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Ministers appear keen to follow the evidence

We once again seem to have a government that wants to consider research findings when formulating policy, writes Tony Stacey

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Ministers seem willing to listen to evidence, writes @TonyStacey #ukhousing

In today’s IH50, @TonyStacey writes about the importance of following the evidence #ukhousing

SYHA is working to collect evidence about mental health services, explains @TonyStacey #ukhousing

At a recent Housing Studies Association conference, I asked the speaker, Lord Kerslake, what he thought had been the more important factor in the government’s U-turn on the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap – research or politics.

He said: “It’s always politics, but don’t forget that evidence helps build the climate in which the political dials can be reset.”

I remember the incoming Labour government under Tony Blair being described as “the government that hit the ground reviewing”.

“Pilot study followed pilot study. We are back in similar territory now with this government...and it is very welcome.”

And so it was: whether it was tackling child poverty or homelessness or housing market renewal, the government wanted to know.

And researchers had a field day: What had caused this problem? What levers could the government pull to ensure that happened?

How should public money be spent most wisely, and what performance outcomes should we expect? Pilot study followed pilot study.

We are back in similar territory now with this government – in some areas at least – and it is very welcome.

In recent months the government has changed its mind about key decisions on housing benefit for under 21s, social rent increases, some elements of Universal Credit and the imposition of the LHA caps on care and supported housing.


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So far as the latter is concerned, it gets better.

The government consulted on its proposed new approach, with responses in before Christmas.

Faced with 800 responses to wade through, it has bought itself more time by publishing a summary of the feedback with a statement that its final framework will be published in the summer.

We can now reasonably expect that the concerns that have been raised have been heard, and that the new system will take full account of them.

Here at South Yorkshire Housing Association, we are right in the thick of it – action research, that is.

We have just won the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority’s five tenders for Working Win in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.

This is a randomised control trial to test whether better intervention to help people with mental health issues get back to work and sustain employment can provide better outcomes for individuals and public services.

We will identify 7,500 people over the next two years, half of whom we will work with. (Which half will be determined by randomly generated numbers passed through to us by the Department for Work and Pensions.) The other half will be referred to existing services.

“We will identify 7,500 people over the next two years, half of whom we will work with.”

This is new territory for us, and has raised a number of ethical issues for us to consider. Keeping our eyes on the prize though, we are delighted to be helping the government work through how mental health services can be fundamentally improved.

If our results are as good as we believe they will be, the next comprehensive spending review may well roll out the programme to the rest of the country.

Now all we need is that Social Housing Green Paper...

 

Tony Stacey, chief executive, South Yorkshire Housing Association.

 

  • Tony Stacey is speaking at Housing 2018. For more information go to CIHhousing.com

 

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