Housing associations on their guard?

June 1st, 2009 by Jon Land

Is it just me or are housing associations feeling a little insecure at the moment?
Strange as it may seem for a sector that has just exceeded an annual turnover of £10 billion for the first time and appears to be riding out the recession with relatively few casualties, but I get the distinct impression that …

HCA and TSA: Hitting the headlines but what impact?

May 1st, 2009 by Jon Land

Since their launch nearly six months ago, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Tenants Services Authority (TSA) have rarely been out of the (housing) headlines. Both have been broadly welcomed as ‘forces for good’ by the sector but what impact, if any, have they really made during their first 200 days?
These fledgling agencies, …

Perhaps ‘Mystic Margaret’ was right after all

April 15th, 2009 by Jon Land

Back in January, the Housing Minister provoked much hilarity when she dared to suggest there may be an upturn in the housing market.
Her comments came at a time when house prices were falling by £4,000 a month, the number of homes being put up for sale had dropped by more than 50 per cent in …

Seeing the funny side of social housing

April 15th, 2009 by Jon Land

For all those getting a bit depressed by the negative headlines surrounding the social housing sector at present, I thought I’d use my column this month to try and raise a smile or two.
No, I’m not going to talk about the Government’s slightly over-optimistic housebuilding targets or Margaret Beckett’s bizarre attempt to convince us that …

The TSA ‘watch list’

April 15th, 2009 by Jon Land

Well Peter Marsh has certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons.
By telling a House of Commons select committee that he had placed six housing associations on a ‘watch list’ due to the precarious state of their finances, the Tenant Services Authority chief has caused a frenzy of speculation over the state of the sector in …

My Harrogate highlights

June 22nd, 2007 by Jon Land

So another CIH Harrogate bunfight draws to a close and I for one am absolutely exhausted.
24dash took a different approach this year, rather than standing around being ignored on a ridiculously expensive stand in a half empty exhibition hall, we decided to be proactive and go and talk to people - whether they wanted to …

Welcome to 24dash.com Blogs

May 2nd, 2007 by Jon Land

Today marks the start of a new era on 24dash.com with the launch of our very own blogging section.
The idea is simple, we want to encourage as many people as possible to have their say about the stories and issues covered on the site.
And this means you, not some self-publicising so-called ‘expert’ who thinks they can write, or a highly …

Why a more consumer friendly approach to debt collection is becoming a necessity

March 22nd, 2007 by Jon Land

Collecting money and chasing debts is often a difficult and time consuming task in any line of business. In the public sector, it is a challenge faced daily by councils, housing associations and law courts looking to collect a range of payments from taxes and rents to one-off charges and penalty fines.
Now, with the imminent …

Public Sector - Who Cares?

November 22nd, 2006 by Jon Land

Of all the subjects in all the world to write about on the internet, why on earth did 24dash.com choose the public sector?
Sex - yes, Star Trek - yes, celebrities - yes, crazy Jackass-inspired stunts involving a firework and a squirrel - yes, local government pensions - yawn.
It has been to our astonishment and delight, …