Annual Report to tenants 2010 - 2011

Landlord Services

Annual Report “Every tenant matters” 2010/11 mission statement

Supporting the Council’s Vision of “One Tamworth, Perfectly Placed”

2010-2011

Contents Introduction

3

Who we are

4

Locality working

5

2010-2011 A year in pictures

6

Changing face of housing

7

Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ Our customer promise to you

7

How is Landlord Services performing in summary

8

Tenants Sevices Authority Six Standards: Tenant involvement and empowerment n n n

Customer service, choice and complaints Involvement and empowerment Understanding and responding to the diverse needs of tenants

Home n n

16

Quality of accommodation Repairs and maintenance

Tenancy n n

9

18

Allocations Tenure

Rents

23

Neighbourhood and community

24

n n n

2

Neighbourhood management Local area co-operation Anti-social behaviour

Annual Report 2010-2011

Value for money

27

Summary of achievements

28

Know your Landlord Service Management Team

30

What do you think of the Annual Report overall?

31

Welcome Welcome to this year’s Annual Report. For the last few years we have produced this to inform our tenants how well we are delivering our services. Last year the Tenant Services Authority made this a regulatory requirement.

In this report you will find details of what we are doing to meet each of the Tenant Services Authority standards and how we meet Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ that we have agreed in partnership with you.

The Tenant Consultative Group (TCG) adopted a new mission statement in 2010/11 “Every tenant matters”, supporting the Council’s single shared vision of “One Tamworth perfectly placed”. Housing directly affects every aspect of people’s lives and this report aims to show you how we contribute to a healthier, safer and more prosperous community.

75.2%

During the past year, we have made some major of general needs improvements across a tenants are satisfied range of important with the way we services; tenant deliver our services. satisfaction has risen across the board. 75.2% of general needs tenants and 93% of sheltered tenants are satisfied with the way we deliver our services. This is a 10% improvement since our last status survey was carried out in 2008. However there are some areas where we still need to improve and further information about our plans to improve are set out in the report.

Celebrating performance success Chair of the Tenant Consultative Group Faith Shell, Councillor Mary Oates and Head of Landlord Services Tina Mustafa, cut the cake to celebrate improving overall satisfaction with services from 65% to 75%

“

Since I’ve been on the Tenant Consultative Group, I’ve come to realise how much we actually achieve by working together with Tamworth Borough Council landlord services. I’ve grown personally in confidence and in knowledge and I absolutely love it.

Iris Clements, member of the Tenant Consultative Group and Tenant Involvement Group

”

In producing this report, customers have once again been at the heart of it. Tenants have agreed that the summary should be sent out in lieu of the usual quarterly tenant of sheltered tenants are publication ‘Open House’ in order to satisfied with the way keep costs down. we deliver our services.

93%

We would like to say a big thank you to all our customers for working with us in so many different ways over the last 12 months.

Every tenant matters

3

Who we are Tamworth Borough Council Landlord Services continues to manage, maintain and improve 4515 council properties.

Borough Road Estate 46 Coton Green 63

Gillway 234 Leyfields 461

Property type Bungalow G/F Bedsit G/F Maisonette G/F Flat High Rise Flat House Sheltered U/F Flat U/F Maisonette U/F Bedsit

245 4 68 379 312 2532 360 495 116 4

Amington 421

The Leys 64

*figures correct as of Sept 2011

Town Centre 412

Bolehall 363

Lower Park 28 Kettlebrook 183 Fazeley 120

Belgrave 314

Glascote 606 Stonydelph 756

Two Gates 14 Wilnecote 207 Dosthill 73

Hockley 150

Click on www.findingahometamworth.co.uk to view ward property information

‘Local Offers’ and locality working More than 800 tenants took the opportunity to talk to the Tenant Involvement Team and suggest what they thought should be in Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’.

us you wanted landlord services to contribute to specific projects in the locality – this is the work we have started…

A number of events were held across the borough, targeting the community hubs – or ARCH’s - in Belgrave, Amington, Stonydelph and Glascote Heath. You told

We will be working with the community development team in 2011/12 to ensure housing supports what you want in these areas.

4

Annual Report 2010-2011

Priority projects for the four locality areas in 2010/11 AMINGTON Projects you’ve identified

What we have achieved

u Contribute to proposals to regenerate the Kerria Centre

4 Housing is leading on the feasibility group for regeneration

u Develop partnership working with other registered providers managing private rented stock in Amington

4 Estate walkabout targeted around the Kerria

4 Landlord services contribute to the Landlord Forum expanding housing choice 4 ‘Local Offer’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 ‘Open House’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 Housing stand at the Locality community events during the summer of 2010 and 2011 4 Housing investment to improve environmental issues included painting railings at the Kerria and improving communal areas in the flats 4 Investment plans currently in place for the garage sites

BELGRAVE u Review garage sites and agree future options

4 Housing is leading on the feasibility group for regeneration

u Develop a local lettings plan for Tinkers Green

4 Estate Walkabout carried out as part of the annual programme

u Promote welfare benefit take-up and reduce illegal lending

4 ‘Rent First’ campaign targeted and a partnership event held with the Credit Union at the Hub 4 ‘Local Offers’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 ‘Open House’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 Housing stand at the Locality community events during the summer of 2010 and 2011

GLASCOTE u Promote welfare benefit take-up and reduce illegal lending

4 ‘Rent First’ campaign targeted and a partnership event held with the Credit Union

u Review Garage Sites

4 Partnership event to tackle illegal lending with the landlord financial inclusion officer

4 Investment plans currently in place for the garage sites 4 ‘Local Offers’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 ‘Open House’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 Litter pick event carried out as part of Britains ‘BIG Tidy Up’ Campaign 4 Tidy Up event at Maitland & Ivatt with funding from housing 4 Housing stand at the Locality community events during the summer of 2010 and 2011 4 ‘Rent First’ Campaign to promote benefit take-up 4 Partnership event to engage with hard to reach groups part of the environmental campaign

STONYDELPH u Develop local lettings and support arrangements for Eringden u Offer housing surgeries at the local hub to offer advice and support on issues concerning antisocial behaviour u Identify options to improve environmental and car parking issues

4 Several partnership open days promoting fire safety held at Eringden 4 Tenancy Sustainment Team work with the hub to offer advice and assistance on anti social 4 behaviour matters 4 Clean up project completed around the areas of Ealingham/Eringden/Edale to address residents issues 4 ‘Local Offers’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 ‘Open House’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas 4 Campaign carried out in partnership with the Credit Union at the Stonydelph hub, signing up 75 tenants for affordable loans 4 Housing stand at the Locality community events during the summer of 2010 and 2011

Every tenant matters

5

“One community ideally located to prosper and grow”

2010–2011 in Pictures

6

Ankermoor April 2010 – niversary Court 20th An

May 2010 ome’ Open Day – ‘Finding a H

June 2010 ‘Plant a Pot’ – Ankermoor

July 2010 te walkabout – Glascote esta

August 2010 p – Litter pick – ‘BIG’ Tidy U

flats 10 – Riverside September 20 ar’ St a n ‘Wish Upo open morning

October 2010 onsultation C – ‘Local Offer’s

10 November 20 onsultation C ’s er – ‘Local Off

10 December 20 t Campaign en R – Christmas

January 2011 consultation ’ – ‘Open House

1 – Tenant February 201 ruitment Drive ec Involvement R

March 2011 Campaign – Easter Rent

Annual Report 2010-2011

Changing face of housing Reform There are some big challenges ahead for housing over the next few years. All our improvement plans within this report inform the Landlord Business Plan, which for 2012 will: Respond and prepare for Government Reform on n Welfare benefits n Localism including Council Housing Finance Reform n Planning and Community Infrastructure Reform n Financial challenges By moving to a self-financing model, this means that Landlord Services could have additional funding to invest in services including driving the reprovision of council housing and looking at the feasibility for regenerating Tinkers Green and the Kerria.

Our Strategic Ambitions are around supporting the development of a Housing and Health Strategy which will ensure healthy outcomes including: n Promoting nutritional information to prevent obesity n Promoting well-being by using telehealth and partner organisations

Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ Our customer promise to you From April 2011, all housing providers were required to launch their service standards to tenants. Following extensive consultation with tenants during 2010, which involved us speaking to more than 800 tenants, Landlord services was pleased to launch Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ which sets out the level of service you can expect from us.

The overwhelming message was that local should mean ‘borough level’ and standards should be the same in all areas. You also told us that there should be some priority projects in Belgrave, Amington, Stonydelph and Glascote Health. See page 5 for more details on locality working.

A monitoring process has also been developed with tenants which will ensure our agreed standards are met.

We will continue to advertise our online customer dashboard where tenants have selected what performance they would most like to see across landlord services. We will also publish performance against Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ through the Annual Report. In addition to this we will always publish the results from all customer satisfaction, feedback and consultation we carry out in the tenants quarterly newsletter ‘Open House’ and on the web.

n Helping with smoking cessation

Tinkers Green

‘Local Offers’ consultation Every tenant matters

7

How is Landlord Services performing?

“Aspiring and prospering�

We take pride in delivering services that are right first time, on time and represent value for money. Below are details of how tenants feel and a summary of how we are performing.

Satisfaction Satisfied with...

Tenants Survey 2008/2009

Tenants Survey 2011/2012

Trend

Landlord Services overall

65%

75.2%

J

the overall quality of the home

71%

75%

J

the general condition of the property

67%

71%

J

the repairs and maintenance service

56%

68%

J

the neighbourhood

70%

81%

J

rents representing good value for money

65%

75%

J

Key performance 2008/2009

2009/2010

2010/2011

Arrears as a % of gross debit

1.69%

1.59%

1.55

K

Evictions

26

19

15

J

Average days to re-let a property

33 days

28 days

21 days

J

Urgent repairs completed on time

98.2%

100%

100%

J

Average times to complete non-urgent repairs 10 days

6.9 days

9.75 days

L

Gas servicing – CP12

99.6%

99.9%

99.53%

K

Tenants registered on the database of involvement

167

242

344

J

J Performance improving K Performance the same L Performance deteriorating

8

Annual Report 2010-2011

Trend

Benchmarking is the key to learning.

Visit our online customer dashboard at www.tamworth.gov.uk so you can see how we compare to the best peformers.

Tenant involvement and empowerment

“Tamworth Listens”

Tenant Consultative Group The national standard says we should: n Offer a wide range of ways for you to get involved in the management of your housing and provide support to help tenants do this n

Offer a range of ways to make a complaint and deal with these quickly and fairly

n

Consult with you to agree ‘local offers’

n

Provide you with choices, information and communication that meet your diverse needs when delivering our services

It is crucial that tenants have an influence over the services we provide and deliver. This is an essential element in our drive towards excellent service delivery and tenant scrutiny.

We would like to say a big thank you to our Tenant Consultative Group who give up their free time and work tirelessly with Landlord Services to inform key policy change and are at the heart of shaping and influencing services.

During 2010/2011, our customers have played their part to help change and improve Tamworth Borough Council’s housing service. Our Tenant Consultative Group and Tenant Involvement Group continue to lead the way on getting people involved. The TCG meet monthly to discuss performance against the landlord Delivery Plan, policy development and change and core performance indicators. At the same time the Tenant Involvement Group oversees the implementation of actions and performance targets set out in the Tenant Participation Strategy.

Tenants are offered a range of opportunities to get involved in which are widely publicised.

Satisfied that your views are taken into account

Satisfaction with keeping you informed

2008

2011

2008

2011

46%

53%

65%

71%

There has been an improvement in tenants who are satisfied that their views are taken into account and that landlord services keeps them informed. We still want to increase this figure and work is underway to improve this.

Tenant Consultative Group

Every tenant matters

9

Some key successes over the last 12 months include: Tenant Involvement Database 102 new tenants were added to the tenant involvement database during 2010/2011. 72 of these came from the young tenants’ survey ‘Your Views Matter’ carried out during June. The remaining 30 volunteers have been recruited through the ‘Local Offer’ and ‘Open House’ consultation events, annual recruitment drive and Housing Services open morning.

Estate Based Events Glascote Heath’s community litter pick was organised by the Tenant Involvement and Caretaking Teams as part of Britain’s ‘Big Tidy Up’ Campaign. It saw the community come together to make a real difference to their area.

The Tenant Involvement Team also attended several summer events to promote the benefits of tenant involvement and meet customers in an informal setting.

10

Annual Report 2010-2011

Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment The Tenant Involvement Group was heavily involved in the production of Tamworth’s second Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment 2010/2011.

Customer Satisfaction Calendar A customer satisfaction calendar was developed during 2010 to help us carry out more regular and consistent customer satisfaction monitoring. This helps us determine satisfaction levels with Landlord Services and improve services accordingly.

Annual Report Tenant groups gave up their free time and worked tirelessly in the production of last year’s Annual Report. The report set out what we had achieved to address the priorities highlighted by our tenants.

New regulatory framework and ‘Local Offer’ consultation More than 800 tenants took the opportunity to talk to the Tenant Involvement Team and suggest what they thought should be in ‘Tamworth’s Local Offers’. For a summary of ‘Tamworth’s Local Offers’ visit our website at www.tamworth.gov.uk

Estate walkabouts Three estate walkabouts were organised during 2010 and each one saw residents turn out to meet staff and other organisations which work together to make sure that our estates are places where people want to live now and in the future. Each walkabout addresses issues such as litter, graffiti, car parking problems and communal areas.

‘Wish Upon a Star’ An open morning and communal tidy-up was requested

by Riverside residents through the Council’s ‘Wish Upon a Star’ scheme, which gives tenants the chance to take action in their own communities. While tenants popped along to talk to housing staff and other organisations at the High Rise Social Club, the Caretaking Team rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in to tidy up the communal gardens, pulling out weeds and cutting back overgrown bushes.

Seniors United During the year, members of Seniors United visited Morrison’s call centre to gain a better understanding of the appointment system, void procedures, call handling and took part in a question and answer session. A successful ‘Plant a Pot’ event was also carried out at Ankerrmoor sheltered scheme which meant elderly residents with mobility issues could take part in a gardening event.

Improvement Plans n We plan to improve the way tenant scrutinise our performance by strength ening our tenant groups to include a more rob ust and scrutiny role so that they can review service delivery n Continue to increase an d provide opportunities for young pe ople to get involved n Use your views from sur veys, working groups and events/consultation to change our services and regularly report back to you in ‘Open House’ n Provide support so tenan ts with diverse needs and backgrounds can easily get involved

Tenants Voice/Editorial Panel During 2010/2011, Tenants Voice was heavily involved in the production of publications including the Landlord Services Annual Report and also Tamworth’s ‘Local Offer’s’ document. The panel also continued to look at the design, layout and content of the tenants’ quarterly newsletter ‘Open House’ to make sure it is easy to understand, does not use jargon, covers topics that are of interest to tenants and contains all relevant information.

Every tenant matters

11

“Putting things right”

Complaints It is important to Landlord Services to record and monitor complaints. We will closely monitor the type of complaints across service areas to identify common themes and the timescales in which complaints are responded to, to ensure customers receive the highest quality service.

Tell Us’ Complaints Compliments Service Requests

2009/2010

2010/2011

217 50 167 0

268 97 171 0

During the year we received 268 ‘Tell Us’ forms of which 36% were complaints and 64% were compliments.

We have seen a 24% increase in ‘Tell Us’ forms during 2010/2011 however we have actively encouraged feedback from our tenants.

97

Number of complaints and compliments Complaints

All complaints were answered in an average of

Compliments

09/10

10/11

09/10

10/11

Housing Advice

8

4

11

4

Estate Caretaking

1

-

133

154

Housing (general)

4

2

7

2

Estate Management Services

8

30

4

4

Property Services

1

1

2

-

Repairs

20

37

1

2

Rents

4

-

4

-

Voids & Allocations

2

2

4

-

P H Jones

2

19

1

-

Housing Strategy

-

1

-

-

Private Sector Housing

-

1

-

-

Financial Inclusion

-

-

-

5

Total

50

97

167

171

6.9

days

“

“I want to thank my housing support worker for all her help. Supported housing has really been helpful to me and I have now moved in to a permanent tenancy and I now have the confidence to manage on my own”

“Thank you to the Caretakers who cleared my front and back garden, they did a wonderful job and really went that extra mile”

”

12

Annual Report 2010-2011

We also carry out cause analysis each time we receive a complaint. This means that we dig a little further into every complaint in order to make changes to how we operate and improve customer service.

We will continue to demonstrate to tenants how services have changed as a result of positive and negative comments using a regular ‘You Said We Did’ article in our tenants quarterly newsletter ‘Open House’ and on the web.

Improvement Plans n We want to improv e the way we deal with complaints and during 2011 we will de velop our Complaints Review Panel n Through our custo mer profile form that was revised during 2010, we will us e this information to he lp adapt our services to meet th e needs of our custom ers . n We will develop ou r complaints process du ring 2011/2012 to focus on outcomes and weather complaint s have been upheld n We will work with the tenants’ Editorial Pa nel in the development of stand ard letter templates fo r senior management. Letters will be both plain Engli sh and tenant approved n We will improve th e process and training on complaint handling within housing by holding a series of staff briefings and presentat ions n We will be holding member seminars to tal k about the rising number of Coun cillor enquiries

You complained! (during 2010/2011)

We listened!

Tenants complained about damp and condensation

We introduced a leaflet on making the most of heating/ventilation within the home

Tenants stated that they were still not happy about the process of treating damp and condensation

The Repairs Team now engage with a specialist company called Oaks Preservation to check there are no structural defects to the property that have contributed to damp and condensation

Tenants reported that repairs take too long

We have developed a fully integrated repairs policy that clarifies tenant obligations and repairing responsibilities going forward and ensures a ‘right first time approach’

No consistency with anti-social behaviour cases

We have introduced a new Landlord ASB Policy with clear offers/standards

Complaints were received about broken and failed gas appointments

We will be procuring a new gas contractor during 2011 with a focus on service standards

You complimented us!

Tenants reported high satisfaction with the Caretaking Service evidenced by the number of compliments and comments received

We’ll keep doing!

The Caretaking Team will be developed during 2012 as a handy person service

Every tenant matters

13

Customer service and choice We aim to give you an excellent customer experience

Improvement Plans n Let you know more how we have acted on your feedback n Continue to improve com munications both internally and with our cus tomers n Develop a ‘tuts n grumb les’ line which will be an automated messaging sys tem used to help improve customer feedback across landlord services.

Tamworth Landlord Services mission statement as voted for by tenants is “Every Tenant Matters”. We want to be a provider of good quality homes and services to people in need.

We are pleased that tenant satisfaction with our overall services has improved.

Status Satisfaction Survey 2008 2011 Satisfied with 65% 75% overall service Staff are able to deal 68% 71% with the problem Satisfied with 56% 63% final outcome

Our target is to see customers within 15 minutes of arrival. What we have achieved: Customer seen within 15 minutes 2009/2010 2010/2011 Estate Management Team 92% 95% Income Team 96% 100% Voids & Allocations Team 100% 100%

Information We offer a wide range of information on services and standards and where possible, services and communication is tailored to the needs of customers.

Our tenant newsletter ‘Open House’ is produced on a quarterly basis and our monthly performance information selected by the Tenant Consultative and Tenant Involvement Groups - is published on the website.

During the year we developed an ‘Open House’ consultation questionnaire. This was an interim survey to determine satisfaction with the quarterly newsletter and the content the newsletter provides. n 87% of respondents were satisfied that ‘Open House’ provided them with relevant and interesting information about housing services n 83% of respondents reported that they had read the last edition of ‘Open House’ During 2011 we will be repeating this survey and look forward to sharing the results with you.

14

Annual Report 2010-2011

Understanding and responding to the diverse needs of tenants Getting to know you We are committed to the principles of equality and diversity and aim to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and with respect. We have a equality action plan that aims to ensure that the services we provide are responsive to the needs of our diverse customer base.

Got to know you During 2010 we revised our ‘Getting to know you’ form and we really do feel we now know our customers. We would like to thank all those that have taken the time to complete and return their form. This information is important to us as it enables us to tailor services to particular needs. We will only ask for information that we need to tailor services.

During the year we have…. n Matched people to properties with specific disabilities n Installed electronic devises i.e flashing doorbells for those with hearing impairments n Designed bathrooms to accommodate specific religious beliefs

Improvement Plans n One of our tenant involv ement group members suggested that landlord ser vices may wish to consider supplying Helix ma gnifying sheets to all those tenants who have dif ficulty reading Tamworth’s normal size print.

During 2012 we will pilot the magnifying sheets with approximately 50 tenants who had requested large print. We will then go back and ask those tenants if they have found them useful. n We will continue to use “Equality Impact Assessments” to review our policies and procedures to make sure they are fair an d accessible and do not discriminate against our cus tomers

d... continue s n p you la P t ys to kee men a e v w o t r n p re Im diffe and text ill explore logging’ b e iv ‘l n We w g includin informed sure it is g to make e messagin it s b e w r tenants e ore of ou ork on th m w l il lp e w h e l d wil n W ractive an more inte t. write to e interne when we e g access th a u g n pler la ers ill use sim r newslett u n We w o t sure u o d sen nd make a s n o you and ti a c rmats our publi nge of fo ill review ra w e e id w W a n ndlord vailable in wider La a to they are a in n alities la kles inequ Equality P c e ta t th a p th lo e g Plan fe n Dev Well-bein uality of li q & ’s h le lt p a o e e H ve p we impro ensuring

n Provided information in a specific format for over 50 people with sight and/or visual impairments n Targeted victim support for those facing homophobic crimes by providing sanctuary and support

Every tenant matters

15

Home The national Standard says we should: n Provide a cost effective repairs and maintenance service that meets tenants’ needs, offers choices to tenants and aims to complete repairs ‘right first time’ n Meet all of our legal obligations to ensure the health and safety of tenants

Improvement Plans n We are currently re-writin g our repairs policy. This will clearly set out how we intend to provide a costeffective repairs and mainten ance service to homes and communal areas that is responsive to the needs of, and offers choices to, ten ants and has the added objective of completin g repairs and improvements ‘right first tim e’. n We are expanding the ser vice to include a handy person scheme. n We are planning to introd uce a ‘golden ticket’ service for vulnerable custom ers to provide an enhanced responsive repairs service.

n Ensure homes meet the Decent Homes Standard by 31 December 2010 n Ensure homes meet the standard that applied when the home was built

Remember you can report a repair to us at any time, night or day, using our free phone repairs line, 0800 183 0040 or online at, www.Tamworth.Repairs@morrisonfs.co.uk

That during 2010/2011 we completed 17,494 repairs to our tenants homes of which 1,619 were categorised as emergency and 11,698 as urgent and routine repairs with the remaining 4,177 treated as planned works.

The table below shows how quickly we carry out response repairs requested by you.

Our repairs service Satisfaction with repairs

Did You Know…

2008 56%

2011 68%

Our tenants have told us that our repairs and maintenance service is the most important service we provide. Due to this we have reviewed our service standards in partnership with you.

Repairs & Investment Right first time % appointments made and kept Gas servicing – CP12 Urgent repairs completed on time Average time to complete nonurgent repairs Customer satisfaction

2008 -2009 65% 47%

2009 -2010 97.9% 97%

2010 -2011 98.22% 97.41%

99.6% 98.2%

99.9% 100%

99.7% 99.65%

10days

6.9days

8.66days

71%

86%

91.39%

Our current responsive repairs and gas service contracts with Morrison Facilities Services and P H Jones, respectively ends on 31 March 2012 and we are in the process of procuring new contracts. This will commence on 1 April 2012. Tenants and their representatives will be involved in this procedure and once the procurement process has been completed we will announce who the new contractors are and will be able to issue further information.

16

Annual Report 2010-2011

“To be healthier and safer”

Health and safety Gas servicing continues to achieve excellent performance. We rely on tenants to give our contractors access to inspect and service gas appliances to maintain this excellent standard of safety.

We continue to meet our obligations regarding the management of Health and Safety and comply with Legionella and Asbestos legislation. This includes monitoring contractors that carry our work on our behalf. There have been no reportable incidents that the Health and Safety Executive would need to be notified of.

New fire safety guidance was published in the summer 2011 and together with the fire service, key investment will be made in all flated estates to include the following:n Re-opening of the basements at the high rise flats n A dedicated fire officer

Tamworth

Borough

Fire safe ty for tena n in high ts rise flats Following fire safety have bee measure n s that Tamworth put in place by Borough the Council Council, bot and Rescue and Staffordshire h Fire this handy Service have pro duced safety in advice leaflet wit h you mind. It will what to advise you r do in the on eve your flat or your blo nt of a fire in ck.

Staffordsh ire Service also Fire and Rescue Safety che offer free Home Fire cks. Anybod use this serv y wishin g to freephone: ice should call 0800 024 1999

For more fire safety website www.staff information, visi t our ordshire.go v.uk

Council

In 2009/2010, the feedback from our routine survey carried out on those who received planned maintenance work was that 94% of tenants were satisfied with the overall results.

Your home – Status Survey 2008 71% 67%

Quality of home Condition of home

2011 75% 71%

Our latest survey shows that tenant satisfaction has increased for both the quality and condition of your home.

All our homes must meet the Decent Homes standard which means that your home must be in a reasonable state of repair; have reasonably modern facilities; provide effective insulation and meet minimum standards.

According to our stock condition data we maintained a 100% decency rate measured against the Decent Homes Standard.

n Audit of the landlord approach by an independent service to ensure we improve Improvement Programme – number of homes improved and how

NOTICE

Kitchens

361

WE WANT YOU!

Bathrooms

308

Watch out for our first

Heating upgrades

161

Electrical upgrades

607

Replacement windows

80

Tamworth Assembly Rooms

Roof works

4

to have your say on landlord improvements

Structural works

4

Annual Tenants’ Conference on 26/1/12 at

Every tenant matters

17

Tenancy The national Standard says we should: n Let our homes in a fair way

Letting our homes

n Offer the most secure tenancy appropriate for the safety of the community

We aim to let our homes as fairly and as quickly as possible. Our performance on re-letting our homes is a real strength. We are among the top 25% of housing providers in this area.

n Charge rents in accordance with Government guidance

Our ‘Finding a Home’ website is where all our empty properties are advertised and where applicants are able to ‘express an interest’ in moving to. Applicants are given far greater choice on where they want to live and when they want to move.

Please visit our ‘Finding a Home’ website at www.findingahometamworth.co.uk to view all our latest reports. We continually publish information about our homes that we have successfully let informing you about the number of applicants that have bid for a particular property and the band and waiting time of the successful applicants.

Re-letting our homes 2008 2009 /2009 /2010 Average time 33 days 28 days between lettings Properties let 368 380

2010 /2011 21 days 306

We let 306 council homes in 2010/11. An additional 138 properties were available to people on the housing waiting list for nomination to housing associations. This, combined with 132 mutual exchanges, means 576 families have been re-housed in the last year.

Of the 132 mutual exchanges, 55 people – or 42% moved as they wanted larger properties.

Who we housed 15% did not give a reply 3% ethnic minority background

82% white British

We are also working with UCHOOSE, the sub-regional choice based lettings service for properties outside of Tamworth.

18

Annual Report 2010-2011

What’s gone well? n We continued to use local lettings plans to make the best use of our stock for example the extra care local lettings plan for Thomas Hardy Court and MacGregor Tithe n In 2010 – 11, eleven tenants downsized from a family home that they no longer needed, receiving a £1,000 payment through the Incentive to Move scheme. n The Voids and Allocation team cut the average time to re-let an empty property to only 21 days. n 44 people moved into properties with adaptations such as level access showers, stair lifts, and wheelchair accessibility n Of 42 completed satisfaction surveys, 88% were satisfied with the Finding a Home letting service.

“

“applied in January surprised to be offered so quickly.”

’can bid on what you want’’ ‘’ you need to put a plan of the inside of properties’’ ‘’I find that overall people I have spoken to at the Council are very helpful, polite and reassuring’’ ‘’ I find this an excellent way to find properties in the area’’ ‘’I think you should have a retract bid button incase you feel you have made a mistake’’

”

n Support is available for people who are vulnerable and who struggle to access the web-based service. n Mutual exchange offers people another housing option; 132 people have swapped homes through mutual exchange in the last 12 months.

Improvement Plans n There has not been any real take up of welfare benefits advice but we contin ue to promote this service. The most frequently asked query is how to apply for a community care grant and because of this we stock these forms to hand out to people. n During 2011/2012 we wil l develop a far more robust satisfaction survey to test the effectiveness of our lettings service and we will ask all new tenants what they think of the servic e n We need to build on sat isfaction of the condition and cleanliness of empty pro perties and are looking to introduce this later in the year.

ued... ns contin ns of the sheltered la P t n e m la We are Improve added the floor p facilities. e e on v th a h w e o informati to sh n W y s rt e e m p e ro h p c housing s g on adding extra ing. in le in bidd p o e p t now work is s roviders vert to as ur web p o h it w g on the ad in ceived, ually work ue to feedback re n ti n o c re ts. D nfirm if n We a provemen field to co . to make im t in an additional accepted buil efore it is b we have id b to wish edroom applicants gorising b from te a -c re y currentl feedback issues. n We are nt in response to rowding entitleme nd to tackle overc enants a ucing a T 0 for d o tr in applicants e e will b f £50.0 n 2011, w his is a payment o their m tu u A n cheme. T ing out and leave ish or Reward s ov no rubb ho are m w ts n ion, with r rent account. a it n d te n o c d in goo ve a clea property re and ha u it n r fu d unwante

“

‘’I found a lovely home for myself and my children. The person I swapped with really wanted my house before she had looked at it. We are now both very happy in our new homes and have become friends too’’

"I have been on Homeswapper for nearly two years and felt like giving up, but a suitable swap finally came up and we are moving next week! Thanks to this website we are finally getting the house we want’’

Every tenant matters

” 19

“Supporting people to live healthy and independent lives”

‘Finding a Garage’ We will be launching ‘Finding a Garage’ in 2011.

Already, 26 of the 89 garage sites around the borough have been approved for affordable housing. For further details please visit the website at www.tamworth.gov.uk

Supported Housing Sheltered services, homeless support at Ellerbeck and Chestnut as well as disabled facility adaptations make up Tamworth Borough Council’s supported housing service.

To earn the endorsement, we had to meet targets and standards set by the CHS. During 2010/11 all ten Independent Living Managers and the schemes tenant representatives were instrumental in putting together portfolios of evidence to meet the defined criteria.

Sheltered housing is for the over 60s. It aims to support them to live independently in their own home and manage their own affairs for as long as possible.

Sheltered properties are flats or bungalows linked to a communal alarm lifeline service. This means help can be summoned in an emergency at any time of day or night, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Independent Living Managers also visit residents to check on their well-being, help them to maintain their independence and signpost them to other organisations who can provide information and advice.

Sheltered Housing Sheltered Housing Accreditation Success We are extremely pleased to report that Tamworth Borough Council has recently been successful in gaining the Centre of Housing and Support (CHS) Accreditation Award. This award recognises the outstanding commitment we have to service standards in Tamworth and making sure our customers receive the highest quality of sheltered housing service, independence and environment.

20

Annual Report 2010-2011

The benefit of sheltered housing is that it provides support to people in a flexible way, when it is needed most. Some residents may need a lot of support and may also have care provided through social services, voluntary organisations or family and friends. Other residents may only need help from time to time.

Thomas Hardy Court

Extra Care Extra care housing at Thomas Hardy Court provides older people with another housing choice in Tamworth.

Our aim is to help to maintain independence through the security and privacy of your own home together with access to 24 hour care and support tailored for you when you need it.

Alarm Calls 98% of alarm calls were answered within 60 seconds.

New Tenants We completed 100% of new tenancy visits within 24 hours of the new tenant moving in.

We completed 100% support needs and risk assessments prior to the tenant moving in.

Lifeline Service

Extra Care Housing at Thomas Hardy Court

Since January 2011 WELbeing has been providing Tamworth Borough Council’s Housing alarm service, ensuring the high quality alarm service is provided to all its customers.

May 2011 celebrated the first anniversary of extra care housing at Thomas Hardy Court, developed in partnership with Tamworth Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council.

WELbeing is one of the fastest growing companies in the sector, supporting nearly 30,000 people across the UK and answering 600,000 calls a year.

ÂŁ260,000 was invested in the Extra Care Housing Scheme which provides homes to vulnerable elderly people with the aim of helping and supporting independence through the security and privacy of their own home together with access to 24 hour care and tailored support.

The Tamworth service includes 24 hour, seven day a week contact centre support to customers in dispersed units and those living in sheltered accommodation.

The scheme offers a range of facilities including special bathrooms for assisted bathing, luncheon club, hairdressers, guest room for visitors, laundry rooms, 24 hour entrance door phone system, lifts and car parking.

Every tenant matters

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How are we doing in Homeless Supported Housing?

Tamworth Borough Council is proud of its supported housing accommodation project at Ellerbeck and Chestnut Court. This aims to provide housing related support to help homeless people live independently in their own home. This can be single people, single parent families or couples with or without children, all who have faced the difficulties of homelessness.

Needs & Risk Assessment We completed 100% support needs and risk assessments prior to the tenant moving in.

Support Plans We completed 100% of support plans with all new tenants within 4 weeks of their tenancy start date.

Support Plans assess an individual’s needs and shows how the service will work with the individual to support those needs.

Available Properties In total, 14 available properties were re - let in 2010-11.

100% of the available properties were re-let within 10 days.

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Annual Report 2010-2011

Disabled Facilities Adaptations We invested ÂŁ450,000 in 2010 to carry out 47 adaptations.

Assessment In July 2011, Tamworth Borough Council appointed a new Occupational Therapist.

In future we will aim to carry out assessments within 21 days of receiving the referral from social services.

Disabled Facilities Adaptations In total 74 adaptations were completed reducing the waiting list from 168 to 34. No priority 1’s are outstanding.

Minor adaptations In total 47 minor adaptations were completed.

99% of the minor adaptations where completed within 26 days.

Rents We calculate our rents in line with Government regulations. We provide all our tenants with an annual rent increase letter which explains how rents have been changed.

Income Management 2008 /2009 1.69%

Arrears as a % of gross debit Evictions 26 % tenants with more 4% than 7 weeks arrears % tenants served with a 6% Notice Seeking Possession (First step in legal action)

2009 /2010 1.59%

2010 /2011 1.56%

19 4%

15 3.45%

12.19%

12.72%

The Council’s rent campaigns have proved to be so successful in recent years that further campaigns were arranged during 2010 - 2011. The purpose of the campaigns are to engage with tenants and raise awareness that paying your rent is always a priority.

The rent campaigns usually cover the Christmas, Easter and Summer period and you’ve probably already seen us out and about at one of many of our events.

The Income Team have also worked closely with other Council staff like the Tenant Involvement and Community

Development Teams and other organisations like Age UK, Citizens Advice Bureau, Credit Union and Home Start, to name just a few. The campaigns have largely been promoted at Tamworth market place, Marmion House reception, Tamworth Carnival, Asda Supermarket and at local hot spots around the borough.

All our events are advertised on our website, on Touch FM, the Tamworth Herald, the Arriva bus service and local posters. During the Christmas rent campaign we were delighted to work with Two Rivers School in designing the christmas card and bus advert poster.

Rent Statements Quarterly rent statements went out during the year with updates on rent issues. The changes to housing benefit for families with non-dependents were also included as an insert with the rent statements in January 2011. We will continue to update you on the changes to housing benefit as soon as amendments have been finalised.

Fianacial inclusion Total benefit obtained for customers was

£130,808.90 The financial inclusion officer dealt with

£288,463.74 worth of debts

75 tenants sucessfully otained a loan through the Credit Union to help with their financial circumstances.

If you are struggling with money we can help. We can advise you about benefits that you might be entitled to and set up a payment plan for any arrears that are outstanding. We can also refer you to specialist services. Just call 01827 709709 and ask to speak to your income advisor or email incometeam@tamworth.gov.uk

Every tenant matters

23

Neighbourhood & community The national Standard says we should: n Keep your neighbourhood clean and safe by working with our partners

Neighbourhood Management Estate inspections and estate walkabouts Housing Officers have continued to carry out monthly estate inspections, usually with a member of the Caretaking Team. Each street is inspected at least three times a year and an action plan is agreed in partnership with customers, councillors and other key local stakeholders if any issues arise. Each inspection will cover gardens, open spaces, litter, fly-tipping, trees, street lighting, roads, parking, pavements, maintenance of blocks of flats, garages, caretaking and cleaning, graffiti, fly-posting, abandoned vehicles and overgrown gardens.

In addition to estate inspections, we work with tenants and partners to make a difference in our neighbourhoods by undertaking regular estate walkabouts. Estate walkabouts identify issues on our estates needing attention. 2010 even saw young pupils from a local primary school join in on the walkabout as part of a school project.

24

Annual Report 2010-2011

Residents who took part in the walkabouts were very pleased with how it went. Feedback forms showed that 93% of those who attended were satisfied with the services provided by the council’s Estate Management and Caretaking Teams. One comment received said:

“

The estate management team are always a pleasure to work with and very helpful when I have an enquiry. It’s just a shame they haven’t the money to do everything!

”

Graffiti removal takes to the streets The Estate’s Caretaking Team have been mapping the areas of the borough where graffiti is a problem and drawing up a graffiti removal schedule. Staff have been working to clean up as much graffiti as they can as quickly as possible, to help make Tamworth’s estates better places for people to live. The caretakers have also been enlisting the help of residents in the fight against graffiti.

During the year a total of 4,526 jobs were reported to the Caretaking Team of which 4,440, 98% were attended to within target times.

Job

Target Time

Number Jobs completed within target time

Rubbish removal

Within 1 working day

Total number of cases = 927 % carried out on time = 93%

Cleaning/regular jobs

Within 1 working day

Total number of cases = 2345 % carried out on time = 99%

Graffiti

Offensive within 48 hours

Total number of cases = 19 % carried out on time = 100%

Graffiti

Non offensive within 28 working days

Total number of cases = 31 % carried out on time = 100%

Alleyways

Assessed and cleared in order of priority i.e health & safety issues

Total number of cases = 51 % carried out on time = 100%

Fly Tipping

Within 3 working days

Total number of cases = 1103 % carried out on time = 100%

Garage clearance

Within 5 working days

Total number of cases = 19 % carried out on time = 100%

Ivy removal

Within 5 working days

Total number of cases = 19 % carried out on time = 100%

Cleaning All communal areas are cleaned on a weekly basis.

During the year, 85% of customers reported they were satisfied with the cleaning service. Work is ongoing for tenant inspectors to carry out their own independent

Before

quality checks of this service. A deep clean schedule is also produced to ensure that thorough cleaning takes place in areas that need it.

After

Every tenant matters

25

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) Landlord services is committed to achieve recognition under the House-Mark and Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group ASB Accreditation Scheme by 2012.

Improvement Plans n Over recent months the Government has reviewed the tools and powe rs available to tackle ASB with the aim of ensuring better protection to victims and com munities and a more effective deterrent. Ov er the next 12 months we plan to tackle the se changes while we are reviewing our appro ach to how we manage anti-social behavio ur. n Get accredited to ensure our services mees the respect standard

Look out for your new Tenancy Agreement. Please visit www.tamworth.gov.uk for further information and updates.

We work closely with residents, the police and other partners to make our neighbourhoods friendlier and safer places to be.

Landlord Services aims to tackle ASB and neighbour disputes before they have a chance to escalate. We refer tenants to mediation and signpost tenants to other organisations for further support.

Action is taken against tenancies where tenants are responsible for ASB and are not willing to co-operate with Landlord Service and/or other organisations to resolve the situation.

Status Survey Satisfaction with ASB

2008 50%

2011 61%

During 2011 Landlord Services ASB Policy was reviewed and the Council’s cabinet said: “ASB is clearly improving but this is an area where we are keen to improve and the new policy will drive this forward”.

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Annual Report 2010-2011

In 2010/2011 n Landlord Estate Management Team dealt with 658 incidents. 80% of these were related to noise nuisance and around 5% resulted in formal legal proceedings, i.e. injunction; possession; demotion. n 30 acceptable Behaviour Contracts were signed with tenants and residents together with the police to promote good behaviour and acceptable conduct.

Community Safety Hub Staff in the Estate Management Team, currently hot desk and attend routine morning briefings at the police station. Under the Safer Estates Framework, housing staff have always worked closely with the Community Safety Team and police colleagues as well as a range of other specialist partners and agencies to tackle and deter anti-social behaviour.

The creation of the co-located hub has presented a real opportunity to have a structured and shared multiagency approach to problem solving and the risk management of cases. Already, housing officers have been able to escalate and receive prompt resolution to ongoing issues in relation to neighbour nuisance in a way that was not possible previously.

Value for money (VFM) The national Standard says we should: n Have a comprehensive approach to managing our resources to provide cost-effective, efficient, quality services and homes to meet tenants’ needs.

We look for ways to save money so that we can afford to provide better services to our customers Value for Money can mean something different to each and every one of us. It’s not just about making financial savings. VFM means running a viable social business and continuously looking to improve it. To achieve this we look at our costs, performance and satisfaction in various ways and we prioritise the areas that we need to focus on.

Housing Revenue Account The overall revenue financial position relating to council housing shows a surplus for the year of £0.37m. This equates to an overspend of £0.16m when compared to the approved budget for the year, mainly due to higher Government subsidy costs together with lower than expected garage rent income. This has resulted in an increase in housing revenue account balances from £4.71m to £5.09m to be carried forward to 2011/12.

Improvement Plans n Respond to the Council Housing Finance Reform to secure investment and ser vices to your homes n Introduce service charge s in a fair and reasonable manner n Set up a new Repairs an d Investment Contractor to support the loc al economy n We will look to maximise your income by using the third sector to help you manage debt if applicable n Ensure front line services are efficient and structured to make best use of our assets

Expenditure Every £1 of your rent pays for: 28p

Repairs % Maintenance

31p

Supervision and Management Costs

21p

Back to Central Government

19p

Depreciation

1p

Bad debts

You told us that VFM is the 5th most important issue to you.

Total income £17,916,100

75%

of tenants said that your rent represented VFM.

This has increased

10% 65% from

in 2008.

Every tenant matters

27

Summary of our achievements

Customer satisfaction n Tenant satisfaction with landlord services improved from 65% in 2008 to 75% in 2011.

Tenant Involvement n 2010/2011 saw 102 new tenants added to the database of involvement. n Launch of Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers.’ More than 800 tenants took the opportunity to talk to the Tenant Involvement Team and suggest what they thought should be in Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’. n A customer satisfaction calendar was developed during 2010 to help us to carry out more regular and consistent customer satisfaction monitoring.

n Developed tenant scrutiny of services including the role of tenant inspectors. n A new landlord structure focused on tenant priorities.

Supported Housing Homelessness Service During the past year the Supported Housing team have successfully supported 23 new tenants by;

Extra Care Housing at Thomas Hardy Court £260,000 was invested in the Extra Care Housing Scheme which provides homes to vulnerable elderly people with the aim of helping and supporting independence through the security and privacy of your own home together with access to 24 hour care and tailored support.

n Letting 100% of supported housing properties within 10 working days. n Completing a risk and needs assessment with 100% of new applicants. n Completing a support plan with 100% of all new tenants within 4 weeks of their tenancy start date.

Repairs n 100% of urgent appointments were completed on time and 97% of appointments were made and kept. n A new repairs policy including a handy person service. n A full garage survey focused on affordable housing and positive retention giving us a plan for the next three years.

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Annual Report 2010-2011

Community Alarm Service n

Since January 2011 Well Being has been providing Tamworth Borough Council’s housings community alarm service, ensuring the high quality alarm service is provided to all its customers. n

Customer satisfaction with 'Finding a Home' service was 94%.

Cleaning and caretaking n During the year, 85% of customers reported they were satisfied with the cleaning service.

Sheltered Housing During the past year Independent Living Managers have continued to help and support 75 new tenants by; n 100% of all new applicants take part in a needs and risk assessment as part of their housing application process to ensure the service can meet with individual needs. n 100% of all new sheltered housing tenants where visited by the Manager within 24 hours. n 100% of all new sheltered housing tenants received an agreed support plan within 4 weeks of their tenancy start date.

n Targets for the removal of fly tipping have continued to be met. n During the year, an intense deep clean was carried out at the Tinkers Green flats. An ongoing programme of further deep cleans for flats with communal walkways is planned for this year.

Voids and allocations n Our performance on re-letting our homes during the last year has been a real strength putting landlord services amongst the top 25% for this measure. The average time to re-let an empty property was cut from 28 days to 21 days.

Income management n The rent arrears at the end of the financial year were £239, 481.08. In the current economic climate and with the challenges of financial hardship, this is a real achievement. n Our overall arrears now represents 1.5% (percentage of arrears as a percentage of gross rent debit) and is a reduction on last year’s figure. n Garage rent arrears were successfully reduced by 5% during April 2010 to March 31 2011 and totalled £1,679. n During April 2010 until March 31 2011, a total amount of extra benefit awarded to customers was £130,808.90 n Work on service charges and value for money.

Behaviour Anti-Social ted n A dedica icer at landlord off nity the Commu Safety Hub.

Every tenant matters

29

Know your Landlord Service Management Team In 2011 we launched the new management structure focused on tenancy sustainment, housing options, repairs and tenant involvement and regulation. Visit our website for who’s who.

Know your Landlord Service Management Team - we’re here to improve

“

Portfolio Holder

Deputy Director of Housing & Health

Councillor Mary Oates

Chair of Tenant Consultative Group

Rob Barnes

Faith Shell

“

This year has seen a big improvement in satisfaction but the challenge is improving on this as we respond to national policy.

”

This is the first year of bedding in our regulatory structure and we really do influence and shape policy as part of political decision making. We need to ensure this continues.

”

Head of Landlord Services Tina Mustafa

Tenancy Sustainment Manager (Tenancy & Income)

Housing Options Manager (Lettings & Sheltered Housing)

Sue Philp

Lee Birch

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Annual Report 2010-2011

Tenant Regulatory & Involvement Manager

Repairs Contract Manager

Leanne Allwood

John Murden

What do you think of the Annual Report overall?

We hope you have enjoyed reading this Annual Report. We really want to hear your views about this report. Please complete the feedback sheet and return in the pre-paid envelope and return it to us – it’s free to post.

Thanks to everyone that took part in the photo shoots, sorry we couldn’t feature all of you.

What did you think about this Annual Report? (Please tick one box in each section) 1.q Too long

q Too short

q About right

2. q Too much information

q Not enough information

q About right

3. q Very well presented

q Fairly well presented

q Hard to follow

4. q Very easy to understand

q Fairly easy to understand

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Thank you. Now please give us any general comments that could help us when we produce next year’s Annual Report.

Tenants will be monitoring feedback and this will be captured to improve on future publications and other housing literature.

The Annual Report is also available on our website at: www.tamworth.gov.uk If you have any comments or questions please contact the Tenant Regulation and Involvement Manager on: Freephone 0800 183 0454 or email: Leanne-allwood@tamworth.gov.uk Or write to: Tenant Involvement Tamworth Borough Council Marmion House Lichfield Street Tamworth Borough Council Staffordshire B79 7BZ

!

For more information visit www.tamworth.gov.uk Every tenant matters

31

Alternative Formats If you, or someone you know, require this information in an alternative format or language please phone The Tenant Participation Team on free phone 0800 183 0454, or email tenantparticipation@tamworth.gov.uk

If you would find it easier to talk to us in your own language please ask an englishspeaking friend or relative to contact 0800 183 0454. We can arrange for an interpreter to contact you to discuss any translation you need.

Designed and produced by Tamworth Borough Council www.tamworth.gov.uk (09/11) 1193