Housing Associations Are ‘Community Anchors’

The increasingly vital role of housing providers as ‘community anchor’ institutions is the view shared by many in attendance at Placeshaper’s annual conference. Speaking in Birmingham, HACT’s Deputy CEO, Mary-Kathryn Rallings Adams highlighted the investment in communities as a “core part” of social housing. She said: “Associations have a strong commitment to the local area and the resources to make an impact locally. “They have the sticky capital to invest, innovate and work closely with other anchors to improve lives.” Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/placeshapers-conference-housing-associations-are-community-anchors/

Report Calls For New Approach To Customer Satisfaction In Social Housing

Rather than collect data to demonstrate how good they are, social housing providers should collect data to improve how good they are. That is the suggestion from HACT, in their new report, ‘Rethinking Customer Insight: Moving beyond the numbers’. The report urges housing providers to be “more targeted, more intelligent and more responsive” in their communication to customers. The report concludes that there is no one-size-fits-all model for customer satisfaction. Download the report from the HACT website.

https://www.hact.org.uk/sites/default/files/Beyond_Customer_Insight_vFinal.pdf

The Wellbeing Value of Tackling Homelessness

Housing associations engage in a range of work beyond the provision of a home. Using the Wellbeing Valuation Approach, HACT and Simetrica developed the Social Value Bank, the largest and most methodologically consistent bank of values housing providers can use to evidence the social value of their work in areas like employment, financial inclusion and health. The Social Value Bank has become an industry standard for understanding the impact and value of community investment activities. Through consistent application of the Wellbeing Valuation Approach, it is possible to establish and place a value on the wellbeing impact of almost any aspect of housing providers' work, if suitable datasets can be identified or collected. The outcomes covered by the Social Value Bank are focused on those that are experienced by people living in secure housing, as the datasets underlying the analyses – the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, primarily – are collected exclusively from those in households. Read more on the HACT website.

Housing and Health Groups Agree On Action Plan

Government departments, charities and learning networks have agreed on an action plan for improving housing and health in 2014/15 that will ensure organisations, amongst other things, work together to:

·         Establish and support information exchange and decision-making across government, health, social care and housing sectors;

·         Coordinate health, social care, and housing policy;

·         Promote the housing sector contribution to: addressing the wider determinants of health; health equity; improvements to patient experience

Read more on the HACT website.

Conditional Tenancies Causing 'Cultural Shifts'

Conditional tenancies in the social housing sector are promoting "significant cultural shifts" for both housing providers and tenants, a new report has revealed. HACT's research focuses on changes in landlord/tenant relationships arising from conditional tenancy pilots taking place at a number of housing providers.  The report concludes that, whilst all the pilots were demonstrating initial success, no single 'one size fits all' approach to sustaining a tenancy long-term has yet emerged. The research looks in particular at how providers that have launched conditionality-based schemes are ensuring tenants are adequately supported to sustain their tenancies, and how tenancies are managed through their life-cycles. Download the report from the HACT website.

HACT and OCSI Launch New Housing Open Data Tool

Community Insight is a new online community mapping and reporting tool enabling housing providers to harness the power of Open Data.  Launched by HACT and OCSI (Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion), Community Insight provides vital information on the communities housing providers work in, and includes access to a wide range of data sets and indicators, including indices of deprivation, economic deprivation and child wellbeing, up to the minute data on unemployment and benefits, educational attainment, health and crime by neighbourhood.  Find out more on the Community Insight website.

Housing and Migration Network Urges Help for Destitute Migrants

The Housing and Migration Network is urging social landlords to make a difference to the lives of destitute asylum seekers and other migrants in the UK.  To help do this the Network has launched a destitution pack highlighting how housing associations and charities can work together to provide short-term housing, as well as the support needed to prevent homelessness. The destitution pack has been developed to help, in particular, destitute asylum seekers who have no access to public funds but who have some prospect of regularising their status. Destitute migrants are often living in limbo as they are unable to work and provide for themselves and may be denied healthcare. Many sleep rough or stay with family or friends in overcrowded accommodation which can have a detrimental effect on the neighbourhood.  Read more on the HACT website.

Charities Seek Landlords for Right to Build Schemes

A group of charities is looking for five housing organisations to bid for government money for community development schemes.  HACT, Locality and Urban Forum have been commissioned by the government to deliver a service to support community right to build projects and want housing associations to get on board.  Community right to build was introduced in the Localism Act last year. It enables local people to bring forward small scale community-led developments if more than 50 per cent of local people vote in favour in a community referendum.  The HCA has £17.5 million to support communities through the process, and HACT wants to support five partnerships of housing associations working with local community groups or tenants and residents associations who want to pull together a case for funding for the HCA.  The help will be in the form of support from a range of experts in the field of community housing and planning.  Read more on the HACT website.

Just 42% of Housing Providers Know Employment Status of Tenants

Less than 30% of housing providers are engaged in the Government's £5bn Work Programme and only 42% know the employment status of their tenants or residents, a new report shows.  Analysis by The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) and housing charity HACT shows that only 28% of housing providers are engaging in the Government's flagship back to work scheme, despite 88% of providers offering their own employment services.  The report found that housing providers had so far left the Work Programme alone because past experiences of subcontracting had put them off, or because they found prime Work Programme contractors’ requirements too broad or rigid for their organisation.  However, the report warned that "effective partnerships between housing and the Work Programme are a must". In 2011, 56 per cent of working age social residents were not working – more than 3.5 million people.  Download a copy of the report from the CESI website.

Charity Helps Community Groups Access £100m to Bring Homes into Use

A housing charity is launching a scheme to help community groups access a share of the £100 million pot of government cash available to bring empty homes back into use. Hact, along with Self-help Housing.org, has been awarded funding by the Tudor Trust for the project. The charities will help organisations such as church groups bid for the government money. An announcement on the coalition government’s empty homes strategy, which will reveal how organisations can apply for the money, is expected in the next few weeks. Read more on the HACT website.