POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE UK
UK
IT problems delay universal credit
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has conceded for the first time that his flagship universal credit policy may not be complete by 2017 as planned.
After spending most of the year insisting that the timetable remained in place, he admitted in December that up to 700,000 people receiving employment support allowance could be moved on to the universal credit after the original 2017 deadline.
He also said that the Department for Work and Pensions was having to completely rework the IT system at substantial cost because the original system did not work.
Under the latest timetable, the number of job centres using universal credit will rise from seven to 10 in Spring 2014, which was the original date for all new claims to move over. This will now not happen until 2016 with existing claims following between during 2016 and 2017.
Duncan Smith said: ‘This is a once in a generation reform. And we’re going to get it right by bringing it in carefully and responsibly. ‘Our approach will ensure that while we continue to enhance the IT for Universal Credit, we will learn from and expand the existing service, so that we fully understand how people interact with it, and how we can best support them. Early indications show that people are positive about the new benefit, and my department is working hard to ensure this good progress continues.’
The announcement of the new timetable was made on the day of the Autumn Statement, which saw George Osborne confirm that ‘the vast majority’ of housing benefit payments will be included in his proposed cap on overall welfare spending. Only cyclical benefits, including housing benefit payment paid to people on job seekers allowance, will be excluded.
Labour shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves said: ‘Iain Duncan Smith has today admitted what everyone has known for months – that universal credit is massively behind schedule. But just a couple of weeks ago he was telling parliament the government would “roll out universal credit on the plan and programme already set out”.’
England
Right to buy sales top 10,000
More than 10,000 council and housing association tenants bought their homes under the first 15 months of the English coalition government’s ‘reinvigorated’ right to buy.
The coalition increased the maximum discount to £75,000 in England from April 2012 and increased it again to £100,000 in London in April 2013. Tenants will also soon be eligible for the right to buy after three years rather than five.
In the year to April 2013, 8,398 tenants bought their homes, and that was followed by another 2,149 in the first three months of the financial year.
Housing minister Kris Hopkins said: ‘For years the Right to Buy was allowed to wither on the vine, with ever-decreasing discounts leaving the prospect of home ownership out of reach for far too many social tenants.’
‘And because we’ve committed to using the additional money raised towards funding new affordable homes for rent, we’re also getting Britain building and will soon have the fastest rate of affordable housebuilding for two decades.’
However, the Labour Party has accused the government of breaking its pledge to replace homes sold off with new affordable homes.
Shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds produced figures showing that work started on only 1,662 new homes over the same period, a replacement rate of one for every seven sold rather than the one for one the government promised.
She said: ‘Labour supports those who want to buy their own homes but there are nearly two million families on council waiting lists desperate for a home and this government is failing to live up to its promise to replace every home sold with a new home built.’
Scotland
Bedroom tax repeal is key part of SNP case for independence
The SNP Government’s white paper on independence includes pledges to repeal the bedroom tax, halt the introduction of universal credit.
The white paper argues that, while successive Scottish governments have taken a distinctively Scottish approach to housing, full flexibility over the budget can broaden action to make more affordable housing available to meet housing need and tackle fuel poverty.
It cites evidence from the Institute for Fiscal Studies that ‘under the present devolution settlement, the Scottish Government is bearing the cost of greater investment in social housing and lower rents, whilst some of the benefits of that spending accrue to Westminster in the form of lower housing benefit payments’.
And it argues that UK Treasury rules are often not designed for Scotland’s needs or circumstances and that other policy options such as increased investment in social housing have not been possible.
According to the white paper, independence would mean ‘a guarantee that tax and social security rates will be set in line with the wishes of the people of Scotland. That will mean an end to the imposition on Scotland of policies like the “bedroom tax”.’ Abolition ‘within the first year of the independent Scottish Parliament’ would save 82,500 households £50 a month.
The white paper also pledges to halt the further roll put of universal credit and personal independence payments in Scotland and ensure that benefits and tax credits rise at least in line with inflation.
It says an independent government would remove housing benefit from the single payment and maintain direct payments to social landlords and also restore the ability of claimants to receive individual support rather than single household payments.
The referendum on independence will be held on September 16, 2014.
Northern Ireland
Minister calls for help from sector to design new model
Housing minister Nelson McCausland has called on the wider housing sector and tenant groups to help design a new model for social housing in Northern Ireland.
He spoke to more than 150 stakeholders at an event in Belfast in November, including Assembly members, housing associations, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and housing staff and tenant representative groups.
He said: ‘From the outset of this process I have made it clear that I have no preconceptions or predetermined outcomes. My housing reform programme is about establishing a housing model that is tenant-focused, that is sustainable and that enables investment in our communities. This is not a short term aim. Any new model must have a positive impact on Northern Ireland and be sustainable for many years to come.’
Leading figues in the housing field from elsewhere in the UK also addressed the conference. The minister said he had visited the regions of Britain to learn lessons about delivery.
The government wants to develop and get approval for the strategic design requirements of its social housing reform programme by March 2014, with detailed plans developed by March 2015.
WELSH GOVERNMENT
UK Government agrees new financial powers for Wales
Finance minister Jane Hutt has welcomed confirmation that the Westminster Government will devolve new financial powers to help the Welsh Government boost the Welsh economy.
Following an initial announcement by the prime minister and deputy prime minister, the UK Government published its response to the Silk Commission’s 33 recommendations for strengthening the financial accountability of the Welsh Government and National Assembly for Wales.
Jane Hutt said: ‘Today’s announcement represents a good deal for Wales, and a big step forward for devolution.’ The key reform for housing is probably the devolution of stamp duty land tax, which will allow the Welsh Government to further support the Welsh housing market.
And Jane Hutt was quick to indicate a likely change: ‘During the last year, I have had discussions with a range of business leaders in the housing and related sectors, and they have emphasised to me what we could achieve through the reform of Stamp Duty. In particular, I will be looking at the option of removing the current ‘slab’ structure of the tax, which distorts the housing market for builders, buyers and sellers.’
While a referendum will be held ahead of any devolution of income tax, the reforms mean the Welsh Government will be able to borrow to invest in new infrastructure projects. This includes early access to borrowing to help fund an enhancement of the M4, subject to the ongoing consultation.
Subject to agreement with the UK government, the Assembly will get the power to legislate to introduce new taxes and associated tax credits, opening up a new avenue for policy development in the longer term.
Shared equity scheme open
The Help to Buy – Wales shared equity scheme opened for business at the start of January.
The £170 million scheme makes it easier for buyers with a small deposit to buy new homes and provide a major boost to housebuilders across Wales. The Help to Buy equity loan scheme in England generated more than 5,000 sales of new homes in the six months after it launched in April last year.
The Welsh Government will provide eligible buyers with a 5 per cent deposit loans of between 10 and 20 per cent of the purchase price on new build homes up to the value of £300,000 from participating housebuilders.
Buyers pay a nominal monthly fee but no interest in the first five years of the equity loan and a low interest rate after that. They can also tailor the repayment plan to suit them and are free to repay the loan at any time during the 25-year term. The proportion of the value of the property subject to the equity loan is repayable after any future sale.
On a visit to a Redrow housing development in Newport, housing minister Carl Sargeant said: ‘The financial crisis has led to a dramatic fall in house building activity as builders scale back their plans in line with buyer demand.
‘The Help to Buy – Wales scheme beginning in the New Year, will help more people get onto the property ladder and will provide much needed boost to the building industry in Wales. The investment will support the purchase of around 5,000 new homes in Wales during the next two and a half years.
‘To limit scope for confusion, the scheme in Wales matches the UK Government scheme quite closely but it has the added benefit of being easier for small home builders to access.’
Steve Morgan, chairman of Redrow Homes added ‘The Help to Buy – Wales scheme will provide the Welsh housing market with essential momentum and will ensure that more homes get built. It will also create valuable jobs in the construction industry.’
The UK government’s Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which is available to buyers of any home up to a value of £600,000, has also started operations.
Consultation papers
A number of Welsh Government consultations will be of interest to WHQ readers:
• Supporting our public service workforce through collective leadership and legislation – Responses by February 21
• Draft Planning (Wales) Bill and Positive Planning: proposals to reform the planning system in Wales – Responses by February 26
• Proposed indicators for the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2014 – Responses by February 27
Welsh Government consultations are online at http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/?skip=1&lang=en
PUBLICATIONS
10 TO LOOK OUT FOR
1 Reducing Poverty in Wales: some examples to inspire change – Bevan Foundation, November 2013
www.bevanfoundation.org/publications/reducing-poverty-in-wales-some-examples-to-inspire-change/
2 Evaluation of the planning permission process for housing – Welsh Government, November 2013
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/planningresearch/publishedresearch/evaluating-planning-process-for-housing/?lang=en
3 The impact of changes to housing benefit in Wales – House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee, October 2013
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmwelaf/159/159.pdf
4 Year 6: The Socio-Economic Impact of the Welsh HA and Community Mutual Sector – Welsh Economy Research Unit, November 2013
http://chcymru.org.uk/uploads/general/WERU_-_Full_Report.pdf
5 Managing Poverty and Social Exclusion 2013 – Joseph Rowntree Foundation and New Policy Institute, December 2013
www.jrf.org.uk/publications/monitoring-poverty-and-social- exclusion-2013
6 One Wales: One Planet – the Sustainable Development Annual Report 2012/13 – Welsh Government, December 2013
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/sustainabledevelopment/publications/sd-annual-report-2012-13/?lang=cy
7 Real Life Reform 2 – Real Life Reform, December 2013
www.northern-consortium.org.uk/reallifereform
8 Why BTL equals ‘Big Tax Let-Off’ – Intergenerational Foundation, November 2013 www.if.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Why-BTL-Equals-Big-Tax-Rip-off.pdf
9 The Enabling State: From Rhetoric to Reality – Carnegie Trust, November 2013 www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/publications/2013/the-enabling-state-from-rhetoric-to-reality
10 One Foot on the Ladder – how shared ownership can bring owning a home into reach – Resolution Foundation, November 2013
www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/one-foot-ladder-how-shared-ownership-can-bring-own/
WALES
And the winners are…
The judges had a difficult job assessing shortlists of exceptionally high quality but here are the winners in the 2013 Welsh Housing Awards organised by CIH Cymru. Winners in each category were:
• Empowering and involving communities: Aspire – the power of volunteering in Torfaen (Bron Afon Community Housing)
• Most community focused contractor: Growing Ambitions (Morgan Cole)
• Innovation of the year: MyPad (Charter Housing Association in partnership with Supporting People, Newport City Council, Newport City Homes, Melin Homes and Linc-Cymru)
• Developing and regenerating communities: Greening up Caerau (Valleys to Coast Housing in partnership with Bridgend County Borough Council, Caerau Development Trust and Groundwork BNPT)
• Campaign of the year: Your benefits are changing (Community Housing Cymru in partnership with RCT Homes)
• Housing hero – employed capacity: Brian Jones, Tai Ceredigion
• Developing skills and capacity: Housing repair services in-house leadership scheme (Valleys to Coast Housing)
• Outstanding leadership by a local authority: Family intervention partnership project (Swansea City Council in partnership with Youth Offending Service, Dept for Social Services, Dept for Education, and South Wales Police)
• Housing hero – voluntary capacity: Debra Rosser, chair of Cardiff Community Housing Association
• Delivering efficiency and value for money: Barcud Shared Services project (Valleys to Coast Housing in partnership with Merthyr Valleys Homes, NPT Homes and Bron Afon Community Housing)
• Development of the year: Heol Rhedyn (Mid Wales Housing Association)
• Community leader: Mavis Crofts – chair, Flintshire County Council Tenants Federation
• People’s Choice: Barcud Shared Services project (Valleys to Coast Housing in partnership with Merthyr Valleys Homes, NPT Homes and Bron Afon Community Housing)
• Outstanding contribution to housing in Wales (as nominated by CIH Cymru board members): Anne Delaney
Full details including the other projects, organisations and people shortlisted are available at www.cih.org/cymru/welshhousingawards/shortlist2013
Caerphilly students get animated
Young film-makers at St Martin’s School in Caerphilly are learning animation skills in a new studio created with the help of developer Lovell and housing association United Welsh.
Lovell is working with United Welsh on The Beeches Village, a new development at the historic former Caerphilly Miners’ Hospital and its construction experts helped transform an old stockroom at the school into a high-tech animation studio.
The facility will help GCSE and A level art and design students to develop their animation skills. It was officially opened by BBC Wales Today weather presenter Behnaz Akhgar and Cllr Michael Gray, Mayor of Caerphilly County Borough.
Steve Cranston, head of community investment at United Welsh, said: ‘We are delighted that this investment is going to make a real difference. It’s great to be able to help harness the creative energy that exists in our communities.’
National recognition for youth initiative
Bron Afon’s Youth Forum features as a case study in a national report on how to deliver public services in times of austerity.
The Carnegie Trust investigated how communities are being given more control over services in a move away from the traditional ‘top down’ model.
The Bron Afon Youth Forum was set up the housing association’s senior community involvement officer spotted a gap in youth involvement in the community and set out to change the situation. The agenda has been set by young people from the start.
Maria Jones, senior involvement officer at Bron Afon, said: ‘Our forum members have chosen the important things they want to do and simply gone ahead and done them. They were worried about young people who were homeless and moving into their first home so they set up the Own2Feet project. This gives new young tenants support through starter packs containing cutlery and tea bags. It also runs workshops on eating on a budget and finding a job.’
Home in time for Christmas
A scheme to transform to houses in Rhyl from bedsits into family homes meant Christmas joy for Judith and Andrew Williams and their three children including 11-month-old Riley.
The family were facing eviction from their private rented home after the landlord ignored their requests for repairs and they asked the council to step in. But they were able to move into one of two houses in Princes Street transformed by Pennaf Housing Group and Denbighshire County Council with funding from the Welsh Government.
The homes will be managed by Clwyd Alyn Housing Association and another three homes in Rhyl are being restored in a similar way. The schemes complement work by the West Rhyl Regeneration Project, under which Clwyd Alyn is working with Denbighshire and the Welsh Government to create affordable homes for sale and to rent near a new green space that is planned.
Ticket to build
Lewis Rees, Tristan Foley and Jamie Davies are among 12 young workers from Rhondda Cynon Taff celebrating a ticket to a career in the construction industry after receiving their CSCS card.
The Construction Skills Certification Scheme identifies people with the right skills to work safely in what can be a hazardous industry.
GrEW, the training and employment social enterprise set up by RCT Homes, recently became the first training unit in Rhondda Cynon Taff to provide training and qualifications under the scheme.
The 12 successful trainees were all aged 16-21 from The Princes Trust scheme and received intensive two-week training with GrEW, including manual handling, health and safety and first aid qualifications as well as CSCS. The team were 100 per cent successful with every member achieving the qualification and going on to receive a week’s placement with GrEW and RCT Homes.
Tristan Foley, 21 from Penygraig, said: ‘If you don’t have the CSCS card you can’t get on a site to work. It’s really important to have and this course has been great. Because of the other training we received along with the CSCS training we have a better chance of standing out when we go for jobs now.’