A major new report calls for reforms and an urgent debate into the future of social housing in England. The independent review was commissioned by the Government and produced by Professor John Hills, from the London School of Economics.
The report - Ends and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England - highlights four issues for urgent debate:
The report comments:
"If social housing is to fulfil its potential, new approaches are needed. We need to move beyond an approach to where the key function is one of rationing and trying to establish who is not eligible for social housing to one where the key question is - 'How can we help you to afford decent housing?'
"Within this, housing in itself is not the only issue. The overall policy aim may remain achieving - 'a decent home for all at a price within their means'. But, historically we may have given too little attention to the last part of that - doing enough to support people's livelihoods and so boosting the means to their disposal.
"Social housing plays a crucial role for nearly four million households in England and gives families stability and security in a fundamental part of their lives.
"The existence of social housing has protected affordability for its tenants even while real house prices have doubled in the last decade. Social landlords often play a leading role in the renewal and regeneration of some of the most deprived parts of the country. There is no reason why social housing should not continue to play this vital role and in considering policy change, its benefits should not be put at risk.
"One of the encouraging aspects of the discussion is that making progress in one direction is not necessarily in conflict with progress in another.
"Promoting and sustaining mixed-income communities may help reduce negative 'neighbourhood effects' and improve labour market integration.
"Measures that support the livelihoods of existing residents help the income mix within the areas where they live.
"Offering a wider range of options to existing residents as their circumstances improve could hold in some people with the greatest economic potential.
"Offering a wider range of options to those newly presenting with different degrees of need may both allow available public resources to stretch further and better meet varied preferences and needs."
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said:
"For over a century, social housing has offered families and individuals the home they need. In the past 10 years we have done much to raise the quality of existing stock and we're committed to building more. Today, social housing remains vital to four million households.
"This report makes clear that any reform cannot be for the sake of reform. It must be about making real, tangible improvements to tenants' lives. And John's analysis highlights the scale of some of the challenges.
"This report is not the last word. It sets out the progress so far; the challenges ahead; and the options for tackling them. Its role is not to close discussion down, but to open it up. I welcome this report - and look forward to the important debate that it starts."
The report recognises that the role of social housing has changed over the last quarter century. It concludes that overall housing conditions in England have improved markedly in many respects over the long-term. However, it also points to many issues that need improvements.
Findings from the report include:
Affordability: Rents have remained affordable and social housing has protected the budgets of nearly four million households, while house prices have doubled.
Quality and Satisfaction: The physical standard of the stock has improved fast in recent years, with disadvantaged households much more likely to be in "decent homes" if they are social tenants than if they are private ones.
But trends in and levels of tenant satisfaction are disappointing: 1 in 7 social tenants are dissatisfied with their local area and their accommodation; 1 in 5 with their landlord; and 1 in 4 with the standards of repair and maintenance.
Social tenants aged under 45 are much more likely to be unhappy with their homes than older tenants, or than private tenants of the same age.
Overall, space per person in housing nationally has improved, but social tenants have less space than others, and less than ten years ago.
Mixed Communities: Social housing could help provide mixed communities and prevent social polarisation between areas. But two-thirds of social housing is still in areas originally built as council estates, and for 25 years new tenants have come mainly from those in greatest need. 70% of social tenants are now in the poorest two-fifths of the population, and half of social housing is in the most deprived fifth of areas.
In the areas originally built as estates in flats, more than a fifth of social tenants report drug users or dealers as a serious problem. 18 per cent of social tenants in these areas say that they feel unsafe alone even at home or outside in daylight, three times the national rate.
Worklessness: Low rents can help tenants get into work, because they reduce benefit traps. But more than half those of working age in social housing are without paid work, twice the national rate. Some of this reflects disadvantages such as disability or lack of qualifications, but even allowing for these, employment rates are low.
This is partly because those with the greatest needs are screened into social housing, but out of private housing. But it also reflects its location in particular areas, and the "strikingly low" rate of tenants' job-related house moves. Nationally, 1 in 8 moves is job-related, but each year only a few thousand social tenants out of nearly 4 million succeed in moving within social housing (even within the same area) to get a job or to get nearer to one.
Mobility and the Housing Ladder: Increasing pressures on the sector are making it even harder for tenants to move, as the supply of homes to re-let to new tenants has fallen.
In the 1980s and 1990s around 250,000 new households were able to enter the sector each year, but by 2005 this was down to 170,000.
Ten years ago, fewer than 10% of young first-time buyers had help from family and friends with a deposit. Now it is nearly half, and those who are helped can afford deposits that are £27,000 higher than others.
The report points to encouraging evidence from recent government reforms that have allowed people to make their own choices from a wider range of options. It suggests directions in which reform could be extended further, including:
The European Union cannot afford to ignore public concerns about housing provision if it wants to increase its competitiveness and maintain social cohesion, according to a new report.
The EU consultative body Committee for the Regions has adopted a report by British member Flo Clucas, endorsing calls for a European Charter on Housing, aimed at securing decent and affordable accommodation for all, irrespective of means.
Councillor Clucas, Deputy Mayor of Liverpool City Council with responsibility for economic development and European affairs, underlined the strong link between housing and the EU's ambition to create a continent of high growth and employment.
She said:
"The EU cannot constantly ignore the concerns of EU citizens regarding housing as a major element in the growth and productivity agenda.
"Decent housing is fundamental to competitiveness. Without sufficient good-quality housing, we cannot attract and retain workers, resulting in economic decline," she told the CoR's plenary session in Brussels."
Her report acknowledges that housing policy does not fall directly under the Europe's remit, but points out that many areas of EU responsibility affect housing issues. Examples of those policies include urban environment, energy efficiency, renewable energies, noise pollution and health, as well as completion of the internal market in services and competition.
Housing has also been designated as eligible for a limited level of support from EU structural funds in the 12 Member States that have joined the Union since May 2004.
The report, produced at the request of the European Parliament, also draws attention to the risks of "ghettoisation" in communities starved of housing investment.
The report's main recommendations include the following:
Training for urban planners and local people in the skills needed to improve their housing areas, to develop green spaces, to improve energy efficiency and help neighbourhoods in decline.
Priority to be given to re-use of derelict sites, reclamation of brownfield land to maintain more compact cities and prevent urban sprawl and encroachment into rural communities.
The creation of a Europe-wide network to capitalise on good practice in the use of intelligent energy in housing, and in energy efficiency education for residents.
The role of housing associations to be better recognised - their flexibility and direct relationship with communities enables them to provide solutions that best fit the needs of residents.
Setting up Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to exploit derelict areas and provide a means to rehabilitate run down multi-occupancy accommodation.
Wider use of specialist financial engineering schemes such as JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas), backed by the European Commission, European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank, to promote effective housing policies.
The CoR's report comes against the backdrop of increasing signs that housing is becoming a major concern at EU level. The European Parliament's urban housing intergroup adopted the European Charter on Housing in April last year.
The European Commission, responsible for drafting EU legislative proposals, has also highlighted the role of social housing in implementing social cohesion and fundamental rights in a recent policy paper on 'social services of general interest.'
Unlocking a potential £7 billion of additional debt capacity from housing associations is key to meeting future needs of between 40,000 and 50,000 new affordable homes for rent every year, according to a new Housing Corporation report - Unlocking the Door - Delivering More Affordable Homes from the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.
The report looks at how the application of the Corporation's new approach to investment, together with the capacity of its partners, will help deliver more quality homes.
Two key questions are explored in the report:
The report highlights how an assessment of the financial capacity of the top 30 housing association delivery partners suggests that a reduction of grant intervention rates of 10% - from an average of 44% of total scheme costs to 34 % or less - is theoretically achievable. While the report recognises some of this capacity may be required to pursue other social programmes, it suggests most developing associations have the potential to contribute more.
The report includes case studies highlighting both the success of housing associations in making efficiency savings and the challenge to deliver more.
One example is the Great Places Group, which is reviewing its appraisal and business planning assumptions to better align risk assessment in the two processes, potentially reducing grant 'take' and shifting the balance between subsidy and borrowing.
Another example is Thames Valley group, who can use the cash generated from sales of low-cost home-ownership homes to take on more development at lower grant rates.
The report also highlights the possibility more funding for section 106 sites might flow directly to the Corporation's private partners - with a focus on ensuring both value for grant and long-term management and maintenance of homes either directly or in partnership. Local authorities are singled out for the significant role they can play in providing suitable land for housing development, with an expectation that this land should be made available at a price that is substantially below full market value as part of a partnership approach.