G15 urges chancellor to prioritise struggling households in Autumn Statement

Prioritising struggling households

The group said that almost seven in 10 social housing residents living in homes provided by G15 members are receiving support through Universal Credit or housing benefit. This “vital lifeline” is many people’s only source of income, the group said.

The G15 said that the government should increase benefits, including the overall benefits cap, in line with September’s inflation figure, of 6.3 per cent according to the Consumer Price Index.

It cited an analysis from Resolution Foundation, which showed that if benefits are not increased in line with the inflation figure, 4.7 million households will lose at least £500 a year.

“The government must act – and increasing benefits in line with inflation is a vital step to providing our residents with much-needed security this winter,” the G15 said.

The G15 also called for an end to the freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates after a “chronic shortage” of social housing has “pushed record numbers” of people into the private rented sector.

This comes after London Councils urged the government to end the freeze, to prevent almost 60,000 Londoners in the private rented sector from becoming homeless over the next six years.

Going green

The G15 said that the Autumn Statement is also an “opportunity” for the government to get the UK on track to deliver its climate targets by 2050.

This is by setting out a “clear path” to net zero and working with social landlords to make homes greener and more energy efficient, it said.

The G15 said that a recommitment to the full Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) would provide the “certainty” needed to plan, contract for and deliver the large-scale retrofit projects required to meet net zero. This is something the NHF has previously also called for.

The 2019 Conservative manifesto committed to a £3.8bn SHDF over a 10-year period to 2030 to improve the energy performance of social rented homes in England. In March, £778m was awarded as part of Wave 2.1 of the SHDF.

“G15 members own or manage almost 850,000 homes across the country, and house one in 10 Londoners,” the G15 said. “We have a long-term interest in our homes, and are determined to make them warmer, greener and healthier whilst bringing down energy bills.”

The G15’s submission comes after other housing bodies and stakeholders set out similar key asks for the Autumn Statement.

This included calling for more government funding to invest in new and existing homes, as well as further help for residents during the cost of living crisis.