The editor’s rundown: lessons from Grenfell, ‘increase delivery’ but await details, and homelessness in numbers

‘Read and learn’

 

Although the report does not make recommendations directly to housing providers, following its publication the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has urged social housing landlords to “read and learn from the findings that apply to them”.

 

Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the RSH, said: “The lessons from the tragedy remain as important today as they were seven years ago. Landlords must ensure tenants are safe in their homes. They must listen to tenants, take their complaints seriously, and treat them with fairness and respect.”

 

In government, deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner responded in part by saying that “more legislation” would be needed following the inquiry’s final report. 

 

And, speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool later in the month, Ms Rayner promised to deliver a new remediation “action plan”, to speed up the process of tackling unsafe buildings.

 

Labour Party Conference

 

Taking place from 22 to 25 September, the party’s conference was its first in power since 2009. While scrutiny of donations and pay in the prime minister’s top team continued to dominate headlines in parts of the mainstream media, the sheer volume of members, delegates, press, and fringe participants descending on Liverpool over the four days was testament to the excitement felt by many about the party’s promise of “change”.

 

Social Housing joined the masses descending on the rainy city, to hear what the new government had to say about housing – and what a sizeable sector presence had to say in turn, at fringe events around the conference. You can read our in-depth round-up here, ranging from Matthew Pennycook’s desire to reset a housing market “over-reliant” on volume house builders, to the opportunity for the Treasury to “spend to save”, and why classing housing as ‘infrastructure’ could help to scale investment.

 

On the keynote stage, new funding pledges were lacking, but the prime minister and deputy prime minister both had smaller policy announcements to make for the sector. Sir Keir Starmer promised to “house all veterans in housing need” and support young people leaving care and victims of domestic abuse. He would do this by moving to exempt them from the local connection tests currently in place at a majority of councils.

 

Meanwhile Ms Rayner confirmed to delegates that Awaab’s Law will be introduced for the social housing sector in autumn this year.

 

A consultation on the proposals, which would see strict new deadlines for landlords to tackle repairs, had been launched by the previous government in January but the legislation required has yet to be enacted. 

 

Build more – but wait for details

 

In more recent days, a letter sent by the housing minister to Homes England has called for the agency to maximise the delivery of social rent homes through the allocation of the Affordable Homes Programme. And, referring to the government’s 1.5 million homes target, the letter urged the body to do “everything in its power to accelerate development and increase delivery in 2024-25.”

 

Inciting words alone will not change the status quo. Mr Pennycook said he and Ms Rayner are “committed to articulating a new long-term housing strategy that reflects the priorities of this government”. But Mr Pennycook acknowledged that the details are “yet to be determined”.

For the sector, if anywhere near the government’s targets are to be met, money is needed now.

 

“We need an immediate cash injection into the Affordable Homes Programme,” Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation told Labour Party Conference delegates last week. “There’s sites right across the country that are good to go but they don’t have enough public money available right now.”

 

All eyes are therefore on the 30 October Budget. Social Housing rounds up the sector’s key asks here. On many questions, though, further patience is likely to be required until the multi-year spending review due in the spring.

 

Once these two events have come and gone, the government will find it harder to defer its commitments to a future date – rainy day or otherwise.

 

Spotlight on: homelessness spend and devolution

 

Elsewhere, amid the torrent of news, party conferences and events in the past month, there are two in-depth features not to miss from Social Housing.

 

Chloe Stothart and Robyn Wilson have analysed a swathe of temporary accommodation and council expenditure data, to find that nearly a quarter of English councils are spending at least a tenth of their core funding on homelessness.

 

In addition, more than three-quarters of local authorities are spending more of their core funding on homelessness than three years ago, showing the huge strain placed on council finances by the housing crisis. Overall, councils in England spent £579.5m more on homelessness in the 2024 financial year than in 2021. Read the full report here.

 

And our feature this month dives into the evolving world of devolution. As the Labour government works up plans for its next set of deals, Social Housing looks at what settlements to date have meant for housing, and what is needed to do more. Read the full feature here.

 

Finally, for housing leaders and senior professionals looking to make sense of their worlds amid the aforementioned information flurry, the Social Housing Annual Conference and Inside Housing Development and Regeneration Summit will present the earliest opportunity for sector leaders to come together with peers to make sense of the latest fiscal and policy announcements.

 

Chaired by BBC Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt, the event on 20 November will feature insights from more than 70 high-profile speakers, including Florence Eshalomi, chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee; Bernadette Conroy, chair of the Regulator of Social Housing; Paul Johnson, director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies; and Marcus Ralling, interim chief investment officer at Homes England.

 

We look forward to seeing you there.

 

Sarah Williams, editor, Social Housing