Social impact highlights2021/22

Social impact: driving us forward every day

Our purpose is to make a difference to our residents and our communities and we do this across every aspect of our organisation.

Social impact drives us forward every day and measuring this impact ensures we learn what is making the most difference and improve each year.

“Our focus is on making a difference and being a force for good for both people and planet.”

Clare Miller, Group Chief Executive

We provide homes for those who need them most. Our mission has never been more important, with the rising cost of living squeezing people on low incomes even more, and a lack of social housing leading to too many people with no place to call home.

In the last year, we built a record number of new homes, of which 86% were affordable, but it’s not just about putting a roof over people’s heads – it’s about building homes fit for the future.

But it’s not just a long-term ambition. We know that shrinking our carbon footprint is not only good for the planet, it’s also good for our residents. Having more energy efficient homes means big savings on bills – something more important than ever with energy prices soaring. That’s why we’re increasing the energy efficiency of our new homes
beyond building regulations compliance, and why we're retrofitting many of our existing
homes to make them more energy efficient.

Being a responsible social landlord is about much more than bricks and mortar. It’s also about providing opportunities for those who live in our homes to enable them to fulfil their potential, and improving the communities they live in. That’s where the work of our charitable foundation, Clarion Futures, comes in.

This year we delivered more than £131 million in social value*, of which £123.8 million was as a result of Clarion Futures activity in our communities nationwide. This includes everything from the provision of employment and apprenticeship opportunities through to investing funds to improve community facilities, and volunteering time to support community projects or to help residents get online.

^{*Social value is calculated using the HACT (Housing Associations Charitable Trust) Social Value Bank.}

Social Impact highlights from 2021/22

Comparing the government’s Local Housing Allowance (LHA) with our rent figures, we calculated that our below-market rents amounted to £500 million in savings in 2021/22, equivalent to £11 million per week.

We received £5.2 million from the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to upgrade 450 of our least energy efficient homes across Fenland, Merton and Tonbridge & Malling, saving residents hundreds of pounds a year on energy bills.

As well as improving energy efficiency, we’re also committed to ensuring that our new developments will deliver a net gain in biodiversity, becoming places where both people and nature thrive. As part of this commitment, we’re planting a new tree for every new home we build.

Through our charitable foundation, Clarion Futures, we supported 3,717 people into work, placed 160 people into apprenticeships and 74% of people sustained their employment for more than six months.

In response to rising rates of youth unemployment, we led the Kickstart Housing Partnership comprising 84 organisations to deliver 542 six-month job placements for unemployed 16-24 year olds as part of the government’s Kickstart Scheme.

Park, image

As the cost of living crisis hit home, in 2021/22 we supported a record 3,945 residents as they struggled to make ends meet and sought advice to help manage their money.

We engaged with our residents on more than 39,500 occasions and their feedback helped to shape a wide range of service improvements.

More than one in five of our staff are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and our ethnicity pay gap is 0.36%. Women make up 55% of our workforce, and our gender pay gap currently stands at 4.2% – significantly smaller than the national average of 15.4%.