Homeless prevention - at the heart of what we do

In the summer of 2013, Community Housing Cymru commissioned research in partnership with the WLGA, funded by Welsh Government, to explore the opportunity for greater collaboration between housing associations and local authorities.

Reflecting on this, it's fair to say that the research challenges the sector and local authorities by, to some extent, putting the writing on the wall over what works and what doesn't. It highlights some issues around consistency, roles and responsibility and some contrasting priorities. But it also demonstrates the high volume of innovative projects that local authorities and housing associations have worked on together in using housing stock and the generally positive relationships that exist between housing associations and local authorities in Wales.

The workshop sessions conducted for the research revealed that some local authorities are concerned that with increasing pressure on housing association rental income, this will increasingly become the focus of business. It's important that we put such concerns to rest.

We've always said we're more about bricks and mortar and we've consistently shown this to be the case - you just need to look at the regeneration, innovative care provision, financial and digital inclusion initiatives, employment and skills projects provided by the sector to understand what housing associations are about. It's more than tackling homelessness - for our members it's about supporting individuals to build fulfilling, rewarding lives.

We know that Supporting People funding will also continue to be an important part of how we provide accommodation and support and the new collaborative arrangements which drive how this funding is used should be an opportunity to build and spread the highly positive practice that exists, much of which is highlighted in the report.

Welfare reform continues to be a shadow over the sector which, in the context of homelessness, undermines the ability of local authorities to house individuals quickly and reduce demand on temporary accommodation due to the 'bedroom tax'.

CHC will continue to challenge and support our members to deliver more, and explore new ways of delivering projects to meet increasing demand on both our own and other sectors. It's clear that the homelessness challenge facing Wales will continue to require dynamic thinking from housing, health, the third sector and Welsh Government to drive improvement in how we do things. It’s true that public services in many instances have no option but to change, so if we can’t control that then we should seek to control how we change in an informed way. This research is a stepping stone to doing that in the context of homelessness.

You can read the full report here.


Matt Kennedy
Policy Officer: Care, Support and Health

Hopkins v Hopkins... the debt debate

I watched the recent Channel 5 Debt Debate, shouting at the TV like so many others. Is the country full of irresponsible borrowers who are too ‘stupid’ to know what they’re doing and too ‘irresponsible’ to care? Katie Hopkins thinks so, but Kath Hopkins knows differently.

Debt is not just about reckless borrowing for PS4s and Christmas presents. It’s about life events that cause a drop in income; about struggling to pay rent, council tax, utility bills and food; about not being able to save because you have so little to live on and about lack of availability of advice services at an early enough stage to help prevent debt.


Here are the details of my last five clients... Are they the people portrayed on the debate?

Client 1 – Ill health meant this person could not work and had to claim benefits. He fell into mortgage arrears. His mortgage company said they would only accept interest only payments for six months, so now he has to pay £375 per month to cover the repayment part of his mortgage. He receives £303pm Employment Support Allowance. He hopes to be able to return to work but cannot afford to pay priorities at present from the £5.77 a week he has left.

Client 2 – Her husband suffered a stroke. He had been self-employed for many years, but is now unable to work. She has had to cease working in order to be his full time carer. They have mortgage and utility debt. They do also have non-priority debt, but have taken responsibility for it and have a payment plan via Step Change, but are still struggling to pay for essentials.

Client 3 - Worked solidly since leaving school until a mental health condition meant he was unable to continue working at age 47. He is managing to pay all of his priority bills but has catalogue debt and a very high oil bill as he is not on the mains gas supply. He tried to get advice, but had only heard of the Citizens Advice Bureau and, as his local office had closed, he thought there was nowhere else to  go.

Client 4 – Her husband was made redundant then, shortly after, found he had a critical illness. She needs to care for him full time so is unable to work. They have utility arrears only and are struggling to pay bills.

Client 5 – Separated from her husband, she is unable to work due to a disability. She applied for PIP in September, but is still waiting for a decision. Meanwhile she is surviving on £70 a week ESA. She only owes the council for dinner money as no-one told her she was eligible for free school meals.

Yes, Katie Hopkins, in an ideal world we would all work in well paid jobs. We would all save up for non-essential purchases. We would all insure against ill health and redundancy. However, I live in the real world and this just isn’t possible for most people who live here too. Wages are stretched too thin to be able to think about saving. Sickness and redundancy insurance are non-priorities and not available to the self employed.

Not all debt is due to reckless spending and irresponsible lending, it’s also caused by not having enough money to be able to manage day to day. Are people who work and borrow from the bank to buy a car so they can travel to work any better than the person who buys a sofa from Brighthouse? No, they are just the same. They are just luckier to have more options available to them.

Saving is even harder for those on benefits. How can you save when you have £70 per week to live on and are not able to find work or are not in a position to look for work due to ill health or caring responsibilities? How can you save when out of your £70 a week you have to pay £23 'bedroom tax', £10 gas, £10 electric, £10 water, £3.50 TV licence and £5 child support, leaving £8.50 for food, travel, phone and clothes?

What were your thoughts on the Debt Debate? Do you agree with Katie Hopkins or with Kath Hopkins?


Kath Hopkins
Money Advisor 

Support Nick Bennett at the CEO Sleepout in Cardiff

On 27 March I’ll be joining more than 70 business leaders including five chief executives from the housing association sector, namely Michelle Reid - Cynon Taf, Duncan Forbes - Bron Afon, Andrew Lycett - RCT Homes, Cathy Davies - Hafan Cymru and Chris O’Meara - Cadwyn, sleeping rough as part of the first ever CEO Sleepout in Cardiff.

Every penny from our first hand experience of living on the streets will help the homeless, stock food banks and genuinely reach out to those facing severe hardship. A wide range of projects will benefit from the event including Llamau and Cardiff Foodbank.

As Chief Executive of Community Housing Cymru (CHC), campaigning on behalf of our members and their tenants throughout Wales, I know only too well that welfare reform is placing a huge financial burden on some of the poorest in society.

Reforms have meant that people pay for 'spare' bedrooms with no alternative accommodation available, it has removed disability benefits from those in need, and imposed sanctions on those who don't find a job despite the shadow of economic downturn still looming over many of our communities.

We know that 350,000 people are affected by welfare reform in Wales, 35,000 of which are affected by the ‘bedroom tax’, so it is inevitable that placing these pressures on those most in need will lead to more homelessness.

When you think of homelessness, you may have an image of someone sleeping rough in a shop doorway and sadly, for many, this is still the case. However, there are lots more people who are homeless in the non-traditional sense, who spend their time sofa-surfing on a friend’s or family member’s settee because they can no longer afford a bed nor a home of their own anymore.

The day before the CEO Sleepout and my taste of homelessness, I’ll be at the Tai 2014 Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru (CIH Cymru) Conference. I’ll be launching the CHC and the Welsh Local Government Association joint research report on ‘Partnership Working and Homelessness’.

The research was commissioned to specifically focus on identifying opportunities to develop partnership working in light of the new homelessness duties set out in the Housing Bill. It seeks to highlight best practice and address some of the key challenges partners face in delivering homelessness services. The report is intended to act as a toolkit for Local Authorities and Housing Associations and we hope that, by highlighting how barriers have been overcome in a variety of areas, this will increase consistency and help in meeting the needs of the growing homeless population in Wales.

Another real cause the CEO Sleepout raises money for is to stock food banks, which have become a vital way of life for many. Food bank usage has grown dramatically due to a cost of living crisis with stagnant wages, inflation and increasing fuel and food costs.

In 2011/12 a total of 16,000 people sought help from a food bank, and latest figures (2013/14) have seen an increase in usage to 67,000.

The reality is that many more people in Wales are one step closer to homelessness, and many more are living in poverty, than ever before.

We’d all like to think that we could turn to someone for help, so if you are in a position to donate to a cause which helps makes a difference to real people’s lives, please donate to the CEO Sleepout.

I’d be grateful on behalf of those whose lives will be enriched by your generosity if you would sponsor me online at: https://www.justgiving.com/nick-bennett13


Nick Bennett
Chief Executive, Community Housing Cymru Group

Silk - as smooth as it sounds?

After more than two years of consultation and evidence gathering, the Silk Commission has now published two reports which focus on devolution in Wales. Part I, which focused primarily on tax powers, was released on 19 November 2012 and Part II, which focused on the powers of the Welsh Assembly, was released this week on 3 March 2014. Altogether, the Silk Commission has recommended significant constitutional changes that would provide the Assembly in Cardiff with more power - power that will be taken away from Westminster.

The Silk Commission was made up of voluntary members who researched how the Assembly works and how it could be improved. It was set up by the UK Government and its members comprised a representative from each of the four main parties in Wales as well as independents, so agreeing on its recommendations should be easy, right? Not quite. Part I, which was supposed to be the less controversial part, caused tensions between Westminster and Cardiff and brought about tensions within the parties themselves. The ‘lockstep’ on income tax powers (you can’t lower taxes for the poorest without doing so for the richest and vice-versa) was particularly problematic as the Welsh Conservatives found divisions within their own party and significant divisions with the UK party. Meanwhile, Labour appears to not support income tax powers at all and have been dubbed the ‘party of anti-devolution’.

Silk Part II has published 61 recommendations in all, including the devolution of policing, youth justice, energy projects and water. The report also says that the current ‘conferred powers model’ (being told what powers you do have) should be replaced with a ‘reserved powers model’ (being told what powers you don’t have, as in Scotland). Also, like every report before it, the report has called for more AMs to cope with the extra powers. This is a particularly sore topic for everyone involved, especially the electorate. What comes as a disappointment, though not as a surprise, is that the Commission has not called for the devolution of welfare which could have given the Welsh Government the chance to right the wrongs of the UK Government’s pernicious welfare changes (benefit cap, ‘bedroom tax’, Universal Credit) which disproportionately affect people in Wales.

Part II is set to be much more controversial as cross-party support in the Senedd is unlikely. Even more unlikely is any real cooperation between Cardiff and Westminster unless the 2015 General Election returns a UK Labour Government, giving them free reign to do what they wish in Wales. So why is Part II so controversial? It comes down to principles. Should the Assembly be more powerful? If so, how? Plaid Cymru have said that the recommendations do not go far enough, while the Welsh Conservatives have been hush-hush about it as of yet, no doubt because agreement between Conservatives seems difficult to achieve when it comes to Wales.

The Welsh Government hopes that the recommendations will be met in full and will be fully implemented by 2020/21, while the UK Government has all but confirmed that any major reforms will have to be carried out by the government elected in 2015. With tensions already high, talks on Part II are sure to split parties further while it is the people of Wales who suffer from a stunted devolution settlement, the victims of partisan politics and a long-lasting stranglehold of power.

Liam Townsend
Political and Administration Assistant