The Social Housing Round Table

Becky Tucker of House of Risk unpacks the Regulator of Social Housing’s 2026 Sector Risk Profile and what boards and risk teams should take from it. Much of this year’s profile will feel familiar, with the same five areas and many of the same themes. That makes it easy to read it, nod and tell a committee that little has changed. Becky’s approach, which she calls Mind the Gap, is to slow down on what has actually moved and ask what it means when you are back at your desk writing the paper for your audit and risk committee. In this episode: What has moved since last year, including a five-year interest cover forecast averaging 107%, a record £58.7 billion repairs and maintenance forecast and sales expected to provide 40% of the sector’s forecast surplus Why the five risk areas draw on the same money and capacity, and how a strategic risk register can show those trade-offs The gap between reporting compliance and evidencing it, and why a 99% compliance figure tells a board little until someone has tested where it came from Stress testing to the point of failure, and what a board’s second, third and fourth responses should be if stopping development is the first Treating data quality as a control beneath many other risks, keeping risk appetite for genuine choices and following the golden thread from strategy to board decision Audience questions on relaxed lender covenants, honesty with tenants about trade-offs and the reasons behind mergers About the guest: Becky Tucker founded House of Risk in 2022 after many years as a head and director of risk in the housing sector. She also sits on a housing board and its audit and assurance committee. That means she reads the profile from three angles: as someone who used to write the paper, as an adviser and as a committee member asking the questions. The Social Housing Round Table runs live on Zoom every Tuesday at 11am, and everyone is welcome to join the conversation. Big thank you to Devonshires for sponsoring the Policy and Governance stream and of course, to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

How well do we support unpaid carers in the workplace, and how many people are struggling with caring responsibilities that their employers know nothing about? For our 250th episode of The Social Housing Round Table, Matt Goodwin-Baird welcomed back Natalie Quilter, Head of Reward, Wellbeing and Benefits at Hyde Housing, to share her personal experience as an unpaid carer and the impact of speaking up. Natalie first joined the Round Table for episode 15, when she was beginning to raise awareness of the challenges facing working carers. Five years on, she returned to share how that first opportunity to speak publicly helped open doors, leading to work with Carers UK, the National Housing Federation and organisations across the housing sector. Having cared for her mum since the age of eight, Natalie understands the emotional and practical demands of balancing caring responsibilities with employment. She shared how establishing a Carers Network at Notting Hill Genesis grew from five people to more than 120 members, alongside the practical changes that have helped colleagues feel supported and able to progress in their careers. The discussion explored the scale of unpaid caring in the UK, why so many people don't recognise themselves as carers and what housing employers can do to make a difference. From carers' passports and flexible working to supportive line managers, employee networks and inclusive workplace policies, Natalie offered practical examples that organisations can learn from. Perhaps most importantly, Natalie shared that 24 carers across two housing organisations had remained in employment because of the networks and support introduced. An inspiring but practical conversation about unpaid carers, workplace wellbeing, employee inclusion and the difference one person can make by finding the confidence to speak up. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

When a resident doesn't answer the door, is it a refusal of access or is there something we're missing? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Matt Goodwin-Baird was joined by Melisa White, Founder of KindStay, to challenge how social housing providers approach access to residents' homes and whether legal enforcement is sometimes considered before the underlying problem has been properly understood. Melisa explored the difference between a resident deliberately refusing access and an appointment that fails because of poor communication, contractor issues, previous experiences or circumstances the landlord may not be aware of. She questioned whether recording all these situations as 'no access' gives providers the information they need to make better decisions. The conversation also examined the importance of trust, accountability and treating residents with the same consideration we would expect in our own homes. From missed contractor appointments and inflexible scheduling to communication preferences, neurodiversity and the need for more joined-up working, the discussion highlighted how everyday processes can influence whether residents feel able or willing to engage. Contributions from residents and housing professionals brought further perspectives, including the role of tenant groups in shaping access policies, contractor accountability, tailored appointments and the potential consequences of escalating to legal action. The session didn't dismiss the need for enforcement where safety obligations require it. Instead, it asked a more fundamental question: before taking legal action, can we confidently say we've understood why access hasn't been possible and explored every reasonable alternative? A practical and engaging conversation for anyone involved in housing management, repairs, asset management, compliance, resident engagement or customer experience. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

What does it really mean to be an ally, and are we prepared to speak up when it matters? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Elaine Middleton was joined by Neil Goodrich, Head of Customer Improvement at Sovereign Network Group (SNG), for an open and sometimes challenging conversation about allyship, inclusion and the responsibilities of social housing providers in an increasingly divided society. Neil explored the sector's history of supporting people who have faced exclusion, alongside the progress being made in workforce diversity and representation. But he also questioned whether housing organisations are doing enough to challenge discrimination, particularly when political and social attitudes threaten the communities they serve. The discussion covered the difference between genuine allyship and performative gestures, why remaining silent isn't always neutral and the importance of recognising our own privilege and assumptions. Neil also challenged organisations to look beyond diversity calendars and statements of support, asking whether inclusion is genuinely reflected in their leadership, policies and everyday decisions. The conversation was a reminder that allyship isn't about having all the answers or never getting things wrong. It's about being willing to listen, stay curious, challenge prejudice and take meaningful action. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

A housing association has seen the evidence. They have spoken to existing clients. They know the technology works. And then somebody says: obviously, we’d need to pilot it. That word — obviously — is where this week’s Social Housing Round Table begins. In this episode, Matt Goodwin Baird is joined by Benjamin Lambert, Chief Business Development Officer at Alertacall, for a conversation that has been twelve years in the making. Ben has spent his career working with housing providers on resident engagement, early intervention, and housing management. And the question he keeps returning to is this: when a service already has a substantial track record, what does an organisation still genuinely need to find out — and when does a pilot become a way of avoiding a decision rather than reaching one? The conversation is honest and wide-ranging. Ben shares what Alertacall has learned over two decades of working with pilots — including a pilot that ran for several years without ever moving to wider implementation, and an early deployment where staff reservations were wrongly assumed to be a misunderstanding rather than something worth addressing properly. He makes the case for being specific about what remains uncertain before a pilot begins, agreeing success criteria upfront, and understanding who will make the decision and when. Ben’s closing message was straightforward: more open conversations, earlier in the process, between suppliers and housing associations — and between both of them and the residents they serve — would solve a lot. Not just in this space. Big thank you to REACT by CMSG, our sponsor for the Data and Technology Stream and of course to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

Two thirds of social housing in England is owned or managed by just 40 of the largest landlords. So what does it actually mean to be a smaller registered provider in a sector shaped by that kind of concentration — and is being small necessarily a disadvantage? In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table, hosted by Elaine Middleton, Caroline Harraway, Head of Housing at Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, joins the conversation to share her experience of working across local authority, large housing association, and now smaller RP settings — and what she has learned from all three. Caroline is refreshingly honest about the realities of being small. The same regulatory requirements, the same rising expectations from residents, the same legislative pressures — but without the backroom support functions, the large specialist teams, or the financial scale that larger organisations rely on. She shares some of the genuinely unexpected layers of complexity that come with JRHT's history: a post office in the heart of the community, apple and pear trees in every garden planted by Joseph Rowntree himself in 1901, and box hedges that recently fell foul of a moth infestation — all of which carry legacy expectations that cannot simply be swept aside. But the conversation is equally clear about what smaller providers do well. The ability to adapt quickly, the closeness to residents, the real-time feedback that comes from being embedded in a community, and the sense of purpose that comes from genuinely knowing the people you serve. The discussion that followed brought in contributions from across the room — including a powerful intervention from Lizzie, a tenant and retired professional, who challenged the sector's tendency to treat tenants as social work clients rather than as skilled individuals with expertise to offer. Kevin, an executive director at a large housing association and chair of a small one, offered a rare perspective from both sides. And a wider conversation about mergers, technology, consortia, and what the future of smaller RPs looks like rounded out a session that had plenty for landlords of every size to reflect on. Big thank you to Devonshires, our sponsor for the Policy and Governance Stream and of course to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

What would change if keeping women and girls safe stopped being treated as their responsibility alone? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Matt Goodwin-Baird was joined by Amy Watson, Founder of Hassl, for a conversation about tackling the root causes of violence against women and girls and why everyone, particularly men, has a role to play. Amy shared the experiences that led her to create Hassl and its approach of inviting people into the conversation rather than relying on blame or shame. The discussion explored the often unseen mental load women carry simply trying to stay safe, from planning journeys and changing routes to thinking carefully about when and how they allow people into their homes. The conversation also turned to masculinity, the growing influence of the online manosphere on boys and young men, the importance of human connection and why education needs to be accessible enough to reach people who might not already be engaged with these issues. For social housing specifically, Amy challenged attendees to think beyond the obvious. Lighting, alleyways and estate design matter, but so do everyday interactions with residents, including how repairs and maintenance visits can feel to a woman who is home alone. Ultimately, the session asked us to rethink where responsibility for women's safety sits. Rather than continually teaching women how to avoid harm, what would it look like to build communities, workplaces and services where everyone takes some responsibility for creating a safer world? Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

AI is already finding its way into social housing, but how much can we trust what it tells us? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Matt Goodwin-Baird was joined by George McFerran, Director at Wyser, to explore the truth about bias and hallucination in AI and what these risks mean when the technology is used in a tenant-first environment. The discussion looked at how automatic speech recognition and large language models work, why AI can inherit human biases and produce inaccurate information, and the importance of getting the foundations right before using AI at scale. From regional accents and speech recognition to data protection, consent, governance and increasingly demanding regulatory requirements, the conversation explored both the opportunities and the risks. A recurring theme was that AI should enable people rather than replace them, combining technology's ability to process information at scale with the judgement, empathy and experience that only people can provide. A practical and thought-provoking conversation for anyone working with data, technology, customer services, governance or digital transformation in social housing. Big thank you to REACT by CMSG for sponsoring the Data and Technology Stream and to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

Content warning: this session discusses suicide and suicide prevention. Please take care of yourself when listening. In episode 241 of the Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Andrea Newton, Founder of Confident Conversations and a qualified suicide intervention tutor, for one of the most important conversations the platform has hosted. Matt opens the session with a tribute to Paul Bridge, a friend of the Round Table who ran a suicide prevention session on this platform a couple of years ago, and who has since died by suicide. Today's session is dedicated to him. Andrea brings decades of experience training people from across sectors — from Samaritans volunteers to the Ministry of Justice — to have the sensitive conversations that can save lives. Her central argument is simple but challenging: less than half of the people who die by suicide in the UK would be classed as mentally ill. The majority are people who are simply overwhelmed by life. And housing professionals — going into people's homes, dealing with their finances, their neighbours, their behaviour — are uniquely placed to notice when something has changed. The session covers the three core principles of suicide prevention: spotting the signs, opening the conversation, and signposting to help. It tackles the fear of saying the wrong thing and why compassion and curiosity matter more than a perfect script. It explores Andrea's challenge to the sector to shift from asking people to reach out, to actively reaching in. And it addresses the intersection of suicide and domestic abuse — a connection that is more common than many people realise. Contributions from around the room brought the conversation to life, including a powerful account from a housing professional who had helped a tenant disclose suicidal thoughts during what had initially presented as a rent arrears issue, and supported her through it. As Andrea put it: it is the silence that kills. Andrea runs a free webinar on 15th September on the connection between suicide and domestic abuse. Find out more and access her training at confidentconversations.co.uk. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

The Competency and Conduct Standard arrives in October 2026. Around 30,000 people will need a Level 4 or Level 5 qualification. Many organisations are still figuring out who is in scope. And if you came back in 12 months, according to this week's guest, not much will have changed. In episode 240 of the Social Housing Round Table, Matt Goodwin-Baird is joined by John Williams, Head of Sales for Housing and Property at Learning Curve Group, for a frank and wide-ranging conversation about what the standard really means for the future of housing professionals — and whether the sector is approaching it in the right way. John brings three and a half years of living and breathing the Competency and Conduct Standard from a training and qualification perspective, and he does not shy away from the more uncomfortable questions. He makes a pointed comparison with health and social care — a sector where the vast majority of staff hold a recognised qualification — and asks why housing, which deals with equally complex and consequential situations, has historically been the opposite. His view is direct: the standard should have started with frontline staff, the people who have the most contact with tenants, rather than senior management. And while he understands why the decision went the other way, he believes that gap will need to be closed. The conversation covers the difference between CIH standalone qualifications and apprenticeships, the skills gap being created by focusing only at senior levels, the question of what happens when qualifications become dated, and the cultural shift that needs to accompany any compliance-driven change. The open discussion that followed was honest and engaged, with contributions from practitioners at every level of the sector. John's prediction for 12 months' time: not much will have changed. His prediction for 24 months: that is where the real shift begins. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.