Your feedback on our proposed merger with Sovereign
24 August 2023
Over the summer, we’ve been collecting your views on our proposed merger with Sovereign to find out what’s most important to you throughout this transition. You can click here to find out more about the proposed merger. Thank you to everyone who gave their feedback and told us what matters most to you. In total, 361 residents completed our merger survey. Your insight is important to us as we work through what this transition will look like, and we appreciate you taking the time to share what you think about the proposed merger.
There were a variety of ways you could let us know how you feel, including an online survey, in-person events in London and Hertford, a drop-in day at our Wembley office and telephone or in-person one-to-one conversations with us. We shared details about all the ways you could share your views in our resident newsletter, which is sent to all residents by email and text, on our website and social media and at scheme meetings and our summer resident events in London and Hertford. We also provided paper copies of the survey to our Older Persons Scheme Managers so they could support older residents with completing the survey.
What residents said about our merger with Sovereign
We announced the proposed merger widely online and in our printed resident newsletter, and 70% of those who responded to our survey said they were aware of it. Some people did say they were unaware that this was happening, so we’re glad that they were able to learn more about the merger through this feedback exercise and could also reflect and share how they felt about it.
Attitudes to the merger
When asked how positive you felt about the merger on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being not positive and 5 being very positive, just under 60% of respondents chose 3 or above.
Your main concerns were about changes or disruptions to day to day services because of the merger. There were concerns that the merger could put additional pressure on already strained resources such as neighbourhood, repairs, and customer services. When comparing service satisfaction scores against how respondents were feeling about the merger, we saw that people feeling least positive about the merger were also the least satisfied with the service they receive from us currently. People who are happy with our current service were worried that a merger could impact the service leading to a decline in standards. Some were hopeful that the merger would result in an improvement in the service.
If the merger goes ahead, we’ll still be delivering services as we currently do because we currently work in different areas to Sovereign. You won’t see any immediate change or disruption. We’re confident that the merger is a golden opportunity to invest more in service delivery and long-term improvement as together we will have more funding for repairs, maintenance, services and the communities you live in.
Merger ambitions
Our vision for the merger is to take the best of both organisations and become even better as one organisation. When asked what was most important to you, the top-rated important merger ambitions were:
- Maintaining and repairing your homes (92% voted this as important or very important)
- Making homes more energy efficient (81% voted this as important or very important)
- Providing a cyclical programme for major works to your home e.g. kitchen and bathroom replacements (74% voted this as important or very important)
Respondents also expressed that localised services and local knowledge are also important priorities. These responses are in line with feedback we often hear from residents that your key priorities are for us to maintain, repair and improve your homes.
Communication
We worked with our involved residents, who are residents involved in our various resident engagement activities, to shape how we communicate with you about this proposed merger. They have helped us adapt how we have and will be sharing information about the merger with residents so it’s easier for you to understand what is happening and any impact on you, if there is any.
Communities
As part of our new organisation, we will launch a Community Foundation which will invest £100 million over 10 years. We asked what you would like to see this money spent on, and respondents chose supporting young people and older people and supporting people struggling with the cost of living as the most important causes.
How is this feedback being used?
Network Homes’ Board reviewed this feedback in their August Board Meeting. In the Board discussions, it was also highlighted that out of all the work we do, you have made it clear that you care most about the quality of your homes and the level of service we provide and want this to remain a priority in the new organisation. The Board listened to and considered your feedback and will take this into account when making the final decision on the merger, as well as during the integration of the two organisations if the merger goes ahead.
Sovereign ran a similar exercise with their customers and reported those findings to the Sovereign Board in their August Board Meeting. You can read a summary of the feedback they received here: Merger customer feedback | Sovereign
Next steps
Our Board, along with Sovereign’s Board, will be making the final decision on whether to proceed with the merger in early September, and we will let you know more then. If approved, we will merge with Sovereign on 1 October 2023 and the new organisation will be called Sovereign Network Group. If the merger goes ahead, this won’t affect your right to live in your home. You’ll still have the same lease or tenancy agreement. There will be little immediate difference for residents: you’ll still contact us the same way and deal with the teams you do now.
