Supplementary Memorandum from The Sustainable
Housing Action Partnership (BDH 18A)
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE MEETING 10 NOVEMBER 2009
BEYOND DECENT
HOMES: DECENT
HOUSING STANDARDS
POST 2010
1. Introduction and Summary
— The evidence submitted to the Committee
on the 7 September 2009 stated that the SHAP Partners
had commissioned a report which will incorporate a costed Beyond
Decent Homes Standard for Retrofit to be published in October
2009 with one of the key objectives being to identify opportunities
for incorporating energy efficiency and environmental standards
into the Decent Homes Standard from 2010.
— This report incorporating the Standard
is now available on the Projects page of www.shap.uk.com and supports
the submission of the SHAP partners that the Decent Homes programme,
or an equivalent programme, should be extended beyond 2010 and
that the minimum acceptable social housing standards should be
amended to take account of energy efficiency, CO2 emission
reduction, fuel poverty and environmental standards.
— The Standard sets out specifications
for a range of housing archetypes to meet "stretch"
targets for carbon reduction which are ahead of the Government
targets set out in the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan.
— The Standard is supported by Case Studies
from SHAP partners which set out specifications for the housing
archetypes to meet the carbon reduction targets. In turn, these
specifications have been costed and are further supported by a
Specification Digest. The Case Studies, Costings and the Specification
Digest are also available on www.shap.uk.com.
— SHAP finally reiterates its view that
that the financing of the replacement Decent Homes programme to
incorporate energy efficiency, CO2 emission reduction, fuel
poverty and environmental standards will need to be carefully
considered and this may be different depending on the type of
the housing organisation eg whether it is a traditional RSL, a
LSVT (Large Scale Voluntary Transfer programme), a Local Authority
or an ALMO.
2. Supplementary evidence
The Committee is invited to consider including
the SHAP Beyond Decent Homes Standard as a fundamental element
of any Standard to extend the Decent Homes Programme and SHAP
particularly brings the following points from the Standard to
the attention of the Committee
2.1 Page 2 sets out the SHAP Partners
and Advisors which underlines the strength of the evidence base
on which the Standard is based.
2.2 The Foreword on page 3 emphasises
the importance of the Standard influencing Housing Policies and
Strategies and particularly refers to the evidence to this CLG
Committee.
2.3 The Introduction on page 4 includes
three Stages to meet the "stretch" targets of
— a minimum 42% reduction on 1990 levels
by 2016 (SAP 75, Energy Performance Certificate rating C)
— Asset Management Plans to achieve the
2025 target (Stage 3) to be in place and substantial initial
progress to have been made by 2020;
— over 90% of stock to have achieved a
minimum 80% reduction on 1990 levels by 2025 (SAP 85,
Energy Performance Certificate rating B).
2.4 The Structure of the Standard on page
5 sets out the three components of the Standard :
— Standard for improvement: The performance
standards and requirements for a "Beyond Decent Homes"
property under the four categories of improvement on pages 8 and
9 (2.7 below);
— Framework of benefits: The framework
for capturing the wider benefits of investment to the benefit
of tenants, landlords and the local economy;
— Implementation plan: The plan for programming
investment in order to meet the 2016, 2020 and 2025 milestones.
2.5 Pages 6 and 7 refer to the
Standard's reflection of the technical methodology used in a number
of recent studies and, in particular, to the alignment with the
current policies of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and
the Tenants Services Authority (TSA) and this text was provided
for the report by the HCA and TSA respectively, as Advisors to
SHAP.
2.6 Page 7 explains that the detailed
evidence base for the Standard was developed from case studies
of property archetypes (detailed in Appendix 2 and the Case
Studies supplement) and that, for each case study the improvements
and specifications required to deliver 42% and 80% carbon reductions
against each properties performance in 1990 were tested.
The combinations of future measures to be applied
and tested were based on:
— As-built specifications.
— Improvement works to date.
— Future improvement specifications.
SHAP submits that this approach is essential
for the replacement Decent Homes Standard to maximise the benefits
of work already completed under the existing Decent Homes and
other programmes.
2.7 Pages 8 and 9 sets out the
four Categories of Improvement
— Monitoring and Awareness
This reflects SHAP's firm view that the focus
of the replacement for the Decent Homes Standard should primarily
be on demand reduction, as this offers the most cost effective
opportunities for improvement, and the greatest benefits to both
tenant and landlord.
2.8 Page 16 links the delivery of the
Standard to the implementation of Asset Management Plans geared
to a twenty year programme of investment and SHAP submits that
this would be a firm basis for inclusion in the replacement Decent
Homes Standard.
3. CONCLUSION
SHAP believes that the SHAP Beyond Decent Homes
Standard will provide a valuable resource for the Low Carbon element
of the replacement Decent Homes Standard and welcomes the opportunity
to review this with the Committee on the 10 November 2009.
John Sharpe FRICS
Director
Sustainable Housing Action Partnership (SHAP)
| 
