Residents News - Issue 58

Residents News 58 | WINTER 2023

Coming together this winter More on P3

Christmas Crafts!

P2

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Dates for your diary It’s time to mark your calendars with the key dates for the rest of 2023 and the New Year as we prepare to welcome 2024.

Our Contact Centre will be closed over the Christmas period. If you have an emergency repair during this time, please call us on 0800 542 8904. This ‘call-out’ number is available 24 hours a day.

If you smell gas, please telephone National Gas Emergency on 0800 111 999 immediately. If possible, isolate the meter to make it safe where necessary and open windows to ventilate your home.

Get festive, join our Christmas Crafts!

We will be holding Christmas Crafts sessions at our Independent Living Schemes, which is open to scheme residents.

Please speak to your Independent Living Scheme Coordinator for more details or contact the Community Engagement Team via email: hello@fairhive.co.uk.

Contact Centre Christmas shutdown

22 - 2 DEC

JAN

2:00pm

8:45am

Good Friday

29

Easter Monday

1

MAR

APR

3

Dear Resident I hope you are keeping well and looking forward to the festive season and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. We have a number of resident events taking place in the lead up to Christmas look out for our social media updates and take a look at the events calendar on our website for more. You can access the calendar by logging into IMPACT. Our support team is on hand and happy to help should you need assistance with accessing your account, email your queries to contact@fairhive.co.uk.

Since the last issue, we have published our Annual Report to Residents. This report highlights how we are performing as a Social Housing Landlord across six key areas including our financial and business performance, how we’re doing with repairs and what impact we are having in our communities. You can find a snapshot of this report on pages 8-9 and the full report is available on our website.

The Residents’ Forum has undergone a number of changes recently including the election of a brand new Chair and Vice Chair. The Forum plays a really important role in bringing about improvement to services by providing feedback on service provision, undertaking reviews on the quality of service performance and influencing the formation of policies and decisions about housing and resident related services. You can read a letter from the Residents’ Forum on page 13 about recent changes, what they have been working on and their plans for the coming months.

Resident wellbeing is at the forefront of what we do and in these colder months, the weather creates the perfect conditions for damp and mould to appear in your home. Even though condensation is a natural occurrence, it can cause problems and allow mould to grow. There are ways to help prevent damp and mould at home and you can find out more on our website.

If you are still unsure about condensation or mould issues, please contact the Repairs Team on 01296 732600 or email contact@fairhive.co.uk and they will be happy to help.

Some of you may have heard of Youth Concern who are an Aylesbury-based charity that do fantastic work to support young people in our local area. Last month we collaborated with them to deliver a Winter Warmer morning event (volunteers pictured in the front cover photo). We got together at their Drop-in Centre on Whitehall Lane to cook hot food and pass around cups of tea and coffee with some delicious bacon rolls and veggie options on offer. This event was in aid of young people who may be sleeping rough, unable to afford a warm meal or were just in need of a safe space to hang out for a few hours. We have been able to work together with Hannah Asquith and the team at Youth Concern this year on a number of projects and activities which have not only supported this charity and the work they do, but also helped us to directly help residents in the Aylesbury area.

As this is the last Residents News of 2023, on behalf of everyone at Fairhive I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a joyful new year.

Matthew Applegate Chief Executive

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Life-Saving Defibrillator installed at Wycliffe Thanks to the collaboration of residents and the Neighborhood Management Team at Wycliffe End we’ve installed a defibrillator that is accessible for public use in the case of an emergency. Earlier this year, Mrs Mason, a resident at Wycliffe, was shocked when a top football player on her favourite team collapsed during a match. It struck her that if someone who is in peak physical fitness can go into cardiac arrest, it really can happen to anyone. After raising her concern with her Neighbourhood Team Leader, they started to research what we could do and applied for partial funding through a grant from the British Heart Foundation, topped up with Fairhive’s Safe Community Fund.

Mayor of Aylesbury, Steven Lambert, and Vice Chairman, Mimi Harker OBE, joined Fairhive residents and employees to celebrate the installation of a new defibrillator at Wycliffe End. Peter Cooper, South Central Ambulance First Responder, attended to give a brief and informative talk as well as a demonstration on how to use the defibrillator.

Mayor Steven Lambert said, “I was delighted to help with the unveiling of the new defibrillator at Wycliffe End. This simple, very effective, and potentially, life-saving equipment installed

by Fairhive is now in reach of hundreds of residents”.

Steven added, “with very simple instructions – all provided with the machine and by the 999 operators, those vital few minutes waiting for the emergency services to arrive will make a huge difference if someone is experiencing cardiac arrest.”

In addition to the installation, we followed up by offering a free, Everyday First Aid session to local residents where they had a chance to practice using a defibrillator.

We hope the defibrillator is never needed, but thanks to Mrs Mason, the Neighbourhood Team, and the British Heart Foundation, the residents at Wycliffe End have the tools to potentially save a life.

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Grants month

In August, we were promoting and raising awareness of the fantastic grants we have on offer. We’ve had so many applications off the back of this Grants Month campaign, meaning we could help even more residents and community groups. We had a big push on our Springboard Grants throughout July and August, to encourage residents to apply, especially to help cover school uniform costs. In July, we extended the application deadline so that busy families had time to complete their application forms. This paid off as we saw over 40 applications in the summer months, keeping our Grants Officer very busy as she worked hard to process all the approved grants.

SPRINGBOARD GRANTS

Rec’d Mar 31

Rec’d May 31

Rec’d Jul 31

Rec’d Sept 30

Total

2022-23

4

2

20

30

104

2023-24

13

12

42

32

99

Our Springboard Grants provide up to £300 to support our residents with opportunities for wellbeing, education, training or employment. This can include things such as gym memberships and exercise classes to help support your physical, mental, and emotional health.

For more information about our Grants and how to apply, please visit www.fairhive.co.uk/thrive

Tuition Plus kicked-off for 2023/24 We work closely with Unravelled (previously known as Flying Start Tuition) to offer free tuition to our residents’ children in the months leading up to the 11+ exam. The programme is designed to help prepare our residents’ children for secondary school and to develop the skills required for the 11+ exam. The work covered will support children’s maths and English skills and will help them to become more confident learners.

In August, we held two parent information sessions to inform our residents about the Tuition Plus intake starting in September 2023.

Unravelled manage registrations on our behalf and letters are sent out to our residents, each summer, and are targeted towards households with children going into Year 5 (aged 9-10 years old).* There are 48 places on our Tuition Plus programme annually and registrations

took place online following the two Parent Information Sessions. 35 residents signedup within the first hour and we were at full capacity after two days. We now have a waiting list of six families.

One resident said that her son took part in Tuition Plus in 2008, passed the 11+ exam and is now a GP. Her youngest daughter will now be taking part this year. *Please note: the Tuition Plus Programme is not open to leaseholders, those with shared ownership or residents going through the Right to Buy/Right to Acquire process.

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Connecting our schemes with Social Telecoms We’ve recently been piloting a new broadband and digital notice board project in two of our Independent Living Schemes. Wifi, communal devices (called Kiosks) and digital screens have been installed at Chandos Court and Landon Court in a collaboration that aims to help tackle digital exclusion for our residents.

Social Telecoms are a fantastic team who work with a number of Housing Associations to provide free digital connectivity for residents

in their homes and communal spaces.

By working together we’re able to provide assistance and support, helping residents to understand the solutions, get their devices connected to the network, and help answer any questions they may have.

If successful, we’ll be looking at how we can expand this project across further schemes over the next few years.

Would you like some extra support with computers or getting online?

We’re looking to work with Buckinghamshire Adult Learning and other providers in our area to run hands-on digital inclusion sessions for our residents who are looking for some extra help with getting online or using their devices.

This may include training on the new Kiosks that we’ve installed in some of our Independent Living Schemes.

Alternatively, you can email our Community Engagement Team (hello@fairhive.co.uk) or call us on 01296 732600.

Fairhive Resident Name:

Address:

If you would like to register your interest for this type of training session please tear off this slip, pop it in an envelope, and post it.

Community Engagement, Floor 3 Fairhive Homes Limited Fairfax House 69 Buckingham Street Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP20 2NJ

Telephone number:

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We continue to measure and learn from our complaints and compliments Customer satisfaction is important to us and we know we don’t always get it right. That is why we are committed to listening to feedback and drawing down on the data from our customer surveys and complaints as well as compliments that highlight what we are doing well. Keep an eye out for our regular complaints and compliments column in upcoming issues of Residents News.

We will include the feedback from customer satisfaction surveys and how we use it.

You can 7 also log complaints via My HomeHub

Customer Satisfaction for Complaints:

45% of tenants surveyed told us they were satisfied with the handling of their complaint – we want to make sure you are confident and comfortable to talk to us about your complaint and that you feel we will listen to you, treat you with respect, put things right and learn from your experience.

So please make sure you let us know when we don’t get things right or any contact with us is not as you expect.

Apr to Sept 2023/24 compared to same period 2022/23: Total number of complaints received

239

Apr – Sept 2023

127

Apr – Sept 2022

Percentage of complaints responded to within 10 calendar days

86%

Apr – Sept 2023

96%

Apr – Sept 2022

Total number of compliments received

165

Apr – Sept 2023

275

Apr – Sept 2022

At any point you can contact the Ombudsman as well if you have a complaint about us.

Their contact details are: Housing Ombudsman – 0300 111 3000 | www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk

You said:

You said:

You said:

We’re doing:

We’re doing:

We’re doing:

Poor Service Quality

• Follow up works – regularly checking repairs reports to see what the repairs status is.

• We’re monitoring the out of hour’s service so that when the cold weather hits, we’ll be ready to answer calls and attend to your emergencies as quickly as possible.

• Carrying out more post-works inspections to ensure quality standards are met.

• We keep monitoring our grass cutting contractor so that the delays experienced this year are prevented in the next cycle.

Our communication with you is poor

• Created a communication plan for larger works such as bathrooms and kitchens so that you know what to expect.

• Estate walkabouts will be publicised in advance of them taking place.

• Where any delays are identified, we will contact you to keep you informed.

Poor quality of works

• Work on improving managing our contractors.

• Inspect a sample of works following completion so we make sure standards are kept.

• Developing systems to pick up repeat visits for the same issues.

To raise a complaint or leave feedback please visit our website (www.fairhive.co.uk/making-a-complaint) or give us a call.

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Our Annual Report to Residents

We’re pleased to share the Annual Report to Residents with you, all numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number and relate to the financial year 2022/23.

You can view the full report at fairhivereport2023.co.uk

We own and manage a wide range of homes

6773

832

10

643

320

687

45

1917

Social rent

Shared ownership

Affordable rent

Leasehold

Number of enquiries dealt with by the Contract Centre

104,300

Email increase of 38% Call increase of 10%

Subsidised rent

Shops

Independent living

Garages

Repairs made

24,624

of which 7,378 were emergencies

£26m Total spent on repairs

£11m Total spent on investment works

Satisfaction in repairs

80%

% of Repairs completed first time

88%

Your Home

578

9

30 Days

New builds delivered

Number of new lettings

Homes with valid gas safety certificate

100%

Time taken to re-let an empty property

Money Total revenue

£61,557,863

£44.1M

Annual maintenance spend on affordable housing

£1.96M

£4.79M

1947

Additional Housing Management customers visited

Number of residents referred through our Step Up Step In programme - supporting residents who need additional support

Total benefits secured for residents through our Welfare support team

446

£

Number of households accessing our Welfare support services

26

Community

£

£227K

Total rent arrears

339

48

Number of resident training hours

Total amount of grants awarded

Children on Tuition Plus

Feedback

331

Overall customer satisfaction

Number of complaints

457

84%

Number of compliments

Customer service excellence standard award achieved for the 4th Year running

10

Resident volunteers: We need you – we’re now recruiting volunteers for our new Policy Review Group!

We want you, as residents, to have your say in policies that directly affect all tenants. Our policies are up for review on a regular basis and it is important that your ideas and experiences are taken into account. Members of this group will meet with managers from different areas of the organisation to discuss what is included in the policy and propose changes to ensure better outcomes for all.

Scrutiny Group members wanted.

Do you think we could do better? Do you have suggestions on how we can improve our services?

If you answered yes to either of the above, then we would really like you to take part in our scrutiny projects. This means that we are looking for volunteers to examine our work in detail, with the aim to produce recommendations for improvement.

Previous experience is not necessary as training is offered.

To find out more about volunteering with us please contact the Community Engagement Team or email hello@fairhive.co.uk.

Scam Awareness

It’s important to be aware of potential scams, particularly with Christmas shopping and sales being advertised at this time of year. By staying informed and vigilant, you can protect yourself and your loved ones from falling victim to scams.

With the rise of online shopping, scammers have found ways to exploit unsuspecting shoppers. Be cautious when purchasing gifts online and only use reputable and secure websites. Look for the padlock icon in the address bar and ensure the website has “https://” at the beginning of the URL, indicating a secure connection. Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true, as they may be a ploy to steal your personal and financial information.

During the holiday season, scammers often send emails and texts (known as phishing). They try and make it look like these messages are from real companies sometimes claiming you have won a prize or offer you exclusive deals.

Real companies will never ask for sensitive information through email or text. If in doubt, our handy three steps could prevent you from being a victim of a scam.

Stop

Take some time to think about the details you are being asked for.

Challenge

It’s ok to ignore or reject anyone trying to contact you until you feel comfortable. If it seems suspicious, hang up or delete the email and call back on a trusted number.

Protect

If you think you’ve been scammed, report it right away to the police and your bank. You can report scam emails, texts and calls to the National Cyber Security Centre.

By staying informed about common scams, you can ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Firework safety advice We want everyone to be able to enjoy fireworks safely and organised public displays are the best way to do this. Details of local firework displays can usually be found on your council website or local radio station website. However, if you are putting on your own display in a private space, we have some guidance for how to do so safely.

• Make sure fireworks are not near fire hazards such as fences, sheds, trees and hedges.

• Check for wildlife or animals who may be nesting in the area.

• Never leave fireworks unattended, dry leaves and debris can reignite, instead douse with water or sand.

• Always direct your fireworks away from spectators.

More information on firework safety can be found at Bucks Fire Safety Hub www.bucksfire.gov.uk/safety-hub.

• Where possible, inform your neighbours so they can prepare any anxious pets or family members.

• Don’t return to a lit firework.

Our Website Focus Group In September, we held our second residents’ Website Focus Group at Fairfax House. It has been really useful to discuss this project with residents and we’ve also collected feedback via our online website feedback form. We are taking these ideas on board to help us continue to make improvements on the main Fairhive website.

Our next step is to finish all the meetings with the wider teams across the organisation. We have meetings booked in over the next few weeks with teams such as Welfare Advice and Community Engagement to enable us to

discuss their specific pages in detail and draw up a list of content improvements or ideas for new content to add value for when you are using our website.

Our main aim for the project is to create a simple but effective website that is userfriendly, and gives you access to the services, digital support, and information you need to help manage your home and tenancy.

We would love to hear your thoughts about our new design and features, so if you have any feedback on the website, please let us know by filling in our website feedback form at www.fairhive.co.uk/website-feedback or contacting hello@fairhive.co.uk.

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Meet the team Hannah Wilson Hannah Wilson is one of our Independent Living Scheme Coordinators.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

A typical day usually involves me checking and completing my work tray, doing the regular health and safety checks, visiting residents, reassurance calls, conducting referrals, and carrying out new resident visits.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

I really enjoy getting to talk to and help residents.

When I’m not working I can be found…

Cooking food, I am a real foodie and love trying out new recipes.

What is your motto in life and what three words best describe you?

Graham Labrum

Graham is our new Lead Anti-Social Behaviour Case Manager and is part of the Neighbourhood Management Team.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

On a typical day I monitor any cases of Anti-Social Behaviour being reported by our residents. I work in partnership with the police, local authority and other support agencies to take a proactive approach to help our residents when something is having an impact on their quality of life.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

I enjoy meeting people from all walks of life, hearing their stories and being able to help where I can in improving their day to day life.

What (or who) inspired you to follow your current career?

I have always enjoyed helping others wherever I can. I have worked alongside housing associations in previous job roles and Fairhive always stood out to me as being a driving force behind customer satisfaction and doing the right thing first time around.

What do you do in your spare time?

I can usually be found at a river or lake, either cold water swimming in the winter or paddle boarding during the summer.

My motto is treat people how you like to be treated and three words that describe me would be fun, empathetic, and inquisitive.

Favourite country travelled too?

I travelled to Bali for a few months and it was the best place I have been too.

My motto is…

Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.

What wouldn’t most people know about you?

I started playing lawn bowls at the age of 13 and have won multiple county championships and represented Buckinghamshire at The National Championships on several occasions.

A letter from your Resident Forum

Since our last update in Residents News in August, the Resident Forum has not stood still and has been working hard to finalise our agreements on how we wish to operate in partnership with Fairhive.

We are pleased to now introduce ourselves, Steve, as Chair of the Resident Forum, and Tony as Vice Chair.

Together with all our Involved Residents, we are committed, to getting Residents Forum back on track by working together so we can help to improve the business. This is a matter that holds equal importance for us as it does for Fairhive’s Executive Management Team and the Board.

We have also reviewed our Resident Engagement Framework and agreed new Terms of Reference for the Resident Forum and are really pleased that the Executive Management Team and Board members agreed with our proposals.

Our next steps will be to review our subgroups.

We currently have an Estates Services Group, a Residents Complaints Review Group, and a Design and Development Group. We also have a Task and Finish Group that carries out scrutiny by reviewing different areas of the business; and we are now forming a Policy Review Group which will be up and running soon. We plan to develop further groups in the future too.

The subgroups feedback to the Resident Forum so we can have an overview of the work they are doing. Resident Forum meets monthly, excluding holiday periods in August and December. The other groups generally meet every quarter.

We would really like to hear your voice and your ideas! We need residents to come forward, get involved, and join these groups as they are a great space to give your suggestions to help improve our services. You can support in a variety of ways, not only by coming to meetings but also by becoming a Block Inspector; completing surveys and taking part in consultations; sitting on one of our panels to assess and approve Nurture Your Neighbourhood applications or help judge the entries for our new employee recognition programme, Leading Edge.

It really can be rewarding with whatever time you have to give, as not all groups require a high level of time commitment. Fairhive can also arrange transport to meetings if needed.

If you feel you can support and would like to know more, please contact the Community Engagement Team on hello@fairhive.co.uk.

Steve and Tony Chair and Vice-Chair

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Get involved in our Festive Drawing Competition!

Thank you to all of those who got involved with our first drawing competition in the last issue.

We had some great entries for our under 12s category which made judging extra tricky, the winner was Fartashia, aged 10! Congratulations on your voucher. We would love to see some entries for the over 12s as unfortunately we didn’t receive any last time.

This competition is the perfect opportunity to showcase your skills and imagination!

How to Enter

1. Create a beautiful drawing that captures the essence of a Winter Wonderland in the space provided.

2. Send in your drawing, with your name and address to c/o The Communications Team, Fairfax House, 69 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2NJ. If you don’t want to part with your wonderful drawing, take a clear picture and send it to us at hello@fairhive.co.uk with your full name and address.

Competition Rules

Only one entry per person is allowed. Be sure to choose your best work! All entries must be received by 8th January 2023. Any submissions received after this date will not be considered.

By submitting your entry, you grant us permission to promote your artwork and share it online.

Judging and Prizes

Our panel of judges will carefully evaluate each entry based on creativity, technique, and interpretation of the theme (Winter Wonderland). The top entries will be selected for the following prizes: Under 12s: £20 shopping vouchers Over 12s: £20 shopping vouchers The winners will also have their artwork showcased on our website and social media platforms, giving them recognition.

Those under 16 will need their parent or guardians permission to enter this competition.

Good luck, and happy drawing!

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NEW PUZZLE FOR WINTER

£100 VOUCHER Return it with your name and address to Spot the Difference, c/o The Communications Team, Fairfax House, 69 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2NJ. The closing date for the entry draw is 8th January 2024 and the winner will receive a £100 voucher and have their name published in the next edition of Residents News!

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We are pleased to announce the winner of our Residents’ News Summer Issue Puzzle is Daphne Johnston. Congratulations on the shopping voucher.

Rent a garage with us as a low cost storage solution!

Our garages are safe and secure, located across Buckinghamshire and are affordable.

A Fairhive garage is ideal for: • additional storage space

• somewhere to keep your car

• a convenient parking space near your home, work or train station

First Contact home ‘Lifeline’ service

• a place to carry out your hobby (certain criteria apply).

For more information, visit our website fairhive.co.uk/rent-a-garage or contact our Garage Team directly on garages@fairhive.co.uk or 01296 732600

For more details please call

01296 732600

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Have your say in our Leading Edge Awards We believe in employee recognition for those colleagues who go above and beyond, leaving a lasting effect on the residents they work with. At Fairhive, we strive to recognise our employees, to create stronger relationships within teams and our organisation as a whole.

That’s why we’ve launched our recognition programme, Leading Edge.

Our panel, involving five employees and three volunteer residents, review Leading Edge nominations quarterly. Our two annual awards for you to get involved in include the following: • Residents Choice Award

Do you know of a Fairhive team member that demonstrates dedication and exceptional service?

We would love you to get involved by nominating your employee of the year in the Resident Choice Award or the Good Samaritan Award. Make your nominations before March 2024 by sending your nomination to hello@fairhive.co.uk. State the employee’s name, which award you’re nominating them for and an outline of why you think they deserve to win. Annual winners will be announced on our website, with the winner’s agreement.

• Good Samaritan Award

Award name

Behaviours

Resident Choice

Good communicator; takes ownership; represents us in a positive way, works well using time and resources efficiently; works well with others; listens to residents; improves services etc.

Good Samaritan

• Thinking of others ahead of themselves • A life-saving event • Compassionate, genuinely wants to help others.

Fairhive is able to produce this document in other languages and formats.

If you need these services, or those of an interpreter, please contact us.

Got any feedback about this issue of Residents News?

Please email hello@fairhive.co.uk or call us on 01296 732600 and ask for Communications.

Fairhive Homes Ltd Fairfax House, 69 Buckingham St, Aylesbury HP20 2NJ | Tel 01296 732600

fairhive.co.uk

Facebook.com/hellofairhive

@hellofairhive

@hellofairhive