All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing in the North meets for end-of-year session

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In December, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing in the North, for which the NHC acts as Secretariat, met for an online end-of-year wrap-up session. The meeting was organised to bring key stakeholders together to discuss the past and future of Levelling Up and advocate for a continued approach to tackling inequalities that appreciates the relationship between physical, social, and economic regeneration. 

Across 2022, the APPG has dedicated meetings to Levelling Up, with specific focus on the importance of good quality homes and neighbourhoods in the North within the agenda’s core aims of raising living standards, improving public services, restoring local pride, and empowering leaders and communities.  

In May 2022 The APPG met to discuss the White Paper’s ambition to raise living standards, with a focus on the interrelated challenges of the cost of living crisis and the energy efficiency of northern homes. In July, APPG members explored the relationship between housing quality and belonging, with a briefing on the Government’s A Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper, underpinning the Mission to half non-decent rented housing by 2030. 

The meeting was opened by APPG Chair, Ian Mearns MP, and included an opening speech from NHC Chief Executive, Tracy Harrison, who set the scene for the session and detailed the key priorities for Levelling Up housing and communities in the North; committing and acting on the Levelling Up Mission to half non-decent rented homes, securing Parliamentary time to bring forward the Renters’ Reform Bill, and protecting the provision of affordable housing within the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. 

This APPG meeting featured a speaking slot from Adam Hawksbee, Interim Director of think tank Onward, who provided some detail on the Levelling Up White Paper and the progress made since it was published. Adam also explained what is needed for Levelling Up to succeed in practical terms. The session also included Director of Generation Rent, Alicia Kennedy (Baroness Kennedy of Cradley), who discussed the Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper and wider reform of the private rented sector. Alicia highlighted the increase of tenants in the private rented sector in the North and what the sector needs from the Renters’ Reform Bill. Finally, RTPI Head of Policy Practice and Research, Richard Blyth, joined the session to provide an update on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill currently makings its way through parliament, with a focus on the planning aspects of the Bill.  

The APPG for Housing in the North is regularly attended by a healthy cohort of Members of Parliament representing northern constituencies, and members of the House of Lords with geographic connections to the North and/or an interest in housing. In addition to Parliamentarians, APPG meetings are attended by other invited stakeholders and Senior Leaders from the Northern Housing Consortium’s membership of Local Authorities, Housing Associations, and ALMOs.  

 

A post event-meeting pack for this session, as well further information on the APPG and its meetings can be found here: 

https://www.northern-consortium.org.uk/services/policy/parliament/appg-for-housing-in-the-north/ 

 If you wish to discuss the APPG further, or wish to attend future meetings, please contact Liam Gregson (Member Engagement Manager) Liam.Gregson@northern-consortium.org.uk  

Better Social Housing Review publishes final report

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The Better Social Housing Review, the independent panel on quality and trust in the housing association sector, have published their findings this week. The Review was instigated by the National Housing Federation and Chartered Institute of Housing earlier this year, and was led by Helen Baker, the Chair of Shelter.

The report makes seven key recommendations:

  1. Every housing association, and the sector as a whole, should refocus on their core purpose and deliver against it.
  2. Housing associations should work together to conduct and publish a thorough audit of all social housing in England.
  3. Housing associations should partner with tenants, contractors and frontline staff to develop and apply new standards defining what an excellent maintenance and repairs process looks like.
  4. The Chartered Institute of Housing should promote the traditional “housing officer” role as a supported and valued employment opportunity with a Chartered Institute of Housing recognised programme of training and continuing development.
  5. Housing associations should work with all tenants to ensure that they have a voice and influence at every level of decision making across the organisation, through both voluntary and paid roles.
  6. Housing associations should develop a proactive local community presence through community hubs which foster greater multi-agency working.
  7. Housing associations should support tenants and frontline staff to undertake an annual review of the progress each organisation is making in implementing this review’s recommendations.

The full report, and the background to the Review, can be found on the Better Social Housing Review’s website.  The co-chair of the Sector Steering Group for the report, Charlie Norman of MSV Housing, will be joining a panel at the Northern Housing Summit on January 17th to discuss the past, present and future of the Decent Homes Standard. Places at the Summit can be booked via MyNHC.

NHC joins the Greater Manchester Truly Affordable Net Zero Homes Task Force

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A new task force set up to achieve the 30,000 net zero social rented homes by 2038 pledged by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham met for the first time in November. The NHC are pleased to be represented by Executive Director (Policy & Public Affairs), Brian Robson, on the Greater Manchester Truly Affordable Net Zero Homes Task Force (TANZ).

The (TANZ) Task Force brings together industry leaders, experts and stakeholders from local authorities, housing providers, the University of Salford, Greater Manchester LEP, developers, and Homes England, among others. Brian Robson joined the inaugural meeting which was attended by Andy Burnham, and discussed existing net zero housing development and challenges of delivery at scale.

Andy Burnham, said: “The delivery of net zero carbon homes – particularly those available for social rent – is a vital way for making Greater Manchester a green and fairer place.

“This is a hugely impactful way of becoming more energy efficient, not just benefitting our environment, but reducing the costs of heating and warming homes and now more than ever this is something people are becoming desperately worried about.

“In addition to this, investing in the skills development and training required for new methods of construction and modular house building required is vital and I will continue to make the case to government to give us greater local powers and investment to do this so we can continue to lead the way and build on the existing net zero homes projects already underway here.

“This Task Force brings together a highly skilled and experienced group of people who will drive Greater Manchester forward and deliver the 30,000 net zero carbon homes for social rent our region needs to be green and fairer.”

In November 2021, the NHC’s Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury produced a set over recommendations to the sector on how can tenants, social housing providers, and others work together to tackle climate change in our homes and neighbourhoods.

If you wish to discuss the NHC’s involvement in the Greater Manchester TANZ, please contact Brian Robson (Executive Director, Policy & Public Affairs) Brian.Robson@northern-consortium.org.uk

Image from About Manchester

NHC interviewed for BBC’s Politics North on the North’s ‘energy efficiency mountain to climb’

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The NHC’s Brian Robson featured on the BBC’s Politics North (North East & Cumbria) programme in December, highlighting evidence from this year’s Northern Housing Monitor on the North’s poorly insulated and draughty homes which fall below the government’s EPC C benchmark for energy efficiency.

Speaking to the BBC’s Robert Cooper, Brian said: “We’ve got an energy efficiency mountain to climb in the North of England. We have 3.8million homes beneath the key energy performance certificate C benchmark”

“Sunderland cottages, Tyneside flats, those are typically the kind of homes that were built early in the last century or before that, and just weren’t built to today’s standards – so they’re not thermally efficient, they’re quite draughty and leaky, and those are the kind of homes we need to target with insulation schemes.”

Our latest Northern Housing Monitor report reveals that 3.8m homes in the North fall beneath the key energy efficiency standard of EPC C. Residents in these homes will pay an average of £680 more this year than those in properly insulated homes. In November, the NHC called on the government to release the remaining £4 billion of energy efficiency commitments from the 2019 Conservative Manifesto to create a long-term programme of investment for homes across the North that are hit hardest by fuel poverty.

The programme also featured Karbon Homes’ ongoing Otterburn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund retrofit scheme – demonstrating the difference that investment can make. The programme is available to watch again via iPlayer.

Net Zero Measures Demonstrator Tours

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In November 2021, the Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury launched its final report; their views as social housing tenants as to how tenants, social landlords, and other place-based organisations can work together to tackle climate change in our homes and neighbourhoods.

Central to the project was the pressing issue of retrofitting homes – making properties more energy efficient through improved levels of insulation and transitioning home heating systems away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources. In amongst the often-complex asset management factors posed by retrofit; identifying and assessing properties, funding sources, designing schemes, managing contractors; the tenant is at risk of becoming a secondary concern.

The Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury focussed on making decarbonising homes a tenant engagement consideration and a collaborative process between landlord and tenant.

As part of our commitment to promote and advance the Jury’s work, the NHC is working closely with members in identifying demonstrator homes across the North. This provides the opportunity for NHC members and their tenants to come and take a look at the different net zero measures in the demonstrator homes, to be able to see first-hand what the measures look like, how they work, impact on the environment, and savings to tenants. To this end, the NHC has arranged for members and their tenants to visit demonstrator homes in the North East and North West, hosted by NHC members Livin and MSV.

In partnership with Livin Housing, the NHC invited members and their tenants to a tour around Livin’s Jubilee Fields Estate in Shildon and their onsite Net Zero Measures Demonstrator Home. This is part of a wider placemaking and regeneration project to improve the quality of life on the estate and transforming the overall appearance – a walkabout around the estate was included in the tour.

Livin has set up the demonstrator home to enable visitors to learn about the various net zero and energy saving measures used in the home and provide money saving tips linked in with the cost-of-living agenda. Attendees were able to see first-hand how the net zero and energy efficiency measures in the home can save residents money, which is increasingly important given the current cost of living crisis.

The North West demonstrator tour was to MSV Housing’s Cosy Home in Rusholme, Manchester. The Cosy Home is a traditional pre-war brick-built terraced house in the heart of Rusholme – MSV has a further 1,300 homes similar to this one. The Cosy Home is a pilot and will provide the data needed to assess installation costs, how much energy is saved and what external funding can be achieved. The Cosy Home now benefits from an EPC A rating and household bills will be monitored for two years to assess the results of the work done and typical usage during that time.

Working with their 6 specialist partners, MSV’s Cosy Home has been fully retrofitted with:

  • Internal Wall Insulation
  • The latest PV’s which provide 5.8kw of energy storage
  • An Air-source heat pump – air to water system
  • New high-efficiency windows and doors

The aim is to showcase to the local and wider community how a property of this type can be much more energy efficient, kinder to the environment and help meet our net carbon zero targets. Housing accounts for up to 40% of carbon emissions according to the Committee on Climate Change, so we have a significant and important role to play in creating clean, green and thriving communities.

The NHC will be organising further demonstrator tours for members and their tenants in 2023, so keep an eye out for further details on this to follow. If you have any questions regarding the demonstrator tours or would like to be involved in the future, please contact Satty Rai (Member Engagement Manager) Satty.Rai@northern-consortium.org.uk

 

Asset Management Webinar Recap with Seddon

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On Wednesday 7th December the Northern Housing Consortium held it’s annual Asset Management Webinar in collaboration with Campbell Tickell.

The session was designed to offer an opportunity for reflection on a challenging year and a look ahead to 2023 and the much-discussed ‘perfect storm’ facing housing providers; stock that needs maintained and upgraded, a new Building Safety regime, net zero carbon targets, and persistent pressures to pursue new developments.

Opened by Chair, Jon Slade, Director at Campbell Tickell, the agenda brought together a series of industry stakeholders to explore these intertwining challenges and the weakened operating environment the sector finds itself in.  

In this guest blog Nicola Hodkinson, Owner and Director at Seddon, reflects on the themes she discussed as part of her involvement on the day.

Weathering the storm through industry collaboration

Author: Nicola Hodkinson – owner and director at Seddon

 

The Decent Homes Standard saw the formation of many strong relationships, with expertise shared between contractors, industry leaders, asset mangers and registered providers. With rumblings of a review of the Decent Homes Standard, as the industry tackles issues left over from COVID-19, rent controls and negative public perception of housing standards, as well as pressure to reach sustainability targets, it is critical to re-establish these valuable long-term partnerships.

 

The journey to decarbonisation

Pressure to meet Net Zero targets is mounting and the whole of the housing sector is feeling it. For asset managers, there is a fear of going in the wrong direction by choosing the incorrect technology to achieve decarbonisation targets or type of planned works. This has a direct impact on contractors, who more often than not come in after the design stage of a project, limiting the approach to decarbonation and heightening the risk of missing targets.

It is in this way that while new technology is certainly assisting plans for decarbonisation, we are also seeing it act as a barrier. Undoubtedly, whatever technology is chosen today most likely won’t be what is used in 10 years’ time or even less. Despite this, we still need to focus on taking steps towards making things better rather than solving everything with one action. The journey to decarbonisation is a continuous process which will take time to achieve. Any step forward for the  homes, offices or buildings we deliver will add value and make improvements today.

A trusted contract partner can help bridge some of the decisions asset managers are faced with. Whether advising on a fabric first approach or installing technology such as heat pumps and Solar PV, contractors have the contacts and expertise to make the process easier. If both parties develop trust and commitment, the problems and gaps in the process of decarbonisation can be understood and resolved.

 

Creating quality by investing people

All too often, contractors are hesitant to employ a larger workforce because they see no pipeline of work, making it an expensive and risky exercise. This creates an over-reliance on agency or labour only employment, resulting in cutting corners when it comes to design and materials and reduced standards of the final build.

The visibility of a work pipeline is desperately missing in our sector, and something that has detrimental impacts to everyone involved. By selecting ad-hoc contractors, based only on cost, you are left with the risk of poor design, poor lead times and poor business practices. It is only asset managers that can change this.

Creating long-term strategic partnerships with contractors will create that all-important on-going pipeline of work, at the same time as mitigating challenges during projects. A partnership arrangement such as this, allows contractors to re-invest in their workforce – delivering high quality labour, design and sequencing. I have seen decades long relationships not only result in real value added to the end build but also improve skills and employment practices in the sector.

Giving contractors and their supply chain certainty in an uncertain market allows them to invest in employment and work towards addressing issues around mental illness that so seriously plague our industry. We are currently losing two construction colleagues a week, indicating the dire need for decisive action to improve this environment. Investment in long-term employment means that there will be less need to use agency or labour only employees, giving everyone far more certainty. Creating a better place to work means that employees can be treated better, and this is crucial to improving in this current climate.

 

Looking to the future

Ultimately, asset managers and contractors need to collaborate to provide stability our industry so desperately needs, particularly during these uncertain times. This will allow us to invest in people, skills and communities to deliver quality, sustainable homes and buildings that will last for generations. Long-term strategic partnerships are an essential part of the journey to Net Zero, which we all know by now is not a quick process, nor one in which corners can be cut. Industry collaboration has long been an issue in the construction sector, but it is now one that is impossible to ignore. Only by working together with a collective view of how we will reach future aims and expectations, will we have the force, stability and expertise to achieve them.

Housing Standards & Enforcement – NHC Private Rented Sector Network to Meet

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The Secretary of State for Levelling up Housing & Communities has written to all Local Authority Chief Executives and Council Leaders, outlining the urgent need to prioritise the improvement of housing conditions for those in rented accommodation.

The correspondence comes in light of the tragic death of Awaab Ishak as a result of mould in his family home. In the letter, the Secretary of State has reminded Local Authorities of their duties under the Housing Act 2004 to keep housing conditions under review with a view to identifying necessary action that may need to be taken.

Highlighting the Act, the Secretary of State has directed that Local Authorities have particular regard to category 2 damp and mould hazards, as outlined in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and also:

  • Supply the department with an assessment of damp and mould issues affecting privately rented properties in their areas, including the prevalence of category 1 and 2 damp and mould hazards;
  • Supply the department with an assessment of action you have identified that may need to be taken in relation to damp and mould issues affecting privately rented properties in your area.

The Secretary of State has also directed councils to set out how they are prioritising enforcement of housing standards more generally in their authority, across all tenures, including what plans you have to ensure adequate enforcement capacity to drive up standards in the private rented sector. This is to be supported by a range of data including:

  • How many damp and mould hazards you have remediated, compared to your assessment of the prevalence of these hazards;
  • How many times you have taken enforcement action to remedy damp and mould hazards and the form this has taken;
  • How many civil penalty notices have been issued in relation to non-compliance with enforcement action over damp and mould hazards; and;
  • How many prosecutions have been successfully pursued in relation to damp and mould hazards.

Improving and enforcing housing quality in the Private Rented Sector is a longstanding priority for Northern Housing Consortium members and our PRS Network meets regularly to discuss good practice and the challenges of resourcing effective enforcement of quality and support to vulnerable tenants.

The PRS Network meets again 15th December, 12.00 – 14.00, online via Zoom. The meeting will include a discussion on recent events and members response to the Secretary of State. At the meeting we will also be joined by colleagues at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities who will update attendees on their work improving the conditions and experiences of those in Supported Housing.

To attend, please register via MyNHC using the link below:

https://www.mynhc.org.uk/event/general?id=PRS_Network563276032

Talent for Sustainability – A unique campaign for embedding sustainability in the housing sector

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Outcomes from the Sustainability Leaders Group

As the housing sector continues to face major challenges, developing and retaining a talented workforce has never been more important. The Talent for Sustainability campaign is a call to action from an innovative partnership which aims to make a difference by embedding sustainability in the sector’s talent pool in the North.

In partnership with the GEM Programme and Talent in Huis in the Netherlands, this dynamic three-year campaign is ambitious in its quest to discover and develop talented and inquisitive minds who think fast, act quickly and make a difference to sustainability for housing organisations, their tenants and communities, providing them with training, guidance and assigning projects to develop them into future leaders with a solid understanding of sustainability challenges.

Following the launch of the campaign this Summer, we’ve held two meetings with the Sustainability Leaders Group: the group is comprised of early adopter housing organisations who want to embed sustainability across all roles in their organisation, and will steer the shape of the campaign going forward.

The group discussed possible projects for new GEM recruits, and agreed that projects should cover the whole range of sustainability challenges:

  • Sustainability of homes, buildings and offices
  • Sustainability of people
  • Biodiversity
  • Finance and the green economy

We also identified potential ideas for study visits for the GEMs, during which they will have the opportunity to learn from the very latest and most innovative sustainability projects, both within and outside of the housing sector.

We’ll keep you updated on the work of the group with regular blogs. To find out more, or to get involved, contact Trevor Smith, Director, The GEM Programme: trevor.smith@centreforpartnership.co.uk or Kate Maughan, Director of Member Engagement, Northern Housing Consortium: kate.maughan@northern-consortium.org.uk

Tour of West Yorkshire with DLUHC officials

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Last month, the NHC hosted a visit to West Yorkshire with officials from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Emran Mian, Director General for Regeneration at the department, and Josh Goodman, Director of Social Housing, travelled from London to visit a number of our members’ sites across the region. The tour took place over two days. Thank you to NHC Supporter member Ward Hadaway for supporting the visit.

The context of the tour was around the issues and solutions associated with three key priorities for the social housing sector: building safety and quality; new supply; and net zero.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, there has been a need to invest in remediation and compliance and with a new Decent Homes Standard emerging, there is significant investment required in building safety and quality.

In terms of supply, the North has a persistent shortfall in the development of new affordable homes. Over 5 years, average annual affordable housing delivery across the North has fallen 45% short of the independently-assessed need.

On net zero, IPPR North analysis for the NHC estimated the cost of retrofitting and decarbonising the heating of the North’s 1.3m social homes at £23bn. The average SAP score for social housing in the North is SAP69 (a very low EPC C) suggesting that even if work was limited to retrofit, works would still be required in over 650,000 homes by 2030.

The tour began on the Thursday with a visit to two Leeds & Yorkshire Housing Association (LYHA) sites, with LYHA’s Mark Pearson (Chief Executive) and Joanna Chambers (Director of Assets and Growth) highlighting potential retrofit through government funding and new supply through Section 106. The first site was St. Mary’s Court in the Chapeltown area of Leeds, a 1970s built estate with three-storey blocks of flats. This site was subject to a bid for Wave 2 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), worked on within the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) consortium, and will hope to receive funding to complete retrofit works such as new heating systems and upgraded fabric.

Approximately 50% of LYHA’s growth is delivered through section 106 opportunities and this was showcased with a visit to Boggart Hill Gardens in Seacroft, to see homes delivered for both social rent and shared ownership. These homes were delivered through a S106 agreement between developer Strata and the council and have had strong demand.

The tour then moved on to two Leeds City Council (LCC) sites, with details provided by Paul Rounding (Capital Programme Manager, Leeds City Council). The first site was The Barncrofts, a number of high-rise housing blocks in the northeast of Leeds. The Barncrofts are one of six District Heating Clusters across the city which will provide renewable heat to be used for heating and hot water purposes. This scheme involves replacing the existing electric storage heating and hot water systems in 26 high rise housing blocks with modern and efficient heating, reducing carbon emissions. As part of the visit, attendees were able to speak to a tenant who has benefited greatly from the retrofit and can now heat the entire flat for longer and for cheaper.

The next LCC site was Roxby Close, another high-rise building in the Lincoln Green area of Leeds – a designated priority area for fuel poverty and unemployment. This scheme was created to address concrete works that need attention, as well as provide energy performance benefits to residents through installation of external wall insulation.

That evening, Ward Hadaway hosted a dinner at their Leeds offices, attended by housing association chief executives and local authority housing leads. The dinner gave our members the opportunity to discuss with DLUHC officials the key priorities for their organisations, tenants, and the sector. The discussion was focused on key issues for the sector such as the rent cap, decarbonisation, new supply and building quality.

On the Friday morning, we were joined by Naz Parkar (Director of Homes and Neighbourhoods, Kirklees Council) who took us to Abbey Road, located in the Ashbrow ward, an area with the highest levels of fuel poverty and carbon emissions within Kirklees. The scheme has raised the profile of retrofit and the needs of communities in the North with visits from the WYCA Metro Mayor Tracy Brabin and Sir Keir Starmer, who was “really impressed” and after speaking with tenants who said energy bills had plummeted. These homes had been retrofitted with various measures including external wall insultation, heat pumps and PV panels.

Outside homes on Abbey Road with DLUHC, Kirklees Council and NHC colleagues.

Naz Parkar then took us to Huddersfield town centre to visit Buxton House, a high-rise block that sits on top of an existing three-story commercial development. Kirklees Council are working on plans for the remodelling of the Buxton House block, which will require tenants to be decanted and will result in the provision of one and two bedroom flats, major fire safety improvements and the introduction of a new, more welcoming, entrance – with an estimated scheme cost of £16 million.

After visiting Kirklees sites we returned to Leeds where we convened at Yorkshire Housing’s new sustainable office, ‘The Place’ for a working lunch with a presentation from Helen Lennon (Chief Executive, Connect) and Nick Atkin (Chief Executive, Yorkshire Housing) who are also Chair and Vice Chair respectively of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership. Helen and Nick provided an update for Emran Mian on the key priorities facing the regions housing sector and asks from DLUHC to help deal with these. We also had a presentation from Chris Thompson and Jonathan Wilson from Citu, the developers of the Climate Innovation District on which ‘The Place’ lies.

After lunch, Guinness Partnership hosted us at their new Points Cross site, one of the largest developments in Guinness’s 130-year history. Points Cross is located near Leeds Docks and the Royal Armouries Museum in the South Bank Regeneration Area. It has planning approval for 928 high-quality, energy efficient homes. This visit highlighted the positive effect that new supply can have on regenerating areas and the potential for high-quality new supply of affordable homes in the North.

On Guinness Partnership’s ‘Points Cross’ building site with Guinness CEO Catriona Simons and DLUHC’s Emran Mian.

The NHC would like to give a huge thank you to all members involved in this DLUHC visit for helping to relay the key messages for the sector to high-level civil service officials – Leeds & Yorkshire Housing Association; Leeds City Council; Kirklees Council; Yorkshire Housing; Guinness Partnership; West Yorkshire Combined Authority; and also to the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership and Citu for their presentations. We’d also like to thank all those in attendance at the dinner for contributing to a great discussion and give thanks to our supporter member Ward Hadaway for hosting the dinner at their Leeds offices.

Tenants’ Jury submits evidence to The Centre for Social Justice’s inquiry into social housing decarbonisation

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The NHC worked with members of the Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury to submit evidence to The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) after the influential centre-right thinktank launched a call for evidence on the opportunities and challenges associated with social housing decarbonisation.

The CSJ inquiry will be investigating how social housing decarbonisation can drive economic growth through a boom in decarbonisation employment opportunities alongside skills support to ensure new job opportunities can be filled by those who would benefit most, can provide a sustainable future for all communities, and enable social housing providers and the government to hit key net zero targets.

The CSJ asked to hear from social housing providers, residents, organisations working in communities that could benefit most from levelling up and anyone with expertise in social housing decarbonisation.

The CSJ evidence submission was drafted by tenant Juror Steve Mackenzie, with support from the NHC team. The award-winning Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury, is an NHC project which saw 30 social housing tenants from across the North of England come together to discuss how climate change impacts their lives. The result of the Jury’s work was the production of a set of recommendations to the sector; their views as social housing tenants as to how to answer the question “how can tenants, social housing providers, and others work together to tackle climate change in our homes and neighbourhoods?”

Prominent within this project was the current and pressing issue of retrofitting homes in social housing with materials and technologies to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Read the NHC’s submission to the CSJ inquiry on our website, here.

As mentioned in the submission, we are exploring the opportunity to engage further with the CSJ, and hope to host online roundtable with the CSJ, Jury members and landlords in the new year.

If you would like to discuss the CSJ inquiry or the Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury any further, please contact Brian Robson (Executive Director, Policy & Public Affairs) Brian.Robson@northern-consortium.org.uk