SECOND YEAR SUCCESS FOR AWARDS

June 08

acceleris marketing communications stages second annual NFA Awards.

Building on the success of last year’s event, acceleris secured title sponsorship from Lovell Partnerships and developed a full communications programme and entry procedure at www.almos.org.uk/2008awards. The Awards were designed to highlight, to both internal and external stakeholders, the excellent community activity being undertaken by ALMOs around the country.

The first ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organisations) were established in April 2002 and 68 ALMOs have now been established around the country, managing more than one million council properties with over two million residents. One third or more of every ALMO board is made up of council tenants. Under an ALMO the local authority owns the housing stock and the ALMO company is run on a not-for-profit basis. Both existing and new council tenants remain secure council tenants.

ALMOs have played a pivotal role in delivering the Government’s Decent Homes programme which has seen more than 220,000 homes modernised, enhancing the quality of life for families throughout the UK.

The response to the awards was outstanding, with over 200 entries from across the ALMO community. acceleris secured a panel of independent judges to assess the entries, including the head of the Audit Commission’s Independent Housing Inspectorate and the Chair of the Tenant & Residents Association of Great Britain. The sold-out ceremony was hosted by BBC TV Working Lunch presenter Nik Wood, who also produced a film of each winner in both their home and working environments for distribution to every ALMO.