A cut above the rest

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Livin Housing customer Kimberly Bell shares how an NHC Unlocking Success bursary has helped her get her hairdressing back up and running in the North East.

I would like to thank the Northern Housing Consortium for awarding me the £500 bursary which has been very useful in my ambition to once again become a self-employed hairdresser in the North East.

I recently relocated to the North East, due to personal circumstances. I had previously been a well-established self-employed hairdresser, where I had regular clients and income.  I recently secured a part time role at a local bar, as I felt this would help me to meet new people, and try and attract potential customers to my hairdressing business.

Livin Housing listened to my circumstances and understood I was eager to get back into hairdressing and mentioned the NHC Bursary.  This was an opportunity which I wanted to go ahead with, and I was extremely happy to hear that my application had been accepted.

When I received the £500, I ordered supplies to help me start back up. I have since been able to get new clients in my area and have started back up as a self-employed hairdresser.

Thank you once again to all those involved.

Making a positive contribution

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Tom Miskell, Former Chair, Northern Housing Consortium

Tom Miskell has a wealth of experience in the housing sector having undertaken various roles during his career as a management consultant, working for the Housing Corporation, a local authority, housing associations and as a board member for a number of organisations.

Tom was appointed as Chair of the Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) board in 2015, remaining in the role until 2019.

Here, he shares his insights of what he’s learnt during his career, including some valuable advice for others working in the sector today.

 

Why did you choose to work in housing?


My career in housing actually came about in a roundabout way. I started my working life in finance in the civil service. However, a job as an accountant at the Housing Corporation was my first encounter with the world of social housing and, from there, I’ve had a variety of roles. These have included being an area manager at the Housing Corporation and I was then invited to complete a secondment at Derby Council as assistant director of housing. My experience has involved working on 30-plus stock transfers for local authorities across the North and the Midlands. I moved to Pennine Housing in 2000 as finance director, at the time there was a stock transfer from Calderdale Council, later becoming Chief Executive.

Since I finished full time work, I’ve carried on in non-exec roles including a further year as Chair of Northern Housing Consortium and becoming Chair of Accent Housing.

I always had an aspiration to help people and I found that housing was a way you could do that. One of my old bosses used to say, if we invest this money in housing stock and we haven’t changed the lives of people who live there, we’ve failed. And I absolutely endorse that. It’s an opportunity to make a positive contribution to people’s lives.

I’ve had some fantastic experiences during my career. It’s been a privilege as well as a wonderful learning curve.

 

What have been the biggest challenges in housing in the North over the last 50 years?

 

Right to buy had a massive impact, as the stock wasn’t replaced and, of those properties that have been sold, many have fallen into the hands of private landlords and ended up in bad states of repair.

And demand in different areas is a challenge because we don’t have the right stock in the right place at the right time.

 

And what’s had a positive impact?

 

One transformational thing has been the housing stock transfer programme, creating housing associations from local authority stock. This brought investment in decent homes and it’s also been an opportunity to create jobs and change lives within communities.

For example, Wakefield and District Housing have taken time to develop and grow their existing workforce over the years through a range of training programmes that have delivered life changing opportunities for people.

 

What role does Northern Housing Consortium play in supporting housing in the North?

 

NHC is uniquely placed because it’s the only organisation that has the common membership between local authorities and housing associations. So it can speak holistically and look across the sector, making the case for the whole of housing in the North.
A really nice thing about NHC is its collaboration. Something I’ve seen change over the years is that, where people used to be competitive, now we see people working together, and I think NHC has played a key role in fostering this collaboration on projects that will ultimately benefit people in the North.

NHC has also been able to play the role of influencer with Government and I’ve seen that massively improve in terms of our voice being heard and amplified through the organisation’s round tables and visits from ministers and senior civil servants. It’s been a real positive shift and that momentum is continuing now, as new people join the board.

 

Can you share some highlights from your time as chair of NHC?

 

Firstly, it was a real privilege to be Chair and to work with such great people.

During that time, NHC established the Commission for Housing in the North which I had the honour of chairing and involved working with people like Lord Best and Lord Bob Kerslake. It was a real opportunity to look at what positive change we could make and it’s great to see some of the issues we picked up on, like local authorities not having sufficient resource for planning, now being addressed by the Government. The commission was an opportunity to think positively and see a way forward.

An on a personal level, after I finished full time work, I was asked to stay on as Chair of NHC for another year. There can be self-doubt when you finish full time work but on a personal level, continuing to be involved was reinvigorating.

 

Do you have any advice for others who are working in housing, or perhaps starting out in their career?

 I’ve been really lucky to be involved with lots of different organisations and I’d encourage anybody to take any opportunity to get that visibility of how others are working. You can really shape your own learning and service delivery by being willing to look outwards, and learn from others whether that’s through a secondment, short term roles or collaborating on a project.

Support to help social housing residents unlock their potential   

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We have awarded 35 people living in social housing Unlocking Success bursaries. These bursaries will support recipients to access education, training and employment. The money can be used to cover costs including course fees, travel, equipment, childcare, and even living expenses.

The money was transferred to successful applicants in time for the start of the new academic year. To honour this year’s winners and raise funds for next year’s scheme, we are holding a celebratory lunch on 6th December at Ramside Hall in Durham.

NHC Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:

“To celebrate our 50th anniversary we have awarded more bursaries than ever before. The awards will make a real difference. Costs that come with training can be prohibitive and a real barrier to people on low incomes fulfilling their potential. We’ve heard about people relying on their smart phone to complete courses because they can’t afford a laptop; or worrying how they’ll manage to pay for the train to get to university.

“It’s great to be able to make a difference to people’s lives and also support the fantastic work that many of our members do around skills and employment support.”

In the run-up to the Bursary lunch, we will be sharing stories of those receiving awards as part of our 50 stories series.

TJ Rufai, a tenant with Your Home, said: 

“I am deeply grateful to receive the £500 cash award. This financial support means a lot to me. It will be used to advance fund my training and exam, allowing me to focus more on my studies without the burden of financial stress.

“My passion for community interpreting is at the heart of my professional aspirations. So, with this support, I will be able to obtain a Level 3 Interpreting Certificate (CCI) and be able to help my community and the wider community.”

If you would like to attend the Bursary Dinner on 6th December at Ramside Hall contact lynda.redshaw@northern-consortium.org.uk.

Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework

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The NHC was invited to discuss the government’s consultation on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) with Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook.

NHC Executive Director, Patrick Murray, attended and shared the views of our members on what the changes to planning policies will mean for the North’s housing sector. He also had the opportunity to share our recent research on the opportunities to unlock brownfield land for homes in the North, if the adequate funding is provided.

The discussion was positive, and it was clear to see the ambition in both government and the housing sector to use planning reform alongside much-needed investment to deliver more social housing.

 

 In the briefing below NHC Senior Policy Advisor Karen Brown outlines what the key proposals in the revised NPPF mean for members. 

The new Labour Government published a draft of the revised NPPF. The Secretary of State Angela Rayner addressed Parliament to outline the reasons why change is necessary. Key amongst these is the need to increase the supply of new homes to meet the Government’s 1.5m homes target (the equivalent of 300,000 homes per year).

 

Key points in the NPPF proposals:

  1. Reversal of NPPF changes made in 2023, including:
  • Making the standard method for assessing housing needs mandatory for all local authorities
  • Removing the ‘urban uplift’
  • Strengthening the ‘duty to cooperate’ and cross-boundary strategic planning
  • Restoring the five-year housing land supply requirement and the 5% buffer for housing delivery in local plans
  • Removing the requirement that a minimum of 25% of affordable housing units should be First Homes
  • Replacing ‘beauty’ standards with ‘well-designed development’
  1. Setting out expectations for Local Plans by every local authority
  1. Defining ‘grey belt’ land with ‘golden rules’ such as a 50% requirement for affordable homes. Expectations for brownfield planning approvals will be strengthened.

 

Housing targets

A core change in the draft NPPF includes a new Standard Methodology for calculating Local Housing Need (LHN). Underpinned by the Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million homes over the Parliament, this results in an increased target of 370,000 homes per annum across England – up from 300,000 under the current method.

Instead of household projections, the new method uses a stock increase approach – a baseline set at a percentage of existing housing stock levels, driving a level of delivery proportionate to the existing size of areas. The revised method has as its starting point a multiplier of 0.8% of existing housing stock each year, plus a revised affordability adjustment of 0.6% (previously 0.25%). LPAs can still propose a lower figure due to local constraints and conditions e.g. major flood problems.

The proposed revised method for the Northern regions is:

  Current Method Proposed Method Average Annual Net Additions (2020/21-2022/23)
North East 6,123 12,202 8,466
Yorkshire & Humber 18,699 27,433 17,602
North West 21,497 37,817 27,742
England 305,223 371,541 228,871

The proposals remove the previous 40% cap on any uplift above the previously adopted local plan housing figure as well as removing the 35% uplift that applied to the 20 largest cities.

 

Affordable Housing and tenure mix

For affordable housing the requirement will be widened for planning policies to specify the type of affordable housing required, including the minimum proportion of Social Rent homes required. On sites in the Green Belt, for major developments, there is a proposed target of 50% affordable housing with an appropriate proportion being Social Rent, subject to viability.

The proposals remove the requirement that a minimum of 25% of affordable housing units secured through developer contributions should be First Homes.

 

Land Use and Green Belt

The proposed NPPF attaches great importance to Green Belts.

The consultation seeks to identify a new classification of ‘grey belt’ land within the Green Belt, to be used in the planning system through both plan and decision-making to meet development needs. There are proposed ‘golden rules’ for development on land released in Green Belt – 50% affordable, with appropriate proportion being social rent, but this would be subject a viability test using a new Green Belt benchmark land value. Proposals for compulsory purchase for housing are also outlined.

The proposals re-introduce the requirement for all Local Planning Authorities to undertake a Green Belt Review as part of their Local Plan preparation where housing need cannot otherwise be met.

The proposals establish a sequential test – brownfield sites should be prioritised, and to support release in the right places, first consideration will be given to PDL within in the Green Belt, before moving on to other grey belt sites, and finally to higher performing Green Belt sites where these can be made sustainable.

Government defines grey belt land as, ‘land in the green belt comprising of previously developed land and any other parcels and/or areas of green belt land that make a limited contribution to the five green belt purposes, excluding areas or assets of particular importance.’

The proposals seek to broaden the existing definition of brownfield land, with a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, with the consultation stating, ‘the default answer to brownfield development should be yes.’

 

Local Plans

The new NPPF aims for universal plan coverage “as quickly as possible” and “within this Parliament.”

The publication date of the new NPPF (publication date + one month) will trigger the application of new figures, depending upon the stage of a Local Plan adoption – so the new figures will likely be enforced by the end of the year.

There are obligations on plan making authorities to collaborate. The plan making authority is obligated to cooperate and make sure that their plan policies are consistent with those of other bodies, promoting a more strategic approach to planning. The initiating plan making authority will assume responsibility for making an informed decision based on cross-boundary matters.

 

Fees and cost recovery

The consultation document recognises that local planning authorities will need to be appropriately resourced.

A chapter of the consultation proposes new fee structures for planning services and also options for localisation of planning fees which would require primary legislation to establish.

 

Next steps

Whilst the Secretary of State was keen to emphasise the need to avoid too much reform there is more to come. Notably the measures in the Planning & Infrastructure Bill, consultation on National Development Management Policies, Right to Buy consultation and the first round of New Towns designations. A long-term housing strategy will be published alongside the Spending Review.

Alongside the NPPF consultation, the Lords Built Environment Select Committee is carrying out an inquiry into the Grey Belt as proposed in the NPPF consultation. This short inquiry will seek to gain a better understanding of what Grey Belt land is, how it can contribute to housing targets and what sustainable Grey Belt development looks like.  The inquiry is open for submissions from anyone with answers to the questions in the call for evidence. Evidence can be submitted until Monday 14 October 2024.

The NHC has responded to the NPPF consultation.  The published response is here.

Supporting victims of gambling-related domestic abuse – A focus on women in social housing (including local authority supported housing)

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Researchers from a consortium of three universities and two industry partners are currently looking into gambling-related domestic abuse, with a specific focus on women (including LGBT women) in social or supported housing. We are keen to learn more about how women’s housing is impacted by gambling and domestic abuse, whether they have been subjected to domestic abuse by a perpetrator who gambles, or they have been gambling themselves to cope with the abuse. The research is funded by the Gambling Commission and will run until October 2025.

The partner organisations are:

  • Durham University (Lead institution)
  • Sheffield Hallam University
  • Cranfield University
  • Betknowmore UK
  • Addressing Domestic Abuse

We are asking housing providers if they could take a minute or so to complete an anonymous survey – see link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SQCWC83

As well as collecting survey responses, we are also looking to interview professionals who work with women affected by gambling-related domestic abuse. Participation is entirely anonymous, and interviews can be arranged at a time that works for you.

We would also like to speak with women who have lived experience of gambling related domestic abuse, to better understand their experiences and support needs. The research team have recorded a short video explaining what participation would involve, and we ask that this is shared with anyone who may be interested in contributing their thoughts: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pup70DukceA

Research findings will be used to develop a toolkit for professionals working in the housing sector (and other sectors), alongside research reports, policy briefings, podcast and a series of videos of those with lived experience. If you would like more information about the research, please visit our project website: https://dagamblingharmsproject.webspace.durham.ac.uk/

Alternatively, if you have any questions, or you may be interested in participating in an interview, please email the research team at dagamblingharmsproject@gmail.com – we would love to hear from you.

Warm Homes, Green Jobs at Labour Party Conference!

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We launched our new research report ‘Warm Homes, Green Jobs: Meeting the Net Zero challenge in the North’ at an event during the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

The event was attended by NHC members, contractors, MPs and other key stakeholders, who heard from the NHC’s Tom Kennedy as he presented on the key findings, and solutions, from the research.

Following the presentation, MP for Blaydon and Consett, Liz Twist, and new MP for Middlesborough South and East Cleveland, Luke Myer, responded to the research and gave reflections based on their own constituencies, as well as detailing the Government’s plans to improve the energy efficiency of homes through its Warm Homes Plan.

Warm Homes, Green Jobs sets out how the social housing sector can take the lead in delivering warmer, greener homes across the North. This has the potential to create up to 77,000 good green jobs for northerners.

As part of the research, 36 interviews were conducted with 50 people, including representatives from social housing landlords, local authorities, Mayoral Combined Authorities, contractors, and others who are working to decarbonise the North’s social housing.

Some of these representatives were at the event, and on the panel of speakers we had Tony Cahill Executive Director for Property at Livv Housing, who spoke about Livv’s exemplar approach to retrofitting homes, and the importance of devolution. Attendees also heard from contractor RE:GEN, with Tom Lamb explaining their approach to tackling the green jobs skills gap by offering training to local residents through the RE:GEN Academy.

Chris Brown, Managing Director of Climatise offered his reflections on the research and challenges the sector may face. Finally, Communities that Work’s Lynsey Sweeney explained how we can develop supply chains with local people and the importance of devolving power to Mayoral Combined Authorities to do this. 

It was brilliant to have a real mix of key stakeholders in the room to discuss this research and it was clear to see the ambition in the room from social housing providers, contractors, politicians and other key stakeholders to kickstart a retrofit revolution led by the social housing sector.

All the stakeholders agreed that long-term consistent funding for decarbonising homes is vital to ensure that retrofit can be delivered at scale needed to meet net zero targets. Attendees were also in agreement that further devolution of funding is needed to give Mayoral Combined Authorities the power to lead on delivering suitable energy efficiency improvement for their communities.

We’ll be continuing to build momentum around this report and engaging with key partners to help work towards the recommendations and meet the net zero challenge in the North.

Read Warm Homes, Green Jobs here.

Autumn Budget 2024 Representation

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Earlier this month, the Northern Housing Consortium submitted its representation to HM Treasury in the run up to the new government’s first Autumn Budget, set to take place on 30th October.

Our representation focused on how the new government can support the North’s housing sector to deliver on the government’s ambitions, including building 1.5 million new homes in this parliament, delivering the Warm Homes Plan and improving housing quality in both the social and private rental sectors, by providing the long-term funding certainty that providers need to plan their own investments.

The most important thing that we need to see from government, however, is an immediate two-year extension to the current Homes England Affordable Homes Programme (AHP). Our members, especially small and medium members who access Homes England grant through the Continuous Market Engagement (CME) mechanism, report that they can no longer access grant to develop new homes, as the current programme is now essentially out of funds. If providers cannot access grant funding upon which their development programmes rely, they will not be able to bring forward schemes, even if they have been identified and are ready to progress. This cannot wait until a new AHP commences in 2026 as schemes that have been identified will be at risk of falling through between then and now. A survey of a small number of NHC members found that there are more than 1,500 homes ready for development that cannot now commence due to funding uncertainty. This issue will be much larger across the North. This data was fed in to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Without an extension to the current programme, it is likely that affordable housing starts fall in the near future, taking years to subsequently recover. This will make it much harder for the government to achieve its target of hitting its target of building 1.5 million new homes over the next 5 years.

The major policy asks to support the housing sector in the North are:

  1. A two-year extension to the existing Affordable Homes Programme to keep housing providers developing the homes we need, ahead of announcing a new post-2026 programme that can support regeneration and has the flexibility to work with Mayoral Combined Authorities to deliver on local priorities.

 

  1. A new ten-year rent settlement of CPI +1% for social landlords so they can effectively plan their own investments in new and existing homes.

 

  1. A long-term funding commitment for the decarbonisation of the North’s social housing stock of £500 million a year between 2025 and 2030, with a commitment to increase funding to minimum of £1 billion per year from 2030-2035, to cut carbon emissions, tackle fuel poverty and support the creation of up to 77,000 new good green jobs in the North.

 

  1. A ten-year, £4.2 billion, programme of devolved brownfield funding to unlock the delivery of 320,000 new homes by remediating all identified brownfield land in the North of England. This needs to be based on a more comprehensive assessment of total project benefits in line with updated value-for-money methodology.

 

  1. The government to consult on both funding and regulation, including a new Decent Homes Standard for both rental sectors, to tackle the challenges with the existing housing stock and the need to regenerate communities across the North. This will also need to include increased capacity funding for local authorities to effectively enforce any regulatory requirements in the private rental sector.

 

  1. Permanently linking Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents to ensure private rental sector affordability and prevent future rises in homelessness

 

Tracy Harrison, Northern Housing Consortium Chief Executive, said:

“Our budget representation has focused on how the Government can target investment to enable our members to make a real difference to communities across the North. They’re  ready and waiting to support the Government to deliver new homes,  warmer homes and to regenerate communities.

“However, to deliver this change members need funding certainty. A priority is an immediate two-year extension to the existing Affordable Housing Programme. Our members, particularly smaller and medium sized providers developing through Continuous Market Engagement, report that they can no longer access grant to build new affordable homes despite having schemes that are ready to start development, stalling the delivery of much-needed homes. This must be followed by a longer-term Affordable Homes programme which will be a key part of fulfilling the government’s ambition to build £1.5 million homes over the next parliament.

Other measures which will provide members with certainty to develop and invest in homes include a ten-year rent settlement at CPI + 1% and a £4.2 billion ten year brownfield remediation fund. Investing in decarbonising the North’s homes will pay dividends – £500m investment per year over the next five years and 1 billion for the following five years would cut fuel poverty and carbon emissions and help to create 77,000 good green jobs in the North.

“The government should also provide much-needed security to those in the private rented sector on low incomes and permanently link local housing allowance to the 30th percentile of local market rents to prevent future rises in homelessness. The private rented sector has also been consistently shown to offer the lowest quality homes – it is vital that the government takes forward proposals to apply the new Decent Homes Standard to both the social and private rented sector, following effective consultation with the sector. They must also consult on funding and regulation to so we can work together to tackle the challenges with existing homes and the need to regenerate communities in the North.

“We must also recognise there isn’t ‘a one size fit’s all’ solution. If we want funding to address local issues there needs to be devolution where local leaders, including Mayoral Combined Authorities, are given the flexibility to use their funding where it’s going to bring the most benefit – for example, ensuring all areas can benefit from brownfield funding investment, not just those with high land values. We are pleased that the Labour Party was supportive of devolution in their manifesto and our members are already working to make their ambitions a reality.”

 

The full representation is available here.

Net Zero research launch at Labour Party Conference

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During this year’s Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, we are holding an event on decarbonising the North’s homes, which includes the launch of new Net Zero research from the NHC.

The event is called ‘MEETING THE NET ZERO CHALLENGE: How the new Labour Government can help accelerate green home upgrades in the North’ and will take place on Tuesday 24 September 7.15pm to 8.30pm.

Attendees will hear from those involved in the research and experts in the field about how the North’s social housing sector can support the Government to cut emissions, unlock jobs, and create the homes of the future.

We carried out this new research with housing providers, local government, combined authorities, and contractors, to identify how increasing the energy performance of social housing could be used to accelerate the transition to more energy efficient homes.

The North’s 7 million homes are contributing to climate change – with a quarter of the North’s total emissions coming from its homes. Upgrading the North’s existing homes is vital to meet the country’s net zero targets and unlock a new generation of green jobs. There is now a real opportunity to work with the social housing sector in the North to pump-prime the market for domestic retrofit – boosting supply chains, innovation, and creating around 77,000 green jobs in the North.

Join us as we discuss priorities for the new Labour government and how the social housing sector, local government and elected mayors can kickstart the wider decarbonisation of our nation’s homes.

If you would like to attend, please contact josef.bews@northern-consortium.org.uk