Affordable Homes for Key Workers: TUC Congress 2023 Composite 07

 

This is the speech I made as a UNISON delegate at last months TUC Congress about "Affordable Homes for Key Workers". 

President, Congress, John Gray, from UNISON speaking in support of Composite 7. 

This motion highlights the profound impact of the housing crisis on all key workers across both public and private sectors.  My day job is being a housing worker London for a large Housing Association. I work in a regional team providing housing services to over 23,000 homes and to many vulnerable residents spread across North London.

In my own particular team, why is it Congress, that I am one of the very few who lives in the area we serve, North London?

Hardly any of the others are able to afford to live in the region and they have to undertake expensive and exhausting commutes before and after, a demanding days’ work.

While inadequate pay is one important reason, the main reason that I can live in North London is simply my age. Despite my youthful looks, I was lucky enough to be working in London at a time when a housing worker could afford to buy a one-bedroom flat in the late 1980s, on a multiple of just over 3x their annual wage. 

But due to house inflation vastly outstripping pay, there is no way that my colleagues on current wages could afford to buy the very same flat in 2023 since this same flat would require a multiple of nearly 9x their salary.

As a UNISON NEC member for all Housing Association and Charity workers, I know this is not just a “London” thing. In all our regions and nations, the housing crisis is worsening and blighting the experience of citizens and key workers, especially the low paid.

Congress, this composite recognises the devastating impact of the crisis on the provision of critical services across the board, and how this is having a detrimental effect on recruitment and retention, especially in services such as health and social care.

UNISON evidence shows that rising rents, mortgage rates and transport costs are putting rocket boosters on the cost-of-living crisis. This is pushing people into financial hardship, poverty and homelessness, with many having to cut back on food and essentials.

The churn of our members who are forced to leave high-cost housing areas is putting a strain on key workers, production and on service delivery.

Congress, the housing secretary Michael Gove has admitted that the Government should build more homes of every type, each year, especially social homes, but it is failing to build sufficient numbers of these homes, which is so desperately needed.

That is why we must step up pressure on the Government and political parties to take action to resolve the housing crisis by committing to building more social and more genuinely affordable homes in their manifestos for the next General Election. We have to be honest that this will require money, this will require government subsidy.

This should be at the heart of any strategy to alleviate the housing crisis.

Thank you, Congress, please support this motion".

"The loans that have left councils impoverished and saddled with debt"

Check out this article on Friday in The Guardian about Housing Associations and Councils which have been ripped off by the Banks over the toxic LOBO loans they were mis-sold. I have an obvious interest and concern in both organisations.

This is a national disgrace but since there are time limits on possible legal action we all need to act quickly. Sticking your head in the sand and doing nothing is not an option.

Councils and Housing Associations need to join up together to sue the banks and advisors.
 
"What looked like an attractive deal has been catastrophic for many social landlords and local authorities - and it’s the people at the bottom who suffer...

For many councils and housing associations, the wolf is at the door. In Spanish and Portuguese, lobo is one word for the fearsome canine. It’s fitting then, that the latest instrument of predatory capitalism to attract attention – lender option borrower option agreements – are called lobo loans for short.

The loans, typically long-term from 40 to 70 years, were taken up by as many as 63% of local authorities in the UK, as a way of funding services post-recession. For housing associations, many considered lobo loans the only funding option given the shrinking of grants: the less stable associations had committed to development contracts, but were starved of cash.

But there’s a catch: there’s always a catch. The terms may have looked attractive, but for a reason. Many local authorities took a gamble when taking out lobo loans: if base interest rates rose (and most people assumed they would), they’d get a good deal. But they didn’t rise, and many local authorities didn’t get a good deal.

And, as the name suggests, the loan terms aren’t set in stone: the lender’s option could be to hike fixed rates at predetermined dates where they are permitted to alter the loan facility. The borrower’s option is to accept that rate, or repay the loan.

In 2009, 30 housing associations took out lobos after the financial industry took to selling them to local authorities and social landlords on an industrial scale. Borrowers thought that they were insuring themselves against possible high interest rates, but the derivatives built into the loans meant that the costs were linked to market performance, so borrowers actually pay more when rates fall.

Now, the likelihood of housing associations building more, while saddled with so much debt, is looking unlikely and local authorities have essentially shot themselves in the foot.
Newham council, the Financial Times reports, took out 27 loans at a face value of £563m. The latest fair value of the loans now puts them at £959m, with interest rates in excess of 7% on some loans.

The Evening Standard reports Thames Valley Housing in London has had to renegotiate the terms of its loans, and many borrowers are facing renegotiation or the prospect of paying high break fees, all of which essentially pour council taxpayers’ and tenants’ cash down the plughole.

What looked like an attractive deal has been catastrophic for many social landlords and local authorities - and at a time when councils are facing cuts at a level not seen for a generation, and housing associations are struggling to build homes and are being battered by cuts.

The loans should never have been sold: they are extremely complex financial instruments, and pricing them is far beyond the capabilities of housing associations and local authorities. But also, the use of derivatives by local authorities is potentially unlawful, and has been since the 1989 Hammersmith and Fulham swaps case. Council leaders and MPs have written to Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Treasury select committee calling for an investigation into potential mis-selling.

Treasury guidance stipulates that “public sector organisations may borrow from private sector sources only if the transaction delivers better value for money for the Exchequer as a whole.” It’s difficult to see how the lobo loans scandal has done anything more than impoverish housing associations and local authorities, while once again lining the pockets of certain large banks.

The most dispiriting point is this: the financial industry has learned nothing from the crash. For a brief period when the global economy melted down in 2008, many people genuinely believed the industry would be forced to change.

Unregulated, it was left to package up toxic bonds and brag about excess. Surely, governments would impose regulation, and a cowed banking sector would follow suit and rein in the excesses that had caused banks to blow up? Neither happened. So, yet again, we find ourselves facing a financial crisis, this time in local authority and housing finance, and rather than see a resolution, we’ll just see the people at the bottom suffer".

The Housing Crisis (and what to do about it) TUC Congress 2015

 This was my speech I made late on Monday afternoon.

"Congress, President, John Gray UNISON moving Composite 2 on the Housing Crisis.

Congress, housing is a fundamental human right yet successive UK governments have failed to ensure that its citizens are adequately housed. The result is that the nation faces a desperate crisis - an acute shortage of housing, overcrowding and homelessness.

Decades of under-investment in housing have led to 1.5m fewer social and affordable homes for rent. This has pushed up rents and house prices and squeezed the incomes of citizens, with young people and families with children struggling to find a decent and affordable home to rent or buy.

As a consequence of the housing crisis, the nation faces the huge task of building at least 250,000 homes every single year to meet housing demand, but less than half of these homes are actually being built.

The shortage of social housing and the un-affordability of homeownership has also seen the private rented sector fail to deliver. We know that young people in particular have had a poor housing deal. Many of them are trapped in a cycle of expensive insecure, short-term lets in very poor and even unsafe housing.

While Government cuts to housing benefits and soaring rents have left thousands of people facing a housing benefit shortfall and at risk of rent arrears, evictions,homelessness and widespread financial hardship. In London, where I am a housing worker, welfare reforms have led to the social cleansing of many families who have fallen behind their rent payment. In England, homelessness has increased by 9% since 2014 and across the nation, 1.6m children live in temporary housing.

Congress, given the evidence that the number of social homes has declined dramatically, and given that the Government’s 2012 promise for 1-1 replacement of  stock sold under Right to Buy has been broken, it is incredible that the Government has announced proposals to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants in England. This will mean a worsened housing crisis with less social housing available.

The policy will also undermine the financial ability of housing associations to build and develop genuinely affordable housing, and it will also undermine the finances of local authorities forced to sell off ‘high value’ council housing to support the extension of the policy.

Congress, given the deepening housing crisis - soaring housing costs, reduced benefits, and a depleted social housing stock - there is clearly an urgent need for housing policies that recognise the need for more social and affordable housing, not less.

Government housing policies including ‘Right to Buy’, ‘Starter Homes’, ‘Help to Buy’ and ‘Pay to Stay’ do nothing to tackle the core housing problem, which is essentially a crisis of supply and affordability across all housing markets.

Their policies will likely lead to the death of the social housing sector as they risk taking money from it to support limited homeownership and sub market renting - and as a consequence there will be fewer social homes at social rents available, leaving thousands of people on low and middle incomes struggling to find a decent home they can afford to live in.

Congress, the solution. While UNISON is pleased that Jeremy Corbyn has just appointed John Healey as Shadow Housing Minister we can't just wait until 2020. The Government needs to significantly invest in housing now and commit to a national public housebuilding programme with local authorities and housing associations playing a significant role in its delivery to ensure we build the homes people need at prices and rents they can afford.

This composite sets out a programme of work that will enable us to campaign for further measures to tackle the housing crisis.

Such as

• Developing a coherent and consistent housing policy 

• Allowing local authorities to be set free to borrow to invest in council housing 

• Reform welfare policy and enable the transition from “benefits to bricks”

• Effectively regulate the private rented sector and controls on rent

Such a programme makes sense economically. Building more homes of all types, will help create jobs and boost the economy. It will also reduce the cost of housing overall for everyone, leading to a lower Housing Benefit bill.

It will ensure people have access to a decent and secure housing that will give them the stability and security they need to raise their families in strong local communities. Finally, Congress. It is the right thing to do too, the mark of a civilised nation is one that ensures that its citizens are adequately housed.

Congress please support this composite. I move".

This issue touched a nerve and there was a wide ranging and at times passionate debate on the composite which ended in Congress voting unanimously in favour.

One Housing Group Sack Union Steward for leading Strike

Sign the petition here demanding that Unite Steward, Bryan Kennedy, is reinstated after being sacked last week by One Housing Group.

Bryan led a strike at One Housing Group over pay cuts last year.

Anyone, who has had any dealing with  Bryan, would not believe the rubbish that One Housing Group is putting out about him and why they have sacked him. Remember that One Housing Group has "form" for victimising union reps.

Bryan has spent his entire career in social housing and has a young family to support. His sacking is further evidence on how completely out of touch and control the Housing Association sector is becoming.  A future Labour government must end the cronyism and corruption that is epidemic in far too many associations, big and small.

Those Associations who have managed to maintain their principals and remain accountable and true to their social housing traditions must take action to distance themselves from the rogue elements who are in my view going to bring about the downfall of the whole sector.

We cannot trust these people anymore with public money.

"Benefit cuts put frontline housing staff in danger"

A good article in Guardian Housing network page.  Except Councils and Housing Associations shouldn't just wring their hands about the obvious and foreseeable increased risks to their staff .

They should be actively consulting with staff and trade unions on revised risk assessments and violence at work procedures.

Health and Safety enforcement agencies (the HSE for Councils and Councils for Housing Associations) should also be making sure that staff safety is being taken seriously.

Housing managers do not realise that they face imprisonment and unlimited fines for serious breaches of health and safely laws (and that they could even lose their homes since the employer and insurance providers cannot pay such fines).

"Housing providers have become de facto enforcers of many benefit cuts and are finding themselves at greater at risk of harm.
 
The recent shooting of a housing association employee and bailiff during an eviction should be of real concern to housing providers, and a reminder that our frontline workers often have to deal with the consequences of policies created in Westminster.

Reform of our welfare system was long overdue, but the pursuit of savage cuts is having a profound impact. Housing associations are well-placed to understand and explain the real effects of welfare reform in action. This is an important part of our role; acting as advocates for our customers, many of whom are not able to speak out for themselves, is one of the ways in which we can influence policy and support social justice.

Benefit cuts are putting many people in severe debt and, as that debt is often owed to their landlord, an increase in evictions is inevitable.

Housing providers are not the authors of these policies, nor their advocates, but have become the de facto enforcers of the new regime, and it's our colleagues who are having to bear the consequences of people's anger.

'Why are you doing this to me?'

At Curo housing association, our money management adviser has had several meetings recently with tenants in tears who, faced with benefit cuts and caps, don't know how they will pay their rent or clear their existing rent arrears. A question often asked is: "Why are you doing this to me?"
The adviser told me: "In my experience, the tenant will pay the creditor who shouts the loudest, leaving shortfalls elsewhere to cover the rest of essential household expenditure."

As housing associations do not chase debts as aggressively as payday lenders, banks or mobile phone companies, rent arrears can build up as tenants fail to prioritise rent payment when faced with threatening notices from others.

We will do all we can for customers who turn to us for help, but we also have to deal with the realities of running a business and have a responsibility to safeguard the financial viability of our organisations, for the sake of all our customers and for those who will need affordable homes in the future. Evictions are an inevitable consequence of the welfare reforms, and it is our staff who come face to face with the backlash.

We're dealing with rising numbers of people wishing to move, increased arrears and greater demand for debt advice. On an individual level, where the real story is, we're seeing greater levels of anxiety and stress as people, many of them vulnerable, try to cope with serious hardship.

We are concerned for those who are really struggling to make ends meet, but also concerned for our own frontline staff who put themselves at risk of harm through their association with policies they had no part in forming.

Victor da Cunha is chief executive of Curo housing association".

Jack Dromey MP to address UNISON Housing Association Branch

The Greater London Housing Association branch Labour Link has held a number of well attended meetings in the past with Housing Minsters (the good old days) and Shadow Housing speakers. This year Jack has kindly agreed to attend but we are hoping to increase participation by inviting non Labour Link members of my branch and my employer.

Jack is an excellent speaker, and well worth listening to regardless of venue. Invite only.
 

Strike to Defend Your Pension: 30 November 2011

This morning I received by email new posters and leaflets about the UNISON strike action on 30 November.  Yesterday I met up with UNISON Housing Association Branch staff and our regional officer to plan our response.  I am also
organising a branch strike committee
meeting for next week.

Good news today that the School Headmasters unions have voted for strike action on 30 November to save their pensions. This is I understand the first strike action by Heads in over 100 years.

There are at least 13 different unions planning to take action.

So far we are planning at least two branch picket lines. One in North London and one in South London. UNISON will be calling out members to strike in a number of Housing Associations. We are also asking for support and solidarity action for those who are have not been currently balloted.

There may be more picket lines but for many members this will be the first time they have ever been on strike. So it is vital that we make sure that we hold organised and effective pickets. I am also trying to help co-ordinate action within my employer for those members who are not part of my branch and those in our sector who are in other unions. All this in a fragmented workplace and multi-employer branch/region is complicated and difficult... but not impossible. Who said life had to be easy?

After the pickets we will encourage everyone to attend the regional rallies taking place up and down the country.

Last chance to vote to protect your pension

The UNISON ballot on strike action to protect pensions closes 10am on Thursday 3rd November.

So tomorrow is the last chance to vote.  If you haven't voted yet then please dig out the ballot paper you have left on the shelf, under the coffee table or in the kitchen drawer "for later".

Put an "X" in the "YES" box put it in the post paid envelope and make sure you get it into a letter box in the morning.  Nuf said.

(picture of Housing Association members in Surrey supporting the Strike Ballot)

Got a Job? Now Join the Union

Picture is from a lunchtime UNISON Housing Association recruitment event held yesterday in Norwich.

The aim was not only to recruit more members but most importantly local Stewards and contacts.  Branch members had put up posters and sent out email "flyers" including an update on this year's pay offer and other employer specific issues.

We had a lot of interest, talked to people, gave out literature and had two volunteers to become UNISON Stewards (one newly recruited and one existing member).

The last UNISON recruitment event in Norwich that I took part in was with the (then) local Labour MP, Charles Clarke, on the "Importance of Joining a trade union".

I'm in picture with Eastern Region organisers Heather Cripps and Jon Hartley.  Picture taken by RO Brian Lynch.

UNISON NDC 2011: Building a Future for Public Housing

These are some of my notes from the UNISON housing fringe on Monday evening. The meeting was chaired by Heather Wakefield, Head of Local Government. Other speakers were Lord Whitty (Housing Voice) and Mo Baines (APSE). I was billed for the first time as “NEC”.

Aim: What are housing associations up to and how will they respond to government policy?

Does the so called “affordable rent” model make any sense? Is it viable? Will it work for housing associations and those seeking decent, affordable homes?

Key points Housing Associations are operating in a difficult financial environment. Almost ££50 billion of debt is held by larger housing associations (with more than a thousand homes), £18 billion will be paid through re-financing. Housing associations see re-financing as a threat, as rates on new loans are likely to be higher than those currently held.

Under the new system housing associations will get, on average, about £32k per new home, instead of £80k that they received previously. They will be expected to make the difference by charging higher rents – at 80 per cent of the market rate – and use the increase in rents to support more borrowing. The government hope that this model, based on lower grant per home but increased borrowing, will deliver 150,000 new affordable homes by 2015. Remember this is not only on new build but could be also for existing stock.

A recent survey by Inside Housing magazine suggest that while the majority of the largest associations will make bids to gov to build homes under the new system, the extra risk and borrowing is leading to associations scaling back development plans. We will know more in July, when the Homes and Communities Agency awards contracts.

It is also becoming blatantly obvious that this new funding system doesn’t work for all regions. Whilst the difference between existing social rent (which as a rule of thumb is about 50% of market rent) and an 80% of market affordable rent in the South East is in the region of £60 per week, in the Midlands and the North it ranges from about £17 to about £25. Unsurprisingly such associations aren’t likely to generate the kinds of revenue that would enable the model to work.

UNISON, as a housing union, operating in an environment in which half of the public housing is delivered by housing associations and half by local authorities and ALMOs, has to work out two sets of issues. The first set of issues are will this so called affordable rent, based on 80 per cent of market rents, will deliver more decent homes for our members and their families, and working people on low to middle incomes people more broadly.

We know from internal surveys that more of our members are in the private rented sector than the social rented sector, and that this where most people who can’t afford to buy now find themselves. Would this group of people see Affordable Rent as a better option than the private rented sector? How would it work alongside traditional social housing?

As yet we don’t the answers, but we can see problems. In London the average housing association rent on a two bedroom property is £102 per week. An Tory unaffordable rent would be £248. How many low paid workers could afford that? Clearly this is unsustainable – especially when considered alongside cuts to Local Housing Allowance. (housing benefit)

The second set of issues does the new funding system impact on the sustainability and character of housing associations as employers of our members and potential members. Can employers make the new arrangements work in a way which guarantees their survival, and the jobs of our members? Is the business model this implies one that necessarily entails a tougher environment for people at work in housing associations? We have the private sector companies claiming they could save money by managing staff and estates on behalf of housing association. Of course this will be by the slashing and burning of our terms and conditions.

Its already tough out there, with pay cuts and attacks on terms and conditions. Would this make things worse? But as well as a threat is this also an opportunity? Can we organise around this new model in a way that is appealing to housing workers?

Again its early days. The signs are that everyone is cautious about trying to implement this system in the current economic climate. The least we can do, as a union that wants to grow in the sector, with a wider commitment to the provision of affordable housing, is to watch carefully how these issues develop over the months ahead and be prepared to speak out and act as necessary.

Notting Hill Housing Dispute Protest

Yesterday there was the first of 4 planned protests outside the Headquarters of Notting Hill Housing Group by UNISON members who are furious at their CEO who has attacked family friendly policies and terms.  Non members and agency staff joined the protest.  The next one will start 12.30 today and will continue for rest of the week.  Check out "Altogether Worse" for further details.

Notting Hill Housing Trust: Strike Action Back on!

Following last month’s successful strike UNISON had suspended any further action while trying patiently to negotiate and reach an agreement with Notting Hill Housing Group to resolve the dispute. Despite this act of good faith senior management are still refusing to allow UNISON to even speak to its Board and are still refusing any attempt at mediation via ACAS.

You do wonder what is the point of such nominally “independent” Boards when they are so scared of going against their CEO that they will not even listen to their employee representatives? What is wrong with having genuine two-way conversations? Isn’t it supposed to be “good to talk”? Why do they only listen to their Executive team's hugely expensive "remuneration consultants" - but not their own staff reps???

No wonder so many people believe that governance in our sector is so poor and pathetic. Many Housing Association Boards (not all) are accused of being undemocratic, unresponsive self perpetuating oligarchies controlled by over paid and under supervised CEO’s. Where there are no real or meaningful “checks and balances”.  These organisations will eventually fail. Unless this is changed we will face further “Project Jerusalem's".

The Chief Executive at Notting Hill, £192k per year, £16k per month, £3,692 per week, Kate Davies, has even gone on record that the savage cuts to family friendly policies and staff terms and conditions have not gone far enough!

To come out with such stuff while on such high pay in what is suppose to be a “not for profit” charity proves to me that these people think they are some sort of superior human beings or class above the rest of us mere low wage earning proles.

Check out further background of the dispute here, here and here. Lobbies will take place next week and further significant strike action is being organised.

Housing associations are supposed to be here for the long term. They produce financial plans and projections in great detail for the next 30 years. I don’t think that people understand that perhaps the biggest threat to the long term survival of these organisations is not getting wrong a possible 30 year projected cash flow.  The real risk is the lack of any meaningful or accountable governance in the organisation towards all its stakeholders.

I have always argued that organisations and management teams such as Notting Hill who treat their staff as rubbish will also treat their residents in the same dismissive manner and will have no long term future.

Some more info from UNISON press release:

1. UNISON’s Housing Association Branch represents approximately 3,500 members in the Greater London Region and the South East. UNISON Members at Notting Hill Housing Trust took successful strike action on 15th March.

2. NHHT manages 25,000 homes in London and the South East. According to its own website NHHT has an asset base of £1,317m and an annual turnover of £167m. Group reserves on 2008/2009 totalled £188m and its operating profit was £19.8m. In June 2009 the group absorbed 3 smaller BME housing associations – Presentation, Pathway and Croydon People’s.

3. 14% of staff took paid carers’ leave in 2008/09 at a total cost to the organisation of £40,000. Chief Executive, Kate Davies total pay and reward package for the year 2008 to 31March 2009 was £192,000.

4. Paul Hodgkinson is the Chair of NHHT’s Board. He is also a Trustee of Parenting UK, a national charity that sets the policy for parenting focus in the UK. Respect for cultural diversity and the different needs of men and women within the context of human rights for all, is one of Parenting UK’s key principles.

East London Sisters & Brothers in UNISON

Picture is from Thursdays UNISON Annual meeting at Old Ford Housing Association in Bow, East London. It was a really successful, positive and constructive meeting. We elected 4 more UNISON reps to the local organising committee.

We concentrated on real bread and butter trade union issues such as pay, job evaluations, protections, tupe and health & safety.

The campaign for respect and dignity by our branch members in Notting Hill Housing Group was also debated and they were fully supported by the meeting. Their fight is frankly our fight.

In the Labour movement you can become rather cynical and disillusioned about the value of such physical meetings. This one worked. The measure of success being that I reckon members will want to return to a future meeting. We are aiming to have similar local UNISON organising committees in all parts of the wider Group.

UNISON National Housing Seminar

I had an early start this morning to take the train to Birmingham for this annual seminar on social housing issues. There were over 120 UNISON members from Council housing departments, ALMOs and Housing Associations from all over the UK.

This is UNISON at its very best. Bringing together union members from different regions and employers, arranging top class speakers while encouraging us to make contacts to share good ideas and experiences.

London delegates sat together for the main speeches and presentations. We then went off to workshops (I went to the Housing association one and we came back into the main hall in the afternoon). I’ll try and post separately on the workshops and sessions I attended.

Housing use to be a political backwater, especially so called “social housing”. The cult of “owner occupation” use to mean everything. Any other tenure was considered as 4th rate. Things are changing.

During lunch time I sat at a table with Edinburgh Council UNISON members, one of whom use to work for the Citizen Rights Office where I first started my “career” in housing. There had also been some confusion during registration since I was listed as being in UNISON Northern region. It turns out there are two “John Gray” UNISON housing activists. I sought him out and met up with my Newcastle long lost cousin. How lucky and blessed the union is that there are two of us! Not least since we both agreed that we can blame the other John Gray for things. We swopped our regional name badges. Both of us are obviously steeped in the finest traditions of British local government.

At the end of the day there was an open forum for comments. I reminded folk about the disgraceful wages being paid to Housing Chief Executives. In particular the £327, 000 being paid to the Anchor Trust CEO (formerly “Help the Aged Housing association”) who is also trying to de-recognise their trade unions. How can these people be so shameless?

I’ll post further stuff as and when. If anyone else who was there wants to contribute then email me.

Picture is of Joseph Chamberlain, the Tory municipal "socialist" Mayor of Birmingham.

Housing Associations are “Public Bodies”

Many housing associations appear to be in shock after a High Court ruling that their tenants can now take their landlords to a Judicial Review in a similar way as local authority tenants.

Inside Housing this week has headlines such as “Ruling threatens HA independence” and “Landlords teeter on brink..” while the normally sensible editor, Kate Murray, has an article titled “Freedom fighters face new threat”?

I am not sure that this is actually the end of the world, as we now know it. No doubt if possible, there will be some sort of appeal and maybe a clause or two in the Housing and Regeneration Bill could change things. However, very significant sums of public money are spent by housing associations on services, so having the possible brake of a judicial review, from time to time, should not be dismissed with so much “doom and gloom”.

Liberty legal officer is quoted in 24dash.com as saying "The public will be delighted to see that human rights aren't just for criminal suspects but for everyone." Which I think is equally OTT.

My Contribution on Motion 43 - Housing debate

(I thought I will post this - Note on the day because conference was running out of time we had to cut it down to 2 minutes from 3)

Chair (vice-president), Conference - John Gray, London Housing Association Branch – speaking in favour of motion 43 as amended.

Conference – I think it was the Labour Party Cabinet minister, Tony Crosland, who 40 years ago, described the way that housing finance in this country was organised as a “dogs dinner”. Little has fundamentally changed since, so I am sure that everyone will welcome the long overdue review of the HRA.

I spoke to conference yesterday about the rubbish pay and conditions that many (not all) housing association staff experience. After speaking at the packed housing lunchtime fringe I found out that While UNISON members in housing associations earn far more on average than non-members, some 25% earn less than £17,000 per year; some earn less than £6 per hour; 20% have either no occupational pension or a poor quality money purchase scheme; 1 in 6 have had no training in the last 12 months! So the branch will be pleased that this motion is proposing some action on this.

One of the chief reasons for this poor pay is that many HA either do not have a JE (I repeat no not have a JE scheme or it is grossly inadequate as well as being potentially discriminative. Most schemes have no input at all from staff side representatives. This is not only a basic TU concern but also a good governance issues. Since for fairly obvious reasons it is vital that the pay of management is properly and fairly arrived at. So we should support the call for a national JE scheme for Housing association staff.

I also support the recent moves by the Labour Government to block HA’s becoming Public Limited Companies with shares quoted on the stock exchange. A small number of CEO in large HA have been quoted in the housing press as saying they would do it if they could. So it is important that we keep a sharp on this. God forbid if there is a change of government.

Finally, conference what was also pointed out at the housing fringe yesterday, you will not make any sustainable headway in dealing with education, health, environment, child poverty, climate change, community cohesion or community safety unless you make housing policy part of it. This is what I call “joined up” thinking.

Conference – please support this motion.

An audience with Keith Hill MP

“Should I stay or should I go?” I doubt if Gordon Brown is listening tonight to the 80’s punk rock band “Clash”, while making up his mind about whether or not to go to the country. There again, I haven’t heard his “Desert Island Discs” selection, so who knows.

Yesterday, we had the unexpected pleasure of former Housing Minister and PPS to Tony Blair, Keith Hill MP, (Streatham CLP) giving a Parliamentary report to UNISON Labour Link London regional committee. UNISON has a new Constituency Development Plan with Streatham CLP.

It was a “tour de force”, by a naturally “larger than life” retiring MP (he has announced he is going to stand down at the next election – whenever that may be) who until very recently had been at the very heart of government and was now obviously enjoying his new found freedom after years of purdah.

The topical bit was Keith’s view on whether or not there should be an election at this moment (Thursday AM). That Labour was “poised at the cusp of a possible general election but it was not a foregone conclusion” was no surprise.

Nor was his view that Brown will consider the mixed bag of 3 public opinion polls that were announced this morning (for example “The Guardian” with the Tories on level pegging with Labour) but also that there are influential private Labour Party polling data available to the Party only at the same time.

A good reason to have an election now could be to circumvent the flood of Ashcroft money that the Tories have planned to pour into marginal seats over the next two years. Keith says that Ashcroft believes that this money alone would make a huge difference to the election result.

Against this is the fear that the public may feel that they have been unfairly manipulated (or Mugagbe-ised as he put it) into an unnecessary Parliamentary contest and the Tories could play on this. Let’s wait and see.

I must admit that being a housing bod, I had been rather unmoved with Keith’s stuff while as a Housing minister. Check out this weeks “Inside Housing” for a flavour. However, once we moved off the speculation about the election it was a treat to be meet someone who could “walk and talk” at the same time (OK he was sitting down – but you know what I mean).

In response to questions about present day “difficulties” between the Unions and the Labour Government, Keith reminded us that before he was an MP, he had been a Labour Party adviser who had been present at the last NEC meeting that Harold Wilson had attended in 1976. Later he was the parliamentary advisor to the forerunner of the RMT for 16 years (obviously before Bob). He’s been about.

His view was that despite present day difficulties (more style than substance in his view) that the present day affiliated unions had actually more contact and influence over the Party than the Union barons in the 1970s. In the 1970s the unions were dismissed and ignored, while nowadays with the Warwick agreement there is actually unprecedented involvement and co-operation.

He also suggested that the Labour Party National Policy Forum (which has taken over many not all of the functions of conference) may well not work effectively for grass roots Party members but gives the unions the opportunity to exercise real and unprecedented influence. I agree on the opportunity bit.

I remember asking PM Tony Blair a question at a Labour Party National Policy forum last year about the relationship between the government and the trade unions and he replied that actually it was better than at any time in the history of the movement. Every other Labour Government including Atlee’s had been stricken by bitter and self destructive industrial disputes. I’m not sure that this is totally fair but I can see the argument. No doubt the CWU will have a different view.

There was a good debate over pensioner incomes. Keith believes that average Pensioner incomes have actually gone up by more that if the earnings link with wages had been introduced in 1997. He was very proud that 1.1 million pensioners had been brought out of poverty with a 73% increase in real income.

This was the first time that I had heard a coherent argument about Labour’s housing policy. OK, Probably my fault for not listening but maybe not. Keith explained that due to the failure by the Tories to invest in maintenance and supply during their 18 years of power, Labour in 1997 faced a massive dilemma that they could not afford to improve homes as well as improve supply at the same time. They decided that the priority was to improve homes to a “decent standard” which took £25 billion to do so and are now on tract to be completed. This is why now, Gordon is going to spend significant amounts on new build to make up supply.

Keith also described “Early Day Motions” (EDM) as a “debased currency”. There used to be only 400 odd per year, now there are over 2500. Instead of asking your MPs to support an EDM congratulating Oldham Athletic, you should ask them to write personally to Ministers on particular issues. Makes sense if they will do it I suppose.

I didn’t agree with everything Keith said but it was a pleasure to engage (lovely New Labour term) with a charming, relaxed, cheerful and enthusiastic real human being.

If there is a general election, and of course there will be a Labour Party victory, I hope that Lord Hill of Streatham (or whatever) is invited back to our committee to give his next parliamentary report.

UNISON Housing Fringe

The event was called "Can Labour rise to the Housing Challenge?". Speaking (standing to the right) is the housing minister Yvette Cooper. Who I understand is having her own "housing" problems, as is her husband Ed. According to Channel 4 "Dispatches" anyway.

I asked her to respond to the points that UNISON head of local government, Heather Wakefield had made earlier about excessive pay in housing associations and 2-tier workforces after TUPE transfers. She said she would "work with UNISON" on 2-tier workforces and think about sending "a message" to the sector about their pay levels (for Chief Officers). Not sure what that will mean?

The answer BTW to the question is of course YES!

Time to say Goodbye

Finally, after two years of legal argument my estate office was transferred today over to a housing association. There was a ballot of tenants in 2005 where there was a 7 vote majority in favour of the estate transferring from Tower Hamlets Council to a local Housing Association. On Friday tenants opposed to the transfer lost an appeal against a high court decision not to grant a judicial review about alleged irregularities in the original 2005 ballot. Today the paperwork was signed and despite a last minute application to the House of Lords, they refused to stop the transfer. TUPE will apply to all staff

All the local government trade unions are opposed to stock transfer when there is no meaningful choice offered to tenants to remain with the Council. The so-called “4th option”. Ironically, it seems that Councils may now be able to retain their housing stock and even start building again.

All our staff have worked for the council for many years (some their entire working lives) and many are obviously apprehensive about changing employers. Also, there is a lot of good people who are not transferring who we have worked with for a number of years who we will miss. Change, especially when it is forced is always difficult. However, there is obviously “life after transfer” and a number of ex-council (and trade union activists) former colleagues now work apparently very happily for housing associations. Tomorrow we start our induction training.

On Friday I went for a drink and curry with some stewards from work and ran into a group from my “new” employer, also going out for a drink and meal. Good to see they socialise after work – also in recent months I have had a number of "chats" with staff who have heard that I was a trade union activist and were interested in trade unions.

Have to start planning the leaving /joining do! Watch this space!

(above pictures early Labour movement Feminist activists Susan Lawrence, Beatrice Webb and Margaret Bondfield - who each have a block named after them on the estate)