Social Housing and the Coalition Government: Catching up on Conditionality David Robinson 25 October 2013 Queen's Uni

1. Social Housing and the Coalition Government: Catching up on ConditionalityDavid Robinson25 October 2013Queen's University, Belfast ESRC Seminar Series - Localism, Welfare Reform and Tenure Restructuring in the UK

2. Précis • focus = access to social housing in England • conditionality provides a useful lens through which to view social housing reform • helps to understand the direction of travel and size of change • exposes the recalibration of rights and responsibilities • reveals social housing to be playing 'catch-up' with other aspects of the welfare state

3. Overview • introducing conditionality • conditionality and the wobbly pillar of social housing • social housing - catching up on conditionality

4. Introducing Conditionality

5. Forms of Conditionality Activation agenda • welfare entitlements conditional on satisfying standards of behaviour • recognises new politics of welfare which aims to utilise welfare system as a lever for changing behaviour / responsibilisation • focus of much contemporary research Administrative conditions • often taken for granted, but also important • benefits always dependent upon satisfying conditions of qualification and entitlement criteria • change in qualification and entitlement criteria integral to new welfare regime

6. Levels and Levers of Conditionality (Clasen and Clegg, 2007)

7. Conditionality and Welfare State Change • the principle of conditionality = central to welfare in the UK (Dwyer, 2004) • challenge to post-war idea of a welfare state based on principle of universal entitlement derived from citizenship • policies promoting unconditional entitlement to public welfare seen as entrenching welfare dependency • emphasis = enforcement of greater conditionality and the reduction or outright removal of rights in a bid to break the dependency on welfare provisions which is perceived to cause 'the poor' to be in such dire circumstances (Levitas, 1998) • a policy framework is invoked in which issues of inequality and disadvantage are addressed through a process of responsibilisation • reluctant individuals forced into activity by benefit sanctions

8. Conditionality and the Wobbly Pillar of Social Housing

9. Conditionality and Social Housing • "conditionality is now a key feature of contemporary social housing policy in the UK" Dwyer (2004) • conductas the focus of policy and analysis (activation agenda) • linking rights to specific behavioural responsibilities • probationary tenancies • exclusion of nuisance neighbours • pursuit of ASBOs by landlords

10. However.... • nature and magnitude of reform has not mirrored changes to other social protection arrangements (cf unemployment protection) • residualised and stigmatised....but social tenancy not caught in the web of welfare dependency (until recently) WHY? • ambiguous status of housing on margins of welfare state (Harloe, 1995) • housing as a fixed asset • disparate sector...complex central-local dynamic • shifting balance between supply and demand • sanctity of the home • housing as foundation and facilitator

11. But.... • housing playing 'catch-up'... • via the Localism Act 2011: • adjustments to status and origin of applicants • tightening eligibility and entitlement • extending emphasis on activation • causal story tapping into dominant tropes of the new welfare paradigm

12. Catching up on Conditionality

13. The Revisionist Causal Story

14. Tapping into Familiar Tropes • focus on individual shortcomings and behavioural deficiencies • social exclusion of social tenants constructed as a condition - an outcome - synonymous with welfare dependency • structural factors neglected in favour of the demonisation of social housing as factor underpinning the reproduction of poverty • greater conditionality and the reduction of rights in a bid to break dependency on social housing • tackling inequality and disadvantage amongst social tenants through responsibilisation

15. The three criticisms of social housing 1. Creates dependency • social housing creates dependency on the state and undercuts personal responsibility • tenants have no experience of the consequences of their behaviour or financial actions 2. Thwarts social mobility • social tenancy = one of the few assets tenants possess - cling to it with grim determination • residential and social mobility thwarted • poor people concentrated on social housing estates - few +ve role models • living in "dead-end ghettos", tenants and families become "trapped into a vicious cycle of deprivation and corresponding poor educational attainment and ill health" (Public Services Improvement Policy Group, 2007: 122).

16. The three criticisms (cont.) 3. Fails to serve as an effective support mechanism • a scarce resource allocated on a secure, long-term basis, based on assessment of need at one particular moment in a person's life • little opportunity to take account of changes in a tenant's situation • sector 'silted up' with households whose needs may no longer warrant the support of social housing • people in 'genuine need' struggle to access the sector • waiting list grows

17. The Ambition of Reform • 'an opportunity to radically transform the social tenant into a competitive, independent, self responsible and morally autonomous individual' AND • to create a more flexible, responsive and effective social housing sector • which serves as a springboard for social mobility • a "dynamic resource, helping people to get on their feet and on with their lives", which provides a "temporary home before private renting, moving on when possible to shared equity, or outright ownership" (Stroud, 2010, p7) - a pathway to self-sufficiency

18. The rationale engrained • need for action to “tackle the effect that long-term residence in social housing has on the prospects of …. tenants" and to ensure they "are not trapped into a cycle of deprivation with no ‘exit’ opportunities.” (The Conservative Party, 2010: 7 & 19). • liberate tenants from this 'trap' and recast social housing as a "stepping stone to owner occupancy” (The Conservative Party, 2010: 19). • “There is a question mark about whether, in future, we should be asking when you are given a council home, is it for a fixed period? Because maybe in five or ten years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won’t need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector.”(David Cameron quoted in Wintour, 2010). • social housing is "abyword for failure" offering a "home for life in a dead end street"...[need to] "restore pride to social housing, so that a social tenancy is once again seen as a launchpad to fulfil aspirations"(Minister for Housing quoted in DCLG, 2011)

19. Catching up on Conditionality • lack of evidence; confusing correlation and causation • BUT causal story 'sounds right' • legitimate basis for government to invoke power to 'fix' the problem via radical reform under the guise of localism (Robinson, 2013) Enter: • The Localism Act 2011 • DCLG (2012) Allocation of social housing guidance • DCLG (2013) Providing social housing for local people. Strengthening statutory guidance on social housing allocations • Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill (2013-14)

23. Closing Thoughts

24. Trends in conditionality Category • tightening qualification criteria • serving other policy priorities e.g. moral panic around migration Circumstance • increasing focus on 'deserving' classes (local people, military personnel, people in work, people contributing to community etc.) • weakening the link between eligibility and need • time limiting eligibility Control • ratcheting up control and activation • "disciplining subordinate populations for failure to integrate into low wage labour market" (Flint, 2009)

25. Some research questions • a causal story that resonates, but is it valid? • the central-local dynamic under localism... the centre's irresistible temptation to meddle? • the deserving v. need conundrum - where are we now? • the emergent geography of conditionality? • the impact of creeping conditionality? • the fairness of conditionality?

26. Conditionality as an organising framework Monitoring variations in levels and levers can help.... • understand the direction and scope of change within contemporary social housing reform • tease out logics and patterns that might otherwise be missed • situate reform within wider transformations in social citizenship • understand the shifting balance of rights and responsibilities • provide a basis for comparative analysis re: trends in social housing reform across the UK....and beyond

27. References • CIH (2008). Rethinking Housing. Chartered Institute of Housing response to the Department of Communities and Local Government's housing reform programme. Coventry: Chartered Institute of Housing. • Clasen, J. and Clegg, D. (2007) Levels and levers of conditionality: measuring change within welfare states. The Dependent Variable Problem in Comparative Analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 166-197. • Conservative Party (2010) Nurturing Responsibility [online]. Policy Green Paper No.10. • DCLG (2011). Grant Shapps: New rules will help end prejudices about social housing. London: Department for Communities and Local Government. Available from: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/2033451. • Dwelly, T. (2006) Social housing isn’t working. In: Dwelly, T. and Cowans, J. (Eds.) Rethinking Social Housing. London: The Smith Institute. (www.smith-institute.org.uk/pdfs/social-housing.pdf) • Dwyer, P. (2004) Creeping conditionality in the UK: from welfare rights to conditional entitlements? The Canadian Journal of Sociology, 29, 2, 265-287 • Flint, J. (2009) Subversive subjects and conditional, earned and denied citizenship. In M. Barnes and D. Prior (eds.) Subversive Citizens: Power, Agency and Resistance in Public Services (pp. 83-98). Bristol: Policy Press. • Greenhalgh, S. and Moss, J. (2009) Principles for Social Housing Reform. London: Localis. • Harloe, M. (1995) The People's Home? Oxford: Blackwell. • Housing and Dependency Working Group (2008). Housing Poverty - From Social Breakdown to Social Mobility. London: The Centre for Social Justice. • Levitas, R. 1998. The Inclusive Society? Social Exclusion and the New Labour. London: Macmillan. • Public Services Improvement Group (2007). Restoring Pride in Our Public Services. Submission to the Shadow Cabinet. (www.conservatives.com/pdf/psipg-report.pdf) • Robinson, D. (2013) Social housing in England: testing the logics of Reform. Urban Studies, 50, 8, 1489–1504 • Stroud, P. (2010). Social Housing: A Launchpad, Not a Destination. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. • Wintour, (2010). David Cameron announces plan to end lifetime tenancies [online]. The Guardian, 3 August. Available at: www.guardian.co.uk [10 June 2012].