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L to R, Beverley Spear, Development Director, ASRA London, and Chair of the LHF Development Forum, John Mc Keown, LEOF, Chris Legett, Divisional Director, Construction-line. |
LEOF was formed by a consortium of London Housing Associations who have a strong commitment to promoting Equal Opportunities in Housing Association building work.
This Equal Opportunities activity has widened into public sector construction procurement, and is extending to all over England. We are also offering advice to similar agencies at start up state in Wales.
In each edition of the LEOF Annual Report Wall Planner, you will notice the organisations that carry out key housing development and service provision.
A register of approved companies is kept and monitored by LEOF, and this provides our affiliates with the opportunity to choose a minority contractor whose standards are already attested to by appropriate referees, and have passed a variety of criteria when interviewed by our Contractors Sub-Committee.
LEOF has established contact with almost 500 contractor and consultant companies and sole traders.
The Maintenance of the Register is LEOF?s core activity and the register itself is LEOF?s primary product.
Since 1999, the Register became a prequalification system of Minority Led Contractors online, at www.safebuild.com
LEOF was set up in 1990 initially as a two year pilot scheme operating out of the offices of one of the member affiliates. It had one member of staff whose status was as an employee of that particular affiliate, and use of the 'admin machine' of that organisation was free.
LEOF is largely operationally independent from the Housing Associations that originally set it up, and receives policy and other guidance from a Committee appointed at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee is accountable to the AGM annually, for the steering it has carried out in that year. LEOF is always looking at ways it can expand its remit and function.
LEOF organises training sessions to assist its register entrants in gaining more understanding of social housing service requirements and legislation & procedures governing the work in order to assist them become more competitive.
The frequency of these training exercises depends on resources, other pressing issues for LEOF, and the availability of expertise for it to draw on from its member affiliates. LEOF provides this service for free or at least, at a highly subsidised rate.
LEOF can provide other services in the areas of Equal Opportunities to its members, Local Authorities, and its sponsors, (who are mainly non- minority commercial builders of social housing).
The service specification required would need to be passed by the LEOF management Committee and then costed. This is an additional potential source of income for LEOF.
Member Affiliates who feel they need a service like this would be required to pay a reasonable rate.
The difference between the perspective of LEOF regarding a service to its members and a service to the service providers on its register is explained through its objectives/mission statement.
Unlike most ?Social Landlord? Federations, which are set up to service their members, LEOF was set up by members as a forum through which to service the wider community.
The focus of this service is to ensure equality of access for the three targeted groups whose minority status is supported by legislation (i.e. black people, women and people with disabilities) to members service and development expenditure.
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