The second and final day of the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) annual summit concluded yesterday, with the issue of the cost of living and wider inflationary pressures once again guiding many discussions.
In contrast to the previous day, much of the discourse was pointed at the extent to which the sector will be able to deliver on key areas such as housebuilding and levelling-up in the face of economic turbulence.
Elizabeth Froude, CEO of Platform Housing, spoke of how she was concerned the green agenda might slip down the list of priorities as a result of economic headwinds.
She said: “My fear is this will be the Number Four on a list of priorities.”
She added that the need to decarbonise is currently “a very difficult space – but one we have to occupy because we absolutely have to more the agenda forward”.
For Chan Kataria, CEO of EMH Group, succeeding with decarbonisation efforts was not so much a matter of rising costs but achieving buy-in from tenants.
“The biggest challenge I think is getting residents on board,” he said.
To get around this problem, Kataria said “we need to make clear the benefits of retrofitting both now and in the future” – such as cheaper fuel bills and fewer C02 emissions.
Session chair Kate Henderson (CEO of the NHF) said that, despite current pressures, “our role and ability to take action on climate change has never been more important.”
Better Social Housing Review
Delegates also heard from Helen Baker, chair of the Better Social Housing Review, who provided an update on her panel’s report on how to improve practice within the sector.
She spoke of two main things tenants have indicated that they are particularly concerned with: repairs and maintenance, and culture.
She said delegates can expect these issues to be highlighted in the final report.
In regard to complaints, Baker said: “The handling of complaints and the number of complaints is definitely a fundamental area that we are looking at.”
She also spoke of the stigma that exists within social housing, “which is really substantial.”
Baker said she expects the full report to be handed over to the sector by the end of December.
Young people & housing
The day also saw a lively discussion (pictured) on the impact the housing crisis is having on young people and their mental health.
Peabody’s Sahil Khan drew attention to a number of observations, including:
- More adult children are moving back with parents
- The cost of childcare is a “huge” barrier to many young parents
- There are much higher levels of unemployment and Universal Credit claims among 16-24 year olds post-pandemic
- There are an increasing number teenagers looking after younger siblings or with caring responsibilities
Khan also highlighted the issue of LGBTQ+ homelessness, saying not enough is currently being done to help those at risk.
He said: “There needs to be loads more support and we need to talk about it…This is somewhere where we need to do a lot, lot more – everything from advice to practical help…”
He added: “There is a huge amount of stigma and discrimination that we need to proactively tackle and do things about.”
Image credit: Housing Digital
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