CIEH 14th Housing and Health Conference

Finders International are global probate genealogists. We trace missing heirs to property estates, funds and assets worldwide and offer this service FREE of charge to Empty Homes Officers. We have experience in swiftly locating and engaging with owners of vacant or derelict property and can assist in resolving disputes. Whether the owner is living or deceased, we aim to provide prompt solutions every time.  A full list and further details of our public-sector services can be found here.
If you would like to get in touch with any further questions, please contact us on Freephone 0800 085 8796, email [email protected] or visit our website www.findersinternational.co.uk.

Our specialist software solutions power the performance of local government, driving productivity and a better experience for everyone.

Built around the user and designed in collaboration with experts who have worked through every detail of every process from end-to-end, our hard-working case management solutions deliver exceptional functionality and embed workflows that drive efficiency and best practice for your public health and housing requirements.

Through the automation of tasks, simplification of complex operations, scalability as operations evolve, and more effective management of information, we can help you harness the power of digital, so you can do more.

We are working hard to support local authorities in achieving their ambitions to protect tenants and drive-up housing standards in the rented sector. Metastreet is powering some of the leading regulatory housing authorities with next generation software, app and data science technology.

Ellis Turner is a Senior Lecturer and programme leader for the new Hybrid MSc Environmental Health programme at University of the West of England (UWE). Ellis teaches on the MSc Public Health and BSc Public Health Apprenticeship. He also teaches on the Environmental Health Apprenticeship at University College Weston (UCW) and is the UCW link tutor. Ellis is a Trustee of the Association of London Environmental Health Managers, Hoarding UK and a member of the CIEH housing panel. His research interests include the relationship between housing and health and hoarding behaviours.

Deborah Garvie, Policy Manager at Shelter. Deborah leads Shelter’s work on homelessness, temporary accommodation and management of social housing, including the Social Housing Regulation Bill. She’s previously worked on the licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and the Right to Rent. Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through advice, support, and legal services. And campaigns to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to them for help.

Caroline Hughes, Senior Consultant, Housing and Health at BRE. Caroline's background is in housing research, with a particular focus on how housing impacts the health of older people. At BRE she works with the wider Housing and Health team to analyse data and provide insights into housing stock for local authorities, as well as conducting policy research. Prior to working at BRE, Caroline held positions in project management and business development with Mace and Homes England. Caroline has also completed a PhD in housing and health at the University of Bath, following her master’s degree at the University of Cambridge.

Anees Mank, Oldham Council and GMCA Contracts Manager. Anees is a Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner with over 24 years of experience in housing and regeneration, including managing local authority private sector housing enforcement and renewal teams, housing strategy and homelessness prevention teams and affordable and specialist housing development teams. He has been particularly successful in attracting funding, building partnerships, and investing in innovative empty homes, energy efficiency, fuel poverty, home adaptations and housing development projects across Greater Manchester. He also currently manages the award-winning Warm Homes Oldham service and the Greater Manchester Energy Company Obligation and Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery schemes.

Peter Smith has been at National Energy Action (NEA) since July 2010 and was appointed a director in 2016. He is responsible for overseeing the charity’s policy and advocacy work and working with government, industry and other stakeholders to address the causes and impacts of fuel poverty. He has particular interest and expertise in the field of domestic energy efficiency and decentralised energy policy. He also provides the strategic direction for NEA’s Parliamentary engagement.

David Smith is a solicitor with JMW Solicitors LLP, specialising in residential property litigation and regulation. He has advised landlords and agents of all sizes as well as a number of local authorities and the Welsh government. As former policy director for the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and the legal advisor for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), David has been closely involved in policy making for the residential property sector.

Alison Thomas MCIEH, CEnvH is a Senior Housing Consultant at RHE Global. Alison began her career as an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) at Nottingham City Council, becoming Principal EHO in their safer housing team. Passionate about excess cold and energy efficiency, Alison co-authored the CIEH excess cold guidance. Since recently joining RHE Global, Alison has been the project manager for the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) review. She is also responsible for a range of training and consulting roles within the housing sector, including assisting local authorities with the effective application and delivery of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) funding.

Nicola McMullen, Energy and Environment Coordinator at Advice for Renters. Nicola works directly with vulnerable tenants in the private rented sector to provide support through the ongoing energy and cost of living crises, including advocacy in disputes with energy suppliers, implementation of financial inclusion initiatives and advice for those with complex debt. She also runs a project aiming to identify HMOs in Brent that fall foul of the Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard Regulations and raise tenants’ awareness of their legal rights. Nicola is currently studying for the LLM Legal Practice Course alongside her work at Advice for Renters and holds an LLB Law degree from University College London. 

Adam Knight-Markiegi is Research & Evaluation Director at M·E·L Research. He has supported local authorities with their private rented sector licensing schemes, including Newham, Greenwich, Sefton, York, Southend, Bath and North East Somerset. Adam has independently assessed Greenwich’s additional HMO licensing scheme and the co-regulation of Liverpool’s selective scheme. He has also researched the impact of temporary accommodation on families for the West Midlands Combined Authority and helped housing associations better understand their customers through segmentation. Adam is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the Housing Studies Association (HSA). He has an MSc in Housing Research and Policy from the University of Birmingham, where his dissertation focused on the bottom end of the private rented sector.

Tamara Sandoul, Policy and Campaigns Manager, CIEH. Having joined CIEH in 2017, Tamara’s work has largely focussed on housing policy. Tamara has previously held several health-related policy and public affairs roles, including at Breast Cancer Now, British Lung Foundation and the Department of Health. At the British Lung Foundation, Tamara was joint lead on the award-winning campaign to ban smoking in cars carrying children, which was made into law in 2014.

Colin Todd MBE, MSc, MIRM, MSFPE, FIFSM, CPhys, FInstP, C Build E, FCABE, CEng, FIFireE, FIET. Colin is Managing Director of C. S. Todd & Associates Limited (CSTA), which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Colin serves on a number of BSI Committees, is a Board member of the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and Chairman of the FIA Fire Risk Assessment Council. He is also vice chair of the Institution of Fire Engineers Panel that is responsible for the IFE Register of Fire Risk Assessors, having chaired the panel for eighteen years.

CSTA have been awarded two Home Office contracts to draft guidance that will support major changes to fire legislation in England this year. Colin was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List 2020 for his contribution to fire safety in the UK. In 2021, Colin was awarded the Margaret Law Award by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. This award recognizes individuals who have pioneered advancements associated with the engineering fire safety of the built environment. 

Adrian Chowns Msc. Bsc.(Hons) MRICS, Property Licensing and Housing Enforcement Manager, Coventry City Council. Adrian is a Chartered Surveyor who also holds a master’s degree in Environmental Health and in his current role at Coventry City Council he manages a number of teams delivering a broad range of private sector housing services. Adrian is a specialist environmental health professional with over 30 years’ experience in dealing with private sector housing matters. He is proficient in enforcing conditions in the PRS and has developed and implemented a number of large scale property licensing schemes focusing on innovative and proactive approaches to securing effective delivery.

David Beach, Director of Enforcement, London Borough of Waltham Forest. David has been working at Waltham Forest since February 2015 and, in 2018, was appointed as Director of Regulatory Services. With over 30 years’ experience in the housing field, David has held several roles at inner London local authorities, managing teams of enforcement officers charged with tackling rogue landlords and poor housing conditions in the private rented sector. He has made significant contributions to housing enforcement policy and procedure, including LACORS HHSRS guidance and the BABIE scheme, the first Joint London Boroughs standards for homeless person’s accommodation. In 2020, David was asked to take the corporate lead in developing Waltham Forest’s response to the climate emergency and to call to action recommendations set out by its independently appointed climate emergency commission.

Phillip Stanley, Performance Management and Evaluation Lead, Private Sector Housing, Liverpool City Council. Phillip Stanley BSc, DMS, MBA has worked in Liverpool for over 22 years and for the last eight years he has worked in Public Protection. Phillip is the management lead for performance within the Private Sector Housing Service and the reporting of outcomes from housing enforcement and licensing activity. He worked on the successful application for the new selective licensing designation in Liverpool and is currently busy raising awareness, communication and engagement about this scheme and how it links with wider priorities in the city with a range of different stakeholders.

James Kerry, Head of Policy at Home Upgrade Grant (HUG), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). James worked at BEIS in the Fuel Poverty Strategy team 2014-2020 and is now the Head of Policy for the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) which aims to upgrade the homes of low income households living off the mains gas grid with energy efficiency and clean heating upgrades. James will give an overview of the BEIS policy landscape on domestic energy efficiency including HUG and other available funding.

Louise Harford, Interim Divisional Manager, Neighbourhood Development. As an Environmental Health Officer, Louise specialises in the regulation of private sector housing. Having previously led a successful 55k property citywide selective licensing scheme, and steered through for Government approval a 45k property scheme based on poor property condition, Louise’s focus has now turned to neighbourhood working. Utilising the new scheme as a catalyst for change, Louise’s vision is to provide a new operational neighbourhood model that ensures citizens are at the heart of what the council delivers. Ensuring empowered citizens increases life chances and decreases the negative depravation factors the city is suffering from. Safe and well-managed properties are at the very heart of this model.