SBHA and SBTO Summer newsletter 2022

NEWS Summer edition 2022

In this edition Cost of living - help available

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In your community

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Meet our new Apprentices

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www.sbha.org.uk www.sbto.org.uk

Welcome!

IN THIS EDITION

Welcome to this Summer edition of the Tenants' Newsletter.

As we all enjoy the sunny weather, this edition focuses on "out and about" in our communities. We would like to hear your views on your local neighbourhood and what you would like to see improved.

There are a variety of ways for you to get involved. See pages 4-7 for more.

Julia Mulloy, Chief Executive

As we move forward in 2022, the increased cost of living along with energy price hikes is We also share with you the great of great concern to us all, with news of our runner-up award at the many households struggling TPAS National Good Practice Awards financially.

- recognising the efforts of the

whole SBHA Team to We are working hard to support support, inform and engage Tenants through these difficult Tenants and communities throughout the Covid pandemic and beyond.

times. Our dedicated Financial Inclusion Team are here to help, offering help with budgeting and money advice, as well as support with managing energy bills and accessing welfare benefits - see more on the page opposite.

Please get in touch with the team for more information about how we can help.

Added pressures brought by increasing costs and rise in inflation, means at SBHA, we are focussed more than ever on keeping our costs low and delivering value for money services for Tenants.

AGM announcement

We are delighted to welcome our SBHA's Annual General Meeting will be held on new Summer Intern, Jasmyn 8th September 2022 at our Head Office in Selkirk.

Davidson, who is working with us to carry out our annual Tenant Scrutiny Project. Jasmyn has been out and about with Tenants from the SBHA Team members recently took part in a Scottish Borders Customer Audit Team looking at Council event to welcome Ukrainian refugees and help familiarise Neighbourhood Standards.

Support for refugees

Our annual gardening competition has been a hit again this year. It is without a doubt going to be a challenge for our judging panel with so many beautiful entries.

Watch this space for announcements of the winners!

We are also looking for new members for SBTO. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch for a chat - contact Louise McNeilage, Tenant & Community Engagement Facilitator. Louise's contact details are on the back page.

Finally, we hope you've been enjoying your summer and we look forward to the opportunity of meeting some of you when we're out and about!

Dominic Brookes, SBTO Chair, on behalf of the Editorial Panel

them with the range of services and support available. SBC has collected this advice for refugees and hosts here www.scotborders.gov.uk/homepage/104/support_for_ukraine.

Please remember, if you wish to be considered as a host for individuals or families who have fled the conflict, you need to ask your landlord's permission first.

Jubilee celebrations

We hope everyone enjoyed the recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations! Here are residents at Hazeldean enjoying some party food and a very special cake!

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COST OF LIVING

Cost of living

What help is available, and how we can support you The Government is making a number of packages available to help with the cost of living. We understand that working out what you may be entitled to can be very challenging. Here our dedicated team unpick what's available and how it could help you.

Food

Heating

• Anyone living in a property with a council tax band of A-D should have received a rebate on their council tax of £150.

Wellbeing Bills • Every household in the country will receive a £400 grant paid directly to their energy provider over the course of six months from October. Customers with pre-payment meters will have it applied to their meter or paid via a voucher.

• The Warm Home Discount is being extended to March 2026 and payments increased to £150, again paid directly to your provider. You need to check how to apply for this with your energy supplier - go to https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme for further advice.

Other help includes • a £650 cost of living payment for those on Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Pension Credit and other means tested benefits, this will be paid in two instalments with the first one in July and the second in August/September.

• a £300 pensioner cost of living payment for those who receive the Winter Fuel Payment - this will be paid from November 2022.

• a £150 disability cost of living payment, payable if you're claiming qualifying benefits – this will be paid from September 2022.

Financial Inclusion Officer Barry Wood and Warm and Well Co-ordinator Matt Rorison attended a 'Support Showcase' at Kingsland Primary School in Peebles recently, to highlight the many ways that SBHA can support Tenants in their homes.

Remember - if you're struggling to make ends meet or facing a drop in income, we can: Make sure you're getting all the benefits you're entitled to, and help you to apply Help you to agree payment levels on debt and arrears Help you find more affordable deals on, for example, phone contracts and bank accounts Help you to heat your home more affordably, by reducing your energy use Issue you with vouchers if you're on a pre-payment meter, and clear fuel bill arrears We can support you for as short or as long a time as you need, but it's really important that you get in touch - don't let a problem become a crisis! Call 01750 724444, or email enquiries@sbha.org.uk, and ask for an appointment with the Team.

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NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS

In your community Meet our new Housing Officers

Lindsay McFarlane is the new Neighbourhood Housing Officer covering homes in Clovenford, Innerleithen, Walkerburn, Traquair, Wood St (Galashiels), Glendinning Terrace (Galashiels), Fountainhall, Heriot and Stow.

"I have always wanted to be a Housing Officer. The best part of this job for me is helping to set people up in their new home - whether they've been homeless, or there's been a change of circumstance - family breakdown, or at the happier end of the scale, a new baby. It's really rewarding to be helping people who are facing challenges in their lives."

Clair Wood is the new Neighbourhood Housing Officer covering homes in Denholm, Bonchester, South Dean, Lilliesleaf and various areas in Hawick.

"I have a background in social work and as part of my professional qualification for housing, last year completed an internship with SBHA's Neighbourhood Services Team.

I'm delighted to be back! Every day is different - I enjoy getting to know people, supporting them through change and hearing their ideas about how we can make things better. It's a privilege to help people in this way."

Make your voice heard where you are!

One of the easiest ways to take part in decision-making in your area is to join one of our estate walkabouts. These provide you with a great opportunity to meet with your local Community Team and share your ideas to help improve your neighbourhood and shape future plans for your area.

Recently, we carried out a joint estate walkabout in Jedburgh with members of the Jedburgh Community Council. This resulted in improvements being made to the area including repairs to a damaged wall, and the removal of a partially collapsed shed.

Meanwhile, in Croft Street, Galashiels, local Housing Officer Fiona Mallin (right) has arranged for new signage to help people with recycling, following feedback from Tenants on walkabouts.

Estate walkabouts are advertised on our website and Facebook page. If you require any further information, please get in touch with the Neighbourhood Housing Officer for your area - you'll find them on our website www.sbha.org.uk - or give us a call on 01750 724444.

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NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS

In your community Neighbourhood Scrutiny project

This is our seventh Summer of Scrutiny! This year we're reviewing our Neighbourhood Standards.

What does Neighbourhood Standards mean exactly? Neighbourhood Standards are the standards SBHA follows to ensure proactive maintenance of neighbourhoods. We aim to have the neighbourhoods be attractive, well-maintained, and secure to those who live there, and this Standard helps us achieve that.

This year, we will be conducting a scrutiny to ensure SBHA’s Neighbourhood Standards are up to scratch and making recommendations on how we can improve the service for our Tenants.

We will bring you more in the next edition of the newsletter.

Welcome to Jasmyn!

Student Jasmyn has joined us for the Summer as a Tenant Engagement Assistant, to help run the Scrutiny project.

Hi! My name is Jasmyn, and I’m thrilled to be starting with SBHA and SBTO. I love working with people, and my new role as Tenant Engagement Assistant will be an opportunity for me to improve upon the skills I have learned so far in my Psychology degree, whilst aiding communities in Tenant satisfaction.

My role will mainly be working with SBTO, Tenants and SBHA Team Members on a scrutiny project to help improve a service area within SBHA. I am very grateful to SBHA and SBTO for giving me this opportunity, and I hope to make them proud this summer.

Careers at SBHA

We welcomed the opportunity to meet with young people across the Scottish Borders to talk to them about career opportunities at the recent Careers Fair events, organised by Developing the Young Workforce.

Beverley Richardson, Neighbourhood Housing Officer said “It was a privilege to meet students to showcase the variety of careers we offer and to talk to them about their future plans.

"The Careers Fair was a great way to bring local businesses and our region’s future workforce together to help support the region’s young people in their career journeys.”

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GETTING INVOLVED

We need you!

How your input helps make things better Thank you to the Tenants and residents who attended our consultation event in Croft St., Galashiels recently.

This was a great opportunity for us to hear from local people about their experiences in their community and their hopes for the future.

We were joined by Oberlanders Architects, Luc Landscape Land Use Consultants and Waverley Housing.

There was a fantastic turnout of around 60 visitors during the event, with good representation from SBHA Tenants, Waverley tenants, private tenants and owner/occupiers, as well as local businesses interested to hear about the project and share their views.

Discussions highlighted some good ideas on how the area could be improved, including better use of outdoor spaces for refuse storage, improved drying areas, and new areas for children to play.

We look forward to keeping everyone up to date on the next steps.

Did you know...

We encourage Tenants to get involved to help shape our policies to ensure that Tenants' voices are heard.

Recently we've been reviewing our Allocations Policy and Anti-Social Behaviour Policy, and Tenants have been part of the working group to review these.

If you would like to be involved in future policy reviews, please contact Louise McNeilage, Tenant & Community Engagement Facilitator at lmcneilage@sbha.org.uk or call 01750 724444.

SBTO Gardening Competition Thank you to everyone who has entered SBTO's Gardening Competition!

Once again, we have had some fantastic entries from green-fingered people across the Borders, making for some difficult decisions for our Judges. Look out for the results - and some stunning pictures - in our next edition!

SBHA would love to hear more views from younger people in the Borders.

Find us on social media for more!

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GETTING INVOLVED

Working together

Best Practice in Digital Involvement - runners-up!

We are thrilled to announce that SBHA was named runner-up in the Best Practice in Digital Involvement category at the TPAS Scotland Good Practice Awards recently.

The award recognised efforts throughout the pandemic to maintain services through new ways of working, giving people options to contribute and take part from the comfort of their own homes as well as tackling isolation and keeping people engaged, informed and reassured.

It also recognised the support and enthusiasm of SBTO members for 'SBTO goes digital', our project to help get SBTO members meeting online, ensuring that SBTO was able to continue fulfilling its vital role on behalf of Tenants during difficult times.

SBTO members Gordon Saunders and Tiffany Ward attended the awards and conference at the Golden Jubilee Hotel, Clydebank, along with Tenant and Community Engagement Facilitator Louise McNeilage. Louise was also invited to take part in a panel discussion at the conference, sharing her ideas on the future of Tenant Engagement over the next ten years. To cap it all, the SBHA / SBTO delegation even came out on top in the Friday night quiz!

YOU SAID

WE DID At SBTO we're always keen to hear from people who want to get involved.

Your feedback makes a difference Following feedback from Tenants, SBHA has increased the value of the decoration vouchers issued when you have planned works completed in your home.

Contact Louise on lmcneilage@sbha.org.uk to find out more.

We now offer £20 per wall that needs to be repainted - an increase of £5 per wall. Thank you to those who took part in this consultation.

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OUR TEAM

Meet our new Apprentices Supporting young people

Scottish Borders Housing Association has underlined its commitment to supporting the local economy and investing in future talent by welcoming three new Modern Apprentices into its Property Services Team.

"I’m excited about learning

Apprentice Electrician and getting started on a path

Bonnie Brown, age 17, doing something I really

from Stow. want to do.”

"I think this is the best way to kick start my career in my chosen area. SBHA have a good reputation as an employer, and I felt a large organisation would give me a more secure future.”

"I’m looking forward to meeting new people and working in new environments.”

Apprentice Joiner Charlie Aitken, age 16 from Galashiels.

Apprentice Joiner Nikki Stavert, age 18, from Hawick.

The three new recruits – an Apprentice Electrician, Apprentice Plumber and Apprentice Joiner – will work with SBHA’s experienced tradespeople on site, where they will learn all about the practical aspects of their new roles, as well as ‘softer’ skills such as customer care and teamwork. They will also spend two days a week at Borders College. In their third year they will work full weeks, and in the final year will sit a skills test to become fully-qualified in their chosen trade.

Support to get into work We’ve partnered up with the Wise Group and the other housing associations in the Borders to offer a new service to our Tenants.

The Borders Employment Advice and Mentoring (BEAM) project aims to break down barriers to employment for Tenants or household members of Berwickshire, Eildon, Scottish Borders and Waverley Housing Associations. BEAM is currently working with 39 participants and 15 people have successfully moved into employment because of their participation in the programme.

BEAM mentors can help you overcome obstacles such as lack of work experience or CV, help you to develop interview skills, work on your confidence issues, and much more! They can also help participants to access digital search tools and e-learning courses.

If you are interested, please contact your Housing Officer on 01750 724444 or email enquiries@sbha.org.uk 8

SUPPORT FOR YOU

Struggling with food costs?

Help available across the Borders

1. Lauder Lauder Larder - lauderlarder@outlook.co.uk

5. Kelso Cheviot Youth, Kelso 07958 277766 info@cheviotyouth.co.uk

2. Galashiels Galashiels and area foodbank galashielsfoodbank@gmail.com

Kelso Foodbank - referrals only

Cafe Recharge caferechargecic@gmail.com

6. Jedburgh Jedburgh Foodbank - by referral

Langlee Early Years Centre 01896 756669 charlene.barrie@scotborders.gov.uk TD1 Youth Centre 01896 752442 douglas@td1.org.uk 3. Selkirk Rowlands, Selkirk 01750 21222 info@rowlands-selkirk.org.uk Selkirk Early Years Centre 01750 20476 Selkirk Foodbank 01750 20078 peter.birney28@gmail.com 4. Newtown St Boswells Newtown Community Help 0800 009 6941

1 8 9 10 3

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5

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7. Hawick Burnfoot Community Futures 01450 390410 carly@burnfootcf.org Burnfoot Early Years Centre 01450 375147 Salvation Army Hawick hawick@salvationarmy.org.uk 01450 378612

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Where a referral is required, we can help with this. Call us on 01750 724444 or go to www.sbha.org.uk/about-sbha/whoswho/community-teams/

8. Peebles Peeblesshire Foodbank, Peebles 01721 588654 info@peeblesshire.foodbank.org.uk Food Foundation, Peebles 01721 722421 Tweeddale Youth Action, Peebles 01721 724779

9. Innerleithen Swap & Share Shed 07380 853171 gdaly121@gmail.com 10. Walkerburn Food Hugs, Walkerburn 01896 870 200 hanks_denise@yahoo.co.uk

You Can Cook - cooking in the community

In partnership with You Can Cook, a Community Interest Company, we have secured grant funding of £164k from the Big Lottery Fund to fund a Scottish Borders Rural Food Club project over the next 3 years.

The Scottish Borders Rural Food Club project, led by You Can Cook, will deliver a programme of local community healthy cooking workshops, bringing people together to learn, share skills and socialise, while encouraging healthy living and reducing isolation and loneliness.

The workshops will be delivered by You Can Cook at local community venues, with practical cooking demonstrations, as well as advice on planning and shopping on a budget.

Watch this space for more. Find out more about You Can Cook here - www.youcancook.org.uk 9

IN BRIEF

Five minutes with...

Meet one of our longest-serving Team members Elaine Dryden has been with us for 40 years this month! She started out with Roxburgh District Council, moving to Scottish Borders Council and then to SBHA at stock transfer in 2003.

What does your job involve?

I'm a jack of all trades! I spend four days a week in property, doing things like organising minor adaptations, dealing with contractors, and helping to organise essential safety inspections and planned upgrades. One day a week I'm with the Solutions Team, helping to ensure that side of things runs smoothly.

I also stand in for the Customer Services Team Leader when necessary.

What's the best thing about your job?

The variety - and knowing that I'm helping to ensure Tenants stay safe. The job has become much more customer-focused. We don't just provide homes, we look after people. This is particularly the case since Covid, when the role of SBHA expanded. I was keeping in touch with people in relation to things like electrical safety checks, reassuring them about how we would ensure their safety when we were in their homes. You get to know people. I think that's a good thing.

Near Me - video appointments

We now offer video appointments through Near Me! Near Me is easy and free to use from your mobile phone, tablet or computer with a camera or webcam and speakers, and provides you with greater flexibility for appointments and meetings with us from wherever is convenient for you.

If you would like a video appointment, please speak with your local Neighbourhood Housing Officer who will send you a link and advise you on what you need to do.

Your rent

We are in the process of reviewing our current rent and service charge model. The aim is to continue to ensure that our rents and service charges are fair, transparent and affordable.

We will be carrying out consultation with Tenants on this in the coming months to hear your views. This will include a series of consultation events and surveys. We encourage you to take part in these as it is important that we hear the views of as many Tenants as possible.

We will bring you more information on this soon!

Are you looking for a new home? Normal allocations process taking too long? Maybe you need more (or less) space, to move for work or to be closer to family. Have you tried HomeSwapper?

HomeSwapper is the UK’s leading mutual exchange service for social Tenants in rented property, and can help you to swap your Council or Housing Association home with other social tenants. This is like our own Mutual Exchange scheme but by joining HomeSwapper you can extend your search to anywhere in the UK, and it will give you access to a wider choice of homes. Any swaps being accepted by your landlord will be subject to certain criteria.

To get started you need to register on the HomeSwapper website - www.homeswapper.co.uk - and search for homes in the area where you’d like to move. You can also download the HomeSwapper App from the App Store or Google Play.

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PERFORMANCE

How are we doing?

Complaints info

Total complaints received

2020-2021 2021-2022 Tenants satisfied with overall service

76%

75%

Tenants satisfied with how they're kept informed

73%

69%

Tenants satisfied Finance and IT 2 with opportunities to Repairs and participate

60%

58%

82%

81%

1hr 51 mins

2hrs 7 mins

6.6 days

10.7 days

98.6%

98.6%

63

34

89%

89%

2020-21 2021-22 Improved 213

284

Complaints received by service area 2021-22 Rent collection 1 Tenancy management 24

maintenance 100

Customer services 17 Neighbour dispute 8 Estate management 16

Time taken to carry out an emergency repair

Allocations 12 Planned & cyclical maintenance 97

Complaints outcomes

Resolved

Tenants satisfied with a repair they've had carried out in the last 12 months

2020-21

2021-22 Improved

-

27%

Not upheld

53%

25%

Partially upheld (fm April 2022)

N/A

10%

Complaint upheld

47%

38%

Average days taken to respond

Stage 1 - 5 Stage 2 - 18

Responded to within required timescales*

Stage 1-77%

80%

Stage 2-91%

100%

Time taken to carry out a non-emergency repair

N/A

N/A

Percentage collected of rent due

Days to re-let an empty home

5 13

* Timescales for responding to complaints are set by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman www.spso.org.uk/spso

Calls resolved at first contact

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Talk to us!

And finally...

If you wish to see anything featured in future newsletters, want to give us some feedback on this newsletter, have a story or photo to share, or are interested in learning more about how you can get involved, please contact Louise McNeilage, Tenant & Community Engagement Facilitator.

Just email lmcneilage@sbha.org.uk or DM via any of our social media or call 01750 724444. Also, if you would like to receive this newsletter digitally, rather than in print, please let us know and help us to reduce our carbon footprint.

Look out for details of where you can meet up with us in your community soon!

Did you know...

We have more than 6,000 followers on social media!

It's a great way to keep up to speed with all the latest news, competitions and updates, as well as job opportunities at SBHA. Scan the QR codes below to go to our social media channels and website.

We can also provide you with support to get online - call 01750 724444.

There are 12 summery words to find in our Summer wordsearch! ice lolly barbeque heatwave sunshine sunglasses suncream

paddling pool holiday swimsuit August July June

Send a picture of your completed wordsearch to jmcrobbie@sbha.org.uk by the 9th September for a chance to win a £20 voucher.

Registered as a Scottish Charity - No. SC030751

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