John Howell MP

01 FEB 2012

Hosting Housing Association report launch

I hosted a reception in Parliament yesterday (31st January) to launch a report on the performance and efficiency of housing associations in England. The report, produced by the Chartered Institute of Housing, looks at how well-equipped the sector is to respond to change and how Housing Associations can deliver value for money. South Oxfordshire's leading player in this field, SOHA, was a major contributor to the report. In 2009, SOHA was the first housing association to achieve a 3 star equivalent rating for Value for Money and Resident Involvement.

The regulator for social housing will shortly be producing a new regulatory standards framework for this sector and one result will be that there will be less monitoring from the centre and more powers given to tenants and their representatives to hold landlords to account. This mean there will more emphasis on value for money and the challenge of doing more for less.

I welcome the initiative of the Chartered Institute of Housing and all three providers involved in carrying out this study. Affordable Housing is a key issue for this constituency and I was glad to see this constructive approach to ensuring they deliver value for money. I am pleased that the new regulatory standards framework will give more power to tenants.

I was particularly pleased to be able to welcome SOHA to Parliament including the chairman of its Board, Carole Burchett, who is also a tenant. I have been pleased that SOHA has invested so much time in establishing good relations with its tenants and I have also been pleased to have been asked to be involved on a number of occasions. What this report shows is that to get the best economies of scale you do not need to be a big, national housing association and that associations with the geographic concentratioin of SOHA can have an advantage in their closeness to their tenants."

In addition to changes in social housing regulation, the Government is committed to bringing about greater transparency within the Housing Association sector as a driver of efficiency and accountability.

Richard Peacock, SOHA's Chief Executive, commenting on the event said: "I was delighted that John hosted the launch of this important report. The government is right to challenge all housing providers to deliver value for money. Tenants expect high quality services and clear accountability. I'm pleased the report shows that Soha is delivering value for residents and that we are a good size to continue to remain an effective housing organisation based in the Oxfordshire community."

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Hosting Housing Association report launch

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