The foundations for a career in housing

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As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations we’re speaking to staff past and present to find out what they think about working at the NHC. This month we spoke to Anna Seddon, who worked in our Policy & Public Affairs team until 2022. She is now Senior Public Affairs Officer at Citizens Advice.

 

When did you start at the NHC, what were your roles and what are you doing now?

I started as Policy and Public Affairs Assistant in 2019, became Policy and Public Affairs Officer in 2020 then Policy and Public Affairs Manager in 2022.

I’m now the Senior Public Affairs Officer in the national Citizens’ Advice team leading on net zero homes and working with the team across other areas such as cost of living and General Election planning

 

Could you reflect on your time at the NHC and what your favourite things about working here were?

My three years at the NHC working across research, political engagement, comms, and Executive support, were brilliant. Those years were a really exciting time to be working on housing policy (though of course it always is!). After the 2019 election, the levelling up agenda had presented regions in the North with a golden opportunity to haul housing up the political agenda and the NHC team grabbed it with both hands. And of course the team were all a complete joy to work with, and they all had a huge amount of expertise in their area.

 

What were some of the projects or campaigns you worked on while you were at the NHC?

The most exciting project I worked on was the growth of the net zero homes workstream. It was decided by the team early in my time at the NHC that this area should become a major part of the NHC’s policy and influencing work. There was so much enthusiasm to develop a major programme of work on home retrofit, from creating a detailed theory of change to turning that into action across the region. It was a real team effort to build a strong position on energy efficiency and identify the areas the NHC could make the most difference.

From the programme’s inception, I loved working on such an important and lively area of policy and illustrating to policymakers the harmful impact of poorly insulated homes, especially as energy bills were starting to rocket and evidence of people living in cold homes grew. It’s great to see the NHC still do brilliant work on this, and something I continue to work on in my current job!

 

How do you think working at the NHC helped you in your career?

Personal development was taken incredibly seriously at the NHC and I always felt supported to get involved in all sorts of different projects and encouraged to go for different opportunities. This culture meant I learned a huge amount from teams within the organisation, as well as from colleagues across the NHC’s membership. I also gained a formal CIH qualification during my time through the GEM programme which I hope to continue to build on in the future (it seemed to be a recurring joke at housing events that once you work in housing policy you never leave and that’s now easy to foresee!).

 

What would you say to someone who was considering working for the NHC?

I wouldn’t hesitate to encourage someone to apply for any role at the NHC – you’re guaranteed to be in a lovely team dedicated to delivering the very best for members and their communities. If you’re early in your career, I would double my encouragement!

 

In 2021, you wrote an article for the NHC website about the importance of putting housing at the heart of a place-based approach to post-lockdown neighbourhood renewal. Do you think the North has made progress on this?

I’d say the biggest shift since then is that housing issues now sit at the centre of political discussion, whereas as we know they haven’t always occupied space in those conversations. It seems the next General Election will take place within this context and that’s a massive win for the NHC and wider housing sector who have tenaciously made the case for housing and its wider role in our lives, communities, and the local and national economy. Whoever forms the next Government has a long list of urgent housing issues to grasp: increasing the supply of social homes, improving energy efficiency across tenures, bringing forward long-awaited renters’ reforms, to name only a few. It’s another huge opportunity for the North to keep shifting the dial on housing.

I’m sure we could write another long list of the opportunities around housing that have been missed by the Government since the pandemic, but this is a celebratory interview so I’ll leave that to the current NHC team for another time – happy 50th anniversary, NHC!

 

Serving the community since the 70s

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Ian Vickers, neighbourhood team leader at Believe Housing, has worked in housing since 1978. He joined Easington District Council as a painter and decorator, before becoming a neighbourhood officer a few years later.

He came to speak to NHC colleagues at our staff quarterly meeting as part of 50 Stories Live.

Tell us about when you joined the council?

I applied to be an apprentice painter and decorator and was interviewed by 70 people in the council chamber. A lot of councillors were there, and there was the personnel department too! It was intimidating for a young 16-year-old lad, I’d brought in schoolwork to show! But I managed to hold my nerve by focusing on the one person I knew in the audience.

It was so different back then. They asked me if I was Catholic.  If you were, a percentage of your wage was paid to the church. To do the job it was compulsory to be in the union. Women were asked if they had a boyfriend and if they planned to have children, this would definitely no longer be part of an interview.

What prompted you to move from being a painter and decorator to working in neighbourhood management?

It was a case of redundancy, and I was offered a position in the neighbourhood team. I did a week of shadowing and then I was straight out into the community!

What have been the biggest changes since you started?

The number of homes we manage has fluctuated with Right to Buy and pit closures changing the face of communities. I’ve overseen a lot of houses being pulled down, due to structural faults, or there simply not being the demand. When the mines closed a lot of younger people moved away from the pit villages to find work. This meant older people tended to stay put and didn’t want bungalows anymore.

Things have now gone full circle as with the bedroom tax there’s now more demand for smaller properties. We’re also redeveloping and building new homes in many of the areas we were demolishing homes in a few years ago.

Ian (second left) doing consultation in Murton on home improvements in the early 90s.

The introduction of IT has changed how we work and the pace. When I started, we relied on paper memos. Now everything has been digitalised and can be done so much quicker. We no longer have to wait for monthly committees to meet to decide on allocations.

What’s got better over time?

Housing providers listen to customers a lot more now, and often customers’ needs turn out to be different to what we expected.  Customer communication has improved, and we’ve got better at listening.  It’s great to see customers as part of the board, making a real difference.

Green Jobs, Sustainable Futures

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We know that recruitment and skill development is one of the biggest challenges our members face in delivering on net zero. There are not enough people with the skills needed to do the vital decarbonisation work necessary, like installing heat pumps, retrofit assessment and build energy efficient housing. Whilst the skills gap exists costs will remain high, and we will struggle to meet the ambition we all have for greener, safer, healthier homes.

But we also know that our members are doing amazing work in decarbonising their homes and creating many brilliant new jobs in the process. Jobs that might not have existed five or ten years ago!

We want to showcase the work members are doing in building the green economy and training the workers who can help us reach net zero.

Over the last two years, we have been showcasing your work in Real Homes, Real Change a collection of case studies highlighting the best retrofit projects across the North. Now we want to build a new collection of stories highlighting the brilliant new jobs you are creating!

Want to get involved?

Case study

Send us your green employment programme case study, including:

  • Background: What your net zero ambitions are, and what skills gap did you need to fill?
  • Challenges: What are the challenges you face in terms of green skills and recruitment?
  • Action: what have you done as an organisation to recruit and upskill for these positions?
  • Partnerships: Do you have an example of partnership working to help tackle the skills gap? E.g. with a contractor, school, college or university?
  • Impact: Who have you trained or recruited? What skills/qualifications do they have now? What work have they been able to do as a result?

Employee profiles

We also want to build a showcase of employee profiles demonstrating the range of opportunities to get involved in sustainability in the housing sector. We would love to hear from early career professionals or those who have recently moved into working in a sustainability-focused role.

  • Name
  • Job title
  • Background – what training, qualifications or education prepared you for this job?
  • Why did you want to work in sustainability?
  • What projects have you worked on so far?
  • What are your career goals?
  • Photo

Please aim to keep case studies between 500 and 750 words and employee profiles less than 500.

Any questions, please get in touch with James Bryson – James.Bryson@Northern.Consortrium.org.uk

Driving Digital Transformation in Housing: A New Era for Tenant Engagement

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In the fast-evolving landscape of housing in the UK, digital transformation is not just a buzzword but a strategic necessity. Housing associations, traditionally seen as conservative entities in adopting digital technologies, are now at the forefront of this revolution, providing more accessible, efficient, and customer-centric services. A prime example of this shift is the pioneering efforts of Johnnie Johnson Housing, a leading housing association in the North of England, which has embarked on a remarkable journey to redefine tenant experience through digital innovation.

Partnership for Innovation

At the beginning of the pandemic, Johnnie Johnson Housing recognised the urgent need to streamline processes and improve the way tenants managed their accounts online.  They partnered with Mediaworks, for their expertise and data-driven approach to design a new suite of tenant-facing digital platforms. This wasn’t just about technological progress but about putting tenants at the heart of the digital framework, enhancing online experiences, and accelerating a shift from manual to digital self-service.

A Comprehensive Digital Strategy

The strategy involved developing a mobile-first website, a user-friendly digital portal, and a convenient app, all designed to provide seamless experiences across multiple devices. Research and integration were the two key pillars of Mediaworks’ approach. By conducting focus-group research with residents and prospective tenants, the team gathered valuable insights that helped shape a customer-first digital estate. This involved building user-based personas to understand varied user needs and integrating with existing housing management systems through bespoke APIs, ensuring a frictionless cross-platform experience.

Impressive Outcomes

The impact of these digital platforms has been profound. Within just three months of its launch, Johnnie Johnson Housing saw an 82% increase in new housing applications and a surge in portal users, with a 732% increase in new users engaging with digital services for the first time. These figures not only underscore the success of the digital transformation project but also highlight the growing demand for digital self-service options among tenants.

Expanding the Digital Frontier

Home Group, another notable player in the housing sector, has also embraced digital transformation with Mediaworks’ assistance. By improving online search capabilities and transaction processes, Home Group has significantly reduced Recurring inquiry tasks, freeing up resource for those in greatest need. Their new digital experience, informed by customer focus groups and featuring personalised content, has led to a remarkable 486% increase in online interactions with the repairs section of their website.

Looking Ahead

These transformations by Johnnie Johnson Housing and Home Group are not isolated successes but part of a broader movement towards digitalisation in the housing sector. Mediaworks have partnered with several housing associations, through the Northern Housing Consortium, including Bernicia Homes, Ongo Homes and Salix Homes, helping them transform their digital experiences.

By putting customer experience first and leveraging digital technologies, housing associations can enhance service delivery, improve operational efficiencies, and meet the evolving needs of their tenants.

The journey of digital transformation in the housing sector is a testament to the power of innovation and collaboration. As housing associations continue to navigate the digital landscape, their efforts will undoubtedly shape a more connected, efficient, and tenant-centric future.

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This article provides a concise overview of the digital transformation initiatives undertaken by Johnnie Johnson Housing and Home Group, illustrating the significant benefits of embracing digital technologies in the housing sector.

For more information visit https://www.mediaworks.co.uk

NHC consultations – Get involved

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Awaab’s Law: Consultation on timescales for repairs in the social rented sector – having consulted with members, we are currently completing our response ahead of the date for submission of 5 March. If your organisation is planning your own submission, we would be happy to receive any draft or final copy. Please send to Karen.brown@northern-consortium.org.uk

 

Consultation on reforms to social housing allocations – we are currently taking views from members including those who attended our consultation on 27 February. If you have any comments on the consultation, please let us know. If your organisation is planning your own submission, we would be happy to receive any draft or final copy. The closing date for submissions to DLUHC is 26 March. Please send to Tom.kennedy@northern-consortium.org.uk

 

Competence and Conduct Standard for social housing – we are currently taking views from members. If you have any comments on the consultation, please let us know. If your organisation is planning your own submission, we would be happy to receive any draft or final copy. The closing date for submissions to DLUHC is 2 April. Please send to  karen.brown@northern-consortium.org.uk and tom.kennedy@northern-consortium.org.uk

Competition and Markets authority voices significant concerns with housebuilding market

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The Competition and Markets Authority has shared its “fundamental concerns” with British housebuilding in a new report. The report, culminating a year-long study of the nation’s housebuilding market, outlines how both the unpredictability and complexity of the planning system, and a reliance on speculative private development, are significantly contributing to the under-delivery of new homes.

In addition, the study found that home owners on new housing estates are paying unfair estate management fees to pay for the maintenance of amenities such as roads and has called for new consumer protections to be introduced.

The report rightly concludes that local planning departments are in many instances under-resourced, which can lead to delays in processing applications. Between 2010 and 2018, spending in local authority planning departments in the North fell by 65%, compared to a 50% fall in the rest of England. To remedy this, the Competition and Markets Authority proposes that the government could make planning fees cost-reflective and ring-fence these funds to increase planning capacity.

Along with this capacity issue, the report concludes that the planning system is currently undermining the delivery of new homes in several other ways. Firstly, due to the requirement to obtain planning permission on a site-by-site basis, housing developers are not provided with certainty or predictability as to what proposals or schemes will receive permission prior to application. Secondly, the study found that the incredibly complex and resource intensive nature of planning applications is also undermining delivery. Thirdly, the Competition and Markets Authority found insufficient clarity, consistency and strength of local housing targets, objectives and incentives to deliver on these targets.

Another important conclusion from the study is that speculative private development – where developers purchase land, obtain planning permission and build new homes without knowing who will purchase them – cannot meet housing need alone. While private development will always play an important role in delivering new homes, increasing delivery outside of this model would further help to increase the number of new homes built each year. To do so, the country needs to increase the amount of new affordable housing, as well as the number of self-build and build-to-rent homes. This echoes some of the conclusions made in the 2018 Independent Review of Build-Out Rates that called for greater diversity across the housebuilding sector to improve the rate at which new homes that have received planning permission are built.

Finally, the Competition and Markets Authority also announced that they would be opening a new investigation into possible anti-competitive practices by eight major housebuilders. The investigation will focus on whether the developers in question shared information that may undermine competition in the sector. The Competition and Markets Authority was clear to point out that they are not making any judgements yet as to whether competition law has been breached.

A summary of the Competition and Markets Authority’s report and associated policy proposals can be accessed here.

Supporting victim survivors of gambling-related domestic abuse – a focus on women in social housing

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Social enterprise, Addressing Domestic Abuse (ADA), are seeking information from housing providers in England on any approaches they currently use in relation to gambling harms and domestic abuse and would be grateful if you could take a minute or two to complete an anonymous survey which will greatly assist their research.          

As well as using findings from the survey, they will be undertaking in depth interviews with victim survivors (nationally) and carrying out focus groups and interviews with a range of key stakeholders with a view to producing a free toolkit for social housing (and other sectors) as well as a research report detailing the research findings and policy proposals.  They will be holding interviews with stakeholders and focus groups in the following areas:

  1. Durham/Newcastle
  2. Liverpool
  3. London
  4. Birmingham

 The research project runs into 2025, awarded by the Gambling Commission and using regulatory settlement funds. The research partners are:

  • Durham University
  • Sheffield Hallam University
  • Cranfield University
  • Betknowmore UK
  • Addressing Domestic Abuse

 More information can be found here. Additionally, the team would like to speak to women living in social housing who have experienced domestic abuse and harmful gambling, with more information here.

Delivering affordable Passivhaus homes in the heart of Salford

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Member Engagement Manager James Bryson reports from our recent member visit to Muse and Salix Homes’ Passivhaus development in Salford.

The Northern Housing Consortium had the pleasure of bringing members together to visit Muse and Salix Homes’ brand-new development, Greenhaus, in the heart of Salford.  If you’re familiar with Salford,  you’ll know that a brand-new block of apartments popping up is not that unusual. So, what makes Greenhaus so interesting?

Greenhaus is a Passivhaus building, meaning it has been built to the highest standard of construction and energy efficiency. Whilst awareness of Passivhaus is increasing, there have been very few projects delivered at this scale in the UK. Greenhaus is one of the first multi-storey certified Passivhaus buildings and the largest certified development in the North West.

It is a testament to both Muse and Salix’s forward thinking and commitment to sustainability that this block will be delivered. As we sat in Muse’s offices listening to Simon Hourihan (Project Director, Muse) and Phil Summers (Development Director, Salix) explain the ins and outs of the development, it became clear that they do not just see Passivhaus as just a nice-to-have, or something that is worth doing every now and again.

Why shouldn’t the housing sector be building to the highest possible standards for every single new home? As Salix’s CEO Sue Sutton has explained, Passivhaus is simply “good business” futureproofing their assets from future retrofit, providing good quality housing to those most in need, lifting people out of fuel poverty and meeting their carbon reduction targets.

It was fantastic to bring so many Northern housing providers together to learn about Passivhaus, and heartening to hear others are considering their own similar developments. Hopefully we will see many more homes like Greenhaus springing up across the North in the years to come.

Find out more by reading the Real Home, Real Change case study here.