Catherine May introduces Tyfu Tai Cymru, a new project from CIH Cymru that aims to promote new ideas for policy solutions.
It may be a cliché to say that we are in the busiest of times but in the housing sector it certainly rings true. We are witnessing sweeping amends to the welfare state, with the roll out of universal credit central to these changes.
Research has identified a widening gap between incomes and housing costs for specific groups, increasing numbers of people sleeping on our streets, alongside a rise in the numbers of people classified as ‘hidden homeless’ and a policy and media agenda becoming more dominated by the process of exiting the European Union. In Wales, a swathe of legislation has changed the way housing is delivered, and housing related services like those seeking to address homelessness.
Considering all of the above, why set up a new project in Wales now? Well, CIH Cymru has decided to launch this project in 2018 because we believe decision- makers are interested to hear new ideas for policies that would guarantee improved and long term solutions to the housing problems we face.
Our project, Tyfu Tai Cymru (TTC), will be gathering evidence based on the experience of our members, tenants and experts to ensure the decisions that are taken will best serve Wales. We want to learn from those front-line projects that have directly improved the lives of tenants, developing a national understanding of what works in our sector.
Three themes will shape the direction of the project. The first is about keeping housing high on the local government agenda; recognising the number of priorities faced locally and the role the TTC project can play supporting, educating and challenging local councils to keep housing and planning at the top of their minds. We will work with local government to consider how ensuring everyone has a warm, safe and secure home can be central to their regeneration agenda as well as working towards the goals of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The second theme is to work with Welsh Government to go beyond the 20,000 affordable homes target to develop a learning environment in Wales that continually looks for solutions to the shortages in social housing through fostering innovative ideas. This is as much about the physical standards of buildings and materials as it is about how people feel about their home and local community.
Finally, we want to build an evidence base that will tell us all about how best to build long-term co-productive relations between health, housing and social care. When there are genuine working partnerships between health and housing organisations, people spend less time in hospital or in homes that are not set up to meet their needs. Housing professionals are often the people with the knowledge about-how to support tenants to stay living independently, in their own home for as long as possible.
We will be developing forums throughout Wales which will inform the priorities we take forward under these key three themes and we will produce regular evidence based reports to influence local, regional and national strategies.
Work is already underway to examine perceptions of social housing amongst the public, recognising the impact this has on the agenda of our politicians. We are going to launch this at our annual conference TAI 2018, where we will also explore how the Tyfu Tai Cymru project can build confidence and pride for all those working towards the housing of the future.
Catherine May is manager of Tyfu Tai Cymru