You’ll have seen in our new corporate plan our commitment to building an unrivalled member experience. But what does that mean in practice? Kate Maughan, Director of Member Engagement, blogs about our approach to member experience through our engagement programme.

In 2018 we carried out some research on members’ perceptions of the NHC. This gave us some great feedback: members were positive about our services, and wanted us to shout louder about our influencing work. Over the last three years we’ve certainly upped our game on influencing and cemented our position firmly in the debates on net zero and levelling up. We re-ran the member perceptions research in 2021 and the feedback from that suggests you’ve seen, and welcomed, these changes.

In both pieces of research, members said they particularly valued our engagement programme – the networks, roundtables, seminars and conferences we’ve delivered for many years – and we’re keen to ensure that the programme stays relevant, accessible and useful to you in the months and years ahead.

Building strong and deep relationships is key to an unrivalled member experience, and our engagement programme seeks to do exactly that – we bring members together to share good practice and challenges, but we also bring expertise from outside the sector, and from government departments, to create new networks and contacts for members going forward. Our networks are a real example of the bonds we’re able to create between members and external expertise – meeting on themes such as regulation, the private rented sector, homelessness, and disrepair. And through the engagement programme as a whole, we’re able to build better bonds between the NHC and you, our members, to ensure we understand your priorities and challenges and can respond in the way that works best for you.

Our membership base is unique – our 147 Northern members are made up of housing associations, ALMOs, local authorities and combined authorities. This means when we say we bring the sector together, we really do just that: building connections and bringing forward a rounded view of the North’s challenges and what the sector needs. We’re committed to making sure our full membership base is represented in our engagement programme, both as speakers and delegates, to really put our members at the forefront.

Underpinning all of this is our approach to business intelligence. Our staff team talk to a wide range of members every day, and pick up new priorities and areas of interest through the engagement programme. We ensure that we use this information in an effective way, and in a way that delivers the services you need. Our business intelligence allows us to interrogate trends and feedback from members, meaning no information gets lost – so our engagement programme is both informed by member insight, and generates it, at the same time.

In the corporate plan we also committed to three cross-cutting themes – sustainability, wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion – which run through everything we do.

Sustainability: the engagement programme supports our members in delivering on their net zero ambitions, but it’s also about what we aim to do as an organisation. While we’re pleased to return to some in-person events in 2022, many will remain online; for both the NHC and our members, it’s more efficient and environmentally friendly to do so. When we do hold an in-person event, you’ll see some changes – all of our event programmes are now digital and we want to be as paper-free as possible.

Wellbeing: We want to be at the forefront of championing wellbeing at work.  Since 2020 we’ve had a strong commitment to promoting wellbeing through our engagement programme, and this will continue. Where we’re holding training for NHC staff, we’re opening this up to members too – and at no charge. We’ve held sessions on menopause, mental health and resilience, and you might have spotted our upcoming session on sleep. We’re committed to the wellbeing of our staff team, and our members’ teams and customers too.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: We want to project the importance of ED&I across the membership and the sector, sharing best practice and learning. We remain committed to ensuring that speakers and contributors to our events are from diverse backgrounds and we actively monitor this. In addition, we want to create a safe space for our staff and members to discuss ED&I so we can achieve genuinely positive outcomes. Look out for our upcoming series of events with Ward Hadaway’s Employment Team – you can see more about the first event, focusing on inclusive workplaces, here.

Of course, building an unrivalled member experience goes much further than our engagement programme – it’s about developing solutions too, whether that’s through our influencing work, our Business Improvement service, or through our member-led procurement solutions – and you’ll see more on these in the coming months.

Our members are at the heart of everything we say and do. We pride ourselves on having a unique membership which allows us to be the voice of housing in the North – whatever your role, through our engagement activity we strive to provide you with an unrivalled member experience.

As ever, if you have any thoughts or feedback on our engagement programme, please don’t hesitate to contact me: kate.maughan@northern-consortium.org.uk

The Social Housing White Paper confirmed the Government’s intention to review the Decent Homes Standard, and since then the NHC has been working with officials at DLUHC and other industry bodies as part of the Review Sounding Board.   This work has taken on greater significance since the announcement in February of a ‘levelling up mission’ on housing quality.

Last month, the NHC worked with the policy and research team at Thirteen to update residents on the progress of the review, and seek resident views on the issues emerging so far, including issues such as safety in the home, reducing energy bills, and home security.

The Decent Homes Standard, setting the minimum standard of housing, which every social housing provider must meet, was last updated in July 2006 and NHC members have been clear that they consider the standard to be outdated and in need of a refresh. Many providers – including Thirteen – have developed their own enhanced standard for homes.

Thirteen residents who attended the workshop session were keen to contribute their views on how the Standard should develop.  Residents were keen to see the new standard go ‘beyond the front door’ and consider green spaces and neighbourhood issues. Issues around neighbourhood safety, including CCTV, access points and alleys and walkways were all talking points, as was decarbonisation.

Thirteen’s policy and research lead Sarah Parrott said: “It’s important that our customers have their voice heard, so we welcomed the opportunity to work with the Northern Housing Consortium and gather feedback from our customers.

“We’d like to thank all of our customers who took the time to share their views, which could influence and shape the future of our customers’ homes.”

The NHC’s Brian Robson explained that “The comments that we make to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are informed by engagement with our members and their customers – so we’re very grateful to the Thirteen residents who took the time to set out their views. This really helps to shape our work.”

The NHC continues to contribute to the Decent Homes Review. NHC members can sign-up for updates on the progress of the Review by emailing Kristina.Dawson@northern-consortium.org.uk

We are always happy to meet with staff or residents to discuss the Review – if this would be of interest to your organisation, do let us know.

Since we first became familiar with the term ‘Levelling Up’, debate has centred on how the Government’s flagship agenda would strike the balance between innovation and infrastructure, and the desire to shift attention to our smaller towns and rekindle community identity. So it was, with the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper, that the Government set out 12 defining missions focused on, yes, productivity and ‘globally competitive cities’, but also on improving local agency and restoring pride and belonging. What Andy Haldane, the White Paper’s central architect, described as Levelling Up’s core function to address both ‘low-growth’ and ‘low life satisfaction’.

Terms like ‘pride’ and ‘life satisfaction’ don’t necessarily fit well with the White Paper’s emphasis on data, monitoring, and evaluation. As much has already been admitted, Will Garton, the Director General for Levelling Up at DHLUC, described the missions covering wellbeing and pride as ‘deliberately exploratory’, and not the kind of metrics that can measured in the same way as broadband rollout. The Government is in listening mode to get this right.

Many are answering this call, the Levelling Up agenda has also developed a new network of academics and policy makers focussing on areas perceived as ‘left behind’ and grappling with issues like civic identity and an areas’ ambitions.

Last year UCL published their report Sacriston: towards a deeper understanding of place, an exploration of the perceived and actual needs and aspirations of those that make up the North East ex-mining village. The Universities of Southampton and Sheffield have directly looked to address Levelling Up’s pride problem with their project Feeling Towns: the role of place and identity in governance and local policy, an attempt to gain a greater understanding of civic pride and place attachment and the roles they play in regeneration strategies. Finally, We’re Right Here, a campaign supported by organisations including Power to Change, New Local, and the JRF, takes inspiration from the Mutual Aid support groups that sprung up during the Covid Pandemic to call for a Community Power Act based on good practice from neighbourhoods across the country working toward success on their own terms.

There is also an important role to play here for Northern Housing Consortium members. After all, it is within the mission to restore a sense of community that we find targets around improving home ownership and improving housing quality. As we’ll be underlining at our 14^th July Levelling Up Conference, housing providers have a central role to play in working collaboratively across areas and sectors to support thriving neighbourhoods, including empowering and working with communities directly. Whilst focussing on Net Zero, the Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury also showed the enthusiasm tenants have for their areas and how, given the chance, active stewardship of neighbourhoods could also be a shared stewardship between tenant, landlord, and other anchor institutions; harnessing new green industries to Level Up areas into more environmentally sustainable, happier, healthier places. This work also plays into the Social Housing White Paper agenda concerning access to, and quality of, green spaces.

In the coming months the NHC will be thinking more about how innovative engagement methodologies can be used to bring our communities into the heart of the discussion on what improving pride and belonging means for Levelling Up success: How can we better understand our resident’s perspective on pride in place at a neighbourhood level? What factors affect the pride they feel? And what influence do NHC members, as builders and custodians of neighbourhoods, have over improving this sense of belonging?

We’d love to carry on the conversation with you and hear about any plans you have in place or ambitions you hold for future work connected to this agenda. Over the course of the next year, we hope to work with a small number of NHC members to identify innovative methodologies that will allow us to truly listen to residents and understand what housing organisations can do at neighbourhood level to develop pride in place.

If you’d be interested in exploring this with us, or have learning you’d like to share, please contact Brian Robson at the NHC : brian.robson@northern-consortium.org.uk

Together we hope NHC members can develop a community of learning that can both centre the needs and ambitions of northern communities and ensure housing’s vital contribution to the Levelling Up is recognised and valued.

Today’s speech was delivered during a tough week for the Prime Minister, following the vote of no confidence in his leadership on Monday which he won by a smaller margin than he was anticipating. Political commentators now see Boris Johnson on a mission of political revival ahead of the two by-elections this month (Wakefield and Tiverton), including the delivery of today’s housing policy speech at Blackpool and the Fylde College. On housing, his speech focused on expanding home ownership for those living in housing association homes and for those on low incomes. Here’s what Johnson announced:

 

Extending the Right to Buy to housing association tenants

The expansion of Right to Buy to housing associations was heavily trailed in the run-up to today’s speech where Johnson confirmed Government intend to go ahead with the policy. It is expected that discounts of up to 70% will be available to those living in housing association homes.

Johnson said he wants to give greater freedoms to housing association tenants to buy their homes and said Government are planning to work with the sector over the coming months to bring the new scheme forward “within existing spending plans”.

Extending Right to Buy (RTB) to housing association tenants is not a new Conservative Party policy, it was first suggested by David Cameron and then Theresa May but it has been continuously dropped. Now Boris Johnson is dusting it off once again.

In an interview this morning, Michael Gove confirmed that the scheme would be capped initially and grown over time, stating each home sold will be replaced “like for like, one for one”, which was echoed in Johnson’s speech this afternoon. Under May’s Government, a voluntary scheme in the West Midlands was piloted to test the policy’s feasibility, it showed that replacement homes would likely include more shared ownership properties with fewer for rent. This is a huge risk to the already low level of socially rented homes across the country, especially with the knowledge that only around 5% of the homes sold under RTB so far have been replaced, despite government commitments.

Across the North, there are supply concerns due to expected low value sales receipts in many areas not being able to cover the costs of delivering new replacement social homes. The Northern Housing Monitor shows the shortfall of social homes when comparing average annual affordable home completions in recent years against identified need is -81.3%, the largest shortfall in provision across affordable home types in the region:

Michael Gove has recently said that we need to be building more social homes and bringing a new RTB policy forward now puts this ambition at risk, signalling there may be a degree of disconnect between DLUHC and Number 10. Though the detail has not yet been revealed, the West Midlands pilot estimated a national roll-out of the policy would cost Treasury around £15bn over a decade to cover the discounts – a high figure that could be used elsewhere to achieve the Government’s existing housing commitments, such as the levelling up mission to improve housing quality and achieving net zero targets by bringing social homes up to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C (the energy efficiency benchmark) by 2030.

There are also concerns around housing quality: historically, RTB has led to the sale of the most attractive social homes in higher demand areas, with those who cannot afford to buy a property left with reduced choices. Over the long-term, depleted social housing stock could see further demand shifted to the private rented sector and rising numbers of homelessness.

The NHC’s housing association members are already facing enormous pressure to deliver on important but competing agendas: increasing the supply of good quality, sustainable, affordable homes; retrofitting existing homes to reduce carbon emissions and reduce household energy bills; and delivering on building safety. Though Michael Gove has confirmed this new policy will not affect the Affordable Homes Programme, there are concerns around how housing associations’ resources will be impacted by it.

We await further details to be published by Government about how this could be taken forward in practice.

 

Mortgages for housing benefit recipients

Another key announcement was also about expanding home ownership, coining a new slogan ‘Benefits to Bricks’. This would see those receiving housing benefit able to use that income to apply for a mortgage, switching the stream of housing benefit from rent to mortgages.

Johnson made reference to the level of housing support (£30bn) currently “being swallowed” by private landlords and housing associations through rents and the potential to change rules on welfare so “working people” can start to put housing benefit towards a mortgage.

There are questions here about how this would work in practice, especially around households’ ability to save for a deposit with the capital limit for means-tested benefits being £16,000 and any savings above £6,000 being treated as income, therefore reducing the level of income received.

With the surging cost-of-living, it’s also difficult to see how the Government can envision people at scale being able to save a deposit to buy a home, even in areas with lower value properties. There are further affordability concerns about how low-income households will be able to maintain their homes in the long-term and the impact of this on levels of poverty and quality of life in the owner-occupied sector.

As with the Right to Buy announcement, the demand for these changes is uncertain, therefore the scale may be limited when they are introduced.

Boris Johnson also announced there will be a comprehensive review of mortgage products on the market to “unbolt the door” of home ownership by looking at how people (especially young people who are in the “ludicrous situation” of being able to prove they can pay high rents but cannot get a mortgage) can access low-deposit mortgages. The review will report back in the Autumn.

 

Other announcements

Additional announcements today included plans to “supercharge” leaseholders’ ability to buy their own freehold. There was also a reference to plans to use more publicly-owned brownfield land to ramp up housebuilding – the NHC supports plans for brownfield renewal in the North, with the Northern Housing Monitor identifying the North’s brownfield capacity as having the potential to generate over 300,000 homes across 5,000 sites.

The speech also covered pressures on households due to the rising costs of food, energy, childcare and transport. Johnson highlighted the £37bn package of support provided so far to help with the cost of living (both targeted and universal). On the gas crisis that is driving up energy bills, Johnson referenced their track record on developing off-shore wind and their plans to expand nuclear power as alternatives to gas. The NHC will continue to make the case on behalf of our members that a key solution to the cost-of-living crisis, the gas crisis, and the climate crisis is to insulate homes at scale and transition them to clean heat in the medium- and long-term.

Please do not hesitate to follow up on this with the NHC by contacting Anna Seddon (Policy and Public Affairs Manager) at anna.seddon@northern-consortium.org.uk.

We’ve launched our ambitious, new corporate plan – it sets out how we’ll support you over the next three years to help you create better homes and places.

This new plan focusses on your unrivalled member experience, it outlines our influencing priorities for the next few years: meeting the net zero challenge and housing at the heart of a rebalanced country, and it highlights our plans to provide the best services to support you now and into the future.

One of the objectives within our corporate plan states ‘we’ll work with NHC members to ensure that housing’s vital contribution is recognised and valued; and to secure the policy and resources necessary to make rebalancing a reality for people and places across the North.’

Within this objective we cover six ambitions which ensures housing is put at the heart of the governments rebalancing agenda.

 

Ambition 1: Ensure that the contributions NHC members make to a range of ‘levelling-up’ missions, particularly to employment and health, are recognised.

As part of the governments levelling up agenda there are four missions:

• Boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in those places where they are lagging;
• Spread opportunities and improve public services, especially in those places where they are weakest;
• Restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where they have been lost; and
• Empower local leaders and communities, especially in those places lacking local agency.

We will map activity against the levelling-up missions ensuring our member contributions are recognised, particularly in the area of employment and health. We’ll kick this off at our Levelling Up Conference: Housing at the Heart of a Rebalanced Country which takes place on 14th July in Leeds. We’ll be bringing together key stakeholders to define the debate on how best to achieve place-based regeneration. We will discuss and share knowledge, and good practice in place-based working and develop the frameworks needed to maximise housing’s role in partnership with others. Our aim is to build an understanding of the contribution housing providers can make to the rebalancing agenda. Through this we can ensure that the great work of our members is recognised. Book your free place at the conference here.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Housing in the North have decided to use their meetings in 2022/23 to consider the role of housing in levelling-up. The NHC, as secretariat to the APPG, will be working with the Group’s officers to facilitate this. Look out for updates on our website.

Any member organisations who are running projects which deliver against the missions of the Levelling Up White Paper, particularly on the Missions related to health, wellbeing, employment and pride of place are invited to get in touch to share the details with the NHC.

 

Ambition 2: Continue to make the case that greater capacity is required in northern local authorities if we are to make rebalancing a reality.

The average net spend on housing in Northern councils has fallen by 54% since 2010/11, impacting on housing strategy, private sector housing renewal, homelessness and housing advice, and housing-related support services. The average net spend on planning in Northern councils has fallen by 65% since 2010/11, and this has impacted the development of local plans, planning policy, development and building control, environmental initiatives, and business, economic and community development activity.

We will continue to evidence current housing and planning capacity through this year’s Northern Housing Monitor – our ‘state of the region’ report for housing in the North.  We will evidence as far as possible the current level of capacity in housing and planning teams, and we’ll collect evidence on the roles required in housing and planning to deliver new services.

One of the opportunities to boost capacity includes the Public Practice model. Public Practice is a social enterprise with a mission to build the public sector’s capacity to improve the quality, equality and sustainability of places. The model brings diverse skills from the private sector through its Associate Placement Programme to attract, talented, motivated and experienced built environment practitioners – Associates – who want to work within the public sector.  The NHC championed their programme earlier this year and were delighted they have chosen to expand services into the North.

For the planning aspects of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, we will hold a consultation event on the aspects that the government will be consulting on including the proposed infrastructure levy. This will be a similar format to the consultation event held on the Planning for the Future White Paper in October 2020 working with supporter member Ward Hadaway.

 

Ambition 3: Contribute to the development and delivery of an updated Decent Homes Standard; improving housing quality across the North.

We plan to build on our compelling and robust evidence base on the quality of the North’s existing homes, ensuring that the Levelling-Up White Paper’s mission to improve housing quality results in a sustained focus on the North of England.

We will continue to contribute to the DLUHC Decent Homes Review Sounding Board, contributing member views and ensuring that the Standard is ambitious and deliverable. We’ve worked as part of the sounding board for the past year and we’re nearing the end of the process now. We advised on a range of different criterion which varied from ventilation and electrical safety to more placemaking measures. DLUHC have changed the ambitions and scope of the programme, and in their latest update have grouped the Standard’s focus into three areas: thermostatic-mixer valves and windows; electrical safety, refuse management and water efficiency; and ventilation and home security.

There are also plans to design a standard which covers both socially rented and private rented homes.  The NHC will continue to monitor the development of the new standard as it relates to both tenures.

Our next edition of the Northern Housing Monitor will evidence current levels of decency and energy efficiency standards across tenures in Northern regions and will anticipate and highlight any gaps against possible future standards.

 

Ambition 4: Work with Government, Parliament and our members to drive up standards in the North’s private rented sector.

We will be monitoring and responding to the expected 2022 Renters Reform White Paper and subsequent legislation on behalf of and in consultation with our members. The proposals on renter’s reform include commitments to abolish so-called ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions and strengthen landlords’ rights of possession, delivering on the levelling up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030 and create a rental market that is fairer and more effective for tenants and landlords.

Our Private Rented Sector member network offers the opportunity for members to come together and discuss emerging themes and issues. The key themes emerging from the network in relation to renters’ reform include: the need for streamlined standards in relation to HHSRS and MEES; place-based issues about areas of low value where landlords can’t or won’t invest due to viability; and avoiding ‘two-tier’ regulation where some properties will be exempt from raising homes to a level of decency because sum of investment outweighs overall value of the property. We’ll continue to bring members together to discuss and debate these important issues over the coming year.

 

Ambition 5: Secure funding for brownfield renewal across the North – evidencing the need and celebrating success.

Using our connections with the Northern Combined Authorities, we will demonstrate the difference existing Brownfield Funding has made, celebrating success and making the case for further funding to existing Combined Authorities and to new Combined Authorities if and when these emerge. Our current priority is to support members where possible on operational issues with the current fund, and to celebrate the success and ensure more investment in brownfield renewal into the future.

 

Ambition 6: Raise awareness of solutions available to support members with their rebalancing objectives.

We’ll strive to support members with any challenges coming out of the Decent Homes Standard, ensuring our procurement solutions support members with their rebalancing objectives.

 

Making rebalancing a reality for people and places across the North

Created by our full staff team alongside our member-led Board, the corporate plan has been shaped by insight built through our member engagement opportunities, by looking ahead to future challenges and from our member perceptions research which took place last year.

Within this corporate plan objective we will strive to ensure the contribution housing and of our members is recognised and valued; and through our activity we’ll work to secure the policy and resources required to make rebalancing a reality for people and places across the North.