Decency and Decarbonisation: Improving the Region’s Homes

This dinner will convene senior leaders, policymakers, and housing practitioners to discuss how the region should be responding – to two urgent and interlinked imperatives: improving the quality of homes and accelerating decarbonisation.

On the anniversary of the publication of the Centre’s Social Housing Quality Fund Evaluation and with the introduction of Awaab’s Law, the duty on landlords to act swiftly on hazards such as damp and mould has brought a renewed focus on housing decency.  At the same time, the national drive to reach net zero requires substantial investment in retrofitting and energy efficiency improvements across existing stock. These challenges cannot be tackled in isolation: the agenda must balance safety, health, affordability, and sustainability.

The evening will provide a space to consider how the region can take a joined-up approach, ensuring compliance with new legal duties, securing funding and investment, and leveraging innovation in housing and construction. By strengthening collaboration across local authorities, housing associations, developers, and central government, we can deliver homes that are decent, safe, and low-carbon –  improving wellbeing and quality of life, and supporting public health, safety and climate goals.

We are delighted to be welcoming Eddie Hughes as our keynote speaker for this event.  Having spent his pre-Parliament career working in the construction, management, and maintenance of housing, Eddie was perhaps an obvious choice for a role in the Ministry for Housing (MHCLG), once elected as an MP. He spent two and a half years in the department, firstly as the Department Whip and then as a Housing Minister, introducing legislation ranging from Building Safety to new Building Regs, and, as Net Zero Minister, representing the Government at COP26.  We are delighted to be hosting a fireside chat with Eddie in which Alan Fraser (Consultant, former CEO of YMCA Heart of England and Member of CNM’s Housing Board) will pose a number of questions to Eddie before opening the session up to our guests.

With special thanks to Unity Trust Bank for sponsoring the evening.

This event is for members of our Reimagining the Region network and invited guests.  If you feel that this event is particularly relevant to you and your organisation, please email events@thenewmidlands.org.uk.  Invitations to be sent to our members w/c 15th September.

If your organisation is not yet a member of our network, please visit our membership pages to join.  Annual rates start from £450 + VAT – we look forward to welcoming you.  Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact chris@thenewmidlands.org.uk