THEME 7: RESIDENT SUPPORT

Criteria 23. What support services does Beyond Housing offer to its residents. How successful are these services in improving outcomes?

To help build sustainable and economically thriving communities, Beyond Housing provides an employment support service to help people get nearer to or into employment or training. This involves the provision of a person centred wrap around support service that can include confidence building, career planning, identifying training needs, support with job searching, building CVs and job applications and interview skills, essentially identifying and working towards removing the barriers to employment. 

In addition, and as a pathway into employment we provide volunteering, and work experience opportunities to build employability skills, a sense of purpose and community connection. Beyond Housing also directly employs over 30 apprentices every year, aiming both to increase this year on year to 50, and to ensure at least 50% of the new intake comes from its residents. The programme has excellent success rates, with the majority of the apprentices finding permanent employment with Beyond Housing.

In 2024/25 we supported residents with 

·      631 work experience hours through 15 placements

·      Recruited 20 apprentices, and in total employed 30 apprentices

·      Helped 330 people get closer to or become work ready

·      Helped 104 people into employment

·      Recruited 16 new volunteers

·      Volunteers provided 7659 hours of their time.

Use of the HACT tool indicates that we get a social return on investment of £2.85 for every £1 we spent on these activities.

Case study

Danny's story

Danny is a 28-year-old man living in a Beyond Housing property. He has dyslexia and some physical health conditions resulting from a back injury sustained at a younger age. Since 2021, Danny has not been in paid employment but volunteers once a week at Westfield Farm, where he assists with administrative tasks and updates the job board.

During his initial appointment, Danny reported experiencing anxiety and indicated that, while interested in employment, he was uncertain about which career path to pursue due to physical limitations that make labour-intensive roles unsuitable. He brought his certificates for previously obtained qualifications to facilitate updating his CV and discussing possible options for suitable job roles.

Support was provided to help Danny identify skills based on his qualifications; he determined that an administrative role would be appropriate given it would not require prolonged standing or significant physical effort. Assistance was given with job searching, identifying vacancies, refining his CV, and preparing a covering letter for prospective employers.

After a period of limited responses to job applications, alternative strategies were explored to support his goal of working in administration. Danny and the support worker contacted Redcar College to explore part-time course options, including a Level 2 Business Admin course that could be completed online and from home. Danny decided to apply for this course.

Following his application, Danny participated in a telephone interview with the college and gained acceptance onto the course. Initially, he found some course content challenging. Support was provided to break down coursework questions, facilitating the development of his responses. Danny was encouraged to seek assistance from course tutors as needed.

Outcomes

Danny has less than four weeks remaining in the course and has passed all sections so far. His confidence regarding the course has increased, and he reports that obtaining the Level 2 qualification may provide the necessary skills to secure employment or an apprenticeship in administration.

Reach & Respond Services 

Reach & Respond provides a range of services to help people stay happy, healthy and independent in their own homes no matter their age. Our services range from technology solutions to welfare calls and visits. We offer a range of Lifeline home units, which can be combined with telecare sensors from our large portfolio to create personalised care and support. 

Reach & Respond provides customers and their family with the reassurance that no matter what the emergency or when it happens, someone will be there to help. With just the push of a button, our response team is here 24/7, 365 days a year. On average it takes one of our responders 24 minutes to arrive. Our responders are often able to assist customers without the need to call the emergency services, though sometimes customers do require medical intervention. Talking to our customer's and supporting them while they wait for an ambulance is a part of the responder role that is often forgotten or overlooked but it can be the most rewarding. 

In addition to our emergency response service, we offer welfare visits to customers who would like some company or simply to check they are ok. One of our customers said "Having someone to come and check on me every morning is reassuring, especially if anything goes wrong, I know someone is coming. My family lives far away and I like the company every day. The staff are very nice and always listen to me". You can find out more about the service offered by Reach & Respond here.

Me & My Home - This is a portal for customers to take control and manage their tenancies online and in one place. They can check their rent balance, make a payment, report and track repairs, update personal information, view, and print rent statements. Read more about Me & My Home here.

Westfield Farm - This is our community resource and training centre based in Dormanstown which offers free internet access. In 2024/2025 82 new customers accessed Westfield Farm and 1393 appointments were made to by customers to use the IT suite.  In partnership with Lighthouse Navigation NE, we delivered our first digital cafe which consisted of six sessions to raise awareness and support customers to engage with services digitally and connect. Read more about Westfield farm here.

Aids and Adaptations - The adaptations team delivers minor adaptations directly to customers in their home and have extended this offer to include 'Adaptations Without Delay' whereby some minor adaptations can be provided without the need for an Occupational Therapy assessment (such as grab rails, key safes, lever taps and additional banisters). Beyond Housing works in partnership with local authority Home Improvement Agencies, Handyperson's Adaptations and Occupational Therapy teams to deliver minor and major adaptations and identify (and feed into the development of) suitable accommodation for customers with specific requirements for adaptations. This supports customers to remain living independently in their homes without the need for supported or specialist accommodation. Read more about the adaptions service here.

Safeguarding - Beyond Housing has a dedicated safeguarding coordinator to ensure that customers and their families are supported against any potential abuse. Their role is underpinned by service area safeguarding leads to embed safeguarding in all service delivery. This is done through our induction and training and through awareness raising with all colleagues in parallel with detailed policy and procedure. We have developed a concerns system, monitored continually, where colleagues and external agencies can raise concerns to be investigated, as well as partnership working with statutory, specialist and third sector services to deliver robust interventions to support customers. Read more about safeguarding here.

Income management (benefit case workers) - This team focuses on providing intensive customer support including advice on universal credit, fuel poverty grant support and advice on direct government rental support. In 2024/25 this service supported customers across 481 cases to access a further £2,185,083 in benefits, resulting in the level of rent arrears remaining under control. Read more about income management support here.

Community partnership and engagement - The community partnership and engagement team are a dedicated resource supporting local initiatives and provide the link between Beyond Housing, communities and external partners. They work alongside teams from across the business and external partners to support and deliver community change. One example of this is in working with partners and local community to understand and address community needs in Dormanstown in Redcar, through the development of a 'Locality Plan' for the area. This involved seeking resident views on the main issues for their community though drop ins, door to door and survey consultation. So far, this work has delivered two community clean up days, supported a new breakfast club and Eco Shop in the primary school, attracted external funding and support, provided one to one support in identifying and reporting repairs and money management advice. Read more about how we engage with our customers here.

Intensive housing management service - The intensive housing management service is delivered by tenancy management advisors and underpinned by tenancy support officers. The service is available to all customers for an initial period of 13 weeks. It provides assessed needs, support and risk planning, and hands-on support to empower customers to sustain their tenancy. Typically, customers using the service will be struggling to declutter their homes due to physical disability or clinical condition, such as hoarding. Tenancy management advisors also assist customers to access longer term support through statutory services, such as adult social care, or third sector voluntary support services. Customers engaging with this service are 84% more likely to remain living independently in their own home than without support.

Case study

Intensive housing management

This case study details successful intervention to address the complex needs of a customer presenting significant physical and mental health issues, alongside a property in extremely poor and unsafe condition. Through a coordinated approach involving health, social care, and housing services, the customer's health, wellbeing, and living were significantly improved, enabling them to regain independence and live more safely.

About the customer

The customer was referred to the intensive housing management service due to a combination of factors indicating a high level of vulnerability including:

·    Poor physical health - limited mobility, dependency on aids, and irregular medication adherence

·    Poor mental health - characterised by withdrawal, medication non-compliance, and sleep disturbance

·    Hazardous living environment - characterised by extreme clutter, lack of essential amenities, and safety hazards.

·    Initially customer existing in one room, sleeping and cooking and eating there. Not accessing bathing or toileting facilities.

Intervention approach

A multi-faceted approach was used to address the customer's complex needs, including:

Physical health

·      Healthcare access and management - Facilitated GP care, attended appointments, and coordinated investigations. Supported use of patient transport to promote attendance at vital appointments

·      Mobility and safety - Referrals to occupational therapy and physiotherapy led to provision of essential aids and adaptations. The property was made accessible through installation of grab rails

·      Care support - Social care assessment resulted in the implementation of a daily care package to administer medication and four times weekly support for daily living activities and accessing the community.

Mental health

·      Healthcare engagement - Supported the customer to re-engage with mental healthcare and re-establish medication. Customer waiting to be assessed for neuro diversities

·      Supported customer to attend therapies to promote decluttering with psychotherapist

·      Environment optimisation - Improved sleep quality through sleep hygiene practices and decluttering.

Safety

·      Fire safety - Arranged pre- and post-intervention fire safety assessments and implemented necessary measures. Arranged provision of telecare supported living practices to reduce fire risks

·      Property hazards - Addressed property damage caused by the customer's physical limitations and removed external hazards

·      Gas to property which had been capped off for safety reasons was reconnected and gas central heating system installed.

·      Full electrical rewire

·      New bathroom provided with aids and adaptations to promote safe bathing and toileting

·      New kitchen provided and support to ensure planned works could be carried out with minimum distress.

Finances

·      Debt management - Established payment plans with utility providers and addressed non-priority debts

·      Financial empowerment - Supported the customer in opening a new bank account, setting up direct debits, and preventing predatory lending. Promoted using banking apps to better manage finances.

Home environment

·      Decluttering and cleaning - Worked intensively with the customer to declutter and clean the property, achieving a significant improvement in living conditions

·      Arranged and supported pest control to rid property of vermin and implemented hygienic patterns of living to reduce risk of return

·      Essential furnishings - Provided support to purchase a bed, enhancing the customer's comfort and wellbeing

·      Provided support to purchase white goods

·      Avoided legal action being taken regarding historical hoarding thus reducing stress to customer, and directly improving mental health.

Outcomes

The intensive housing management intervention resulted in a substantial improvement in the customer's overall circumstances:

·      Improved physical health - through medication management and increased mobility with adaptations

·      Enhanced mental health - Improved sleep quality and overall wellbeing through medication adherence, environmental improvements and accessing therapies

·      Safe and comfortable home - A clean, decluttered, and safe living environment was established with defined spaces for sleeping, cooking and personal hygiene / bathing

·      Increased independence - The customer gained the ability to access the community with carers and manage daily living tasks with increased confidence.

·      Enhanced financial stability - Improved financial management through benefit maximisation and debt reduction.

Reach & Respond partnership working

Reach & Respond maintains a partnership with Carers Plus, aimed at engaging customers in the community to support social inclusion. Through this partnership, customers participate in activities such as crafts, chair exercises, and organised events at local community centres.

In 2024/2025, an Independent Living Forum was established to facilitate conversations and gather feedback on customer priorities and perspectives regarding the future of the service. Information collected through the forum contributes to the development of services provided by Beyond Housing and Reach & Respond.

In collaboration with North Yorkshire County Council, funding was secured for a digital inclusion Alexa project supported by the UK government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund. A team of trained digital champions conducted sessions at community centres, and customers received Alexa devices for their homes.

THEME 8: PLACEMAKING

Criteria 24. Describe the housing provider's community investment activities, and how the housing provider is contributing to positive neighbourhood outcomes for the communities in which its homes are located.

Provide case studies of where Beyond Housing has been engaged in placemaking or place shaping activities

Wilton Avenue, Dormanstown - Neighbourhood Improvement project

The grassed area behind Wilton Avenue, in Dormanstown had become a hotspot for persistent fly tipping and illegal off-road motorbike and quad bike activity. Its proximity to residents' back gardens raised significant concerns about safety, noise, and anti-social behaviour. To address these issues and restore community confidence, we consulted with local residents who requested that we close off the area to the public. Access to the open space has now been restricted to the public, through the installation of security fencing and gated entry points. These measures aim to deter fly tipping, prevent off-road vehicles, and reduce instances of antisocial behaviour, ultimately creating a safer and more secure environment for residents.

Clear Hold Build

The Barrowcliff 'Clear Hold Build' initiative officially launched in March 2024 and is part of a national approach to tackle areas impacted by organised crime. It is a multi-agency effort led by North Yorkshire Police and is known locally as 'Building Barrowcliff Together'. 

·      Clear: Disrupt and remove serious and organised crime networks 

·      Hold: Maintain a police and partner presence to prevent re-entry 

·      Build: Rebuild the community through long-term support, engagement and investment. 

The immediate focus of the partnership is on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour with a longer-term, holistic approach to re-building and supporting the neighbourhood through targeted enforcement, community engagement and support services.  

The initiative has been the catalyst for intensive involvement on the estate and, with Beyond Housing's role as the largest social housing provider in the area, has instigated a 'Locality Plan' approach from the organisation. 

To date, Beyond Housing has implemented a range of physical measures to improve the safety and security of external communal spaces across several of our housing blocks and individual properties. These enhancements have included the targeted distribution of Ring doorbells where appropriate, installation of fencing, security gates and anti-climb solutions. We continue to work closely with North Yorkshire Police, securing closure orders and sharing intelligence to address persistent issues across the estate. Our presence remains consistent, with regular drop-in sessions held at the community hub, staffed by our Housing, Tenancy Support, Income, and Employment teams to provide accessible, face-to-face support. Beyond Housing has also invested £29,720 in funding and equipment for local community groups and continues to collaborate with these organisations on future initiatives, supported by contractor social value contributions and internal resources.

GOVERNANCE

THEME 9: STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE

Criteria 25. Is Beyond Housing registered with the regulator of social housing?

Yes, our registration number is LH4401.

Criteria 26. What is the most recent governance and viability regulatory grading?

G1/V1 - Regulatory judgement - Stability check, 15 January 2025.

Criteria 27. Which Code of Governance does Beyond Housing follow?

Beyond Housing has adopted the 2020 NHF (National Housing Federation) Code of Governance.

Criteria 28. Is Beyond Housing a 'not for profit' organisation?

Yes, Beyond Housing is a 'not for profit,' Community Benefit Society.

Criteria 29. Explain the Beyond Housing board manages organisational risk.

Beyond Housing has an established risk management framework that identifies and plans to mitigate potential risks while exploring future opportunities. The aim of the management framework, is to make the management of risk: dynamic, iterative, and responsive to change. This process involves the systematic application of policies and procedures and is driven by the strategic objectives.

The strategic risk register is regularly reviewed by the executive and senior leadership teams, and performance is reported quarterly to Board and the Audit and Risk Committee. The audit and risk Committee undertake a more detailed review of risks, including scrutiny of risk controls, mitigating actions and emerging risks.

The board regularly reviews strategic risk and reviews risk appetite annually to ensure that the strategic risk register accurately reflects the external and operating environments and that the risk appetite remains fit for purpose.

Key risks such as health and safety, financial stability and data security take a high priority. Significant emerging risks are also monitored (rising interest rates, rent caps and inflation). Risks are analysed according to their impact and likelihood.

Criteria 30. Has Beyond Housing been subject to any adverse regulatory findings in the last 12 months (e.g. data protection breaches, bribery, money laundering, HSE (Health and Safety Executive) breaches or notices) - that resulted in enforcement or other equivalent action?

THEME 10: BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Criteria 31. How does the housing provider ensure it gets input from a diverse range of people, into the governance processes? Does the housing provider consider resident voice at the board and senior management level? Does the housing provider have policies that incorporate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) into the recruitment and selection of board members and senior management?

Customer Voice

Building on substantial progress in recent years, Beyond Housing is committed to further enhancing our customer-centric approach. During 2024/25, we evaluated our existing methods for incorporating customer feedback and establish a dedicated customer forum within our corporate governance framework. This enables us to effectively demonstrate our commitment to listening to customers and providing opportunities for them to shape our decisions.

A customer voice report is presented to board quarterly.  

We considered the customer voice in all board reports, committee reports and policy reviews, and is included in the templates to ensure this is reflected.

EDI in recruitment

There is a strong focus on EDI in recruitment, with links between our recruitment policies and procedures with our EDI policy and statement of principles. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds, including our own customers, and have interview guarantee schemes for both the armed forces and those with a disability.  All applications are anonymised until shortlisting is complete to remove the risk of bias and all recruiting managers are trained on fair recruitment practices. We encourage applications from our own customers through our employability offer, offering them volunteering opportunities to build their skills, work experience and VIP days during our apprentice recruitment, along with our wrap around one-to-one employability support service.

We also operate a stringent review of any appointments where the successful candidate already has a close personal connection with someone in the business to ensure a fair and unbiased process has been followed before the offer of appointment is made.  We continue to develop our fair and inclusive recruitment processes, exploring better use of skills tests and inclusive practices for those who are neurodiverse.

- What % of the board are women? - 70%

- What % of the board are BAME? - 0%

- What % of the board are residents? -  0%

- What % of the board have a disability? -  0%

- Average age of the board - 58.3 years

- Average tenure of the board - 4 years

Criteria 32. What % of the Beyond Housing board and management team has turned over in the last two years?

Criteria 33. How many board members on the audit committee have recent and relevant financial experience?

There are three members of the audit and risk committee with recent and relevant financial experience.

Criteria 34. What % of the board are non-executive directors?

Nine of the 10 board members (90%) are non-executive directors. The chief executive officer is the only executive director on the board.

Criteria 35. Has a succession plan been provided to the board in the last 12 months?

Yes, the board succession plan is presented quarterly to the governance and review committee and is used to inform future recruitment.

Criteria 36. For how many full years has Beyond Housing current external audit partner been responsible for auditing the accounts?

One - Beyond Housing's external audit contract is for a term of 3 years, with the option for a further two years (in line with the adopted Code of Governance - maximum 6 years).

Criteria 37. When was Beyond Housing's last independently run, board effectiveness review?

An independent governance review (including board effectiveness) will be completed in 2027 (3 yearly).  The previous review was carried out in 2024.  

Criteria 38. How does Beyond Housing handle conflicts of interest at the board?

THEME 11: COLLEAGUE WELLBEING

Criteria 39. Does Beyond Housing pay the real living wage?

Yes, Beyond Housing pays the real living wage, as defined annually by the Living Wage Foundation, which is higher than the national living wage. This includes apprentices from year two. During year one they are paid at least the apprentice rate for 18+, regardless of their actual age.

Criteria 40. What is Beyond Housing's gender pay gap?

Beyond Housing is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Our 2024 gender pay gap figures demonstrate progress compared to the national average. The mean gender pay gap was -0.9 (showing that on average women were paid slightly more) and the median was 6.4%, significantly lower than the UK's 13.8% and 13.1% respectively.

We believe in transparency and go beyond gender pay. Our annual general equalities pay gap report also covers ethnicity, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. You can read the equalities pay gap report here.

Criteria 41. What is Beyond Housing CEO/worker pay ratio?

The CEO ratio is calculated by comparing the CEO hourly rate to the whole company median hourly rate using the same reference data as the pay gap data. In 2024, this gave a payment ratio of circa 6:1. Our median colleague was a bricklayer or plasterer who is in receipt of a tool allowance and multiskilling allowance. Research conducted by The Guardian in August 2022 suggested the average CEO ratio in the UK was 109:1[1].

Criteria 42. How is the housing provider ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is promoted across its staff?

Beyond Housing is a proud Investor in Diversity, accredited by the National Centre for Diversity (NCD) since October 2021. Currently ranked 66th in the NCD's top 100 most inclusive employers, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Our EDI approach is underpinned by an annual action plan, informed by NCD recommendations. A dedicated EDI steering group, including Senior Leadership, oversees this plan, while a passionate team of volunteer EDI Champions drives its implementation.

The action plan includes an annual schedule of campaigns and activities to raise awareness amongst colleagues, tapping into national and local campaigns where possible. Beyond Housing has a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and harassment and offers a range of avenues to raise a concern or complaint, including the anonymous whistleblowing reporting tool and an established EDI ally scheme.

Transparency and accountability are key. Our annual EDI annual report, outlines progress and initiatives. EDI is embedded in our company values, code of conduct, and colleagues participate in regular training through their learning portal.

In 2024 we made the decision to adopt the National Centre for Diversity acronym FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement) and rolled this out with our teams because we believe putting fairness at the forefront is the right thing to do.  We are still migrating away from referring just to EDI replacing it with the expanded FREDIE acronym as our existing equalities documents come up for review.

We started to train colleagues on neurodiversity and trained all managers on sexual harassment prevention.  We consult with both customers and colleagues about our FREDIE practices and make appropriate amendments to our plans when the feedback suggests it is appropriate.

Criteria 43. How does Beyond Housing support the physical and mental health of colleagues?

Employee assistance programme - an excellent health cash plan with UK Healthcare which helps contribute to colleagues' day-to-day health and wellbeing expenditure. The scheme offers 24 hour/7 days per week counselling, legal advice, bereavement assistance, general health and wellbeing advice, and access to medical professionals. The scheme also provides cash payback on a range of medical services.

Health advocates - Beyond Housing has a group of colleagues from across the business who are passionate about health and wellbeing and are instrumental in developing our positive wellbeing culture.

The group welcomes everyone to participate in and share their health and wellbeing achievements and provide information on upcoming health and wellbeing events and campaigns, health topics, fact sheets and external support group contact details.

Mental health first aiders - Beyond Housing has a number of trained mental health first aiders, promoted to colleagues on a rolling monthly basis. These volunteers support colleagues who are approaching or in crisis, enabling them to get immediate support from the right agencies when it is needed. Mental Health First Aiders now conduct monthly random wellbeing calls, to proactively check on the wellbeing of colleagues to demonstrate the importance of good mental health, the commitment of the employer to this, and to prevent progression to crisis. Groups statistically at higher risk of suicide are prioritised in the roll out of these calls.

Better Health at Work Award - In 2023, the company was proud to achieve continuing excellence standard for the 'Better Health at Work award' a year after attaining gold, following a sustained programme of campaigns aimed at supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of our colleagues.  This level of award was retained in 2024.

The team delivered a range of activities and initiatives including: cost of living workshops, steps challenges, mental health awareness week, alcohol awareness campaigns, free flu vouchers, on-site physiotherapy appointments; and tapped into national campaigns on issues such as men's health week, skin cancer awareness month, cervical screening week, Samaritans talk to us month and world sleep day.

Office remodelling - In 2022, we started the remodelling of our office spaces. The new layouts promote agile working, creating a variety of spaces to encourage colleagues to move and mix more and include social spaces and wellbeing rooms. The remodelling of our office spaces is part of our commitment to creating a healthy and productive work environment.

The social spaces are designed to be informal and inviting, with comfortable seating and plenty of natural light. These spaces are perfect for spontaneous conversations, collaborative sessions, or just taking a break from work. The wellbeing rooms are equipped with relaxation amenities such as yoga mats and bean bags. These rooms provide a quiet space for colleagues to de-stress, recharge, and improve their mental health.

Criteria 44. How does the housing provider support the professional development of its staff?

All colleagues are offered an annual 'be your best' conversation with their manager, with quarterly check ins to explore their objectives, performance, development needs and future aspirations.

Beyond Housing has its own learning platform, hosting a broad range of essential and optional e-learning modules, giving colleagues the ability to manage their own professional development.

Colleagues are encouraged to undertake relevant formal qualifications and those who wish to do this to support their career development can receive financial support with the course costs as well as time off to participate.

In 2023/24 all colleagues with people management responsibility participated in a centrally led leadership and management development programme to develop their skills as managers and support performance improvement.  This programme is currently being review for delivery to relevant new starters.

Beyond Housing develops and maintains networks to enable effective provision of professional development activities such as SHINE (Social Housing In North East). The SHINE network has contracted with training providers to deliver housing qualifications in advance of the regulatory competence requirements and 10 colleagues from Beyond Housing commenced participation in the pilot groups for the level 4 and level 5 qualifications.

Further investment in professional development of colleagues has been made, with the introduction of 2 further learning and development roles to continue to build on learning and development activities and frameworks such as induction for new starters and career journey maps and skills matrices to further help colleagues plan their career with Beyond Housing.

THEME 12: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Criteria 45 How is social value creation considered when procuring goods and services?

Since 2022, for all contracts where spend exceeds £50k in total contract value, we stipulate that contractors must commit to contribute a 1% return in revenue, goods or services that can be reinvested into our priority estates to support key community projects across our portfolio.

Our main materials supply contract, kitchen, bathrooms and windows supply agreement, and cleaning and scaffolding contracts all provide funding to be utilised on social value related works. Projects approved include community play zones, community cafes, school farm shops and community support initiatives such as food banks, furniture and warm homes schemes.

Where contract values do not exceed this threshold, we will actively encourage suppliers, service providers and contractors to provide a social value offering for our customers such as work experience placements or offer their own time in the form of voluntary work to community and charity groups to improve local community spaces.

Case study

Supply chain

Beyond Housing employability customer, Anthony, joined Equans for a week of work experience as a Project Manager as part of their social value commitment to Beyond Housing, Equans committed to supporting our customers to gain experience to support taking their first career steps.

He was able to gain some valuable experience of projects as they are nearing completion and some of the inspection works needed to close these down alongside meeting with personnel involved in a range of the projects. Anthony was able to learn from Pre - Tender Adjudication meetings, information gathering for meetings, attending sites and working with the planners for programming works.

Beyond Housing employability customer were able to support our customers and received great feedback from Anthony; 'Everything is great. Right from the communication with Beyond Housing to passing me on to a great team that handled the work experience with professionalism.' This opportunity puts Anthony in a great position to develop and grow in his career.

Criteria 46 How is sustainability considered when procuring goods and services? 

What measures are in place to monitor the sustainability of your supply chain when procuring goods and services?

Beyond Housing consider sustainability when pricing goods and services by ensuring that all contractors are required to outline their sustainability credentials by submitting their environmental policy/environmental purchasing policy, environmental management systems (e.g. ISO 14001/EMAS or similar accreditations) and detail what actions have taken over the last three years to improve the environment as part of the Beyond Housing contractor approval process. The approved contractor list is reviewed continuously to ensure that standards are maintained as an approved contractor, any contractor that does not get their information updated are removed as approved contractors.

During the tender process, each tender aligns to the Social Value Act and Modern Slavery Act as minimum requirements. Each tender is assessed on an individual basis as to whether appropriate quality questions can be included to encourage the contractor to reduce their environmental impact, and to source locally, which is included within any resulting contract as a scope or key performance indicators requirement.

National targets are in place for social housing providers to improve the energy efficiency of homes and reduce CO2 emissions. Beyond Housing is fully committed to reducing our impact on the environment. We are constantly exploring options and solutions to reduce reliance on gas and fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency, make better use of renewable energy, and create warmer healthier homes.