Briefing Paper 4
Housing choice and racist hostility
Extending housing choice for black and minority ethnic households requires consideration of racial discrimination, social and economic inequality and household needs, preferences and aspirations. Increased opportunities for the expression of housing choice in new lettings systems has improved the choices of location open to black and minority ethnic households, but there is mixed evidence of impact. Tackling racist hostility and reducing this constraint on housing choice requires renewed work around a ‘Racism Reduction’ agenda, at an individual, local and national level, together with significant improvements in victim support and enforcement.
Author(s): Ian Law
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Black and minority ethnic (BME) construction contractors and consultants and the factors affecting their development within the social housing sector in Wales
Duncan, Dr R. and Mortimer, Dr J., Employment Practice Solutions Limited, Construction Skills, February 2006
This report provides good practice guidance to increase black and minority ethnic participation in construction in Wales.
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Providing Gypsy and Traveller sites: Contentious spaces
Richardson, J., Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Chartered Institute of Housing, 2007
This report examines the controversy surrounding provision of sites for Gypsy-Travellers.  It considers the legal obligation to provide and manage sites, and uses case studies to explore how different local authorities are overcoming barriers and fulfilling their duties.
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BRAP
BRAP work towards an inclusive and rights based approach to equality, promoting a learning culture in which develop a more informed and confident approach to equalities implementation.  Their site has a number of helpful resources, and toolkits to help promote equality in the workplace.
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Chartered Institute of Housing
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for people who work in housing. A collection of free downloads publications is available here.
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Citizen's Advice Bureau
The Citizen's Advice Bureau website provides guidance and factsheets on aspects of housing, including some resources translated into community languages.
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Contact a Family
Contact a Family is a national organisation representing disabled children and their families. It provides advice, information and support to the parents of all disabled children, including publications in a number of different community languages, and interpreted service for its helpline.
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Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) - Publications
The Homes and Communities Agency is the national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England. Its role is to create thriving communities and affordable homes.   
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Housing Corporation, The
The Housing Corporation was a national Government agency which funded affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England.  Although replaced by the Tenant Services Association and Homes and Communities Agency on 30 November 2008, the Housing Corporation website remains a useful source of publications.
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Housing Diversity Network
The Housing Diversity Network provide information, consultancy and training on equality and diversity issues to the social housing sector. 
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Innovation into Action
Innovation into Action provides good practice examples for involving council tenants in managing their homes.  Although the project has now finished, the site contains a useful collection o f information and Good Practice Guides & Toolkits.
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Lemos and Crane
Lemos and Crane develops and disseminates knowledge and innovation on social policy through research, websites and conferences. BMEspark; HousingActionNet and RaceActionNet are three of their useful resources which are available through paid-for subscriptions.
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Monitoring Group, The
The Monitoring Group helps victims of racial violence and harassment across the UK, undertaking casework, offering a freephone helpline conducting a trauma and therapy project. The website offers a range of useful information and links.
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National Housing Federation
The National Housing Federation represents 1,200 not-for-profit housing associations in England and campaigns for better housing and neighbourhoods.  It publishes guides, books, manuals, online resources and free downloadable documents for housing professionals.
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Newham Language Shop
This site is aimed at organisations who work with ethnic minority communities and is designed to provide information, support and to educate users about the many different communities living in the UK.  The site also includes a number of templates for letters and forms which can be translated into a number of different languages.
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Researching Asylum in London
RAL is an independent database of research on refugee and asylum issues relevant to London. The aim of this project is to make research more accessible to service providers and policy-makers working in the field. The database contains summaries of research and the aims, methodology, key findings, conclusions and recommendations are easily identifiable.
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Sign Translate
Sign Translate is an internet-based translation program that converts English to British Sign Language (BSL) and 12 British Minority Ethnic languages.
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