Housing 2012: what is social housing for?

For some time now a question has rumbled around the social housing world: is the core business of social landlords providing and managing housing, or is it the wider task of increasing the wellbeing and life chances of tenants and local communities? Nevertheless, just a few years ago at a Chartered Institute of Housing annual conference I felt able to urge social landlords to ask whether, by contracting out the routine elements of management and maintenance, they might better focus on their wider role. Since then the coalition government has introduced an array of housing reforms – most of which have yet to impact fully, let alone reveal their wider implications. For many, I suspect, this will tilt the old bricks or lives debate powerfully towards the basics, especially as wider austerity has cut grants for activities focused on skills and employability, community cohesion and wellbeing. In this context, a slightly different dichotomy may become a more telling; between strategies focusing on core service provision on the one hand, and commercial enterprise on the other. Each route – and those which lie between – carries its own strengths and dangers. In the context of rising homelessness, overcrowding and risk-laden welfare reform, an unerring focus on providing homes for those on limited means (and helping people stay in those homes) has much to commend it. When times are tough and uncertainty great, a well maintained home is not only a vital good in itself but the most important practical foundation for tenants to pursue other priorities like education and employment. But focusing on this core goal shouldn't mean rejecting opportunities, whether that means finding better ways to provide services for less or exploring the scope for tenants to seek individual and mutual self-help. For those who pursue the route of enterprise and diversification there is the opportunity to show that necessity truly can be the mother of invention. This may be moving to a more mixed portfolio of housing tenures and a more socially mixed group of customers, or taking advantage of new sources of social capital to develop initiatives funded by the growing use of payments by results. While I tend towards expansion, there are dangers here too. At their best, social housing providers are remarkably impressive organisations combining strong business acumen, a profound commitment to social good, a deep respect for and understanding of tenants' aspirations and a positive attitude to helping those aspirations become reality. For the sake of tenants and indeed the wider pluralism of society it is vital that social landlords remain true to their public purpose. One only has to look at the debates raging in many universities to see how this purpose can become opaque as market pressures and opportunities crowd in. In difficult times it may feel like no one has the time or energy to ask, what is social housing for? But it may be a more important question now than ever. Matthew Taylor is chief executive of the RSA . He will speak at the Chartered Institute of Housing conference in Manchester on Tuesday 12 June This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the housing network the latest news from #housing2012, as well as comment, analysis and job vancancies