Paul Roberts

I currently operate as an independent consultant (Newid Consultant), supporting housing associations and charities to strengthen their approach to Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG), housing strategy, repairs and maintenance, social investment, and internal controls.

A key area of my work is focused on fraud risk across the housing sector. This is important to me because fraud directly undermines the trust that tenants, funders, regulators, and communities place in housing providers. It also diverts essential resources away from delivering safe, high‑quality homes and vital support services. Through my finance, governance, and operational experience, I’ve seen how strong controls, transparent reporting, and a healthy organisational culture can significantly reduce risk.

Working with Registered providers as a consultant I help organisations move beyond reactive investigations to proactive fraud risk management. That includes strengthening governance frameworks, embedding fraud awareness into everyday operations, and ensuring leadership teams properly understand their exposure to financial crime.

I’m particularly known for challenging the sector’s historical complacency around “nil returns” and underreporting. Through research, white papers, sector surveys and speaking engagements, I’ve consistently highlighted the gap between perceived and actual fraud risk, and I’ve helped organisations close that gap with practical, proportionate solutions.

I regularly share insights at sector conferences, webinars and roundtables and I carried out the first Sector Risk Fraud Survey published in 2026 to support a more data-led and transparent approach to how fraud is reported and benchmarked across the sector.  My focus is always on pragmatic improvement: what good looks like now, where the risks are evolving, and how housing providers can protect assets, tenants and reputation.

Ultimately, my thought leadership comes from doing the work, seeing the patterns, and helping the sector raise its standards.

Through enthusiasm, resilience, collaboration, and the development of colleagues, I have seen how strong teams achieve meaningful results. I am committed to helping organisations improve their performance and governance, reach their potential, and strengthen their strategy, service delivery, financial resilience, and social investment.

• Managing Director roles with The Guinness Partnership, where I was also part of the Executive Team. My career has involved extensive responsibility for leadership, strategy, operations, communications, business development, stakeholder management, programme management, organisational development, and risk management. Leading and working within finance teams has reinforced a consistent focus on business performance, internal controls, governance, and strategic clarity.
• In my consultancy work, I support clients with ESG reporting, fraud and risk, and asset compliance. I also serve as a non‑executive Board member with the Regenda Group, where I sit on the Risk and Audit Committee and Chair the boards of trustees for two subsidiaries that provide services to people who are homeless or in housing need, as well as domestic abuse support for families and children.
• The organisations I have worked with have experienced considerable transformation and growth and I have contributed significantly through my various roles to establish value for money, customer service businesses focused on the delivery of their social purposes. I create, develop and deliver positive and sustainable outcomes and I am now developing a portfolio of non-executive and consulting roles. My career across a range of sectors has involved a wide range of responsibilities, working and engaging with many and varied organisations.