We were pleased to see that the ongoing cost of living and energy crisis was a big focus of the Queen’s Speech. It’s a really challenging time for lots of people, including our customers, and we welcome anything that helps provide the support that’s needed at this time. We look forward to seeing how the government’s energy strategy and its move to greater energy efficiency and independence can have a positive impact on people’s energy bills.
The introduction of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which promises to provide local leaders with the powers they need to revitalise communities, is another welcome priority. Housing providers will play a crucial part in the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, creating communities where people want to live. We believe that through strong local partnerships and a focus on delivering empowerment activities, we can build thriving and sustainable communities with more opportunity for all.
Closely linked to this is the bill addressing social housing reform, which will help social housing tenants hold landlords to account. This will have a positive impact on the quality of social housing and we welcome greater scrutiny of the service our sector provides its customers.
As things stand, our performance as a registered provider is going to be made much more visible to customers when the new Tenant Satisfaction Measures are introduced by the Regulator of Social Housing in 2023. But we want our performance to be more visible now.
Our new housing services strategy, Customers First, will therefore re-establish a powerful sense of local ownership and accountability for improving services to customers, homes and neighbourhoods. This is covered in more detail in our upcoming Customer Annual Report . At a glance, it will focus on five areas:
- Keeping our properties in good repair
- Maintaining building safety
- Effective complaints handling
- Respectful and helpful customer engagement
- Responsible neighbourhood management
Ultimately, we understand that the building blocks of customer satisfaction are a well-maintained home, backed up by a highly effective housing management and repairs service. If we combine this with clear communication and knowledgeable people on the ground who are empowered to make decisions in the best interests of our customers, then our customers will get the high-quality service they need and expect.
Finally, we’ll closely monitor plans to replace section 106 regulations with a build levy for local authorities. Our hope is that this money is used to build more social housing. If true reform of the planning system is achieved and social housebuilding is incentivised then we think this proposal could be a really positive change for our sector.