Andy Burnham has laid out his Finland-inspired housing scheme at a housing conference in Manchester.
The scheme offers homes to rough sleepers and support in a range of fields, from mental health to substance abuse.
Burnham, whose campaign focused on ending homelessness, laid out how the new Housing First Unit at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will focus on three key priorities: supply, standards, and support.
The supply facet of the scheme envisions “75000 new homes in the current parliament” with a focus on affordable housing and single-occupancy properties.
New construction has previously faced opposition from some local residents in the Greater Manchester community.
With the new Labour government’s plans to liberalise planning laws as part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the process of gaining consent of local communities will be changed.
The scheme will aim to uphold standards in the rental sector with two focuses.
Firstly, it will offer property inspections to tenants followed up by necessary enforcement action.
Secondly, it will be included in Greater Manchester’s voluntary Good Landlord Charter scheme aiming to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords.
The final pillar of the scheme is to offer greater support and social services to residents of the region with a focus on those being supported out of homelessness.
Burnham aims to tackle many of the root causes of homelessness and housing insecurity such as mental health suffering, substance abuse, and lack of employment.
The lack of preconditions in the scheme enables people to seek support without concern about being made homeless again.
Finland’s Housing First strategy began in 2007 and has reduced homelessness by 70% and ended poverty-based homelessness across Finland.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority established a pilot scheme in 2019, based on the Finnish strategy, which has secured housing for over 400 people with remarkable success; around 75% have sustained their tenancies.
Ultimately, the scheme is dependent on the granting of “the right powers and funding” to the GMCA according to Burnham.
However, with temporary accommodation costing Greater Manchester’s councils £75 million, the scheme could reduce costs to the taxpayer in the long term.
Burnham’s goals are clear, bold but pragmatic: “a healthy home for everyone in Greater Manchester by 2038”.
Speaking at the same conference as Burnham, Jukka Siukosaari, the Finnish Ambassador to the UK, stressed the “importance of the home as a starting point when we help people rebuild their lives” and his delight at cooperating with Greater Manchester.
