Incommunities retains its governance and highest viability standard grading
The Regulator of Social Housing has today announced that we have retained our G2 (governance) and V1 (financial viability) grading following the latest In-Depth Assessment (IDA).
Since our last IDA we have completed a whole-scale review of our organisation and our governance arrangements. We have put in place action plans, which set out clear and measurable goals to raise our performance, addressing the areas that needed improvement. We are pleased to have recognition for the significant progress that we have made so far.
Whilst we have kept our current compliant governance rating, it’s positive to have confirmation from the Regulator that we are moving in the right direction on our journey to becoming a G1 housing association.
We have made the improvements required and to build on this positive progress, we are now creating lasting processes and controls that will further embed these changes and continue to improve our governance and oversight. We will continue to work closely with the Regulator.
Ongoing work includes, continuing to strengthen our data, a number of rent assurance improvements, and completing the final stages of our work on the new Strategic Asset Management plan, which makes clear our commitment to invest in our customers’ homes to make sure that their needs, and the needs of future generations are met.
Chief Executive of Incommunities, Rachael Dennis, said: “We are pleased with the outcome of this assessment, which reflects where we are with our transformation journey. There has been significant work undertaken to review our whole organisation and make sure that we have the right governance and oversight, and I am really happy that the work we have done to make improvements has been recognised. Retaining the top financial viability rating is something I’m particularly proud of in this current climate, especially with the intense pressure the sector is under.
“I would like to thank our colleagues and Board for all their work and support. We are committed to providing the highest quality services and support, and to improve our organisation for our customers and the communities they live in.”
The Regulator of Social Housing carries out IDAs at registered housing providers every few years and publishes assessments on how well a housing association is meeting its standards. They issue ratings on a scale of 1 to 4, for all social housing providers owning 1,000 or more social housing homes.
Our G2/V1 rating means:
- G2 - we meet the Regulator’s governance requirements and are compliant. However, we need to improve some aspects of our governance arrangements to support continued compliance. The judgement from the Regulator says that improvements have been made and acknowledges that further improvements are ongoing.
- V1 - is the highest rating for financial viability. It shows that we meet viability requirements and have the financial capacity to deal with a range of adverse scenarios. The Regulator has said that it has assurance that our financial plans are consistent with, and support, our financial strategy.