THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the Church
Commissioners should invest some of their funds in housing
associations and other social enterprises that work to tackle
financial inequality.He made his comments during a question-and-answer session at the National Housing Federation's annual conference in Birmingham last Friday, where he had delivered a speech calling for a greater partnership between housing associations and the Church of England.
Tess Pendle, the head of My Home Finance, a non-profit organisation that provides low-cost credit and banking facilities to financially excluded people, as an alternative to payday lenders, asked whether "such a partnership might involve financial investment from the Church".
In his speech, Archbishop Welby praised housing associations for providing "security and stability" for their tenants.
But he warned of "the possibility of growing and large-scale" rent arrears caused by a combination of "reductions in benefit to take account of what is seen as excess house space, the socalled 'bedroom tax'; higher costs for energy; and, for many, the fact that, with continuous payment authorities, short-term lenders can take money direct from an account within hours of it coming in."
He was not attacking the government or politicians, he said.In many cases the problem was not with policies, but with the way in which they were implemented.
He spoke against the "demonising" of people who relied on food banks, and said that such facilities were "sadly necessary, as much for those in work as out of it. . .
"If you combine higher costs, lower incomes in real terms, debt, issue of policy delivery, greater risks to cash flow for housing associations and communities that falsely appear to be locked into decline, the challenge to human flourishing and to resilient communities is obvious."
His bleak assessment of the challenges that face deprived communities and those seeking to support them was balanced by an upbeat view about the solutions.
"Responsibility falls on a lot of organisations, and our collective response in the third sector," he said, "but, especially, I want to suggest churches and housing associations will be infinitely greater put together than our individual efforts added up. . . The building blocks are already there, and in many places have been happening for many years."
The motive for regeneration "must not be desperation or fear", he said, "but love".
The Church's social action was driven by the example of Jesus, who "made a point of going wherever there were people in need. He healed people from his own community and outside it, he healed the grateful and the ungrateful, and he healed the downright hostile. He did whatever he could wherever there was need, and he didn't set conditions. That's the example that we're trying to follow."
He acknowledged the "anxiety in the social-housing sector about whether it is safe for housing associations to work with religious groups", but said that "not only is it legal but it is very safe - in fact, it is a great way forward."
Churches of all denominations were already working "in every community", he said. "The majority of food banks are church-run. Churches lead on debt counselling, have buildings in every community, both schools and centres for worship and community life. They provide cohesion, and demonstrate love and commitment."
He described the challenge as "a gigantic task of a generation", but said: "Within our ranks is the capacity, if we work together, work locally, and build great partnerships and coalitions" to change.
Archbishop Welby's speech was warmly received by the conference delegates, as much for what he said as for the humorous way it was delivered.
The conference host, the BBC's Home Editor, Mark Easton, introduced the Archbishop as "a man who heads an organisation with a multi-billion-pound property portfolio that includes some of the most prime sites in the country.His real estate houses tens of thousands of key workers and their families.
"He also provides retirement homes in the rental sector, and, more recently, shared ownership. In addition to that, he also has a commercial property portfolio valued at £1.6 billion, with houses in exclusive neighbourhoods such as Chelsea, Maida Vale, and around Hyde Park."
In response, the Archbishop joked that the introduction was "as accurate as all reports by the BBC".