Key Worker Staff - Case Study Example

 Key worker housing Key workers are specific groups providing essential services in public and private sectors. Key worker staff includes employees from local government offices (social care workers and teachers), staff of health care department (midwives and nurses), law enforcement and emergency service staff (police, fire staff), jail staff and so forth. High quality key workers are mandatory for the improvement of the quality of the society. They offer their services to different sectors, binging out the best results. It is always crucial for the society to retain best key workers so that they can make use of their services. For example, maintaining high potential teachers will help improve the quality of the education sector. Maintaining health sector staff providing quality services will help improve the health status of the people of the society. In order to retain such quality worker staff within the key areas, it is essential to offer them the best residence facilities. There arises the significance of key worker housing assistance councils and schemes that would help key workers find a quality residence near their work places. Government is offering specially allocated funds to give affordable housing (residence facilities) and favourable policies for key workers so that they can offer their best service. Key workers (including teachers and health workers) play a critical role in upgrading the status of society by providing better frontline public services. Government listens to the housing requirements and aspirations of key workers and has introduced policies and programmes based on their views. The newly implemented key worker policies are targeted and tailored to meet the demands arising in public services. The new policies will help key workers to have better home ownership at affordable renting rates. Government plans to fund for affordable homes for key workers so that it becomes possible to retain more quality teachers in the main area itself. This would help the government to create high class education system in London. A higher value Homebuy scheme is also included in the key worker housing initiative, which is specially meant for potential teaching staff who can later contribute for the improvement of London’s education system (in the future). Additional funding is done for transitional Local Authority Social Housing Grant. The total funding for key worker housing came up to £1 billion in March 2006 (for the last three years). The Communities Plan came up with special arrangements for providing more housing capital resources. In order to provide timely and appropriate suggestions and allocations, Regional Housing Boards are introduced. These initiatives will contribute for the fulfilment of regional as well as national goals in the case of key worker housing and rural housing. Boards have representatives from Government regional offices as well from housing corporations. Various other key housing programmes have been introduced that provide huge funding for key workers to get better residence facilities. Helping key workers have become one of the most important programmes district and local councils. Community plans also reflected the government’s plan of offering more help to key workers. Various types of funding options have been introduced for assisting key workers (eg. Homebuy, London Challenge Key Teacher Homebuy, Intermediate renting). Unavailability of talented key workers will have negative impact on essential public services of the area. If key workers are placed in remote areas, both employers and the community will have difficulties in getting their services. Key workers will have to travel long distances for reaching their work places if they are not living within the city. Also when more and more people start using their private vehicles in the city (key workers going for job), it will have other negative environmental as well as congestion effects. Housing problems of key workers should be solved keeping in mind the aspirations and convenience of key workers, the requirements of their employers and the general need of the community. Key worker housing councils offer help to key workers providing them the best possible residence facilities, thereby making them offer their best services in their respective field. Winchester city council has formulized a key worker housing strategy to help the key workers in that particular geographical area. The strategy of the council is to help all the residents to have a chance to utilize their full potential to contribute their best to make a better community. The City Council’s Social Inclusion Strategy includes new provisions to help the key workers reside and work in Winchester district itself. This would help the workers to have convenience in reaching their work places and offering more time and energy for their employers. The Winchester Key Worker Housing Strategy includes measures to spot out priority key worker groups depending upon the local requirements of Winchester. The programme aims to increase the resources available for Winchester district so that it is possible to provide affordable residence facilities for key workers. The council will give assistance to the respective zone agent to establish a good fellowship between the authorities, housing associations and employers. Key worker housing processes should change and it must be given high priority. Housing of key workers recently became a crucial topic as society is experiencing problems in recruiting and retaining best key worker staff. In Winchester, key workers like nurses and teachers are experiencing problems as they are not able to afford the high prices of good houses. Many people wish to have an own house. But for many of the Winchester residents this would be a distant dream. The price of a land property is that high that people cannot afford it unless they have high income. Key workers in the district are reluctant to approach Housing Register (though they are eligible) as they think that have less chance of consideration. Middle and low income people are found to be devoid of own house since they cannot afford it. Such households are also found to be not eligible for assistance (that would meet their requirement) and therefore will not be included in the housing need list. Another problem is the availability of affordable house reasonably near to the work place. It is always good for the employers and society to have the employees reside in sufficiently close areas. Employees with medium or low salary cannot afford a mortgage of three and half or more from their salary. Purchasing a decent home is not possible without a significant mortgage from the salary. Families having a single earner (having medium or low salary) can never think of an own house since a mortgage from that salary will make it insufficient for other important needs. Winchester saw a significant growth in employment opportunities as a result of the improvement in its economy. But an equivalent improvement did not appear in the housing sector in the district. Key workers are not able to find a residence close to their office. House prices in Winchester increased and demand has crossed supply thereby making a significant proportion of employees deprived of convenient residence. Seventeen percent of employees have to travel more than 20 kilometres to reach their work place. This affordability problem of the key workers creates serious housing problems in Winchester affecting other key departments too. Social housing supply is very limited and the demand is found to be very high. There will be long housing waiting list (with less resources), with several families in temporary residence waiting for a permanent residence. Winchester council have come up with new strategies to solve key worker housing problems. They came up with several recommendations. Affordable housing proportion should be sufficient within Winchester and across the district. The Review plan also recommends providing affordable housing facilities for key workers at their convenient places. The council is now studying different methods through which it can offer affordable quality accommodation for key workers without disturbing the requirements of other households. Comparatively bigger sites offering more than ten units of housing (with affordable price) can be used for mixed tenure housing. Housing Enabling Department of the council would plan about the type of property suitable for each state and will help to make affordable rented housing possible. Key worker housing strategy was formulated according to the Council’s experience in the Starter Homes Initiative (in the low cost home ownership programme of government) which was meant for helping key workers such as teachers, health sector staff and police. This initiative required working among various council departments, health agencies, law enforcement departments, to make the venture a big success. HVHS Housing group offered six flats (single bedroom) for key workers, under the Starter Homes Initiative. The initiative helped 52 key workers in the Winchester district for getting a suitable affordable residence. The initiative was meant for low-cost home ownership and seldom offered any rented housing helps for key workers. But the initiative was a success to a good extent and really helped many people in finding an appropriate residence. Swaythling Housing Society is using ‘Key Worker Living’, the key worker scheme supported by the government. SHS was given the in charge of Hampshire as well as the Isle of Wight Zone area. The initiative was helpful for key workers (especially for teachers and nurses) whose services are mandatory for the improvement of the society. They must be retained in accessible areas close to their work places so that it will be helpful for them, their companies and the community. The strategy was targeted for places where there the recruitment requirement and cost of living do not match. The scheme offered equity loans for key workers to buy house. On the policy of shared ownership, houses and flats are provided for sale. Houses with good facilities are given at low rent by Registered Social Landlords. The Haringey Council is a key worker housing organisation that offers first class services for key workers within borough and through out London, to find a better residence at reasonable price. The key worker housing programme of Haringey Council aims to assist key workers in finding houses. Haringey council offer various types of services to key workers in Haringey. They offer housing services, planning services, building control services and services like local land charges register. Housing service team provide help and advice for tenants residing in the area. Services include providing support for responding to repair issues, searching for proper houses, buying house, giving the houses for rent and so forth. The particular department will take care of the housing requirements of the area (for private tenants). Key workers can proceed by getting sufficient advice concerning the matter from the housing advice and shared ownership advices of the council. Haringey offers different support services for the proper planned implementation of developmental activities in the borough. Planning portals of the council helps to find or make online review planning applications, along with appropriate and timely guidance and support for different works. For example, if one person wants to purchase a property and wants to know if there exist any restrictions or rules, he can find the rules followed by the council in the local land charges register. Haringey Council key worker housing programme is thus a boon to key workers in Haringey. As it is very important to retain key workers within the easily accessible areas of the city, they must be given good housing at their convenient places. Employers can help employees find a suitable residence for their employees. Employers with land properties can help their employees reside in their premises by developing residential facilities. Key workers should be categorised and priority should be given to the negatively privileged group. There will be families of key workers who have double income who can afford a quality house. Such groups should be given only a second preference. Assistance in key worker housing should be primarily given to those families of key workers who cannot afford a decent residence facility. Lower paid public sector key workers should be the priority group. Eligible group can be found out considering recruitment and retention problems. It is important to recognize the needy group and their requirements without disturbing the needs of other non-key worker group. References ‘Homelessness: review and strategy 2003’, Available online at: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/housing/strategy/homeless/homestrat/objct6.htm ‘Housing general fund services business plan 2005-2006’, Available online at: www.winchester.gov.uk ‘Key worker living: UNISON welcomes new key worker housing scheme’, Available online at: http://www.politics.co.uk/issueoftheday/unison-welcomes-new-key-worker-housing-scheme-$2266994.htm ‘Key workers’, Available online at: http://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/services/housing/keyworkers.htm ‘Key worker housing’, Available online at: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/housing_and_planning/housing/keyworkers.htm#schemes ‘Key worker housing strategy’, Available online at: http://www.winchester.gov.uk/documentlibrary.asp?id=849 ‘Key worker living’, Available online at: http://www.hants.gov.uk/education/eps/key-worker- living/index.html ‘Key worker living’, Available online at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1151221 ‘Key worker living’, Available online at: http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/server/show/nav.547 ‘Key worker scheme’, Available online at: http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/living/2910.html Read More