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Size ‘has no impact on efficiency’, Sector Scorecard reveals
The pilot of the housing Sector Scorecard, which measures efficiency, has revealed “mixed results” for all associations no matter their size.
A group of housing associations have been piloting the Sector Scorecard over the past few months. It measures the number of homes developed, the occupancy of homes, and operating margins as part of a set of 15 metrics.
More than 300 housing associations managing 2.4 million homes took part in the pilot, which covers 82-83% of social housing in the country. These ranged from small associations with a turnover of £100,000 a year to the largest in the sector.
Mark Henderson, chief executive of Home Group, who has led on the development of the Sector Scorecard, said the first tranche of results from the pilot are now being analysed.
He said that every association had “mixed results” on the scorecard.
“Nobody performs above average on all indicators and nobody is below average on all indicators, and nobody is bang on in all indicators. That kind of spread reflects the nature of the activities of our organisations because we are different. It certainly hasn’t shown that it’s skewed between any particular type or size of organisation.”
He added: “What it does show is that nobody’s perfect [and] that we always have room for improvement. As we move the bar up we must push harder in our own organisations.”
There was a high satisfaction rate among tenants, with more than eight out of 10 pleased with the service their landlord provides.
The occupancy rates for homes was 99.5%, which Mr Henderson said showed “some pretty effective asset management across the board”.
Landlords’ spend on routine repairs was less than planned works – something which “reflects very well on the sector” and showed assets are being “managed properly”, Mr Henderson said.
The scorecard results also revealed that housing associations of all sizes are building homes.
Mr Henderson said: “Both big and small associations are developing new homes at ever-increasing rates and are pushing the boundaries in terms of their ability to build out.”
Housing association operating margins are also bigger than the largest house builders, the results revealed.
Mr Henderson said he now expects housing associations to use the scorecard results to compare themselves with other associations.
But Kevin Dodd, chief executive of Wakefield District Housing, sounded a note of disquiet when he said the sector is a “bit skewed” and there needs to be a better balance “in the rhetoric”.
He added: “The scorecard might be driving us down a more commercial route but it was in a different time then when these things were thought about. The government is changing, it’s trying to soften its message.
“However, I think the tide’s turning a bit and I think we need to be a bit more forceful about trying to demonstrate what our true value is to society overall.”
