Housing - Social



Funding
In September 2018 Theresa May stated at the National Housing Federation (NHF) conference that from 2022 the Tory party would put an extra £2bn into social housing. This was picked up by the BBC as a major investment in ending the housing crisis.In reality it is a major reduction in funding that in practice brings the government commitment to solving the social housing issue to a halt.

If we step back in time to 2010, George Osbourne cut the annual capital funding budget for housing associations from £3bn to £450m. This amounts to a total cut of £ 15.3bn billion over the 6 year period that it was in force. in 2017 the Tories announced an "increase" to £7bn back dated to cover the period 2016 to 2021. This was increased to £9bn at the Conservative conference. This by historical standards was a fairly generous settlement coming in at £1.8bn per year, but still left a loss of £6bn for the period (worse if inflation is factored in) and for the period 2010-2021 a total loss of central government funding of £21.3 billion.

But worse still is the government announcement made in September 2018 that commits to spending an extra £2bn for the period of upto 2029. This amounts to an overall loss in the period up to 2029 of £30bn. It could be worse because there is no clarity in the statement from the Conservatives whether the commitment of money of £9bn will continue through to 2029. If inflation is factored in then the overall loss in funding to housing associations since 2010 is in the £34 billion range. At a time when local authority social housing budgets have been decimated and private rents are way above the reach of a large part of the population, this amounts to a end to support for social housing, not the much trumpeted idea that the government is investing in social housing. Even if the full 2 billion is channelled completely into house building, then the amount would at the best amount to 300,000 houses built over 10 years. This will not go near to meeting the housing need.

The other factor is that the term Affordable Homes was used in Theresa May's speech to the National Housing Federation (NHF). Social housing and affordable housing are completely diffent and the 2 billion will be burned up very quickly if it is targeted at house builders for the affordable home market.

'''Over the years since the 1980s, successive governments have fostered and promoted an obsession with home ownership. George Osbourne’s Help to Buy programme or the gift that keeps on giving as it is referred to by private developers, has pumped billions into promoting home ownership, fuelling private developers’ profits and inflating the housing market. Loud and clear the message comes: buying is best, renting its poor cousin and social renting its destitute second cousin many times removed. Alan Townshend Group Chief Executive at Southern Housing Group '''

Funding Fingertip facts

 * The aditional £2 billion promised by the Conervatives over the next 10 years amounts to 200 million per year
 * This goes nowhere near to bringing funding back to 2009 levels leaving a gap of £30bn (£34bn if inflation is factored in)
 * Local Authority housing has declined at the same rate that housing association housing has increased
 * Housing Associations are now the main provider of social housing
 * No figures have been provided for the 2021 forward spending review so that this number could be lost in cuts in the overall budget
 * With right to buy and the provision of "affordable homes" much of this money will be lost to social housing and end up in the private sector
 * £24bn is paid to private landlords per year in housing benefit. A large increase in the budget for social housing would remove this cost and create a social asset
 * Housing benefit paid to private landlords amounts to approximately £350 billion by 2028 as compared with £21 billion for social housing
 * Private landlords receive more in one year in housing benefit than social housing will receive in 20 years
 * Much of the private stock of housing is of poor quality. Social housing could remedy this, providing good housing and making money for the state
 * There are more than 1.8 million households waiting for a social home of which there are 1.2 million in England alone
 * Many of those on housing waiting lists have been on them for five or more years.

Housing Associations
Over the last 20 years housing associations have taken over more responsibility for providing social housing. It is a mixed picture with some housing associations providing excellent service, while others have performed badly.

At the height of funding for housing association funding (

Stalled building


No government since the 60s has a good record on social housing building. Whether it be the design and placement of social housing or the quantity built, governments have had a poor record. Although it was a Labour government that started the mass building of social housing, it is important to note that the subsequent Conservative government recognised the need for social housing and stepped up the building programme. From 1955 the pattern was social housing building to increase under Labour governments, only to fall away again during Conservative governments. The collapse in social house building took place in 1980 at the time of introduction of right to buy. Social house building from 1980 fell off a cliff and by 1990 there was practically no social housing being built by local authorities. In 1990 Housing Association building was higher than local authority building for the first time, but has never come near to filling the gap with the loss of local authority building. However Housing Associations have often re-furbished houses that were no longer in use, bringing them back into the pool, although this has only partially closed the gap as many of the refurbished housing was already in use if of a substandard quality.

The social housing stock has been in decline for many years, but the situation has worsened under the present government. The Conservatives moved away from social housing owned by local authorities to affordable homes which are often owned by private landlords and cannot be afforded by those in the most need. Where private landlords fill the gap in housing there is a tendency to maximise profits, not maximise social need. This has often led to private rented property being substandard.

The government have made a number of announcements over the last 8 years, indicating that recognised the need for new homes. Unfortunately none of these statements have turned into real action to resolve the crisis.


 * David Cameron's government resurrected the 'right to buy' scheme they promised to replace any increase in the number of social homes sold, with new homes. As of March 2018 63,000 sales of social homes as opposed to just 16,000 new builds. homes had been purchased under the right to buy.

Affordable Homes
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/social-housing-government-funded-properties-rent-falls-97-per-cent-study-homes-communities-agency-a7799116.html

http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns_/why_we_campaign/housing_facts_and_figures/subsection?section=housing_supply