Paul Tennant - Orbit Group Chief Executive
We live in interesting times as the saying goes. We have a coalition government, a huge deficit to address, challenging economic circumstances as well as the threat of escalating unemployment and ongoing uncertainty as cuts become clearer. In the housing world we see increasing demand for our homes, services and support particularly from those who are not our usual customer group. Demand for homes remains critical whilst availability of houses, mortgages and deposits is diminishing rapidly. The future of capital and revenue support is in question and we await the June budget and comprehensive spending review in October with trepidation. Seems to me that the word “interesting” is an understatement for the times we live in.
What do we do - jump to the latest policy initiative or leap to the next great idea?
In my view we can and should engage strongly with what residents, future residents and communities want and need. We should take the real opportunity that exists for us to go beyond our current boundaries - both in terms of what we do and importantly how we do it - to extend the impact and contribution we can make. Change will be necessary and appropriate but I believe we should embrace this working with residents and communities to really understand what is required of us, develop new ideas and be prepared to challenge ourselves to ensure we can deliver what is required.
My job currently is focused on 3 issues: with the Executive Team keeping our eye firmly on delivering our services well to residents, on understanding the policy agenda that Orbit will operate within as an organisation and interpreting it, and developing our response as a Group to transform Orbit to meet and grow with the challenges ahead.
The world is going to get tougher but what we do and what we offer has never been more important. We have a desire and an ability to adapt as we firmly believe in our responsibility to the people and communities we work with now and in the future.
There’s certainly never been a more interesting time to be in housing!
