Board and Trustees
This theme seeks to assess the quality, suitability and performance of the Board and trustees.
As at 1 April 2026, the Group Board comprised 12 members, of whom 11 are Non-executive Directors (92%) and one is an Executive Director (the Chief Executive). The roles of Chair of the Board and Chief Executive are held by separate individuals.
As at 1 April 2026, the Group Board comprised 12 members, of whom 11 are Non-executive Directors (92%) and one is an Executive Director (the Chief Executive). The roles of Chair of the Board and Chief Executive are held by separate individuals.
In line with best practice and following the adoption of the NHF 2020 Code of Conduct, all new Non-executive Directors are appointed for a maximum of two three-year terms, with the possibility of an extension up to a total of nine years.
Over the past two years, four Non-Executive Directors have stepped down from the Board, representing a turnover rate of 33%. Additionally, two Executive Directors from the Senior Management Team have left the organisation during the same period, also equating to a turnover rate of 33%.
Declarations of interest are a standing item at the start of every Board and committee meeting, and a register of interests is maintained and published on our website in accordance with the Code of Governance. Where a conflict is declared, the relevant Board member may be asked to abstain from voting or participating in discussions on the matter concerned.
Four committees report directly to the Board: the Audit and Assurance Committee, the Customer Committee, the Growth Committee and the Remuneration and Appraisal Committee. The Audit and Assurance Committee includes individuals with significant senior-level housing sector experience and two members with recent and relevant financial expertise, whose recent roles have been Finance Director and Audit Partner respectively. The Customer and Growth Committees include members of Group Board as well as Independent Committee Members.
Our external auditors, Menzies (previously known as Beever and Struthers), have served since November 2021, with Sue Hutchinson acting as Lead Audit Partner. A policy governing the independence of external auditors is reviewed annually.
The Remuneration and Appraisal Committee has a wide range of responsibilities, including Board succession. A succession plan is provided annually to both the Board and the Committee.
The Customer Committee is responsible for a wide range of matters relating to customer-facing services, policies and strategies, ensuring that the customer voice is embedded in their development and design.
The Growth Committee provides oversight and assurance on the delivery of Great Places’ growth, development and construction strategies, including performance across subsidiaries, joint ventures and grant-funded programmes. It approves development schemes, monitors delivery against agreed targets and ensures that the risks associated with growth activity are effectively understood and managed including health and safety and customer satisfaction.
Overall, our aim is to ensure that we are compliant with our Code of Governance, while maintaining the strongest Board possible to support effective governance. Our triennial governance reviews, internal audits on governance, and regulatory inspection results have been positive and confirm that our governance arrangements are strong and supported by positive assurance findings. Our next triennial governance review is due in late 2026.
Equality, diversity and inclusion of Board members and senior management
We know diverse and inclusive leadership leads to stronger performance, better decision-making and a better understanding of the people and communities we serve.
At Board level, we have a Recruitment, Succession and Development Policy in place which explicitly references our commitment to EDI. In addition to ensuring non-discrimination, this policy – alongside our Statement of Preferred Board Composition – aims to create a Board that reflects our customer base and the communities we serve. It actively promotes diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and disability, as well as diversity of thought and lived experience.
Our Recruitment and Selection Policy has been developed through learning from BOOST, the Greater Manchester Housing Providers initiative aimed at changing the culture of housing providers so that ethnically diverse talent can emerge and thrive. In this regard, we are committed to more than just ensuring our recruitment practices are inclusive; we actively create the environment where potential new recruits can feel comfortable to showcase how their knowledge, skills, experience and passion can add value to our business. We proactively support The 20% Movement, working hard to support those with lived experience of social housing into our business, and we operate Guaranteed Interview Schemes in certain areas of the business to promote inclusion.
Our recruitment platform uses anonymous recruitment at the initial stage to help reduce unconscious bias during shortlisting. We have rolled out Inclusive Recruitment Training for managers, which includes the Implicit Association Test developed by Harvard University. Linked to this training, we have introduced a ‘Licence to Hire’ for recruiting managers. We explicitly encourage applications from diverse candidates in all job adverts and provide interview questions in advance to support neurodiverse applicants. Interviews also include mandatory questions on equality, diversity and inclusion to explore what these values mean to each candidate.
Our recruitment partners for Board roles are required to source as diverse a candidate pool as possible and to provide EDI monitoring reports throughout the recruitment process, enabling us to track progress at each stage.
Diverse leadership helps ensure decision-making reflects the needs of customers, colleagues and communities.
As at 31 March 2026, 50% of the Board are women, 25% are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and 17% identify as having a disability. While none of the current Board members are Great Places customers, we have seven customers serving on the standing Customer Committee.
Among the 12 Board members, four identify as Christian, six as having no religion, one as Buddhist, and one as ‘other’. The average tenure of the Non-Executive Directors as at 31 March 2026 is 2 years, reflecting the recent appointment of five new members and the end of tenure of three long-standing members.
Case study - Colleague recruitment
We have worked in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions and our Community Investment Team to recruit six Trainee Grounds Maintenance Operatives on six-month fixed-term contracts during the growing season across Blackpool, Sheffield and Manchester. These roles were targeted at social housing customers and people looking to return to work. Two women were appointed, which is particularly positive given that grounds maintenance has historically been a male-dominated area and a challenging workforce to attract women into.
We attended local job centres to promote the opportunities directly within our communities, and the campaign generated 50 applications. Candidates were invited to interview, where we trialled a different approach through ‘walking interviews’. These involved informal, site-based conversations and a guided tour of the working environment. As many applicants had been out of work for some time, this approach helped reduce pressure, build confidence and enabled candidates to better demonstrate their skills and potential. Feedback from candidates was very positive, particularly around the supportive and accessible nature of the process.
This approach has helped us move away from relying on agency over during the growing season. It has reduced agency spend and dependency while creating meaningful pathways into employment and development for local people.
At the end of the traineeship, one of these Candidates was appointed to a permanent role in Sheffield. We hope that many more of the trainees will be successful in securing longer-term employment with Great Places.
