ABOUT HQN

Many members and customers will remember HQN from its origins in housing finance advice and training. Finance remains a core part of the company's activities today, alongside the complementary range of services it now offers.

The company is made up of several different areas of excellence including The Housing Quality Network, six specialist networks, an ageing communities excellence service, consultancy services, interim and project management (The Pool) and training and development services.

On this page you will find information about each area of our business. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with us directly via email hqn@hqnetwork.co.uk or telephone the HQN office on 0845 4747 004.

The Housing Quality Network

A core part of the company is The Housing Quality Network or ‘The Network’, which is a membership organisation, currently having over 680+ social housing providers as members. Responding to the latest policy issues from efficiency to inspection, supported housing to anti-social behaviour, The Network is the cost effective way to ensure your organisation is ahead of the game. An advisory group drawn from among our members, helps ensure our services respond to your needs.

Our briefing papers, specially commissioned to reflect the different policy and legal requirements in England, Scotland and Wales, analyse all major government initiatives and consultations affecting housing.

Our self-assessment toolkit, comprising several workbooks on a variety of housing issues, is designed to ensure you are well prepared for inspection and performance improvement.

The Network's famous electronic information bank, accessible 24 hours a day, is constantly updated with policy information, inspection results, and events details. It also includes a members' exchange facility where members can post queries and share good practice.

Events with free places for member organisations (contact the HQN office tel: 0845 4747 004 to check the number of free places your organisation may be entitled to) offer another valuable way to keep up with best practice and policy initiatives. Regional seminars and our annual conference feature top speakers from high-performing organisations plus government departments and agencies including Communities and Local Government (CLG), the Audit Commission and The Scottish Housing Regulator.

In brief, member benefits are:

• A website – with ‘members-only’ areas and 24 hours-a-day access
• Fast, high-quality, topical briefings
• Self–assessment toolkits
• An unrivalled web–based information bank
• Regional seminars
• An annual conference
• Free or subsidised places are available to members at our events
• A questions-and-answers service to keep members up-to-date on all the latest policy and practice issues
• A free jobs advertising service.

The Network covers a very broad range of housing issues, focusing generally on the area of performance improvement for social housing providers.

Further enquiries, contact:

Claire Turner
Head of Network Services
Tel: 01246 413791
Mob: 07738 544981
Email: Claire@hqnetwork.co.uk

A number of years ago HQN recognised the need to develop an additional number of individual specialist networks, each having their own password-protected website. These specialist networks offer more detailed briefings, events, best practice and high quality information in each of the specialist areas.

The specialist networks currently available to customers are:

Rent Income Excellence Network (RIEN)

The original specialist network, now offering even better value. From rent collection to managing arrears and former tenant arrears, RIEN has the information and advice you need.

Achieving excellence in rent collection is a difficult task, all the more difficult if you are doing it alone. Membership of RIEN can take some of the strain, by giving you access to the up-to-date information and contacts you need. Innovation, ideas and best practice from over 190 members across the UK – you can be sure that what we say has a track record of real success in the real world.

Further enquiries contact:

Tony Newman
RIEN
Lead Officer
Mob: 07821 984344
Email: rien@hqnetwork.co.uk

The Excellence in Asset Management Network (TEAMnet)

The practical no-nonsense specialist network that will develop your skills in all aspects of asset management, especially in delivering high-quality repairs and maintenance services. TEAMnet is run for housing asset management specialists by housing asset management specialists.

Aimed at ALMOs, councils, housing associations, TMOs, contractor partners and suppliers, TEAMnet keeps members abreast of hot topics and emerging issues across all aspects of management and provides an asset management knowledge base that is second to none. TEAMnet already boasts a long list of large and small organisations as members.

Further enquiries contact:

Wayne Hughes
Executive Director for Asset management and procurement
Mob: 07796671378
Or
Alan Hodgkinson
TEAMnet Lead Associate
Mob: 07796281578
Email: teamnet@hqnetwork.co.uk

Strategic Excellence Network (SEN)

The range of skills and the breadth of knowledge needed to deliver the strategic housing function is growing all the time. In addition to ensuring that you are fully aware of the housing context and strategic links at a national, regional and local level, those involved need to possess an impressive range of skills – analytical, marketing, negotiating, influencing and performance management, to name but a few. It’s also about understanding the connections and directing the cost-effective delivery of services that demonstrates the value of a strategic approach to housing. SEN aims to provide practical and informative advice to help you do this.

SEN is a key resource for anyone working in housing who wants to plan AND deliver more effectively and it aims to support those working to develop and deliver housing plans in the ‘strategic housing function’ – and their partners – to respond to a rapidly and forever changing agenda.

SEN is managed by a dedicated Strategic Excellence Manager and supported by a network of experienced associates and practitioners providing you with access to current housing knowledge and practice from across the country.

Benefits of membership include regular strategic housing updates and briefing papers along with weekly updates, taking the hard work out of translating emerging national and regional policy into local policy and practice; access to our new and improved websites; bi-monthly newsletters; networking opportunities through regional workshops, best practice events and discussion forums; continuous support and information sharing from key associates and practitioners as well as from the many other specialist networks.

For further enquiries contact the SEN team on 0845 4747 004 or at sen@hqnetwork.co.uk or:

Carla Leyland
Strategic Excellence Manager
Tel: 07525 802 954
Email: carla@hqnetwork.co.uk

Housing Finance Expert (HFExpert)

On-line advice and guidance covering the basics of housing finance in all sectors plus do-it-yourself guides in major initiatives that help you avoid hefty consultancy fees.

From budgets to business planning, risk and asset management to investment appraisal and rent re-structuring, HFEnet allows you to make the most of your own skills in managing the day-to-day business or evaluating big decisions by demystifying many areas of housing finance.

Further enquiries contact:

Dylan Chipp
Lead Associate
HFEnet
Mob: 07813 065588
Email: hfenet@hqnetwork.co.uk 

Successful Neighbourhood (SUNnet)

SUNnet provides everything you need to introduce or develop a response to more effective neighbourhood working which will transform estates/localities and is appropriate to the needs of YOUR organisation. 

Further enquiries contact:

Ageing Communities Excellence Network (ACEnet)

Changes in the policy environment have posed significant challenges to providers of sheltered housing and other older people’s housing services in recent years. We have therefore extended our services beyond benchmarking in the last couple of years by introducing updates and briefings and have enlarged our policy range from sheltered housing to older people’s housing services more generally.

We recognise that you also now need to know how to demonstrate efficiency and Value for Money in the services you provide; some of you want advice on conducting stock options appraisals; and there is a demand for information about new models of provision and changes to staff roles. For all of these reasons, having access to up to date information about what is happening in the sector has never been so important.

Together with robust analysis of trends and new policy initiatives, ACEnet supports providers to help ensure that their older people’s housing services are fit for purpose – and meet or even exceed both your own and service users’ objectives and expectations.

Of course, knowing how you compare is also critical in identifying areas for review and delivering service improvements. We already have a solid core of members who have been benchmarking for some time … we are adding new members to the network all the time; this has the effect of increasing the numbers of organisations you will be benchmarking with – giving even more robust comparison information.


Further enquiries contact:
Paul Stead
Manager of ACEnet
tel: 0845 4747 004
E mail: paul@hqnetwork.co.uk

Consultancy services

Our hands-on assistance to housing organisations includes a wide range of specialist expertise. Our 60 directly employed and associate consultants, led by our directors, offer a long track record in social housing and in consultancy (including blue chip firms such as KPMG and Coopers & Lybrand). Each consultancy assignment guarantees single point accountability: one director will take the lead responsibility.

Our work includes:

Efficiency with excellence

We have undertaken efficiency reviews for Birmingham City Council's housing service and ALMOs at Ashfield, Derby, Solihull, Hammersmith and Kensington & Chelsea. Efficiency support has been provided to the Plus Group, Horizon and Genesis. Our work complies fully with the approach recommended by the Audit Commission and is led by qualified accountants.

Our advice is impartial: we have no links to any suppliers or purchasing organisations.

Inspection support to gain stars

In 1999 HQN undertook the first-ever mock inspection in housing, for Liverpool City Council.

In the last year we have undertaken more than 50 similar inspection support exercises with housing associations, councils and ALMOs and we have a proven track record of success.

Hounslow Homes and Sheffield Homes were assisted in their progress from two-stars to three-stars and another organisation that we have worked closely with is West Kent Housing Association, which is the first housing association to be awarded three-stars at inspection.

We are also retained by a number of organisations on zero and one star to help develop and implement their recovery plans. The hallmarks of our approach are:

• Accurate assessment against Audit Commission criteria
• Use of experienced housing professionals (including affiliate inspectors)
• Involvement of staff and resident inspectors
• Integrated analysis of VFM
• Development of a practical improvement plan with follow-up support.

Asset management

Our work in this area includes:

• Development of asset management strategies
• Stock condition validation
• Client-side and DLO reviews, health-checks and support
• Procurement strategy development and advice (including OJEU compliance, partnering, collective purchasing and e-auctions)
• Market testing and benchmarking
• Service and schedules of rates reviews.

Financial support

This work includes:

• Option appraisals for local authorities
• ALMO bid support, business planning and set up
• Modelling ALMO future options
• Stock transfer lead advice
• Service charge reviews.

Regulation and governance

For ALMOs and housing associations we can provide:

• Advice on board member recruitment
• Board member training and development
• Assessment of board effectiveness
• Assistance to new LSVTs to become registered.

Homelessness strategies and service delivery

The tasks we can help with include:

• Developing preventative measures
• Reducing numbers in temporary accommodation
• Evaluating and improving hostel accommodation
• Increasing access to settled homes
• Working with others to produce sub-regional homelessness strategies.

National research capability

HQN has been commissioned to undertake prestigious research on a range of subjects including:

• Assessment of all local authority homelessness strategies for the DCLG (formerly known as the ODPM)
• Development of housing management specifications for the Housing Corporation
• Analysis of why social housing providers improve and toolkits to stimulate improvement for the DCLG
• Inspection of MoD residential holdings overseas for the National Audit Office.

Further enquiries contact:

Russell Helms
Business Manager
HQN Limited
Tel: 0845 4747 004
Email: russell@hqnetwork.co.uk  

The Pool - interim and project management

The Pool provides interim and project management services for the housing industry.

The Pool offers practical and speedy solutions, short, medium or long-term contracts and full or part-time options from an exceptionally strong database of candidates.

The service is based on high quality customer care and highly competitive fees giving value for money whilst matching the needs of a wide range of clients within the industry.

The Pool interim and project managers are highly skilled and well qualified with proven track records, who focus on delivering the requirements of the client.

The service covers the whole country and the full range of organisations which operate in the housing sector.

Further enquiries contact:

Ruth Leap
Manager
The Pool
Tel: 01480 350273
Mob: 07841 236695
Email: ruth@hqnetwork.co.uk

Training and development services

Training and development services offer an outstanding team of training professionals to deliver the highest quality in-house events in the key work areas that truly make a difference for individuals, teams, offices, customers and organisations as a whole.

The events are practical and support clients in achieving real and lasting improvements. Each event is tailored to the requirements of every organisation and is delivered by exceptional trainers with proven track records.

The training available covers the full range of housing topics from nuts and bolts events such as rent arrears, Housing Benefit, ASB, void management and FTA training, through to soft-skills events such as presentation skills, dealing with difficult customers, interviewing skills and time management.

All of our in-house events can be run at introductory, intermediate and advanced levels to suit your organisation's needs.

Further enquiries contact:

Ruth Leap
Manager
Training and development services
Tel: 01480 350273
Mob: 07841 236695
Email: ruth@hqnetwork.co.uk

Fiona Macfarlane
Quality Assurance Manager (Events)
HQN Limited

Tel: 0845 4747 004
Email: events@hqnetwork.co.uk