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Real help now, reflections for the future

Date of speech	11 February 2009
Location	Natural History Museum, London
Event summary	Address to the Chartered Institute of Housing's Annual Dinner

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Transcript of the speech as delivered.

Thank you very much for inviting me to address you this evening. It is a pleasure to see so many of the colleagues who I've worked with so closely over the past few months.

We all recognise that in difficult circumstances, there can always be a temptation to pull up the drawbridge and retreat. To resort to the default position, or be paralysed into inaction. It has been fantastic to see exactly the opposite approach from those I've been working with. I have said it before, but I have been genuinely impressed with the resilience, the creativity, and the determination that I've seen from so many working in the sector over the past few months. Let me particularly just thank Sarah, Steve and all the team at CIH for their contribution.

It's not often that I get to make a speech in such impressive surroundings. It certainly makes a change from the standard conference hall: the backdrop of a dinosaur skeleton isn't a feature of your average keynote address. This year, the Natural History Museum is marking Darwin's bicentenary with a celebration of his 'big idea'.

Big ideas tend to be a media preoccupation - especially at times like these, they want a new 'big idea' - just the one. A silver bullet that will somehow solve all the multiple challenges we're facing in the economy.

But that's simply and wholly impractical. As the Prime Minister has argued,

"the way forward is not just through one isolated initiative or one individual measure. It is not even going to be a set of measures for a few months. It is a concerted and comprehensive plan that gives real help to businesses while at the same time preparing our economy for our future".

No one underestimates the seriousness of this situation or the implications of the global financial crisis. But we have a clear sense of purpose - a determination to take the necessary action in every sector of the economy. To stabilise the financial and banking system, and get it moving again for the benefit of businesses and consumers. To boost people's spending power, to support the wider economy. And to offer real help now to the businesses and families who are struggling in these more difficult times. 

In housing, our first priority has been to make sure there is practical help available for those worried about keeping up with their mortgage repayments. Given what we all know about the upheaval and trauma families threatened by repossession suffer, I think that is absolutely right. You'll know about the package we've been developing; from Mortgage Rescue for the vulnerable, expanded financial support for job seekers, to stronger debt advice services and free legal advice for all.

We're now working with the lenders on the detail of the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme, to help those in short-term difficulties to keep their head above water while they get their finances back on track.

Secondly, we've been expanding the homeownership schemes that help people take their first steps onto the property ladder. It's neither right nor realistic for all young people to be expected to rely on generous help from friends or family. And though house prices have been coming down, mortgage lending has plummeted - and affordability remains a real problem. Last year, more people were helped by one of these schemes than ever before, and I expect we'll see interest grow over the coming months.

We'll also see the first people taking up the new options of rent-to-home-buy; giving people time to save for a deposit; and HomeBuy Direct, where we've joined forces with developers to offer equity loans. There has been an incredibly positive response to this scheme from developers. 130 have now been approved to offer it, and they've identified more than double the number of homes that we had anticipated. Already, we expect that around 18,000 homes will be available through this scheme. And we are making £400 million available for this - investment which is being matched pound for pound by the private sector.

Thirdly, we've been working to make sure that the construction industry benefits from practical help.

One of the really striking features of the last recession was the way in which people who left the industry, left for good. It left what some people term the 'missing generation' - a huge gap between the level of skills needed and the skills available. I'm told that it took about fifteen years for the industry to fully recover. We simply cannot afford to repeat that mistake.

We need to support the industry as much as we can through this difficult time, so that it is poised to expand when the upturn comes - not only to deliver increased volumes of housing, but also better quality homes. That's why we've brought forward so much government spending: on new social and affordable housing; on decent homes; and on repairs and maintenance. It will help keep businesses afloat and keep skilled people in work; as well as making sure the homes that are so desperately needed actually get built. These will remain my immediate priorities.

And I have been really struck by the determination of local authorities and housing associations alike to respond to these challenges. To take just one example, days after the announcement of the new mortgage rescue scheme, around 75 authorities were hard at work getting their schemes off the ground; with places like Havering, Portsmouth, Kettering and Penwith being especially advanced. Thanks to their efforts, that scheme is now being set up in every local authority; and we expect to see the first people benefiting any day now.

It's a similar story elsewhere; as flexible and creative solutions are being developed to meet local need. Authorities including Liverpool and others in the North West are considering how they might offer mortgages to compensate for the lack of credit through traditional routes. Housing associations like Broadland in Norfolk and Suffolk are stepping up their efforts to help tenants develop skills and find work. And those exploring the potential of rent to buy to increase choice for local residents include Family Mosaic, and London and Quadrant. They've also been working closely with the HCA to think about ways of keeping up momentum on supply during the downturn. This is exactly the kind of innovative thinking that we need at the moment.

It's essential that local authorities and RSLs continue to do all they can - particularly to keep delivery of affordable housing on track, and to help preserve jobs and capacity in the construction industry.

Working with the HCA, taking advantage of the increased flexibility and the funding on offer, we need you to act now. Because this is not business as usual. It's a chance to be pragmatic.  But also perhaps a chance to be more effective as well. And if you have ideas about the way forward, then I'd be interested in hearing from you.

The Prime Minister recently indicated that if local authorities want to start building again, we'll get behind them. So what we want to hear is if you're up for it.

You'll already know that we're consulting on freeing up some of the financial restrictions that have held them back in the past - looking at the rent redistribution system and opening up the social housing grant. South Holland District Council is already looking to take advantage of this, through a community interest housing company. I'd like to see others following that lead, with models that best suit local circumstances - whether that's a local housing company, community land trust, or something else. And if you think there are other obstacles in the way, I'm open to suggestions about what more could be done.

But despite these pressing challenges, we cannot afford to forget the bigger picture. While at the moment they get less public attention and debate, the broader trends remain the same. Demographic predictions about what our aging population will need have not changed. The threat of climate change has not gone away, and housing makes up around a quarter of our total carbon emissions. It is essential that we don't disregard these pressures, and allow them to develop unchecked.

Increasing the supply of housing, especially of affordable and social housing, remains of paramount importance. So too, does the need for better building. Adaptable housing which meets the needs of growing families and the elderly as well as young couples and single people. Greener housing which makes sustainable living more affordable for all and reduces the impact of our lifestyles on the planet.

Before Christmas, I published detailed proposals to help us work towards the zero carbon target for new housing from 2016. Tomorrow, with colleagues, I am publishing proposals to tackle the lions share of carbon emissions - those from our existing homes. This is undoubtedly a big task - but one which will make a huge difference to people's quality of life. And I want to see social housing at the forefront of these changes.

Its clear then, that what we need is not one 'big idea' but, as the Prime Minister says, a comprehensive package which addresses both the immediate crisis and the longer term trends.

And yet, there might be something in Darwin's thinking which speaks to the challenges we face. His ideas about the need for both flexibility and adaptability, of small changes which ultimately make a big difference, resonate with what I see as the way forward.

Of course, people will always prize stability and certainty above all else. The recent turbulence has only underlined that fact. But I do think that there are some areas where we'll need to see change. Such as creating a stronger, healthier, private rented sector. Or helping those who are looking beyond the traditional choices of outright ownership, social housing or rented accommodation.

And I see both local authorities and housing associations taking a leading role; not just in responding to the current crisis, but also in preparing for the upturn and laying the foundations for the future.

These are ideas which I want to reflect on further over the coming weeks. I will be working with all our partners to consider what the current crisis - and the role of housing within it - might teach us about the way forward. What strengths we can identify. What lessons we should learn. And what opportunities there might be. These aren't questions which we can answer overnight, and I am looking forward to a constructive and productive debate.

Let me finish with another thought from Darwin. He once said that,

"In the long history of humankind, those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed."

Given what we are going through on a global and a national scale, this may well be the most important thing we can learn from Darwin in this bi-centenary year.

With creative problem solving and willingness to work together, I have every confidence that we can not only work through the present difficulties; we can also create a fairer and more effective housing market for the future.

Thank you very much.