Labour Housing Group (London) AGM 10 Sept 2012

"The Annual Meeting of the London Labour Housing Group will take place on Monday 10 September 2012 at Portcullis House, London SW1 at 6.30pm.

The business to be transacted will include reports on activities so far, guest speakers, announcement of election of an Executive Committee for 2012-2013, and discussion of policy and campaign priorities.

If you wish to stand for the LLHG Committee - Nominate yourself NOW Membership of the Committee will be decided by postal ballot of members of Labour Housing Group living in the London area.

If you wish to stand for election, please nominate yourself by emailing the Secretary of LLHG, Jamie Carswell, at jamie.e.carswellATgmail.com including a 100 word (maximum) statement in support of your candidacy by Saturday 18 August at the latest. If required, a postal ballot will be held thereafter.

London LHG operates under the national rules of LHG and will have a Committee of 12 members. The Committee will in turn elect officers and will have the power to co-opt a small number of additional members.

If you wish to submit a resolution for consideration at the meeting, please keep it succinct and submit to Jamie Carswell by 18 August. Please note we will keep strictly to this deadline in order to conduct an election and turn papers round in time for the AGM. If you have any queries please contact me by email at steve@hilditchonline.com (or on 07961 414809 if you do not have email).

Regards Steve Hilditch Chair"

(Jon Cruddas MP, now Shadow Cabinet member for the Labour policy review, has agreed to speak as well as Karen Buck MP).

UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE THAT AGM ONLY FOR LONDON LHG BRANCH MEMBERS!

UNISON NDC 12: Defend the attacks on health and safety standards

On Thursday lunchtime I went to this fringe. UNISON National Health and Safety Committee Chair Nick Green chaired, John Bamford, Health and Safety Adviser, Greater Manchester Hazards Campaign spoke first. Followed by Robert Baughan, National Officer for Health and Safety.  Who is deputising for Hope Daley who is on a secondment.

During the fringe I made comments on some key points on Twitter again which I have used on this post. It saves making notes.

John started by arguing that there is "no evidence that health and safety is a burden to to business. Evidence instead that it is a benefit to business". "Today it the Longest day. We now have had 3 longest days since Cameron became Prime Minister and 700 long days to come".

"The "Brown Book" which contains the 1977 Safety Representative & Safety Committee regulations is the most powerful piece of worker legislation in existence". Regarding the new "Fit notes" for people off sick. John said that the only decent one he had seen was the one from a GP that said an employee can return to work "if the employer sacks the manager that is bullying him".

There has been a "1/3 cut in proactive safety inspection" by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Tories are now talking about "Getting rid of all safety protection for "low risk" self employed". The "Tories argue that work is not dangerous anymore! The TUC estimate 20,000 work related deaths per year. While Hazards believe that it may be as high as 50,000 deaths" 

Robert spoke about how we cannot rely on the HSE. Many of their officers are very good but it is fighting for its survival. In the Q&A I made the point that not only are cuts to the HSE making work more dangerous but that in my sector front line housing staff will take the blame for trying to deal with the cuts in Housing benefit as will other local authority staff dealing with the impact of government cuts. Check out the Inside Housing report here.

UNISON NDC 12: Housing - Composite G

This is my speech that I gave yesterday during the Housing debate on behalf of the NEC.  "Vice President, Conference, John Gray, Community NEC member speaking in support of Composite G

Housing is a huge issue for UNISON, for our members, their families and communities. Yes, we have tens of thousands of members who like I, work in housing. But of course we all rely on housing for shelter, security and warmth.

But if you talk to any UNISON member, whether they work in housing or not, you will get a clear sense that something indeed is rotten with the state of housing in the UK. Even if you personally do have a home, we will all know someone who is struggling to find somewhere suitable and affordable to live.

The housing voice enquiry, led by UNISON, into the affordable housing crisis highlighted what the problems are.  The average number of new homes being built in the UK every year is at least 100,000 below what is needed. This growing failure of supply to meet demand is pushing housing costs up at the very same time our incomes are being hit.

In this context the housing options open to people on low to middle incomes have frankly been decimated.  In the year 2000 - households needed to save 16 per cent of their income for a deposit on a house. By 2009, post banker’s crisis, this had gone up 4 fold to 64 per cent.  The number of families on the waiting list is now 1.8 million. At the same time this Tory coalition government remains hell bent on cutting the money available for building new homes.

So a grim picture indeed conference and it gets even worse because it is the private rented sector where our members, will find themselves. Two startling facts from the UNISON member survey from last year.

One - that a third of our members have grown up children living at home with them 
Two - that there are now twice as any members living in the private rented sector as in the social rented sector.

The private rented sector of course does serve a purpose. It works for some people. But it’s also the sector with:


· the highest number of unfit properties
· people face the most insecure tenancies and the most unpredictable rent rises
· Rachman rip-off merchants, be they letting agents charging mysterious administration fees or dodgy landlords withholding deposits or not doing repairs.

The composite sets out a comprehensive programme of campaign work – all of it is valid, and will help us campaign for decent homes for all. Importantly it will also commit the union to campaigning for better regulations in the private rented sector.

The reality is that whilst we will campaign for more social housing, more of our members, their friends and family are finding themselves in the private rented sector. And they desperately need our help, our protection. Conference, please support this composite".

Housing staff pay price of Cameron’s Britain

Inside Housing magazine published today research showing a huge year on increase in violence against housing staff.

“Spat at and slapped. Bitten. Punched. Forced to the ground and beaten. Every day in the UK a front line housing worker is falling victim to this kind of violent assault”

"Shadow housing minister Jack Dromey said: ‘Government cuts to housing are not only hitting tenants hard but putting at risk the safety of those who serve the public. To add insult to literal injury, changes such as the bedroom tax might see tenants vent their anger on those in the front line.’

While "Jake Berry, parliamentary private secretary to the housing minister, said: ‘Any assaults on housing staff are absolutely unacceptable’, and that Mr Dromey’s comments linking changes to benefits to violence were ‘utterly baseless and completely disgraceful’.

I was quoted as "John Gray, housing association branch secretary at public sector union Unison, said: ‘This is what happens in the everyday life of housing officers up and down the country.’

He added that tenants who fall into rent arrears as a result of the government’s welfare reforms and are threatened with eviction ‘won’t blame the coalition, they’ll blame the infantry’. So you can see which side of the debate I was on.

Since I think what Jack Dromey said is very true. Things will get even worse with the bedroom tax. Not only that but due to Coalition spending cuts in the Health and Safety Executive and local authority enforcement there will be less protection and support available for staff.

It wasn't reported that I had also said when interviewed by Inside Housing that part of the solution was  employers and trade union safety reps working together in partnership to protect staff.  However there were certain "rogue employers" who refuse to work with unions and frankly treat their staff with as much disdain as they do their residents . 

If assaults and injuries occur in organisations where risk assessments are not properly carried out or implemented, incidents not investigated or polices not enforced then the CEO and senior management teams of these organisations need to be targeted by the HSE/Local authorities and dealt with under the law as criminals in the same way as the actual perpetrators of the violence. 

Homes under Threat! Boris plan v. Ken's plan

Great template leaflet from London Labour Housing Group for Social Housing residents (double click to bring up detail) but I think everyone is interested in affordable housing.

Housing Voice Independent Inquiry: London & SE

On Thursday I made a verbal submission to this inquiry. Housing Voice is the "campaign alliance established to champion the need for more affordable homes to buy or rent". The inquiry is gathering evidence across the country on ways to combat the "affordable housing crisis". Lord Larry Whitty is chairing the inquiry (seen in centre of picture with panel members Steve Hilditch and Michael Ward).

Heidi Alexander MP for Lewisham East and on the CLG Select Committee (left) spoke as did UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis.  There were 18 speakers listed! "Housing Professionals Voices", "Voices of those at the sharp end"; "Labour Voices", "Local and Regional elected" and "Other voices".  There were politicians from across the political divide. Residents and a wide range of other people with interest in affordable housing took part and contributed.

There was disagreement about the solution but no-one denied that we have an appalling housing shortage and that homes are currently unaffordable especially in London. Access to land with permission to build, planning and finance seems to be major barriers. Solutions offered included housing co-operatives, deregulation (House Builders Federation) and greater regulation (of private sector including rent controls: not I think supported by the HBF), funding from pension funds.

I think the role of public funding is absolute key and while there is a lot that can be done to improve supply and affordability at the margin, without a significant funding in state funding we will not resolve the crisis. We will only get the funding when we can raise the political interest in housing to match that of education and health.

Labour London Assemby member Valerie Shawcross was the last speaker. In the Q&A some Housing Associations got a bit of a pasting from the politicians over their variable management standards, being so fragmented, inefficient, arrogant and unaccountable.  

I'll post my submission later.

The Homeless Charity and the "Race to the Gutter"

Below is the UNISON press release on the attack on terms and conditions of staff employed by London Homeless Charity Broadway. Our members (seen lobbying their Board meeting on Tuesday evening in Commercial Street, Tower Hamlets) carry out a very difficult and demanding job supporting vulnerable single homeless people across London. both "on the street" and in hostels and projects.  Of course the original "villain" in all this is the Tory Government for cutting "Supporting People" funding. 

However, a small number of rogue Housing Associations and "Charities" are under cutting decent employers in a bidding war to win "new business". This is truly a "race to the gutter". You simply cannot provide a quality service to clients by decimating your staff's pay and conditions. No responsible employer should take part in such bids. Our branch is launching a campaign against "Rachman employers". Believe it or not there are employers who are treating staff even worse. 

NEWS FROM UNISON

UNISON MEMBERS PROTEST AGAINST ATTACKS ON TERMS & CONDITIONS

On the 13th March angry UNISON members employed by Broadway Housing Association lobbied Board members, following their decision to slash wages and dramatically cut terms and conditions.

The proposed changes - which have reached the end of a consultation with UNISON despite objections from the union and staff - would;

·         Reduce the pay of new front line staff by at least £4,500 per annum – in effect a 20% reduction in salary(with salaries which currently stand at between £23,000-25,000 being pushed down to between £18,500 – 20,000).

·         Reduce the pay of 14 existing staff which Broadway believes are paid above the medium wage for their roles.

Terms and conditions for new staff will be dramatically cut and will include:

·         No pension provision(current staff receive 5% employer contributions matched by 3% employee contribution).

·         Reducing Annual leave entitlement to statutory requirements (a loss of 6 days per year).

·         Abolishing dependency leave and halving compassionate leave to 5 days

·         Reducing sick leave entitlement(to statutory during probationary period and a 4 weeks full pay and four weeks half pay per annum in the first three years of employment).

·         Reducing maternity pay to statutory.

In addition to these cuts Broadway intend not to pay a cost of living increase for 2012/2013.  

Joel Bodmer Chair of the UNISON Housing Association branch, which represents members employed at Broadway as well as many other housing associations said

“ It is absolutely shameful that Broadway have apparently made a strategic decision to position themselves away from a focus on quality; which the organisation have in past been associated with, and move themselves towards the “no frills airline” model of care and support.

The organisation are clearly re-jigging themselves to be at the forefront of the race to the bottom which we are witnessing in the sector. It is really sad that very skilled people who work in some incredibly challenging environments are being so un-fairly rewarded for the jobs they do.

People choose to work in the sector because they believe in helping the most vulnerable members of society; this good will is clearly being abused by organisations who believe they can squeeze terms and conditions as much as possible, and still receive high quality work from dedicated staff. We will continue to fight the short-sightedness off all attempts attack the terms and conditions of people who perform such crucial roles in our society.”

Broadway claim the cuts are necessary for the organisation to remain viable and continue to be in a position to win new services claiming it could not allow its reserves to fall below £850,000.

For more information please contact:  

Colin Inniss, UNISON Regional Organiser 07703 194 127 / c.inniss@unison.co.uk

John Gray, Branch Secretary, UNISON Housing Associations Branch - 07432 150 530 / J.Gray2@unison.co.uk

London Marathon 2012 WK 20: Running past Brighton Homeless

This post is a little late but the training run of Week 20 was along Brighton Sea front last Sunday morning before the UNISON Community conference.  It was only a 30 minute run towards Hove and back but you cannot beat running alongside the sea side when it is cold, damp and windy. Especially if you are trying to get rid of a sore head from the night before.

But what was not at all good was the number of homeless men I ran past sleeping rough in Promenade shelters and shop doorways. Some of them looked very, very young. I've slept outdoors in winter when I was younger but that was usually wearing waterproof clothing in proper tents with warm sleeping bags and gas cookers. The relatively large number (I think 5) of homeless men (didn't see any women) sleeping rough along the beach looked tired, cold, wet, dishevelled and frankly miserable.

I was conscious that I was at a housing related conference, staying in a nice hotel, looking foreword to a hot shower, clean clothes and cooked breakfast after my completely self indulgent run.

While I hope the political motion at the conference about greater income equality may do some good in the long term in the meanwhile I am glad that I will be running the London Marathon for a charity set up to prevent young people becoming homeless and helping them if they do. Check out "Alone in London". Click here to sponsor me on the Justgiving website.

Housing Association Branch at Community Conference 2012

This picture collage is largely of my branch members speaking at yesterday's UNISON Community Conference in Brighton.

In total we had 8 members of our branch speaking (in various capacities). 4 of whom were first time speakers at a UNISON conference. We moved 5 successful motions. Including organising and recruiting young members by Branch Chair (and Young member) Joel Bodmer (MHT); the Big Society attack on terms and conditions by Ionela Flood (Notting Hill); Why Income equality at work is better for everyone by Ebrahim Piperdy (Circle) and Condem threats to high quality and sustainable social housing by Tony Power (East Thames).

This is only the second ever Community and Voluntary Conference. Our service group is the 3rd largest in the union. We also have in my view amongst the toughest organising challenges going. We have all gone a long way in a short period of time but there is still much to do. I think that last weekends successful seminar and conference will help us on that way.

Sleeping with the enemy: Ken's offer to Vince about bringing down the Coalition

Today there was a London Labour Party Manifesto meeting at Congress House.  I missed the morning session due to my Council surgery and a Fair Pensions Training on shareholder Activism (which I had to leave early). 

Ken gave a keynote speech to the meeting after lunch and was on form.   He compared the 77% of funding that Boris received during the last Mayor campaign from City Bankers and Hedge fund managers with the 80% he received from trade unions and trade union members. Unlike Boris he was proud of his funding.

Boris is planning to increase fares by 2% above inflation for the next 20 years. If he is elected Ken has pledged to cut tube fares by 7% and bus fares by 11%.

On Housing issues Ken spoke passionately about a London Living rent and a GLA rental agency. He also reaffirmed his commitment to work with London Council (and the LPFA which the Mayor runs) pension funds  to get them to fund investment in Housing. I will of course declare an interest in this subject. I also have never understood why British pension funds do not invest in residential rental properties?

Ken being Ken had to say something to bring a smile to our faces. His despair at this present Coalition government and his wish for it to fall led to him making a typically "Ken" offer to even sleep with Vince Cable if this meant the government would "fold".  An offer that Vince will no doubt....

UnisonActive take on defeat of London trots

Check out UnisonActive report : "UNISON London Region's existing leadership team, led by Convenor Gloria Hanson, saw off an attempt by the SWP and its sympathisers to take over at yesterday's Regional Council AGM. This is the seventh victory in a row for London grass root union activists who soundly defeated the challengers at the ballot box.

UNISON President Eleanor Smith was a keynote speaker together with Labour Party candidate for Mayor, Ken Livingstone. A motion attacking Boris and supporting Ken and Labour Assembly members in the election in May was passed unanimously. Motions calling for "Secure and Affordable Housing" and "Why income equality at work matters to everyone" were passed and prioritised as regional motions for National Delegate Conference.

"Closer to Home"

Check out this excellent article on housing posted here on "Labour List" by Newham born and bred Labour Party activists, Ellie Robinson and David Christie.

Today being the 200th anniversary of Dickens birth it is very apt to debate the appalling housing conditions that is still found even today in parts of the East End of London.

Chartered Institute Housing Election 2012

I've just taken part in the first ever election for the Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH). You get a email with a unique security code and you cast your vote on-line at the independent Electoral Reform
Services website.

The Vice President will become the President of the CIH next year. It's a bit suspect that this is the first ever openly contested election at the CIO but better late than never I suppose. I posted here that I know one of the candidates, Jan Taranczuk, quite well (his wife Kathy use to be my Tower Hamlets Local Housing office boss for many years). I don't know his opponent, Paul Tennant, who is the CEO of Orbit Housing Association.

If you are a member of the CIH you have until 30 January to vote. You can see their election statements here. There is an online husting tomorrow 12pm on the Guardian Housing Network blog. This afternoon on the Inside Housing site here there is a online poll (see picture right: double click to bring up detail) and both Jan and Paul were running neck and neck at 50%.

Living in a tree-house

After seeing David Dee's collection of 199 photographs of tree-houses in his Facebook album

I started wanting to have one.

They are beautiful and it is amazing how comfortable they can be. I only thought about tree-houses as

something we do for kids.

I want one, I want one...

#Lab11 Labour Housing Group/Co-op/SERA fringe

After the TULO fringe on Sunday I went with UNISON housing members to the Labour Housing Group meeting which was held jointly with the Co-operative Party and SERA.  It was called "Homes for the Future". It was chaired by Jacky Peacock OBE, Vice Chair LHG; Speakers: Alison Seabeck MP, Shadow Housing Minister and Leonie Cooper, SERA.  We were late but listened to the Q&A.   

Alison mentioned that she was looking into whether Council pension funds could be used to fund new homes.  This is a potentially a sensible idea in my view since we need to invest in so called "alternative assets" such as property and it should be a "safe" long term investment ideally suited to help match pension fund liabilities.  This has been talked about for years and should have legs but I think advisers are cautious about such "direct" investment since the days of Arthur Scargill and the Cowan decision.  I think that times have moved on.  This is not an "ethical" investment issue. 

"Something radical" Housing Policy? Shadow Minister speaks to Branch Labour Link

s.On Wednesday evening the Labour Shadow Minister for Housing, Alison Seabeck MP, was the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of

UNISON Housing Association branch Labour Link. This took place in the House of Commons.

UNISON National Officer, Mike Short, spoke first about how some employers (not all) are using the "cuts" as an excuse to attack their own workers while others are trying to invent "creative" reasons to evade their responsibilities under TUPE transfers.  Not only are jobs, pay and conditions under threat but also even union rights to organise and defend their members.  We need to campaign, regionally and nationally, against government policy with local community groups.  Win the argument with the public that we are not to blame for the deficit.

Alison Seabeck is of course a politician but also a widely respected housing expert, unlike her floundering ministerial opponent.  She spoke for 10 minutes then rushed off and voted against the (awful) Tory Coalition "Health and Social Care" Bill before coming back to continue.  The single most interesting thing (amongst many) that she said, in response to a question about what a future Labour Government would do over housing, was once in power, the housing crisis could be simply so profoundly bad that "we may have to do something radical..." and similar to the what was done "after the Second World War" do deal with the crisis. 

Bring on that Labour Government!

There was a lively Q&A with Alison, members bringing up problems in the sector for workers and residents.  I asked a question about low pay and the unacceptable level of top executive pay in our sector, using the example of the strike the previous day by UNISON members in the Scottish Charity "Quarriers" (who are facing up to 23% cuts in wages).  I pointed to research in "The Spirit Level" that unequal societies are destructive for everyone and that the same principle would apply to unequal organisations. Alison was I think genuinely horrified at staff wages being cut.  She also agreed that excessive pay for executives  was wrong and that as a start, all such employers should publish the salaries of everyone in their organisation and this may shame them into doing something about it.  She brought up the example of her own Constituency in Plymouth where the Tory City Council is trying to trying to cut the wages of its workforce and de-recognise UNISON, while its own Chief executive is paid huge amounts of money.

After the meeting, some of us went off to the Red Lion pub in Whitehall to continue to put the housing world to rights, where we met UNISON and TULO activists who had just come back from the candle vigil for the NHS.  (Picture of Alison 5th from left)

London Labour Housing Group First AGM

"London Labour Housing Group First AGM - 7pm, Monday 12 September, House of Commons
Guest Speaker, Jon Cruddas MP

After an excellent launch and a really successful Policy Day, London LHG is firmly on the map and working closely with Ken Livingstone as Labour candidate for mayor. There is a lot to do to make sure that housing is an issue in the mayoral election, to remind people of Ken’s housing legacy and Johnson’s failures. We think that housing issues can have an impact in the election. As well as trying to make sure that Labour has strong housing policies for the election, we also want to encourage as much campaigning as possible in the boroughs around housing issues. 

We have had a great core group of people working on this so far, but we now want to put London LHG on to a more formal footing. We will therefore be holding the London Labour Housing Group’s first Annual General Meeting at the House of Commons, Committee Room 11, at 7pm on Monday 12 September. Our guest speaker will be Jon Cruddas MP, Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. 

LLHG Executive
The agenda also includes the election of a London Labour Housing Group executive committee. We have agreed that there will be an EC of 15, to be as inclusive as possible. Who can attend?

To attend the meeting, stand for election and to vote you must be a member of LHG. To join LHG you must be a Labour Party member.  To be as open and flexible as possible, you can join LHG at any time – see http://www.labourhousing.co.uk/join-lhg - and membership forms will be available on the door on the night so you can join and take part immediately. You must RSVP

If you wish to attend you must RSVP to Steve Hilditch at steve@hilditchonline.com to register your attendance. If you plan to come to the meeting, please allow 15 minutes to get through security.  Please note we are unable to offer refreshments at this meeting.  We do hope you can join us.
Steve Hilditch, Acting Secretary : Nicky Gavron AM, Acting Chair"

Follow Labour Housing Group Website http://www.labourhousing.co.uk; Red Brick blog http://redbrickblog.wordpress.com/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Labour-Housing-Group/247469867388 Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/LabourHousing

Britain's Broken Housing Policy

Floundering Tory Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, was given a good going over this morning on the Radio 4 "Today" programme.  The National Housing Federation (FED) had first drawn blood with a report published today that under present policies home ownership will decline by nearly 10% while prices will increase by over 20%.

The interview started with a recording of a speech by Thatcher to her Party conference in 1986 saying that the great Tory political reform of the 20th century was encouraging more people to own property.  Yet ironically this government's housing policy will reverse home ownership back to 1986 levels.

Actually I think it is a "good thing" that home ownership density is lower but there needs to be far more good quality, affordable and secure rented properties to take its place (and address existing shortages and overcrowding). 

Shapps argument was that he will increase supply by changes in planning and anyway these problems will disappear due to Britain's low interest rates which means mortgages are cheap.  He ignores the NHF prediction that prices will increase by 20% and of course very few people expect 0.5% interest base rates to continue for much longer.  House prices are already too high and even if supply was increased substantially, they will still remain unaffordable.  

What we really need is a housing policy something more like this.