Chartered Institute of Housing chief defends organisation after Tory attack

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

The chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has launched a vehement defence of the organisation after it came under attack from a blog edited by a Conservative councillor.

In an article on the local government section of the Conservativehome website – edited by Hammersmith and Fulham councillor Harry Phibbs – councils came under fire for “pouring millions into coffers of the CIH” through membership and conference fees.

The CIH was also accused of offering courses that “push out the wrong messages” on anti-social behaviour – promoting mediation over eviction – and was involved in “pushing the intrusive and divisive diversity monitoring agenda”.

The article – through citing £500 expenditure published by councils – showed examples where local authorities had spent £902 in conference fees and £1,895 for membership subscriptions. “It all adds up to millions of pounds,” it said.

In response CIH chief executive Grainia Long said she offered no apology for leading an organisation that “supports professionals to achieve the highest possible standards”.

She said: “Here’s a question for all organisations – ‘if we didn’t exist, would we invent ourselves?’ At the CIH, we are sure of the answer.  And so are our members - 22,000 professionals know the benefit of being part of a network of ideas, where they learn from practice and strive to achieve high standards in all their work. The sheer scale of challenges faced by households trying to access decent and affordable housing, means that we must be at our best everyday, to provide the solutions they need.  There has never been a more important time for housing professionals to be brilliant.

“As chief executive of the professional body for housing, my job is to ensure that all housing professionals have access to the knowledge, tools and learning they need to be excellent.  From time to time, I get asked why housing professionals should bother - the ‘day job’ is so complex, do they really have time to spend learning? Thankfully, professionals and their employers know that the answer is a no-brainer - that improvement means investing in learning, it means having a constant thirst for knowledge, it means sharing ideas. Thousands of professionals learn ‘on the job’ and many more invest their own time to study for qualifications. The benefits are felt not just by the profession, but by the people we serve.  Professionals have been voting with their feet - we’ve seen more employers investing in education, in accredited qualifications and training.”

CIH is a registered charity with more than 22,000 members worldwide. Last year its total income was £10.7m. In addition to offering professional courses, accreditations and consultancy services it aims to raise the profile of housing and influence politicians on behalf of the sector.

In particular it has played an influential role in securing self-financing for councils in England – the product of five years’ work.

Last week Mr Phibbs attacked housing associations for their lack of transparency and said they should be more accountable.

He said: "I am not opposed to high salaries for chief executives of housing associations or for local councils. But given that they are financed by the taxpayer and do not run organisations that operate with proper market competition, then it is right that they should be scrutinised."