The Social
Housing Grant is the main form of investment used by the Housing
Corporation to invest in affordable homes. It is a grant used mainly for
funding the difference between what a Housing Association invests in
affordable homes (from borrowing or from revenue on its activities) and
the amount of the actual building, acquisition and property management
costs. During the period 2004-06, the £3.3 billion of public subsidy
administered through the Approved Development Programme (ADP) will be
invested in housing schemes built or acquired by housing associations to
provide affordable homes.
The ODPM
defines social housing as comprising those dwellings owned by RSLs
(Housing Associations) and Local Authorities. Affordable housing,
however, is subsidised or "low" cost housing of any tenure.
Figures for social housing (usually rented accommodation) can be derived
from the ODPM tables, but this grouping should not be confused with
affordable housing, which cannot be derived from the tables and is less
easy to define in statistical terms, particularly as it includes a mix
of new build and ‘rehabilitation’.
Affordable
homes are not just social houses for rent, they also include low cost
ownership. Although the majority of the Housing Corporation’s grant is
committed to rented homes in the social sector, low cost home ownership
schemes such as Homebuy are becoming more popular as more and
more householders wish to own their homes.
In order to
address further the undersupply of affordable housing, the largest ever
investment programme to cover the period 2006 – 08 will be
administered under the renamed National Approved Development Programme.
In a move designed to give the public better value for money, this will
be the first time that this programme has been opened up to unregistered
bodies in addition to Housing Associations.
Although
targets will continue to be set at a national level, there is a
continuing trend to set strategies at a regional and local level which
is now the responsibility of the Regional Housing Boards.
Supply chain
efficiency will be a key requirement for timely and cost-effective
delivery of affordable homes and, fundamental to this efficiency, will
be the use of modern methods of construction. Of the 23,398 affordable
homes completed in 2004/05, it is estimated that 56% or 13,185 units
were constructed using MMC. London and the South East regions have the
dominant share totalling 7,362 units, or 56% of the national total.
The
Affordable Homes programme is currently the main focus for the use of
MMC in housing, but usage is growing rapidly. In addition to the above
figures, a further 6,315 market homes used MMC giving a total use of MMC
as a construction method of 19,500 housing units in England.
The share of
MMC will continue to grow as Government investment is dependent on
greater use of MMC. Timber frame currently represents the main segment
of MMC, but steel frame buildings are also popular, particularly in
high-storey buildings.
Additional
housing will require a significant amount of land and previously
developed land offers significant opportunities. The re-use of
brownfield land helps meet key Government targets for 60% of new housing
to be built on brownfield land, with English Partnerships now operating
a major role in terms of using Government-owned land for major
affordable house building programmes.
This is
currently illustrated in their role in the £60k housing competition
with the allocation of several sites to the potential winners of the
competition to design innovative housing schemes which will incorporate
dwellings with a build cost of £60k. The competition is in its final
stages with building set to begin in early 2006.
In respect
of new homes, the Housing Corporation has used the Ecohomes system of
environmental rating to drive up standards. In 2005, they will require a
‘good’ rating and in 2006, a ‘very good’ rating on the new homes
they fund. At the same time, they will contribute to the development of
the new Code for Sustainable Building.
