Welcome.

This monthly e-shot shares the latest information on Communities that Work, highlights some of our members' outstanding work, and keeps you informed about upcoming events.

This edition focuses on a major new report from us on Housing, Growth and Green Jobs. Our Spotlight shines a light on some of the fantastic colleagues who have supported the research and continue to campaign with us to create stronger links between social housing, warm homes retrofit and new jobs across the social housing communities that we serve.

CtW will also be attending next week's Conservative Party Conference. If you're also attending, please do get in touch to arrange a meeting and additionally, do let us know any event recommendations that you think are relevant to our ongoing work!

Our major new report was published this week. It sets out how social housing can play a central role in delivering the UK's net-zero ambitions while unlocking long-term, skilled employment opportunities in communities across the country.

Drawing on national survey data, stakeholder engagement and policy analysis, the report explores how investment in green homes can create a "virtuous circle": warmer, energy-efficient homes, stronger local economies and new green career pathways for social housing residents.

The evidence shows that social housing is uniquely positioned to drive large-scale retrofit and new green housebuilding. With 4.5 million social homes in England and concentrated housing portfolios, housing associations can provide the long-term pipeline certainty needed to grow the UK's green workforce at scale.

While government commitments like the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) and the Warm Homes Plan are welcome, the report makes clear that further action is needed to realise the employment and economic opportunities these investments present fully.

To achieve this, we recommended:

• Stable, multi-year funding to enable effective workforce and apprenticeship planning
• Reform of quality and regulatory systems to reduce delivery bottlenecks
• A single national workforce strategy to address retrofit skills shortages
• Dedicated, long-term employment support programmes (such as JobsPlus) to help tenants furthest from the labour market access green jobs
• Stronger coordination between Government departments, the Warm Homes Agency and Mayoral Strategic Authorities

We secured coverage of the report in important trade publications, including Inside Housing and Specification Online.

We look forward to working closely with government and industry partners to unlock the full potential of housing associations and scale up workforce development across the green jobs sector.

Should you wish to read further, you can access the full report here.

We are pleased to share that JobsPlus was highlighted in Parliament during a Westminster Hall debate on "Place-based employment support programmes", brought forward by Patrick Hurley MP, who attended our recent parliamentary drop-in event in January.

The debate saw strong cross-party backing for employment support that is embedded within communities, shaped by local need and delivered by trusted local partners. MPs emphasised that programmes are most effective when they are rooted in the places people live, particularly for those who have been long-term economically inactive.

We were proud to hear JobsPlus cited as a leading example of this approach in action. By delivering employment support directly within social housing communities, JobsPlus is helping residents build confidence, improve wellbeing, develop resilience and move closer to work.

Speakers from across the House called for:

• Long-term, consistent funding
• Greater flexibility for local areas
• Stronger partnerships with community organisations
• An end to short-term funding cycles that risk closing programmes just as they begin to deliver real impact

The Minister for Employment welcomed JobsPlus as an example of effective, community-based support delivered through the social housing sector, reinforcing the growing consensus that place-based approaches must sit at the heart of future employment policy.

Shortly after the Westminster Hall Debate, we were pleased to see that Patrick Hurley published an article in Parliament Politics Magazine, a politics and policy platform read by parliamentarians, thinktanks and others, covering much of what he spoke about in the debate. He argued that place-based employment support "deserves far more attention in national policy debates" and directly referred to JobsPlus and its ability to make people feel welcomed, rather than intimidated. His piece can be read here.

We're delighted to see the impact of JobsPlus recognised at a national level and look forward to continuing to champion employment support that is rooted in communities and designed around people's real lives.

This month, we focus on just some of the Members of the Housing, Growth and Green Jobs Alliance.

Our Alliance colleagues work closely with Communities that Work to develop and support policy drivers that connect net-zero investments with the jobs and opportunities they create in our local social housing communities across England.

Together, we aim to ensure that more local people are supported into new local jobs, driven by the net-zero homes agenda, which makes our homes efficient, modern, and fit for this century.

We profile a few members below, and you can view everyone here.

Government vows to "unlock opportunities for young people across the country" ahead of National Apprenticeship Week - GOV.UK, 8 Feb

The UK Government has announced new reforms to improve young people's access to apprenticeships as National Apprenticeship Week begins. This includes piloting a clearing-style system that will help applicants who just miss out on their first-choice apprenticeship find similar opportunities locally, and launching an online platform with clearer information on apprenticeship options, earnings and career outcomes. Backed by the Growth and Skills Levy, these measures aim to create 50,000 more apprenticeships, support the Government's ambition for more young people to take up high-quality apprenticeships, and help employers fill skills gaps.

Community energy investment to build community wealth and power - GOV.UK , 9 Feb

The UK government, alongside Great British Energy, has launched the Local Power Plan, with up to £1 Billion in funding. This is the largest public investment in community energy in the country's history. This funding will help local groups, councils and organisations to own and control clean energy projects, such as solar installations on community buildings, cutting energy bills and generating revenue for places like community centres, social clubs and places of worship. The initiative aims to boost community wealth and power, support local prosperity and give communities a direct stake in the clean energy transition.

Communities set to benefit from fairer funding - GOV.UK, 9 Feb

The UK Government has confirmed that the Final Local Government Finance Settlement will provide £78 billion in funding for councils across England to support local services. This includes a £440 million boost to the Recovery Grant targeted at areas most affected by historic funding cuts, helping local authorities improve services like clean streets, pothole repairs and community facilities. The settlement uses a new evidence-based funding formula that better reflects local needs and provides multi-year funding certainty for the first time in a decade, giving councils stability to plan ahead. Total new investment in local services over the next three years exceeds £5.6 billion, and additional measures include support for mayoral projects, SEND deficit relief and homelessness services.

Mobile Jobcentres hit the road in six new areas to deliver employment support - GOV.UK, 17 Feb

The UK Government is expanding its Jobcentre on Wheels programme by rolling out new mobile Jobcentre vans to six additional areas across England and Wales, bringing employment support directly into local communities. The vans, which follow successful pilots, will appear outside places like leisure centres, supermarkets and football stadiums to help people with job searching, training advice and access to work support, including for those with health conditions or childcare needs. This initiative is part of broader reforms under the Get Britain Working plan to reduce barriers to employment and reach people who may not otherwise engage with traditional Jobcentres.

Funding boost to support patients to stay in and return to work, 25 Feb

The UK government has announced a £25 million funding boost for the Health and Growth Accelerators, a pilot scheme operating in areas of high economic inactivity. These pilots, which primarily operate in the north of England, bring together work and health support for people with health conditions, aimed at stopping health problems becoming work problems. It currently targets the most common conditions that are experienced by health-related economically inactive individuals, such as musculoskeletal conditions, metabolic disorders, and mental illness. Interventions could include NHS-funded employment coaching, gym memberships, counselling or physiotherapy - depending on the condition in question.

Over £50 million pumped into the fight to tackle homelessness - GOV.UK, 26 Feb

The UK government has announced over £50 million in new funding to support councils and organisations tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, helping deliver its national target to halve long-term rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament. The funding is split between a £37 million Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund to expand local, voluntary and faith-based frontline support, and a £15 million Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme for areas with the highest long-term rough sleeping pressures. These investments are part of the government's plan to end homelessness, which also seeks to prevent households from becoming homeless and end unlawful use of B&Bs for families.

We've highlighted events coming up that we think you might like. Please follow the links to register.

How people think about homes: signs of recent movement in cultural mindsets webinar

Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 12 March

Join FrameWorks UK, in partnership with JRF and the Nationwide Foundation, for an insightful webinar that will:

• Share insights into how people's thinking has shifted in the past 4 years
• Explain what this means for communicators
• Offer practical guidance and examples.

Hidden Benefits: Counting the cost of extra welfare

Onward, 17 March

Following the release of their report, The Hidden Benefits Bill, the event will explore how today's welfare system shapes work incentives and perceptions of personal responsibility, looking ahead to further expansions coming this year. The panellist will include:

• Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Helen Whately MP
• Sir Simon Clarke, Director of Onward
• Lana Hampsall, Policy Fellow at Conservatives in Energy
• Caroline Elsom, Reshaping the State programme lead at Onward
• Fraser Nelson, columnist at the Times

Powering Net Zero. Workforce Strategies Conference | UKERC | The UK Energy Research Centre

The UK Energy Research Centre, 18 March

The conference brings together leaders and specialists to focus on one of the biggest blockers to Net Zero delivery: building and sustaining the skilled workforce needed across energy and utilities. The agenda covers practical workforce strategies, behavioural science and culture, innovation and AI, and wellbeing and retention.