Impact Report 2022

IMPACT REPORT 2022

“Lench’s Trust - a charity helping older people in need to live meaningful lives in vibrant, caring and safe communities.”

Lench’s Trust Chairman’s Report

As my tenure as Chairman of Lench’s Trust comes to an end in 2023, I am pleased to take stock and share the significant progress we have achieved in the past year.

Firstly, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the retiring Trustees, Tony Guest, Richard Sarjeant, and Beverly Ingram. I am grateful for the support and guidance they shared as I settled into my role. Tony, our longest-serving Trustee who was elected in 2007, has been a constant source of support and I am truly grateful for his contributions to Lench’s Trust over the years. Richard has also been a stalwart on the Board, and I will always be appreciative of his willingness to share his expertise. Beverly brought extensive experience from her time with the NHS which helped guide our care team. Thank you all for your service and commitment to Lench’s Trust.

We welcomed three new members to the Lench’s Trust team. Alison White and Richard Moxon join us as Trustees, and Michelle Hadley as our new Housing Manager. Alison has been a valuable auditor for Lench’s Trust during her time at Mazars and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team. Richard previously managed our investment properties whilst working at Pennycuick Collins and is an expert in the field. Michelle comes with a solid career in housing and will be an asset to our team as our new Housing Manager. We are excited to welcome them all to the Lench’s Trust family.

Sadly, we mourn the passing of Marion O’Mara, our Scheme Manager at Tanner’s Close for over 25 years, after a long illness. She is dearly missed by all at the Trust. Lynn Redmond, who had been covering for Marion during her illness, is now confirmed as the new Scheme Manager.

In the latter part of 2022, we replaced all internal fire doors at Lench’s Close and Tanner’s Close and brought them up to date with the latest fire regulations. The work has been done in partnership with JHD, one of Lench’s Trust’s preferred contractors, and total costs came in at £558,000.

We are also proud to announce that in partnership with a resident at Lench’s Close, we have reconfigured a flat to make it fully accessible for wheelchair users. Following this successful conversion, we have adopted a plan to undertake this work when voids arise, up to two per year within the budget.

Moreover, at the latter part of 2022, we commissioned a new communication system at William Lench Court and most of the work was completed by the end of 2022, however it will be in use by our residents in early 2023, and we plan to install it later in 2023 at Lench’s Close and Tanner’s Close.

In September 2022, the Board of Trustees and Senior Management Team held a successful away day, during which we discussed succession planning and how we can continue to live the Trust’s values and ethos. We plan to initiate succession planning for the Board of Trustees as a number of our long-serving Trustees will be retiring over the next few years. We were delighted to appoint our new CEO, Dominic Bradley, who will take over from Jean-Luc Priez, after an incredible 17 years at the Trust. Dominic will begin his role as CEO in June.

Looking ahead, I am confident that Lench’s Trust will continue to thrive and provide vital support for our residents. I have no doubt that the Trust will be in excellent hands with our newly appointed CEO and the talented individuals who make up our staff and Board. I would like to extend my gratitude to you all for going the extra mile for our residents.

I am excited to see the Trust continue to grow and evolve in the years to come, building on our mission to help our residents live meaningful lives in vibrant, caring, and safe communities.

Investment Properties

The operational surplus from lettings decreased to £473,181 from £584,979 due to increased costs, primarily a planned increase in repairs and maintenance.

Net rental income from investment properties increased to £196,665 from £73,633 in 2021. The income from the ground rent on Lancaster Circus has been received for the full year (increasing by £33k), along with the rental income from Gallan Parking, on Vesey Street improving by £20k year on year. These income streams along with the abortive fees during 2021, have meant there has been a considerable difference in the net income from 2021 to 2022.

Administrative costs have increased from £387,249 in 2021 to £426,778 due to increase in staff within head office, through 2022, along with the cost-of-living vouchers we gave to employees October to December 2022.

Below the operating surplus, finance income has decreased to £104,840 from £116,561 in 2021, this has been due to having a lump sum in a 2-year fixed account for part of 2021, therefore receiving higher interest than the account the sums have been moved to for 2022.

Throughout the first 8 months of 2022, we saw the interest rates rise from 0.10% to 0.25%, however, by the end of 2022 the interest rates have significantly increased to 1.75%, meaning the decrease in finance income has been limited. There has also been a decrease in surplus on sale of quoted investments from £225,175 to £81,218, mainly due to the market value changes regarding investments.

Total reserves increased marginally from £27.85m to £27.99m, due to the change in fair value of investments.

In August 2022, we gave notice to St Basil’s that we intend to take back Conybere Gardens to re-develop it for our beneficiaries. We are grateful to St Basil’s for accommodating many young homeless people at the scheme since early 2006 and providing critical support. We are currently working with Charles Cox, architect, and Adrian Roderick, chartered surveyor at Pennycuick Collins, to refurbish the property to high standards, with the aim of opening it for our beneficiaries in late 2024.

We are having ongoing discussions regarding the sale of our investment property at Lancaster Gate with various parties and are hopeful for a fruitful outcome in the coming years.

Wellbeing of residents

We are proud to continue to keep the well-being of our residents front of mind, with activities taking place across all our schemes to ensure the environment remains lively.

We are making good progress on our ambitious capital development project earmarked for 2022-2025 and as mentioned, we’ve made substantial progress on the installation of new call systems and the replacement of the internal fire doors at all our schemes.

Our Heritage

Preparations for our 500th anniversary in 2025 continue to go smoothly.

This year our Founder’s Day Tea Party took place on the 30th of March (marking when William Lench signed the deed of Trust on the 11th of March). It was great to celebrate the day again with our residents after some absence due to Covid-19.

Chairman Leke Sholuade

Thank you

Words from the Chief Executive

It is with mixed feelings that I write this farewell article after 17 years as Chief Executive of the Trust: much anticipation and excitement at the prospect of a new chapter in my life, but also fondness and a hint of sadness at leaving such a fantastic organisation.

As we approach the organisation’s 500th Anniversary I feel privileged to have been able to play a small part in its history, leading it towards the 21st century and helping secure its rich heritage for generations to come.

Together with beneficiaries of the charity, staff, Trustees and friends, we have been on a long journey which has taken us to new ventures, and I am now happy to pass on the baton to my successor Dominic Bradley. As Napoleon said, “a leader is a dealer in hope” and I have tried to push the boundaries on many occasions to try and veer Lench’s Trust in new, challenging but rewarding, directions. Napoleon also said, “ability is nothing without opportunity” and I am grateful that, as a team, we have been able to bring to fruition so many projects with our beneficiaries at the forefront of our minds.

One of our main achievements has of course been William Lench Court, the Trust taking a big leap of faith with a new extracare scheme on the grounds of the old Ridgacre almshouses. However, we should not dismiss the many “small” leaps also taken over the years, with the comprehensive refurbishment of all the Trust’s properties (and on-going), the introduction of new communication systems and improved residents’ engagement – applying this Chinese proverb “Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still” as its axiom.

It would be hard for me to start mentioning fellow travellers over the last 17 years for fear of missing someone – and I also have a well-deserved reputation for being bad with names (Debbie will know what I am saying!). So I want to thank all colleagues (staff and Trustees), residents, and friends from other organisations for their confidence in my leadership and support over the years, and I wish all joy & peace on their continued journey.

Chief Executive

Jean-Luc Priez

Tanner’s Close

Tanner’s Close began the year quietly, but as we progressed through the year, the scheme saw quite the number of works on the scheme

Starting in March, we had Stannah on site to service all of the stair lifts – making sure they are all in working order and ready for another year’s use. Also in March extensive works were carried out to all first floor apartments, with new loft insulation being fitted.

We were lucky to be able to celebrate Founder’s Day at Tanner’s Close this year, complete with a buffet and entertainment from Funtime Theatre, which was enjoyed by all residents who attended.

In July, the residents were treated to a wonderful surprise upon entering the common room! A brand new 75 inch, ultra HD smart TV had been installed for all to use - making it great for movie nights, watching national events or holding presentations. Come May however, we were saddened by the news that Mrs Marion O’Mara, our late Scheme Manager at Tanner’s Close, had passed away. Marion was a dear colleage, Scheme Manager and friend to all at Tanner’s Close and Lench’s Trust.

In August, we had a farewell coffee morning to say goodbye to Maria Bell, Scheme Manager at Lench’s Close. We also welcomed Shirley Taggart as the new Scheme Manager, officially starting her new role in September. Also in September, a Trustee Surgery was held at the Scheme, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from the residents; with the overall consensus being that the surgeries are a good idea.

November saw the return of heavy works to the scheme with new internal fire doors being fitted in every apartment. Each apartment had four doors fitted and painted. This was a very big undertaking, with the works finally being finished in December. I have to thank all the residents at the Scheme for their patience whilst this job took place.

We are looking forward to a great 2023.

Lench’s Close

2022 has been a very busy year at Lench’s Close.

Starting with scheme works - In January, we saw all the ground floor apartment radiators drained and have an extensive clean - making them look almost brand new and all ready for the winter weather ahead. In March all first floor apartments were fitted with new loft insulation.

Moving into September, we had a huge installation works scheme-wide at Lench’s Close. All apartments had new fire doors installed – that’s four doors per apartment, so it’s no small job! One of our apartments also underwent some major renovation works, this included a bigger turning point for wheelchair access in the hallway, an increased number of lower level sockets, together with a new accessible kitchen and wet room. Finally, all of the doorframes were widened to further increase accessibility when moving through the apartment with a wheelchair.

Shirley Taggart Scheme Manager

Continuing the large number of works at Lench’s Close, we also saw five new kitchens and four new wet rooms installed. With the build-up of moss on some of the roofing, we had some specialist equipment in to have that cleaned up.

We did also manage to have some fun amidst all the work being carried out! This included various events throughout the year, including Founder’s Day and raising money for charities.

At Christmas the residents decorated the communal Christmas tree and this was followed by sherry & mince pies in the communal room. We also had a visit from Funtime Pantomime Productions in December who performed a great pantomime for residents, family and friends. This year the residents opted to have the Christmas party at Moseley All Services Club, and it was a great success. I am pleased to report that all events were well attended throughout the year, with a great time being had by all.

Lynn Redmond

Scheme Manager

William Lench Court

2022 can only be described as the year that started the same as 2021 began and ended, with no activities taking place and limited access to the café areas so it could only get better… and it did!

We experienced a few false starts with planned events cancelled at the last minute, however we still managed to celebrate the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, before a scaled back version of Founder’s Day with a buffet provided by our onsite catering team.

We saved the best for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, with over 100 residents and their friends and families joined for a good old fashioned knees up.

We still maintained our contacts in the community with Happy Days Nursery visiting in March as part of their fund raising for Marie Curie. A small number of residents and staff met with the children outside and donated to their fund raising.

Jayne McGettrick Scheme Manager

Catering Team

The nursery also sent along Christmas messages for all the residents but were unable to visit us due to other commitments. We forged a new link with a local primary school, Woodhouse, who kindly visited us late November, which was a wonderful start to our Christmas Celebrations. Our Christmas party was a big hit after a long spell without one, a right good knees up was had by all.

This year has been fantastic for the us in the Catering Team with many opportunities to service events with our buffets that include a wide selection of food from sandwiches, to samosas, to cakes!

An extremely notable event was having the chance to cater for Her Majesty Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This saw crowds of residents and their families visiting William Lench Court for a huge celebration – it is one of the largest events we have catered for it was a great success. I have to give thanks for the hard work of my team for going above and beyond to provide an amazing service.

Rajdeep Tiwana Catering Manager

Another considerable highlight of the year was the total renovation of the kitchen at William Lench Court. The kitchen appliances had a complete upgrade, with a new combi-oven, electric stove, grill and even a new fridge counter unit being installed. The best thing is that it is all extremely energy efficient and a lot safer for my team to use. We look forward to continuing to provide both excellent food and service in the years to come, and there has already been an increase in numbers of residents visiting the café!

Staff Survey Results 2022

From the 16th-19th September 2022 we conducted an anonymous staff survey for employees at Lench’s Trust. This survey was sent to all employees working at William Lench Court, Lench’s Close, Tanner’s Close and Head Office.

Below is a snippet of the key data gathered:

100% of staff strongly agree that their personal values are similar to the Trust’s Values.

91%

of staff agree that their most recent feedback reflects their contribution to the Trust.

All staff felt the Trust provides the resources necessary for me to work effectively (hardware, tools, equipment, supplies, etc.). very good.

83%

are happy with the recognition they get for doing their jobs at the Trust.

91%

of staff do not feel that they are pressured to work long hours.

91%

100%

of staff are proud to work for the Trust.

93% strongly agree that they get the breaks they are entitled to.

92%

believe that senior management are in touch with the issues that affect me at work

100%

of staff are clear about what their duties and responsibilities are at the Trust. Similarly, 100% are clear about the goals and objectives of their respective teams.

are happy with the Team Leader/Manager in their department at the Trust.

“I think that the senior managers should come to some of the staff meetings, staff can get to know them and recognise them when working in William Lench Court.”

98% know how to go about getting their jobs done for the Trust.

Staff were asked how the Trust can improve their experience working for the Trust and how will this benefit a/employees b/ residents?

“Maybe having a wellness chat with staff and seeing if you can support them with their mental health/anxiety/stress or difficulties they may be experiencing in their personal life.

Out of 40 members of staff, 88% of them are satisfied with their working environments.

90% feel like they do not have to neglect tasks because they have too much to do.

90% agree with the statement that they have a choice in deciding how they go about doing their work.

96% believe their working time to be flexible. The same percentage would say they are given supportive feedback on the work they do for the Trust.

98%

of staff say they can rely on their line manager to help them out with a work problem, while only 2% strongly disagree with this statement. Although, 100% say they do get the help and support they need from colleagues.

87%

of staff do not think relationships are strained in the workplace, while 13% would disagree. 100% would say they are not subject to personal harassment.

90% of staff said they are not subject to bullying at work with 10% disagreeing with that statement.

98% agree that their managers are accessible to them. Similarly, 98% feel that their managers takes their workrelated views seriously; with only 2% of staff strongly disagreeing with that statement.

95% have sufficient opportunities to network with colleagues with 5% of staff members disagreeing with the statement.

53% of people only feel it is important that the Trust operates in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. 47% feel that it is of no importance.

85% of staff in the last 12 months, do not feel discriminated against at work because of their protected characteristics (gender, race, sexual orientation etc.).

We asked staff if they have any further suggestions as to how the experience of working at the Trust could be improved.

“ More one on ones every so often just to catch up and discuss progress through the year. Or even team meeting to discuss who’s doing what and how we can support each other.”

“We need to celebrate and promote the good work achieved. That would help put Lench’s Trust on the map.”

“The Trust is always looking and willing to improve for all the staff to have good opportunities, implementing new and up to date equipment, systems, etc which enables all staff to perform their work appropriately.”

“More supported when needed”.

Mark Boden

In 2022 we could finally get back into our usual routine without a constant lockdown looming over us, and because of that it has been an extremely busy year for maintenance

First things first, I would like to notify everyone about my new job title, from Maintenance Manager to Property Services Manager.

Throughout the year we have been working on some big projects – from new operating systems to the installation of new fire doors across Lench’s Close and Tanner’s Close. Starting with the new systems, we have had two on-going digital projects in the works. The first being our new CRM system “HomeMaster”.

Mark Boden Property Services Manager

In terms of its use for maintenance, it allows for components and regular checks to be stored on the system – automatically notifying when parts are due for inspection, what the part is, and which member of the team is responsible for it. Furthermore, this new system will allow works orders to be allocated directly to the maintenance team members. This means the team will immediately be notified to jobs requested with all the necessary details required for completing the task.

The second project is Eclipse Nursecall Systems (ENS). This new integrated platform will vastly improve communications between our staff and residents. We have been working closely with ENS and Open Reach to lay the groundwork for implementation happening in early 2023.

Lench’s Close and Tanner’s Close have had heavy works done to each apartment – having new fire doors installed. This has been a long and lengthy process to ensure Lench’s Trust provides the best fire safety possible for its residents. I would like to thank all residents for their patience throughout the process, with workers constantly coming in and out of the scheme and with any disruptions that may have followed in their wake.

Finally, I would like to thank Paul, Karl, Mick, Dean and Raffi for their hard work throughout 2022. It has been a busy year and I look forward to a promising 2023.

I started at Lench’s Trust in July 2022 as Housing Manager and in this short period of time I have seen some exciting changes, both with staff and new technology.

I am based at Head Office; however I do spend time visiting all 3 schemes on a regular basis. I have had the opportunity to complete call rounds at both Tanner’s Close and Lench’s Close, allowing me time to meet residents on an individual basis and providing me an insight into the Scheme Managers’ duties. I also enjoyed being invited to the Christmas festival at our 3 schemes, where everybody seemed to be having a thoroughly good time.

Lench’s Close has seen a change in management with Maria Bell taking retirement in September 2022 after 13 years of service with the Trust.

Shirley Taggart was successfully promoted to Scheme Manager in September 2022 and Nahida Parveen (Nad) to Assistant Scheme Manager in January 2023. Although this is a change in management, I am pleased to say I was delighted to appoint Shirley and Nad into their new posts - they are well known at Lench’s Close, both having worked at the Scheme for several years, keeping some stability within the Scheme, but with some great new ideas. Shirley and Nad are both very approachable with an open door policy and happy to assist wherever possible.

The monthly newsletter has been re-introduced, with the focus being more on the individual schemes, with just a little Trust wide news. Going forward, the emphasis will be on gaining resident involvement and, hopefully, ownership of the newsletter.

Continuing into 2023, a priority is to promote the Trust and individual schemes, letting everyone know who we are and to gain a healthy waiting list. Also, the team focus is for there to be a more collaborative working; sharing of knowledge and using technology available to us to work more efficiently and to continue heading towards being paperless. Online forms have been introduced to simplify tasks and stop unnecessary duplication.

The Allocations policy and housing application have been reviewed and updated, to include new legislation and housing benefit criteria, ensuring any potential applicants are made aware, and would meet their obligations, as a beneficiary of the Trust.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to my team and colleagues for making me feel so welcome and for their ongoing support. It is truly a pleasure coming to work

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” This is the quote I finished the last impact report with and on reflection this quote could not have described 2022 any better for the Care service at Lench’s Trust.

We have seen the care service flourish in 2022 with the increased level of care packages to 25 some of these requiring 2:1 support and home help support given; this is a testament to the hard work of all involved. With the increasing demand for care support, we welcomed some new staff to the team, in total we have 19 Care staff on the team alongside the Team leader. 100% completion across the board of the care certificate. we are also currently in the process of obtaining some additional training to upskill the care staff with level 2 diplomas in health and social care if they haven’t already got one.

Our Care planning and medication systems continue to be a big part of our service ensuring a more person centred approach. Covid continued to be the ‘norm’ of everyday life, certainly in the care sector; however, with a vigorous testing system and a robust action plan for any positive results, we effectively managed a safe environment for all.

We look forward to 2023 and ways of expanding the Personal Care Service even more.

Mark James

Mark James Care & Wellbeing Manager

“Without continual growth and progress such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning”

Michelle Hadley

Michelle Hadley Housing Manager

Financial Summary 2022