Housing

I was told a story recently about a schoolchild from a troubled background. Getting to school was an achievement. This day, classes required special pencils. The child had none. He couldn’t do the classes. The social worker and health visitor got involved. They ask if the child can stay at school, it being better than home. These decisions cost. The simple answer was to give the child a pencil to do what he wanted to do.

Matt Leach has become skeptical of government’s ability to make a real impact on a local level. But the new boss of Hact is sold on the Big Society agenda and reckons housing providers should be at the heart of it. Clare Goff meets him

‘I’ve been on a journey that started in central government but which has gradually taken me closer and closer towards frontline delivery.’