Meet Our New Regional Advisor for the South West

Meet our new Regional Advisor for the South West, Tim English. In this blog, Tim gives an overview of his professional background, his experience, and the skills that he will bring to the team at Foundations.

I began my career in local government in 1987 at Manchester City Council as a higher clerical officer in the housing department in the homelessness team. I have since, taken up various operational, strategic, and senior management roles across Greater Manchester Local Authorities before ending my local government spell as Head of Integrated Commissioning for Older People some 33 years later.

My time in local government included a significant amount of experience in the operational and strategic management of Council housing. Including the oversight of Housing Revenue Account business plans including the DFG. In the latter stages, I led, increasingly cross-cutting work with Social Care, around accommodation/residential/domiciliary care/adults with learning disabilities and autism, hospital discharge services, and community alarm services. 

I became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing for making a significant contribution to the sector in 1996, having successfully led and scoped and wrote metropolitan borough-wide housing strategies and policies that led to improved housing services and physical environments for many people. 

I have worked within the Greater Manchester devolved Health and Social Care system. Where I have helped shape the benefit of greater collaboration, joint commissioning arrangements between housing, social care, public health, NHS and voluntary, faith and community services. 

Highlights of my time in local authorities included the successful delivery of two major housing-led regeneration public/private partnership programmes. One of which transformed the Older Peoples’ Housing services and introduced a new Extra Care Housing offer. The second, was transformed (through selective demolition), several Council housing estates. Replacing poor condition housing stock with over 600 new build, modern, accessible, affordable to rent and for sale general needs housing. Including the development of six fully wheelchair-accessible family homes.  

Most recently, I worked closely with the Criminal Justice Services in the supported housing space with the Langley Housing Trust, where I led a hostel and dispersed service through the end of the pandemic and into recovery. I have also completed some consultancy work, supporting a local authority, around the TSM and damp and mould strategy, policy, and operational response.

I volunteer as Vice Chair and Trustee with my local Mind and enjoy gardening, the great outdoors, most sports and spending time with family, friends and pets. I now look forward to being able to make a positive difference on a national scale and am grateful for the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience as a Regional Advisor for the South West.