As the housing sector gears up for the 20,000 affordable homes target, 2017 will be all about one word, says Matt Kennedy. Why exactly is it time to deliver?
As I sat down to write this, the Royal Mail was thinking about it, Amazon was thinking about it, Santa was definitely thinking about it. Delivery, delivery, delivery.
We have most of the detail underpinning the housing worlds in Wales; some important things remain as uncertainties. The Programme for Government held a number of clear commitments to boost supply with the 20,000 affordable homes target, an intention to introduce a new rent to own housing model and a commitment to bring forth legislation to end the right to buy in Wales.
We also have a fair few challenges in the shape of continued uncertainty following Brexit, additional uncertainty over the future shape of tackling poverty, future funding for Supported Housing costs, and the impact of the reclassification of housing associations by the Office for National Statistics as public bodies. By no means an exhaustive list, but it’s fair to say that these challenges are a considerable threat to the ability of the housing sector in Wales to continue to deliver at the scale required to meet demand.
We have also had some early Christmas presents. These came in the shape of an extra £400 million into Wales realised through the Autumn Statement. In addition to this, the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant, recently announced an extra £30 million to support the sector to meet the 20,000 affordable homes target. We also now know some of the detail around a new fiscal settlement for Wales based on the devolution of some tax raising powers in addition to Welsh Government having the ability to borrow double the previous amount for capital and infrastructure spending, up to £2 billion.
The fact remains, though, that there’s still a lot to deliver on. The legislative legacy of the fourth Assembly will undoubtedly continue to have an impact, both directly on the housing sector and in delivering/working in partnership with other important services in health and social care. The Housing (Wales) Act 2014, The Social Services & Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, are just some of the overarching pieces of legislation that have promoted a shift-change to a more preventative approach to providing housing services, prompting organisations across the public sector to focus on well-being outcomes and quality of life.
This shift means that what it takes for the housing sector to deliver, in relation to its partners, must also changed. We have an ambitious yet achievable affordable housing target but this in isolation represents one vital function provided by the housing sector in boosting the supply of affordable homes.
The impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is receiving considerable attention given a recent Public Health Wales report which found that for people who had experienced four or more ACEs (identified as factors such as verbal or physical abuse, parental separation or domestic violence) they were:
- 15 times more likely to have committed violence against another person in the last 12 months
- 16 times more likely to have used crack cocaine or heroin
- 20 tomes more likely to have been incarcerated at any point in their lifetime.
The housing sector has of course been deeply entrenched in providing services that actively either negate the rise of these experiences or seek to offset their impact in later life for quite some time. The findings of this report serve to underline even more emphatically why housing in Wales and all the services provided within the sector are of vital importance to realising positive outcomes in a variety of other areas including health, education and employment.
But the housing sector is of course one that remains with people through the life-course. We have an ageing population in Wales and a rise in the number of people living with more than one chronic condition. Gaining an understanding of how this affects people where and how they live and will impact the nature of buildings and services needed to meet the needs of an ageing population.
The pressure and need to deliver for the housing sector is obviously not seasonal. The focus on making a tangible difference shines through, most recently at the Welsh Housing Awards and our Good Practice Compendium produced in partnership with Housemark. From this it is clear that the housing sector is delivering on a number of fronts, from boosting supply innovatively, to working directly with people, in their homes to recognise the value of their own skills and expertise.
As we move into 2017, the importance of, the complexity linked to, and the sheer scale of the challenge around delivery means there can be no other theme for TAI 2017 than ‘time to deliver’. We’ve been working on a programme that will be full to the brim with great speakers, workshops, exhibitors and fantastic people talking about how we continue to focus on high quality delivery against a complex backdrop of austerity, poverty and uncertainty. I promise we can deliver on that!
Matt Kennedy is policy and public affairs manager of CIH Cymru