An evaluation of the Race Equality Network

This report evaluates the work of the Race Equality Network, set up to help housing providers improve their services for black and minority ethnic communities. The Race Equality Network was set up in Yorkshire and Humberside and the North East to help housing providers improve their services for black and minority ethnic communities. This report reviews the substantial changes that have been made to the network since its inception, including its transformation into the Housing Diversity Network; how these changes are viewed by the network’s clients, potential clients, and housing organisations in Yorkshire and Humberside, and the North East; and the prospects for the development of the network in the future. The paper contains a number of important recommendations for policy makers, in particular that similar networks should be developed in other regions, with support from the Housing Corporation and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Empowerment through residence

What does it mean to empower people through the housing in which they live, and how is this empowerment to be achieved? These are the questions which are examined in this paper. Typologies of empowerment processes are devised in an attempt to make sense of the conceptual and empirical variety involved. The distinction between 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' empowerment orientations is argued to be particularly important for understanding the content, pattern and general direction of empowerment processes. Empowerments through knowledge, statute, resources, agreement and specific power transfer are then discussed in relation to specific housing contexts, in particular the context of social housing management. The utility of the typologies of empowerment processes is tested in application to specific tenant participation arrangements. It is concluded that resident empowerment is worth pursuing not only for its own sake, but for the benefits which it can bring to a wider society

Understanding homelessness

This paper reviews the literature on understanding homelessness. It criticizes approaches that ignore, distort or diminish the humanity of homeless people, or else, add little to our understanding of that humanity. In particular, it rejects what it calls “epidemiological” approaches, which deny the possibility of agency for homeless people, insofar as those approaches view the situation of those people largely as a “social fact”, to be explained in terms of causal variables or “risk factors” of different kinds. It evaluates the concept of homelessness pathways as a way of making sense of research findings on homelessness. It takes issue with realist approaches, insofar as these approaches purport to identify “underlying” mechanisms that “cause” homelessness, and discusses ethnographic approaches focused on “homeless culture”. Throughout, the paper emphasizes the need to understand homelessness as multidimensional and storied, and concludes with a plea for more research that looks at the whole life of a homeless person, rather than just at selected episodes of rooflessness

Understanding community policing

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to explore, in broad terms, how policing needs to be developed in communities today. Approach The approach is normative and analytical, considering the meaning of policing in general, and community policing in particular, and specifying the criteria that such policing has to satisfy in order to be fair and effective in contemporary society. Findings A concept of public self-policing is developed and community policing is then evaluated in the light of this concept. Police officers are understood as street-level bureaucrats, with multiple accountabilities. The ideal relationship between police and public is characterised as a structural coupling between two types of self-organising system. Implications The paper has implications for how policing organisations and governments might develop improved policing strategies in the future. Value of the paper The paper provides a clear, logical summary of thinking about the role of policing, particularly community policing, in today’s society. It offers a novel concept of public self-policing, leading to a new approach to the evaluation of the work of policing organisations

On explanation of housing policy

This paper is concerned with making sense of current ways of explaining housing policy. Four different types of explanation are identified and analysed in detail: explanations in terms of systems of actors, hypothetico‐deductive explanations, realist explanations, and culturalist explanations. The characteristic ontology and epistemology of each type of explanation is made explicit. The four types of explanation are then evaluated, partly in their own terms, and partly in relation to each other. It is argued that explanations in terms of systems of actors are inherently superficial, so it is essential to go beyond and below them in order to achieve an acceptable level of explanatory adequacy. Hypothetico‐deductive explanations are rescued from realist and culturalist criticisms which tend to dismiss them altogether, but they are recognised as having serious limitations in terms of conceptual vagueness/ambiguity and contextual fragmentation. Realist explanations are considered in greater depth through an examination of regulation theory. This examination amounts to a critique of the theory as regards its application to housing policy. Finally, culturalist explanations are assessed by using Kemeny's theory as an illustration, with both ontological and epistemological problems being identified. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the logical relations and differences between explanations of the four different types

Explanations of social exclusion: where does housing fit in?

This paper takes the view that concepts of social exclusion are socially constructed by different combinations of economic, social and political processes. It is suggested that the core meaning of social exclusion is bound up with social isolation and social segregation, and it is therefore argued that an analysis of social mobility (or the lack of it) is crucial to understanding the content and extent of social exclusion. Three approaches to the analysis of social mobility are briefly considered, and it is concluded that the causation of social exclusion appears to have three interrelated dimensions: economic, legal/political, and moral/ideological. The main theoretical approaches to social exclusion, encompassing 'structural' and 'cultural' perspectives, are then examined, and a new, more holistic theory is proposed, using the concept of a duality of interrelated labour processes. This theory is developed on three different levels, corresponding to the three dimensions of social exclusion. The final part of the paper is concerned with the application of the theory of social exclusion to housing processes. The latter are discussed under the headings of housing production, housing tenure, residential segregation, housing mobility, and processes associated with homelessness and leaving home. It is shown how housing processes cut across the different social levels (labour process, social reproduction and ideology), how they reflect prevailing patterns of social exclusion, and how they can either mitigate or reinforce those patterns. Social exclusion is distinguished from forms of housing exclusion (for example, relating to tenure), with which it is sometimes confused. It is noted that the groups which are commonly socially excluded through housing processes are those which are to be expected on the basis of the theory, namely unwaged, unskilled, not within a 'traditional' family household, and seen as 'undeserving'

A sceptic looks at "housing theory"

A sceptic looks at "housing theory

Evaluation of Families Working Together: Final Report on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council

The University of Lincoln was commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council to provide an external evaluation of Families Working Together (FWT), a community budget pilot for supporting families with complex needs. This report outlines the data collected within the course of the research and the findings of the researchers

Building a “community co-operative” at Hill Holt Wood

This article documents the business history of Hill Holt Wood (HHW), a community-run social enterprise based in rural Lincolnshire. It aims to shed light on the issues and obstacles associated with developing a rural enterprise into a ‘community co-operative’ (Somerville, 2007). To this end, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the venture’s founder over a period of approximately five years. It was found that the motivation and persistence of the founder, in addition to key support networks that can be drawn upon when required, were critical to the success of this community-controlled enterprise. The article concludes with a discussion of the future prospects for HHW and similar ‘community co-operatives’

Rural transport and older people in Lincolnshire : research report in association with the Policy Studies Research Centre and Lincoln Business School

Executive Summary • The population of the UK is ageing and it is predicted that by 2035 people aged 65 and over will comprise 23% of the total UK population. • These changing demographics are particularly noticeable in rural areas of the UK, where the median age of a rural resident is 42, compared to 36 for an urban resident. The out-migration of younger age groups and the selective re-population of many of England’s rural areas with older age groups, means that the rural population is simultaneously growing and ageing. • Research indicates that among post-retirement older people there is a clear connection between transport and social exclusion, which is especially marked in rural areas. Accessible transport is therefore a key factor in preventing social isolation, facilitating independence and maintaining a high quality of life. • This report was commissioned to examine these issues and investigate the current and future transportation needs of older people in Lincolnshire after transport was listed as one of three top priorities for older people in a consultation with this age group in the county. • The report will form part of a wider proposal to develop a community transport strategy for Lincolnshire, supported by a marketing and communication plan for transport services for older people. • If well planned, community transport can form a vital component of an integrated transport system as it provides an important passenger transport resource, which complements other transport services such as local bus and rail networks and Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes such as CallConnect. • In so doing, community transport helps to provide and enhance passenger transport accessibility and reduce social isolation in rural areas and for particular categories of people (such as older people), who can find it difficult to access public transport. The main conclusions which emerged from the research are as follows: • There was a severe lack of knowledge amongst participants about what community transport schemes existed, how they operated and what services they offered. • There appeared to be a negative relationship between the number of community transport providers and high levels of socio-economic deprivation. For example, in Gainsborough there were no voluntary/community car schemes, whilst in Louth, there was a large scheme, well operated and well used. However, despite these findings, there were still people living in Louth attending the focus group who had little or no idea about what a voluntary/community car scheme was or what other services like CallConnect could do for them. • The dominant role of the car in older people’s lives was noticeable: both men and women were very reluctant to give up driving and continued to drive into their 80s. • While some older people felt that their free bus passes were a ‘lifeline’, others felt they were less useful as there were not enough buses to use them on, could not use them due to mobility issues and the distance from their homes to a bus stop, or were not aware that they could be used on DRT services e.g. CallConnect. • A severe lack of coordination between transport services was reported by older people. These included connection times between different bus operators and also to railway stations. Furthermore there was also a variety of health care providers who older people felt gave little or no consideration as to how they were to get to appointments and how to deal with potential life changing events, e.g. the cessation of driving. • While many older people appeared to own mobile phones, very few used these to send text messages and no participants used their phone to access the internet. • Very few of the people interviewed used a computer, instead relying on their sons and daughters to find out information when they had no other option but to use a computer and access the internet. However, some older people did express a desire to learn more about computer technology and how to access the internet. • There are a lack of public and community transport services that operate during the evenings and at weekends in rural communities. This creates a feeling of isolation amongst the older people interviewed and difficulties in accessing essential amenities and services. Based on the research in this report, a series of short and longer term recommendations are suggested to increase the use of public and community transport services by older people in rural communities: Short term 1. The implementation of a promotional and marketing campaign that would raise awareness of different rural transport services available to older people 2. Further development of the Lincolnshire Community Transport Forum 3. The promotion of voluntary/community transport as a way to access healthcare Longer term 4. Greater opportunities for older people to access and learn about ICT for transport 5. The expansion of the concessionary bus pass scheme to be used on other transport service