Housing Quality Magazine March 2022

ISSUE 8: MARCH 2022 Improving diversity in decision making Housing’s Next Generation is back and ready for your nominations Special pull-out: Evidence

Creating the perfect professional What does housing need to look at in the wake of the Professionalisation Review?

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE MARCH 2022

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CONTENTS

March 2022

Features 18

Making a professional The government’s Professionalisation Review has sparked a conversation about the future of the housing professional

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Diversity of thought Young people feeling detatched from institutions is nothing new. But some housing providers are looking to change that

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The future voice of housing Housing’s Next Generation competition is back for 2022. We’re on the hunt for the brightest young diverse talent in the sector

Evidence

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EVIDE

The late st

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

Comment

Last

5 6 7 8

30 Comment: Calico 32 Comment: whg 33 Comment: Hyde 39 Ombudsman corner

36 38 41 42 43

Welcome News in brief Housing by numbers Life in 15

Published by HQN Rockingham House St Maurice’s Road York YO31 7JA

Get interactive

Editorial Alistair McIntosh Mark Lawrence Janis Bright Email: mark.lawrence@ hqnetwork.co.uk Tel: 07523 920010

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Welcome Weaponising housing?

Is it time to ban the phrase business-like from housing?

Reading the papers today it’s clear that too many businesses are all about profit regardless of the consequences. Let the Devil take the hindmost is their motto. That’s not, or shouldn’t be, our mantra.

The front page of today’s Daily Telegraph business section features a picture of a smiling model showing off a Russian-made assault pistol at an arms fair. You couldn’t make it up. The Saudis built a new runway to host the World Defence Show so prospective buyers could see just how effective Russian aircraft, drones and trucks are. Why? You can see the damage they do day in and day out on the TV. The Telegraph reports that BAE Systems is due to attend. Yes, that’s the same BAE Systems whose pension fund invests in our housing associations. We need to start asking a few tough questions about where our money comes from. Gallivanting with the Russians as they slaughter the innocents is simply not on. Let’s hope BAE Systems do the right thing and stay home.

But it’s no surprise arms fairs are lucrative. Many in the West want to re-arm in case the threat from the Russians (or others) spreads closer to home. That’s why there’s pressure to look at defence companies favourably under environment, social and governance (ESG) ratings.

Now, I take the point – we do need to protect ourselves. Yet, for me, a column in the Telegraph’s business section by Roger Bootle goes too far. He says, “we don’t need tax rises to fund the Army – let’s make cuts elsewhere”. Roger is the chairman of Capital Economics – that’s the firm social housing campaigners go to when they want to put the case for building new social rent housing. Do Capital Economics now think we should turn ploughshares into swords? I’m very interested to find out.

While sane people are worried about nuclear war a Canadian business sees the silver lining in even this toxic cloud. The Telegraph headline trumpets the

views of BCA Research – “Don’t let a one-in-10 chance of nuclear war stop you buying shares.” Unbelievably, BCA go on to say that – “the risk of Armageddon has risen dramatically. Stay bullish on stocks over a 12-month horizon.” Perhaps the word Armageddon has a different meaning in Canada!

Until now many of us worried that it was much more likely we would destroy the planet via climate change than bombs. Hence all the plans for decarbonisation on which we’re diligently working. Thatcher, Blair and Cameron all got the climate change threat but opted out when life got difficult. Will Boris drop it like a hot brick too? Businessman Richard Tice and his henchman Nigel Farage certainly hope so and are campaigning for a referendum on ditching net zero.

So, watch this space.

I fear we may have missed the boat on climate change through dithering. We really should have put one of Churchill’s “Action This Day” red stickers on the net zero project files. Feel free to prove me wrong, by the way.

While I found the Telegraph’s business section distasteful you should never miss the letters page.

Lt Gen Sir Richard Vickers writes in from Cerne Abbas in Dorset to inform us that he was forbidden from deploying his tanks to defend Czechoslovakia in 1968. “I was told that no such action should be taken as it would be seen as provocative. So, we sat tight and watched as that country was invaded. I felt ashamed.”

There’s always a case for delaying action or doing nothing. But it can be the wrong choice. Could we have done more for Ukraine? Could we have done more for the planet? Meanwhile, life goes on as per normal at a war trade fair. Canapes paid for by carnage.

Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE MARCH 2022

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News analysis by Mark Lawrence Before the push

The year of the squeeze

A whole year ago, back in March 2021, Daniel Hewitt and ITV News first shone a spotlight on the terrible conditions in some social housing.

Since then, there’s been a host of housing associations and local authorities shamed on national TV, with many apologies and promises of action following.

Figures recently released by the Mayor of London show that 15% of all London social housing is non-decent. That’s hundreds of thousands of homes and people’s lives. Extrapolate that out to the rest of the UK and it’s hundreds of thousands more.

Falling back on the ‘the private rented sector has more nondecent homes’ line is no moral high ground to take. The sector is only as good as its worst homes, after all.

The sector does a huge amount of good work, and this shouldn’t be allowed to get lost because some of the basics aren’t being done correctly.

If those who want the sector to be shown in a more positive light are serious, they should make sure the problems in social housing are fixed before repairing any reputational damage.

Increasing food and fuel prices and the rising energy price cap have been well documented as being the start of ‘the year of the squeeze’.

Add in the rising inflation and increase to National Insurance payments and suddenly a lot more people who were on the edge of getting by, are no longer able to do so.

Tough decisions will be being made in households up and down the country. Unfortunately, many of these households will be living in social housing.

Many housing providers and local authorities have already committed to help, increasing resource in these areas to encourage application for all available benefits, receiving backdated benefits, helping with budgeting and much more.

There’s also the energy efficiency works happening at the moment, which will also address some of the issues around fuel poverty.

These works can be a vital lift for those struggling with energy bills.

It does though once again raise

the debate a b o u t rent increases.

With money having to be spent elsewhere, can providers always justify an increase in rents, especially if it means forcing some of their residents further into poverty in other places?

Landlords will have to be at the top of their game when supporting residents through what’s undoubtably going to be an extremely tough time. It’ll once again show the true worth of housing associations and local authorities.

HQN will be running a special event on how to mitigate the impact of the increasing cost of living for both providers and residents. Find out more here.

Watch HQN TV for a weekly roundup of the housing news

The building safety battle It’s been interesting watching Michael Gove vs the private sector play out in terms of the building safety debate.

Gove has made sure that during his time as housing secretary, he’s going to make his mark on building safety, and he’s certainly ruffling a few feathers.

The latest amendments to

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the Building Safety Bill have gone down worse than even the commentators thought, with developers branding them “draconian” and “extreme”.

They’ve warned it’ll lower the numbers of new homes built and drive SME builders out of the market. But Gove is determined… who blinks first?

Housing by numbers aggregate rent arrears in Scotland, the highest level of arrears since April 2020

decrease in people sleeping rough in London between October and December 2021 (CHAIN) of residents said they’d been prescribed medication or had to take time off work due to anxieties about the building safety crisis (End Our Cladding Scandal)

social homes in London that don’t meet decent standards (City Hall)

housing ministers since 2010, with Stuart Andrew becoming the latest

housing organisations featured in Stonewall’s Top 100 employers is the amount Michael Gove wants to voluntarily receive from developers and manufacturers as a cladding remediation fund

social housing residents jobs that could be taken by automation (RSA) new private rented sector homes needed in the UK to meet government housing targets (Capital Economics) HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE MARCH 2022

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A life in 15 questions Chan Kataria CEO, emh

1. Tell us about your career and how you ended up in your current role After leaving university, I decided to do something with a social purpose. After some temporary jobs, I started life on the frontline of a local authority housing department, working with homeless people and others in housing need. After seven years in numerous roles, including senior allocations officer, neighbourhood manager and area manager, I left the council and worked with various housing providers. Along with way, I picked up a housing professional qualification and an MBA. Over the years, I’ve worked for East Midlands Housing Association, Charnwood Forest HA, Friendship Care and Housing, and Places for People. I ended up back at East Midlands Housing as CEO in 2004.

2. Describe yourself in three words Calm, determined, values-led.

3. Favourite place on earth?

Udaipur, India. Whilst backpacking across India in 1994, my partner and I stopped for a few days in the socalled ‘White City’. With its hotel in the lake and serene atmosphere, it was a much needed peaceful retreat after the hustle and bustle of the big cities. I’d like to go again sometime.

4. Describe your home I live in a 1930s Art Deco house with lots of character, including a

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10. Biggest regret?

Should have travelled a bit more before getting into the worlds of work, mortgage and parenthood.

Rayburn, high ceilings and large garden plot. I love the house but, on the downside, it’s not particularly energy efficient.

5. What would you change about yourself?

Wish I had fewer grey hairs!

6. What makes you angry?

Street homelessness, food banks and removal of universal credit support. Why we must live with such manifestations of disadvantage in one of the richest countries is beyond me!

7. Most treasured possession My first car, a turquoise Datsun 120Y. It was falling apart at the best of times, the engine was changed at least once and the paint was always peeling off. But it ran like a dream, and I loved it so much.

8. Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don’t give up. If something is important to you, fight for it and make sure it happens.

9. Biggest achievement?

Achieving a second Dan black belt in Karate was the biggest achievement. Never have I been knocked about so much and felt so good!

11. If you won £1 million on the Lottery, what would you spend it on?

Helping my children to buy a home each, travel anywhere for a few weeks, and donate some to my favourite charities.

12. Most overused phrase?

‘For the avoidance of any doubt…’.

13. Recommend a book Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I love the collection of John Le Carre’s books featuring George Smiley and his adversary, Karla. These books are atmospheric and the way they capture the suspicion and skulduggery between the protagonists in the days of the Cold War is a joy to read.

14. The best piece of television in the last 12 months?

The Blair Brown Years. This laid bare the ins and outs of a decade in which Blair won three elections, achieved a lot, but will be remembered for his relationship problems with the guy next door at number 11 and, of course, the disastrous Iraq War! 15. Tell us a secret about yourself I don’t like snakes, I do like Mondays and I have the biggest affliction of the phenomenon known as imposter syndrome!

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EVIDENCE update The latest research and analysis – in plain English

In this issue: 10 Welcome 11 Housing education: Looking back and looking forward 12 What do we mean by professionalism?

13 Securing energy efficient retrofit in Chile 14 Energy costs will rise most for those on lowest incomes

Issue 35 | March 2022

15 Working with local stakeholders: How professionals overcome competing priorities 15 Bridging the divide with new social housing 16 What’s driving up rent arrears in social housing?

17 Housing conference returns to Sheffield

Welcome With the government announcing a review of professionalism in the housing sector, it seems a great moment to celebrate success.

It’s 40 years since the University of Stirling launched its housing studies course – and it’s still going strong. Vikki McCall and Kim McKee chart the development of a vibrant branch of study in Scotland.

Meanwhile, HQN Associate and practitioner Emma Lindley takes a look at the government’s announcement and asks some pertinent questions about what the review intends to achieve. And what will the shape of training and professional development be in future?

A study from the Netherlands looked at how housing and regeneration professionals manage the tensions inherent in community engagement projects. The research highlights the role of frontline staff in working with local stakeholders, negotiating with colleagues to achieve what residents want, and then drawing together the people, organisations and resources to make it happen.

In South Africa, social housing has been seen as a means to empower poor, segregated

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communities, help people to live near work opportunities and underpin regeneration of inner cities. But has the programme lived up to those ideals? New research considers the location of schemes and their ability to deliver on multiple aims.

Governments around the world are grappling with climate change and the demands of net zero targets. Chile has announced ambitious goals but its housing stock is drastically in need of improvement. Researchers looked at straightforward retrofit techniques that could offer a highly replicable solution for standardised apartment blocks.

And here in the UK households are facing huge fuel cost increases. Analysis by the Resolution Foundation finds that the poorest will be hardest hit – despite some progressive elements in the government’s package to alleviate price hikes.

We’ll be following this issue in coming issues as fuel costs threaten to derail the climate change agenda.

Janis Bright Editor, Evidence

Housing education: Looking back and looking forward Dr Vikki McCall and Dr Kim McKee discuss the development of housing studies in Scotland.

Housing studies as a subject has a long and vibrant history in Scotland, with the University of Stirling the longest standing course in the UK recently celebrating its 40-year anniversary.

These courses were created due to demand and the need to support professional practice in the housing sector throughout the UK. Housing studies learning, teaching, training and development courses have evolved over the years, often including unique internship elements (such as University of Stirling Diploma/MSc in Housing Studies with internship), apprenticeships, and impactful graduate traineeships and sponsorship opportunities with key social landlords such as the Wheatley Group and Kingdom Housing Association. A lot of students already work in the housing sector, with education providing the opportunity for them to develop their careers, with flexible and blended learning being key to fulfilling employer and student expectations.

Maintaining high-quality housing education High standards in housing studies learning and teaching are upheld by the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, which sets out the expectations for all providers of UK higher education. Professor Isobel Anderson (University of Stirling) chaired a review of the housing studies subject benchmark statements in 2021, supported by prominent housing academics across the UK (including Dr Craig Gurney and Dr Helen Taylor from the University of Glasgow and Cardiff Metropolitan University).

As the body for professional standards, the Chartered Institute of Housing seeks to ensure housing practitioners have the right knowledge, skills and values for their roles. A recent review of housing education in Scotland, involving the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow, highlighted the value of housing education and mapped the ‘vibrant landscape’ of provision. Nonetheless, collaboration and dialogue between key partners was highlighted as critical to meeting the future

demands of the profession. This extends beyond traditional social housing management to also include the private rented sector, which now houses one in five UK households.

Research highlights that education performs a key function in raising standards in the private rented sector by making landlords aware of their responsibilities under the law, as well as encouraging the adoption of good practice (McKee et al., 2021). Scotland has already taken steps in this direction through the mandatory training and qualifications that letting agents must hold as part of their registration. Research is also currently being commissioned by CIH Scotland to evaluate this.

Levelling-up education, learning, training and development in housing studies Work on housing education continues at the UK level, with the Social Housing White Paper in England acknowledging the importance of professionalism in the housing sector, and a new Professionalisation Review Working Group (with members including Drs Vikki McCall and Helen Taylor) led by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities looking at training, development and how to sustain a high-calibre social housing workforce equipped to provide a high-quality and professional service. To hear more about this, people can contact Stephen Ward: ProfessionalisationReview@communities. gov.uk. The focus on professionalism in the Social Housing White Paper in England is a clear indication that more can be done in improving housing practice across the UK. Those teaching housing studies are also embedded in the academic community to keep housing studies current and relevant as a subject integrated with other key social policy developments in health, social care, employment, welfare and sustainability. For example, via roles on the Housing Studies Association Executive Committee (Dr Kim McKee), Social Policy Association Executive Committee (Dr Vikki McCall) and SPA Housing Policy Group (led by Dr Steve Rolfe, University of Stirling), and a number of social policy and housing journals. This ensures housing studies is at the forefront of critical academic scholarly debates while linking those insights directly to housing practice.

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Future proofing the housing sector It is a very common adage in the sector that people ‘fall into housing’. While this can be a strength creating a wide variety of skilled individuals in the sector, the lack of a clear route into housing is one of the key barriers to accessing education.

The routes into housing studies are often complex and fragmented, with no clear pathways after completing secondary education and a lack of undergraduate routes in Scotland. Housing studies as an undergraduate route is often merged in with sociology and social policy, with graduates onto postgraduate courses coming from a wide range of backgrounds, including marketing, business and even history. There needs to be clearer routes into housing education to attract talented individuals into the sector who will help support professional practice.

Importantly, diversity in the housing sector is a further important area of development. Key partners, such as PATH Scotland, are helping to widen and develop careers in the housing sector within traditionally excluded groups. Diversity is key to encouraging inclusive workplaces and a strong, multi-cultural housing sector.

References McKee K, Rolfe S, Feather J, Simcock T & Hoolachan J (2021) Making a home in the private rented sector: An evidence review. SafeDeposits Scotland Charitable Trust. Stirling: University of Stirling.

Dr Vikki McCall and Dr Kim McKee are Senior Lecturers in Social Policy and Housing at the University of Stirling

What do we mean by professionalism?

HQN Associate Emma Lindley teases out some questions for government about its recent announcement of a review.

The recent announcement by the Department for Housing (I can’t keep up with the name changes any more so I give up and this is what I’m calling it from now on) launching a review of qualifications and professional training has pushed me to put my brain into work mode for a few minutes at the halfway stage of my maternity leave.

If you’ve seen me online or in person anywhere in the last four years, there’s a good chance I will have mentioned the topic of professionalism once or twice. After becoming fed up of being unable to answer the question ‘what is a housing professional’, and a call from the Housing Studies Association looking for conference papers on this very subject back in 2018, I took it upon myself to conduct some research and tried to come up with an answer.

You can read the write up of this research here, in summary: Historically, professionalism and professional bodies have been concerned with ensuring members acquire a prescribed body of knowledge and adhere to a strict code of conduct. However, the future of professionalism may focus more on customer-focused self-development within an organisational culture, rather than acquiring

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technical knowledge through a national institution. Survey respondents focused heavily on qualifications and training when defining professionalism. However, the literature uses a broader definition, including the autonomous exercise of reasoned judgement. Survey respondents considered that the purpose of a professional body is, firstly, to raise standards, and, secondly, to provide leadership and influence others.

Since publishing this, I’ve been involved with a CIH internal professionalism working group, spoken with civil servants leading on the professionalism agenda for the green and white paper and contributed to the development of the new CIH professional standards framework.

I’m of course thrilled to see so much activity on this important issue, if not a little frustrated at how long things are taking or that all this work is needed more than 100 years after Octavia Hill started collecting rent, but let’s move on.

So, here are the thoughts that I found circling my brain after reading the press release to announce the review: What’s the problem this review is trying to solve?

Poor customer service and complaint handling?

Poor property conditions and poor tenancy management? If so, this seems more about basic job competence rather than professionalism.

Whatever the problem is, it seems to have already been decided that the answer lies in

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qualifications and training – but does it? And if it does, what kind of training? Is it to improve technical knowledge or behaviours? Does the training course or qualification tick the box for the rest of your career? What about CPD or reassessment? And who’s teaching these courses – what qualifications and experience will they have and how will quality be assured?

What parts of the housing workforce are covered by this review? Anyone who has direct interaction with tenant/resident/customers?

Decision makers? Back office/central service teams? How will the qualifications cater for non-housing staff in a housing organisation, if at all?

And what about specialist housing providers and their staff providing services across a huge spectrum, from domestic abuse refuges to Housing First projects for rough sleepers, to retirement accommodation with nursing care.

How will the qualifications cater for those in specialist roles?

Then, of course, there are local authorities, who will deliver services to tenants from dedicated housing departments, but also from departments serving all residents of the area.

How will the qualifications cater for those in broader roles?

How will success be measured? How will the qualifications and training remain fit for purpose in the rapidly changing world we live and work in?

Who’s going to pay? For the qualifications, and also for the more highly qualified staff? And will a requirement for certain qualifications and training worsen the recruitment challenges that many areas experience?

My final thoughts are as they were four years ago – is the sector acting sufficiently professionally?

How do we judge/measure this? Does the answer to the professionalism problem lie in a high level framework and a body to enforce compliance, at an organisational and/or individual level?

After six months in the bubble of motherhood, I’m sure there are other questions that I’ve overlooked, so, please do share your thoughts, ideas and hopes for this review.

Securing energy efficient retrofit in Chile From the late 1960s for a decade, the Chilean government built social housing across the country using the same architectural model.

The mid-rise blocks took no account of the extremes of climate in Chile, located as it is between latitudes 18 and 53° south.

Today, the blocks need refurbishment, not least to reach Chile’s ambitious net-zero carbon goal of 2050. The work is challenging: the concrete walls are considered to have no thermal value and the blocks are single glazed.

A group of researchers studied refurbishment approaches in four cities ranging from Antofagasta

in the north, to Santiago and Concepcion and then Punta Arenas in the far south where the average July temperature is 1.7°C. In one method, walls and floors were insulated to a basic level and windows double glazed. The fabric was sealed to prevent draughts and a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery installed. The second method was similar, but with higher insulation values. In a third method, the buildings were also modified to add an unheated ‘sun space’ to each apartment.

The results were remarkable. Residents in the northern city of Antofagasta required little

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heating, as might be expected, but in the other three cities heating demand dropped by more than three quarters after the refurbishment. The sun spaces produced a modest improvement over the outside temperature in winter, and acted as a buffer, keeping the living rooms warmer.

However, summer overheating in the three more northerly cities was a problem. This was reduced by fitting blinds and using a more intensive ventilation system.

The researchers looked at whether the carbon produced by the retrofit materials over their lifetime exceeded the carbon released by the existing poorly insulated buildings. In fact there

were good savings in this regard, particularly with the higher insulation option.

The authors suggest that the simple design of the buildings and their identical construction would support an ambitious and widespread retrofit programme. Chile will need to institute such a programme if it’s to reach its carbon zero target.

Thermal and environmental evaluation of midrise social housing retrofit under different climate conditions Gilles Flamant, Waldo Bustamante, Cristian Schmitt, Victor Bunster and Cesar Osorio https://bit.ly/3Lk5t0q

Energy costs will rise most for those on lowest incomes Analysis by the Resolution Foundation charts the effects of the government’s measures to alleviate the steep rise in energy costs this year. The thinktank finds that although the £200 rebate and £150 off Council Tax for most households are welcome, low-income households will still suffer very steep cost hikes.

The £200 discount on bills will not apply until October, and must be repaid in £40 tranches over the next four years. After the lifting of the price cap average costs are set to rise by 53% per household.

The rebate will lower this to a 39% increase – still huge.

Some people on the lowest incomes will miss out on the Council Tax rebate as they live in relatively expensive houses, while others such as students may not see any benefit, says the foundation.

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For people on the lowest incomes, costs will increase by 12% of their total income, or 7% with both discounts. But people on the highest incomes will see their costs rise by only 4% of income, or 3% with the discounts. The foundation estimates that even with the government measures, 20% or five million households will end up in ‘fuel stress’, spending more than 10% of their income on fuel.

Coupled with the National Insurance rise from April and general cost of living increases, real disposable income growth is forecast to be the lowest since records began in 1949. The Bank of England says it will reach -2% this year.

The price is right? h t t p s : / / w w w. r e s o l u t i o n f o u n d a t i o n . o r g / publications/the-price-is-right/

Working with local stakeholders: How professionals overcome competing priorities A Dutch study considered how civil servants, mainly municipal housing professionals, work with stakeholders on urban projects. The research looked at the various tensions in the job, such as how to deliver what local people want when the organisation may have different plans.

Though the research was completed in 2020, it remains highly useful in pinpointing both the difficulties for professionals and the ways they overcome tensions to deliver good outcomes.

Wieke Blijleven and Merlijn van Hulst interviewed 73 professionals. They identified a series of tensions inherent in public engagement, including that between local people’s expectations and the formal policies and rules of the organisation. Another is that if people are being consulted, they expect the organisation to commit time and resources – but these are often scarce. Different organisations and departments can have different priorities, and professional knowledge can compete with local knowledge.

One participant in the study noted that if you offer local people a blank canvas, they expect to have that freedom to decide. But often, the organisation has already decided in broad terms what will be built. Others commented that while senior management often embrace public engagement, they may actually be driven more by performance management, budgets and schedules.

How the participants dealt with tensions in public engagement was often constructive. The first technique found was bias in favour of the stakeholders. The civil servants were found to invest more of their time in working on citizen-led initiatives, helping to overcome difficulties and perhaps bending the formal rules to achieve what stakeholders wanted. One participant involved in building homes said: “So as a project manager, you need to feel allowed to wheel and deal.”

The second main technique was for civil servants to negotiate with their own colleagues, to achieve better outcomes. They would seek shared perspectives. Where colleagues were initially reluctant, they would take them to see the project themselves and speak with local people. In this way, a hybrid solution taking in elements of the stakeholder views and colleagues’ perspectives could be found.

Finally, the civil servants played a key role in aligning resources from inside their organisation and elsewhere. Participants said they found that local people often came up with initiatives that crossed departments or organisations – so they would take on the role of coordinating action and bringing the relevant professionals together.

Encounters with the organisation: How local civil servants experience and handle tensions in public engagement https://bit.ly/3sRrKdR

Bridging the divide with new social housing A paper on social housing in South Africa points to the value it can have in reducing inequalities and promoting better integration of communities.

Ivan Turok, Andreas Scheba and Justin Visagie chart the history of social housing policy since the ending of apartheid. South Africa has a twofold aim for social housing. First, the purpose is to improve the life chances of poor black communities. Second, the aim is to integrate divided communities by reviving run down inner city areas.

However, the political pressure to tackle the acute and widespread housing needs led to many

thousands of basic homes being built in sprawling locations that lacked services and were often far away from job opportunities. These initial homes were for ownership but later, social housing organisations (SHOs) began to build for rent – albeit very slowly. From the 2000s the SHOs were able to build more homes, but continued to miss targets.

The research looks in particular at location of the new housing. The authors argue that while much of the SHO housing initially was built in inner areas, fulfilling the aims of integration, renewal and helping people to move nearer to good work opportunities, this changed over

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time. Today, two thirds of the recent and planned schemes are in outer urban areas or on greenfield sites.

The regulatory authority reported that in some cities such as Johannesburg, the ‘restructuring zones’ that dictate where subsidised social housing can be built have been drawn up mainly on the basis of where land is available. They’re too large and not necessarily located correctly to achieve regeneration.

On the other hand, some enterprising SHOs grabbed the opportunity presented by empty office and apartment blocks in the inner areas to buy them cheaply and create decent housing. The move, which allowed many township residents to

move to the inner areas, helped rebuild economic confidence.

The authors emphasise the vital role social housing can play in breaking down entrenched segregation and disadvantage. However, they say, central government must take a strong leadership role in clarifying policy. Municipalities must also line up their spatial planning policies and actions.

They should take an inventory of empty buildings that SHOs could use, and coordinate action with SHOs to ensure developments are well serviced and in the right locations.

Can social housing help to integrate divided cities? https://bit.ly/3Bcz2ML

What’s driving up rent arrears in social housing?

A study by Demos, funded by Hyde, worked with social housing residents to understand the picture with rising rent arrears. Researchers Maiyoraa Jeyabraba and Ben Glover found that residents in their study were spending about a third of their income on housing.

The residents’ low and fluctuating incomes, worsened by the Covid pandemic, were the main factor in rent arrears. Essentially, they were struggling to make ends meet, and there was no evidence of reckless spending. An issue within this was insecure employment, which meant people didn’t have a predictable income. Some were in the gig economy, some on zero-hours contracts.

A second factor in rent arrears was the benefit system, and particularly the features of universal credit. The five-week wait before people receive their first payment, monthly payments and payment of the housing benefit element to claimants all raised the risk of arrears. Combined with cuts to disability benefits, the bedroom tax and capping, this brought financial stress to many.

Finally, the researchers found that unexpected and large costs could tip people into arrears. A fridge breakdown, a child needing over-thecounter medicine, funeral expenses and being the victim of fraud were all reported as having a serious impact on people with low incomes.

Getting by The Demos team asked participants to keep diaries of their spending and other issues. Some showed

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signs of depression and demotivation because of their financial situation. They reported high stress over their debt and arrears. In a focus group, some described how their juggled and prioritised which debts to pay back first.

Borrowing was used by almost all to get through in the short term. Focus group participants were employed and could use banks and credit cards.

But some of the diarists were self employed, in unstable employment or had poor credit histories.

They had to resort to ‘subprime’ loans, relatives and friends for help.

Easing the problems Demos makes a series of recommendations to ease the problems of tenants in arrears.

For those already in arrears: For the government 1. Introduce a dedicated ‘arrears loan’ scheme to expand the new vulnerable tenants fund.

For housing associations 2. Ensure flexible rent payment schemes are widely and consistently available, to enable tenants to mix under and overpayment across a period of time and to establish a ‘pay as much as you can’ approach for those unable to make a full rental payment.

3. Engage in proactive outreach and develop web portals, apps and other measures to improve communication and trust, encouraging tenants to come to their housing officers for help before missing rent payments.

To prevent arrears: For the government 4. We support widely-made calls to reduce the five-week universal credit (UC) delay and issue more alternative payment arrangements.

For housing associations 5. Build financial resilience by developing a network of warm referrals to a wide range of help and advice services and encourage savings and contribution behaviours through fintech.

6. Partner with credit unions to enable tenants to avail of membership benefits, including lowcost loans and savings products.

Housing conference returns to Sheffield The Housing Studies Association annual conference returns to Sheffield this year for a mix of in-person and online sessions. Online sessions will start on 28 March for two weeks and face-to-face events from 4 to 6 April.

This year’s theme is Disruption and innovation in housing: working across boundaries in theory, research, and practice. The event offers an opportunity to engage in broader discussions including: The approaches to conceptualising ‘home’ The relationship between our housing and neighbourhoods, and our physical and psychological health Housing activism and politics Intersectional inequalities in access to safe and secure housing Housing economics Global and cross-sectional responses to housing crises Housing, migration and communities The management and governance of housing providers Urban change, and dynamics in housing systems Fuel poverty and climate change The design and quality of residential buildings Homelessness, housing and welfare policy.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

For statutory and voluntary mental health support services 7. Engage with social landlords to ensure tenants are offered access to mental health support when struggling financially, and to ensure landlords are aware of mental health crises occurring within their tenant population to enable rent flexibility to be put in place, should it be needed.

The bottom line: An investigation of rent arrears in social housing Demos https://demos.co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2022/02/The-Bottom-Line.pdf

JOIN NOW! The Housing Studies Association (HSA) is a UK-wide membership organisation which brings together researchers, practitioners and professionals to promote the study of housing. HSA runs a programme of events including our annual conference and our public lecture on housingrelated themes. The Association also offers: • Events grant scheme enabling members to disseminate and discuss their work, • Seminar Series grant competition • Conference bursaries to early career and/or nonwaged housing researchers and practitioners • The prestigious annual Valerie Karn prize for best paper by an early career housing researcher.

Become a member from just £25 a year and access these benefits plus reduced rates to our events.

See www.housing-studies-association.org Follow us on twitter @HSA_UK.

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

Full details from the HSA website https://www. housing-studies-association.org/pages/2022conference

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THE PILLARS OF PROFESSIONALISM The Social Housing White Paper Professionalisation Review is a chance for government to examine the qualifications and training that exist for social housing professionals – and look at what more can be done to prevent the culture that led to the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. But what makes the perfect housing professional?

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ot being listened to or treated with respect was the experience of Grenfell Tower residents before the fire that destroyed their homes. Unfortunately, while some progress has been made, the social housing sector has been found wanting in this area in recent times.

It’s one of the major strands of the government’s Professionalisation Review, which is seeking to revamp the way housing professionals are trained and qualified to ensure these characteristics aren’t still present in the sector ten years from now.

Many housing providers would say they engage with residents, have engagement policies and even codesign with residents. But many residents would say providers and local authorities do nothing more than pay lip service to the idea, complaining of residents being “handpicked” to simply nod through policies and tick a box.

HQN Trainer, Michael Guest, is an expert on resident engagement and sees plenty of examples of good and bad practice.

He says: “If the provider is falling short it’s often because of a lack of leadership.

Leaders, i.e. boards, councillors or senior leadership teams, need to get a hold of this and give a clear message and expect arrangements to support. This links with the need to embed engagement in the culture.

“Another obstacle may be practicalities, such as distances residents

“If the provider is falling short it’s often because of a lack of leadership.

Leaders, i.e. boards, councillors or senior leadership teams, need to get a hold of this” need to travel to engage. We’ve learned a lot about the possibilities of remote working in the last two years. Virtual meetings, SharePoint, use of polls…we can build on these.

“Operational staff can sometimes not give proper priority with so many day-today pressures on. This brings us back to leadership again.

“But consider the two I’s: implementation and impact. Engagement can fall down because of failure to effectively implement outcomes, such as from scrutiny. Monitoring by all involved, governance, management and engaged residents is important here.

Then, sometimes a failure to measure the impact of engagement. Demonstrating the difference it makes — the proof of the pudding!”

Since the rise of resident campaigning on social media over housing issues, you don’t need to be online for long before seeing posts about a landlord not responding to resident concerns, leaving residents in poor conditions, or examples of staff treating

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“Don’t make stressed people wade through procedural detail to get to the information they most want. Focus on their needs and give them a summary of the resolution at the beginning of the letter” residents in an unacceptable way.

Regular reporting from the Housing Ombudsman and from MPs themselves show that complaints in the social housing sector are taking too long, or sometimes ignored completely. This is another way the Professionalisation Review is hoping to have an impact.

And while the Ombudsman has come up with plenty of pointers in this area, such as clear policies and accountability across the organisation, complaints still seems to be something the sector is struggling with.

HQN Trainer Caroline Bradley, who delivers complaints training to hundreds of housing professionals every year, explains how she believes housing professionals can provide an effective complaints response: “People who complain want to be heard, understood, and have the thing that’s gone wrong put right. Effective complaint responses focus on those needs.

“They start with an acknowledgement, an apology and the outcome. Don’t make stressed people wade through procedural detail to get to the information they most want. Focus on their needs and give them a summary of the resolution at the beginning of the letter.

“Good replies deliver information in a clear and human style. Your task is to create understanding and rebuild trust between your organisation and your customer, so don’t clutter up replies with overly formal language and technical terms.

“Be as human and helpful when you write

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as you would be on the phone or face to face. Also, breaking your letter into clearly headed sections will help people to navigate through it and get to the information they need.”

The other major strand the Professionalisation Review is looking at is the standard of housing and how effectively it’s inspected. Throughout the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, it’s been shown how incredibly lacking this has been – from fire risk assessors to asset management officers.

The pictures that have flooded Twitter since the ITV News investigation into social housing conditions shows plenty are still not living in good quality homes.

Just recently, City Hall released figures showing that 15% of London’s social homes didn’t meet decent standards, with many living in damp, mouldy, rodent-infested homes and seemingly little care from the provider to put this right.

While many of the issues come down to poor housing management, a lack of inspection and below par asset management within organisations, a significant portion of the cases also feature contractors.

When a housing association or local authority has put its trust in a contractor, it’d surely not expect issues such as these to arise. One contractor that works within the

sector, United Living Group, details how they believe contractors should be working with housing providers.

Kamal Shergill, Group HR Director, United Living, says: “We believe the best talent in our industry is made, not born. We recruit people who share our values and ambition, and we invest in them.

“The upcoming generation is motivated by the idea of being part of something meaningful as much as by financial reward, and by the prospect of regular upskilling and new challenges as much as by job security.

They want to be part of the conversation, and to feel valued as members of a team.”

But on the other side of the debate, many housing officers would say they’re doing all they can, and far more.

There’s no doubt that housing officer and frontline staff roles have got more difficult in recent years. Where other services have been withdrawn and where some services never existed, housing professionals have had to play a leading role in combating domestic abuse, substance misuse, mental health issues, homelessness, increasing

“We need to expect that for housing colleagues to be successful that they’re inducted into a role (as a basic) and are well trained in their organisation’s policies, processes and systems”

poverty, neighbourhood policing and much more.

Do these added pressures mean that frontline housing professionals are no longer able to focus on the basics? Feedback from HQN’s Housing Management Network would suggest so, with teams reporting that they’re increasingly finding themselves filling the gaps left by other services and having to deal with increasingly complex cases – sometimes without the necessary skills, training or support.

Another counterpoint many frontline housing professionals could use is the role of key performance indicators (KPIs).

Is housing always measuring the right things? In a bid to close complaints quickly, or to hit a certain timescale on a repair, is the sector setting itself up to fail and for shoddy work to be done?

Positive KPIs were something championed by our Housing’s Next Generation in a collaborative project last year.

It was lamented that community engagement and resident involvement wasn’t always seen as “core business”, with many providers cutting these roles when the rent cut came in. There was also much discussion about the void turnaround KPI, with many believing speed over quality and planning ahead led to a glut of problems.

There are, of course, other wider potential explanations for some of these issues, many of which are nothing to do with the sector. Lots of small or medium builders/ maintenance firms closed down, meaning

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the pool of locally-trusted contractors is organisation”. smaller and quality could be compromised.

On top of this, Atherton places an Another is the lack of government grant importance on having “political, economic, for anything other than new build societal, technological and legal” awareness housing, much of which doesn’t and an idea about how their own work might cover the cost of full development. need to adapt, shift or evolve.

Maybe with the new Decent Homes But she places a lot more emphasis on Standard, this could be about to personal characteristics. change.

Having emotional intelligence, Atherton There are other issues too: councils explains, is key for housing professionals. being stripped of skills, Brexit and, most This manifests itself in having a “positive recently, the Covid-19 pandemic. sense of self-worth”, resilience for changing If we’re to put situations, having these outside forces empathy for others, to one side, how “The upcoming and having good does the sector skills. generation is motivated communication make sure it’s got She says the by the idea of being the perfect housing empathy and professionals? communication part of something Lead Associate for skills are particularly meaningful as much as the HQN Learning important in “being and Organisational able to understand by financial reward” Development Hub, situations from Jane Atherton, sets another person’s out the ways she believes improvements perspective” and “being able to verbally can be made. explain policies and procedures and make Firstly, she says it starts with an effective themselves clear, as well as being able to induction: “We need to expect that for actively listen to others and understand fully housing colleagues to be successful that what they’re communicating”. they’re inducted into a role (as a basic) She goes on to explain that these then and are well trained in their organisation’s feed into two other key personality traits: policies, processes and systems.” having respect and genuine care.

From there, on a more personal level she She says it’s vital that housing professionals says she’d want to see “a curiosity to learn respect residents, something the White and understand the bigger picture and the Paper was also keen to point out. She world outside their own role, team and believes frontline officers can do this by

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“treating people with courtesy and respect by following up, taking ownership and accountability for resolving problems, making things happen and seeing things through”.

On a professional level, she says continuous development is key – whether this is through on-the-job learning or professional qualifications.

She says, “there’s a need for and benefits to developing our knowledge, skills and abilities,” and that “none of us are the finished article”.

And feeding into that is the ability to work collaboratively. Whether that’s with residents, colleagues or outside partners, Atherton says this is key to ensuring the sector can “overcome barriers and solve problems”.

And finally, on the professional front, there are two elements that are set from the organisation but need to be followed through by the person employed, which are equality, diversity and inclusion appreciation and having the ability to “demonstrate the values and behaviour of the organisation”.

These allow housing professionals to have a greater understanding of the people they’re working for and with, which in turn gives them more awareness of some of the key issues being faced, Atherton says.

Creating the perfect housing professional to deal with the myriad of problems that exist within the sector is

no overnight job, but it’s possible.

More values-led recruitment can certainly close the gap on the respect, understanding and empathy side. And better training and professional development programmes can help on the skillset side.

Then there’s the culture, target setting and willingness to change from the board, executive team and managers within the organisation. The hope would be that these things don’t have to change because regulation forces the sector to do so, but rather that there’s a desire to do so from a moral point of view.

As Atherton said: “None of us are the finished article.” The time for voluntary improvement is now, before it becomes business critical.

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THE YOUTHFUL APPROACH TO HOUSING There’s growing criticism of the ‘typical’ board of older white men, of the housing association or council that doesn’t represent the community it operates in, and engagement not being strong enough to make the decision-making process more diverse. Some organisations are looking to change this. We take a look at how.

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he Social Housing White Paper is clear Another member of the Youth Council, on the need for housing providers Aya Rusenova, said the group was important and local authorities to listen, have because “we’re not the future, we’re the empathy and respect residents. now”.

Comments from government since have And while the creation of a youth council been clear that it partly sees it as a culture involves young people in decision making issue. One way that some are looking to straight away, one organisation is sewing the bridge the divide between themselves and seeds of participation even earlier. residents is through improved engagement Positive Footprints partner with a whole with younger people. host of housing associations to get young A study by the Scottish Government found people into the world of housing from a that having young people more involved in primary school age. decision making lead to a greater sense of Facilitating sessions where young people inclusion, as well as creating reciprocal trust, can learn about a career in housing and respect and validation. what a housing association does, Positive One organisation that’s put some of these Footprints gives children that platform to get principles into action is Phoenix Community further involved when they get older.

Housing.

Backed by organisations such as Regenda, The resident-centred organisation created Leeds and Yorkshire Housing, Gentoo and the Phoenix Youth Council, with the aim others, the sessions will collectively impact to get more young people involved in the over 15,000 children this year and generate decision-making process and give them a nearly £2m in social value. voice in their community.

One example of the impact it can have was CEO at Phoenix, Jim Ripley, said it was important to have these voices “influencing our services “We want the Youth Council to and the future decisions we empower our young people to make”. challenge us to think differently, He added: “We want the Youth Council to empower our young give the board a different people to challenge us to think perspective, and help shape differently, give the board a different perspective, and help policies and events to make a shape policies and events to make difference in how we operate a difference in how we operate now and in the future.” now and in the future” The Youth Council’s first meeting saw members discuss a variety of issues, including safer communities, cleaner six-year-old Ella being given the opportunity air and more opportunities for the younger to be ‘CEO for the day’ at Sovini. She joined generation in the area.

Sovini’s CEO, Roy Williams, and got insight They’ll meet four times a year and play an into how the organisation is run. “active part in shaping policies and making Of the whole Positive Footprints recommendations” which feed into the experience, Ella said: “As a class, we learnt board at Phoenix. about different jobs, ones we didn’t even Nicole Lawrence, Phoenix Youth Council know existed, and the qualifications in the member, said: “I joined the Youth Council future. so that I can make sure that all residents are “We wrote a CV and covering letter heard. I hope that using my voice will show and learnt all about our skills. The whole other young people that they too can make experience helped me grow in confidence a difference and that their voice matters. and I think it helped me get into my high “Through having our say, we’re making it school.” more accessible for other young people to Tim Craven, Social Investment Manager at come forward and shape decisions.”

Wakefield and District Housing, said of the

Platform Housing’s Trainee Board (Neelam Heera, Michelle Cowan, Edd Hall and Kaeden Bunting)

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programme: “It’s easy to overlook aspects of development, such as your first experience learning about the world of work.

“We invested in the Raising Aspirations programme to ensure that children are introduced to opportunities that will be open to them as they grow up, helping to create and sustain confident communities.”

And for Positive Footprints, that’s another huge positive. It’s not just about engaging and having children and young people getting to learn and be a voice in the community, there are employment and training opportunities there too.

Many in the sector use the phrase ‘fell into housing’ but programmes like this do their best to inspire young people to become passionate about the sector and join it for all the right reasons.

Another place many young people, and those from diverse backgrounds, feel distant from is the boardroom.

The board shapes the direction of the organisation, shows the strategic path it is going to take and, in turn, sets the values and KPIs. And so for a board to be one dimensional, overly business focused instead of community focused, too old rather than featuring a range of ages, or too white rather

Kaeden Bunting, a housing association tenant.

He says his lived experience provides him with a “unique insight into social housing” and now he will be looking to use that insight when in the boardroom.

As a junior board member, Kaeden sets out what he wants to achieve in the role: “I’m passionate about improving the lives of others and this position will allow me to utilise my social housing experience to promote change.

“Through my apprenticeship knowledge and experience, I aim to support Platform with the promotion of its apprenticeship opportunities and its goal of 10% of the workforce being on an apprenticeship by 2025.”

This lived experience perspective is exactly why Michelle Cowan joined the programme.

She explains: “I applied to become a trainee board member after spending years working with families living in one of the most deprived areas of Birmingham.

“I act as a voice to many who feel that they have no voice and where their housing concerns frequently

“I act as a voice to many who feel that they have no voice where their housing concerns frequently go unheard or unresolved” 1

than a mix of ethnicities and backgrounds representative of the community, it’s perhaps no wonder that most residents, and even staff, feel a disconnect from the boardroom.

One organisation doing something about it is Platform Housing Group. They’ve appointed several new trainee board members to “increase diversity in housing boards of the future”.

More than 100 applications were received for the positions. The successful candidates all come from diverse backgrounds with a real desire to increase their knowledge and improve their skills.

One of the trainee board members is 2

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Photos: 1 & 3 - Phoenix Youth Council 2 - Ella with Sovini Group CEO, Roy Williams

“We also recognised that the trainees would ask questions and bring different perspectives to the work we’re doing now – which was very important to us as we strive to reflect a range of thoughts and opinions on the decisions our board and executive make” go unheard or unresolved.

“I will use my knowledge in respect of this to help tailor the delivery of the corporate strategy to ensure that existing and future platform housing tenants have good-quality affordable housing that caters to modern living and improving the lived experience of those whom it serves.”

And it’s from that different perspective and drive that Platform hopes to get most benefit.

Clare Durnin, Executive Director of Corporate Resources at Platform, says she has been “completely blown away” by the programme to date.

She adds: “Whilst we were recruiting for new board members during 2020, we realised that although there were some fantastic, talented candidates out there, there was a clear lack of diversity amongst them.

“We also recognised that the trainees would ask questions and bring different perspectives to the work we’re doing now –

which was very important to us as we strive to reflect a range of thoughts and opinions on the decisions our board and executive make.”

Edd Hall, another junior board member, and who’s also a maintenance supervisor, says he joined to “make a difference” and says he wants to see the organisation “making the most of modern methods of construction, utilising renewable energy solutions, working to reduce fuel poverty and be building homes with communities, businesses and local people at the heart of its developments”.

While this may be on the agenda of the board already, the passion from Edd, Michelle and Kaeden for this forwardthinking way of working can only benefit Platform as it moves forwards. Their thoughts are also the same as those that are residents of the future, and to be able to tap into that and align the organisation to those ideals is only going to be beneficial as the sector restores trust.

Remi Turton, another junior board member on the programme, says her different perspective will help both her and the organisation moving forward.

She says: “I’d previously considered board roles as something you do towards the end of your career but have now discovered a whole new career path that can run parallel to my executive aspirations.

“I anticipate that my life experiences as a young ethnic woman, professional skills and cognisance of youth trends will be valuable, fresh and vital and provide a different viewpoint to the board.”

By no means will changes such as trainee boards solve the problems with culture overnight, nor will it be the only thing an organisation should do to drive change, but what the four trainee board members from Platform show is that when you invest in different perspectives and experiences, you get a richer overall picture.

Other engagements with young people, such as the Youth Council and Positive Footprints, are also key in establishing trust, generating feelings of inclusivity and much more. Expect these organisations to be receiving the most praise for their engagement in the years to come.

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THE FUTURE VOICE OF HOUSING HQN is delighted to announce the return of Housing’s Next Generation – the annual competition designed to showcase and celebrate the sector’s brightest young talent.

You can enter your young housing professionals into the competition here.

2022 Housing’s Next Generation judges: Tanisha Rigby, Housing Next Generation 2021 finalist

Olu Olanrewaju, Senior Consultant

Tony Stacey, CEO, South Yorkshire Housing Association

Closing date for nominations

Judging panel shortlists the top 20 based on the nominations

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Sheron Carter, former housing association CEO

Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO

The 20 submit a written response to one of several topical questions

Judges select ten entrants to go forward into the semi-final

Entries for the 2022 competition are open and we’re calling on housing “I have genuinely associations, local authorities, ALMOs and other relevant organisations been honoured to get involved. to have the Housing’s Next Generation is about giving young housing professionals a voice – to share their thoughts and ideas and help shape the future opportunities to direction of the sector. share my ideas and We’re specifically looking for people from a diverse range of backgrounds who can bring fresh thinking to the challenges faced by my passion for the housing organisations, our communities and the residents we serve. sector” 2020’s HNG winner, Kath Menzies of Fife Housing Group, said: “The whole experience has pushed me out of my comfort zone and inspired me to try and do more, with the support of Link Housing Association.

“I would encourage any young aspirational leaders to get involved – the whole experience was beneficial for me.”

Finalist Halisha Kaur, of GreenSquareAccord, added: “I have genuinely been honoured to have the opportunities to share my ideas and my passion for the sector.”

We’re looking for organisations to nominate young housing professionals who: • Show leadership potential whether through individual or team tasks • Are passionate about delivering excellent service to residents • Have a commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion • Want to make improvements to the social housing sector • Are ready to take the next step in their careers and prove themselves in front of the sector Why should you nominate someone for Housing’s Next Generation?

• Personal development – to help develop analytical, written and presentation skills • Confidence – to gain the confidence to be a leader and express ideas • Opportunity – previous winners and finalists have gone on to become directors and gain wider recognition across the sector • Networking – to be part of a growing network of young housing professionals through our Next Generation Hub • Exposure – to experience different aspects of housing, helping prepare for future challenges

“The whole experience has pushed me out of my comfort zone and inspired me to try and do more”

Anyone nominated for the competition will automatically be invited to our Next Generation Hub, a new exciting group of young housing professionals in the sector that meet regularly to network, hear from key speakers and benefit from peer-to-peer support. The group also get discounts on all HQN events and training.

Semi-finalists present one idea for improving the sector – followed by a judges Q&A

The final five take part in a live session at HQN’s annual conference in July. The audience gets to vote for the winner

The prizes: A year’s free membership of Housing Quality Network, access to exclusive briefings and member content, best practice groups, exposure to the wider sector through weekly updates and much more

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COMMENT

Why we overhauled our traditional statutory leave arrangements Anthony Duerden, Chief Executive, Calico Group

important.

When I attended the Menopause for Managers session, I knew it was important we talked about the menopause – I just didn’t realise how important.

By addressing these all-too-often hidden topics out in the open, we hope our staff will feel recognised and able to broach such topics in the knowledge they will be supported.

There are clear benefits in providing staff with As an employer, we feel the traditional statutory additional support during key life events. leave arrangements simply don’t go far enough in It allows individuals to take the time they need to supporting our people when they need it most. process and recover, leaving you as an employer with That’s why we announced additional support for any a more motivated, focused and productive team as a of our staff undergoing fertility treatment, suffering result. pregnancy loss or experiencing the menopause.

Our employees can also access a variety of support Since December, 10 additional days of paid ‘special and training alongside paid leave, including access to leave’ are now available to any of our staff undergoing free face-to-face counselling, paid leave for medical fertility treatment – and appointments, flexible this is gender-neutral and working, paid private “We’ve seen for ourselves that applies to partners of healthcare and access to individuals going through trained mental health first discussion groups and training are treatment. Crucially, we aiders. excellent ways to get the message won’t be limiting this We hope these across and stress the key role of the support to a set number commitments go some of treatment cycles. way to supporting our line manager in supporting their We also launched employees when they employees” an ongoing series of need it most. awareness raising For any employers workshops and training looking to introduce for our managers and staff around menopause. similar measures, we’d honestly encourage you to The new allowance and training build on existing take the plunge and go for it. special leave arrangements that also includes ‘Safe We’ve found clear communication to be key: ensure Leave’ that supports employees suffering domestic the arrangements are clearly communicated with staff abuse. at all levels.

We care about the wellbeing of employees and It’s also crucial any new measures sit alongside an recognise the impact significant life events can have open, supportive culture that is non-judgmental. on them, both personally and financially.

We’ve seen for ourselves that discussion groups Ultimately, we’re trying to create an open, inclusive and training are excellent ways to get the message culture where our employees feel valued and able to across and stress the key role of the line manager in bring their whole selves to work. supporting their employees.

A key part of nurturing this culture has been We believe this approach is an excellent way to to encourage and facilitate traditionally difficult bolster or progress an inclusive agenda, provided it conversations in an open manner – this is why sits alongside an existing culture that has the full buyworkshops and training for managers and staff are so in from staff at all levels.

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Become a member of the Housing Quality Network today and benefit from: Industry expert briefings, blogs and research Self-assessment toolkits

What our members say?

Weekly Newsletter Free event and training places Free job advertisements Access to specialist hubs In addition to our main network, many of our members take advantage of the specialist networks on offer:

Asset Management Network

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network

Health and Safety Network

Housing Finance Network

Housing Management Network

Housing Quality Network Cymru

Leasehold Network

Rent Income Excellence Network

Residents’ Network

“The Housing Quality Network provides a great opportunity to hear about what other registered providers are doing and share experiences. For sustainability and climate change solutions in particular, we’re entering unprecedented times, so the more we can learn from each other and collaborate the better.”

“I find the weekly newsletters and briefing papers on various topical issues to be very helpful, and provide a resource I can utilise not only for my personal knowledge, but also when briefing senior officers or Council members. I have attended a number of training events or conferences over the years and always find them interesting and informative as well as offering opportunity for discussions.

Membership can mean access to some of these events is free!”

Strategic Network

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COMMENT

The power of an apprenticeship Aimee Brown, Governance and Policy Officer, whg

Three years ago I was working in a salon as a stylist and barber. Confused and anxious I knew deep down I was doing something I didn’t want to do – I felt like I was having a midlife crisis at the age of 19.

In an effort to find a new career I stumbled upon a job advert for an apprenticeship at a place called whg.

The job included admin work to support the governance structure with a qualification thrown in. It sounded like a fantastic opportunity and a few months later, after a successful interview, I started my career at whg as a governance and compliance apprentice.

During my training I was able to try my hand at a whole range of work including organising board and committee events, internal audit facilitation and data protection.

The role gave me a fantastic overview of governance from the ground up and helped to rapidly increase my knowledge and skills.

I was able to gain an incredible amount of experience into how housing associations operate at both strategic and operational levels.

It’s so important housing associations invest in the communities in which they operate, and for whg this was recently made even more apparent.

The majority of whg’s homes are in Walsall, one of the 55 areas identified in the government’s Levelling Up White Paper where school outcomes are weak.

Apprenticeships are a great way for whg to support young people to get the skills they need to secure exciting careers and ensures no one misses out on opportunities simply because of their background.

My apprenticeship helped my career immensely; it gave me an outlet to continue learning while working, which

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for me was the perfect combination.

I was delighted to secure a permanent contract at the end of it, but even if that hadn’t been the case I’d have gained a qualification which would carry me through the rest of my career.

Organisations should have a huge appetite to include apprentices.

Apprentices are people who are open to being trained and moulded into exactly what the organisation wants, enabling organisations to grow their own talent. They provide fresh ideas and enthusiasm which can have a knock-on effect on existing colleagues.

Apprentices learn whilst on the job and are learning how the world works today, which provides organisations with a resource to effectively prepare for the future.

Apprentices aren’t always school leavers – they’re often people looking for a second chance, like me.

And without my apprenticeship, I wouldn’t be in the career I am today.

COMMENT

Don’t Dis My Ability – the Hyde Group staff network raising awareness of disability in the workplace Neal Ackcral, Chief Property Officer, Hyde

We’re on an amazing journey at Hyde and the importance of an inclusive working environment has never been greater for us.

Back in June 2020, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and the murder of George Floyd, we began a series of conversations about diversity and inclusion with our employees across the organisation.

Based on employee feedback, we understood changes were needed to better improve our culture and further increase our sense of pride within the organisation.

At Hyde, we celebrate and draw strength from our differences and our staff networks (Aspire, Don’t Dis My Ability, Embrace and Pryde) play a vital part in that.

They make a huge contribution to the way we work and I’m so proud to be the sponsor of our disability and inclusion group, Don’t Dis My Ability.

As well as having regular catch ups with Gemma (pictured right) I meet with the group’s committee once a month. They share what they’ve got planned, what they’ve achieved, any challenges, new ideas and more – giving me an opportunity to share information and news with my colleagues in the Executive Leadership Team and colleagues across the organisation.

I wholeheartedly recommend that other housing associations set up a disability staff network if they haven’t already. If we can’t provide the right accessibility, support and understanding for our employees with disabilities, how are we expected to do so for our customers?

Gemma Waddington, Chair of Don’t Dis My Ability, Hyde

I have dyslexia and dyspraxia which affects my everyday life. I set up Don’t Dis My Ability to raise awareness and support across the Hyde Group for employees with disabilities, as well as the rest of the housing sector.

We strive to promote positive change not just for employees, but for our customers too.

We’ve close to 200 members across Hyde, and we’ve achieved so much already.

My highlights include: the introduction of our sunflower lanyard (something our colleagues with disabilities can wear to show people that they may need additional support, help or a little more time); working with an external ambassador to raise awareness of autism; collaborating with and promoting our other staff networks; and raising awareness of sickle cell as part of Black History Month 2021.

Setting up the group has hugely improved my confidence and I truly believe that I’m able to bring my whole self to work now.

I never would have imagined I’d be sharing my experiences with others and having an opportunity to make positive change.

It’s so important to have the support of leadership when championing and wanting to make positive change and I’m so proud to say that we’ve got that.

Find out more about Hyde by visiting the Hyde website.

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Your people are your most important asset – make sure you’re investing in them HQN has an outstanding track record of helping organisations achieve real and lasting performance improvements.

Ensuring your staff have access to relevant, timely training is vital in the sector’s everchanging landscape. With over 200 different topics covered, we have you and your organisation’s interests at heart.

Our outstanding team of training professionals deliver the highest quality training sessions:

•

Sign up to our public training, which covers a range of key issues – from technical ones to soft skills

•

Looking for a more tailored approach for a number of your staff? Book an in-house session and get real value for money

•

Want something longer term? We’ve a range of qualified coaches and mentors.

“Nigel is extremely knowledgeable on the subject and delivered the course in a fresh and inspirational way” (Customer Journey Mapping training)

“Nancy was really amazing. Very lively and knowledgeable session. A lot of information to consider and apply to work. Thank you!”

(Repairs training)

“I really enjoyed this training. The group discussions worked well. Really positive group of people and Laura made everyone’s contribution feel valued. Good pace and good breaks” (Customer Focus training)

HQN training is here to develop individuals and help organisations achieve real and lasting performance improvements. Our in-house and public training courses can be delivered virtually and face-to-face.

Our wide range of training covers the following areas:

Customer service

Equality and diversity

Health and safety

Income management and welfare benefit

Senior leadership and management

Junior leadership

Personal development/HR

Legal

Repairs and maintenance

Resident involvement. supported and sheltered

Technical

Mental health and wellbeing

For more information, please contact training@hqnetwork.co.uk, call 01904 557150 or visit www.hqnetwork.co.uk

In the frame

 Platinum planting Beyond Housing Apprentices have begun marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by planting a variety of native trees in sites across Whitby and Scarborough.

 Water welfare Telford and Wrekin Council

 Connecting kindness Wigan Council Local businesses supported the council’s #BeKindLeigh day in Leigh Market as part of a drive for a more caring town.

During last month’s flooding, the Ironbridge community pulled together with Rev. Ernest Okeke from St Luke’s Church to deliver food to workers pumping water.

 Musical memories Wandsworth Council World Heart Beat, with support from Wandsworth Council, introduce The Nine Elms Sessions – a series of six music videos celebrating the local community whilst reflecting on the area’s heritage, present identity and promising future.

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 Community culture ForHousing Over 1,600 people celebrated Knowsley’s Borough of Culture programme by admiring Tall Tales, a large-scale community artwork that saw a residential 16-storey tower block in Stockbridge Village animated and illuminated with heartwarming stories from the local community.

 Sporting success Peabody

 Sowing seeds Grand Union Housing Group

The housing association held a five-a-side football tournament for 40 young people to raise awareness about issues affecting them such as racism and violence.

The housing association teamed up with a Biggleswade nursery to brighten up the local community with a gardening project.

 Absolute ace! Welwyn Hatfield Council The Welwyn Hatfield Community Fund hit a funding milestone, having awarded over £106,000 to local organisations. Since the funding launched in 2019, 17 community projects have received grants.

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

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE MARCH 2022

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A day in the life of...

Sarah Buckley Education and prevention team leader Glow domestic abuse charity (part of Honeycomb Group)

Employee since: June 2013 Location, location, location: Stoke-on-Trent

09:00 Team meeting Our Monday morning team meeting gives us the opportunity to discuss the children’s referrals that have come in over the weekend and any local updates. I allocate referrals to each of our specialist children’s workers to go out and meet the children and young people to create a support plan and bespoke intervention for them. It’s also the chance to have a cheeky brew, chat about our weekends and catch up on everyone’s TV watching!

11:00

Relationships Without Fear school programme Today we’re delivering a community awareness-raising workshop for 20 young girls from Stoke City Football Club. Our school-based sessions for children and young people empower them with the skills to recognise and understand healthy relationships and provide the tools to be able to find the support they need if they ever experience abusive or unhealthy relationships. It still shocks and disappoints me that we don’t put more emphasis on educating children in these areas.

13:00

Locality partnership meeting In our joint session, we share ideas on various initiatives to engage young people in our communities, discuss projects we can collaborate on and exchange ideas. One of the most important aspects of these meetings is sharing information on the children and young people falling under the radar or not engaging with services/statutory agencies, and talking about any key trends happening in the local area and how we can collaboratively work together to ensure the right support is available.

15:00

Sourcing donations and fundraising We have amazing support from our local business and communities who, in just the last few weeks, have donated meal vouchers, cinema tickets, toiletries, teddy bears and toys.

15:30

Project development We spend some time this afternoon to prepare for a presentation we My perfect day are giving to our executive team. The presentation will, hopefully, drive our service forward with a clear and consistent strategy There’s nothing I like more than and ensure we continuously raise the expectations of what sitting at home, candles lit and a glass we can achieve. of wine watching RuPaul’s Drag Race! My job can be tough, but I’m very lucky to have Promotion an amazing, supportive circle of friends and a Today I’m being interviewed by our local radio station lovely family who understand my job. I can also to promote our RWF prevention programme. And then often be found escaping reality at the theatre there’s just enough time to film a quick TikTok video for watching a musical, or giving my best Adele our comms team to share on our hugely popular account. impressions on the karaoke followed by a Sunday roast and a good sleep ready Take a bow to start Monday morning all I’m well known as the office entertainer! On my way out of the over again. office I give everyone a rendition of the Strictly Come Dancing theme tune while performing some spectacular dance moves!

16:30

17:00

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Ombudsman Corner

By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman

It’s just over a year since we started issuing complaint handling failure orders (CHFOs).

We issue more than a thousand orders each year on individual cases to put things right, and even though CHFOs are a very small proportion of these they’re subject to significant commentary. Why? In one sense it’s because they’re novel – most have been issued whilst the complaint is within the landlord’s procedure and prior to a formal investigation by us. CHFOs are also one of the indicators we use when we decide whether to do further work.

Further investigation is something we did recently with one landlord which had received multiple CHFOs. To do so we used our powers under paragraph 50 of our scheme and this involved nine formal investigations.

While we considered what was fair in all the circumstances of each individual complaint, the investigations were progressed together to ensure we were able to identify any systemic failing in service provision and several cases shared the same complaint categories.

This led to some exceptional adjudication work by my team. We made 30 findings across the cases, with most involving some level of maladministration. The cases provided several lessons that could improve services and prevent complaints.

Given the cases I see, these lessons are pertinent to many landlords. What are they?

A lack of recordkeeping had significantly contributed to six complaints. These failings in recordkeeping weren’t confined to one team and we therefore made orders on all of those cases for the landlord to review its recordkeeping

practices, including whether a specific policy was needed with associated staff training. On three cases, we ordered the landlord to review the redesign of its repair and maintenance services to ensure it applied to planned works and works that fell outside day-to-day repairs. This should include reference to monitoring of and adhering to agreed timescales, completing work to appropriate standards and keeping residents informed.

We also recommended the landlord reviews its internal policies and procedures on repairs, the information on repairs on its website and customer pamphlets, and the Tenants Handbook/ Repairs Manual, to ensure that all documents are up to date and provide consistent information on the categorisation of and timeframes for repairs. Finally, we ordered the landlord to consider its complaint handling procedures in five cases to assure itself these cases couldn’t happen again.

In particular, I want to highlight the issue of recordkeeping. This isn’t a new issue – it occurs consistently across our casework and we’re repeatedly raising it as a risk for landlords. I appreciate that recordkeeping can sound dry, but the impact of poor recordkeeping on effective services and, moreover, residents themselves can be dramatic.

Overall, the themes identified in these cases align with the principles of effective dispute resolution: recognising what has gone wrong; seeking to put things right; and learning from outcomes. These principles are central to the Complaint Handling Code, which we’re in the process of strengthening, and I’d strongly encourage all landlords to reflect on.

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HQN Accreditation Would you like to demonstrate that your service has been scrutinised by a reputable, independent organisation, and been found to meet exacting industry standards?

The HQN Accreditation scheme provides the framework to achieve this. It will ensure the confidence of customers, clients and partners. HQN Accreditation recognises and rewards organisations who:

• Understand and support their customers and communities – recognising and valuing diversity

• Deliver excellent customer service for tenants • Operate efficiently and sustainably, making the best use of resources available • Show a commitment to developing and sustaining strong partnerships • Show innovation and are proactive in looking for opportunities to improve

MIST – Maximising Income; Sustaining Tenancies

Lettings

Repairs and Maintenance

Estate Management

Leasehold Management

Gas

DLO / Contractor

The HQN Accreditation mark is a visible sign that your organisation not only meets or exceeds good practice standards, but is also proud to offer a best-in-class service to its tenants and residents To find out more, email Anna Pattison at anna.pattison@hqnetwork.co.uk or call +44 (0)1904 557197

hqnetwork.co.uk/accreditation

Fact or fiction: Das boot You’re fired – as Lord Alan of Sugar is fond of saying – is the last thing you want to hear from your boss, unless, of course, you hate your job. In this edition of fact or fiction, we have five ignominious career conclusions. Can you sniff out the fake one? No pressure, but your job is on the line.

1. Boris Johnson Britian’s lovable prime minister is a highly respected leader these days, viewed by most as a paragon of honesty and competence. But it hasn’t always been such. Back in the 90s, Johnson had a good little number writing rubbish for The Times, until he was defenestrated over allegations he invented quotes from his own godfather, the historian Colin Lucas, in some dreary article he’d spewed up. A few years later, he was somehow shadow arts minister, when, once again, some lies, this time about an affair, obliged Tory boss Michael Howard to dish him another sacking. We’re all taught that dishonesty is a rotten thing and no good can come of it. In 2019, Johnson became prime minister.

2. Piers Morgan Though once associated with illegal phone-hacking, supreme arrogance and general grotesqueness, Piers Morgan is today one of the UK’s most esteemed broadcasters. However, back in the 90s, the future nemesis of Meghan Markle was made editor of The Mirror, which he subsequently revolutionised from a not very good newspaper into an appalling one. The pages became flooded with celebrity dross (much of which was apparently sourced via unlawful means) and Morgan’s personal vendettas. But it was his decision to publish frontpage pics of UK troops allegedly torturing Iraqis that were soon exposed as fake that led to him being fired by

the Mirror’s board. The scandal severely damaged his career and he’s barely been heard from since.

3. Priti Patel Today, she’s perhaps the most admired home secretary of all time. However, before entering politics Patel was deputy manager of a Tesco Extra in Basildon, where her unorthodox methodology culminated in dismissal. In an effort to increase productivity and reduce staff absence, the death penalty enthusiast arranged for colleagues she deemed as slackers to be sent to the Outer Hebrides for two-month stints in tiny tents.

Alarmed line managers were swiftly crushed and threatened with similar treatment. Eventually, with the store’s overall moral in tatters, profits spiralling and staff numbers dropping below six, she was forced out. Luckily for the UK, the episode only galvanised her resolve and she turned her passionate attention to government.

4. Steve Bannon Once seen as a nationalist lunatic with white supremacist leanings,

a hatred of immigration and, allegedly, an utterer of anti-Semitic remarks, the alt-right favourite is today considered a reasonable, thoughtful lover of mankind and all its beautiful diversity.

Crowned CEO of the Trump 2016 election campaign because of his passionate fanaticism, the medievally-skinned lout slimed into the White House on the back of his boss’s ascension, where he acted as some kind of adviser, whose speciality was presumably unpleasantness and chaos. But a series of semi-incomprehensible run-ins with his similarly mentally negligible overlord – including, allegedly, advising the president to emit his famous “good and bad people on both sides” line in the wake of the deadly Charlotteville Nazi uprising – led to his dirty position becoming untenable.

5. Jeremy Clarkson The streaming TV favourite presents a show about farming these days (so I’m told) but, long ago, he joint-hosted a popular terrestrial thing about cars with fellow artistes, Terry Gerbil and Brian May. Forever cleaning up after Clarkson, his employer, the BBC, was finally forced to dismiss him after he punched an underling in the face, for failing to bring him some dinner. Though his frenzied supporters rallied behind him, the BBC remained firm, and the shamed star hobbled off to Amazon, where they ask no questions, and had to make do with an enormous increase in pay.

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Fiction: 3. Priti Patel

Resident’s view Kickstarting my career with my landlord

By Emily Feltwell, Sovereign resident

Kickstart launched in September 2020. I was one of the first young people to start on the scheme at Sovereign.

At the time I was unemployed. I’d gone to the Jobcentre just to tell them about my change in circumstances and they introduced the idea to me right there and then.

The part I liked was that the scheme was designed to help people start out in jobs they might not have considered before. Most of my jobs had been in retail or catering and so the thought of trying something new was interesting.

I initially applied for an admin role at Sovereign and didn’t get it. But only a few hours later, they called me back and told me they had a job that they felt was a much better fit, in the Communities team. I was intrigued.

Although I pay service charges to Sovereign, and have friends who live in Sovereign homes, I didn’t really know what a housing association did. I also didn’t really know how an office job that wasn’t in the office would work, but I was ready to find out.

It might sound weird but the last time I did a PowerPoint presentation was at school in about 2011, so even getting to grips with programmes like that again has been beneficial. All the basic stuff that needs to be learned on Excel, Word, Outlook and that kind of thing is handled through the Kickstart training, which is a few hours a week and has to be completed and handed in, separate to the job.

My role has been as a communities communications assistant. I support all of the different communities teams if they need admin help, setting up meetings, chasing up emails to customers, making presentations,

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that kind of thing. Every day is different.

What I’m looking forward to now, with a little bit of nervousness too, is getting into the actual office. More or less my whole working experience with Sovereign has been online, through Teams, so actually meeting real people and shadowing them in their jobs is going to be great.

I’m also really pleased that I got an extension to my role. I know that having a year’s experience on my CV will make a huge difference in showing that I’m committed to employment, as well as displaying all of the different skills I’ve learned and projects I’ve been involved with.

“Although I pay service charges to Sovereign, and have friends who live in Sovereign homes, I didn’t really know what a housing association did” At my initial onboarding they said “there’s a possibility that you’ll be taken on at the end of your placement” and I thought ‘yeah, yeah, fake news,’ but it’s actually amazing.

I’ve very much been reassured that it takes six months to learn about an organisation, about the job you’re doing. But when we had the open days here at Sovereign, I came to all six of them and soaked up the atmosphere and the knowledge in the building. It’s my ambition over the next few months to set up lunchtime networking sessions for Kickstarters with different areas of the business – and maybe even with Kickstarters from other organisations, who knows? I feel like there’s so much potential ahead of me.

The last word The changing frontline role in temporary accommodation

By Eleanor Edgar, Scheme Manager – Temporary Accommodation, Stockport Homes

“It sometimes feels like housing and, in particular, emergency housing is another emergency service, and days are spent trying to keep that individual alive and striving to get essential support”

If we think of challenges, there are often negative connotations; and when asked to write an article discussing the challenges currently facing temporary accommodation, it doesn’t feel right to focus only on those negatives. I work alongside some of the most talented, solution-focused, resilient and caring temporary accommodation staff and customers, and no matter what they face, each day sees the unwavering levels of care, determination and a good slice of humour to deliver the best services for customers.

We do face challenges, but we also have a lot of joy; we celebrate that customer who may be battling a cycle of addiction but has used Class C drugs instead of Class A drugs today; or that customer who sat down with us for more than five minutes when we know the voices in their head are telling them to run out of the door; or the customer who attended an activity session for the first time.

We know our customers as mothers, singers, artists and individuals that have shown unbelievable survival skills to be sitting in front of us; who have stayed with drug dealers and engaged in sex work to survive and have a roof over their head. We always talk with our customers about what they are good at; we celebrate birthdays; give prizes for room of the week; and talk about their favourite football team or TV show.

In comparison with four or five years ago the temporary accommodation landscape looks very different, and we often ask ourselves the question: is temporary accommodation still temporary? We’re supporting customers for much longer, and they’re struggling more than we’ve ever known before. We have customers who will struggle to ever be able to live independently and many returning to us who are caught within a cycle of homelessness and custodial sentences. It sometimes feels like housing and, in particular, emergency housing is another emergency service, and days are spent trying to keep that individual alive and striving to get essential support from health services, mental health teams and social services, who are running on very stretched reserves.

Our future needs to look different, and we need to lead the way. Private landlords need to house people experiencing homelessness, more social housing is needed, and we need it to look and feel different; we need to try house shares for those we know will struggle to live alone and need supported accommodation for those who need extra care. We need to work hard to make temporary accommodation as temporary as possible, as we know the damaging long-term impacts for individuals and families.

We will always be here as a safety net to those where every other door has closed and ready to catch people as they fall – but our responsibility needs to be to support them into long-term, stable places they can call home.

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Partner with us Amplify your impact and benefit from an exclusively curated partnership package.

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