Annual Report 2024/25

Last year, we faced challenges of increased demand for affordable housing, rising costs-of -living and increasing service delivery costs. During this time, we have made improvements to homes to make them more energy efficient and built more homes to meet housing need. We have also made improvements to our services to make them easier and more convenient for you to use.

We were one of the first housing providers to be inspected by the Regulator of Social Housing under the new standards they put in place from April 2024. I am pleased to report we broadly met the standards and were given a “C2” grade in the new consumer grading. To improve further and achieve a “C1” grading we have put a programme in place to carry out home surveys to improve our understanding of the quality of homes.

Each section of this Annual report provides more detail on our achievements, but here are a few of my personal highlights from the year:

• Transforming the Courts, Shildon bringing much needed homes back into use
• Increasing the number of homes we provide to over 9,000
• Upgrading homes with energy efficiency improvements making a difference to the warmth of homes and energy bills
• Helping hundreds of people to access unclaimed benefits, secure grants, and find jobs and training opportunities

During the year we have implemented many improvements in response to your feedback, which we value greatly. Examples of these are included in this report.

Last year, we also asked for your views on a range of services to ensure our plans reflect what matters most to you. We are proud to have launched the final phase of our business strategy, Plan A. This sets out our three-year plan to improve lives through sustainable homes and communities.

As we move ahead, we’ll keep working with you to bring Plan A to life, making sure it stays focused on the things that truly make a difference.

A message from Natalie Wilkinson, Chair of the InsightXChange

Last year was a busy and exciting time for InsightXchange. The group helped shape important services, including how we deal with damp and mould, deliver the repairs service and how we support equality, diversity and inclusion. They also looked closely at how well we meet the standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing and the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

Over the next year, the group have also decided to look at how we support tenants during with the cost-of-living, and how we let homes.

As well as InsightXchange, we’ve increased the number of opportunities for tenants to get involved. One of these is our Tenant Network which is an easy and convenient way for tenants to give their feedback. So far, 138 tenants have signed up. They take part by filling in surveys or joining group discussions, as often or as little as they like.

As Chair of InsightXchange, I’m proud of the feedback we received from the Regulator after their visit in November 2024. They joined one of our InsightXchange sessions and also met with some tenants. The inspection found that feedback from tenants is used to improve services and has made a real, positive difference to how we deliver services.

Now, I’m getting ready to start a new role as Chair of the Board. I’m pleased to hand over the InsightXchange Chair role to another Board member. They bring fresh ideas and energy, and I’m sure they’ll help the group grow even more. It’s been an honour to lead InsightXchange, and I’ll continue to support the group as they move forward.