This year’s National Housing Federation’s annual conference in Birmingham will be my 10th as chief executive. A huge amount has happened in housing since last year’s event.
Housing associations have campaigned, and succeeded, in putting housing at the heart of a general election campaign for the first time. We have experienced a tightly fought campaign that, against all predictions, the Conservatives won with an outright majority.
In the aftermath of that dramatic result, we have seen the appointment of a new secretary of state for communities and local government, Greg Clark, and an array of new policies, including the extension of right to buy to housing associations, a 1% cut to social rents and changes to planning and public land.
All of this adds up to a dramatically different environment for housing associations – we have to plan for a radically different future from that which we might have expected even six months ago. It is my duty, and the National Housing Federation’s mission, to help housing associations thrive in this new environment.
Our work has two main strands: the first is political representation. Since the Conservative election victory in May we have been speaking to Clark, and to the housing minister Brandon Lewis, to build a productive and sustainable partnership with government. Across the sector our campaign to connect with politicians and government has seen many of our members, from Cornwall to Cumbria and Brighton to Berwick-upon-Tweed, sell their case and make sure the people with power know about the valuable work they do.
Second, we know housing associations face financial and organisational challenges and we will seek to unlock the ingenuity of the sector. We want to offer a new programme of workshops to enable housing associations to respond to changes in a sensible and constructive way, and develop robust and resilient business plans that recognise the changing world in which we are working.
This is a key time for the sector. Our highest priority is to ensure that housing associations are prepared for the future. By engaging with policymakers, politicians and experts we will be able to make the connections we need to sell our story to the people who matter. And by working together to improve our resilience, knowledge and skills, we can ensure the housing sector is fully prepared for the challenges of the coming years.
David Orr is the chief executive of the National Housing Federation
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