Annual Report 2020

The Regulator for Social Housing regulates registered providers of social housing to ensure we are effective and well-governed organisations able to provide and manage homes that meet a range of needs.

The Regulatory Framework for Social Housing sets out what is expected of registered housing providers like Orwell by outlining the 'standards' for our service delivery.

Orwell Housing is responsible for ensuring that these standards are being met in a clear and accountable way. And we are responsible for demonstrating that we have worked with customers to agree and develop standards that set out how our services will be delivered.

Orwell are committed to working with tenants and residents to make sure that these standards are being met. These standards, how they are met are outlined in the Annual Report which is published each Spring - reports review the performance of the previous year.

The ORG are a group of Orwell customers who collaborate look at all the facts and figures provided by Orwell to evaluate how we are performing against these standards.

The ORG are recruiting more members to join them to independently look at housing services and monitor performance across the organisation.

If you would like more information, please contact us on 0345 60 100 30 or send your details to the Involvement team by email at tenantinvolvement@orwell-housing.co.uk

Message from Kim Newman Chair of Orwell’s Board

No one could have predicted the impact of the pandemic or the changes we would have to make, but I’m very proud of the quick and decisive response we made to protect our residents, staff and most vulnerable customers in our care settings. The investment made over the last few years in IT and other systems meant that we were able to switch seamlessly to remote working whilst still providing essential services and of course, we have all adapted to new communication channels as a result.

I am acutely aware of the challenges that lie ahead for our residents and am very proud of the commitment and hard work of all colleagues at Orwell who have had to adopt new ways of working at very short notice. Orwell has ‘Customers’ and ‘Team Orwell’ at the heart of our core values and these have really shone through in these challenging times.
Mary Ager Resident Steering Group member and 2020 most involved resident

“I’m proud to be a member of the Resident Group and have found this and the scrutiny projects very interesting. I’m glad to know that my contributions are appreciated. Everyone I have met has been most helpful. It is a delight to be more than just another tenant at Orwell Housing Association.”

I was proud to attend the virtual TPAS National Awards in September where Orwell tenant, Jade Tominlinson, won Inspirational Young Tenant of the Year for her campaign to save funding for Whitworth House in Cambridge. Orwell were also shortlisted for Excellence in Tenant Communication for our tenancy sign-up film produced as the result of a consultation process with residents I was involved in. It was really pleasing to see something I took part in recognised in this way.
Message from Wendy Evans-Hendrick CEO of Orwell Housing

Our Transformation Plan, developed in 2019, clearly identified that we need to change and evolve as an organisation. The first step in our Transformation was to modernise how we were structured and key to that was to put customers at the centre of Orwell by bringing them onto the Board and investing in our Tenant Involvement and Sustainment Services. I am delighted that we will have achieved both of those things, despite of the pandemic, and now have a dedicated Tenant Involvement and Sustainment Team and two resident Board members.

We also took the decision to increase the Leadership of Orwell and create new Directorates which would put people at the heart of the organisation and align the structure with the People Focussed, Ambitious, Collaborative, Effective values of Orwell.

During 2021, I will continue to work with our customers to develop a range of ways in which our customers can work with us to ensure their views on our services meet their expectations and needs. Please get in touch with Claire Monk, Tenant Involvement and Sustainment Officer on Claire.monk@orwell-housing.co.uk for further details.