Sponsored by:
Tuesday October 12th 2010, Grange Holborn Hotel- London, 08:30 - 16:00
Social Housing: Creating New Homes, New Jobs and Better Futures
Overview
With home ownership unaffordable for many new forms of housing and investment is needed now more than ever. Currently, 1.7 million households are on council waiting lists for rented accommodation and the national average house price is increasingly out of reach for many. The rate of first-time buyers is at its lowest rate since 1994 and with banks still demanding large deposits from first-time buyers, affordable housing is a vital issue.
On the 29th June 2009, the former government launched 'Building Britain’s Future.' This included the Housing Pledge which pledged £1.5 billion of funding for local authorities, housing associations and private developers to deliver 15,500 new affordable, energy efficient homes, with over 11,000 made available for social rent.
The new government has outlined a number of proposals to make it easier for social tenants to own or part-own their own home. These include a ‘foot on the ladder’ programme which will offers tenants an equity stake, which can be cashed in when they move out of rented accommodation; a ‘right to move’ pilot scheme, giving tenants the opportunity to transfer their tenancy to another home or part of the country.
From the 1st April 2010, the Tenants Services Authority will be able to exercise new regulatory powers to guarantee 8 million social housing tenants clear standards of service from their landlord.
Agenda
With increasing strain on public finances and services, this forum will provide delegates with an opportunity to debate and discuss the future of social housing. You will hear leading policy makers and thinker’s thoughts and plans to build new homes, create new jobs and secure better futures for the deprived.
| 08:30 |
Registration and Coffee |
| 09:10 |
Chair’s Welcome Address
Professor Ian Cole, Principal Research Fellow & Professor of Housing Studies, Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), Sheffield Hallam University (CONFIRMED) |
| 09:20 |
Opening Keynote: New Homes, New Jobs and Better Futures
- The Coalition Government’s plans for social housing
- The freedom pass - Increasing social mobility
- Incentivising local authorities to build homes that are needed - the New Homes Bonus
- Liberating local authorities through a new self-financing system
- Tackling homelessness
- Expansion of the choice based lettings scheme – Giving tenants more freedom and choice
Andrew Stunell OBE MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (invited)
|
| 09:40 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 09:50 |
Social Housing and Financial Inclusion
- Using social housing as a driver to improve financial inclusion and develop financial capability
- Supporting social landlords to help reduce financial exclusion
- The benefits for tenants: Improves quality of life; Reduces social exclusion
- The benefits for landlords: Improves organisational costs and efficiency
- Utilising the role of social landlords as 'trusted intermidiaries' to help hard to reach groups who are socially excluded
- The role of Financial Inclusion Champions in the context of social housing
Paul O'Connor, Financial Inclusion Advisor, England and Wales
, Chartered Institute of Housing (CONFIRMED)
|
| 10:10 |
Effective Use of Assets
- The HCA: National agency, local partner
- Maximising use of existing resources for community: tackling homelessness; waiting lists; tackling overcrowding
- Quality of existing stock
- Stimulating socio-economic mobility
- Cross-boundary working: Linking partners, enabling effectiveness, capacity building
Gera Drymer, Policy Manager, Homes and Communities Agency (CONFIRMED)
|
| 10:30 |
Utilising Empty Homes
- Using empty homes to help reach the deliver more affordable homes
- Minimising the environmental impacts of new building projects
- What can local authorities do?
- Using commercial buildings to supplement current housing stock
- The need for a better response to PRODs (Public Request Ordering Disposal)
David Ireland, Chief Executive, Empty Homes Agency (CONFIRMED)
|
| 10:50 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 11:05 |
Coffee and Networking |
| 11:25 |
Case Study: Offering a Complete Social Housing Service: Your Homes Newcastle
- Modern Homes Investment Programme
- Involving tenants to decide how best to organise improvement work
- Tackling housing anti-social behaviour – The role of the HASBET team
- Estate Walkabouts – Bringing together YHN workers and residents to improve their estate
- Supporting young people through a variety of housing and support services
- Progress and next steps
Steve Murphy, Chair, Your Homes Newcastle (CONFIRMED)
|
| 11:45 |
Working in partnership to transform the energy efficiency of britiain's communities
- Our changing energy services business
- Building community partnerships
- Financing whole-house energy efficiency
Lucy Darch, Senior Head of Energy Solutions, British Gas Community Energy (CONFIRMED)
|
| 12:05 |
Building for Life: Good Homes, Good Neighbourhoods
- Improving well being in the context of social housing
- The importance of place making and design
- Building for Life – Improving lives through design
Sarah Gaventa, Director, Public Space, CABE (CONFIRMED) |
| 12:25 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 12:45 |
Lunch and Networking |
| 13:45 |
Afternoon Keynote: Increasing Mobility Through Social Rented Housing
- The social housing mobility housing taskforce
- What affect will spending cuts have on social housing?
- Where will the funding come from? And how can you secure it?
- New funding for Family Intervention Projects – Helping housing associations to support families to help ensure communities are safe and secure
- Tackling homelessness
- How will the Community Infrastructure Levy impact on the social housing market?
David Orr, Chief Executive, National Housing Federation (CONFIRMED)
|
| 14:05 |
Improving Homes, Improving Lives: Using Competition for Better Social Housing
- Why good social housing matters – The benefits to health, education, crime reduction and other police areas
- With competition, quality will rise and cost will fall – CBI research shows that £1.54bn could be saved each year in England alone by using competition in social housing management
- The current ‘post-code lottery’ must be reformed – Without a policy impetus to tender their management services, many landlords avoid competition
- Government action is needed to deliver real benefits for tenants and taxpayers – Four simple reforms to make
Aoife Clarke, Senior Policy Advisor, Procurement and PFI, CBI (CONFIRMED)
|
| 14:25 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 14:45 |
Coffee and Networking |
| 15.05 |
Engaging, Empowering and Protecting Tenants
- Responding to the Cave review 2007
- Maintaining existing funding services – The Private Finance Strategy
- A new regulatory framework for social housing – Increasing transparency and accountability
- Tackling overcrowding pathfinders – Reducing overcrowding in social housing
- Local Standards Pilots - Progress so far
- Involvement policies and compacts – The results
- Tackling unlawful subletting and occupancy
- New web portal allowing tenants to compare landlords in their area
Janet Williams, Senior Research Manager, Audit Commission (CONFIRMED)
|
| 15.25 |
Tackling Worklessness in Social Housing Tenants in London: Peabody Trust
- Background – London has a higher unemployment level than the national average
- 80% of Peabody new Housing Association tenants aged 16-24 are not in work
- The allocation system for social housing has led to concentrations of worklessness
- Delivering a worklessness agenda that focuses on social tenants
- Partnership working with local authorities to deliver a worklessness agenda
- Running programmes to help break barriers that prevent working such as intelligence and ability, disengagement and lack of confidence
- The results and next steps
Stephen Burns, Director, Communities, Peabody Trust (CONFIRMED)
|
| 15:45 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 16:00 |
Chairs Summary and Close |
*programme subject to change without notice
Sponsor:
British Gas
Audience
Delegates will be drawn from local authorities, housing associations, RSLs, social services, voluntary sector, energy and construction industry, trade unions, environmental groups, think tanks, businesses and employers, regional development agencies, local strategic partnerships, local, NGOs, housing organisations, academia and legal & voluntary including: directors of housing, directors of social services, heads of policy, head of family services, head of housing needs, supporting people teams, housing and community directors, prevention and option managers, housing strategy officers, housing supply officers, housing providers, mental health advisors and all those with an interest in the housing agenda
