Latest news with #KateHenderson
West Australian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Great Southern Breakers secure close victory in Albany Roller Derby League season opener at ALAC
The first home game of roller derby for 2025 was played in Albany on Saturday, with the Great Southern Breakers taking a close win to start their season. The Great Southern Breakers delivered a heart-stopping 163–160 win over the Dread Pirate Rollers in a fiercely contested bout at the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre. In front of a roaring crowd of more than 200 spectators, the hometown heroes overcame a 40-point first-half deficit and the loss of key offensive player Tegan Stoney to secure a memorable victory. 'The resilience and sheer determination shown by every single skater was incredible,' team captain Natalie Jarvis said. 'We dug deep, trusted each other, and fought for every point, and I couldn't be prouder of their effort.' Breakers' defence came alive in the second half, shutting down DPR's scoring in consecutive jams. This defensive surge gave Breakers' jammers the space they needed to apply constant pressure. The team's newest skater Hayley Shanks received a perfectly timed whip assist from Jarvis, slicing through the pack to claim lead jammer and send the gathered crowd into a frenzy. Shanks has skated with the club since age 11 and has risen through the junior roller derby program to join the Breakers in 2025. Jammer Kate Henderson delivered massive, crowd-shaking hits as she bulldozed through DPR's walls, setting the tone with fearless intensity. Meanwhile, Michelle Backhouse showcased razor-sharp precision and footwork, dancing effortlessly around the crumbling defence to secure crucial lead jammer position and points. With the scoreline hanging in the balance, the final jam saw Breakers' Chia-Hsuan Tung earn lead jammer status, hotly pursued by DPR's Rae Clarke. In a perfectly executed strategic call-off, Tung ended the jam, locking in Great Southern's narrow three-point victory. Outstanding performances were recognised with the following awards: MVP Jammers: Kate Henderson 'Candy Chumino' (Breakers) and Rae Clarke 'Dreadpool' (DPR) MVP Blockers: Cassandra Fletcher 'Bronte' (Breakers) and Renee Morris 'Randy Bichova' (DPR) Captains' Awards: Lowanna Singleton 'Roll and Slaughter' (Breakers) and Simone Ainslie 'Scrappy Doo' (DPR) Breakers will return to the track in September to compete at the WA State Tournament in Perth.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Century-long wait for some family council homes in London
The waiting list for a family-sized social rented home in some London boroughs would now take over a century to clear completely at the current rate of progress, new research has by the National Housing Federation (NHF) found that families wanting properties with three or more bedrooms in Westminster, Enfield and Merton would all have to wait over 100 years to get a home at current average estimate across London was much lower at 27 years, and the average across the whole of England was seven government said the report highlighted the "devastating impact of the social housing crisis" and added that it was investing £2bn into social housing in England. Kate Henderson, the NHF's chief executive, said: "The fact that families in so many parts of the country face waiting lists for an affordable home longer than their children's entire childhood is a national scandal."Chiara Daughtry, a mother of one from north-east London, told BBC Radio London that she was offered a house in Bradford, West Yorkshire, when she faced a no-fault eviction due to the long wait time."My job is here, my daughter's in school here, and my family and friends are here in London," she schoolteacher said she eventually got into a privately rented one-bedroom flat but said it was "really hard" to meet the £1,600 a month in rent and childcare costs. Ms Daughtry said council housing would give herself and daughter more stability."I could be evicted again. I have no idea if my landlord will let me stay. I've already had one rent increase in two years, and if it continues then I won't be able to continue to stay living here," she said. In January, it was revealed that the total number of households on waiting lists for social housing in London last year hit the highest level for more than a decade.A total of 336,366 households were waiting home in the capital as of 1 April 2024. Eight of the 10 local authorities in England with the longest estimated timescales to clear the backlog are in London:Westminster – 106.7Enfield – 105.3Merton – 102.4Wandsworth – 82.0Camden – 81.8Mansfield – 75.5Slough – 74.3Redbridge – 74.3Greenwich – 67.1Newham – 42.5 'Impossible situations' In a joint message with the charities Crisis and Shelter, the NHF is calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to put major investment into social housing in her spending review in June."Every day our front-line services hear from desperate parents forced into impossible situations," said Mairi MacRae, director of policy and campaigns at Shelter.A spokesman for London Councils – the capital's local government association – said in response to the NHF's research: "The growing number of Londoners stuck on waiting lists for social housing is evidence of the capital's worsening housing and homelessness emergency."He said that one in 50 Londoners was homeless and the boroughs were "doing everything we can to build the affordable homes our communities are crying out for" but do not have enough resources. A spokesman at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it was embarking on the "biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation" and investing in homelessness minister Matthew Pennycook also pointed out in answer to a recent written question on the topic that the number of people on the housing waiting list list is "not the same as the number of households waiting" with councils reviewing them to establish who no longer requires a social home.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Government plans to stop 'housing benefit going to rogue landlords'
Rogue landlords in England will face curbs on how much benefit they can receive if their properties are substandard, the government has announced as it unveiled £300m to build more affordable housing. The funding comes from within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's current budget and will add 2,800 affordable homes over the next year, according to the government. Councils will also receive £50m, made up of £20m new funding and £30m reallocated, to add 250 homes to keep families out of poor-quality temporary housing like Bed and Breakfasts, the government said. Conservatives argued Labour's housebuilding plans "will do nothing to address the shortage of housing because immigration will just keep piling on the pressure". Ministers desperately want more housing - but are their plans radical enough? New homes fall again in government's first six months Lords inquiry finds grey belt idea largely redundant In its announcement, the government stated it will "imminently set out plans to crack down on exploitative behaviour by rogue and criminal supported housing landlords". It said a new licensing scheme, tougher standards, and "the ability to stop housing benefit going to rogue landlords" are part of plans which will be unveiled next week. The extra money for housing feeds into Labour's manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million homes over the course of the Parliament. But there have been warnings that a lack of skilled workers in the UK could stand in the way of these plans. Asked whether she was worried about the target being met, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said that she is "determined" to meet the challenge. "We see 160,000 children in temporary accommodation and the cost of that on local authorities is significant as well as the impact on children's life chances," she said. The £300m boost expands the UK's Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), the government's key fund for building affordable housing in England, due to end in March next year. Launched in 2021 by the Conservatives, the scheme funds councils, developers, and housing groups to build or convert affordable homes - at least half of which must be rented at a discount to council tenants. The money comes on top of £500m earmarked for affordable housing in October's Budget, and takes the total pot over the last five years to £12.3bn. A replacement for the scheme will be revealed at the upcoming Spending Review this Spring, Labour said. The housing charity Shelter said it was a "promising start" but "far more ambitious investment" was required. A report from the charity last summer suggested that England needed at least 90,000 social rent homes built per year for 10 years to clear social housing waiting lists and house people who are homeless. Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said the new money "will help maintain momentum in the delivery of much needed social and affordable housing". Social rent is set by a formula tied to local income, historically around 50% of the market rate. The Local Government Association (LGA) also welcomed the funding and urged the government to ensure councils had proper resources to meet housing need at the spending review later this year. In December, David Thomas, the head of Barratt Redrow, the largest housebuilding firm in the UK, warned Sir Keir's government would have to "revolutionise the market, revolutionise planning, revolutionise methods of production" to hit its goal. "They're challenging targets, I think we have to recognise that this is a national crisis," Mr Thomas said. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
