RoundUp Newsletter | Issue 7

About our members for our members

Welcometo your latest issue of

Contractors Special:

Are contractors the business at tenant involvement?

Inside RoundUp:

• Stronger Together P3

• Contractors P7

• Government Fund P9

• Members Stories P11

• The Social Value Act P13

PLUSOur 5 recommendations for what you should look for in a good contractor.

/tpasengland

@tpasengland

In this issue of RoundUp

Stronger TogetherPage 3

ContractorsPage 7

TrainingPage 14

Member StoryPage 12

Social Value ActPage 13

MembershipPage 5

MilaPage 6

Member StoryPage 11

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Welcometo your latest issue of

Jenny Osborne Acting Chief Executive Steve Meakin MBE Chair

TPAS is proud to work alongside many contractors and suppliers and see them as important partners in delivering quality services to tenants.

We have chosen to focus this edition of Round Up on our contractor friends, as after all, they are often the ones on the front line; building new homes for the tenants of future or enhancing

to read a few of the stories in this edition to see that contractors who really care about tenants needs are trusted by the tenants, by the landlord and by the wider community.

We celebrate those contractors that think beyond bricks and mortar on page 7 and talk about our principles for how others can be just as great on page 9.

We hope you all enjoy.

people’s homes by working diligently to deliver repairs and maintenance schemes.

All of the stories in this edition leads us to one conclusion; when contractorsare dedicated to understanding tenants needs, they are brilliant. You only have

Find out more at: www.tpas.org.uk...click the links on the home page tofollow us on: &

Introduction

To book or get more information about this Tenant Central training contact:Freephone 0800 035 6351 Email info@tenantcentral.org.ukVisit www.tenantcentral.org.uk Write Tenant Central Team, TPAS, Suite 4b Trafford Plaza, 73 Seymour Grove, Manchester M16 0LD.

A one day course for involved tenants who would like to develop their skills so they can confidently act as a Tenant Champion able to support and advise others on issues such as energy efficiency, welfare reform, social media and scrutiny.

The course focus is on developing the skills and confidence that a champion needs whatever topic they are involved in championing. Specific subject knowledge isn’t covered in this course although it does include examples of how Tenant Champions have been engaged in different projects.

We are offering this course in 5 locations• Manchester 22 July 2014• Exeter 12 September 2014• Newcastle 7 November 2014 • Nottingham 2 October 2014• London 4 February 2015

TENANTINVOLVEMENT

TRAINING & SUPPORT

Also available

as anIN-HOUSE

Course

Tenant ChampionTraining

Government FundingPage 9

CONFERENCE 2014

“On a personal level Nick is a great guy and really good company. ”

Email us at: welfare@tpas.org.ukto tell us how you’re Stronger Together in your area.Visit: www.facebook.com/StrongerTogetherTPAS

Stronger Together - Welfare reform

www.facebook.com/StrongerTogetherTPAS

Stronger Together celebrates TPAS tenant and landlord members who are facing up to the challenges of the welfare reforms in partnership.Bringing together real tenants and landlords from around the country toshare their interesting stories of success.

See how they’re Stronger Together.

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Sarah Bird, Assistant Director of Communities at YCH, started almost 20 years ago as Nick’s Housing Officer. Sarah has been there for Nick throughout his tenancy and has encouraged him to use the services that are available to him as a YCH tenant.

Nick’s health problems are often related to his weight so he tackled this by completing a nutrition course and going for walks with the YCH Altogether Betterproject. All through his weight loss journey (which is still ongoing) Sarah would encourage him and make sure he was eating the right food. He would ring her at work and home if he was unsure and she would always listen. This type of relationship gave Nick the support he needed to sustain a healthier way of living and so far he has lost 5 stone.

When Nick was asked what he thought of Sarah he replied, “Smashing! A good friend who is caring and lovely even when she rabbits on at me about eating healthily!” Nick also explained how his own self confidence has been boosted saying, “At YCH I feel like a team player, I even sit on the Tenant Evaluation Panel and help out with decisions that affect other YCH tenants across the Borough. I am really thankful for Sarah’s help and advice as I am now taking part in things that I would never have taken part in before.”

In turn, Sarah has also gained a lot fromher friendship with Nick. He has helped her alot with YCH’s Anti Poverty action plan by coming along to support theEastfield Lunchclub – a weekly community club run by YCH that provides a healthy free lunch every Wednesday. Nick wasalso hugely involved with the YCH Recipe Book and he even featured his own healthy recipe called ‘Nick’s Nice ‘N’ Easy Chow Mein’. The book was published to help others cook and eat healthy, wholesome meals for under £2

and for every book that was sold, another was given away for free to someone who may be unable to afford one.

Sarah commented, “When I first met Nick I was an admin assistant at the local housing office and he really has helped me to better understand the variety of needs of our residents and how we can better provide for people with vulnerabilities. On a personal level Nick is a great guy and really good company. I have experienced many challenges and changes in my personal and professional life though Nick has been a constant, true friend who is always willing to provide a listening ear.”

Here at YCH, our slogan is the ‘the key to a better life’ because we believe that our services extend much further than just giving people a home. Nick and Sarah’s story is one of many across the housing industry that demonstrates this and it shows that secondary services and strong relationships with our tenants are just as important as providing them with a house. When faced with the pressures of the welfare reform, we as tenant and landlord must work even harder to understand and work with each to overcome our challenges.

At Yorkshire Coast Homes (YCH) we know that, in some cases, handing a customer the key to their new home may not be enough to support them with a better life.Our core services are central to whatwe do as a social housing organisation but it is our supporting services and dedicated staff members that can really help people to build a better life for themselves and prepare forthe impact the welfare reform mayhave on their lives and our organisation. Let us introduce you to Mr Nicholas Dove (or Nick for short). Nick has been with YCH for over 10 years and he is a highly involved resident. However, like anyone, he has his upsand downs. Nick has always struggled with his health, which on a bad daycan sometimes make him feel down.Everyday tasks such as keeping up with rent payments or general bill paying can be forgotten and eventually this can all spiral out of control. This makes tenants like Nick particularly vulnerable to the reform change. Luckily, when Nick was feeling down, somebody noticed.

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What we’ve learnt from maintaining

a million windows and doors...

Advertorial - Mila Window and Door Maintenance

I’d like to introduce myself; my name is Dave Cooke, I am the Maintenance Director for Mila Window and Door Maintenance. Our philosophy is very simple; windows and doors should be maintained annually the same way as other appliances in the home as a critical part of ensuring that homes are always warm, safe, secure, and that resident comfort is maintained at all times.

Mila Maintenance has been going for 25 years now and we have completed over 1,000,000 repairs. Our business is based on offering great customer service, and a huge part of that is to offer guidance and advice.

People often ask me ‘why can’t we maintain our own windows and doors’? These are the top 4 most common tips which we share with residents.

• Keep them clean. I know it sounds simple but a build up of dirt can result in your windows not operating efficiently or damage occurring to the hinges and locking mechanisms. Keeping your windows, doors and glazing clean and free from a build up of dirt by using a simple household water and detergent solution can have a really positive effect.

• Use the appropriate product. It is very tempting to want to lubricate hinges and locking mechanisms if they are sticking but it is really easy to cause damage by using the wrong products. If locks and hinges are still sticking after a simple clean or wipe down call your landlord.

• Supplier guarantees. When it comes to maintaining your home the knock on effect of using the wrong products is that supplier guarantees can become null and void, leaving you without a warranty in your home.

• Call the experts. It is rare but sometimes accidents do happen when residents try to maintain or repair their windows and doors. Don’t do it, call in your landlord and they’ll ask a company like Mila Maintenance to come and sort it out for you. It’s simply not worth your health.

For more information about window and door maintenance, contact your landlord.

TPAS Membership

Conference season in full swing!

Call 0161 868 3500 or email: info@tpas.org.uk Follow us on @tpasenglandLike us on /tpasengland

As we enter the summer months wesee conference seasonin the housing sector in full swing. An eventlike the CIH Annual Conference in June isa key date in the diaryfor all those in housing. At TPAS we are busy preparing for our own Annual Conference too. Back this year as one event across two days it is an important chance to share, learn, and change together and really debate the issues around tenant involvement.

But whilst events are a great chance to get together and network, TPAS membership is a whole year round networking and sharing club. With over220 different landlords and contractors, large and small, and over 1700 tenants groups all in the TPAS family there is much to be shared day in day out together.

Membership gives a strength and acollective voice. It means when TPAScomment or write submissions it iswith the collective view of all thosemembers. Members that are all committed to excellence in tenant involvement and committed to continuing to invest in their organisations.

Members share their stories, their goodpractice, and their initiatives. By sharing and collaborating as members we havea greater presence and greater knowledge of what works well in involvement.

Membership is as much about what you put in as what you get out. The TPAS membership family works best when members contribute; be thatthrough sharing case studies, attending conferences and training (with the membership discount of course!), contributing to research and forums or debating at regional meetings.

Get involved and let’s all get the most out of membership!

It’s been a busy couple of months for TPAS membership with lots of new members to the TPAS family.So a warm welcome to: • Black Country Housing • Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust • MuirCroft Housing Association • PH Jones • Guinness Hermitage • Wellingborough Homes

Looking forward to working with you all very soon.

TPAS Website –

Are you logged in?We are excited to announce that wewill be launching a new website inautumn this year. The new site willmake it even easier for you to findwhat you are looking for and access all the benefits of being a member.

But don’t miss out now - Make sure you are registered for full member access to our current site. Click onREGISTER on the front page to sign up today: www.tpas.org.uk

Welcome to new members...

Contact Jenny Osborne for Membership details on:jenny.osborne@tpas.org.uk

CONFERENCE 2014

On our Facebook Midland House Community group said:

“They could remember that for tenants who live in blocks of flats, their front door is not the door of the flat, but the door into the block. Sadly they always seem to forget this when doing their job”.

Communication between landlord and contractor and contractor and tenant was a common frustration. Mary Cooke on our Facebook page commented;

“Often one department doesnot know what another department is doing or saying”.

To those tenants who are decision makers in procurement, here are what TPAS recommend you should look for in a good contractor:

The TPAS Contractor Resident Involvement Principles1. The contractor has strong tenant involvement strategies

2. The contractor, client and residents work together to achieve success as a ‘partnership’

3. The Partnership actively surveys and takes account of, tenant views

4. The Partnership enables residents performance monitoring

5. The Contractor ensures that their staff are trained in, and are positive about, tenant involvement

For more information about theResident Involvement Contractor Accreditation, visit the TPAS England website under ‘Consultancy’.

Refurbishment and maintenance work can be stressful for many tenants. To minimise thisstress we would like to think that the contractor has strong tenant and landlord relationships. It goes without saying that having highly skilledand experienced Resident Liaison Officers would bea minimum standard andfor them to be recognisedas a TPAS accredited contractor would be a very strong bonus.

But what else could they do, foryou in your home and community or to help you do your job?

We asked our networks of tenants and housing staff. And here is what they said:

“Provide personal advice on how to use systems e.g. heating, ventilation etc to maximise energy efficiency.” Says Lee, a Tenant Involvement Officer.

TPAS Accredited Contractor

Contractors, how can you be better?

View more at:TPAS Consultancy

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“...we would like to think that the contractor has strong tenant and landlord relationships.”

Conclusion

“As a contractor it is important to support landlords and encourage resident involvement as it makes you more attuned to residents’ views.This in turn makes you more approachable and accountable and improves customer satisfaction. Through our accreditation scheme TPAS have worked to support contractors who are doing exceptional work with tenants to provide new and improved homes and help create better communities. We work withmany award winning and successfulcontractors because they truly listen, respond and take the time to understand tenants needs “

Kate Newbolt TPAS Consultancy

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Residents’ Growing Influence On Regeneration Funding

On the 19th March this year, the Chancellor of the

Exchequer, George Osborne, announced that a £150 million Estate Regeneration Fund will be introduced to help kick start the regeneration of social housing estates.

While the exact details are yet to beconfirmed there is a great opportunity here for communities to be involved in the process of regeneration by working with contractors to breathe a new lease of life into their estates.

In the same Budget speech Mr Osborne also announced that a further £150 million will go towards boosting self-builds, money that should complement the already established Community Right to Buildscheme that helps local groups undertake community-led developments.

Two great examples of community groups pushing resident-led development and regeneration forwards are OSCAR (Osmaston Community Association of Residents) and Middlesbrough Community Land Trust (MCLT). Both groups have taken the initiative in areas that

seemed to have been forgotten by establishing relationships with local stakeholders. As a result they are now working in partnerships with social housing providers to renovate and build homes and community assets, OSCAR in particular have secured £1 million of funding for new homes.

These allocations of money, together with the Social Value Act (see opposite),should see residents and communities looking to have more influence over growing amounts of money that contractors and developers will be vying for.

I’m sure that contractors who can show they involve residents well, add social value and exhibit good practice in doing this will have a strong case in tendering for some of this money.

For more information read the National Housing Federation briefing by Googling ‘Social Value Act Briefing’

Governments Estate Regeneration Fund

By Andrew Rynham - Research Officer at TPAS

“...Mr Osborne also announced that a further £150 million will go towards boosting self-builds”

Social Value Act

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, to give its full name, was introduced to Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill by Chris White MP who stated that the aim of the Bill was to “support community groups, voluntary organisations and social

enterprises to win more public sector contracts and to change commissioning structures so that a wider definition of value rather than just financial cost was considered”.

The Act applies to local authorities, housing associations and ALMOs along with other bodies such as NHS Trusts and government departments and places a duty

on public bodies to consider how new services could have a further reaching impact on the local community, thus adding social value.

This added value could take the form of a contractor committing to employ or vocationally train people in the local area. Or maybe it could include providing free advice to tenants, curriculum and literacy skills to schools or being involved in community improvement initiatives. The possibilities are wide-ranging.

The Government have published a review of the Act’s first year and there is guidance and advice available from a number of specialist sources.

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Member story: Coastline Housing

Making a differencefor Mrs Keen

Acting on this request we found OkEachDay, a daily contact service provided by Housing Proactive, that positively confirms resident’s safety using a telephone with dedicated extra buttons.

To make sure Housing Proactive metour customers’ needs we invited two groups to undertake a trial to test the service. Coastline’s homes are in villages and towns in Cornwall so two communities were chosen; one in the former mining town of Redruth, the other in the rural village of Constantine.

Housing Proactive worked closely with our staff and customers to explain how the service works and how to install it. This gave residents the

Our sheltered customers asked us to look for a system that would support them in their own homes and further improve their contact with us, whilst providing great value for money and an excellent service.

opportunity to meet the Housing Proactive staff and speak with the company’s customer service team. We consulted with customers throughout the four week trial to understand their experience of the service.

Feedback was very positive and clearly stated OkEachDay should be offered to all our sheltered homes. Housing Proactive then led home visits and presentations to the restof our sheltered customers to help them get the full benefit of the system.

Mrs Keen, pictured, said: “the scheme is wonderful and I press it every morning. I did forget once and they called on me to check if I was ok.”

James Batchelor, Managing Director of Housing Proactive said:

“Coastline have been a real pleasure to work with on this project because they have high-calibre people who really care about their residents’ housing needs and have a fantastic ‘can do’ attitude.”

The selection of Housing Proactive has created local job opportunities; one with the company and two more in the Tenancy Management team at Coastline. These allow us to respond efficiently and ensure our excellent customer service levels are maintained.

For more information;www.coastlinehousing.co.uk

“...Coastline have been a real pleasure to work with...”

Member story: Sovini

The winners of an unprecedented TPAS treble have lauded the success of their in-house repairs service in forging great relationships with tenants.

In October the Sovini Group were awarded the TPAS Landlord re-accreditation, TPAS Contractor accreditation and the TPAS, Housemark and CIH Quality Assured Scrutiny accreditation. The Group, which incorporates not-for-profitorganisations such as One VisionHousing and commercial enterprisesincluding Sovini Property Services, became the first recipients of all three accreditations.

Bringing the repairs service in-house has enabled the Group to improve efficiency and profitability to the benefit of everyone. Phil Pemberton, Managing Director of Sovini Property Services, said: “The VAT savings we have made can be re-invested back into our communities to the benefit

of our customers. By having direct access to the workforce, we haveincreased control and are able tomonitor the standard of workmanship a lot closer. We can view how our staff carry out their day-to-day job and more effectively manage the end-to-end process of carrying out repairs. This ensures consistency for our customers, right from the moment the repair call is answered at the Customer Service Centre, through to the completion of the repair. This in turn has increased customer satisfaction, particularly with repairs fixed first time.”

Customer Empowerment is embedded throughout the Sovini Group, with tenants able to directly influence decisions at every level of the business.

The Repairs and Maintenance Service Review Group, which meets every month, affords tenants the opportunity to scrutinise performance and improve all aspects of the service.

Tenants are also able to have theirsay on everything from staff appointments, to use of materials. MD Phil Pemberton added:

“By having a direct work force we have been able to embed Sovini culture into our staff members through training staff conferences, away days and a more direct communication structure. We have representatives of the workforce that are directly responsible to the Customer Service Review Groups, Scrutiny Team and Tenant Inspectors, to work in collaboration, listen and feedback tenant suggestions and changes. We have witnessed feedback acted upon a lot quicker, improving the service to our customers.”

How we won the TPAS ‘treble’

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Training

The committee where I live have appointed a gardening contactor and agreed that as they gave cheapest price they offered the best value for money. So, is offering the cheapest or lowest price value for money? This, it seems, is a common misconception of what value for money actually is. Although cost is one element it’s far more than this and needs to take into account how efficient the contactor is (the amount of disruption to the residents, how long it takes etc) as well as the effectiveness of the work (was it done well, how satisfied people are.)

So VFM• Is not the cheapest • Is the cheapest way of delivering

a product or service and having the required outcomes to the maximum quality

Regulation demands that organisations demonstrate VFM in the delivery of theirobjectives. Also, tenantsare expected to play a part in the self-assessment process and staff need to demonstrate that involvement activities offer value and tangible outcomes.

TPAS TRAINING 14

For forthcoming training dates, visit;www.tpas.org.uk

Turn to page 10 for more information on the ‘Social Value Act’

“So is offering the cheapest or lowest price, value for money?”

TPAS are running two courses. Both are public courses and can be run in house that could help you understand what Value for Money really means.

• Show the Worth of Your Resident Involvement

• What’s the value?

It’s not all about the moneyMy father has received a bill for the internaldecoration of his block of flats with the accompanying letter explaining that the contractor who submitted the lowest price was appointed on the grounds of value for money.

Elliot Juliano-Ruse PiLon Business Development Director and TPAS board member

Beware ofthe free pen Often the relationship between contractor and tenant, seemsto be a stereotypical relationship based on fun days,some kind of training and a bunch of free pens. Whilst this may work for some, I believe the relationship between contractor and tenanthas the potential to deliver something far more sustainable in terms of legacy for the community.

The outsourcing of services should not mean that the ability to reinvest within communities is lost. In fact, contractors are often asked during tender processes, “how will you deliver social value”? - meaning what wider benefit could they

“...how will you deliver social value?”

bring to the community. It seems that the best people to ask these questions would be the residents of those communities they serve. Equally, contractors cannot really answer this question until they actually understand the issues. Only engagement with resident groups can help contractors really get that level of understanding.

So, with the above in mind, are you really engaged with your contractor, and is your contractor really engaged with you? Do you feel that you have the input into shaping the future of your local environment? From my experience, contractors would prefer to invest their commitment to communities via a more structured approach, that has the ability to be measured and counts towards an overall Social Investment.

It’s the recent Social Value Act 2012,that really underpins this commitment. This is the mechanism that forces landlords and their stakeholders to work closer together to formulate the social return on the outsourcing of investment.

So let’s start thinking how contractors can really assist in transforming our communities. Let’s start thinking bigger. Things like social enterprises and community start ups are all things that contractors are ideally placed to support, and can be bespoke to suit the local need. Promoting and supporting new enterprise within communities must be better than a free pen right?

By Debbie Lucas - TPAS Training Manager

www.tpasconference.org.uk

/tpasengland @tpasconferencef

SPONSORED BY

CONFERENCE 2014 9-10 JULY 2014, WARWICKSHIRE

The TPAS Annual Conference is back in one national event.

Join us for two days for the single biggest gathering of tenants and housing staff from across the country to learn, listen and debate.

BOOK NOW!

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