NHC/ Abovo-consult – Checking and setting your rents

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The issue of Rent Setting has been a complex issue over a number of years, and is an area of interest to the Regulator. NHC has teamed up with Abovo-consult to assist members to check current rents and ensure rent setting is done in line with the Rent Standard, using the Abovo Rent Model.

Abovo-Consult has been modelling social housing rents from Rent Restructuring guidance for many years.

With greater emphasis on maximising rental income from a range of tenure types, the Abovo Rent Model has been refreshed and updated to allow full analysis and rent planning and rent setting across all property and tenure types. Bespoke rent setting policies can also be included. Still providing the direct import of summarised weekly rent assumptions for both the Abovo Business Plan Model for HA’s and Fortress HRA Business Plan for Councils, it also provides populated templates for statutory returns. It now also allows the user to select sub-sets of properties to analyse rents and provide reports and forecasting over 30 years.

The initial population and set-up of the structure of the model is completed by Abovo’s expert advisers in consultation with the client. As part of the set-up, your social housing data will automatically be validated to include checks that the formula or target rent supplied is based on the capital values and bedroom size recorded for the property and to compare the actual rents to the Rent Standard and advise where rents may have breached the Standard. Using the outputs of the Rent Model, Abovo’s specialists can advise on methods of returning rents to within the Standard and assessing the financial impact of the options available.

http://www.abovo-consult.co.uk/RentModel

Reforming the Private Rented Sector: Select Committee Launches Inquiry

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The Northern Housing Consortium is asking for member views as part of their response to the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities Committee’s inquiry into Reforming the Private Rented Sector.

Launched last week, the inquiry will scrutinise the Government’s recent White Paper, A Fairer Private Rented Sector. The Paper outlines plans to, among other things: 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.

 

The Committee’s full Call for Evidence can be found HERE. The NHC would particularly like your views on the following questions.

  • Overall, what additional pressures will the proposals place on local councils, and how many of these will require new burdens funding?
  • What impact, if any, will the reforms have on the supply of homes in the PRS?
  • What should be included in the new decent homes standard and how easily could it be enforced?
  • How easily will tenants be able to challenge unfair rent increases under the proposals?
  • Does the PRS need its own ombudsman? If so, what powers should it have
  • Will the proposals result in more disputes ending up in the courts? If so, will the proposals for speeding up the courts service suffice?
  • Have the Government’s announcements already led to any changes in behaviour in the PRS?

Those wishing to contribute to the development of the NHC’s Inquiry response are also invited to short meeting of our PRS Network taking place Wednesday 10th August, 10.00 – 11.00, online. NHC members can confirm their attendance via MyNHC HERE.

 

The Government’s long-awaited announcements have been followed closely by the NHC’s PRS Network. Prior to the publication of the A Fairer Private Rented Sector the Network was joined by colleagues from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and can be read about HERE. The Group also convened in response to the Paper’s publication and again outlined their view of proposals as laudable, but lacking the necessary detail on how reforms will be implemented and deliver intended outcomes, with key concerns over capacity, joined up thinking, and enforcement tools being duplicated rather than rationalised.

 

Respond to the Consultation and Join the Conversation:

  • The NHC would welcome your views on the above questions, to be sent to us by 17.00, Monday 1st August.
  • You are not required to send us a fully formed, formal response; rough notes / bullet points outlining your thoughts would also be incredibly useful (and will not be shared wider). Please email matthew.wilson@nhc.org.uk
  • To join the meeting of the PRS Network to discuss and finalise the response to the LUHC Committee’s Inquiry, please confirm your attendance via MyNHC HERE

The NHC Private Rented Sector Network meets quarterly for all NHC members working in connection with, or with an interest in, private sector housing and private sector housing reform to discuss day-to-day challenges and track and respond to national policy development. All meetings are Chaired by Dr Julie Rugg, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York.

In addition to special meetings to develop consultation responses, the next meeting of the group is 20th September, 10.00 – 11.30, register via MyNHC HERE.

Our Corporate Plan Objective – Organisation we are all proud to be part of

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We may be a small team but we make a difference.

 

We’ve launched our ambitious, new corporate plan – it sets out how we’ll support you over the next three years to help you create better homes and places.

This new plan focusses on your unrivalled member experience, it outlines our influencing priorities for the next few years: meeting the net zero challenge and housing at the heart of a rebalanced country, and it highlights our plans to provide the best services to support you now and into the future.

One of the objectives within our corporate plan states we are an ‘organisation we are all proud to be part of.’

Within this objective we cover three ambitions which ensures we will continue to offer a rewarding, supportive place to work where we invest in people and they can be themselves and fulfill their potential.

It states we will build an organizational structure and support framework that enable our staff team to thrive, act autonomously, competently and become subject matter experts in their field.

For our staff development and wellbeing programme we work on the ethos that one size does not fit all. We personalise training and development plans to ensure every staff member is empowered to be a subject matter expert in their field. We currently support around a quarter of staff in recognised academic or professional qualifications or affiliation to their respective professional member bodies, safeguarding our authenticity in housing sector knowledge, procurement services and operational support.

We support the sector’s GEM Programme which aims to recruit and retain talent to the social housing sector. Our latest GEM recruits started in May and July and we are currently recruiting for a third GEM recruit, all are working in policy and member engagement.  NHC has been a stepping point for two of our past GEM recruits who have recently left us for career development and pleasingly staying within the sector, whilst another has recently been promoted internally to Manager level.

Part of ensuring our staff team can thrive involves providing appropriate and timely training. Our recent focus is on mental health support, running full staff and line manager sessions through Mental Health in Business and with Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Victoria Miller. We now have three accredited staff Mental Health First Aiders as well as a wealth of resources available to staff and line managers through our Benenden offer, our Employee Assistance Programme and on our internal staff Wellbeing Teams channel. Our quarterly staff-lead Wellbeing Working Group continues to thrive providing an open forum for staff to bring any concerns to the table for general discussion. We have commenced work on campaigns around the benefits of sleep for wellbeing, and nutrition and exercise as well as proactive ways to support good mental health, sharing knowledge with our Members along the way.

All of our work is underpinned by our aim to empower and encourage our people and inspire our members to embrace inclusive opportunities for all, recognizing the importance and value of equality, diversity and inclusion and ensuring wellbeing and sustainability are at the heart of all our activities. You’ll see these themes running through everything we do over the next three years. On sustainability we want to minimise our own environmental impact across the organisation and embed sustainability as a core principle. We want to act on sustainability in its widest sense, both internally in the way we work as an organisation and externally by supporting members to meet the net-zero challenge and create thriving, low carbon communities.

We want to build on our wellbeing programme to be at the forefront of championing wellbeing at work, raising awareness of important topics, sharing best practice with members, and providing a supportive framework to enable our staff to thrive, both physically and mentally.

On the topic of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion we want to ensure the creation of a safe space for all staff to discuss EDI issues without fear of judgement. We want to maintain a supportive and inclusive working environment which has EDI firmly on the agenda and ensure those who need support specifically around EDI have a platform. We want to project the importance of EDI across the membership and the sector, sharing best practice and key learnings.

Our ambition is to lead from the front as a member organization with a modern effective working environment and impactful internal communications.

Our Flexible Futures project determined how we work now and into the future. This was an all staff lead project to review our Future Workspace (where we work), Future Resources (who, when and how we work), Future Terms and Conditions and Internal Comms and Wellbeing.  Staff told us that they valued flexibility of both work location and working hours and were able to be more productive with less commuting and time travelling.

We have now moved into a smaller collaborative hub at Hope Street Xchange in Sunderland City Centre where staff can collaborate.  Staff can opt to work from home or collaborate in the office. Under our new agile working policy staff can work with their line managers to agree working hours to balance business needs with other life commitments.  Our new way of working aims to retain the advantages we’ve experienced from home working and encourage our colleague friendships through a more modern, fit for purpose internal comms structure.  We are not complacent however and check in regularly with staff via surveys monitoring wellbeing and workloads.

At the heart of the Flexible Futures project is our new Performance and Wellbeing System (PAWS). Developed in house it is designed to link together regular performance and wellbeing checks with annual objectives and performance and development reviews. Each staff member has objectives which link directly to the main corporate plan and through a single system we are then able to ensure we remain focussed on these overarching objectives as we carry out our day-to-day work.

As we move forwards, we will continue to travel less, work smarter, support each other, and collaborate to achieve the best results.

Our staff are the key to ensuring the NHC is an organization we are all proud to be part of.  Our values were written by our staff and reflect who we are and how we work: we are Member Focused, we are Collaborative, we are Innovative, and we Make a Difference.

The Brownfield Land Release Fund

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The Brownfield Land Release Fund will pledge up to £180 million capital grant funding to support The Government’s Levelling Up ambitions, it has been announced. The Fund will enable Councils to achieve these rebalancing ambitions and regenerating places by unlock land and developing renewed pride in place through newly empowered local leaders.

 

The Government have reiterated their stance that they are keen to prioritise the delivering high-quality new homes across England, a stance welcomed by councils across our region who are keen to address long-standing shortages in local stock and delivery of homes, in order to meet local needs and address their placemaking priorities. The aim of this programme is to identify and realise the potential of small, council-owned brownfield sites which have been found to have restricted viability in the past. The fund aims to utilise public assets to stimulate the growth of innovative delivery and the adoption of modern methods of constructions, supporting SMEs where possible.

NHC data from the Northern Housing Monitor shows that the housing brownfield capacity across the North is over 300,000 homes across 5,158 sites and comprising 7,571 hectares, and that remediating brownfield housing land could cost £3.8 billion.

The funding is designed to eradicate these viability issues, which include but are not limited to site levelling, groundworks, demolition, remediation; provision of small-scale infrastructure; highways works or other access challenges; and addressing environmental constraints. The first stage of applications opens shortly, with £40m available and first assessment point deadline for applications on 19th August. There will be £60 and £80m off funding available in the second and third stages through until 2025. All local authorities across England are eligible to apply.

 

Levelling Up Conference – Housing at the heart of a rebalanced country

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In partnership with Karbon Homes and Bolton at Home, the NHC hosted the Levelling Up Conference on the 14th July in Leeds city centre. We brought together senior leaders for a full day conference to advance housing’s role in the core levelling up missions of improving public services, boosting living standards, restoring local pride, and empowering communities. The conference displayed the NHC’s ability to convene the sector and wider stakeholders in order the advance the voice of housing in the North on topical issues. NHC’s Chief Executive, Tracy Harrison, provided the opening address and emphasised the importance of continuing to push the levelling up agenda amid national political instability, before welcoming Lord Kerslake to give his keynote address.

Keynote address – Lord Kerslake

Lord Kerslake began his keynote address by declaring that levelling up is alive and is here to stay, but is not the highest priority for government, and other political priorities are likely to come to the fore. He reminded everyone of the many issues facing the new leadership, with war in Ukraine, Covid-19, cost of living, backlog in our public services and balance of payments amongst other issues – this will likely consume new leadership and displace priority of levelling up.

Lord Kerslake sees levelling up as a combination of both an economic analysis of this country and a political project. The political project came from the 2019 election, the sense of left behind places created a political opportunity to penetrate the red wall. He stated that this agenda doesn’t lend itself to quick resolve and that it’s a long term project through numerous political cycles. He also stated that the Levelling Up White Paper was a landmark moment in the agenda, featuring strong analysis on the system failures on why the agenda hasn’t moved forward. However, Kerslake argued that the White Paper was weak on certain detail such as on housing and pointed out that the White Paper was particularly week on execution – noting it consisted of fragmented funding and competitive bidding.

Kerslake moved on to ask where does housing sit in all of this? – he said that housing’s key issues, the ‘4 S’s’, are currently – service, sustainability, supply and safety. He remarked “we need to continue to make the argument that housing is an essential infrastructure”. Lord Kerslake gave a rallying call to all those who work in communities, transport, health, retrofit, housing and on the green agenda – that they need to have common cause and work together rather than working in silos as all these issues intersect and need to be linked. Finally, he asserted the need for flexibility of funding provided by government, even if there is not a substantial amount to give to combined authorities he said that they should have the power to decide where it goes.

 

The challenges and opportunities of levelling up

Ian Ankers, Executive Director Business Development, Bolton at Home – The starting point: A view from Bolton

Utilising a map of Greater Manchester showing unemployment, Ian explained the correlation between boroughs with highest unemployment linking to poor health, poor housing and high Covid-19 excess death figures. Ian argued that decisions have to be made about where specifically to target, saying that funding can’t just be given to Bolton for example, where the east and west are divided in terms of deprivation and unemployment, it needs to be more targeted within the area. He then went on to mention the resource gap in places such as Bolton, and confirmed the need for devolution to provide support and funding to targeted programs. He noted the importance of community investment in helping to bridge the resource gap, and detailed Bolton at Home’s ‘Greenworks’ project. The project will provide skills training for retrofitting homes, giving people the chance to learn how to improve homes with low carbon technology. It will also provide carbon reduction education to raise awareness of climate issues and understanding of the need to retrofit homes. The training will help to create opportunity and better outcomes in the area by assisting residents to gain key skills – improving employment, education, cost of living, and bridging the resource gap.

 

Charlotte Carpenter, Executive Director of Growth and Business Development, Karbon – Liveability: What makes a place worth living in?

Charlotte explained ‘liveability’ and the factors that determine it – including cost of living, health, transport, housing, salaries, crime, and government spending. She declared we need to create genuinely liveable places for communities, somewhere they feel proud to live. She asserted the importance of levelling up moving beyond the typical rhetoric of ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ and major projects, saying we need to ensure political rhetoric actually has meaning in people’s lives. Charlotte stated that housing providers are anchor institutions that play a central role in communities and are uniquely placed to forward the rebalancing agenda. She went on to illustrate the positive work achieved through Karbon’s Stanley skills hub project. The Stanley project has provided a place for the community to come and develop skills and get advice on wellbeing and employment. Using the UK Community Renewal Fund, Karbon have been able to offer new start placements, providing paid work experience for people to upskill and improve confidence to get into long term employment. Charlotte highlighted the success of this project as many placements have ended early as people have found long term employment elsewhere. She closed by calling for anchor institutions, such as HA’s, to think big and use the big role they hold in left behind places to work together.

 

Naz Parkar, Director of Homes and Neighbourhoods, Kirklees Council – Tackling Inequality: Housing as the lynchpin between cost of living, climate, and health

Naz began by stating that 55% of properties in Kirklees are band C EPC, and asked if C is ambitious enough. He moved on to discuss the biggest concerns facing Kirklees residents, noting that one in five homes don’t meet decency standard and that two thirds of Kirklees tenants claim means tested benefits. Naz said this highlights that decarbonisation is not residents’ biggest concern, the cost of living is huge and further uplifts to come. He detailed some of the action taken in Kirklees – understanding the needs of tenants through place based engagement sessions to understand what tenants value most about their homes. He also detailed a 125-unit low carbon housing development and further work on retrofit and upskilling to create job opportunities. Naz argued that none of this is possible without national government offering policy certainty, appropriate funding programmes that recognise true costs and a shift in the planning system. However, he said that locally this shouldn’t stop us, we can get on with retrofit strategy, climate energy action plan, regional collaboration and production of a compelling offer to engage government, supply chain, and our communities.

 

Levelling Up: Inside Housing debate

The Inside Housing debate was chaired by Inside Housing’s Editor, Martin Hilditch, and featured Brian Robson (NHC), Charlotte Carpenter (Karbon), Ian Ankers (Bolton at Home) & Naz Parkar (Kirklees Council). Brian Robson opened by stating that levelling up is a newish brand for a very old issue. He also echoed Lord Kerslake in saying that what is missing most in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill is execution and delivery mechanisms – no new decent homes standards or detail on how to reduce carbon emissions. Ian Ankers said the infrastructure levy is weak and undefined and that tensions are going to be created on this. He also noted that housing is very varied in terms of quality and decarbonising potential, is not the same across the board so upgrades need to be targeted correctly.

Naz Parkar noted that capacity is a major issue in local authorities and is not going to get better – austerity hit very hard, many areas have struggled in recruitment market to rebuild capacity and salaries aren’t competitive enough. He urged housing providers to share knowledge and queried whether HA’s could offer to produce housing strategies for local authorities as LA’s would welcome this with ongoing capacity issues. Parkar also stated that CA Mayors having control on the funding pot is a key and also said that devolution is often about the powers and flexibility that they get rather than the funding. Charlotte Carpenter highlighted that housing tends not to feature in debates on economic development, housing is rarely embraced as a driver of the economy. We need to put housings role in rebuilding economies at the centre of the agenda, in a proactive way. Finally, Naz Parkar discussed rent payments and called for housing providers to find a solution on this before it causes a standoff. He said that if housing providers go for double digit rent settlement, they’re part of the problem, not the solution.

 

What next for place and placemaking? – George Payiatis, Senior Urban Designer, Create Streets

George began by highlighting the importance of how residents feel about their area, he noted that everyone knows what a nice street looks like. He explained that Create Streets are pushing back on reliance of cars and roads, arguing that we have to be more sensible with how we design our estates and streets. He questioned whether every household need two cars and two parking spaces and asserted that you can include parking in the streetscape that is overlooked and blends in, meaning it isn’t a ‘concrete nightmare’. George went on to highlight why design and placemaking matter for residents, saying that health and wellbeing are reliant on place. Environment and beauty of surrounding area impact our lives greatly so it’s vital we get placemaking right for residential areas. He also stated the importance of social interactions in communities and providing spaces that help to create cohesion where communities can connect. People are more likely to connect on streets with less cars, smaller roads and front gardens providing easier access to each other and walkable neighbourhoods with a sense of community. George also highlighted the negative impact of segregating social housing within estates, stating that social housing should be integrated, or else could cause segregation and discourage pride of place.

During the afternoon, delegates were given the opportunity to join one of three themed workshops. Workshop 1 was titled ‘Pay, jobs and living standards’ and centred on housing providers and employability. The session was chaired by Christine Paxton (Karbon), with a panel consisting of Cedric Boston (CEO, Unity HA), Stuart Clarke (Your Homes Newcastle), Naomi Clayton (Learning and Work Institute) and Karel Williams (University of Manchester).

Workshop 2 focused on ‘Local pride & belonging’, discussing regeneration neighbourhoods to restore community vibrancy. The workshop was chaired by Ian Ankers with contribution from Tom Bridges (ARUP) and Charlie Norman (CEO, MSV).

Workshop 3 looked at ‘Empowering communities’ and working with citizens to improve local agency. This final workshop was chaired by Naz Parkar, with a panel of Jessie Joe Jacobs (Involve), Tiffany Holloman and Andrew Wilson – Co-Directors at Same Skies Think Tank.

 

The full day conference came to a close with Tracy Harrison, Charlie Norman (Group Chief Executive, MSV) and the chairs from each workshop, reflecting on the points made and key themes throughout the day. All agreed on the importance of working together and bringing a compelling offer to government to ensure that they are engaged and willing to provide funding. A common theme of the day was the link between decent housing, health, unemployment and education – and the need for these to be addressed collectively if the levelling up agenda is to progress. The projects detailed by Ian, Charlotte & Naz at their respective housing providers illustrated what can be achieved at a local level through community engagement and understanding the issues that residents see as a priority. Tracy remarked that she felt the conference was timely, with the cost of living crisis and current instability in government, ensuring that the new Conservative leadership will continue to advance the levelling up missions is vital.

 

The conference resource page is available now. Follow this link for a full event summary, presentation slides and short videos of the speakers discussing the themes of the day

Locata guest blog – Turning the TAP on for greater temporary accommodation efficiency

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A screenshot of the TAP dashboard within the HPA2 system

Increasing numbers of councils have been signing up for Locata’s TA – Plus (TAP) which gives officers far greater options managing Temporary Accommodation.

TAP is a “bolt-on” to the HPA2 module (Locata’s homelessness system) and provides an expandable workflow platform for Tenancies and Properties that can be easily customised.

This means that a local authority that has purchased the bolt-on can configure their own management functions, such as compliance certification, within their own system.

TAP also provides HPA2 users with:

  • The ability to schedule credits and debits against an account at the required frequency e.g. daily, weekly
  • A Property Journal for storage of compliance information such as Gas Safety Certificate, EPCs and so on
  • The ability to create communications templates specifically for Properties and Tenancies, automatically populating with the relevant Property and Tenancy fields.

“We’ve found that TAP has helped us manage our temporary accommodation much more efficiently,” said Richard Fowler, Business Systems Officer at North Devon Council, which was one of the early adopters of the bolt-on.

“We like the dedicated workload dashboard and the fact that tasks for property and tenancy records are totally configurable,” he added. “It can also be used to record inspection outcomes”.

“We believe we now store TA information in the most relevant place and can record and better report on our void/tenancy inspections as well as monitoring repairs against property records.  And the repeatable tasks come into their own when setting up adhoc inspections and repairs.”

TAP was originally called “Enhanced TA”, but the name did not reflect the extra functionality it brings as a bolt-on (or add-on) to the HPA2 module.

Current users of TAP will be interested to note that we have recently created the ability to add both Client and Property elements into the Tenancy workflow.

This allows certain relevant information to be carried through from one tenancy to another.

To find out more about our HPA2 module and TAP please email us at enquiries@locata.org.uk

A new DLUHC team, a new future Prime Minister, and a continuing cost-of-living crisis

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The political landscape has been fast-moving to say the least over the past few weeks. Boris Johnson has resigned as Prime Minister and will step down later this year. We also have a new Cabinet team to get the Government through the summer after a slew of resignations and subsequent new appointments. We now know that either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak will take over from Boris Johnson as Prime Minister later this year. 

The cost-of-living crisis is the central concern of NHC members at the moment and the new PM will have to immediately take action to alleviate the impact of rapidly rising costs on households and communities. 

In the North, people are facing an even tougher time. Research by Centre for Cities has shown that inflation is not being experienced at the same level across the UK. Due to the North having a higher proportion of poorly-insulated homes and inflation being largely driven by skyrocketing energy costs, communities in the region are facing even higher prices. 

The NHC is supporting a campaign of more than 40 organisations to call for an urgent plan to support households this winter. The first intervention from the #WarmThisWinter campaign came this month in a letter sent to all Conservative leadership candidates to urge them to outline their plan to support households this winter by ramping up home insulation and clean energy. 

With Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak left in the race, they need to prioritise supporting households with the looming price cap rise to come in October (and again in January), insulating homes at pace, and ramping up the transition away from gas as the main fuel source to heat homes. New research has shown that in Truss’ and Sunak’s own constituencies, fuel poverty is expected to rise to almost 40% of households in October. Clearly, an urgent plan is required so the new Prime Minister can begin to tackle this as soon as they are appointed. 

We will be following developments in the leadership race over the summer closely as the new government prepares to take over from Johnson in September.  

For now, we have a new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and (another) new Housing Minister: 

After Michael Gove was dramatically sacked by Boris Johnson, Greg Clark has been appointed to the role. Clark has been MP for Royal Tunbridge Wells since 2005. It is a return to the Department for Clark who served as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government under David Cameron in 2015. In 2016, he was moved to BEIS by Theresa May where he served until 2019. He has held various other roles such as Minister of State for Decentralisation, Minister for Cities, and Financial Secretary in George Osborne’s Treasury team. 

Marcus Jones MP has been appointed as the new Housing Minister, he has represented Nuneaton since 2010. Previously, he was a Government Whip and served as Minister for Local Government from May 2015 to January 2018 prior to that. Other roles held include in the Treasury and DCMS. Jones is supporting Rishi Sunak to be the next Prime Minister. 

Paul Scully, MP for Sutton and Cheam, previously at BEIS, has been appointed a Minister at DLUHC. Lia Nici, MP for Great Grimsby, has also been newly appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Nici is the only Northern MP in the current DLUHC team. Eddie Hughes MP remains Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing. 

Stuart Andrew MP, Kemi Badenoch MP, Neil O’Brien MP, Danny Kruger MP, and Lord Greenhalgh are all now gone from the Department. 

There are significant questions now around the future plans for levelling up and if the ambition and missions of levelling up the regions will be championed by the incoming government later this year. Without the political clout of Michael Gove and the loss of Neil O’Brien, seen as the “intellectual powerhouse” behind levelling up, the future of Johnson’s flagship policy is uncertain.  

Whatever the fate of ‘levelling up’ is, regional inequality remains deep in the UK and this will have to be addressed by the new government, especially with so many Conservative MPs having won a seat in the North for the first time in 2019 and aspiring to capture these votes again in the future. The NHC will be closely monitoring the direction taken on levelling up, as well as the progress of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill through Parliament, to ensure housing remains central to plans to rebalance the regions.  

With the cost-of-living crisis framing all issues at the moment, the new DLUHC team will have to work across departments, namely BEIS and Treasury, to ensure households are supported this winter and beyond. Inflation is expected to reach double figures this year and improving housing quality and efficiency will be essential to drive down energy bills for households.  

At BEIS, Kwasi Kwarteng MP remains Secretary of State, along with Greg Hands MP as Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change, and Lord Callanan as Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility. Jane Hunt, MP for Loughborough, has been newly appointed as Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets. 

Responding to the new Cabinet appointments at the time, the NHC’s Chief Executive, Tracy Harrison, said: “This has been an extraordinary week. Faces around the cabinet table may change, but the issues facing people and places across the North don’t. There must be a clear commitment to making rebalancing a reality. Less than six months ago, the Government set out a clear set of levelling up missions to take us towards 2030, including an important mission on housing quality. These missions are just as relevant now as they were in February – and our members stand ready to work with Government to put housing at the heart of a rebalanced country.” 

There have also been changes in the shadow housing team, with Mike Amesbury MP, Shadow Minister for Local Government, having resigned from his post recently due to wanting to commit more time to supporting his constituents. As yet, a replacement has not been appointed to the role. 

As the political stage and the actors on it change, the NHC remains focused on influencing stakeholders to ensure housing policy works for the North and supporting our members across a wide-range of issues.  

Please do not hesitate to follow up on any of this with the NHC by contacting Anna Seddon (Policy and Public Affairs Manager) at anna.seddon@northern-consortium.org.uk.  

Peter Gibson MP Leads Westminster Hall Debate on Energy Efficiency in the North

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The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) annual report on the Government’s progress towards the target of net zero by 2050 was published this month. A key area of concern highlighted was the lack of progress made on reducing emissions from homes where the CCC flagged current plans as insufficient. The report explained that record-high energy prices make the case for energy efficiency and electrification of home heating stronger than ever so the opportunity to act is now. 

In the North, there are high concentrations of older, draughtier homes that need to be upgraded. Currently, more than 60% of homes across tenures in the North do not meet EPC C (the energy efficiency benchmark). Upgrading these homes in the region would reduce carbon emissions, cut energy bills, make homes warmer (and cooler in the summer), reduce reliance on gas, and bring new green jobs to the North.   

On 6th July, Peter Gibson (Conservative MP for Darlington) took the issue of poor energy performing homes in the North to Westminster Hall. Debates in Westminster Hall allow MPs the opportunity to raise issues of local or national importance where they receive a response from the relevant government minister. 

Peter Gibson opened the session by thanking North Star Housing, the Conservative Environment Network, the Northern Housing Consortium and the National Housing Federation “for their insightful and helpful engagement with me on this important issue in preparation for today’s debate”. 

Gibson began the debate by stating improving home energy efficiency is part of the long-term solution to fuel poverty as it would reduce the amount of money spent on wasted energy lost through the fabric of homes. This statement is important as the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact severely on households and communities in the North. With record-high inflation driven largely by high energy costs and with the North having a higher proportion of poorly-insulated homes, the region is experiencing a higher level of inflation than the rest of the country. 

Peter Gibson described energy efficiency as a “win-win” for our homes and the environment. Paul Blomfield (Labour MP for Sheffield Central) later commented that it is actually a “win-win-win-win-win” as energy efficiency can cut carbon, cut bills, improve health, reduce reliance on gas, and create jobs. The NHC agrees with these assessments. 

As the NHC highlighted in a recent briefing, Gibson explained during the debate that upgrading homes in the North from EPC D to EPC C would lead to savings of nearly £3bn per year. Citing the Northern Housing Monitor, he said in the North we need to upgrade around 4 million homes to reach the Government’s energy efficiency targets.  

The brilliant work already being carried out in the Tees Valley was mentioned, with reference to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, of which the region received £2.6m of Wave 1 funding. Peter Gibson said this good work must continue and be rolled out more widely. Wave 2 is expected to open later this summer (guidance published here). 

Connecting housing decarbonisation with net zero will be important, said Peter Gibson, and we need to make it clear to communities how they stand to benefit from more energy efficient homes. This clear communication will be key in the transition away from gas boilers towards new technologies.  

On job potential in the North, Peter Gibson referenced the NHC’s Northern Powerhomes report with IPPR North that found a large-scale programme of housing retrofit in the social sector could lead to 77,000 direct jobs in the region by 2030s. 15,000 of these roles would be in the North East.  

Upfront costs were identified as a key barrier to this work. Gibson said he has had discussions with Angela Lockwood (Chief Executive) and Emma Speight (Executive Director of Assets and Growth) at North Star Housing about prohibitive costs faced by housing associations. He spoke of one of their pilot projects which aims to bring a late-Victorian terraced house up to EPC A and to then monitor its performance. The cost of doing this will be £45,500, with £12,000 of this spent on solid wall insulation alone. The value of the property is estimated at around £70,000, highlighting viability issues for housing providers in parts of the North and the need for further targeted support and assistance from Government. 

The costs are high, but he was clear about the benefits of investing in homes now: healthier places to live and a permanent reduction in household energy bills. He asked the Minister what the Government can do to deliver more. 

Scott Benton (Conservative MP for Blackpool South) supported this, saying Blackpool has received £1.4m through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and said further action is now needed given the pressure on household budgets. 

Navendu Mishra (Labour MP for Stockport) added that several government schemes aimed at improving energy efficiency have been poorly delivered, but noted the direct impact this could have on household bills if done effectively. 

Paul Howell (Conservative MP for Sedgefield and recently appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Treasury) said energy efficiency is more relevant than ever. He responded to Mishra’s comment to say the Green Homes Grant scheme was not perfect but it was broadly popular. Howell added that such schemes will be vital as not all households will be able to afford upgrades, and highlighted particular issues in rural areas. Howell commented that the innovative solutions for homes already exist, we just need to make sure they reach the households that need them. 

In parts of the North East, weighing up the cost of upgrades with the value of properties can be difficult, but the reduction in energy costs are worth it, argued Howell, echoing Gibson’s earlier points. He said there are concerns that private landlords will not make the investments needed and instead will choose to sell properties. BEIS are expected to respond to a consultation on updating the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for the PRS that would require landlords to upgrade homes for new tenancies to EPC C from April 2025, and for all tenancies by April 2028. NHC local authority members have highlighted that improving the quality of PRS homes is essential for communities and tenants but there are concerns around the lack of capacity to enforce new standards. We will be monitoring MEES when it comes forward, as well as the challenges being faced by members to implement changes. 

Mike Amesbury (MP for Weaver Vale) outlined there are 35,000 homes in Halton alone that need to be upgraded and 96,000 across Cheshire West and Chester area. Amesbury said the potential for 77,000 homes in the North that Peter Gibson cited from Northern Powerhomes is a strong case for Government action. He asked the Minister about their plans to work with education and training providers to make sure we have the skills we need to fill these roles. 

Margaret Greenwood (Labour MP for Wirral West) highlighted worries about this coming winter, warning the impact of rising energy bills on households should not be underestimated. The NHC has joined the #WarmThisWinter campaign to call for the next Prime Minister to set out an urgent plan ahead of winter to support households, insulate homes, and drive up renewable energy. 

Alan Whitehead (Labour MP for Southampton Test and Shadow Minister for Energy and the Green New Deal) said the North East has one of the largest gaps between emissions from new and existing properties. Per new home, there are 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per year from a new property, compared with 3.6 tonnes per year from an existing property. Whitehead added there will need to be a different approach to different housing tenures to bridge this gap, but highlighted the private rented sector as a particular challenge, with current MEES regulation (requiring landlords to have a minimum of EPC E) “grossly insufficient”. 

Labour’s plan on retrofit, Alan Whitehead explained, would be to upgrade 19 million homes across tenures over a ten-year period through a combination of loans, grants and direct local authority schemes. The focus would be on area-based schemes where local authorities can concentrate resources where they are needed the most. 

In response to the debate, Greg Hands MP (Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth) said the Government has an “unwavering commitment” to decarbonising buildings, saying: 

“Improving the wellbeing and living conditions of northern communities is a key part of the levelling up of all our towns, cities and regions as we build a green Britain that works for every part of the country”. 

The Minister outlined the work undertaken since the Heat and Buildings Strategy was published last year, saying the North has received £226m through the most recent phases of the Local Authority Delivery scheme and Home Upgrade Grants.  

He noted the “striking sums” reported by North Star Housing to retrofit homes and acknowledged there is still a lot of work to do to upgrade homes in the region. 

On renewable energy, Greg Hands said the energy generated from renewable sources in the energy mix has been increased from 7% in 2010 to 56%. It is important that this continues to rise as we transition to electrified heating in homes to ensure homes are powered by clean, cheap energy. 

On fuel poverty, the Minister claimed the level “is actually falling”, saying “we need to keep bearing down on fuel poverty but that situation is improving”. We think the data he may be looking at has not been updated to reflect the spiralling costs of gas pulling more and more households into fuel poverty this year. This is expected to rise in October and again in January in line with price cap rises. 

Government’s response to the MEES consultation to raise energy efficiency standards in the PRS will be published in “due course”, the Minister confirms. And on social housing, he references Wave 2 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, with Wave 1 already supporting the upgrading of around 8,000 homes in the North. 

Scaling up the supply chain and building a skilled workforce is a long-term challenge, Hands said, but the North is in a “key position at the centre of net zero innovation, growth and opportunities for green jobs”. 

The Minister ended by saying the Government has a duty to protect those who are most vulnerable and support consumers and businesses as we decarbonise homes so the benefits of improved health, lower emissions and lower bills can be realised. 

You can read the Hansard entry for the full debate here. 

The NHC will continue to work with BEIS and DLUHC on behalf of our members as the political environment shifts this year to ensure the new Prime Minister and their Cabinet prioritise improving the energy efficiency of homes in the North. We would also be happy to support our members to engage with local MPs on this topic to help create sustainable homes and communities in the region. 

Please do not hesitate to follow up on any of this with the NHC by contacting Anna Seddon (Policy and Public Affairs Manager) at anna.seddon@northern-consortium.org.uk.  

Select Committee report into social housing regulation published

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The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee has published its report on the Regulation of Social Housing.

The Committee’s inquiry investigated a series of issues relating to the supply, quality and regulation of social housing.

The NHC contributed to the inquiry’s oral evidence sessions which also heard from housing associations and councils, tenants and their representatives, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), the Housing Ombudsman, and the housing minister Eddie Hughes.  Key points from the report include:

  • On that housing stock, the report recognises the social housing sector is under serious financial pressure and that there is a shortage of social housing. It also attributes some disrepair, in part, to the age and design of the housing stock, “some of which was never built to last and is now approaching obsolescence”. The report goes on, “the condition of some of the stock has deteriorated so far as to be unfit for human habitation and that the impact on the mental and physical health of those affected is extremely serious”. To reduce the social housing sector’s reliance on outdated stock, the report recommends the Government introduce funding specifically for regeneration. The committee recommends social landlords put in place systems that regularly monitor the condition of their stock, rather than relying on tenants to report problems including undertaking regular inspections of stock condition.
  • On tenant voice, the report points to the power imbalance between social housing tenants and housing providers as one of the biggest problems facing the sector today. It recommends providers be required to support the establishment of genuinely independent and representative tenant and resident associations and calls on the Government to make permanent the Social Housing Quality Resident Panel. The report also recognises stigma in social housing and calls on social housing providers “to take stigma and discrimination seriously, not to assume its staff are immune from such prejudices, and to ensure their boards better reflect their communities.”
  • The report makes a series of recommendations in relation to the Housing Ombudsman. It calls on providers and the ombudsman to bring forward a strategy to address the lack of public awareness of the ombudsman and recommends that the Government empower the ombudsman to order providers to award compensation of up to £25,000, going on to say “If the Government thinks tenants in the PRS should be entitled to compensation of up to £25,000, it cannot argue otherwise for social housing tenants.” The report also recommends that the Government legislate through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to place a legal requirement on social housing providers to self-assess against the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code and to report to the ombudsman when they have done so.
  • On regulation, the report calls for the regulator to be more proactive in defending the interests of tenants and calls on it to make more use of its enforcement powers, especially in the most serious cases. The Committee calls on the regulator to reconsider its interpretation of the duty to minimise interference and act proportionately, and to abandon the ‘systemic failure’ test which the Committee describes as “the most passive consumer regulatory regime permissible under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.”

The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill which aims to remove barriers to more proactive regulation is currently in committee stages which involves line by line examination of the clauses.