Anti racism statement

This statement affirms our commitment to becoming an anti-racist organisation and to making meaningful and sustainable change. It also demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and to be judged on our actions, not words.

Equality, diversity and inclusion goes to the very heart of what we do. Our core value - RESPECT - is all about respecting the diversity of all the individuals, communities and partners we work with. However, we also know that we are on journey and that there is still much to do.

We know that people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are more likely to experience poor housing conditions and services and that these racial disparities stem from historical and societal prejudice, racism and discrimination.

mhs homes is not immune from this injustice, but we are committed to changing it.

We know that we need to do more to tackle racism. We know that people from minority ethnic backgrounds face prejudice, racism and discrimination. To tackle this, we need to acknowledge the systemic and structural racism that exists in modern Britain.

We must not be passive on this matter - we will be actively and visibly anti-racist.

There is a commitment from the very top of mhs homes to give teeth to this Anti-Racism Statement. The Board committed to the RACE Equality Code in 2022 (awarded March 2023) and have agreed an action plan to ensure that diversity, inclusion and the eradication of all types of discrimination are clear bedrocks to the way we operate. We have also committed to achieving Diversity Network Accreditation which is an outcome-based assessment process overseen by the Housing Diversity Network.

Over the next three years, we will be taking a number of actions to help us become a truly anti-racist organisation, including:

Ensuring that our stance on anti-racism starts in the boardroom and that progress and outcomes are monitored through our RACE Equality Code Action Plan.
By September 2023 by engaging in positive action we aim to have at least one Black, Asian or minority ethnic board member and two Black, Asian or minority ethnic members of the senior Leadership Team.
Setting a target to increase the Black, Asian and minority ethnic composition of our workforce to 15% by 2025 - reflecting the communities we serve in.
Collecting and analysing ethnicity workforce data to ensure an evidence-based approach to workforce representation. We will also annually publish our ethnicity pay gap.
Implementing diverse and inclusive recruitment, talent management, and succession planning strategies so that there are clear career pathways for Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees and employees from other underrepresented groups.
Developing new approaches to grievance, capability and disciplinary procedures to ensure that such processes are fair, open and transparent.
Ensuring that our commitment to being anti-racist is at the heart of the way we operate as a social landlord. We know that within the UK, Black, Asian and minority ethnic tenants are more likely to live in overcrowded or poor housing. We need to better understand the reasons for any disparities within our own housing stock and take steps to address them.
As a leading housing charity with a commitment to social justice, we will also use our voice to call out racism and promote equality and fairness.
We will adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to all forms of racism and hate crime (such as homophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia) and will take action against all tenants where they or their family/visitors are found guilty of such an offence.
We will use appropriate and respectful language and terminology, including not using the acronym ‘BAME’ (unless for purposes of reporting ethnicity data where it is not possible to report population sizes that are statistically significant).

Statement approved and signed by Nigel Hopkins, Chair of mhs homes group, and Ashley Hook, Chief Executive