Delivering Economic Growth and the Reform of Public Services Opportunities for Housing and Local Communities from Localism and the Big Society Wednesday 30th March 2011, York Racecourse Supported by:
Housing organisations have a key role to play in helping to drive local enterprise and economic growth and in building capacity in local communities for people to achieve their aspirations and to influence the services that are provided for them. Government aims for delivery of the Big Society and Localism will drive decentralisation and shift power to local areas and local communities. With plans to boost economic development and renewal dependant on effective local partnerships between local communities and businesses, there are significant opportunities for housing organisations. In order to realise these opportunities, the challenge for housing organisations is to: • • • • • •
Understand the scope and implications of the new agendas. Identify where new business opportunities exist in a period of financial constraint and uncertainty. Identify how to empower and strengthen local communities and also help to deliver improvements to services. Identify how to achieve sustainable neighbourhoods by supporting people to become economically active. Continue to contribute to and drive local regeneration and economic renewal initiatives. Continue to understand and meet housing needs at an appropriate strategic level.
This conference will cover the Government agenda and bring together experts to analyse the implications and opportunities for housing organisations. The conference will help delegates to: • • • • •
Identify what they can do to help foster local enterprise and contribute to local economic growth and renewal capitalising on new freedoms and flexibilities. Understand what they can do to help deliver the Big Society locally and look at practical examples, including hearing from a Big Society Vanguard Community and the Mutuals Pathfinders Programme. Understand the changes that are proposed for the planning system and how this will affect housing organisations. Consider where there are opportunities for your organisation to enable customer involvement in reshaping and redesigning services that make the Big Society work. Explore the key role of housing strategy within Local Enterprise Partnerships in assessing and identifying need.
Who should attend? This event should be attended by Chief Executives, service directors and senior managers responsible for housing, economic development and regeneration, planning and community engagement and involvement. Local authority elected members and tenant board and panel members will also find this conference of interest.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Delegates will be able to record 4.5 Continuing Professional Development hours for attending this conference.
Programme 9.45
Registration and refreshments
10.15 Chair’s introduction Councillor Richard Kemp, Vice Chair, Local Government Association
10.20 Opportunities for housing and local communities from Localism and the Big Society Terrie Alafat, Director of Housing Growth, Markets and Strategy, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) The Decentralisation and Localism Bill published in December will drive decentralisation and shift power to local areas and local communities. This session will: • • •
Outline key aspects of the Bill. Consider implications for housing and local communities. Consider opportunities for housing growth and for housing to contribute to local economic development.
11.00 Housing and local economic growth Alison Thain, Chief Executive, Fabrick Housing Group and Private Sector Partner, Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership Plans to boost local economic development and renewal are dependent on effective local partnerships with local communities and businesses, and there is potential for housing organisations to play an important role capitalising on new freedoms and flexibilities. This session will explore the following: •
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Government has given Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) the opportunity to define their own remit. To what extent the LEPs see housing as part of their role, and how will they be addressing this? What opportunities are there for housing organisations to get involved with LEPs? The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is designed to help areas which have been disproportionately affected by public sector cuts. What will the RGF deliver for the North, and are there opportunities to replace lost Housing Market Renewal funding? Will new incentives such as the New Homes Bonus and the potential return of Business Rates to local government provide new opportunities for economic growth in the North, or merely compound existing regional disparities?
11.40 Professional practice sessions 1. The Mutuals Pathfinder Programme: Mansfield District Council Jim Wilson, Assistant Director, Government and Society, Tribal Vicky Palmer, Senior Tenancy Support Officer, Mansfield District Council The Mutuals Pathfinder Programme is a Cabinet Office pilot as part of the Big Society initiative. Tribal have been appointed to support the programme and are assisting Mansfield District Council in taking forward a plan to move a supported housing service out of Council control into an employee-led mutual. This session will explore the process and next steps for this programme, as well as capturing learning which may be of interest for housing organisations considering a similar approach.
2. The Big Society in action: housing at the heart of local communities Mark Jory, Manager, Developing Active Neighbourhoods, Helena Homes Whilst government plans for the Big Society offer new challenges and opportunities, housing organisations will continue to work in, and with, local communities to build capacity for people to achieve their aspirations and influence services that are provided for them. In this session, Helena Homes will explain how they deliver the Big Society in action, and plan to do so in future, through innovative and award winning examples including: • • •
A social enterprise working with a food co-operative enabling them to become self managing. An employment initiative working with employers to bring jobs and training into our communities. Evolution - work with young people involved in ASB and low level crime.
3. Eden Vanguard pilot area Anton Draper, Big Society Vanguards, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) David Graham, General Manager, Local Government, Amey Julie Monk, Assistant Director of Environmental Services, Eden District Council Andy Lloyd, Community Land Trust Officer, Cumbria Rural Housing Trust Eden District in Cumbria was chosen as one of four Vanguard pilot areas in England as part of the Government’s Big Society agenda. The approach in Eden is about community-led planning. DCLG, Eden District Council and Cumbria Rural Housing Trust have been working closely with communities on the ground resulting in the purchase of a brownfield site and plans for the community to build 12 units of affordable housing. This session will outline: • • • •
The Vanguard pilot initiative. The role and process of each of the parties involved in this work. Lessons that have been learned. Next steps.
12.40 Lunch 13.40 Planning in the Big Society Jon Watson, Independent Consultant and Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute Expert Panel on Planning and Housing Planning is at the heart of the localism agenda; it is central to enabling communities to develop their vision for the future of their area; providing the means for areas and the nation to decide on priorities for investment and to tackle the challenges of climate change, sustainable economic growth and social inequity. This session will: • • • •
Consider the new arrangements for strategic planning between local and national levels. Do these need to be strengthened? Consider the proposed neighbourhood planning system. Will complexities and a lack of resources to support the engagement of communities mean that neighbourhood planning will be as effective as is intended? With the abolition of regional housing targets how will housing need and demand be evidenced and assessed? Will incentives for housing growth prove effective in the North?
14.10 Professional practice sessions 4. Implications of planning reform for housing organisations Jon Watson, Independent Consultant and Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute Expert, Panel on Planning and Housing Proposals to reform the planning system will require a positive relationship between people and the local planning system. This session will explore: • • • •
How proposals for the planning system will affect planning for housing supply. How the new Planning Policy Statement 3 definition of affordable housing will impact on existing and new Section 106 agreements. How the proposals for the Community Infrastructure Levy will impact on affordable housing obligations. The role of housing organisations in community-led neighbourhood planning
5. Eden Vanguard pilot area (repeat of morning session) 6. Transforming public services – co-production is localism in action Merron Simpson, Director, New Realities Limited While rapidly diminishing resources are testing the public sector, some of the changes taking place in the name of localism could provide opportunities to enhance the relationship between citizens and providers of public services - and could actually improve public services as a result. The localism bill and other current developments leave some space for professionals to develop creative work with communities to influence and shape local services, moulding them around citizens. This session takes
an optimistic view and looks at ways in which housing and social care services could be re-oriented and re-organised considering examples of co-production approaches that have been used successfully.
15.10 Refreshments 15.30 Big Society in the North: making it work Charlotte Harrison, Director of Policy and Strategy, Northern Housing Consortium Government aspirations for the Big Society propose a new approach for public service delivery in our communities. In this session Charlotte will explore the particular challenges for making the Big Society work including: • • • • •
Encouraging people to take an active role in communities. Giving communities more powers. Transferring power to local levels. Supporting co-operatives, mutuals and social enterprise. Enabling greater transparency in how public services are delivered.
15.50 Social enterprise in the Big Society
John Bird MBE, Founder and Editor-In-Chief, The Big Issue John Bird is an inspirational business leader with an outstanding record of using business as a tool for social change, and he created probably the biggest social business in the world: The Big Issue. At a time when Localism and the Big Society presents challenges to deliver services differently in future, John will offer an authoritative and fresh insight into how this may be achieved with some original perspectives on the interaction of business and society.
16.15 Chairs closing remarks 16.20 Close of conference
Delivering Economic Growth and the Reform of Public Services Opportunities for Housing and Local Communities from Localism and the Big Society Wednesday 30th March 2011, York Racecourse
Early booking discount: book before 4th March 2011
Delegate fees Northern Housing Consortium Member
£199
£179
Non Member
£249
£229 All delegate fees are shown excluding VAT.
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