🧵(3/3)Jac Larner: "In terms of engaging tenants, a lot more needs to be done to explain the change…a lot of people haven’t heard of the new electoral system at all".

🧵(2/3) Nerys Evans: "‘As organisations, you do so much brilliant work on the ground, but how do politicians know about this?…It’s in all candidates' benefit for you to explain to them what you do"

🧵(1/3) Steffan Evans: "There’s no doubt in our mind that poverty must be a priority for all political priorities - you won’t deal with other issues such as health, housing and disrepair without doing this".

🧵 (3/3) "Almost 30% of people say that housing is the biggest issue facing them and their families", said Jac Larner.

🧵 (2/3) He has also shared his expert insight into what Welsh voters really think about the key issues facing them, their communities and the country - and crucially, where housing fits into that picture.

🧵 (1/3) ‘For the first time, there is no such thing as a safe seat in Wales, so parties are going to have to campaign everywhere, even where they might not have campaigned before’, he said.

🧵(3/3)We also explored the importance of community involvement in placemaking and discussed AI, retrofit, leadership, the tenant voice and more through a wide range of workshops. So much shared learning! 🧠

🧵(2/3) One of the highlights was the conversation between our Director of External Affairs Clarissa Corbisiero and journalist Vicky Spratt on the real-world, human impact of the #HousingCrisis on people and communities today.

🧵(1/3) Yesterday, we launched our campaign for the Senedd elections 2026 with a powerful keynote from Chief Executive Stuart Ropke, followed by a key speech from Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS.

🧵(4/4) Stuart Ropke, Community Housing Cymru: "We are on a huge moment of change in Wales.The task for us now is to make the case for housing anew and build new relationships".

🧵(3/4) Richard Meade (SFHA): "The biggest challenge facing social housing and housing associations in Scotland is significant policy uncertainty, especially relating to net zero".

🧵(2/4) Kate Henderson (NHF): "If we look at the challenges facing housing associations in England, there are similarities - cost of living, quality of existing homes, building safety, and new supply".

🧵(3/3) Alongside the UK HIVE, HACT has launched a Social Housing Collaboration & R&D Roadmap, which sets out a 3–5 year vision for collaboration and innovation, providing practical recommendations for shared investment, infrastructure and collective action.

More information here: bit.ly/3X30kkG

🧵(2/3) The aim of this new space is to embed collaboration and continuous improvement into the DNA of the sector. UK HIVE will act as a hub for testing ideas, sharing learning, pooling resources and scaling what works.

🧵(4/4) Adam Kennerley, DTA Wales: "There’s a phrase, 'nothing for the community without the community', and this needs to be more than a tick box… there needs to be an offer, an open door to collaborate"

🧵(3/4) Sian Diaz, Lovell Partnerships: "We engage the community, involve them in what we are proposing… you can look at Google maps, but you can’t replace the knowledge of people who live there".

🧵(2/4) Mike Brough, Cardiff Capital Region: "‘Making places is for people who live there and work there. Without that, we’ve probably failed".