Estate Regeneration Funding Announced

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More than 40 housing estates across the North are set to benefit from a significant investment from the £32 million pound Estate Regeneration Fund to help kick-start their regeneration. The funding awards for northern registered providers, which account for 42% of all the bids, represent a significant investment in regeneration in the North of England and echoes conclusions made by the Commission for Housing in the North of a need to prioritise regeneration in the North.

Northern registered providers benefiting from the fund include Thirteen who were successful in bidding for funds to regenerate four estates and South Liverpool Homes who won funding to regenerate the South Parade estate. Successful local authorities include Gateshead Council, City of York Council and High Peak Borough Council with awards of £373,000, £260,000 and £80,000 respectively.

In a statement, DCLG notes that the funding “would help speed up regenerations schemes in early stages” and will help “to provide thousands of new homes from the carefully planned redesign of estates”.

In addition to the £32 million released, £140 million in loan funding is available between 2017 and 2020 to encourage investment in regeneration from the private sector to help build places that work for everyone. The £140 million loan fund was initially announced last year, and is designed to cover costs such as land assembly, leaseholder buy-outs, re-housing costs, demolition, and preparatory construction works.

Jo Boaden, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium said “the announcement of new funding for estate regeneration in the North is good news and I am particularly pleased to see a high number of northern housing associations and local authorities awarded funding to begin work improving communities and regenerating estates”.

“Regeneration remains a key issue for the North of England and it is something that is essential to growing housing markets in the northern regions. This was something that was born out in the NHC’s recent Commission for Housing in the North report which we hope to expand on in the coming months.”

A full list of those bids receiving funding can be found here.

NHC Releases Budget 2017 On-the-Day Briefing

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With the recent publication of the Housing White Paper, the Budget was slim on changes to housing policy. That said, Phillip Hammond’s first – and last – Spring Budget contained significant new commitments including £2bn for social care over the next three years, changes in National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed, and new initiatives on education and skills.

Read the NHC’s full on-the-day briefing here.

The Chancellor’s announcement that Government will press ahead with recommendations made by Lord Sainsbury on T Levels represents a huge change in government policy on education and skills. This, combined with the Government’s drive to increase apprenticeships, represents a new and growing focus.

One of the biggest takeaways from the Budget is that the Government are prioritising White and Green Papers on issues including social care, consumer rights and tax simplification. This would suggest a blockbuster Autumn Budget 2017 for which, naturally, the NHC will be preparing an on-the-day briefing.

NHC Publishes Third Universal Credit Impact Report

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Today sees the release of the Northern Housing Consortium’s Impact of Universal Credit Round 3 report. This is the third in a series of four reports and builds upon the results of the first two, covering the period March-July (all three of which can be accessed from the NHC’s website here). The research investigates how the implementation and continuing rollout of Universal Credit is affecting housing organisations in the north.

We are now able to collect trend data and comparisons are made in this latest report with the findings of the previous reports. The latest report also draws comparisons between the full survey results with the returned data from North West respondents to ascertain whether having worked with the Universal Credit system longer has an effect on respondents’ experiences of the system. Some of the key findings from the Round 3 report are:

  • More than one-fifth of respondents said that tenants had terminated their own tenancy as a direct as a direct result of UC.
  • Almost all of the responding organisations are having to step in and assist tenants with the cost of living.
  • Half of organisations have introduced credit reference checks to prospective tenants as a result of UC implementation – double the figure in Round 2.
  • There is a move to debiting tenants’ rent accounts in arrears as 90.6% of those that debit accounts in advance have experienced problems.

We continue to use findings from the research to engage with the Department of Work and Pensions officials through NHC’s roundtable programme to raise members’ concerns and experiences of procedural issues and we will work with DWP to make the new system as smooth as possible.

The final round of the survey will be announced in the NHC eZine but there is also a dedicated contact list for anyone interested in taking part in the project. To ensure you are able to participate, please contact Business Intelligence Officer Barry Turnbull at barry.turnbull@northern-consortium.org.uk.

NHC Hosts Gavin Barwell White Paper Q&A

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The Housing and Planning Minister, Gavin Barwell, visited Gateshead on Thursday, February 23rd as part of a Housing White Paper Q&A Roadshow. The NHC hosted the Gateshead stop of the nine-location tour where Mr Barwell met with NHC members, developers, councillors and other experts to discuss efforts to ‘fix the broken housing market’.

Speaking to a packed audience  at The Sage, the Minister highlighted the four key aspects of the White Paper and specifically referenced the importance of the work of the NHC Commission for Housing in the North, speaking repeatedly about the challenge of setting national policy for diverse regional housing markets and the importance of a place-based approach.

Representatives from a broad range of organisations then questioned Mr Barwell on issues from the continuing challenge of regeneration, to streamlining planning, to rent certainty after 2020.

The issue of land banking came up in several questions and the Minister reiterated the White Paper’s commitment to not only publish registers of who owned land but also of what options were held on land.

One of the major recurring topics was the proposed Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap and its impact on supported housing and high rise properties in particular. Attendees expressed concern that the LHA cap was too blunt an instrument to use when rates vary so hugely across the country. The Minister acknowledged that the very term ‘supported housing’ actually covers a broad range of housing offers and  indicated that supported housing providers potentially “hold the whip hand” on the issue as the Minister wants them to build and will thus be open to their suggestions for change.

One delegate brought up the question of how the industrial strategy links with the White Paper, adding that there are increasing numbers of businesses wishing to relocate to their local area that saw the available housing offer as an obstacle. Mr Barwell was keen to encourage creativity in bids from local authorities noting that the Government has vast powers to alter or suspend planning obligations which could boost housing supply.

The Minster also answered questions on housing density and the Nationally Described Space Standard, particularly concerns from some in the room that it would see a return to cramped homes. The Minister responded that the reason the Government were looking at the National Described Space Standard was to boost home ownership among those – especially in London or other large urban areas – who do not require a great deal of space. He reiterated that there would be ‘no race to the bottom’ on space standards and noted the work undertaken by Pocket Living in London around smaller, more affordable apartments for first time buyers.

Commenting on the roadshow, Mr Barwell said “We’ve set out lasting reforms that will get more of the right homes built in the right places.  But the challenge of increasing supply cannot be met by government alone. That’s why I’m visiting different parts of the country, listening to views from experts across the housing industry and discussing how we can work together to fix our broken housing market.”

PRESS RELEASE: NHC Releases On-the-Day Housing White Paper Briefing

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The 2017 Housing White Paper

Today saw the publication of the long awaited, much trailed Housing White Paper.  Announced by Sajid Javid, Secretary of State as

“ambitious proposals to help fix the housing market so that more ordinary working people from across the country can have the security of a decent place to live”

Read the NHC’s full on-the-day White Paper briefing here.

The White Paper acknowledges the scale of the housing crisis facing the country and recognises the fact that governments of all persuasions have not been able to sufficiently ramp up house building to meet with the backlog of under supply and projected future need. The Government’s White Paper aims to change this but the discussions in advance were focused on whether the proposals set out today are the catalyst needed or is the housing industry the proverbial slow turning oil tanker?

The White Paper sets out a series of recommendations addressing common approaches to planning for housing need, barriers in the planning process, support for Local Authorities in speeding up delivery of new homes, and the need to bring new entrants to the market place. Underneath the headlines there is a significant amount of detailed policy proposals that the Northern Housing Consortium welcomes.

The White Paper also rebalances policy focus away from home ownership and acknowledges the need to ensure the rental market is operating efficiently providing good quality secure accommodation for those who choose to rent.

The NHC is pleased that we have this Housing White Paper. It is a mature acknowledgement of the benefits that a shared approach to policy development can bring. We will work with the Government and our members to support this White Paper and work collaboratively to help refine and improve where we believe policy initiatives need further consideration.

The NHC has worked with members and sector experts to deliver the Commission for Housing in the North and we are pleased that the White Paper reinforces messages from the Commission such as consideration of wider tenure issues, the need to ensure quality across the rental sector, and capacity support for local authorities to ensure the right housing is delivered in the right place. The White Paper is not unsurprisingly light on issues around regeneration but we call upon the Government to ensure the Northern Powerhouse Strategy – released alongside the Autumn Statement – picks up this mantle to ensure that housing and regeneration are recognised as tools to support the economic renaissance of the North.

The NHC looks forward to working with members and government on our detailed response to the White Paper and more details on our forthcoming member engagement roundtables are available on our website www.northern-consortium.org.uk

 

For further information please contact Member Engagement Manager, Callum Smith, on 0191 566 1029 or email callum.smith@northern-consortium.org.uk

Get your Tenants Online in an Easy and Affordable Way

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We have always worked hard to ensure we provide useful services and affordable solutions to our membership to help them cope with the ever-evolving needs of the sector they operate in.

Digital inclusion has become a real need in recent years and we are happy to offer some fantastic opportunities for our members to get their tenants online and therefore help them receive the knowledge and experience they need to live better lives.

We have put an offer in place to allow tenants to get the training, hardware and broadband access they need to be able to get online, address some of the barriers and to access a wide range of products and services. We offer the following courses and services:

  • 6-12 week basic group courses
  • One-to-one in-home tuition
  • Digital champion workshop for staff/volunteers
  • E-learning modules
  • Vital digital (full time telephone and live-chat support line)
  • Equipment
  • Equipment and handling fee
  • Engagement support
  • Evaluation

We have also negotiated exclusive, super-efficient broadband deals in a bid to help our members tackle digital exclusion amongst their tenants in the most effective and financially advantageous way. The latest deals that we have available are:

  • Fast Broadband (introductory offer) – £18.75 a month includes line rental
  • Faster Fibre Broadband (introductory offer) – £25.00 a month includes line rental
  • TV with Fast Broadband – £22.95 a month includes line rental
  • TV Plus with Fast Broadband – £28.50 a month includes line rental

If you would like to receive more information on both offers, please contact us on 0191 566 1000 or email us at solutions@consortiumprocurement.org.uk

NHC Chair Receives OBE for Services to Housing in the North

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NHC Chair Tom Miskell OBEThe Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) today welcomed the honouring of figures from the worlds of housing and local government across the North in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.

In particular we are delighted that NHC Chair and Accent Group Chair Tom Miskell’s longstanding work in housing has been recognised as he receives an OBE for services to housing associations in Northern England. As Chair of the NHC and the NHC Commission for Housing in the North, we have seen first-hand his commitment to housing and his enthusiasm to drive forward innovation and creativity across the North.

Tom Miskell is not the only NHC member to be honoured by the Queen this year. Ian Munro, Chief Executive of New Charter Group, and Keith Loraine, previously Group Chief Executive of Isos Housing also receive OBEs for their services to Housing.

Jo Boaden, Chief Executive, commented “The Government has rightly recognised the importance of housing contributing to economic growth and supporting thriving communities. We are therefore pleased that the New Year’s Honours List acknowledges this through conferring well-deserved honours to many in the industry including Tom, Ian and Keith.”

Notes for editors

Tom Miskell has been a member of the NHC Board since October 2006 and was elected Chair in November 2015. The NHC Commission for Housing in the North released its full report in November 2016, which can be read in full via the NHC website here.

(Download press release pdf here)

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For further information please contact David Hetherington, Marketing Officer, on 0191 566 1038 or email david.hetherington@northern-consortium.org.uk

For more detailed information on the NHC Commission for Housing in the North please contact Charlotte Harrison, Executive Director (Policy & Public Affairs), on 0191 566 1034 or email charlotte.harrison@northern-consortium.org.uk