Modern slavery encompasses slavery, human trafficking, forced labour and domestic servitude. Traffickers and slave masters use whatever means they have at their disposal to coerce, deceive and force individuals into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment. Great Places is committed to eradicating modern slavery in all forms throughout our direct operations and our wider supply chain.
Great Places Housing Group is a registered, not for profit, social housing provider working across 36 local authorities in the North of England providing rented homes, low cost home ownership opportunities, private management services and support services for people in need.
We have approximately 27,000 properties in our portfolio, and in 2024/25 achieved a turnover of over £180m excluding property sales. We employ approximately 1000 colleagues and are a living wage employer with a strong commitment to supporting and developing our employees to achieve their potential.
Within each of our directorates, an assessment has been undertaken to identify any high risk activities or functions where modern slavery and/or human trafficking are known to be more prevalent. This exercise identified the following risk areas:
Within each of these areas, we will liaise with our colleagues, contractors and supply chain partners to ensure that risks are managed effectively and that employment practices are in line with our expectations.
The legal structure of Great Places Housing Group comprises the following companies and is overseen day to day by the Chief Executive (Alison Dean) and 5 Executive Directors (note that one position has been vacant since July 2024 when the post-holder succeeded to the post of CEO).
Great Places’ Board is currently made up of 9 Non-Executive Directors plus the Chief Executive and is chaired by Mervyn Jones, with a further 3 Non-Executive Directors making up the Cube Board. Our Committee structure includes the Audit & Assurance Committee, the Remuneration & Appraisal Committee, and the Customer Committee which is made up of 2 NEDs from the Board, plus 7 customer representatives.
The structure chart below outlines the legal relationships between the members of the Group.
During 2024/25, we committed to deliver a number of actions in order to address the priority areas that we had identified. The information below summarises our progress against these actions:
| Action identified | Progress made in 2023/24 |
|---|---|
| Deliver ongoing modern slavery training as part of our mandatory programme. | Modern slavery training is a mandatory requirement for all colleagues during their induction period, and is then part of a bi-annual refresher programme. |
Deliver procurement activity across the following areas:
|
Procurement activity was completed for flooring provision, mobile phone hardware and workwear / protective equipment during 2024. New asset management and construction frameworks (Innovation Chain) were also procured.
Activity was also started, and is expected to conclude soon, for pest control and communal laundry |
Over the next 12 months, we will:
We are not aware of any modern slavery or human trafficking incidents have occurred within Great Places or our supply chain within 2024/25. We are aware of a small number of cannabis grows within our housing stock, and have reported through our safeguarding route where we have modern slavery concerns, but are aware that reporting of incidents of that nature do not strictly fall within these reporting requirements. We will continue to act vigilantly and in line with the Modern Slavery Act throughout 2025/26.
Signed: Alison Dean, Chief Executive
Date: 27 May 2025
