A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that it accepted that the Immigration Bill served a legitimate aim of immigration control, but the committee was concerned that some measures might be applied in practice in a way that breached human rights. It raised serious concerns about provisions for restricting access to housing and access to legal challenges, and raised a number of other matters.
Source: Legislative Scrutiny: Immigration Bill, Eighth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 935 and HL 102, Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, TSO
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Dec
A study examined the impact of ageing populations on service design and delivery in rural areas in England. The final report said that rural areas faced a range of additional costs for service delivery that made it more difficult for service providers, including health services, to meet needs. It said that there was insufficient appropriate housing stock, and demand for more home-based care, support and adaptations.
Source: Caitlin Connors, Marita Kenrick, Anna Bloch, Sally-Marie Bamford, and Dylan Kneale, 2013 Rural Ageing Research: Summary report of findings, TNS BMRB
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
A think-tank report examined the potential impact of migration to the United Kingdom from Romania and Bulgaria when temporary restrictions on working rights were lifted in 2014. It said that patterns of migration would differ from those seen following European Union expansion in 2004, and the main likely challenges would be increased demand for housing and public services, and language needs. Recommendations included: the creation of a cabinet-level committee on the impacts of European Union migration; annual assessment of the labour market, social, and public service impacts of EEA migration; the availability of a contingency fund to respond to short-term pressures in the first six months of 2014; and the development of a strategy for Roma inclusion, in line with European Commission recommendations.
Source: Alex Glennie and Jenny Pennington, In Transition: Romanian And Bulgarian migration to the UK, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | IPPR press release | BBC report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Dec
A survey examined perceptions of the removal of the spare room subsidy ('bedroom tax') policy among the general public.
Source: Public Perceptions of the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS), Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Ipsos MORI article | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the occurrence and determinants of young people returning to live at the parental home. It said that the decision to return coincided with turning points in an individual's life course, such as leaving full-time education, unemployment, or partnership dissolution.
Source: Juliet Stone, Ann Berrington, and Jane Falkingham, 'Gender, turning points, and boomerangs: returning home in young adulthood in Great Britain', Demography, Online first
Links: Abstract | University of Southampton press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined the use and environmental impact of London waterways. It said that there was high demand for residential and temporary moorings, but numbers of these had not been increasing. The report estimated that up to 10,000 people could be living on the waterways and the density of moorings in some areas was leading to navigational and environmental impacts.
Source: Moor or Less: Moorings on London's waterways, Environment Committee, Greater London Authority
Links: Report | GLA press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Nov
The government began consultation on proposals to issue revised allocations guidance to social housing providers. Proposals included: to 'strongly encourage' all local authorities to adopt a two year residency test, alongside other criteria that would ensure those with a strong association to the local area would not be disadvantaged; to encourage a 'housing options' approach to allocations, such that those who did not qualify were assisted in other tenures or, where appropriate, 'reconnected to their own country'; and to publish clear policy about the collection and publication of waiting list and lettings information.
Source: Providing Social Housing for Local People: Strengthening statutory guidance on social housing allocations, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Consultation document | DCLG press release | Inside Housing report | HOC research brief
Date: 2013-Oct
A think-tank report said that 58 per cent of people aged over 60 were interested in moving house, but feel restricted by a lack of suitable alternative housing or a fear of an unfamiliar environment. Building more retirement properties would free up more than 3 million homes, offering a lifeline to families desperate to move up the housing ladder.
Source: Claudia Wood, The Top of the Ladder, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Demos press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the housing transitions, careers, and aspirations of working-class young men.
Source: Steven Roberts, 'Youth studies, housing transitions and the "missing middle": time for a rethink?', Sociological Research Online, Volume 18 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2013-Sep
A report examined housing with care models in Scotland that aimed at improving the health and well-being of older people.
Source: Newhaven Research, Housing with Care for Older People, Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the way in which different services, providers, and other key players worked together in housing with care (HWC) schemes, and the impact of this on the quality of life of the older people living in them – especially those with high support needs. Most participants were very satisfied with the services in HWC but one-third described problems linked to 'boundary' issues, where gaps, delays or confusion had arisen at the interface between teams, organizations, or professional groups. Gaps often occurred where tasks were relatively small: they affected the quality of life of older people with high support needs, but did not necessarily outweigh the benefits of living in HWC.
Source: Imogen Blood, 'Integrating housing with care for older people', Journal of Integrated Care, Volume 21 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
A new book examined the increasing (and largely enforced) settlement of Gypsies and Travellers in conventional housing. It explored the social, health, and economic impacts of settlement. It highlighted the tenacity of cultural formations and their adaptability in the face of policy-driven constraints that were antithetical to traditional lifestyles.
Source: David Smith and Margaret Greenfields, Gypsies and Travellers in Housing: The decline of nomadism, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jul
A report said that extra care housing could play a vital role in reducing the isolation and loneliness of older people: but that too few people benefited from it. Keeping the momentum of innovation, attracting an appropriate mix of residents, and ensuring diversity in tenure were significant challenges for the sector. There was also a need to ensure that the right levels of funding for such schemes were made available.
Source: Dylan Kneale, What Role for Extra Care Housing in a Socially Isolated Landscape?, Housing Learning and Improvement Network
Links: Report | ILC press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Jun
A paper examined migration trends in later life. One migration peak was around retirement, often involving those with the means to choose a home and area more in keeping with their changing circumstances and health. The second peak was among the 'older' old, suggesting that many were moving in response to a health crisis that required increased levels of care. People moving in the latter circumstances had less choice over destination, were more likely to end up in housing that provided a higher level of care than they needed or desired, and were more likely to lose contact with social networks that combated loneliness and isolation. Policy-makers needed to recognize the prevention potential of housing, and to invest in specialist, well-designed housing in locations in which older people wanted to live.
Source: Jenny Pennington, Moving On: Migration trends in later life, Hanover Housing Association
Date: 2013-Jun
A report examined the use of payment-by-results schemes in public services, focusing on housing-related support.
Source: Adam Knight-Markiegi and Alison Quinn, Payment by Results: Comparing payment by results across public services and in housing related support, Sitra
Links: Report | Sitra press release
Date: 2013-May
A think-tank report said that many older people were dissatisfied with existing mainstream and specialist retirement housing. Although sociable housing arrangements – such as cohousing – might be challenging to establish, these innovative forms of housing were valued highly by older people who might otherwise be exposed to the risk of social isolation and loneliness.
Source: Louise Bazalgette and Jo Salter, Sociable Housing in Later Life, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-May
A report examined ways of creating more choice and control for people with learning disabilities over where they lived and how they were supported.
Source: Simon Duffy, 21st Century Vision, Centre for Welfare Reform/Housing and Support Alliance
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Apr
A briefing reviewed the statistical and research evidence on migrants' experiences in, and impacts on, the housing system. The foreign-born population had significantly lower ownership rates than the United Kingdom-born population, and was three times as likely to be in the private rental sector.
Source: Carlos Vargas-Silva, Migrants and Housing in the UK: Experiences and impacts, Migration Observatory (University of Oxford)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jan
A paper examined the impact of poor housing on the health and well-being outcomes of older people. It considered the strategic approaches that could be taken to influence the provision of housing and housing-related services to improve outcomes.
Source: Health, Wellbeing, and the Older People Housing Agenda, Housing Learning & Improvement Network
Links: Briefing
Date: 2013-Jan
A study examined the notion of cohousing for older people, drawing on examples from outside the United Kingdom, and assessed the potential for cohousing in the UK itself.
Source: Maria Brenton, Senior Cohousing Communities – An Alternative Approach for the UK?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Notes: Cohousing is a form of group living that clusters individual homes around a common house , or shared space and amenities.
Date: 2013-Jan
A paper examined the importance of parental resources and parental family structure on the likelihood of young adults aged 18-24 returning to the parental home following an initial departure. Although parental background and circumstances could contribute to young adults' propensity to return home, this was far outweighed by the impact of the individual-level characteristics of the young adults themselves.
Source: Ann Berrington, Juliet Stone, and Jane Falkingham, The Impact of Parental Characteristics and Contextual Effects on Returns to the Parental Home in Britain, Working Paper 29, Centre for Population Change
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jan
