Keeping the faith

Make no mistake, bringing this country's social housing up to the Government's Decent Homes Standard has been a major challenge, and will continue to be long after 2010.

With the deadline being extended in some areas, it is inevitable that some critics may point to delays as evidence of the programme's 'failure'.

But when you look back at the achievements of the programme, I think it is impossible to argue that Decent Homes has been anything other than a resounding success.

I am incredibly proud of Keepmoat's Decent Homes record. Through our delivery units Frank Haslam Milan and Bramall
Construction, and working with over 20 ALMO's and numerous RSLs and local authorities across the North and Midlands, in the past year we have delivered over 40,000 refurbished and new homes for social rent. That's one home every three minutes.

Our approach to delivering Decent Homes and improving housing is also helping to deliver stronger communities, through, for example, creating new job opportunities.

Take Sheffield, where we employ over 300 apprentices and trainees every year. Together with our partners Sheffield Homes and Southey and Owlerton Area Regeneration partnership, we have created a joint-venture social enterprise called SOAR Build, which is supporting the construction industry by creating local employment and training programmes.{mosimage}

Now heading towards its third year, SOAR Build has been a huge success and has become a vital part of the Decent Homes project. The individuals who joined as trainees are now progressing well in their new careers.

It is this contribution to economic as well as physical regeneration that proves Decent Homes work is so much more than bricks and mortar. It's about opportunity, civic pride and having a good quality of life.

Through Decent Homes, thousands of neighbourhoods have been transformed into places where people want to live and are proud of.

In South Yorkshire, Bramall's training partnership with Berneslai Homes, Barnsley Council and Chevin Housing Association has delivered outstanding Extra Care facilities for older tenants. The wider community has also benefited from training opportunities, which have helped around 50 local people learn new skills. This achievement was rightly
recognised at this year's regional National Training Awards, a first for the company.

In the West Midlands, FHM is one of three construction companies working in partnership with Wolverhampton Homes to deliver a four year, £280 million social housing refurbishment programme. As part of the project, FHM has teamed up with partners who all pledge to employ more than 30 per cent of people locally.

For a number of years now, FHM North East has focused on helping our clients achieve the Decent Homes Standard by delivering community regeneration through extensive repair, refurbishment and improvement programmes.

One example is working with Your Homes Newcastle, an ALMO responsible for managing 31,000 council homes, to help
deliver a planned package of improvement works to completely transform a number of Newcastle housing estates. Homes are benefiting from internal and external improvements as well as environmental works.

Our partners in the Government's Decent Homes programme have expressed their commitment and confidence in us to deliver their outputs. The programme has scratched only the surface of the current state and future of public housing in the UK.

Environmental compliance, private sector renewal, and a huge demand for new-build to meet the requirements of local authorities will be the parameters that determine forthcoming funding and investment streams.

We are very serious about the integration prospects of regeneration. We strive to offer a one-stop shop, a comprehensive range of solutions to our public sector partners. Our range includes affordable home ownership, mixed use and tenure regeneration initiatives, public housing solutions, extra care and retirement programmes, responsive and planned maintenance, local government outsourcing, working with local authorities, schools and social enterprise.

In this time of economic uncertainty, one thing that we know through our work in the last year is that strong partnerships still deliver results.

This is one of the reasons why we believe strongly in bringing the industry together to speak in unison and meet the challenges ahead as one.

We are proud of our record over the last year, and are ready for the next 12 months. RSL's, ALMO's and local authorities are as vibrant, innovative and committed to the task ahead as they ever have been.

We need to match that energy and innovation, and together we can keep delivering results for local communities across the country.

Our partners deserve nothing less than our commitment.