Building communities that work: The role of housing associations in supporting employment
Article
Today, 10 years on from the Hill Review, there remains a strong link between housing tenure and employment status. Housing association tenants are twice as likely to be unemployed as the average, they are three times as likely to be inactive, and those who are in work earn less. As a result, housing association tenants are more likely to be in poverty and most rely on housing benefit.
Many housing associations provide employment-related support to tenants. We estimate the sector delivers support worth over £70 million a year, with over £60 million coming from housing associations themselves. However, national employment and skills policies have failed to engage effectively with housing associations. Recent developments – including the devolution of the Work and Health Programme and the adult education budget (AEB) – offer the opportunity to build more effective place-based employment and skills services. Housing associations should be seen as key partners in supporting this agenda.
Related items
Taken to heart: Inequalities in heart disease in Scotland
More than 7.6 million people across the UK live with cardiovascular disease (CVD), around twice as many as live with Alzheimer’s disease and cancer combined.Skills passports: An essential part of a fair transition
This month, government will publish its Clean Energy Workforce Strategy. This plan covers two aims. First, filling the growing demand for skills in clean energy industries is essential to keep on track to reach the government’s clean power…Fixing the leak: How to end the £22 billion annual taxpayer losses at the Bank of England
The Bank of England increased its interest rates over recent years, aimed at reducing inflation. But this has also had an unintended effect on the Bank of England’s massive government bond buying – ‘quantitative easing’ – programme.