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ITEM EX10 - ANNEX 1

EXECUTIVE - 1 JUNE 2004

SOUTH EAST REGIONAL HOUSING STRATEGY

South East Regional Housing Board Green Paper, A Step Forward in Housing:

Consultation Questions

Affordability

1. Is it appropriate for future strategies to seek to concentrate a significant proportion of funds for new affordable provision within the three regional growth area, and other strategic sites, or should the funding be more closely targeted to areas of greatest need
2. Should the definition of affordable housing be limited to subsidised social rented and shared ownership accommodation, or should it also include low cost market accommodation for rent or purchase?
3. What contribution can S106 agreements and tighter planning policies make to increase the subsidy available for affordable housing? How should that contribution be allocated between tenures? How can we ensure that increased pressure for subsidy for affordable housing does not choke off development?
4. Will a substantial increase in overall housing provision in the region, through the South East Plan, bring about a step change in affordability, i.e. more housing to meet demand with less inflationary impacts on prices and affordability?
5. What should the balance be between investment in home ownership and affordable rented homes?

Key Workers

1. How should scarce public resources be divided between key workers and other groups in housing need?
2. Who should lead on defining broader and more local definitions of key workers, e.g. Local Strategic Partnerships, Regional Housing Board following more detailed research, local Economic Partnerships, other?
3. What responsibility do employers have to assist in tackling problems of recruitment and retention?

Sub-Regions, Housing Markets and Growth Areas

1. How quickly should we move towards defining sub-regions?
2. What should sub-regions be based on?
3. Is it feasible to operate a multi-faceted approach, without the entire region being divided into sub-regions, at least at the outset?
4. What responsibilities should be delegated to sub-regions?
5. How should sub-regions relate to Growth Areas and other major sites crossing LA boundaries?

Housing Supply

1. Will the housing sector (defined in a broad sense) be able to deliver more housing in the south east? If not, what more needs to be done to ensure that planned provision relates into homes?
2. What role (if any) should the Board itself play in helping to increase the overall supply of housing? If the Board was to take one key initiative what should it be?
3. Are there further actions that could be taken by those organisations that make up the Board?

Rural Housing

1. What is the region’s assessment of rural housing need?
2. How much extra funding is needed and from where can it be acquired?
3. What criteria should be used for targeting funding: where should it be targeted spatially?
4. How should the process include the local rural communities?
5. What new solutions are needed for particular areas e.g. the proposed National Parks?

Decent Homes

1. How should funding be targeted (a) for social stock) (b) for private sector stock? And how will this rank alongside new provision?
2. If a local authority uses its own resources, what other services will suffer?
3. What more could be done to tackle the problem/lever in more money?
4. How feasible is a loan scheme and what are the benefits of a sub-regional approach?
5. For social housing what responsibility should the Board have to ensure funding is available (e.g. gap funding for negative stock transfers)?

Private Sector Renewal

1. How important is it for the Board to set aside ring fenced funding for private sector renewal set against other priorities such as increasing the supply of affordable homes?
2. If it is important, how much? Should it be a competitive process/? How should such funding be targeted?
3. What more could be done to tackle the problem/lever in more money?
4. How can private landlords be encouraged to maintain and improve their properties?

Homelessness

1. Irrespective of a local authority’s performance on tackling homelessness should the Board increase its investment to ensure greater funding is provided to authorities with the highest homelessness problems?
2. What can be done to improve the prevention of homelessness so that the call on funds be reduced?
3. How should homeless households be integrated into new or existing developments to create and maintain sustainable communities?
4. How can standard of temporary accommodation be improved while targets are met?

Supported Housing

1. How should the housing of vulnerable people be administered?
2. How should it be funded within the south east to maintain stability and sustainability?
3. How can there be a recognition of the pressures that are being placed on Health, Social Care and Housing?

Neighbourhood Management

1. How is the objective of mixed tenure/socio-economic balance to be met in the south east?
2. Do the outcomes of choice based lettings justify use across the region?
3. Should Housing Associations play a greater role in community development and if so, how is this to be achieved?
4. Where stock is very dispersed, should Housing Associations look to service level agreements with each other to ensure locally focussed approaches?
5. How can community involvement in new development be enhanced?
6. What more can be done to co-ordinate statutory and voluntary services and funding streams to comprehensively meet community needs?

Crime

1. How are community safety agencies working together and sharing information?
2. What is the involvement of communities in this process and how are they being re-assured about the action being taken?
3. How is good community safety practice being mainstreamed into the work of housing providers and other community safety agencies?

Equality and Diversity

1. How do we ensure fair access to affordable housing for disadvantaged people?
2. How should housing providers provide responsive services to BME people in areas with relatively small BME populations?
3. In terms of Equality and diversity what two or three groups should the Regional Housing Strategy give priority attention to?
4. What housing related services should be provided for asylum seekers and by travellers, and by whom?
5. What are the community cohesion issues in the south east to which the Housing Strategy can make a positive contribution, and how?

Quality Design and Sustainable Construction

1. What more can be done to promote high quality design and sustainability so that people in the region recognise and demand high standards in both traditionally and non-traditionally built homes?
2. What would be the best mechanism to encourage planners, designers, architects, developers and others to explore how they can best work together at an early stage in the development process?
3. What contribution do you think modern methods of construction can make to the provision of housing (for sale and subsidised) in your locality?
4. How can negative perceptions of higher density development be overcome?

Sustainable Construction and the Environment

1. Is eco-homes ‘v good’ achievable now, if not when could it be achieved?
2. Who are the key decision makers, what role can they play?
3. How do we raise awareness with consumers?
4. How can we galvanise the market?
5. What would help overcome any objections?

Skills and Training

1. How will local contractors be involved if national contractors monopolise the contracts?
2. What leverage do the Board, and local authorities have to force companies to undertake training and development as part of the contract?
3. Can small contractors be given greater financial assistance and support to take on apprentices. If so, by whom?
4. How can larger developers be involved in proactively training their sub-contractors?

Investment Priorities

1. Do you agree that the top priority is to tackle housing supply and affordability?
2. How should funding be balanced between new affordable housing provision (currently through RSLs) and decent homes (funded through local authorities): in the short term (4/5 years) and longer terms (5 years onwards)?
3. Should funding be directed to strategic sites where a higher number and range of new homes can be achieved?
4. On what basis should funds be allocated to local authorities (i.e. needs and/or performance)? Should it be a competitive process?
5. Should some funding be allocated to the local authorities in the region to enable direct local provision in response to locally identified needs?

Supporting Innovation and Good Practice

1. Do you support the idea of an innovation and best practice fund?
2. If so, what might it support and how should it be allocated?