NHC Executive Director (Policy and External Relations) Patrick Murray explains more about this corporate plan objective, including how we represent members, and the approach we take to working with the Government. He looks at how we’ve been moving the dial over the first 18 months of the Government and the momentous policy change we’re seen as a result.
Changing Government policy is not easy. So what does “moving the dial” look like in practice?
The first thing to say is it’s never one organisation. To have any chance of impact Government needs to hear the same thing from multiple places. We always represent our members – social housing providers, local authorities, and Mayoral Combined Authorities – as well as working other bodies such as the northern Housing Partnerships and with national organisations where it’s appropriate. We listen to resident’s voices too, as they are a powerful agent for change. In short, strength in numbers is always key to success.
With a remit to speak on behalf of Northern cross-sector membership we focus our influencing work clearly on policy areas where there is a northern angle, it’s important to our members, and there’s a chance of success. By focusing strategically this means we can really get into the depth required to achieve change.
For us at NHC over the last 18 months that’s meant a real focus on ensuring funding works in a way that supports delivery across the North. It is vital for Government to understand that monolithic national programmes will not deliver the impact they want if they are not set up to work across the multiple different housing markets there are in this country and have the flexibility to respond to the myriads of housing crises we have. When lobbying for the North, you’ve always got to be mindful how easily Whitehall and Westminster default to a London-centric view of the world, and how seductive the levers of centralised power appear to be (though they rarely work as intended in reality).
Different Government stakeholders will need different things to help shift positions. That’s why at the NHC we talk about a twin-track approach. Politicians want to know how they can fulfil manifesto pledges and deliver for voters. It’s our role to show them how the social housing sector can support them to deliver their ambitions while inspiring them to go further with policies which will have a positive impact in the North. But we also need to focus on the depth of research, insight and detail needed to support civil servants to advise ministers on the best course of action, and shape how they implement policy.
For example, we worked closely with the Mayoral Combined Authorities on the challenges around the Brownfield Housing Fund. Our in-depth research, Brownfield First showed we can build up to 320,000 homes on brownfield land in the North but the way funding was designed was holding us back. In particular we found the way Treasury’s Green Book rules were being implemented made it difficult to get homes built on brownfield sites.
As the NHC’s Northern Housing Monitor has consistently shown, the North has more than its fair share of older, colder homes. Building on our track record including the ground-breaking Social Housing Tenant’s Jury, we brought together providers, local authorities, Mayoral Combined Authorities, and the supply chain to explore how we could deliver a new generation of good green jobs and tackle rising bills. Again, devolution of funding was a vital component to support partnerships, alongside longer-term funding cycles.
Finally, the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. For years many areas of the North were locked out of the grant funding needed to build social rent. Stop-start programmes halted delivery. And regeneration was an afterthought at best, and a non-starter in truth. So our research on regeneration from earlier in the year was designed to set out the challenges around end of life stock in the North while demonstrating how by tackling this issue we could unlock more delivery. Working closely with the North’s Housing Partnerships was critical to get the granular data needed.
This research all came together in our detailed Spending Review response, setting out what the North needed across multiple fronts. Backed by the North’s Housing Partnerships and based on extensive member engagement over the years, we were able to put forward a strong case for the North.
But research alone doesn’t cut it. The right engagement with the right people is critical. We met with Ministers and put forward the case for the North at every opportunity including alongside national bodies.
As ever though, the maxim of “show, don’t tell” proves most powerful. Over the first 9 months of the new Government we took all the key senior civil servants out across the North to see the issues on the ground. We saw new development, work on existing homes including retrofit, and regeneration in all its forms. They talked with members and residents about what was needed, engaging in Chatham House conversations which helped shape policy. We held bespoke roundtables and in-depth briefings on key research to support the civil service teams to design policy.
In short, it’s a pincer movement. Ministers heard clearly what was needed from the NHC and our members, and from their civil servants. We worked closely with civil servants to equip them with insight and data, and to make sure they had seen the issues on the ground. This gave them the confidence to put forward the solutions that the sector needs to deliver. If the sector, civil servants, and politicians are all pushing in the same direction that’s when you have a chance of success.
When we set out on this journey to influence the shape of the then new Government’s policy programme, we knew it wasn’t just about the money, but about how the money worked.
The results are there to see, not least in the prospectus of the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme. Regeneration flexibilities retained and broadened with real changes to the technical detail on “net additionality” rules that will have a major impact for northern providers. A ten-year programme with social rent as the priority. 70% of the money available outside London, a record high. And a real role for Mayors to set the strategic direction and allow more flexible delivery locally.
But also increased brownfield funding through the National Housing Delivery Fund, devolved to Mayors, and underpinned by significant changes to those Treasury value-for-money rules that have held us back for so long. We still await the Warm Homes Plan, but we know there will be more money for retrofitting our social housing, funding will be devolved in this Parliament, and funding windows will be longer than previous cycles.
What’s more we were delighted to see the revised £5bn Pride in Place programme to improve places building on NHC Pride in Place research directly with communities from a couple of years ago. This showcased the power of resident voice to shape policy – but also that influencing Government policy is sometimes a long game.
So what’s next? Renew, our inquiry into housing-led regeneration in the North backed by Homes for the North and Muse, will be our main focus over the next 18 months. Our Call for Evidence is out now – please do respond by 27th February 2026. We’ll be engaging widely with the sector including the North’s Housing Partnerships and undertaking a programme of resident engagement.
As ever, the ability of the North to achieve real policy change rests on us all working together and speaking with one voice about what is needed.
