Inside Housing has shown MPs how social landlords provide health services, cut crime and help people into work, as part of its Housing Benefits campaign.

Good stuff – see below

housing-benefits-evidence

“The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils across England and Wales, said councils will also face a further £3.6bn in extra costs due to “demand-led and inflation pressures”.

The LGA has estimated the Conservative government’s move to cut social housing rents by 1% a year for four years from next April, instead of allowing increases in line with inflation plus 1%, will cost councils £2.6bn over the next parliament.

It also estimates that exempting developers of Starter Homes from planning obligations, including Section 106 affordable housing requirements and the Community Infrastructure Levy, will cost councils £3bn by 2020.

The LGA also listed other areas of pressure including increased costs associated with Universal Credit, business rates revaluation, National Insurance contributions and the new National Living Wage.

The LGA compiled the figures as part of its submission to the Conservative government ahead of the 25 November spending review.

The Chartered Institute of Housing has estimated the social housing rent cut will cost councils £42.7bn over 30 years.”

John Perry at CIH told the enquiry into to viability of HAs that about 1.45 million tenants will be eligible and about 10% will exercise the Right to Buy in the first five years, as CIH policy advisor.

This figure they have based on experience with local authority Right to Buy in the 1980s, taking into account that the proportion of housing association tenants in employment now is a lot lower than was the case with council tenants then.

Previous analysis by the National Housing Federation, conducted before the general election, suggested 210,000.

The CIH also warned 86,000 social rented homes will be converted to affordable rent over the next four years, based on  Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) data and Greater London Authority (GLA) affordable homes programmes.

The figure includes 75,000 expected conversions through the HCA programme and 11,000 under the GLA programme.

An alternative option for the new Right to Buy is suggested for tenants  – portable discounts they could use in the open market, so that social rented stock could be kept and re-let to people on waiting lists.”

More information below on:

• Youth Social Action Fund (closes 28 August 2015)
• Community Life Survey 2014 to 2015 findings published
• UN International Youth Day 2015 – Wednesday 12 August
• NCVO Review of Fundraising Self Regulation (feed in by 14 August 2015)
• Big Potential Advance Fund launched
• Social Investment Tax Relief  (SITR)
• England 2014 to 2020 European Structural and Investment Funds
• A new strategy for sport: consultation (until 2 October 2015)
• Localism – more communities take control of their areas
• £3M Coastal Revival Fund launched (closes 14 September 2015)
• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) Covenant Fund will launch on 13 August
• Call for Evidence: Implementing Geological Disposal: Working with Communities (closes 4 September 2015)
• Comic Relief Grants Strategy Update
• GSK IMPACT Awards 2016 Open

1. Youth Social Action Fund – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/applications-open-for-youth-social-action-fund

Organisations working with young people in lower socioeconomic areas in England can apply for funding through the new Youth Social Action Fund.

The Fund received £1 million from the Cabinet Office, as part of the government’s pledge to support Step Up To Serve’s #iwill campaign. The #iwill campaign aims to increase participation in youth social action (volunteering, fundraising and campaigning) by 50% by 2020.

The £1.26 million National Youth Social Action Fund is jointly run with Pears Foundation. Charities, community interest companies and social enterprises can apply for funding to help young people in more deprived or rural areas to get involved in social action.

The government is encouraging charities, community interest companies and social enterprises to apply (by Friday 28 August 2015).  Expressions of Interest Forms and FAQs are available at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-youth-social-action-fund-expressions-of-interest

2. Community Life Survey 2014 to 2015 findings published

July saw the release of the headline findings from the 2014 to 2015 Community Life Survey – statistical analysis, data and FAQs are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-life-survey

The Community Life Survey is held annually to track trends and developments in areas that encourage social action and empower communities.  Launched in 2012, the Survey looks at the latest trends in areas such as volunteering, charitable giving, local action and networks and well-being.

3. UN International Youth Day 2015 – Wednesday 12 August – http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2015/06/join-international-youth-day-2015-celebrations/

The UN’s International Youth Day’s theme is Youth Civic Engagement and we are encouraging tweets about young volunteers or young business owners, sharing their inspirational stories and celebrating how they are having a positive impact on their communities or working hard to get on.

The aim is to encourage more young people (age 16-24) to think about doing something similar.  We also want to show the government’s commitment to working people and helping create opportunity for everyone by signposting young people to government-backed support (eg https://www.the-sse.org/, http://www.ncsyes.co.uk/about#, http://www.volunteerics.org/, https://www.startuploans.co.uk/)

4. NCVO Review of Fundraising Self Regulation – https://www.ncvo.org.uk/fundraisingreview

NCVO’s chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington is leading a review into the self-regulation of charity fundraising. The review will take evidence from stakeholders in order to identify what changes are required to rebuild public trust in fundraising by charities.

The review will also examine approaches to regulation in other areas, with a goal of identifying changes that will substantially strengthen the current system.

The review has published questions for consultation and would be grateful for responses from anyone with an interest in the issues raised by Friday 14 August.

5. Big Potential Advance Fund launched – http://www.bigpotential.org.uk/

Big Potential has expanded the support and grants to VCSEs looking to raise social investment – The Big Lottery Fund has launched the £10m Big Potential Advanced Fund. The new ‘Advanced’ route is an extension to Big Lottery Fund’s existing investment readiness programme; Big Potential.

Big Potential now has a total of £20m available to Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations looking to get investment ready and explore new ways to finance the delivery of services which increase social impact and support those most in need.

The £20 million Big Potential offers the following application routes:

• Breakthrough – provides VCSE organisations with access to specialist one-to-one support from the Big Potential programme partners before making an application for grants between £20,000 and £75,000 to undertake more in-depth investment readiness work with one of Big Potential’s approved providers.
• Advanced – is for VCSEs that are clear about how social investment could work for them and can describe a potential deal or interest from investors and need help to close that deal. The Advanced route is also available to organisations that need help securing a contract. Grants of between £50,000 and £150,000 are available.

Applications can be made at any time during the three years that the programme runs.

6. Social Investment Tax Relief  (SITR)

Interested in how Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) could benefit you?   If so, see the following for more information on how you could use it to take on investment:

SITR: GET IT – Big Society Capital launches free support to help charities use social investment tax relief – http://www.bigsocietycapital.com/blog/SITR-1year

And http://www.bigsocietycapital.com/sitr-charities

Social investment tax relief can be a useful tool to help charities to take on investment, says Simon Rowell of Big Society Capital –http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/finance/news/content/20084/how_to_use_social_investment_tax_relief

7. England 2014 to 2020 European Structural and Investment Funds – gov.uk/england-2014-to-2020-european-structural-and-investment-funds

A new area of the .gov.uk website pulls together information relating to the 2014 to 2020 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Programme.

Running from 2014 to 2020, there are three types of funds involved in the programme.

• European Social Fund (ESF) focuses on improving the employment opportunities, promoting social inclusion and investing in skills by providing help people need to fulfil their potential.
• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports research and innovation, small to medium sized enterprises and creation of a low carbon economy.
• European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) supports rural businesses to grow and expand, improve knowledge and skills and get started.

The ESIF website provides more information on each of these funds and includes links to the Programme Guidance, the Operational Programme for each Fund, management information and contacts.  It also provides application details and links to funding opportunities via Funding Finder (Open Calls) and Co-Financing for ESF (Opt-In Organisations) with the Big Lottery Fund, Skills Funding Agency and Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

The (final) ESF Newsletter for 2007-2013 provides updates and useful links for the 2007-2013 ESF programme.

8. A new strategy for sport: consultation – https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-new-strategy-for-sport-consultation

The government is developing a new strategy for sport. This consultation invites you to share your views on the following ten themes: Participation,

Physical activity, Children and young people, Financial sustainability, Coaching, workforce and good governance, Elite and professional sport, Infrastructure, Fairness and equality, Safety and wellbeing, International influence and major sporting events. The consultation closes on 2 October 2015.

9. Localism – more communities take control of their areas

Using the Community Rights programme local people are having a greater say on everything from job creation and health priorities, right through to what development is needed, where it should go and what it should look like.

More information is available at – www.gov.uk/government/news/more-communities-take-control-of-their-areas.  The site also includes an interactive map which shows over 2700 projects since the inception of the Localism Act.

The government is also funding the My Community Advice Service and the My Community Network. The advice service provides expert help and support to anyone who wants to find out more about the Community Rights and how to take control over local land and buildings, local services, the local economy and carry out Neighbourhood Planning. The service gives them the opportunity to download resources from the website, or seek help by email or over the phone with an advisor.  Both the advice service and network are completely free to use and join. Details can be found at mycommunity.org.uk

10. £3M Coastal Revival Fund launched

Part of the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG)’s work to support Coastal Communitites – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coastal-community-teams-to-take-control-of-seaside-regeneration

The overall aims of the Coastal Revival Fund are to:

• Support local communities and local authorities to develop long term strategies for dealing with coastal heritage assets.
• Support material improvements to historic structures, sites and assets to help secure their long-term future and continued use.
• Encourage the sustainable use of heritage and community assets in coastal areas to provide a focus for community activities and enhanced economic opportunities.
• Encourage greater local partnership working in coastal areas.
• Support the development of local solutions to economic issues facing coastal communities.
• Help develop innovative ideas in response to the particular challenges often faced in dealing with the ongoing maintenance and use of heritage assets in coastal locations.

For more details, see the prospectus and application form at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coastal-revival-fund-bidding-prospectus-and-application-form

There is a total of £3 million in revenue and capital grant, funding is for the 2015/16 financial year and must be spent by 31, March 2016. There is no minimum bid, the maximum bid is £50,000.  Funding may form part of a larger and/or longer term project.  Applications need to be submitted by 14 September 2015.

11. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) Covenant Fund launches on 13 August – gov.uk/government/publications/covenant-fund

The Covenant Fund will have 4 broad funding themes now and in future years. They are: removing barriers to family life; extra support after service for those that need help; measures to integrate military and civilian communities and allow the armed forces community to participate as citizens; and non-core healthcare services for veterans.

The themes will shape the fund, and annual priorities will ensure that it stays focussed and current.  For 2015/16 these priorities will be projects that support:

• local armed forces community integration projects
• the coordination and delivery of support to the armed forces community
• veterans in the criminal justice system.

To address the priorities, MoD will make funding available for:

1. small grants up to £20,000, primarily for community integration projects, which will be launched and open to applications in 13 August, with a deadline of 17 September, with the deadline for the second round in October 2015.
2. large grants up to £500,000, for more strategic, higher impact projects (one round this year) which will also launch on 13 August with a deadline for EoIs of 24 September.

More information at – www.gov.uk/government/publications/covenant-fund/the-covenant-fund-time-to-get-started

Call for Evidence: Implementing Geological Disposal: Working with Communities – https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementing- geological-disposal-working-with-communities

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is currently seeking evidence to support its work on how communities should be involved in a new national siting process for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).

In July 2014, the UK Government published the Implementing Geological Disposal White Paper which sets out the framework for managing higher activity radioactive waste in the long term through geological disposal.

A GDF will be a major infrastructure project of national significance and is likely to bring significant economic benefits to the community that hosts it, in the form of long-term employment and infrastructure investment and in the form of additional community investment that the UK Government has committed to provide.

The White Paper sets out a voluntarist approach based on working with communities that wish to participate in the siting process.  The White Paper explains the work that will happen before formal discussions between interested communities and the developer of a GDF, Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) begin. No sites have been selected or are currently under consideration.

The Call for Evidence and response form can be accessed via – https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/implementing-geological-disposal-community-representation-working-group. The document provides background information on the process as well asking a series of questions, centred on the issues of community representation, community investment and testing public support.

The closing date for the submission of responses is 4 September 2015.

13. Comic Relief Grants Strategy Update – http://www.comicrelief.com/our-grants

Comic Relief has announced a Grants Strategy Update: The external environment for the voluntary sector in the UK continues to change. Internationally, the Sustainable Development Goals will be ratified in September 2015.  Comic Relief is therefore taking this opportunity to look at evolving our grants strategy.  A revised strategy will be launched here in early 2016.

You can still apply for funding to the UK Main Fund until September 2015, and 2015’s final cycle for Small NGO grants has a deadline of midday on 18th August 2015. Please note Cycle 5 is only open to small and diaspora organisations. Funding for small grants up to £10,000 remains available through the Community Foundation network

14. GSK IMPACT Awards 2016 Open – www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/gsk-impact-awards

The GSK IMPACT Awards have been running since 1997 and are designed to recognise and reward charities that are doing excellent work to improve people’s health. They are funded by GlaxoSmithKline and managed in partnership with The King’s Fund.

The awards are open to registered charities that are at least three years old, working in a health-related field in the UK, with a total annual income between £25,000 and £2 million.

The 2016 GSK IMPACT Awards are now open for applications, with a deadline of 25 September 2015 – http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/gsk-impact-awards/apply ”

Communities Secretary Greg Clark today unveiled details for the competitive, one-off fund that will be used to identify, purchase and prepare sites in 2015 and 2016.

The government has previously pledged to deliver 200,000 new homes offered to first-time buyers aged under 40 with a discount of 20% on market values.

Most of the sites will be underused brownfield land, currently not allocated for housing. The statement said: “The fund will support architects, developers, councils, housing associations and small builders to build properties that will increase the quality of design as the government delivers on its pledge to build 200,000 starter homes by 2020.”

In a written ministerial statement in March, housing minister Brandon Lewis said starter home sites would not be required to make Section 106 affordable housing contributions.

Ministers are introducing additional rules to encourage thebuilding of starter homes.

One measure, which will be laid out in the forthcoming Housing Bill, is to introduce “proposals to ensure every reasonably-sized housing site includes a proportion of starter homes”.

Councils’ Local Plans will also be required to ‘plan proactively’ for the delivery of starter homes.

Ministers also today announced a grant pot of up to £10m for local authorities to prepare brownfield land for development of the homes.

It will help them carry out preparation, clearance and infrastructure work to make them viable to be built on. The government has yet to announce full details of how the fund will be allocated.

UPDATE 15:56 11/09/15

The Department for Communities and Local Government later confirmed that there would not be extra government funding for the construction of the properties. “The construction of the [starter] homes will not be subsidised,” a spokesperson said. “

“The UK has a productivity gap of between 23 and 32 per cent between it and the otherwise comparable economies of Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. It also has a gap of 17 per cent between its current level of productivity and what it would have been if trends in the 25 years to 2007 had continued during and after the 2007–2008 financial crash.

This report presents new evidence on these two aspects of the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’, providing a comprehensive review of previous analysis on the topic and systematically examining every factor that may have contributed towards this poor performance. It demonstrates that the productivity gap between the UK and other similar countries can be wholly attributed to relatively low productivity within sectors, rather than it being the result of an overall compositional bias in our economy towards low-productivity sectors. For example, manufacturing in the UK is 27 per cent less productive than in France, and 33 per cent less productive than in Germany, and a similar picture emerges in many other sectors.

Similarly, it also finds that the productivity growth that was ‘lost’ in the UK between 2007 and 2015 was wholly the result of developments within sectors, with productivity growth since 2008 across almost all sectors of the economy remaining lower than it was prior to the crash.

However, we find that over the last seven years there were two distinct phases of productivity weakness that need to be analysed separately, and which pose two distinct questions. First, why did employment not fall further during the recession, given how much output fell? Second, why did productivity not increase over the last three years, despite economic recovery becoming firmly established?

During the recession, poor productivity performance was a wholly within-sector phenomenon, the result of labour-hoarding and a shift in the capital–labour ratio facilitated by falls in real wages. But afterwards, between 2012 and 2014, while within-sector effects remained a drag on productivity, around half of the weakness in productivity growth can be attributed to an unfavourable shift in the structure of the economy. Jobs growth may have been strong over these three years, but it was disproportionately in low value-added – and low-paid – sectors of the economy, and a larger proportion of the labour force now works in relatively low-productivity sectors.

The key to restoring vital productivity growth is, therefore, to shift job-creation towards higher-productivity sectors, while encouraging firms to invest more in order to boost the productivity of their existing workforces. This means the government needs to change its focus, most importantly by:

• supporting lower-productivity sectors, particularly service sectors which account for a growing share of our economy, to raise productivity, rather than concentrating support on high-end manufacturing industries
• reconsidering cuts to capital spending on infrastructure, further education and (in real terms) the science budget.”

The government’s proposed housing benefit cuts for 18 to 21-year-olds could leave thousands of vulnerable young people homeless, according to new research published in 24 housing:

“The YMCA’s ‘Uncertain Futures’ report reveals that those likely to be hardest hit by the changes include young parents, care leavers, young people in supported accommodation and the already homeless.

The YMCA’s research also shows that, contrary to the perceptions of many, increasing numbers of young people are now staying at home for longer and opting not to claim benefits, while the small numbers who do move out and claim are increasingly doing so for shorter periods of time.

Based on an examination of those young people currently claiming unemployment and housing benefit, the research identifies that, without the right protections, the government is in danger of exposing many of the most vulnerable young people to the risk of becoming homeless.

According to the YMCA’s research, the estimated 19,000 18 to 21-year-olds currently claiming unemployment and housing benefit, includes:

• Those who have dependent children to look after (2,100 18 to 21-year-olds claiming JSA and housing benefit have at least one dependent child)
• Those who have recently left care (7,200 young care leavers between 19 and 21 years old are currently out of work and would potentially be eligible to claim JSA and housing benefit)
• Those who are homeless (last year, between 5,800 and 6,400 18 to 21-year-olds were identified by local authorities as being homeless and in priority need)
• Those in supported accommodation (nearly 1,400 18 to 21-year-olds currently living in YMCA accommodation claim both JSA and housing benefit).

Denise Hatton, chief executive of YMCA England, said: “As the report we launched today shows, in seeking to tackle those small numbers taking advantage of the system, the government is in real danger of inadvertently taking away support from some of the country’s most vulnerable young people.

“In removing automatic entitlement to Housing Benefit, young people could face the prospect of losing not only a safety net but also a springboard that helps get them up and get their lives back on track.

“Unless firm and clear exemptions are put in place, thousands of young people who don’t have the option to go home will be left to face uncertain futures.”

One of the case studies highlighted in the YMCA report focuses on the experience of Sam, from Grimsby.

Sam, who was privately educated, sought help from the YMCA after suffering from mental health issues following the breakup of his parents’ marriage.

He said: “What about the people who have no choice, what about the people who have got nowhere to go but places like YMCA?

“It’s a roof over your head, which for most people, is only payable with the help of housing benefit. Without housing benefit there would be a lot more people on the streets.” “

“London’s bus services have been thriving for a decade and a half: there are now more passenger journeys in the capital than in the rest of England combined. Other major cities are learning lessons from London’s success: Greater Manchester is taking on regulatory powers in its devolution deal; Nexus, Tyne and Wear’s passenger transport executive, is applying for the legal power to regulate its local bus routes.

Elsewhere, however – particularly in towns and rural areas – bus services have been decimated by a vicious cycle of falling patronage, rising fares and cuts to services, a process exacerbated by severe cuts to both local authority budgets and subsidies for bus companies. This has left many people isolated – particularly those without a car, which includes large numbers of young people, pensioners, disabled people, and those on low incomes or who are out of work.

In this report IPPR proposes a new settlement for buses and other forms of sustainable public transport. Its recommendations build on the government’s successful ‘total transport’ pilots, which support initiatives that take a ‘cross-sector approach to the delivery of supported public road passenger transport services’, and which go with the grain of moves to devolve greater powers to city- and county-regions. It also provides an overview of successul initiatives from across the country that have taken important steps towards a ‘total transport’ approach to bus services.

Most importantly, we recommend the creation of ‘total transport authorities’ (TTAs) in travel-to-work areas which span multiple local authority geographies. These new bodies should take charge of all transport-related funding and regulatory powers, and encourage the delivery of bus services by a much wider range of providers, including social enterprises, community investment companies and municipal companies. By first focussing on pooling services already provided by local authorities, and in time taking on responsibility for public transport provided by other public bodies such as hospitals, GPs, further education colleges and higher education institutions, TTAs would promote social justice by improving bus services for thousands of people in isolated communities, and reduce carbon emissions by providing a viable alternative to car travel.”

Analysis of the data from the 2015 National Management Salary Survey, published by the Chartered Management Institute and salary specialists XpertHR, highlights pay imbalances across the UK’s professional workforce.

For men and women of all ages and in all professional roles the gender pay gap now stands at £8,524, with men earning an average of £39,136 and women earning £30,612. The survey found women working in equivalent full-time roles earn 22% less than men, meaning that they are unpaid for 1h 40m a day – a total of 57* working days every year.

This should be particularly alarming news for large organisations. New legislation coming into force in 2016 will require organisations with 250+ employees to report publicly on what they pay male and female staff.

So to help organisations prepare now for the coming changes, CMI has developed a set of eight best practice principles that set out a framework for gender pay reporting that will likely go beyond any legal requirements.

Use the link below to learn more – http://bit.ly/1KvWMsg.

You can also share your thoughts join the #MindThePayGap discussion on Twitter