As we look back on another year at One Manchester, I’m excited to share the progress we’ve made in adapting to lots of changes in the housing sector and, more importantly, how we’ve been working with you to make our services better.

A really important part of this past year has been preparing for the new Consumer Standards and Tenant Satisfaction Measures introduced under the Social Housing Regulation Act. These new benchmarks have raised the bar for housing quality and tenant rights, and I’m proud of the steps we’ve made to make sure we’re fully in line with them.

We increased our investment in safety, energy efficiency, and tackling damp and mould issues to meet these new standards. This work is crucial in making sure your homes are not only safe and comfortable but also future-proofed. Another highlight has been the development of our new Asset Management Strategy, which is central to how we manage our homes.

Despite some easing in inflation, economic pressures continue to impact our communities. That’s why we remain very committed to supporting customers. The Thrive Fund has been a vital lifeline this year, supporting 1,612 customers with everyday items such as beds and white goods. Additionally, the relaunch of the One Manchester Community Fund has helped us to back various external projects that’ll bring lasting benefits to you and your neighbourhoods.

Understanding your needs and the conditions of your homes has been a priority. Our Neighbourhood Model, which we began rolling out last year, has really changed the service, and we completed 4,882 tenancy experience visits. These visits have allowed us to find issues early, make more referrals to our Healthly Homes and Repairs team and connect with you more meaningfully, ensuring we’re responsive to what matters most.

Understanding your needs and the conditions of your homes has been a priority. Our Neighbourhood Model, which we began rolling out last year, has really changed the service, and we completed 4,882 tenancy experience visits. These visits have allowed us to find issues early, make more referrals to our Healthly Homes and Repairs team and connect with you more meaningfully, ensuring we’re responsive to what matters most.

Listening to your feedback and making sure your voices are heard has been another area where we’ve stepped up. In 2023/24, we started strengthening our customer engagement framework by creating a new Customer Scrutiny Panel. We also held 60 consultation events, including ‘The Big Listen’ to hear your views on repairs, to directly influence our service improvements.

Securing £2.9 million from the Social Housing Quality Fund (SHQF) was another major highlight. By matching this amount through our own funding, we were able to upgrade over 400 properties, significantly improving energy efficiency and moving closer to our goal of reducing our carbon footprint.

I want to send my sincere thanks for all your feedback, and the time you’ve taken to get involved and help improve our services over the past year. This year will be another busy one and we’ll be meeting more customers than ever, to hear about what matters most to you and where you live, to help us continually improve.