Chair’s introduction

As you can imagine, last year has been challenging for Thirteen, and although COVID-19 has had an impact, we’re very proud our operational performance has remained strong. The spread of coronavirus meant we had to adapt quickly, and thankfully our investment in ICT and agile ways of working meant we’ve continued to deliver services to our customers.

Last year we continued to deliver on our priorities and key promises by making service improvements and concentrating on key projects as part of our three business priorities, much of which is covered later in this report. We continue to be committed to our main purpose at Thirteen – being a great housing association – and we’re proud that once again, customers have told us that’s what we’re living up to, with 91% saying their rent provides value for money. We’re committed to making it easier for our customers to do business with us, evidenced by last year’s launch of our new digital platform, My Thirteen and our Stockton Touchpoint store. Over the next five years, our commitment to our social purpose means we’ll invest over £1bn to improve our services, tenants’ homes and their neighbourhoods, as well as delivering new affordable homes. We have a continuous programme for improving our stock, with most work carried out by our in-house team of 450 specialist colleagues, including plumbers, plasterers, electricians, joiners, gas fitters, decorators and bricklayers, completing 150,000 - 160,000 repairs each year. We’ve committed to reaching net-zero emissions from our homes by 2050. We’re targeting a lot of our future investment to deliver decarbonisation to net-zero and ensure we meet the future homes standard and building safety standards. Plus, we’ve been piloting a retrofit project, giving us essential insight into achieving our goal to make our homes more carbon neutral in the future.

We’ve continued with our robust approach to fire safety, and we’ve now added fire suppression systems to eight of our high-rise buildings, with a further three planned for completion in the next three years. The sprinkler systems add an extra layer of fire safety and enhance the existing fire safety measures already in place, giving customers peace of mind. We’ve continued to invest (and sometimes deinvest) in our existing homes and improve neighbourhoods. We’ve been expanding the supply of new homes through the North East, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. Our fantastic partnership with Homes England to build affordable homes is going from strength to strength. All this is delivered by our team of committed and talented colleagues, led by a dedicated team of Board Directors and Committee Members. They are all passionate about what they do and thrive on making a difference to the customers they serve, both internal and external. None of our achievements would be possible without them. I look ahead to what will once again be an uncertain and challenging year. Still, I am proud it’s alongside colleagues who have continuously shown their strength, capacity and ambition to deliver what our customers need during this difficult time and offer a warm welcome to our new customers in both Middlesbrough and Hull.

George Garlick Chair of Thirteen Housing Group Limited