New age thinking: how older workers can benefit business and the economy

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A recent item on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme generated an unusually high number of responses from listeners. A man who had lost his job in the financial services sector at the age of 57 described his difficulty in trying to find work. Having submitted hundreds of job applications – mostly without response – the man had decided to retire at the age of 62. Although he is still healthy and open to offers of work, his view is that employers see him as ‘too old and too expensive.’

Large numbers of radio listeners responded, many of them echoing the man’s experience of trying to find work later in life. The programme followed this up, airing the views of an older woman who suggested that employers were not only being ageist, but also sexist when recruiting.

An ageing workforce: challenges and opportunities

The issue of older workers is important for a number of reasons. In most developed countries people are living longer, and in many cases they want to continue working long after what was once thought of as the natural age of retirement.

An ageing workforce and fewer school leavers presents problems for the world’s economies. An international survey by the Manpower Group has found that the percentage of organisations struggling to fill vacancies rose from 36% in 2014 to 75% in 2024.

Many older people are fit and healthy enough to continue working. But even though age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, too many employers are discriminating against older workers.

A 2018 report by the Centre for Ageing Better (CAB) found that age is the least scrutinised and most widely accepted form of discrimination in the UK. A more recent CAB survey reported that more than a third of 50-70 year-olds felt that at every stage of the recruiting process they were at a disadvantage when applying for jobs due to their age.

Challenging the misconceptions

Few employers will openly admit to discriminating against older people, but a 2018 survey by Human Resource magazine did find some evidence of ageism. The article also challenged five common misconceptions held by employers about workers over the age of fifty:

They can’t learn new things:  when it comes to learning something new, there is no age limit; every day, older workers demonstrate that they can adapt well to changes in working practices.

They are less productive: the evidence shows that older workers are just as productive as their younger colleagues.

They take more time off sick: while some surveys do suggest that some older workers are living with long-term conditions, most are managing these, and still able to work effectively.

They will retire and leave the organisation: after the Covid-19 pandemic, a greater-than-usual number of older workers took early retirement. But the cost-of-living crisis has prompted increasing numbers of people to rethink their plans. Many have now returned to the labour market, either out of financial necessity, or because they’ve realised that working is good for their wellbeing and gives them a sense of purpose.

They are overqualified: certainly, older workers have a wealth of experience and skills, but many are now looking for greater flexibility because they want to pursue personal interests, engage in voluntary work, or because of a need to balance work and care. Rather than leaving the labour market altogether, they may be interested in working part-time.

Good practice: age-friendly employment in action

More than 200 public and private sector organisations have signed up to the Centre for Ageing Better’s Age-friendly Employer Pledge, which recognises the value and importance of older workers. The signatories represent a wide range of activities, including Natural England, the National Trust for Scotland and the Greater London Authority, as well as EY, Aviva and Imperial London Hotels.

The CAB’s website features case studies showing how employers are rising to the challenge of becoming age-friendly employers, and the benefits they are experiencing. Examples include:

  • Social care provider Home Instead Senior Care actively targets older workers approaching or shortly after retirement.
  • Aviva appointed a Recruitment Champion for older workers internally and incentivised their older employees to act as ambassadors to help recruit other older workers.
  • Barclays Bolder Apprenticeship programme targets a pool of recruits older than traditional apprentices – including those who have retired early and faced redundancy.
  • Domestic and General Group’s multi-generational teams in their call centres reduced turnover and absenteeism and improved customer service by better matching the age profiles of employees with service users.

Next steps: what can employers do?

There is no shortage of advice for employers who want to reap the benefits of recruiting and retaining older people. From creating more inclusive job advertisements to talking about flexible working at interview stage, there are some key steps that can help employers become more age-friendly.

A recent issue of Harvard Business Review also made some suggestions to employers who want to adapt to ‘the new age of ageing’:

  • preserve experience through phased retirement and new skills training;
  • replenish experience by rehiring retirees and updating skills;
  • share experience through mentoring and instructor roles;
  • offer flexibility through schedules, locations and benefits; and
  • leverage age diversity through multigenerational teams and diversity, equality and inclusion programmes.

Flexible working is an important way of attracting and retaining older workers. This was underlined in a recent report supported by a number of organisations, including CIPD, British Chambers of Commerce and Business in the Community, which made recommendations for government and business on enhancing flexible working provisions for people over fifty.

Final thoughts

There is no escaping the demographic realities of the new employment landscape. The myths surrounding older workers may persist, but more and more employers are discovering the benefits of a diverse workforce that includes people from a variety of age groups.

Older workers are productive and versatile, with the skills, knowledge, experience and emotional intelligence that employers and colleagues value in a variety of workplace situations.

Which is why it’s time for some new age thinking.

Photo by Ravi Patel on Unsplash

Further reading: more on the changing workplace from The Knowledge Exchange blog

The Knowledge Exchange: service with substance

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With information now so accessible, it’s easy to assume that whenever you have a question you can simply tap it into a search engine. But, while the internet and digital search tools are undoubtedly useful for checking basic facts, when it comes to serious research, “just Googling it” is not enough.

Bringing different sources of information together, for a project or to prepare for a meeting, takes time, persistence and skill. Which is where the experience of information professionals really counts.

The Knowledge Exchange

For over fifty years, the Idox information service – today known as The Knowledge Exchange – has been gathering, processing, storing, retrieving and delivering information for public and private organisations across the UK.

Policy makers and practitioners from local authorities, devolved administrations, central government, universities, think tanks, consultancies and charities rely on our services to keep themselves up-to-date with ever-changing developments in public and social policy and practice.

Our team of researchers is a successful mix of experienced public policy specialists and qualified librarians, together with our invaluable support staff. We collect, categorise, store and distribute information on a wide range of subjects, from education and health to economic development and housing.

From times past to the here-and-now

Our database contains thousands of journal articles and reports. Some of these date back to the 1990s, but they also include the most recently published research. This means it’s possible to chart changes in policies under different administrations, from the past right up to the present day, and to take a longer view of significant developments. For example, from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve gathered reports and articles that describe its continuing impact on health, education, work and the economy.

In addition to bibliographic details, each of our database records includes an abstract that succinctly and accurately encapsulates the content of the full text, which can often help the reader decide if they’d like to know more.

Our weekly bulletin provides a snapshot of new additions to the database, and the fortnightly Topic Updates package the information into helpful categories for clients who want to focus on, for example, planning, rural development, children and young people, or transport. The Topic Updates also reflect political, economic, social and environmental changes; in recent years we’ve introduced additional updates on Brexit, Covid-19, mental health and net zero.

Question time

While our subscribers have direct access to the database to perform their own searches, they can also ask our team of Research Officers to conduct a search for them. The following examples demonstrate just how varied are the enquiries we receive:

  • Designing pedestrianised zones to improve the safety of women
  • Biometric data retention schemes
  • Evidence on how regional skills systems can support local economic growth
  • Impacts of housing issues on employment
  • Policies for addressing economic inactivity in the UK and Europe
  • Effects of maternity leave on maternal health, employment, childhood development
  • Effective examples of kindness and wellbeing interventions in large organisations
  • Impact of parental engagement on children’s learning or attainment
  • Examples of transformation in the public sector
  • Social impacts of offshore wind

These are just a fraction of the searches we’ve been asked to conduct over the past twelve months. In 2023, we responded to almost 600 enquiries, and 2024 is already shaping up to be another busy year.

Final thoughts

It’s fair to say that The Knowledge Exchange is unique, which perhaps explains why so many of our subscribers have renewed their subscriptions, year after year – even in the face of challenging budgetary pressures. They know the value of reliable evidence in making informed decisions, some of which will affect millions of people. 

We’d like to thank our loyal subscribers for making good use of our services, and we look forward to welcoming more organisations who are keen to harness the power of information.

If you’d like to find out more about subscribing to The Knowledge Exchange, please contact us at: iu@idoxgroup.com

Photo by Marcel Eberle on Unsplash

Heating for the future: how heat networks and heat pumps could decarbonise housing

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The recent spikes in energy costs have thrown into sharp focus the challenge of heating our homes. Domestic heating is important, not just for our comfort and wellbeing, but to reduce humidity and prevent condensation. But because traditional heating systems rely on fossil fuels, such as natural gas and oil, heating is a significant contributor to carbon emissions. In 2019, 17% of heating emissions from buildings came from housing. This has to change if the UK and other countries are to meet their targets in achieving net zero emissions by the middle of the century.

A recent online event, hosted by Unlock Net Zero, took stock of how the heating industry is making the transition to low carbon heating systems, notably through the installation of heat networks and heat pumps.

The webinar also highlighted work by housing associations to decarbonise domestic heating systems, and considered the role of government policy and funding in persuading more people that decarbonisation of domestic heating is good for them and for the planet.

Decarbonising social housing: gathering data and preparing for change

Among the speakers at the event was Kara Tomes-Meek, head of sustainability at Southern Housing, a social housing association formed in 2022 after a merger between Optivo and Southern Housing Group. The association has over 80,000 homes across the Midlands, London, Kent, Sussex and the Isle of Wight.

Kara described Southern Housing’s decarbonisation journey, which has heat networks at its heart. These networks generate heat centrally, which is then transported through a network of pipes to provide space heating, hot water, and sometimes cooling to connected buildings. By supplying multiple buildings, they avoid the need for individual boilers or electric heaters in every building. And by utilizing renewable and low-carbon heat sources, heat networks help reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with heating.

Southern Housing has conducted a number of heat network surveys, covering 65% of its homes, to assess current assets and to consider the potential for low carbon heating. Pulling the data together from these surveys, Southern has identified quick wins for efficiencies (such as improving insulation) and challenges, such as identifying small spaces that are not feasible for the size of decarbonisation equipment required. Once all the data has been collated, Southern can complete the process of mapping out its decarbonisation strategy.

Kara also outlined how Southern Housing is preparing for upcoming regulatory changes that will impact the social housing and heating sectors. Under the 2023 Energy Security Act, a new Heat Network Market Framework has been established with the aim of giving consumers greater protection and making the construction and maintenance of heat networks easier. In 2025, Ofgem’s remit as energy regulator will be expanded to cover heat networks. As part of its preparations for these changes, Southern Housing has been working with a consultant on a gap analysis to assure a well-defined route to compliance.

Kara went on to explain how Southern has been making good use of government funding schemes – such as the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES), Heat Network Optimisation Opportunities and the Green Heat Network Fund –   to decarbonise its housing stock. 

One project in Dagenham was part-funded by the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES), with match funding from Southern. The project involved the installation of a heat network serving 82 residents, and resulted in increased heating efficiency of 50%, and annual carbon reductions of 55%.

Heat pumps: growing interest, but a long way to go

Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the Heat Pump Association (the trade association for the heat pump sector), highlighted the important role of heat pumps in decarbonisation. She outlined the various options, noting that air-to-water source heat pumps remains the most popular and cost-effective option. This type of heat pump transfers heat from the outside air to water, which in turn efficiently heats buildings via radiators or underfloor heating.

Consumer interest in heat pumps has been rising. Around 60,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK in 2022, nearly doubling sales from the previous year. However, this is still much lower than other European countries – France, for example, sold over 600,000 heat pumps in 2022 – a figure that the UK government hopes to achieve by 2028.

Costs for heat pump installations are higher than gas boilers, but Charlotte underlined the importance of government funding schemes in persuading consumers that replacing their old gas boiler with a new one is no longer a sensible option.

Among the schemes highlighted by Charlotte:

Boiler Upgrade Scheme offering a grant to cover part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with a heat pump or biomass boiler. Launched in May 2023, the grant was increased in October from £5,000 to £7,500 per installation, prompting a big jump in installations.

Energy Company Obligation aims to assist householders living in fuel poverty. The latest version of the scheme supports the rollout of heat pumps, making it more appealing for energy companies to leverage carbon savings.

Heat Network Efficiency Scheme supports performance improvements to existing district heating or communal heating projects.

Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037.

Skills: qualified workers needed for future challenges

Charlotte also highlighted the importance of ensuring that enough qualified heating engineers are available to meet the growing demand for low carbon heating installations. She reported an encouraging 166% increase in the number of engineers taking heat pump qualifications in 2022-23. In addition, a new Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship, launched in 2023, is expected to generate further interest.

The need for a new generation of qualified workers is clear. Currently there are about 3,000 qualified heat pump installers in the UK. But the country will require 27,000 qualified installers by the end of the decade if it is to meet the government’s target of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year.

Final thoughts

Decarbonising Britain’s housing stock is a monumental challenge. Some 29 million homes need to be upgraded to low carbon heating systems by 2050. Heat networks and heat pumps will have a vital role to play, but as the webinar underlined, different factors, including regional geography, house type and existing heating systems mean there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

The heating sector and the further education sector will play their part in preparing for these challenges, but there is a need for greater clarity about the future of decarbonisation. This was underlined in a 2022 report from the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee:

“The Government should work with industry, consumers, and affected workers to

produce an effective road map detailing how the transition to low carbon heating will

take place, and to include what this will mean for different households in different parts

of the country and for workers whose jobs might be affected in existing carbon intensive

parts of the heating sector.”

Heating choices are often driven by policy, and once governments start making it clear that decarbonisation of housing is an imperative – and providing the necessary funding for installations and training – consumers can start making informed decisions about replacing their existing heating systems with low-carbon alternatives.

Photo by Arthur Lambillotte on Unsplash

As this article highlights, funding is available for organisations operating across the public, private and third sectors in the UK for upgrading existing heat networks to reduce emissions and energy costs. Our colleagues in GrantFinder monitor, digest, verify and report daily on thousands of funding sources, including support for establishing heat networks. Further information is available from the GrantFinder website.

Further reading: more on decarbonising buildings from The Knowledge Exchange Blog

Assessing the impacts of free school meals

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By Donna Gardiner

While free school meals (FSM) have been available in England on a means-tested basis since 1944, recent years have seen a renewed focus upon the potential benefits of providing free school meals to all school-aged children.

Currently, Scotland are in the process of rolling out a programme of universal free school meals (UFSM) to primary school children on a phased basis: at present, all children in P1-P5 are eligible; this will be expanded to include P6 and P7 pupils later this year. In England, all children in their first three years of primary school are eligible for UFSM.  Some individual councils have also chosen to expand this UFSM offering to older age groups.

Last year, London mayor Sadiq Khan expanded UFSM provision to all primary school-aged children in London, in direct response to the cost-of-living crisis. This move was well received and will continue for the academic year 2024/25.

Latest research

The expansion of the free school meals programme is based on the premise that it will positively benefit both children and young people, and their wider families.

Two projects run by researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) have sought to quantify these benefits: the first looking at the impact of the 2014 rollout of Universal Infant Free School Meals; and a follow-up project looking at the impact of Free School Meals up to age 11.

At a recent event hosted by ISER, Dr Angus Holford and Professor Birgitta Rabe (University of Essex) discussed the findings of their newly published research, which focused on the impacts of the expansion of the UFSM programme in Newham, Islington, Southwark and Tower Hamlets since 2009.

The researchers explored several potential impacts of UFSM provision, including:

Take up of free school meals

The research found that the provision of UFSMs led to increased take up among those who were not currently eligible (1 in 3 newly eligible children took up the FSM offer). They also found a small increase in take up among those who had already been FSM eligible (means-tested), which they suggest may be due to UFSM provision making school meals more attractive to this group.

Educational attainment

They also found evidence that the provision of UFSM has a positive impact on reading attainment – in this case, equivalent to an additional two weeks’ progress by the end of primary school.

Interestingly however, the improvement in reading attainment was noted across both newly eligible and previously eligible FSM groups. The researchers therefore hypothesise that the provision of UFSM has wider whole-school advantages, although the specific nature of these is yet unknown.

Obesity levels

The research also found that the provision of UFSM helped to reduce levels of obesity overall.  This effect was strongest among Reception aged children (7-11% reduction in obesity rates), although older children (Year 6) also benefited (2-5% reduction in obesity rates).

For older children, the effect was strongest among those children for whom UFSM had been provided since the start of primary school, suggesting that the earlier free school meals are provided, the better.

Among schools with higher starting rates of obesity, UFSM provision had less of an obesity-reducing effect.  This suggests that for these more challenging environments, additional support would be necessary.

Household finances

Across all children, the research found that UFSM saved families £20.98 per four weeks – comprised of a £11.53 reduction in expenditure on supermarket food, and £9.46 reduction in expenditure on eating out. This was based on 2020 prices.

The research indicates that there are also likely to be time saving for households no longer shopping for, and assembling, packed lunches.

School absence

This study found that the provision of UFSM had no notable impact upon school attendance levels – either in terms of days missed or levels of persistent absence.

Future investment required

In summary, the research has found that

“…universal provision of FSM throughout primary school helps ensure that all children have access to a meal of high nutritional standards, yielding health and educational benefits for these children, while also providing cost-of-living support to families with school-age children.”

Reducing childhood obesity is also likely to have wider impacts, including improved individual health, increased productivity, and reduced healthcare spending.

Dr Holford and Professor Rabe concluded that longer-term benefits of UFSM will rely on the continued take-up of high quality school lunches in an attractive and social school setting. This in turn will require funding for school food to be maintained at levels which meet nutritional standards, and cover utility and staff costs.

School food study

The event also featured a presentation by Dr Jennie Parnham (Imperial College London) and Dr Marie Murphy (University of Birmingham) on what is known about children’s nutritional intake in school hours.

The Enhancing Policy In sChool food (EPIC) study is working with people connected to secondary schools to understand what improvements can be made to school food policy and systems in England. This is important because of existing diet-related issues concerning young people:

  • Nearly a third of adolescents have excess weight
  • Almost half of 15-year-olds have dental caries
  • Excess sugar consumption is a major contributor to increased energy intake, obesity, and poor dental health
  • Adolescents aged 11-18 years in the UK consume three times the recommended amount of their total energy intake from free sugars

Pupils consume a large proportion of their daily dietary intake within the school day. However, secondary schools find it challenging to put some of these school food standards in place.

The EPIC study has found that schools are struggling to adhere to school food standards – only 65% of schools studied were compliant. Some standards also appear to be easier for schools to comply with than others: while over 80% of schools were compliant with school food standards around making healthier options available, only around 40% were successfully complying with guidance around restricting ‘unhealthy’ foods high in salt, sugar and fat.

Panel discussion

Following the presentation, participants took part in a discussion which raised several other issues pertinent to the UFSM debate.

The panel was largely in agreement that the provision of FSM is both desirable and beneficial from an equality perspective – universal access to nutritious food for all children was accepted as a laudable aim.

However, several challenges were identified. Questions were raised around whether UFSM is the most cost-effective method of achieving the stated health and educational outcomes.  

The discussion also considered issues of food wastage – were children eating the new, ‘healthy’ food provided, or putting it in the bin?  Concern about increased levels of food waste had been raised by some school canteen staff during the research.

The need to increase the capacity of schools to provide more school meals was also raised. As well as additional staff, some schools may need investment to create larger canteens and dining rooms to cope with the additional demand.

Providing greater numbers of school meals may result in increased noise levels and queueing times withing school dining rooms, which may negatively impact some pupils, and reduce the time available to eat and play. Staggering lunchtimes was put forward as one way to potentially address these issues.

The impact of introducing UFSMs on the number of parents registering as eligible for means-tested FSM was also raised. Means-tested FSM status is used to determine schools’ pupil premium payments – if eligible families choose not to register as they will receive a free meal regardless, then it may result in schools missing out on their ‘pupil premium’ for that child. It may also have implications for data collection and research – means-tested FSM eligibility has commonly been used as a proxy for poverty/disadvantage.

In this context, a recently published report reviews and discusses the existing evidence on the evolution of the Free School Meals (FSM) measure, over the past two decades, and on its uses, including in Pupil Premium (PP).

Final thoughts

The event provided a helpful snapshot of the impacts of UFSM policy. It also highlighted some of the challenges of putting UFSM into practice – including the need to support schools to comply with current school food standards, and assess the capacity of schools to provide increased numbers of school meals.

The recent expansion of UFSM schemes is an opportunity to further assess its benefits. To do this, more and better data on the take up of free school meals is required. The ISER have called upon the Department for Education to increase data collection and publication regarding the take up of free school meals, as at present, this only covers infants, and does not differentiate between those who are eligible for means-tested FSM and those who are not. This lack of data makes the true impact of UFSM provision more difficult to assess.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

Further reading: more on food and healthy eating from The Knowledge Exchange Blog

Food for thought: how the UK food strategy is trying to revolutionise the way we think about and access food

Banning fast food outlets near schools: have takeaways had their chips?

Growing opportunities: the multiple benefits of community gardens

The voice of lived experience: getting involved and influencing policy

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In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on ensuring people with ‘lived experience’ are involved in co-producing research and policy-making at practical, local level. However, there has been little discussion around what the people with lived experience themselves think about getting involved.

A recent webinar run by Transforming Evidence – a community that shares research and expertise about how evidence is made and used, across policy and practice domains – asked that very question: how can we make lived experience a genuine part of evidence informed policy?

The voice of lived experience

While much has been made of the benefits of including lived experience in influencing policy, there seems to be very little evidence that the voices of the people themselves are being heard.

So, it was especially refreshing to hear the views of Lynn Laidlaw during the Transforming Evidence webinar.  Because of her experience as a patient with multiple health conditions, Lynn has had the opportunity to use her own lived experience to become a public contributor and peer researcher, and to influence policy-making in the field of health.

Lynn gave a personal, reflective account of the issues raised by her own lived experience. She admitted that the process of becoming involved in research caused her to reflect on how she fit into the process, raising questions concerning imposter syndrome and identity:

“Who was I? A researcher, or a person of lived experience? Could I be both? Did one negate the other?”

Lynn also underlined that involving people with lived experience in an equitable and ethical way requires time and resources and they should be offered remuneration for their time and effort.

She went on to discuss some of the key questions surrounding the involvement of people with lived experience:

Power

The phrase ‘lived experience’ holds power and weight in these ‘new’ political landscapes but what power do the people with the lived experience hold? And who decides the criteria for lived experience – can you really say to someone who has possibly been though a traumatic event that their trauma isn’t ‘lived experience enough’ to participate?

Culture

One of the biggest questions raised by Lynn was are you, as a person with lived experience, just a ‘tick box’ for the people who are organising a research study? This raises further questions as to how can we make people with lived experience feel valued in their opinions and their experience, how do we give them a value equal to those that are conducting the research, or the policy makers that will implement the research?

Emotions

Lynn also considered questions relating to emotional issues that are faced while being consulted to work on different projects. The biggest of these is: “does one person’s lived experience speak for all people with lived experience”? The answer would logically be no. However, this distinction is rarely made when consulting people with lived experiences as the panels are generally small. The fear of not being ‘representative enough’ of all people with lived experience is something that is continually at the back of their mind when going forward to give views and experiences and try and help inform policy for the better.

Intentions

Lynn’s final observations concerned the power participants have to ensure that their experiences and views make it into policy. The intentions behind a consultation of views is crucial for ensuring that a person with lived experience feels less of a charlatan. They will feel increasingly more valued members of society if the policies they are consulted on make it off the shelf and into mainstream politics. It is not enough to ask people for their time, views, and opinions to appease society and then do nothing with the information they have given you. It, again, raises interesting questions about making people feel valued and not just used as a token or to ‘tick a box.’

Final thoughts

Lynn very clearly demonstrated the importance and value of showing respect for people with lived experience. Because by listening to and learning from people with relevant lived experiences, policy makers are more likely to make decisions that make a positive difference.

Image: Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

Further reading: more from The Knowledge Exchange blog on policy and lived experience

The 20-minute neighbourhood: practical principles for placemaking

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By Ian Babelon

A new-old concept for proximity

“Are we there yet?” Parents may patiently nod to their children’s insistent nudges on a 20-minute journey to… somewhere. Quite rightly, researchers have asked: twenty minutes to what? The answer may well lie in the question.

At its core, the 20-minute neighbourhood provides practical design principles for placemaking. In a discussion of the perceived benefits and inconveniences of 20-minute neighbourhoods being consulted upon by the Scottish Government under the National Planning Framework (NPF4), Stefano Smith presents the approach as follows in the June 2023 issue of the SPEL journal:

“Local living and 20-minute neighbourhoods are urban planning concepts that aim to create communities where residents can access their daily needs within a 20-minute walk or bicycle ride from their homes”.

Easier said than done. 20-minute neighbourhoods, and their 15-minute siblings, have come under sharp scrutiny and criticism, even as they have been pursued as an opportunity to promote healthy post-lockdown recovery.

Related efforts have encouraged more green infrastructure, among which Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework, launched in January 2023. Quite ironically, regeneration, pedestrianisation, and gentrification have been some of the real or imagined woes associated with the intention to provide access to essential amenities and infrastructure to residents, wherever they may live. Reducing the need to travel and improving convenience could be unaffordable and increase traffic congestion. Fears have even been voiced over Big Brother-style surveillance that echo with traumatic memories of Covid-related lockdowns, standing in sharp contrast with the inclusive advocacy undercurrents of walkable neighbourhoods and local quality of life.

Despite the challenges, a survey by YouGov from March 2023 indicates a majority of Britons would be in favour of a 15-minute neighbourhood, citing a shortage in local amenities such as banks and GP surgeries. Challenges also revolve around promoting active mobility in the face of dependence on motorised transport, with related initiatives in Paris having proven contentious for many Parisians despite strong leadership, or the bumpy road that the ambitious Enjoy Waltham Forest programme has had to pedal through to gain traction.

Recent initiatives, such as in Birmingham, begin to reveal tentative recipes to combine the many ingredients that make a place complete in terms of mobility, blue-green infrastructure, food security, diet, public health, care, education, transport, local businesses, finance, well-being, low carbon energy-efficiency and overall resilience. A tall order indeed, and no small feat (all puns intended).

Stepping back, one can see proximity as a timeless set of design principles for complete places. From the city-states of Ancient Greece to the urban village of Montmartre in Paris, the 20-minute neighbourhood has evolved through time(s) and place(s) as a true chameleon. Related concepts have included New Urbanism, urban acupuncture and… placemaking itself.

In many ways, the movement has been a reaction against modernist, blueprint planning that redesigned cities and towns for cars at the relative expense of people and the environment. Precursors to placemaking include William H. Whyte and architect Jan Gehl, or even French thinker Henri Lefebvre who popularised the notion of Right to the City.

In a Swedish context, the design and planning of complete neighbourhoods rests on evidence-based sociotope mapping, which combines expert and resident knowledge about the use of places, as pioneered by Alexander Ståhle and colleagues at the City of Stockholm and planning consultancies.

Rich spatial data is essential to defining and putting 20-neighbourhoods on the map in the most literal sense. In the UK, the former Prince of Wales has also worked to (re)create complete communities and promote high-quality place design for several decades. Countless influences continue to shape the 20-minute neighbourhood principle.

Evidence-based placemaking is also tied to high design quality, architecture, and belonging, as highlighted in Planning for the Future white paper or Planning Policy Wales. Placemaking and design collectives in the UK have included the Place Alliance led by Matthew Carmona. Neighbourhood plans in England and Wales, and place plans in Scotland, have provided ways for communities to be involved in the planning process to help shape places, which may also coincide with establishing complete neighbourhoods.

Benefits also come at a cost and require trade-offs. As Stefano Smith highlights:

“Implementing the 20-minute neighbourhood concept may not be simple, and councils may face several barriers, including differences between urban and rural areas, as well as between new development and existing neighbourhoods.”

Placeholders for transformation

Beyond meeting essential needs, proximity can also enable serendipity and flânerie, where people enjoy places for their own sake. This intangible charm of places partly explains the popularity of touristic cities and towns across the world.

Complete neighbourhoods can also help reduce places’ heavy carbon debt. From strategic policy-making to design codes, town planning can positively shape local quality of life in conjunction with neighbourhood retrofits and health-driven place-based partnerships. As a timeless principle.

Beyond the concept, 20-minute neighbourhoods are like the individuals in John Donne’s 16th Meditation, that postulates that “No man is an island, entire of itself”. Space travels and pervades places via people, goods, infrastructure, and services, where shortages thereof can indicate severe inequalities. The complex interdependencies that underpin inclusive places therefore make it clear that one must also consider the spaces between them to foster collective belonging and resilience.

As a scalable concept, placemaking could help ensure nothing is ever too far for anyone to enjoy as urbanely as possible.

The next post in this series will investigate a handful of 20-minute neighbourhoods as food for practical thought.

Ian Babelon is a UX Researcher in Idox.

Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash

Further reading from The Knowledge Exchange blog

15 minutes to change the world: people-friendly neighbourhoods for a post-lockdown recovery | The Knowledge Exchange Blog

June 2023 issue of SPEL Journal (Scottish Planning & Environmental Law) out now | The Knowledge Exchange Blog

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Net Zero, fuel poverty, and sustainable retrofit: addressing the challenges from Housing 2023

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By Sarah Perry

At the end of June, GrantFinder attended The Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference, Europe’s largest housing festival. The event took centre stage at Manchester Central, bringing together industry experts, policymakers, and housing practitioners from across the UK. Over three days, it showcased best practices, technologies and strategies to address the pressing challenges within the housing sector.

As an exhibitor at this prestigious event, GrantFinder had the opportunity to network with industry experts and demonstrate our funding solutions, showcasing our database of thousands of grants and loans.

The conference sessions and discussions with attendees highlighted some key themes:

Unlocking net zero

Net zero targets and decarbonisation were among the main overarching themes of the event. Delivering liveable, carbon-free places continue to be the primary focus for the sector moving forward. Delegates discussed learnings from how the wider built environment can decarbonise at scale, as well as collaboration on how communities can be involved in delivering greener and healthier places to live and work.  

Funding the significant costs of decarbonisation is hindering progress towards achieving net zero. Inside Housing reported that the current cost to retrofit all social homes in the UK is over £100 billion. The cost-of-living crisis has also put additional strain on housing providers. However, it was recognised that investing in carbon reduction now will lead to cost savings in the long-term. Alternative finance options such as retrofit credits and green finance, as well as government funding, were discussed as potential support to providers to ensure net zero remains a top priority.

Cost-of-living and fuel poverty

The rising cost-of-living was a prevalent topic throughout the keynote sessions. Supporting tenants experiencing fuel poverty and addressing its impact on mental and physical health is a growing concern for the sector.

Housing providers are seeking solutions to better track and understand those experiencing or at risk of fuel poverty, and to offer meaningful support. Our GrantFinder team shared their expertise and insights on how we contribute to the solution by enabling quick and easy access to hundreds of fuel grants that help housing providers support their local communities with rising energy costs. Additionally, the team spoke with attendees about the many tenant support grants available, as well as dedicated mental health and wellbeing funding programmes identified through our funding database.

Sustainability and retrofit

Local authorities and housing providers were urged to reframe their understanding of housing within the context of the UN sustainability goals. Providers were encouraged to align their future development plans with the UN sustainability pillars, creating affordable housing that delivers benefits in health, education, and economic opportunities. 

Changing behaviours and engaging communities were highlighted as important factors in transitioning to a sustainable future. Discussions centred around implementing education tools to equip tenants and residents with the knowledge to use new home technologies, as well as simplifying climate change communications for harder-to-reach groups. Normalising retrofit work within communities was emphasised as a crucial step forward in advancing sustainable housing.

Inflation and higher interest rates have impacted the sector’s costs in relation to planned capital or infrastructure projects as well as repair and maintenance costs. This includes the increased focus within the sector on addressing issues of damp and mould, which is being addressed by stronger consumer regulation.

Supporting the housing sector across the UK

As a leader in funding solutions, the GrantFinder team shared our expertise on how we contribute to helping housing providers access financial support.

Through live demos, our team demonstrated how GrantFinder offers unique benefits to our customers. With a database of nearly eight thousand funding opportunities, we showed how quick and easy it is to find relevant funds for attendees – whether it was for one of the hundreds of UK Shared Prosperity funds for local communities or dedicated support for the purchase of energy efficient products. Enquiries about equipment support, such as funding for drones, were popular and our team provided live demonstrations of the keyword search function on our dynamic database, which returned an array of funding options within seconds, and received positive feedback.

Housing 2023 was a fantastic opportunity to showcase how GrantFinder can support local authorities and housing providers in addressing the key themes highlighted by the event, shaping the future of the sector.

GrantFinder is the leading funding database in the UK covering local, national, and international sources of funding. Our up-to-the-minute database is supported by a dedicated team of expert researchers who monitor, digest, verify and report daily on thousands of funding sources including charitable trusts, societies, research councils, national government, and corporate sponsors. Our strong relationships with funding administrators and policy managers across all of these organisations mean we can share advanced knowledge of new funding policies and opportunities. If you would like to subscribe to the service, or find out more, please get in touch.

Further reading on housing from The Knowledge Exchange Blog

June 2023 issue of SPEL Journal (Scottish Planning & Environmental Law) out now

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Following the adoption of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) at the end of February, the Scottish planning system and planning services are dealing with transitioning to a development plan system without statutory supplementary guidance and where the relationship to current local development plans is untested.

Implementation of the policy intent of NPF4 will be monitored as part of the NPF4 Delivery Programme and future guidance and advice is expected to focus on new and developing policy areas. These are likely to include how the prioritisation of climate and nature crises in all decisions is applied in practice. There are also likely to be questions arising from the policies on climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, and quality homes.

The Chief Planner has already noted in their letter to stakeholders in February that conflicts between policies are to be expected and that factors for and against development must be weighed up in the balance of planning judgement.

At such a busy time within the planning sector, a key resource for planners and planning lawyers is the Scottish Planning and Environmental Law Journal. Bringing together commentary and analysis from leading professionals, lawyers and academics, the journal explores current developments and case law, and is published every two months.

June 2023 issue

The June 2023 issue has just been published and includes articles focusing on:

Each issue of SPEL Journal includes comment on key court cases as well as recent developments in environmental planning, law and policy.

We have made the article by Stefano Smith FRTPI FRSA on 20-minute neighbourhoods from this issue available to all. Stefano Smith Planning is an independent planning and development consultancy. SPEL Journal is written by a diverse range of subject experts and academics.

A long tradition of supporting the professions

SPEL Journal (Scottish Planning & Environmental Law) launched over 35 years ago and is one of the leading information sources on land use planning and environmental legislation across the country.

SPEL Journal includes accessible commentary on topical subjects and current issues; details of new legislation and significant court cases; expert comment on key planning appeal decisions, government circulars and guidance; as well as notes about ombudsman cases and book reviews.

SPEL Journal is read by decision makers in Scottish planning authorities, planning law practices, planning consultancies, architects, surveyors, civil engineers, environmental managers and developers across Scotland. It is also valued by many outside of Scotland who wish to keep up-to-date with developments.

SPEL Journal is published 6 times a year. An annual subscription is £200. For further details or a sample copy, please contact Heather Cameron at publications@idoxgroup.com.