How social housing boosts our economy – Hays Guest Blog

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As homelessness numbers soar and rent prices are ever-increasing, the importance of social housing is more apparent than ever. Currently, almost one-fifth (17%) of households in England live in social housing; that’s four million households. However, a further 1.2 million are still on the waiting list.

New laws point to better living conditions for people in social housing, but how will advancements in the quality – and potentially quantity – of these properties create more jobs, increase social mobility, and have a positive impact on our economy?

Changes for the better

Developments in recent months have seen the Social Housing (Regulation) Act – which aims to support tenants living in unsafe homes and hold inadequate landlords accountable for such conditions – became an enforceable law. This will greatly improve the quality of life for many social housing residents, as new powers have been given to the Regulator of Social Housing and the Housing Ombudsman; landlords may now be issued unlimited fines, strict time limits can be set to address unsafe living environments, and social housing managers have new qualification requirements.

Aside from the obvious benefits of improving quality of life and safety, these new regulations will also bring economic advantages, due to the increased level of management now required for these homes. In fact, housing associations and local authorities’ management of properties in England already adds around 12.7 billion to the economy and supports over 200,000 jobs; this figure will likely rise as a result of the more stringent requirements.

Social housing can reduce unemployment  

People in social housing may be facing challenging personal or financial situations, which can act as barriers to employment. But social housing providers can offer valuable services such as support with job hunting, access to training, skills development and funding. Reducing unemployment can bolster economic growth, due to a decrease in benefits payments, among other secondary economic pressures that come from high levels of unemployment.

Increased social housing construction offers ample job opportunities for construction workers. Between 2016-2023, an impressive 140,000 construction jobs were created as a result of a record number of new affordable housing in London. However, the ratio of new social housing in comparison to other builds is decreasing.

Job opportunities within social housing

Social housing generates a variety of job opportunities within communities. Besides construction workers, here are some other positions required in the social housing industry:

  • Housing officers oversee properties on behalf of housing associations and local authorities. Responsibilities include assessing the needs of housing applicants and inspecting properties.
  • Property upkeep roles – such as damp and mould surveyor, fire prevention, retrofit, and backlog maintenance – as homes need to be kept in working order and free of hazards.
  • Countless other jobs, including tenant advice, income recovery, leasehold officer, and project worker.

Future social housing growth is uncertain

With the general election approaching in just over a year’s time, the outlook for social housing growth is still up in the air, as social housing policies vary heavily between political parties. One thing for certain is that increasing social housing would have a positive impact on our economy, something that is more important than ever as the nation battles turbulent waters and shoulders the strain of the cost-of-living crisis.

Hays is working in partnership with Band of Builders to support the wellbeing and mental health of construction workers. We’re also proud work with The Retrofit Academy, supporting their mission of driving retrofit skills and knowledge.

Recruiting for your team or organisation? Then register your vacancy with us today.

North East housing providers form partnership to help deliver more social homes across the region

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With over 40,000 North East households on the waiting list for social housing, there’s a desperate need to rapidly build more genuinely affordable homes across the region.

A group of North East based housing providers have joined forces to tackle this crisis head on and to support the Mayoral Combined Authority to deliver the social housing the region needs.

The North East Housing Partnership (NEHP), which launched this week, is made up of 17 North East social housing providers with a strong presence in the seven local authority areas covered by the new North East Mayoral Combined Authority.

NEHP partners consist of housing associations, local authorities and arms length management organisations (ALMOs).

The partners are Karbon Homes, Bernicia, believe housing, Castles & Coasts, Gentoo, Thirteen, North Star, Home Group, Livin, Durham Aged Mineworkers’ Homes Association, Tyne Housing, Johnnie Johnson Housing, South Tyneside Homes, Gateshead Council, North Tyneside Council, Northumberland County Council, and Newcastle City Council.

Paul Fiddaman, Chair of the North East Housing Partnership, said: “As a partnership, we hold onto a simple belief that a house is more than just a roof over your head. It’s something you can build a life around. The evidence is clear that good quality homes is intrinsically linked with a number of social outcomes, such as education, health and employment, and devolution presents a significant opportunity to address these disparities and build our region better.

 “With new powers and funding, managed and delivered close to local needs, we have the opportunity to take on some of the deep-seated problems that have long held us back.

“However, to make a real success of devolution, anchor institutions across the region need to get behind it, lend their enthusiasm and expertise, and align their own work and investment with that of the new combined authority. That’s what the North East Housing Partnership is all about.”

 The partnership will be focusing on four key themes: Regeneration, development and placemaking, Net zero and sustainability, Employability and social inclusion and Health, care and homelessness.

The partners will work collaboratively to deliver significant change in these working thematic areas, within which housing provides a starting point to wider social, environmental and economic outcomes, and will work closely with the newly elected mayor and the new combined authority to support with the delivery of its priorities.

John Johnson, Vice Chair of the North East Housing Partnership, said: “Through the partnership I hope to see housing providers from across the North East shift from a group of individual organisations, working in relative isolation, to a strong and unified partnership.

 “When we invest together, work together, and plan together, we can achieve economies of scale, shape supply chains, regenerate communities, decarbonise our region, create and prepare people for jobs and support longer, healthier lives. If we align ourselves in each of these areas with the new combined authority, we can achieve even more.”

 Combined, the 17 partners own and manage over 214,000 homes in the region, housing around one in six households in the new mayoral combined authority area.

The concept of the partnership mirrors that of similar partnerships in other combined authority areas, such as the Greater Manchester Housing Partnership and the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership.

Autumn Statement 2023 – NHC on-the-day briefing

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The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, today delivered his Autumn Statement amid a setting of a stuttering British economy, struggling public services, record-high levels of taxation and some of the highest levels of peacetime public borrowing and debt.  

After the Government met its target of halving the level of inflation, following its fall from a multi-decade high of 10.7% to 4.6%, many Conservative backbench MPs had been calling for any fiscal headroom available to the Chancellor to be used to cut income and inheritance taxes. The Chancellor has himself publicly agreed that tax levels are higher than he would like to see but stressed that any changes to this would need to be considered alongside maintaining sustainable public finances, supporting the UK economy back to growth, incentivizing additional business investment and not allowing inflation to tick up once again.  

Today, the Chancellor announced a series of tax cuts, which he framed as part of the Government’s long-term strategy for growing the economy and getting more people into work. Government says these will cut taxes for over 29 million working people, measures include reducing employee National Insurance contributions by 2% from 6 January 2024.  

Ahead of the statement, the Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) submitted a representation to HM Treasury, calling for the urgent uprating of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to ease affordability pressures in the private rental sector (PRS), the release of remaining Social Housing Decarbonisation Funds (SHDF) alongside a long-term funding commitment of £6 billion per year for housing retrofit, and additional funds for local authorities to effectively monitor and enforce compliance with the Decent Homes Standard when it is applied to the PRS for the first time.  

Northern Housing Consortium CEO, Tracy Harrison, also met the Housing Minister before the Autumn Statement to once again call on the Government to uprate the LHA as a matter of urgency. 

The Chancellor’s announcement that he intends to unfreeze LHA and uprate the benefit to the 30th centile in April will therefore be welcome news for renters and councils across the North.  

This NHC on-the day briefing summarises this, and other relevant announcements. If you would like to discuss any of the details in the Autumn Statement, please contact the NHC’s Joanne Wilson (Head of Policy) at joanne.wilson@northern-consortium.org.uk 

 Read the full briefing here.

Pride in Place: views from Northern communities

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‘Pride in Place: views from Northern communities’ explores views of residents on what contributes to feelings of pride in their local area and the role NHC members could play in boosting pride in place.

Fostering pride and belonging in local areas is a source of community cohesion and social capital and will play a key role in reducing local and regional inequality across the UK. Research commissioned by the Northern Housing Consortium enabled residents in locations across the North of England to discuss life in their local area. Residents highlighted a wide range of specific factors which contribute to feelings of pride in their local area.

These are:

  • Access to basic services
  • Sense of community and decision-making
  • State of the local environment

The research highlights key challenges such as: the fragmentation of services, a lack of capacity across public services and a lack of visibility of housing and other service providers to residents. These challenges can be overcome with specific action from housing providers, local councils and national government by: encouraging devolution of power to a regional or local level, rebuilding local capacity and supporting innovative engagement and creating community hubs.

This research will play a key role in the NHC’s influencing activities over the next 12 months providing a robust evidence-base for the NHC to present to Government and opposition parties. NHC members will find this a useful insight for their activities within their communities.

Read the Report and Executive Summary here.

Summit Sponsor Blog – Locata

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Locata offer a suite of web-based Housing Software products all with the unique selling point of being highly configurable, allowing our clients to build the system to their own needs. We’re a not-for-profit company owned by Local Authorities and RSLs, originally developing our Choice Based Lettings Module for these partners. Since our founding we’ve expanded our product offering significantly, now covering the full-service spectrum, including Allocations, Homelessness, Housing Standards, Housing Management and much more.

Summit Sponsor Blog – Campbell Tickell

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New consumer standards for social housing in England: a brave new world, or business as usual? The truth, as so often, lies probably somewhere inbetween.

 

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 will drive some considerable change in regulation from April 2024, but it isn’t wholesale change.

Let’s start by being clear: there’s very little change as far as economic regulation goes. The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) remains concerned to ensure that registered providers (RPs) comply with the governance and financial viability, value for money and rent standards (where applicable) and will continue to regulate against these standards in much the same way as at present. We’ll see some changes to what it can do if RPs don’t comply, such as the ability to require performance improvement plans, and an enhanced ability to issue fines – but for the most part, we anticipate that economic regulation is going to feel pretty similar to what’s gone before.

It’s a different story when it comes to consumer regulation. The origins of the Act lie, after all, in an understanding that legislating for a somewhat hands-off approach to regulating the quality of homes and services may have played a part in failing to prevent the tragedies at Grenfell Tower and in Rochdale, where Awaab Ishak died. So it’s unsurprising that there is to be a whole new approach to consumer regulation, including the advent of inspections – which it seems will be closely modelled on the approach to In-Depth Assessments (IDAs), but will now cover consumer regulation and extend to local authorities and ALMOs for the first time.

New-style consumer regulation will be underpinned by a new set of regulatory standards, on which consultation closed earlier this month. There are undoubtedly some important changes to these: the introduction of distinct requirements in relation to domestic abuse, for example; raised expectations about how data about homes and tenants should be used to inform investment and service delivery; and more emphasis on diversity than previously.

In our own response to the consumer standards consultation, we welcomed the changes. We drew attention, too, to areas where we thought the drafting could potentially have gone further, reaching for more substantial change: for example, in relation to sustainability and environmental considerations; to safeguarding; and to tenant involvement. We questioned why there should be no specific expectations in relation to fairness and respect, given their pivotal significance, and we suggested that the standards are rather quiet about the problems caused to tenants by nuisance where it stops short of posing a safety risk, but nonetheless impacts significantly on quality of life.

But we know that the consumer standards represent a set of high-level outcomes which can’t possibly cover everything, and are intended to represent fundamental, baseline expectations of what a social housing provider should deliver. And while understanding of what represents good practice moves on over time, the outcomes social housing is intended to achieve arguably haven’t changed that much. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that for the most part, the content of the new standards is familiar, drawing heavily on the previous set, albeit the bar has been raised where this was felt uncontrovertibly to be needed.

But in any case, if reshaping of regulation is going to drive changes in the sector in the way that politicians have intended, it probably isn’t going to be through the standards themselves (although the changes will doubtlessly focus attention in a helpful way). Rather it is the removal of the serious detriment bar (which prevented the RSH getting much involved unless there was a serious risk to tenants), the introduction of inspection and the advent of a grading for consumer standard compliance which are likely to make RPs sit up and take notice – and the associated depth and rigour with which providers will be expected to assure themselves – and the regulator – that they comply with, and even go beyond, the standards.

Summit Partner Blog – The Coal Authority

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At the Coal Authority, we aim to provide expert advice and creative solutions to governments, public bodies, private organisations and landowners to manage the public safety and environmental issues arising from historical coal and metal mining.

In recent years, we have had a big focus on innovation, particularly in relation to our mine water heat schemes – where we’ve been looking at how we can create green energy from water that has been collected within former mines.

The initiative is now a proven success as we have just celebrated 6 months of the nation’s first large-scale network operating successfully and we’re keen for more of these projects to be rolled out across the former coalfields.

It took just three years for the ground-breaking energy project in Gateshead to go from first concept meeting to full operation on 29 March 2023.  It is now one of the largest in Europe and has been providing hot water and heat to hundreds of homes and businesses for six months now. It uses existing technology to supply secure, stable-priced heat, replacing the gas engines that used to heat the network.

This is a major step forward in the mission to decarbonise heat and a real-world example of how former mining communities could benefit from using the historical industrial coal mining infrastructure to create an eco-friendly future.

The innovative project is helping to combat climate change and achieve net zero aims by tapping into the potential of water-filled, disused coal workings underground. It harnesses geothermal energy from mine water to generate localised, secure, low-carbon heat, replacing the function of traditional boiler systems.

Work on the underground mines required by the scheme was supported by the Coal Authority as we own and manage the disused coal-mining infrastructure on behalf of the British Government. We also have a team of dedicated specialists who have been researching the potential for recovering low-carbon heat from disused coal mining infrastructure for several years. We are proud to have supported the Gateshead Energy Company project throughout and believe it demonstrates how similar networks could benefit other coalfield communities across Great Britain.

King’s Speech 2023 – NHC on-the-day update

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Charles III today delivered his first King’s Speech as Monarch, and the first King’s Speech for over 70 years, at the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.

The King’s Speech sets out the Government’s legislative programme for the forthcoming parliamentary session, and as such indicates the Government’s future priorities. It is expected that this will be the final King’s Speech before the next general election, which must take place at some point before 28th January 2025.

Press coverage prior to the Speech anticipated that the Government would focus on new legislation in areas such as criminal justice and new oil and gas licensing, while some legislation such as the Renters Reform Bill and Leasehold reform would be carried over from the previous parliamentary session.

These predictions were mostly accurate, with the Government briefing that criminal justice was ‘at the heart’ of the King’s Speech with no less than five Bills. Legislation of particular interest to NHC members includes a Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill and the continuation of the Renters Reform Bill.

Proposals were also trailed over the weekend by Suella Braverman to restrict the use of tents by rough sleepers, deemed a “lifestyle choice” by the Home Secretary. These proposals did not, however, make it into the final Speech.

Commenting, NHC Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:

Further detail on relevant legislation included in the King’s Speech can be found below. An Autumn Statement is due on November 22nd, at which Government will set out its fiscal priorities.

Renters Reform Bill                                                                  

The King pledged that his Government would ensure that “renters will benefit from stronger security of tenure and better value, while landlords will benefit from reforms to provide certainty that they can regain their properties when needed”. The Government will therefore carry the Renters Reform Bill, which recently received a second reading in the House of Commons, forward into the new parliamentary session.

A full guide to the Renters Reform Bill and the policies within it can be found here, but the key aims are:

  • To abolish Section 21 or ‘No Fault’ evictions, ceasing the use of fixed-term tenancies and moving to a system where all assured tenancies are periodic.
  • More comprehensive grounds for landlords to take possession of their property e.g. repeated rent arrears and Anti-Social Behaviour.
  • Stronger protections for tenants against ‘backdoor’ evictions such as above-market rent increases.
  • The establishment of a PRS Ombudsman to provide fair, impartial and binding resolutions on issues and complaints between private tenants and landlords.
  • Creating a Privately Rented Property Portal where all privately let homes will need to be registered.
  • Giving tenants the right to request a pet in their privately rented property.

 

In addition, amendments will be brought forward “at the earliest opportunity” to increase local authority enforcement powers against rogue landlords and to make it illegal for landlords to blanketly refuse to rent their property to tenants in receipt of benefits or with children.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has recently confirmed that the abolition of Section 21 ‘No Fault’ evictions will not take place until after the successful implementation of reforms to the nation’s courts. It is expected that Section 21 evictions will therefore not be abolished before the next general election.

The Government also confirmed that they will not be taking forward proposals to establish EPC C energy efficiency requirements in the private rental sector. This U-turn was previously announced as part of Rishi Sunak’s ‘New Approach to Net Zero’.

There is currently an open call for written evidence for anybody in the sector who wishes to share their views on the Renters Reform Bill. Members can submit evidence here.

 

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill

The Bill will deliver the Government’s manifesto commitments on leasehold reform to establish “fairness in the housing market”.  The reforms will mean that all newly built homes must be sold as freehold, though new flats can still be leasehold.

The Bill will include provisions to:

  • Make buying or selling a leasehold property quicker and easier.
  • Ban the creation of new leasehold houses.
  • Require transparency over leaseholders’ service charges.
  • Increase the standard lease extension term from 90 years to 990 years for both houses and flats, with ground rent reduced to £0.
  • Build on the legislation brought forward by the Building Safety Act 2022, ensuring freeholders and developers are unable to escape their liabilities to fund building remediation work.

 

There will be a consultation on capping existing ground rents. Subject to that consultation, the Government will look to introduce a cap through this Bill.

The Bill tackles some existing problems such as making it cheaper and easier for more leaseholders to extend their lease, buy their freehold, and take over management of their building. Many might consider the proposals address only a few of the injustices of the leasehold system.

The Law Commission review which finished three years ago was a full review of the law with wide recommendations. Former Shadow Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Lisa Nandy had stated that a Labour government would, within 100 days of taking power, implement the law commission proposals.

The Bill is a positive reform but many will consider there is a risk of a two-tier leasehold market as the phasing-out of leasehold for some properties leaves existing leasehold properties even less desirable for those selling their homes or re-mortgaging.

The legislation governing leasehold tenure has developed in an ad hoc way and has been subject to a good deal of amendment. The Law Commission had been tasked with simplifying and consolidating existing legislation into a single Act. It will be unclear whether this proposal achieves such a consolidation until the legislation emerges.

 

Keeping people safe

The Government says “Anti-social behaviour isn’t inevitable, and it isn’t a minor crime. It makes life miserable for so many and it can be a gateway to more extreme crimes.”

Two immediate bans were highlighted:

  • Nitrous Oxide: possession will be illegal from tomorrow (08/11/23).
  • XL Bully Dogs: under the Dangerous Dogs Act by the end of the year.

 

The Government will introduce a Criminal Justice Bill to reform the criminal justice system and give police new powers including:

  • Increasing the multi-agency management requirements on offenders convicted of coercive or controlling behaviour.
  • Introducing a mandatory duty on those who work with children to report concerns relating to Child Sexual Abuse.
  • Addressing the crimes and anti-social behaviour that blight communities by:
    • taking tougher action on drugs through an expansion of drug testing on arrest.
    • increasing the maximum penalty for sale of dangerous weapons to under 18s.
    • creating a criminal offence of possession of a bladed article with the intent to cause harm.
    • tackling ‘persistent, nuisance, and organised begging’.

 

The speech also announced a Sentencing Bill to “ensure tougher sentences for the most serious offenders and increase the confidence of victims.” It will move to reform short sentences to help with rehabilitation and reduce reoffending – using suspended and community sentences, where they are more effective than short custodial sentences.

The Government will also introduce a Victims and Prisoners Bill, to give “ministers the power to stop the parole of the worst offenders”.

 

Levelling Up/Support for Towns

The Prime Minister set out in his introduction to the King’s Speech his desire to reinforce people’s ‘pride in the places they call home’. The Speech promised ‘a long-term plan to regenerate towns and put local people in control of their future’, however promised legislation is limited to a Bill relating to Football Governance and another on the use of Pedicabs in London.

Of course, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, bringing in new laws to speed up the planning system, hold developers to account and enable the building of new homes. According to the Government, the bill forms the core of their long term commitment to levelling up, including new development for local areas and investment in local infrastructure, including giving councils new powers to improve high streets. You can read more on DLUHCs plans on this here.

 

Welfare Reform

The Government did not include a specific welfare bill in the King’s Speech, but it did assert that proposals will be published to reform welfare and support more people into work.

 

The King’s Speech also restated the Government’s existing commitments to:

  • reform electricity grid connections.
  • deliver a ‘Network North’ programme of local and regional transport links.

 

Look out for an NHC on the day briefing on the 22nd November, when the Chancellor will set out his public spending plans in the Autumn Statement. We’ll provide a comprehensive update of all the relevant details for the housing sector announced in the Statement. 

 

 

NHC Chief Executive Tracy Harrison met with the Housing Minister Rachel Maclean MP last week in Westminster. 

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Tracy talked the Minister through the emerging findings of the NHC’s Pride in Place research, and discussed our Autumn Statement representation and levelling-up priorities.

Tracy said:

“I was delighted to meet with the Minister.  Our discussion covered the findings of the NHC’s Pride in Place research, and our Autumn Statement asks, including the need to uprate local housing allowance to avoid growing pressure on homelessness services in the North.  As ever, the Minister constructively engaged with our case, and I was pleased to hear her reflect on the breadth of the role NHC members play in communities across the North.  Following a busy party conference season, it was good to look ahead to the Autumn Statement and Kings’ Speech.”

Members can look forward to on-the-day briefings from the NHC on the contents of the Kings’ Speech on 7th November, and the Autumn Statement on 22nd November.

Brownfield funding member news  

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On 9th October, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) announced £60 million of funding to support the construction of 6,000 new homes through the second phase of the £180m Brownfield Release Fund.  

The £60 million made available will support around 100 regeneration schemes, with the North of England being allocated approximately £23 million. Local authorities in the North West will receive over £15 million, while there will be £5.2 million for the North East and £2.4 million for authorities in Yorkshire & Humber.  

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council will receive approximately £3.2 million, the largest single allocation in the North, and the third largest of all authorities who received funds.   

Money from the Brownfield Release Fund can be used to bring brownfield land, including derelict car parks, industrial sites and town centre buildings, back into productive use and ready for new housebuilding schemes.  

A full breakdown of how the £23 million awarded to Northern local authorities will be allocated can be found in the table below:  

Area   Funding allocation   
North West   £15,460,984 
Burnley Borough Council   £416,312 
Bury   £1,731,015 
Lancaster Council   £1,439,016 
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council   £3,151,226 
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council   £425,951 
Salford City Council   £3,000,000 
Trafford City Council   £1,930,000 
Wigan Council   £1,042,464 
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council   £2,325,000 
   
North East   £5,216,116 
Darlington Borough Council   £262,450 
Newcastle upon Tyne City Council   £1,819,123 
Sunderland City Council   £3,134,543 
   
Yorkshire and Humber   £2,375,790 
Kingston upon Hull City Council   £980,000 
Kirklees Council   £210,100 
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council   £431,746 
Sheffield City Council   £753,944 
   
Total   £23,052,890