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Let’s rise to the challenge set by the affordable housing review
After 20 years of devolved government in Wales, housing policy stands as one of the success stories. Stuart Ropke explains where it must go next
Blink and you might miss it, but next week 20 years of devolved government in Wales will be marked at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.
While the benefits of devolution are often not recognised outside the political bubble in Wales, ask anyone working in housing and they will say that housing policy is one of the success stories of the past 20 years.
So it’s entirely appropriate that today, the independent panel charged with reviewing affordable housing supply in Wales present their final report to an expectant sector.
Housing policy is a crucial lever in building the Wales we all want to see, not just for the existing generation, but for the next one too.
The panel should also be thanked for their efforts and the determination they have shown to engage and involve the whole of the housing sector across Wales in their work and deliberations.
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First things first – they have rightly recognised that greater capital investment beyond existing levels is required if Wales is to take strides to tackle our housing crisis.
At a time of huge demands on competing priorities, government’s commitment to housing as one of its key priorities needs to be matched with cold, hard cash.
“There’s a lot to like: policy recommendations that housing associations called for in our submission to the review panel”
Encouragingly, Julie James, the new minister for housing and local government, has talked about the importance she attaches to increased social housing supply – but of course that will require significant public subsidy to make it happen.
The panel have also made a series of more detailed recommendations on rent, grant, standards, public land and gap funding for stock transfer housing associations. There’s a lot to like: policy recommendations that housing associations called for in our submission to the review panel.
A long-term rent policy; a new body charged with bringing forward public sector land; a simplification of existing standards equalised across homes irrespective of tenure; and, in the week that the first minister declared a climate emergency in Wales, longer-term consolidated capital investment programmes for new housing that aim to kick-start a move to near zero-carbon building by 2021.
But the devil will be in the detail and ultimately implementation. When we submitted our evidence to the panel, we set three tests. Do the proposals enable more homes to be built, which are genuinely affordable and fit for the future? We will assess the recommendations against those objectives.
The panel have been clear that they want all ambitious housing associations, of all sizes, working across all geographies and specialisms to be able to access grant. To build the homes Wales needs, it is vital that the capacity of the entire housing sector is brought to the table, with housing associations working alongside local authority partners to tackle the root cause of our housing crisis – under-supply.
“When we submitted our evidence to the panel, we set three tests. Do the proposals enable more homes to be built, which are genuinely affordable and fit for the future? We will assess the recommendations against those objectives”
On rent, the panel have put affordability at the heart of the debate, and we agree, but we continue to strongly argue that the only way affordability can be guaranteed is if rent policy is set at a local level by housing associations working with and alongside tenants.
We have already seen great work by some of our members taking forward this agenda within the constraints of the current rent policy, and we will take up the challenge of embedding this way of doing business in the coming months. Rent is also one area where we need the Welsh government to move quickly and confirm the new long-term rent settlement where the panel have passed the responsibility to ministers, declaring it a political decision.
The panel’s report also lays down further challenges around efficiency and value for money. Make no mistake – housing associations in Wales are absolutely committed to operating as efficiently as possible. I will continue to contend that no public-private partnership offers better value for money for government, with its investment in housing associations unlocking millions of pounds of private investment in some of the most deprived communities across Wales.
But we cannot ignore the panel’s contention and we will redouble our efforts to demonstrate our impact and efficiency. This task will go to the top of the to-do list.
Ten years on from the last review of housing policy, the report has lifted the lid on how we do housing in Wales. Its ambitious scope has meant that policy has been discussed in a holistic fashion and will undoubtedly lead to changes in how we do things.
But regardless of the direction we go from here, the challenges we face remain mighty: tackling climate change, supporting an ageing population and bringing prosperity to often forgotten parts of our nation. And through all this, our ambition remains constant – to create a Wales where good housing is a basic right for all.
Stuart Ropke, chief executive, Community Housing Cymru
