News

Throughout January, we have been leading internal discussions about the importance of data. It’s not necessarily the most exciting topic, but it’s a vital one. It tells us why we are here and who we are as Flagship Group. 

At its very core, data informs us on what we need to do next. It exposes inefficiencies and disadvantages and reveals truths about our habits to know what we might do next. And it opens windows into opportunity, while offering a glimpse into the future. 

We want to share this insight with you – the housing crisis is a big topic, and solving it is ambitious. So, what does the housing crisis actually mean? Here is some key data that underpins why we do what we do:

• In 2019/2020, across our operating area 14,308 households approached the local housing authority for help because they are homeless or at risk of homelessness.  
• Average house prices are at least eight times the average income across our operating area.

This tells us that there are thousands of people across the East of England who cannot afford a home and informed our purpose: provide homes and create sustainable communities.

On that basis, we now own more than 30,000 homes across the East of England. We operate in 20 different local authority areas. 44% of our homes were built between 1945 and 1981 with a further 30% of them built since 2020.

In line with plans from local councils, a total of 13,865 new homes of all tenures should be built in our operating area each year. This is a figure we often meet and even exceed.

For instance, in the Broadland area encompassing Norwich and South Norfolk, we built over 7,000 homes in the 2017-2020 period, exceeding the Council’s requirements by approximately 2,000.

And, over the next five years we plan to build over 4,000 new Affordable Homes across our operating area. This is something that will continue to evolve over time as we continue to collect data about our operating area, homes, and most importantly, our tenants.

As a Group, we use all of this data and more to measure how well we’re doing it as well as where we need to improve. We have to acknowledge that our data could always be better, and that’s one of our values as well as what’s led our January discussions – the use of data to relentlessly improve our performance.

For instance, Head of IT (Change & Projects) Shaun Hamilton said, “…always protect the data you have with your life. There's nothing quite like data in the modern age”. and we couldn’t agree more. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to continuously improve what we do in all areas of the Group.   

Or, as Digital Director Claire Wright put it, “Data will be critical in accelerating the digital agenda, making our jobs smoother and our customer service even more outstanding. Everything we input in our systems, the way we use our data - we are all personally able to contribute to making sure that our systems hold clean and validated information.”

To keep up with what we’re doing, why not follow us on social media?

Twitter: @_FlagshipGroup

Instagram: @_FlagshipGroup

LinkedIn: Flagship Housing Group Ltd.