What Is The English Housing Survey Telling Us?

Read a very useful analysis of the English Housing Survey from @katefaulkner showing interesting changes in tenure trends https://t.co/DifvP8VPou

People & Properties

The CLG has released more detailed analysis of Private Rented Sector (PRS) data from the results of the English Housing Survey 2014-15. The PRS Report gives details of demographics, satisfaction with housing, tenancy details and housing stock.

• People - The PRS now accounts for 19% (4.3m) of all households, up from 11% of all households in 2004-05 (an 82% increase over 10 years)
• Age - The PRS has a higher proportion of younger people than other tenure types with 70% of renters aged under 45, compared to 35% in the social sector and 25% of owner-occupiers
• Tenure Length - On average renters had lived at their current address for 4 years, with 76% having been there for less than 5 years and 59% for less than 3 years

Download the report from the CLG website.

Opinion: Twenty (Unanswered) Questions

Over the past few weeks there has been a great deal of controversy and debate about the National Housing Federation’s voluntary Right to Buy deal. Yet much of the debate has been conducted in the dark because a whole raft of questions remain unanswered. Here is my list of twenty unanswered questions.

1) The Federation says its analysis showed that the Right to Buy was a “fight we would not win” in Parliament. WIll they release this analysis to their members?

2) Was the Federation aware that the discount would be paid as a grant as stated in the Housing Bill?

3) Did the stock figures exclude those properties that would be exempted from the Right to Buy, as set out in the offer?

Read the other questions on 24dash.

Is Housing And Employment Support A Natural Partnership?

In recent years, supporting residents to prepare for and find work has been an increasing priority for government and landlords. However, there is relatively little current analysis of the characteristics of residents, the barriers that they face and ‘what works’ in supporting them. Our recent report, ‘Worklessness, Welfare and Social Housing’ seeks to address these gaps. It proposes a new partnership between government and housing associations to support disadvantaged residents to prepare for and find work. It highlights how housing associations are uniquely placed to provide employment support to those living within their homes and communities. They have a long term interest in the wellbeing of their residents and have strong social and business drivers which support moving tenants into the security and dignity of work. Housing associations are also major employers in their own right, with established supply chains which can provide further employment opportunities. Read more on the ERSA website.

Enough Available Brownfield Land to Build 226,000 Houses By 2019

Following proposals from both Labour and Conservative parties to deliver housing on UK brownfield land, RICS has published research suggesting there is enough brownfield land available in England to build 226,000 houses by 2019. The report Making More Brownfield Land Available for Housing uses Nottingham as a representative case study of major cities in England outside of London. Through a detailed analysis of 30 brownfield sites, it reveals six constraints which impact upon housing development and delivery. The six recommendations

1.       Make pre-planning application meetings obligatory

2.       Allocate adequate resource for the Town and Country Planning System

3.       Create Developer packs for Large and/or Sensitive Development Sites

4.       Restrict the use of S106

5.       Streamline the bid application process

6.       Make the process of match funding easier

Download a copy of the report from the RICS website.

Housing Benefit Bill Rose by £2.4-Billion under Coalition

New analysis of a report on housing benefit shows that the total bill has risen by £2.4-billion since the coalition took power in 2010 – despite a pre-election promise to reduce the bill. The figures from the DWP show that the cost rose to £24.6-billion in 2013-2014, up from £22.99-billion when they took power in 2010, with nearly half a million more people relying on the state handout, bringing the total to around five million. Although Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said that in 2013-2014 alone, the bill had actually fallen – by £150-million for the first time in a decade. Read more on the Independent website.

Nottingham Insight

Are you involved in project or service planning or writing funding applications? Or perhaps commissioning or research and analysis? Perhaps you need to collate evidence for an inspection or an audit or need access to information and intelligence to help promote a service area?

Nottingham Insight, formerly NOMAD+, is a shared evidence base that provides access to data, information and intelligence about Nottingham and the surrounding area. This partnership system aims to improve decision-making and support partnership working.

A whole host of  resources including data, analysis, mapping, reports, policy and other documents are available as well various tools: the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, area profiles and customer insight (Experian’s Mosaic) tools. Resources cover Nottingham and the surrounding districts.

The home page provides quick links to key areas of the site.  Using the search function will return all available documents, data and profiles (our pre-packaged reports).

If you have any questions or would like to know more how Nottingham Insight can support you in your area of work, please contact the Nottingham Insight team on (0115) 8764001 or feedback@nottinghaminsight.org.uk .  Start using Insight immediately by clicking on the logo below.