How we deliver social value

For Thirteen, social value is about increasing the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the people we work for and communities we work in. Last year, we became an early adopter of the sustainability reporting standard for social housing. The first version of this ESG reporting approach was developed based on a review of existing ESG investor questionnaires; workshops with subject matter experts, from partner investors to housing associations; and wider consultation.

By adopting a sector-wide reporting standard that takes in the social, economic and environmental issues that matter most, we can evidence the impact of Thirteen’s efforts and those of our sector as a whole.

Thirteen’s first report was published in October 2021 and can be found at:

https://www.thirteengroup.co.uk/news/thirteenpublishes-its-first-environmental-social-andgovernance-report The report highlights that our homes provide a secure tenancy that make a difference to people’s lives and ability to find work, access local support networks and services, and build family lives. Over 98% of our homes are provided at social or affordable rents, helping provide long-term homes that are genuinely affordable to people on low incomes. Rents are between 29% and 48% less than those charged by the private rented sector. Thirteen supports many people who face a variety of challenges in their lives. We provide services for homeless people, ex-offenders, people with mental health issues, those recovering from substance misuse, families, women and young people. We also offer services to help people experiencing domestic abuse and to customers who need support to stay in their home. We recognise that explaining what we mean by ‘social value’ and demonstrating what we deliver is difficult. Work with colleagues and customers suggests that this is best done by outlining the difference we make. Measurements we have used are primarily tangible outcomes. For example: • Thirteen support services, for those living in accommodation for older people helped over 2,700 customers live independently • Our work with refugees on the UK resettlement programme directly helped 276 families to find accommodation and access education programmes or training and use essential services such as banking and GP services

• Our work on domestic abuse resulted in accommodation being provided to nearly 60 families and support provided for another 650 customers. Thirteen adopted the national themes, outcomes and measures (TOMs) social value measurement framework in our procurement processes. Social value accounts for 10% of the scoring for all tenders. This methodology has been successfully applied to a range of contracts, including the investment partnership framework for the enhanced capital delivery programme. Key to this is effective scoping to ensure we meet objectives within the community resilience strategy and priority four – reaching net zero – within the business strategy. This provided some unexpected but welcome outcomes. For instance, the external audit and tax partners will support the community resilience team to mentor young people as part of its social value commitment. To Thirteen, social value is more than just a series of outputs. We use the HACT (housing associations charitable trust) calculator, which allows us to translate some outputs into the equivalent proxy, monetary value - a universal language. Examples include: • Thirteen’s employability services supported over 1,500 people during 2021/22 with 507 finding employment and training. A total social value of £7.7m • Providing safe refuge for 60 families leading to £3.2m of social value

• We have supported 1,400 people with offender and wrap-around services. Plus, 34 have moved from homelessness to living in Thirteen properties – a social value of £0.4m.

Thirteen also recognises the wider impact we can have. With a turnover of £192.2m the gross value added (GVA) impact of our activities is £166m in the North East and £210m in the UK. By building 419 affordable homes we contributed £44m of GVA to the North East and £50m to the UK. Over £68m (65%) of our asset total spend through procurement is spent locally, accounting for 94% of total category spend. In 2022/23 we will continue to invest in social value, building our capability to measure it through the procurement framework and other activities.