Janet Parry obituary

My wife, Janet Parry, who has died of liver cancer aged 58, was executive director of Sheffield Homes, a company set up by the local council to manage social housing. Thanks partly to her hard work, in 2010 the organisation was independently assessed as the best housing service in the country.

Janet was given the post of director of housing management at Sheffield Homes when it was established in 2004, but in order to obtain funding from the government to improve the standard of local housing, it needed to reach the high bar set by the housing inspectorate. Janet was project leader for all three inspections carried out by that body, ensuring that staff and tenants were well prepared and that all the standards were met. Sheffield Homes achieved top marks in all three inspections, enabling it to embark on a programme of big improvements and becoming the only housing service in the country to achieve the top score three times.