À la John Lewis

Following the near collapse of the banking sector, the ensuing recession and sovereign debt problems, it is not surprising fundamental questions are being asked about the capitalist model. When a Conservative prime minister extols the virtues of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s most famous workers’ co-operative, something must be up.

For the past 15 years, housing associations have been trying to become more ‘business-like’. The reason? An ever-increasing reliance on bank finance to build more homes as capital subsidy has slipped away. Like some EU governments and credit-strapped citizens everywhere, associations have become increasingly reliant on debt. In the long term this could be the road to our ruin. We need to start thinking now about a new model for our sector. The answer may be closer to home than we realise. Housing associations have always claimed to be ‘asset rich and cash poor’. In reality, the sector has accumulated substantial wealth which we re-invest into our core purpose: the provision and upkeep of more than 2.5 million homes in England and Wales.

Across the country, housing associations are coming up with more innovative ways of using that asset base to generate ‘social capital’ - for example by installing photovoltaic panels on homes or creating employment opportunities for residents. They are doing this by working with local employers and businesses as well as the more traditional partnerships with the public and charitable sectors.

We just need to be more joined-up and by telling our story well, like John Lewis, we will demonstrate to politicians and the general public alike that we are making a much wider social and economic contribution than is realised.

The ebbing tide of self-centred capitalism is being overtaken by corporate social responsibility. Will housing associations catch the wave?

David Levenson is group director of finance and resources at Network Housing Group