POLICY UPDATE Autumn 2020 This season’s policy update for members is a bumper-pack, reflecting the partnerships we have developed and the conversations we’ve been having with stakeholders to take forward different pieces of work. The continuing COVID-19 public health crisis has shone a spotlight on a number of areas in the housing sector and has allowed us to amplify a lot of our policy and influencing work to campaign for better outcomes. If you’ve any questions, want further information or want to get involved in any of our campaigns, please email the person responsible for each policy area (details at the end of each individual update). As ever, we want to extend our gratitude to members for joining in discussions with us, continued feedback and sharing in our successes. RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING – ONGOING CAMPAIGN Members will be aware of our long-running campaign to have the right to adequate housing recognised in Welsh law. This is progressing on two fronts at the moment: Due regard duty: The Equalities, Local Government and Communities (ELGC) committee is considering amendments to the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill; we had initially submitted a call for a due regard duty to be included. The Minister for Housing and Local Government had earlier intimated this year that it would be included – this however appears in the form of ‘Statutory Guidance’ which we believe weakens its effect. Members will recall our success in having the committee recommend that a due regard duty be implemented in this – or another – piece of legislation and so we have sought support from a number of Members of the Senedd to continue the call at Stage 2 (committee amendments) for a due regard duty to appear in the Bill. Back the Bill: The past few months have presented us with a number of opportunities to showcase our call for the recognition of housing as a fundamental right. The primary focus has been working towards our ‘Back the Bill’ event which was held on Friday 8 October. We kindly had the support of John Griffiths MS in sponsoring the event with key speaker, Aoife Nolan, a renowned Professor of International Human Rights and Council of Europe Social Charter Committee Member. The publication of our Draft Bill is the beginning of a consultation process with stakeholders – including members. We’ll be supported in our engagement efforts by CHC who will be liaising with RSLs in particular on their manifesto commitments generally – but also on their support for the Bill and what it sets out to do. Thereafter, we will be calling on stakeholders and in particular candidates and existing MSs to sign the Bill. More information on the campaign: [email protected] ACCESSIBLE HOUSING Our work in recent weeks on this important topic is progressing on two fronts: Adaptations: The Welsh Government Adaptations Steering Board resumed its work in September with a focus on research regarding means testing (the Public Accounts Committee in the Senedd recommended removing means testing for small and medium adaptations). The other area of focus is the development of Welsh Government’s Governance Framework guidance for local authorities and stakeholders to use locally/regionally to develop better governance systems. Tai Pawb is responsible for drafting a chapter of the guidance focusing on the voice of service users. Let us know if you’d like more information on this work [email protected] Accessible Housing in Gwent: Our review of accessible housing allocation in Gwent commissioned by the Gwent Health, Housing and Social Care partnership has been finalised . The work involved engagement with over 200 people across Gwent including local authority and health stakeholders and disabled people. More information on accessible housing work: [email protected] RACE EQUALITY WORK Welsh Government and First Minister’s BAME Covid-19 Advisory Group The report from this group to the First Minister has now been published (including two recommendations in relation to refugee and asylum seeker housing and overcrowding). Further meetings with the group and First Minister were held (with Tai Pawb participation in these). The Welsh Government published its response to the report. The response involved addressing the recommendation of Heather Petch report on accommodation for destitute asylum seekers. Welsh Government also committed to looking into the link between overcrowding and Covid-19. We are catching up with WG to discuss how we can work on this together, involve housing organisations (especially those signed up to Deeds not Words, where one of the pledges is on overcrowding) and work together with CIH Cymru. Homelessness: People with No Recourse to Public Funds and Refugees – policy work Following our suggestion that the Welsh Government group tasked with the response to COVID and planning for the next steps involves homelessness managers from dispersal areas and homelessness networks, these stakeholders have now been invited to planning meetings with WG and Home Office. These meetings are to coordinate and to develop response to the imminent evictions of refugees with positive decisions from Home Office accommodation and to plan how to support those with negative decisions (i.e. those who do not get refugee status). We also asked Welsh Government housing department to involve Welsh Refugee Council in the bi-weekly Covid-19 stakeholders meeting so that the council can feed in directly with the housing department, this has been actioned. WLGA: Homelessness and Migration Guide We have been working in partnership with WLGA and WSMP to help respond to the potential increase in homelessness following Brexit. Tai Pawb was tasked with developing a good practice guide on preventing homelessness amongst migrants and refugees. Work on the guide involved researching latest developments and good practice in Wales and across the UK including interviews with dispersal area homelessness and migration leads. The guide will be published by WLGA in the coming weeks. Other race relations work We have been asked to feed into Race Alliance Wales manifesto from a housing perspective. Our suggestions have been taken on board and now form part of the RAW manifesto: ‘Rhetoric to Reality: 10 steps to make Wales an anti-racist nation.’ The launch involved a variety of influential speakers and we are pleased to see our asks included. Welsh Government is starting its work on the Race Equality Plan for Wales and we have been invited by Jane Hutt to join the WG Race Forum to oversee the work and feed into the plan. We provided comprehensive briefing on race issues and housing to the Equality and Human Rights Commission who asked us to contribute to their submission to influence the shape of the above plan. We have also peer-reviewed WCPP research into race equality and housing which will feed into the plan. If you would like to feed into this work, contact [email protected] Deeds not Words Pledge 26 organisations have now signed up to the Deeds Not Words pledge (22 RSLs, 3 housing support organisations and Community Housing Cymru (CHC)). We are continuing our engagement with those that have signed up including considering ideas for support. We’re working closely with CHC to look at plans going forward and ideas for support and working together. These plans are developing and include: an initiative to support board diversity, and reverse mentoring initiative and initiatives to support staff diversity. Tai Pawb has also developed digital training on race equality in the context of Black Lives Matter developments, with a focus on inclusive culture and some of the concepts widely discussed as part of the movement. The baseline survey for members who have signed up to Deeds Not Words will be issued shortly. We will also recruit to Deeds Not Words panel in the next few weeks. We are planning to hold the first meeting of the organisations that signed up to the pledge in November. Tai Pawb has also been in discussion with Welsh Government officials, seeking how best the pledge can be supported. More information on our race equality work: [email protected] or [email protected] ‘FLOORED’ RESEARCH REPORT INTO NEW-LET SOCIAL HOUSING FLOORING This report was published late October, looking into the impact of lack of flooring in social housing on tenants and landlord practices and policies, including good practice. The aim is to increase the provision of flooring/carpets for social tenants. The report was consulted on with CIH Cymru and CHC; together with TPAS Cymru, we are hosting an event on 26 November to look at the means and ways in which the recommendations might be implemented. More information: [email protected] ELECTION MANIFESTO CALLS We are well into manifesto season ahead of elections to the Senedd next year. Earlier this year, we secured the support of Plaid Cymru via their housing spokesperson, Delyth Jewell MS for our draft manifesto asks. We have since produced and published the full asks which cover three areas: the right to adequate housing; more and better accessible housing; more and better accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers. In recent weeks, we met digitally with Mark Isherwood MS and Laura Anne Jones MS (housing and equalities spokespeople respectively) to ascertain the support of the Welsh Conservatives for our manifesto asks. Both Mark and Laura confirmed support for our manifesto and re-confirmed their pledge to bring forward legislation for the right to adequate housing should they form the next government in Cardiff Bay. Subsequent press releases referring to housing matters in Wales have referred to the Welsh Conservatives’ 10-point plan to tackle homelessness, which is underpinned by recognising housing as a fundamental right. We have submitted our manifesto asks centrally to Welsh Labour as part of its wider consultation with party members.