Mark Perry, Chief Executive of VIVID said: “We welcome the changes that the government’s Social Housing White Paper sets out and the increased focus on consumer standards, resident engagement and involvement, something many in the sector are already doing.

“It’s encouraging to see government commitment to social housing but there’s still much more to do. In 2018 we hosted a regional event for the government to gain views from residents on the issues that impacted them to help shape the future of social housing. One of the themes we picked up was around the unfairness of the universal credit regime, the impact this has on people’s lives and the stigma that it creates.

“In addition, we have leaseholders in high rise residential housing fitted with unsafe cladding who are now left with the prospect of having to pay thousands of pounds for the remedial works to make their homes safe. We’re strongly backing calls for the government to provide adequate funding for these essential works. We’re also not building enough new genuinely affordable new homes so that everyone has access to a place to call home. The planning white paper released earlier in the year has the prospect of making that position worse.

“With the added impact coronavirus is having on people’s livelihoods, mental health and wellbeing, we need the government to be kind to those people in our society who need support. The housing White Paper is hopefully a catalyst that will provoke other change and renewed investment for those that need it.”