Members only

The Residents’ Network is pleased to announce its latest best practice group on the recent Spotlight report by the Housing Ombudsman: Attitudes, respect, and rights – fostering a ‘relationship of equals’ among residents and housing providers. This session is critical for understanding the implications of the report’s findings and recommendations on vulnerability and residents’ rights, highlighting the need for a human-centric approach to service delivery and a statutory definition of vulnerability.

This will be facilitated by the Housing Ombudsman Service, who bring extensive experience in investigating social housing challenges and advocating for residents’ rights and better service standards.

Agenda bullet points:

• Overview of the Spotlight report’s key findings
• Discussion on the definition of vulnerability and its implications for residents
• Practical recommendations for social housing providers
• Roundtable discussion: Sharing experiences and strategies for improving resident services.

The guest speaker will be Polly Cox, Sector Learning and Development Manager at The Housing Ombudsman Service, who will start a discussion on the report’s implications for social housing and invite all attendees to share their experiences and strategies for improvement.

Best practice groups are free to members and are a fantastic opportunity to hear about what’s happening in the sector and network with fellow housing professionals.

Why you should come to the best practice group:

• Great way to find out what others are doing
• Good, honest, and open discussions
• Sharing best practice and ideas with others in similar roles
• Acts as a sense-check about what people are doing or thinking of doing.

Damian Roche

Damian is HQN’s Operations Director, supporting our networks and consultancy services. He is an experienced senior leader with a proven track record of developing and delivering excellent operational and customer services, and consultancy and advisory support, within the social housing sector that is tailored to the needs of diverse communities. He has over 30 years’ experience in planning, developing and delivering stretching strategic objectives, to continually improve customer service and deliver excellence. With excellent communication, leadership and interpersonal skills, he has experience across multi-sited organisations with complex structures. In his most recent operational position, he was responsible for the delivery of services to 4,700 households, including customer engagement, repairs and maintenance, tenancy management and sustainability: and income management.

Lydia Dlaboha

Lydia joined HQN in 2007 and is currently the Deputy CEO. Her background is in housing management – both general needs and supported. She has worked extensively as a consultant on a wide variety of performance improvement projects. In her current role, Lydia has responsibility for overseeing all of HQN’s work and for quality assurance in particular. She spends the majority of her time talking to HQN members to make sure that our service meets their needs, and on consultancy-related work.

Cancellations must be made in writing, and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited. Delegates may be substituted at any time.