News

New report launched on exiting prostitution

By Rebecca Dillon / March 23, 2016

Danger that specialist support for women to leave prostitution behind being “undermined” Commonweal Housing releases a new report today investigating developments in policy and practice affecting services that support women to leave prostitution behind them. The report was carried out by academics and commissioned by Commonweal, who provide third stage accommodation to St Mungo’s staged model…

Read More

Time to take Pride in housing for older people

By Rebecca Dillon / February 5, 2016

This is a version of an article featured in Inside Housing  on 29th January 2016.    As we approach the film awards season, I’m reminded of a film that really touched me in the last year. BAFTA award winning Pride tells the true story of a group of LGBT activists who allied themselves with striking miners…

Read More

Lets talk about debt

By Rebecca Dillon / January 25, 2016

I’ve written before about my fascination with George Osborne, and so in my first blog of 2016 I wanted to return to that subject. Last year George was very keen on talking about building, you could barely move for pictures of the Chancellor dressed in a high vis and a hard hat, his conference speech…

Read More

The Private Rented Sector a necessary evil or good and vital partners?

By Rebecca Dillon / January 4, 2016

I have long been an advocate of making use of and working with the private rented sector to meet housing need.  Partly through pragmatism (realising there was simply not enough publicly funded social housing) and partly through a strong belief in multiple options and choice. The private rented sector in various guises has been a…

Read More

Impact investment: it cannot be just about the wow …… look at the fairness!

By Rebecca Dillon / December 4, 2015

Housing solutions to social injustice – a phrase I have used countless times since first joining Commonweal back in 2010.  Our strap line continues to say it all for me – housing as part of the solution to bigger, sometimes more intractable problems in people’s lives that mean they are systemically and repeatedly getting the…

Read More

George Osborne; the Cristiano Ronaldo of British Politics

By Rebecca Dillon / November 27, 2015

I am a follower of George Osborne. In the same way that I am a follower of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s quite different from being a “fan”.  I watch his performances closely in the knowledge he possesses the most tricks of any player of his generation. Let me explain. This Chancellor’s set piece financial statements…

Read More