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University of Glasgow research advanced a new conceptual and practical approach to housing systems analysis used by local authorities across the breadth of the UK. The research was instrumental in the drafting of new legislation which required all local authorities to produce evidence-based housing strategies founded upon the approach developed through the Glasgow research. As well as forming the basis of Good Practice Guides used by housing professionals and practitioners, the research underpinned extensive training programmes for housing planners and policy-makers in all 4 countries of the UK.
University of Reading research led to the development of one of the key tools for housing policy analysis used within the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and related bodies between 2005 and 2013. In particular, the project, which produced 14 publications and reports, has had a major impact on the analysis of policy and subsequent policy decisions concerning housing supply and land-use planning, housing tenure, international migration and the effects of the credit crunch.
In 1996 Byatt-Smith, Lacey and Parker (all Maxwell Institute, MI) and co-workers developed a mathematical model of housing allocation to examine the impact of housing policies on homelessness in England and Wales. The model was subsequently adapted to the Scottish context by Lacey and Waugh (MI). Since 2008, it has been used by the Scottish Government to help inform its housing policy, enabling it to target development funding for new build to areas of greatest homelessness need and meet its 2012 homelessness commitment. The model has provided quantitative underpinning for major policy changes enacted in Scotland during the period from 2008: the right to buy public-sector housing has been limited, and regions where private rented sector housing has the potential to provide housing for homeless households have been identified. This has resulted in a marked increase of public-sector house builds between 2005/06 (6 starts) and 2009/10 (538 starts). The research informed the allocation of £644M in 2009/10 contributing to a 14% reduction in homelessness in Scotland between 2008/09 and 2012/13.
The practice-based research outputs contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge in the area of low-energy affordable housing which was evidenced through design outputs, case studies government publications.
The work has been undertaken in response to governmental concerns regarding the future provision at a national level of an energy efficient, affordable, good quality housing stock. Accordingly, the underpinning approach has been widely disseminated to government departments, public and private housing organisations. The design concepts and principles have been adopted by housing providers, and have become a point of reference for those working within the field of low-energy sustainable housing design.
Oxford research on consumption, credit and housing has played a central role in guiding the policy advice provided to UK government departments, planners and regional bodies on housing affordability and housing provision and on policies to support homeowners. The research has provided policymakers worldwide with important insights into the key role of credit and housing markets in the recent global financial crisis and the lessons for central bank modelling and the design of monetary policy.
Working both individually and in collaboration with other researchers, Dr Helen Carr has produced a highly significant and original body of work dealing with questions of housing tenure. This work has provided a direct inspiration for substantial reform of Welsh housing legislation, indelibly colouring current public and political debates in this area, and is recognised by Welsh policy-makers as having had `significant impact' in the reform process, a process in which Carr remains closely and directly involved. With the legislation now in draft form, the research has substantially shaped the agenda of the Welsh Assembly, providing inspiration, intellectual underpinning, a legal framework and the evidential basis for proposals which are now at an advanced stage of development. The research will impact directly on the lives of approximately half a million people who are tenants or landlords, as well as the extensive work in this area of all Welsh councils and housing associations.
Research by Professor Darren Smith into Housing in Multiple Occupation (HMO) improved knowledge of the effects of students in university towns in the UK and North America. His research led to revised national planning/housing legislation to integrate students into university towns and provide student housing in more strategic ways. Ministers for Communities and Local Government and Housing used his evidence when revising Use Classes. National consultation documents and government-commissioned evidence-gathering reports on HMO emphasise the importance of his research. His work led to Local Authority Student Housing Strategies and University Student Accommodation Strategies, best-practice guides for student-community relations by National Union of Students (NUS)/private sector, and inclusion of student housing in Regional/Local Housing Strategies and Housing Market Impact Assessments.
Research at Aberystwyth has enhanced the capacity of forecasters to calibrate the scale of the impact on consumer spending of movements in house prices. Specifically research has provided improvements in the methodology used for estimating the impact of housing market shocks on consumer spending .This has impacted upon policy debates, including those in Central Banks, and informed methods of forecasting the impact of house prices on household economic behaviour. Thus a clearer understanding of an important macro-economic transmission mechanism has been provided. The research has also helped implementation of policy by assisting forecasters to calibrate the scale of the impact on consumer spending growth of movements in house prices, in particular taking into account the importance of controlling for expectations, and the distinction between behaviour in response to unanticipated versus anticipated housing market fluctuations.
Research at the Centre for Urban Policy Studies (CUPS) at the University of Manchester (UoM) has contributed significantly to the improvement and targeting of resources to deprived urban areas. Through the development of a matrix approach, this work has both informed and transformed the UK Government's `deprivation index', the measure used to direct resources to areas most in need. More recently, a functional typology for use in the classification of deprived neighbourhoods has been developed. This was subsequently used by central government, local authorities and city-regions to better inform the nature and scope of regeneration initiatives.
The research highlighted here has had a major impact on the design of community led planning (CLP) and neighbourhood planning in England since 2006; initially within the voluntary and community sector and subsequently on policymakers' thinking. This has shaped the trajectory of policy development nationally since 2010 and influenced the way in which local authorities and other intermediary organizations (such as the Rural Community Action Network (RCAN) / Action in Communities in Rural England (ACRE) / Rural Community Councils (RCCs) in England) have approached community-led planning (CLP) and subsequently Neighbourhood Planning (NP). The work has had a significant impact on the NP approach and therefore on the public through the 2011 Localism Act. This legislation led to the `Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning' (SCNP) programme, funded by Communities and Local Government (CLG) since 2011 to a value of circa £20m overall (which includes a 2013-15 tranche of £9.5 Million). The case study lead researcher (Parker) is now co-ordinating a large part of this programme while on 80% secondment at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)/Planning Aid England (PAE) (2012-2014).