Publications

Communities that Work members receive exclusive access to our regular publications:

Roundup: The ‘digital press cuttings’ service. We use bespoke media search technology to pull out the latest housing and employment news across all channels and share the headlines with CtW Members.

External Affairs Quarterly: A deep dive into key strategic communications and public affairs activity undertaken by Communities that Work, used to inform and develop our member's public affairs work.

Our regular Newsletter is open to Members and subscribers. Check the latest editions here and sign up to the News for free here.

Building Opportunity: How social housing can support skills, talent and workforce development.

December 2022

New report calls for a fresh 'Plan for Jobs, Growth and Incomes' as research finds improving support for social housing residents will play a key role in boosting growth.

Research commissioned by Communities that Work (CtW), the National Housing Federation (NHF) and the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) calls for a fresh 'Plan for Jobs, Growth and Incomes', that puts social housing residents at the heart of the UK’s plan to boost growth and help drive economic activity.

The report calls for investment in specialist employment support for those out of work and who want to work.

The UK is facing a potential employment crisis that risks further slowing down the economy: for the first time in thirty years the UK’s workforce is contracting, while job vacancies are at a record high as employers struggle to fill roles. Employers and policy makers should now be focused on finding new ways to expand the labour market and increase the employment rate – by engaging the economically inactive, while improving job retention, security and progression.

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The UKSPF Prospectus

The Social Housing and UKSPF Commission launched the 'UKSPF in Housing Prospectus', on 3rd October 2021 at the Conservative party conference. The Commission is led by Communities that Work. The COVID-19 pandemic has put even more pressure on the future success of the UKSPF. Every penny of the fund matters and making sure that the investment can deliver real successes and support change across the country is critical. The Prospectus encourages the Government to leverage the power and value of social housing providers to maximise the impact that UKSPF can have across our communities.

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Our response to Treasury's call for submissions ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review

The Government asked stakeholders to submit a representation to the Treasury on what they would like to see from the Government’s Budget and Spending Review. This is our response, calling for UKSPF and Housing to come together, for green jobs, housing and skills to be mutually linked, and for digital inclusion to be the norm in the UK. We also call for Jobs Plus pilots to run, linking JobCentre Plus and local housing officers together, for better local employment services.

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Research

The impact of Covid-19 on housing sector led employment research. January 2021 - Our report into housing and employment services, one year into Covid. The first annual membership insight report from Communities that Work explores the economic impact that Covid-19 has had on social housing providers’ ability to maintain delivery of employment support services, and the challenges faced by their residents. Report highlights include 94% of Housing Associations reported an increase in residents facing economic hardship due to Covid-19, and Housing Associations provided an estimated £76 million to community investment in 2019-20.

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Jobs Plus

This paper presents proposals for an innovative, evidence-based and community-led approach to transform low-income communities. For too long, traditional top-down employment and regeneration programmes have failed to make a lasting difference for our most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

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CSJ report: Social Housing and Employment, Helping social housing be the springboard to a better life – July 2018

Established in 2004, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is an independent think tank that studies the root causes of Britain’s social problems and addresses them by recommending practical, workable policy interventions. The CSJ’s vision is to give people in the UK who are experiencing the worst disadvantage and injustice every possible opportunity to reach their full potential.

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IPPR Briefing: Building Communities That Work, The Role of Housing Associations In Supporting Employment – July 2018

One in 10 people in the UK live in a housing association property. Supporting more housing association tenants to access employment and to progress in work will be vital to boosting the employment rate and tackling poverty. 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.

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Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion: Worklessness, welfare and social housing A report for the National Housing Federation – July 2015

Social housing residents face considerable disadvantage in the labour market. They are less likely to be in work than those in other tenures, and those out of work are much less likely to be looking for work or available for work (described as being ‘economically inactive’). Research1 suggests that these disparities are in part a result of social housing residents being more disadvantaged than those in other tenures – but that this is not the only explanation. Even allowing for these differences, social housing residents are less likely to be in work than those in other tenures. It is critical therefore to better understand residents that are out of work, their barriers to work and how support can be improved.

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