Stakeholder Housing

Tim Brown

Description

‘Essential reading for decision makers and those on the front-line concerned with the provision of housing fit for the new millennium. The reform of housing policy is essential if we are to meet the challenge of combating social exclusion.’ Chris Pond MP



‘We strongly need new ideas which place decent, affordable housing at the heart of policy to create inclusive and sustainable communities. This book offers new thinking to achieve these aims.’ Chris Holmes, Director of Shelter



‘This book is a valuable contribution to developing new thinking in housing.’ David Butler, Chartered Institute of Housing



The Labour Housing Group (LHG) has been at the forefront of the housing debate for the past decade. In this ground breaking study, the LHG explores how housing can contribute to the ‘Third Way’ agenda of addressing social exclusion by involving stakeholders, balancing state and market interests and addressing devolution.



The distinguished contributors to this volume – ranging from members of the Labour government to well-known practitioners and academics – examine ways in which the much-touted ‘Third Way’ can be translated from rhetoric into real and meaningful practice that has a positive impact on the lives of the community.



The debate over the provision of adequate housing for all is scrutinised from a variety of perspectives, such as that of consumer, of provider, and of regulator. The authors make explicit the links between housing, health and the environment; set out a new agenda for housing; and explore what the ‘Third Way’ might mean for housing stakeholders and those working in or studying housing and social policy.



Foreword by Tony Blair



Introduction



1 : Introduction : Tim Brown

2 : The Third Way : Tim Brown



Part 1 : Making the Connections : Tim Brown



3 : Housing and the Environment : Mark Bhatti

4 : Housing and Health : Jean Conway

5 : Housing and Social Exclusion : Bob Paterson and Richard Macfarlane

6 : Housing and Education : Tim Brown & Angela Maye

7 : Housing and Europe : Mike Oxley

8 : An American Perspective : Edward G Goetz



Part 2 : Visions for Housing : Tim Brown



9 : A Vision for England : Hilary Armstrong MP

10 : A Vision for Scotland : Robina Goodchild

11 : A Vision for Wales : Tamsin Stirling

12 : A Vision for Northern Ireland : Chris Paris and Paddy Gray



Part 3 : Stakeholders : Tim Brown



13 : A Consumer Perspective : Marianne Hood

14 : A Governance Perspective : Gerry Stoker

15 : A Community Perspective : David Clapham

16 : A Black & Ethnic Minority Perspective : Richard Tomlins

17 : A Finance Perspective : Jeremy Wood and John Harvey

18 : A Regulation Perspective : Selwyn Runnett



Conclusion



19 : Conclusions : Tim Brown

Sujets

• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Sociology
• Social theory
• LAW

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 août 1999
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781849640558
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Edited by Tim Brown
Foreword by Tony Blair MP
Stakeholder Housing
A Third Way
Published in association with the
Labour Housing Group
Pluto P Press
LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIAFirst published 1999 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA
Copyright © Labour Housing Group 1999
Foreword © The Right Honourable Tony Blair MP 1999
The right of the individual contributors to be identified as the authors
of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library
ISBN 0 7453 1505 4 hbk
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Stakeholder housing : a third way / edited by Tim
Brown
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 0–7453–1505–4 (hbk.)
1. Housing policy—Great Britain. 2. Housing authorities—Great
Britain. 3. Public housing—Great Britain. 4. Home ownership–
–Great Britain. I. Brown, Tim.
HD7333.A3S721999
363.5'85'0941—dc21 99–35171
CIP
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Production Services, Chadlington, Oxford, OX7 3LN
Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton
Printed in the EC by TJ International, PadstowDedication
This book is dedicated to the memory of Jean Conway, Senior Lecturer
in Housing Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, who died in January
1999. Jean made a significant contribution to this book as well as being
a good friend and a valued colleague.Acknowledgements
The author and publishers are grateful for the support of the Barony
Group in the publication of this book.Contents
List of Tables ix
Foreword The Right Honourable Tony Blair MP x
1 Introduction Tim Brown 1
2The Third Way Tim Brown 8
Part 1 Making the Connections 33
Introduction Tim Brown
3 Housing and the Environment Mark Bhatti 40
4 Housing and Health Jean Conway 54
5 Housing and Social Exclusion Bob Paterson and Richard
Macfarlane 67
6 Housing and Education Tim Brown and
Angela Maye-Banbury 80
7 Housing and Europe Mike Oxley 94
8 An American Perspective Edward G. Goetz 106
Part 2 Visions for Housing 117
Introduction Tim Brown
9 A New Vision for Housing in England
Hilary Armstrong MP 122
10 Challenges and Opportunities:
A Scottish Vision for Housing Robina Goodlad 133
11 A Vision for Wales Tamsin Stirling 144
12A Vision for Northern Ireland Paddy Gray and Chris Paris 156VIII/STAKEHOLDER HOUSING
Part 3 Stakeholders 167
Introduction Tim Brown
13 Tenants as Stakeholders Marianne Hood 173
14 Local Governance: What Future? Gerry Stoker 183
15 A Community Perspective David Clapham 193
16 The Empowerment of Black and Minority Ethnic
Stakeholders Richard Tomlins 205
17 A Financial Perspective Jeremy Wood and John Harvey 225
18 A Regulation Perspective Selwyn Runnett 235
19 Conclusions Tim Brown 243
List of Contributors 251
Index 253List of Tables
2.1 The First Way, the Second Way and the Third Way 17
5.1 Activities Undertaken by Housing Association
Members of People for Action, 1995 71
5.2Annual Community and Economic Development
Budget for Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust,
1997/98 72
10.1 Trends in Housing Spending and Subsidy: Key
Indicators (£ millions) 135Foreword
Nothing is more important to individuals and families than a decent
and secure home. That is why Labour supports the aspirations of the
majority of people to own their own homes and also wants to see
healthy social and private rented sectors for those who cannot afford
to buy or choose not to.
After 18 years of Conservative government, the problems we
inherited were severe: boom and bust in the housing market, massive
disrepair in both public and private housing sectors, pockets of severe
housing deprivation in our cities and street homelessness as one of the
most potent symbols of social exclusion in Britain today.
We have made a start in tackling these problems. By giving
operational independence to the Bank of England we have brought
long-term stability to mortgage rates. Over the first two years we are
investing £900 million in housing and housing related regeneration
through the Capital Receipts Initiative. And we have committed an
extra £3.9 billion for housing over the next three years, enabling
local authorities to begin to tackle the backlog of renovation work and
deliver improvements in 1.5 million council homes. We are also
setting up a new Housing Inspectorate as part of our Best Value regime
with power to tackle poor management of local authority housing and
ensure that tenants enjoy high quality service.
Many of the problems are deep seated. We need long-term solutions
and joined up thinking across government. That is why I made rough
sleeping one of the first priorities of the Social Exclusion Unit and
tackling deprivation on our worst estates another. In July 1998, we
launched an action plan and target to reduce rough sleeping by
twothirds by 2002. In September 1998, we published a national strategy
for neighbourhood renewal. Over the next three years the £800 millionFOREWORD/XI
New Deal for Communities will give some of our worst-off local
communities the resources to tackle their problems in an intensive and
coordinated way.
There is more to be done. The Labour Housing Group has played
an important role in raising the profile of housing policy. This book
makes a further contribution to the debate.
The Right Honourable Tony Blair MP
December 1998 1
Introduction
Tim Brown
THE DAWNING OF A NEW ERA IN HOUSING AND SOCIAL
POLICY?
The May 1997 general election, with hindsight, may become a
significant and symbolic date in the development of British housing
and social policy. The principles underpinning these changes have
become labelled a ‘third way’ that is radically different from the
previously dominant perspectives of the new right and the old left.
Leading politicians and academics have made significant contributions
to the debate (see Blair, 1998; Giddens, 1998). Furthermore, an ever
increasing plethora of ideas and terminology are being used in the
debates and discussion on the third way including citizenship,
communitarianism, social capital, civic entrepreneurship and stakeholding.
The latter is particularly interesting and relevant for the debates on
housing and social policy as it reflects an attempt to develop a
democratically accountable welfare state involving providers, funders and
users collaborating together. Although it is difficult to unravel the
complex origins of the stakeholder concept, it is generally acknowledged
that its recent use stems from the work of Hutton (1995, 1997a,
1997b, 1997c). He argues that the adoption of a new right perspective
with its emphasis on market values after 1979 exacerbated a range
of long-term interlocking problems facing British society. These
included a financial system that values short-term profit over
longterm commitment, a lack of innovation and a failure to develop
12/STAKEHOLDER HOUSING
genuine approaches to partnership at all levels in society. Although
his commentary is primarily geared towards the economy, he notes:
At the heart of the welfare state lies a conception of a just society;
a guarantee of some income for the disadvantaged against life’s
hazards, along with a roof over their heads, access to healthcare and,
for their children, the education and training essential to improving
their situation. The vitality of the welfare state is a badge of a
healthy society; it is a symbol of our capacity to act together morally,
to share and to recognise the mutuality of rights and obligations
that underpins all human associations. It is an expression of social
citizenship. (Hutton, 1995, p. 306)
In many ways, this quotation highlights the essential features of a
stakeholding society compared to a shareholding society emphasised
by the new right during the 1980s. It also, of course, identifies some
of the differences between aspects of the thinking of the old left and
new Labour on issues such as public ownership (Hutton, 1997b).
Clearly the concept of stakeholding provides a possible basis for a
third way for housing and social policy that forms part of a radical
centre-left project which could be implemented by the current
government.
However, as well as these debates on principles, the period since May
1997 has seen a marked change of style in the process of policy
development. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the
Regions (DETR) and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Offices,
for instance, have sought to engage in a genuine debate on the future
of housing policy. More generally, there has been an increase in the
use of consultation papers and a desire for more open and transparent
dialogue. The government has undertaken a wide range of policy
reviews with nearly 50 studies related implicitly or explicitly to housing
being initiated during 1997. These reviews have resulted in a wide
range of consultation papers and Green and White Papers including
the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions White
Paper on modernising local government (DETR, 1998a) and the
Department of Social Security White Paper (1998) on welfare policy.
But perhaps the most significant of these have been the economic and
fiscal strategy and the comprehensive spending review published in
June and July 1998 respectively. In style, the focus of these also
appears to have moved from ideological rhetoric of the ConservativeINTRODUCTION/3
government to seeking practical solutions. In policy terms, the shift
has been towards balancing competitive frameworks with collaboration
and partnerships. This is matched with a desire to encourage
experiments and a willingness to explore new initiatives prior to
legislation. The example of the best value pilots for improving local
services including housing by local authorities and registered social
landlords (RSLs) in England as part of the modernising of local
government can be u