The Competency and Conduct Standard arrives in October 2026, and the sector is paying attention. But there is a question worth asking: is the attention landing in the right place?

Much of the conversation around the standard has focused on qualifications — who needs one, by when, and how to get it done. What has received less focus is the broader set of obligations the standard places on registered providers: the requirement to ensure that relevant staff have the right skills, knowledge, behaviours, and conduct to deliver genuinely good services. That is a different challenge, and arguably a more complex one.

In the first episode of the Social Housing Round Table's Policy and Governance stream, Matt Baird is joined by Amy Stirton, Director and Founder of The Social Housing Academy and specialist social housing solicitor, to explore what the Competency and Conduct Standard is actually asking of the sector — and why getting qualified is only part of the answer.

The conversation covers where the standard came from and what drove it, including the evidence heard at the Grenfell Inquiry around staff training and the disregarding of residents' concerns. It covers the very real pressures facing frontline practitioners, who are navigating an increasingly complex legislative landscape alongside the day-to-day demands of housing management. And it introduces HousingPro, a 10-module e-learning programme developed by the Social Housing Academy in partnership with Me Learning, designed to help organisations upskill large workforces at pace in readiness for October.

This was one of the most attended sessions of the year. It is not hard to see why.

Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.