Meet Will Atkinson, Policy Officer at CHC
Hi, I’m Will. I joined CHC in November 2016, initially to support our work around supported housing and welfare reform.
I began my career in Welsh housing with the National Union of Students Wales, representing students’ housing rights including the passage of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act through the Assembly. Following this I joined The Wallich, the homelessness service provider, as Policy & Research Officer, and later Policy & Research Manager.
I lead on the CHC/Cymorth Cymru National Supported Housing & Provider Network, which is invaluable in guiding our policy stances to represent CHC members through the upcoming changes to the funding of housing costs in supported accommodation from April 2019. We are also working closely with the UK and Welsh Governments to ensure that members’ voices are heard as the new funding model is developed over the next 12-18 months. This involves regular contact with members through task & finish groups as well as networks and focus groups. If you would like to be involved in this work, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
The Fire Safety and Health & Safety Networks are an important part of my work. There is significant cross-over between the issues covered and supported housing, with the introduction of the Fire Safety in Specialised Housing guide and work towards establishing a primary fire authority to ease the regulatory burden on housing associations providing sheltered and other supported housing.
I also work closely with Paul Langley, Head of Business Development for the Your Benefits are Changing project at CHC. This involves assisting with his work around welfare reform, particularly the rollout of Universal Credit and the imposition of the Local Housing Allowance on social housing tenants from April 2019. The UK Government & Parliament are consulting heavily on these issues and our past responses and calls for information can be found on Yammer and the CHC website.