Guest Blog: Alice Lamb, Deputy Chief Executive & Director of Operations - LandAid

I was honoured to be invited to speak at the Movers & Shakers housing breakfast at the Savoy Hotel last Thursday 18 April. LandAid is proud to partner with Movers & Shakers and we are delighted to raise our profile via their fantastic networking events, providing a brilliant platform for us to raise awareness of our mission to end youth homelessness.

It was great to be joined by our new Head of Fundraising, Claire Bavister, who experienced her first Movers & Shakers breakfast, which she thoroughly enjoyed thanks to the warm, welcoming environment.

I also had a chance to chat to James Pargeter (mainly about cats and how I can get a copy of his ‘Build More Bloody Houses’ T-shirt made up) but also about his role at UKSFA - one of LandAid’s newest supporters.

It was a pleasure to bump into friends of LandAid, Susan Freeman, David Martin & Alex Notay, in the crowd.

Following Leigh’s warm welcome to the event, I had the honour of addressing the room, drawing attention to the current alarmingly high youth homelessness figures in the UK and engaging the property professionals in the room with LandAid’s work to tackle this urgent issue.

After a delicious breakfast in the beautiful venue, an inspirational keynote speech from Adam Challis of JLL called for pragmatism across the board, collective action, and the need for one clear direction of travel. Adam also drew attention to homelessness statistics across the world, with an estimated 150m people without a home - and rising. There was a nod to the possibility of a new incoming Government, and some speculation about their potential housing policies (and the challenges that await…!). Adam closed on the very poignant proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

The fantastic panel then took to the stage, expertly Chaired by Geeta Nanda OBE (Metropolitan Thames Valley), alongside Ailish Christian-West (Get Living), Rhona Brown (London Borough of Lewisham), Peter George (Ealing Council) and Mike Woolliscroft (Vistry Group).

Geeta promoted a great discussion, kicking off with the theme of the event - and questioning the realistic possibility of providing homes for everyone. All panellists responded, outlining the challenges being faced. This includes the shockingly high number of families in temporary accommodation in the boroughs of Ealing & Lewisham, which is a huge, rising issue and unlikely to disappear anytime soon due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

There was an interesting discussion on the importance of public/private sector partnerships, specifically local vs. central government attitudes to building affordable housing - with approaches hinging on politics (with a big & small P!) and perceived local need. Ailish touched on the rise of BtR and shared how GetLiving is striving to provide housing for families in its schemes - designed to reduce the number in temporary housing in the communities in which they work. Concurrently, LandAid is in the process of uniting the BtR sector behind its BtR Pathfinder initiative, which calls on organisations to allocate units to LandAid at 50% DMR for use in providing vital homes for young people facing homelessness - providing the final step on their journey to independent living, helping them to access education, employment and training.

There was a strong political thread throughout the whole discussion, with the question of what change to housing policy that a Labour Government might bring to the table later this year. Things remain unclear, and it was acknowledged that any new Government has bigger fish to fry, given the current state of the nation. However, there was a recognition that a possibility of a Labour Mayor & Labour Government (in our major cities) may help to ensure that building more affordable housing is not only a smoother process - but treated as an absolutely priority.

As ever, there were some lively questions from the floor, with perhaps the most colourful being ‘Is Carbon Neutral the new Crested Newt?!’ - causing a ripple of laughter throughout the Savoy.

Geeta ended the discussion asking each of the panellists what they would ask Sir Keir Starmer, if he was sat in the room. To which Rhona raised the important and timely question of the looming Renter’s Reform Bill, and what this legislation will mean for the housebuilding sector.

A fascinating discussion came to an end at the Savoy, with Adam Challis’s call for collaboration and pragmatism feeling more relevant than ever. This chimes with LandAid’s strong belief that we are stronger in partnership - the sector needs to work together, and together we can end youth homelessness.

Thank you, Movers & Shakers for a fun and thought-provoking event. Thank you for supporting LandAid.