Vote for the Englishman from Porthcawl

As many of you will already know, I am standing for the role of Vice President for the Chartered Institute of Housing. Although this is a UK wide role (and beyond if you count our members in Hong Kong and Canada) there has not been a more important time to make sure that the Welsh voice is heard within the CIH.

So why should you vote for ‘an Englishman from Porthcawl’, as Mike Owen has called me?

As far as my CIH credentials go, they are about as good as you can get. I have been an active member of the Chartered Institute of Housing for over 30 years now and I am still as passionate about housing as the day I started my first job as an Area Housing Officer with Eastbourne Borough Council in 1984. Throughout my career I have been involved with the CIH: as a co-opted member of the South East Branch, as a committee member and Chair of the South West Branch, and as a CIH National Council member for six years.

As far as the Welsh bit goes, you’ll have to make your own mind up.

Since moving to Wales in 2008 I have served on the National Business Unit board and am currently Chair of CIH Cymru. Over the last couple of years the CIH has been restructuring and as Chair I was involved in ensuring that the National Business Units (the NBUs of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) were retained. I therefore have a very keen interest in making sure that the voice of the NBUs is not diminished going forward.

Working in Wales as one of the devolved nations, I fully understand that UK (or English) policies aren’t always relevant or applicable to the work we do and this is something that I would ensure was understood. The role of the NBUs in developing responses to UK and devolved legislation is crucial and I would champion the contribution that the three NBUs make to the CIH overall whilst also ensuring that the membership offer from CIH remains relevant and valuable to members in Wales (and Scotland and Northern Ireland).

I can’t pretend I am Welsh, but if I were to be successful in being elected Vice President I would do all I could to raise the profile of housing in Wales and the many brilliant things we do here.

And as a final point, it’s worth noting that we’ve not had a President of the CIH from Wales for many years now, not since the days of Mr Paul Diggory - although I am hoping that that won’t go against me!

Stephen Cook

Chief Executive of Valleys to Coast and Chair of CIH Cymru

Legislation a chance to tackle fuel poverty

Shea Jones has blogged for IWA on the Well Being of Future Generations Bill... 

How do you picture how our planet will look in the future and how future generations will live on our planet in years to come? Some people might think about hoverboards, power laces and all the other exciting things that we see Marty McFly involved in during the classic ‘Back to the Future’ films. Admittedly, I do think about this when I think about the future but I also think about the bigger picture – how we treat the planet now and how we must do what we can to ensure that we do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This includes using natural resources reasonably, ensuring that life is not negatively impacted by harmful modifications of the ecosystems and that scientific and technological progress in all fields do not harm life on Earth.

Fuel poverty (defined as households spending 10% or more of their income on energy costs) affected 30% of households in Wales in 2012 and is now likely to be significantly higher. Fuel poverty is a significant cause of excess winter deaths and in 2013/14, there were 1,100 excess winter deaths in Wales. The majority (73%) were over the age of 75 (we know that around 30% of these deaths can be attributed to cold homes). Low incomes, energy prices and the number of energy inefficient properties act as the main contributory factors to rising levels of fuel poor households and they make the eradication of fuel poverty a real challenge.

Despite much welcomed investment from energy efficiency programs such as Arbed, the current investment in Wales is insufficient given the scale of the problem. Estimates in a Bevan report on poverty states that it will take 78 years for the Welsh Government’s Nest programme to reach each and every home suffering from fuel poverty in Wales. More needs to be done to ensure that vulnerable households are paying the lowest possible price for their home energy needs.

Housing is responsible for around one fifth of Welsh greenhouse gas emissions. WWF Cymru’s report, ‘Cutting carbon emissions in Welsh homes’, showed that targeting home improvements at the poorest quality houses in Wales would slash energy bills, cut fuel poverty by 40%, reduce our impact on climate change and create thousands of jobs. This would take us well on our way to meeting our climate emission reduction targets of 40% by 2020. Reducing our energy usage and delivering energy efficiency programmes needs to happen alongside switching to renewable / low carbon energy sources, as outlined in WWF’s report ‘Warm Homes Not Warm Words’, although barriers to renewable energy (e.g. the planning system) need to be addressed and Wales needs further energy powers to be devolved for energy planning consents.

A large scale energy efficiency programme much bigger than what we currently have is essentially sustainable development in action. How could this be financed? There have been suggestions of using borrowing powers for energy efficiency programmes rather than funding controversial stretches of motorways, for example. Perhaps a less controversial way to boost investment would be to fund more energy efficiency retrofit works, as well as the amount of energy that we generate through renewable technologies via infrastructure investments through the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP). Of course, we need to maximise the positive impacts of investment and the Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations Bill, if designed effectively, provides an ideal opportunity to achieve this. Infrastructure investments should be benchmarked for their environmental impact and WIIP provides a significant opportunity to ensure that large capital projects fulfil sustainable development criteria at every level from carbon impact to community benefit.

A strong and effective Well-being of FG Act should make sure that investment from public bodies has real positive impacts and ensures that all purchasing decisions are made with consideration of wider benefits for people and nature, in Wales and around the world. ARBED has shown how a programme can be designed to deliver real benefits to local economies. Evidence suggests that, without an explicit legal requirement, it is unlikely that good-practice procurement policy will be implemented and inconsistencies will continue. Community Housing Cymru’s member organisations (housing associations) spent an estimated £1,027m in 2013/14, and £823.6m (80%) of this spend was retained in Wales. Of the completed Community Benefits Measurement Tools returned to Welsh Government, 52% have come from the housing sector.

However, we propose that further work is done to develop the community benefits tool into a legal requirement that ensures public bodies consider the broader environmental, social and economic impact of their procurement activities. We should promote ethical, fair trade and sustainable procurement practices through the Bill which meet the social justice and equality needs of the citizens of Wales. This includes the impacts of supply chains in Wales and abroad and the ability to use local suppliers and installers, which is key to keeping money in the Welsh economy. For example, i2i’s Can Do Toolkit provides guidance to social landlords to help them achieve added value and wider social inclusion through their improvement and investment programmes, in the areas of targeted recruitment and training and SME-friendly procurement. Between September 2008 and December 2011, i2i calculated that this work led to the creation of 2,581 job and training opportunities. The CHC Group supports the continued development of the Can Do Toolkit and its extended application across the public sector in Wales.

Prevention and integration principles clearly need to be at the heart of the Wellbeing of FG Bill. For example, ‘Boiler prescription’ schemes exist in England whereby housing associations install boilers in households prescribed by GPs. One of these schemes has resulted in savings to the NHS with a 28% reduction in GP appointments and a 33% reduction in outpatient appointments. It is one of the first examples of the NHS supporting retrofit schemes in order to reduce the cost of health and social services but such schemes need to be valued more by the government and the health sector. CHC is working closely with organisations in Wales to develop similar approaches. Other schemes such as the ‘Warm homes healthy people fund’ show a clear example of the Department of Energy and Climate Change working with the Department of Health in the UK Government.

Legislation is needed to drive change at the necessary scale and pace. It should also be viewed as an opportunity to help create the future we want to see for Wales. With amendments to the Well-Being of Future Generations Bill, we can make it stronger together and transform the way we do things in Wales.

Shea Jones
Energy and Sustainability Officer

You can read Shea's original blog post here. 

Five golden rules of being a Policy Officer

When I started at CHC in 2012, I had no real idea what a Policy Officer did. Two and a half years later, it’s fair to say that I sort of know. That’s hopefully no reflection on my ability to do the job, but more a reflection of a distinct benefit of the role. Policy Officer roles are like snowflakes - no two are exactly the same. I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in working on current policy development, particularly around the Supporting People programme in Wales, whilst also providing some contemporary thought on links with the health service in Wales. Queue shameless plug for CHCs contribution to “Making Prudent Healthcare Happen”.


1. Ctrl-f is your best friend
The length of consultation documents, the complexity of legislation, the sheer volume of research and briefings was a daunting prospect when I initially started. Part of the Policy Officer art is in being able to understand something complex or lengthy pretty quickly and, more importantly, understand the impact and opportunities on the sector.

2. At events, the real work begins when you arrive at the coffee station or go to the buffet
You’re inundated with events to attend… both for your own organisation and being a representative at others. I’ve learned quickly that the buffet queue or coffee station is where the real value of most events lie. Particularly if you’re trying to put across some complex points about how the sector works, stuff around more than bricks and mortar to someone with a basic understanding of what housing associations do… it’s far tougher for them to walk away whilst scoffing down a slice of quiche.

3. Decide on a one liner to describe what you do, and stick to it…
I’ve tried not to worry too much about the fact that my Nan thinks I work for a Local Authority, my Mum thinks I build homes and my partner has given up trying to explain what I do altogether. My one liner has always been “I work for a housing charity”… most people are happy enough to take that and leave it there. Anyone who has probed further has, no doubt, after I’ve finished my 30 minute explanation, learnt their lesson.

4. Carry a food bag
As someone who can’t function when hungry I’ve made constant use of a food bag to enhance my ability to eat well between meetings, event and the office. Policy, if it were a sport, would be an endurance sport with a few sprints added in for good measure. For me, bananas, fig rolls, seeds and nuts, apples, jaffa cakes, dark chocolate, peanut butter have all made regular or guest appearances.

5. Be passionate and believe in the work
When most people think Policy Officer they don’t think excitement, explosions etc. It’s true that you’re more Q than you are 007 - equipping the sector for the challenges ahead. But it can be dry, so being passionate about what you’re helping to achieve, and believing that it’s genuinely the answer to complex socio-economic challenges, is vital.

I’ll still, where beneficial and appropriate, highlight the role of housing associations in improving health, tackling poverty and working with communities. Not because of any feeling of obligation to do so, but because seeing the impact of housing associations, and being part of developing the thinking around improving health through housing, has had a permanent impact on my own belief system.


So those are my 5 (not so) Golden Rules for being a Policy Officer.

In the words of one of my idols, and role models - Stay classy CHC. 

Matthew Kennedy
Policy Officer

Matt will be starting his new role as Policy Officer at Macmillan Cymru next week. Pob lwc, Matt!

Our ambition: to be recognised as the best governed organisations in Wales

We want to be the best governed sector in Wales and are calling on you to strive for the highest standards of governance in your organisation.

Good governance is more than a set of rules and processes - good governance is good business too. Good governance is now seen as a pre-condition for meeting the challenges of poverty, sustainable development and social cohesion.

Good governance means having balanced and diverse boards which can lead your organisation and simultaneously control risk. However, effective governance is about more than the board. It is fundamentally about culture and a way of working that, if managed well, constantly evaluated, regulated and then used as a platform for innovation, equates with service excellence.

To support you to become the best governed organisations in Wales, CHC is strengthening our governance offer to you.

To support our members, CHC is:

• Launching a sector Code of Governance. CHC’s Code is designed to assist members to develop governance structures which facilitate behaviour change aimed at service improvement for tenants. It sets out the standards and practices that boards and their members must adhere to.
• Unveiling our new Come on Board site which is aimed at attracting exceptional candidates to board member vacancies in the housing sector in Wales. We know that some of our members have struggled to recruit board members with the skills and experience they need to provide strategic direction and manage risk effectively. Subsequently, some members have not achieved the board renewal requirements that are considered to be good practice and others have had vacancies for longer than desired. There is also a Stay on Board section for existing board members whose term is coming to an end or has ended to ensure that this experience is kept within the sector. 

Come on Board and the Code of Governance are crucial elements in helping to achieve our ambition of being recognised as the best governed organisations in Wales.

The link to the Come on board site is www.comeonboardwales.co.uk

The Code of Governance can be found on CHC’s website: http://chcymru.org.uk/en/board-members/code-of-governance/


Amanda Oliver
Head of Policy and Research

Ein huchelgais: cael ein cydnabod fel y sefydliadau gyda'r llywodraethiant gorau yng Nghymru

Rydym eisiau bod y sector gyda'r llywodraethiant gorau yng Nghymru ac rydym yn galw arnoch i anelu am y safon uchaf o lywodraethiant yn eich sefydliad.

Mae llywodraethiant da yn fwy na set o reolau a phrosesau - mae llywodraethiant da yn fusnes da hefyd. Caiff llywodraethiant da yn awr ei weld fel rhag-amod ar gyfer ateb heriau tlodi, datblygu cynaliadwy a chydlyniaeth gymdeithasol.

Mae llywodraethiant da yn golygu cael byrddau cytbwys ac amrywiol a all arwain eich sefydliad a rheoli risg ar yr un pryd. Fodd bynnag, mae llywodraethiant effeithlon yn ymwneud â mwy na'r bwrdd yn unig. Mae'n sylfaenol am ddiwylliant a ffordd o weithio sydd, os caiff ei reoli'n dda, ei werthuso'n gyson, ei reoleiddio ac wedyn ei ddefnyddio fel llwyfan ar gyfer arloesedd, yn gyfwerth â rhagoriaeth gwasanaeth.

I'ch cefnogi i ddod y sefydliadau a lywodraethir orau yng Nghymru, mae CHC yn cryfhau ein cynnig llywodraethiant i chi.

I gefnogi ein haelodau, mae CHC yn:

• Lansio Cod Llywodraethiant. Cynlluniwyd Cod CHC i gynorthwyo aelodau i ddatblygu strwythurau llywodraethiant sy'n hwyluso newid ymddygiad sydd â'r nod o wella gwasanaeth ar gyfer tenantiaid. Mae'n gosod y safonau ac arferion y mae'n rhaid i fyrddau a'u haelodau gydymffurfio â nhw. 
• Dadlennu ein safle Dewch ar y Bwrdd sydd â'r nod o ddenu ymgeiswyr eithriadol i leoedd gwag ar gyfer aelodau bwrdd yn y sector tai yng Nghymru. Gwyddom fod rhai o'n haelodau wedi ei chael yn anodd recriwtio aelodau bwrdd gyda'r sgiliau a'r profiad sydd eu hangen i roi cyfeiriad strategol a rheoli risg yn effeithlon. Fel canlyniad nid yw rhai aelodau wedi sicrhau y gofynion adnewyddu bwrdd a ystyrir yn arfer da a bu gan eraill leoedd gwag am fwy o amser nag a ddymunid. Mae adran Aros ar y Bwrdd ar gyfer aelodau bwrdd presennol y mae eu tymor ar fin dod i ben neu sydd a ddaeth i ben eisoes i sicrhau y cedwir y profiad yma o fewn y sector. 

Mae Dewch ar y Bwrdd a'r Cod Llywodraethiant yn elfennau hollbwysig wrth helpu i gyflawni ein huchelgais o gael ein cydnabod fel y sefydliadau gyda'r llywodraethiant gorau yng Nghymru.

Y ddolen i wefan Dewch ar y Bwrdd yw www.comeonboardwales.co.uk

Mae'r Cod Llywodraethiant ar gael ar wefan CHC: http://chcymru.org.uk/cy/board-members/code-of-governance/


Amanda Oliver
Pennaeth Polisi ac Ymchwil

Wales’ Collective Energy Switch – helping to reduce energy use

Wales is a small country. One that often punches above its weight, but also one that is able to bring partners together and set up national schemes that can make a real difference.

With awareness of energy costs at its highest, and set to become a key element of the forthcoming General Election campaigns, Wales is embarking on its third collective energy switch.

With the support of the Welsh Government and partners across Wales, the collective energy switch has been developed to ensure the best deal for Welsh householders.

The idea behind collective energy switching is similar to bulk-buying products to get a better price. In a collective energy switch, those interested in receiving a better deal group together as a ‘collective' before approaching the energy suppliers. The larger the number of households that get involved, the more attractive the group of customers are likely to be to the energy suppliers.

The Energy Saving Trust in Wales is working in partnership with Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Councils to deliver Cyd Cymru / Wales Together.

Esther Tallent, Energy Saving Trust’s Advice Centre Manager, said: “Keeping an eye on energy costs and switching supplier when a better deal is available can potentially benefit everyone. Last year, Cyd Cymru / Wales Together helped over 1,500 households in Wales to switch to a cheaper energy tariff, saving £185 per household on average.

“What is also particularly interesting is that those people who are keen to monitor their energy costs are also keen to reduce the energy they use. We therefore take the opportunity, when supporting our registered households, to provide a range of energy saving tips and information about other schemes and grants that can support them.

“The Wales-wide scheme has really captured people’s imaginations and it’s proved to be a great vehicle to help people save energy.”

More information on Cyd Cymru / Wales Together can be found here.

Register online before Sunday 1st March or call 0800 093 5902 before Friday 27th February to ensure that you are part of the next collective. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

Nick Beasley, Marketing and Communications Manager
Energy Saving Trust

“Trust me, I’m a housing professional...”

This week at the Welsh NHS Confederation conference, the menu of topics is interesting and timely. How do we set up our workforce in an integrated way? How do we bring about meaningful change for those we serve? How do we move from rhetoric to reality?

As a policy professional working in the housing association sector in Wales, I’m keenly interested in all of the above. I was recently invited, on behalf of Community Housing Cymru, to contribute to Welsh Government’s “Making Prudent Healthcare Happen” online resource, which is a collection of essays exploring the challenges and opportunities of this new way of working.

The services provided by housing associations, in terms of high quality housing, care and support services, community initiatives, employment and skills, and digital inclusion, are but some examples of the broad work taking place to improve health and work to reduce the number of people requiring the services of their GP or local A&E. The housing association sector and people working within it are able to provide legitimate solutions to the mounting challenges faced by the NHS and, more broadly, public services in Wales.

Housing associations work in some of the most deprived communities in Wales. When we think about how we work as public facing services to combat factors such as unemployment, education, and inactivity which we know have a substantial impact on health and wellbeing, housing associations are a key part of the formula for addressing such issues.

But the carpet is being pulled from underneath us as a housing sector. Salami slicing cuts to vital services such as the Supporting People Programme are threatening to further push people into NHS services who may otherwise have received a preventative, person centred service at a far earlier stage.

The Welsh Government budget for 2015/16 confirmed a £10m cut to Supporting People, reducing it to £124m. In real terms, this means that over 4,000 people will now go without the support they could have accessed if the fund were protected. The £10m cut is the equivalent of annual funding to provide all services for men and women at risk of domestic abuse and young people with support needs in the Vale and Cardiff. In addition, supporting people services provide a well-used referral route for hospital move-on teams, freeing up hospital beds and resources.

At a time when we need a strong “prevention sector” in Wales, we cannot afford an environment of disinvestment that undervalues the key work of organisations delivering Supporting People services.

Although the prudent healthcare work demonstrates the value, the opportunities and the enthusiasm for things to change, these words mean nothing without action from all sides.

If through prudent healthcare we’re entrusting people to look after themselves and to make positive health behaviours part of their regular habits, then it’s also vital to trust the ability of the housing association sector to support and work closely with the NHS in meeting the challenges it faces both now and in the future.

In our recent economic impact report you can see some case studies (p16-18) which demonstrate the prudent nature of the housing associations sector. Taff Housing addressing delayed transfer of care, and Melin Homes working with a collaborative to re-invent Continuing Healthcare packages in Gwent. Consistency is key, however, and we will know we are on the right track once we are able to call projects such as these common practice rather than best.

Matt Kennedy
Policy Officer: Care, Support and Health  

Out of Stock: The Future of Right to Buy in Wales

Right to Buy, introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1980, has helped thousands of people in Wales to buy their social homes at a discounted rate. However, this has come at a detriment to Wales’ struggling social housing stock. Over the lifetime of Right to Buy, more than 130,000 homes have been bought at a discount and removed from the social sector altogether, accounting for a 45% decrease in the number of social homes across Wales. This is something Wales simply cannot afford. Affordable and social housing are a vital safety net for the most vulnerable in our society and, with Wales being disproportionately affected by welfare changes, this safety net is now more important than ever. Right to Buy has contributed to a lack of availability and to the backlog of people languishing on housing lists across Wales.

The Community Housing Cymru Group welcomes Labour’s proposal to end Right to Buy, should they win the next Welsh Assembly elections, with the reservation that this measure is like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted – we have an affordable housing crisis in Wales and ending Right to Buy will not build more homes. Ending Right to Buy needs to be part of a bigger approach to tackling Wales’ chronic housing problem including more use of public land for affordable housing development, more planning freedoms and a sustained programme of investment. The Legislative Competence Order already provides Welsh Ministers with the power to allow councils to refuse Right to Buy requests in areas where there is high demand for affordable housing, as has been done in Carmarthenshire. CHC has signed a Housing Supply Pact with the Welsh Government and will continue to work with members and Welsh Government to deliver the affordable housing target of 10,000 homes by 2016 to help ease the pressures of low housing stock and a backlog of unmet housing need.

To own a home is a great ambition but to have a home to go to is essential – ending Right to Buy will help meet the needs of many but it is only a small part of what is a big problem.

The Welsh Government has opened a consultation on the future of Right to Buy and Right to Acquire which will close on 16th April 2015.

Liam Townsend
Political and Administration Assistant