Get to know Trish Reed - Talent Bank Associate

Tell us about yourself:

I am an experienced strategic housing professional, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and an experienced manager with a proven track record of working with the public sector. I am highly motivated with skills in both strategic and operational areas as well as in developing partnerships and project management. I enjoy taking on new challenges and delivering results.

I have extensive experience within the following:

• Bespoke Peer Reviews of Housing Services recognising good practise and making recommendations where appropriate for strategic, operational, and structural change.
• Supporting Housing Advice and Homelessness services, including service reviews and strategy development, working with partners and elected Members to agree on shared visions and priorities.
• Commissioning supported housing services including assessing housing need, mapping existing services and carrying out value for money service reviews.
• Reviews of temporary accommodation including procurement, management, support, value for money, out of area placements and comprehensive policy review.
• Reviewing aids and adaptation policies and strategies including county-wide reviews of capital funding for disabled facilities grants from the Better Care Fund.

Tell us about where you have come from and what has led you to be an associate/consultant on EELGA’s Talent Bank:

My career has been predominantly in local government working within strategic housing services. I worked on the frontline for 10 years in the 1990’s delivering housing advice and homelessness services and then through managing these services moved on to strategic management roles providing a broad breadth of experience.

I have always stayed close to and felt passionate about the customer experience and how it feels to be on the other side of the ‘desk’. Communicating effectively and honestly with customers providing a positive, helpful, non-judgmental service is what all authorities should strive for. Cultural change for staff teams can be challenging but ultimately highly rewarding and can make a tangible difference in terms of service delivery and customer satisfaction.

I decided to set up my own company Partnership Solutions in 2008 to give me more variety and flexibility. To date, I have supported over 20 organisations to improve their services either through interim management or project-based assignments ranging from 5 days to 12 months.

Sector/Industry you work in:

The primary sector that I work in is housing, but housing does not stand alone and is intrinsically linked in many ways with other services and my assignments usually involve working in partnership with colleagues in Health, Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care, Housing Associations, Housing Developers, Criminal Justice System, DWP, Voluntary Sector, etc.

What are the most significant challenges relating to Housing posed by Covid:

The most significant challenges posed by Covid for housing include:

• The need to protect rough sleepers from the coronavirus by bringing them in at the start of the pandemic under Everyone In. Local authorities have been asked to support people into longer-term accommodation, in many cases with entrenched and complex needs providing a significant challenge for housing and support providers and their partners.
• The impact on the wider community in terms of ability to pay housing costs and housing security because of job losses, reduced income and the economic recession. This is likely to lead to increased levels of homelessness for all household types in future months. Authorities play a key role in ensuring effective advice services are commissioned or directly provided across a range of disciplines including support with debt, mental health and domestic abuse with the capacity to deal with increasing demand.
• Achieving more in terms of services with limited funding, making value for money and a focus on prevention services even more crucial.

How does the Housing offer influence positive change and results for our members:

EELGA’s offer encompasses a wide range of support, which is easily accessible – enabling the right consultant to be placed at the right time.

Getting the right level of expertise and support early on is essential to ensure the success of present and future aspirations and targets. The EELGA team can advise on the best way forward and offer a range of bespoke solutions to fit all situations and budgets.

EELGA’s offer gives its members a wealth of options and may even highlight areas that they had not yet considered. The ease of access via the procurement exclusion gives members a fast-track entry to securing an experienced consultant quickly who has the right skills and abilities to deliver their required outcomes and outputs.

Could your organisation benefit from Trish Reed’s expertise? Express interest in contracting Trish through her profile on the East of England Talent Bank.