Value for Money Strategy

Value for Money Strategy

2026-2029

Introduction and Purpose

This strategy sets out how One Manchester will make the best possible use of money, people and resources over the period 2026 to 2029. It supports our corporate plan by focusing on how we improve services, strengthen financial resilience and deliver better outcomes for customers, homes and communities.

At a Glance

Why this strategy matters: we need to make sure every pound we spend helps us provide better services, maintain safe and sustainable homes, and remain financially strong.
What this strategy focuses on: customer outcomes, service efficiency, better use of homes and assets, smarter investment decisions, stronger use of data and digital tools, and good financial stewardship.
How we will deliver it: through clear priorities, measurable outcomes, regular reporting, and a practical three-year delivery plan linked to the corporate plan.
How customers will see the difference: easier access to services, better communication, a stronger focus on getting things right first time, and greater openness about how we are improving services and using resources.

Our Context

One Manchester is working in a challenging environment. Costs remain high, customers rightly expect good services, and there is growing pressure to invest more in existing homes, building safety and sustainability. At the same time, we must remain financially strong so that we can continue to deliver services and invest for the future. This strategy helps us respond to that challenge in a planned and practical way.

What Value for Money Means at One Manchester

For One Manchester, value for money means providing services that are high quality, easy to access and responsive to what customers need, at a cost that is fair and sustainable. It means understanding what we spend, what difference that spending makes, and where we can do things better. It also means being clear about where more investment is needed to improve services, and where we can simplify processes, improve productivity or redesign
the way we work so that customers get a better service.
 

What This Means for Customers

For customers, this strategy means we will focus on the things that make the biggest difference to everyday services. That includes making services easier to access, more reliable and more responsive, listening to feedback, and being clearer about how we are using our resources. It also means making sure money is spent wisely so that homes are safe and well maintained, neighbourhoods are supported, and One Manchester remains strong enough to keep investing in services for the future.

Our Principles

This strategy will guide decision making across the organisation. We will balance cost and quality when making important spending and investment decisions. We will understand the full cost, performance and outcomes of our services so that we can challenge activities that offer poor value and focus improvement where they will make the biggest difference. We will simplify processes, reduce waste and improve productivity. We will listen to customers,
colleagues and partners when identifying opportunities to improve. We will use data, digital tools and innovation where they help us provide a better or more efficient service. We will also make sure value for money is reflected in business planning, budget setting, procurement, asset decisions, service reviews and performance reporting. These principles provide the foundation for the governance, regulatory and performance framework set out in the next section.

Governance, Assurance and Regulatory Alignment 

This strategy supports compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing Value for Money Standard by setting out how One Manchester will achieve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of its resources. It will be supported by Board oversight, an annual value for money self-assessment, regular review of performance against sector measures, and close links to the corporate planning and budget process. We will also use benchmarking and comparison with others to understand how we are performing and where we need to improve. Section 4A explains how the core RSH value for money metrics
will be aligned to the Board-approved business plan and used to support financial and strategic assurance.

RSH Value for Money Metrics and Alignment to the Board-Approved Business Plan

The Board-approved business plan refresh from March 2026 reaffirmed the need for One Manchester to maintain financial resilience while delivering major investment in existing homes, a reduced but still significant development programme, and a cumulative efficiency requirement linked to cost pressures such as Awaab’s Law. It also confirmed the need for ongoing Board oversight of operating surplus, covenant headroom, liquidity, investment affordability and delivery of planned efficiencies. The Regulator of Social Housing value for money metrics provides an important external framework for testing whether those business plan assumptions are being converted into sustainable financial performance and effective use of resources. They should therefore be used not in isolation, but as part of an integrated assurance framework linking the business plan, budget, stress testing, sector benchmarking and this strategy. Taking together, this framework provides the basis for the strategic objectives that follow.

These metrics should be reported alongside budget monitoring, business plan refreshes, covenant reporting, stress testing outputs and key operational performance measures so that Board can see both the financial outcome and the underlying drivers of performance. Where movement in an RSH metric reflects a strategic choice, such as higher reinvestment or temporary cost pressure from regulatory compliance, reporting should explain the rationale, expected benefit and long-term VfM impact rather than presenting the metric in isolation.

Our Strategic Priorities

Over the life of this three-year strategy, One Manchester will focus on five main objectives: improving service efficiency and productivity; improving the quality and consistency of customer outcomes; making better use of homes, assets, systems and data; improving investment and procurement decisions; and maintaining strong financial resilience to support today’s services and future priorities. These objectives will be delivered through the organisation’s strategic themes and through the practical application of the ‘Better, Faster, Cheaper’ approach, so that service improvements lead to clear financial and
operational benefits. The next section shows how these objectives will be applied across the main areas of One Manchester’s work.

How We Will Deliver Value for Money

Customers
We will: make services easier to access, more responsive and more consistent, using customer insight and performance information to focus effort where it will make the biggest difference.
Success will look like: higher tenant satisfaction, fewer complaints, quicker resolution, lower cost to serve by channel, better first contact resolution and less repeat contact.

Homes
We will: improve the way we deliver repairs, maintain compliance, understand asset performance and plan investment so that homes stay safe, warm and sustainable at the best possible long-term cost.
Success will look like: lower repairs cost per property, quicker repair completion, stronger right first time performance, continued achievement of the Decent Homes Standard, sustained compliance, faster re-let times and lower void loss.

Neighbourhoods and Communities
We will: target neighbourhood services and community investment so that we reduce avoidable demand, help customers sustain tenancies and increase social value.
Success will look like: stronger tenancy sustainment, lower arrears, quicker anti-social behaviour case resolution, fewer evictions, lower neighbourhood management cost per unit and clearer evidence of social value.

Growth and Development
We will: make sure decisions about new homes are affordable, well governed and aligned to long-term priorities, with a clear understanding of cost, return and wider benefit.
Success will look like: better control of development cost per unit, stronger scheme appraisal, improved grant leverage, closer alignment between forecast and actual outturn, delivery of social and affordable homes, and better long-term return on investment.

Sustainability
We will: improve environmental performance in ways that reduce long-term running and maintenance costs while supporting carbon reduction commitments.
Success will look like: a better average SAP or EPC profile, measurable carbon reduction, clearer benefits from energy efficiency investment, lower utility and service cost pressures, and reduced long-term maintenance costs from retrofit and planned investment.

Colleagues and Ways of Working
We will: improve productivity through better workforce planning, clearer accountability, better systems and stronger continuous improvement skills.
Success will look like: stronger productivity, lower absence, reduced agency and overtime cost, lower employee turnover where relevant, improved training completion and clear benefits from improvement activity.

Data, Digital and Transformation
We will: improve processes, automation, data quality and digital tools where these help us provide a better, faster and more efficient service.
Success will look like: higher digital take-up, more self-service transactions, shorter process times, stronger automation benefits, better data quality and less manual rework or system-related failure demand.

Finance, Procurement and Governance
We will: strengthen financial stewardship, contract management, procurement discipline and assurance so that decisions are well informed and resources are used to best effect.
Success will look like: stronger operating margin, improved EBITDA MRI interest cover, appropriate gearing and reinvestment, stronger return on capital employed, lower management cost per unit, higher procurement savings, better contract compliance and tighter budget control.

Formal VfM Metrics Table

The table below brings together the core One Manchester VfM measures that will be used to monitor delivery of this strategy.
 

Corporate Plan and Annual Corporate Priorities

The Corporate Plan and annual Corporate Priorities provide the overarching framework within which this strategy operates. The direction of ‘Better, Faster, Cheaper’ provides the practical expression of VfM delivery, while the People, Place and Prosperity priorities contain the main service, investment and performance drivers that this strategy brings together.

Implications for Reporting and Assurance

As related strategies are refreshed; action plans and performance measures should explicitly identify the VfM contribution they are expected to make. This will help One Manchester demonstrate that value for money is being delivered through customer experience, neighbourhood, homes, sustainability, data and governance activity as well as through direct financial management. Board and Committee reporting should increasingly draw out both the service and VfM contribution of these strategies, using a common language of cost, outcome, productivity, social value and long-term impact.

Delivery Plan

This three-year strategy will be delivered through annual business planning, budget setting, service review activity and targeted improvement programmes. Each year, specific value for money actions will be identified and tracked, with clear ownership, milestones and expected benefits. These actions may include service redesign, procurement savings, contract optimisation, asset review, productivity improvements, digital enablement, reduction in failure demand, communications activity, and opportunities to improve customer outcomes at lower unit cost. Delivery will remain dynamic so that new
opportunities can be incorporated as they arise, rather than being limited only to actions identified at the start of the strategy period. The phased plan below shows how this delivery approach will be sequenced across the three-year period.

Three-Year Phased Delivery Plan

The phased delivery plan below shows how the main priorities within this strategy will be sequenced over the 2026–2029 period. It is intended to provide a practical framework for annual planning, monitoring and assurance, while allowing flexibility to respond to new opportunities, regulatory requirements and organisational priorities.

Building a Value for Money Culture 

Value for money works best when it is part of how everyone thinks and works, not just a financial exercise. One Manchester will build value for money into leadership, team planning, performance management and day-to-day decisions. Colleagues will be encouraged to spot waste, challenge poor value, suggest improvements and use evidence to support better choices. Customers also have an important role to play by helping shape services, challenging performance and telling us what good value looks like from their perspective. Building these behaviours across the organisation will be essential if this
strategy is to lead to lasting improvement.

Better, Faster, Cheaper communications plan

To support this, One Manchester will use a simple Better, Faster, Cheaper communications plan to explain what value for money means, why it matters, and how different teams and customers can contribute. Internally, this will include leadership briefings, manager messages, team meetings, staff updates and regular reporting through existing governance routes so that expectations are clear and progress is visible. For customers, this will include clear updates through existing customer communication channels, showing how feedback has shaped decisions and how improvements are making a difference to services, homes and neighbourhoods. Communications should be practical, plain English and linked to real examples of improvement, so that value for money is seen as part of everyday service delivery rather than a technical finance message.

How We Will Measure Success 

Progress will be monitored through monthly operational reporting, quarterly Board reporting, annual self-assessment, sector benchmarking and thematic performance review. The tables in this strategy set out the core measures and reporting cadence that will be used to judge progress. An annual value for money update will summarise achievements, challenges, benchmarking insights and priorities for the following year.

In Summary

This strategy makes clear that value for money is about more than cost. It is about using our resources well so that we can provide better services, maintain strong finances and deliver lasting benefits for customers and communities. By linking value for money to our corporate priorities, customer outcomes and long-term sustainability, One Manchester will be better placed to make good decisions, keep improving and ensure that every pound spent delivers as much value as possible.