Members only

A return to proactive consumer regulation, a robust inspection regime and new tenant satisfaction measures are just some of the major changes on the horizon for local authorities as part of the Bill recently laid before Parliament.

The Government’s determination to treat all social housing residents in the same way, regardless of who their landlord is, has far-reaching implications for councils – not least from a resource and capacity issue.

Although the new legislation will take time to receive Royal Assent, both the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Regulator of Social Housing have promised to ‘move at pace’ and expect housing providers to do the same. It is therefore essential that local authorities get ahead of the game and start preparing as best they can.

Kate Dodsworth from the Regulator of Social Housing joins HQN associates Roger Jarman and Emma Lindley to set out the key changes proposed in the Regulation Bill, highlight the implications for local authorities, ALMOs and TMOs, and provide practical advice on the steps that should be taken now in preparation.

This session will cover:

• The key elements of the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill
• What the proposed changes mean for local authorities
• What practical steps local authorities should be taking now to prepare
• The likely pressure on resources and capacity
• How to communicate with residents, councillors and other stakeholders about the implications of the new regulation regime.

Who should attend?

• Directors of Housing – local authorities and ALMOs
• Local authority housing teams – stock holding and strategic
• Resident engagement teams – local authorities and ALMOs
• Housing management teams – local authorities and ALMOs.

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.

Emma Lindley, Associate, HQN

Emma has over nine years’ experience working in housing associations and a local authority in the East Midlands. Emma has been a HQN Associate since 2013 and has produced a number of briefings and toolkits relating to allocations and lettings. Emma has worked in a variety of roles including managing a PRS portfolio, providing housing options advice, tenancy management and most recently strategic housing with responsibility for the homelessness service, affordable housing delivery and private sector renewal strategy.

Roger Jarman, Associate, HQN

Roger Jarman is a long standing HQN associate. He provides consultancy services; leads training programmes; and writes on housing regulation and other matters. He is the author of HQN’s Social Housing White Paper toolkit and delivers a range of training sessions on the White Paper proposals. He is also a Non Executive Director of two housing organisations. From 1991 until 1999 he was Head of Housing Management at the Housing Corporation and then from 1999 until 2011 he was Head of Housing at the Audit Commission overseeing the 1400 housing inspections undertaken by the Commission during that period. He was a member of the team that produced the Cave Review of social housing regulation in 2007.

Kate Dodsworth, Director of Consumer Regulation, Regulator of Social Housing

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 Master’s 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.

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