T9: Structure and Governance
SDG Goal - 16
Legal structure of the organisation and its approach to Governance
C25 - Is the housing provider registered with the national regulator of social housing?
Aster Group is a charitable registered society, registered with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
C26 - What is the housing provider's most recent regulatory grading/status?
We hold the highest possible ratings for governance (G1) and viability (V1) which was reaffirmed by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) in July 2023 further to an in-depth assessment.
C27 - Which Code of Governance does the housing provider follow, if any?
Our governance framework is structured on the UK Corporate Governance Code. This is a set of principles of good corporate governance that we follow in our governance arrangements, including those around Board leadership and effectiveness, remuneration, accountability and stakeholder relations.
C28 - Is the housing provider a Not-For-Profit?
Aster Group is a not-for-profit provider of social housing
C29 - Explain how the housing provider’s board manages ESG risks. Are ESG risks incorporated into the housing provider’s risk register?
Our Risk Framework takes an enterprise risk management approach. It’s a way of working that enables us to recognise, and consider responses to, uncertainties and obstacles as they arise. It supports the exploration of potential opportunities arising from changes in both the internal and external environment. By working like this, we can successfully navigate through situations, achieving our goals and overcoming threats to success.
We know that risk management is an integral part of good management practice. It is integrated into strategic and service planning processes and performance management, with a Risk Register maintained and regularly discussed.
In relation to ESG risks, our:
- Operating Environment and Horizon Risk Map includes themed sections for Environmental and for Societal/Sector. Strategic Risk Themes include Investment in Homes and Sustainability, Regulatory Standing and Customer Satisfaction and wider perception. Specific strategic and operational risks are identified under these, fully assessed and appropriate responses and management plans put in place and monitored.
- Compliance Register includes all laws, regulations, sector standards and codes of practice appliable to Aster across environmental, governance and social responsibility and our plans for meeting these. This approach enables us to recognise, and consider responses to, uncertainties and obstacles as they arise and supports the exploration of potential opportunities arising from changes in both the internal and external environment.
The Aster Group Ltd Board ensure ESG risks are managed appropriately, and are supported by our Committees and wider governing bodies including the Group Risk & Assurance Committee.
C30 - Has the housing provider been subject to any adverse regulatory findings in the last 12 months (data protection breaches, bribery, money laundering, HSE breaches etc.) - that resulted in enforcement or other equivalent action?
We have not been subject to any adverse regulatory findings during the 2023/24 financial year or since the 2024/25 financial year commenced.
T10: Board and Trustees
High quality board of trustees
SDG Goal - 16
Does the housing provider have policies that incorporate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) into the recruitment and selection of board members and senior management?
Aster Group Limited Board Make Up for 2023/24:
- What % of the board are women? Total = 10, 4 Women (40%), 6 Men (60%
- What % of the board are BAME? 10%
- What % of the board are residents? No residents, where known
- What % of the board have a disability? No disability, where known
- Average age of the board 57yrs
- Average tenure of the board 57 months (including CEO 118months)
It’s important that the diversity of our customers is reflected in decision making, and we seek to increase opportunities to listen to our customers’ voice at all levels of the business, including at board and senior management. The Customer and Community Network is a committee of the Board and has direct links to the Board - it plays an important role in amplifying the voice of the customer in key decision making. The Chair of the Customer and Community Network is a board member, and the Member Responsible for Complaints is a member of the CCN.
We have policies that incorporate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) into the recruitment and selection of board members and senior management. The most recent recruitment round for board members was supported by the Housing Diversity Network to try and broaden the attraction of the roles, as well as our Diversity and Inclusion team, who provided Unconscious Bias training to the recruiting panel in advance of the selection process.
Our Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan also states a clear commitment to ‘Better reflect the diversity of our communities throughout our workforce at all levels.’ For colleague recruitment an Inclusive Recruitment Plan is in place and there have already been trials of independent panel members, and CV redaction, as well as ongoing work to our website and recruitment and selection processes.
Through ongoing planned turnover of Board and committee members our recruitment processes are being continuously reviewed and refined to attract a diverse range of candidates. the Governance process and is looking to utilise the existing networks to improve diversity across the Group.
For the last round of Chair and Board recruitment we had:
- 18 applicants for the Chair
- 50 applicants for NED (the best performing Housing Association role on Nurole)
We have had two colleagues (one who is also a customer) join a sponsored Board Diversity Trainee Programme which aims to nurture a diverse culture which reflects our customers and communities and provide opportunities to people who may find it difficult to access Board member experience. This is a national programme, led by the Housing Diversity Network, giving trainees a combination of classroom based learning, networking, mentoring and opportunities to attend Board meetings throughout a two year programme. This has led to one of them recently securing their first board position at another housing association, which is a great case of investing in the advancement of diversity within the sector.
D&I view:
Our D&I team have discussed in depth the need for more diversity in the Governance process and is looking to utilise the existing networks to improve diversity across the Group.
The People and Culture team and Customer Voice team are working together to formalise and improve this process.
For colleague recruitment an Inclusive Recruitment Plan is in place and there have already been trials of independent panel members, and CV redaction, as well as ongoing work to our website and recruitment and selection processes.
For the last round of Chair and Board recruitment we had:
18 applicants for the Chair
50 applicants for NED (the best performing Housing Association role on Nurole)
Overall Chair diversity stats:
- Ethnicity: 66.67% White, 5.56% Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, 5.56% Asian, 22.22% did not say/unspecified
- Gender: 77.78% Male, 22.22% Female
Overall NED diversity stats:
- Ethnicity: 64% White, 10% Asian, 4% Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, 22% unspecified/prefer not to say
- Gender: 70% Male, 18% Female, 12% unspecified/prefer not to say
Longlisted Chair diversity stats:
- Ethnicity: 55% White, 9% Mixed/multiple ethnic groups,36% unspecified/prefer not to say
- Gender: 64% Male, 27% Female, 9% unspecified/prefer not to say
Longlisted NED diversity stats:
- Ethnicity: 33% White, 27% Asian, 6.7% Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, 33.3% unspecified prefer not to say
- Gender: 40% Male, 27% Female, 33% unspecified/prefer not to say
Candidate sources: Nurole membership, Microsite, Recommendations by other members, headhunting (speaking to sources/linkedin etc).
What % of the housing provider's Board have turned over in the last two years?
What % of the housing provider's Senior Management Team have turned over in the last two years?
The Chair, Mike Biles and one Non-Executive Board Member, Andrew Kluth came to the end of their term in the autumn of 2023.
From 3 November 2023 Stephen Trusler took over as Chair, having previously been one of our Non-Executive members, and formerly chaired our Remunerations and Nominations Committee.
Joining Stephen on the Board is Mehul Desai, who joins as a Non-Executive Director. Mehul is currently Chief of Staff to HSBC’s UK Chief Operating Officer.
There are ten members of the board. Two members left and were replaced in financial year 2023/24 thereby board turnover is 20%.
We have 0% turnover from the senior management team (Executive Board)
Our Audit Committee merged with the Group Risk and Compliance Committee to form the Risk and Assurance Committee (GRAC). The first GRAC took place officially in January 2024.
The Group Risk and Assurance Committee is made up of eight members in total at the moment. Four are Overlapped Boards NEDs (NEDs for the Group Parent, Aster Group Ltd) and four are Independent Committee Members.
Of those, two NEDs and one ICM have recent and relevant financial experience. A further one ICM has extensive audit experience.
Aster Group Limited Board: 70% (seven out of ten)
Has a succession plan been provided to the housing provider's board in the last 12 months?
Yes - one of the success factors of our Board, is the balance of skills and experience that our Non-Executives bring.
As part of the ongoing skills assessment of our Boards and Committees, we introduced the Board Skills Vision, which aims to quantify the key skills and characteristics we are looking for.
The Board Skills Vision is a holistic set of criteria focusing on everything from fact-based judgements to emotional intelligence, teamwork and values. We recruit on cultural fit and value alignment, just as much as we do on experience. The Board recognises that effective succession planning is not only a fundamental component of Board effectiveness but is also integral to the delivery of our strategic plans. It is essential in ensuring a continuous level of quality in management, in avoiding instability by helping mitigate the risks which may be associated with any unforeseen events, such as the departure of a key individual, and in promoting diversity.
The Board has approved a Board Membership, Recruitment and Succession Policy and the Group People and Culture Committee (GPCC) routinely reviews the succession plan for the Overlap Boards and the Committees to facilitate future recruitment in a timely manner. The Committee works to ensure a continuous flow of talent is available through developing existing Directors and independent members, and also by identifying suitable external candidates to ensure a refreshing of talent and ideas, and the ongoing maintenance of skills.
When recruiting, by mapping our Board skills we can get a clear idea of what we are looking for in our applicants and what each of them could bring to the collective.
KPMG have been auditing Aster Group's accounts for the last seven years.
Our last independently run governance review was held at the end of 2022. This review has invaluably helped inform changes that have been made during 2023/24, including:
- As mentioned at C33 above, our Audit Committee merged with the Group Risk and Compliance Committee to form the Risk and Assurance Committee (GRAC). The first GRAC took place officially in January 2024.
- Our Operational Scrutiny and Assurance Panel (OSAP) first met in February 2024, replacing our Corporate Performance and People Panel, Customer Experience Panel and Group Health and Safety Panel.
Further outcomes of the governance review have been incorporated into the design of a new governance structure, which is being embedded in 2024/25 and will be detailed within the 2025 ESG Report.
We will be carrying out our next externally facilitated independent review in 2025, which is in-line with the timescales prescribed by the UK Corporate Governance Code.
We have a policy that sets out how we handle conflicts of interest at the Board, based on the Board Code of Conduct.
T11: Staff Wellbeing
Supports employees
SDG Goal - 8
We strive to pay our people fairly and provide both them and our customers with tools and resources to help manage their finances. While we don’t currently pay the Real Living Wage for all our colleagues, it is something that we are very aware of for the minimal number of colleagues who this relates to and are working towards realising this in the future.
2023 position (note, figures are the MEAN gender pay gap not median)
Group wide: 15.2% unchanged from last year - Enham have been included this year for the first time
Aster Communities: 18% (decreased)
Aster Property: 7.2% (decreased)
Aster Group: 17.2% (unchanged)
CCHT: 16.2% (decreased)
EBHT: 18.5% (Increased)
Enham: -3.3% (n/a)
Also note, teams are working on Employee value proposition – which communicates how we attract and retain diverse talent – using culture audit and networks to provide insight into barriers. For more information on our gender pay gap visit https://www.aster.co.uk/corporate/about-us/our-reports.
Aster also reports Disability and Ethnicity pay gaps.
25th percentile - 11.98:1 (increased)
150th percentile (median) - 9.1:1 (increased)
175th percentile - 7:33:1
Internal communications promotes messages through internal comms channels to mark notable dates and raise awareness as well as and encouraging participation in our networks and activities e.g. Black History Month, dish tastings and our annual participation in National Inclusion Week.
We have five colleague networks (LGBTQ+, Race and Heritage, Carers, Disability Confident, and Gender) which act as safe spaces for colleagues of different backgrounds, as well as allies, to come together and help drive forward inclusion initiatives. We also have an Inclusion Steering Group with representatives from across the business which provides updates to our Operational Scrutiny and Insurance Panel, thus ensuring a strategic thread of inclusivity. The opportunity to join these networks is publicised at our Welcome Days, as well as periodically through our internal comms.
We frequently run a range of sessions such as Inclusive Leadership, Active Inclusion (Unconscious Bias and Micro-behaviours), Disability Awareness, and Anti-Racism, as well as a range of diversity and inclusion e-learning and resources (some mandatory) for all colleagues.
We have Diversity and Inclusion Principles which underpin our D&I Policy and support The Aster Way behaviours. We also launched an ambitious three-year Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan in 2023, with clear objectives.
The Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Team work closely with the Learning and Organisational Development team over any areas of focus and how to tailor delivery to different parts of the business, as well as our People team to ensure relevant employment law changes are complied with and communicated.
We have produced a number of D&I resources for colleagues which have been handed out at Welcome Days as well as being available on our intranet, such as a ‘Language Matters’ inclusive language guide, ‘Access to Work’ guidance, ‘How to be an effective Aster Ally’ guide, and a ‘wheel of privilege’.
We externally benchmark ourselves every year via a tool called TIDE (‘Talent Inclusion and Diversity Evaluation’) available via our membership with enei (The Employer’s Network for Equality and Inclusion) and actively look for any areas of improvement in embedding diversity and inclusion within our business.
In 2023 we launched our first standalone colleague Inclusion survey to understand the sentiments of our colleagues and give us some meaningful data and feedback to work with, alongside our Culture audit findings.
The D&I team have an open door policy - anyone can talk to anyone in the team about anything they want relating to D&I.
Our inclusive culture and colleague offer is creating a better way of working for everyone as we look to become the number one employer in our sector.
Our people and our culture are our strength - we are focused on empowering our colleagues to thrive. To do this we must ensure our employees are well, happy, and healthy and therefore able to deliver their best service for our customers.
The health and wellbeing of colleagues continues to be a priority and we have a range of support on offer under Mental Health and Physical wellbeing:
Mental health
We’ve partnered with Plumm Health to provide colleagues with Mental Health support when they need it. It includes access to 1:1 video counselling/therapy sessions with accredited therapists with appointments in as little as 24 hours. Chat therapy via the platform, AI wellbeing assistant to offer real-time mental health and personal growth support, unlimited access to a growing library of therapist-led psycho-educative digital courses, guided meditations, and live monthly workshops with access for family members. Plumm is both GDPR and HIPAA compliant. So, all conversations are totally confidential and encrypted.
We have trained 40+ 154 Mental Health First Aiders who are colleagues that can spot the signs and symptoms of poor mental health and are armed with signposting information to help them get the support they might need. We have 24/7 employee assistance programme (EAP) in place which is a freephone telephone number to a counsellor available to all colleagues with a dedicated website full of tools and resources.
We run a number of live sessions on mental health including Increasing emotional resilience and mental health champion training to arm colleagues with the tools to spot the signs and symptoms of poor mental health.
Physical wellbeing
Colleagues have BUPA Cashplans for physio/chiro/osteo appointments up to £150, consultants appointments, routine tests/health checks and prescription charges. They also have access to BUPA physio and nurse telephone helpline and a health hub of information and advice.
Our EAP gives access to a digital gym with bookable live workouts and recorded training plans for Pilates, yoga, injury prevention and menopause. Recorded yoga, Pilates, HIIT workouts via the Perkbox wellness hub, as well as recorded webinars on nutrition. As a Menopause Friendly Employer we offer colleagues support, training and information to support them in this space.
From D&I perspective - those who get in contact with the D&I team are referred back to Asternet, Perkbox, MHFA, Wellbeing team etc. for support - all channels are useful.
Ensuring that our colleagues have the right professional development is important to us. In particular, we recognise the importance of supporting our customer services colleagues' learning and development to ensure that our customers benefit from that knowledge and skill through the services they receive from us. We are preparing for the Competence and Conduct Standard and we have in place a Customer Service Learning Offer - which focuses on enabling customer service colleages to develop their skills, behaviours and knowledge to provide our customers with the best possible service. The offer also provides continual updates on regulation changes and we ensure that we are continually learning from external insight and our complaints.
Our offer outlines some of the more general opportunities that are available to all staff such as qualifications, apprenticeships, guidance and training. During 2023/24 £275,000 Apprenticeship Levy was spent as follows:
Aster - taking on 13 apprentices
Aster - upskilling 42 colleagues.
The Aster Way, is a cultural programme that is a shared understanding of the way colleagues work – creating a fair and inclusive culture throughout the Group. It is a set of straightforward principles that underpin everything we do, every day, from how the Board leads and the business learns, to how colleagues collaborate, communicate, and innovate to enable us to achieve our vision - that Everyone has a home.
We also look for opportunities to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded into professional development of colleagues. As an example of this, is from July, we will be running our reverse mentoring programme in which those from our diversity networks and have lived experience from and beyond the equality act, will mentor a member from our senior leadership team. This programme is to enable honest and insightful conversations of difference and to allow our senior leaders to champion being an advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion.
Our annual Aspiring Leaders cohort now also receiving Inclusive Leadership training, thereby ensuring some of our future leaders have the knowledge and skills to embed inclusivity.
T12: Supply Chain Management
Procures responsibly
SDG Goal - 12
C45 - How is social value creation considered when procuring goods and services?
What measures are in place to monitor the delivery of this Social Value?
Social Value (SV) must be considered in all over threshold procurements (in line with The Public Services (Social Value) 2012). We include SV as an evaluation criteria and a weighting of at least 5%, usually 10%, is given. The weighting and the content of the criteria will always need to be appropriate and proportionate to the contract subject matter, term and value.
To do this, within our tenders we will request bidders to:
- provide details of how Modern Slavery and Responsible Procurement is monitored within their organisations and supply chains
- provide information about activities, the social value created and how this is measured, in line with Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. This includes what benefits will be delivered to the communities that bidders will be working in, what skills and training or employment opportunities will be created, and specific community initiatives that will be delivered during the contract term
- we also ask bidders to provide information on how they support social enterprises or SMEs within a supply chain.
We are working with the Aster Foundation to finalise the SV Matrix to be included within all applicable tenders. The matrix will ask for up to 1% of the total contract value by way of a SV contribution, this could be commitment to provide a financial donation, support of an apprentice, mentoring time etc.
We responsibly procure goods and services by ensuring that they are procured not only on a cost–benefit analysis, but with a view to maximising other benefits, including:
- Economic (e.g. corporate governance, ethical trading, payment on time)
- Social (e.g. diversity, inclusion, human rights)
- Environmental (biodiversity, carbon footprint, climate change).
We are working on developing a reporting matrix with the Aster Foundation team to enable real time reporting on what social value has been delivered via a procurement process.Aster Group is a charitable registered society, registered with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
At Aster Group, Value for Money (VFM) means making mindful decisions about our spending. VFM is about obtaining the best possible offerings for the goods, services, or works we procure. We achieve this by balancing the 4 Es:
- Economy: Spending less
- Efficiency: Spending well
- Effectiveness: Spending wisely
- Equity: Spending fairly
Our revised Procurement and Contract Standing Orders policy, launched in Spring 2024, provides colleagues with principles to help achieve this balance. These principles include considerations of purpose, impact, engagement, assessment, and implementation.
C46 - How is sustainability considered when procuring goods and services?
What measures are in place to monitor the sustainability of your supply chain when procuring goods and services?
We do weight against the environment where appropriate (see above response).
