Social Value Report – 2024/25
Introduction
At believe housing, we believe in life without barriers and that starts with a healthy home.
That means not just the quality and energy efficiency of the buildings themselves, but also the strength of the communities that people live in, the opportunities available to them, and the pride they feel in where they live.
This year’s report shows how we’re embedding social value into everything we do, from tenancy sustainment and employment initiatives to the way we work with contractors and suppliers who share our ethos. Together, we’re creating real, measurable benefits for people, places, and the local economy.
We’re committed to doing the right thing, and this report reflects that commitment in action.
Our year in numbers
During 2024/25:
- we created a combined total of more than £58.1m in social value
- our HACT figure is more than £57.3m
- our TOMs figure is more than £850,000
- we invested more than £267,000 in communities through our community investment programme
- our community investment programme created over £8.5m of social value
- every £1 of community investment created £31.86 of social value
- our community investment funding helped organisations access over £173,000 of match funding and supported over 15,000 people
- we supported 131 people to access secure, sustained employment across northeast England
- we supported 130 people entering employment with support packages
- we supported customers to claim over £1.8m of additional benefits.
Community investment at believe housing
We support local charities and community groups through targeted grants. Grants are money given to help build skills or tackle local issues.
We’re proud to work with organisations that partner with local people to make a real difference.
How we choose projects
We use local data, insights and knowledge from our customers, colleagues and stakeholders to set priorities and make sure our support meets real community needs.
In 2024/25, we funded projects that focused on:
- Health and wellbeing: supporting mental and physical health, and building confidence
- Employability and training: including volunteering and skill-building activities
- Increasing household income: through debt advice, benefits support, feeding families, and employment
- A greener, fairer future: promoting recycling, reusing, and reducing waste
- Tackling inequalities from the cost-of-living crisis: including ‘Keep Warm, Keep Well’ grants for community organisations running warm hubs.
In 2024/25, our community investment funding:
- supported 146 people to become regular volunteers
- provided 156 people with training
- helped 54 young people to feel more confident
- supported 390 people to improve their diet
- supported 99 people to feel a sense of belonging in their neighbourhood
- empowered 171 people to take up regular exercise.
Small grants
A group of customers meet once a month to read and talk about applications for our small grants.
They decide which grants to award based on what they know about their local areas and by checking applications against our funding rules.
Our Engagement Team asks every customer they speak to if they’d like to join the group. Right now, we have six members.
Everyone in the group has had full training. And they get ongoing help from our Community Investment Team so they can do the job well.
In 2024/25:
- we awarded 75 £500 grants to organisations or community groups
- we awarded 32 £1,000 grants to organisations or community groups
Large grants
In 2024/25:
- We awarded 24 grants of £10,000 or more to community groups or organisations.
Small grants: Shopmobility Durham
We awarded a £500 community grant to Shopmobility Durham, in partnership with Durham East Primary Care Network, to support older people at risk of isolation.
The funding helps run an accessible bus service for over-65s to attend weekly coffee mornings at Coxhoe Primary School or Freemans Quay. The bus includes specialist mobility aids and collects attendees from their homes, returning them safely afterwards.
The project supports residents in Belmont, Bowburn, Sherburn, Coxhoe, Cheveley Park, and West Rainton. Activities include bingo, raffles, and social time, but the main aim is to help people take more control of their physical and mental wellbeing.
Attendees also share their needs and concerns, helping raise awareness of other community services. Organisers may invite them to further sessions if more support is needed.
Large grants: The Laughy Cafe
We awarded a £10,000 community grant to the Laughy Café breakfast club at Laurel Avenue Community Centre in Gilesgate.
The funding helped launch a new breakfast club for over-50s from Sherburn Road, Gilesgate, Belmont, Carville, and Claypath, as their lunch clubs couldn’t meet demand.
Around 30 people attend each Tuesday for free food and activities, with all costs covered to remove barriers. The club offers a safe, welcoming space where people can stay active, connect with others, and access support—helping to reduce poverty, loneliness, and isolation. For some, it’s their only social interaction each week.
Residents testimonials:
Susan, 78, said: “I came to a lunch club here a few years ago, which helped me regain my confidence. I’d be in the house alone if I didn’t have this place. I’m very aware of the hard work and funding that goes into it and am very grateful for both.”
Nicola, 57, said: “I was a carer for 30 years and have health problems. I didn’t get out before, but now I love coming to this group. I feel safe and happy here; it’s a really special place.”
And Malcolm, 76, said: “I had a mental breakdown four years ago, and without this place and the people, I might not be here. It gets me out of the house for a nice meal, and I look forward to coming now. It’s certainly better than being stuck indoors staring at the carpet.”
Employability
Our Employability Team gives friendly, personalised help to anyone who needs their support.
We talk with people to understand what they need and what they hope to do in the future. We can then connect people with other helpful services in or outside our business.
We can help people find paid jobs, but that’s not all we offer. We can also support people to volunteer, access training or start their own business. We also have an In-work Support Coordinator. They help people who have a job, or recently left one, to find long-lasting and better-paid work.
Our Employability Team also provides one-on-one help. We can help people with writing CVs, applying for jobs, and getting ready for interviews. We can help people with physical or mental health needs to find support from organisations and professionals. Our work gives people the tools to take control of their health and future.
In 2024/25, we:
• supported 131 people to access secure, sustained employment
• supported 19 people to access volunteering opportunities
• supported 1 person through our health and wellbeing provision to access secure, sustained employment
• referred 139 people to other specialists such as local foodbanks, debt and mental health support
• referred 43 people to external employability support
• supported 5 tenants to access employment through our New Start programme
• supported customers to repay £13,800 of rent arrears
• created a social value of over £1.1m.
Supporting a new handyman business
Mary supported a customer with ADHD who was struggling to find work. She helped him set up a handyman business, using our discretionary fund to pay for flyers and posters.
When he needed help with his business plan, Mary referred him to the North East Business and Innovation Centre (NE BIC), which he found very useful. He later secured a contract with Dixons and built a strong local client base.
Now working full-time as a self-employed handyman, he’s earning more and says his mental health has greatly improved. He told us he finally feels his life has purpose again.
Helping a future delivery driver
Our Tenancy Sustainment Team referred a tenant who needed help starting a job as a delivery driver with Regulux Transport.
He was ready to begin training for Amazon deliveries but couldn’t afford the upfront fuel costs. Our Employability Team spoke with him to understand his needs and used our discretionary fund to cover the fuel.
A few days later, he started work and emailed to say thank you, sharing that he hadn’t expected support and now felt hopeful. After months of unemployment and struggle, he said he could finally see light at the end of the tunnel. He now receives ongoing in-work support from our aftercare service.
Helping customers to sustain their tenancies
We can support our customers with any unexpected issues that they might encounter.
Our Money Matters Team works with people one-on-one to make sure they get the help they need to have a healthy home.
We work together across the business to help customers by:
- doing checks to understand what support they need
- looking at their money situation to help them keep their home
- finding out if they can get any benefits or payments
- guiding them to other helpful services or groups.
We can also help customers who go through a sudden life change. This could be losing someone close, a relationship breakup, or losing a job. We can give advice about money and help them find other services that can support them during this time.
During 2024/25, the Tenancy Sustainment Team:
- supported 4,365 customers
- secured more than £1.8m of additional welfare benefits
- created over £3.3m of social value.
Making customers’ homes healthier
A customer receiving State Pension and Housing Benefit contacted us for help with energy costs.
He was confined to his bedroom due to poor property conditions and unaware of arrears because his smart meter wasn’t working. A welfare visit revealed damaged doors, clutter, and the need for a deep clean. His rent account was in credit.
We worked with East Durham Trust to top up his energy meters and fix the smart meter, and applied for a new sofa.
Our teams created a plan to improve his home, and with refunded credit and reduced rent, he paid for cleaning and decorating. As he engaged with us, we also helped replace his cooker and fridge freezer.
Green and sustainable homes
We work to provide homes in places where people want to live that are safe, secure and well looked after.
We aim to make sure that we take care of our customers’ wants and needs.
People in our communities are struggling with rising living costs, higher energy bills, and price increases. As a company, we promise that all our homes will have an energy rating of at least C by the year 2030. This means our customers will be able to live in homes that are cheaper to run and better for the environment.
Our ‘capital works programme’ is a home improvement plan to help make sure our homes stay up to a decent standard. We also focus on helping homes use less energy and be kinder to the planet. And we try to plan and combine work in a way that causes the least disruption for our customers.
Work undertaken has included:
- new roofs
- loft insulation
- solar (photovoltaic or PV) panels
- battery storage system
- air source heat pumps
- thermal heat systems
- cavity wall insulation
- external wall insulation
- new doors and windows
- ventilation systems to prevent condensation, damp and mould
- rewiring
- internal environmental monitoring to ensure the home is safe and healthy.
In 2024/25 we:
- carried out capital refurbishment and works to 2,145 homes
- improved the energy efficiency (SAP) rating in 936 homes
- created over £1.2m of social value through our energy efficiency works.
Well maintained homes for all
Every day we check, fix, and sort out problems in our customers’ homes. During 2024/25, we completed 74,710 repairs.
These repairs include:
- restoring heating and hot water supplies
- fixing inside doors
- repairing damage
- mending broken taps.
Over the past year, we’ve faced several challenges.
Challenges included:
- the rising cost of materials
- more repair requests that are harder to fix
- more focus on fixing damp and mould
- older homes that need more care.
We’re dedicated to giving the best repair service possible and understanding customers’ needs. We continue to look at how we do things and make changes and improvements. We know it’s important to keep in touch with our customers during repairs, so we’re bringing in a new system to help. This will provide a smoother and better experience for our customers.
We can use the HACT method to show how our repairs add social value to people’s lives. Especially when that work helps someone feel safe and comfortable in their home.
During 2024/25, we:
- created over £43m of social value through our repairs work
- resolved 1,622 issues with interior doors
- resolved 1,445 issues with ceilings
- carried out 2,204 wall repairs
- resolved 1,021 issues with floors
- carried out damp and condensation work to 7,621 homes.
Working with our suppliers
As a business, we can’t do everything on our own. We use our procurement policies to buy goods and services from external suppliers.
We are proud to be in the County Durham Pound initiative. This initiative ensures all public sector procurement in the county maximises investment. It also supports delivering social value and activities in our communities and neighbourhoods.
As part of the Social Value Act, companies who work with us must show how they will help the community alongside doing their job. This could include things like running job events at schools or hiring people who live nearby. Our Procurement Team checks that suppliers meet these commitments and the outcomes.
As a company, we also use something called the TOMs framework to keep track of what we do across the business. This helps us show how our work makes a positive difference in local areas. It also shows our suppliers that we care a lot about helping the community.
During 2024/25:
- we awarded contracts to 23 suppliers, with 12 of them based in northeast England
- 10 of our awarded contracts contained provision for TOMs-defined social value activity
- the total proposed social value, as per the TOMs framework, was £850,421
- the total social value created by believe housing, as per the TOMs framework, is £16,692,956.
Howletch Primary School, Peterlee
Howletch Primary School asked believe housing for help installing shielding panels along its metal perimeter fence. The panels improve privacy and safety for students, reduce litter blowing into the grounds, and enhance the school’s appearance.
We partnered with Deerness Fencing Limited and Jewsons to deliver the project. Over four days, our teams volunteered more than 110 hours, providing all labour and materials at no cost to the school.
This meant the school could save its budget for activities that benefit students and their families.