HOUSING COMMISSION | INTERIM REPORT 1 …

1 social HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENTH elping social HOUSING be the springboard to a better lifeJuly 2018 HOUSING COMMISSION | INTERIM REPORT 1 social HOUSING and Employment Helping social HOUSING be the springboard to a better life The Centre for social Justice, 2018 Published by the Centre for social Justice, The Centre for social Justice, 10 Greycoat Place London SW1P @CSJthinktankDesigned by Soapbox, HOUSING CommissionSince its inception in 2004 the Centre for social Justice (CSJ) has worked to identify and reverse the root causes of poverty: worklessness; educational failure; family breakdown; addiction; and serious personal debt.

2 But also vital in tackling poverty is providing the foundation all individuals need to flourish: a safe and secure place to the full causes and consequences of the tragedy remain unclear, the fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower in 2017 shone a spotlight onto the quality of social and affordable HOUSING provision in this country and the living conditions of the CSJ has established a COMMISSION to address this and has been asked to REPORT its findings back to government. Over the coming year, we will investigate a wide range of HOUSING issues shaping the experiences of society s most disadvantaged.

3 We will look to put forward politically and financially feasible recommendations that can be enacted during this Parliament to drive change for people living in HOUSING and Employment | ContentscontentsContents About the Centre for social Justice 2 executive summary 4 Acknowledgements 51 social HOUSING , disadvantage and employment 62 HOUSING associations and employment programmes 123 The regulation of social HOUSING should incentivise employment initiatives 154 Strengthening partnerships between HOUSING associations and the Department for Work and Pensions 205 Creating a more knowledgeable sector 246 Unlocking social value.

4 A modern platform for commissioning 287 Conclusion 32 The Centre for social Justice 2 About the Centre for social Justice Established in 2004, the Centre for social Justice (CSJ) is an independent think tank that studies the root causes of Britain s social problems and addresses them by recommending practical, workable policy interventions. The CSJ s vision is to give people in the UK who are experiencing the worst disadvantage and injustice every possible opportunity to reach their full its inception, the CSJ has changed the landscape of our political discourse by putting social justice at the heart of British politics.

5 This has led to a transformation in Government thinking and policy. The majority of the CSJ s work is organised around five pathways to poverty , first identified in our ground-breaking 2007 REPORT , Breakthrough Britain. These are: family breakdown; educational failure; economic dependency and worklessness; addiction to drugs and alcohol; and severe personal March 2013, the CSJ REPORT It Happens Here shone a light on the horrific reality of human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK. As a direct result of this REPORT , the Government passed the Modern Slavery Act 2015, one of the first pieces of legislation in the world to address slavery and trafficking in the 21st CSJ delivers empirical, practical, fully funded policy solutions to address the scale of the social justice problems facing the UK.

6 Our research is informed by expert working groups comprising prominent academics, practitioners and policy-makers. Furthermore, the CSJ Alliance is a unique group of charities, social enterprises and other grass-roots organisations that have a proven track record of reversing social breakdown across the 13 years since the CSJ was founded has brought with it much success. But the social justice challenges facing Britain remain serious. Our response, therefore, must be equally serious. In 2018 and beyond, we will continue to advance the cause of social justice in this HOUSING and Employment 3 CSJ I previously suffered with depression and mental illness.

7 My confidence was knocked, because I d not worked for approximately eight [But] I ve turned a massive corner. I now want to go out to work whereas before I lived in the duvet, in the house. I didn t go out couldn t even get on a bus. And now I can do all that, through literally someone believing in Community Homes resident and Learn for Free trainee, submitted in evidence to the CSJ The Centre for social Justice 4 executive summaryThe Government has announced its intention to bring forward a social HOUSING Green Paper in 2018 which will inform both government policy and the wider debate for many years to come.

8 1 The publication of the White Paper, Fixing our Broken HOUSING Market (2017), indicated that the Government would be more flexible with the supply of HOUSING in the social rented sector,2 departing from prior governments focus on starter homes and homeownership. In her party conference speech the Prime Minister went further, promising a new generation of council homes in the parts of the country where the need is REPORT , while focusing on the social HOUSING sector in view of the forthcoming Green Paper, sets aside exploring the question of supply as the subject of future CSJ HOUSING COMMISSION research.

9 Here, having travelled the country to consult with experts across the sector, and utilising a new analysis of Labour Force Survey data and a number of in-depth case studies,4 we emphasise that the current drive to boost supply must not distract from other important HOUSING policy objectives. Specifically, it should not come at the cost of decreased support and incentives for HOUSING associations to run life-changing initiatives that help disadvantaged residents enter the labour market and gain greater independence. social HOUSING at its best, we believe, should be the springboard to a better make a number of recommendations which ensure that this ambition is placed at the heart of the social HOUSING agenda.

10 We recommend that the Government should:zzEnsure that the Regulator of social HOUSING (RSH) recognises and better utilises social HOUSING providers potential to run transformative employment programmes;zzDevelop a framework for closer partnerships between the Department for Work and Pensions and HOUSING associations, in order to deliver bespoke employment support to social residents distant from the labour market; zzGrow the knowledge base by championing a national body for best practice which builds on existing membership organisations, and develop a rigorous and shareable model for evaluation; andzzEquip HOUSING associations with the means to COMMISSION partners that can contribute social value, through a modern digital platform.