For many years now, the world of housing has been changing gradually - a new initiative here, a new set of requirements there, a measured pace of consultation and implementation. The Housing Corporation evolved seamlessly into the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority, and so on.

Suddenly, under an energetic new government, that comfortable world has gone. Change has accelerated, and many of the old certainties have been swept away. There are plentiful new risks, some new freedoms, and an overall context of shrinking resources. What does it all mean? For our tenants, our organisations, our jobs? Is it a series of half-planned experiments, or is there a coherent vision driving reforms?

This keynote session looks at the big picture, and focuses in on the world of maintenance and asset management, with some practical thoughts about what the next few years will bring.