The Social Housing Round Table

Matthew Baird
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  • NON-PROFIT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Join Matthew Baird for a free, weekly networking forum discussing anything and everything in Social Housing with a different guest speaker each week. The idea?  To create a community from the conversations that matter.

  1. What Is Service Design and Why It Matters to Housing

    5 DAYS AGO

    What Is Service Design and Why It Matters to Housing

    A tenant reports a leak. She uploads photos, explains she has a young child, and flags that she is worried the ceiling might collapse. A week passes. She hears nothing. She chases - online, by phone, in person. The repair team eventually come out, leave her some buckets, and advise her to keep containing the water. More of the ceiling falls. The light fittings fill up with water. She is told the flat is still liveable. The hotel she is offered is miles away and she does not drive. From the organisation's perspective, the process was followed. The case was closed. And yet the experience failed - completely. That gap between what a landlord thinks it delivered and what a tenant actually felt is, as Oliver Goldring puts it, customer experience. And it ended up in the media. In the first session of the Social Housing Round Table's new People and Culture stream, Matt Baird is joined by Oliver Goldring, Head of Digital, Design and Communications at Magna Housing and author of Listen, Act, Change, for a candid and practical conversation about service design - what it actually is, why the sector has normalised poor design without realising it, and what it would take to genuinely change. The conversation covers the difference between process mapping and customer journey mapping, why so many organisations are confusing the two, how technology has come to define services rather than support them, and what Oliver calls the uncomfortable truth: that in housing, there are thousands of Sarahs because services were never designed to actually work. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    59 min

  2. 28 APR

    Exploring Risks and Hazards for Neurodivergent Children in Temporary Accommodation

    There is a content warning for this session. Some of the material shared is distressing. But it is important and the conversation is worth hearing in full. There are nearly 176,000 children in England living in temporary accommodation right now. That number would fill Wembley Stadium almost twice over. Families are spending an average of four and a half years in these situations. And between 2019 and 2025, 104 children died in temporary accommodation, with their housing listed as a contributing factor. 73% of those children were under the age of one. In this episode of The Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Professor Katherine Brickell and Dr Rosalie Warnock from the Sensory Lives Project at King's College London, to discuss the findings of their landmark report: It's Like Torture: Life in Temporary Accommodation for Neurodivergent Children and their Families. Published in January 2026 following the first ever national call for evidence on this topic, the report reveals a picture that goes far beyond the commonly reported issues of damp and overcrowding.  Neurodivergent children placed in hotels and hostels face unsafe windows, unsecured staircases, no space to self-regulate, no familiar belongings, and environments that are overwhelming in ways that most housing decisions simply do not account for. Families are moved with hours' notice, sometimes hundreds of miles from their support networks. Children fall off NHS waiting lists every time they cross a borough boundary. And the system, at almost every point, fails them. The report is available to read alongside this episode and we encourage you to do so. See it here: https://urbanhealth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Impact-on-Urban-Health-Neurodivergent-Children-in-Temporary-Accommodation.pdf Big thank you to Case Management Solutions Group Ltd and Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    1 hr

  3. 21 APR

    The Ripple Effect of Poor Conflict Management on Tenancy Sustainability

    Most tenancy breakdowns don't start with a tenancy issue. They start with a noise complaint, a parking dispute or a falling out between neighbours - something that, with the right intervention at the right time, might never have escalated at all. In episode 222 of The Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Kim Logan, MD of ADR Mediation and Training CIC, for an honest and practical conversation about what happens when conflict in a tenancy goes unmanaged, and why mediation is so often the last tool reached for rather than the first. The session explores the ripple effect of unresolved neighbour disputes, how a single complaint can quietly spread into community tension, repeat contacts, and eventually enforcement action - and what a different approach might look like. Kim also shares why Conflict Resolution Week exists, and what she hopes it will shift across the sector. With contributions from tenants, housing officers and local authority professionals in the room, this is a session that covers the full picture - and raises some important questions about how the sector currently responds to conflict, and how it could do better. Big thank you to Case Management Solutions Group Ltd and Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    1hr 1min

  4. 14 APR

    How Does Effective Partnership Work Support Community Cohesion in Birmingham?

    In this Social Housing Round Table session, hosted by Matt Baird, we were joined by Emma Peniket and Julie Smart from the Birmingham Social Housing Partnership to explore how effective partnership working can support community cohesion. The discussion focused on what true collaboration looks like in practice, particularly within community safety and resident-first decision making. Emma and Julie shared how open communication, shared responsibility and a willingness to work beyond organisational boundaries are helping to create stronger outcomes for residents across Birmingham. This session highlights what can happen when partnerships move beyond theory and into action, offering valuable insight for housing professionals looking to strengthen collaboration and deliver more joined-up services. Big thank you to Case Management Solutions Group Ltd and Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    57 min

  5. 7 APR

    Electrical Safety in The Social Housing Sector

    Electrical safety in social housing has, for a long time, sat in the shadow of gas safety. Everyone knows the annual gas check. Far fewer give the same weight to electrical installations — installations that can harbour serious, hidden faults and show no outward signs of danger whatsoever. That is beginning to change. New regulations are now coming into force that will require all social housing providers to have electrical installations inspected and tested every five years — and to get a copy of the certificate to tenants within 28 days. In episode 220 of The Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Martin Simmonds, Head of M&E at a large housing association and Chair of the Electrical Safety Roundtable's Social Housing Subgroup, and Lana Adkin, Communications Officer at NAPIT and secretarial support for the ESR. Together, they walk through what the new regulations actually require, what the biggest operational challenges are, and how the Electrical Safety Roundtable has been working to support both landlords and tenants in meeting them. The conversation covers what an electrical inspection involves and what the report codes mean, the scale of the access problem facing the sector, the free tenant education resources the ESR has developed — including an EasyRead document co-produced with adults with learning disabilities — and the thorny question of who is responsible when things go wrong. It is a practical, grounded conversation on a topic that carries real consequences for residents living in social housing across the country. Well worth your time. Big thank you to Case Management Solutions Group Ltd and Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    59 min

  6. 31 MAR

    Digital Transformation in Social Housing: Is it Actually Working for Tenants?

    Digital transformation in social housing has been underway for years. New systems, new platforms, new technology landing in homes and housing offices across the country. But there's a question that doesn't get asked often enough: is any of it actually working for the people it's supposed to serve? In episode 219 of The Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Stewart Davison, founder of The PropTech Peer Group, for an honest and wide-ranging conversation about where digital transformation is landing well, where it's falling short, and why residents and tenants are still so often an afterthought in the process. The discussion covers the gap between what housing providers buy and what tenants actually need, the role of co-design in technology procurement, why smaller tech providers often get this right when larger ones don't, and what it would take to genuinely put residents at the heart of digital decision-making. The session also features contributions from tenants and housing professionals in the room, including a candid account from a tenant about the real-life impact of technology imposed without her input. Plenty to reflect on for anyone involved in technology, procurement or tenant engagement in the sector. Big thank you to Case Management Solutions Group Ltd and Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    1 hr

  7. 24 MAR

    The Calling Kettle: Can Smart Technology Tackle Domestic Abuse? | The Social Housing Round Table

    Trigger warning: this session includes detailed personal testimony of domestic abuse and coercive control. What do you do when you can't reach for your phone? When someone has taken it, or when reaching for it would put you in more danger than staying silent? That was the question Katy Longhurst asked herself. Not as a thought experiment — but living through years of coercive control, surveillance, stalking, and violence at the hands of an ex-partner who had the training, the resources, and the determination to make sure no one could help her. Her panic alarm was eventually disconnected. The police logged 169 separate incidents, each handled in isolation, none of them connecting the full picture. So she built something herself. Using her background in smart buildings and IoT, she created AskJoan — a cloud-based system that detects unusual power surges from everyday household appliances. In this conversation, Katy joins Matt Baird at the Social Housing Round Table to share her full story — and to explore what it means for the housing sector, for local authorities, and for the thousands of people living in social housing who may be experiencing domestic abuse right now without anyone knowing. This session covers: The realities of coercive control and how it escalates long before it becomes visible How AskJoan works and what it requires to be deployed The funding and commissioning landscape, and why the biggest barrier isn't the technology What housing providers and local authorities can do, practically, to support victims Why detection and awareness must come before the crisis point The relationship between the sector, the police, and the tools available Also joining the conversation: Evie, Domestic Abuse and Exploitation Research Associate at AskJoan, and Lucy Burton, Business Development and DA Specialist at Viviplu. A candid, important, and at times deeply affecting discussion. If you'd like to learn more about AskJoan or enquire about the 50 free pilot licenses currently available, contact the team via LinkedIn or email lucy.burton@viviplu.co.uk Big thank you to Case Management Solutions Group Ltd and Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    59 min

  8. 17 MAR

    The Management Capability Gap: The Biggest Risk Housing Boards Aren't Talking About?

    In this Social Housing Round Table session, hosted by Matt Baird, we were joined by Hayley Gillard, CEO of Compassionate Leaders, to explore a critical question for the sector: is there a management capability gap that housing boards are not talking about? The conversation examined the growing pressure on leaders across housing organisations, the expectations placed on middle and senior management, and the risks that emerge when capability, support and development do not keep pace with complexity. Hayley shared insight into leadership behaviours, organisational culture and the importance of creating environments where managers are equipped to lead effectively, not just deliver operationally. The session challenged boards and senior leaders to consider where capability gaps may exist and what can be done to address them. A thought-provoking discussion for anyone involved in leadership, governance or organisational development within social housing. Big thank you to Case Management Solutions Group Ltd and Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

    1 hr
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About

Join Matthew Baird for a free, weekly networking forum discussing anything and everything in Social Housing with a different guest speaker each week. The idea?  To create a community from the conversations that matter.

Information

  • Creator
    Matthew Baird
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Social Housing Round Table

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