Housing providers’ approaches to tackling worklessness

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

Research findings

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)

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:

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

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

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

The policy context and drivers for change

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

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

Recommendations

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

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

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

Housing providers’ approaches to tackling worklessness