A life in 15 questions

Group Executive Director at ForHousing

My career is completely random! I started work as soon as I turned 16 at McDonalds. I became a manager at 17 which was a great experience, although I probably worked a bit too hard as I remember falling asleep at school.

I then went to work at Asda at 18 and did a bit of everything.

I then landed a summer internship at a law firm in my second year at university. They offered me a job after I graduated as a marketing executive.

During my time there I worked with an interim finance director that was overseeing a merger with another law firm. He was a nonexecutive director for a heating and property maintenance business, and he introduced me to the Managing Director and owner.

I joined this company and took a business development role, helping to grow it significantly over a five-year period before turning my hands to delivery. I became a director at 27. I went on to help sell the firm to a blue chip business.

I then went to work for a civil engineering contractor, running their internal operations, before having a short period of selfemployment whilst I had babies!

This led to me working for a social housing consultancy, providing support and advice to registered providers. This was how I came across ForHousing, and I became part of the leadership team in September 2019.

Passionate, enthusiastic, advocate

Home (in the shower or in my PJs!).

I’m proud of who I am: my accent, my upbringing, my values. However, I do have a tendency to want to demonstrate value for money and this can sometimes translate into an unhealthy work ethic. This is something I’m aware of and working on. I really value the great support I get from my colleagues with this.

A happy and safe 1970s renovation! Shared with my two children, James and Eleanor, my husband, Paul (“Nev”), and our dog, Bryn.

Intolerance, disrespect, aggression and violence.

My family’s health. I can live without all physical possessions.

Be true to you and believe you can!

I’d love to set up a social investment fund supporting and advising community start-ups with their business ideas and providing access to business mentoring and support from non-executive directors.

People. I’m so proud of the achievements of others who I’ve supported or mentored.

Hmm that’s a tough one. I don’t believe in regrets. I’ve made loads of mistakes, but I’ve learned from all of them.

‘Deep dive’? Or ‘cut to the chase’ (although no-one ever does!).

The Little Book of Winning by Humphrey Walters. It’s a pocket book and relates sporting success to business success which I’m a huge advocate of.

Strictly Come Dancing – what a final! What a showcase of diversity and inclusion. I was really proud that the final included a gay man, a black woman and a deaf woman.

People may not know that photos of my wedding were once used by the Church of England to promote church weddings!

We live in a data-driven society. We’re surrounded by data capturing devices and platforms. Smart watches monitor our sleep; online grocery stores predict when we need more milk.

Yet, across the social housing sector we continue to see a slow, tentative shift towards IoT technology. This is at the same time where disrepair claims are increasing exponentially, forcing housing providers to triple their disrepair teams just to cope. This simply isn’t sustainable.

The social housing sector must cease being cautious and adopt IoT technology at scale and speed. By shining a spotlight on otherwise hidden situations, and using real-time data to challenge false claims, disrepair cases can be brought back under control.

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are small standalone devices which can offer connectivity, control and communication capabilities to help landlords understand the interaction between the resident and their home and improve their quality of life.

One of the main benefits of IoT technology is it allows for proactive data-based decision-making. In housing, providers can quickly identify high-risk properties across their portfolio and implement

By using just a Switchee, internal conditions of a home including temperature, humidity and occupation are monitored. This data narrative is uploaded in real-time to a secure server that housing providers access at any time or feed directly into operating systems.

There are over 15,000 Switchees installed in the UK. In the last 12 months, 89.6% of connected properties have been flagged to have “medium or high” risk of mould. With this knowledge, housing providers using Switchee have fingerprinted the root cause of the mould before it gets any worse.

The seemingly impossible task of proactively monitoring thousands of properties all of a sudden becomes very possible. No longer are properties grouped in a reactive ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that is ineffective, timely and costly. By adopting IoT technology, housing providers have tools to better understand

There are multiple benefits for residents too. IoT technology devices, such as Switchees, learn the specific heating patterns of a property and act accordingly, automatically optimising conditions within the home to match residents’ needs. At a time of energy bills rising astronomically, a saving of up to 17% for residents can be the difference between heating or eating.

For housing providers, having access to the actionable

decisions to be made, remotely. At a time when housing providers are faced with hitting challenging financial, environmental and customer satisfaction targets the added pressure and cost of disrepair cases must be combatted. IoT is the answer: transforming the way providers manage their stock, while improving resident engagement and making properties happier homes.

 0800 133 7957  info@switchee.co  www.switchee.co

Issue 36 | May 2022

12 Welcome 12 Making rented housing a home 13 Opinion: Evidence versus instinct 14 Renovation project in Sweden balances cost and tenant choice 15 Do shared services improve resilience? Mixed evidence from district councils during the Covid-19 pandemic 17 Refurbish or replace? Calculating the relative costs 18 Research roundup – April 2022

Whether it’s from steeply rising fuel bills or the wider issues of decarbonisation, making our homes fit for the future is the issue of the moment. A study from Sweden looks at what happens when tenants are offered a range of improvement possibilities, linked to the renovation cost.

Meanwhile in London, researchers calculated the carbon footprint of two house types over the whole life cycle of the building. They wanted to establish the relative emissions and costs of refurbishment or replacement. The answer: it depends how long the building is expected to last, but the results contain some surprises.

And how can tenants in the private rented sector make their housing into a home? Researcher Adriana Mihaela Soaita asked tenants from across Britain what they think should be their rights over issues such as rents, security and the ability to personalise their home. As we await a white paper on the private rented sector the study provides useful insights.

Finally, which takes precedence: the conclusions of empirical research or the instinct that comes from long experience? HQN Associate Emma Lindley argues for the personal touch in housing professionals’ dealings with customers.

Of the 60 people who responded, some were actively engaged in collective campaigning, while others had complained about landlords and agents, written to their MP or gone to court. Some hadn’t been involved in activism but were

interested in it.

The responses showed people wanted the ability to make their housing into a home, for however long they chose to stay there. Some were also interested in social justice.

The top demand was rent control, with capping, freezes and reductions listed. Almost as important was the need for stability: people wanted tighter limits on eviction, and rolling or open-ended tenancies that tenants could have for the longer term, or opt out of without penalty.

Many tenants wanted more choice over the décor of their home and the ability to personalise it more. They also wanted higher standards, especially in HMOs, and minimum standards for repairs to be completed. For some, this was linked to more regulation, licensing and penalties for bad landlords. About a third of respondents wanted to be allowed to keep pets.

One participant commented:

“I’m sick of living in places where every wall is painted cream and every room has whatever carpet was cheapest at the time the landlord furnished it, in properties that haven’t seen a lick of paint in over ten years and have the same kitchen and bathroom as they had when built 30 years ago.”

Some tenants wanted a radical overhaul of the whole housing system. If landlords exit the sector, they felt, that would be a good thing – especially if the housing could be repurposed to provide good quality, affordable homes.

Moving from a right to housing to a ‘right to a home’, the author finds, will include a crucial element of self-representation for tenants. Participants in the study strongly asserted their right and wish to be involved in policy making to bring about better futures in the sector.

Everyday activism: Private tenants demand right to home https://bit.ly/3OGHGd1

However, it wasn’t until recently that I was doing research to inform some of the most important decisions I needed to make in my own life. And I found myself going against research and guidelines, arguing why I should be treated differently, why the research didn’t apply to me and my circumstances. And, of course, it made me think about how many residents/tenants/ customers might feel that way about the research our strategies, policies and procedures are based on.

Research and evidence, of course, has done so much to advance and improve many aspects of life, so this isn’t a call to ignore it. However, I have learned a valuable lesson from my personal research experience: to consider the gaps in the evidence; to understand that some things can never be fully understood or tested because human beings and the world we live in is complex and evolving; that whilst we know more than we ever have about everything, we still know so little. And that it’s OK to consider all the evidence and then instead go with your instinct.

In our love of research, evidence, science and statistics, we’ve potentially made “instincts” a dirty word, trusting them a high-risk strategy. But, of course, we’re all operating on instincts and gut reactions, whether we acknowledge it or not.

I’m sure we’ve all downplayed some evidence that goes against our preferred decision, and gravitated towards research that supports our case, no matter how obscure, outdated or tenuous. And of course often the evidence can cause more confusion than it solves as findings are inconclusive, as more research is needed, or because no one solution works equally for every situation.

This is where I found myself when understanding the evidence around pregnancy, birth and nurturing a newborn, and how I navigated my way through this was to listen to my instincts and my values.

Now, of course I was making a decision affecting me and my family so I also have to deal with the consequences – the same cannot be said in my working life; if the wrong strategy or policy is

implemented, it doesn’t really affect my life.

So, just as I want the professionals supporting me to respect my choices and to listen to my instincts, we must recognise that those we housing professionals serve most likely want the same thing.

In my work to reduce rough sleeping, we’ve increasingly talked of “personalised housing offers” – not Housing First for everyone, not a hostel for everyone, not a room in the PRS for everyone.

People often jump to solutions rather than spending time fully understanding a problem – what might our strategies, policies and procedures look like if they focused on individual professionals listening to individual residents to create individual solutions, of course informed by evidence and research, but not beholden to it?

Although the housing is owned by local councils, housing companies are required to act in a ‘businesslike’ way, ensuring they don’t run up deficits. The ‘businesslike’ requirement

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. has led to incidents where tenants were ‘displaced’ on finding they couldn’t afford the renovations to their homes. Local housing companies cannot access government funding for renovation.

In addition, companies must consult tenants on any renovations involving quality upgrades that lead to rent increases. Although tenants in theory have some influence in the negotiations, the courts have almost always ruled in favour of the landlords where disputes arose.

In this case, tenants in a socially disadvantaged area were offered a range of options on new kitchens and bathrooms. The choices went from a ‘maintenance’ option of basic improvements with an average 1.7% rent increase, to a full replacement involving an average 49% rent increase (depending on the size of the flat).

Just over half of the tenants opted for the maintenance upgrade, with the lowest cost increase. However, for the scheme to be financially viable, the company had hoped only 20% would choose this option. The remaining higher increases would cover some of the cost of the maintenance refurbishment.

In the event, some tenants moved out so empty flats were refurbished to the highest standard with the new letting covering the cost. This meant that, overall, the company could say the return on investment – though very low – was enough.

The study has implications for the way improvement of Swedish municipal housing is tackled. Much of the stock is in need of upgrading but the resultant cost to tenants can be prohibitive. Tenants in the study very much appreciated being given choices and control over the works carried out to their homes. But with low incomes many could only afford the

basic option.

If too many tenants on other schemes were to choose a basic option, schemes could become unviable. One suggestion to deal with this difficulty is to offer all tenants in low-income areas such an option, but to offer those in betteroff areas only the more extensive upgrades. Thus costs would be balanced out across the whole stock.

Balancing social and economic sustainability in renovation with an affordable option for tenants? A pilot study from Sweden https://bit.ly/3K7Jbgu

This model of jointly providing public services across two or more local jurisdictions, whether through a ‘joint committee’ or ‘lead authority’ model, or by joint commissioning of a private contractor, was primarily intended as an efficiency measure through which cash-strapped councils might attain new economies of scale during the ‘age of austerity’. Limited evidence to date unfortunately suggests that councils’ large cost-saving aspirations haven’t tended to be matched by achievements, though more research is needed.

Nonetheless, when councils and management consultants were preparing their ambitious shared service business cases, typically in the early 2010s, improved service quality and better resilience in the face of unexpected adversity were also named as advantages of the shared services approach, alongside efficiency. Since efficiency and resilience are often regarded as mutually incompatible (eg, slack resources are inefficient but protective against shocks), and given that there are few if any empirical tests of the relationship between shared services and business continuity in existing literature, we set out to investigate.

Taking the first Covid-19 lockdown during the spring of 2020 as the sudden and severe ‘adversity’ against which local government resilience was

Average value of debt recovered from Housing Benefits claimants as percentage of total debt outstanding, comparing ‘stand alone’ and collaborative provision, Q4 2018–19 to Q1 2020–21.

tested, we compared levels of service disruption in collaborating and autonomous councils compared against pre-Covid performance, controlling statistically for potential alternative explanations.

Our analysis focuses on revenues and benefits departments in district councils, since a significant proportion of these (about 30% at the onset of Covid-19) are operated collaboratively. And we focus on the administration of Housing Benefit specifically, for which robust, high-frequency (monthly and quarterly) and multi-dimensional (speed, quality and cost) performance data is available.

Our study found that disruption of Housing Benefit application processing speeds during lockdown was unrelated to mode of service provision. For both shared and autonomous arrangements, performance worsened slightly during lockdown, before resuming its prepandemic trajectory over the summer of 2020.

However, collaborating councils did show less of a decline in service accuracy objectives during lockdown, measured as both the identification of new debt owing to benefit overpayments (not shown) and, particularly, the recovery of such debt from claimants (shown in the graph below). These mixed results – no effect on speed, partial protection for accuracy – proved robust to various different econometric specifications.

There are a variety of possible explanations for this pattern.

First is that the apparent resilience in debt identification and recovery is simply an artifact of the performance differential between shared and autonomous revenues and benefits departments pre-pandemic. As the graph above indicates, and contrary to business-case predictions, shared services (grey dashed line) appear to be consistently associated with less debt recovery prior to Covid, meaning that autonomous councils simply had ‘further to fall’ during the emergency, producing their appearance of reduced resilience.

Second, and more substantively, is that highperforming organisations can fall into ‘success traps’ or ‘competency traps.’ According to existing literature on organisational resilience, the low level of challenge facing high-performing organisations during ‘normal’ times can leave them complacent and ill-equipped to deal with unexpected adversity; whereas less-successful organisations are more familiar with confronting and managing adversity in their everyday operations, and thus better rehearsed for managing crises.

Third is that there genuinely is something about the shared services model – be it the increase in operating scale, the balancing of peaks and troughs in demand and resourcing across different partners, the greater experience of remote working prior to Covid, or the lockin effects that arise when service operations are specified in contracts or service-level agreements – that enables collaborative arrangements to better withstand the challenges of service delivery during lockdown.

Finally, it’s interesting to consider why the partial resilience revealed in our data is concentrated on debt identification and recovery, rather than speed – recognising that bureaucracies often face a trade-off between speed and accuracy of decisions.

Studies of goal conflict suggest that organisations can cope with such split objectives by prioritising those that are most valued by their largest or loudest constituency. Benefit claimants and their landlords favour speedy service, whereas central government (which funds Housing Benefit) advocates accuracy. But perhaps Whitehall overseers pursued this agenda less forcefully during the pandemic, when many distractions arose and when preservation of life and livelihoods was clearly better served by providing speedy financial support to vulnerable populations than by auditing prior applications.

Alternatively, goal conflict can also be addressed by sequencing – addressing one goal first, and then another. Whereas poor timeliness of benefit processing cannot be subsequently rectified (once a payment is late, it’s late), poor accuracy can be corrected subsequently through greater attention to and resourcing of debt collection later in the year or in future years.

The debt will still be owed, albeit the risk of debt write-off will be higher. Future research will be able to test this ‘catch-up’ hypothesis once data on debt identification and recovery during subsequent quarters of the pandemic is released.

Overall, then, in contrast to the questionable financial benefits of shared service adoption in the English context, this study has indicated that possible advantages may be gained in terms of service resilience. We’ve just secured a research grant to replicate and expand this research agenda into additional service areas and over a longer time frame.

This blog is based on research recently published in Public Management Review.

Dr Thomas Elston is Association Professor of Public Administration at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. His research focuses on the organisation of public services, and particularly on questions of performance, resilience, reform and democratic control. His work on shared services has been published in JPART, Public Administration, Public Management Review, and Public Money & Management. Dr Germà Bel is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Barcelona. His research deals with the reform of the public sector, with a special focus on privatization, regulation and competition. His research pays particular attention to local public services, transportation and infrastructure. His work on shared services has been published in JPART, Public Administration, Public Management Review, Local Government Studies and Urban Affairs Review.

But calculations of a building’s carbon footprint tend to look only at performance once the building is occupied. In this study the researchers attempted to include the whole life cycle of the building in their comparative assessment.

The researchers selected two types of housing in London: a mid-terrace two-storey house, and for contrast a bungalow (though they acknowledge the latter isn’t a common type in London). They compared the carbon footprint of replacement (with the same building geometry) or refurbishment to minimum current standards, based on a 60-year life of the buildings. Factored in were the carbon costs of building materials used in both options.

Although the assumptions and calculations used in the study are complex, it did produce some clear results within the parameters set. Refurbishment of the terraced house was found to involve a carbon footprint 10% lower than replacement, and 20% lower lifecycle costs. While replacement performed well on space heating emissions (20% lower than refurbishment) its overall performance including embodied carbon was worse.

With the bungalow, again refurbishment was found to have a lower carbon footprint though replacement building models did perform better on heating emissions. In both cases, the greatest performance difference was in the shorter term of up to 20 years.

But what if buildings were expected to last longer? The team modelled to find the point at which replacement would overtake refurbishment in terms of performance. They found the reversal happened after only 80 years for the terraced house. But for the bungalow it was 250 years.

Refurbish or replace? The life cycle carbon footprint and life cycle cost of refurbished and new residential archetype buildings in London https://bit.ly/3k5toEB

People in housing need 2021 This research by the National Housing Federation estimates the true scale of housing need, outlining: the number of people affected by housing problems; the issues they are facing (affordability, overcrowding or poor conditions); and the type of housing that would meet their needs.

The Northern housing monitor 2021 This report by the Northern Housing Consortium provides comprehensive data and analysis to better understand the North’s housing markets. Chapters include energy efficiency, housing supply, homelessness, affordability and housing quality.

State of Ageing 2022 This report from the Centre for Ageing Better provides a comprehensive review of national data on ageing across five chapters including health, homes, work and communities. It highlights that the number of older people renting rather than owning their homes has reached an all-time high.

The effectiveness of interventions to improve the welfare of those experiencing and at risk of homelessness: An updated evidence and gap map This report presents the fourth edition of the Centre for Homelessness Impact’s Effectiveness Map, which focuses on systematic reviews and impact evaluations of homelessness interventions. It includes 562 studies – the majority relating to health and accommodation outcomes. The key gap identified is evidence of the cost-effectiveness of interventions.

Piloting tissue viability wound care and nurse outreach with people experiencing homelessness This recorded webinar and research report shares the outcomes of two pilot projects to address significant unmet health needs in the homelessness population – specialist wound care and nurse-in-reach across hostel pathways.

Evaluation of the Institute of Global Homelessness ‘A Place to Call Home’ This international comparative study explores the approaches of the first 13 vanguard cities in their efforts to tackle street homelessness. The research found both successes and systemic failures and established a set of recommendations on what works and doesn’t work in addressing street homelessness.

Dying homeless project reveals 1,286 people experiencing homelessness died in 2021 Using data from Freedom of Information requests, the Museum of Homelessness calculated that a fatality occurred every seven hours on average in 2021, a rise of 80% in two years. Many deaths took place in unsafe, unregulated accommodation and cuts to housing, mental health and addiction services all contributed.

Evidence and society in the UK: Public perceptions and homelessness The research carried out by Ipsos UK found that homelessness is perceived as a serious problem by the public, who expect it to get worse and are supportive of a range of policies designed to address it. However, between 2020 and 2021 there was a trend towards weakening concern and sympathy towards those it affects.

Challenges and opportunities for the private rented sector This research commissioned by the National Residential Landlords Association calculates that almost 230,000 new private rented homes are needed a year to meet government housing targets. The research also found that the supply of private rented housing in England has fallen by almost 260,000 in the last five years and forecasts a loss of a further 540,000 properties over the next ten years.

Where next for the private rented sector This report considers the past, present and possible futures of the private rented sector.

Funding and development of modular housing This report details findings of a survey conducted by Trowers & Hamlins to gauge views and experience of volumetric and panelised modular construction systems. It considers motivations, funding and key challenges.

Self-build and custom housebuilding in the UK: An evidence review This report considers the current market share of self-build and custom housebuilding in the UK, including housing types and tenure, the demographic characteristics of those who selfbuild, the policy context and good practice from Europe.

Evaluating the person-led transitional and strength based response This report details a two-year evaluation of the service delivered by Mayday Trust in Northampton and its partner Changing Lives in Newcastle, which work with people transitioning out of homelessness. The service uses an assetbased approach and advantaged thinking and was developed following the Wisdom from the Street project in 2011.

Expanding accessing to naloxone This research from the Fulfilling Lives programme identifies the need to expand access to naloxone from substance use treatment providers to outreach and day services and supported accommodation services, as well as domestic violence services, sexual health services and food banks.

Housing associations and home adaptations: Finding ways to say yes This report from Foundations covers: how adaptations are funded and delivered; how funding arrangements might be improved and the delivery process made quicker and more effective; how the moving process might be improved when adaptations aren’t the right solution; and encouraging a longer term and more strategic view of home adaptations. Is the system doing enough for women experiencing a range of disadvantage? This report from Fulfilling Lives shares experiences and insights of women with lived experience and of practitioners working alongside them and identifies the challenges and barriers they face to accessing services. Recommendations include trauma, gender and culturally-informed service provision and housing pathways, such as the Housing First for Female Sex Workers pilot in Leeds.

System change for people experiencing multiple disadvantage This report from Fulfilling Lives synthesises two years of research and learning from services operating in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. It identifies five core issues in the system and makes recommendations to address them: improve access and transitions; meet people’s specific needs; deliver person-led services; invest in practitioners; and improve funding and policy.

Key learning from Fulfilling Lives in Stoke-onTrent This blog from Neil Morland and Co shares the findings of their evaluation of the Fulfilling Lives programme in Stoke-on-Trent, including the solutions developed, their effectiveness and the possible long-term systems change for the area.

In crisis mode This article summarises the limited research supporting the use of Crisis Houses, including savings to the NHS resulting from reduced hospital stays.

How can we tackle health inequalities this time This article summarises the past, present and future of health policy to tackle health inequalities.

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

Issues around standards and repairs in the sector have received more attention after falling into the national media’s spotlight. But, as Mark Lawrence reveals, the problems are nothing new. So, why have the problems been allowed to build up, and how does the sector fix things?

“I feel like I’ve been treated like an animal” – just one of the many quotes obtained by ITV News during its investigation into repairs and standards issues within the social housing sector.

When the pictures and videos started emerging, some in the sector reacted in shock; others minimised it as “isolated incidents” – but the reality is that issues with repairs is nothing new.

The Housing Ombudsman’s annual reports have shown long-term issues: in 2016/17, 34% of all complaints to the Ombudsman were repairs related, with the following years seeing numbers of 37%, 39%, 38% and, most recently, 35% – it’s consistently the most complained about issue.

And even the Regulator of Social Housing has known about the risks, including it in every sector risk profile since 2013.

And when you look back at some of the comments made in those sector risk profiles, they’re some of the same accusations levelled at the sector in recent years. 2013’s sector risk profile urged landlords to “balance their ambition for growth against the need to invest in existing stock” and called for boards to have up-to-date stock data.

Only a year later, the regulator went further: “Boards should ensure it [repairs and maintenance spend] doesn’t simply become the balancing figure in their business plans which will store up significant maintenance requirements that need to be met in the future.”

There are several mentions of repairs costs being a factor in viability regulation, but that threat doesn’t seem to have yielded compliance.

Interestingly, the 2015 sector risk profile shows a change in tone, pointing to the rent reduction and the need for housing organisations to reduce costs with another warning for boards to “balance the risks between short-term efficiency gains and the impact and cost of deferring current investment plans for existing stock”.

There’s shift from 2017 onwards, with the introduction of consumer regulation and the tragedy at Grenfell Tower leading to more emphasis on safety and housing conditions.

With all these warnings from the RSH and all the data coming from the Housing Ombudsman, why was nothing ever done to turn the tide on this issue? Was it swept under the carpet? Was it the elephant in the room? Or did organisations and authorities get used to having a certain percentage of homes not in good condition?

There have been issues relating to both Brexit and Covid-19, with them both raising prices of materials and causing a shortage of labour.

At a recent Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee meeting, the Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, described current issues as a “perfect storm” – delays, building safety costs, Covid-19 and the slow introduction of new powers all being used to excuse the poor performance.

But one area that cannot be used as an excuse for the sector is resource. As shown in the box (right), the quarterly surveys from the regulator show a solid spend on repairs and maintenance over the years.

And with repairs now in the spotlight and resource needing to be increased, Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of the RSH, had a stern message for those who may use finances as an excuse.

“The notion that the sector cannot deliver on building safety and stock improvement as well as delivering new supply appears to be an overly stark dilemma.

“There’s no shortage

2017/18 Q3 £423m 2018/19 Q1 £385m 2018/19 Q2 £420m 2018/19 Q3 £458m 2018/19 Q4 £508m 2019/20 Q1 £430m 2019/20 Q2 £458m 2019/20 Q3 £508m 2019/20 Q4 £592m 2020/21 Q1 £242m* 2020/21 Q2 £299m* 2020/21 Q3 £455m 2020/21 Q4 £580m 2021/22 Q1 £459m 2021/22 Q2 £479m 2021/22 Q3 £561m *Covid-19 lockdown

of finance, and most providers have the capacity to raise more debt. Too often we see so-called ‘innovative solutions’ trying to solve a problem that doesn’t currently exist.”

So, what can be done?

According to the Housing Ombudsman, which produced a Spotlight report on repairs, most cases come from new lettings, responsibility queries, time taken and recordkeeping.

Communication is another huge friction point and the report says it’s important that it’s addressed, and that all staff involved in the repairs process are properly trained and have the tools needed to provide a professional service.

The threat of more regulation also seems to be working, with many local authorities and housing associations referring themselves to the regulator for being in breach of the Home Standard. A sign of things to come, maybe, as organisations get their house in order.

The regulator also hasn’t been shy in telling providers what it, and residents, expect from repairs.

In a letter to registered providers, MacGregor said: “When we talk with tenants, they tell us that getting repairs services right and fixing problems that tenants identify is also of fundamental importance to them.

“It’s vitally important that your tenants know how to report repairs, have a range of ways to access your services, and that they have confidence that when they do so, you will take appropriate and effective action.

“Without that confidence, people are more likely to feel the need to circumvent existing systems, which can be inefficient for everyone involved. It is the job of landlords to get this right.”

And while investment has been steady on repairs, as highlighted earlier, many are calling for grant funding from government to come with the new Decent Homes Standard. Currently under review, Decent Homes looks at a range of issues, including decarbonisation.

And it’ll be this money that’s needed to fix the homes some social landlords say are too expensive to maintain and need to be demolished and rebuilt. Cases such as the Eastfields Estate, which was heavily featured in the ITV News investigation, are the product of this thinking from boards.

But will new money come with it? And what if it doesn’t? After the first phase of the review, the government concluded that the current standard was “suitable”. Wholesale changes some hoped for may not be

Decent Homes Standard (Proportion of homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard)

target timescale (Proportion of (non-emergency) responsive repairs completed within the provider’s target timescale during the reporting year. For context, providers must also report their target timescales for completing (nonemergency) responsive repairs used to generate this TSM)

(Proportion of respondents who have received a repair in the last 12 months who report that they are very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the repairs service)

complete most recent repair (Proportion of respondents who have received a repair in the last 12 months who report that they are very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the time taken to complete their most recent repair)

forthcoming.

And while it could be argued that repairs and maintenance wasn’t top of the agenda while there was a government drive towards new supply, that’s certainly changed now.

Elly Hoult, Group Director of Assets and Sustainability at Notting Hill Genesis, outlines where she sees the issues: “As a sector we are facing some of the biggest challenges of our time, be that the need to invest more in our existing homes, delivering value for money, or understanding and making longterm decisions to deliver the sustainability agenda.

“Underpinning this is the constraint of an immature and insufficient supply chain and a lack of skilled labour. As well as poor data and a lack of investment in technology.

“At Notting Hill Genesis, we’re investing heavily in improving our homes to a higher standard as well as investing in improving the data that underpins our decision-making to ensure we maximise our resources and deliver high-quality homes to our residents.”

But housing providers know that it’s not just a case of looking externally. There are plenty of issues to be tackled internally too.

We hear plenty about operatives not being well briefed and therefore turning up unprepared, call centre staff not being empowered enough to make decisions and find solutions, and easy repairs wasting operatives’ time.

Many housing providers are now starting to turn to technology to help with the first and last issue in that list, giving operatives a chance to video call the user so they can see the repair that’s needed before they go out. Additionally, photos and videos can now be sent to operatives via an app to ensure the correct parts are brought with them to a job.

One solution by GreenSquareAccord has seen the introduction of smart collection points. In partnership with Jewson Partnership Solutions, the housing association (which itself has found issues with repairs after a merger) is giving operatives round-the-clock access to materials or tools they’ve ordered, whenever and wherever they need them, in secure containers.

The hope is that this reduces the need to go back to the warehouse, checking stock in local shops or travelling to hardware stores, resulting in repairs being achieved quicker.

Some providers are looking at technology to help them proactively spot repairs before they become an issue for residents. For example, smart boilers sending the organisation a message before they need a service. For legacy boilers and other repairs, the solution many are adopting is full stock condition surveys, so operatives and business plans are better placed to respond to the stock needs of the future.

Kate Lindley, Service Lead – Digital and Data at Socitm Advisory, explains why technology can be so important: “We hold so much data as a sector yet make use of only a tiny proportion of it, usually to manage risk rather than to optimise service and we need to make better use of all of this to truly shift the dial on how we operate, including making use of newer technologies like IoT and predictive repair capabilities, for example.

“The better understanding we have of the data we hold, the more we can do with it and the bigger difference we can make.

“Embracing co-design and giving tenants a truly meaningful input in how services are delivered is also critical.

“Without that, all the technology in the world won’t make any difference. This means actively listening – really listening – and involving tenants, shifting the balance of power in design from us to a collaborative approach.

“This is both a cultural and technological challenge and one that needs to be met by greater flexibility from system providers too.”

The other aspect many in housing are looking at is the overall quality of the job being done. Some accusations with repairs have been levelled at contractors, seemingly unaccountable to the housing provider or local authority that’s appointed them.

But Paul Maghie, National New Business Director, United Living Property Services, says landlords and contractors must work better together.

“Contractors have an important role to play in advising on a strategic approach to maintenance, and to help find efficiencies and innovative solutions.

“Ideally this will be part of a long-term plan involving capitalised repairs, which can be expensed over the lifetime of an asset.

“With costs increasing for a variety of reasons, it is all the more important that landlords and contractors work together to maintain high standards whatever challenges we face.”

The other route is by going inhouse. Later in this edition, we’ve a comment piece from Mark Earle, Head of In-House Maintenance Service at bpha. He says that bringing repairs inhouse “means that when our customers report a repair, it will be undertaken by a bpha colleague, who lives by our values, and puts customer satisfaction at the heart of everything they do”.

The hope is that this improves satisfaction ratings.

We’ve seen many failings within social housing recently around repairs. But they’re not issues that cannot be fixed. And what’s even better is that we know how to fix them. We know what residents want and what the regulator wants to see.

If the sector can make technological advances, empower its frontline staff, have detailed knowledge of the condition of its homes and engage proactively with residents, there’s no reason that the number of repairs complaints cannot reduce and the number of organisations finding themselves in difficult situations cannot also reduce.

Let’s get it done.

1. Know your stock — make sure your stock condition survey is thorough and up to date and get assurance from independent and professionally-qualified experts. Use the information to invest in it wisely 2. Know your residents — make sure vulnerable people aren’t living in poor conditions 3. Use the data you have for business planning and to drive improvements 4. Work out a fully-costed programme for bringing homes up to scratch, stress test your business plan.

Take difficult decisions to sort problems out. Keep residents in the loop – secrecy isn’t your friend 5. You need experts: officers from Kensington and

Chelsea told the Grenfell Inquiry they didn’t have access to high-calibre experts on fire safety – don’t repeat this mistake 6. Clarify roles and responsibilities — who does what and where accountability lies 7. Get on top of your procurement and contract management — engage with contractors (shared values, hold to account) 8. Co-design your repairs service with tenants and involve contractors and other suppliers when collaborating 9. Get your own ‘Kwajo’ to act as a tenant champion for repair issues. Empower your scrutiny panel to become more proactive and visit residents’ homes 10. Make booking a repair as easy as possible, at a time that suits the resident and do your best to get it right first time 11. Make better use of new technology such as home sensors to switch from responsive to predictive repairs where possible and keep track of developments 12. Listen to the frontline: the call centre and operatives know where the problems lie – talk to them 13. Clarify expectations — set the standards and KPIs, understand the customer journey and set out what good looks like 14. Communication is key — be as honest and transparent as possible with residents. Tenants should expect a seamless service so effective communication between departments and access to the right information is essential 15. Join HQN’s Asset Management Network — take advantage of peer-to-peer support, expert guidance and all the latest resources

After two years of pandemic, rising living costs, looming targets for decarbonisation and many other pressing issues, how does a housing association keep all the plates spinning? Mark Lawrence speaks to Tony Stacey, Chief Executive at South Yorkshire Housing Association, about his organisation’s approach.

Based in the Sheffield city region with 6,000 homes, from the outside it would look as if South Yorkshire Housing Association is your typical mid-sized housing provider.

But the reality is far from it: it has a huge variety of impressive initiatives and a strong sense of purpose in all its endeavours.

Sitting down with the chief executive, the affable Tony Stacey, he instantly rejects a question on whether housing associations are doing too much, pointing at his own organisation as an example.

“We’re the largest provider of social prescribing services in the north of England. We’ve run a randomised control trial for the Department of Health called Working Win, we provide employment support for those with mental health issues, and we run a programme for older people called Age Better (many of whom aren’t SYHA tenants) to help with loneliness.

“I’m surrounded by brilliant people so why would I want to stop them from tackling loneliness, or tackling ill health, or anything else?”

And it’s that purpose, which has also been lauded by the Regulator of Social Housing, that drives everything Tony and SYHA do.

The past two years have been extremely challenging for many housing associations, but Tony believes the organisation’s cultural foundation set it up well to deal with the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

“We were definitely in unknown territory, but I think for us, because we’re so clear about our values and culture, there was a

stake in the ground that proved even more so the strength of the organisation and community. That culture of being there to support each other and not to play the hero.” Building on this, Tony has long complained about the use of the word ‘vulnerable’ within the sector and some organisations acting as saviours. He adds: “For many years now we’ve resisted indulging in that narrative. We don’t use the word vulnerable for our residents – everyone can be vulnerable at times in their lives. This sort of model of an organisation as a white knight to save the vulnerable tenant is very paternalistic. “During Covid, when everyone was scared and uncertain, our best way of “I’m surrounded by brilliant responding was people so why would I want by being SYHA. It to stop them from tackling brought out aspects of our community loneliness, or tackling ill and services that we health, or anything else?” didn’t know were there and that was very encouraging.” One of the initiatives SYHA embarked on was peer-to-peer surveying of residents. It allowed the organisation to learn about its residents through residents, creating “a different type of quality conversation”. From that, the organisation heard loud and clear that the overriding message was that people were feeling isolated and lonely. “In response, staff set up dances, quizzes, music, theatre, and tailored a lot of our services to solve this,” Tony summaries. And with a large number of supported housing properties, this was perhaps even more important to get right.

SYHA was one of the many housing associations that were created in the aftermath of Ken Loach’s 1966 film, Cathy Come Home. Years later, it’s now a founding member of the Homes for Cathy group – a coalition of housing associations committed to ending homelessness.

And with Crisis’ former CEO, Jon Sparkes, on its board, SYHA is even more determined in its mission.

Arguably, it’s the most positive landscape homelessness has had for a while. After the success of Everyone In – which showed that if the political will was there to end homelessness, it could be done – subsequent figures have shown that homelessness is falling.

Whether the rising cost of living, increasing rents and other cuts have an impact the other way is yet to be known. It’s something that Tony says he’s “cautious” about when asked if the numbers are positive.

He says: “What was very positive was Everyone In and that first weekend where local authorities, government, housing associations and voluntary organisations banded together to get decent accommodation.

“The reduction in homelessness as a result was extremely positive. I think that willingness to come up with solutions and learn from each other is really positive too.

“There are some negatives, though. A lot of social housing organisations have been applying affordability tests to new tenants and have decided that some low-income tenants don’t meet that threshold and therefore shouldn’t be housed.

“The affordability tests are excluding people and housing associations are, therefore, becoming part of the problem. If they can’t live in social housing, where can they live?

“People are still evicting people for self-interest reasons, such as rent arrears, and people are becoming homeless as a result.

“One of the calls from the Homes for Cathy group is not to evict people into homelessness. There’s still a lot to do in putting our house in order and making sure that we’re not part of the problem.”

The other big issue Tony sees hampering the progress to end homelessness is supported housing funding.

He says that the decision to “strip away funding over a number of years” has led to less associations being able to provide this vital accommodation, which can help many more people out of homelessness than Housing First.

If 2020 was the year the sector focused most on its pandemic response and homelessness, 2022 is turning into the year that asset management is the talk of the town.

From repairs issues and damp to decarbonisation and the retrofit challenge, there’s plenty to think about – and Tony believes the latter is the biggest challenge the sector faces.

But on the disrepair issues, which have been highlighted on social media by residents and given national airtime by ITV News, Tony says he’s “ashamed”.

He says: “Firstly, it drags down the reputation of all of us when these kinds of things happen.

“Secondly, it adds to the stigma that tenants are feeling. One of our most involved residents, Pam Hankinson, said that while it was a good thing that it shines a light on these issues, it stigmatises us even more.

“The picture that you’re painting for the public is that’s what social housing is like. That’s now the image that forms in minds when we’re looking at social housing.”

He says housing associations that have been featured need to

relook at the type of organisation they want to be.

“I think there are fundamental questions about how some organisations have clearly allowed their mission to drift. You look at who’s on their boards and they’re full of usually white male bankers.

“Of course, that board doesn’t see the social mission as the main reason they are there. That whole growth and merger mission has meant that the customer can get forgotten about.

“We must be honest and say that some housing associations have got too big. These super large and overspread associations should look to themselves and demerge.

“That’s not to say that all very large organisations provide a poor service, but I think it’s much more difficult if you’re too spread and lose touch with your communities.”

And for many of these homes that aren’t up to scratch from a condition point of view, it’d be easy to link to those that are performing poorly around energy efficiency.

Without government help, the targets for decarbonisation are looking impossible for many housing associations and local authorities. Tony brands meeting them the “challenge of our time”, and has already found that under current plans it’s “impossible” for SYHA to meet the targets without going bust.

“Collectively, we don’t know the answer. The only thing we can do is be clear about the problem. I think Michael Gove has been a real success as the housing secretary and I think one of the ways in which he’s been successful is that he listens.

“He’s an intelligent man that listen and gets that pressure on organisations. The myth that the bigger you are the more you can cope with these things was shown up by the G15’s fire safety bill. It’s no easier for them than it is for the smaller or medium organisations. It’s all relative.”

So, what has SYHA done to try and get on with the job? Firstly, it commissioned an asset management study and then sought to collaborate with other housing associations in the area to share the issue.

But the big drive from the organisation has been around co-design. Tony tells a story about SYHA going to people’s homes and offering free solar panels, with many residents telling them they aren’t getting near their roof. It forced the organisation to rethink. “It was a lesson for us in terms of ‘whose assets are they?’. They belong to the community; our tenants have much more of a stake in them than I do. Thinking through how we codesign solutions that work for tenants as well as working for us, is important. “The other thing is that you don’t want to start doing things that are counterproductive and then have to do them all over again. If you go for broke with hydrogen and then that doesn’t prove to be the right answer… where are you left?” Tony and his team at SYHA don’t pretend to have all the answers but what they do have is a clear sense of purpose and direction. What the organisation does is rooted in ensuring it benefits residents, the organisation itself, and has an impact on different housing and health systems. He’s proud to lead his “amazing colleagues” and it’s easy to see why: a communityfocused association with an open and inclusive culture. And, in the 50 years they’ve been an organisation, they’ve never once had a complaint upheld by the Housing Ombudsman. Expect to see many positive case studies coming out of South Yorkshire Housing Association in the years to come.

Back for its third year, our Housing’s Next Generation competition attracted entries from all over the sector, from housing associations and local authorities to supply chain partners and housing co-operatives.

The judges looked at several criteria when shortlisting, including showing leadership, having a commitment to diversity and inclusion, wanting to make the next step in their housing careers, and committing to improve social housing. Judges found it incredibly tough to shortlist down to 20.

Encouragingly, what all the entries had in common was their passion for making the sector a better place.

Every young person nominated should be extremely proud of what they’ve achieved to be recognised by their line managers and executive teams. As a congratulations, we’ve given them all access to our Next Generation Hub, an exclusive networking group for young people. They’ll also get access to topical briefings, discounted events and training, plus exclusive guest speakers.

The 20 on the following pages are our initial cohort for this year. They’ve now been set their first challenge in the form of a blog, answering one of several questions put to them by HQN CEO, Alistair McIntosh.

The judges will meet at the end of this month to pick ten of the candidates to go through to the semi-final.

The semi-final will be a presentation of five minutes centred around one idea they believe could change the sector for the better. It could be anything from a new initiative, a culture change or change in approach.

Tanisha Rigby, Housing Next Generation 2021 finalist

Olu Olanrewaju, Senior Consultant Altair

Sheron Carter, Interim Chief Executive, Eldon Housing Association

Tony Stacey, CEO, South Yorkshire Housing Association

Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO

Tenancy Involvement Officer Wokingham Borough Council

Customer Engagement Lead Orbit Group

Communities Project Manager Clarion

Asset Compliance Team Leader Longhurst Group

Project Surveyor NetZero Carbon Team Orbit Group

Environmental Sustainability Officer Stonewater

Service Manager: Sustainability and Climate Change Connect Housing

Employment Support Advisor Abri

Senior Customer Service Advisor Golding Homes

Resident Liaison Officer PA Housing

Diversity Business Partner PA Housing

Development Manager Stonewater

Service Development Manager Orbit Group

Early Tenancy Money Advisor Weaver Vale Housing Trust

Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Ottawa Community Housing Corporation

Project Coordinator South Yorkshire Housing Association

Customer Services Graduate Trainee Network Homes

Communications Officer Futures Housing Group

Customer Safety Coordinator Stockport Homes Group

Electrician PA Housing

By Craig Oosthuizen, Head of Client Operations, M3

In 2019, Ms P complained to her local council about “extreme mould” throughout her property. The council undertook temporary work to address water ingress from the roof, but the work was sub-standard and water damage continued. A number of other repair issues were also waiting to be resolved.

The tenant had been raising these issues since 2012, and the council had agreed in 2015 that the roof needed to be replaced. The Housing Ombudsman found severe maladministration in the council’s failure to deal with the roof which negatively affected the tenant’s health. This was one of eight severe maladministration findings published by the Ombudsman so far that year, with seven relating to repairs and maintenance.

maintenance. According to analysis, this amounted to £5.4bn in 2020/21. On average, over 10% of repairs are not fixed first time, with a repair operative having to go back out.

The issues experienced by Ms P aren’t just about getting it right first time. There were clearly issues with the council’s complaints process. However, getting repairs right first time will lead to happier tenants. With the regulator set to introduce tenant satisfaction measures, this should be a concern for social landlords.

It seems easier said than done, but there are a couple of steps landlords can take to get the repair done right first time. The starting point is to ensure you’re quantifying what works are being carried out. With over 14,000 unique items, the M3NHF Schedule of Rates contains an inclusive list of all the most commonly needed repairs. It can be used to order repairs, control costs and build a historical database so you can track the most common repairs. You can then plan and have the necessary parts and other resources to deal with repairs as they arise.

It’s also imperative that repair takers accurately diagnose repairs and understand what questions to ask. This helps identify the right type of operative and tools needed before someone undertakes the work. M3’s repairs diagnostics solution, M3Central, enables tenants to describe a repair clearly, so landlords don’t need to waste time and resources. According to William Wiggins from Newark and Sherwood District Council, it’s “a critical tool in efficiently diagnosing repairs, a must have for any modern Housing Repairs Organisation”.

Founded in 2004, M3 provides a unique combination of expertise in social housing, surveying and software.

 020 8274 4000  sales@m3h.co.uk  m3h.co.uk

At United Living Property Services, we believe in combining technical excellence with social value. We’re a trusted partner to social registered landlords and local authorities because they know we share their commitment to meeting their social, economic and environmental goals. Indeed, we make those goals our own. ESG concerns aren’t an optional add-on for United Living, but are woven into everything we do.

This means our expertise in repairs and maintenance is ultimately in the service of those who live in the buildings we look after. We want those residents to enjoy safe, clean and green living and leisure spaces. So, we’re dedicated to working behind the scenes to maintain their homes with a minimum of fuss and expense – but what does this mean in practice?

We respond to thousands of calls each year, including emergency repair requests and works order queries. It’s a huge responsibility and one we take seriously. But we don’t treat emergency repairs in

All buildings deteriorate over time, and unforeseen problems are inevitable. Prompt and high-quality repairs will be needed in the life of any building. But those buildings that are well looked after, with a long-term maintenance strategy in place, will require fewer emergency repairs and incur fewer unexpected costs. Equally, repairs that are carried out with a long-term strategy in mind – taking advantage of opportunities to combine works, for example – are far more effective than ‘sticking plaster’ solutions. We see such short-term solutions as a missed opportunity to improve the overall condition of a building for the long term.

Our approach is very different. A core area of our expertise lies in delivering planned and reactive maintenance together as part of a holistic approach. To this end, we use the latest technology and stateof-the-art engineering equipment and techniques. Our fully-integrated IT system allows us to deliver bespoke solutions, drawing on detailed records about our clients’ assets and their condition.

levels of service. From client liaison to technical delivery to working with partner contractors and other stakeholders – above all residents – our teams are fully committed to delivering results promptly and satisfactorily.

That’s why we’re the partner of choice for clients across the UK, including leading social housing providers Clarion Housing, Southern Housing Group and a2dominion, as well as local authorities such as Reading Council, Swansea Council and City of Westminster Council.

 info@unitedliving.co.uk  www.unitedliving.co.uk  United Living Group  @unitedlivinggrp  united_living_group