To receive a presentation from Registered Social Landlords.

(Councillor AE Gray declared a personal interest)

 

The Committee received presentations from the Marches Housing Association Limited and Herefordshire Housing Limited.

 

These were two of the three Registered Social Landlords with most properties in Herefordshire, a presentation from Festival Housing Ltd having been made to the Committee in October 2007.

 

Presentation by Marches Housing Association Ltd (MH)

 

Mr D Hinchliffe (Managing Director) and Mr C Boote (Director of Operations) gave the presentation.

 

MH outlined the history of the Association noting that it was part of the Jephson Housing Association (JHA) group that owed around 14,000 homes nationally.    However, MH had a defined geographic area, its own financial arrangements and Board, the composition of which was described.  MH managed almost 2,800 homes, with a  turnover approaching £9m.  It had 75 staff based in a new office in Leominster and investors in people, and investors in excellence accreditation. The links with the group in terms of shared policy work and IT were described.

 

Resident involvement was fundamental to the way in which MH aspired to work. A range of initiatives for engaging with tenants was outlined.

 

In terms of performance, in 2006, MH had been in the top quartile for voids and arrears, the second quartile for relets, 3rd & bottom for repairs – but much better in 2007 although repairs performance had hit tenant satisfaction.  MH had sound finances with modest surpluses each year.

 

Stock investment was described noting that this was 99% decent homes compliant

with continued investment planned.

 

The target for new development had been 70 units pa, but this was now stepping up to 100 pa in recognition of housing need.   Developments under Section 106 agreements included Saxon Gate, Hereford and Kingstone.  Housing Corporation developments included South Street and Middlemarsh in Leominster.  Various developments were described and pictures of them shown. 

 

In recent assessments MH had received 4 green lights from the Housing Corporation, Chartermark assessment was awaited and quality housing services accreditation was being pursued.  There had been no recent Audit Commission inspection but MH had volunteered for inspection at short notice.

 

MH’s current priorities included changes to sheltered housing, strengthening resident involvement, new customer service standards, improving the repairs service, achieving top quartile performance and growing the Association.

 

In response to questions the following principal points were made:

 

·         MH confirmed that, with the exception of a very few properties reserved for people with particular needs, all of the Association’s properties in Herefordshire were allocated through the Home Point choice based lettings scheme.  One of the important features of this process was that, whilst applicants might not always like the outcome, the decisions made were transparent.

 

·         Asked about design standards of buildings MH explained that where properties were being provided under a Section 106 Agreement with a Developer, such as at Saxon Court, Hereford, MH had minimal input.   In those instances, properties were provided to standard designs prescribed by the developer.  In contrast where MH led on the design and procurement it had the freedom to be more creative.

 

·         In relation to energy efficiency, new buildings met the required national standards.  Some of the latest techniques were piloted on individual properties as experiments.  However, this was expensive, unless there was Housing Corporation Grant, and could not be trialled on all new properties. 

 

·         A new environmental policy had been introduced which also placed a greater emphasis on better efficiency for the existing stock.

 

·         In relation to specific issues raised about repairs at Saxon Court, Hereford MH said that this stemmed from the fact that MH was not in sole control of the development.

 

·         Asked about repairs generally MH explained that it had taken on a new contractor in April 2006.  There were often teething troubles when this happened.  These had taken longer than expected to overcome and whilst performance had now improved MH did not have confidence the contractor would achieve the standards of excellence required by MH and a new contractor was being sought.

 

·         It was asked how many of the 100 new houses per year MH said it  planned to build were to be in Herefordshire in 2008/09, whether it had identified land for development and what links there were with Parish Councils.  MH said that identifying sites in Herefordshire was a problem.  MH was strengthening its Development Team, noting the importance of ownership and planning permission having been secured, thereby demonstrating the capacity to deliver a scheme, in obtaining funding from the Housing Corporation.  Two developments were proposed in Herefordshire in 2008/09 totalling 36 units.  There were no large sites held for development.  Discussions were taking place with a number of Parish Councils on possible smaller sites.  The expectation was that most of the larger developments would be developer led.

 

·         The Cabinet Member (Environment and Strategic Housing) commented on the difficulty in obtaining planning permission for affordable housing.  He reported that he had held discussions with MH along with a range of organisations about how the Council might be able to help to identify sites.

 

·         MH’s plan to hold a seminar on affordable housing for Town and Parish Councils was discussed.  It was suggested that it would be beneficial if invitations could also be extended to Members of Herefordshire Council.

 

The Chairman thanked Mr Boote and Mr Hinchliffe.

 

 

Presentation by Herefordshire Housing Association Limited (HHL)

 

The report of the Audit Commission’s recent inspection of Herefordshire Housing Ltd had been circulated separately to Members of the Committee.  The Commission had assessed HHL as providing a “poor”, Zero star service that had uncertain prospects for improvement.

 

Mr Peter Brown, Chief Executive of Herefordshire Housing Ltd (HHL) gave the presentation.  He referred to the Audit Commission inspection result and its effect but said it was important to recognise that five years on from the stock transfer from the Council to HHL all the promises made at that time had been delivered.

 

He noted that HHL was the largest housing association in the area and the only one that worked solely with Herefordshire. HHL employed 215 people, and had a turnover of £18 million.

 

He described and praised the operation of the Careline providing

hour Telephone support to 19,000 customers, employing 30 people and generating income of £735,000.

 

He reported on the results of the Audit Commission’s other recent inspections of housing Associations (Two Rivers – 1 é and promising, Worcester Community – 2 é and promising, Gloucestershire – 0 é and promising, Festival – 2 é and promising, West Mercia – 2 é and promising).

 

He noted that the Audit Commission would revisit HHL in 12 -18 months time and he had set an ambitious target of a 1 é rating with excellent prospects for improvement.  He intended to achieve this through improved communication with customers, improved performance management, supported by accurate, timely and localised information, developing a culture that was open to review and challenge, being self critical and learning and actively seeking out and copying the best.

 

He had found staff knowledgeable, strong and willing to change and he wanted to harness and release their enthusiasm and energy.

 

The focus on  Customer Services to 2010 would involve better services with higher customer satisfaction, customer involvement being integral to the work; support for the development & improvement of Homepoint, repairs appointments offered and “right first time, in time”, the second  5-years of major works completion in sight, rising quality of life with environmental works underway; anti-social behaviour tackled, more support services for the more vulnerable and careline  delivering services to more people.

 

The action to build an excellent business by 2010 would involve multi-skilling for in-house maintenance teams, e-communication for everyone out on site, office outlets being appropriate and affordable, value for money per home improved, a wider range of customer involvement, streamlined governance and operations, Investors In People and quality accreditation, improving annual efficiency statements and all performance indicators being at the median or above.

 

The aim was for HHL to be a recognised and admired name in housing, playing a part in shaping regional and national agendas with an ongoing programme of development into future years, working closely with Edgar Street Grid, developing skills in a number of specialist areas and with careline continuing to develop and support the growth of HHL.

 

HHL had a lot of attributes with huge commitment.  It had a sound long-term financial plan, was attractive to lenders and had a strong asset base.  There was the potential for a huge success story.  People wanted HHL to succeed.

 

The following quick wins had been identified: Deliver the Audit Commission Action plan, get to know customers – data gathering, be passionate about diversity, plan, organise, mobilise and deliver.

 

Identified challenges were to improve service delivery, develop floating support through Supporting People, resolve direction on Disraeli Court and develop a programme of affordable housing.

 

He summarised his approach as being to clarify strategic direction, build unity and consensus, refresh sense of purpose, promote achievements externally, as a lot had been achieved, and mark a turning point for HHL.

 

In response to questions the following principal points were made.

 

·         Asked about an apparent contradiction in the Audit Commission report about rent collection and rent arrears, Mr Brown said that rent collection at 99% was high performance but rent arrears at 4.8% compared poorly with performance for the Region.

 

·         Mr Brown confirmed the level of the Association’s capital borrowing and that it was able to repay this debt.

 

·         Attention was drawn to a number of difficulties being experienced in Ross-on-Wye relating to repairs and anti-social behaviour.  It was asked whether external consultants were to be appointed to resolve these issues.  Mr Brown replied that because of the new perspective he himself was bringing to the organisation he could fulfil the role of a consultant, without incurring additional costs.

 

·         In terms of repairs there was a dilemma in that the Association employed a direct labour force that was highly thought of and had good response times.  However, the service did not represent good value for money.  He expected it would take 6-9 months for him to analyse this issue and decide what action to take.

 

·         The Association had a dedicated team to deal with antisocial behaviour issues and it would be important to ensure that that too delivered.

 

·         It was asked whether Herefordshire Housing would be involved in the seminar on affordable housing being proposed by MH.  Mr Brown said that the Council needed to work with all the Housing Associations in the County and that this was achieved through the Housing Association Forum.

 

·         Mr Brown advised that although affordable housing developments were in the pipeline his priority was to ensure that existing services were being delivered to the standard he expected.

 

·         The efficiency of the pre-cast reinforced concrete stock was questioned.  PB said that whilst relatively spacious his understanding was that these buildings did suffer to an extent from heat loss.

 

The Chairman thanked Mr Brown, wished him success in his endeavours and noted his willingness to provide a progress report to the Committee.

RESOLVED:  That Herefordshire Housing be invited to provide a further update to the Committee in six months time.