You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Kate Henderson
Kate Henderson is Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF), the voice of housing associations in England.
...moreHow this Budget will signal the government’s direction of travel on housing
With the first post-Brexit Budget due on Wednesday, Kate Henderson assesses the issues on which the sector has been lobbying
In this post-Brexit environment, ensuring housing associations’ voices are heard remains challenging. As we look ahead to the Budget, we can be sure that negotiating a new trade arrangement with the EU and countries worldwide remains Number 10 and the Treasury’s top priorities.
They are also now faced with the looming threat of an epidemic and tackling some of the worst flooding the country has seen for years.
The government will need to show in this Budget that it is adequately responding to these pressing crises.
Yet despite all of this, housing is no doubt one of its priority issues.
Helping people on the housing ladder and ending homelessness is at the heart of its manifesto and were referenced in the Queen’s Speech.
Since then, housing secretary Robert Jenrick and the prime minister have demonstrated their commitment to taking urgent action. Last week, we saw £236m of new money promised to tackle rough sleeping and in January, Mr Jenrick prioritised making a statement on building safety in parliament.
We have also, of course, seen increasing pressure on the government from parliamentarians, leaseholders, housing associations and ourselves to fund essential remediation work on buildings with all types of combustible cladding.
READ MORE
Last month, I spent a day visiting Broadacres, a brilliant housing association in North Yorkshire with Rishi Sunak MP, the recently appointed chancellor.
I am so glad that he had the chance to meet tenants, who told him first-hand about all the great work that housing associations do.
This really was an example of the sector at its best: an organisation rooted in the community, using its expertise and financial weight to invest in homes, people and places.
In all our conversations at the National Housing Federation (NHF) with senior advisors and members of the government ahead of the Budget, we have made the sector’s offer to this government clear.
We are prioritising ensuring Number 10, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Treasury understand the fundamental value of social rented homes to our society, the economy and their ambitions.
“Our call for a ‘Building Safety Fund’ is paramount in ensuring non-negotiable building safety works can happen as swiftly as possible”
In the NHF’s Budget submission, we have brought to the fore the ways in which the sector can help the government deliver on its manifesto commitments in more detail.
Investing in building new social housing will help end homelessness, help more people on the housing ladder via shared ownership, and create thousands of jobs across the country. Investing in support services and an effective welfare system will also help bring rough sleepers off the streets, while supporting public services.
Meanwhile, establishing a ‘Great Places Fund’ will help the government in their ambition to ‘level up’ the country and deliver for their new voters.
Finally, we have already had feedback from MHCLG that it considers us a trusted partner on building safety and knows that housing associations have been leading the way in this area.
Our call for a ‘Building Safety Fund’ is paramount in ensuring non-negotiable building safety works can happen as swiftly as possible.
While government attention to housing is welcome, there will inevitably be challenges to navigate over the course of the parliament.
I’m sure many will agree that the recent First Homes’ announcement is an example of one of these challenges, where one policy objective might unintentionally make another policy objective harder to fulfil – helping people on the housing ladder might make ending homelessness more difficult, if it leads to fewer social rented homes being built.
We wholeheartedly support the government’s goal to end homelessness and want to help more people onto the housing ladder. This doesn’t need to be an either/or option, with the right policy framework and funding in place.
“The First Homes’ announcement is an example of one of these challenges, where one policy objective might unintentionally make another policy objective harder to fulfil”
At the NHF, we are working to ensure that we and the wider sector are ready for future challenges that may lie ahead.
Key to this will be continuing to build on our relationships with this government. Strong relationships ensure we’re in the best possible position to shape policy, navigate challenges and ensure the government understands how housing associations can help it deliver on its manifesto goals.
Wednesday’s Budget is the government’s first post-Brexit Budget and it will be a useful public indication of the direction of travel it plans to take.
Kate Henderson, chief executive, NHF
The National Housing Federation’s Budget asks
The National Housing Federation’s Budget submission is calling on the government to:
- Help tackle homelessness and boost social and economic opportunities for millions by signalling their commitment to a 10-year affordable housing programme. This would deliver more than one million new low-carbon, high-quality homes for social rent and shared ownership across the country.
- Make sure everyone can feel safe in their home by committing to a building safety fund to ensure that all unsafe cladding is removed from all buildings and that all fire doors which do not meet requirements are replaced without delay.
- Spread prosperity and ‘level up’ the country through a place-based approach to renewal in cities, towns and communities across the country, committing at least £1bn of new funding each year. Housing should be a central part of this transformational renewal alongside infrastructure, skills, health and the environment.
- Provide the support and opportunities people deserve through a fair and effective support and welfare system, coupled with long-term funding for supported housing and joined-up, secure funding for rough sleeping. Together, this can help people into better homes that meet their needs, alleviate homelessness and deliver savings to the NHS and social care budgets.
