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From the frontline - Georgina Shackell Green

Georgina Shackell Green, public affairs assistant at Community Housing Cymru, talks political mentoring and the importance of building relationships

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From the frontline - Georgina Shackell Green

Tell us about your job.
I help lobby representatives to create the best possible environment for housing associations. I have a part in building relationships with politicians, organising events and researching and writing briefings. A big part of my role is political monitoring of both Welsh Assembly and Westminster activities.

How did you get into housing?
Before this I worked for a children’s charity, but I’ve always been interested in housing. It used to frustrate me how service users wouldn’t be able to access support and would be struggling unnecessarily due to not having adequate housing.


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What would you change about the sector?
The public perspective that housing is just about homelessness. There are so many more issues than that. Housing crosses over into other areas as well, such as health and welfare.

Have the government’s welfare reforms made your job harder?
Although this job is quite new to me, I can see the areas that are more difficult because of welfare reforms. A focus of my role so far has been on the roll-out of Universal Credit and trying to minimise its negative impacts. Without reforms like this there would be more focus on improving housing, rather than mitigating damage.

What’s the best thing about your job?
Being able to do something to hopefully help fix the housing crisis. Soon after I started this role, the Local Housing Allowance cap policy was reversed, which was a huge achievement for Community Housing Cymru and our partners.

And the most challenging?
Public affairs is competitive, and politicians are regularly approached to support different campaigns. Asking them to prioritise our work can be a challenge, but that’s why building relationships and providing useful information is crucial.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you became prime minister?
Probably have a panic attack. Then after I’d calmed down, I would do whatever I could to save the NHS and ensure that it remains free at the point of access for everyone who needs it, without overworking the staff who make it possible.

What would be your superpower and why?
There are very few I would actually want, but if I had to choose one it would be to be fluent in every language in the world, just because I think it would be amazing to go anywhere and communicate easily. But maybe it would take some of the excitement out of travel!

 

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