The pandemic has shown us the importance of partnership working

However, we’ve not done this alone – far from it. Whether it’s working with local authorities to support isolated people, enabling community groups to deliver care packages or working with City Hall to make homes available for people sleeping rough, we have worked with others to deliver for people in a time of crisis.

This theme of developing partnerships and the power they have to make a difference was clear to see at the G15’s ‘Working Together for Londoners’ event on 10 December. As deputy London mayor for housing Tom Copley commented, the stories of the partnerships our frontline teams have delivered really show what having a landlord with a social conscious can mean.

“We’ve built new alliances and started thinking more about supporting communities, who often have the solutions to the challenges they face”

The powerhouse of enabling local communities that is Darren Rodwell – the deputy chair of London Councils and leader of Barking & Dagenham Council – observed that we’ve built new alliances and started thinking more about supporting communities, who often have the solutions to the challenges they face.

This was also a really strong theme of Adam Lent, the chief executive of New Local, who commented on the need to mobilise the assets and resources of the community and put people in the driving seat in areas such as how we develop new homes inclusively.

The G15 represents the largest housing associations in London, which collectively provide homes to one in 10 Londoners. We recognise that with this scale comes the challenge of maintaining relationships in the neighbourhoods in which we work, while bringing the benefits that scale can have into the delivery of services and homes.

This year, when meeting physically has usually proven impossible, we’ve adapted to use new technology. But we’ve also seen the value of our front-line teams, who know their communities and the importance of having a diverse workforce that reflects our residents, too.

As we all start to look forward to next year, we know the challenges that existed before the pandemic have got worse and new ones have emerged. We need to think innovatively about how we can use public funding in a more agile way and how other models of delivery can be utilised as the economy recovers.

Long-term solutions to the building safety crisis are needed, with government taking a lead on working with the entire industry to develop ways forward that allow housing associations to continue to build the new homes people need. We must also not forget just how hard times will be for many of our residents and why measures like the Universal Credit uplift must be retained.

“The absence of good quality, affordable homes can have a huge impact on people’s lives, including their health”

During the pandemic, the value and importance of a good quality, affordable home has never been clearer. Homes have become sanctuaries, offices, and classrooms for many. It has also brought to light how the absence of such homes can have a huge impact on people’s lives, including their health.

For us, we have also seen the value of strong communities and the need for partnership working, with organisations each playing to their strengths in a holistic and person-centred way.

We know we speak for all G15 members when we say that we want to take forward the spirit of collaboration that has been so evident during the response to the pandemic, as we work together to meet the challenges we and London face.

Helen Evans, chair, G15, and chief executive, Network Homes; Geeta Nanda OBE, vice-chair, G15, and chief executive, MTVH