Decision

Current regulatory judgement: The Cambridge Housing Society Limited (17 January 2024)

Updated 17 January 2024

Applies to England

RSH Narrative Regulatory Judgement

• Provider: The Cambridge Housing Society Limited
• Regulatory code: L0992
• Publication date: 17 January 2024
• Governance grade: G1
• Viability grade: V1
• Reason for publication: Viability regrade
• Regulatory route: Stability Check and Reactive Engagement

Regulatory judgement

This regulatory judgement regrades our previous published assessment of The Cambridge Housing Society Limited’s financial viability from V2 to V1 and confirms its existing G1 grade for governance.

Our previous judgement noted that The Cambridge Housing Society Limited (CHS) continued to commit to a wide range of community-based activities, ranging from support services to extra care. It had successfully taken action to de-risk some elements of its business plan, including the removal of market sales from the development programme, and continued to pursue further de-risking opportunities.

In line with CHS’s strategy it has since disposed of its last remaining care homes and nurseries. Wider changes in its care provision have allowed for further asset disposals. As a result, CHS’s reliance on non-social housing income is reduced. CHS’s board has also reduced its development programme. Together these changes mean that CHS has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.

The regulator’s assessment of CHS’s compliance with the governance elements of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard remains unchanged. On the basis of the Stability Check, the regulator has concluded that there is no evidence to indicate a change to CHS’s current governance grading.

Other providers included in the judgement

None

About the provider

Origins

CHS is a charitable society registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Its main activities relate to the provision of social housing and the care and support of older people.

Registered Entities

CHS is the only registered entity.

It is the sole corporate trustee of Waters Almshouses, a registered provider which owns six bungalows for older people in Cambridge, that are managed by CHS.

Unregistered Entities

Cambridge and County Developments Limited is a company limited by shares with non-charitable status. It provides services and advice as a development agent to CHS regarding the development of homes for affordable rent or shared ownership, and the commercial sale of land for residential development for outright market sale.

Geographic Spread and Scale

CHS owns and manages around 3,100 properties located across Cambridgeshire, North Essex and West Suffolk. It provides a wide range of products and services. These include social and affordable housing and the development of shared ownership homes. It also provides extra care, sheltered housing, domiciliary care for older people, a wide range of supported housing and debt and employment advice.

Staffing and Turnover

At 31 March 2023, CHS employed 244 full-time equivalent staff, with the majority in its older people’s services. Group turnover for the year to 31 March 2023 was £31.6m.

Development

CHS is a development partner with Homes England and intends to develop 79 homes over the next five years.

About our judgements

Key to Grades

Governance:

	Compliant
G1	The provider meets our governance requirements.
G2	The provider meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance.

	Non-compliant
G3	The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the provider is working to improve its position.
G4	The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

Viability:

	Compliant
V1	The provider meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.
V2	The provider meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.

	Non-compliant
V3	The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and, in agreement with us, the provider is working to improve its position.
V4	The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern, and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.

Note: The use of an asterisk (*) against a grade indicates that the assessment refers to a provider that is designated as being for-profit.

Definitions of Regulatory Routes

In Depth Assessment (IDA): An IDA is a bespoke assessment of a provider’s viability and governance, including its approach to value for money. It involves on-site work and considers in detail a provider’s ability to meet its financial obligations and the effectiveness of its governance structures and processes.

Stability Checks: Based primarily on information supplied through regulatory returns, a Stability Check is an annual review of a provider’s financial position and its latest business plan. The review is focused on determining if there is evidence to indicate a provider’s current judgements merit reconsideration.

Reactive Engagement: Reactive engagement is unplanned work which is triggered by new information or a developing situation which may have implications for a provider’s current regulatory judgement.

Stability Checks and Reactive Engagement: In some cases, we will publish narrative regulatory judgements which combine evidence gained from both Stability Checks and Reactive Engagement.

For further details about these processes, please see Regulating the Standards.