Open House Spring 2012

Housing Services

” Everyone worked extremely hard to make the day a huge success.”

Spring 2012

First tenant conference

a big success

In this issue:-

“ I found the day very informative and well organised, so thank you to everyone who made the day possible. We are new to this kind of event, but found the conference very useful.”

Page 2 HomeBuy Options

More than 100 council tenants took part in the first ever housing conference organised by the Tenant Involvement Team at Tamworth Borough Council.

conference to pick up help and advice, ask questions and put forward suggestion for improving the housing service.

New repairs contract

The conference was held at the Assembly Rooms to give Tamworth tenants the opportunity to have their say on housing services, hear about the latest developments in social housing, listen to guest speakers and ask for advice.

The conference was opened by Cllr Mary Oates, Cabinet member for Quality of Life. Afterwards, she hailed the event as a big success and said: “We were delighted with the response to the conference and the turnout by our tenants.

Page 12

The event was split into two sessions. The first featured a number of guest speakers and was attended by almost 70 tenants.

“We got a lot of very positive comments from tenants and organisations who took part, telling us how useful they have found the event. We will build on the success of this first conference by holding similar events in the future and will be asking tenants what issues they would like us to focus on.”

Page 4 A good news story from Stonydelph

Page 6

How to eat well on a budget

www.tamworth.gov.uk

The afternoon session was a drop-in event, with exhibition stands from a number of groups and organisations including council staff, new repairs contractor Mears, new gas contractor Morrison, the Tenant Consultative Group, TamworthCAN and Staffordshire Fire Service.

Throughout the day, more than 100 council tenants went along to the

Customer Dashboard Visit online for the latest performance indicators in housing: www.tamworth.gov.uk/housing

“ The presentations by key speakers were interesting, the number of people who attended was great and we hope this leads to more involvement for the Team.”

You can afford a home of your own with Homebuy With all the news of house buyers being priced out of the market, lenders demanding huge deposits and the general economic doom and gloom, many people believe they will never be able to afford a home of their own. However, with the Government-backed HomeBuy schemes that are available, that dream of home ownership could become a reality.

The range of HomeBuy options available means that - subject to availability - you can choose the one that is right for you and your circumstances.

All make owning your own home much more affordable.

For those wanting to buy your own home straight away there are a couple of different options. One of these is the Shared Ownership scheme. With this scheme you take out a mortgage for a share of the property and rent the remaining share at a discounted rate. You can often start with owning as little as a 25 per cent share in your property and can then purchase additional shares in the future

until you own the property outright.

Alternatively, Orbit HomeBuy Agents work in partnership with a number of housing developers who are offering brand-new homes for purchase through the FirstBuy scheme. With this scheme, you can take advantage of equity loans provided jointly by the developer and the government of up to 20 per cent of the property value, with no interest to be paid on the loan for the first five years. You buy the remaining percentage and then pay back the equity loan over time until you own your home outright.

As the HomeBuy Agent for your area, we at Orbit HomeBuy Agents can advise you on whether you can take advantage of one of the HomeBuy products available. To speak to one of our advisers, please call us on 03458 50 20 50 (select option 2) or visit our website: www.orbithomebuyagents.co.uk

Activities for Older People in Tamworth Older people in Tamworth can now take advantage of a range of activities, tailored to their own interests and preferences.

Activity sessions are on offer at Thomas Hardy Court - an extra care housing scheme - and Glenfield - a sheltered housing scheme.

The sessions offer a variety of activities in a social and supported environment where having fun and catching up is the aim.

They offer a broad range of activities including balance and coordination sessions, information and discussions on keeping fit and active as well as table top games and bingo. They also offer support on health and wellbeing, eating well and information on local services.

For more information please do not hesitate to contact Housing Options Manager Mrs Lee Birch on 01827 709474.

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Estate Management Team

ESTATE WALKABOUTS

Would you like an Estate Walkabout in your area?

Tamworth Borough Council invites local residents to take part in estate walkabouts. These are carried out through the summer and are led by the Tenant Involvement Team. The estate walkabouts enable residents, staff members and other organisations to see for themselves what needs to be done on the estates.

Our aim is discuss these issues and decide on possible courses of action to resolve them while the relevant people are together on the estate.

If you would like to request an Estate Walkabout in your area this year, please contact the Tenant Involvement Team on 01827 709374 or email tenantparticipation@tamworth.gov.uk telling us why your estate should be included.

Our Tenant Involvement Group needs your help Why not get on board and join our Tenant Involvement Group? This group meets every three months with the Tenant Involvement Team and together they ensure that the actions and performance targets set out in the Tenant Involvement Strategy are achieved.

Tenant Involvement is a two-way process involving the sharing of ideas and information to allow tenants to help make decisions about the services they receive.

We want as many tenants as possible to get involved and we need your help During the last 12 months this group has been involved in the following: l Monitoring customer promises from the Tenant Involvement Strategy

l Updating the Tenant Involvement web pages to make sure that information for customers is interesting, up-todate and easy to understand l Contributing to the content of several publications, including the Tenant Involvement Impact Assessment, Tenant Involvement Strategy and Landlord Services Annual Report to Tenants l Helping to develop different ways to capture customer feedback to help staff carry

out more customer satisfaction monitoring l Working with the new repairs contractor Mears to look at customer care and satisfaction Alternatively, if you don't want to be involved in a group, but still want to be active in housing service provision, you can join our register of interested tenants. If your name is on the register we may contact you as part of our consultation on policies or to invite you to events.

If you would like more information about the group or would like to get involved, please contact the Tenant Involvement Team on 01827 709374 or email tenantparticipation@tamworth.gov.uk

3

A good news story from Stonydelph Here in Stonydelph we are proud people. Most of us want the best for each other, but sometimes in the past, the people of Stonydelph feel let down by the lack of support given to us. However in the past two years there has been a noticeable change. The area is slowly starting to look better, feel safer and the police and street wardens are familiar and friendly faces. The Community Hub in Craven has reopened; we have a community officer from the Council who is here to help and support us and listen to our issues.

There are good things going on there, like the Job Club, the children’s nursery and the many classes put on by Tamworth College. There are now genuine opportunities to change the face of this community.

This has moved the community forward and many people are actively trying to make a difference here. The people of Stonydelph don’t just want this, we need this if our community is to grow and we are going to change the unpleasant stereotypes and myths sometimes told about this community.

As a long-time resident of Stonydelph, I would like to thank all the organisations and groups for all the support .. SO FAR .. and look forward positively. This is only the beginning of the change in Stonydelph.

Matt Brown Stoneydelph resident

The Arch is located at 44 Craven. It is open Monday to Thursday from 9.30 to 5pm For more details of activities and services please contact Neil Mushrow, one of the Community Development Officers at Tamworth Borough Council Email neil-mushrow@tamworth.gov.uk or phone 01827 709503

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One person making a difference Since writing this letter, Matt has been looking at how he can actively change his own circumstances and hopefully improve things for the wider community.

Matt is a Stonydelph resident who was made redundant eight months ago. He sent off 153 job applications off, but only got responses from five.

Matt has worked as a Bluecoat and always had a passion for singing. He looked at ways he could use this talent to turn his situation around.

Matt asked a number of venues around Tamworth and surrounding areas if he could perform free of charge on nights when bands were on. Matt’s offer was taken up by many pubs and clubs.

He started working with these venues to encourage people to come in, as well as promoting the venues on social media sites to encourage people to support local bands.

This had an immediate effect with pubs, clubs, and other places benefitting from his support and publicity. He now works with local musicians, getting them venues so their music and talents can be heard. Several of the bands have since been approached to make ‘demo’ discs to be sent off to wider audiences.

Matt made a recording of himself and sent it to a large recording studio in Birmingham. The studio has now offered Matt 40 hours of training to hone his recording skills. Matt has just presented an application to the New Business Enterprise, which has offered a small amount of funding for training and equipment to get his venture started and off the ground.

Matt hopes he can work with the communities of Tamworth and support local people with an interest in music or performing. He has been contacted by the Arts Council of England which is looking at ways to support him.

Coming soon...

Finding a Garage for 2012 We are currently working to develop an exciting new initiative to advertise available garages on our website. You will be able to see at a glance which garages are available, their location and will be able to express an interest in renting instantly.

This will be a fresh new approach to letting garages. If you are on our current waiting list you will automatically be transferred to this new scheme. You do not have to do anything.

We will continue to provide people on the waiting list with information throughout the development phase.

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Council awards new contracts worth £65 million Two separate housing contracts worth a total of £65 million over the next seven years have been awarded by Tamworth Borough Council.

Mears has been granted the repairs contract, which means that from April 1 this year, it will be responsible for repairs to all of the council’s properties, as well as external painting, installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, disabled adaptations and improvement projects.

The specialised contract for the annual gas servicing programme, repairs to gas appliances and the installation of new heating systems has been awarded to Morrison and will also start from April 1.

The council put the two contracts out to tender as required by law, as the existing contracts were coming to an end.

Eight contractors were invited to tender following an open pre-qualification round.

The contracts were awarded based on both costs and quality. Tenant representatives were involved in the quality assessment element of the selection process.

Cllr Mary Oates, Cabinet member for Quality of Life, said: “The new repairs contract with Mears combines responsive repairs with planned and investment works, which will allow us to deliver a much more streamlined and efficient service to our tenants.

“Over time, this will allow us to move more from responsive repairs to planned improvements, which are generally more cost effective to deliver and result in higher levels of tenant satisfaction.

“ We are looking forward to working toward our new housing strategy and delivering healthier homes. These are exciting times for housing in Tamworth.”

“We are looking forward to working toward our new housing strategy and delivering healthier homes. These are exciting times for housing in Tamworth."

Cllr Mary Oates

epairs r t r o p e r I How do cil? to the coun number: Free phone 4

04 0800 183 0 Email:

mw repairs@ta

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orth.gov.uk

Subletting, also known as unauthorised occupation or assignment is unlawful use of housing stock and deprives people in need of somewhere to live.

Subletting isn’t just about renting a council property out for a profit. Unlawful assignment for example could be a tenant leaving to move in with a partner and leaving grown up children at the family home.

The National Fraud Authority estimates that tenancy fraud costs the taxpayer around ÂŁ900 million each year. There are 1.8 million households on the waiting list in England for social housing and another 250,000 social households are statutorily overcrowded. It is estimated that at least 50,000 social homes are being unlawfully occupied at this time.

In spite of many landlords cracking down on tenancy fraud, unlawful occupation is a civil offence and requires a lot of investigation. As a result, only a fraction of cases get detected unless they are brought to our attention. The government wants these people to be prosecuted and is looking to make subletting a criminal offence.

Tamworth Borough Council has a subletting policy and procedure and is working as part of the National Fraud Initiative to combat this fraud.

If you suspect that a neighbour is committing tenancy fraud by allowing somebody else to occupy their home whilst they live elsewhere, please contact the Estate Management Team in confidence on 01827 709491 or by emailing estatemanagementteam@tamworth.gov.uk

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Welfare Reform Bill 2011 and changes to Housing Benefit The Welfare Reform Bill 2011 has been described as the biggest change to the welfare system for more than 60 years.

The Bill aims to make the benefits and Tax Credits systems fairer and simpler by: l Creating incentives to get more people into work by ensuring work always pays l Protecting the most vulnerable in our society l Delivering fairness to those claiming benefit and to the taxpayer.

The Bill received Royal Assent on 8 March 2012. Important changes will include: l Changes to Local Housing Allowance l Introduction of Universal Credit by October 2013 where all benefits will be paid directly to the recipient unless they are exempt. l Housing Benefit paid directly to the claimant l Reduced payments to those under-occupying in the social sector – for example, a single person living in a home with two bedrooms l Benefits cap of £26,000 per annum and/or £500 per week l Increased use of sanctions for those not actively seeking work who are able

The main changes affecting council tenants in receipt of welfare benefits have been detailed further below Continuing increases in non-dependant charges From April 2012 - 2013 the non dependant charges will be as follows:

Non-dependant Deductions in HB In receipt of state Pension Credit In receipt of main phase ESA(IR) Not in receipt of main phase ESA(IR) Aged 25 or over and on IS/JSA(IB) or aged 18 or over and not in remunerative work Aged 18 or over and in remunerative work gross income less than £124.00 gross income not less than £124.00 but less than £183.00 gross income not less than £183.00 but less than £238.00 gross income not less than £238.00 but less than £316.00 gross income not less than £316.00 but less than £394.00 gross income more than £394.00

8

2012/2013 Nil 11.45 Nil 11.45

11.45 26.25 36.10 59.05 67.25 73.85

Introduction of Universal Credit Universal Credit will be introduced from October 2013. This replaces working age means-tested benefits including Job Seekers Allowance, Tax Credits and Housing Benefits.

It will be administered by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). There will be a transition period between 2013 - 2017 by which all claimants will have changed to Universal Credit. It is likely that claims will have to be made on line. Customers moving into work should retain more of their benefit in an attempt to improve work incentives. For people of pension age, housing benefit will be replaced by a housing credit element of pension credit.

Changes to direct payments to landlords At the present time housing benefit is paid directly into rent accounts. Universal Credit will be administered by the (DWP). The housing benefit element will be included in the Universal Credit payment. Therefore tenants will have to pay rent to the Council - it will not be paid direct into the rent account as is currently the case.

Tenants who move on to Universal Credit should contact the Council to advise by which method they intend to pay their rent. Direct Debit is the easiest and quickest way to make a payment. Universal Credit will be paid monthly in arrears.

At the moment 67% of all council tenants receive either full or partial benefit. This will mean that the council, as a landlord, will have to collect the rent directly as it will not be received as now (i.e. via the housing benefit payment system).

Reduced payments to those under-occupying in the social sector – the ‘bedroom tax’ From April 2013, there will be reduced payments to tenants who are under-occupying social housing. If a working age tenant is under-occupying their home, the Government is proposing to reduce their HB award by: l 14% of eligible rent if under-occupying by one bedroom; l 25% of eligible rent if under-occupying by two bedrooms or more. l In assessing under occupation the landlord will consider the following (although this not yet confirmed): l A child aged 16 or under will be expected to share with one other child of the same gender; l A child aged 10 or under will be expected to share with one other child aged 10 or under, regardless of gender; l Those households containing a disabled adult and a non-resident carer will be assessed as having a reasonable requirement for an additional room, which will reduce the number of disabled claimants affected by this measure. l An extra bedroom will not be allowed for those tenants who have access to children at weekends or who have foster child/children.

Tenants who will be affected by these measures will be faced with a choice either to continue to live in accommodation which is assessed as larger than their household needs and make up any shortfall from other income or savings, or move to smaller accommodation (if available) which better reflects the size and composition of their household.

For Tamworth, we currently assess around 10% households as under-occupying and this will clearly put pressure on housing.

Benefits cap There is to be a weekly benefits cap of £350 for single people and £500 for families.

This only applies to out of work households. It does not apply to households on Disability Living Allowance, Working Tax Credit, war widows pension or retired people.

Increased use of sanctions Tenants who fail to take up work opportunities and/or training could have their benefit stopped.

Further updates will be given in Open House as more information becomes available. There will be several briefing sessions taking place soon to discuss the Welfare Reform Bill. If you would like to attend one of the briefings, please contact the Tenant Participation Team on 0800 183 0454 or 01827 709260.

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Changes are planned for Social Housing In the news over the last few months, you may have heard about the changes to council tenancies that the Government are planning to introduce through the Localism Act 2011. Alongside the Government’s launch of the new Housing Strategy “Laying the Foundations”, proposed changes will give flexibility to social housing landlords and local authorities that will allow them to make best use of their stock. It wants social housing to be flexible and available to more people and to those that genuinely need it.

So what does this mean? l It means that we will have flexibilities that we have not had before, for example: l We will be able to choose the length of time we sign up new tenancies for by creating `flexible

tenancies` with a minimum fixed term of two years. This will be in addition to, rather than replacing, secure tenancies. l We will have the power to grant additional succession rights.

What happens next?

The council is currently preparing its response to these changes for wider consultation. We will be sharing a discussion paper with the Tenant Consultative Group in April 2012 that will inform a report to councillors in the summer. This will determine whether we choose to introduce flexible tenancies and to which properties these might be applied.

Please be assured that there will be no changes to secure, life-time tenancies in Tamworth without proper consultation.

Importantly, this will only affect new tenants – if you are an existing tenant then everything will remain the same.

2012/2013 Rent Increase Rents for Tamworth council tenants in 2012/2013 have been increased by an average of £5.17 per week (7.1%), in line with the Government’s Rent Restructuring rules.

Rent increase letters were posted out to tenants at the end of February, to ensure they have at least a month’s notice before the rent increase comes into effect from April 2.

If you pay by Direct Debit, your payments will adjust automatically to include the new charge(s). This means you will receive a letter from us 10 days before your payment to let you know how much your new payments will be.

If you pay by standing order, please let your bank know the new charges to amend your standing order. We cannot do this for you.

If you receive housing benefit, the amount will be adjusted to the new charge as above. If you are not in receipt of benefit but think you may qualify, please complete a housing benefit form online at tamworth.gov.uk or pick up a form from Marmion House and return it quickly as possible.

If your rent account is in arrears, you should clear your account by March 31. If you are unable to clear your arrears, you should contact your Housing Officer on 01827 709514.

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April 2012 48-Week Rent Year From April 2012, your rent will be calculated over a 48-week rent year.

The 'rent-free' weeks are: 27 August 2012 24 December 2012 18 March 2013 25 March 2013.

If you have rent arrears, you should continue to make rent payments during these weeks in order to catch up and reduce your arrears. If you have a court order, you will be in default of an order if you fail to make a payment.

A 48-week rent year can help you manage your finances during difficult times at summer, Christmas and at the end of the financial year.

Rent Incentive Scheme From April this year, a new rent incentive scheme has been introduced for secure tenants. All tenants with a clear and/or in credit rent account will be entered into a quarterly draw. The winning tenant will be chosen by the Cabinet member for Quality of Life and a member of Tenants Consultative Group and will receive ÂŁ250, which will be paid into the credit union on their behalf.

All tenants can take part in the scheme, but only those with a clear rent account or those whose accounts are in credit will be entered in to the quarterly draws. If you normally clear your account at the end of the month, you will not be included in the draw unless your account is clear on the dates below.

The draw will take place on the following dates:

22 June 2012

21 September 2012

21 December 2012

and 22 March 2013

New Tenancy Agreement Thank you to everyone who has returned a signed copy of their tenancy agreement. The 10 winners who were drawn out of the prize draw have been contacted.

The tenancy agreement is enforceable without signing the agreement as the variation to the tenancy agreement and conditions has been implemented in accordance with section 103(2) of the Housing Act 1985.

The information we have received will be used to develop our services in light of Welfare Reform, changes to Housing Benefit

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Budget food shopping – eating well on a budget If you have less money to spend on food, it can seem harder to shop for a healthy and balanced diet. You may be tempted to pick up everything that’s on special offer, but there are other ways to save money. Here are 10 ways to reduce your grocery bill and eat healthily.

11.

Avoid buying on impulse. Plan your meals a few days ahead, make a list before you go shopping and stick to it. That way you don't buy too much.

22.

Look up and down the shelves to find cheaper products when you go to the supermarket.

Shelves at eye level usually contain the more expensive items.

33.

Swap branded products for the supermarket’s own brand.

44. Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season. On the whole, fruit and vegetables grown in the UK are cheaper than imported produce.

55.

Buy frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables.

They cost less than fresh. All types of fruit and vegetables, whether fresh, chilled, frozen, canned, bottled or dried, count towards the recommended five daily portions.

66.

Look out for two-for-one offers on foods that keep, such as pasta, rice, cereals (choose wholegrain options as they contain more fibre) and tins of pulses or tomatoes.

77.

Check sell-by dates. Supermarkets reduce prices on products that are close to their sell-by date.

This can be a great way of picking up bargains, but before you fill your trolley, be sure that you’ll eat or cook everything you buy before it goes off.

88.

If you shop online, use a supermarket comparison website to see which supermarkets offer the best prices for the products you want to buy.

99.

Cut down on ready meals, especially if you're feeding two or more people. Ready meals are often high in salt, sugar or fat. Making your own meals is not only healthier, but works out much cheaper.

10.Buy cheaper cuts of meat, such as shoulder of 10 Courtesy of: - NHS CHOICES your health, your choice.

lamb instead of leg of lamb, or chicken thighs and drumsticks instead of breasts.

If you require any further information or advice on food safety please contact Colin, Sandra, Charlotte and Paula in the Environmental Health Team on 01827 709 445.

Date for your diary: Week e 11 beginning Jun l is the Nationa eek.

Food Safety W 12

Tenant Inspectors You asked, we listened Customer satisfaction surveys were sent out to every household which receives communal cleaning services from the estates caretaking team across Tamworth.

The Estates Caretaking and Cleaning Service is committed to continually improving services and survey responses are a great way to understand what tenants feel about the services they receive. Information provided is used to improve the communal cleaning service and confidentiality is maintained at all times.

A group of tenant inspectors have now been formed to inspect the communal cleaning areas. They carry out independent quality checks at different locations across the borough. When the checks have been completed, a

meeting is held between the tenant inspectors and housing staff to discuss findings and carry out improvements.

A full report has been compiled on the communal cleaning areas across Tamworth and the role of the tenant inspectors.

The Caretaking Team now has a graffiti removal machine which deep cleans large communal areas and walls where accessible.

It has been successfully used in Tinkers Green during a clean-up operation of the area and other areas across the borough where this is required.

A copy of this document can be obtained in the following ways:

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer tenant inspector, please contact the Tenant Involvement Team on the freephone number 0800 183 0454

l Emailing tenantparticipation@tamwort h.gov.uk l Phoning 01827 709374 to have a paper copy posted out to you l Through Tamworth Borough Council’s housing website at www.tamworth.gov.uk/housin g/tenant_participation.aspx

Staffordshire Cares Purple Pages If you want to live a healthier and more independent life, then log on to www.staffordshirecarespurplepages.info, call into Marmion House or phone 01827 709709 and ask about Staffordshire Cares. l You can find helpful organisations which can support you to live your life your way, even as you get just that little bit older. l You may want to find out about what gadgets and gizmos are available that can help you live safer and more independently at home. l You may want to find out about the services and organisations that offer the advice and information you need, from support groups and organisations offering support and advice about living a healthier lifestyle to those that can help you get into employment, volunteering and learning courses. l You may even want to know about how to get out and about in your area.

If you do not have access to a computer, please call into Marmion House in Lichfield Street, where we have several computers available for customers to use.

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New Telecare products for Tamworth customers Welbeing provide residents of Tamworth with telecare equipment, including a whole range of sensors, detectors, monitors and alarms tailored to individual needs. There are some exciting new products available to Tamworth customers which work with the Lifeline home units, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

VitalBaseFALL Fall Detector The wrist-worn fall detector is designed to identify a serious fall. The detector vibrates to alert the user that it is about to send a radio alarm signal to Welbeing. Traditional fall detectors are worn like a pager around the waist, this one can be more comfortable and lighter to wear.

Minuet watch

CareAssist

This has been developed to help encourage telecare users to wear their personal triggers throughout the day. It replaces the pendant around the customer’s neck by combining an alarm button with a Swiss-designed highquality watch. Users are more likely to wear it and as a result will be provided with additional protection as their ability to raise an alarm is increased.

This is proving to be very popular with onsite carers. It is a portable telecare alarm that can receive telecare alerts and display not only the type of sensor activated but also the location of the sensor or the name of the person the sensor has been assigned to. It allows carers to be quickly made aware of any incidents, allowing them to provide a high level of care while maximising their efficiency.

Please call Welbeing on 0845 0766515 if you would like a talk to discuss these products in more detail.

Tamworth Information Centre l Visit, phone or e-mail the friendly, award-winning team in the Philip Dix Centre l Get full details of where to stay, where to eat and what to do in the Tamworth area. l Get help with that special occasion, plan a day trip, book coach trips, buy tickets for theatre and Tamworth Castle events. l Wide variety of local souvenirs and gifts available

Monday to Friday 9.00am - 7.00 pm

Saturdays 9.00am - 5.00pm

01827 709581/709618 tic@tamworth.gov.uk Text 88020 starting your enquiry with TBCTIC

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What’s On A Right Royal Knees Up Wednesday 25 April Tickets £14, £12.50 conc.

Doors 2pm for a 2.30pm start Lifeboats Concert featuring Amington Band Saturday 28 April Tickets £10 Doors 6.45pm for a7.30pm start

Spot the difference to

win!

Tamworth Borough Council is offering you the chance to win £20 if your spot the difference competition entry is selected from our prize draw.

There are just two competition rules:

The ELO Experience Friday 4 May Tickets £16, £15 concessions Doors 7.00pm for 7.30pm start

l You have to be a tenant of Tamworth Borough Council. l You have to circle three differences between these two photographs.

All Our Yesterdays Thursday 10 May Tickets £12, £10 Doors 2.00pm for a 2.30pm start

Once you think you’ve found all three differences, circle them clearly, fill in and cut out the entry form and then return it by Monday 30 April 2012 to:

Kenny Ball & his Jazzmen Friday 18 May Tickets £16, £15 conc Doors 7pm for a 7.30pm start Film Festival 23-25 May Tickets FREE Open daily T Rextasy - The Slider Tour Saturday 26 May Tickets £13, £15 onthe door Doors 7.30pm for an 8.00pm start We’ll Meet Again Monday 28 May Tickets £12.50, £10.50 conc Doors 2pm for a 2.30pm start

Free Outdoor Events in the Castle Grounds St. George’s Day Celebrations Saturday 21 April Starts 10am Olympic Festival Saturday 30 June Starts 10am

Diane Hughes, Tamworth Borough Council, Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth Staffordshire B79 7BZ. All correct entries will be entered into a prize draw and the winner notified soon after the deadline. The competition is open to Tamworth Borough Council tenants only. Good luck!

Name:______________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Telephone No: ______________________________________________________

Spot the difference

winner!

Congratulations to Mr Coombes who was the lucky winner of the Spot the Difference competition in the December 2011 issue of Open House. Enjoy your prize!

Thanks to everybody who sent in competition entries!

See website for more events and details: www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk

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Alternative Formats If you would like this document in a different form, for example audio CD, large print or Braille, please contact the Tenant Participation team on 0800 1830454.

If you would like to get involved then contact Tamworth Borough Council’s Tenant Participation team:

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

Leanne Allwood Tenant Regulatory and Involvement Manager

01827 709448 Diane Hughes Tenant Participation Assistant

01827 709260 Helen Rich Customer Service Assistant

01827 709260 Ann Summers Landlord Improvement and Project Officer

01827 709374 email us: tenantparticipation@tamworth. gov.uk Other useful numbers: Tamworth Borough Council Customer Services (01827) 709709 Benefits (01827) 709540 Council Tax (01827) 709530 Housing Advice 01827) 709459 Housing Office Enquiries (01827) 709491 Tenant Participation (01827 709374) Rent Enquiries (Income team) (01827) 709514 Estate Management Team (01827) 709491 Allocations and Voids (01827) 709520 Designed and Produced by Tamworth Borough Council

Tamworth Borough Council 16

Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 7BZ. Enquiries: (01827) 709709 . Main Fax: (01827) 709271