Transparency data

RSH Board minutes - 21 April 2026

Updated 20 July 2026

Applies to England

Public minutes of the Board meeting

on Tuesday 21 March 2026

MS Teams

Members present

• Bernadette Conroy (BC) Chair
• Fiona MacGregor (FM) Chief Executive
• Kalpesh Brahmbhatt (KB)
• Dave Cassidy (DC)
• Deborah Gregory (DG)
• Chan Kataria (CKa)
• Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs (SK-S)
• Robert Light (RL)
• John Liver (JL)
• Geoff Smyth (GS)

Officers in attendance

• Kate Dodsworth (KD) Chief of Regulatory Engagement
• Karen Doran (KED) Director of Regulatory Engagement (PRPs)
• Angela Holden (AH) Director of Regulatory Engagement (LARPs)
• Rob Holroyd (RH) Senior Assistant Director, Investigation & Enforcement
• Will Perry (WP) Director of Strategy
• Emma Tarran (ERT) Senior Assistant Director, Head of Legal & Company Secretary
• Jonathan Walters (JW) Deputy Chief Executive
• Jim Bennet (JB) Item 6
• Anna Furlong (AF) Item 9
• Jonny Longden (JL) Item 9
• Angela Maher (AM) Item 10

Minutes

• Amber Gaskell

1 Welcome and apologies

01/04/26 BC welcomed everyone. There were apologies from officers Harold Brown (HB) and Richard Peden (RP). BC announced that, following the recent recruitment process, JW has been appointed as Chief Executive with effect from 1st May.

2 Declarations of Interest

02/04/26 No new declarations of interest.

3 Minutes of last meeting

03/04/26 The confidential and public minutes from 17 March 2026 were agreed, subject to minor amendments.

4 Matters arising

04/04/26 The updates against actions were noted.

• 10/09/25 has been on the Matters Arising list for some time, and it was concluded that since work has been done in this space, and the Corporate Centre project is moving forward, it was now appropriate to remove it.

• KB asked about the follow up from the time spent on stakeholder mapping at the last Board away day. JW explained this work has fed into the Framework 28 project. More information about stakeholder engagement in relation to Framework 28 would be brought back to the Board meeting in May.

5 Forward planner

05/04/26 Members considered and noted the forward planner. RL raised that it had been intended that Board would meet in an alternative location to London. Forward planner to be updated and a room booked at one of the following offices: Birmingham, Leeds, or Manchester. - Exec to find meeting date outside London and update Forward Planner.

6 Chair’s update

06/04/26 BC updated the Board as to:

• Fiona’s last board meeting: BC gave huge thanks for everything FM has done for the organisation and the legacy she will leave. Board members all took the opportunity to express well-wishes and appreciation for FM.

• Recruitment for NEDs: There will be recruitment for 2 NEDs this year, one of these will replace DG when her term ends in August and one in preparation for next year when three other Board members are due to leave. N&RC will be involved, with ERT assisting from Exec.

• Appraisals: BC confirmed all the appraisals for Board members are now completed. BC asked AG to bring appraisal forms for signature to May’s meeting. FM will be completing the appraisal for BC before she leaves, and will need feedback from board members and Exec.

• BC noted that there will be some messaging to the sector following JW’s appointment and at the next Board we might expect there to be further updates.

7 ARAC Chair’s update

07/04/26 JL updated the Board as to the ARAC meeting which took place on 20th April:

• Key updates from GIAA: fieldwork has been completed on all the current year’s planned audits, and the draft reports are out for the final audits. JL congratulated RH and the team in relation to the findings of the I&E audit. HR operations were rated moderate. This will connect into the corporate centre work. Exec to find meeting date outside London and update Forward Planner.

• NAO updates: NAO had given an update on their plans for financial audit of the RSH for 25/26. They noted the change to our financial system by MHCLG, and they plan to do some work on that as part of the audit. There will be an increase in our fees again by 10% plus and although this was challenged by the committee, NAO stated that last year their costs exceeded what we had been charged.

• VFM in Social Housing: the NAO shared they are starting the VFM work. It was agreed that updates on this should go to Board rather than ARAC.

• Relationship with MHCLG: There is a dependency on MHCLG in relation to digital services, and building our relationship with them remains important.

• Strategic Risk Register: there was a workshop on the strategic risk register and a discussion about risk appetite. This will come to board next month. • It was noted that is important to learn from the digital transfer project. It was agreed to share the digital update paper that was taken to ARAC with all Board members.

8 Chief Executive’s update

08/04/26 FM introduced the slides, which were taken as read. She highlighted the following key issues:

• Social Homes Programme for HE: This closed a week ago for bids and there has been no read out as of yet on numbers. HE anticipated a healthy set of bids. Once we get a sense of numbers it will give an early indication of capacity and appetite of the sector. The next formal update for RSH is the end of June. There was a discussion by the Board, including about Government expectations, sector capacity and the appetite for low-cost loans.

• SoS: A holding response was sent to the correspondence discussed at the last Board meeting. There had been a further communication about building safety. We are having ongoing conversations with MHCLG in relation to data collection, and the Board discussed this including the importance of avoiding duplication and ensuring quality of data.

• NAO VFM study: as alluded to by JL in the ARAC update, NAO are going to do a VFM study in relation to social housing. JB spoke to the Board about this. Time has been spent with the NAO and we expect a formal letter with further detail in early May.

• Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards: we continue to engage with MHCLG, and there is a mixed picture in terms of feedback from the sector.

• Social Housing Innovation Fund: FM provided an update.

09/04/26 FM handed over to RH for the I&E update:

• Heylo: as is in the public domain, this RP is being monitored closely. The properties it owns are shared ownership properties.

9 Competence & Conduct direction

10/04/26 AF and JL joined the meeting. AF gave an overview on the paper and asked for comments from Board members.

11/04/26 AF thanked the Board for all their comments and contribution. There will be some further reflection with Exec. There will also be some soft testing with stakeholders. The final decision statement will be brought back to Board in June.

10 Framework 28: skeleton discussion document

12/04/26 AM joined the meeting. WP took us through the Framework 28 draft skeleton document. There was considerable discussion and all Board Members offered views on the approach and content. WP shared some of the thinking thus far, and undertook to do some further work. He also offered one to one conversations with Board Members. Board felt that stronger messaging is needed. There will be an additional session scheduled before the May board to work through a more complete draft. WP took away comments, suggestions and advice.

11 Any other business

13/04/26 There was no other business.

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 19 May 2026

Workshops

Workshop sessions followed on:

• For-profit providers: emerging themes from regulatory activity

• Lessons from recent regulatory judgements, including what does good look like?