Raising standards to protect homeowners
On 22 March 2010, NHBC hosted the second in its Election Lecture Series. Facing an audience of industry representatives this time with the Rt Hon John Healey MP, Minister for Housing and Planning.
A video of the event can be viewed here
A summary of the event is outlined below:
Housing Minister, John Healey today blasted Conservative housing proposals, describing them as a "con" and insisting they would not stand-up to the scrutiny of the Party's Treasury team.
Imtiaz Farookhi, Chief Executive of the NHBC introduced the event by outlining the role of his organisation relating to consumer protection, raising standards and reducing the risk in housebuilding. NHBC covers around 1.7 million families through the 10 year buildmark home warranty and carry out more than a million inspections a year. He spoke of being involved in the zero carbon hub, to ensure the path is as risk free as possible. From the 1st April the organisation facilitated a new code for homebuilders to improve consumer rights, it was heard.
John Healey told delegates that housing has always been a massive and key part of Labour policy. Labour believe in decent, secure and affordable homes for all, and Government has a duty to deliver this, he said, an ethos which has always existed within the Party. In 2007, Labour were on track to meeting targets, with 207,500 new homes being built ¿ which represented the largest house building project in Britain for 30 years.
On the impact of the recession, Mr Healey spoke of house prices having dropped by 20%, with a 75% drop in lending, private house building dropping to levels not seen since 1954. When the recession first hit, the Government could choose whether to simply set back and let the recession run its course, or to step in. Mr Healey stressed that Labour¿s response to the recession comes from the Party¿s ingrained belief that in tough times the Government must do whatever possible to help its people. On Labour actions, he explained that 160,000 businesses are benefiting from the `time to pay tax¿ arrangements; and he highlighted the extra job advisers put in place, which meant unemployment in Britain is half a million less than it would have been without such measures.
The values and plans of the Conservatives greatly differ to Labour's and are based on different values, Mr Healey insisted. He maintained the Conservatives have not changed and he declared the Party does not believe in the value of public investment, and stated they opposed the £1.5billion he secured last summer. The Party does not believe in the need to build more affordable homes, which is why Boris Johnson is dropping the level of new affordable homes in the capital. The new planning policies will relieve the duty of local authorities to plan for affordable homes in their area, Mr Healey maintained.
Mr Healey stated that a Conservative Government in power would not have created such positive schemes as the kick-start programme, home-by-direct, no new local authority building programme, no national drive against fraud, no eco towns and none of the Labour commitment to meet the needs and aspirations for housing in this country.
There are at least 1.7 million households living in household need, so the scale of need is still great; while the scale of aspiration is still great. He called for a new deal for private house building, local authority and housing associations, post-recession and said one lesson should be taken from the recession that without an active Government the country could not have progressed and helped firms state in business.
The country has pulled through recession thanks to the resilience of business, workers and families who were prepared to make sacrifices, but also because the Government was willing to use its power to see the nation through the worst. An active state, ready to work with private industry, using public investment is the essential ingredient of the future, he maintained.
In the following question and answer session, Kevin Bonavia, Labour PPC for Rochford and Southend East asked what a Labour Government would do to ensure social housing targets are met.
Crispin Williams from the Association of Consultancy and Engineering asked if plans to half the deficit would harm the kick-start programme in any way.
Peter Bell from Thames Valley Housing Association asked if Labour were re-elected, how Party would rationalise the social housing grant.
On the social housing grant, Mr Healey spoke of the need to maintain the public investment that allows for a social grant investment in the first place, and secondly to increase the level of private investment alongside it. On the Kick-Start, he explained it was funded by the housing pledge (extra £1.5 billion), and he expected that work will start on sites by the end of the month, and decisions will be made on the remainder of shortlist sites for round two. Beyond that, whether kick-start is sustained and developed will depend on how strong the arguments for doing this are, and decisions will be taken as part of the spending review.
Mr Healey refused to concede that levels of funding for housing would have to drop, and maintained it is perfectly possible that the Government can do more for less. The detailed plan for the deficit reduction set out in the pre-budget report that will be reconfirmed and strengthened in the budget on Wednesday makes clear that the Government can meet the deficit reduction and make the type of investments that underpin growth over the next couple of years, and also to raise what is needed with the taxes already announced.
John Slaughter from the House Builders Federation asked how open the Minister is to finding creative ways to work around issues with the new deal.
Jenny Holland from the Association of Conservation for Energy highlighted that 10 percent of homes constructed since the introduction of EPCs are actually getting a rating of D or worse, meaning they are not complying with legislation. She expressed concerns over this issue and asked what Labour will do to stop this from happening in the future.
Sheila Grant from the Housing Forum asked about the tension between raising standards in space and delivering the numbers of housing needed.
Mr Healey stated his priority is certainty and predictability for the industry. He said the current consultation on streamlining the sustainable code and bringing it together with the regulation system will be of benefit, and the priority there is the carbon performance and energy efficiency, as this is where the long-term challenge lies.
On compliance, he maintained there is indeed a challenge for the regulatory system to ensure the standards are met. Mr Healey told delegates the principal incentive system is not sharp enough, and he told of his plans to link it more tightly with hard evidence of real five year land bank at local authority level, adding there is a case that the system should have incentives. He maintained there is an element of concealment going on within the Conservative Party.
There is no case for the incentive proposed by Shadow Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, Mr Healey said, and he maintained it would cause chaos in the council tax system, while blowing out of the water George Osborne's pledge to freeze council tax. He insisted the plans are a con and does not have a chance of getting past the Treasury team.
Responding to Lynne Sullivan, from the Architects and Building Regs advisory committee, Mr Healey said it is not necessarily needed to look at the council tax system to incentivise energy efficiency and stated the alternative is the green refurbishment programme, building the market on the energy supplier obligation, with pay-as-you-save provisions with investment attached to the house rather than householder. Part of the local tax revenue base could be used in the way they are used in the US, he said, and expressed concerns that the up front infrastructure and bill cost often hold this back. He advocated testing in practice a willingness to allow local authorities scope for tax financing for the long-term purpose.
On social housing, he spoke in favour of affordable rented homes, and said the debate is often bedevilled by stereotypes, and by people that do not realise a third of people in such housing work, and simply would not be able to afford a home on the open market; and are therefore the justification for public housing. The 7 million households in the middle income range within the country have always struggled, and have been under pressure through recession and in housing terms more must be done to offer them more the future, he maintained, adding he sees this group as very much part of the affordable housing agenda.
(Summary of the event provided by DeHavilland Information Services)