The sector braced itself for a statement that would outline the key housing issues shaping the political battleground of an upcoming election. Interest groups, individuals and representative bodies were given the chance to submit representations to the Treasury ahead of the announcement.
As one of the largest providers, our primary ask was that social housing providers are given the best opportunity to help tackle the housing crisis and deliver essential services for our customers.
Our recommendations focused on areas we believe will support the agenda on improving supply and standards in housing, net zero and job creation.
What did we ask for?
Confirmation on the next long-term Affordable Homes Programme (AHP)
- The successful AHP has allowed Stonewater to deliver its largest schemes ever.
- We urged all political parties to commit to extending it on a long-term basis, ideally up to a decade.
- The amount of money available should also be increased in the face of higher inflation and interest rates.
Commit to long-term funding for social housing decarbonisation
- Stonewater's confidence in achieving net zero and retrofit targets heavily depend on the availability of funding.
- We urged the Government to commit to a long-term extension of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund for a period of at least 10 years.
- The Chancellor was asked to bring forward the £6billion committed in the previous Autumn Statement for 2025-2028 to increase funding into energy efficiency.
Boost workforce skills with a Green Skills Strategy
- A long-term Green Skills Strategy to ensure we have the available workforce ready, with the skills required, to support long-term net zero goals.
- We urged Government to support apprenticeships and employment programmes to deliver retrofit within communities.
Support low paid workers at home
- Government should consider making employers responsible for meeting the costs of equipment purchases and home adjustments.
- That the ongoing review of the Decent Homes Standard consider issues relating to working from home.
Invest in tech that allows people to live independently at home longer
- We suggested increased investment at government level for housing providers to be effective facilitators of assistive tech support.
- The Government should consider widening the Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG), social work and NHS adaptations processes to include a wider variety of lower-level technology and wider consideration of support needs within the home.
National Insurance cuts were most prominent in the post-budget announcement, which touched on some of our recommendations.
We were disappointed, however, that many of our other requests were not included in the budget, including long-term funding for social housing decarbonisation.
Reacting to the budget at the time, Stonewater CEO Nicholas Harris said: “Today's Spring Budget announcement brings with it some hope for the future of the UK economy but many households are still struggling financially after two years of rising prices and the decrease to National Insurance will have little effect on this.
“In spite of the challenges the housing sector faces from cost-of-living issues and fuel poverty, Stonewater will continue to provide our customers with the support they need. Among our challenges is arguing that communal energy supplies should not be exempt from Ofgem's April 2024 energy price cap, which affects, among others, our customers in retirement schemes and supported living schemes.
“Stonewater is also committed to support the government's net zero carbon goals. The SHDF wave 2.1 funding has been essential in our efforts on this, helping us to improve energy efficiency, and lower bills, in circa 800 homes as part of our retrofit programme, but with a significant number of our homes being at least a decade old, we face increasing challenges to continue to meet net zero targets.
“I would welcome government representatives, as well as other housing providers, to engage with Greenoak Centre of Excellence so we’re able to collectively discover and determine the best practice for decarbonisation for the sector, our customers and the planet.”