The Social Housing Podcast

In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham joins Gary Haynes to discuss the biggest changes in housing policy over the past five years, the role of devolution in driving regional growth, and why Manchester continues to outperform much of the UK.

The conversation explores the future of social and affordable housing, homelessness, Housing First, the risks of over-gentrification, and how Greater Manchester is working to build a city region where growth benefits everyone. Andy also shares his views on housing reform, the private rented sector, local government funding, and what must happen next to meaningfully tackle the housing crisis.

In our latest episode,  we’re joined by Suzanne Adams, a strategic leader with nearly three decades of experience in social housing, to explore how automation and emerging AI technologies are reshaping the sector. Drawing on her work leading digital transformation at Southern Housing, Suzanne shares practical insights into how housing providers can move from manual, resource-heavy processes to intelligent automation that improves services for both colleagues and residents. The conversation covers the realities of implementing automation at scale, the critical role of data quality, how to bring teams along the journey, and why the future lies not just in more technology, but in better-designed digital services that truly support people. 

In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, we're delighted to welcome Hassan Bahrani, Director of IT, Cyber and Data Security at Thirteen Group, and Nick Atkin, CEO at Yorkshire Housing! Our host Gary Haynes explores the relationship between AI and its involvement within social housing and opportunities for the future.

In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, we're delighted to welcome James Woods, CEO of Citizens Advice Doncaster! Our host Carly Harling explores the different levels of support that Citizens Advice offer and whether housing associations are utilising it enough the way that they should be!

In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, we're delighted to welcome Dave Loudon, leading sector consultant and owner of Digital Bark! Our host Peter Hudson dives into the challenges faced by the sector today and why we need to prioritise digital transformation...

In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, we're delighted to welcome Hannah Harvey, Chief Operating Officer at Saffron Housing! Our host Peter Hudson dives into the challenges faced by housing associations with Saffron, and whether enough is being done to help support tenants. 

In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, we're delighted to welcome Jonathan Cocker, Chief Information Officer at Platform Housing! Our host Lewis Murray dives into the challenges faced by IT with Jon, as well as the importance of data and whether we're utilising it effectively.

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In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, we're delighted to welcome Ian Wright, the CEO of the Disruptive Innovators Network! Our host Peter Hudson explores the importance of communicating effectively with your tenants with Ian, as well as some interesting anecdotes during his time at DIN! Make sure to subscribe and drop a comment with your thoughts!

In this episode of the Social Housing Podcast, we're delighted to welcome Tom Robins, the CEO at Switchee! Our host John Doyle dives into the importance of customer centricity with Tom, as well as all the fantastic work Switchee are doing with the ongoing issue of damp and mould.

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