Housing Quality Magazine September 2021 by HQN Limited

ISSUE 5: SEPTEMBER 2021 Housing’s Next Generation 2021 Interview: Clare McCarty Special pull-out: Evidence

Falling out of favour Why is social housing struggling to make an impact on policy?

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

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CONTENTS 5 Welcome 6 News in brief 8 Life in 15 questions 10 Housing by numbers 12 In the frame 14 Evidence 22 Interview: Clare McCarty 28 Housing’s impact on policy 36 Housing’s Next Generation 2021 finalists revealed

September 2021

46 Comment: Chyrel Brown 47 Comment: Streetspace 48 Ombudsman Corner 50 A day in the life 52 Resident’s view 53 Fact or Fiction 54 The last word

Published by: HQN Rockingham House St Maurice’s Road York YO31 7JA Editorial: Alistair McIntosh Mark Lawrence Janis Bright Email: mark.lawrence@hqnetwork.co.uk Tel: 07523 920010

Advertising: All enquiries to: ellie.salsbury@hqnetwork.co.uk Tel: 07542 860095

Improving policy outcomes

Design: Sam Wiggle

How can social housing get a positive response to its policy demands?

Leaving a legacy

Housing’s Next Generation 2021

Evidence

Clare McCarty has been at Clanmil Housing for over 34 years. She talks through her housing journey and reveals her proudest moments.

We’re delighted to reveal the finalists and full line up of the competition, after a grueling semifinal.

Want to see some analysis of the latest policy in the sector? Our friends at CaCHE and HSA have you covered.

EVIDENCE update The latest research and analysis – in plain English In this issue: 14 Welcome 14 What helps or hinders housing organisations ‘going green’? 15 Keeping people safe in their own homes 16 Researching consumer regulation – a research agenda

Issue 32 | September 2021

17 Why construction costs can get seriuosly out of hand 18 What do young people think about UK social housing design? 19 In northern Nicaragua a small housing cooperative is building its own homes

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As the public inquiry into the Grenfell fire resumes its work this month and the Building Safety Bill makes its way through parliament, the question of safety of people in their homes comes to the fore again. In this issue three researchers outline their analysis of fire incident data which offers ways to help improve safety, particularly for people living in flats. They point out that the cost of basic safety features is far less than the cost of waking watches and cladding removal. The Social Housing White Paper also addresses tenants’ right to be safe in their home, as part of a wider agenda for change. That will include a revamp of consumer regulation – so it’s high time for a study of the existing regulation regime before it disappears, says one researcher. New research promises a shapshot of regulation today. Housing organisations must juggle the competing demands of investing in the existing stock versus new build. And the climate emergency makes those choices increasingly

difficult. A study from the Netherlands looks at what it takes to get housing associations to adopt sustainable business plans – and what hinders them. Retrofit was never easy though. A piece of action research looks at Sheffield’s monumental Park Hill estate, a prime example of post-war architectural modernism now undergoing regeneration and with its original purpose altered. What do millennials with limited knowledge of social housing’s history make of it all? At the other end of the scale, people in Nicaragua are building their own homes. We report on progress. And finally, an intriguing paper from the Caribbean explores the nightmare of cost overruns on social housing projects. What are the lessons for governance, accountability and transparency?

Janis Bright HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE Editor, Evidence

SEPTEMBER 2021

What helps or hinders housing organisations ‘going green’? How housing associations can make the transition to more environmentally sustainable business models is the topic of research by a group of researchers based in the Netherlands and UK.

The study points to ‘split incentives’ where landlords bear the cost of energy efficiency measures but the tenant receives the benefits in lower heating bills. This has hampered innovation, the researchers find, but is being overcome by

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How to deal with a problem like the PRS? Is it time for socialism in one country? Scotland’s Greens and the SNP want to introduce rent controls for the private rented sector (PRS). Why is that? Well, for one thing, it’ll be popular. It evokes the memory of the great Mary Barbour and 1915’s rent strikes. Greedy landlords raised rents to force tenants out and replace them with better-paid wartime factory workers. They thought it’d be easy to get away with this ploy as many men were serving abroad; a bit of pressure and the wives and weans would scarper. Sorry, you don’t do that in Govan. Mary and her friends routed the landlords, so the government pegged rents at pre-war levels. Our teachers drummed this story into us. It’s big in Scotland. Naturally, rent controls will be a hit with young people and others that rent privately. They think it’s unfair they’re helping rentiers get rich. If private renting keeps growing, we’ll reach a point where politicians must cap rents to win elections. We caught a glimpse of where we’re headed when the eviction ban came in during the pandemic. Should we go the whole hog and bring back rent controls? The case against is that these choke supply. No one will want to be a landlord. Is that true? It certainly used to be. Back in the 80s, I was a housing adviser for Camden in the PRS; only about 10% of the homes were in the PRS, but we were surprisingly busy. You had two groups of people living in the sector. One set were known as protected tenants. They were in a sort of Faustian pact where they got security of tenure and the right to have their rents fixed by the independent rent assessment committee. In return they endured terrible conditions. Low rent for low quality was the deal. I can still smell the stench from the fumes of the leaky Ascot gas water heaters. It was a tatty tenure on its last legs. Landlords would try any trick in the book to boot out protected tenancies. You could get much more money by selling to owner occupiers. Who were these protected tenants? There were lots of NHS workers from overseas. That’s how I had the pleasure of meeting so many Filipinos. They worked all hours and sent as much money home as possible, helped by keeping overheads low. Today I’m reading

about Filipinos in healthcare jobs dying from Covid. How can we treat our best people like this? Who else was living in the PRS? Another group were licensees, in the law’s eyes. What does that mean? Could I go to their bedsits for a Tennent’s Lager? No, it was a legal ruse. The written agreement said the landlord could enter the room whenever they liked; but they’d no intention of turning up to fold the toilet roll the right way. Crucially, this clause meant that residents didn’t enjoy exclusive possession – the test of a tenancy. They were a bit like a lodger, or a licensee in legalese. Ultimately, the courts saw through this deceit and converted licenses into tenancies. The licensees got a raw deal: the same poor-quality homes as protected tenants but at eye-watering rents. Why’s the PRS so big today? Last time I looked about a third of Camden’s homes were in it. It wasn’t an accident. Government wanted a bigger, better quality PRS to boost labour mobility – thus, years of tax incentives to grow it. It started with the Business Expansion Scheme in the 80s: £1.7bn in tax relief to add 80,000 homes to kick start the sector. Is it time to bring back rent controls? If you do that, you’ve got to block off the exits. You don’t want landlords claiming it’s not really a tenancy – it’s a holiday let or Airbnb, and that’s why rent controls don’t apply! Turning to the old saw that landlords won’t play if the returns are poor, the Scottish Government has blessed rent increases of CPI+1%. The way things are going, that could greenlight a hefty 5% rent hike. Nice work if you can get it. So, what’s the answer? Our housing aid centre’s manager was Mildred Levison. She’d been a private tenant in a magnificent but dilapidated estate on the bonny bonny banks of Hampstead Heath. Like Mary Barbour, she campaigned – but this time the borough bought out the landlord. More of this, please.

Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

News in brief Where’s it all gone wrong in asset management? A common criticism of the social housing sector in recent months has been around the standard and safety of its homes. Firstly, a swathe of housing associations and local authorities were picked up by ITV News as being in such poor condition that there was threat to life. Then there has been the increasing number of social housing providers that’ve breached the Home Standard, with two councils last month selfreferring after nearly every safety check was found to be wildly out of date or inadequate. The Housing Ombudsman Service has been on the case about these issues too, launching an investigation into damp and mould, while also featuring safety as one of the key pillars in the most recent complaint files. So, where’s it all gone wrong? The frontline professionals haven’t suddenly lost all ability to do their job, so it’s up to those sitting in board rooms and executive offices to take action. Make sure you know the properties you’ve got and put ample resource into ensuring they’re safe and healthy homes to live in.

Getting warmer The UN report into the impact humans are having on the climate made for uncomfortable and, at times, distressing reading. It contains predictions of greater wildfires, mass flooding, and, in extreme cases, whole countries disappearing. And while much of that seems a long way from the social housing sector, it, like everything else, has a huge role to play. So, why hasn’t it stepped up so far? Many have started to do little bits in the background but, universally across the sector, organisations are still producing reports and talking about what can be done. For many it’s a huge project, one that’s easy to put into the ‘too hard’ pile, and to consider it will be simple when government issue a directive on the action to take. Others fall back on the lack of government grant to fund the works needed. While true in some instances, such as whole scale retrofit projects, there are others that are simple and effective. A recent post by Louise Swain, CEO at Alliance Homes, stated that the organisation installed solar panels on a third of its homes, enough to power a car to go around the world 5.8 times. Installers of underfloor insulation, Q-BOT, found significant reductions in the need for heating when a home was properly insulated, and Home Group is trialing new boiler types in its Innovation Village. Housing getting its act together isn’t going to end the climate emergency. But the tools are out there for it to start to play its part. Our climate change annual conference is taking place on 17 September and will focus on some of the ways in which housing can get on top of the climate emergency.

Watch HQN TV for a weekly roundup of the housing news

A lot to lose A recent Community Housing Cymru report into the impact of cutting the £20 uplift in Universal Credit was titled A lot to lose – and it couldn’t be more fitting than that. The report showed 51% felt they’d struggle to make ends meet, 33% would struggle with household costs, and 26% would struggle with food if the uplift wasn’t kept. Many didn’t even know the cut was due to come into force. At a time of soaring foodbank use and an expected rise in energy prices, it certainly seems the only right thing to do is to #KeepTheLifeline.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

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Colleague-first culture brings great success It’s been a year like no other, but despite the many challenges Karbon Homes has faced, the North East-based housing association has stayed true to its mission to provide customers and communities with strong foundations for life. Alongside continuing to provide quality, affordable homes across the region, the support Karbon Homes has offered to customer and communities during the pandemic has really shown this mission in action. A mission wholeheartedly supported by the company’s 931 strong workforce. The root of its success? Striking a balance between being a high performing, ambitious organisation, and a caring and compassionate employer. For this, Karbon Homes has been shortlisted in the Employer of the Year category at this year’s Housing Heroes Awards. Employment uncertainty has loomed over many people across the country over the past year. However Karbon Homes has not used the furlough scheme and was clear with all colleagues from the very start of the pandemic that they would continue to be employed as normal. Despite home working pushing teams further apart geographically, the spirit and determination of colleagues in many ways brought teams closer together.

This was made possible by a large investment in technology, both devices and software, alongside a flexible approach to working, ensuring colleagues continued to feel empowered and confident in their ability to fulfil their role, while juggling newfound responsibilities, such as home schooling and caring for vulnerable family members. For those frontline colleagues, whose roles could not be done from home, their safety was the top priority. Rigorous risk assessments, an investment in additional PPE and a clear message that the organisation would back them if they didn’t feel safe in a situation and decided to leave, ensured colleagues felted empowered and respected. Absence rates show the positive impact of this approach. Rates fell across Karbon by 1.28 days per FTE in 2020/2021 when compared to 2019/2020. Throughout, protecting the mental health and wellbeing of colleagues has been at the heart of all decision making. Open dialogue about the mental and emotional struggles brought on by the pandemic, from colleagues at all levels of the business, alongside a calendar of health campaigns, designed and planned by an active group of colleague health advocates, has created a wellbeing focused place to work where colleagues feel encouraged and supported to put their mental health first. The rates for absence due to mental health reasons fell by 45%. A continued commitment to the development of colleagues has also

remained a top priority. Investment in qualifications and training, as well as mentoring, coaching and leadership programmes has seen Karbon Homes move closer to its target of spending 3% of its overall wage bill on developing its people. As well as expanding skills and increasing confidence, for many colleagues, this commitment has helped provide drive and motivation through what has been a difficult period, enabling them to look towards a bright and secure future. Colleague input has always played a key part of shaping and influencing the growth of the organisation and the results speak for themselves. Karbon’s Employee Net Promoter Score sits at +29, an increase by a remarkable 38 points since the first survey in 2019. Feedback from its annual, all colleague survey has shown the value colleagues place on its modern, progressive and agile approach to inclusion, and has helped ensure the organisation has a consistently clear outlook on how colleagues are feeling, what is working well and what work could be done to make Karbon Homes an even greater place to work. www.karbonhomes.co.uk

A life in 15 questions Lindsey Williams Chief Executive, Futures Housing Group

1. Tell us about your career and how you ended up in your current role My first role was in the Birmingham City Council housing department, and I was captured by the sector even within the first few days. As a relatively naïve student, the exposure to families and individuals who didn’t have the same life choices I’d benefitted from really taught me the reality of life for many people. From Birmingham, I moved directly into a housing association and 17 years ago applied to be chief executive of Amber Valley Housing. Beyond my core role, I’ve sat on several boards across my career, and currently am a trustee at my local hospice and vice president of the local chamber of commerce. 2. Describe yourself in three words Progressive, grounded, and curious. 3. Favourite place on earth? Anywhere high up! I love the feeling of seeing a vast expanse and a view which surrounds you. I’ll always pick the highest room in a hotel and love skiing and the Lake and Peak Districts for that reason too. I’ve also been to India which is the one place which hit all my senses in such a unique way, all at once. 4. What makes you angry? People who are rude, disrespectful and lack the curiosity to understand someone else or something.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

9. If you won £1 million on the Lottery, what would you spend it on? Assuming I’d have some left over from ensuring my family were comfortable, I’d love a place by the sea. I’d also donate to St Giles Hospice where I sit on the board. 5. What would you change about yourself? The way I skip into meetings sideways sometimes! I tend to run a few minutes behind schedule as I’ve over-crammed my day. 6. Describe your home I’d describe it as colourful. It’s a real reflection of me and my experiences. It’s a place where I keep items I’ve collected from places I’ve travelled. It’s a sociable place where people like to gather. 7. Most treasured possession My two cats. I’ve had them for a year. Albeit, on reflection they probably view me as their possession. 8. Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? The best advice came from flipping round the worst advice I’ve ever been given, which was to leave your emotions and empathy at the door when delivering bad news or handling a bad situation. They may not like what you’re telling them but delivering such news with respect and treating someone as you’d want to be treated isn’t unprofessional. They deserve your authenticity.

10. Biggest achievement? Early in my career, it was being part of the team that secured City Challenge Funding which helped transform an area of Birmingham. More recently, it’s our culture at Futures. 11. Biggest regret? Taking so long in life to learn to trust my intuition. I wish I’d learnt that confidence and belief in my own skills and decisions sooner. 12. Most overused phrase? ‘I’m curious about…’ I genuinely am curious, but I know I preface a lot of my questions with these words. That, and the word ‘so’. 13. Recommend a book I love audio books, and my favourite has to be Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography. 14. The best piece of television in the last 12 months? The Deep Blue Sea, with Helen McCrory. It was live streamed during lockdown and is absolutely worth a watch. 15. Tell us a secret about yourself I’m a pretty open book, but secrets are supposed to remain just that!

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the number of homes Peabody and Catalyst will have should their merger plans go through

the Welsh Government is being urged to put forward to end fuel poverty (Future

the number of classrooms you could have filled with children who were stuck in temporary accommodation this summer (LGA)

Generations Commissioner)

the amount Scottish councils are set to receive to build affordable homes

the amount the Welsh Government is committing to build 20,000 low-carbon social rented homes

people helped into secure tenancies in the Housing First pilot programmes (GMCA)

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

Housing by numbers

of new homes in England and Wales have an EPC rating A or B

of housing associations said they’d like to be able to do more to house people with the highest level of need (NHF)

individual decisions now in the Housing Ombudsman online casebook of complaints

(BEIS)

households homeless or at risk of being homeless (Homeless Link)

homes Clarion transferred to Thirteen Group in a large stock swap

collections Drive inbound contact from tenants and release team capacity

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In the frame

 Performing parade Darlington Council Art and science will combine as a special urban insect conservation zone arrives in Darlington.

 Battling behaviours Ongo An Ongo initiative to tackle cuckooing has been recognised as ‘Project of the Year’ for its huge, positive impact in making communities safer.

 Supporting support ForHousing Mustard Tree, which supports people across Greater Manchester with access to low-cost food, clothing, and furniture, has thanked ForHousing for a £70,000 donation to help with surging demand due to Covid-19.

 Tyne transformers Your Homes Newcastle

 Football fanatics Citizen Housing

12 pupils aged 16-17 from Sir Charles Parsons School in Walker have painted several local landmarks on hoardings where Your Homes Newcastle are building six new bungalows.

The West Midlands-based housing association sponsored a local football team, set up by Neighbourhood Warden George Swain in memory of his sons.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

 Musical maestros First Choice Homes Oldham The housing association has funded local music group Incredible Plastic Street Band to give children the joys of music.

 Bucolic bonus Believe Housing The North East housing association awarded nearly £170,000 in grants to rural communities in the region during the last 12 months.  Street smart Swindon Borough Council Residents are being challenged to take part in Beat the Street and improve on the number of miles walked, cycled, and ran, with 313,000 miles clocked up in 2018.

 Flowering fifty Bield Customers at Campsie Gardens in Cumbernauld have teamed up with 125 pupils and teachers from neighbouring St Mary’s Primary School for a garden project to celebrate Bield’s 50th anniversary.

If you’d like to be featured In the Frame, please email your pictures to mark.lawrence@hqnetwork.co.uk

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

Issue 32 | September 2021

17 Why construction costs can get seriuosly out of hand 18 What do young people think about UK social housing design? 19 In northern Nicaragua a small housing cooperative is building its own homes

Welcome As the public inquiry into the Grenfell fire resumes its work this month and the Building Safety Bill makes its way through parliament, the question of safety of people in their homes comes to the fore again. In this issue, three researchers outline their analysis of fire incident data which offers ways to help improve safety, particularly for people living in flats. They point out that the cost of basic safety features is far less than the cost of waking watches and cladding removal. The Social Housing White Paper also addresses tenants’ right to be safe in their home, as part of a wider agenda for change. That will include a revamp of consumer regulation – so it’s high time for a study of the existing regulation regime before it disappears, says one researcher. New research promises a shapshot of regulation today. Housing organisations must juggle the competing demands of investing in the existing stock versus new build. And the climate emergency makes those choices increasingly

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

legislation allowing landlords to make a monthly charge equal to the reduction in bills. But the task of retrofitting the 2.2 million social housing stock, as well as achieving net zero on new build, remains challenging. The study found that although housing associations rely on a supply chain including building contractors, there was limited joint decision making and costs and risks were not fully shared. Even so, they regarded collaboration as crucial to success in developing a sustainable business model. One group of associations around Utrecht worked together on ‘green’ initiatives. The researchers report: ‘Cooperation with other corporations had a clear financial advantage through the creation of economies of scale. By offering the market the prospect of large assignments, they were also more inclined, and able, to innovate.’ The second requirement for success was vision, and a clearly articulated goal for achieving net zero. This was coupled with a commitment to continuous innovation. In interviews with various organisations, the researchers found they were focused more on social and environmental benefits than economic ones. However, the financial question was seen as key, because the organisations’ economic sustainability must not be compromised. The role of government was also explored. It can stimulate innovation via grants and regulation (though the latter was seen as being mostly applied to new build). But, equally, it can hold back innovation through lack of its own vision and through changing policies. Another significant barrier identified by

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organisations was the conservatism of the construction sector, which is seen a slow to change and focused on profit margins. The transition of Dutch social housing corporations to sustainable business models for new buildings and retrofits Wim Lambrechts, Andrew Mitchell, Mark Lemon, Muhammad Usman Mazhar, Ward Ooms and Rikkert van Heerde https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/3/631

Keeping people safe in their own homes There’s a fire safety crisis affecting many people living in flats, write University of Leeds researchers Stuart Hodkinson and Andy Turner, and high-rise fire safety consultant Phil Murphy. Poor regulation and poor building decisions have resulted in many flats being clad and insulated in the wrong materials, and many are riddled with safety defects. As a consequence, compartmentation failure in the event of a fire has become more likely. Additionally, the population in many flat buildings is becoming older and frailer and less able to evacuate in the event of an emergency. According to our analysis of official fire incident

data for England covering the period 2010/11 to 2019/20, flats in England have more fires, and those living in flats are more than twice as likely to die if there is a fire. Fires in purpose-built blocks of flats are much more likely to experience delays to firefighting than fires in other types of residential building. The likelihood of delay increases the higher the building is, due to the specific difficulties faced by firefighters in tackling fires in large complex buildings. High-rise flat fires are over six times more likely to experience a delay to the start of firefighting compared with house fires. When there are delays, fires typically spread further and HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

become more severe in terms of their impacts on people’s lives. The report argues for a need to recommit to the precautionary principle in fire risk assessment guidance and for fire risk assessors to be provided with a more balanced understanding of the potential for building failures to undermine resident safety. As many as 52 of the 120 flats in Grenfell Tower housed disabled residents and 41% of disabled people that lived in Grenfell Tower died in the fire. The report strongly advocates for better evacuation planning and criticises the current regulatory requirements on this, which make little sense given the statistics on incidence and severity of fires. The report argues that it’s time for debates about high-rise safety to stop focusing only on the total or average number of fatalities and to also

consider the full range and scale of costs to individuals, families, and communities affected by fire. The government estimated in 2004 that the average cost of a domestic fire was £24,900, which uprated by inflation would be around £40,000 in 2021. In the aftermath of the fire at Grenfell Tower, more than 700 people needed ongoing mental health treatment at an estimated cost of £10 million in the first two years. Well-designed, installed, and maintained alarm and sprinkler systems can reduce the risk of and damage caused by fire and smoke spread. Even if sprinklers are just installed in communal areas in residential buildings and in the homes of those willing to live with the disruption of installation and maintenance, it would probably make a big difference. The costs of waking watches and remedial action to remove substandard cladding and insulation in buildings is large compared with the costs of installing some basic safety features and making sure there are evacuation plans suited to the needs of those living in buildings. Will Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, please come to the rescue and help the people that are living in danger and those that are badly impacted financially by the cost of remediation work? Hodkinson, S.N., Turner, A.G.D, Murphy, P. (2012) The Fire Risks of Purpose-Built Blocks of Flats: an Exploration of Official Fire Incident Data in England. https://bit.ly/3ASsim3

Researching consumer regulation – a research agenda The current system of consumer regulation is in for an upheaval, and rightly so – writes Carl Makin. Through my PhD research, I hope to create a snapshot of how the existing regime operates. It’s only by developing an independent and thorough three-dimensional understanding of how the regulator currently operates that we can properly measure the impact of any forthcoming changes.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

Since the Housing Act 1974, social housing has been subject to a centralised system of state regulation. Many readers will be far more familiar than I am – and, indeed, will have lived through – with the history of regulation that’s unfolded since then. The Regulator of Social Housing is now a mature, experienced, and well-embedded body of oversight for the sector. It has taken steps to make its approach more transparent and has taken time to learn lessons from some of the crises it has had to manage – for example the

insolvency of Ujima Housing Association in 2008 and the collapse of Cosmopolitan Housing Group in 2012/13. The reports published in the wake of such crises offer a unique, but limited, insight into the inner workings of the regulator. They tell a narrow story of regulation at a specific point in time and focus largely on the parts of the system that didn’t operate optimally. In 2008, when the Housing Corporation was being mothballed to be replaced by the shiny, new (albeit short-lived) Tenant Services Authority, Professor Alan Murie published a book – ‘Moving Homes’ – that told the story of the corporation. The rich, detailed, and insightful history that Professor Murie managed to develop cracked open the ‘black box’ of social housing regulation and told the human and organisational story of the corporation, warts and all. Since Professor Murie’s account, to my knowledge, there have been no such substantial pieces of academic work on the inner workings of social housing regulation. I hope that my project can start to address this. As readers will be aware, the regulator has in recent years focused on its proactive role in regulating governance and financial viability matters. Its approach to ‘consumer’ matters has been reactive and substantially constrained by the serious detriment test introduced by the Localism Act 2011. The annual Consumer Regulation Reviews published by the regulator offer an insight into how it polices these standards, and show that even where serious detriment isn’t found the regulator will engage informally with providers to ensure that breaches of standards are put right. These reports allow the regulator to

project its story of consumer regulation out into the sector, and offer providers the chance to learn the lessons that the regulator tries to convey. However, the consumer regulation process isn’t a single-player game. It involves a multitude of actors – from providers who self-refer, and tenants who refer their provider, to lawyers or consultants who advise on breaches of standards. Through what will eventually amount to hundreds of hours of conversations with these different groups, and a thorough examination of the literature and judgements published by the regulator, my PhD fieldwork will begin the process of opening the, albeit less opaque, ‘black box’ of the current regulatory system. Within these conversations, I’m exploring when and why providers self-refer under the standards, and how tenants go about referring their landlords when they have concerns. I also want to understand how the regulator acknowledges, investigates, and responds to these concerns. At a time when social housing regulation is in the midst of a period of change and transition, and before the winds of change promised by the White Paper finally (hopefully) sweep away the current reactive approach to regulating consumer standards, I hope that my project can provide a snapshot of how the existing system operates. Only by establishing this benchmark can we properly assess the promise and effectiveness of any new system of consumer regulation for the sector. Carl Makin is a PhD researcher at the University of York

Why construction costs can get seriously out of hand Everyone has a horror story of a public project gone awry, with mounting costs and poor outcomes. Rail upgrades such as HS2 inevitably spring to mind. There tends to be little systematic academic research into what went wrong, however. An intriguing study of social housing projects in Trinidad & Tobago offers lessons for all in governance, accountability, and transparency. Caribbean researchers set out to analyse why cost overruns in infrastructure projects happen. They particularly wanted to focus on a small island developing state. Looking at 82 public housing construction projects in the Trinidad & Tobago programmes of 2005-10 and 2010-15 they found very significant

cost overruns in the first programme, but much less in the second. In constructing more than 6,200 units of social housing in the first programme, the costs ran over by an average of 75% per project. The projects with the highest cost overruns had commonalities in the board approving them without full knowledge of infrastructure and planning permission; construction beginning without full scope and design of the surrounding infrastructure that was needed; numerous changes during construction; and a ‘politically charged’ project environment. The later programme achieved far better results, with 3,400 homes built at a maximum 11% cost overrun, and some projects coming in significantly under budget. What made the HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

difference? A number of governance changes were identified. Political influence was tackled; all designs were independently reviewed before construction began; and variations on contracts followed a strict protocol for approval. In addition, and significantly, the construction department committed to learning lessons from mistakes in order to improve processes. The researchers also comment on issues such as high attrition rates among project staff with high

technical qualifications, and the culture within the project teams that undermined cohesion. Systemic issues influencing technical certainty in social housing programmes in a small island developing state Aaron A. Chadee, Indrajit Ray and Xsitaaz T. Chadee https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/65

What do young people think about UK social housing design? A week-long action research project in Sheffield drew insights from millennials about their attitudes to post-war social housing and architecture. Researchers Patricia Simoes Aelbrecht and Aidan While ran a programme to introduce students from a variety of disciplines to post-war modernist architecture in the shape of the Park Hill flats complex. Park Hill was built in 1961 by Sheffield City Council and is a prime example of the ‘streets in the sky’ modernist style of the time. Towering on a hill above the city, the complex is now undergoing regeneration led by Urban Splash. It’s no longer council housing, and mainly privately occupied. The buildings were listed in 1998. The researchers point to the polarised views of social housing developments from that era. Built from progressive ideals in an attempt to improve on the housing of the past, and at Park Hill retaining communities, neighbours, street

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names, and retail from the previous housing, the designs nevertheless became associated with negatives such as crime, antisocial behaviour, and mental illness. Though successful at first, the estate became stigmatised, then in the last 20 years rebranded and remodelled. The researchers wanted to find out how a new generation would respond to the architecture, its original purposes, and its existence today. Students were taken on visits to Park Hill, and took part in workshops and film screenings to learn more about the history of post-war social housing and design. During the week the students’ attitudes to postwar modernist social housing shifted, with more than two thirds rating it ‘progressive’ by the end of the week. Even so, only a small minority were in favour of retaining heritage buildings of the time: most were equivocal about this, though attitudes did shift in favour as the students learned more. Fewer than one in five of the students felt

strongly that the Park Hill regeneration had retained its heritage quality – and this was seen as an important element in assessing regeneration projects. Was Park Hill better than existing social housing when it was built? Only a third thought so. The researchers found that this group of students, all from the social sciences, had limited knowledge of post-war modernism, social policy, and housing issues. Their limited frames of reference meant they had ‘limited resources to engage with the design and social issues raised by Park Hill’. The researchers believe more action projects are needed to explore these types of issues, but they shouldn’t assume students already have an interest in and knowledge of modernism. Finally, the researchers suggest that for millennials, but perhaps for all generations, ‘taste and value judgments related to the architectural form dominate over issues related to social housing quality and provision’. Millennials and the contested urban legacy of post-war modernist social housing in the UK https://bit.ly/3g9eDiw

In northern Nicaragua a small housing cooperative is building its own homes By Winnie Narváez Herrera Like every other country, Nicaragua needs more affordable housing. To deal with the shortage, in many places it’s trying out community-based solutions, sharing responsibility between the government, the local authority, and the families that need better conditions. It relies on mutual aid: hours of work put in voluntarily by those benefitting from a scheme, to build not only their own houses but those of their neighbours. It’s a cooperative that really works. I talked to two women members of one such group, Yadira Aguirre and Margine Martínez, about their work building houses in their small community in La Dalia in the mountainous north of Nicaragua. They’re working women, part of a group whose main earnings come from coffee harvesting on large farms for three months each year. With the money earned, they’re investing in new homes. They get technical assistance via

a government programme financed by a Swiss agency, and they get low-cost credit from the government to buy materials. In this case, land was provided by the municipality because the families were relocated from places susceptible to landslides. Their group is a formal coop, which itself is a member of a cooperative union. The finished homes will be the coop’s property: they can only be occupied by the families and not resold. Work started in mid-July, and 18 people are taking part, mainly women. INVUR (Nicaragua’s Institute of Urban and Rural Housing), in agreement with the local mayor, a technical team, and the cooperative, evaluated the community’s needs and the sites available. It was decided that just five sites are suitable as plots for building new homes. The remaining pieces of land are in too difficult a condition and to make them safe would mean costly engineering work. Yadira and Margine explained that ‘INVUR’s job was to arrive, measure, check which areas are safe and which

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are dangerous and what can be done to solve the problems, but if the risky conditions can’t be resolved they say no, it doesn’t go’. To start the work, the cooperative organised itself into three groups. The planning group is in charge of keeping a timetable, noting the time when work starts and finishes, and keeping a diary of what happens during the day. ‘It’s important that the diary is up-to-date so that we record everything that has happened. The diary tells you where each of us was working.’ The second group oversees the work teams in their daily tasks, and the third is the administration group, which makes sure the tools are stored safely, hands them out at the beginning of the day, and collects them when work finishes. Each day the cooperative members meet on one of the plots of land and decide where to work, sometimes sharing food, either offered by the family whose house they’re building or brought by each of them. So far they’ve worked on all five plots of land, building steps where access is difficult, removing heavy stones, and flattening the sites ready for building. One photo shows steps being built to gain access to the plot belonging to one coop member: ‘He was discouraged by how much work was needed but now I can tell he’s enthusiastic again. To get to his plot of land we’ve built six steps on the steep slope, 10 or 12 people were working to do it and he quickly brightened up. I really like the fact that people who started off being doubtful are now saying “it’s amazing what I’ve achieved with this group”. So that’s how we’re helping each other’. In another case the work involved temporarily moving one of the rustic old houses that are built of planks of wood, so that the land could be prepared for the new house. People decide on the designs for the new houses collectively. One of them said: ‘I think that our little old house is going to end up being the kitchen, that’s why we have rebuilt it properly and further back so that the new house isn’t affected by the smoke from the kitchen fire. I can already visualise what the new house will look like’. Mutual aid produces genuine cooperation based on sharing, caring, remembering daily experiences of working together, and recognising

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each person’s contribution to the communal efforts. ‘We don’t get paid for this work, but we all put our backs into it because this is where we are going to live. The more we work we do, the more strongly each of us feels for the house we’re building, everyone feels attached to what they’re creating. Every fault will be put right because we know how much this has cost us to build. Even the children want to help, but they can’t because they are too young. We can’t have them working while they should be at school.’

Evidence newsletter editor: Dr Janis Bright www.hqnetwork.co.uk email: evidence@hqnetwork.co.uk  follow us on twitter @hqn_news

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LEAVING A LEGACY After 37 years at the helm, Clanmil Housing Group’s Chief Executive, Clare McCarty, is retiring at the end of 2021. Mark Lawrence speaks to her about the past four decades and finds out what she’s most proud of, some of the challenges she’s overcome, and her views on the future of housing in Northern Ireland.

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When Clare McCarty stepped into what’s now Clanmil Housing, the organisation was very different. It was 1984 and the landlord was called British Legion Housing Association, specialising in supported housing. In 2021, Clanmil is one of the major players in Northern Ireland, owning 5,500 homes and being responsible for 20% of all social housing built in the country last year. Before she stepped foot in Northern Ireland, Clare worked in a children’s home in Derby, close to where she grew up. She wanted to make a difference for those children and felt housing had a huge role to play. She was soon off to polytechnic and spent a year with the housing department at Nottingham City Council. She fondly remembers her time in Nottingham: “There was one lady I shadowed called Betty and she had lovely, manicured nails and a bright blonde perm. She walked into this house where there was rubbish everywhere, dog poo, and dust and just pulled up her sleeves and said to the lady living there ‘let’s get this place cleaned up’. Talk about hands on! She was amazing.” Clare says a lot of what she learned in Nottingham has stayed with her. Shortly after, she struggled to find a job in housing in England but, due to having a boyfriend in Belfast, she applied for a job at Connswater. She worked there for five years before moving on to British Legion Housing Association, which is now Clanmil. Laughing as she recalls joining British Legion HA, she says “hearts were in the right place,” and remembers how if a woman was sick, she’d get a box of chocolates, and if a man was sick, he’d get a pack of cigarettes. “Shows how long ago it was!” She adds: “A bit like all of the housing associations starting out, there’s a lot of heart

and commitment, and people really wanting to make a difference. “My father actually got together with a local priest to buy a homeless family a house between them. That was just because people saw a need and wanted to do something and that was how Walbrook Housing Association in Derby was born. “A lot of housing associations started life that way and, obviously, British Legion in Northern Ireland did too; they saw a need and wanted to meet it.” The remit for the association back then was mostly supported housing and has since widened its reach to develop family as well as supported housing. But is it still true to those social purpose roots? “Right through the organisation there’s an absolute commitment to provide homes and services for people and that hasn’t changed. I suppose the ways we do it have changed over time, but people at Clanmil have that absolute passion for providing homes. “Home is so fundamental and when you look at the Programme for Government here, we’ve pressed very hard that housing should be one of the outcomes and have its own place. When you look at the aspirations, almost everyone won’t succeed without a good home, in my view. “Children are never going to do well at school if they don’t have space to do their homework and study; and people’s health and wellbeing, if they don’t have that stability and a place to call their own, will suffer. Everything is very interconnected. “At the heart of everything is a quality home where people feel safe. When going around and speaking to tenants, the first thing most people talk about is feeling safe and how important that is to them and their family. That’s such a massive feeling for all of us.” And it’s her continued connection to tenants, despite the growth of the organisation, that Clare speaks fondly of. “I remember one family moving into one of our homes who had previously been living in a flat and the nine-year-old boy ran out in the garden and kissed the grass, happy he was now able to play football in his garden. For me that encapsulates everything.” Moving away from Clanmil, Clare has been influential within the housing sector in various other ways too. HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

“At the heart of everything is a quality home where people feel safe. When going around and speaking to tenants, a lot of the first things people talk about is feeling safe as opposed to anything else” She was the first ever female chair of RICS in Northern Ireland and was also the chair of the Northern Ireland branch of the Chartered Institute of Housing. She says both roles were “great experiences” and a massive honour, adding that some of the positives from it have been lacking in recent times due to Covid-19. “What we’re missing today is getting together and banding about crazy ideas. We don’t want to lose out on a generation of sharing ideas. The last year has been relentless in terms of making sure we had what was needed to keep the housing association going and keep staff and tenants safe despite all the challenges.” The importance of relationships built up in both the housing association world and outside of it have been a key part of Clare’s time as CEO. Clanmil is one of the housing associations involved in the Together: Building a United Community and Housing for All (T:BUC) strategy by the Northern Ireland Executive, which aims to bridge the divide in the country by encouraging more mixed religion developments. It’s something Clare is proud that Clanmil is involved in: “T:BUC is ongoing and as an organisation we’re passionate about a shared future for Northern Ireland where

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people can live safely together. So, we were involved right from the start. I’m determined that every development we build, not just the T:BUC schemes, should be safe for people of whatever background. “T:BUC is a great initiative and with every scheme we build, we’d love to have it as a mixed community. We had one that people didn’t think would work and it has. But one incident overnight can bring all of that tumbling down.” But she believes that it could go further: the current target is only 10% of developments being promoted as mixed. And there are other complications. Removing graffiti or taking down flags can be contentious and needs sensitive consideration. In some developments, a different challenge is that there’s fierce opposition to social housing, Clare explains. This requires intensive community engagement. But despite some opposition, Clare leads an organisation that proudly built 20% of all the social housing in the country last year. She explains how they’ve been so successful as a team: “We’ve always punched above our weight because our focus has always been there. I came up through a development background and have always

been interested in the potential of buildings and delivery. “I’m very proud that we have great teams throughout the organisation that are creative and that persevere. We also have a board that aren’t risk adverse and run with ideas and really push the boundaries in terms of delivery. “A really important part of that too has been the support of the Department for Communities here and the funding stream, so that’s been really helpful.” Looking forward, what does Clare want to see happen in housing? She says she’d like to see “housing associations have a stronger voice” and once again brings up partnerships. “One of the things I’d like to see is much more partnership working between sectors; the charitable sector, housing associations, and the private sector, and I’d love to see, at high level, joined-up working between health and housing, and other departments such as justice and education. “Northern Ireland does love bureaucracy. There are so many layers, and it doesn’t have to be, I believe, so complicated; none of it’s rocket science. I’ve spoken to developers that say they can go to England, get planning, build the homes, and have people move in, yet progress here is still at inception. “I think we’re missing a trick and even our procurement regime is complicated. It doesn’t always coincide with the legal advice either, so then you’re torn. We also still have yearlong development programmes, so, conceptually, you have to buy a site and build it all out within a year, which is mad. We could do with a three-year rolling programme or just a common-sense approach to development.” She also wants to see the relationship with the Department for Communities and the Housing Executive remain strong, with some of the “silos broken down”.

“I’d love to see cross-departmental and cross-sector working, people being less precious and working more collaboratively. There’s the potential for a lot of efficiencies there.” Ending on a positive note, Clare speaks about her proudest moments as CEO of Clanmil. “I think it’s things like the boy kissing the grass when he moved in; a man telling me that it was the first time in ten years that his wife could get herself ready to go out without his help; or being told our house was so easy to heat that the money saved allowed children to go on school trips – it’s when you’ve done something tangible to change a life,” she explains. “A lady with dementia who could safely prepare her son’s lunch and continue in the role as mother, which wouldn’t have happened if she were in her own home. Seeing people grow and blossom in their own space and independence and gaining in confidence, that’s what it’s all about for me.”

“I remember one family moving into one of our homes who had previously been living in a flat and the nine-yearold boy ran out in the garden and kissed the grass, happy he was now able to play football in his garden. For me that encapsulates everything” And she remains passionate about Clanmil’s purpose: to provide homes for people to live well. She’s clear that quality homes and connected communities create safety, stability, and opportunity. This is at the heart of the housing association’s new five-year strategy, which is designed to “stretch the organisation and maximise its potential for good”. Clare’s excited about the new “values-driven” plan, which has been shaped by colleagues, customers, and stakeholders. It aims to reaffirm Clanmil’s purpose and to become a living guide as to not only what the organisation does, but how it does it. One of the key themes within the new strategy is to provide services that make life easier for its customers. Clare explains: “We want our customers to sustain their tenancies for as long as they choose so it’s important that we remain responsive to changing customer needs and that we make it easy for them to do business with us. “We need to build and maintain healthy, trusting, and respectful relationships and empower people to help shape the standard of services we provide. We believe there are more ways in which we can support people and their communities beyond simply providing them with a home.” HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

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WHY’S SOCIAL HOUSING STRUGGLING TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON POLICY? Kicked into the long grass and discarded like an old toy, social housing doesn’t seem to be having the rub of the green at a national level. Mark Lawrence looks at the main issues being overlooked and talks to seasoned campaigners about how they brought about success.

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hen Theresa May stood up at the National Housing Federation annual conference and promised a stronger working relationship with housing associations and a long-term funding guarantee, the reaction was so positive she received a standing ovation. It was heralded as a new beginning for housing associations in England, repairing the damage caused by David Cameron and George Osborne in the aftermath of the financial crash. But it didn’t take long for the wheels to come off and the sector to be side-lined once more. Boris Johnson stood in front of 10 Downing Street in his first address to the country and outlined his plans for the country, not mentioning social housing once. And since then, the raft of policy announcements coming from MHCLG either tinker with planning or introduce new schemes, such as the ramped-up Help to Buy or stamp duty holidays. And we’ve seen it doesn’t have to be the case. Scotland and Northern Ireland have strong relationships with their relevant government or assembly, and Welsh housing associations have an almost partnership-like arrangement with the Welsh Government, yielding many positive outcomes. So, why has social housing as a sector lost favour? And how can it get it back? There are plenty of issues for government to get involved in if it wanted to, from welfare reform and homelessness to Social Housing White Paper legislation and new social homes. It could be argued that on welfare reform, the issues are merely political differences. But on other related policy, such as free school meals, decisions were reversed if there was enough pressure and support. Currently, the #KeepTheLifeline campaign is running after being organised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation when the

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government announced it’d be cutting the £20 Universal Credit uplift in October. And since that announcement there’s been a huge amount of pressure on government to pull one of its famous U-turns, but at the moment that seems unlikely. Housing associations have taken to Twitter, and groups such as PlaceShapers are calling on their members to write to local MPs and for chief executives to meet those MPs where they can and put the pressure on. But is it already too late? And how could housing associations have done more? According to those who’ve been both on the other side and successful in campaigns, the simple answers are data and relationships.

“Politicians want to hear about how to change things, not just what’s going wrong. Bringing people with lived experience into the conversation is also another powerful way to help tell the story” On relationships, former Labour MP David Hanson says: “A well-briefed MP can help housing in many ways. It may seem obvious, but most MPs don’t know what you know — not because they don’t want to, but because they have every issue under the sun on their desk. If you don’t let them know the challenges or issues around housing policy, then who will? “To influence policy, to raise concerns, but also to explain the challenges faced, it’s vital to get to know your local MP. “MPs all have different lived experiences. Some will have lived in social housing, some will have clear views on the issues, and, like the communities they serve, all will have varied levels of understanding on housing. Those who aren’t MPs but who know about

housing need to step up now to make the most positive impact they can. “The potential opposite of a positive MP is one not engaged and who ends up being difficult when difficult issues arise.” Hanson also sets out some tips: • Invite your MP to visit a site, meet your team, and, if possible, a roundtable of tenants to get to know the MP, to brief them, and to ask for action • Give your MP a single point of contact for issues they may need to raise • Send personalised briefings on any national or local policy issues from a local address and have a clear ask – to write to a minister, to ask a question, to probe a policy option, to vote on a proposal, or to request a meeting with officials or ministers. If you have local constituency or regional information, send it in that form • Use your MP to highlight positives • Make the case for housing to your MP And we know housing associations have a wealth of data they don’t use effectively enough to show the impact they’re having or warn on the trends they’re seeing. But as Sophie Boobis, Head of Research and Policy at Homeless Link, explains, this could easily change: “Smaller organisations often think they don’t have a voice in the political sphere, but developing relationships with local MPs, showing the work they do in the community, and connecting to wider issues being seen across the country is one of the most

effective ways to influence government. Charities are also often sitting on a wealth of evidence and insight that’s of real interest to politicians. “For those who want to lobby government more effectively, one key piece of advice is to bring solutions to the table. Politicians want to hear about how to change things, not just what’s going wrong. Bringing people with lived experience into the conversation is also another powerful way to help tell the story. “Finally, it’s a cliché but organisations are always stronger together. Seek connections with other likeminded people and pool resources and insight.” And, as with all social policy, there are links everywhere but none more so than between removing or reducing welfare payments and the increasing likelihood that a household will become homeless. Despite the phenomenal effort of councils, housing associations, and outreach staff during Everyone In, 265,560 households were either homeless or at risk of homelessness in England during 2020/21. Rough sleeping fell by 36% between 2019

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“The support of campaigners, the public, and those in power are all important when trying to seek change – ensure to map out the key stakeholders you want to engage and key moments to push for change” and 2020, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, but the number of rough sleepers was still higher than in 2010. The obvious need for investment in homelessness services was latched onto by government in the early months of the pandemic, and it showed the country could go some way towards getting rough sleepers off the street, if the political will was there. Government would argue it’s announced rafts of new money to help “tackle the root causes of homelessness” and has, indeed, made good on some promises. But the Kerslake Commission, created by a group of homelessness charities and those with lived experience, challenged government to go much further, with increases of £82m a year if it’s to have any chance of ending rough sleeping by 2024 – as stated in the Conservative manifesto. Steve Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, who during his career in the housing sector has worked with politicians at all levels, from local councillors to cabinet ministers, told HQN that lobbying has a few key strands: “It’s worth remembering that you’re making the case to multiple – sometimes competing – audiences. “Firstly, the department that holds the policy brief, which in the case of ‘Everyone In’, is the MHCLG. “Then you have to consider the Treasury. If they can’t see the benefit, then you’ll have an uphill battle on your hands. “And thirdly, of course, is Number 10; and if what’s being asked fits into the overall policy landscape. “When it comes to ending rough sleeping, if the issue of support for non-UK nationals

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who are homeless with no recourse to public funds can be addressed, then the recently established Cabinet Inter-Ministerial Group on Rough Sleeping has a deliverable set of recommendations from the independent Kerslake Commission, which, if implemented, will help this government deliver on its key manifesto commitment. This includes long-term investment which we urge it to provide in the spending review this autumn.” And if there’s one way in which homelessness can be easily and significantly reduced, it’s by building new social housing. Housing secretary and housing minister alike have spoken at length on how social housing is part of the mix of tenures that will be funded by the Affordable Homes Programme, and would point to latest Homes England figures that show new social housing was up 11% last year on the previous 12 months. But other statistics don’t lie and those new social homes aren’t enough to replace those lost to Right to Buy, let alone make a dent in the hundreds of thousands lost in the past 20 years. It’s an issue that parties of both colours grappled with, and despite the best efforts of campaigning groups such as SHOUT, it appears the message of ‘it’ll pay itself back in years to come’ doesn’t

wash with governments more focused on the short-term cycles of parliament. So, how does the sector get building social housing seen more favourably? Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing in London, says the position the sector must take is to link the building of new social housing into streams that the Conservative government is interested in. Copley stressed that employment is always high on that agenda – and building more social housing on a sizeable scale is guaranteed to help encourage thousands into work in different positions in the process. The other major piece of policy that housing associations and local authorities are looking at is the proposals from the Social Housing White Paper. The new “proactive consumer regulation regime” needs legislation to make it work and successive prime ministers have now vowed to introduce it.

So, where is it? And if it’s such a priority to learn the lessons from Grenfell and change the culture within the sector, why wasn’t it introduced in the Queen’s Speech? Speaking to ITV News last month, Jenrick claimed that the Social Housing White Paper legislation will soon follow the Building Safety Bill, meaning a minimum of 18 months before introduction. And while the Regulator of Social Housing has said housing can be getting on with the job now, the introduction of legislation will be the real change marker. To push this agenda forward, housing campaigner and council housing tenant Rob Gershon has brought together leaders from across the sector, including the National Housing Federation, the Local Government Association, and Grenfell United, to call for government to introduce the proposals sooner than currently stated. And Gershon explains why the legislation is needed now: “Recent ITV coverage and an emerging narrative about the sector as a whole can be addressed by bringing forward the legislation which will allow all parties to begin to design a better, more proactive, resident-focussed regulatory regime. This will allow good practice and cultures to shine and set clear expectations of transparency and accountability for everyone. “This is not a charm offensive or perhaps the most direct route for the sector to regain trust from residents or government, but it’s a framework that will allow landlords to demonstrate good things rather than just say them.” But what other issues could be hampering housing’s ability to be heard and its wishes to be acted upon? The recent ITV News investigation into the current state of some social housing will have no doubt been a hammer blow to many, with various MPs complaining that housing issues blight their inbox and surgery visits. Building up housing’s reputation in this area, and stopping complaints from

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getting to the local MP, will mean housing consultation or a draft bill committee. associations and local authorities will have a “The support of campaigners, the public more favourable ear. and those in power are all important when Government would also argue that trying to seek change – ensure to map out housing in general has had plenty of airtime: the key stakeholders you want to engage the Building Safety Bill, and key moments to Fire Safety Bill, Planning push for change. The White Paper, the soon to legislative process “I don’t think there’s be introduced Renters can sometimes some big secret to Reform White Paper, be slow, but it’s so successful activism Social Housing White crucial when it can Paper, and Leasehold improve the lives of – the difference is Bill. Of course, these are others.” just they look after not always in the areas And social housing that tenants, housing has experienced themselves and they associations and local campaigners within just don’t pack it in” authorities want, but its ranks – one MHCLG would argue being PlaceShapers they’re vital to get right. Director Rachael But what else can the sector learn from Orr, who used to lead campaigns for both those who’ve been successful? Oxfam and Shelter. Back in April, the landmark Domestic She believes it’s about a changing mindset Abuse Act received Royal Assent after years for the sector: “Last month, the international of campaigning and lobbying by domestic development sector ran a fantastic abuse charities and other third sector campaign to stop the cuts to the aid budget. partners. “Former PMs and cabinet ministers Sophie Francis-Cansfield, Campaigns and rebelled. Tory grandees lined up to speak Policy Manager at Women’s Aid, shares what out about the damage cuts would do, both can be learned from their approach: “Over to the world’s poorest people and our four years, the violence against women global standing. Thousands of people and girls (VAWG) sector came together to took campaign action. The campaign amplify the voices of survivors and frontline didn’t succeed, the aid budget was services with the aim of securing a truly cut. transformational Domestic Abuse Bill. “Five months “Our joint recommendations were earlier, the rooted in evidence and through supporting domestic campaigns, such as the Step Up Migrant Women campaign led by the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, which aimed to centre the most marginalised. “We hope that our campaigning work highlights the benefits of coalition working and the strength of a united voice calling for change. It’s important to gain momentum from the very beginning of the legislative process, whether that be a public

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poverty sector had run a brilliant coalition campaign to keep the Universal Credit uplift. They led the news agenda for days. They mobilised thousands of people to sign petitions and contact their MPs. Labour tabled opposition day debates. “The campaign managed to keep the uplift, but only temporarily – it’s set to be cut in September, and the campaign continues. “Are there lessons the housing sector can learn from these campaigns? Absolutely. The first one is that campaigning when the government has an 80-seat majority is very hard. We haven’t had to do it since 2010 and it means thinking again about how we can try and win. “The second is that we have to get more in tune with mainstream public opinion. The Conservatives cut the aid budget because it’s popular with their new voters. “These are voters who may not aspire to live in social housing – but our offers on shared ownership, supporting thriving communities, and creating jobs should absolutely speak to them. We need to be better at leading with these messages. “And finally, we need to keep getting better at campaigning with others. This means others in the sector and wider civil society. “But it also means our residents, because their personal views about their homes and communities often carry more weight than ours, and we need to think hard about how we support them to be more active and help raise our sector’s profile again.” Another success story was Gina Martin, who forced and eventually garnered support for legislation to formally make upskirting illegal. She gathered support on social media by using #StopSkirtingTheIssue, before building up support from MPs and others over a relentless 18-month campaign. And her advice on lobbying and activism is summed up in three parts. In a recent comment, Martin said: “You choose the thing that sets you on fire, because passion

“Building up housing’s reputation in this area, and stopping complaints from getting to the local MP, will mean housing associations and local authorities will have a more favourable ear” is what gets you through when it seems impossible. “You find the people who need what you’re trying to do because then you have something else to fight for and you build a bullet proof support system around yourself (do this online if you feel you’re struggling to in real life), because you won’t always be able to self-motivate and you’ll need them to listen and pick you up. “Really, when all’s said and done, you just have to keep going. Regardless of what happens. Keep pushing and keep hope. Hope is everything. I don’t think there’s some big secret to successful activism – the difference is just they look after themselves and they just don’t pack it in.” Martin has since published a book called Be the Change: A Toolkit for the Activist in You, to help others gain the knowledge in fighting on an issue. Coming back to social housing, it’d seem there are four main strands to get right: data, relationships, partnerships, and perseverance. Ensure relationships are there; grow partnerships and bring people on that journey with you; use the wealth of data and provide solutions and do all of this in a passionate way that doesn’t let the people you’re targeting have a second’s rest. What are we waiting for? As Gina Martin would say, let’s be the change.

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A POSITIVE FUTURE Housing’s Next Generation 2021 has now reached its conclusion and we’ve a fine set of finalists. But the competition is about so much more than the final six. The ideas, the networking, and stepping out of your comfort zone is what makes it truly special.

Sponsored by

With thanks to our judges

Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO

Sona Kaur, Beyond Housing

Olu Olanrewaju, Altair

Lennox Thomas, GGT Solutions

James Hudson, Your Homes Newcastle

Mushtaq Khan, Housing Diversity Network

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Kath Menzies, Link Housing Association and Housing’s Next Generation 2020 winner

very year, the Housing’s Next Generation competition throws up some of the brightest young talent in the sector – and once again, they’ve delivered with style and passion. Our 25 shortlisted entrants each submitted a blog in which they tackled topics such as digital inclusion, what makes a strong board, and what politician speaks most sense on housing. And one of the huge strengths of the competition is highlighting the views of diverse young people within the housing sector, what makes them tick, and where they see gaps in the current system. In the blogs, a real focus on tenants and residents was key for many, with some of the candidates doing their own research and speaking to their residents to find out how best to answer the question with them in mind. Going hand-in-hand with this focus was a desire to ensure that “no one was left behind”, especially in the digital inclusion submissions. From those blogs, the judges chose 13 candidates to go forward into the semifinal. Judges were looking at written skill, persuasiveness of argument, as well as ensuring diversity and inclusion was top of the agenda. Those semi-finalists were then given the “From increased opportunity to present on one idea they participation within the believe would improve the sector. Many of decision making process to a the candidates presented on topics heavily related to their current role, highlighting softer approach to evictions another huge strength of the competition: and tenancies, there was being able to hear from frontline staff on where the sector may be getting things a variety of pitches put wrong. forward” Once again, presentations heavily featured residents and inclusion, with them being central to how candidates wanted the sector to improve. From increased participation within the decision-making process to a softer approach to evictions and tenancies, there was a variety of pitches put forward. But, unfortunately, only six could make it as finalists. So, congratulations to Jude Cooney, Eleanor Edgar, Louise O’Connell, Hannah Smith, Jassay Panesar, and Tanisha Rigby. A write-up of their presentations and blogs are on the following two pages. And those six will now be going into a fantastic development opportunity, created by HQN in collaboration with GGT Solutions. The idea was to make the competition a development opportunity for as many of the participants as possible. The development will include sessions on a wide range of skills, as the programme aims to give the finalists the tools to make positive change within their organisation and move into the positions they desire. We’re pleased to be carrying on working with all of those shortlisted in various ways too, giving the initial 25 the opportunity to attend skills workshops. We also recently launched our Next Generation Hub, a place where all those nominated for the competition can network, learn new things, and benefit from the opportunities HQN has to offer.

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Eleanor Edgar, Temporary Accommodation Scheme Manager, Stockport Homes “We know a housing-led response can help with all the problems homelessness brings – why would we not do this?” Eleanor used her semi-final presentation to urge the sector to treat homelessness like a public health emergency and transform the way it approaches the subject. She said the sector “needed to have health interlinked” in the response to homelessness, as well as abolishing the priority need policy. Her other ideas to improve the response from housing was to treat people like people and to “throw out the rule book”, saying that the pandemic showed what could be done. And this concept of treating people as people was a theme from her first-round blog too, in which she said that housing must get better at repairing trust with residents and building relationships with those that matter most.

MEET THE Jude Cooney, Transformation Facilitator & Futures Frontiers Lead, Futures Housing “Privatisation is a flawed model and has led to a fragmented view of the housing market” Jude’s semi-final pitch to the judges was a concept called ‘housify’ – the mix of housing and identify. It would group all of the homes available into the UK in one portal and would match people to what they could afford, in the locations they would want to live in. He said this nationalised approach to housing would help with improving the lettings process, as well as potentially being a tool to drive up standards. The model would use the positives bits from apps such as GoCompare and SkyScanner. Jude’s first-round blog impressed the judges as he argued that the number of housing associations or the size of them didn’t matter, but their focus on service delivery and commitment to improving lives is what counts.

Tanisha Rigby, Customer Involvement Officer, First Choice Homes Oldham “Avoiding these pitfalls in the future will make the road to digital engagement smoother, faster and boost positive impacts. Yes, change involves challenges for everyone but the organisations that adapt become stronger” Looking at how the sector overcomes accessibility and skills problems within the digital journey was the focus of Tanisha’s blog and she used her experiences of engaging with her own residents to paint a picture of what is needed to be done. She carried this onto into her semifinal presentation, saying that Wi-Fi was needed in all communal blocks, community centres and new builds. This would help with education, training, employment and much more, Tanisha argued. She said this move would also hugely benefit staff working at these community centres, as well as helping people seize opportunities they otherwise would have to hear about from other sources.

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FINALISTS Jassay Panesar, Resident Liaison Officer, Metropolitan Thames Valley “We should be asking the question as housing associations – from the frontline to the CEO – are we ready for a disaster to happen?” Jassay took on the tough brief of safety for his semi-final presentation, claiming that the sector hasn’t done nearly enough to provide training and be “disaster ready”. He said much more could be done at an operational level in terms of improvements, and also pitched that the sector should be offering those in these roles more “highly effective empathy training” to deal with the aftermath of any potential disaster. He said that, from his viewpoint, the “social aspect of social housing seems to have been forgotten” and that training for management was needed to understand what needs to happen when the organisation is responding to an incident.

Louise O’Connell, Housing Management Graduate, Places for People “You can tell where there’s a community feel and the people are proud to live there, and you can tell when the opposite is true” Ensuring that communities work for everyone was at the heart of Louise’s semi-final presentation, focusing on green spaces as part of a wider health and wellbeing benefits package. She said this would help tackle climate change, support local economies, improve mental health, decrease crime, and lead to biodiversity improvements. Louise stated that a lot of the current focus on ensuring there’s green space has been in new build developments, not existing homes. She urged the sector to think about designing spaces “around demographics” and give residents a reason to use these spaces – e.g., if it’s near family homes, make it so that families want to use the space and use innovative examples such as music walls or “living walls”.

Hannah Smith, Sustainability Project Manager, Lancaster West “If services better reflect the needs of the user, they are going to be better services” Hannah currently works on the Lancaster West estate where Grenfell Tower is situated and used that perspective to show why “we cannot continue to provide services how we do”, and said housing providers must be co-designing at every opportunity. She said not only does this give residents a voice, it also means that organisations have “greater insight into what people need and want”. Those insights can then be used to prioritise new services and how those services can be most effectively delivered. She also said these approaches help to build trust. She impressed the judges in her first-round blog by sharing ways in which the current crop of social housing leaders could start getting on with tackling climate change.

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7. Michael Hough, Safety, Health, and Environmental Support Officer, Wolverhampton Homes “It’s essential that this generation of housing associations picks up this conversation and ensure we don’t have more tenants not having a voice” Michael’s passionate semi-final pitch on giving tenants a voice impressed the judges. In some ways it’s nothing revolutionary, with proper resident scrutiny and involvement in the decision-making process being key to the idea, but the way in which it would transform decision making culture can’t be underestimated. He’d like to create an operational customer experience advisory board to help give tenants “a robust voice” – and not one that just scrutinises, but one that also co-creates. That board would be elected from within the community and recruited by prominent community leaders. Michael said it was key to listen to what residents had to say, and that they were pivotal in the design and rollout of any new service or policy.

8. Helen Byfield, Trainee Surveyor, Watford Community Housing “Working alone only sets you up to fail in the area” Helen’s presentation topic at the semi-final was simple: housing associations working in the same area should be working more collaboratively together on all projects that benefit the area. She said there were issues in the areas that could be tackled as a collective and would foster more of a community vibe, not having one housing association’s tenants facing off against another’s. Helen also urged housing associations to use this model to help foster “new ideas” and to drive efficiencies when planning works. She said there were some battles to overcome, namely conflicts of interest, miscommunication, GDPR, and expenditure differences between organisations, but most of these could be overcome. She concluded by making the point that all housing associations want to improve the areas in which they operate, so why not do it together?

9. Megan Owen, Graduate Surveyor, CHP “As housing professionals, we need to recognise the ways that our language and behaviour plays a role in the stigma” In her semi-final presentation, Megan held up a mirror to the sector and urged it to reconsider how it goes about its work in relation to reducing stigma. She said the Social Housing White Paper had “failed” on the issue and that treating tenants with respect is “more than just professionalism”. She said the sector “has the power to destigmatise” and used examples of hearing frontline operatives and other partners using disparaging language about social housing tenants. She called on housing to “make a stand on this” and hold themselves and stakeholders to account, including building social homes to a high standard and dropping the use of labels.

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10. Hannah Green, Lived Experience Specialist, Centre for Homelessness “It may not seem that radical, but it’s simply treating people like people” That’s the line that Hannah used when opening her presentation for the semi-final. And her idea to change the sector for the better was for the sector to look at how it perpetuates the myths and stigmas attached to those who are homeless. She urged leaders to stop making people “jump through hoops” and insisted that there’s “no such thing as hard-toreach people, only services that are not right to reach people”. Using her experience of both being homeless and working in a homeless charity, she said the blend of learned and lived experience was vital in ensuring that the sector stops labelling people and starts helping them.

11. James White, Visiting Officer, Wolverhampton Homes “It shouldn’t be legal to evict a tenant until all other measures are exhausted” James used his experience in his current role to call for a ban on evictions unless they were absolutely necessary or all other avenues had been exhausted. He told the judges that he’d seen the enormous impact evictions have on people’s lives, sometimes leading to abuse in the home. He said other impacts, such as on legal fees, temporary accommodation costs, and adult and children’s services, all need to be taken into account. To solve this, James said a city or region-wide approach needs to be taken to save the tenancy. He called for an agreed framework that evidenced when all options had been exhausted, and for money saved from a reduction in evictions to be put into sustainment.

12. Cameron Anterkyi, Resident Liaison Officer, Network Homes “Right to Buy gives residents a sense of pride and aids social mobility” Cameron’s presentation to the judging panel at the semi-final looked at extending the Right to Buy to housing association tenants. Although not a new idea, Cameron believes that it would help housing association tenants and housing associations. He said housing associations could keep all the receipts from the homes, being able to fund replacements for two or three homes in areas that needed it. He also noted other benefits, such as no longer having to pay repairs on the properties. He also said it didn’t matter if those homes then went into the private sector afterwards, with it being people’s choice whether they sold the property, he argued it was about giving people “the opportunity to do what they want with their property”.

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13. Shaynesia Byfield, Project Manager, Homes for Haringey “Everyone deserves a decent home; hence why a strong board needs to be inclusive. Boards need to be made up of a diverse range of people, with differing experiences, expertise, and skills to better understand the complexities at hand” Shaynesia used her blog to argue for the need for diversity in order to create a strong board. She said that there were “steps in the direction” for many, in terms of encouraging more BAME, women and young people to take up these positions, but the sector could and should still go further. She used research to show the huge amount of progress that is still needed on boards, and spoke of the importance of having views representative of the communities served on the board in order to advocate for those in need.

14. Megan Smiley, Housing and Resident Engagement Officer, Sapphire Independent Housing “Whether it’s the severity of one incident or the accumulation of several incidents that have let tenants down, rebuilding trust is a good starting point for getting back on track, and Maister, Green and Gaiford’s trust equation can assist this” Trust =

C(redibility) + R(eliability) + I(ntimacy) S(elf-orientation)

Rebuilding trust among a group of people is a tough job, Megan conceded in her blog, pointing towards the recent attempts by some football clubs to break away from the English league, much to the anger of fans around the country. But looking at housing providers, Megan said that they need to have credibility, reliability, and intimacy to get things right, and that if there’s self-interest it could undermine it all. Megan closed by throwing a question back at the sector: “Are we genuinely listening to residents with their interests in mind?”

15. Shona Matson, Wellbeing Project Officer, Optivo “In a world that’s increasingly becoming more reliant on technology, housing associations are in danger of widening the class gap even further if choosing to go digital” Conducting her own original research by speaking to 120 residents over the age of 70, Shona put a personal spin on the question around housing going digital. She said that while going digital can help in some cases, the huge gap between those who understand and are confident using technology to book repairs, speak to advisers, etc. was enough to cause some concern. Shona felt there needed to be more investment into digital inclusion and thought taken to ensure that the digital revolution was beneficial to tenants, as well as being useful for landlords.

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16. Maya Parfett, Trainee Housing Officer, LiveWest “How do we rebuild trust and get back on track with the customers we let down? Well, I don’t think there’s a straightforward, one size fits all answer, but I do think there are four clear things we can consider when trying to rebuild that trust” Judges praised Maya’s practical approach to her question around rebuilding trust with residents and in particular noted her ALAS model: Acknowledge, Listen, Ask, Solution. This was her four-point plan to rebuild that relationship, and it started with owning the mistake, engaging with customers on fixing it, and then ensuring that the focus is on a solution, rather than the problem. Chiming with much of what the sector is saying at the moment, Maya was keen that housing was honest and learnt from the mistakes of the past in order to prevent them from happening again in the future.

17. Mark Osborne, Project Delivery Manager, Guinness Partnership “The pandemic reminds us that despite external challenges, there’s a need to continue our provision of great-quality, safe, and affordable homes for those most in need. Strong board leadership supports and enables our colleagues to deliver that change” Writing about what a strong board looks like, Mark centred on three words: responsive, reflective, and responsible. He said there was a need for boards to meet more regularly and to understand the changing needs and expectations of customers. The reflective element comes from being more representative of the stakeholders they’re serving, and ensuring that the work they do is more accessible to more people – for example, using hybrid meetings. Mark would also like to see the board take more responsibility in terms of the Building Safety Bill and net zero agenda.

18. Robyn Allen, Housing Services Manager, Sovereign “We need to remove the taboo of acknowledging failure and turn this into a great opportunity to learn. Our best leaps forward, our biggest changes in society, sadly, only happen when we fail – when we sit up and listen” One of the youngest housing managers at Sovereign, Robyn turned her question on its head and, instead of giving her own view, presented the views of residents she spoke to who’d previously had a complaint against Sovereign. The judges were impressed with this approach, saying the piece was much more authentic for it and paved the way for future work in this area. Out of those conversations with residents, key themes such as personalisation and seeing where feedback has made an impact emerged.

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19. Jacob Coward, Procurement Assistant, One Housing “Having this variation creates a more well-rounded team and allows different approaches to be considered. In addition, having board members differing in personality and background (gender, race, sexuality) is believed to help resolve more complex issues organisations face because members can use lessons learnt from previous experiences” Judges were impressed by Jacob’s use of research within his piece, drawing on the Institute of Directors for New Zealand’s research around what makes a strong board. Key to the arguments were variation and ensuring diversity of thought, as well as diversity of other key characteristics, were present. Another key feature was listening and development in a culture of understanding, suggesting that this would ensure every initiative was given due attention. Finally, the idea of regular contribution by members of the board, in order to ensure that people couldn’t go missing or leave it to others to sort.

20. Holly Caulkett, Tenancy Support Officer, Soha Housing “I believe we can do better, and help more people out of temporary accommodation and night shelters; help them off of their friend’s or family’s sofa, and help them into their own settled accommodation, with the right support to make their tenancy and next stage in life a success” Holly’s pitch on how the sector’s current leaders can improve was to “make more housing more accessible to more people”. Using the model of Housing First as an example, Holly identified how previous approaches may not have worked, but with more support people were able to feel confident and comfortable enough to get into stable accommodation. With the judges feeling her passion throughout the piece, and her colleagues describing her as “tenacious”, Holly continues to progress up the Soha tree.

21. Ellie Rawden, Environmental Coordinator, Thirteen Group “The next generation of housing professionals are people who think differently and want to live more sustainably. To pave their way in the industry, we must begin to address their concerns relating to the environment and society through corporate infrastructure change and cross-sectoral collaboration” Impressed by her knowledge on the subject, the judges took well to Ellie’s vision for how future leaders in the sector should act, and what those in power could start doing now. Her knowledge on environmental issues shone through, and, coupled with her passion as noted in her initial nomination, the judges felt they’d be seeing her again soon. Working as one of Thirteen’s Environmental Champions, Ellie is on a mission to make the organisation “more environmentally conscious”.

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22. Britney Wootton, Trainee Development Manager, whg “By making a commitment to leave no customer behind in a digital world, housing associations can ensure that all customers can reap the benefit of new technology” Stating that “going digital is not without its pitfalls”, Britney’s blog for the first stage of the competition showed her consideration of people, and went on to talk about the need to protect against fraud and to bring residents on that digital journey. Britney’s was the only submission to explore fraud as a theme, something that impressed the judges. At just 21, the judges had no doubts that she’d go on to be a strong housing professional.

23. Mohammed Ahmed, Young Persons Temporary Accommodation Officer, whg Mo’s role sees him support up to 60 young people at a time who may have come from care, or whose challenging family background means they’ve nowhere else to go. As an accommodation officer, Mo introduces these young customers to the responsibilities that come with looking after a property, and helps them live as independently as possible. However, Mo’s passions and dedication means he goes out of his way to support these young, vulnerable customers to ensure they not just maintain their home but really thrive. Despite the challenges of Covid-19 and not being able to see customers in person, in the last year Mo has supported nine people to successfully move into independent living and a long-term tenancy.

24. Yasmin Bakali, Assistant Project Manager, Lancaster West Yasmin plays a pivotal role in the resident-led refurbishment of the Lancaster West Estate. In 2018, she approached the neighbourhood team as a graduate architect, looking to get work experience in the sector, and so started as a project support officer in the property services team. She’s been involved in every aspect of asset management and now specialises in sustainable retrofit, delivering the first low-energy council home in Kensington and Chelsea, a home 100% powered by its own renewable energy. As a young Moroccan woman, her peers say she’s a “superb role model for BAME women who are in the housing sector or wish to join it”.

25. Hugo Drummond, Reward Advisor, Guinness Partnership Starting his career in 2016, Hugo developed a broad knowledge of the housing sector. He’s worked as a housing officer for keyworkers, and more recently moved into L&D and HR roles. His strong belief in housing’s social purpose has seen him develop a good understanding of the sector, and he can contribute to topics and discussions at a high level. In part due to his role, he offers a different perspective to conversations and decisions – making suggestions and connections that may otherwise be missed. He has a genuine interest in how housing associations function and a strong belief in the positive contribution the sector makes.

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COMMENT

Only by listening to complaints can housing associations hope to do better Chyrel Brown, Chief Operating Officer, One Housing

but it’s never been more important. As we emerge from the pandemic, housing associations risk their heads spinning as they attempt to adapt to an everchanging landscape of rules and guidance. But I believe we’ve become more adaptable and better able to spot opportunities to do more. It’s often in times of transition that we’re best able to reassess and focus on the most important things – like what our services mean for our customers. Every day I talk to my team about how we can do At One Housing we’re finding new ways to listen and better, and almost as regularly we hear from our respond to customer feedback, and this feedback is customers about improvements we need to make to what’s guiding our improvement plans. We’ve recently the homes and services we provide. Listening to what introduced a new repairs app to enable quicker customers tell us, both good and bad, is central to reporting, give residents the opportunity to provide my role; indeed, One Housing has placed ‘listening real-time reactions to the service they receive so that to residents’ at the core of improving our customers’ we can act ‘in the moment’, and identify areas where experience. It’s a journey we’re still making, but I can we need to improve. honestly say we value everything residents tell us, and Additionally, we’ve integrated a real-time locator that as we better understand their needs, we can do function into our repairs systems to enable our more for them. customers to track the progress of an operative en A recent example of what difference actively listening route to a repair and prevent missed appointments. to our customers can make started when a late-night This step-change was in direct response to feedback water leak was reported at one from our customers. of our properties. Once there, Doing more for our residents “Listening to complaints our operatives heard how isn’t just about customer the leak had not only caused services – major programmes can be difficult, particularly stress and inconvenience to like those focused on at a time when services are our resident, it’d also meant improvements to building stretched by Covid-19, but it’s she’d missed out on having her safety and sustainability must children for the weekend, as the also remain sensitive to resident never been more important” bathroom was unsuitable. needs. For example, we’re My colleagues quickly fixed continuing to do everything we the leak and continued chatting to the resident to can to minimise costs to leaseholders for safety works explore what more we could do, particularly around – we’ve registered 28 applications to the government’s how to make the property work better for the children, Building Safety Fund and we’re aiming to recover costs who faced a long wait to use the bath. We concluded or get remediation works from developers in 26 cases. that the bathroom needed an overhaul – we replaced We won’t give up fighting for our residents who the toilet, repainted the walls, and installed a shower find themselves in this unenviable position through cubicle along with the necessary ventilation. absolutely no fault of their own, and with our partners By taking the time to really listen to our customer’s we’ll have a stronger voice. complaints, we found a way to complete some Improving our housing services is a challenge set to straightforward works that made it a home that every housing association, but by listening to residents worked better for everyone in it. and understanding the impact of our services, I Listening to complaints can be difficult, particularly believe we’re making decisions that are changing our at a time when services are stretched by Covid-19, residents’ lives for the better.

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COMMENT

Mobility scooters – time to get our house in order

Nigel Deacon, National Account Director, metroSTOR

disconnected when the scooter isn’t in use and charging shouldn’t take place at night. It’s very difficult for a landlord to be sure that these measures are being followed consistently – and even if they are, when you start to develop a PEEP for a mobility-scooter user on an upper-floor flat with a fire breaking out at night, the prospects aren’t looking good to say the least. And when you start to introduce the risks associated Many landlords state that mobility scooters are the with lithium-ion batteries virtually exploding when bane of their lives. Whether you consider them a over-charged or physically damaged – and, let’s face life-saver, necessary evil, or death-trap, I think most it, this could happen very easily with users purchasing would agree that coming up with viable options for non-genuine replacement batteries and chargers storing and charging them safely is a real challenge online – the outlook gets worse still. for both landlords and users. Having seen the consequences of a scooter fire, The fire risk has been well-documented, normally I don’t personally feel comfortable with scooters arising from a product that is either of dubious quality, being stored in a flat under any circumstances. Harsh misused or poorly maintained. A very fierce fire can though it may sound, if the user can’t get to a safe develop and fill a room or communal store using other corridor with large volumes means, then I think we must of toxic smoke in only a few “There are two factors find them a more suitable minutes; not good, I think it’s home. emerging that mean we must fair to say. And what exactly face this challenge head-on But there are two factors constitutes a safe communal and not keep kicking the emerging that mean we must store? A compartmented face this challenge headroom with 30-minutes fire can down the road – the on and not keep kicking resistance, automatic fire requirement for undertaking the can down the road: the detection and suppression, PEEPs for vulnerable requirement for undertaking and a self-closing fire door. PEEPs for vulnerable residents The NFCC state that if you residents and the increasing and the increasing use of can’t provide this anywhere use of lithium-ion batteries lithium-ion batteries on internally, then an external on scooters and other scooters and other personal location will have to be found personal mobility devices” mobility devices. instead. Most scooter users, quite External storage is inherently understandably, will want the scooter stored as lower risk in terms of fire, but more challenging to close to their flat as possible. It’s generally accepted get right in terms of accessibility and security. It is that scooters cannot be stored in communal areas, still just as critical to ensure fire cannot spread into so many are stored within users’ flats, particularly the dwelling from outside, and neither internal nor where the landlord has been unable to provide an external storage options come cheap. alternative. Enabling mobility but keeping every scooter user In such cases we need to ensure the scooter is and their neighbours safe is without question a very stored in a room with automatic fire detection challenging task for landlords. However, I fear this and suppression, the door is kept closed, and the challenge may pale into insignificance compared to escape route isn’t obstructed. Batteries should be the approaching onslaught of e-bikes and e-scooters…

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

Ombudsman Corner 48

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman

A vital skill of an Ombudsman is listening. Taking care to understand the issues from the perspective of each party, empathising whilst remaining impartial and, if something has gone wrong, making sure listening leads to learning. The complaints procedure can be emotional and distressing, and listening is such an important part of rebuilding trust where it has fractured. It’s one reason why our approach to resolving complaints can be far more beneficial than an adversarial legal process. And this listening role shouldn’t be confined to our resolution work – it should be part of our wider leadership role to improve residents’ experience of housing services. That’s one reason why we set up our Resident Panel. The panel will support our strategic development as an Ombudsman service and projects to promote a positive complaints culture. The panel was established in recognition that we don’t have a forum to directly hear the collective voice of residents. It’s been exhilarating to see the panel come to life. We recruited 600 residents from across the country and it’s a really representative group. Over two weeks in July we held meetings with the panel to discuss our forthcoming corporate plan. This plan will set out our development as a service over the next three years, a period which will see further change in the social housing sector following the White Paper, and is an important moment for us to set out our direction as an Ombudsman. So, what did we hear, and what does it mean for our service? The need to raise awareness of the Ombudsman was a recurrent theme, along with building trust in the complaints process. Indeed, we ran

several polls during the sessions, and 63% of residents said the Ombudsman would be their preferred route for unresolved disputes – a clear majority compared to other options – but 38% felt residents wouldn’t know how or feel confident on the process. This is critical to address.

“The complaints procedure can be emotional and distressing, and listening is such an important part of rebuilding trust where it has fractured” We explored some of these issues in more detail at a special interest session on awareness raising and digitisation. The panel said there needs to be a breadth of communication methods used to raise awareness of the Ombudsman, including for residents who don’t have online access. They felt landlords should have a bigger part to play in raising awareness, but also not to rely on landlords as the only way of doing so. On digitisation, the panel were clear that our online service needs to be simple and straightforward. So, what next? The discussions will feed into our developing corporate plan which we’ll consult on later this year. Raising awareness of the complaints process, as well as the Ombudsman, is a challenge, as is promoting greater understanding of our role. Being able to ensure hardto-reach residents and groups are part of that, and doing something specific in this area is also one of my goals to ensure the service can be accessed and used by everyone who needs it.

Innovating change for communities in East London for over four decades

Good luck to Paul Bloss Housing Hero Finalist Innovating change for communities in East London

Lifetime achievement in Housing

A day in the life Kara Tomes-Meek Asset Programme Manager Optivo

Employee since: June 2021 Location, location, location: Berkshire Previous employment: Asset and Land Manager, Red Kite Community Housing

07:00 Wake, work, sleep, repeat Having worked at home every day since March 2020, it can be easy to fall into a wake, work, sleep, repeat trap Monday to Friday. To focus myself on the present and create a positive mindset, the first activities to start my day are meditation, Tai Chi, and some light reading. 09:00 Variety is the spice of life! As an asset manager I get to interact with people right across the organisation. I love the variety and the many hats I get to wear including sustainability, repairs, voids, compliance, and development. I’m a bit of a data geek and spend some time monitoring and managing performance dashboards that keep us on track with our asset management and sustainability strategies. 11:00

Saving the planet one home at a time I grew up with a deep compassion for ‘all creatures great and small’. Having led a proud vegan lifestyle for many years now, sustainability and caring about our planet is who I am and what brings me joy. I’m lucky to have a role that means I can think about the impact our homes and estates have on our environment, the investment these homes need, and how we can reduce the carbon emissions they create. This not only helps the planet but reduces energy bills for residents. Win-win!

13:00

Local lunching I’m part of a local environmental group. We work on initiatives such as rewilding, renewable energy, litter picking, sustainable transport, and much more. During lunch I work on these projects. Recently, we teamed up with Friends of the Earth on our ‘Bee Squared’ project, distributing 5,000 packets of wildflower seeds to the community.

15:00

Working smarter, not harder In the afternoon I attend a team meeting to touch base with my colleagues. This is a great opportunity to encourage joined-up working as we’re all homebased and miss out on general catch ups. I then review business efficiencies and updated process maps ensuring a joined-up approach across teams.

18:00

And relax… After work, you’ll find me on my paddleboard in the rivers and streams of Berkshire. This is the perfect switch off time and takes me away from screens and electronics. I’m still on environmental duty though and collect any litter I find polluting the waters. All in a day’s work!

20:00 Plant power! Back home to get creative in the kitchen with one of my many plantbased cookbooks that I’ve obtained over the years. ‘One Pot Vegan’ has been my go-to since Christmas. It’s quick, easy, and full of flavourpacked recipes!

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

My perfect day My perfect day would be spent outdoors, either climbing a mountain or in the middle of a lake somewhere! I’m at my happiest surrounded by animals and nature. My ideal evening would be spent with friends enjoying a picnic or BBQ, with some summer tunes playing and a strawberry daiquiri to hand!

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Resident’s view Balancing the role of a tenant and staff member By Tanisha Rigby, Customer Involvement Officer, First Choice Homes Oldham

I’ve found many benefits of being a tenant and a staff member. It’s been massively beneficial in terms of engagement as I’m always ‘visible’ to other tenants as a resident myself, and am constantly building rapports with customers through a mutual trust that we both share. As a fellow tenant, other tenants feel they can confide in me as I’m able to understand their issues and empathise with their concerns on a much more personal level. I live in their neighbourhood, walk the same streets, and experience the same level of service as them. Often, I may have even encountered the same issues they’re concerned about. This in turn has increased levels of engagement as tenants feel they’re really being listened to by someone who understands, as the changes we make from customer feedback affect me as much as they affect them. Being a tenant has enabled me to really expand my knowledge around the local issues, people, neighbourhoods, and communities – which provides tremendous benefits in terms of carrying out my role as a customer involvement officer, as it allows me to establish these true and meaningful connections with customers and gives me a better idea of certain needs and wants within different communities. I’ve also found when completing service reviews, I’m much more aware of the standard of service we provide, and may have received the service myself, giving me an all-round perspective of what we deliver and how they could be improved

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

or adapted – and when discussing this with tenants I’m able to hold ‘real’ conversations and can interpret any issues as I receive the services myself. Another positive element of being a tenant and a staff member is having a dual perspective of employee and tenant status, which is visible during our Customer Voice Panel (CVP) meetings and scrutiny reviews. I feel one of the most important factors benefiting my situation is real-life experience, as this gives me a genuine understanding of day-to-day issues tenants are currently facing living in our homes – and as a frontline member of staff, too, I ensure I’m visible for customers to discuss any issues.

“One of the most important factors benefiting my situation of being a tenant and staff member is real-life experience, as this gives me a genuine understanding of day-to-day issues tenants are currently facing living in our homes” In terms of the benefits for my wider team, I’m able to introduce them to a variety of tenants I’ve already built rapports with, and provide background information, context, and advice on certain situations which has already proven to be a real help for all. I think being a staff member and tenant has many benefits; I feel these far outweigh any disadvantages.

Fact or Fiction: Robert Jenrick Man, MP, married father of three – a few of the words that accurately describe the Right Honourable Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Here’s another precise description of him: he’s the first subject of HQM’s newest feature, Fact or Fiction (which you’re reading right now, in case you hadn’t realised). The rules are simple: what follows are five facts – except one of them isn’t; it’s a lie. But which one? That’s for YOU to decide (or cheat and look at the answer at the bottom of the page).

1. Home is where the house is The vaguely Dracula-esque MP lives in a nice big house in the bucolic paradise of Herefordshire. Eye Manor was built in the 17th century for one Ferdinando Gorges (he’s since moved on), and in 1959 it was designated a Grade 1 Listed Building. In an interesting connection to its current owner, it was once the home of Jeremy Sandford, writer of TV’s Cathy Come Home – the 60s drama that brought the plight of homelessness and social housing into the public consciousness and led to the birth of charity Crisis. Anyway, our boy snapped the pile up for £1.1m back in 2009.

2. Coroama When the coronavirus catastrophe kicked off, Rob made frequent TV appearances to urge the public to lock themselves in their houses less they wanted to be bitten infected by the new virus in town. A right honourable thing to do. Except it then emerged that he had been travelling from his London crib to the aforementioned Eye Manor (a 150-mile trip), in a blatant breach of the very rules he himself had passionately promulgated. Furthermore, he’d then travelled from his lair to his parents’ house in Shropshire. ‘Sources’ claimed he did it to deliver foods and medicines, so you could argue he’s a hero. Despite calls for his head, he survived – and the awkward mess may have served as a warning to others, as no one else connected to the heart of government has flouted Covid legislation since…

3. That’s Rich In possibly his most famed moment to date, May 2020 saw Jenrick accept that his approval of a 1,500-home development had been unlawful. The £1bn luxury scheme was proposed by the widely-respected businessman, former pornographer, and Tory Party donor Richmond Desmond, who outlined his plans to the attentive MP with a video on his phone at some soiree somewhere. Apparently captivated by the presentation, Jenrick approved the deal on 14 January 2014 – which meant the canny Desmond escaped a £30-50m infrastructure levy, money Tower Hamlets council would’ve dearly liked to invest in things like schools and clinics. Unsurprisingly, the council wasn’t having any of that and took legal action, Brexiting the life out of the plans. The MP insists that though he acted “illegally” he did so with no “actual bias”. Hmm.

4. Gig economy Somewhat incongruently, Jenrick is a devoted follower of Icelandic ambient-pop group Sigur Ros. In 2015, the MP flew to Reykjavik to watch the band in concert.

However, in an absurd twist, another Robert Jenrick was on the flight – a Canadian wanted by Interpol for bootlegging and fraud. The following farcical mix-up found the future housing minister seized by customs officers for five hours while his criminal namesake wandered off. Several frenzied phone calls to the UK government later, the MP was released, and the Icelandic authorities issued an official apology. He made the gig with an hour to spare, while Jenrick the Crook was apprehended a few days later.

5. I wanna be elected Jenrick became an MP via a by-election in 2014, taking the constituency of Newark after the previous incumbent, Patrick Mercer, was obliged to move on because of a cash-for-lobbying fiasco. However, in 2016 Channel 4 News alleged that his campaign had overspent. Luckily for the MP, the police didn’t seem particularly interested but in 2017 the Electoral Commission decided the Conservative Party had illegally overspent on three occasions (Newark being one of ‘em) and wrote out a fine for £70,000. And that’s not all. During the campaign, UKIP candidate Roger Helmer criticised Jenrick for owning multiple homes, which led to Chris Grayling speaking up for him by mumbling something about success being nothing to be ashamed of. Imagine that: UKIP legitimately criticise you and then Chris Grayling comes to your defence! A day to forget. HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

Fiction: 4. Gig economy

The last word Why housing should continue to ensure that mental health matters By Aileen Evans, Chief Executive, Grand Union Housing Group

“In the past there’s been a stigma to raising your hand up to say you’re struggling, but we’re building a culture where openness is key, and we create opportunities to have a conversation knowing it can make a massive difference”

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2021

When my term as CIH president came to an end at the start of July, I reflected on the last 18 months, and in particular how proud I am that the sector has really embraced supporting good mental health. It’s safe to say that when I was preparing for my presidency in early 2019, I had no idea just how important my campaign focus was going to be. I planned the campaign because we had a mental health crisis before Covid-19, but the pandemic has sharpened our focus because more of us have experienced challenges. When I launched Shine a Light early last year, I wanted to get the sector talking about the issues that impact the mental health of individuals who both live and work in social housing. I’ve spoken to countless people throughout the sector at numerous events during these 18 months and have told my own story in the hope others will feel able to tell of their challenges. These conversations are a start, but, inspired by the work done by mental health charity Mind for other sectors, we felt we also needed to provide practical guides to help us equip ourselves to be mental health aware for now and the future. The first was focussed on supporting mental health at work, providing employers in the sector with guidance on how they can support their staff to care for their own mental health along with their colleagues’.

The second Shine a Light guide looked at how we as organisations can support customers with mental health problems. Throughout Shine a Light, in addition to completing these guides and providing support to everyone across the sector, we have raised over £50,000 (and counting) for Mind, for which I’m incredibly proud. I’m also proud of how my organisation, Grand Union Housing Group, has taken the opportunity to do much more to support colleagues with their mental health, with the main focus being that it’s ok not to be ok. In the past there’s been a stigma to raising your hand up to say you’re struggling, but we’re building a culture where openness is key, and we create opportunities to have a conversation knowing it can make a massive difference. We’ve now got nine mental health champions working throughout the business, who are on hand to support colleagues while creating a positive culture around mental health, raising mental health awareness, dispelling myths, and normalising the subject. Poor mental health affects one in four of us in any given year – not many people know that – and there’s lots we can be doing to help manage this. I plan to keep shining a light on the importance of good mental health, keeping the conversations going, and, hopefully, my presidency has got others doing the same.

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