ADULLAM HOMES HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED...ASSOCIATION LIMITED BUSINESS PLAN 2009-2014 Restoring...

ADULLAM HOMES HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED

BUSINESS PLAN 2009-2014

Restoring Hope and Dignity through quality housing and support

Adullam Business Plan 2009-2014 Approved by Board 24 March 2009 Next Interim Review due: March 2010

Adullam Business Plan 2009-2014 Approved by Board 24 March 2009 2


CONTENTS

Page Introduction 5

1. Executive Summary 7

2. Vision and Strategic Objectives 9

3. History 10

4. Operational Infrastructure 11

5. Services currently provided by us and markets in which we operate 12

6. What our residents say about us 19

7. Where we are now 20

8. Where we are going and business targets for 2009/2010 24

9 Financial Plan 31

10 Conclusion 36

Appendix 1 Corporate Strategy for the next 5 years

Appendix 2 Implementation plan for next 5 years and annual targets for year 1

Appendix 3 Top 10 Risks facing Adullam


This Business Plan was co-ordinated by a group consisting of the following people:

David Priaulx, Vice Chair of the Board Richard Lethbridge, Board Member Steve Woods Director of Business Development Elaine Sharkey, Director of Supported Housing David Balderston, Director of Finance


Introduction

When Walter Moore used his own money to purchase the first houses for Adullam, he was putting his Christian faith into action and committing himself to working and supporting vulnerable people, by providing a home and a place of safety. This was nearly 40 years ago. Adullam continues to deliver Walter’s objective of places of safety and today supports over 1000 people at any one time, across the Midlands, North West and Merseyside. We have entered a period of terrific change in the housing sector with the establishment of the Tenant Services Authority and the Homes and Communities Agency taking over from the respective regulation and investment work of the Housing Corporation. Supporting People funding is transferring to Local Authority Area Based Grant whilst also we are seeing various approaches to choice and individual budgets. The latter part of 2008 and early 2009 have seen the UK suffer the early implications of the ‘credit crunch’. The growing number of unemployed in our country, the large number of empty houses, the implications of increasing homelessness and feelings of despair, the spectre of negative equity and the long term burden that this will impose on families and households are all significant events that will have long term implications for both our country and the work of Adullam. We are now regularly having to submit tenders for our work and have become keenly aware of the significant costs that this additional burden places on Adullam; but we are intent on playing our part of “Restoring hope and dignity through quality housing and support” and firmly believe that Adullam offers the best solution to the needs of vulnerable people, in terms of both quality and price. At the start of 2009 we are thrilled to have been awarded ‘Investor in Excellence’ status, an external accreditation, based upon the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model, which reveals our commitment to continuous improvement. The last year has also seen the Association being newly commissioned for work countywide in Staffordshire and for work with excluded families, following on from the highly successful work done in Staffordshire Moorlands. We adopted Jim Collins Good to Great principles in 2007 and have seen over the last couple of years a refreshment of our mission statement and Corporate Strategy which in turn has led to the restructure of the senior staff team. We now have an excellent senior leadership team at Adullam to deliver on our key Corporate Strategic objectives. The Directors of Adullam, Finance, Business Development and Supported Housing were tasked to develop this business plan and will lead on its implementation.


As part of our developing business, we are excited with the prospect of developing a new Social Enterprise to respond to training and education and to address worklessness within our target groups. We work day by day with so called “hard to reach groups” so it is a natural progression that we can develop our business in this way. During 2008, we have seen the wonderful development of Friends of Adullam that creates real opportunities for relationships with business, church and individuals. We are committed to developing this work which creates real hope and support for our residents when they move on to independent living. Adullam has seen real purposeful investment into its housing stock during 2008/09. We will achieve our work on decent homes standards during this next year and as you will see from this business plan, we are planning to develop new and improved facilities/properties and homes. The work that Walter started in 1972 is set to flourish even further as we continue to have our residents at the very heart of our work. Anne Bishop – Chair Trevor Palfreyman – Chief Executive March 2009


1. Executive Summary

1.1 The business plan has been prepared with the involvement of senior staff and Board members. We have consulted with staff, residents and stakeholders to inform our views and shape our strategy.

1.2 Following a review of our Corporate Strategy during the latter parts of 2008, the Board has specified the strategy as shown in Appendix 1, with the 3 key priorities being Profile, Development and People.

1.3 In early 2009, following on from this above work, the Board and Senior Leadership Team agreed that the values of Adullam have been refreshed to be:

• Valuing the individual • Integrity and fairness

• Striving for excellence

1.4 Further work is being undertaken to consult with the staff of Adullam so that we may capture and define the behaviours that are

linked to our values in order that those behaviours and our values reflect the way in which we work and the way in which we expect to treat others.

1.5 We recognise that we have a high degree of commitment from both the staff and the Board to the work of the Association and the

ethos and values that we uphold. These are critical to the delivery of the targets specified in Appendix 2.

1.6 In producing this business plan, we have collated information from a range of sources, considered the environment within which we operate, and we have held workshops with the Board and Senior Leadership Team to consider our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This work has informed and identified the strategy laid down in Appendix 1.

1.7 We recognise the need to set targets for the Association and benchmark our performance against that of other Housing Associations. We will be identifying other similar organisations over the next year against which we can benchmark our performance. In the meantime we have identified a number of Key performance Indicators (KPIs) and key Business indicators (KBIs) that we will be monitoring to improve our performance.


1.8 We have reviewed our Risk Management Strategy in parallel with the business plan identifying what we feel are our most significant areas of risk; these are identified in Appendix 3.

1.9 We recognise that the regulator for ourselves has changed to the Tenant Service Authority (TSA) and we will take advantage of opportunities to influence the regulatory framework which they develop. We also recognise the development of the Homes and Communities Agency and will access any capital funds made available through this agency.

1.10 We also recognise the fundamental changes in the Supporting People regime as the funding moves to area based grants and becomes unringfenced, and look forward to working with the Local Authorities to ensure this can be used to the advantage of our residents. We also recognise the threats this change produces for our business model.

1.11 We are developing an annual planning process for each area of the Association which will take us forward to the next review of the business plan in 2014.


2. Vision and Strategic Objectives 2.1 Adullam was founded with the objective of providing housing on a fair and equitable basis for vulnerable people in greatest need.

We acknowledge that certain groups and individuals are discriminated against and are committed to taking positive steps to help redress the effects of unfair discrimination and disadvantage, in order to ensure that equality of opportunity becomes an integral feature of all our activities.

2.2 Adullam is a Housing Association whose ethos is founded upon Christian values and principles. Our Christian values and principles underpin our ideals and guide our day to day work as we strive for the highest standards of professional practice. The values identified by the Board of Adullam are:

• Valuing the individual • Integrity and fairness

• Striving for excellence

2.3 Our Mission Statement Restoring Hope and Dignity through quality housing and support encapsulates our overall objectives

and everything that we do.

2.4 Our aims are set out in our Corporate Strategy which is attached as Appendix 1.


3. History

The values and culture of Adullam is shaped by its history and so it is important to look at this in more detail. Adullam was founded in 1972 by Walter Moore MBE in the Birmingham area. The name “Adullam” comes from the Old Testament part of the Bible. The caves of Adullam were the refuge for David as he fled from King Saul. They eventually became a shelter for “all those who were in distress or in debt or discontented”. Following the 1974 Housing Act, Adullam became a registered Housing Association. Since then the Association has developed steadily, and we now accommodate nearly 800 people in shared housing, hostels and single flats, as well as providing support and advice services in the community. Adullam has seen steady growth in the number of units that it provides over the last 5 years. This growth has been a combination of the purchase and

development of our own accommodation, and working in partnership with other Housing Associations to take more of their units into our management, and providing support services.

Walter Moore MBE

In April 2008 we had 756 bedspaces and 281 floating support spaces. Of the bedspaces, 345 (43%) relate to properties we rent from other Housing Associations. Of those available, according to figures from December 2008, 734 bedspaces and 286 floating support spaces were occupied. In terms of funding, in December 2008, 60 % of our income came from Supporting People funding and 40% from rents


4. Operational Infrastructure 4.1 Adullam is governed by an experienced voluntary Board of Management, which has delegated day-to-day operational

management to the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team. The Board operates through three sub committees, which oversee key areas of work. These are the Audit and Compliance Sub Committee, the Stock Investment and Asset Management Sub Committee (SIAM) and the Remuneration Committee, all of which comprise Board members and other independent voluntary sub committee members.

4.2 The Chief Executive leads the Senior Leadership Team of the Association. He has 3 other Directors:

• Director of Supported Housing who manages the day to day operations of the Association and takes responsibility for

HR, Asset management and quality assurance • Director of Business Development who has responsibility for identifying and taking forward new business opportunities • Director of Finance who manages Finance, and IT

4.3 There are a number of internal groups which ensure that policies and procedures are implemented consistently nationally including:

• Senior Leadership Team • Supported Housing Group • HR Forum • Resident Involvement Group

4.4 The Association has developed a Risk Management Framework and Risk Register. This complements operational management

in that it encourages the identification and quantification of all the risks which occur due to the operations of the Association. The Risk Register will be reviewed annually by the Board and all changes to the operations of the Association, or to the environment in which the Association operates, will be recorded and assessed.


4.5 The top 10 areas of risk are detailed in Appendix 3.

These can be summarised into two broad areas:

• Loss of funding - this could be due to a number of factors (e.g. not winning tenders for new work; increasing arrears and voids; reduction in funding available to commissioners etc)

• Loss of reputation - this could also be due to a number of factors (e.g. failure to deliver contractual obligations; a major incident affecting a service; reduction in quality of a service etc)

Each factor is listed separately in the Risk Register.

4.6 Appendix 2 describe the business plan targets and identify lead Directors for each target. These will then form their objectives

over the next 5 years and the achievement reviewed annually. The Board will receive feedback on progress in November each year and this will feed into the annual targets set for the following year.

5. Services currently provided by us 5.1 Adullam develops and manages services that are suited to the needs and requirements of people with support needs.

5.2 We are continuing to develop our expertise and our range of services in our core areas, and will consider related needs as they

arise. We do not discriminate against any specific support need, rather we look at our own experience and assess whether we have the skills to develop the required support service.

5.3 The delivery of our services is based on three important considerations: • An accurate assessment of a person's particular needs • An agreed support service relevant to those needs • Co-operative working relationships with other relevant organisations


5.4 We currently offer the following types of accommodation, as appropriate to the needs of the individual: • 24 hour fully staffed hostel provision • A range of shared and self contained properties dispersed within communities, owned or managed by Adullam • Housing advice and support on a drop in basis • Contracted out support services, where Adullam offers support to other Registered Social Landlords (RSL’s) or Local

Authority residents 5.5 A review of our statistical data undertaken in December 2008 reveals:

Accommodation by Client Group 2008/2009

6857

12

366

38

207

8

Teenage parents

Aids/HIV

Substance Misuse

Ex offenders

Mental health

Single homeless

Women at risk

Fig 1

At 31 December 2008, 93% of our residents are in receipt of housing benefit. Review of data from previous years reveals that this

has been a consistent proportion. Given the current increases in worklessness this may be expected to increase although the sectors in which our residents are employed seem less affected than other groups.


5.6 Our accommodation is in a wide geographical area, although for operational purposes we have designated these into six

strategic areas as shown in figure 2 below.

41%

23%5%

19%

1% 11%

West Midlands

East Midlands

Cheshire and Staffordshire

Merseyside

High Peak and DerbyshireDalesGreater Manchester andLancashire

Fig 2

5.7 In the year 2008/09 we had 644 admissions for our 786 bed spaces, a turnover rate of 82%, illustrating that many residents come to us for a relatively short period of time in their lives, receiving help and support that enables them to move on.

5.8 43% of bed spaces are not owned by Adullam but are managed by us on behalf of other Housing Associations. This creates a significant risk to the Association. One of our key strategies is to expand the number of properties we own.

5.9 We currently work with 30 Local Authorities and 28 Housing Associations.


5.10 Referrals received between April and December 2008:

Referrals April - Dec 2008

19.50%

4.55%

30.66%10.07%

12.51%

3.98%

15.91%

2.82%

Local Authority Housing

Local Authority Social Services

Probation

Health

Voluntary sector

Self referral

Internal transfer

Other

Fig 3

Review of these referrals allows us to consider our market place and areas where we should be expanding or contracting the business.

5.11 Outcomes - Where our residents go when they leave our services: In the year to 31 March 2009, 666 residents left our accommodation and 301 clients left the floating support service.


Figure 4 shows where residents went and fig 5 shows where floating support clients went

Accommodation Departures

32%

14%14%13%

6%5%

5%3%3% 2%1%1%

1%

Moved to independent tenancy 212

Given notice by Adullam 92

Bed and breakfast 92

In supported housing 86

Staying w ith family 39

Staying w ith friends 32

Disappeared/property abandoned 31

Custody 23

Short term supported housing 22

Floating support completed 14

Tenancy started incorrectly 8

Deceased 7

Evicted through court-arrears 4

Fig 4


Floating Support Departures

64%10%

7%5%

5% 4% 3% 1%1%

Floating support completed 188

Disappeared/propertyabandoned 31Other 21

Moved to independent tenancy16Staying w ith family 14

In supported housing 12

Staying w ith friends 9

Custody 3

Short term supported housing 3

Fig 5

These graphs show several positive features. Of the ex residents, 32% move on to having their own tenancy within the Local Authority, RSL or private landlord markets. However this increases to 59% if we include those who find other permanent accommodation with family, friends or other supported housing.


Only 23 moved back into custody, and this can be compared to the 478 referrals we received in April to December 2008; this gives us a 95% success rate in keeping ex offenders out of prison.

It is also worth noting that only 4 residents were evicted for being in arrears and 2 (this figure is too small to show on the pie chart) for anti social Behaviour. It is probable that the majority of those who abandoned the property did so because legal action was pending against them but even so this still gives us a 95% success rate in giving residents a successful tenancy.

On floating support we have a successful completion rate of 64%. We also have 17% who move on to other accommodation

before completion of their floating support plan, but this can also be seen as a success, boosting the success rate to 81%. A further 10% leave their current residence and cannot be traced.

Only 3 of our floating support clients re-offend and bearing in mind that 1 in 3 of our clients are ex offenders. These statistics emphasise that the services we provide are providing good quality outcomes. However it is also important to

look at individual case studies to gain more of an insight into what our services are achieving. Each project is encouraged to record case studies and to share good practice nationally.

Inclusiveness 5.12 The majority of those who either apply or are referred to Adullam are experiencing a degree of social exclusion that prevents

them from believing that they can make a positive contribution to, or gain any sense of well being from, their community.

5.13 We accept people for who they are and acknowledge the practical difficulties that will inevitably be experienced as attempts are made to move away from a negative situation.

5.14 Those that apply or are referred to Adullam could be: • Homeless – caused by loss of accommodation as a result of a range of issues including custodial sentence, rent

arrears from a previous landlord, anti social behaviour, substance misuse or ill health whether mental or physical • Workless – leading to poverty, social isolation and loneliness; or have • Poor daily living, social or educational skills; or • Mental health issues (e.g. a personality disorder)


5.15 Many who apply to Adullam have more than one of the above disadvantages, which they may have lived with for a number of

years.

5.16 Our support services are professional, non-judgmental and designed to offer individuals the opportunity to take the steps that they need to re-establish a meaningful place in their community.

5.17 We believe that the need to work collaboratively with local communities, agencies and statutory authorities is intrinsic to the development of good, current, support structures for our service users in order that their needs are promoted.

6. What our residents say about us

The information below was extracted from exit questionnaires completed by residents between April and December 2008:

93.6% of respondents said the Quality of service received was either excellent or good.

90.4% said they had received the service they wanted and needed.

90.3% said that the Support Programme had met all of their needs.

93.6% said they would recommend Adullam to a friend if they were in need of similar help

93.6% were either very satisfied or mostly satisfied with the amount of help they received

93.5% said the services they received helped them deal more effectively with their needs

93.27% were either very satisfied or mostly satisfied with the service they received.

90.5% said they would come back to Adullam if they were to need help again.

93.6% found Adullam accommodation either excellent or good.

90.4% found the furnishings were either excellent or good.


7 Where we are now SWOT Analysis Strengths 7.1 Key strengths have been identified as:

• Adaptability – Adullam is flexible, receptive and responsive to fast changing situations, and able to adapt its services accordingly. We can demonstrate innovation in developing new projects to meet the needs of different sectors in society, as well as being able to withdraw from projects that are not working.

• There is a high degree of staff commitment, with a staff body of hardworking and supportive staff.

• Adullam has a good reputation in the sector in which it operates. This applies both to Local Authorities and other Housing Associations.

• The Association has a solid financial base which will allow it to carry out its objectives in the five year business plan, although it will not be able to achieve all its objectives using only internally generated resources.

• We provide a high level of support to residents, offering a crucial service, giving a chance and opportunity to people who are often otherwise marginalised. Our accommodation is of a high standard, with many new build properties that are well maintained. This is evidenced by the responses that we received through the residents’ survey.

• Our Christian ethos.

• The diversity of services that we provide means that we have a variety of skills and specialisms, and a spread of risk.

• We have a growing and developing diverse Board.

• Restructured Senior Leadership Team which is designed to respond to the new challenges we face.

• Ability to continuously improve as evidenced by the achievement of the ‘Investor in Excellence’ award.

• We have a comprehensive Health and Safety system which ensures staff and residents are safe.


Weaknesses 7.2 Our weaknesses have been identified as:

• Some of our projects are geographically dispersed, which could lead to a feeling of detachment from belonging to a larger organisation, leading to inconsistencies in operation.

• The mixture of the necessity of having a low cost base but also being able to recruit the right people with the right skills is a challenge for us in a competitive market, particularly when faced with high staff turnover. This has led in some cases to an over reliance on agency staff, and a need to reduce staff turnover.

• We are too reliant on Supporting People Grant. 60% of our income is received from this source, and with the uncertainty surrounding future funding levels and cuts, this places us at considerable risk.

• External Communications and marketing our brand.

• We do not bench mark as extensively as we could. Bench marking is always difficult because of the specialised nature of our work, and the lack of comparable organisations, but we do not use targets as extensively as we should to measure our own improvement and performance against current standards.

• Community and resident involvement. .

Opportunities

7.3 Our opportunities have been identified as:

• We work with a number of different client groups nationally, and there are opportunities to increase and diversify our work in a number of areas, linking them to Local Authority strategies.

• With the push towards fewer Housing Associations nationally, there are opportunities for us to look at working with other smaller Housing Associations, sharing particularly our growing expertise on Quality Assessment Frameworks. As part of our response to this opportunity, we will consider the most appropriate strategy for working in partnership with other RSL’s.

• We have opportunities to expand into other funding streams, for example Health, Social Services and Local Government development grants.


• We have many staff with a great deal of experience and expertise, and there are very real opportunities to share those

internally.

• Our increasing work with residents shows us that we have many opportunities to grow and improve through harnessing the work being done through the Resident Involvement Group.

• The strength of our Balance Sheet.

• Grants from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) are becoming more flexible and available for wider objectives.

Threats 7.4 Our threats have been identified as:

• The political agenda and legislative drivers in a range of different areas that affect the housing sector, including Supporting People and the efficiency agenda.

• Our ability to recruit and retain staff will have a direct bearing on our ability to provide a high level of service that continues to be purchased by Supporting People teams.

• Competition from other supported needs providers in a market where choice will increase the number of suppliers.

• Funding for Supporting People and the pressure that is being faced nationally, with the requirement for significant cuts to Local Authority budgets.

• The political agenda of general needs Housing Associations, including a reluctance to take our clients as move on residents and reviewing their position on Supporting People and entering or leaving the market place.

• Removal of ring fence on Supported People grants. The Environment in which we operate 7.5 An analysis of the Political/Legal, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST analysis) environment in which Adullam operates

reveals the following:


Political/Legal • Change in government • Local politics – change in ruling party • HB changes – payments direct to residents (Supported

Housing currently exempt) • Decent homes • Rent influencing • Best value • Regional housing committees • Maintaining good relationships with new Regulators –

Tenant Services Authority (TSA) /Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Supporting People teams

• Supporting People and its future • Criminal Records Bureau • Housing Law • Health and Safety legislation • Disability Discrimination Act

Economic

• Supporting People Funding • Interest rates • Treasury management • Inflation rates • Employment of residents • Competition for Supporting People funding • Comparative service costs - Re supporting people - Management Costs • Diversification • Flexibility of labour market • Poverty and Deprivation • Partnering


Social

• Demographic change: - Staff - Residents/client groups - Increase in referrals for ex-offenders with mental health problems in Birmingham - Identifying trends early • Housing Market Renewal Areas complexity • People’s expectations – staff and residents, including standards of service and accommodation • Consumerism • Training/Education • Abandonment • Asylum seekers

Technological

• IT Dependency • Partnering • E Government and E Commerce • Lack of expertise • Accessibility of information • Systems development and complexity

7.6 We have used this work to inform and shape our business plan, to identify our key strategies and to develop targets. 7.7 We have also put in place a Risk Management Framework, and at the centre of this is a Risk Register which is a dynamic

document, and is available to all staff via the intranet. This informs our strategies laid out in Appendix 1 8 Where we are going

Context 8.1 We continue to choose to work in the specialist supported housing field, providing high quality accommodation and support for

vulnerable people who are often excluded from mainstream housing provision.


8.2 This is against a backdrop of an ever-changing housing agenda including:

• Institutional changes which have seen the demise of the Housing Corporation and the establishment of the new Regulators, the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) and the Homes and Communities Agency.

• Increasing pressures on Supporting People funding, and its move to be an Area Based Grant. From April 2009 Supporting People grants are allocated by Local Authorities which means we will be undertaking a series of competitive tenders.

• Increasingly, we are seeing Local authorities move away from viewing accommodation and support as a ’package’ and towards separately contracting for each. Adullam needs to respond to this change.

• The Choice agenda being pursued by the present Government is likely to lead to residents/service users being given their own budgets to purchase care and support. This is likely to have the following effects:

Vulnerable people will need help in managing their finances

Our income sources are likely to become more volatile and require greater management time in ensuring we

receive the correct income.

The market place, especially for what has been Supporting People monies and is now becoming part of the Area Based Grant, is likely to grow as additional participants, eg friends and relatives, enter this marketplace.

• Green (Environmental) Agenda which has a significant impact on all areas of our work from developing sustainable, low

energy homes through to reducing our emissions from transport and using IT to reduce our use of paper.

• Credit crunch. The actual effects of this are still working through our economic system but it is likely to impact upon the private rented sector for accommodation as well as increasing the number of vulnerable people in England. We are already seeing an increase in the financial pressures faced by our residents and must ensure this does not result in an increase in arrears/bad debts.

8.3 It is vital that we continue to develop our use of performance measurements and outcome assessments so that we learn from our current practice and enable the Association to validate and benchmark the successful work that is undertaken on a day-by-day basis. Resident involvement is essential for our success, and with so significant a number of people regularly successfully moving on, this will remain a challenge to maintain continuity.


8.4 We are committed to meeting the challenges of good governance. We have recruited new Board members and will be providing training and development opportunities for Board members to ensure that they are equipped to meet the challenges ahead and to ensure best practice in governance is continued.

8.5 We have recently gained the ‘Investor in Excellence‘ award which evidences our commitment to providing a quality service.

Markets which offer Development Opportunities 8.6 Probation/ex-offender services

Government strategy is geared towards reducing the length of time spent in prison and towards community sentences. This is therefore a market place which will expand. The probation service is also very interested in increasing the employability of these residents and part of our strategy is to work with them on developing Social Enterprise.

8.7 Local Authority

In April 2009 the ring fence is removed from the Supporting People funding and we are already experiencing an increase in the number of tenders we are being asked to submit. We are also aware of the moves towards giving vulnerable people individual budgets which is likely to make this market place more volatile and could create an increase in the number of suppliers. We are keen to reduce our dependence on the market place.

8.8 Niche markets

The Association is highly regarded for its work with some excluded groups, eg excluded families and women fleeing domestic violence. The nature of these services means that it will be counter productive to overtly market these services, but this does give us a guide to some markets where it may be easier for us to obtain new work.

Initiatives that will help develop the services available to residents 8.9 Friends of Adullam:

A key strategy for Adullam in dealing with its residents and floating support clients, is about developing relationships with local communities so that people that we work with can eventually leave our services but still get support from the local community, including the local Christian communities. Friends of Adullam is a purposeful way of building links with the wider community, so that we can offer the best support and opportunities for vulnerable people.


95% of Adullam’s projects already engage with local Churches, businesses and other agencies, providing added support and value to our residents. This support has created opportunities of training, employment, education, mentoring, and social activities. Meetings take place within Churches where residents are able to make new friends. Residents are also invited to Church activities, Mother and Toddler Groups, Alpha, and courses for independent living. A Curate works within our Birmingham project half a day per fortnight working with staff and residents. Welcome packs, Move on Packs, household goods, toys and donations are given to the residents by local Churches. Church leaders are able to refer people to Adullam who may offer or assist in finding accommodation and support.

In 2009 a clear strategy will be developed for Friends of Adullam and resources identified to continue this work.

8.10 The Charity

The Association is keen to develop its charitable company. Whilst the core objectives of the Association remain being able to give vulnerable people a safe and secure environment, an important addition to this is giving vulnerable people the chance to re-engage in society.

Development of the charity will give us opportunities to allow this to happen and as a charity this will give us a higher profile than if this is attempted simply as a Housing Association.

8.11 Social Enterprise

The Association recognises the advantages of starting Social Enterprises both to the residents of the Association and to the Association itself. Residents would gain employability skills and skills in areas where they could get work which in turn will enhance their ability to move from the Association’s property.

The Association will benefit from reduced costs if the work is being done for the Association and/or from increased revenue streams. This work will also enhance the reputation of the Association as one which does create progression for residents.

Social Enterprises will commence only after agreement by the Board which will require a full business case including a risk assessment. Income and costs will be monitored in the same way as for any other projects.


Key Strategies 8.12 The result of our analysis of key strategies is the development of the Corporate Strategy shown at Appendix 1.

8.13 This has resulted in the production of the Business Plan targets shown at Appendix 2.

8.14 As well as the strategies already mentioned, we will be working within the “Efficiency Agenda” arising from the Gershon Review.

We have already undertaken work looking at rationalising our gas and electricity suppliers, and will continue to critically examine our costs and explore the opportunities afforded by procurement agencies.

8.15 The views of our residents are important to us, and we have an action plan that they have helped us to develop arising from our recent satisfaction survey. We will be implementing this during 2009/2010 and looking at developing ways of measuring resident satisfaction in an ongoing and meaningful way.

8.16 We have attained the ‘Investors in Excellence’ award. The retention and ongoing development of our staff will be a key objective for us in retaining this, and will be reflected in our HR Strategy. Our benchmarking process will commence by comparing our practices with other housing associations that have attained national recognition for being a good employer.

Development Strategy 8.17 New revenue funding has been compromised following the introduction of Supporting People in 2003. This will continue to have

an effect on the sector’s ability to deliver new supported housing schemes particularly whilst revenue funding has a direct impact on the availability of Capital Funding via the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Adullam, however, maintains its commitment to ensuring the development of high quality, innovative services that meet the increasing and individual needs of our residents. We will seek to influence Local Authority Supported Housing strategies by evidencing existing high quality support services and strengthening our relationships with our partners, either Local Authorities or other RSL’s. In this way we aim to become the “Partner of Choice”.


8.18 Whilst it is clear that the current lack of new revenue funding is unrealistic and unsustainable, we will continue to develop by seeking alternative funding streams during the interim period. Development over the next five years will be primarily achieved:

• Through the acquisition of schemes previously managed by other support providers • By making best use of alternative funding partners • By being creative and quick to respond to Local Authority need • By providing the best possible support and housing standards which offer real value for money to those in housing need • By utilising our own capital resources where applicable

8.19 In utilising our strong relationships with our partner agencies, successful Supporting People reviews and by being creative in

seeking resources, we will continue to respond to the growing need for supported accommodation.

8.20 Identified developments are as follows:

• Development of Herbert Road in Birmingham • Development of Oakhill Park in Liverpool • Refurbishment of Park Avenue in Birmingham • Reprovision of Canal Street project, Congleton • Reprovision of the Coach House in Alfreton, Derbyshire

Timing of these have yet to be confirmed but for cashflow purposes we have assumed the majority will happen in 2009/2010.

Targets

8.21 Since 2005/06, a series of more challenging and wide ranging targets have been set to enable us to continue to improve our performance. We will be actively looking at how we can benchmark our performance against that of other Housing Associations of a similar nature during the year.

8.22 Monitoring systems will be established that will enable all of the targets that are set in the table below to be monitored.


8.23 The targets are:

TARGET 2008/2009 PERFORMANCE 2009/2010 TARGET

1 Rent Arrears 10.29% 8%

2 Rent lost due to voids 8.79% 8%

3 % surplus to turnover 2.41% 1.8%

4 Re-let times 37 days 28 days

5 Rent written off 4.38% 4.0%

6 Staff turnover 15.19% 12%

7 Sickness Absences 4.7% 4.5%

9 Equality and Diversity targets: Employees

More detailed work required on these as they must cover all aspects of Equality and Diversity

10 Equality and Diversity targets- BME Lettings

More detailed work required on these as they must cover all aspects of equality and diversity

10 Repairs Response times Emergency and urgent

90%

11 Properties meeting decent Homes standards

96% 98%

12 Number of reports where server is unavailable to

j t

Not measured in previous years 100


9 Financial Plan Review of financial resources 9.1 In the three tables following, we set out the financial implications of the business plan over the next 3 years.

These can be split into 2:

a) The operational financial implications which are reflected in the Income and Expenditure (I/E) accounts - how we expect annual recurring costs and income to change.

b) The development financial implications which are reflected in the balance sheet and the cashflow although these also have recurring implications which we have identified in the I/E account (e.g. loss of investment interest as we spend investment balances on developments).


Projected Income and Expenditure accounts

Actual 31 March 2008

£s

Forecast 31 March 2009

£s

Plan 31 March 2010

£s

Plan 31 March 2011

£s Income Rentals 4,699,071 4,539,366 4,286,180 4,500,000Supporting people 5,136,550 5,183,670 5,982,050 6,100,000Other 103,420 97,000 100,000 100,000Total Income 9,939,041 9,820,036 10,368,230 10,700,000Operating costs Rentals 4,467,223 4,350,300 4,263,264 4,464,000Supporting people 5,147,589 5,256,000 5,950,430 6,051,542Other 92,716 90,036 100,000 100,000Total Operating Costs 9,707,528 9,696,336 10,313,430 10,615,000Operating surplus 231,513 123,700 54,800 85,000 Interest receivable 211,389 250,000 150,000 50,000Interest payable 29,721 30,000 30,000 30,000Profit/loss (-) on Housing properties 360,974Surplus on Ordinary Activities 774,155 343,700 174,800 105,000 Transfers to (-)/from designated reserves (460,770) (153,000) Surplus at beginning of year 1,596,361 1,909,746 2,100,446 2,275,246 Surplus at end of year

1,909,746 2,100,446 2,275,246 2,380,246


Projected Balance Sheets


£s


£s

Plan 31 March 2010

£s

Plan 31 March 2011

£s Fixed Assets Housing properties-cost 16,836,277 16,836,277 19,436,277 20,486,277 Social Housing Grant (14,766,667) (14,766,667) (15,166,667) (15,166,637)Depreciation (216,236) (221,935) (226,935) (235,000)Other Fixed assets 1,333,659 1,325,150 1,400,000 1,400,000 3,187,033 3,172,825 5,442,675 6,484,640Current Assets Debtors 547,981 329,700 212,396 162,701Cash at bank and in hand 4,604,009 5,079,117 2,684,117 2,000,000 5,151,990 5,408,817 2,896,513 1,936,432Creditors due within one year 1,696,270 1,444,254 1,400,000 1,600,000 Net current assets 3,455,720 3,964,563 1,496,513 562,701 Total Assets less current liabilities 6,642,753 7,137,388 6,939,188 7,047,341 Creditors due after more than one year 700,852 701,000 275,000 250,000 5,941,901 6,436,388 6,664,188 6,797,341Capital and Reserves Called up share capital 19 18 18 18Designated Reserves 3,678,847 3,678,847 3,831,847 3,860,000Restricted Reserves 357,289 657,077 557,077 557,077Income and Expenditure Account 1,905,746 2,100,446 2,275,246 2,380,246 5,941,901 6,436,388 6,664,188 6,797,341


Projected Cashflow


£s


£s

Plan 31 March 2010

£s

Plan 31 March 2011

£s Net cash inflow from operating activities 378,104 244,308 137,150 27,983 Interest Received 211,389 250,000 100,000 50,000Interest Paid 29,721 30,000 30,000 10,000 Acquisition and Construction of housing properties

8,874 3,500,000 1,500,000

Interest allocated to RCGF 13,250 13,000Sale of housing properties 1,183,596 1,000,000 750,000Purchase of other fixed assets 100,000Sale of other fixed assets 2,008 Financed By: Issue of shares 3Loans received/repaid (-) 2,265 2,200 2,150 2,100 Increase/Decrease (-) in cash 1,747,484 475,108 (2,395,000) (684,117)

Bank at beginning of year (2,856,523) (4,604,009) (5,079,117) (2,684,117) Bank at end of year 4,604,009 5,079,117 2,684,117 2,000,000 Movement 1,747,484 475,108 (2,395,000) (684,117)


9.2 Assumptions used in deriving the financial plan

a) The 2009/2010 figures are as per the budgets so have been produced using the same methodology. On funding, rentals are increasing by 5.5% per annum in 2009/2010 and we are assuming 0% in 2010/2011.

b) On Supporting People again 2009/2010 is set based on the budget and in 2010/2011 the only growth we expect is in new

business.

c) Interest receivable will reduce both due to the reduction in interest rates and as we spend capital on the developments outlined in section 5.9.

d) The yearly surplus is reducing and this is to be expected as revenue increases reduce but costs continue to increase. Our

largest cost is payroll and our budgets assume an annual cost of living rise is given to staff, although the actual decision on this is made each year by the Board’s Remuneration Sub Committee. The Association recognises the impact of the cost of living rise in meeting our business plan target of being an ‘employer of choice’.

e) On the balance sheet the value of fixed assets increases and the short term investments decrease as we invest in developments. As well as new developments this also reflects the target of reducing the number of units we manage and increase the number we own.

f) The assumption is that our developments will be financed using internal resources, rather than seeking out loans. This is

rational given the reduction in interest rates, and the issues other housing associations are having with loan calls.

g) We are assuming the loan which is currently outstanding will be recycled into a new development before its repayment becomes due (in 18 months time).

9.3 Sensitivity Analysis

a) Rental Income. On rentals the 2 variables are on voids and on rent arrears. These have been set in the targets for 2009/2010 at 8%. An increase of 1% in either of these costs would remove any surplus from the rental sector. The business plan includes a target of moving from managing property to owning this, and this will increase the surplus on rentals and hence reduce the risk caused by voids and arrears.


b) Supporting People Income. Loss of projects will result in cost reduction as well. However the Supporting People element of contracts makes a contribution of 12% to overheads and this will be lost if we lose contracts. We are mitigating this by applying for new contracts and by reviewing contracts we win and lose to ensure lessons are learnt.

c) Interest receivable budget is being reduced to reflect lower interest rates and the investment of capital into new developments. This reduces our sensitivity to movements on interest receivable.

d) Interest payable for Adullam, unlike other housing associations, is a low risk because we have limited borrowings.

e) Income from property sales is another area where we have little exposure as we have not built developments for sale and therefore the only income from this has been from closure of projects/ redevelopments of existing projects.

f) Developments planned in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 In accordance with Adullam Financial Regulations, these will be dealt with on an individual basis so the financial plan above is indicative and actual costs/sales values will be finalised as the developments are approved.

g) Cashflow The current plan is to have £2 million in short term investments at the end of 2011. This allows opportunity to take up other development opportunities which arise over the next 24 months, but only once they have been through Board approval processes.

10 Conclusion 10.1 The business planning process has been as extensive as has been possible given time constraints. We have tried to involve staff

within the Association, as well as residents and stakeholders. We are keen to ensure that this continues, and will be building on this work for the next review of the business plan.

10.2 Systems are being set up to monitor our progress against the strategies and targets that we have identified as priorities, and will be the subject of regular Board reporting.

10.3 We believe that the actions identified within this business plan will enable Adullam to meet the challenges facing it, and continue to be a significant player in the field of supported housing.


Appendix 1


Appendix 2

Implementation Plan

Strategy reference Lead Director

5 year Business plan target 2009-10 Business Plan Targets

Profile 1 Reputational Management

Director of Business Development

• Become a nationally recognised and quoted brand

within the supported housing sector • Speak at conferences • Develop PR • Establish a nationally recognised internal staff

award for innovation and best practice •

provide an effective and sustainable resource to allow progression of residents.

Develop Friends of Adullam network which will

Establish a Friends link for each project and define

• Retain a PR Company to generate 24 press articles

• Ensure Web Page is updated every month

• Organise an annual lecture and Friends day

• Organise an annual resident involvement day

•

boundaries/working arrangements for Friends.

Profile 2

dents

Director of

Establish an alliance of Christian led Supporting Become a recognised member of an established

National Voice on Behalf of our resi

Business Development

•

Housing and Support Services providers

•

Christian representative organisation or establish a Christian led organisation with external membership opportunities

Create a resident led sub committee

Road show run by Residents on Equality and

People 1 Residents

Director of Supported Housing

• Develop and implement Resident Involvement strategy

• •

Diversity issues

• Develop IT networks for residents

• Commencement of Resident Involvement working

party and implementation of action plan Feb 2009. Review of Association standards.

• Continuation of RED group meetings, formulate action plan and set Association standards.




People 2 Staff


• Ensure the Adullam values are embedded

throughout the organisation. • Create employment and training opportunities for

under represented groups • HR and Training strategy to incorporate

succession training and internal ‘apprenticeships’ • Introduce and maintain high customer service

standards

• Promote the newly defined values

• Develop and implement Management Development

Plan

• Development of Area Management team and vision sharing.

• Develop Supported Housing Strategy

People 3 Communication


• Use new technology, information and gadgets as

modern methods of communication throughout the organisation.

• Develop a measure for evidencing this e.g. survey or questionnaire by an independent organisation.

• Improve the readership of One Voice

• Re-instate staff involvement day building on the

success of previous events

• Create opportunities for staff to meet informally

Grow and develop 1 Continually improve our services


• Ensure every project has an internal annual

appraisal and audit • Reduce property voids by 1% in each of the 5

years

• Reduce staff turnover by at least 1% per annum until we reach no greater than 10%.

• Become an ‘employer of choice’

• Develop peer mentoring groups, encouraging

services to collaborate regardless of location

• Achieve the top rating whenever a ratings exercise is carried out by Local Authorities.

• Develop a strategy to reduce voids in West Midlands.

• Achieve sickness absence of no greater than 5%




Grow and develop 1 Continually improve our services continued…..

Director of Supported Housing Director of Finance

• Develop a volunteer strategy

• Develop a Friends of Adullam strategy

• Become one of the leading Supported Housing Association providers in terms of both cost and quality.

• Use benchmarking to ensure the Association

achieves, and is perceived as, good Value for Money.

• Ensure we become aware of external work on

tenant friendly organisations and engage in any quality accreditations

• Management costs reduced to 12% of turnover

• Develop and pilot a volunteer code of practice

• Review Key business targets with SLT and Board

paying particular regard to IT connectivity.

• Participate in a national benchmarking exercise in 2009 and from this develop an action plan to improve our performance.

• Develop a rolling programme for Value for Money

ensuring major expense headings are market tested at least every three years

Grow and develop 2 Organisational growth

Director of Finance

• Reinvest our surpluses to improve our

accommodation and services.

• Work with SLT to ensure tender prices are

achievable.

• Develop relationships with the finance teams in other Housing Associations where appropriate and possible.




Grow and develop 2 Organisational growth Continued……

Director Of Business Development Director of Supported Housing

• A new Social Enterprise business established to

employ our client groups.

• Merger/takeover with/of an existing Housing Association or other organisation.

• Decrease dependence on managed units from other Housing Associations by increasing the number of owned properties by 10% per annum (ie 40 units per annum).

• Develop skills of residents by operating the Open

College network and other training outlets. • Develop a charitable arm to raise funds for non

core activities. • Research and access alternative sources of

funding

• To increase Turnover by at least £200,000 per

annum.

• To reduce dependence on managed units, leased from other Housing Associations.

• To reduce dependence on Supported Housing funding.

• To deliver the agreed reinvestment programme

• To develop skills of residents by operating the Open

College network in Leicester.




Grow and develop 2 Organisational growth Continued……

Director Of Business Development

• Develop our environmental branding looking at

housing developments as well as office costs e.g. recycling; electronic storage etc

• Work with SLT to acquire properties in strategically

relevant areas. • Work with SLT to develop Social Enterprise in a way

that is low risk to Adullam.

Grow and develop 3 Development of services

Director of Finance Director of Business Development

• Become the organisation of choice for vulnerable

people • Annually develop new services for new service

user groups as appropriate

• Develop a three year financial model showing how

current reserves can be invested in new services.

• Work with the SLT to agree strategically relevant

areas and to identify opportunities as they arise.

• Investigate the provision of new services for ex service personnel and the elderly


Appendix 3

Ten Highest risks faced by Adullam Homes Housing Association Limited in 2009

Description of risk Mitigating Factors Likelihood (1 to 10)

Impact (1 to 10)

Overall score

STRATEGIC S1 Reputational risk adversely impacts on our ability to provide high quality services

1 Strong SLT with good communication links to projects so SLT can predict where issues are likely to arise. 2 Weekly SLT conversation which encourages early disclosure of any issues. 3 Quality Assurance framework in place which receives external validation by every Local Authority. 4 Dedicated maintenance team in place ensuring issues are dealt with in a timely manner. 5 All complaints received are reviewed as part of a ‘learning’ culture.

4 7 28

S2 A serious incident which calls our ethos into question or someone challenges our values and brings a legal case against us

1 Staff supervision and appraisal. 2 Whistleblowing policy. 3 Policies and procedures specify staff actions.

4 6 24

S6 Inability to retain key personnel

1 Staff turnover forms part of the balanced scorecard reported monthly to SLT/Board. 2 System of ‘exit interviewing ‘ in place so reasons for departure are recorded. 3 Staff salaries and benefits monitored through Remuneration sub committee and benchmarked against other organisations.

4 6 24

S7 Failure to prevent or respond effectively to a disaster or major incident

1 IT disaster recovery plan in place. 2 Projects have individualised plans to deal with emergencies. 3 Property maintenance is kept to a high standard.

4

7

28

S9 Breakdown in relationships with key stakeholders/networks

1 Building and maintaining relationships is a key activity for SLT members.

2 Opportunities are taken to secure these.

3 8 24


Description of risk Mitigating Factors Likelihood (1 to 10)

Impact (1 to 10)

Overall score

S10 Internal- Inability to manage growth

3 Tender submission process in place to ensure we only apply for tenders we can deliver.

4 High level of reserves so growth can be financed from internal resources.

5 Organisation has a culture of delivering high quality services so the need to manage growth is accepted.

3 8 24

S11 Loss or change to funding

1 Financial planning. 2 Stay in touch with developments at local and national level. 3 Contracts entered into for the maximum possible period and funders contacted before end of contract. 4 Contract register ensures management knows when contracts are due for renewal. 5 Continual review of costs.

4 8 32

S15 Arrears, voids and empty properties are not managed appropriately due to lack of effective management information systems

1 Detailed procedures in place to ensure arrears and voids are managed at all levels. 2 Monthly reporting to SLT/Board using a balanced scorecard.

3 8 24

FINANCE F3 Association becomes uncompetitive because costs are too high.

1 Benchmarking takes place with similar organisations. 2 Advice is noted where tenders give acceptable levels of overheads. 3 Procurement procedures are rigorously applied. 4 Cost base is continually reviewed to ensure efficiency and economy.

6 5 30

PROPERTY P11 Social problems create a bad name for Adullam

1 Anti Social behaviour agreements are in place for all properties. 2 Residents may be moved. 3 Evictions occur where necessary. 4 Staff cover/on call may be altered to cover times when the problems

occur. 5 Adullam managers will work with Local Authorities/Churches to develop

local links.

5 5 25

ADULLAM HOMES HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED...ASSOCIATION LIMITED BUSINESS PLAN 2009-2014 Restoring...

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