Pam Wharfe
Areas of interest
• Looking at why communities support or object to new housing developments• Social housing in the UK and elsewhere
• Public sector service improvements
Postgraduate supervision
Professor Cristina Cerulli and Dr Michael PetersResearch centres and groups
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-in-england-january-to-march-2025/statutory-homelessness-in-england-january-to-march-2025https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/29/coverage-of-1-5-million-homes-target/#:~:text=The%20OBR's%20estimate%20only%20covers,new%20homes%20by%202029/30.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-attitudes-to-housing-findings-from-the-british-social-attitudes-survey-2023/british-social-attitudes-2023-public-attitudes-to-housing
Research projects
Community involvement in housing development projects: a review of drivers and barriers to support for development.
The purpose of the project is driven by data which shows a high level of housing need in the UK (judged by the number of people living in temporary accommodation (131,140 March 2025 ) and evidence that the UK may not meet its home building targets (1.3 million rather the 1.5 million MHCLG Oct 2025 ). There are other barriers – external to communities for example the lack of people to build homes and problems with the cost and availability of building materials. However, there is also a lack of support for development which can either halt or delay homes being built (support has varied from 28.3% in 2010, to 57% in 2018, to 33% in 2021 and most recently 40% in 2023, from the British Social Attitudes Survey, MHCLG ).
Background
My previous higher education experience started with a BSc Economics (International Relations) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1982). I then took a profession housing qualification with the Institute of Housing which covered all aspects of housing from law to sociology to building. In 2009 I was awarded a Master of Public Administration from the University of Warwick. It was a brilliant course, I got to attend the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard as part of my studies. My dissertation was on Lean Systems Thinking and whether that method could improve public services.My working life has centred on the UK housing sector, mostly working in social housing but also working in consultancy for private sector housing. I led housing at the London Borough of Barnet where I was a Chief Officer until 2015.
I was a local Councillor in the London Borough of Hounslow, where I live for ten years (1990 to 2000), where I was also a primary school governor.