James Morgan

Low Cost Home Ownership Initiatives in the UK

In common with many other countries, the UK has treated owner occupation favourably in comparison with other tenures in terms of tax and subsidy. However, the UK is distinctive in having encouraged the large-scale transfer of dwellings from the public rented sector to home ownership and in having developed a variety of low cost home ownership (LCHO) mechanisms to assist people at the margins into owner occupation. This paper evaluates these LCHO initiatives, considering value for money, sustainability and potential demand. Looking to the future, we see government policy and the level of demand as the most important determinants of the role of LCHO and discuss influences on demand and pointers to government policy.

‘Reaching the Parts Other Grants Don't Go?’ Supporting Self-provided Housing in Rural Scotland

Ensuring that rural areas of the UK have sufficient affordable houses in reasonable condition has long challenged policy makers. Previous research shows that rural housing has demand characteristics and faces supply constraints that have proven difficult to balance. The paper reports on the reasons why an innovative subsidy has achieved some success in overcoming barriers to provision in rural Scotland. It is argued that the subsidy has boosted effective demand and tackled a major supply constraint, namely land availability. Empirical material is drawn from a systematic evaluation of the mechanism. The paper concludes with reflections on its implications for the wider literature and for rural housing provision in the evolving financial and political context.

An evaluation of the performance of a large scale collaborative procurement initiative in the social housing sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors relating to the implementation of a new procurement initiative that affect performance and value for money (VFM). The study is based on a four-year research project carried out on behalf of the Scottish Government to monitor and evaluate the performance and efficiency of a bulk procurement vehicle for social housing. Design/methodology/approach – The researchers had a brief to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the procurement process and its influence on cost and efficiency targets. The study employed a mixed method approach with annual rounds of qualitative and quantitative data collection from project stakeholders including the contractors, consultants, clients and sponsor. Confidential semi-structured interviews were conducted on conclusion of the project to gauge views on how well the procurement process worked from the various perspectives and to reflect on the influence of the process on VFM. Findings – The procurement program...