CELG(4)-10-11 : Paper 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The Housing Associations of Wales: Measuring the Impact IV

 

 

 

 

 

 


Draft Report

October 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Executive Summary

 

This report was commissioned by Community Housing Cymru (CHC) and prepared by the Welsh Economy Research Unit (WERU) at Cardiff Business School. It is the fourth iteration of a series,; the first of which took place in 2008. 

 

Housing Associations (HAs) or Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are not-for-profit voluntary bodies. They are fast becoming the principal business model for the provision of good quality, affordable homes for those in housing need. They are also are an important agent in supporting housing-led regeneration and social care and, as they continue to deliver the Welsh Housing Quality Standard, are modernisers of the social housing stock in Wales. Revenue surpluses are reinvested to provide housing and to safe-guard stock. HAs are managed by boards of volunteers, comprising professionals, local councillors, and tenants.

 

The process of Large Scale Voluntary Transfer continues apace in Wales, and there are over 70 RSLs under the CHC umbrella with over 30 of these involved in new housing development (source: CHC). The Community Housing Directory for Wales (2010/11) reports that 119,220 homes are currently provided by CHC members (latest estimates take this figure to over 140,000 including recent transfers). This figure does not include the social housing stock that is currently managed by Ceredigion, Gwynedd and Blaenau Gwent, although all three have now undergone voluntary transfer. CHC member organisations now employ over 10,500 people[1] in total (including both full and part-time employees). The WERU economic impact assessment contained within this report includes organisations covered by the Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations (2010). These organisations account for over 7,500 people employed either full or part time.    

 

The Welsh Government has published a number of documents which indicate their intention to raise the standard of housing in Wales. The One Wales (2007) programme set a target of increasing the supply of affordable homes by 6,500 in Wales by 2011.

 

The WERU research process detailed here was also accompanied by a count of new homes provided by RSLs using the template originated in 2008, as set out below:

·         Number of additional homes by local authority area and tenure.

·         Number of additional homes by local authority area and SHG/non SHG.

·         Number of additional homes by local authority area which were built, renovated or acquired.

 

The latest data collection exercise by CHC indicates that 2,033 new homes were provided during the year 2010/11 by RSLs. This means that the target of 6,500 new homes set by ‘One Wales’ has been exceeded by 23%. Of the new homes provided during 2010/11, a total of 1,820 (or just under 90%) were achieved through Social Housing Grants (SHG) [see Appendix Table A2].

 

Results of the Economic Impact Assessment

 

In 2010/11 Welsh HAs spent an estimated £802m (including operational expenditure, staffing costs, construction spend and maintenance/ major works). Table E1 shows how much of this expenditure was retained in Wales

 

Table E1 Estimated Gross Spending of Welsh HAs in Wales by category 2010/11

 

 

£m

Percentage of all Welsh HA spend

Maintenance, repair and upgrading (includes WHQS spend)

Construction

200.4

 

177.4

32.0

 

28.4

Direct Labour costs

174.0

27.8

Other

27.0

4.3

Land acquisition

16.2

2.6

Transport/post/telecoms

8.2

1.3

Finance and business services

7.0

1.1

Rents and rates

4.8

0.8

Energy/water

3.6

0.6

Training services

3.2

0.5

Consumables (stationery)

2.9

0.5

Hotels/ Distribution

0.6

0.1

Total

625.3

100.0

* ‘Other’ includes items such as ‘depreciation of stock’ and ‘other estate costs/management charges’.

 

Welsh Input-Output tables detail transactions between different sectors of the economy and allow the effect of the target sector to be traced through the entire Welsh economy. These indirect impacts (supplier effects plus induced-income effects), shown in Table E2, are estimated to be £739 million of additional output in the region, £310 million of additional gross value added, and additional employment to service this extra demand of 11,600 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs).

 

For every one full time person employed by a housing association, nearly two other jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy.

 

The combined direct and indirect economic impacts are shown in Table E2. In 2010/11 HAs supported a total output of £1,541m, gross value added of around £484m, and an estimated 17,900 FTE jobs in Wales.

 

 

 

Table E2 Estimated Economic Impacts of the Housing Associations of Wales on the Welsh Economy 2010/11

 

 

Direct Impact:

HA Sector Output/ Employment

Indirect Impact:

(Supplier effect + Induced Income effect)

Total Impact

Output

£m

802

739

1,541

Gross Value Added (GVA)

£m

174

310

484

Employment:

Full Time Equivalents

(FTEs)

6,300

11,600

17,900

* To provide an estimate of the direct GVA impact, total wage spend of Welsh HAs was used. This total should be treated as indicative only.

** The direct employment estimate is calculated from HAs covered in the 2010 Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations

 

 

Table E3 Estimated Regeneration Spend (excluding staff costs)

 

Spending Category

£m 2010/11

Maintenance, repair and upgrading (includes WHQ

235.8

Brownfield construction

162.0

Greenfield construction assoc. with regeneration

18.0

Training budgets

3.6

Community Regeneration projects and other expenditure

6.0

Total

425.4

 

Note to Table 4.1: Survey information provided a partial account of brownfield spending as a share of total construction spend.  This data was supplemented by studying the activities of non-respondents, as portrayed on their websites and in company reports.

 

The contribution of Housing Associations to regeneration continues to be important particularly with respect to working towards WHQS, and with increases over the previous year reflecting the impact of the latest LSVTs.

 

 

1           Background and Study Objectives

This report has been prepared by the Welsh Economy Research Unit (WERU) at Cardiff Business School for Community Housing Cymru (CHC). It is the fourth iteration of an exercise first carried out in 2008. Each report uses a consistent method, notwithstanding the introduction of up-dated Input Output Tables for Wales for the 2010 report. As with previous years, spending information was gathered from HA members (using the survey questionnaire which appears in the Appendix), and this with the Global Accounts has been used to estimate the economic impact of HA activity in Wales. The survey exercise was accompanied by a request for information from respondents on additional homes provided by them during the year. WERU acknowledges the support given by CHC in gathering this information from their membership.

 

The last four years have proved to be difficult for the construction industry, experiencing a persistently subdued private housing market. Conditions for first time buyers have shown little or no improvements as mortgage terms remain stringent. This has ramifications for the social housing sector. The demand for housing is ever increasing even as these providers face real cuts in public funding and harder-to-access investment finance. The public sector has high expectations of Housing Associations over and above their core contribution in terms of social housing provision: they play a key role in regeneration, they are active in the green agenda and they help to maintain capacity within construction.

 

The lengthy and meticulous process of Large Scale Voluntary Transfer continues. The activities of 34 HAs are included in the 2010 Global Accounts. Reported headline achievements throughout the year include:

 

-          Building Enterprise - a bid to improve key service delivery via the development and support of social enterprises and community assets within the housing sector.

-          Journeys into work - a bid to develop a strategic employment model for the housing sector.  It aims to engage and support hard to reach social housing tenants through support, training, qualifications and work experience through to sustainable employment.

 

CHC is working with WEFO and the sector to ensure these bids and are hopeful that the following projects will be approved by late 2011:

 

These and other elements of HA work are explored in subsequent sections. Chapter 2 provides a brief context and review of CHC and HA activity in 2010/11. Chapter 3 presents the results of new work undertaken to provide estimates of the economic impact of the activities of HAs on the Welsh economy. Chapter 4 then provides a brief review of the contribution made by HAs to regeneration and the green agenda.

2           CHC and its membership of Housing Associations

2.1               Community Housing Cymru (CHC) is the membership body for HAs, community housing mutuals and associated support providers in Wales. In 2009 it gained a charity status with four objectives:

·         To promote the voluntary housing sector in Wales.

·         To help relieve financial hardship through low cost housing provision.

·         To provide a range of related support services.

·         To facilitate all aspects of provision of low cost social housing.

 

2.2               The organisation itself employs 15 people, with the CHC Group employing over 40 staff.  This team is responsible for providing information on key sector developments and best practice, running training programmes, facilitating networking and conferences. CHC also publishes Cartref (a magazine providing updates on housing news) 6 times a year.

 

2.3               A core role of CHC is to highlight the activities of the HA movement and demonstrate how these link into the wider social and economic goals of Wales.  As a knowledgeable intermediary, the organisation is also best positioned to feed information into the regulatory framework for housing within Wales, which requires working closely with government.

 

2.4               As new members join the HA movement making the sector more complex, and also as financial pressures upon the movement intensify, CHC plays a very important part in building and maintaining relationships and lines of communication within its membership. There are many opportunities to collaborate, develop partnerships, and share best practice, and these are seized by CHC’s energetic team.

 

2.5               Previous WERU reports have highlighted some of CHC’s partnerships and activities, which continue today. For example:

·         CHC works with Shelter Cymru, Cymorth Cymru and The Chartered Institute of Housing.

·         Lobbying at Welsh party political conferences.

·         Regulatory Board for Wales.

·         Continue to build links with Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA).

 

2.6               In 2011, HAs in Wales were responsible for 140,000 homes, employing over 10,500 people (source: CHC). There are over 70 HAs operating in Wales, of which over 30 are involved in new housing development.

 

2.9          The first National Housing Strategy, “Better Homes for people in Wales”, published in 2001, set out the principle that all households in Wales should have the opportunity to live in decent quality homes. The Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) was adopted in 2002 to address the improvement of the physical condition of social rented housing stock. Social landlords in Wales have until 2012 to meet these standards. A number of Local Authorities are unable to meet the costs of achieving the WHQS and this, coupled with a bar on local authorities borrowing private finance for housing, has driven the transfer of stock to Registered Social Landlords (such as HAs).

 

2.10        To date, Large Scale Voluntary Transfer of housing stock has resulted in 8 local authorities transferring their allocation: Bridgend (to Valleys to Coast Housing); Monmouthshire (to Monmouthshire Housing); Rhondda Cynon Taff (to RCT Homes); Torfaen (to Bron Afon Community Housing); Merthyr Tydfil (to Merthyr Valleys Homes); Conwy (to Cartrefi Conwy); Newport (to Newport City Homes); and Ceredigion (to Tai Ceredigion). More recently Gwynedd stock has transferred to Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd, Blaenau Gwent to Tai Calon Community Housing and Neath Port Talbot to NPT Homes, but their results are not yet reported in the latest Global Accounts. There have been some rejections: Swansea, Wrexham and the Vale of Glamorgan. Caerphilly and Flintshire are expected to ballot in this year and next year respectively. The Local Authorities of Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Pembrokeshire and Powys expect to achieve WHQS.

 

2.11        In 2005, the Welsh Assembly Government required HAs to join a consortium in order to qualify for Social Housing Grant (SHG). These Consortia were anticipated to generate collaborative working and achieve cost savings through scale economies. Table 2.1 below shows the Welsh Housing Consortia

 

Table 2.1 Welsh Housing Consortia, 2011 (2010)

 

Name

Members include:

Primary coverage

Approximate No. of staff

DEVCO

Cynon Taf Community Housing Group, Hendre Group (of which Hafod is part), Merthyr Tydfil HA, RCT Homes

South, Mid and West Wales

1556

(1,150)

GENuS

Melin Homes, Newport Housing Trust, Seren Group, Monmouthshire Housing, Tai Calon

South East, and Mid Wales

794

(980)

 

Gorwel

Bro Myrddin, Cantref, Family HA, Grŵp Gwalia, Pembrokeshire

South, West and Mid Wales

1225

(1,000)

Integrate

Cadarn, Cadwyn, Cardiff Community, Coastal, Taff, United Welsh, and Valleys to Coast

South, and South West Wales

769

(1,000)

Syniad

Linc-Cymru, Pennaf Group, and Wales & West HA,

North, South East, Mid and West  Wales

608

(400)

Undod

Tai Clwyd, Tai Eryri, First Choice, Mid Wales, and North Wales

North and Mid Wales

373

(400)

 

2.12        The Welsh Assembly Government One Wales document (2007) articulated the ambition that “...all households, in all communities and irrespective of their means, can afford a decent home...”  with a commitment to support an increase in the supply of affordable homes by 6,500 in Wales over a four year period. The existing regulatory framework for these ambitions was tested by an independent review, commissioned in October 2007 by Jocelyn Davies AM, the Deputy Minister for Housing. These findings were published in June 2008 as the Essex Review.

 

2.13        In 2008, linked to WERU’s work CHC sent out the first survey to consortia representatives in tabular form as follows:

·         Table 1: Number of additional homes by tenure and local authority area.

·         Table 2: Number of additional homes by SHG/non-SHG and local authority area.

·         Table 3: Number of additional homes which were built, renovated or acquired.

 

2.14        This survey showed that 1,533 new homes were provided during 2007/08 by RSLs, with most of this new provision achieved through SHG (842 new units or 55%), and the remainder non-SHG comprising of units built through innovative ventures by the HAs themselves or planning gain (Section 106 agreements). [2]  

 

2.15            In the summer of 2008 the Welsh Assembly Government announced it would make available up to £5m extra for a mortgage rescue scheme to prevent homeowners who faced repossessions from being made homeless. By May 2009, £9.5m had been made available under this initiative, with grant funding of £5.8m approved, helping 88 families. In total 150 families will have been helped by the scheme.[3] Also, towards the end of 2008, the Welsh Assembly Government secured an additional £42m of funding from the Strategic Capital Investment Fund to support the provision of 500 additional homes to 2011, and brought forward £12m of SHG in 2008/09 with a further £28m to be available in 2009/10 to support RSL schemes.

 

2.16            In 2009 CHC repeated the 2008 survey exercise. This survey indicated that 2,142 new homes were provided during the year to 2008/09 by RSLs. Of these, 1,198 (or 56%) were achieved through Social Housing Grants, and 103 (or 4.8%) through SCIF.

 

2.17            The 2010 survey counted 2,286 new homes for the year 2009/10 provided by RSLs. Of these 1,470 (or 76%) were achieved through SHG, and 147 (or 7%) were provided through SCIF.  This means that from 2007 to 2010 5,961 additional homes have been provided.

 

2.18            The latest data collection exercise indicates that 2,033 new homes were provided during the year 2010/11 by RSLs. Of these, 1,820 (or just under 90%) were achieved through Social Housing Grants (SHG) [see Appendix Table A2].

 

2.19            Between 2009 and 2011 CHC has set out to play a fully involved role in the implementation of the Essex Review. This is work in progress focusing on providing appropriate support to HAs in area of self-governance, regulation, rent benchmarking and Homebuy.

 

2.20            With an ever-tighter squeeze on funding, CHC also deploys its resources on accessing EU convergence funding, and in exploring and supporting innovative ways of accessing private funding.

 

2.21            A subdued economy means hardship for some, and costs imposed on people in Wales using ‘loan sharks’ are exorbitant. Home collected credit costs can exceed £80 for every £100 pounds lent. Housing Associations in Wales with CHC were instrumental in setting up Moneyline Cymru, which provides an affordable alternative to loan sharks. Crucially CHC mediated between Welsh HAs and Welsh Government to raise loan capital and revenue support from the DWP Growth Fund. 

 

2.22            There are now five high street outlets in South Wales. Moneyline Cymru mitigates the need to use punitive credit agents, especially around Christmas and to cover costs of school trips and uniforms. Moneyline is a social business whose loan charges cover costs only.

 

2.23            Moneyline continues to receive support from CHC and the HA membership by both defraying revenue costs and through advertising its products to prospective customers.  The six key HA representatives who first commissioned a feasibility study into affordable credit in Wales, liaised with the East Lancashire Moneyline, and developed the product range, now make up part of the Management Committee (which is a sub-board of the East Lancashire Money line). They are currently working to increase support for the Initiative so that it can be rolled out across Wales.

 

2.24            To date, Moneyline Cymru has loaned over £3m (amounting to 6,000 loans) and has encouraged over 2,500 people into saving. It won the 2011 Credit Today Responsible Lender of the Year Award. Community Housing Cymru won funding from the Big Lottery to provide a money advice service to help Moneyline Cymru customers with budgets, debt management and making the most of their incomes.

 

2.25            The estimated full role of HAs to the Welsh regeneration effort and green agenda is discussed in more detail in Section 4 of this report. It is sufficient here to note the highlights of work done by CHC and its membership in relation to these agenda. For example, the Community Regeneration Network (chaired by Nigel Draper of Valleys to Coast) has been set up to probe and disseminate knowledge and best practice. It was instrumental in the development of the Centre for Regeneration Excellence Wales (CREW).

 

2.26            Arbed funding is available to help fund the installation of whole house energy efficiency measures.  The initiative was established in 2009 to lever in and manage investment into improving the energy performance of Welsh homes (but also buildings in general).  The programme has many potential outcomes with respect to reducing climate change and fuel poverty as well as contributing to the regeneration effort in Wales.

 

2.27            Phase 1 comprises 28 area-based, home energy efficiency and renewable energy schemes (commissioned by WG in March 2010) and funded through SCIF. WG’s £30m initial investment was matched by £31m from social housing providers, councils and energy companies.  The money has been deployed to support a variety of fuel poverty reduction measures including the installation of solid wall insulation, solar panels, solar heated hot water and improved heating systems to well over 6,000 low-income homes. These were completed by Spring 2011.

 

2.28            Phase 2 received Welsh European Funding Office approval in Spring 2011 to set up a programme of area-based investment into energy efficiency, and renewable measures and technologies, in existing homes.  This comprises funding and retro-fitting fuel efficiency measures in some 4,800 existing homes in deprived areas of Wales.  £45m of funds are available for the project.

3           The Economic Impact of Welsh Housing Associations 2010/2011

3.1          Background

3.1.1          In this section the methods employed to estimate the direct and indirect economic impacts of housing association activity in Wales are outlined. This is the fourth iteration of the study by the Welsh Economy Research Unit (WERU) which has been carried out annually from 2008 to 2010.

3.1.2          The following estimations relate to the financial year 2010/11.

3.1.3          The economic impact estimates were calculated through use of the Welsh Input Output Tables. WERU has developed this resource to provide a way of understanding and modelling economic activity in Wales, based on the interactions of companies and other economic actors within the region.  Using the Input Output Tables, assessments of direct and indirect expenditure impacts can be made with regard to established sectors and new infrastructure.

3.2          Methodology

3.2.1          The methodology used in the previous WERU reports to estimate the economic impact of housing associations in Wales was duplicated for 2010/11.

3.2.2          To provide good quality, affordable homes, Welsh HAs use their income (sourced from rents, grants, borrowings and property sales) to finance maintenance, repair and upgrading of existing housing stock; new build construction; and staff wages. 

3.2.3          As the HAs spend their income it impacts upon other Welsh industrial sectors. Where these demands cannot be met within the region, they must be sourced from outside Wales.  Expenditure data collected from HAs by means of a questionnaire (see Appendix 1) was used to calculate how much of the expenditure was retained in Wales (the direct impact).

3.2.4          The direct spending associated with HAs will have indirect consequences according to how that money is spent. Some of the goods and services purchased by HAs will require outputs of other Welsh industries, such as local maintenance/ building contractors, and this regional sourcing then leads to further spending in the locality by those contractors, and so on. The greater the level of local sourcing then the greater these supplier effects will be.

3.2.5          In addition to the supplier effects are induced income effects which originate from the earnings of workers in the HA sector.  A proportion of the wages and salaries accruing to HA employees are spent in the local region, which then generates economic demand and helps to build further regional incomes and outputs. The economic modelling process is highlighted in Figure 3.1.

 

Figure 3.1 Estimation of Net Economic Impact in Wales

 

 

 

 

 

 


3.2.6          The 2010 Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations, “Embracing Change”, (published by Community Housing Cymru) were used to inform a control total for direct expenditure.  The Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations included for the first time the LSVT of Tai Ceredigion (which transferred at the end of November 2009).

3.2.7          The Embracing Change report includes information on returns from the audited financial statements of housing associations owning more than 250 homes each. The economic impacts estimated by WERU (following below) therefore relate to this cohort of major HA organisations. Smaller HA organisations are not included in these accounts, and therefore their effect cannot be modelled. However, they account for the difference in the quoted direct employment of 10,500 and the 7,500 employees (6,300 FTEs) that are covered by the financial accounts. Therefore, the spending effects (which are likely to be relatively small) linked to these employees have not been included.

3.2.8          An aggregate HA sector was then estimated from data provided in the completed questionnaires- this delineating purchases made from other Welsh sectors. The Welsh Input-Output tables were then used to process these HAs’ spending data. This enabled the size of indirect effects to be estimated as expenditure filters through the Welsh economy, and for the total impact to therefore be calculated.

3.3          The Economic Impact of HA Sector Activity: Total Spending of Welsh Housing Associations

3.3.1          By examining the latest available Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations (2010) and combining operational spend; an estimate of construction spend (calculated from the change in housing properties at cost year on year); spend on major works; and commercial/ non-social housing property spend, a control total for HA expenditure was estimated. This came to a total of £802m of direct gross spend by the Welsh HA sector.

3.3.2          Dividing out this control total by the expenditure split derived from the questionnaire returns (appropriately weighted to reflect Traditional and LSVT HA numbers) enabled a breakdown of Welsh HA gross spending by category. Table 3.2 indicates that important components of spend are construction (£253m or nearly 32% of all gross spend) and maintenance, repair and upgrading of properties (£236m, or 29%).

 

 

Table 3.2 Estimated Gross Spending of Welsh HAs by category 2010/11

 

£m

Percentage of all Welsh HA spend

Construction

253.4

31.6

Maintenance, repair and upgrading

(includes WHQS spend)

235.8

 

29.4

 

Direct Labour costs

174.0

21.7

Other *

65.0

8.1

Land acquisition

Transport/post/telecoms

Finance and business services

30.5

12.8

10.5

3.8

1.6

1.3

Energy/water

7.2

0.9

Rents and rates

4.8

0.6

Training services

4.0

0.5

Consumables (stationery)

3.2

0.4

Hotels/ Distribution

0.8

0.1

Total

802.0

100.0

* ‘Other’ includes items such as ‘depreciation of stock’ and ‘other estate costs/management charges’.

3.4          Total Spending of Welsh Housing Associations in Wales

3.4.1          The information on regional sourcing from the spending questionnaires returned by HAs was used to inform the estimate of the total amount of Welsh HA spend that is within Wales itself. These estimates were further strengthened through discussion with HA representatives.

3.4.2          The spending questionnaires completed by HAs indicated the relatively high levels of local sourcing in spending on maintenance, repair and the upgrading of homes. This was the largest component of Welsh HA spend with £200m estimated to be retained within the Welsh economy. Where HAs did have to source materials from outside Wales for major works programmes, the installation work was typically carried out by local labour. The increasing proportion of total HA spend on repair and maintenance activities, compared to previous years, can be seen to be influenced by the new LSVTs (typically LSVTs are working towards achieving WHQS and do little or no new build).

3.4.3          New build construction was defined as an operational (rather than capital) spend for the purposes of the Input Output analysis. This was consistent with the methodology used in the previous three studies. Previous Consortia estimations putting the Welsh share of this construction spend at 70% of the total were again adopted here. Table 3.3 shows that the Welsh share of new build construction in 2010/11 was an estimated £177m.

3.4.4          With direct labour costs (the wages and salaries paid to HA staff) the assumption was made that they are retained within the Welsh economy. [4] Importantly here, a good proportion of the earnings of HA employees are in areas that are relatively less well off.

3.4.5          Leakages in spending that do not constitute a positive impact on the Welsh economy were removed. These included expenditures on such items as rent losses/ bad debts and depreciation of stock in the ‘Other’ category.

 

Table 3.3 Estimated Gross Spending of Welsh HAs in Wales by category 2010/11

 

£m

Percentage of all Welsh HA spend

Maintenance, repair and upgrading (includes WHQS spend)

Construction

200.4

 

177.4

32.0

 

28.4

Direct Labour costs

174.0

27.8

Other

27.0

4.3

Land acquisition

16.2

2.6

Transport/post/telecoms

8.2

1.3

Finance and business services

7.0

1.1

Rents and rates

4.8

0.8

Energy/water

3.6

0.6

Training services

3.2

0.5

Consumables (stationery)

2.9

0.5

Hotels/ Distribution

0.6

0.1

Total

625.3

100.0

* ‘Other’ includes items such as ‘depreciation of stock’ and ‘other estate costs/management charges’.

3.4.6          The next step of the modelling analysis was to then estimate the impacts on the Welsh economy of successive rounds of purchases made by suppliers from other suppliers (supplier effects). To this were added the induced-income effects generated as employees of HAs, and HA suppliers (and their suppliers) spent their incomes, thereby creating further economic demands and employment.

3.5          Indirect economic impacts of HA Sector Activity 2010/11

3.5.1          The indirect impact of HA spending in Wales (supplier effects plus induced-income effects) is estimated to be £739m of additional output in the region.

3.5.2          The impact on Gross Value Added, which is an estimate of how much real additional worth accrues to the region in terms of local additions to wages and profits, is estimated at £310m.

3.5.3          The additional employment required to service this extra demand is estimated to be 11,600 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs). This implies that for every one full time person employed by a HA, nearly two other jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy by HA activity.

 

3.6          Total Economic Impacts of HA Sector Activity 2010/11

3.6.1          Combining the direct and indirect economic impacts of HA sector activity gives the total impact, as shown in Table 3.4. In 2010/11 HAs supported a total output of £1,541m, gross value added of around £484m, and an estimated 17,900 FTE jobs in Wales.

 

Table 3.4 Estimated Economic Impacts of the Housing Associations of Wales on the Welsh Economy 2010/11

 

Direct Impact:

HA Sector Output/ Employment

Indirect Impact:

(Supplier effect + Induced Income effect)

Total Impact

Output

£m

802

739

1,541

Gross Value Added (GVA)

£m

174

310

484

Employment:

Full Time Equivalents

(FTEs)

6,300

11,600

17,900

* To provide an estimate of the direct GVA impact, total wage spend of Welsh HAs was used. This total should be treated as indicative only.

**The direct employment estimate is calculated from HAs covered in the 2010 Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations.

 

3.7          Summary

3.7.1          The economic impact of HAs on the Welsh economy has been to support an estimated 17,900 FTE jobs, equivalent to around £484 million of value added in 2010/11.

3.7.2          Information collected from the HAs in Wales showed what had happened in the sector over the last year, and the Welsh Input Output Tables were used to calculate the economic impact on the Welsh economy. The Welsh Input Output Tables, which are produced and maintained by WERU, show how different sectors within the economy interact.

3.7.3          HAs spent a large proportion of their income on the repair, maintenance and upgrading of existing homes where a relatively high level of local sourcing was observed. Work towards achieving the WHQS was an important element in this.  Furthermore, the HA sector expanded with the formation of new LSVTs (Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd Cyfyngedig, Tai Calon Community Housing and NPT Homes, in April 2010, July 2010 and March 2011 respectively).

3.7.4          Spend on new build housing by Welsh HAs continued to be an important factor in helping to support the construction sector in the region.

3.7.5           There are limitations to the modelling process. Information collected for this study is based on a sample of data from the sector as a whole, and the model does not take into account what impact a change in demand would have on the cost of supply. However, the methodology used here is widely accepted as a powerful tool for estimating the economic impact of a sector.

 

 

4           Wider Economic Effects: Regeneration Spending and the Green Agenda

4.1          An enduring challenge for the Welsh Government administration is providing the conditions and structures whereby social housing will both improve and increase. The wave of Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVTs) from Local Authorities (LAs) to HAs was initially made possible by the 1988 Housing Act but continues apace today. The inevitable outcome is that housing associations are becoming more important than local authorities in terms of the delivery and stewardship of social housing stock, even though LAs retain their key strategic interest in relation to planning housing provision.

4.2          Historically, social housing has been heavily funded by government in order to avert market failure in such provision. However, this funding is contracting in real terms, perhaps partly in response to the sector’s greater access to private credit. Price Waterhouse Coopers note that government funding allocation to the (English) Housing Corporation rose from £3.9bn over two years to £8.4bn over the spending review period 2008-2011 (Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2011) equating to 36% extra funding but with the expectation of it delivering 52% more units of affordable housing.

4.3          Since 1988 private finance has been used to plug the emergent funding gap between the total cost of housing provision and government grants. In Wales, private finance facilities were estimated to be £751m by 2002 with banks holding 54% of this funding (Williams, 2011). According to the ‘Checking Against Delivery’ WG published budgets for environment, housing, and sustainability for 2010 have declined by over £100m compared with the previous year. 

4.4          The changing mix between private and public funding inevitably leads to greater demands on HAs to provide performance and gearing information, to become more professional, diversify their activities, drive down costs, asset and risk manage, manage the lag between raising income for rents, raise loan finance to invest in new building projects, and convert additional capacity into a net borrowing position (Lupton et al, 2011).

4.5          It is very important that these additional responsibilities and accountabilities do not result in separation of the sector from the wider economic strategic goals of local and national governments, and especially so as their business horizons are likely to transgress traditional regional boundaries, making the activities of HAs less easy to fit into the strategic priorities of local government policy (Flint and Kearns, 2006).

4.6          Wales is fortunate to the extent that, as a small economy with a national government, the link between HA activity and the wider socio-economic goals intrinsic to the public funding element is likely to remain strong. CHC plays a very important role, on behalf of their membership, in interpreting, understanding and communicating their wider significance to local economic development and helping Welsh government to gain a cohesive strategic picture from an increasingly complex and fragmented delivery framework. In this respect, the role of HAs in regeneration should not be under-estimated. Not only is the expenditure substantial but there are important qualitative impacts.

4.7          Table 4.1 below gives an estimate of regeneration spending by CHC members for 2010/11. All repair and maintenance work is considered to be regenerative, and the figure for this spending is taken from Table 3.2 earlier. As with previous years we argue that all brownfield building work should be considered to fall well within the definition of regeneration. It was therefore necessary to estimate how much HA construction spending fell into this category (see note to table). In addition, greenfield spending can also be considered regenerative where it occurs in pockets of land contiguous to brownfield sites or within established developments. This figure is based on an assumption that previous development patterns have been upheld, although total spending on greenfield construction has fallen in absolute terms reflecting current economic uncertainties.

Table 4.1 Estimated Regeneration Spend (excluding staff costs)

 

Spending Category

£m 2010/11

Maintenance, repair and upgrading

235.8

Brownfield construction

162.0

Greenfield construction assoc. with regeneration

18.0

Training budgets

3.6

Community Regeneration projects and other expenditure

6.0

Total

425.4

 

Note to Table 4.1: Survey information provided a partial account of brownfield spending as a share of total construction spend.  This data was supplemented by studying the activities of non-respondents, as portrayed on their websites and in company reports.

 

4.8          Even though the sector is facing considerable economic challenges, as noted in the previous report, the LSVTs’ contribution to regeneration as they bring their housing up to WHQS has resulted in a sizeable boost to the previous year’s regeneration spending. With this effect continuing, the sector contributes an estimated regeneration spending of just over £425m.

4.9          CHC has been appointed to the Centre of Regeneration Excellence Wales (CREW) Task and Finish Group. CREW was set up in November 2009, following the Essex Report, to provide a cohesive regeneration message throughout Wales under 4 broad headings:

·         Training, education and skills

·         High Quality Research

·         Dissemination of Information

·         Exchange of best practice.

4.10       CREW is providing an innovative approach. For example, it has set up three thematic networks:  ‘Atmosphere’, which invites the views of those who wish to contribute to building the ‘feel’ of a community; ‘Landscape’ inviting participation from those who wish to contribute to the physical characteristics of the community; and the ‘Horizon’ theme seeks to capture the ambitions and outward looking viewpoints of the community.

4.11       This feedback has then been used to develop a systematic approach to assessing change at community level, through the development of a toolkit. The Toolkit uses quantitative and qualitative data supported by locally collected data to create a comprehensive appreciation of community conditions. It is intended for use by regeneration agencies and/or community organisations, in providing a benchmark at the beginning of a regeneration project and then for evaluating change over time.

4.12       CREW is also, in partnership with Taff Housing Association, addressing information gaps on the regeneration activities of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in Wales by developing a directory of projects and programmes delivered by the housing sector. This is vital work in maintaining public understanding of the link between housing and regeneration and picking up the ways in which RSLs have been widening their scope of activities by providing opportunities for employment, improved health and better skills for their residents, as well as providing an appreciation of actual progress.

4.13       The CREW website also provides access to graduate placements in the field of regeneration, and publishes case studies. For example, the first placement with CREW resulted in the graduate accessing international regeneration research projects looking at best practice in Germany and Spain.

4.14       Another example of their work includes the hosting of a visit of nine students from State University of New York, Brownfield Studies Institute who are undertaking a four month project on regeneration in the Heads of the Valleys and Swansea Regeneration Areas. The Brown Fields Studies Institute are pioneers in regeneration projects that ‘re-purpose’ post-industrial sites and neighbouring communities, often closely linked to environmentally sustainable methods of ‘green’ industrial production. The students are investigating the potential for similar developmental opportunities in Wales. The outputs from the visit will be ‘master plans’ for green regeneration.

4.15       It is already evident that the regeneration agenda is closely linked to the urgent sustainability goals of Welsh Government. Fresh expenditure on social housing provision has to take advantage of the one-off opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of housing structures at the same time as reducing the fuel poverty of tenants. The application of green standards has important implications for green jobs.

4.16       In June 2011 CREW published a first report reviewing in detail the ‘Low carbon skills requirements for the regeneration and built environment professional services sector in Wales’. This research project was funded through CREW and Construction Skills Wales (CSW), by the Department of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) in support of its delivery of skills priorities as laid down in its Business Plan.

4.17       Housing Associations in Wales participated in this research exercise, again indicating the commitment of the sector to future-proofing Welsh housing, and to the wider socio-economic agenda.

4.18       2009 also saw the establishment of the Arbed Initiative set up to help fund the installation of whole house energy efficiency measures.  The role of the Initiative is to lever in and manage investment into improving the energy performance of Welsh homes (but also buildings in general).  The programme has many potential outcomes with respect to reducing climate change and fuel poverty as well as contributing to the regeneration effort in Wales.

4.19       Phase 1 comprises 28 area-based, home energy efficiency and renewable energy schemes (commissioned by WG in March 2010) and funded through SCIF. WG’s £30m initial investment was matched by £31m from social housing providers, councils and energy companies.  The money has been deployed to support a variety of fuel poverty reduction measures including the installation of solid wall insulation, solar panels, solar heated hot water and improved heating systems to well over 6,000 low-income homes. These were completed by Spring 2011.

4.20       Phase 2 received Welsh European Funding Office approval in Spring 2011 to set up a programme of area-based investment into energy efficiency and renewable measures and technologies in existing homes.  This comprises funding and retro-fitting fuel efficiency measures in some 4,800 existing homes in deprived areas of Wales.  £45m of funds are available for the project.

4.21       These are but a few of the many examples of the effort, co-operation and progress being made by agencies, stakeholders and policy makers, including HAs, and demonstrate the nature and quality of engagement by the sector in matters beyond simply the delivery of housing units.

 

 

 

              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5           Case studies

5.1          Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd

Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd Cyf (CCG) was set up in April 2010 with the transfer of 6,300 homes from Gwynedd Council following a ‘yes’ vote from tenants in March 2009.

CCG is an Industrial and Provident Society with charitable rules and is a registered social landlord (RSL). CCG is regulated and registered with the Welsh Government and is a not-for profit organisation. The primary purpose of the organisation is to provide affordable rented homes to those in most housing need.

The need to deliver WHQS improvements was the main driver of change in Gwynedd like many other areas in Wales, with the local authority unable to meet costs associated with improving its stock. The transfer of stock has ensured a £136 million investment in homes over a period of 5 years, and £446 million over 30 years.

CCG’s Board is responsible for leading the organisation by providing strategic direction and operational governance. The Board is also responsible for ensuring that all promises made to tenant’s in the Offer Document are fulfilled. Board members monitor and challenge officers to ensure that CCG achieves its objectives and maximises its resources.

 

There are 12 voluntary members on the Board - four tenant members, four independent members and four nominated by Gwynedd Council. Alongside the Board sit four Committees – Finance, Audit, Operations and Human Resources. The Committees have the time to delve deeper into subject matters and make recommendations to the full Board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vision

 CCG’s vision is to become the leading community-led provider of affordable homes in Gwynedd, using knowledge, skills and resources to develop and enrich local communities and protect the area’s unique environment and culture.


 

Values

·         We are effective and reliable – it is important that we keep to our word and deliver our promises

·         We are flexible and provide the services people want in ways to suit them

·         CCG provides accessible and local services

·         We are fair and honest with our customers

·         We aim to be innovative and welcome new ways of working to increase choice

·         We are committed to developing and protecting the economy and culture of Gwynedd

 

Key facts

·         6,300 homes for rent

·         390 sheltered homes

·         Around 250 employees based at 10 locations around Gwynedd

·         5 year WHQS investment programme worth £136 million

·         Maximising local economic benefits and securing a lasting legacy is central to investment programme objectives through unique procurement policy

·         12 CCG workers supported on multiskill course through Coleg Menai, the local further education college

·         30 apprenticeships created through WHQS investment by CCG and its contractors

·         Innovative procurement policy means five north Wales based businesses have secured WHQS related contracts worth almost £10 million

CCG Initiatives

·         To maximise local benefit through WHQS investment CCG has introduced a procurement model which gives Gwynedd businesses a greater chance of securing WHQS related work. The traditional model used by housing associations to deliver similar investment programmes means using one or two major contractors for the whole scheme. The strategy at CCG is to divide the work, with almost half the contracts available to SMEs and the remainder to one main contractor. Pre-qualification criteria to tender for the smaller contracts were simplified to encourage local companies to submit bids.

·         To facilitate the procurement model CCG has employed officers directly to manage the supply chain and to provide support to the SMEs to manage their contract requirements. Successful companies have been awarded four year contracts rather than 12 months offering more stability.

·         Lovell Partnership has been appointed as the main WHQS contractor. As part of their agreement they are obliged to employ and offer training opportunities locally. They have already taken on around 30 people in the area and awarded several contracts to Gwynedd businesses.

·         CCG is a tenant focussed organisation – five tenant forums have been set up to ensure the tenant’s voice is heard at the heart of the organisation and is key when decisions are made. Tenants have been involved in appointing contractors on the WHQS programme and evaluating their work.

 

·         A Customer Panel has also been set up which allows CCG tenants to participate and get involved if attending meetings is not for them. Questionnaires are sent to their homes and their views gathered through telephone surveys.

·         The Neighbourhood team has been strengthened following transfer with two new Community Wardens employed. The wardens hold monthly surgeries for tenants on estates and are responsible for monitoring anti-social behaviour.

 

·         A Junior Warden scheme during the 2011 summer holidays meant fifteen year six pupils from different schools across the county were given the opportunity to attend awareness  sessions as well as help out with estate clean-ups and gardening. The six week scheme culminated in an awards ceremony to mark the youngsters’ achievements.

·         To mark a year since transfer CCG held two family fun days – one in Bangor and one in Dolgellau. Hundreds of tenants attended the events and were able to meet staff and prospective WHQS suppliers as well as enjoy a host of different activities and take part in competitions.

·         With input form tenants CCG has produced a DVD explaining how they can prepare themselves and their homes for WHQS work. The film provides practical advice as well as information on who to contact at CCG before during and after the work.

·         CCG has an annual Community Benefit Fund worth £250,000 available for local initiatives. The initiatives do not have to originate from tenants and can benefit whole communities.

·         CCG has a policy of employing bilingual staff giving local people the opportunity to work through the medium of Welsh, this also means that customers receive a service in the language of their choice.

 

·         A protocol has been implemented to facilitate communication with Gwynedd Council members. Councillors have one point of contact at CCG which simplifies the process and provides a better and more efficient service as well as quicker response times to their queries.

·         CCG has facilitated mobile and flexible working for staff through the Sun Secure Global Desktop which is a web based solution that provides access to workplace desktop from any PC with internet access.

·         A flexible mobile repair service has also been developed through Opti-time and Consilium Total Mobile systems wich means CCG can offer appointments to tenants.

 

·         CCG has provided training for prospective tenant Board members after nomination and pre-ballot. The training was designed to give potential board members an insight into the role and responsibilities of being a tenant Board member.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.2          Tai Calon Community Housing


Tai Calon Community Housing was established in July 2010 following the transfer of just over 6200 homes from Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. Of the tenants that voted 72.9% voted in favour of transfer. Tai Calon has adopted a Community Mutual structure whereby all tenants and leaseholders can be members and so are the ‘owners’ of the organisation.

Tai Calon is based in state of the art offices on the outskirts of Blaina in Blaenau Gwent.

The Board is made up of 15 volunteers, comprising a third tenant members, a third Council members and a third independent members.

The Board has established the Mission for the organisation which is:

-          To deliver our promises, improving homes and lives.

And a medium term vision of creating:

-          Excellent homes and services to make our communities proud.

The Board has developed the organisation’s first Corporate plan which focuses on both core service delivery and investing in the communities in which Tai Calon works.  The plan is underpinned by the agreed organisational values:

-          Tenant focussed

-          Listening and learning

-          Respect

-          Excellent

-          Open

Tai Calon currently employs over 260 staff including its own Property Services team which carries out the responsive repairs service.

 

The ‘Promises’ to tenants developed through the pre transfer consultation process have been the operational driver for the first year. Tenants were very clear that improving homes and the services they receive were their priorities for the business. Tenants also recognised the community investment and regeneration opportunities that came from investing £111m in tenants’ homes and gave a clear mandate to officers to pursue these objectives within the first year.

 

Tenants have been placed at the heart of the organisation’s policy and strategy development processes. A diverse yet robust involvement and engagement structure has ensured that tenants are involved at all levels of Tai Calon e.g. tenants were involved developing the specification for the Welsh Housing Quality Standard work, reviewing Invitations to Tender during the OJEU process and appointing contractors. As part of the governance arrangements tenant and leaseholder members have formed a body that act as a scrutiny vehicle holding both the Board and the senior management team to account.

 

Tenants also directly monitor the outcomes of policies - for example, they undertake all of the satisfaction survey work for the responsive repairs service.

 

Key Facts

 

·         Tai Calon manages 6200 homes in Blaenau Gwent. Most of the homes are two and three bedroom houses but there are also some four bed roomed properties, flats and maisonettes and eleven sheltered housing schemes. A third of the housing stock is of non traditional construction

 

·         Tai Calon is investing  £111m in tenants’ homes in its first five years. It has completed its year one WHQS internal improvement programme utilising the Genus consortium procurement framework, and has recently commenced it’s  year two work following the appointment of nine contractors selected through its own OJEU framework process. 

 

·         Tai Calon invested in supporting small and medium enterprises prior to the release of the OJEU notice through training and information events, for example outlining the process of preparing pre qualification questionnaires. 9 lots of varying sizes were also used to allow smaller contractors to bid based on their capacity. 7 of the contractors that won lots with Tai Calon are classed as small or medium enterprises and seven are based in South Wales.

 

·         Employment rates within Blaenau Gwent are low in comparison to other parts of Wales. Tai Calon is developing opportunities to create jobs and training places. In its first year 5 apprentices were recruited to the Property Services Team, contractors carrying out the WHQS works have agreed to employ twelve apprentices; 4 trainees have been placed with Tai Calon through Jobmatch and all have secured full time employment; 2 Go Wales Graduates have worked with the organisation with one securing employment in Tai Calon’s Communications team.

 

Examples of Tai Calon’s Initiatives

·         Since July 2010 38 new jobs in the organisation have been created

 

·         236 kitchen and 158 bathroom refurbishments and 396 heating systems were completed in the  8 months of the first financial year 

 

·         An internal Tenant Liaison Officer function was introduced to support tenants through the internal improvement process

 

·         Tai Calon forged links with key partners for the benefit of its tenants e.g. local credit union, the local authority, the Health Board, Communities First and the Police

 

·         The organisation is focusing on the social and business benefits of procurement and appointed a dedicated manager to lead this

 

·         Value for money is a key objective and resources have been invested in developing a response to this.

 

·         A Quality and Design Forum was established to develop and review policies for the repairs and assets functions of the organisation. It has also been the vehicle to appoint contractors, review performance and develop service standard surveys.

 

·         A Membership Scrutiny Committee made up of tenants and leaseholders is in place that holds the Board to account and is working with the Executive Team in the self assessment process

 

·         An Equalities Panel has been established made up of a diverse range of tenants to ensure Tai Calon meets it legislative and  moral obligations  around  equality and diversity

 

·         An Environmental Improvement Fund has been set up for communities to bring forward neighbourhood and community based projects

 

·         A Time banking scheme has been established to incentivise tenant and leaseholder  engagement and active citizenship within neighbourhoods

 

·         A focus on reducing void properties has resulted in void numbers reducing from over 321 in July 2010to 202 in October 2011

 

·         All staff have undergone customer excellence training in Tai Calon’s first year

 

·         A leadership development course has been established for the organisation’s leaders

 

·         An Economic and Financial Inclusion Strategy and working group have been developed to support tenants in these hard economic times

 

·         Tai Calon’s involved tenants have been recognised through an award from TPAS Cymru

 

·         The Chief Executive sits on the Local Service Board for Blaenau Gwent

 

·         Tai Calon supports social enterprise, housing the Young Wales project within  its building

 

·         Tai Calon is working in partnership to deliver low level employment and training projects on its estates e.g. Construction taster days with young people

 

·         It is using social media to communicate key messages i.e. Facebook and Twitter



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.3          Tai Ceredigion

Tai Ceredigion was launched on 30 November 2009, after a successful ballot of tenants.  Tai Ceredigion is a not-for-profit registered social landlord which is registered with the Welsh Government and under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965.  In common with other housing associations, Tai Ceredigion invests any surpluses back into the business.

 

Tai Ceredigion has 15 Board Members - 5 Council nominees, 5 tenants and 5 independent representatives.  The Association is based in Lampeter and currently employs 127 members of staff.  It has an Executive Team comprising the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, Director of Housing and Support and Director of Property Services.  The Senior Management Team includes managers from all departments of the Association.

 

Tai Ceredigion's values recognise the importance of its role within the local community and include having the Welsh Language at the heart of our business, being a good employer with opportunities for career development, focussing on meeting the housing and employment needs of local people, striving to improve the local economy and paying attention to the wider regeneration and community development needs of the county.

Tenant involvement is at the heart of everything that is done at Tai Ceredigion.  As well as tenant Board Members, a Tenants Monitoring Group meets monthly with the Executive Team to monitor all aspects of the Association's performance. Tenant Inspectors have been trained to ensure that the standard of works carried out to homes is in line with that agreed.  A Tenant's Liaison Panel involves itself in producing key documents such as the newly launched Tenants Handbook and reviewing key policies such as the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.

 

The main promise within the Offer Document produced in the run up to Transfer was to bring all properties up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard. Tai Ceredigion has taken an innovative approach to procuring the works developing the principles contained within the Welsh Government's Can Do Toolkit.  During the last year local businesses and contractors have been going through the long tendering and interviewing process to be selected to undertake the improvements programme to bring every Tai Ceredigion home up to Welsh Quality Housing Standard by December 2014. Tai Ceredigion  had promised to build on the previous work done by the County Council with local contractors and has done this by making them aware of the building contracts going out to tender and helping them to find independent advice and support with bidding for those contracts.



Key facts:

·         Tai Ceredigion manages 2,227 properties through Ceredigion.  These include 1,876 general needs properties and 351 sheltered properties.

·         We have 138 leaseholders who purchased their properties under the Right to Buy.

·         Tai Ceredigion plans to spend £35m on WHQS works by December 2014.

·         127 staff

·         A DLO of 44 craftsmen

 

Other Tai Ceredigion initiatives include:

 

·         Piloting green energy solutions for affordable warmth for tenants in rural areas with E.ON

·         Developing community projects for play areas and community gardens (for example, securing £28,000 for the Plannu Llanafan project, funded by the Tidy Towns initiative)

·         Installing computers with internet access and Nintendo Wii and Wii fit into all sheltered schemes to allow the tenants to keep active and to socilaise with each other and visitors to the schemes.

·         Tai Ceredigion has secured £675,000 of Arbed funding to provide green energy improvement to homes in areas of Ceredigion which were in desperate need of affordable warmth.

·         Tai Ceredigion has secured £125,000 of European funding to for a brand new estate caretaking and handyperson service called ‘Gwasanaethau Medra Services’; which will deliver tidier estates and more help for our elderly and disabled tenants and leaseholders.

·         Our Community Inclusion Advisor has identified £52,101.95 additional income for tenants through benefits which have not been claimed etc.

·         Focusing on local job creation and offering apprenticeships.  10 apprentices to date (2 have recently completed their training and have gained contracts of employment with the Association, with a third to finish in the coming weeks) and 2 Go Wales graduate placements.

·         Helping communities by fund raising for local charities by raising sponsorship through taking part in local events.

·         To tie in with Tidy Wales week (19th – 25th  September 2011) Tai Ceredigion organised ‘skip days’ for its tenants on various estates throughout the county. The events were hugely successful with up to 2 skips filled at a number of estates. The aim of the scheme was to improve the local environment at the housing estates by allowing residents, who were unable to access large waste collections to dispose of large household waste appropriately.

·         Primary school pupils and sheltered housing tenants have got together in Aberystwyth to form, what is believed to be, Wales’ first Intergenerational Club. The Club was officially launched on Wednesday 13 July at Plas Crug Primary School. A partnership between Tai Ceredigion, Plas Crug Primary School and the Strategy for Older People, Ceredigion County Council, has seen the bringing together of Primary school pupils and sheltered housing tenants to establish an Intergenerational Club. Over the course of the first two meetings, the pupils and older people have identified a range of activities that they would like to do together as well as establishing ground rules for the Club. Activities proposed for future Club meetings include cooking (and eating), music and singing, art, computers, clothes, book and film clubs, photography, crafts, walking and games.

Selected Bibliography

 

Adair, A. Berry, J., McGreal, S.,Deddis, W., Hirst, S. (1999), The Financing of Urban Regeneration, Land Use Policy. 17,3, 147-156.

 

Community Housing Cymru and the Welsh Assembly Government (2010), Embracing Change: The 2010 Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations, Cardiff, CHC & WAG.

 

Community Housing Cymru (2007), Activity and Accountability, Cardiff, CHC.

 

Community Housing Cymru (2007), The Community Housing Directory for Wales 2007/8, Cardiff, CHC.

 

European Funding Opportunities for the Social Housing Sector, March 2009.

 

Essex, R. and Hirst, C. (2011), Low carbon skills requirements for the regeneration and built environment professional services sector in Wales. Research Project 01 for the Centre for Regeneration Excellence Wales (CREW) June 2011.

 

Flint, J. and Kearns, A. (2006), Housing, Neighbourhood Renewal and Social Capital: The Case of Registered Social Landlords in Scotland European Journal of Housing Policy Vo. 6 No 1 pp 31-45.

 

Lupton, M., Jones, M, Davies A., Tipporeddy, H (2011), Appreciating Assets, Chartered Institute of Housing and Savills, January 2011 http://www.cih.org/policy/appreciatingassets-jan11.pdf last accessed 26th July 2011.

 

National Assembly for Wales (2001), Better Homes for People in Wales: A National

Housing Strategy for Wales, Cardiff, NAW.

 

Price Waterhouse Coopers (2011), Funding affordable housing – New options for housing associations? A Public Sector Research Centre publication http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/publications/funding_affordable_housing_new_options_for_housing_associations.html last accessed August 5th 2011.

 

Rhodes, J. Tyler, P. Brennan, A (2005), Assessing the Effect of Area Based Initiatives on Local Area Outcomes: Some Thoughts Based on the National Evaluation of the Single Regeneration Budget in Urban Studies Vol. 42 N. 11 pp 1919-1946.

 

Shelter Cymru (2008), A Sustainable Option? – Home Ownership and Mortgage Possession Actions in Wales, Swansea,SC.

 

Wales Audit Office (2005), Regeneration a simpler approach for Wales, Cardiff, WAO.

 

Welsh Assembly Government (2006), Social Housing Grant Management Guide, issued by the Housing Directorate (July 2006), Cardiff, WAG.

 

Welsh Assembly Government (2007), One Wales: A programme agenda for the

Government of Wales, Cardiff, WAG.

 

Welsh Assembly Government (2008), Essex Report, Affordable Housing Task and Finish Group- Report to the Deputy Minister for Housing. June 2008.

Commissioned October 2007 in context of the One Wales document. Cardiff, WAG.

 

Welsh Economy Research Unit (2008), The Housing Associations of Wales: Economic Impact Assessment 2008, WERU, Cardiff Business School.

 

Williams, P. (undated) Private finance for a social purpose: mortgage lenders and housing associations on the UK in Housing Finance International. Pp 9-16 http://www.housingfinance.org/uploads/Publicationsmanager/0306_Hou.pdf (last accessed August 2nd 2011).

 

Appendix 1 – Spending Survey

 

 

Table A1

Additional Homes provided 2010/2011 by Tenure (Source: CHC)

 

Integrate

Gorwel

DEVCO

Syniad

GENuS

Undod

Total

LA Area

Rented

LCHO

Rented

LCHO

Rented

LCHO

Rented

LCHO

Rented

LCHO

Rented

LCHO

 

Isle of Anglesey

 

 

 

 

 

 

12

9

 

 

46

2

69

Gwynedd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

57

 

57

Conwy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

59

27

86

Denbighshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

96

13

 

 

32

16

157

Flintshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

81

 

 

 

7

12

100

Wrexham

 

 

 

 

 

 

35

 

 

 

24

14

73

Powys

 

 

 

 

 

 

7

 

1

 

18

 

26

Ceredigion

 

 

16 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

 

25

Pembrokeshire

 

 

94

17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

111

Carmarthenshire

 

 

54

18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

72

Swansea

40

28

35

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

103

Neath Port Talbot

76

23

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

101

Bridgend

57

 

 

 

43

1

18

 

 

 

 

 

119

Vale of Glamorgan

104

11

 

 

1

 

16

 

 

 

 

 

132

Cardiff

151

12

 

 

26

1

9

 

 

 

 

 

199

Rhondda Cynon Taf

22

 

 

 

38

11

 

 

 

 

 

 

71

Merthyr Tydfil

 

 

 

 

62

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

64

Caerphilly

123

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

127

Blaenau Gwent

21

 

 

 

 

 

41

 

7

1

 

 

70

Torfaen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

55

32

 

 

 87

Monmouthshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

49

32

 

 

81

Newport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

93

10

 

 

103

Totals RSLs

594

74

201

35

170

13

317

22

209

75

252

71

2033

Total

668

236

183

339

284

323

2033

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total rented

594

 

201

 

170

 

317

 

209

 

252

 

1743

Total LCHO

 

74

 

35

 

13

 

22

 

75

 

71

290

 

Table A2

Additional Homes provided 2010/2011 with and without grant (Source: CHC)

 

Integrate

Gorwel

DEVCO

Syniad

GENuS

Undod

Total

LA Area

SHG

NON-SHG

 

SHG

NON-SHG

 

SHG

NON-SHG

 

SHG

NON-SHG

 

SHG

NON-SHG

 

SHG

NON-SHG

 

 

Isle of Anglesey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21

 

 

 

 

 

46

2

 

69

Gwynedd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

57

 

 

57

Conwy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

56

30

 

86

Denbighshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

109

 

 

 

 

 

37

11

 

157

Flintshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

81

 

 

 

 

 

18

1

 

100

Wrexham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

35

 

 

 

 

 

36

2

 

73

Powys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7

 

 

1

 

 

18

 

 

26

Ceredigion

 

 

 

16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

 

 

25

Pembrokeshire

 

 

 

111

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

111

Carmarthenshire

 

 

 

71

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

72

Swansea

68

 

 

29

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

103

Neath Port Talbot

99

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

101

Bridgend

 

57

 

 

 

 

43

1

 

18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

119

Vale of Glam

115

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

132  

Cardiff

92

71

 

 

 

 

26

1

 

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

199

Rhondda Cynon Taf

22

 

 

 

 

 

38

11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

71

Merthyr Tydfil

 

 

 

 

 

 

62

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

64

Caerphilly

123

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

 

127

Blaenau Gwent

19

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

41

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

70

Torfaen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

82

5

 

 

 

 

87

Monmouthshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

81

 

 

 

 

 

 81

Newport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

91

12

 

 

 

 

103

Totals RSLs

538

130

 

229

7

 

170

13

 

339

0

 

267

17

 

277

46

 

2033

Total

668

236

183

339

284

323

2033

 

 

 

 

 

Table A3

Additional Homes provided in the financial year 2010/2011 (Source: CHC)

 

Integrate

Gorwel

DEVCO

Syniad

GENuS

Undod

Total

LA Area

Built

Reno vated

Acquir ed

Built

Reno vated

Acquir ed

Built

Reno vated

Acquir ed

Built

Reno vated

Acquir ed

Built

Reno vated

Acquir ed

Built

Reno vated

Acquir ed

 

Isle of Anglesey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21

 

 

 

 

 

44

 

4

69

Gwynedd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

54

 

3

57

Conwy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28

30

28

86

Denbigh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

109

 

    3

 

 

 

9

5

34

157

Flintshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

78

 

 

 

 

 

3

4

12

100

Wrexham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

35

 

1

 

 

 

19

1

18

73

Powys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6

 

 1

 

 

18

 

 

26

Ceredigion

 

 

 

16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

 

 

25

Pembrokeshire

 

 

 

   92

 

19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

111

Carmarthenshire

 

 

 

 45

5

22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

72

Swansea

40

 

28

20

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

103

Neath Port Talbot

58

4

37

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

101

Bridgend

57

 

 

 

 

 

43

 

1

16

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

119

Vale of Glamorgan

74

8

33

 

 

 

 

 

1

16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

132

Cardiff

92

6

64

 

 

 

26

 

1

 

 

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

199

Rhondda Cynon Taf

22

 

 

 

 

 

40

 

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

71

Merthyr Tydfil

 

 

 

 

 

 

62

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

64

Caerphilly

115

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

127

Blaenau Gwent

21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

41

 

 

6

 

2

 

 

 

70

Torfaen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

61

4

22

 

 

 

87

Monmouthshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

67

 

14

 

 

 

81

Newport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

95

 

8

 

 

 

103

Totals RSLs

479

18

171

173

5

58

171

 

12

316

7

16

230

4

50

184

40

99

2033

Total

668

236

183

339

284

323

2033

Total built

479

 

 

173

 

 

171

 

 

316

 

 

230

 

 

184

 

 

1553

Total renovated

 

18

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

7

 

 

 

4

 

 

 40

74

Total acquired

 

 

171

 

 

58

 

 

12

 

 

 

 16

 

 

 50

 

99

406

 

 


[1] This figure reflects current direct employment in HAs as at October 2011 and is higher than the figure used for modelling the economic impact which is based on the 2010 Financial Statements of Welsh Housing Associations.

[2] The terms ‘home’ and ‘unit’ are used interchangeably in this report as per HA convention.

[3]http://wales.gov.uk/topics/businessandeconomy/recession/news/3130993/?lang=en

[4] Direct labour costs exclude Employer costs, employee tax and National Insurance contributions.