Back in August, Weaver Vale Housing Trust became one of the first social landlords to receive a C1 rating from the regulator for meeting the new Consumer Standards. Here, Gareth Rigby, Executive Director of Customer, Place and Service, writes about the inspection experience and the approach that underpins their success.

For organisations across the housing sector, navigating the complex and ever-changing challenges our industry faces is critical to improving our services for customers in our communities.

At Weaver Vale, we work as a collective across the trust to plan for any potential changes or risks, ensuring we’re in a position to anticipate and address them proactively. We’re committed to minimising disruption to our services and customers, and this approach means we’re able to lead with insight rather than instinct if an issue arises.

Before the new Consumer Standards were introduced, we were actively working on key projects to improve our services for customers. The Regulator of Social Housing acknowledged this during their inspection, offering positive feedback on our approach.

They don’t expect perfection, but they do expect you to know where you are and to be always looking to drive improvement. Our commitment to continuous progress means we’re always looking to be one step ahead, pushing boundaries and setting new standards to create better outcomes for the people we serve.

The regulator’s new standards came into effect on 1 April this year and are designed to protect customers and improve the service they receive.

The regulatory gradings play a key role in ensuring that we meet standards, but it’s our shared responsibility to work towards gaining customers’ trust back as a sector. Waiting to make changes only after a new standard is introduced can highlight underlying issues.

“Our approach has always been about continuous improvement, centred around projects that enhance customer engagement and improve services throughout the organisation, rather than simply preparing for an inspection”

Instead, our approach has always been about continuous improvement, centred around projects that enhance customer engagement and improve services throughout the organisation, rather than simply preparing for an inspection.

At Weaver Vale, we don’t just collect feedback. Our frameworks reach every corner, from our rural communities to urban areas, ensuring no customer’s voice is missed. For us, every interaction is an opportunity to learn. Whether it’s a survey, a repair visit, or a conversation with contractors, we’re always asking customers how they feel about their homes and our services. And when we get positive feedback, we don’t just take it at face value – we dig deeper, meticulously scrutinising why it’s good, and we ask again to ensure accuracy.

From joint board meetings to our customer assurance team and accessible complaints process, customers have multiple ways to voice their opinions and influence our decisions. Safety is a top priority too. Long before legislation such as Awaab’s Law was established, we proactively introduced stricter health and safety measures. Our ongoing stock condition programme continuously assesses properties, ensuring timely action where it’s needed.

Every decision we make is scrutinised through our ‘three lines of defence’ audit process, adding layers of assurance that every aspect of our service – from ground-level interactions to executive oversight – strives to meet the highest standards.

Thanks to our customer data and census work, we went into the inspection fully aware of the areas that needed attention and put long-term projects in place to address them. This preparation was key, allowing us to show the inspectors clear evidence of the progress made and ongoing improvements planned.

Our chief executive, Wayne Gales, executive director of finance and business services, Cath Bett, and I met with the inspectors, along with the chair of the board, the chair of the group audit and assurance committee, and members of our engaged customer groups.

The regulator set clear expectations in advance and conducted a thorough, challenging inspection – which is exactly as it should be. Throughout the inspection the regulator thoroughly analysed our frameworks, policies and, importantly, outcomes being achieved for customers, as well as wanting to fully understand the culture of Weaver Vale.

The process reinforced what we already knew: you can’t wait for external pressure to take prompt action. As housing providers, we must continue to evolve, making sure our services put customers at the heart of every decision.

What comes next?

We’re proud of our colleagues, teams and engaged customers, whose work and ongoing support was key to us achieving our results. We’re proud of the gradings received from the regulator, but we know there’s always more to be done.

Our focus will remain on actively involving customers in every aspect of our work, from strategic decisions to day-to-day operations. Whether that’s through gathering feedback from customer groups or making individual calls, we’ll continue to ensure that every choice we make reflects our customers’ needs.

The inspection has given us confidence that we’re on the right track, but we understand that our regulatory gradings are just a starting point. Our aim is to continually raise the bar – not merely to meet standards, but to exceed them. As housing evolves, we’ll keep striving to enhance our services, ensuring our customers are safe, secure and, where needed, supported.