CIH chief executive awarded CBE

Sarah Webb, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), has been awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday honours for services to the housing sector.

At CIH she has been at the forefront of shaping the direction of the housing sector, in particular developing arms length management organisations (ALMOs); putting residents at the heart of housing organisations and the English regulatory framework; and informing the decision to launch the Northern Ireland Housing Commission.

Webb is also well known for the impact she made as Head of the Community Housing Task Force at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), where she ran a team which gave advice to local authorities, their tenants and prospective landlords on housing stock transfer.

Sarah Webb said: "I am thrilled that my work to date has been recognised. My motivation for what I do has always been rooted in my first experiences as a housing officer in Glasgow: making a difference to the often difficult lives of real people in communities.”

Howard Farrand, president of CIH, said: "Sarah is a leader and inspirational figure in the housing world, and her CBE is well deserved recognition of the huge contribution she has made to the sector.

“From the streets of Glasgow in her early career to shaping national housing policy and education agendas in her current role, the difference she has made to communities and the housing profession is significant. I wait with bated breath to see what she will deliver in years to come."