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We must not be afraid to explain what we need to do the job
It has never been more important for housing associations to be bold, says David Orr
On Wednesday, I wrapped up the National Housing Federation’s Annual Conference 2017 in Birmingham by talking about the importance of connections – to us, as a sector, and in a wider sense, to the nation and society.
I also talked about the disconnect.
A nation divided over Brexit, determined to wrestle back control; politicians striving to find common ground with a public lacking electoral conviction; queues stretching around corners for food banks at the same time as unemployment diminishes.
A high-rise block ablaze against the skyline of one of the wealthiest places on earth.
A cry of anguish and pain from those affected and a roar of frustration at not being heard. It is a disconnection that too many feel from the forces that govern their lives.
This feeling of a lack of agency and power means that our work – building homes and communities, connecting people and places – is more important than ever.
Any community consists of people. Community comes when those people feel a sense of connection, of engagement, of ownership of the place they live in.
Communities need institutions and people who see the importance of building those connections and that sense of belonging.
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Housing associations are often the best placed and best resourced to do this – and with a strong sense that this connection is central to their purpose.
We must make other equally important connections. We must connect to our own courage and boldness. Too often we feel that we must ask for permission or wait for ‘the nod’ to do the things we need to do.
“The truth of the matter is that to build subsidised homes, you need subsidy.”
We know we need to build homes.
We know that we need to build genuinely affordable homes – homes for social rent. We also know that the truth of the matter is that to build subsidised homes, you need subsidy.
That is why we asked the government to recommit to help us to build homes for social rent. On Tuesday, we published a report that demonstrated that social housing funding is at an all-time low and called on government to start tackling this problem by shifting unspent Starter Homes funds across to genuinely affordable social rent.
We must not be afraid to explain what we need to do the job.
Significantly, politicians from both sides of the house made it their commitment to social housing this week.
The government’s commitment to a root and branch review demonstrates its desire to reconnect with the purpose of social housing.
We welcome this focus, but I’ll also be encouraging ministers to think about what we can do in the short term, what we can do now. And we must be clear about what we ourselves can do.
“The government’s commitment to a root and branch review demonstrates its desire to reconnect with the purpose of social housing.”
There has never been a moment when it has been more important that we should be courageous and bold in doing everything we can to build the homes and communities we need to ensure everyone can live in a decent, affordable home in a great community.
Finally, we must connect to our own future. We can and must scope and determine it ourselves.
That is what Creating our Future is all about: an 18-month programme to root out, refine and scale up the best innovation from across the sector.
Alongside social investors Big Society Capital, we want co-create ideas that change the world – with you.
As I said at the conference, it’s not enough to wait to inherit our future. We must create it.
So I am optimistic. We have a public that is alive to the housing crisis, a media that is increasingly reporting the problems fairly, and a set of politicians that understand the gravitas of both the problem and the task at hand to fix it.
We have a nation that wants to see new homes built and strong communities created. With all this, we must ask ourselves: what are we waiting for?
David Orr, chief executive, National Housing Federation
