Good morning everyone! I’m absolutely delighted to be here in Leeds for the North’s first ever Housing Partnership Conference. It’s fantastic to see so many familiar faces in the room!

And I have to say, when we first started talking about housing partnerships a few years ago, I’m not sure any of us imagined quite how far they would come.

Today isn’t just another conference. It’s a chance to celebrate something the North should be genuinely proud of.

Because while there’s often a perception that innovation starts somewhere else and eventually makes its way north, on housing partnerships the opposite is true.

The North has led the way.

We’ve built something here that is unique. Something that colleagues across the country are increasingly looking at and asking, “How did you do that?”

And the answer is actually quite simple.

We got the right people around the table, focused on the things that matter to our communities, and kept turning up.

That probably sounds less exciting than a shiny new initiative or a grand policy announcement. But anyone who’s worked in housing knows that real change usually starts with relationships, trust and shared purpose.

And that’s exactly what housing partnerships have created.

I’ve been around long enough to know that collaboration is easy to talk about and much harder to do. It requires organisations to put collective outcomes ahead of individual interests, and people to build relationships over time. That’s why what you’ve achieved through housing partnerships is so impressive.

At the Northern Housing Consortium, we’re proud champions of devolution because decisions are almost always better when they’re made by people who know their places, understand their communities and have real skin in the game.

Housing partnerships are devolution in action.

They bring together housing associations, local authorities, mayoral strategic authorities, Homes England and other partners around a shared agenda. Not because anyone told them to, but because the challenges facing our communities are simply too big for any one organisation to solve alone.

And that’s why housing partnerships matter so much.

They aren’t just another meeting in the diary – and let’s be honest, nobody woke up this morning wishing they had more meetings.

They are a practical way of getting things done.

They help us move faster, align investment, solve problems collectively and make sure housing has a stronger voice in wider conversations about growth, health, skills, transport, net zero and regeneration.

And this is exactly the sort of collaboration Andy Burnham was talking about in his speech on Monday, setting out his vision for the country.

Because we know housing doesn’t sit neatly in a box.

A safe, warm, affordable home is the foundation for a good life. It affects health outcomes, educational attainment, employment opportunities and community pride. When we get housing right, we create the conditions for people and places to thrive.

And of course, housing is about much more than bricks and mortar.

It’s about people and helping them achieve their potential.

That’s why I’m particularly proud of our Unlocking Success Bursary scheme which provides support each year to social housing tenants across the North with training, qualifications, equipment and other practical help they need to achieve their goals.

For me, it’s a really visible example of what our sector can achieve when we work collectively and keep tenants at the centre of everything we do.

So, I have a small favour to ask.

Please take the Bursary back into your organisations and help us get it in front of your tenants. The more widely we share the Bursary, the more tenants we can reach and the more lives we can change.

Because sometimes a relatively small amount of support can make a life-changing difference.

And what excites me most is that we’re now seeing housing partnerships move beyond housing alone.

We’re seeing them influence regional priorities, support economic growth, help tackle health inequalities and play a role in addressing some of the biggest challenges facing our communities.

Alan Milburn’s recent report highlighted the urgent challenge of supporting more young people into employment and training. Housing partnerships can be part of that solution too. The structures are already there. The relationships are already there. The ambition is already there.

That’s the power of collaboration.

And collaboration is something the North does exceptionally well.

I’ve lost count of the number of conversations I’ve had with colleagues from outside the North asking whether the collaboration is really as strong as it appears.

My answer is always the same.

Yes, it is.

Is it perfect? Of course not. We’re northern, not magical.

But the trust that’s been built, the relationships that have developed and the willingness to work together for the greater good are genuinely impressive.

And that trust matters.

Because trust allows us to move faster. It helps us tackle difficult issues. It stops us reinventing the wheel. And it means when opportunities arise, we’re ready to seize them together.

I’ve seen first-hand how our northern Mayors value housing partnerships and increasingly see them as part of the infrastructure that helps them get things done.

Housing partnerships give Mayors a place where housing leaders can come together around shared priorities, challenge constructively and turn ambition into delivery.

That’s powerful.

And it’s one of the reasons other parts of the country are now looking closely at what we’ve built here in the North.

One of the strongest examples of what housing partnerships can achieve is the work we’ve done together through our Renew Inquiry.

Earlier this year we issued a Call for Evidence to help us understand the scale of the regeneration challenge facing communities across the North.

The response was extraordinary.

We received submissions from organisations responsible for around one million of the North’s 1.4 million social homes, alongside evidence from more than 160 regeneration schemes and sites.

That breadth of evidence allowed us to build a compelling case for action.

Last month we launched our Renew report with the Housing Minister in the House of Commons. The report shows how the North could unlock more than 500,000 good-quality homes with the right support from government.

Importantly, it also demonstrates that the housing crisis looks very different in different parts of the country. The challenges facing many northern communities are not the same as those facing London and the South East, and national policy needs to recognise that.

The strength of the evidence we presented came directly from the willingness of housing partnerships, members and partners across the North to contribute their knowledge, expertise and experience.

The Minister himself recognised the weight of that evidence. And the person who may be our next Prime Minister is also convinced of the power of regeneration – putting it as one of the top 3 priorities that a proposed No.10 North would address.

We will continue to work closely with government and with our members as the next phase of the Renew Inquiry develops, because regeneration remains one of the biggest opportunities — and one of the biggest challenges — facing the North.

One of our key recommendations is for government to provide long-term devolved regeneration funding for Mayoral Strategic Authorities.

Because, as I’ve already said, we believe decisions are best made by people who understand their places and have a genuine stake in their success.

When funding, leadership and local knowledge come together, communities benefit.

Housing partnerships are no longer an interesting experiment. They are becoming an essential part of how we tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our communities.

What you’ve built here matters.

It matters to residents.

It matters to places.

It matters to government.

And increasingly, it matters to the rest of the country, who are looking to the North to see how collaboration can be turned into action.

So today is an opportunity to celebrate what you’ve achieved, learn from one another, make new connections and continue building something that is making a real difference to people’s lives.

The North has led the way so far.

My challenge to all of us is simple.

Let’s keep leading.

Thank you.