A cautious welcome mixed with some disappointment is perhaps the best description we can give to the responses given to the Green Paper, by representatives from across the social housing sector.
On a school report the phrase “could do better” and a score of four out of ten would probably feature. Some of the most critical comments came from representatives of the residents and families who survived the Grenfell Tower and clearly felt that not enough was being proposed to ensure tenants’ voices are heard and acted upon in the future. It was also clear that there was frustration at the repeated delays in the publication timetable and that the final version was not more detailed, ambitious and wide ranging. Jenny Osbourne, chief executive of tenant engagement body TPAS, said: “We know from our landlord and tenant members that a renewed focus on empowerment, a more respected tenant voice and raising the standards, quality and safety on current homes will be welcomed by all. We also note so far there is little evidence of additional social homes investment within the headlines of the green paper which is frustrating. She added “The lack of link up to the issue of welfare reform, so clearly articulated at the tenant roadshows as a major concern, is also disappointing and misses a fundamental problem.” Meanwhile Campbell Robb, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said families on low incomes are still not being helped. He said “Families up and down the country are being trapped in poverty because of high housing costs. The Social Housing Green Paper was an opportunity to right this wrong and deliver a plan that would build a new generation of social housing that would loosen the grip of poverty on families and help people to build a secure future.”
Industry voices
“While the plans to empower tenants and give them a real voice are very welcome, the lack of concrete plans to build significantly more truly affordable homes risks failing a generation. Against a backdrop of rising foodbank use, families on low incomes will continue to face impossible choices about whether to pay the rent or put food on the table. We urge the Government to invest in 80,000 genuinely affordable homes a year at the next Spending Review to put things right,” he added. Industry professionals generally tried to put a positive spin on the Green Paper’s content. They welcomed plans to give tenants more influence over their landlords and quicker redress when services went wrong, but there was a strong consensus that the real solution is in building more new homes for rent that families on low incomes can afford. David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said the consultation process must address concerns about the shortage of affordable homes and welfare reforms. “Without significant new investment in the building of more social housing, it is very hard to see how it can be a safety net and springboard for all the people who desperately need it. He added “Our ambition for the Green Paper is that it sets a course for a future where everyone can access a quality home they can afford. To do that we need to build 90,000 new social rent homes every year.” Gavin Smart, deputy chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, welcomed proposals to strengthen the Regulator of Social Housing and tackle stigmatisation. “The Green Paper rightly recognises the importance of new supply, but we are concerned that the plans for new affordable homes are not ambitious enough.” “This is why we have called on the Government to rebalance the £53bn funding for housing so that affordable housing gets a fairer share than the 21 per cent it has now,” he added.
By Patrick Mooney, editor