NHC Bank of England November Roundtables

| |by

In November, the NHC organised a series of three roundtables across the North with regional agents from the Bank of England. The agents provided an update on the UK economic outlook from the perspective of the Bank of England. This included the key economic forecasts published by the Bank, as well as discussing the key judgements that the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee make when making a decision about setting interest rates.

These roundtables were attended by chief executives and senior finance colleagues from NHC members across the sector and provided our members with the opportunity to hear from economic decision makers on issues related to the housing sector.

The first North East session was held on the 15th November at Ward Hadaway’s Newcastle office with Mauricio Armellini, Bank of England’s agent for the North East. The second session was for Yorkshire and the Humber (Y&H) and was again hosted by NHC supporter member Ward Hadaway at their Leeds office on the 16th November, with Y&H deputy agent Paul Mount providing the economic outlook. Finally, our supporter member JLL hosted us at their Manchester office on the 22nd November for the North West session with agent for the North West, Alison Stuart.

Each of the regional agents began the roundtables by presenting the Bank of England’s economic outlook and details of the recent forecasts from the Bank. The agents explained the key judgements made ahead of changing interest rates and how these decisions will aim to impact inflation. Detail was provided on the unemployment rate, house prices, inflation forecasts for growth. Much of the discussions were centred around inflation, with members emphasising the effect rising costs are having on maintenance and development. There were also key conversations around mortgages, with a significant number of mortgage owners coming to the end of their fixed term rate in 2023, meaning a large increase in annual payments once the fixed period is over. The uncertainty and rising costs of buying a home will also cause further strain on the rented sector with more people choosing to remain in private rented or social rented housing. Furthermore, private landlords could also begin to change the tenure of their properties, with rising mortgage costs and imminent increased regulation in the sector, along with rising house prices motivating landlords to turn to owner-occupied tenure.

Linking to inflation, there were various discussions on the rent cap and how this could stifle development, with some suggestion from members of less focus on the decarbonisation agenda due to reduced capacity. Members raised the possibility of government grants for purchasing stock which could help to improve supply, noting that without any funding it will be difficult for providers to increase stock.

The NHC organise Bank of England roundtables yearly and will be looking to arrange a series of events for 2023, if you have any questions regarding these events or wish to participate, please contact Kate Maughan (Director of Member Engagement) Kate.Maughan@northern-consortium.org.uk

We’d like to thank our supporter members Ward Hadaway and JLL for kindly hosting these roundtables in their regional offices.

Northern authorities gain over £7m for brownfield land release

|, |by

Northern councils have secured over £7m from the latest round of awards from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.

The government announced at the weekend that 41 councils would receive a share of nearly £35m from the £180m Brownfield Land Release Fund. The money is to be used to regenerate derelict council-owned sites. A total of 59 regeneration projects could build over 2,200 homes – including over 800 affordable homes.

The Northern allocation accounts for 22% of the funding pot. NHC data from the Northern Housing Monitor shows that the North has 23% of England’s brownfield housing potential with housing brownfield capacity for over 310,000 homes, however the overall cost of remediation of Northern brownfield land is £3.8 billion.

According to a statement from DLUHC in July, when the phase two bidding process opened, bids were to be assessed “on a number of gateway criteria including: market failure; deliverability; and value for money”, and would be prioritised based on an “assessment of the strategic case, innovation and consideration of the bid’s ability to meet the council’s Public Sector Equality Duty, combined with a place-based metric”.

In the North West, five councils secured a share of nearly £5m: Blackburn with Darwen Council, Chorley Council, Lancaster City Council, St Helens Council, and Wigan Council.

In the North East, Darlington and Sunderland Councils gained over £2m and Yorkshire and the Humber secured £258,000.

A project in Hull will see £175,000 allocated to “release land to deliver 10 new affordable homes for the local community, as part of the city’s regeneration drive.”

Lancaster City Council secured the biggest pot, receiving more than £2.7m, amounting to 37% of the Northern funding pot. Most of this money will go towards the city’s Canal Quarter regeneration project, which aims to build 580 homes and more than 75,000 sq ft of commercial space.

Funding from the second round of funding will be delivered through One Public Estate, a partnership between the Local Government Association, the Office of Government Property, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.

DLUHC said that “the remaining £140 million is to be allocated over the next two years – creating up to 17,600 new homes in total across the country, as well as support up to 54,000 jobs in the sector”.

The full list of Northern Brownfield Land Release Fund Round Two awards:

  • Blackburn with Darwen Council: £220,000
  • Chorley Council: £650,000
  • Darlington Borough Council: £223,049
  • Harrogate Borough Council: £33,000
  • Hull City Council: £175,000
  • Lancaster City Council: £2,769,343
  • North East Lincolnshire Council: £50,000
  • St Helens Council: £812,142
  • Sunderland City Council: £1,943,657
  • Wigan Council: £506,168

Levelling up the Private Rented Sector

|, |by

The government has confirmed that it remains “committed to introducing a Renters Reform Bill in “this session of Parliament” which ends in May 2023.

Government outlined its proposals for the Renters’ Reform Bill in A Fairer Private Rented Sector white paper released in June 2022. The paper builds on the Levelling Up White Paper and sets out plans to fundamentally reform the Private Rented Sector and level up housing quality. The proposed reforms for the private rented sector in England go much further than initially expected, with the government saying that the white paper “marks a generational shift that will redress the balance between landlords and 4.4 million private rented tenants.”

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee is holding an inquiry into the proposed reforms.

The inquiry will scrutinise the government’s plans to introduce a decent homes standard for the private rented sector; reform the system of tenancies and abolish no-fault evictions; reform the grounds on which landlords can take possession of their properties; and better protect tenants from unfair rent increases. According to the White Paper, nearly 11,000 householders in the private rented sector report having to move because the landlord put up their rent.

The inquiry will also explore the government’s proposals to set up a new ombudsman covering all private landlords, to speed up the court process and to clamp down on landlords who refuse to let to benefit claimants.

Fundamentally, the inquiry will ask the questions, will the proposals result in a fairer private rented sector?

The proposals tilt the balance in favour of the tenant and the inquiry will investigate whether this is a fair and balanced market, good for both landlords and for tenants.

The NHC submitted evidence to the inquiry agreeing that the White Paper represents the right direction for the sector, but that implementing a ‘Fairer Private Rented Sector’ will require an increased level of public service capacity and this will be an urgent factor in reform.

Significant new burdens will arise from the reforms, including enforcement of a new Decent Homes Standard and we have argued that an assessment is urgently needed to establish the resourcing needs across local authorities’ private sector housing function.

The inquiry has held two evidence sessions which can be viewed here

Eden Project Communities Looks to Spread Festive Cheer with the Big Lunch At Christmas!

| |by

Every June, Eden Project Communities brings Neighbourhoods together for The Big Lunch. The event has brought millions of people together to share friendship, food and fun as part of this annual celebration in the UK. It’s a simple idea that has a lasting positive impact on those who participate.

This year, Eden Project Communities are encouraging everyone to join in with The Big Lunch at Christmas, to give us another opportunity to get together and celebrate our communities.

The Big Lunch at Christmas is about sharing food and friendship with people in your community over the festive season. It’s a busy time of year, but for some it can feel quite lonely, so taking the time to say hello to a neighbour over mince pies or a shared meal is a great way to keep connected over Christmas.

Your Big Lunch at Christmas could be as simple as enjoying tea with the neighbours or setting an extra place at your table for someone that lives alone. Or you could go bigger and host something in a local community venue.  Use the free handy guide, and winter warmer activity ideas and set a date to enjoy some festive cheer this year!

Join The Big Lunch at Christmas

NHC statement on the death of Awaab Ishak

| |by

“The thoughts of everyone at the Northern Housing Consortium are with the family of Awaab Ishak. The NHC and our members were deeply shocked and saddened by his death, and the circumstances in which it occurred.

We are clear. What happened in Awaab’s case was unacceptable. Our sector has fallen badly short of what tenants should expect from us, and what our sector expects of ourselves. Awaab’s death is a wake-up call and housing in the North wants to learn lessons.

For our part, the NHC intends to redouble support for council and housing association members, helping our members share lessons learned to ensure this never happens again. We will also use every opportunity to push for higher minimum standards in all forms of rented housing. We had already called for the new Decent Homes Standard to set out higher expectations in relation to ventilation in homes, and will continue to push for an ambitious and deliverable new Standard.”

Help us to help you with retrofit!

| |by

We need your input to shape of a range of resources which will support you to communicate with tenants about Net Zero and retrofit.

We’ve put together a survey to find out more about your retrofit plans and communication with customers, to help map out where the sector is now and how we can best support.

A link to the survey is here. This survey is targeted at colleagues working in sustainability or asset management.

Northern Housing Consortium, Placeshapers and TPAS are working together to develop key messages and create a suite of communications materials which social landlords will be able to access free of charge to communicate with tenants about net zero.

Decarbonisation of homes is a big priority for the sector. This project is an opportunity for us to work together to overcome challenges with communication and avoid duplication.

We’ll work with a tenants’ panel – putting them in the driving seat and making sure the resources we create meet their needs

The NHC Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury recommended improving communication about climate change and retrofit. Research from TPAS and Placeshapers has also shown the importance of good communication if the sector is to successfully decarbonise thousands of homes.

Rebalancing Northern Places

|, |by

The Levelling Up White Paper set out twelve missions in support of key levelling up objectives. These outline the medium-term ambition for the Government. For the housing sector the role that housing plays in contributing positively to Levelling Up has been recognised, not just in new supply linked to job creation and growth, but also as a key part of regeneration and targeted levels of decency in rented housing.

Beyond the missions around home ownership, and decent standards, the housing sector connects to important economic and social impacts for its residents, communities. These impacts are multi-dimensional, measurable and can contribute to the wider Levelling Up ambitions.

A ‘left-behind’ area, in need of ‘levelling up’, is characterised by broad economic underperformance, which manifests itself in low pay and employment, leading to lower living standards in that area. The health of the local residents may also be relatively poor.  These characteristics are frequently the places that social housing providers are working in with over half of the most deprived 10% of local authorities located in the North.

Social housing providers are already providing services which rebalance communities in these key areas of inequity.  We have mapped member organisation activity against the levelling-up missions ensuring our member contributions are recognised, particularly in the area of employment and health.

Our report sets out detail on each levelling up mission explaining current activity in support of levelling up. Case studies offer an important insight into the activities of housing providers and demonstrate the variety of activities and the added value this provides for local communities.

Our aim is to build an understanding of the contribution social housing providers can make to the rebalancing agenda and making sure that the great work of our members is recognised.

We also discussed the relevance of the levelling up missions at our Levelling Up Conference: Housing at the Heart of a Rebalanced Country which took place on 14th July in Leeds where we brought together key stakeholders to define the debate on how best to achieve place-based regeneration.

Housing associations work across communities, including the most deprived neighbourhoods.  As organisations with a strong social purpose they do this because it is the right thing to do as well as making solid business sense to do it. As our report and the case studies show, the housing sector is already delivering positive work. By progressing this work across the Levelling Up missions social housing providers can maximise their impact in places.

Read the full policy brief here.

A new report demands urgent action on homes hit hardest by fuel poverty during the worsening cost of living crisis.

| |by

The North has a home energy efficiency mountain to climb, with poorly insulated homes costing tenants at least £680 more this year than they would if properly insulated. That’s the finding from The Northern Housing Consortium’s (NHC) annual Northern Housing Monitor report, which reveals that 3.8m homes across the North fall beneath the key energy efficiency standard of EPC C.

The NHC is calling on the Government to use next week’s Autumn Statement to boost investment in existing homes. The organisation is urging Jeremy Hunt to commit the balance of energy efficiency investment pledged in the Conservative Manifesto, investing a further £4bn to create a long-term programme of investment for homes across the North of England that are hit hardest by fuel poverty. This investment amounts to less than 5% of the estimated cost of the Energy Price Guarantee this year[1].

The NHC report indicates a continued need to prioritise retrofitting existing homes with effective insulation measures so that they use less energy: controlling bills for the long term and contributing to the UK’s energy security.

According to the findings of the report, achieving energy efficiency now presents a critical Northern housing challenge, with the NHC report revealing:

  • One in six Northern households were in fuel poverty before the latest energy price rises, with the region home to a third of England’s fuel-poor households.
  • Reaching Band C by 2035 requires retrofitting one home every 2 minutes.
  • Going into this winter the average Band D household will pay £680 more for energy, compared to an EPC Band C home, this cost rises to £1,249 for Band E and a staggering £1,765 for Band F.

Fuel poverty is an extensive problem across the North, especially in rural areas. The government’s statutory fuel poverty target for England is to ensure that as many fuel-poor households as reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C by 2030, with a D target by 2025.

The statistic of one in six  Northern households estimated to be in fuel poverty in 2020 is likely to have increased sharply in the past 12 months, with the Committee for Climate Change suggesting that an additional 2 to 4 million households may be pushed into fuel poverty.

The NHC report found a high level of variation in the rates of fuel poverty between regions. By government calculations, the percentage of households in the North experiencing fuel poverty in each local authority ranges between 10% to 20%. This is higher than most local authorities in southern England.

One of the highest regional rates is in Yorkshire and the Humber (17.5 per cent), a region with a median income under £23,500. It also has the lowest share of overall homes reaching fuel energy efficiency bands A-C, supporting the suggestion that fuel poverty may have increased across the region.

Even before recent price rises, all three regions of Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and the North East, had an incidence of fuel poverty above the England average, with Yorkshire and the Humber having the second highest proportion of fuel poverty after the West Midlands.

The NHC’s chief executive, Tracy Harrison, said: “It’s very clear that energy efficiency is now as much a social challenge as a climate challenge. Whilst the introduction of the Energy Price Guarantee offers some relief and short-term support, it is also expensive for Government and will now be reduced in April. A long-term solution is required, not a temporary sticking plaster  – ramping up existing programmes will build on the North’s emerging retrofit success stories, cutting energy use and waste for good.”

Bringing homes in the North up to Band C energy efficiency standard requires retrofitting at least 270,000 homes annually to 2035. This is over 700 homes a day or one home every 2 minutes. According to the NHC, achieving the target of decarbonising the North’s homes by 2035 could generate 77,000 direct jobs in the North and 111,000 indirect jobs across the UK.

Tracy Harrison added: “The only way to get to the root of the problem is to tackle it head-on, and our recommendation is that at next week’s Autumn Statement, the Government should accelerate the remaining £4.3bn of manifesto energy efficiency commitments to create a long-term programme of investment in the North’s homes. The cost of the energy price guarantee this year is estimated at £100bn. So, if firming up a commitment of £4.3bn towards maximising energy efficiency in homes that need it the most represents less than 5% of that, it has to make sound economic and environmental sense to do so?”

[1] Source: IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/response-energy-price-guarantee

To download a copy of the NHC’s Northern Housing Monitor click here.

For more information, contact Nathan Lane on 07447 921654 or nathan@campfirepr.com

 

Wave 2 of Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund opened

| |by

On 29th September, Wave 2.1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (£800m) was launched by BEIS to support energy efficiency improvements in the social rented sector. Phase 2 of Home Upgrade Grants (£700m) was also launched, aiming to support low-income households off the gas grid. 

This funding comes at a critical time as we face a cost-of-living, energy, and climate crisis. We know that upgrading our homes by reducing the amount of energy they use and how they are heated is central to addressing these crises in the long-term. Warm, insulated homes heated with low carbon technologies have significantly fewer emissions, reduced energy bills, and lead to better health and wellbeing outcomes.  

On the launch of the funding, the NHC’s Tracy Harrison said:  

“We welcome the opening of this important funding, which gives the North the opportunity to scale-up social housing retrofit programmes, creating good, skilled, green jobs and helping to tackle fuel poverty in our communities. 

The North is ambitious for this Wave – some significant collaborations are under way and councils and housing associations are looking forward to working with BEIS to build on the momentum we’ve already established together.” 

The Conservative Party manifesto committed to delivering a £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) over a ten-year period to upgrade the energy performance of social rented homes below EPC C. The aims of the Fund are to “deliver warm, energy-efficient homes, reduce carbon emissions and fuel bills, tackle fuel poverty, and support green jobs”. 

 An SHDF Demonstrator was launched in August 2021 with an initial investment of £62m from the overall fund. The NHC’s analysis showed that successful bids in the North represented only 14% of the funding allocated in England through the Demonstrator round: Sunderland City Council, Manchester City Council, and Leeds City Council were the successful Northern local authorities. 

Wave 1 of SHDF funding totalled nearly £179m granted to 69 lead local authorities across England. Our analysis of the allocation shows that 19 of these 69 local authorities are in the North with funding totalling around £63m coming to the region. This represents 35% of total funding allocated through Wave 1 which is a significant improvement on the 14% the North received through the Demonstrator round. 

Wave 2.1 will see up to £800m of grant funding allocated. We hope our ambitious members in the North will engage fully with the Fund to continue to create and regenerate sustainable homes, and build resilient, thriving communities in the region. 

NHC members discussed this new round of funding at a roundtable with Selvin Brown, Director of Net Zero Buildings at BEIS, this month. Selvin will be addressing the NHC’s flagship event, the Northern Housing Summit, in Manchester on 9th November – make sure your place is secured here. 

See SHDF Wave 2.1 guidance here and HUG Phase 2 guidance here. 

 

Introducing the Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG 2)

| |by

The Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG 2) is a £700m grant funding scheme that has been set up by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to help Local Authorities (LAs) provide energy efficiency upgrades and clean heating systems to low-income households. The scheme targets the worst performing (EPC band D-G), off-gas grid homes in England.

A key focus of the scheme is to phase out the use of fossil fuel heating and make progress towards the UK’s 2050 Net Zero commitment. It will also support improved household health and wellbeing by reducing the number of cold homes and play a key role in the government’s wider programme of green retrofit.  Additional guidance for HUG 2 is available at gov.uk.

What support is available?

The Home Upgrade Hub is a support service that provides a range of resources developed by housing retrofit and grant application experts to help LAs in England apply to HUG 2.

This technical support is being made available to LAs at key stages during the development of their applications. The Home Upgrade Hub website will continue to be populated with various resources and materials to provide relevant support to LAs. A series of webinars, masterclasses and podcasts have already gone live and more will be uploaded over the coming months.

What should I do next?

The first step for any LA interested in applying is to submit a self-assessment form. This is a quick tool to help LAs understand how prepared they are to engage in the HUG 2 application process, as well as help gain access to the free one-to one support offered from the Home Upgrade Hub. You can submit your form here.

To receive the latest news, top tips and invitations to events straight to your inbox, sign up to the Home Upgrade Hub newsletter for free here.

If you have any questions, please email info@homeupgradehub.org.uk