Members only

With the new consumer standards and inspections now in full swing, this year’s HQN Annual Conference will explore the new landscape. We’ll provide the right mix of practical advice on the issues you are grappling with right now like preparing for professionalism, tackling the quality of your homes and being ready for inspection as well as bringing you thought provoking keynote speakers such as Darren McGarvey and Kwajo Tweneboa plus the space to reflect on what might be coming down the track with a new government.

Held over two days. The first day is a virtual event and the second an opportunity to get together with colleagues from across the country to reflect, network and discuss the most significant issues affecting social housing today at our central London venue, The View.

Key sessions include:

• Darren McGarvey – His new BBC documentary Darren McGarvey: The State We’re In takes an unflinching look at the UK’s public services, with privileged access to hospitals, schools and prisons.  Darren will share his thoughts from that work on what our public services need right now.
• Kwajo Tweneboa, Britain’s Housing Emergency and How We Rebuild
• Kate Dodsworth with the latest on consumer regulation and inspection
• A panel discussion on a future royal commission “to reimagine the future of social housing” with Richard Blakeway, Lord Best and Alistair McIntosh
• Housing’s Next Generation competition and winner.

Practical sessions on:

• Professionalism in housing
• Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation
• Housing management
• Lessons learned from mock and pilot inspections
• Resident Engagement.

Confirmed speakers:

Darren McGarvey is a political activist, rapper and broadcaster whose book Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s Underclass won the prestigious Orwell prize in 2018. His new BBC documentary Darren McGarvey: The State We’re In takes an unflinching look at the UK’s public services, with privileged access to hospitals, schools and prisons.

Kwajo Tweneboa is an incredible force for change, fighting for improvements in social housing. He creates tangible change for tenants by working with the government, charities and other organisations. Now a writer and broadcaster, his recent Channel 4 documentary Untold: Help! exposed the shocking conditions in Britain’s rental properties. His first book Our Country in Crisis: Britain’s Housing Emergency and How We Rebuild is published in July.

Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, overwhelmed by complaints about the quality of some social housing, recently called for an independent royal commission “to reimagine the future of social housing” and re-establish the link between housing and health.

Lord Richard Best, previously chief executive of the National Housing Federation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the secretary to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Inquiry into British Housing (1984-1991) which marked the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Commission into the Housing of the Working Classes 1885.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH with the latest on consumer regulation and inspection

More speakers to be announced soon…

Essential for:

• Housing association chief executives
• LA senior executives
• ALMO chief executives
• Executive directors
• Senior housing leaders
• Housing Strategy leaders
• Policy managers and officers
• Board members
• Councillors
• Senior council staff.

Full details to be announced. For more information contact [email protected]

Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN

Alistair McIntosh is one of the social housing sector’s most respected and best known personalities.

As founder and Chief Executive of HQN, he is regarded as one of the foremost advisers on governance and regulation, specialising in VfM and stress testing. His hands-on approach sees Alistair leading on all HQN’s in-depth assessment mock exercises and support work, designing and running the popular Iron Grip sessions and chairing/speaking at conferences and events.

Career highlights include setting up and running the National Federation of ALMOs, leading the popular consultation on the regulatory standards for housing, and developing an approach to VfM that won praise from the housing minister.

A regular contributor to the housing press, Alistair’s columns are known for their humorous, pointed and painfully accurate assessment of the state of social housing.

Kwajo Tweneboa, Campaigner

Kwajo is a Social Housing Campaigner from south London, fighting for better living conditions for tenants across the United Kingdom. He started this work over a year ago now after living in poor social housing for years with my family and being ignored. The Campaign has been successful so far, being mentioned in Parliament to being on National news and now he helps other tenants suffering get answers from their providers.

Lord Richard Best, Independent, House of Lords

Richard Best is an Independent in the House of Lords. He chairs the Oxford University Commission on Creating Healthy Cities; he is Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People; he is a past Chair of Hannover Housing Association, The Property Ombudsman, The Affordable Housing Commission. He is a past President of the Local Government Association and current President of the Sustainable Energy Association. He was Chief Executive, Joseph Rowntree Foundation for 18 years.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement, RSH

Kate started her career in homelessness in 1992, working firstly with rough sleepers in Birmingham through to managing a large hostel for single homeless in Brighton for five years. She gained a Masters degree in Housing in 2003 and moved to the National Housing Federation where she performed a variety of roles; latterly Assistant Director. Kate moved to AmicusHorizon in 2013 (Optivo from 2017) becoming Executive Director of People and Communications. She was Chief Executive of Gateway Housing for three years before taking up her current role with the Regulator of Social Housing. Kate was an external examiner for Westminster University until 2020 and a founder member of Leadership2025.  

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, Housing Ombudsman Service

Richard was appointed as Housing Ombudsman from 1 September 2019. He has extensive experience in the housing sector, with previous roles including Deputy Mayor of London for Housing, chair of the Homes for London board and non-executive director of Homes England. During his eight years at the Greater London Authority, Richard was responsible for a major investment programme, overseeing the delivery of 100,000 affordable homes and regeneration plans for 670 hectares of land owned by the authority. Richard led the creation of the first team at City Hall to address rough sleeping, commissioning around £10 million of services each year, as well as the first Social Impact Bond on homelessness.

Darren McGarvey, Political Activist