Every year we say it’s going to be a big year for housing, but this year it’s particularly true. Six months into a new government, which from the outset has made its aspirations to tackle the housing crisis clear, we’re seeing new opportunities to help make positive change.

 As president of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), I’ll be focusing on my ‘Choose Housing’ campaign, highlighting how the sector does much more than provide homes - it creates opportunities, builds communities and makes a real difference in people’s lives – and encouraging people to choose housing as a career. I’ll also be doing my bit to raise money for Barnardo’s, a charity that’s been changing childhoods and lives for over 150 years. As part of this, on 13 June I’ll be abseiling down a 1930s Peabody estate next to Clapham Junction railway station called St John’s Hill, to raise money and awareness for the charity.