annual report to tenants 2010 - b3living.org.uk · throughout this report. 4 :broxbourne housing...
TRANSCRIPT
Performing for youAnnual Report to Tenants 2010
Better homes, better communities
Performing for you
Annual Report to Tenants Broxbourne Housing Association : 32 : Broxbourne Housing Association Annual Report to Tenants
In July 2008 we were inspected by the
Audit Commission. We were awarded a
two star rating with promising prospects for
improvement. We have taken on board
the recommendations they made to
improve our services further.
★★
EVIDENCE
The information in this report is taken from:
l our annual performance reports;
l our analysis of where we are falling
short of the national standards;
l 3,500 returned repair feedback surveys;
l the 2008 Status Survey which went to
all residents;
l our financial statements accounts,
audited by Beever and Struthers; and
l Housemark, which allows us to
compare our performance against
other landlords.
Broxbourne Housing Association is
monitored and regulated by the Tenant
Services Authority. If you want more detail
about our performance please phone us
on 01992 453 700.
MESSAGE FROM RESIDENTS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
OuR VISION,PuRPOSE ANDVALuES
Our vision is to be the
preferred landlord,
employer and social
business partner in the
Lea Valley.
Our purpose is to be an
excellent housing
association, providing
high quality affordable
homes and effective
services that meet our
residents’ aspirations.
We have signed up to
work in a way that is:
COLLABORATIVE +RESPECTFuL + CREATIVE+ RELIABLE + ExCELLENT
Built 61
new homes
More residents involved
in decision making than
ever before
Investors in
People and Best
Companies
accreditation
All staff involved in
estate inspections
£200,000 spent oncommunity projects Set up a Customer
Service Centre
We have been involved in producing this
Annual Report from the beginning. After
the first draft we decided certain points:
make it more visual; make it easier to
understand; avoid jargon and use more
straightforward words.
Please feel free to comment and give us feedbackwhich will make future reports easier to produce. A feedback form is enclosed.
Do you feel we have the priorities correct? If not, tellus. This report is for you – help make it better!
Shoaib Gillani and Pamela Evans
.3
Highlights of
the year
.6
Better homes
.12
Better
communities
.4
National
standards,
local deal
.7
Performance
information
.13
Financially
sound
.5
Involving you
.11
Your tenancy
.15
Well run and
governed
CONTENTS
Performing for you
1It tells you how we have
performed in a number of
key areas.
2It tells you how we think we
are meeting the Tenant
Services Authority national
standards and how we aim to
improve. The Tenant Services
Authority currently regulates
social housing.
There are 6 national standards,
these cover: the quality of your
home; value for money; your
tenancy; how we are run;
community issues; and involving
you. Within the national
standards there are many areas
of work. We are working with
residents to adapt the standards
to your local situation. By spring
next year, we aim to have a
deal which states the service
everyone can expect. But we
will also have specific local deals
for older people, people with
disabilities or additional needs,
and for people on some of our
larger estates.
We are aiming to publish the
local deals in spring 2011. These
will then form the basis of our
work in the future.
❱❱ Get involved in developing
the local deals - call PeterWalkinshaw on 01992 453 779.
Value for money
We aim to provide cost-
effective, efficient, good quality
services and homes to meet
your needs, and we will involve
residents in decisions about how
we spend your money.
Although Value for Money is a
specific national standard, we
have not highlighted this
separately. Instead, our value for
money measures are explained
throughout this report.
4 : Broxbourne Housing Association Annual Report to Tenants
Your complaints and
suggestions help us to
improve the service.
You can make a
complaint or a
suggestion by telling
us in person, on the
telephone, by e-mail,
on line through our
website or by letter.
Our complaints
procedure is available
on the website or in
a leaflet from the
Customer Service Team.
❱❱ To get involved in
decision-makingabout your homes
and services ring Peter Walkinshaw on
01992 453 779.
NATIONAL STANDARD LOCAL DEAL INVOLVING YOu
The InvolvingYou standardmeans: To meet it we: To improve we will:
Easy to accesscustomerservices
Make sure all services areaccessible to everyone
Answer the phone quickly
Are helpful, friendly and polite
Have clear service standards
Have a clear complaints system
Have lots of clear informationavailable
Involve residents in a style guidefor writing letters
Answer letters more quickly
Continue to develop our Customer Service Centre
Residentsinvolved indecision making
Have a dedicated residentinvolvement manager
Have lots of opportunities forinvolvement and influence inthe housing service
Work with you to develop localdeals (see page 4 for details)
Provide training for our Residents’Panel so that they canchallenge how we work
Arrange more informal ways toget involved
Continue to involve tenants inscrutiny in relation to thenational standards
A service thatmeets yourneeds
Have accessible offices andoffer home visits
Train people who work for us totreat everyone fairly and withrespect
Supply printed information inlarge print and audio
Develop services in line with theinformation you have given us
use the information you havegiven us to provide servicesthat are appropriate for you
Supply letters in large printwhere needed
Value for money Look at continual improvement Involve you in deciding thebest way to use our resources
Encourage you to complain!
Annual Report to Tenants Broxbourne Housing Association : 5
Residents of all ages
can get involved
We are working hard at providing excellent customer service
and finding ways for you to influence all areas of our work.
You want to be involved in decisionsand choices, be treated with respect,listened to and have your views takeninto account.
We want this annualreport to be honest andhelpful. It gives you twosets of information.
Residents have voted ontheir priorities
Performing for you
Annual Report to Tenants Broxbourne Housing Association : 76 : Broxbourne Housing Association Annual Report to Tenants
✓ £36m spent on your homes
– on target ✓ Install 1500 new kitchens
– we have already installed
1790
✓ Install 1300 bathrooms
– we have installed 1337
✓ Replace 500 doors
– we have replaced 684
✓ 1360 heating systems installed
– all homes now have some
form of heating
✓ £1.2m on adaptations
– we have assisted 800
households
✓ Improve the repairs service
✓ Focus on getting repairs done
right first time
✓ Involve residents in
repairs contracts
✓ Provide some decorating
and odd jobs for older and
vulnerable tenants
✓ £1.3m on estate improvements
✓ Improvements at
Macers Court – finished
summer 2010
✓ Major works at Fishers
Close and Coopers Walk
– started September 2010
✓ Hold estate inspections
PERFORMING FOR YOu
Homes owned / managed 4,387
Rented 3,525
Shared ownership 148
Leasehold 687
Turnover £17.8m
Total staff number
(equivalent to full time) 120
Homes in development 106
KEEPING OuR PROMISES
Many of you have said that percentages and graphs don’t help you to
understand the figures. So we have developed a new system to show
you if we are doing well or badly, if we are getting better or worse, and
how we compare to other housing associations. See right for details.
❰❰ we are doing well
❰❰ we are doing okay
❰❰ we are doing badly
How we are doing onthis topic:
Arrows show whether ornot we are improvingcompared to 2008/9:
Show how we comparewith other housingassociations:
The figures for comparison
are not available for every
category, but we have
shown them where we can.
KEY STATISTICS - APRIL 2010
KEY TO SYMBOLS
BETTER HOMES
The BetterHomes standardmeans: To meet it we: To improve we will:
Good quality, well-maintainedhomes
Exceed Decent HomesStandards on all properties otherthan 40 at Grove House, whichneed improved insulation. Thiswork started recently
Complete all gas safety checkson a rolling cycle
Make sure all properties andprocedures meet all legal healthand safety requirements
Bring Grove House up to theDecent Homes Standard by2010 (this is on target)
Choose contractors who canbe flexible about when work isdone
Do a fire risk assessment of allproperties and install smoke,heat and gas detectors whereappropriate
Timely, efficientand costeffective repairs andmaintenance
Have a 24-hour repairs line foremergencies
Make and keep appointments
Carry out repairs within publishedtimes
Plan major works and cyclicalrepairs
Review our procedures so thatwe get more right first time
Do more to publicise thedifference between tenants’responsibilities and our own
Publicise the major works andcyclical repairs programme
A service thatmeets yourneeds
Give everyone choices wherepossible, for example a choice offinish and colour when installingnew kitchens
Provide 808 retirement propertiesfor people over the age of 60,some with extra care support
Install adaptations
Improve the waiting time foradaptations
Value for money Keep our promises forimprovements
Meet our target repair times
Involve residents at an earlierstage of setting the budgets
Do a full review to bring downthe overall cost of repairs
The government says
all homes must meet
the Decent Homes
Standard. All of our
properties will meet
the standard by 31
December 2010. Many
of them will exceed it.
Our repairs service
compares well with
other housing
associations. It is in the
top quarter.
These pages give details of how we havebeen performing over the year from April2009 to March 2010.
You want a good quality home, witha timely and efficient repairs andmaintenance service. You want clear,accurate information about when toexpect work to be done.
❰❰ better than last year
❰❰ as good as last year
❰❰ worse than last year
❰❰ we are in the top quarter
❰❰ we are in the middle
❰❰ we are in the bottom quarter
When we took over the housing nearly 5 years ago, we madea number of promises. Here’s how we are doing:
Performing for you
We promised to involve residents in every aspect
of the housing service. In 2009/10 there were:
141 opportunities to get involved including:
6 open meetings across the borough
1 Residents Fun Day
4 Residents’ Panel meetings
9 focus groups on disability issues, antisocial
behaviour, younger people and repairs; estate
inspections and community audits; and we set
up the Straight-talkers to guide all written
communication. These groups are open
to everyone.
12 Holdbrook Residents’ Association meetings for
people on the Holdbrook estate
PLuS regular meetings in each retirement scheme
Annual Report to Tenants Broxbourne Housing Association : 98 : Broxbourne Housing Association Annual Report to Tenants
PERFORMING FOR YOu
CuSTOMER SERVICE
We want you to complain! Your ideas help us to improve the service.
These are the complaints we received in 2009/10:
Subject Total number Number justified
Capital Works 14 10
Repairs 30 18
Rents & Tenancy Services 6 3
Caretaking 5 2
Lettings 2 0
Garages 1 0
Total 58 33
Mystery shopping: 10 resident volunteers have been trained to
test the standard of our customer service. Results are generally
very positive. The volunteers find staff to be friendly, helpful,
knowledgeable and polite.
“they arealways veryhelpful andfriendly” Tenant at the Local Deal meeting in May 2010.
8 seconds – the
average time it
takes us to answer
the phone
8 out of every
10 callers found
staff helpful
8 out every
10 questions
were dealt with
in one call
6 out of every
10 letters were
replied to within 5
working days
COMPLAINTS
GETTING INVOLVED
1 complainant went to the
Housing Ombudsman and their
case was dismissed.
We have changed our services
as a result of the complaints we
received. For example:
l we have increased
inspections after repairs;
l we no longer send rent
arrears cards to tenants who
pay by direct debit; and
l we are looking at ways of
improving estate caretaking.
When you phone us to report a repair, you can now make an appointment
for the contractor’s visit. You can also report repairs online 24 hours a day
We do everything from changing a communal light fitting to re-wiring an
entire 4-bed house.
An average repair costs £135.41 This is down by £10.59 from the
previous year, but is still too high.
We meet all relevant statutory requirements that provide for the health
and safety of residents in their homes.
PERFORMING FOR YOu
BETTER HOMES
A decent home is one which is warm, weather-proof and has modern
facilities. All homes will meet the Decent Homes Standard by 31
December 2010.
This year we have:
✓ Installed 300 kitchens
✓ Installed 250 bathrooms
We use the standard assessment procedure (SAP) to work out the
average energy efficiency of our homes. Our SAP rating is 67 The
average for other social landlords is 68.
61 new homes completed
106 new homes currently in development
TIMELY, EFFECTIVE REPAIRS
HOW EFFICIENT WERE WE?
98 out of every 100 emergency repairs completed on time
97 out of every 100 urgent repairs completed on time
99 out of every 100 routine repairs completed on time
99 out of every 100 appointments made are kept
Average time to re-let a general property is 25 days
The average for other housing associations is 29 days
WHAT YOuSAID ABOuTREPAIRS
We had 3,500 replies
to our repairs survey.
You said:
99 out of every
100 appointments kept
The average for other
housing associations is
96 out of 100
97 out of every
100 were satisfactory
80 out of every
100 were completed
in one visit
In 2009/10:
We spent
£500,000 on
3,300 communal
repairs and inspected
9 estates with local
residents and the
police, fire service
and other agencies.
“Major works
are well
managed with
noise and
mess kept to a
minimum.”
Performing for you
10 : Broxbourne Housing Association Annual Report to Tenants
We promised to tackle antisocial behaviour firmly and fairly. In 2009/10:
930 complaints were made about antisocial behaviour and estate
management issues like litter and bins.
96 out of every 100 people who complained about antisocial behaviour
were satisfied with the outcome
90 out of every 100 people were satisfied with the way their case
was handled
9 out of 10 residents at Paddick Close feel safer since we installed CCTV
Antisocial behaviour on our estates is no higher than elsewhere in the borough.
Our tenancy support team have provided support to 538 families.
PERFORMING FOR YOu
To apply for a property
through the Choice
Based Lettings scheme
pick up a leaflet from
our office, a One Stop
Shops or the Council
offices.
YOuR TENANCY
The Tenancystandard means To meet it we:
That we co-operatewith the localcouncil’s housingstrategy
Support the local authority’s homelessness strategy
Take all allocations from the local authority housing register
Are part of Homeswap and Choice Based Lettings
Make the best useof our housing
Let homes quickly and to people who need them; the right sizeproperty for the household
Assess all applicants according to their mobility needs
Support vulnerable people to apply for housing
Assess the support needs and medical needs of peopleapplying for retirement housing
Set rents accordingto governmentguidelines
Set rents according to government guidelines
Clear policies aboutour tenancymanagementapproach
Have an easy to follow Tenants’ Handbook
Visit all new tenants during their first year
Support tenants to live in their homes
Explain key information at sign up
You know yourresponsibilitiesand rights
Provide an easy to read Tenants’ Handbook
Offer money advice, family support and help with jobs and training
Tell you how to get free advice from other agencies such as the CAB
Tell you when and how you can complain to the HousingAssociation Ombudsman
We comply with all aspects of the Tenancy Standard.
But we need to improve the time that properties are
empty between lettings. We will have a full review of
our processes to reduce this time.
Police Community
Support Officer Jane
Collins does invaluable
work on our estates
part-funded by us
You want properties to be let fairly topeople who need them. You want to becharged a reasonable rent for theproperty and services you receive. Andyou want everyone to understand theirresponsibilities and their rights.
WHO DO WE LET OuR PROPERTIES TO?
In every 100 tenant households:
36 include someone with a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity
which limits their daily activities, with 4 including someone who uses a
wheelchair.
Total number of lettings in 2009/10:
332 general housing
97 retirement housing
COMMuNITY PROJECTS
We have spent £200,000 on community projects, including:
✓ paying for courses at Hertford Regional College
✓ providing family support from Homestart
✓ visits to the Olympic Sites
✓ financial advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau
✓ working with the Volunteer Centre
✓ European Neighbours’ Day
Our community projects are developed with residents and based on
themes agreed with the Broxbourne Local Strategic Partnership.
ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOuR
We are committed to
involving residents in
decisions about how
we spend money.
Currently, our housing
management costs
are lower than many
other similar housing
associations. We are
working to keep
improving on this.
WHERE THEMONEY GOES
“Residents are
increasingly
involved in
decisions
about how
we spend the
money”
Annual Report to Tenants Broxbourne Housing Association : 11
Performing for you
Annual Report to Tenants Broxbourne Housing Association : 1312 : Broxbourne Housing Association Annual Report to Tenants
BETTER COMMuNITIES
The Communitiesstandard means: To meet it we: To improve we will:
Clean and safeneighbourhoods
Have published a BetterCommunities Strategy
Have a ranger service and groundsmaintenance contract
Remove rubbish and graffiti quickly
Publish cleaning schedules
Arrange estate inspections and act ontheir findings
Encourage people to take care of theirgardens
Keep talking to residents through ourHome Visiting Project
Conduct a survey of all tenants to findout what you think we can do better.
Pilot an estate skip for large itemswhich may otherwise be dumped
Get better facilities for the rangersincluding a regular water supply
Support residents who want tomanage communal gardensthemselves by providing tools andtraining for gardening clubs.
Communitydevelopment and co-operation
Work with other agencies to providemoney advice; family support; safeaccess to credit; free training and jobadvice
Support local projects through ourcommunity development fund
Continue to comply with all aspectsof this standard as it relates to localarea co-operation
Good behaviour to be encouraged andantisocial behaviourto be dealt witheffectively
Support people to live peacefullytogether
An annual good neighbour award
Zero tolerance towards bigotedbehaviour
Make it easy to report antisocialbehaviour
Take complaints seriously, act on themquickly and keep all parties informed
Support parents to manage theirfamilies
Continue to comply with all aspectsof this standard as it relates toantisocial behaviour
Continue to develop our range ofpositive activities for young people
You want clean, safe, friendly places tolive. You want us to deal effectively withantisocial behaviour.
FINANCIALLY SOuND
Our accounts for the year to 31 March 2010 have
been audited independently. They were approved
by the Board on 13 September. A summary is on
the right.
Our financial performance meets the agreementwe have made with the bank. We have enoughfunding to deliver all of our promises to tenants andto meet our business plan targets.
Our balance sheet can be found atwww.broxbourneha.org.uk/publications.htmlor you can get a copy by ringing the office 01992 453 700 and we will send you a copy.
This amounts to:
£16,370,032 from rents
£1,041,884 from service charges
£375,278 from property sales
£941,477 from other (eg letting office space)
£1,260,059 from grants
£5,400,920 from loans
This amounts to:
£3,394,000 staff
£3,907,000 maintenance
£2,029,000 services like gardening etc
£2,450,000 interest on loans
£1,402,000 central costs (offices, legal etc)
£6,831,000 major works
£5,069,000 development of new homes
£307,000 other capital
Our incomeEvery £1 we get is made up of:
How we spend the moneyFor £1 we get in, we spend:
21p loans
5p grants
1p other capital
20p development
of new homes
27pmajor works
13p staff
8pservices
10pinterest
6pcentral costs
2010
£’000
Turnover: Continuing activities 18,136
Operating costs (11,053)
Operating surplus: Continuing activities 7,083
Surplus on sale of fixed assets – housing properties 375
Interest receivable and other income 1
Interest payable and similar charges (2,448)
Surplus on ordinary activities before taxation 5,011
Tax on surplus on ordinary activities -
Surplus for financial year 5,011
You want to be sure that we are financiallysound and use your rent money properly.
15pmaintainence
64p from rents
4p service charges
2p property sales
4p other
Annual Report to Tenants Broxbourne Housing Association : 1514 : Broxbourne Housing Association Annual Report to Tenants
Performing for you
WELL RuN & GOVERNED
We comply with all aspects of the Governance and
Financial Viability standard. So that we continue to
do so, we have carried out a comprehensive
governance review.
The national standardrequires: To meet it we:
A code ofgovernance
Have adopted the National HousingFederation code
Effective financialcontrols
Have a proper budget process andmonitoring systems in place
A business plan Have a published business planavailable on our website
We are:
✓ a registered housing
provider
✓ an Industrial and
Provident Society
with charitable
objectives
✓ registered with the
Financial Services
Authority,
(registration number
29876R); and the
Tenant Services
Authority
(registration number
L4455).
We have adopted the
NHF Excellence in
Governance code
and abide by the rules
of the Charity
Commission.
You want us to operate within the lawand make sure we do not get intofinancial difficulty. A chart showing howwe spend our money appears on page13 of this report. If you want more details,a full set of accounts is available.Ring 01992 453 700.
Head of HR Anna Knight
joins the senior team
Sandra (Chair) and John
(CE) spotted on site
The senior team at theend of the day!
An accountable board
We have a strong Board of 10
members and 3 co-optees with
the know-how, skills and
experience to steer the
association. Its main task is to
protect the Association from risks
which could damage its
reputation, its finances and the
services it provides.
In 2009/10 we started our
comprehensive governance
review.
There is also a programme of
regular training for all members
and a development programme
for potential Board members. The
Board currently has 4 places for
residents.
Board and membership
Every resident and independent
Board member place comes up
for selection every four years, on
a rolling programme.
Our 2009/10 Boardmembers
Derek Hawes
Chair
Sandra Royer
Chair
Eric xuereb
Vice Chair
Malcolm Aitken
Liz Clayton
Mike Curtis
Stewart Heath
Karen Forbes-Jackson
David Nutt
Kevin Parker
Tanya Alexander
Paul Seeby
Mary Stevenson
Frank Wallder
+ co-optees
Pat Milner, Anne Shearman
and Chris Mitchell.
Committees
The Board is supported by four
committees:
l Resources (finance, HR and IT)
l Audit
l Operations (housing and
property services)
l Development
All board and committee
meetings are open to any
residents to observe. Some items
may need to be dealt with
confidentially.
Senior team
John Giesen
Chief Executive
Ken Goodsell
Director of Business Services
and Company Secretary
Steven Tarry
Director of Development
& Property Services
Simon Walton
Director of Housing Services
Paul Williams
Director of Resources
All of our staff are paid on the
basis of a fair assessment of the
market rate for each job. This is
reviewed annually.
FIND OuT MORE ABOuT uS
Broxbourne Housing Association Limited.Charitable Industrial & Provident Society
(29876R). Registered with the TenantServices Authority (L4455).
From:
Our website www.broxbourneha.org.uk
The Tenants’ Handbook
Information leaflets
Home newsletter
Residents’ meetings: all meetings are publicised in
Home and on the website.
Information can be provided in large type, audio
tape, CD, Braille, by email, or translated into other
languages.
CONTACT uS
Write or visit
Broxbourne Housing Association,
Scania House,
Amwell Street,
Hoddesdon,
Herts EN11 8TS
Phone
Customer Service Team: 01992 453 700
Out of hours emergencies: 01992 639 561
Freephone repairs line: 0800 107 0712
Freephone from the Council’s One Stop Shops
Visit our website
www.broxbourneha.org.uk
Happy in our work!