NHC responds to Labour’s National Policy Forum consultation 

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The Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) has responded to the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum (NPF) consultation on how a potential future Labour government can create a “fairer, greener and more dynamic Britain”.  

Of the six policy commissions, under the consultation, we submitted a response to four: A green and digital future; Better jobs and better work; Public services that work from the start; and A future where families come first.  

Included in the submission are the NHC’s key asks of Labour policy, which include:  

  1. Make a manifesto commitment to a minimum of a £6bn per year programme of energy efficiency upgrades, making homes warmer, cheaper to heat and clean energy-ready.  
  2. Commit to an Affordable Homes Programme which will meet the independently-assessed need for new genuinely affordable homes across England.  
  3. Invest £3.8bn to remediate all the North’s brownfield land over the course of two Parliaments, to unlock 310,000 homes.  

You can read our full response on our website.  

We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the policy making of all parties and would be happy to engage further. If you’d like to get in touch please contact Joanne Wilson, Head of Policy, joanne.wilson@northern-consortium.org.uk  

New ONS analysis shows similarities and differences between local authorities 

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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published analysis exploring the similarities and differences between local authorities in England – grouping together local authorities with similar characteristics to create ‘clusters’.  

The ONS says that the findings from their analysis “allows users to understand the similarities between local authorities, while providing local authorities with control groups for investigating the impact of policy interventions.” 

A new interactive map allows you to view the data easily (Figure 1) and shows results for each cluster. You can select individual local authorities to highlight their characteristics.  

The map provides analysis of the clusters for a range of themes – economy, connectivity, education, skills, health and well-being. 

It provides insights into some of the North’s characteristics and illustrates some differences between certain areas in the North and South. For example, many of the local authorities that are ‘far below the median’ for health metrics are in the North. These local authorities include urban areas in the North East and North West. On the economy, many of the urban areas in the North are generally in the ‘below the median’ cluster. This data and the new interactive map may be a useful reference tool for members.  

View the ONS interactive map and the subnational indicators data used for this analysis. 

Locata – Predictive model for assessing future TA need

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Councils can now estimate the size and cost of their future Temporary Accommodation (TA) need using a predictive model developed by Andy Gale, one of the country’s leading homelessness experts.

It is designed to help housing managers make the case for additional budget or capital resources to help purchase lower-cost TA.

This is particularly important given the current economic downturn and cost of living crisis, with some commentators claiming that we are “facing a tsunami of homelessness”.

The free predictive model is available for download from the Locata website, by clicking this link.

The model establishes a “baseline position” allowing a council to record the numbers in TA and then breaks it down by each reason for a TA placement.

If the exercise is conducted at the end of March actual figures can be used.

Each reason for a TA placement is examined with guidance on whether TA placements are likely to rise, or remain the same, or fall.

Officers then input their own estimate for the impact on TA for each cause of a TA placement, allowing an accurate estimate of the council’s additional TA need.

The predicted figure can then be checked against the national trend as data emerges from Government published HCLIC statistics, which are normally published six months behind.

The model then helps estimate the potential cost of these additional TA placements if the only alternative TA options available to a council are either B&B or nightly rate TA. These two types of TA are the most expensive options available to a council.

Once the predictive model has been completed, managers will be able to make the case for:

  • Additional budget
  • Capital resources to buy lower-cost TA
  • Other interventions such as increasing the percentage of social housing properties targeted at households in TA
  • Or a combination of all of the above

£338 million decarbonisation boost for housing in the North

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The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has announced the successful bids from Wave 2.1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) for successful local authorities and providers of social housing to install energy efficiency upgrades in their housing stock.

£778 million has been offered to 107 projects for Wave 2.1 of the SHDF, with just over £184 million going to Northern regions. This represents 23.7% of total funding going to the North.

All successful bids can be seen here and the regional breakdown for the North is:

  • North West: £105.3 million
  • North East: £29.3 million
  • Yorkshire & the Humber: £50 million

 

NHC Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:

“This latest wave of funding adds to the momentum already built around green home upgrades in the North.

Retrofitting homes towards net zero is a key priority for councils and housing associations across the North. Our members want to continue to scale their activity to support the development of the supply chain, and to deliver good, green jobs.

We were delighted to see even more ambitious partnership bids submitted to this Wave – an approach which we hope to see followed through in delivery. But most importantly, these successful projects will help create warmer homes and improve the physical and mental health of people in our communities.”

 

The Government has said that around 90,000 homes are expected to be upgraded under the scheme and funding will support around 13,000 jobs annually in the green energy sector, creating the conditions for growth in the retrofit supply chain and boosting productivity and innovation in the construction sector.

We know that upgrading the North’s homes will reduce carbon emissions and help to achieve net zero targets, alleviate fuel poverty during a cost-of-living crisis, and bring new skills and jobs to the region, and we will continue to work with our members to support them to deliver for people and communities across the North.

We are delighted to see many NHC members being awarded funding to complete energy efficiency upgrades on their homes rated below EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) C rating – including Together Housing Association, which has been awarded £9.5 million from Wave 2.1 of the fund.

It’s also great to see Combined Authorities awarded large grants. Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has been awarded £37 million – one of the largest grants awarded in SHDF funding. This will go to multiple NHC members in the Greater Manchester Housing Providers group, who submitted their bid as a consortia through the GMCA. Other Northern Combined Authorities (CA) have received funding for their consortia bids including Tees Valley CA (£32.4m), Liverpool City Region CA (£31.7m) and West Yorkshire CA (£14.7m).

Congratulations to all of NHC members who have secured investment from this wave of funding.

Today, DESNZ also announced £630 million of funding awarded under the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) Phase 2, which will go to local authorities to provide energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating to households in England that are low income, off the gas grid or have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) between D and G.

The full list of successful local authorities under the HUG Phase 2 is here.

The regional breakdown for the North is:

  • North West: £83.8 million
  • North East: £28.5 million
  • Yorkshire & the Humber: £41.1 million

Spring Budget 2023 – NHC on-the-day briefing

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today (15 March 2023) set out his first Spring Budget outlining the Government’s plans on taxes and key decisions on spending.

Following the Chancellor’s announcements, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has published its economic and fiscal outlook.  The OBR are expecting inflation to fall sharply to 2.9% by the end of 2023.

The Spring Budget was set against a backdrop of growing pressure to do more to help people cope with the ongoing cost of living crisis. Energy costs, private rents, food prices and childcare costs have all been the focus of debate. In the run-up to the Budget, Government has also focussed efforts on helping social housing residents, through their new ‘Make Things Right’ campaign, and we understand the review of the Decent Homes standard is expected to pick up pace soon – sign up for updates.

At the Northern Housing Consortium we used our budget representation and influencing work to highlight the immediate need to uprate the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) back to the 30th percentile and ensure it reflects the real cost of renting in future years. Ending the freeze on support for private renters’ housing costs makes economic sense too – as members tell us the freeze is resulting in homelessness presentations and driving up the use of costly temporary accommodation. Many in the housing sector focussed their efforts on this policy issue, including the Chartered Institute of Housing and Shelter – as it was widely seen as something the Government could do now to help people.

Commenting on the continued LHA freeze, NHC CEO Tracy Harrison said:  “We are hugely disappointed that the chancellor has failed to use his Budget to uprate Local Housing Allowance. This will be a blow to renters across the red wall, who have seen rents consistently rise since 2020 while support for housing costs has been frozen. The continued freeze on LHA also puts our councils under huge pressure and is likely to result in more homelessness presentations and drive up the use of temporary accommodation.”

Members will be aware, the NHC also has long term asks on investment in energy efficiency of existing homes, on brownfield land remediation and local authority capacity. For the Spring Budget we added to these by supporting a coalition, including Age UK and National Energy Action, calling on the Government to:

  • spend at least £6bn annually to help upgrade homes.
  • improve training and supply chains to support the rollout of heat pumps.
  • set aside an initial £5bn for home insulation and £3bn for the installation of heat pumps.

While the Chancellor did not make announcements on energy efficiency investment at the Budget, we understand the Government is planning further net zero announcements this month, which may include allocations from the second wave of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

The Chancellor set out the Government’s priorities in what he described as a ‘Budget for Growth’, with key announcements on energy, childcare, social security and regional economic development.

Our on-the-day analysis of the Chancellor’s announcements is set out in our on-the-day briefing.

Read the full analysis here.

 

 

New analysis shows case for unfreezing Local Housing Allowance in next week’s Budget

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The Northern Housing Consortium (NHC), which represents housing organisations in the North, is calling on the Chancellor to use next week’s Budget to uprate Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to provide a lifeline for struggling renters in the North.

The NHC and others welcomed the decision from government last November to protect the most vulnerable in society by increasing benefits in line with inflation in April. However, one key benefit was missing, Local Housing Allowance – which provides support for those renting in the private rented sector. This remains frozen at 2020 rates, limiting the support available to private renters and adding to cost of living pressures across the North.

Rents have risen across the North since the LHA was frozen and analysis from the NHC’s Northern Housing Monitor shows that only 7% of 2-bed rentals advertised in the North are affordable for someone reliant on Local Housing Allowance to pay their rent. These increases have accelerated over time with huge gaps emerging between rents and what people are entitled to receive from the LHA. New analysis from the Northern Housing Consortium shows that for a three-bedroom family home to rent in Tameside and Glossop, the gap between real rents at the 30th percentile (as determined by the government’s Valuation Office Agency) and the frozen LHA is now £24 a week – £104 a month, or £1,248 a year.

The NHC say the Chancellor must re-set the Local Housing Allowance to cover at least the 30th centile of local rents, and then relink the benefit to the real cost of renting for future years.

Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium said:

“This continued freeze on LHA impacts many different households – from people living alone, or in shared accommodation, to couples and families. Tenants need to find the extra money from somewhere, and people are now having to make a choice not just between heating and eating but keeping a roof over their heads. Councils in the North are particularly worried about the LHA freeze as it’s resulting in homelessness presentations and driving up the use of temporary accommodation.”

Dave Richmond Chief Executive at St Leger Homes of Doncaster said:

“The government have worked hard to support local authorities to tackle homelessness, but when it comes to the issue of welfare benefits being sufficient to pay for private rents they seem to be asleep at the wheel. In Doncaster we are seeing more people needing council housing because they simply cannot afford to rent privately. This isn’t people being choosy, but an inability to find any private home that meets their needs at the LHA rate.

“Whilst Doncaster has 20,000 council homes the private rental sector is larger and unfortunately only a small proportion of those private properties are affordable to people on benefits. As a result we are placing more people in temporary accommodation, including hotels until we can find them a suitable alternative. The impact on the public purse is concerning, but more concerning is the impact on families of having to live in such a way.”

The long-term solution to this crisis is more affordable housing – but the government needs to act now and use next week’s Budget to uprate Local Housing Allowance to protect private renters in the North.

Decent Homes Review – sign up for updates

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The Review of the Decent Homes Standard has been underway since early 2021 – and the Northern Housing Consortium are part of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Review Sounding Board.

With a consultation on extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector having concluded last year, the NHC are expecting the Review of the Standard itself to pick up pace in coming weeks.  During the passage of the Social Housing Regulation Bill, Ministers also pledged to bring forward a consultation on a regulatory standard for energy efficiency in the social rented sector, within six months of the Bill receiving Royal Assent.

The NHC are therefore expecting the next few months to be a critical period to influence the development of both initiatives, and to ensure we have ambitious and deliverable standards to take us into the 2030s. Commenting, NHC Executive Director (Policy and Public Affairs) Brian Robson said:

“We welcome the Government’s commitment to bringing forward a new Decent Homes Standard to replace the current 2006 version. Energy efficiency will form an important part of updates to the Standard, and the NHC is therefore encouraging the Department to bring these consultations forward in parallel, in order that social landlords can provide holistic and considered feedback.”

NHC members can sign up for updates direct from the NHC’s policy team, ensuring that you are kept up-to-date on the progress of the review, and get to shape our response. If you’d like to receive our Decent Homes Review update, please email kristina.dawson@northern-consortium.org.uk

Northern Housing Markets Outlook with JLL 2023 – Event write-up

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International real estate company JLL gave a session on market trends in housing on the 22nd February 2022. The session was hosted by NHC with involvement from members in the roundtable. From JLL, we had Marcus Dixon and Paul Winstanley, who gave insights into the economic insight into the housing market, the PRS and the situation in social housing. The session was chaired by Dave Richmond, chief executive of St. Leger Homes.

The session began with an introduction from Marcus Dixon with an economic narrative giving a breakdown of what is happening in different areas of the housing market. Mr. Dixon informed the roundtable of key headlines, such as the fact that housing prices have risen significantly over the past two years, with a 27% rise compared to pre-pandemic. Similarly, when looking at the private rented sector, JLL predicts that rents are predicted to grow by 15.6% over the next 5 years. JLL highlighted that it is the poorest households who will be impacted by any financial instability, and according to their presentation around 40% of those in the lowest income bracket rent through either a housing association or a local authority. Finally, the presentation ended with information around the highlighted living priorities for people, in terms of things that are important for people in terms of what they look for in a home. These include; Access to green spaces, close to public transport, Broadband, Energy efficiency and space for home office.

Secondly, Paul Winstanley gave an update on what is happening in the private rented sector, informing the group that regulatory factors are having an impact on the financial viability of landlords in the PRS sector and they’re being asked to do more and more. The key headline from this presentation is that landlords in the PRS are valuable as they increase the amount of housing available on the market. However, now, landlords are leaving the markets due to increasing pressures, and this is having an impact on the amount of housing going forward. Mr. Winstanley highlighted to the group that there needs to be consideration for the PRS alongside affordable housing to help solve the housing crisis.

Finally, there was a questions and answers session chaired by Dave Richmond, with questions from the group asking about regional differences in the market, age profiles of potential buyers, the situation for social landlords and homelessness. JLL gave their insight into the questions and answers informing the group of trends that are appearing in each of these questions.

The NHC would like to thank JLL for their participation in the event, particularly Marcus Dixon and Paul Winstanley for their engagement with the group and for their presentations. If you would like to find out more about the Roundtable with JLL, please contact Liam Gregson, Membership Engagement Manager liam.gregson@northern-consortium.org.uk.

 

 

DLUHC consultation on tenant involvement and mutual exchange

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The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has launched a new consultation on issuing new directions to the Regulator of Social Housing relating to tenant involvement and mutual exchange.

This is part of the Social Housing White Paper’s commitment to introduce a proactive consumer regulation regime. DLUHC has reviewed existing directions covering tenant involvement and mutual exchange to ensure they are suitable for the new regulatory framework.

The Social Housing Bill is currently progressing through parliament enabling the Secretary of State to direct the Regulator on certain aspects of regulatory standards to deliver the reforms set out in the White Paper.

The consultation proposes a number of small, but important changes to the existing directions covering tenant involvement and mutual exchange to support the implementation of the new consumer regime. DLUHC will issue new directions to the Regulator in spring 2023 subject to the outcome of the consultation and the Social Housing Bill’s passage through parliament.

The consultation closes on 30 March 2023.

The direction relating to tenant involvement requires the Regulator to set a standard on tenant involvement that applies to all registered social housing providers. For example, a requirement to provide tenants with greater opportunities to engage with and scrutinise their landlord’s activities. The direction regarding mutual exchange covers tenants’ rights to access a service that helps them exchange their propriety with other social housing tenants.

We are keen to hear feedback from our members to inform our submission. If you would like to comment on the consultation please send your comments to:

Joanne Wilson at joanne.wilson@northern-consortium.org.uk by the 24th of March 2023.

 

Government launches ‘Make Things Right’ campaign

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The Government has this week launched its new ‘Make Things Right’ campaign to inform social housing residents that if they have a problem, it’s now easier to make things right.

The campaign aims to help more social housing residents in England know how to complain if they’re unhappy with a service provided by their landlord. The ‘Make Things Right’ website provides information on how to raise a complaint and contact the Housing Ombudsman. Additional information is also available to help tenants who wish to contact their local MP, councillor, or Tenant Panel.

The campaign will feature on radio and social media adverts, as well as in online searches, and will run until the end of April 2023. Community engagement will also take place in the North West and London, where there are higher concentrations of social housing.

The Government campaign will reinforce the message that everyone deserves to live in a home that is safe, secure and well-maintained.

You can view the ‘Make Things Right’ campaign assets and support the campaign through your channels. Posters, leaflets and social media posts are all available to print, download or share. There’s also a blank poster to enable you to add in details of your own complaints process, plus translated materials available.

Read more in the press release or share your work and social media content with the @luhc Twitter account.

The DLUHC campaign team would also like to hear how you’ve used the campaign materials to support your local community – please send case studies to socialhousingcomplaintscampaign@23red.com

If you’d like any further information on the campaign please contact externalaffairs@levellingup.gov.uk