Housing providers’ approaches to tackling worklessness

1. Housing providers’ approaches to tackling worklessness Assessing Value and Impact Dave Simmonds, Inclusion

2. Research findings

3. Workless social-housing residents – key stats • 3.5 million workless social-housing residents = 56% of working age (other tenures = 25%) • Nearly half workless for 12 months+ • 35% claiming out of work benefits (other tenures = 8%) • Workless social-housing residents 4 times more likely to have long-term health conditions or disabilities and 6 times more likely to be lone parents than other workless • 1.6 million social-housing residents predicted to be on the Work Programme (27% of w/age social-housing residents)

4. Lots being done by providers • Widespread consensus that a housing providers’ role is not just about bricks and mortar: ‘Our vision is to create prosperous communities, enhance life chances and maximise people’s opportunities – we see employment and skills as critical elements of this.’ • 88% doing things to help residents into work, most doing lots:

5. Serving residents and communities • Social-housing residents particularly disadvantaged in labour market, but most providers do not limit employment and skills activities to their own residents... • ...Many will need to improve their knowledge to do this: only 42% know the level of worklessness among tenants or residents

6. Lots of partnerships, but more engagement needed • Very few housing providers approach worklessness in isolation – they build particularly effective partnerships with other housing providers and with contractors in their supply chains... • ...But more engagement with mainstream welfare to work provision is needed: • Only 28% are engaging with/linking up to Work Programme • 35 housing orgs in WP supply chains = 2% of housing sector

7. A wide-ranging approach to capturing value • 63% of housing providers have mechanisms in place to review the impact and effectiveness of efforts to tackle worklessness... • ...but a wide disparity in approach is preventing housing providers from comparing their work, benchmarking good practice and communicating their successes

8. The policy context and drivers for change

9. Welfare and housing reform • Universal Credit: more financial responsibility for tenants, less money to support housing costs and stronger incentives to find and sustain work • More outcome-focused employment support headed up by the Work Programme • Localism Act: new flexibilities to use fixed-term tenancies and limit eligibility, including employment status • Some London boroughs are doing this – e.g. prioritising applicants who are in work or seeking work

10. Less funding available • A tighter and more outcome-focused delivery landscape • Imperatives to join-up provision and avoid duplication • More worklessness activities funded internally, providers have greater freedom to prioritise residents

11. Recommendations

12. Recommendations to housing providers • Short term: work collectively to understand and benchmark worklessness among residents, in order to target opportunities and interventions and link up with mainstream provision • Longer term: establish and articulate the sector’s role or roles in a resident’s journey from worklessness into employment

13. Recommendations to prime welfare to work contractors • Short term: ensure that subcontracting terms allow housing providers to focus on the areas in which they operate and the groups with which they work best • Longer term: collaborate rather than compete in small areas with high concentrations of social housing and, where appropriate, contract housing providers to manage delivery in these areas

14. Recommendations to government • Short term: commit to making some information on tenants’ receipt of Housing Benefit available to housing providers following the transition to Universal Credit. • Longer term: reward housing providers for reducing worklessness among residents on a payment by results basis