Alan Benson GLA Presentation on London Housing Strategy (15 Jan 2013)
HACT LVSC presentation 12 Dec 2012
1. HACT: Housing, worklessness and
welfare reform
John Coburn
Network Coordinator
LVSC event – Wednesday 12 December 2012
2. What is HACT?
• Founded 1960
• HA owned and led
• Big Society “early adopters”
• Pilot project, thematic networks
• Renewed mission and focus
www.hact.org.uk
3. Huge Challenges
• Changes in government subsidy
• Sweeping away of top down targets, inspection and
regulation
• Radical welfare reforms
• The emergence of localism
www.hact.org.uk
6. Tacking worklessness is all about derisking
your business…
• £40bn historic grant – tempting to
a cash strapped public sector
• Focus on short term v long term
sustainability
• Continued reductions and
uncertainty on welfare benefits
• Outsourcing the risks and costs of
social and economic decline
www.hact.org.uk
7. HACT/Inclusion worklessness report
HACT commissioned Inclusion report Housing providers’
approaches to tackling worklessness with a focus on:
• improve the targeting of employability initiatives
•a greater focus on impact measurement
•build stronger links between housing provider-led initiatives
and wider Government funded activity
www.hact.org.uk
8. Social housing residents highly
disadvantaged in the labour market
• 3.5 million social-housing residents are workless = 56% of working
age (other tenures = 25%)
• Nearly half workless for 12 months+
• 35% claiming out of work benefits (other tenures = 8%)
• Workless social-housing residents 4 times more likely to have long-
term health conditions or disabilities and 6 times more likely to be
lone parents than other workless
• 1.6 million social-housing residents predicted to be on the Work
Programme (27% of w/age social-housing residents)
www.hact.org.uk
9. Lots being done by housing providers
Dedicated projects, programmes and interventions Work opportunities
Universal services
Training and skills development
Referrals to other organisations
Money advice
Work experience placements
Other information, advice and guidance services
Apprenticeships
Proj ects providing support to find employment
Enterprise support
Jobs targeted specifically at workless people
Childcare provision/ support
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
www.hact.org.uk
10. What we found out
• 88% doing things to help residents into work, most doing lots
• most providers do not limit employment and skills activities to their own
residents...
• Many will need to improve their knowledge to do this: only 42% know the
level of worklessness among tenants or residents
• Very few housing providers approach worklessness in isolation – they build
particularly effective partnerships with other housing providers and with
contractors in their supply chains and with voluntary community
organisations
www.hact.org.uk
11. What we found out
• Little engagement with mainstream welfare to work
provision:
– Only 28% are engaging with/linking up to Work
Programme
– 35 housing orgs in WP supply chains = 2% of housing
sector
www.hact.org.uk
12. Something has to change
• Only 5% of the long term unemployed got jobs for longer than six months
• The government has spent some £435 million on the scheme so far
www.hact.org.uk
13. So for housing providers...
1. Target services and opportunities more effectively
2. Common approaches to assessing impact and effectiveness
3. Engaging with mainstream provision
4. Meet the challenges of welfare reform and universal credit
www.hact.org.uk
