Posted 05.01.13
So what did those involved in the social housing and associated sectors make of 2012?
We invited thoughts on the brief - 'focus on one high and one low for the sectors in 2012'. And we didn't allow too many words to do so.
Each of our contributors have a different involvement in the sectors and collectively their thoughts provide interesting and thought provoking reading.
Our thanks to all our contributors to 'Reflections 2012' - may their highs glow brighter and their lows becoming dimmer as 2013 progresses.
__________
Sue Roberts MBE
Chair of Wolverhampton Homes
Chair of National Federation of ALMOs
2012 has been quite a year for housing. The low has to be the growing tsunami of welfare reform that is starting to hit us. But this does offer us the opportunity to think innovatively about how we meet tenants' needs.
One of the highs has to be the ten year anniversary of the ALMO movement. When ALMOs were first established, we didn't yet know how positive an impact they could have on tenants lives, but over the last decade the case has been proven.
Having tenant involvement at the heart of the business, and as at my ALMO Wolverhampton Homes, at the helm of the business in me as tenant chair, makes a huge difference to the priority that is placed on how tenants feel. With that level of involvement, the future looks bright for ALMOs, with many Councils recognising how effective they can be for meeting the challenges of today. It has been great to hear about the many ALMOs that have had their management agreements extended this year.
The latest report from the NFA, which makes the case for increasing the debt ceiling on council housing stock so the funds generated could be used for building new homes, just shows the flexibility and innovation that is present in ALMOs.
__________
Jane Ashcroft
Chief Executive at Anchor Trust
After a year of belt-tightening by the public sector and individuals, there are still some positives to celebrate. When MPs voted in the Commons in June 2012 for a motion calling on Government to consider appointing a Minister for Older People it marked a high-point in a campaign led by Anchor's customers and staff. We have campaigned for over a year for Government to think more strategically about the impact of demographic change.
The International Monetary Fund has reported that "few governments adequately recognise longevity risk" - or plan for increasing numbers of people living longer. Short-term thinking by Government is reflected in a report for the British Red Cross, which found funding for low-level services which prevent the need for more expensive care is being cut in many areas.
Which brings me to my low-point. Despite a social care funding crisis, Government continues to dither over implementing change. This indecision means it is extremely difficult for providers and individuals to plan.
At Anchor, we know the world is changing - and we're developing new services such as West Hall, our award-winning care home in West Byfleet. I hope 2013 is the year when the Government wakes up to those changes too.
__________
Stewart Davison
Product launch manager at Capita's Software Service
Despite the Chancellor's Autumn statement lengthening the gloomy outlook, the passionate commitment from housing providers to protect services and support their customers is cheering. We have seen so many of our customers recognising the need to move away from the status quo and change the way they work to deliver positive outcomes.
We've also seen a renewed vigour in providing housing field staff with the right mobile tools to move out of the office and into the communities they support, effectively opening up new ways that people can receive support.
Turning to 'lows' - While digital by default offered a huge opportunity to cut costs and make the delivery of services more efficient, there is a sense that some housing associations may have simply opened up a shop window online. This could end up creating costs in the months ahead.
Housing associations have less resource, but need to retain the skills to deliver a successful digital strategy. Online presence needs to be designed around tenants' needs, but also needs to support back office functions. This means linking together data, through to automating updates across departments to avoid re-keying information into multiple systems.
There is also a risk of leaving residents who don't have internet access behind, so the digital strategy needs to be part of a broader engagement plan.
__________
Neil Euesden
Managing Director at Pinnacle PSG
The 'high' is starting the Woking Borough Council Housing Management contract. The result of an authority and senior management team who were prepared to give residents real choice over their housing manager.
The tender process gave residents transparency over performance and costs. Staff have been empowered and re-invigorated to deliver quality, responsible housing management services.
For residents, this was a win-win situation. By achieving instant cost reductions, savings were reinvested back into front line housing services. Residents have control over performance and a say in future services.
The 'low' was the change from the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the resultant lack of real emphasis on residents choice. The regulations now concentrate on financial probity and rely on Boards to represent resident concerns about performance and costs. Over reliance on peer group benchmarking supports complacency around real challenge on performance and costs.
Downgrading resident satisfaction could create a long term decline in resident participation. Knowing your services are not what you need and not being able to change things could lead to very disillusioned customers.
Each estate and area is different and needs local residents to inform services, we ignore this at our peril.
_________
Peter Williams
Director at University of Cambridge, Centre for Housing and Planning Research
In an otherwise dismal year with a growing housing crisis, my high was seeing Grant Shapps moved on from being Housing Minister in September. Whatever his qualities, the endless sound bites gave many a feeling that we were observing a man who seemed to be 'fiddling while Rome burned'.
His successor Mark Prisk has been notably more focused and indeed the ministerial team as a whole in DCLG seems more energised. They need to be because as the latest CIH/NHF and Shelter Housing Report makes clear, on ten key indicators only two merit a green light, with four reds and four yellows.
For me the low of the year is that we moved into Christmas with rising homelessness, rising tensions around welfare reform, poor housing output and a sense that the task is increasingly overwhelming. Will my mood be lifted by the upcoming Housing Statement - I hope so but I am not holding my breath!
One senses DCLG is still grabbing at straws, though I don't doubt the desire to make things better. But the lack of resources to do so makes it very difficult.
2012 has been tough and though there are small glimmers of hope for 2013, it is hard to be very optimistic. However I will continue to hope we can turn the corner and will work to achieve that.
__________
Arvinda Gohil
Chief Executive at Emmaus UK
The 'high' has been seeing the continued development of Emmaus UK and the benefits we are bringing to both the vulnerable people we support and the public purse. Our 'Social Return On Investment' study this year found that Emmaus delivers an £11 return on every £1 invested, delivering a long term and sustainable solution to homelessness.
By giving people meaningful employment we are helping our companions to develop skills and qualifications, while also providing them with friendship and emotional support. In the long term this improves physical and mental health, helps them to combat addictions and reduces the chances of crime re-offending.
Turning to the 'low' - Changes to taxation and benefits mean more people than ever are becoming homeless, which affects every area of our society.
Homelessness increases the chances of people becoming involved in drugs, alcohol and criminality. We may have great ways to help the homeless at Emmaus but we are also acutely aware that preventing homelessness in the first place is the better option.
We are in a very worrying situation at the moment where more and more state support is being taken away. We in the third sector will do what we can to fill this gap, but there is only so much charities can do.
Austerity measures are all well and good but the long term impact of some of these cuts may actually cost more than the short term savings. I hope the Government will realise this and support housing services before it's too late.
__________
Tamsin Stirling
Editor Welsh Housing Quarterly
The 'high' was the publication of Wales' first housing White Paper. Not perfect, but a very important milestone in the Welsh housing devolution journey. An opportunity for Wales to address issues such as the private rented sector, where such opportunities have not been taken up by the Westminster Coalition Government, and to make clear the values and principles that underpin the Welsh Government approach - a whole system approach in which social housing continues to play an important role.
Not a specific low point but an issue throughout 2012 - the ongoing vilification and stigmatising of households on low incomes who receive some benefits in order to pay for the basics, including housing costs. December 2012's Conservative Party advertisements and survey continued the demonisation and sadly, we can expect much more of this during 2013.
__________
Greg Campbell
Director at Campbell Tickell Ltd
We always said social housing had experienced more legislative changes than probably any area of public service. 2012 brought Welfare Reform, Universal Credit, 'Bedroom Tax'; Affordable Housing; Private Rented Sector; another new Regulator (or The Housing Corporation reborn).
Fundamentally, we've seen polarisation: rich v poor; South v North; working v non-working; haves v have-nots.
For institutions delivering local public services, it's hard. Councils can't phase 20-40% cuts through 'efficiency savings'. Now it's about deciding which services will live, which will die.
There are positives though. Councils have less disposable income, but more power and influence, provided they can harness it.
'Necessity the mother of invention'? So it seems. We're seeing councils, often the most conservative of institutions, opening up to new ways of delivering.
In the past, the 'enemy' for many was the council next door. Now the neighbouring council can be the partner for sharing strategies and services.
For the daring, it's not just about working with others like themselves. Some local authorities have started working with housing associations, health providers, even the private sector. The game is partnership and facilitation.
We shouldn't get carried away. There's been no collective lobotomisation. But there are more than a few green shoots.
__________
Peter Marcus
Barrister (Housing) at Zenith Chambers
My 'high spot' nomination for housing case law in 2012 was the stream of common-sense judgments about "proportionality" from the appeal courts.
At the end of 2010, Lord Neuberger led the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in Manchester - CC v Pinnock, confirming a tenant's right to counter summary possession claims with a defence relying on an alleged breach of the tenant's Article 8 human right. Crucially, he further ruled that any such defence must hang on a "seriously arguable" and exceptional set of circumstances.
A consequent flood of lower court cases, where tenant solicitors tried to run such defences, led to a refreshingly plain-speaking series of 2012 appeal court judgments, which may now have sorted things out.
In cases such as Corby BC v Scott and Birmingham v Lloyd, Lord Neuberger - by then leading the Court of Appeal - and other senior judges in his wake have clarified that any district judge doing possession lists must be bold enough to rule inadmissible any alleged human rights defence to possession that fails there and then to raise an obviously exceptional set of relevant circumstances.
My 2012 low spot comes from the Home Office's new Antisocial Behaviour draft bill. This makes a sad reality of rumours that this Government's line on antisocial behaviour is purely about political labelling. What had evolved since 1998 into a useful and well-understood toolkit of ASB measures (particularly ASBOs and ASB Injunctions) is now to be re-named and re-organised for no other purpose, it seems, than to replace "Labour's ASBO" with a virtually identical but pointlessly flawed "Coalition Crimbo" (Criminal Behaviour Order).
Opportunities to improve on the existing toolkit (criminalising breaches of ASB Injunctions? Re-introducing county court ASBOs, particularly for minors?), which could further improve effectiveness and save social landlords thousands of pounds, appear to have been missed for the sake of political marketing.
__________
Diane Diacon
Director at the Building and Social Housing Foundation
The Housing Health Cost Calculator was launched in 2012; it works out the savings to the NHS and society that are achieved when poor housing conditions are addressed and hence helps to demonstrate the importance of investing in good quality homes. The use of a robust evidence base to inform policy and practice is most welcome.
The link between housing and health is universal, as demonstrated by a World Habitat Award-winning project that initially worked with indigenous people in Australia and is now being transferred both to remote villages in Nepal and to urban public housing in New York.
A continuing cause of concern in 2012 has been the ever-growing gap between the demand for housing and the available supply. Official projections estimate that the number of households in the UK will grow by an average of 272,000 each year until 2033, but only 146,000 dwellings were completed in 2011-12, exacerbating the difficulties already faced by those looking for an affordable home. Until this is addressed, the financial and overcrowding problems faced by households are likely to worsen.
Like others, BSHF has concluded that one potential contribution to this shortfall could come through build-to-let market rental homes.
__________
Veronica Coatham
Head of Housing and Community Studies, School of Social Sciences
2012 saw the introduction of higher fees for degree level study in England and a refocus by many UK Universities onto full-time popular degree courses. With part time fees also increasing, universities offering small degree programmes like housing have taken strategic business decisions to close programmes.
It seems that 'the bubble' in which housing degree courses have flourished since the mid 1980s has finally burst with only a handful of English universities recruiting this academic year.
Housing degree programmes in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not affected by the funding changes at the moment.
So where is the good news in this? Housing academics have made significant contributions to the professionalization of the housing services over the last 30 years and continue to do so in their own way, as they fight to retain housing studies as part of the curriculum of other courses such as social policy, geography or sustainability. Hopefully this will mean a fresh generation of graduates coming through universities keen to make an impact on the housing sector.
In addition, we are likely to see an expansion in e-learning programmes leading to the chartered institute of housing professional qualification. These developments need supporting by the housing industry in its on-going search to develop creative ways of meeting housing need.
THFC Appoints New Chair
Posted 05.01.13
The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC) announced the appointment of Ian Peacock as its Chairman designate.
He will join THFC's board in April 2013 and it is planned that he will take over from the existing Chairman, Roger Mountford, in June 2013 when Roger completes six years' service, the maximum permitted under the governance guidelines of the National Housing Federation.
__________
Richard Hill Appointed Interim Chief Executive of HCA
Posted 21.01.13
The Homes and Communities Agency Chairman of the HCA, Robert Napier, said:
"Richard has a wealth of experience and a strong existing leadership role at the Agency, and as Deputy Chief Executive he is the natural choice to lead the Agency throughout this crucial year end period."
Richard Hill was formerly Director of Investment at the Housing Corporation, and before that held senior roles at NHSU and the New Opportunities Fund.
