The chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing has been awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list.
Sarah Webb has been honoured for her services to the housing sector, including her work developing arm’s-length management organisations and help setting up the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
She said: ‘My motivation for what I do has always been rooted in my first experiences as a housing officer in Glasgow: making a difference to the often difficult lives of real people in communities.
‘I’m proud to lead CIH, an organisation which exists to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities.’
Ms Webb was also head of the community housing task force at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – the predecessor to the Communities and Local Government department – where she ran a team which gave advice to local authorities, tenants and prospective landlords on housing stock transfer.
Ken Olisa, the chair of homelessness charity Thames Reach since 1996, was honoured with an OBE for his work in tackling homelessness in London.
‘Together we have justified confidence in our vision of ending homelessness in London,’ he said. ‘We know it is about much more than simply providing soup or shelter.’
A Bristol tenant, Peter Farr, has been given an MBE for his voluntary services to housing.
The ex-chair at Bristol Community Housing Foundation worked tirelessly and often took a direct role in negotiating the redevelopment of a social housing estate of more than 600 homes in the north of the city. He also served as a lay tenant inspector for the Audit Commission.
Chief executive of BCHF Oona Goldsworthy said: ‘It’s not all that often that you come across someone like Peter who has spent so many years making a contribution to tenants and to Bristol.’