Sector consultation summer round up

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The sector’s views are currently being sought on a number of key areas through consultations and calls for evidence running over the summer and into the autumn.

The NHC plans to respond to several of these on:

  1. Consultation on new draft consumer standards by the Regulator of Social Housing.
    • The NHC is also running two events for members specifically on this consultation:
      • A ‘Meet the Regulator’ session on 20th September where Angela Holden, Assistant Director of Consumer Regulation at the RSH will discuss the consultation and new consumer standards, with time for a Q&A.
      • Our Regulation network on 25th September will provide an opportunity to discuss the draft standards and consultation facilitated by NHC Head of Business Improvement, Nigel Johnson.
  2. Public Bodies Review of Homes England by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
  3. Inquiry into Shared Ownership and its associated challenges and barriers as a route to home ownership by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee.
  4. Inquiry into Heating our Homes, focusing on the challenges associated with decarbonising housing stock by the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.

 

If members would like to share their thoughts with us on any of the above consultations, or if you are submitting a response to any of these directly and are happy to share it with us, please contact: tom.kennedy@northern-consortium.org.uk (for the Consumer Standards Consultation please copy in: karen.brown@northern-consortium.org.uk)

 

The wider list of sector-related consultations and inquiries currently accepting submissions are below:

Name Consulting body Contents and objectives Submission deadline
Consultation on the consumer standards Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) To collect views from across the sector on newly published draft consumer standards, which set out specific expectations and outcomes that all registered providers of social housing are expected to achieve.

The draft Standards are:

·       The Safety and Quality Standard – covering health and safety compliance, stock quality, compliance with the Decent Homes Standard, providing an effective repairs and maintenance service, a providers’ adaptations service and other related areas.

·       The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard – covering tenant engagement, complaints handling, the collection and publication of performance data, demonstrating fairness and respect in how providers treat tenants, meeting diverse needs and other related areas.

·       The Neighbourhood and Community Standard – covering the management of shared spaces, cooperation between providers and other local stakeholders e.g. police, how providers manage reported cases of anti-social behaviour in communities and cases of domestic abuse.

·       The Tenancy Standard – covering allocations and lettings, tenancy sustainment, evictions, tenure and mutual exchange.

It is expected that the final standards will enter force, and providers’ performance against them will be assessed by the RSH, from 01 April 2024.

 6pm – 17th October 2023
Homes England Public Bodies Review Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) To collect views from organisations and individuals with experience working with Homes England and how the agency could perform better, including how it works alongside local tiers of government.

The Review aims to specifically assess whether Homes England is performing in areas of:

·       Efficacy – their ability to deliver an effective service which meets the needs of citizens.

·       Efficiency – their ability to deliver a service in the best way with good use of resources

·       Governance – having in place systems and processes to ensure the organisation is managed responsibly.

·       Accountability – their ability to be open and transparent in decision making and service delivery.

 11:59pm – 14th September 2023
Heating our Homes Energy Security and Net Zero Commons Select Committee To examine issues around the ability of households to heat their homes, with a focus on:

·       Establishing minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) across housing tenures

·       Property insulation and retrofit

·       Heat pumps and other technologies for heating homes as an alternative to gas boilers

·       Workforce and skills requirements for a largescale retrofit programme

·       Affordability issues related to the switch to decarbonised heating

 25th August 2023
Shared Ownership Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Commons Select Committee To examine the challenges associated with shared ownership schemes including barriers to achieving full home ownership, affordability issues such as service charges, maintenance responsibilities and mortgage availability.

Also, to assess whether Shared Ownership offers a genuinely affordable route to home ownership and value for money, or if alternatives such as ‘Rent to Buy’ could offer a better alternative.

 14th September 2023
Disabled people in the housing sector Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Commons Select Committee To assess whether residents with disabilities in England have access to accessible and adaptable housing, whether the planning system currently considers this effectively, the effectiveness of the Disabled Facilities Grant and what more could be done by government to support disabled residents in all housing tenures. 14th September 2023
Developer Contributions APPG for Housing Planning and Royal Town Planning Institute To examine issues around the current system of developer contributions, including Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

In addition, the inquiry hopes to ascertain how the sector views the proposed Infrastructure Levy and how developer contributions could be improved in the future.

 5pm – 5th September 2023