a n n u a l
r e p o r t
2013 2014
Chairman's Review We are well used to the pace of change in the way we operate at Crosby Housing Association and our key Strategic Priorities, Strong viable organisation Supporting our tenants - Making best use of our assets, reflect this. A key element of each of these three priority areas is ensuring that we always achieve value for money in everything we do. The focus on improving financial viability is delivering results and at the end of the 2013-14 our balance sheet demonstrates that we are in good financial health. The focus on improving financial strength will continue but success in this area has meant that we have larger budgets for stock investment in 14-15. The Association is keen to explore business growth and it is putting itself on an even stronger financial footing to enable it to test out new areas of business either in terms of increased number of homes owned or managed or to provide a wider range of services. Board appraisals continue and the Board recruitment programme has introduced three new members with a range of relevant skills and experience. This will support the board in determining how we might grow. It will also provide a fresh approach to ensure that any risks that we might take are reasonable and that the way the association is run meets the standards that are required of us by our regulator. We continue to make better judgements about our assets. The property survey work and the investment made to internal systems will result in an investment programme
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that has been discussed with tenants and demonstrates good value for money. The business planning day raised many good suggestions for improving our return on the Charity Shop. The future changes for the shop will be considered as part of the business growth agenda. Our reputation has served as an asset to our business for many years. The Business Plan sets out to enhance our reputation where possible. It recognises that CHA will continue to find challenges in holding to its values given the external operating environment. However, having the values provides a sound testing ground for making key decisions financial or otherwise. We continue to demonstrate how we benefit from collaborative working to support our wider communities. CHA will continue to take the lead in community initiatives and to work strategically with partners.
Chief Executive’s Review The year has delivered many positive outcomes for the Association. Rent collection and arrears management performance is very good when taking into account the welfare reform changes that have impacted on many current and potential customers. The success can be attributed to the skills and dedication of the staff and it is a testament to the team that despite the significant change experienced within the Housing Services function the Association continues to perform well. The movement of staff has enabled a thorough review of the organisational structure and staff and team roles have been reconfigured to meet the changing requirements of the business. In terms of Value for Money the changes, deliver no reduction in staff numbers, include the retention of the apprentice in a new role as temporary Housing Services Assistant until March 2015 and overall will be delivered for less than the baseline budget cost in 2013/14.
A successful recruitment process has been completed and Jill, Kevin and Louise are now settling into their new roles. Resources continue to be targeted at improvements around the housing management system, SASSHA. There have been gains in streamlining practices in relation to repairs ordering and invoicing with integration into the finance system. Also, new systems have been introduced for asset management and the delivery of a long term investment programme. This improves financial forecasting and provides greater insight into the impact and nature of Component accounting. Health and Safety During the year we said systems continue to goodbye to Paul, Amy, improve with the Mary and Esther. We professional support of wish them luck in their Citation. The extended future careers. agreement with the company, to provide HR consultancy services, has served to be extremely cost effective in supporting Managers with professional expertise in this area. The Association is proud that it has achieved IIP reaccreditation during the year. The assessor was particularly impressed with the detailed and inclusive approach to business planning.
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Customer Focus People High levels of customer contact and service have been maintained during the year. Achievements include the work done with tenants in support of welfare reform changes. This has proved positive in terms of the level of rent collected, the number of offers made to tenants to move In the light of market, home and the support political and legislative in applying for changes we need to review Discretionary Housing how we should let our homes Payments. Also, with and also the standard at the introduction of which we let Allpay, tenants have an increased number of choices in how they pay their rent The Association has developed new partnerships with agencies to support tenants. One such agency provides debt and money management advice, local surgeries have been promoted and there is evidence of tenants using the service. A review of the contractor selection protocol and service level agreement has been completed and the first annual meeting with all contractors took place during June 2014.
Tenants are offered the opportunity to use Home swapper a national scheme to facilitate home exchanges.
Communal areas are regularly inspected and services monitored. Improvements in Health and Safety have been delivered through completion of the minor works catch up programme. Tenders for more substantial works in relation to fire alarms are now
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being prepared and a programme of works is in place that will ensure full compliance.
Increasing opportunities for involvement is a clear business objective and this will be given priority within the new structure.
Homes The Association offers a range of tenancies which are compatible to the type of home or ownership arrangements. Lettings, conducted in line with the Association’s policy and the choice based lettings system Property Pool Plus, are granted on the basis of need. Over half of the stock has been surveyed and a system developed for forecasting planned works. A proposal to determine how works will be prioritised has been discussed with tenants at individual meetings and at the Tenant Advisory Panel meeting. The Association strives to meet requests for routine disabled adaptations on demand. This year there have been some significant work requirements which have led to discussions and cost sharing agreements with the Local Authority. The final checks are in place to tender communal service contracts for window cleaning, gardening and communal cleaning.
Governance and viability Board members are not remunerated. Board members contribute to the success of the organisation at many levels providing over and above normal time and resources to progress particular aims. For example one member worked to train tenants in film making and interview techniques in order to facilitate the production of a film made by CHA tenants showing the impact of the bedroom tax on their fellow tenant’s lives.
The annual Board appraisal process applies to individuals and the Board as an entity. It seeks to measure Board members skills and contributions against the overall business needs.
The Board has adopted the NHF Code Excellence in Standards of Conduct. The management of the governance process clearly demonstrates commitment to ensure renewal and refresh of membership. However, in line with its rules, the Board continues not to comply with the NHF code in relation to the 9 year rule.
Strengthening viability was a key business objective during the year and the Board added targets for financial ratios to the balanced score card. Considerable progress in improving the Associations financial strength has been achieved and at the end of 2013-14 key financial ratios demonstrate significant improvement ahead of plan. Board members have attended a range of training and networking opportunities provided by the NHF and they continue to value the annual governance seminar, part of the conference training programme for the Community Housing Associations Group in the North West. (CHAGNW)
Community CHA leads and Chairs, Waterloo Town Team (TT). This year the team has registered as a limited company and the CEO and one member of the board are directors of the new entity. The company status will enable the Town Team to operate independently in terms of its finances and funding applications. Work is ongoing with the TT to develop a brand for the area and the branding consultant has been appointed. This is extremely ambitious but it is part of the strategy for the area that aims to support employment, wealth creation and improved health and lifestyle opportunities for residents.
For the last seven years the Association has been successful in establishing Christmas celebration events in Seaforth and Waterloo. With Council austerity cuts Christmas trees are no longer supported through central funds. The Association is imaginative and in order to ensure the events continue and are sustainable it has developed an idea to plant “Communitrees”. These are live trees that can be decorated with different themes during the year. The first tree has been planted in Seaforth and this will be transformed into the Christmas tree at this year’s event.
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Effective Partnerships and collaboration Our tenants help to determine our priorities and our quality standards. They get involved in the Business Planning process, TAP meeting, newsletter contributions and the making of the film that told the story of how some of our tenants were being affecting by the “Bedroom Tax�. CHA is a key community partner, supporting the local authority on the strategic housing partnership, the wider health determinates group and several other ad hoc working groups. It works with residents and community groups to improve the local area. It has good working relationships with the Police and attends the police ASB partner meetings. The Community Housing And Re-enablement Team (CHART) is hosted by CHA but is funded externally through health Commissioners and the local authority. Working collaboratively with peers continues to play a significant role in efficiency and effectiveness and this is an area that CHA
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will seek to build upon going forward. The Association CEO is chair of NHF national group for small housing providers and her role has been more prominent during the year. The National Group is dynamic and members are actively involved in the sector and keen to share knowledge, understanding and good practice from their areas. Last December the CEO led on a national peer survey to ask how smaller housing associations wanted to make their views known and to find out what they wanted the National group to focus on. There were three key priorities identified, Collaboration and partnership working Development and growth Performance improvement. Through collaboration the group delivered a seminar specifically for smaller housing associations to look at the role they can play in development.
The Association continues to take a lead role in the National Housing Federation (NHF) Community Housing Association Group North West (CHAGNW).
CHAGNW has been representing the interests of member organisations for over 20 years and, in the current economic and political environment, its work is more important than ever.
The Group has 18 members, all smaller community-based housing associations operating in the North West of England. Member representatives meet quarterly. A number of sub-groups allow for collaborative working in key business areas: • • •
Training Finance and Value for Money Benchmarking
• •
Asset Management Welfare Reform and Housing Management
“I would like to congratulate Crosby Housing Association on this achievement with Investors in People. As a small Housing Association they punch above their weight in terms of strategic thinking, delivering quality for their tenants, networking to maximise sharing of good practice and development and ability to influence the larger players in the market.” Quote from IIP assessor
This year we had our highest ever attendance at the tenants conference.
The Charity shop provides valuable services to the community. Surpluses are looking tighter moving forward but the shop continues to meet the objectives of the Association through the employment of its staff and its offer of subsidised clothing and household goods to people living in the area.
We value feedback and complaints in relation to the service we provide.
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Value for Money CHA has engaged the services of expert consultants to support its business in the areas of finance, health & safety, employment law & personnel services and accountability through benchmarking.
Customer satisfaction levels are in the upper quartile for Housemark nationally, but there are some higher than average performers across the organisation’s peer group. The Association will explore the reasons for this with a view to delivering further improvement in this area. The expertise has helped to improve the offer to tenants and staff and has proved essential in delivering high quality services and a viable and legitimate business. The total cost of this approach is less than one senior manager. The Board Project Group for asset management continues and this has enabled better judgements to be made about assets. Data has been refined and new systems support the planning of long term investment programmes. This provides a cash forecasting model and delivers information to inform the component accounting framework. The group is moving through the action plan and during the year will start to focus on an approach to demonstrate the value of each home in terms of the tenancy and the business and also explore new opportunities for growth. Benchmarking peer performance continues to drive improvements across the business. The annual statistics contain a snapshot of performance at the
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end of each financial year. This year there were some interesting occurrences for example the last day of the year was a Monday and the weekly rent charge was applied but the receipts, including the housing benefit payment which is made four weekly in arrears, only followed during the week. As a result the level of rent collected and the arrears position may give the reader a more negative perception of performance than is actually the case. Financial indicators have all improved this year and this reflects the Associations priority to improve financial strength through tighter operating margins, rent maximisation and stringent arrears and void management. In terms of operating costs the Association is in the top quartile for the peer group. There is no Housemark comparison in this area. This position is particularly noteworthy when considered alongside the policy decision to proactively support internal moves for tenants affected by the under occupation charge, which in itself had an adverse impact on average re let times. The CEO continues to be a key driver in the planning and delivery of the CHAGNW conference programme. Three conferences in relation to Governance, Staff and Tenants are delivered locally at low cost. The outcomes achieved by this collaborative approach include networking between, staff, board members and tenants with other similar sized organisations; opportunities to attend sessions and learn from key sector speakers at a cost of ÂŁ50 per head.
The IIP report identifies some areas for improvement for example around the evaluation of training and streamlining people systems and the Association is working to address these.
Finance
Income and expenditure in the year ending 31 March 2014
Our income from rents and service charges, the Charity Shop, revenue grants and interest received was ................................................................£2,002,033
Giving a total for all assets less current liabilities ................................................................£5,693,504 This is made up of
Loans long-term housing loans We spent on management, repairs and maintenance, services, loan interest payments and Shop expenses ....................................................................£766,358 ..............................................................-£1,657,666 Shares each member holds a £1 share ............................................................................£17 Leaving us with a total surplus of ..................................................................£344,367 Then we set aside the Charity Fund surplus ........................................................................£6,118 Leaving a net surplus added to general reserve ..................................................................£338,249
Charitable reserve - from Shop and donations ....................................................................£137,445 Accumulated surplus carried forward ................................................................£4,789,684 ................................................................£5,693,504
Balance Sheet Housing assets By the end of the year we had housing assets at cost, including capital works ..............................................................£16,825,998 Less capital grants received and depreciation ............................................................-£11,911,080 ................................................................£4,914,918 Plus other fixed assets (offices, shop, computers, equipment etc) net of depreciation ....................................................................£325,491 Giving a net total value for fixed assets of ................................................................£5,240,409 Plus current assets (cash and amounts owed to us) ....................................................................£705,940 Less current liabilities (what we owe to others) ..................................................................-£252,845
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Average weekly cost per dwelling on management 2012
How We Compare
2013
2014 10
5
15
20
Arawak Walton Crosby ECBHA Family HA
Average GN Net Rents 1 Bed
2 Bed 20
Pierhead
3 Bed 40
60
4 Bed 80
100
Warrington
120
Arawak Walton
WMHA
Ashton Pioneer
Median
Crosby
SPBM
ECBHA Family HA
How each ÂŁ1 of net rent was spent during 2013/14
People First 22.9
22.9
PNW
19.7 38.7
16.4
Warrington
2.3
WMHA
38.7
2.3
Median SPBM
Repairs and Maintenance Loan Interest
16.4
Property Management and Tenant Support
19.7
Property Depreciation and Component Disposals
Average weekly cost per dwelling of repairs
Void losses GN Relet times (days)
Days 80
Surplus
Void losses %
% 3.5
Responsive Repairs 5 Arawak Walton
70
3.0
Crosby
60
2.5
ECBHA
2.0
Family HA
1.5
Forum
20
1.0
People First
10
0.5
Pierhead
0.0
Warrington
50 40 30
Arawak
Arcon
Ashton Crosby ECBHA Family People Pierhead HA First
PNW
WMHA Median SPBM Housemark
WMHA Median SPBM
10
Planned/Capital Repairs 15 20 30
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Staff and Board Members CHA
CHARITY SHOP
Ami Bourke ............Housing Officer until December 2013 Carolyn Bowfield ......Operational Support Assistant (p/t) Sheila Duffy ......................Operational Support Assistant Mandy Elliott ............................................Chief Executive Angela English ................Operational Support Assistant Steve Evans ....................................Finance & IT Manager Vincent Fox........................................Operations Manager Malcolm Gilbert ..................Technical Services Manager Paul Heery ..Housing Services Manager until March 2014 Simon Jones ..........Finance & IT Assistant (from Apr 13) Esther Rice ..............Housing Officer (p/t) until July 2013 Mary Threlfall ............Housing Officer p/t until Dec 2013 Geoff Wall ........................Housing Maintenance Assistant Hannah Wilson ........................Apprentice from Aug 2013
Stephanie Morris ..............................Shop Manager (p/t) Kim Roberts ......................................Shop Assistant (p/t) Teresa Johnson ................................Shop Assistant (p/t)
CHART Christine Gates ..............................Support Co-ordinator Karen Kay .......................................Housing Co-ordinator Colm Quinn ....................................Homelessness Officer Mary Threlfall .................................................................... ........................Tenancy Support Worker p/t until Dec 2013
Tom Massey / Mina Valentine ........................................ ..........................................Manager Seconded Merseycare
Ian Mitchell ........................................................................ ....................Tenancy Support Worker (p/t) until June 2013
Michelle Edge .................................................................... ..............Housing Co-ordinator Tenancy / Support Worker
Board Members
Welcome Kevin, Louise and Jill
Nick Thompson ................................................Chairman Lol Walters ................................................Vice Chairman Helen Goodband Paul Davies Mary Navaratnam Margaret Pickthall Margaret Roberts Lee Mattocks
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Crosby Housing Association Ltd 10 Church Road, Waterloo, Liverpool L22 5NB Telephone: 0151 920 7300 Fax: 0151 949 0717 E-mail: enquiry@crosby-ha.org.uk
www.crosbyhousing.org.uk Registered with the Tenants Services Authority No. L1719. An exempt charity incorporated as an Industrial and Provident Society No. 19175R. Member of the National Housing Federation registered under the Data Protection Act No. G04411988.
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