duration

Location
Virtual

Hate, misinformation and polarisation are affecting residents, staff and neighbourhoods. This practical event will help housing providers spot early warning signs, respond safely, support affected communities and embed community cohesion across everyday services.

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    This conversation is more urgent than ever.

    Recent disorder in Edinburgh, Belfast and Southampton, alongside antisemitic attacks and incidents in North London, shows how quickly grief, fear, misinformation and polarised narratives can escalate into local tension, hate and violence, turning national and international events into local safety issues. 

    For housing providers, this is not an abstract national debate. It is a live operational issue affecting residents, staff and services. When tension rises, residents may feel unsafe at home, staff may face abuse or intimidation, repairs teams may struggle to access properties, estate teams may face pressure in shared spaces, and ASB, complaints and customer contact teams may see issues escalate quickly. 

    The evidence reinforces the urgency.

    Home Office figures for the year ending March 2025 show that:

    • Police recorded 115,990 hate crimes in England and Wales, excluding the Metropolitan Police Service, a 2% increase on the previous year
    • Race hate crimes rose by 6%, religious hate crimes by 3% and religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims rose by 19%
    • The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2025, the second-highest annual total it has ever reported
    • In Northern Ireland, race hate incidents and crimes in 2024/25 reached their highest levels since records began.  

    This event will move beyond broad statements about cohesion and focus on what housing providers can do in practice to keep residents safe, support staff, respond confidently and strengthen trust before tensions escalate.

    Why attend?  

    Attend this event to: 

    • Understand why community cohesion is now a whole-organisation issue for housing providers, not just a neighbourhoods or resident engagement concern 
    • Explore how hate incidents, misinformation, polarisation and local tensions can affect residents, staff, service delivery and organisational risk 
    • Identify early warning signs that tensions may be escalating in a neighbourhood, scheme, block, estate or online space 
    • Consider the role of different teams, including housing management, ASB, repairs, estate services, customer contact, complaints, safeguarding, comms and leadership 
    • Hear practical examples of how councils and housing providers are working with communities, partners and frontline staff to prevent escalation and rebuild trust 
    • Learn how to respond safely and sensitively when residents or staff are affected by hate, fear or intimidation 
    • Take away practical prompts for reviewing your organisation’s approach to cohesion, hate incidents, staff safety, resident communication and partnership working. 

    Who should attend?

    This event is for anyone whose work affects the safety, trust and day-to-day experience of residents and communities, including: 

    • Housing officers and neighbourhood teams 
    • ASB and community safety practitioners 
    • Estate services teams 
    • Repairs and maintenance managers 
    • Customer contact and complaints teams 
    • Resident engagement and customer experience professionals 
    • Community investment and community development teams 
    • Tenancy sustainment, safeguarding and support teams 
    • EDI leads and HR professionals 
    • Communications and public affairs teams 
    • Housing managers, heads of service and operational leaders 
    • Local authority housing professionals 
    • Place-making, regeneration and strategic housing teams.
  • Our speakers

    Edith Stokes, Director, ECS Consulting
    Edith Stokes (she/her) is the founder of ECS Consulting Ltd, a consultancy dedicated to advancing inclusion and diversity across sectors. With extensive experience in the private, public, mental health and housing sectors, Edith is a recognised expert in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). She collaborates with esteemed organisations such as Oxford University and respected organisations such as Housing Diversity Network (HDN), delivering tailored training, strategies and assessments.

    Passionate about equity, Edith’s work focuses on creating inclusive spaces, particularly for marginalised and racialised communities, empowering organisations to foster meaningful change.

    Mushtaq Khan, Chief Executive, Housing Diversity Network
    Mushtaq Khan is Chief Executive of the Housing Diversity Network (HDN), working across the housing sector to help organisations become more inclusive and better reflect the communities they serve. He has led HDN since 2020 and brings extensive experience from housing, regeneration and local government, including roles with large metropolitan councils such as Oldham and Lambeth.

    Mushtaq is focused on tackling inequality, strengthening community cohesion and supporting organisations to turn EDI commitments into practical action. His work includes helping landlords think about how they understand their communities, support residents through tension or unrest, and ensure leadership, services and decision-making are more representative and inclusive.

    Ulfat Hussain, Chief Executive Officer, Arawak Walton Housing Association
    Ulfat Hussain is Chief Executive Officer at Arawak Walton Housing Association, the North West’s largest BME housing association, which supports BME communities across Greater Manchester. He brings significant senior leadership experience in social housing, including more than a decade as Deputy Chief Executive at Manningham Housing Association, where he played a key role in operational delivery and resident-centred service improvement.

    Ulfat is focused on strengthening community ties, supporting residents and ensuring services respond to the needs of diverse communities. He is also a Board Member at 54North Homes and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing, with a strong commitment to professionalism, inclusion and putting tenants at the heart of housing services.

    Jess Finnin, Community Cohesion Manager, London Borough of Havering
    Jess Finnin is a Community Cohesion Manager at the London Borough of Havering, working within Communications and Engagement. She leads programmes that build trust, strengthen relationships and support resident‑led change across diverse communities. Jess works closely with residents, faith groups, voluntary organisations and public sector partners to design inclusive approaches to engagement. Her work spans community cohesion, place‑based working and large‑scale community events, with a strong focus on shifting power to local people and supporting communities to shape decisions that affect their neighbourhoods.

    Fokrul Hoque, Head of Resident Engagement and Partnerships, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
    Fokrul Hoque is the Head of Resident Engagement and Partnerships at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, where he leads resident involvement, community engagement and strategic partnerships. His work focuses on ensuring the views and experiences of residents living in more than 21,500 council homes directly influence housing services, policies and decision-making.

    Throughout his career, Fokrul has championed innovative approaches to engaging communities, particularly those whose voices are often underrepresented. Among his achievements is the development of 38 community food gardens that are regularly used by over 4,000 residents as a shared space, creating opportunities for community participation, wellbeing and social connection. He also leads community cohesion programmes that bring residents together to celebrate and learn from each other’s faiths, cultures and traditions.

    With more than 30 years of experience in community cohesion, engagement and partnership working, Fokrul has led numerous nationally recognised, award-winning programmes. His work is shaped by both professional expertise and his lived experience of overcoming racism and inequality.

  • Programme

    9:30am Welcome and introductions

    Edith Stokes, Director, ECS Consulting

    9:40am From community cohesion to neighbourhood belonging: building stronger communities before tensions arise

    Mushtaq Khan, Chief Executive, Housing Diversity Network
    • Why neighbourhood belonging provides a valuable lens for housing providers, shifting the emphasis from reacting to community tensions towards creating the conditions in which cohesion can develop
    • The role of housing organisations as long-term anchor institutions in shaping places, relationships and trust, and the links between belonging, inclusion, representation and EDI
    • Why belonging is a strategic issue for boards and executives, and how organisations can recognise early signs of fragmentation, including declining participation, mistrust, exclusion, misinformation and growing ‘us and them’ narratives
    • Practical steps housing providers can take to strengthen belonging, build community resilience and develop stronger relationships before tensions arise.

    10:10am Beyond statements: leading visibly against racism

    Ulfat Hussain, Chief Executive Officer, Arawak Walton Housing Association
    • Why visible anti-racist leadership matters when racial hatred, misinformation and community tensions are affecting residents and housing staff
    • Moving beyond statements: how leaders can embed anti-racism in organisational values, decisions, communications and everyday actions
    • Giving staff and residents confidence that their organisation understands their concerns, will speak out and is firmly on their side.

    10:40am Break

    11:00am From resident voice to neighbourhood action: making community partnerships work

    Fokrul Hoque, Head of Resident Engagement and Partnerships, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
    • What meaningful resident partnership looks like beyond one-off consultation
    • How neighbourhood conversations and resident feedback can identify concerns before they escalate
    • Ways to turn community intelligence into visible action and support resident-led activity.

    11:30am Bonds through history: using stories and heritage to build belonging

    Jess Finnin, Community Cohesion Manager, London Borough of Havering
    • How personal stories and local heritage can open conversations about identity, belonging and difference
    • Practical methods for gathering stories ethically and connecting generations and communities
    • How short-term storytelling projects can build lasting relationships, resident-led activity and stronger local networks.

    12:00pm Q&A and discussion

    12:30pm Close

  • Cancellations and substitutions

    If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

    Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

    If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

    Cancellations must be made in writing and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited.

  • Price and booking

    Bookings are closed for this event.

    If you experience any issues when submitting your booking, please email [email protected] with the name and date of the session along with the delegate name(s), email address(es) and job title(s) and we'll process the booking for you.

Dates



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