POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE UK
UK
DWP wins appeals on bedroom tax and benefit cap
The Court of Appeal ruled that the bedroom tax and the benefit cap are lawful in two separate cases brought by families affected by the policies.
Lawyers for the families argued that the under-occupation penalty unfairly discriminates against disabled adults who need a larger home because of their disability. However, the court was satisfied that discretionary housing payments meet their needs. The judges also rejected claims that the benefit cap violates human rights law because of its impact on vulnerable families. However, the court said that it could only intervene if the policies ‘were manifestly without reasonable foundation’.
In the bedroom tax case, lawyers for the families had argued that disabled adults should be exempted in the same way as disabled children and that discretionary housing payments offer inadequate protection. Ugo Hayter of law firm Leigh Day said: ‘We are currently considering whether an appeal to the Supreme Court is possible. Our thoughts go out to the thousands of disabled tenants who continue to be faced with uncertainty, poverty and the risk of eviction.’
Lawyers representing lone parent families in the benefit cap case also said they hoped to continue the challenge in the Supreme Court. Rebekah Carrier of Hopkin Murray Berskine Solicitors said: ‘In particular it is disappointing that the Court declined to decide important issues of principle affecting the large numbers of women and children made homeless by domestic violence every year. The Government promised to address this in April 2013, ten months ago, but has failed to do so.’
The Department for Work and Pensions welcomed the rulings.
See a Year of Welfare reform feature
England
Ownership shrinks again as growth of private rented sector continues
Home ownership in England fell to its lowest level since 1987 as the private rented sector continued to grow. The English Housing Survey showed that 65.2 per cent of households in England owned their home in 2012/13, down from a peak of 70.9 per cent in 2003.
Some 18 per cent of households are now private renters, a proportion that has doubled since 1992. Private renting overtook social renting (16.8 per cent of households) in 2011/12 and the gap between the two grew again.
The data suggest that these trends are set to continue. Within the owner-occupied sector, the number of outright owners (mostly older households who have paid off their mortgage) rose to 7.15 million while the number buying with a mortgage shrank to just
7.18 million. Ten years ago there were 8.5 million households buying with a mortgage in England.
Private renters now total almost four million in England, up from two million at the turn of the century and the highest total seen since the 1960s. The social rented sector shrank to 3.68 million against 5.38 million at the start of the 1980s.
Housing minister Kris Hopkins responded to the figures by claiming that 100,000 households are being helped on to the property ladder through government-backed schemes including Help to Buy and increased Right to Buy discounts.
However, the survey shows that the number of households buying with a mortgage fell by more than 500,000 in the first three years of the coalition government.
Scotland
Holyrood bids to protect bedroom tax victims in full
The Scottish Government called for the removal of legal restrictions on the amount of discretionary housing payments (DHPs) it can provide as part of an attempt to mitigate against the effects of the bedroom tax in full.
Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon said Holyrood wants to add an extra £15 million to the £35 million already in the DHP pot for 2014/14. That total of £50 million is estimated to be enough to help all 76,000 Scottish households affected by the under-occupation penalty.
However, the extra money would require the UK Government to lift a legal cap on the amount of help it can provide. As WHQ went to press other options were being considered.
Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘We have already provided as much help as legally possible to those suffering from this unjust policy but we are unfairly restricted in what we can do.
‘The Scottish Government is currently spending up to the legal limit in order to mitigate the effects of the Bedroom Tax on thousands of people across Scotland. We are more than willing to put in the extra £15 million, which would increase the amount of help available to a total of £50 million.’
Northern Ireland
Landlord registration launched
All private landlords who let residential property in Northern Ireland now have to be registered under a scheme launched by housing minister Nelson McCausland at the end of February.
The Landlord Registration Scheme requires all private landlords to pay a fee to register for three years – £70 online or £80 non electronic. This fee is applicable regardless of how many properties a landlord owns.
All private landlords are required to register immediately prior to letting a new tenancy or within 12 months if they have existing tenancies and no new lettings. If a landlord fails to register or provides false information for registration, they risk being issued with a fixed penalty of up to £500 or if taken to court can be fined up to £2,500.
Nelson McCausland said: ‘The introduction of landlord registration will help make the private rented sector more attractive for more people.’ The scheme would enable councils to ensure that private landlords adhere to the law already in place.
Tenants will be encouraged to look for the Landlord Registration logo and number when taking up a new tenancy. This will provide reassurance that their landlord has complied with the statutory requirement to register.
Further information is available at http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/landlord
WELSH GOVERNMENT
Call for expansion in housing role of mutuals
A commission appointed by the Welsh Government has called for an expansion of the role of co-operatives and mutuals in housing.
The Welsh Co-operative and Mutuals Commission said their role could be developed in housing in three areas: • Existing community mutual housing associations expanding their
housing portfolios and developing spin-out mutually owned services relating to housing management and development such as grounds maintenance, housing refurbishment, lettings services and social care
• A new co-operative housing tenure enabling people to access otherwise unaffordable housing by combining resources to buy or develop property.
• A role for community mutual housing associations to provide the asset base for a co-operative finance initiative.
Four of the ten biggest co-operatives and mutuals in Wales are housing organisations: RCT Homes, Bron Afon Community Housing, Monmouthshire Housing Association and North Wales Housing Association.
A related report for the Welsh Government by consultant Altair used housing as a case study for different structures for delivering public services.
The report examined delivery from the point of view of public sector values, fair allocation of resources, financial sustainability and employee terms and conditions and found little difference between local authorities and mutuals.
It concluded: ‘The research from these Welsh social housing case studies points to a markedly different picture of how housing associations and community mutuals operate to that painted by the research into the public service mutuals programme in England.’
Both reports are available at http://wales.gov.uk/topics/businessandeconomy/welsh-coop-mutuals-commission/?lang=en
£100m vibrant and viable Places funding goes to 11 local authorities
Housing and regeneration minister Carl Sargeant has announced the allocation of funding for the Welsh Government regeneration programme Vibrant and Viable Places. Total funding has been extended to £100 million over three years and each of the 11 local authorities invited to submit detailed bids will receive allocations of up to £15 million.
Flintshire, Isle of Anglesey, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen and Wrexham. The money will be used for regeneration projects, helping to create jobs, tackle poverty, increase housing supply and improve community facilities.
Carl Sargeant said: ‘Many of the successful bids focus on the regeneration of town centres, which is about a lot more than filling empty shops. It is about creating a diverse and vibrant town centre with other services such as leisure, health and education at its heart and making the town centre an attractive place to live.’
Housing Bill due to complete stage 1
The Housing (Wales) Wales Bill is due to complete stage 1 of the legislative process in the Assembly with a debate in plenary on April 1.
As WHQ went to press, the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee was scheduled to lay its report on the Bill before the Assembly no later than March 21.
The debate in plenary is on the general principles of the Bill and government and non-government amendments can be made from the following day, April 2.
That also marks the beginning of stage 2, the consideration of amendments, again by the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee, at meetings in May.
Sargeant sets increased target for new affordable homes
Housing minister Carl Sargeant has set a revised target of 10,000 new affordable homes during this term of government as part of his drive to increase supply. The increase from the previous target of 7,500 affordable homes will be supported by a delivery pact agreed with Community Housing Cymru (CHC) that sets out commitments on both sides.
The minister said: ‘We must address the acute shortage of homes in Wales but I know there is no magic bullet to solving this problem. It needs concerted action across Government and from all organisations involved in building new homes in Wales.’
He is also appointing a housing supply adviser to work with housebuilders, landowners, local authorities and housing associations, with the terms of reference and scope of the role to be discussed.
Nick Bennett, chief executive of CHC, said: ‘We warmly welcome the new pact approach and believe it reflects genuine partnership working. Housing associations will continue to deliver but the more security for planning the Welsh Government can give us, the more we can do.’
See Housing Supply task force feature
Consultation papers
A number of Welsh Government consultations will of interest to WHQ readers: • Draft Statutory instruments to be made under the mobile
- Homes (Wales) act 2013 – Responses by May 6
- Review of Planning conditions circular and model conditions – Responses by April 25
- Wales rural Development Programme 2014-2020: final proposals – Responses by April 14
Welsh Government consultations are online at
http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/?lang=en
PUBLICATIONS
10 TO LOOK OUT FOR
1) All that is Solid: the Great Housing Disaster – Danny Dorling, February 2014
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781846147159,00.html
2) An Ambition to Deliver – housing associations unbounded – National Housing Federation, February 2014
http://www.hothouse.org.uk/towards-a-vision/housing-associations-in-2033/research/an-ambition-to-deliver/
3) Analysing the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reforms in Wales – Stage 3 analysis, Part 2: Impacts in local authority areas – Welsh Government, January 2014
http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dsjlg/report/140217-wr-stage3-part2-full-report-e.pdf
4) Impacts of Welfare Reforms on the Social Rented Sector – Welsh Government Welfare Reform Task and Finish Group, February 2014
5) The Role of Housing Organisations in Reducing Poverty – Joseph Rowntree Foundation, February 2014
http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/role-housing-organisations-reducing-poverty
6) Empowerment and Responsibility: Legislative Powers to Strengthen Wales – Silk Commission Part II report, March 2014
7) Social Lettings Agencies in Wales – Welsh Local Government Association, December 2013
http://www.wlga.gov.uk/housing-pubs/report-l-social-lettings-agencies-in-wales
8) New Towns Act 2015 – Town and Country Planning Association, February 2014
http://www.tcpa.org.uk/data/files/NTA2015.pdf
9) Counting the cuts: What the Government doesn’t want the public to know – Centre for Welfare Reform, February 2014
http://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/library/type/pdfs/counting-the-cuts.html
10) A Roof over my Head: The Final Report of the Sustain Project – Shelter and Crisis, February 2014 http://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/policy_and_research/sustain
WALES
Bedroom tax spurs one-bed development
A growing need for single bedroom living accommodation, exacerbated by the impact of the bedroom tax, has helped spur on the development of a new nine-home scheme in Llandudno.
North Wales Housing has acquired a brownfield site on Bodhyfryd Road, demolishing the existing unoccupied building and creating the new development of nine one-bedroom flats, named ‘The Stables’.
A mix of single people and couples, some of whom need support to live independently, have been identified as tenants for the new homes. Paul Diggory, chief executive at North Wales Housing said: ‘There is a clear demand for this type of property and whilst none of the tenants at The Stables have been re-housed due to the impact of the bedroom tax, we’re looking at a number of other sites across North Wales were we can re-develop or build similar properties.
‘The allocation of our properties in line with bedroom tax criteria is still being managed but we are making progress and have seen a reduction in the overall number of tenants under-occupying from 309 cases in April to 268 today. Those still under-occupying represent just over 10 per cent of our overall current tenants. We are working closely with them to ensure that they are aware of the options available to them and that they have the best chance possible in paying their weekly shortfall in rent.’
Community garden gets back on track
Volunteers from Balfour Beatty Rail and Newydd Housing Association worked with green fingered tenants at Gwyn James Court, Penarth recently to redevelop the community garden and encourage community growing.
This initiative is part of Newydd’s Making a Difference (MAD) project, which encourages volunteering in the community. Braving the weather, volunteers worked hard over a two-day period to create new pathways, raise uneven surfaces, provide raised bedding areas and provide some much needed tender loving care to the surrounding area.
Val Garland, Newydd tenant and keen gardener said: ‘The tenants at Gwyn James Court cannot thank Balfour Beatty Rail enough for the tremendous hard work they have put in over the past two days transforming an unused wasteland into what’s now the focus point of the garden.’
Getting ready for universal credit
RCT Homes has launched a new campaign to help people prepare for the introduction of universal credit.
The flagship welfare reform could affect thousands of people across Rhondda Cynon Taff who currently receive different benefits at different times throughout the month. Universal credit will be paid in one single lump sum each month. And rather than their housing benefit being paid straight to their landlord, they will receive the housing element direct and have to make their own arrangements to pay the rent.
The 1,2,3…Ready campaign offers practical advice on how best to prepare for the introduction of universal credit and will be advising tenants to:
• open a bank account – tenants will need one for the universal credit to be paid in to
• get online – all claims will be made via the internet
• get budgeting – and prepare for making a single payment last through the month.
Richard Haddock, income maximisation officer at RCT Homes, said: ‘There is no doubt that when universal credit comes in it will have a huge impact on people’s finances and their ability to get through the month. That’s why we want to support tenants to get as ready as they can for the changes before universal credit comes in.’
Exhibition unites artists from 16 to 94
An innovative art project helping people of all ages make friends, gain confidence and discover hidden talents has been praised by leading local politicians who visited an exhibition of work organised by the ‘Can of Worms’ art initiative last week.
Mark Isherwood AM and Mark Tami MP were among the visitors at exhibition at Llys Eleanor extra care scheme in Shotton which featured work by tenants and residents of nine supported living schemes managed by Clwyd Alyn Housing Association across North Wales and both said they were impressed with the creative talent on show.
As well as work from tenants at Llys Eleanor, the exhibition also featured work eight from supported living schemes for former homeless young people and adults also managed by Clwyd Alyn.
WEA Cymru art tutor Karen Ball explained: ‘The majority of the courses were with young people aged 16-25 in the supported living projects but we were also fortunate to be able to run one course with people aged 60-94 in the extra care scheme. A key part of the classes was getting the groups to work together, this helped them to strengthen friendships and develop team working skills. We used a wide range of techniques including, painting, papier mâché, mask making and mosaics.’
Help at hand from Care and Repair
A Llanelli grandmother says she is ‘thrilled to bits’ with work that Care and Repair Carmarthenshire have carried at her home.
Elizabeth Jarman (pictured, right, with handyman Elwyn Morgan) had a range of hand rails and grab rails installed plus an easy-access shower in her bathroom.
She was speaking during Care and Repair Week in February, which aims to raise awareness of the support the agency can offer older people to help them live more safely and comfortably in their homes. Working in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council, Care and Repair Carmarthenshire carried out over a million pounds worth of work last year, helping over 2,000 clients and providing work for local contractors.
Caerphilly couple helped to buy
Danielle and Matthew Llewellyn became the first buyers to secure a property at The Beeches Village in Caerphilly through the new Help to Buy – Wales scheme.
The young couple had resigned themselves to renting even though they wanted to buy their own home. The scheme offers a shared equity loan of up to 20 per cent with buyers only having to find a 5 per cent deposit.
Danielle Llewellyn said: ‘We couldn’t have done it without Help to Buy – Wales as we wouldn’t have afforded the mortgage repayments. We have been renting for three years and saving a big enough deposit is very hard. You feel that you are in a Catch-22 situation where the longer it goes on, the more impossible it gets, because house prices are always rising.’
The Beeches Village is a development on the site of the historic Caerphilly Miners Hospital which is being delivered through a partnership between Lovell and United Welsh with the support of Caerphilly Council and the Welsh Government.
WHQ advisory Board chair
Welsh Housing Quarterly is inviting interest for the position of chair of the advisory Board.
All enquiries to Judy Wayne, tel: 029 2037 7268, email: judy.wayne@altairltd.co.uk