You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Theresa May’s speech sends the message that social housing plays a central part in our national life, writes Paul Hackett
During my 30 years in the sector, I’ve listened to many politicians give speeches regarding housing. But this week’s speech by the prime minister stood out.
Sitting in the conference hall at the National Housing Summit, I was struck by both the tone and content of what I heard.
After years of the government prioritising ownership to the detriment of affordable homes, here we had a politician giving a heartfelt speech about social housing.
A speech that argued the importance of social rented homes to our society, stood up for social tenants, recognised the unique role of housing associations and accepted the need for longer term funding.
It was also refreshing to hear a political leader speak with some humility regarding the problems politicians themselves have caused for housing associations and our tenants. And hearing all of this from the prime minister herself emphasised just how far we’ve come.
This was the culmination of years of hard work by the National Housing Federation and the whole sector to make the case for these issues.
“It was refreshing to hear a political leader speak with some humility regarding the problems politicians themselves have caused for housing associations”
It felt like a coming of age for the relationship between government and the housing association movement.
In place of what had been a very adversarial relationship not so long ago, we had a recognition of the vital importance of working together in a stronger shared effort.
A recognition that our sector’s intertwining of social mission and commercial dynamism makes us uniquely placed to build thriving, inclusive communities.
All incredibly welcome. But words alone don’t build homes. Our task is to take this important change of both tone and direction and turn it into action.
The commitment of funding for the next 10 years is a major milestone as it establishes the principle that building homes is a long-term endeavour that works best with long-term finance.
This is a vital step forward, but to have the biggest impact, I’d like to see 10-year deals become the norm for all major housing funding. That would remove developing associations from the financial ups and downs of the political cycle and let us plan, recruit and borrow with greater certainty.
The need to tackle the stigma too often facing our tenants was also a powerful theme of the prime minister’s speech.
Theresa May was right to ask us to do more to build parity of esteem for social tenants and we will. However, we also need to be honest that many of the causes of stigma have little to do with housing and therefore we’re not able to tackle it alone.
Tenants can feel excluded from society because of crime on their estate, because they’re trapped in low-paid work or because they’re being hit by welfare changes.
We need a recognition that the actions of several government departments sometimes contribute to worsening the causes of stigma.
What our residents need is a joined-up approach which sees associations and a range of government ministries working as one to tackle these holistically.
“We need a recognition that the actions of several government departments sometimes contribute to worsening stigma.”
Land reform was not something I was expecting to hear covered in the speech. While there were no commitments, the prime minister’s message about the important of harnessing land value for communities felt like a very helpful shift.
I hope this was a clear nod to an intention push for change, as the housing crisis cannot be separated from the land crisis. As well as being a sensible move, legislation to reform the land market could unlock significant increases in affordable house building at no cost to the government.
So, there are some important issues to iron out before all of the ideas in the speech can become reality. And a need for strong partnership to make this happen.
But what the prime minister has done is send an important message: social housing plays a central role in our national life, housing associations have a unique role in our communities and social tenants really matter.
It is a testament to how far we’ve come as a sector and a powerful call to action.
Paul Hackett, chief executive, Optivo
All our coverage of Theresa May's historic speech on 19 September, 2018, in one place:
Orr: 'penny has dropped' for government on housing The outgoing chief executive of the National Housing Federation gives his take on May's speech
LGA warns May’s focus on associations ’misses the point’ about council-led building Reaction to the announcements from Lord Gary Porter, chair of the Local Government Association
Sector leaders hail ‘huge significance’ of May’s NHF speech Housing figures welcome the Prime Minister’s speech to the National Housing Federation’s annual conference in London
May’s speech shows a significant change in attitude towards the sector When was the last time a Conservative prime minister made a speech more favourable to social housing?, asks Jules Birch
In full: Theresa May’s speech to the National Housing Summit The full text of the Prime Minister’s historic speech
Theresa May throws support behind housing associations in landmark speech Read more about Theresa May’s speech which signalled a change in tone from the government towards housing associations
May’s new £2bn funding will not be available until 2022 Homes England clarifies the timescale for allocation of the new money promised by the Prime Minister
Morning Briefing: Labour hits back at May’s £2bn housing pledgeShadow housing secretary John Healey says May’s pledges are not enough
May to announce £2bn for strategic partnerships with associations at NHF conference The details released overnight ahead of the speech
Inside Housing is launching the Inclusive Futures Summit
Our high-level summit will bring together respected people leaders and exemplars from the across sector and wider business to debate, discuss and learn how to embed diversity and inclusion in your organisations and harness the myriad benefits that this creates and to ensure that your workplace is reflective of the diverse communities you serve.
Themes being discussed include why being an inclusive organisation can help you be more successful, how to make inclusion visible in your organisation and the best approaches to encourage diversity at board level.
Discussions will also focus on how to future-proof your recruitment processes, promote inclusion through talent management, build working environments safe from prejudice and tackle unconscious bias.
The summit will take place on October 11 at the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
We unveil Tech Leaders 2018 - a list of the tech innovators digitally transforming their organisations:
Sponsored by Hitachi Solutions