Report of the Strategic Director, Growth and Development

This report provides an update to Scrutiny Committee on the Council’s proposals to decarbonise the city’s housing, incorporating an update on Green Skills and provides an opportunity for members to contribute to and influence these policy areas.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director, Growth and Development that provided an update on the Council’s proposals to decarbonise the city’s housing, incorporating an update on Green Skills.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background;

·         Retrofit targets, noting that the Council’s Housing Strategy 2022-32 set a target of retrofitting at least a third of the city’s 67,300 social rented properties by 2032;

·         Analysis of the housing stock in Manchester using the modelling exercise carried out by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2021;

·         Retrofit measures;

·         Progress and emerging plans for decarbonising Council-owned properties and other social rented properties;

·         Information on the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund;

·         Challenges relating to social housing;

·         Considerations relating to private sector housing;

·         Considerations relating to private rented properties;

·         Cross-tenure approaches and area-based schemes;

·         Neighbourhood-based approaches to retrofit;

·         Key enablers, noting that the Our Retrofit Plan was founded on four key enablers: resident engagement, skills, funding and partnerships.

·         Funding arrangements;

·         Monitoring and reporting arrangements; and

·         Conclusions.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         Recognising the significant amount of work delivered by officers to date on this important area of work;

·         The government needed to be lobbied for adequate funding to enable Manchester to deliver on the stated ambitions;

·         Recommending that the Chair write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The purpose being to invite him to meet with the Committee to discuss the proposals for Manchester to decarbonise the city’s housing stock, recognising the importance of this to address climate change and support residents during the cost-of-living crisis. 

·         How realistic was the target of completing the zero-carbon retrofitting of a minimum of 1/3rd of the 67,300 homes managed by Manchester Housing Providers and achieve an EPC rating of B or above across this stock by 2032;

·         Welcoming the reported neighbourhood-based approaches to retrofit;

·         The need to identify all private landlords in Manchester;

·         Noting the difficulties experienced by leaseholders in obtaining permission by owners to undertake retrofitting works;

·         The need to ensure all new builds are future proofed to ensure those properties do not require retrofitting in future years;

·         Recognising the importance of skills and training to deliver the ambitions described; and

·         Information on the outcomes of the referenced skills bootcamps.

The Senior Project Officer, Housing and Residential Growth stated that all funding opportunities were being explored, including working with other Local Authorities across Greater Manchester.

The Zero Carbon Programme Manager acknowledged the challenges experienced by leaseholders and those in the private rented sector. She stated that this was why the neighbourhood-based approach was important as this work and improvements realised could influence these sectors. The Committee were also informed that larger social housing providers were encouraged to work with and support smaller providers. The Director of Development and Strategic Housing stated that landlord licensing would be used to gather information and data and engage with private landlords and impose housing standards on licensed properties.

The Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure stated that the issue of skills was important and also very challenging. He stated that the pipeline of traditional construction works in Manchester made it difficult for staff to be released to attend training, and this was in addition to funding challenges. He stated that these challenges were understood, and work was underway to address these. He referred to the detailed section within the report that discussed specifically the subject of skills.

The Work and Skills Lead advised that analysis of the outcomes of the skills bootcamps would be undertaken, advising that that these were available to people who were already in employment and were seeking to upskill or retrain.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development stated that he welcomed the report and paid tribute to all of the officers involved for their hard work in bringing this important work forward. He reiterated the comments expressed by Members for the need for adequate funding from the government. He stated that this work needed to be delivered at scale and at speed to address emissions and climate change and to support residents at this time of a cost-of-living crisis.

Decision

The Committee recommend that the Chair write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The purpose being to invite him to meet with the Committee to discuss the proposals for Manchester to decarbonise the city’s housing stock, recognising the importance of this to address climate change and support residents during the cost-of-living crisis.