The welfare reform and work bill gets its second reading in the Lords next week, and while the changes to tax credits have been the focus of much debate, another reform that has less scrutiny so far is the annual 1% reduction in social rents.
On the face of it, imposing an annual 1% reduction on the rent charged by social landlords seems a positive step. It will reduce the cost of housing for some of those who need it most and reduce the overall housing benefit bill at a time where cutbacks to government spending are necessary.
But scratch below the surface and there are worrying implications for supported housing. Supported housing provides vulnerable people both a place to stay and helps them to live as independently as possible in their community. While supported housing is a form of social housing, what it delivers and the people it supports are very different.
An annual 1% reduction may not sound like much of a hit, but to making the savings required in the bill will mean cutting back on the support providers are able to offer residents. Without the levels of support currently being given, we will no longer be able to take those individuals with higher support needs. So the real danger is that it starts to become like any other form of social housing.
The housing shortage means there is no problem finding people to live in the accommodation currently offered by supported housing providers. But what about those who need us most and who are the reason this form of housing was established in first place?
What happens to the young people who are leaving care; the young people who find themselves homeless; those escaping domestic abuse and those suffering with health and substance misuse issues? Who will house and support these groups and how will this be funded?
This is not to say that funding for supported housing should be excluded from the financial deliberations taking place. The government is right to look at how this form of housing is funded, especially given the sector has been forced to adapt to 45% cuts in the past five years, and will soon be faced with a freeze of local housing allowance rates and the transfer of housing benefit into universal credit.
However, this is already happening. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government have already begun a far-reaching review looking at how supported housing should be funded in future and plan to report their findings early next year, which raises the question of why the annual 1% is being imposed now.
YMCA, alongside other charities, is calling on all members of the House of Lords to protect supported housing from the annual 1% reduction so that young people and others in need continue to have access to safe and supportive places to live.
Denise Hatton is chief executive at YMCA England
Sign up for your free Guardian Housing network newsletter with news and analysis sent direct to you every Friday. Follow us: @GuardianHousing
