How is it that, at a time when there is a desperate need for housing, we are experiencing the lowest level of home building for 90 years? How can we create sustainable, vibrant communities when thousands are locked out of home ownership and so many more are facing the prospect of rent at a level they cannot afford? How bad does it have to get before housing becomes a political priority?
Those are the questions we put to the nation last month with the release of our Home Truths report and, while the stark reality of the statistics may have come as a surprise to some, it simply reinforced what campaigners and social landlords have been saying for years: we need more homes, and in particular, more affordable homes.
Alongside this crisis in housing supply the coalition government has lost no time in drafting legislation with wide reaching implications for our members. Some, like the draft National Planning Policy Framework, have the potential to kickstart the development of more affordable housing. But other proposals, around localism, welfare, health and social care, pose a threat to the stability of local communities, and to the neighbourhoods that housing associations play such a vital role in creating.
Within the context of this significant social, political and economic change, National Housing Federation members are having to look hard at what they do and how they do it. As the organisation founded to represent and protect the aims of the affordable housing movement, it is only right that we do the same. That's why over the next 12 months we will be conducting a national consultation to ensure that the Federation's strategy continues to meet the needs of members now and in the future.
Like all membership bodies we have an ongoing conversation with the organisations we represent. Our latest biennial membership survey showed an increase in members who are satisfied with what we do and think this represents value for money. So we know that when it comes to protecting and promoting the interests of our members, we're doing a good job.
However, there is always room for improvement and we are not complacent about these results. The fact is that the stakes are now much higher for our members and the communities they serve.
If the government's punitive proposals for welfare reform come to pass, thousands of people could be forced out of social housing and out of their local community. While this may once have seemed inconceivable, unless we ensure these changes are reconsidered, it could become real.
That's why we're not starting this consultation with any assumptions about what the outcome will be. Instead we'll be inviting members to give their views in a variety of ways – in person and in writing. A panel of members will review this feedback and make recommendations to the board that take into account the needs of the sector as a whole. After chairing the first meeting of that group, shortly before our annual conference last week, I am confident that we will be able to move forward with an open-minded, robust approach.
Housing associations were founded on core values and beliefs – quite simply that everyone has the right to live in a decent place where they can afford the rent. By listening to our members over the coming months, we will be making sure that everything the Federation does in the next five years defends and upholds those fundamental principles.
David Orr is chief executive of the National Housing Federation
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