1 WELSH HOUSING REVIEW 2015 EDITED BY: Julie Nicholas CONTRIBUTORS: Penny Jeffreys, Auriol Miller, Helen Northmore, Melys Phinnemore Chris Price, Linda Whittaker, Alicja Zalesinska, Vikki Hiscocks 2 Chartered Institute of Housing: Acknowledgements Welsh Housing Review 2015 Thank you to all three sponsors of the Edited by Julie Nicholas Welsh Housing Review 2015 for their continued support for our flagship © CIH Cymru 2015 publication. First published September 2015 • Peter Hughes, managing director, Principality The aim of this document is to present up to date Building Society opinion, commentary, analysis and data on the • Judy Wayne, director, Altair Consultancy and Welsh housing industry. This document contains Advisory Services 300 references1 to recent publications, research and • Jane Mudd, senior lecturer, Centre for articles, with the aim of providing a wide-ranging and Interprofessional Studies, Cardiff Metropolitan useful resource to housing students, strategists and University practitioners. The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the independent voice for housing and the home of professional standards. Our goal is simple – to provide housing professionals and their organisations with the advice, support and knowledge they need to be brilliant. CIH is a registered charity and not- for-profit organisation. This means that the money we make is put back into the organisation and funds the activities we carry out to support the housing Thank you to all of the guest contributors to the sector. We have a diverse membership of people Welsh Housing Review 2015, who I hope will provide who work in both the public and private sectors, in 20 readers with a variety of interesting perspectives from countries on five continents across the world. Further across the housing industry. The views expressed information is available at: www.cih.org are the responsibility of the authors. In Wales, CIH Cymru aims to provide a professional Thank you also to the following people and and impartial voice for housing across all sectors, to organisations for providing me with information, emphasise the particular context of housing in Wales references, training, tweets, expertise and assistance: and to work with organisations and professionals to identify housing solutions. Jon Barnes & Louise Fisher Sam Lister & Gavin Smart The views expressed in this report are those of the Welsh Local Government Association authors and do not necessarily represent the views Stats Wales of CIH. CIH is publishing this report as a contribution Welsh Government to discussion and debate. Amrit Singh Dave Palmer Please contact the CIH Cymru team for further Justin Cartwright information or visit our website. Ashley Campbell Melanie Rees & Debbie Larner CIH members can download a copy of this report free David Pipe of charge as a PDF from our website. To join CIH Housing Leadership Cymru please visit the website or contact the team. Edwina O’Hart Mike Owen 4 Purbeck House, Lambourne Crescent, Cardiff Tamsin Stirling Business Park, Llanishen, Cardiff. CF14 5GJ Paul Roberts Tel 029 20765760 www.cih.org/cymru Shane Perkins Simon Inkson The CIH Cymru board About the data: Dwelling stock and household type information for Wales is from official and national statistics calculated and published by Welsh Government, the Wales Data Unit, Land Registry, the Thank you to our Welsh translator Melanie Davies. Department for Communities and Local Government, and the Office for National Statistics. These are based on multiple sources including Thank you especially (and again!) to Anne Delaney, population censuses, the Labour Force Survey and other surveys, research and data collection methods used and commissioned by CIH Cymru’s policy board champion, for her support Welsh Government such as the Social Housing Stock return. Further and guidance in constructing this document. information is available at the Stats Wales website: www.statswales.wales.gov.uk Julie Nicholas Editor of the Welsh Housing Review Welsh Housing Review 2015 September 2015 3 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: THE STATE OF THE NATION 4 Helen Northmore, CIH Cymru director CHAPTER 2: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES 10 The Human Rights Act, equality and housing Alicja Zalesinska, director, Tai Pawb 11 Devolution and housing in Wales Linda Whittaker, chief executive, NPT Homes 12 The frontline future change challenge Melys Phinnemore & Penny Jeffreys HR & organisational development consultants 14 All change - implementing new homelessness duties in Wales Chris Price, homelessness and supporting people co-ordinator Welsh Local Government Association 18 The upstream story: Supporting People and its place in preventative working Auriol Miller, director, Cymorth Cymru CHAPTER 3: COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS Julie Nicholas, CIH Cymru policy and public affairs manager, provides commentary and analysis on key Welsh housing trends and themes 1. Introduction 2. Devolution in the UK 3. Demographics 4. New legislation and emerging policy 5. Economic context 6. Welfare reform 7. Social housing 8. Private sector housing 9. Governance and diversity 10. Supporting People, independent living & homelessness 11. Housing investment, regeneration, infrastructure and elections 12. Welsh Housing Quarterly 100 13. CIH Cymru’s manifesto asks for the Welsh assembly elections 2016 CHAPTER 4: COMPENDIUM OF TABLES 40 Vikki Hiscocks, former housing lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University, provides a comprehensive set of data tables on Welsh housing-related statistics Welsh Housing Review 2015 4 CHAPTER 1 THE STATE OF THE NATION Helen Northmore, director CIH Cymru @helennorthmore Welsh Housing Review 2015 CHAPTER 1 5 This is my first opportunity to be part of the Welsh Form is supposed to follow function – but there has not Housing Review, since taking up post in January, and been much public debate yet on what services these new my starting place was looking at previous editions and larger local authorities will deliver. This is especially crucial the key issues of the day. The comment which struck for housing services, as the new proposed authorities will me most was from my predecessor Keith Edwards, have a mix of retained and non-retained stock housing who wrote in 2014; functions merging together. In addition, the impact of reorganisation on the local authority housing function will “Every year in housing is different, and be much wider than landlord functions; opportunities will the pace of change continues to pick up. also open up in respect of homelessness and allocation services, partnership working with registered social Occasionally though there are standout years landlords (RSLs), sharing community benefits expertise and 2014 has that feel about it.” and regulation of the private rented sector. Keith Edwards We await the Mergers and Reform Bill4 in the autumn which I couldn’t agree more with his comment about the will include further formal consultation on the proposed pace of change but I would argue that 2015 has also mergers. But debate needs to be wider than form, there been undeniably a standout year. In 2014 the idea of are significant questions arising around function. What is a Conservative government seemed unlikely, as did the right size local authority for housing? Is there a trade- the prospect of right to buy being extended to housing off between economies of scale and closeness to the associations in England, and we had no idea what the customer? Does the new map provide that balance? As future map for local government in Wales would look like. the architecture of government moves around, how will Further reforms including reducing the benefit cap, taking this affect other housing organisations? What services will automatic entitlement to housing benefit away from under local authorities deliver and which do they expect to pass 21s and the prospect of a reduction in social rents are on to RSLs? How should housing organisations and people announced so frequently it’s hard for anyone in the sector not in local government respond to the need to divest to keep up with the changes or have time to understand services and how can we ensure this is a partnership, not the impact to their organisation before the next new policy a dumping of responsibility? is announced. Who will social housing be for in the future? Such rapid and wholesale change raises some big questions about the future. In my first few months at CIH Social housing is a vital part of our housing Cymru I have been struck by the need we as a sector have market. The lower rents help people, particu- to think about these implications – what does the future for housing in Wales look like? larly those who are vulnerable, who cannot find a home from the housing market, either What services will local authorities deliver in by buying a home or by renting from a private the future? landlord.5 Lesley Griffiths The case for fewer local authorities in Wales is compelling and widely accepted. We cannot The Welsh Government has been unequivocal in its afford to miss this opportunity to reform and support for social housing, which seems to be increasingly reshape our councils to drive funding into at odds with the views of the UK government. There is improving frontline services. We will drive increasing tension between Welsh housing policy and down the cost of politics and administration in UK welfare policy which is being felt by social housing local government3. providers. The Welsh Government is keen to enable 16 Leighton Andrews and 17 year olds to enter tenancy agreements through the Renting Homes Bill, yet the UK government is withdrawing housing benefit from under 21s. The impact of welfare The announcement of the new map for the future of local reform has been, and will continue to be, felt most in authorities in Wales was unveiled by Leighton Andrews, Wales, particularly the impact of the bedroom tax. minister for public services on 17 June 2015. His proposed map would see a reduction from 22 local authorities to On the other hand, we in Wales can look at England and eight, possibly nine.