Value for Money is a regulatory standard introduced in 2012 that requires housing associations to maximize efficiency and demonstrate they are providing good value to tenants. This standard may also apply to housing co-ops in the future. The regulatory standard focuses on understanding costs and outcomes, optimizing returns on assets, and ensuring activities and service delivery models are efficient. It evaluates economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The Housemark approach assesses if an organization is using its resources and assets appropriately to achieve its goals and outcomes. For co-ops, applying this approach means evaluating if member involvement, staffing, and service models help achieve the co-op's purpose of providing high-quality homes and a supportive community. Involving members can produce cost savings,

1. #CoopHousing15
Value for Money

2. Value for Money
Question: what does the phrase Value
for Money mean to you?
Please think of three words or phrases
that sums it up

3. Background
• introduction of Value for Money
standard in England in 2012
• requirement to produce annual Value
for Money statements
• linked to housing associations
maximising new build
• some associations downgraded
because of their VFM statements
• how much is this relevant to co-ops?

4. Further background
• changes to Rent Standard to reduce
the housing benefit bill
• rent capped at CPI plus 1% increase
• rent reduction to -1% for four years
• big impact on housing associations
• effect on co-op business plans?
• introduction of Universal Credit
• welfare benefit changes

5. Value for Money
• what will the regulator do re. co-ops?
• whatever happens, there is a need for
co-ops to focus on Value for Money

6. The regulatory standard
Regulatory goobledegook What does it mean?
Robust approach –
understanding trade offs
and opportunity costs
When making decisions,
considering alternatives that
could cut costs
Optimising future returns on
assets
Making as much money as
you can out of your homes
Potential benefits in
alternative delivery models
Could you do things
differently & save money?
VFM performance
management
Examining all areas of the
business to save money
Understanding costs and
outcomes
Knowing what your money
is delivering for you

7. The regulatory standard
Regulatory goobledegook What does it mean?
Robust annual VFM
self-assessment
Setting out what you are
doing to achieve VFM
Transparent and
accessible to stakeholders
So that people you work with
understand (tenants?)
Returns on assets against
organisation objectives
Are you doing what you set
out to do as well as you can?
Absolute & comparative
costs of specific services
How much does it cost you to
do things? How does this
compare with others?
Evidencing VFM gains Prove it mate!

8. Value for Money
• is it all about money?
• economy – comparative service costs
• efficiency – are your resources
arranged to deliver what you want?
• effectiveness – are you achieving the
outcomes you want?

9. Housemark approach
Social hearts,
business
heads: new
thinking on
VFM for
housing
associations

10. The Housemark approach
1 purpose – what are we here for?
2 right activities – are we using our resources
in the right way to achieve our purpose?
3 right assets – are we using our homes and
people in the right way?
4 right delivery – are the ways we are working
efficient in delivering what we want?
5 right outcomes – are we achieving what we
wanted to? How are we using what we’ve
saved? What have we learnt?

11. How does this work for co-ops?
1 purpose – what are you here for? What
outcomes do you want to achieve?
Eg:
• high quality homes
• good services
• strong supportive community
• helping individual members with their lives

12. How does this work for co-ops?
2 right activities – what resources do you use?
• are you making the best use of your members?
• what staff do you have? Either directly
employed or through a provider
• what contractors do you use?

13. How does this work for co-ops?
3 right assets – how are you using your homes
and other assets? How are you using your
people?
• using homes to house people
• but are you using their borrowing leverage?
• is your staffing arrangement the right one?

14. How does this work for co-ops?
4 right delivery – for each of your services, is
what you are doing producing the best
economy, efficiency and effectiveness?
5 right outcomes – are you achieving your
purpose? What are you doing with your
surplus? What are you learning?

15. An Investment not a Cost
• investing in tenant involvement can
produce financial, service, social and
community benefits
• the housing sector needs to be doing
much more to identify and publicise
the business and other benefits that
derive from involvement

16. What benefits come from involving
members in a co-op?
• are there cost savings?
• are we getting tenant satisfaction?
• are there service benefits?
• does it mean you can communicate better?
• is anti-social behaviour tackled better?
• what is the social dividend – eg. community
support networks, things for young people?
• what does it do for co-op members involved?
• what does it do for staff members involved?

17. • 20/20 Housing Co-operative
• community intelligence
• scrutiny of what’s going on
• knowing our members
• common sense of tenants
• identity, pride and ownership
• it all equals quality that cannot be
bought through staff or
consultants

18. Investing in Involvement
• project in the housing sector to develop a
basic commonly accepted framework for
identifying the benefits of tenant involvement
• Investing in Involvement statements
• framework launch at end of year
• getting people signed up

19. Value for Money
#CoopHousing15