Affordable Social Housing (Walsall)

Wednesday 12th December 2012 Westminster Hall

16:00

[Mr David Winnick (Walsall North) (Lab)]

I have asked for this short debate because of my continued concern about the acute shortage of affordable social housing. I understand why the Minister for Housing, the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk), is not present and see that the hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley) will reply on behalf of the Government. She is supported by the Chief Whip—it is courteous of him to come along.

Related to the problems of the shortage of affordable rented accommodation in my borough is the reply that I received from the Homes and Communities Agency stating that it was currently not possible to fund some of the proposed housing development to be carried out by Walsall Housing Group. My concern arises, not surprisingly, from the number of constituents who see me at my regular surgeries and write letters and e-mails to me about housing. Housing is one of the chief topics of concern to my constituents, hence my pursuing the matter, as one would expect.

In many instances, it is a matter of people being rehoused in the first place because they are living with their in-laws, mothers or parents, or renting from a private landlord. In other instances, people are already housed in a rented flat but have young children and understandably want to live in a house. They therefore put their names on the waiting list, and when there is no response along the lines they would like, they understandably contact councillors and me, as a Member of Parliament. I then write to the relevant bodies.

I should explain—I am sure that the hon. Lady knows this—that housing was taken over by Walsall Housing Group from the local authority in March 2003, so the main supplier of affordable rented social accommodation in the Walsall borough is the Walsall Housing Group, and no longer the local authority directly. I concede that the replies I get are usually courteous and prompt—I have no complaints about that. The replies explain to me the position of the constituents I have written about, but rarely do they state that the people concerned are likely to be rehoused immediately or in the near future. They explain what category the people are in, and the band involved, but the people who have seen me already know that. Nevertheless, the information is officially put together and signed by the chief executive, and I pass on the reply to the constituent.

If accommodation was available, the position of Walsall Housing Group would be such that it would be only too pleased to offer a tenancy. I emphasise that it is the lack of anywhere near sufficient affordable housing in the borough that explains the long waiting times, which can be very long indeed. I do not suppose for one moment that the situation is different elsewhere.

I think that we can work on the reasonable basis that if the people involved could afford to do so, they would obtain a mortgage. I doubt whether many, if any, Members of Parliament are not owner-occupiers; as we know, in some instances they own more than one property. It is perfectly understandable that if someone has sufficient means they try to obtain a mortgage and service it accordingly. However, the annual average earnings in my constituency remain at under £23,000 which, as we can obviously all agree, is hardly a sum with which to maintain and service a mortgage.

In November, the National Housing Federation launched its report, “Home Truths 2012: West Midlands”. It had a well attended rally here—in fact, in the room next door—and made its points. Before the launch, I wrote to the federation, pointing out the situation in my constituency and saying that I hoped to obtain a debate on the matter. It was very supportive, and made the point that housing prices in my constituency are 6.7 times the average income. That is the situation faced by people who are not in a position to obtain a mortgage, who rely on rented accommodation and who have no particular desire, to say the least, to go to a private landlord.

I have to say that in all my years as a Member of Parliament I cannot recall a single constituent coming to me, or writing to me, to ask whether there was any chance that I could do anything to rehouse them with a private landlord—not once. The explanation is obvious: the insecurity, the high rents and the conditions of some of the privately owned properties. In my borough, and in all other parts of the country, the key issue is that people who cannot afford to buy seek good, affordable and secure accommodation, as I have described. We would do the same, would we not, if we were in the same position and could not obtain a mortgage.

Let me also make a point about the position of social housing in my borough. Some 21 years ago, in 1991, the total social housing stock amounted to some 36,000 properties. Last year, the total was less than 27,000, which is a reduction of somewhere in the region of 25%. The reason is obvious: tenants have bought—I have no complaint about that—but the accommodation is not replaced. When the legislation on that matter was going through Parliament, I said, “If tenants wish to buy they should be able to do so, but why not replace the accommodation?” Why not give local authorities or, in this case, the Walsall Housing Group, the opportunity of replacing the housing stock that is sold off?

The point that I wanted to make today is, as I am sure the hon. Lady knows, that Walsall Housing Group plans to build some 224 units. Fortunately, finance is available for some of the units, but more than half of the proposed development depends on finance coming from the affordable homes programme in the west midlands.

WHG accordingly wrote to the agency to explain the position, and I was informed of what was happening. I take a close interest, as is to be expected, in what is occurring or what people hope will occur, and I was copied in to the correspondence. When I wrote to the agency, the reply, as I am sure is known, was that the programme in the west midlands is fully committed for 2011 to 2015. Finance will not be available, therefore, unless something occurs, which it might, but the reply certainly indicated that it is unlikely that finance will be available before 2015, if then. I do not think I need to quote the letter, which I have here.

It is true that there are other housing associations in the borough, although they are nowhere near the size of WHG. All those housing associations have long waiting lists. When constituents see me and I say, “Have you been to anywhere else apart from WHG?” the response is usually, “Yes, but we get the same answer. It is no good even going on the waiting list, because it is simply too long.” Ultimately, we are back to WHG, whether or not it can supply the necessary work.

One other interesting statistic is that, since its inception in March 2003, WHG has built 470 houses. The arithmetic is pretty clear: some 47 houses a year against a background of such huge demand. The demand may be much less than in various other places—obviously, London and Birmingham go without saying—but that is no consolation to my constituents who are waiting to be rehoused.

I would also like to know what is being done about the section 106 agreement. As I understand it, that agreement is to ensure that, when private development occurs, land is available for social housing. The reply I received from the local authority seems to show that, since April 2009—and there has been a good deal of private development both before and since—a total of 13 shared ownership units and 56 affordable rented units have been secured through section 106 agreements. That does not seem to add up to a great deal, so perhaps some information should be given about that.

A moment ago I came in at the end of a debate on food poverty and the plight of so many people in this country as we approach Christmas. Two things are absolutely basic to people. First, there is the ability to find work. People are not skivers—if there are a few, so be it, but the overwhelming majority, like us, want to earn their living.

Secondly, people want decent, secure accommodation. One of the reasons why those of us who can be are owner- occupiers is that we want such secure accommodation. If we are in a position to pay back over a period of time, we want accommodation under our complete ownership. Those who cannot do that require rented accommodation with the same security.

Those two basic issues, jobs and decent housing, should always be at the forefront of our minds—certainly the minds of Labour MPs. I hope the hon. Lady will be able to give us some explanation of the situation I have outlined and that, despite the decision taken by the agency in question, it will be possible to reverse the decision and make finance available. What steps are being taken to build much more accommodation along the lines I have suggested, rather than what has occurred over the past 20 years?

16:14

[Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alan. I look forward to serving under you again.

I formally apologise on behalf of the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr Foster), who has been summoned to appear before the Select Committee on Communities and Local Government and has not yet worked out the trick of being in two places at once, but I am sure that will come with time.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick) on securing this important debate. He speaks on the issue with great passion, concern and interest, which I assure him is welcomed by Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Housing supply, including affordable housing for both rent and ownership, is a priority for the Government, and it is clear from the hon. Gentleman’s speech that he is concerned about the supply of affordable housing in Walsall. The Government are committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing through a variety of mechanisms. Some 170,000 more affordable homes will be delivered between 2011 and 2015, with combined Government and private sector investment of £19.5 billion. Almost 58,000 affordable homes were delivered in 2011-12, which is a third more than the average delivery in the 10 years between 2000-01 and 2009-10.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned replacement, and under the new right-to-buy scheme one-for-one replacement has been introduced for the first time. When social housing is sold under the right to buy, it will have to be replaced, which I hope he welcomes.

Many of the new homes that are being delivered are in the Homes and Communities Agency’s new affordable homes programme, to which the hon. Gentleman referred. The programme, which launched 18 months ago, offers a new delivery model and introduces affordable rents. It is important to stress that affordable rent is a form of social housing. The programme has delivered 63,000 completions in its first 18 months and homes are allocated in the same way as social rent properties. Existing letting arrangements operated by local authorities and registered providers continue to apply. Homes will be made available at a rent level of up to 80% of local market rents, inclusive of service charge.

Allocations for the affordable homes programme for 2011 to 2015 include a total of £31 million of funding for the black country, which of course includes Walsall. The funding will deliver 1,775 affordable homes. Walsall itself received £7.8 million of that funding, which is equivalent to 25.2%. In Walsall that will deliver 370 homes for affordable rent and a further 55 homes for affordable home ownership by 2015. Additionally, Walsall also received an allocation of £100,000 to bring empty homes back into use and almost £950,000 to fund provision of new pitches for Travellers.

As the hon. Gentleman said, in Walsall social housing is provided by 15 housing associations, including Walsall Housing Group, the council’s housing stock transfer partner, which owns and manages 19,000 properties across the borough. Walsall Housing Group houses 40,000 people, which represents one fifth of Walsall’s population. Walsall Housing Group lets its social housing vacancies through a choice-based letting scheme, which it operates on behalf of the council.

The hon. Gentleman has written specifically on whether Walsall Housing Group, as one of the many providers of social housing in Walsall, would be eligible for the new affordable homes programme, which was, as he knows, over-subscribed. The bidding process was very competitive and the Homes and Communities Agency assessed bids against key criteria, including value for money, deliverability within the programme, time frame and meeting local needs and priorities. Although the programme is now fully committed, I assure him that the agency has quarterly programme reviews with each provider to assess and challenge delivery plans. When a provider is judged not to be able to meet its contracted obligations, the Homes and Communities Agency can move funding to other providers to ensure delivery so that targets can be met. I also assure him that his persistence has been noted by Ministers, and Walsall Housing Group’s requests are, of course, well known to them.

[Mr Winnick]

I do not want other boroughs to suffer as a result of money that was due to them under the allocation going to us. I make that absolutely clear so that there is no misunderstanding. There are two aspects. First, is there not a better commitment so that the decision can be reversed? Secondly, will the hon. Lady take into account the number of people waiting? She mentioned what has been done, but it does not alter the fact that regardless of what has been done or remains to be accomplished, even if the units go ahead and the funding is made available, demand is great. It is even greater as a result of the economic situation. People who might have been able to obtain a mortgage are not in a position to do so because of job losses and so on. What she should have in mind—I hope that the Minister will have it in mind—is the actual demand for such accommodation, which is nowhere being met.

[Karen Bradley]

I take the hon. Gentleman’s comments. There is no quick fix to the problems that the Government inherited in terms of the supply of affordable social housing across the country. The Government are taking a variety of measures. I will come to them shortly. However, his points have been noted, and I will ensure that Ministers and others are well aware of his concerns and respond to him. If there are any points that I have not responded to, he will receive a letter.

Affordable rent is one key to increasing the volume of affordable homes, and this Government will provide it through smaller amounts of public sector investment than previously, allowing us to deliver more homes for every pound of Government investment. The average grant rate under the new programme is about £22,000, compared to an average of £60,000 under the former programme. Grant as a percentage of average scheme costs is now about 20%, compared with 45% formerly. That represents better value for money and should enable the Government to get more units of appropriate accommodation for the money invested.

That is just one example of the practical action that the Government are taking. However, as I said, it will inevitably take time to deal with the problem. The UK Statistics Authority has confirmed that 421,000 social rented homes were lost under the last Government. That loss cannot be reversed overnight, and it is seen in all our constituencies. I understand that last year in Walsall, for example, more than 14,000 households were on the housing waiting list, up from fewer than 6,000 in 1997.

Through the Localism Act 2011, we have given councils back the freedom to manage their own waiting lists. They can decide who qualifies for social housing in their area and develop solutions that make the best use of limited social housing stock. Our new statutory social housing allocation guidance gives councils more freedom to innovate. They can use social housing to encourage work and mobility, rather than leaving people stuck in dependency.

I am pleased to see that Walsall council is using those freedoms to good effect. Its social housing allocation scheme provides for priority to be given to working households, those otherwise contributing to the community and seriously injured former service personnel needing adapted social housing. I congratulate the council on taking those steps. It will certainly help Walsall to meet the hon. Gentleman’s request that people have appropriate homes. I sympathise. We want people living in homes that are the right size and appropriate for them and their families.

The hon. Gentleman asked specifically about section 106 delivery. I do not have the information to hand, but I assure him that the Department will write to him with it shortly.

[Mr Winnick]

I emphasise the need for the section 106 agreement to be looked into, for the reasons I stated. We will probably disagree about rent. I take the view that secure accommodation should be affordable. That is not an argument for today, but it will undoubtedly be debated in other places.

[Karen Bradley]

I take the hon. Gentleman’s comments. As I said, I do not have the specifics about section 106 with me, but I am sure that the information will be forthcoming and he will have it shortly.

The private rented sector is making a significant contribution to meeting housing need and can offer a number of advantages, including labour mobility. On 6 September, the Government announced plans to expand the private rented sector to give tenants more choice about where they live, following the recommendations in Sir Adrian Montague’s review of the potential for institutional investment in large-scale developments built specifically for long-term rent. The Government are setting up a new £200 million “build to rent” fund for developers in order to encourage construction for rent, and are providing up to £10 billion in debt guarantees covering both private rent and affordable housing for those investing in the long-term rental market.

[Mr Winnick]

The hon. Lady is being generous and courteous, and I appreciate it. I am sure that she heard my point that in all the years that I have had the privilege of being a Member of Parliament, no one has asked me if they could be rehoused by a private landlord. Has she as a Member of Parliament been asked that? Has she been approached at her surgery by anyone wanting help to find private rented accommodation?

[Karen Bradley]

I am afraid that I must disappoint the hon. Gentleman. I have, actually.

[Mr Winnick]

How many?

[Karen Bradley]

A number. Perhaps that is the difference in the make-up of affordable housing between Staffordshire Moorlands and Walsall.

There is support. I encourage the hon. Gentleman to work with Walsall Housing Group and other social housing providers in Walsall to consider other avenues that can be taken to help his constituents. I understand that when someone comes to a surgery, everybody wants to help and find the best solution for them. Anything that can be done to help is good.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this important issue. As housing supply, including affordable housing, is a priority for the Government, I welcome his interest in the issue and I hope that he will have the satisfaction in the near future of seeing an increase in affordable housing in Walsall.