Sovereign Housing Association

Sovereign Housing Association Value for Money Review

the project

FFT were appointed by Sovereign Housing Association to undertake a Value for Money (VfM) Review. Sovereign are a leading and very large Housing Association within England, with over 58,000 properties located across a wide geographical area encompassing Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Dorset, Devon, Wiltshire, the West of England and the Isle of Wight.
The scope of services included reviewing Sovereign’s insourced delivery model to understand whether the service being delivered aligned with the original business case and if the current procurement strategy was fit for purpose.

our role

We reviewed and analysed a wide range of considerations in order to comment upon the potential value for money implications of the current delivery model, and to consider the value for money being achieved across all relevant areas with consideration given to the wider sector and market.
This review included:

In-depth analysis of a range of existing data
Undertaking face-to-face interviews and workshops
Preparing and submitting a final report

This was a very broad review encompassing a large range of areas and considerations including:

SLA’s, Contracts and Material Supply Arrangements
Service Area Spend and Budgets
Cost of Service and Benchmarking across Repairs, Empty Homes and Planned Works
Operative Numbers and the Trades
Staff Structures
Supply Chain
VAT Considerations
KPIs
Customer Contact Centre
Soft Benefits

the challenges

Due to the size and scope of Sovereign, the volume, consistency and format of data created a significant challenge in ensuring that the most accurate and relevant data was able to be included within the analysis and that every element was understood and incorporated within the main body of the report.
Due to the vastness of the information assessed, setting out and clarifying the key themes that ran through all areas of review was a constant area of focus within this project, ensuring that the key areas which could impact upon value for money were considered across a broad range of elements of the service delivery.

There was a significant challenge to ensure that no key information or feedback was overlooked due to the number of key staff included within the consolation stage of this project.

the solution

Extensive data analysis and review took place, ensuring that all key data sources were fully digested, understood and analysed for them to be accurately portrayed within the report.

In addition to the raw data, a significant area of focus was within the face-to-face meetings with key Sovereign colleagues, giving FFT a secure understanding of the key priorities and challenges faced by a wide range of teams within the organisation. This provided a detailed and informed context for the report, ensuring that colleagues feedback was referenced whilst remaining anonymous.

Based on FFT’s extensive experience within the sector, alongside the clear understanding of the current market pricing expectations, challenges and considerations, FFT were able to review and asses each individual area of service delivery and comment upon it, both in isolation and in the broader context of the over-arching themes that FFT drew out within the report.

To ensure all key colleagues were able to input, FFT held regional workshops and interviews to ensure the full 360-degree picture was obtained.

added value

FFT undertook a roadshow of visits to Sovereign offices, in addition to organising one-to-one video calls with colleagues who were unable to make specific dates. This level of engagement exceeded the initial expectations for the project and was key to ensuring that the report included input from the wide range of teams.

Throughout the final report, a significant number of areas were expanded on in far greater detail than was initially anticipated, in order to ensure that the analysis could be a clear and focussed as possible, allowing the key themes to be reflected throughout.

Facts

Client:

Sovereign Housing Association

Address:

Newbury, Berkshire

Project Dates:

January – May 2020

Main Contractor:

Sovereign Housing Association

Sector:

Commercial

Key contact

Paul Smith

Associate Partner

01689 885080

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