Q&A with CIH vice presidential candidate Julie Fadden

1. Why should people vote for you to be vice president?

I love people and will always do my best for them. Everyone has something to offer to the world and we should all give each other the support to ensure we maximise the potential in everybody – colleagues, tenants, everyone we meet.  We have choices in an uncertain world and therefore we need to choose the things that will make a difference – you have two excellent candidates on offer. You must choose the one that will passionately defend social housing and the lives of those we serve.

2. If you could step forward in time two years, what is the one question you would ask your future self about what you achieved in the role?

What difference have you made to the sector, the CIH and those you serve? We should only step up to the plate to do this if we are prepared to challenge rhetoric and campaign for positive change in our sector. After two years, if I could not chart the difference I have made, I would be bitterly disappointed as I work tirelessly for those we serve.

3. What is the one current government policy you would change if you could, and why?

Abolish the bedroom tax. There is no justification for this evil policy that forces people to have to choose whether to heat their home or feed their family. Disabled tenants in social housing with insufficient room for medical equipment forced to move to smaller accommodation, if there is any, with their partner having to sleep on the couch – this is unacceptable. I keep saying that in 2015, nobody in the UK should need to get free food from a food bank – it’s a national disgrace. Anybody who supports the bedroom tax should understand it has cost more public money to implement than it has saved. It is a massive con trick and has to go.

4. Should housing policy be all about delivering more housing irrespective of type? Or is it also important to debate tenure?

Housing policy should be about allowing providers the flexibility to do what is required in their areas to solve the housing crisis within a generation. In the south, that’s about supply; in the north, it is about replacing or remodelling what we have to meet housing need. The Right to Buy should go as that is exacerbating the housing crisis, or if it stays, we should only sell without discount for the cost of replacement. I would call for zero vat on repairs, maintenance, refurb and estate regeneration as there are a number of solutions besides new build. I don’t feel tenure is the important issue – the key outcome is for everyone to have a warm, safe, affordable home. Whether you are a tenant or owner is immaterial to me – we need to ensure everyone has access to this first.

5. How will you help the sector to learn and improve its skill base?

The CIH needs to reassert itself as an education body that champions the training and education of the housing industry. Colleges rarely provide the courses required, so housing providers should work with the CIH to educate and train their staff within the workplace, resulting in accredited qualifications and followed with continuing professional development to ensure we stay fresh and up to date. We wouldn’t rely on an unqualified doctor so why have we allowed the education of our workforce to slip – you get out of people what you put in, so let’s start reinvesting in our people to provide fantastic services to those we serve.

6. Benefits Street has probably been the most high-profile programme about housing in recent times. If you were creating a TV programme about the sector, what would your pitch be?

My pitch would be The Truth Behind The Headlines, and focus on the real story behind policies like the bedroom tax and why we have a housing crisis that is now far worse than when Cathy Come Home was released. It would be a series of films profiling a range of issues with real-life stories of decent people who are caught in a life they are unempowered to change and I would ask Ken Loach to provide his expertise to help – think John Pilger with a housing focus with the capacity to change lives.

7. Should there be more consolidation of homes in the housing sector to create much bigger players with more national clout?

In a word: no – bigger isn’t better. Smaller organisations are more agile and have the capacity to innovate and make change happen. Housing associations like Irwell Valley in the north-west have been at the forefront of thinking differently, and inspiring the industry with new ways of working, and this is more difficult when organisations become too large and potentially more distant from those they serve. Keep it real. CEOs should regularly be out among their tenants and remembering why we do this. We have a tenant focus at SLH and that’s why we are the number one not-for-profit place to work in the UK.

8. What’s the single best housing policy delivered by governments of any colour over the last 30 years?

I’m struggling with this one as in my opinion, housing policy has been a bit of a mess over the last 30 years. The best housing policy ever for me was the Housing and Town Planning Act 1919 that led to the growth of council housing through the Homes fit for Heroes campaign. The worst policy has been the Right to Buy which has sold off the family silver and contributed to the housing crisis we face now.

9. Does the housing sector need to work at diversifying its leadership? If so, how can landlords best achieve this?

We need leadership that is authentic with leaders who have the bottle to come out and challenge when something is wrong. We need leaders that seek to bring out the very best in everyone they meet and are driven to deliver the very best services by people who care about what they do and who they do it for. I’m not hung up on what type of humans fulfill the leadership role. It’s not an issue of gender, colour or any other equality strand – the determining factor for me is whether you are passionate about leading positive change for those you serve rather than being in it for self interest. What legacy will you leave, as you can’t take the cash with you?

CIH members will have received their ballot via email or post by 11 March and have until 1 April to vote.