THE UK SHADOW COMMITTEE FOR CEN 385 IS RUN BY THE
BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTE, AND IS CALLED SVS/8/1. OUR
ATTEMPTS TO BE A PART OF THIS COMMITTEE FAILED .
THE COMMITTEE IS SO CONSTRUCTED THAT THE RESIDENTS ARE IN A
MINORITY AND THEY ARE OVER-RULED BY OTHER INTERESTS.
MOREOVER, OUR REPRESENTATIVE WAS TOLD THAT
THE COMMITTEE MUST SPEAK WITH A CONSENSUS VIEW. WERE WE TO
DO THIS WE COULD FIND OURSELVES HAVING TO AGREE WITH
SOMETHING WHICH WE CONSIDER
IS NOT IN THE RESIDENTS INTERESTS. SHUKA HAVE, THEREFORE,
WITHDRAWN FROM THIS COMMITTEE. IT WAS ALSO REPORTED BY OUR
REPRESENTATIVE THAT SOME MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE EXPRESSED A VIEW THAT IF THE STANDARD SET BY
EUROPE FOR SHELTERED HOUSING WAS HIGHER (THATS NOT
DIFFICULT) THAN IT IS IN THE UK, THEN THEY WOULD VETO IT !
THE INTENTION OF SHUKA ON SVS/8/1 IS TO SEEK TO IMPROVE
CONDITIONS FOR RESIDENTS IN THE UK AND NOT TO CONFIRM SUCH
A FAILED SYSTEM AS IS IN OPERATION IN THIS COUNTRY.
PRESS
RELEASE
- for
release 3 November 2008 -
More
transparency for sheltered housing
A new
European Standard will define comprehensive requirements
for
‘sheltered-housing’
services.
The kick-off meeting for the Project
Committee
took place 31 October 2008 in Vienna.
Vienna (31
October 2008) The
increase in life expectancy, and consequent
aging of
society, puts new demands on housing for the elderly.
However, due to
increased
options afforded by technological advancements, one could
find an
increased
offer of independent living in sheltered housing during
their „golden
years‟.
Whoever makes the decisions on living arrangements must
compare
offers
thoroughly - the term “sheltered housing” itself has not
yet been defined
by
law.
To
rectify this situation, CEN has set up the Project
Committee CEN/PC 385
„Services
for sheltered housing for elderly‟.
The kick-off meeting for the
development
of a European Standard on this topic was held on Friday,
October
31, 2008
in Vienna at the Austrian Standards Institute, which
coordinates the
work on
a European level.
Ultimately,
the standard will contain requirements for the transparency
of
services;
the definitions of the service performance; the housing
offers; the
design
of contracts, as well as for quality assurance measures.
Dr. Holger
Mühlbauer,
Secretary of the Project Committee, emphasizes that this
standard
will not
deal with product-related requirements but rather with the
requirements
for the
complex services that define the quality of sheltered
housing.
The
completion of the standard, which will also be the basis
for voluntary
certification,
is expected in 2011. For more information
about
the work of the
CEN/PC
385 please contact Dr. Holger Mühlbauer
holger.muehlbauer@on-
