The report
Published in June 2008, the Essex Review undertaken by Sue Essex, Lisa Dobbins, Peter Williams and Robert Smith, has been variously referred to as a ‘blueprint’ and a ‘seminal report’ for the housing sector. Starting out as an examination of the regulation of registered social landlords, the scope of the Review broadened significantly as it developed and the report has content and recommendations relevant to everyone who works in housing in Wales. It also fills a significant gap in housing policy deliberations at a national level in Wales – which was becoming ever more evident when set alongside the plethora of reviews recently undertaken in England, such as:
- The Elton review – on regulatory and compliance requirements for registered social landlords
- The Hills review – on the future roles of social housing
- The Calcutt review – on housebuilding delivery
- The Cave review – on social housing regulation
- The Taylor review – on the rural economy and affordable housing
- The Cole review – on cross domain regulation for social housing
The recommendations
The main thrust of the Essex Review report is that wide-ranging and urgent changes need to be made to the way that the provision of affordable housing is regulated, funded, planned for, assessed and delivered in Wales. The report makes forty-three recommendations, underpinned by the need for all housing stakeholders to work in partnership in line with the Beecham model. It stresses that, without this approach, led by the Welsh Assembly Government, delivery of the report’s recommendations and thereby the housing commitments in One Wales, is unlikely to happen.
Recommendations are targeted at the Assembly, local government, individual housing associations/registered social landlords and the association/registered social landlord sector as a whole. Recommendations are directed across all tenures, encompassing planning and environmental issues and including making better strategic and operational links between housing, economic development and regeneration.
Implementing the Essex agenda
Phrases like collaborative co-production and distributive leadership are beginning to sound familiar in housing circles, used to denote the way in which the Assembly will work with stakeholder organisations to implement many of the recommendations of the Essex Review.
Five workstreams have been identified, each relating to a series of recommendations in the report, with the overall work programme to be managed by a programme board and a strategic board chaired by the Deputy Minister as set out in the diagram. At the time of writing, membership of the five workstreams is being finalised and the groups are expected to meet in the coming weeks to commence their programme of work.
In relation to the recommendations about the capacity and structure of the Housing Division of the Assembly itself, a change management process is underway, facilitated by Kath Palmer. Organisational restructuring is to take place based around three functions – policy, operations and regulation – with the aim of working smarter, in a different, more joined-up way.
A joint Community Housing Cymru/Welsh Local Government Association seminar on taking forward the Essex Review was held on 18 September 2008. At the event, Deputy Minister Jocelyn Davies noted that her priorities in relation to implementing the recommendations of the review are:
- putting in place a new regulatory regime
- stronger leadership, strategic direction and enabling support from the Assembly
- refocusing the way in which the Social Housing Grant programme operates
- addressing data gaps
all within the context of a jointly owned and implemented programme of work.
She also announced progress on the quick wins, with a revised circular on registered social landlord group structures and a consultation on a revised approach to section 9 consents expected to be issued by the time that this issue of WHQ is published. Consultation on a new HomeBuy product will also be undertaken. The Deputy Minister also noted that the new national housing strategy will set the overall context for Welsh housing policy and will reflect the key messages set out in the Essex Review.
A number of other speakers at the event noted the events facing the financial sector in the past weeks and months and considered that the continuing credit crunch brings a greater sense of urgency to implementing the agenda set out by the Essex Review.
Essex Review – Affordable Housing in Wales – is online at http://new.wales.gov.uk