Group Chief Executive Wayne Gethings talks about the Spring Budget
This year’s Spring Budget, saw the Chancellor look to chart a course for economic recovery from the turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As ever there were interesting notes for the housing sector, fronted by a three-month extension of the stamp duty holiday and a new mortgage guarantee system for homeowners.
The latter will increase the availability of 95% Loan-to-value mortgage products, enabling more households to access mortgages without the need for such a large deposit. This is designed to “support a new generation in realising the dream of home ownership.”
These are positive steps for homeowners and aspiring homeowners. I also welcome the move to bring forward exemptions to the shared accommodation rate that makes things more affordable again for anyone aspiring to own a share of a property.
However, just as we saw with last year’s long-awaited announcement of the social housing white paper, which included the introduction of a charter for social housing residents, the changes appear to fall short of tackling the broader housing crisis.
At that time, I urged the government to listen to voices from across the social housing sector on the issue of home ownership. Their commitment to the flawed Right to Shared Ownership scheme stood out in this regard.
At Wrekin we are fully supportive of customers looking to take ownership of property and have a proud record of helping people to do just that, but said scheme could actually present an obstacle in the delivery of more properties for affordable rent and other ownership tenures. If fewer new developments are undertaken as a result, it is the residents awaiting housing that will suffer most.
This Spring Budget has a similar feel to it.
We are being asked to Build Back Better and tackle the housing crisis as a sector, yet for all the incremental steps being suggested there is a need to go much, much further.
There would be significant value in the Chancellor putting greater emphasis on a housing-led recovery. It is a proven means of driving growth, both regionally and nationally, it creates skilled jobs and apprenticeships, but crucially, it would alleviate the chronic housing shortage.
The housing crisis is essentially a supply and demand issue. Countermeasures like a mortgage guarantee system for homeowners will help some, but in the grand scheme of things it is like trying to hold back the tide until we address the root problem.
This means going beyond the provision of extra routes to financing home ownership. It means a steadfast commitment to delivering a large number of high-quality, affordable houses in the right places, for the right people.
Wrekin’s housing stock is located in market and new towns across the largely rural counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire and its provision of high quality affordable housing that matters to us and to our customers and future customers. We believe that the ‘dream’ of home ownership is more than just the aspiration to own a house at all costs, it is the opportunity for a home where people want to live, be that near family or friends, or closer to their place of work.
This is where responsible providers of social housing like us have a responsibility to lead by example and this is why we have stated our ambition to grow our housing stock in the region up to 16,000 properties by 2025.
In delivering new properties and maintaining our existing stock we are always looking for ways to improve the sustainability and efficiency of our homes so I welcome the measures announced to boost the green economy. At Wrekin we’re piloting a project that will see us retrofit renewable energy technologies to some homes and the first customers moved in to some passivhaus homes built by trainees. Improving homes in this way is good for the environment as well as good for the customers who live in these homes.
We will also continue to go the extra mile to support our customers with support in understanding their finances and with opportunities to gain experience and skills aimed at helping people in to employment. For example, we work with our tenants in the three months before they become a tenant and the subsequent three months to ensure they can sustain financially. We do this because of our fundamental belief that the role of a social housing provider is more than just a safe bundle of bricks and mortar. It is a commitment to supporting the communities you build.
Understanding the importance of community, and supporting the sort of housing that allows people to thrive, needs to be central to our economic recovery. We knew this before COVID-19, and it is even more crucial now.
Wayne Gethings
Group Chief Executive
The Wrekin Housing Group
11th March 2021