Steve Douglas: Housing 'needs a seat at the table' for effective place based budgeting debates

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing

In the face of widespread debate on the pros and cons of the new coalition government’s concept of ‘place based budgeting’, former Housing Corporation Chief Executive Steve Douglas (pictured) discusses the implications for housing policy and what should be done to ensure that housing has a place at the table.

Known under Labour as ‘total place’, ‘place based budgeting’ is likely to be  about a focus on individual places and the pooling of public services to meet local priorities. And of course to deliver efficiency savings.

Few can dispute that the principles are sound but what are some of the challenges and implications for the housing sector in particular?

There has been much talk about the need for greater powers to be given to citizens and neighbourhoods, for funding to be passed down to grass root level organisations and for the need for a more credible form of local accountability.

While all of these points may be true, and many high performing local authorities are already embracing the principles of place based budgeting, with the loss of regional planning strategies housing could be a net loser unless the case is remade for why housing provision for all spectrums of society is crucial to the success of places.

One of the things that is going to influence the success of place based budgeting on a grand scale is the approach that is taken to setting local priorities.

In my view this calls for an integrated commissioning model. One where all funding partners work together – health, education, police, transport, public realm, all focusing their attention on what works for a particular place and agreeing what the local priorities should be.

The local authority is at the centre but brings in the expertise and experience of a wide range of partners to help it shape its neighbourhoods and town centres.

This includes local citizens, residents and tenants. When making decisions around the priorities, the easy and obvious are schools, parks and libraries.

But what about the housing offer for those on low incomes, those attempting to get on the housing ladder or for whom private renting is their only real opportunity but who are crucial for the life blood of villages, towns and cities up and down the country?

The pooling of resources could potentially see housing fall down the list of immediate priorities, particularly as housing solutions are more difficult to find in these tough economic times.

Housing must be at the table – and housing providers prepared to contribute to the debate and contribute to solutions.

These might be around reinvestment in stock at a local level, contributing to social policies on work and economic regeneration programmes, recycling surpluses in neighbourhoods - where the contribution can show a tangible difference to the success of places as well as residents lives.

As placed based budgeting gets a head of steam and the forthcoming spending review sees limited and diminishing resources, housing providers must continue to show their partnership contribution to local housing and economic strategies and in so doing might even provide an answer to the often asked question - independence for what purpose?

Steve Douglas is a Director of the housing, regeneration and development consultancy Douglas Wood.