YourHome Magazine - Issue #7 - Spring 2021

Keeping our communities together during tough times

Westminster Housing Magazine | Issue No.7 | Spring 2021

Shaping new engagement options

A faster, more accessible website

Videos to keep you informed

Creating better ways to engage Get involved in shaping new resident engagement options for 2021–2024.

As part of our City for All strategy, we are committed to ensuring Westminster remains a welcoming and vibrant place for people from every background to live.

Over the past year, we have seen how the community has come together to support one another. Many housing residents has volunteered through Westminster Connects to help their neighbours and their local community. Our resident engagement team have been there for our most vulnerable residents by delivering food, making welfare calls and helping people who are out of work to find local employment.

Listening and acting on our residents’ feedback is absolutely key to improving and tailoring our housing services to meet your needs. It is important you feel empowered to engage with us and therefore, we want your opinion from next month on new resident engagement options.

In April, you will receive consultation materials by post outlining our proposals for resident engagement. These will include a feedback form to complete and send back to us in the enclosed return envelope within four weeks. You will also be able to provide your feedback online at westminster.gov.uk/housing/engagement

Welcome from Councillor Harvey

Become a key leaseholder

Cabinet Member responsible for Housing Services

Contact us by phone or email to volunteer for our key lessee scheme.

This group acts as a sounding board for issues for leaseholders.

We have all become well acquainted with our homes of late, be it working from kitchen tables, home-schooling our children, or virtually meeting with friends and family. Our homes have transformed to become our offices, classrooms and nurseries – for me, it has become a makeshift Councillor’s office.

2021 has already presented us with its challenges. Managing this sense of uncertainty continues to be our top priority for making sure all our residents feel safe, secure and comfortable in their homes.

From 1 April we will fully restore our repairs service and continue to follow all COVID-19 guidance for your and our safety. As always, our staff are available to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

Members of this group receive building and estate costs in advance to discuss and provide feedback on, before actual statements are sent out in September.

I want to thank residents for supporting their neighbours throughout the last few months. We will continue to help you and your families and with more vaccinations taking place, an end to this challenging time is in sight.

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If you are unable to complete the feedback form online or by post, once you have received the consultation materials, please phone us on 0800 358 3783 to help.

Your responses from this consultation will inform how we approach resident engagement from 2021–2024. After the consultation has ended, we will update you on how we have acted on your feedback, and before making any changes, to make sure your priorities are at the heart of resident engagement for housing services.

Thank you for taking part and providing us with your views this spring. If you have any questions about this consultation, or would like some help completing the survey once it’s sent to you in April, please don’t hesitate to contact us (details on the back page).

Image taken October 2019, pre-COVID restrictions

Another year of Green Flag gardens Churchill, Lillington and Longmoore Gardens estates in Pimlico, and Lisson Green in Marylebone, have all retained their Green Flag award status for being ‘quality green spaces’.

Parks and open spaces have become more important than ever during these difficult times and these awards are an outstanding achievement for our staff and residents who work so hard to keep these areas well maintained and thriving.

Changes to your payments

Restoring repair services

Paying your rent or service charges, as well as viewing your accounts, is quick and easy with your MyWestminsterHousing online account.

From 1 April 2021 our repairs service will return to the full service we offered before COVID-19.

In March, we inform tenants of new rent costs for the year. We also provide leaseholders with an estimated cost for service charges, including building insurance and ground rent.

Log onto your online account at westminster.gov.uk/housing/ mywestminsterhousing

All our contractors will wear appropriate PPE at all times and are required to complete a health assessment daily. A contractor reporting any symptoms will not be allowed to work for 14 days.

Watch our video ‘Repairs and maintenance during COVID-19’ to find out how all our work is to government’s ‘COVID-19 Secure’ guidance. Visit youtube.com/westminstercitycouncil.

For out more about repairs at westminster.gov.uk/housing

Find out more about billing in your handbook at westminster. gov.uk/housing/handbooks

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Working hard despite the challenges of COVID-19 During the past year, to keep your essential services running, our staff have been working hard around the clock, despite the challenges caused by the pandemic.

They have been manning our area service centres, getting out on our estates supporting residents young and old, answering and making calls, and helping the most vulnerable in our community through Westminster Connects.

Recently, we spoke with three of our housing staff members about the work they have been doing to support you during COVID-19.

We are proud of staff across the council, from housing officers, to city inspectors, to waste collectors, for continuing to deliver essential services for residents across the city.

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Betim, Estate Services Manager “I am responsible for all Estate Services, from St John’s Wood to Vauxhall Bridge Road, and I manage a team of six staff members.

Since March of last year, myself and my team have been out every day, ensuring urgent tasks such as cleaning, health and safety checks, and emergency repairs get done. At times we have had some staff self-isolating, but we have always found a solution.

I have three children, a nine-year-old, a five-year-old and a new baby. It’s scary knowing there is a virus out there, but I am a key worker and have a duty to residents.

I am grateful to our residents who have been so patient and understanding during this time. There has been a real sense of community, and I’m proud of us all for carrying on.”

Mohammed, Housing Services Officer “I have lived in Westminster all of my life and I have worked for the council for more than eleven years.

Since the pandemic hit, I have come into the office everyday with my team. To protect both staff and our residents, we have been hosting residents’ meetings online, having discussions and updates about key issues such as anti-social behaviour and major works, as well as our weekly surgeries, which have proved very successful.

We regularly check-in with our residents to see how we can assist them, and I’m thankful to our caretakers who have been able to deliver letters and put up important notices in the communal areas of our buildings.

All teams across the service have really stepped up during this time, and together we really have demonstrated the values of our City for All vision. I truly believe that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. We will get through this as a community.”

Rukshana, Westminster Connects Team Manager “When the second wave of the virus hit, I was moved from my role in resident engagement to help in Westminster Connects to support the most vulnerable residents in our community.

During the past year, my team has been reaching out to our shielding residents to see how we can assist during this time. This might involve coordinating volunteers to deliver shopping or prescriptions, or linking a resident who is feeling isolated to our befriending service.

We are also supporting residents through automated welfare calls during this difficult time. Through this, residents can let us know if they need help and we can refer them to a relevant service such as a food bank or a therapy service.

I want to remind residents that there is no shame in asking for help. If you think you need support, please don’t hesitate to call us.

We can listen and help you access the services you need.”

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A faster, more accessible website We are committed to meeting – and exceeding wherever possible – vital accessibility standards for our residents. As part of our City for All plans, our new website now provides a seamless and intuitive online experience that puts accessibility at the heart of everything.

The new site has been designed to help you find what you need faster while enjoying a bright, seamless and contemporary look and feel. All housing information, reporting functions and transaction services are integrated, meaning you can receive a more connected and intuitive online experience.

By providing an improved and more inclusive website, we hope it will encourage you to use our digital services to find the information you need faster than ever before, and to benefit from the convenience of online transactions.

Visit westminster.gov.uk now to experience the difference.

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Who’s really knocking on your door?

There has been an increase in doorstep scams lately.

These involve criminals knocking on doors, posing as tradespeople or council officers, and providing false information to gain access to your home. Sadly, this has resulted in burglaries, as well as several residents being scammed out of money and personal information.

We urge you to help us take a stand against scams and be more aware than ever before of potential criminals. Bogus doorstep callers account for around 5% of all scams, according to research by Citizens Advice.

Scammers often target older people as they are more likely to be at home during the day and are seen as being easier to intimidate or confuse.

Unfortunately, more criminals are taking advantage of COVID-19, and we expect this type of activity to become more frequent. To protect and prevent you from becoming a victim, we have increased walkabouts and safety checks across estates, where safe to do so. We ask you to be more alert and vigilant, especially when somebody unknown to you knocks on your door.

Remember, we do not carry out cold calls for tenancy matters, repairs, gas, safety or utility checks.

Unless it is an absolute emergency, we will always contact you via phone or letter first and will make an appointment with you before coming to your home.

If you are in any doubt at all as to whether a caller is genuine, simply refuse to let them into your home and instead phone us on 0800 358 3783. We value your right to feel safe and it is in no way an inconvenience to us for you to check if a caller is genuine.

Scoring our performance Serving and keeping our residents happy is a key priority as your landlord. As such, you can expect to know how we are performing in areas such as repairs, complaints, safety and how money is being spent.

These measures and others will inform the annual report that we are putting together. We will cover our performance over the past two financial years and want to know what matters to you and your ideas on how we can be more transparent.

To share your views take our quick and easy online survey at westminster.gov.uk/housing/online-group. Here you can sign up to our online survey group and highlight which areas of performance you would like to see covered. The report is due out later this summer.

By completing the survey, you can tell us what is most important to you and hold us to account with our performance both to date and moving forward.

We look forward to seeing your responses to the survey by 30 April.

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Bayazid keeps his finger on the pulse for Lisson Green Having lived in Westminster his entire life, Resident Liaison Officer Bayazid Miah knows the Church Street area and its people better than most. He’s a familiar face to the many residents he visits and, as such, he’s in an ideal position to be the first point of contact for residents who have queries about major works in progress at the Lisson Green estate.

Bayazid says that being a Westminster local, combined with his wealth of knowledge of the area and its residents, has been a significant benefit in his role. He’s a trusted part of the community and can understand and assist from a place of empathy. He builds further on this foundation of trust by having the language skills needed to relate and communicate in a genuine manner with residents. He also doesn’t have to travel far (keeping carbon emissions low), which allows him to be hands-on and available to respond quickly.

The community clearly value Bayazid. “During this most challenging of times, when the rules on human contact are constantly changing and residents are understandably concerned about letting anyone into their homes, you couldn’t find a more knowledgeable, understanding and friendly person to talk to than Bayazid,” says Achim, a local resident.

Videos designed to help We have produced a series of helpful videos designed to assist you with everyday topics such as: • How to sign up for your MyWestminsterHousing online account This is our 24/7 online service where you can request and view repairs, make payments and update contact details at a time that suits you.

• Understanding tenant repair responsibilities Explaining which repairs and maintenance are your responsibility and which are ours.

• All about COVID-19 safe repairs and maintenance Detailing the precautions, we have put in place to protect residents, staff and contractors while carrying out essential repairs, maintenance and safety checks.

These are now online in our Housing Services playlist at youtube.com/westminstercitycouncil. More videos will be launched during the coming months covering antisocial behaviour, resetting electrics, and health and safety in your home.

The videos can also be found in your MyWestminsterHousing online account. Sign up by visiting westminster.gov.uk/housing/ mywestminsterhousing.

Once your account has been created, you will be able to update your contact details, request and review repairs made and make payments – all at a time that suits you best, from the comfort and safety of your home.

Bayazid isn’t letting the pandemic curb his enthusiasm.

“I am passionate about engaging with the local community and look forward to becoming even further involved in community projects,” he says.

If like Bayazid you want to find a role that suits you, our dedicated employment team can help you find work in and around Westminster. Find out more at westminster.gov.uk/housing/ employment-opps or telephone 0800 358 3783.

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“It has been a privilege to play a small part in these deliveries”

Special deliveries for our elderly and sheltering residents In winter, with the help of many partners and volunteers, we delivered more than 2,000 special packages to our elderly and sheltering residents.

Afternoon tea boxes, containing tasty edible treats, and hampers, including a variety of wintry goodies, were delivered to households across Westminster. Many local volunteers and partners came together to make this activity a success, including Cllr David Harvey, who personally delivered some of the packages to residents’ doors.

“It has been a privilege to play a small part in these deliveries,” he says, “and it has been great to

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see so many Councillors and Council Officers get stuck in, delivering what I am certain are incredibly welcomed gifts after such a tough year.”

Many residents sent in messages of thanks including one resident who wrote “Nowadays, there is a strong feeling of isolation about and communications such as the food hamper make a connection with others that re-establishes the sense of being part of a big group.”

Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time or donated goods to this activity, and for helping to bring a smile to many residents during a very challenging time. We hope these packages provided some joy during what has been a difficult period for us all.

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What the Charter for Social Housing means for you

The Charter sets out what you should expect, including:

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has set out The Charter for Social Housing Residents: Social Housing in a White Paper.

• to know how your landlord is performing – including repairs, complaints, safety and how money is spent, so that they can be held accountable

The Charter makes clear the standards that every social tenant in England can expect from their landlords. As Prime Minister Boris Johnson says in the paper’s introduction: “...the idea that social tenants are less worthy of respect or can be ignored when their views are inconvenient remains all too prevalent today.”

• to be safe in your home – we will work with landlords to ensure safety and security

• to have complaints dealt with promptly and fairly – with access to a strong Ombudsman who will give swift and fair redress when needed • to be treated with respect – tenants will be backed by a strong consumer regulator and be given improved consumer standards

The objectives are to make you feel safe and secure in your home, to enable you to get problems fixed before they spiral out of control, and to see exactly how we are dealing with complaints.

• to improve resident and landlord relationships – by having your voice heard, through regular landlord meetings, scrutiny panels and by being on its Board.

The Government will provide help, if you want it, to give you the tools to ensure your landlord listens

We support this White Paper entirely and are working to this outline to improve services while giving residents a stronger voice.

• to be supported to take your first step to ownership, should your circumstances allow it – acting as a ladder to other opportunities too.

Read the Charter at gov.uk/housing-local-andcommunity/housing

Do we have your correct contact details?

Please keep your contact details up to date for when we need to send out essential information. Take a moment to think about whether your phone number, email address or other contact information is correct.

You can update your details through your MyWestminsterHousing online account or by contacting us at housing.enquiries@westminster.gov.uk

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Advocating for leaseholders As the Deputy Cabinet Member for Housing Services with Westminster City Council, Cllr Richard Elcho has been given the responsibility of leaseholder relations. This means that he advocates for leaseholders to ensure they get the best possible service from the council. He has been working closely with the leasehold team on areas such as service charges and lease extensions. He also took part in their first ever leaseholder conference. Visit westminster.gov.uk/leaseholder-conference to find out more.

If you are in need of extra advice, Cllr Elcho and the leasehold team can be contacted at housing.enquiries@westminster.gov.uk, or by calling 0800 358 3783

Working to improve leaseholder services During 2020 we took on board feedback from our leaseholders and made the following service improvements: Æ Transformed the leaseholder handbook Æ Made it possible to register your sublet online westminster.gov.uk/sublet-your-home Æ Launched online appointments that you can book at westminster.gov.uk/housing/leaseholderbooking Æ Created a video to help you better understand your lease Æ Reformatted bills to make them clearer With positive feedback following our first leaseholder conference in September 2020 (which saw 200 leaseholders sign up), we have decided to make this an annual event. We recognise that there is still some way to go and are committed to delivering a high level of customer service, continual improvements and listening to feedback.

Service charges annual process

uary to Mar ch Jan

We work on service charges throughout the year: • Investigating and responding to queries

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• Providing assignment packs and liaising with solicitors

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• Providing consent to alteration applications

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• Investigating and tackling short-let reports

ec O cto b er to D

• Carrying out the Section 20 consultation and observation process

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Ap

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• Continuous improvements on billing process based on feedback we receive

January to March

April to September

October to December

• Preparing to send out estimated service charge invoices along with major work invoices for all projects which have been issued with a Section 20 notice

• Preparing for your actualised service charge statements for the previous year

• Holding online surgery sessions for a week to allow you to discuss any queries you may have about your actualised service charge invoice

• Holding online surgery sessions for a week so you can discuss any queries you may have about your estimated service charge invoice

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• Sending out key lessee scheme information and replying to all the enquiries submitted • Holding our annual leaseholder conference

• Preparing for the estimated service charges for the following year

• Sending out actualised service charge statements/invoices by the end of September

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Latest on local testing and vaccines The NHS is working hard to vaccinate everyone, starting with high priority groups. Your GP will contact you directly once it is your turn to receive a vaccination.

The sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to normal. We know many of you have questions about vaccinations, and our website provides a wealth of information. Our recent live Q&A with the Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment, Nadhim Zahawi, also answered many concerns.

Please visit westminster.gov.uk/ vaccinations to watch a recording.

In the meantime, testing is the most effective way to control the spread of coronavirus. If you have symptoms, please make an appointment to be tested at one of three local test centres listed below by either phoning 119, or by booking online at gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test Æ Greenside Community Centre, 24 Lilestone Street Marylebone, NW8 8SR

Æ Grosvenor Hall, Vincent Street, SW1P 4HB Æ Lydford Tenants and Residents Hall, 74 Fernhead Road, W9 3EW Although it is vital we all stay at home as much as possible, if you are in the position of having to leave home for work or volunteering purposes, it is critically important that you get tested weekly, even if you feel well.

The following rapid testing sites provide results on the same day and you do not need to make an appointment to attend: Æ Little Venice Sports Centre, 10 Crompton Street, W2 1ND Æ Moberly Sports Centre, 25 Chamberlayne Road, NW10 3NB Æ The Church House Conference Centre, Great Smith Street, SW1P 3NZ More information on the testing sites in Westminster can be found at westminster.gov.uk/covid

Keeping communal areas clear When you live in a building with communal areas, such as a block of flats, you need to be mindful of safety measures in order to help keep everyone safe in the case of an emergency.

Leaving items on staircases, in hallways and around entrances is not only untidy, it creates a severe hazard for emergency services trying to get to your home in case of an incident. Please do check with us first if you need to leave items

Contact us 0800 358 3783 housing.enquiries@westminster.gov.uk Leaseholders can also make appointments online at westminster.gov.uk/housing/leaseholderbooking

outside your flat to ensure they are placed in appropriate places if they cannot fit within your home. Similarly, leaving rubbish in communal areas can be just as dangerous. So, think carefully about what you do with your rubbish and how you dispose of it swiftly and safely. Should you need storage for your items, you can apply online for a garage or shed space at westminster.gov.uk/ housing/make-request. Please tell us if you notice belongings or rubbish in communal areas of your building so we can take appropriate action.

Get the latest updates online Our website is updated daily with detailed advice and the latest information about COVID-19, including restrictions, testing, vaccines, what you can do to protect yourself, and its impact on services.

We urge all residents to sign up for regular email updates at westminster.gov.uk/newsletters

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