Taking back control… thru’ ethics! …from experts and political elites

Taking back control…thru’ ethics!…from experts and political elites ‘The Moral Case for Affordable Housing’ November 1st 2018 Stephen Hill MRICS Churchill Fellow smdhill@gmail.com @StephenHillFP

EXPERTS Overheard recently in London… (true) Surveyor 1:“Busy?” Surveyor 2:“BUSY??? Soooo busy! Rushed off my feet with viability appraisals for developers trying to avoid providing any affordable housing.”

Professional Surveyors and Planners…working in the public interest? Or little better than a fraud against the public interest?

I think bankers used to have that. HSBC Chairman, Douglas Flint, answering a question from the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards I do think there is an aspect of professionalism…where you are taught that you have a duty to your profession that transcendswhoever your particular employer is at that time.

POLITICAL ELITES Overheard in London… (allegedly) “I don’t understand why you keep going on about the need for more social housing – it just creates Labour voters” “Hopefully we will have a little housing boom, and everyone will be happy as property values go up” (…definitely true)We need a housing market that’s BORING…where things are really quite predictable.”

House price increases in 2007 = - 4.4% GDP (NIESR) IMF CRISIS IMF/HMT ended council house building and public investment on infrastructure Anything but boring? BIG BANG ! Last year GDP > 4% Right to Buy HOWE AUSTERITY BUDGET

Land price matters… UK CRASH! JAPAN CRASH!

Quick Guide to Housing Economics for busy professionals & politicians To support marginal home owners into the market, government should prioritise the conditions needed to reduce volatility in the market: • Non-inflationary movements in house prices • Predictability in interest rates • Secure terms of employment and housing costs related to incomes • Adequate supply of affordable housing in all tenures to avoid distortion of local housing market behaviour

Ethics = Being for the Other Ethics is defined simply and directly as ‘being-for the Other’ To assume an ethical stance means to assume responsibility for the Other Zygmunt Bauman former Professor of Sociology University of Leeds

Objects -To maintain and promote the usefulness of the profession for the public advantage in the United Kingdom and in any other part of the world…securing the optimal use of land and its associated resources to meet social and economic needs RICS Royal Charter 1881 2008 Update

The doctrine ofUtilitarianism ‘Usefulness’… one way of looking at ethical choices

“We might also look at the public interest implications of property as an investment vehicle, especially where this might distort marketsand put residential property beyond the reach of most buyers.”RICS Member in on-line debate Public Interest today On ethical issues, mere compliance with laws and regulations is not enough The elephant in the room is our personal ethics. There is nothing stopping any of us saying: I do not like the possible consequences of this course of action, so I will not do it RICS Member Letter to Modus journal Jan 2017

Everyday Ethical Dilemmas • We promise as little as possible at planning, then sell the client’s land for as much as possible • This is a Sustainable Offer, and that is a Commercial Offer • The whole CPD session was aimed at how to avoidPart L [of the Building Regulations] • We’ll build more sustainable homes…provided people are prepared to pay more • My first duty is to my employer/client’s shareholder value

Viability in Planning…“We can’t afford to provide any affordable housing” QC for Applicant:Of course they are different …they were produced for different purposes. Shell Centre, South Bank Difference in total sales revenuebetween Offer to City Investors and Viability Appraisal to Planning Inquiry = >£250,000,000

…at the centre of the globaldevelopment agenda Ethical Principles focussed on Land

Targets By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials RIBAEthics & Sustainable Development Commissions 2018 Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements… Inclusive…safe…resilient…and sustainable

Sustainable Development Why ethical? “It does not tempt us to be less moral than we might otherwise be; it invites us to be more moral than we could ever have imagined.” Philosopher Matthew Bull on climate change • Sustainability raises complex practical and • ethical dilemmas,that have to take account of: • Professional work ‘with us and after us’ • Intergenerationalequity in resource use • Deferred impacts over long periods • Differential geographical and social impacts • High levels of uncertainty and unpredictability • …many kinds of ‘other’ …many of whom are unknowable but could be thoughtfully imagined

I don’t like what’s happening to my country…to my lifeConversation during my Churchill Fellowship research Durham, North Carolina, USA May 2014 The story of a good man who probably voted for Trump, with a very clear idea about what was wrong in the world… http://stephenhillfutureplanning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/5-may-8th-2014-more-wisdom-from-cab.html

Loss of trust in the housing ‘system’ that has demonstrably failed ? The cause of public alienation… • Lack of human empathy • Distrustful and disrespectful of active citizens • Protective of established positions and financial self interests • Resistance to and fear of innovation • Ignoring/ignorant of the demand side question…

Experts – Putting this right Accountability to the public: “to secure the optimal use of land… to meet social and economic need” - Registered Appraisers - Public Interest Declarations - Independent Public Interest Challenge Board - Political/Professional Thought Leadership

Political elites – Putting this right Accountability to the public: CaCHE: UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence ESRC, RICS and others have set it up, but it should be put on a statutory footing, like OBR, independent of government - Fact Checking - Evidence base of all UK housing & labour markets - Policy Impact Assessment

Putting this right… Share Responsibility with Citizens everywhere: A presumption in favour of LOCALrevolutions ! “A bottom up revolution in how housing is done in the UK” - Richard Bacon MP “Start a revolution where communities would get involved in providing housing for themselves” - Grant Shapps MP Minister of Housing

Rebuilding Democracy “The secret of modern Britain is there is no power anywhere. Some commentators think we're run by an oligarchy. But we're not. Britain is such a different place now, and changing so quickly, that I'm coming slowly, painfully, to accept that we need to start again…” Interview Jan 2014 Rory Stewart MP (now Minister at MoJ)at the launch of the independent CLT Network June 2104

Rebuilding Democracy “Putting people back in control…(this) means there is not just one ‘right way’ of doing things, and no universal delivery mechanism, except to start with the energy, passion, creativity and strength in communities and build from there Article Feb 2014 Lisa Nandy MP…er, helping launch the Manchester Mayoral Selection Campaign 2016

Do things with people…not to LEAVE NO-ONE BEHIND!

Answer to the meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything? " You're really not going to like this, you know..." 42

Taking back control… thru’ ethics! …from experts and political elites