Research and analysis

Stakeholder survey results - June 2018

Published 1 June 2018

Applies to England

Introduction

• This is the first stakeholder survey we have conducted since 2013
• We have sought the views of registered providers and other stakeholders on a range of issues
• In future, we intend to conduct a similar survey annually
• We will use the results to inform our performance monitoring, continuous development of our operational approach and our corporate planning

Responses

• 363 stakeholders started the survey but only 237 completed every section
• The survey was sent out to approximately 1,300 stakeholders, giving a 28% response rate
• 94% of the respondents are RPs
• A further 15 categorised themselves as a ‘trade body’, ‘lender’ and as ‘other’
• Due to low response rate of non RPs, stakeholders were reclassified into small RPs (<1,000 units), large RPs (≥1,000 units) and other stakeholders
• As the ‘other’ group is so small, results from this group should be considered carefully

Question 1: Which stakeholder group do you fall into?	Count
Registered Provider of Social Housing	222
Other	9
Trade body	5
Lender	1
Investor or credit rating agency	0
Total	237

Number of complete responses by edited stakeholder type

Stakeholder type
Small RP	105
Large RP	117
Other	15

Profile of respondents

• 47% of the 222 surveys completed by RPs were completed by small providers
• 53% were completed by large providers, with most having less than 10,000 units

RP respondents by stock size
<1,000 units	47%
1,000 - 9,999 units	32%
10,000 - 29,999 units	13%
30,000 - 49,999 units	5%
50,000+ units	3%

Section 1 – Regulatory framework (Question 5)

Question 5: How far do you agree that:	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
a) the regulator’s approach is co-regulatory	21	71	5	3
b) the regulator meets its objectives to be proportionate and minimise interference	22	69	6	3
c) the regulatory framework and our approach to regulation are consistent with our objectives on economic regulation	23	71	3	2
d) the regulatory framework and our approach to regulation are consistent with our objectives on consumer regulation	14	73	10	3
overall	20	71	6	3

• 91% of respondents answered Question 5 positively
• The most positively answered sub-question was (c) - 95% answered strongly agree or agree
• The least positively answered sub-question was (d) – 87% answered positively but 10% disagreed compared with 3-6% for other sub-questions
• Responses were fairly similar across stakeholder groups

Section 1 – Regulatory framework (Question 6)

Question 6: Which of the following do you find helpful in getting information about the requirements of the regulatory framework:	% Very helpful	% Helpful	% Not very helpful	% Unhelpful
a) information on our website	23	62	13	2
b) presentations by the RSH at conferences, seminars etc.	26	57	11	5
c) direct engagement with the regulator	37	47	12	4
Overall	29	55	12	4

• 85% of respondents answered Question 6 positively
• All sub-questions were answered equally positively, with some difference in which was ‘very helpful’ vs ‘helpful’
• 37% of respondents reported that direct engagement was very helpful
• Large RPs answered this question most positively

Positive responses to Question 6 by stakeholder group

Stakeholder type	Percentage
Small RP	80%
Large RP	90%
Other	82%

Section 1 – Regulatory framework (Question 7)

Question 7: How far do you agree that a document such as the Governance and Financial Viability Code of Practice is useful in clarifying what we are looking for when seeking assurance on compliance with the Governance and Financial Viability Standard?
Strongly agree	25%
Agree	65%
Disagree	7%
Strongly disagree	3%

• 90% of respondents answered Question 7 positively
• Small RPs disagreed with the question more than other stakeholder groups (14% compared with 5% of large RPs)

Q7 responses by stakeholder

Stakeholder type	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
Small RP	22	64	10	4
Large RP	29	66	3	2
Other	30	60	5	5

Section 2 – Regulatory approach (Question 8)

Question 8: Has Regulating the Standards been useful in clarifying our approach to regulation?
Yes	93%
No	7%

• 93% of respondents answered ‘yes’ to this question
• Large RPs have found the ‘Regulating the Standards’ document more useful than small RPs

Q8 responses by stakeholder type

Stakeholder type	% Yes	% No
Small RP	87	13
Large RP	98	2
Other	95	5

Section 2 – Regulatory approach (Question 10)

Question 10: How familiar are you with the key elements of our ‘In Depth Assessment’ (IDA) model?
Very familiar	36%
Quite familiar	27%
Not very familiar	22%
Not at all familiar	15%

• Only 63% of respondents said they were familiar with the IDA model
• This was much higher across large RPs almost – 98% said they were familiar with the model

Q10 responses by stakeholder type

Stakeholder type	% Very familiar	% Quite familiar	Not very familiar	Not at all familiar
Small RP	3	29	40	29
Large RP	73	26	2	0
Other	20	30	30	20

Section 2 – Regulatory approach (Question 11 and 13)

Question 11: Have you had an IDA?	Yes	No	Not an RP
Small RP	4%	94%	2%
Large RP	72%	28%	0%
Other	0%	15%	85%
All	34%	59%	7%

• 37% of all respondents reported that they had had an IDA – 86 large RPs and 5 small RPs
• For those who had an IDA, 87% answered Question 13 positively

Question 13 (those who had an IDA) How far do you agree that:	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
a) the IDA has helped you to identify areas for improvement	31	53	14	2
b) the IDA focused on the key risk areas for your business	45	45	6	3
Overall	38	49	10	3

• 90% of respondents agreed that the IDA had focused on key risk areas

Section 3 – Delivery and practice (Question 15)

Question 15: How far do you agree that:	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
a) our approach to regulation is risk-based and assurance-based	26	68	4	1
b) this approach is reflected in your experience of being a regulated RP or how you understand RPs are regulated	29	65	6	1
overall	27	67	5	1

• 95% of respondents agreed with Question 15
• Both sub-questions were answered equally positively
• Large RPs answered most positively – only 3% disagreed with either sub-question

Overall Q15 responses by stakeholder type

Stakeholder type	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
Small RP	19	74	5	2
Large RP	34	63	3	0
Other	41	41	13	6

Section 3 – Delivery and practice (Question 16)

Question 16: From your experience, how far do you agree that you are clear about any information and / or evidence you are asked to provide and why?
Strongly agree	24%
Agree	65%
Disagree	9%
Strongly disagree	2%

• 89% of respondents agreed with Question 16
• Large RPs answered most positively overall
• 36% of large RPs strongly agreed with Question 16 compared with 13% of small RPs

Q16 responses by stakeholder type

Stakeholder type	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
Small RP	13	73	11	4
Large RP	36	55	8	0
Other	19	75	0	6

Section 3 – Delivery and practice (Question 17)

Question 17: From your engagement with our staff, how far do you agree that regulatory staff understand the nature and complexity of the sector?
Strongly agree	23%
Agree	62%
Disagree	12%
Strongly disagree	2%

• 85% of respondents agreed with Question 17
• Large RPs agreed more strongly than small RPs
• Almost all ‘other’ stakeholders agreed with this question – only 1 disagreed

Q17 responses by stakeholder type

Stakeholder type	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
Small RP	14	66	16	4
Large RP	29	61	10	1
Other	44	50	0	6

Section 4 – The regulator (Question 19)

• 83% of respondents find the regulator’s publications useful
• The Sector Risk Profile was the most useful publication – 61% find this very useful

Q19 responses by publication

Publication	% Very useful	% Somewhat useful	% Not very useful	% Not at all useful
Quarterly Survey	24	55	18	3
Sector Risk Profile	61	29	7	3
Statistical Data Return	26	57	14	3
Global Accounts	37	41	17	5
Regulatory judgements/notices	42	46	10	3
Consumer Regulation Review	25	54	16	4
Overall	36	47	14	3

Section 4 – The regulator (Question 19)

• Large RPs find the regulator’s publications most useful - 92% answered this question positively overall
• Small RPs find RJs and RNs most useful – 83% find this publication useful
• 93% of large RPs find the Global Accounts useful, compared with only 62% of small RPs

Q19 positive responses by publication and stakeholder type

Publication	Small RP	Large RP	Other
Quarterly Survey	68	91	73
Sector Risk Profile	80	98	87
Statistical Data Return	82	85	80
Global Accounts	62	93	73
Regulatory judgements/notices	83	92	80
Consumer Regulation Review	72	90	53
Overall	74	92	74

Section 4 – The regulator (Question 20)

Question 20: How would you prefer to hear about the latest publications, announcements and any other news from the regulator?	Yes	No
Direct letter / email	81%	19%
Website alert	36%	64%
Stakeholder meeting / speech	29%	71%
Trade press article / column	18%	82%
E-newsletter	45%	55%
Other (please specify)	3%	97%

• A direct letter/email is the preferred communication for 81% of respondents
• Trade press was the least preferred method of communication
• Informal engagement, interactive webinars, more digital communication were all quoted under the ‘other’ option
• There was some variation in the communication preferences of different stakeholder groups

Q20 preferred communication method by stakeholder group

Method of communication	Small RP	Large RP	Other
Direct letter/email	79%	83%	73%
Website alert	30%	40%	40%
Stakeholder meeting/speech	11%	41%	53%
Trade press article/column	11%	21%	40%
e-newsletter	44%	49%	27%
Other	1%	4%	7%

Section 4 – The regulator (Question 21)

Question 21: How far do you agree that the regulator takes action where it can to ensure confidence in the sector is maintained, and access to finance on competitive terms continues?
Strongly agree	27%
Agree	66%
Disagree	6%
Strongly disagree	1%

• 93% of respondents agreed with Question 21
• All stakeholder groups responded equally positively with some differences in how strongly they agreed
• 31% of large RPs strongly agreed with the question – compared with 18% of small RPs
• All but 1 ‘other’ stakeholder agreed with the question

Q21 responses by stakeholder group

Stakeholder type	% Strongly agree	% Agree	% Disagree	% Strongly disagree
Small RP	18	74	7	1
Large RP	31	62	7	0
Other	53	40	0	7

Section 4 – The regulator (Question 22 and 23)

Question 22: Are you aware of the Government’s proposals to establish the regulator as a standalone body?
Yes	81%
No	19%

• 81% of respondents were aware of the plans to become standalone
• This is 13 points lower for small RPs

Q22 proportion of yes responses by stakeholder

Stakeholder type	% yes responses
Small RP	68
Large RP	93
Other	87

Question 23: In your opinion, will the move to the regulator becoming a standalone body have a positive or negative impact on the effective regulation of the sector?
Positive	55%
No impact	35%
Negative	10%

• 55% of respondents think the RSH becoming standalone will have a positive impact
• This is slightly lower for small RPs for which 13% think the change will have a negative impact

Q23 responses by stakeholder group

Stakeholder group	% Positive	% No impact	% Negative
Small RP	43	44	13
Large RP	62	30	8
Other	80	20	0

Commentary

As well as quantitative data, the survey provided opportunities for respondents to comment on a number of the questions. Only a minority of respondents provided comments and these were very varied but some themes that emerged from those comments were:

• some providers want more informal engagement with the regulator
• requests for less jargon and technical language in our publications
• a majority of positive comments on In Depth Assessments (well prepared, constructive and fair), but some criticisms too (not tailored, missed some issues, too slow)
• While the majority of respondents expressed the view that the regulator’s staff understood the sector, some suggested ways in which staff could deepen their understanding of RPs’ businesses

What we will do in the short term

We will use the survey results to inform the following aspects of our current work:

• our new learning and development strategy;
• a more differentiated approach to IDAs and other regulatory engagement; and
• ensuring that as far as possible our publications are written in plain English and we restrict the use of terminology to where it is absolutely necessary.

Next steps

• We will conduct another survey in 2019
• We will include some of the same questions to enable comparison
• In the meantime we will use the results of this survey to inform the Regulator of Social Housing’s first corporate plan as a standalone body
• This will include performance measures based on the survey
• We have shared the results with our operations teams and they will reflect on the results in their work planning and development plans

Regulator of Social Housing

0300 124 5225

enquiries@rsh.gov.uk

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The Regulator of Social Housing regulates registered providers of social housing to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs.