OUR GOVERNANCE

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St George Housing is a non profit Charitable Community Benefit Society.  We are a  housing association that is committed to providing safe and affordable housing to those that need it most.  We aim to offer a range of accommodation including  general needs, affordable housing, and market rent.  We will reinvest our surplus back into our organisation to drive our social purpose and develop more affordable housing.  To view our constitutional and governing documents click here.

  The Board is a highly skilled and diverse team and is comprised of 3 majority Non-Executive Directors and one Executive Director.  The diversity and dynamism of the Board will drive constructive challenge, critical thinking and optimum strategic oversight., In our first year we will recruit a company secretary who will work with the Board, further promoting good governance and acting as a conduit between the Board and the executive.  To read about our board members click here.

 Good Governance is integral to our  core values and our mission to deliver safe, high quality, affordable housing and specialist support services for our residents.

We are early adopters of the  National Housing Federation (NHF) Code of Governance 2020 and the NHF Code of Conduct.  We pledge to carry out annual reviews against the code, the Regulators standards, with  a particular focus on governance and  financial viability, the Housing Ombudsman complaints code and Governance and to ensure we adequately protect our social housing assets and promote the longevity of the company.  You can view the 2020 Code of Governance here.

Our Board adopted the National Housing Federation code of conduct 2020 that sets out guidance for Board and staff on behaviour and conduct covering the following four themes:

1. Acting in the best interest of the housing association and its residents.
2. Behaving with integrity.
3. Conducting yourself professionally and treating others well.
4. Protecting yourself, others and the environment.

You can view a copy of our code of conduct policy here. 

Accountability and transparency are at the heart of what we do. At St George Housing we will implement stringent internal controls to manage risk and to provide assurance that we are protecting social assets whilst ensuring the longevity of the company.   You can view our conflicts of interest policy here.  Our Board Register of Interests can be viewed here.

Our scheme of delegations sets out  our governance structure and the delegated authority through which it operates.  Our financial regulations set out detailed  financial thresholds and authorisation limits.  You can view a copy of our scheme of delegations here.

We will deploy  highly skilled staff who will act as the first line of defence, the second will be a strong executive management team and the Board, and the third will be internal/external audit who will provide assurance as an independent body.  These lines of defence are necessary as a foundation for good governance and allow us to safeguard the   financial  viability of the association.

Our Board embraces its role for maintaining a strong system of internal controls and for annually reviewing its effectiveness. Key arears of focus for the Board will be on effective risk management and a new risk strategy that will help embed a risk management culture throughout the organisation.