Northern Housing Consortium 2024 Election of Directors

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The Northern Housing Consortium represents the views of housing organisations in the North of England, with our membership of local and combined authorities, ALMOs and housing associations representing over 9 out of every 10 social homes in the North.  Our vision is our collaborative Northern voice helps members create and regenerate sustainable homes and build resilient, thriving communities.

The overall management and strategic direction of the Northern Housing Consortium is entrusted to the Board of Directors who are subject to election each year from Full Member organisations.  Membership of the Board is balanced between the three Northern regions and consideration is made of sectoral representation across different organisation types as well as the need for balance across the range of equality categories – age, disability, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation. We would strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds to support our inclusion and diversity objectives.

Under the Consortium’s governance arrangements, all nominations for the position of Director will be reviewed by the Board (or their nominated representatives), against a Skills Set for Directors to ensure that they meet the Board’s requirement to fill any vacancies – the Skills Set and Board Director Role Profile are enclosed in the Board Director Nomination Pack.

In accordance with a procedure agreed by the Board, we are seeking nominations for up to four new Directors’ places to be filled for the three-year period 2024-2027.  The Directors who are also retiring this year but who wish to stand for re-election are as follows:

  1. Leann Hearne, Chief Executive, Livv Housing Group
  2. Charlotte Norman, Chief Executive, Mosscare St Vincents Housing Group
  3. Sharon Kemp, Chief Executive, Rotherham MBC (previously co-opted to fill a casual vacancy on 23rd November 2023).

NB The Board have confirmed their support for the re-election of the above candidate.

Should the number of successful nominations exceed the vacancies available, a ballot will be arranged and the results announced for formal approval by the Full Members at the Consortium’s Annual General Meeting on 21st November 2024

A nomination form is included in the Nomination Pack, and I invite you to consider and make nominations of candidates no later than 14th August 2024.  Please note that you can nominate more than one candidate but in doing so, you should note the conditions for nominating candidates included in the Nomination Pack.

An application form can be obtained from anastasia.armstrong@northern-consortium.org.uk This must be completed by the nominee and returned with the nomination form no later than 14th August 2024.

If you would like to discuss your nomination for the position of Director, please contact:-

 

Tracy Harrison

Chief Executive

T: 07809659492

E: tracy.harrison@northern-consortium.org.uk

NHC reaction to Government’s focus on housing

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The NHC has welcomed the new Government’s focus on housing in its first few days of office.

The Prime Minister Keir Starmer recognised the importance of affordable housing in his first speech; and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves has now promised to “get Britain building” with planning reform and new house building targets.

Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium said:

“We welcome the new Government’s focus on housing. The Prime Minister has recognised the importance of affordable housing in his first speech, and this morning, in her first speech, the Chancellor has also set out immediate action to build more homes.

“New housebuilding targets will give certainty and help local authorities to plan more effectively. The focus and reference to more social rent homes is especially welcome.

“Whilst we support more flexibility with greenbelt land, it is good to see the new Government confirm they also want to build more homes on brownfield land. Our research shows there is the potential to build up to 320,000 homes on brownfield land in the North.

“We also welcome the commitment to 300 new planning officers. Local authorities across the North have been hit disproportionately by cuts to planning departments, and capacity support is desperately needed.”

2024 General Election Briefing out now

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We’ve witnessed the first change of government for over a decade. The political landscape in the North – and the UK – looks different with 69 new MPs in the North.

The NHC General Election briefing gives a lowdown on who all the Northern MPs are – and flags those with interests relevant to our members.

It also looks at the predicted policies of the next government, and what the next steps will be for the NHC.

Read the briefing here.

Northern Housing Consortium Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:

“We’re ready and waiting to work in partnership to help the new Government deliver real change across the North. We have set out how we can work with Labour to build up to 320,000 new homes on brownfield land, and to create 77,000 good, green jobs by building on the work our members have already started to make Northern homes more energy efficient.

“We want to work with our members and the new Government to make sure everyone in the North has access to a decent home across the social and private rented sectors. To deliver this, the housing sector and local authorities need long-term certainty around policy and funding.

“If the government wants to make a real difference, there needs to be an understanding of how challenges play out differently across the country, especially with the diversity of markets and communities we have across the North. We’re pleased the Labour party has committed to deepen existing devolution agreements, including giving combined authorities new planning powers along with new freedoms and flexibilities to make better use of grant funding.”

Building the Future of the North sets out how the NHC and our members can work with the next government to transform communities in the North and enable thousands more northerners to live in good quality homes.

Building the Future of the North

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Building the Future of the North is our new offer to government to work together over the next ten years to transform communities and enable thousands more northerners to live in good quality homes. 

Patrick Murray, NHC Executive of Policy and Public Affairs explains more about the offer and his hopes for the future – both long and short term.

 

Why is the 2024 general election crucial for housing in the North?

We desperately need a long-term plan for housing. For decades, and under successive Governments, the country has failed to deal with the housing challenges we face, whether it’s a shortage of genuinely affordable good quality homes, or the significant number of older, colder homes in the North, or communities that have been overlooked by Governments wedded to a London-dominant economic model. Given that a good, stable, affordable home in a great community underpins good health, employment and educational opportunities, and ultimately a good life, we can’t afford to continue like this.

The Government might well change hands for what would be only the third time during my lifetime, and certainly the first time where housing is being featured in the campaign. The challenges are enormous, and there is a lot of work to do to get the next administration – whoever it is – to understand how those challenges play out in different parts of the country, especially the diversity of markets and communities we have across the North.

But there is a real opportunity here, and much to build on with the great work the sector already does and the progress made in devolution to Mayoral Combined Authorities over recent years. I’ve been in local and central Government and I know that you just can’t fix something this complex and interconnected on the ground from a distant, silo-ed Whitehall.

 

If you were in a lift with the next housing minister, how would you pitch NHC’s Building the Future of the North offer? 

We can help you deliver real change on your priorities across the North. There is so much potential to make a real difference to people’s lives and communities across the North. Whether that’s building up to 320,000 homes across brownfield land, or creating 77,000 great new green jobs across the North and helping meet Net Zero, or making sure everyone has a decent home across social and private rented sectors, we are your partners to deliver.

So, work with us. Provide us the long-term certainty, unleash the power of devolution to deliver across the diversity of markets in the North, and have a sensible conversation about what’s needed to tackle so many challenges within the resources available, and let’s build that real partnership. Do that and we’ll push everything we can to deliver your priorities.

 

What changes do you want to see over the next ten years?

Building the Future for the North sets out what we think that long-term plan for housing needs to look like in the North. There’s some tweaks we can make quickly to make existing funding go further, such as changing the rules on how we use affordable housing grant for regeneration schemes, or embedding and building on positive changes to how value for money is measured across Government funding programmes.

But the big stuff needs that long-term approach. A £4.2bn investment over ten years for Combined Authorities will unlock land for up to 320,000 homes on brownfield land. Long-term certainty over affordable housing grant and rents, and funding for Net Zero will unlock our ability to plan effectively, achieve efficiencies, line up supply chains, work with training providers to create new jobs, and ultimately deliver what’s needed.

We also desperately just need to rebuild capacity in local authorities. We heard from residents in our Pride in Place work how important basic services are in underpinning flourishing communities. We know that planning capacity has been disproportionately hit in the North. And we can’t tackle poor standards in the private rented sector without investing in enforcement. So, a sustainable funding settlement for local Government and some targeted pots will go a long way.

And devolution absolutely needs to be at the heart of this. There’s so much potential to achieve a real step change by joining things up across places. There is real ambition and momentum around Mayoral Combined Authorities that we can unleash by working in partnership.

 

And what are your hopes for housing in the north over the next 50 years?

That the housing crisis is a distant memory. That we’ve finally escaped  the already broken, over-centralised economic model that has held productivity back in this country for too long. That all places across the North have been able to unleash their full potential, with everyone getting a fair start and fair chance, and with real opportunities to build a good life in flourishing communities, no matter where you live.

Visiting members’ sites across West Yorkshire

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As part of our continuous work engaging with our members and highlighting the great work they are doing, we visited various sites across West Yorkshire.

We kicked off the visits with a trip to the Climate Innovation District (CID). Developed by Citu, the CID is an £800m project on former brownfield land forming party of Leeds’ major South Bank regeneration project. The District includes hundreds of highly energy efficient homes along with infrastructure such as a school, leisure and office facilities.

We then had the opportunity to visit 54North’s Railway Street site in central Leeds. The project was provided with funding through the Brownfield Housing Fund as well as funding from Homes England and Leeds City Council and will deliver 58 sustainable homes social homes.

Moving on, we hopped on the train to Bradford where we had a walking tour of the Bradford City Village project. The project will redevelop sites in the heart of Bradford city centre to deliver up to 1,000 new homes and create a healthy and sustainable community friendly city centre neighbourhood. Find out more about the project here.

Finally, we travelled across West Yorkshire to Kirklees Council’s Soothill Lane site. This 12 hectare greenfield site is owned by the Council and is being delivered by Keepmoat Homes with funding support from Homes England’s Local Authority Accelerated Construction Programme and the former Local Growth Fund. This project focuses on the use of modern methods of construction (MMC), with 300 units to be completed using MMC – which will help to increase the pace of delivery and the production of higher quality, energy efficient homes.

We are always on the look out for members’ sites to visit as part of our influencing work. Please get in touch if you’d like us to visit one of your sites. After the general election we’ll be looking to engage with a new government and illustrate the brilliant work our members are doing.

Welcome to our new executive director for operations and finance

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We’ve appointed a new Executive Director for Operations and Finance. Andrea Downey brings with her more than 25 years’ experience of working in both the public and private sector, with previous roles in Network Rail and the NHS, as well as in the publishing and media sectors.  

She will also play a key role in the leadership of our procurement arm, Consortium Procurement, which offers a trusted and compliant service to 400 members nationally.  

Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:  

“Andrea will play a central role in making sure we achieve the best possible value for members and make maximum use of our resources across the entire organisation. Andrea’s expertise will be a real added benefit to our members, as we work together to influence policy and change people’s lives for the better.”  

As well as her previous roles in the UK, Andrea spent five years working abroad, gaining an insight into different cultures and work practices, and has also acted as a consultant, advising SMEs on finance and change management.  

Andrea Downey, Executive Director for Operations and Finance said:  

“I was attracted to Northern Housing Consortium because of its very clear ethos of making a positive impact. The organisation’s focus on levelling up in the north through social housing improvements is close to my heart; I grew up in a council house and it was a positive experience, and I would like that for others too.” 

Tracy Harrison added:  

“As we start work on a new plan for the future of Northern Housing Consortium and Consortium Procurement we want to grow and support more members than ever before. We will soon welcome a new government and Andrea will help us put the foundations in place at a crucial time for housing in the North.  This includes building relationships with the financial directors of our members, to share experiences and find solutions.”  

National Resident Involvement Conference 2024

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Member engagement manager James Bryson reports from the NHC’s annual National Resident Involvement Conference in partnership with YD consultants 

 Now in its 15th year, this event brings together involved residents and engagement professionals from across the country. As always, there was a wide range of insight from sector leaders, best practice and opportunities for residents to get involved in the most important housing campaigns. 

The first of two days were hosted by Leann Hearn (CEO of Livv Housing and NHC board member) David O’Brien (social housing resident and Chair of Gateway Housing Group). Due to the pre-election period, a number of senior civil servants who had been expected to speak were unavailable.  

NHC Chair, Paul Fiddaman, stepped into the breech to deliver the opening keynote speech of the conference. Looking ahead to the General Election, Paul discussed what the sector wants from a new government, and most importantly, what we can expect. New house building targets, regeneration and rent settlements were all under the spotlight as the conference was teed up for the sessions that would follow. 

The first workshop of the conference was delivered by L&Q’s Fayann Simpson (Chair of Resident Services Board) and Neil Talbot (Director Research and Accountability). L&Q have been looking at how they can improve their relationships with residents and improve services and culture. Taking lessons from the voluntary sector and participatory democracy initiatives, they are building new structures, so the voice of customers has more ways of influencing organisational priorities. 

We also heard from Prima Group, Gateway Housing and MHS Group about some of the brilliant resident engagement work they have been proud to deliver over the last year. With insights on customer complaint handling, door knocking, and tenant satisfaction data delegates were able to take a number of ideas back to their own organisations. 

Day Two, hosted by Liz Cook (NHC Board Member) and Yaw Boateng (Chair, Croydon Residents Panel) was kicked off with Nic Bliss and Fiona Brown presenting on the Stop Social Housing Stigma (SSHS) campaign. In very exciting news SSHS has just launched as a membership organisation that anyone can join, resident, staff or contractor, and get involved in tackling the stigma people in social housing face. Cue a raft of messages in the chat as attendees became members on the spot! You can sign-up here.  

The final workshop of the conference was delivered by Frances Harkin (Head of Services at HACT) who has been working with Shelter to build an evidence base for a campaign to build more social homes. This session gave delegates a chance to feed their experiences of being a social housing resident into the wider research. This project has only just begun, and there are plenty more opportunities for residents to register their interest in taking part. Click here to find out more. 

It is more important than ever that residents have a say in how their landlord operates. As the sector moves to a more resident focused approach, conferences like Resident Involvement continue to be essential in equipping residents with the skills to shape their landlord’s service.    

You can watch the 2-day conference on-demand here.

Member visit to tower block retrofit project

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A group of Northern Housing Consortium members visited Heaton Park Court, a 12-storey tower block in Newcastle upon Tyne currently managed by Your Homes Newcastle, which is undergoing significant energy efficiency upgrades.

NHC members were also joined by RE:GEN, a North East-based contractor delivering the retrofit works, who have extensive experience in delivering similar schemes.

Members heard about the difficulties in renovating a 1960s tower block and the importance of effective engagement and communication with residents living in the building. The need to remain agile was highlighted, so if issues emerge, plans can be amended without negatively impacting the final delivery.

On this scheme it became apparent that the existing electricity supply would be insufficient to power the new electrical appliances and heating systems. This led to changes to plans and the installation of an expanded electricity supply in partnership with the Distribution Network Operator, Northern Powergrid, which has ensured the successful delivery of the project.

The tower block, originally built in the 1960s, includes 72 individual flats. Each flat is receiving a new KERS energy recovery air-source heat pump and new storage heating systems as part of a comprehensive renovation. The exterior of the block is receiving extensive insulation improvements and 312 new energy efficient windows which will reduce heat loss and improve thermal comfort.

Once the work is completed, the block will no longer use any gas, all the resident’s heating and living requirements will be powered by electricity. The heat demand for some refurbished flats will be as low as 15 kilowatt hours per metre square per year.  This compares well with the minimum level set out by government of 90 kilowatt hours for work completed under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

RE:GEN will provide 20 work experience placements and 100 apprenticeship weeks as part of the scheme, supporting the development of skilled labour needed for retrofit schemes in the North East.

The scheme costs £4.1 million and is being co-funded by Newcastle City Council and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

This work is part of Newcastle City Council’s wider goal to improve the energy efficiency of the city’s homes and deliver their Net Zero Newcastle 2030 Action Plan. It showcases how existing buildings can be modernised for improved energy performance, reducing bills for residents and carbon emissions.

You can read more about the scheme here.

Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code

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Social housing organisations are responsible for adhering to the statutory Complaint Handling Code of the Housing Ombudsman. To facilitate this, landlords are required to demonstrate their compliance through a dedicated electronic form annually. This method ensures consistent information collection, enabling the Ombudsman to effectively monitor adherence to the Code, maintain up-to-date records, and gather insights into complaint handling activities to further enhance fairness within the sector.

The submission process has been streamlined to improve efficiency. Landlords are no longer required to submit copies of key documents but are instead asked to provide links to relevant publications. This approach not only simplifies the submission but also aligns with the Regulator of Social Housing’s requirements for Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) outcomes. Specifically, landlords managing 1,000 homes or more must submit their forms by 30 June each year. Those with fewer than 1,000 properties should submit their self-assessments either at the time of publishing their TSMs or within 12 weeks following their year-end, whichever is sooner.

To ensure thorough preparation and compliance, landlords are encouraged to visit the Housing Ombudsman’s Guidance website or contact compliance@housing-ombudsman.org.uk.

Key links:

 Submission guidance webpage

Submission on-demand webinar

Meet our Matthew

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NHC Member Engagement Officer and GEM programme graduate Matthew Johnson shares his experience of joining the housing sector, and what the challenge and opportunities are.

What’s been your highlight?

The highlight from doing the GEM programme, was meeting others from across the sector. I interacted with a range of different colleagues in housing and a diverse range of staff from different organisations. From Policy Officers to Housing Officers, our fellow GEM students were the highlight for me. Talking to others who had just came into housing and their ideas for the sector through the activities we did was really insightful.

What’s the biggest challenge in housing?

For me, it’s capacity and resourcing. In the housing sector there is new regulation being introduced that housing providers are having to react to. Improvements in housing quality, creating better neighbourhoods and safer communities are some of the great areas of work housing associations are investing in to improve the lives of their tenants. However, this, along with the changes in regulation from the Regulator of Social Housing and the Housing Ombudsman means that housing providers are being asked to do more and more which there may not be resources to fully facilitate. This, along with recruitment difficulties (particularly in trades skills) and funding restrictions, means there may be difficulties around capacity and resourcing in future.

One thing I’ve learned:

My main takeaway from GEM is that the housing sector is changing and the relationship between tenant and landlord isn’t as straightforward anymore. In the past, it seems that the relationship was more transactional, there was a tenant who paid rent to a social landlord and in return, they had a house. Conversations in the sector are changing as to what exactly a “home” is. Ideas such as 20-minute neighbourhoods and the necessity of green spaces are changing what social landlords are being asked to do for their tenants. The idea of “placemaking” is a lot more prevalent and is leading the sector to look at what they can do for their more.

What I’m excited for:

I’m excited about the election. Maybe “excited” isn’t the right word, but I’m interested to see what the future of housing could potentially look like. I think regardless of who wins, there will be a slew of ideas coming forward about housing in the coming months, and social housing is going to be a large part of it. It’ll be interesting to see what is implemented post-election.