Viridian Housing to increase transparency

Tuesday, 17 January, 2012

From April this year, Viridian Housing will voluntarily publish the salaries of senior level employees along with greater details of its expenditure.

Viridian Chief Executive, Matthew Fox, said the decision to publicise these figures is about meeting changing expectations.“

The world is becoming more open and we are taking practical action to become even more transparent, honest and accountable,” Matthew said.

“It is becoming increasingly important for us, and our residents, to be very open about the money we spend.”

“Around 80% of our income is from residents’ rent and other charges, so we owe it to them to be clear about how their money is used,” he said.

The figures will be published on the organisation’s website from 1 April this year, and will include employee salaries over £50,000 and all expenses over £500.The decision to increase the openness of information also supports Housing Minister, Grant Shapps’ drive to increase transparency within housing associations.“

This information will be available online and will be routinely updated, allowing anyone to access it when they want to,”

Matthew continued. With Viridian placing increased importance on the social impact of its work, Matthew said he believed residents would be happy to see their money put back into projects to help residents.

“We’ve got some very exciting social impact projects coming up in 2012, and we’re eager to show residents where their money is going,” he said.