The future of social housing was discussed at CHIC’s Annual Conference last week, following an informative presentation held by Andy Howarth from Platform Housing Group, Andrew Dudley from Wright Hassall, Joe Scurr and Gordan Shirley from CHIC and chaired by BBC Home Editor Mark Easton.

Many believe that social housing is nearing the bottom of the agenda when it comes to the implications of Brexit and is being heavily overlooked.

Logistics

Arguably, the main issue that the social housing sector is going to face is the logistical changes to supply chains. With materials like timber being imported from the EU, merchants and suppliers have already begun contingency planning to maintain their sustainability and have adopted the approach of stockpiling materials; however, it’s a temporary solution – longer term trade deals do need to be clear.

Labour

The potential knock-on effects for labour are starting to bite some contractors, particularly in the south east. Half of construction workers in London come from the EU and many have already moved elsewhere in Europe to avoid being ‘stuck’.

Going from a blanket agreement to, well, who knows what, is going to be a huge change regardless of the specifics. The social housing market is inevitably going to have to learn to adapt no matter what comes its way; Deal or No Deal is just the beginning of something bigger.

What is CHIC doing?

Although the UK is going Brexit crazy, there’s no need to panic. CHIC has been actively collaborating with its members suppliers to gather intelligence on what is being done to avoid disruption in the supply chain. 95% of Manufacturers and Distributors already have plans in place to mitigate for a No Deal vote, with the majority judging disruption as low risk.

CHIC’s Merchant Services Manager is of the opinion that: “The worst thing that we in the social housing industry can do right now, is to put our heads in the sand and hope that this storm will pass us by. The first thing that will be affected will be supply chains, so we are actively working with CHIC’s suppliers to ensure our members suffer the least possible disruption.

Consortia such as CHIC are better positioned to notice trends in the market that individual housing associations might not see, giving the number of suppliers we engage with. Having a pool of suppliers providing the same type of service, normally via a framework, will allow members that purchase through that group a better understanding of if and how the market is changing.

In these trialling times, co-operation is key, and instead of we can do it better, we need to do it better together.

If you are worried about the Brexit impact on your organisation, please give us a call on 0121 515 3831