Autumn/Winter 2020, Issue No. 87 · 2020. 12. 17. · Autumn/Winter 2020, Issue No. 87 Thursday...

newsletterAutumn/Winter 2020, Issue No. 87

Thursday 24th December 2020 OFFICE CLOSED to Monday 4th January 2021 (inclusive)

Tuesday 5th January 2021 OFFICE REOPENS

(Please note, the office will not reopen to the public on this date, but staff will be working and can be contacted through the main office telephone number)

Emergency Numbers when the office is closed are:

For gas boiler or central heating repairs contact GasSure on 01294 468113

For all other types of emergency repairs contact Select Facilities on 0344 8718018

Festive Season Office Opening Hours

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LHA & COMMUNITY NEWS

Welcome to our Autumn/Winter newsletter. We hope that you and your family are all doing well given the impact COVID-19 is having on everyone and that you can enjoy some of the news articles we have included in this latest edition.

Whilst the office remains closed due to the ongoing public health restrictions, we are continuing to provide as close to normal service as possible, with staff mainly working from home and a small skeleton staff onsite for things that cannot be done from home or to deal with any emergency issues.

Do you need support?

Our Customer Service and Welfare Rights Teams are here to support you with any of the usual tenancy issues like paying rent, claiming welfare benefits, problems with neighbours or applying for a move.

We are also here if you need some additional support during lockdown, including working with the local Preshal Trust charity to provide a delicious hot meal to local residents. This is available for collection Monday to Friday from 11am to 3pm (at 8 Aboukir Street, Linthouse). Please let us know if you are struggling to pick up the food yourself.

The CST can arrange office appointments or home visits but only for more serious issues like high rent arrears or serious anti-social behaviour. If any of our staff or contractors need to speak to you in the office or visit you at home, they will adhere to the government guidance on social distancing and hygiene guidelines. We also advise tenants that they need to do the same to ensure everyone’s safety.

Do you have a repair you need to report?

We are attempting to carry out as normal a repairs service as possible, whilst taking account of ongoing updates from the Scottish Government that both the Association and its multiple contractors often have very little time to respond to. Please be assured, we will continue to work as hard for our customers as we can, under what are often challenging circumstances which we keep under constant review.

If you need to report a repair during office hours our Asset Management Team will be happy to advise you if we are able to carry out the work in line with current government guidance. If we can’t we will take a note of the repairs request and contact you to arrange to do it when it is safe to do so.

We will continue to carry out annual gas safety inspections to check that gas systems and appliances in your property are working properly. Please make sure you give access for your gas safety inspection to ensure the safety of yourself, your family and your neighbours. If there is any reason why you cannot give access, please make sure staff are aware of this and we can book you in for a later date.

Again, for all repair work or safety inspections, we will ask you some screening questions and give you instructions to follow before the appointment can be confirmed. We also ask that you minimise contact with any staff or contractors if they visit your property to deal with a repair to ensure everyone’s safety.

Finally…

Linthouse Housing Association staff and Management Committee hope that you enjoy your latest newsletter and we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

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LHA were successful in receiving funding from the Inspiring Scotland Wellbeing Fund to provide a range of activity packs to keep Linthouse tenants busy during lockdown.

Look at the fantastic photos we received following the success of the lockdown activity packs……thank you all so much for sending them in.

Thank you, Mrs Arthurs & Mrs McCullough, for sending in these wonderful photos of your activities.

Olivia enjoying making chocolate crispy cakes with mum Linzi and the end result…….. They look amazing thank you Olivia!

Fabulous colouring in pictures by Alfie & Millie, and look at how much the chilli plant has grown… this is amazing!

Arons done a grand job with his planting activity.

Zoey caring for her geranium plant and a lovely thank you note.

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all our volunteers, including our Management Committee members, for all your support delivering food parcels and activity packs throughout lockdown and beyond.

Here are just some of the really positive comments we received from tenants who received our activity packs.

“I really enjoyed making the cornflake cakes….”

“My son loved the art activity… it helped improve his colouring and drawing skills…”

“Each activity pack was brilliant……., we would like to thank LHA for all your help and support during this time.”

“I really enjoyed the planting of the seeds…..the sunflower is in the back court and growing well….”

“I really enjoyed the books and drawing; it was something different and kept me amused “

“…..loads of fun and we looked forward to receiving each pack.“

“After working long shifts as a key worker, it was good to spend time doing something relaxing.”

LHA would like to thank everyone that participated in the lockdown activities and for such positive and welcoming feedback.

Our wellbeing fund activity packs included Mrs Pollocks homemade lemon curd recipe it was such a success we thought it would be good to share with all our tenants!

Lockdown Boredom - CREATIVITY TAKES OVER

See page 4 for the easy to follow r

ecipe.

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Tenant Participation You may have already volunteered to take part in our Next Steps Tenant Participation Programme, we are currently using the findings of that project to inform and develop a new Tenants Participation & Engagement Strategy that will be led by our Residents Panel with an integrated Tenant Scrutiny Framework.

Tenant participation is about us genuinely caring about your opinion on our services, acting where at all possible on your feedback and then giving you feedback so you know how valuable your comments are to us in helping us to provide a better service. We can help you in whatever way you feel comfortable participating and giving us your opinions. It could mean attending a one-off meeting, being involved with a residents group, or returning a questionnaire to us.

Are you interested in tenant participation with Linthouse Housing Association? If you want to find out how to get involved, please contact Deborah on 0141 445 4418.

To date, the restrictions from covid-19 have prevented us from delivering our programme of annual community engagement events and activities for our over 55’s. We will continue to keep up to date with government guidance and aim to resume our programme of events when it is safe to do so.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful festive period and really look forward to arranging our community events in the future.

GO DIGITAL Increasingly, people are going online to engage services, help children with school work, online shopping and keeping up to date with the news.

Do you need help to get online? LHA can support you with a tablet device from our Digital Lending Library. Please call 0141 445 4418 if you would like further information.

We understand these are still uncertain times and can be very difficult for many people for their own different reasons and circumstances, please stay safe and well.

Many of you are missing your friends and family during the restrictions and we understand it can be very lonely and isolating. If you feel you would like a regular telephone chat, we can arrange a referral to the No.1 Befriending Service, please contact Deborah on 0141 445 8420 for more information.

Ingredients:

4 large lemons (please wash before using)

4 Large eggs (whisk these together in separate cup/ bowl before adding to mixture)

4oz fresh butter

1lb granulated sugar

Method:

Squeeze juice from lemons into glass bowl (optional to use lemon zest from 1 lemon if lemon is unwaxed you can grate small enough to dissolve in mixture)

Add butter in glass bowl - put pot with water on to cooker and sit bowl on top, keep water simmering (do not allow water to splash into bowl)

Add sugar and keep stirring until sugar is fully dissolved

Mix eggs and add to glass bowl, keep stirring until thick

Pour into jar

Lemon curd will keep for 2 months stored in fridge.

Annual Events Calendar

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Although Halloween is now over, we thought we would show off the lovely 6 year old Caoimhe Flynn, from Clachan Drive, modelling her brilliant costume in tribute to her

grandad, Tommy, who works for the Cleansing Department at Glasgow City Council.

We’re sure you’ll all agree what a

fantastic costume and model lorry it is!

Well done to Caoimhe and we look forward to seeing your costume next year!

•park terrace cafe•

CHRISTMAS

DINNER

DELIVERED

Fresh traditional dinner, delivered to your door

Main course 12.953 course 15.95

per person

Lentil soup…

Roast turkey breast, rosemary roast potatoes,asparagus wrapped in bacon, Yorkshire

pudding, stuffing balls, with a cranberry sauce …

Homemade mince pieCHOOSE FROM 24TH OR 25TH

A pay it forward initiative is available to provide aChristmas dinner to those who don’t have the

means to• Contact us for more information •

Info & booking: [email protected]

Park Terrace Cafe

Park Terrace Cafe is a social enterprise and cafe at 1121 Govan road, beside the Elder Park and Linthouse roundabout (former LUV café). A cafe working to strengthen community cohesion between locals and the wider community.

At the beginning of the year, we were working with Govan Youth Information Project (GYIP) to ensure children had packed lunches available to collect for free after being taken out of school due to them closing. This Christmas, we are wanting to ensure our community have the opportunity to help each other by launching our ‘pay it forward’ initiative alongside our Christmas dinner deliveries. The initiative will work by allowing customers who book a delivery, a way to help pay for a Christmas dinner for another member of the community, either of their choice or from an identified list of households from the local housing associations.

Email [email protected] to find out more, book your dinner and help by, paying it forward.

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We reported in our last newsletter that Linthouse, Govan and Elderpark Housing Associations along with Govan Thriving Places were successful in securing significant funding from the Scottish Government’s £30 million emergency funding for projects in the Greater Govan area tackling the effects of Covid-19.

To date, the Temporary Emergency Funding Group (TEFG) has secured £400,000 and allocated funding to 31 local organisations providing 56 initiatives within Govan that focus on the needs of residents during these difficult times.

LHA’s activity packs for tenants to support mental health and wellbeing during the lockdown are just one example of the projects funded. LHA delivered the latest activity packs in October to 60 households. This round of packs included a recipe for banana bread with ingredients, a crossword activity book, and an autumnal potting plant activity. 51 adults and 49 children made the most of the packs.

Zoey is very well prepared and enjoying making the banana bread mix …..then into the oven it goes!

Mrs Brunton sent in photos of making her banana bread…...looks delicious!

We worked in partnership with Parklea Branching Out who developed the planting activities. These were very well received and of great quality. If you have planted your bulbs please let us know when they start to bloom and we can feature some in our next newsletter.

See page 7 for more information on Parklea Branching Out for anyone interested in getting their green fingers on.

We’ve had some really great feedback from our tenants that received packs who said they definitely helped their wellbeing and were a welcome distraction from all things Covid-19. Here are just a few of the comments……

“Enjoyed doing different activities”

“Enjoyed planting with my kids”

“Packs are very good during lockdown”

“Uplifting to know that we are cared about”

“This pack has been a godsend after shielding for so long”

“…..they have been a great talking point and the banana bread went down a treat”.

Working Together for Govan

Parklea Branching Out (PBO) is a local charity in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde. The focus of PBO’s activities is horticulture therapy which we use to deliver a range of training, supported employment, work experience, recreational and social facilities to young people and adults with additional support needs.

At PBO we provide a safe and supported setting that offers holistic approaches to develop skills and improve life chances for our service users. In recognising the therapeutic value of an inclusive horticultural environment. The aim of the organisation is to empower individuals to increase their skills and confidence to assist in their personal development, independence, and inclusion within the community.

PBO also supports our local and wider communities through our Growing and Learning Together programme and this year we have introduced our new growing activity kits and products that has proved to be really popular, and we hope has provided some new activities that have helped people through these very challenging times. PBO social enterprising activities and seasonal sales of plants and new products all helps to support the future running costs of programmes and activities.

Further information can be found on Parklea Branching Out by visiting their website http://parkleaassociation.org.uk/ or through one of their social media channels.

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Growing People in Our Community through Horticulture

facebook.com/ parkleaassocation.org.uk @AdminParklea parkleabranchingout

Parklea Playing Fields, Greenock Road, Port Glasgow, PA14 6TRTel: 01475 744516Web: www.parkleaassociation.org.uk

Email: [email protected]

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LHA’s Welfare Rights Service has continued to operate a phone service throughout lockdown, assisting with benefit enquiries, applications, reconsiderations, and appeals.

Between April 2020 and October 2020, the Welfare Rights Service managed to generate £271,523.49 for tenants and we hope to build on this despite the challenges faced due to Covid-19.

Should you need support from the Welfare Rights Service with any issues, including enquiries related to Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Child Disability Living Allowance (Child DLA), Attendance Allowance, the Scottish Welfare Fund or any other benefits please contact 0141 445 4418 and request an appointment or alternatively email [email protected]

LHA tenant Mrs Margaret Campbell is the lucky recipient of our ‘Nominate Your Neighbour’ room makeover competition with the Bell Group which ran in our summer newsletter. Mrs Campbell was nominated by her friend and neighbour Mrs Christine Brunton as a thanks for all the support she gives her. Congratulations Mrs Campbell!

STAIR LIGHTING Any tenant wishing to report an issue with stair lighting should contact Glasgow City Council direct on 0800 595595 or email City Building’s Contact Centre at [email protected]

In an effort to assist families on a low income, Social Security Scotland have introduced an additional payment for children under 6 which will be available from 15th February 2021.

This is known as the Scottish Child Payment. It will be an additional £40 paid every four weeks for each eligible child under 6.

To prove responsibility for a child, the child must be named on one of the following benefits:

• Child Benefit

• Child Tax Credit

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

A kinship carer can prove responsibility via a legal order or letter of support from the local authority.

To be eligible for the Scottish Child Payment you must be in receipt of at least one of the following qualifying benefits:

• Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Income Based Employment and Support Allowance

• Income Support

• Child Tax Credits

• Working Tax Credits

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

Applications can be completed:

Online: at mygov.scot

By phone: 0800 182 2222

By post: Paper form can be accessed online or by phone request

Applications can be submitted from 9th November 2020. Please note that the award will only pay from 15th February 2021. This February date is also the date when the claimant and the child must meet the eligibility criteria. However, applications are open earlier due to an expected high demand to ensure applications can be processed promptly.

For any enquiries or assistance submitting applications, please arrange an appointment with our Welfare Rights Service by calling 0141 445 4418 or emailing [email protected]

Welfare Rights Service Update

New Scottish Child Payment

Room Makeover Winner!

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We will continue to carry out regular inspections of the area moving forward, and monitor items noted to ensure that actions are completed. You can report issues relating to our stock directly to Linthouse Housing Association.

Issues such as overflowing public bins, weeds on public roads and footpaths, fly-tipping, and graffiti are covered by Glasgow City Council. You can report these things directly to them by calling their switchboard on 0141 287 2000. You can also report issues on the MyGlasgow app, available from the

AppStore and Google Play Store. This free app will allow you to report things at a time and place that suits you.

The Resident’s Panel is a tenant-led, self-regulated “critical friend” to the Association - offering independent, customer focused advice and constructive challenges to our performance to help us improve customer satisfaction. If you would like further information on the Resident’s Panel, you can contact our office on 0141 445 4418 to discuss.

CUSTOMER SERVICES TEAM - UPDATE ON ESTATE WALKABOUTSWhilst our office remains closed to the public, our Customer Services team are working hard to provide as close to a full service as possible.

Members of the Customer Services Team recently met with Peter McCarthy, Chair of the Resident’s Panel, and carried out estate walkabouts of every patch. Estate walkabouts involve staff and Resident’s Panel members inspecting the Associations stock, including random spot-checks of

communal areas, back courts, public footpaths, bin stores and more.

Some points raised were the responsibility of Linthouse Housing Association, while others fell under local authority control. We are in regular contact with stakeholders in Glasgow City Council and have raised the relevant items with them. Examples of some of the issues raised and actions taken include:-

Items noted during inspection Location What we did

A bin shelter fence was blown over and damaged

Hutton Drive A job line was sent to contractors for the fence to be repaired

An overflowing bin which had not been emptied

The underpass at Burghead Place

A report was sent to Glasgow City Council and the bin was emptied

Leaves and weeds on the public footpath Hutton Drive An email was sent to Glasgow City Council who confirmed the roads programme is ongoing and weather dependant

Trees overhanging the public footpath Between 15 Mountgarrie Rd & 39 Mallaig Rd

John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance pruned all of the trees to above head-height

Potholes and poor road surfaces Junction of Clachan Drive & Skipness Drive

A report was sent to Glasgow City Council

Items being stored in the common close Kennedar Drive Letters issued to residents to remove property from the communal areas of the close

Graffiti on a building exterior Skipness Drive A report was sent to Glasgow City Council

This is a confidential service and the content of your consultations will not be divulged unless there is a serious risk to you or someone else. Calls are not recorded. This is not an emergency service and will not provide diagnosis or prescribe treatments. This service cannot give advice on employment disputes. The 24hr Advice and Information Line is provided by Westfield Health in conjunction with Health Assured

It’s good to talk We’ve partnered with Westfield Health to give all our tenants and factored owners access to a 24-hour advice and information line to support you and your families’ wellbeing and give you confidential guidance on medical, legal or domestic issues from experienced counsellors, lawyers and medical advisors. This service gives you immediate access to confidential guidance on a whole range of issues, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Included in the telephone service is:

- Unlimited use - Support from a fully trained counsellor on issue such as stress; anxiety; family problems; bereavement;

money management; depression; relationships; problems at work; substance misuse - Telephone legal information from an experienced legal professional on a wide range of issues e.g.

consumer disputes; property; motoring; landlord/tenancy; debt; welfare benefits; matrimonial; family; wills and probate

- Information from medical professionals on a wide range of health and lifestyle issues including medical symptoms and conditions; medical and surgical treatments; hospital tests and procedures; childhood illness; caring for the elderly; diet and exercise; reducing alcohol consumption; stopping smoking

- Access to wellbeing resources via the Health e-Hub app and online health portal, to help overcome life’s mental and financial wellbeing challenges. It’s the UK’s largest library of wellbeing resources, giving you access to videos, guides, webinars, factsheets, self-help programmes, interactive tools and educational resources.

How do I access this service? Call 0800 092 0987 and quote your scheme number – HA142909. Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Please note call charges may apply. This does not in any way identify you as an individual, and no personal information relating to your call will be released to your landlord/factor.

To access the online Health e-Hub

You will need to register to use this service. Please use your scheme number as both your username and password. Visit: www healthassuredeap co.uk Download: Health e-Hub app available on the Apple App Store and Google Play

Worried about something? Need some expert advice?

24 Hour Advice and Information Line

This is a confidential service and the content of your consultations will not be divulged unless there is a serious risk to you or someone else. Calls are not recorded. This is not an emergency service and will not provide diagnosis or prescribe treatments. This service cannot give advice on employment disputes. The 24hr Advice and Information Line is provided by Westfield Health in conjunction with Health Assured

It’s good to talk We’ve partnered with Westfield Health to give all our tenants and factored owners access to a 24-hour advice and information line to support you and your families’ wellbeing and give you confidential guidance on medical, legal or domestic issues from experienced counsellors, lawyers and medical advisors. This service gives you immediate access to confidential guidance on a whole range of issues, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Included in the telephone service is:

- Unlimited use - Support from a fully trained counsellor on issue such as stress; anxiety; family problems; bereavement;

money management; depression; relationships; problems at work; substance misuse - Telephone legal information from an experienced legal professional on a wide range of issues e.g.

consumer disputes; property; motoring; landlord/tenancy; debt; welfare benefits; matrimonial; family; wills and probate

- Information from medical professionals on a wide range of health and lifestyle issues including medical symptoms and conditions; medical and surgical treatments; hospital tests and procedures; childhood illness; caring for the elderly; diet and exercise; reducing alcohol consumption; stopping smoking

- Access to wellbeing resources via the Health e-Hub app and online health portal, to help overcome life’s mental and financial wellbeing challenges. It’s the UK’s largest library of wellbeing resources, giving you access to videos, guides, webinars, factsheets, self-help programmes, interactive tools and educational resources.

How do I access this service? Call 0800 092 0987 and quote your scheme number – HA142909. Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Please note call charges may apply. This does not in any way identify you as an individual, and no personal information relating to your call will be released to your landlord/factor.


You will need to register to use this service. Please use your scheme number as both your username and password. Visit: www healthassuredeap co.uk Download: Health e-Hub app available on the Apple App Store and Google Play

Worried about something? Need some expert advice?

24 Hour Advice and Information Line

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It’s good to talkThis service gives you immediate access to confidential guidance on a whole range of issues, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Included in the telephone service is:

• Unlimited use

• Support from a fully trained counsellor on issue such as stress; anxiety; family problems; bereavement; money management; depression; relationships; problems at work; substance misuse

• Telephone legal information from an experienced legal professional on a wide range of issues e.g. consumer disputes; property; motoring; landlord/tenancy; debt; welfare benefits; matrimonial; family; wills and probate

• Information from medical professionals on a wide range of health and lifestyle issues including medical symptoms and conditions; medical and surgical treatments; hospital tests and procedures; childhood illness; caring for the elderly; diet and exercise; reducing alcohol consumption; stopping smoking

• Access to wellbeing resources via the Health e-Hub app and online health portal, to help overcome life’s mental and financial wellbeing challenges. It’s the UK’s largest library of wellbeing resources, giving you access to videos, guides, webinars, factsheets, self-help programmes, interactive tools and educational resources.

How do I access this service?

Call 0800 092 0987 and quote your scheme number – HA142909. Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Please note call charges may apply. This does not in any way identify you as an individual, and no personal information relating to your call will be released to your landlord/factor.


You will need to register to use this service. Please use your scheme number as both your username and password.

Visit: www healthassuredeap co.uk

Download: Health e-Hub app available on the Apple App Store and Google Play

We’ve partnered with Westfield Health to give all our tenants and factored owners access to a 24-hour advice and information line to support you and your families’ wellbeing and give you confidential guidance on medical, legal or domestic issues from experienced counsellors, lawyers and medical advisors.

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CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGN COMPETITION!Calling all Linthouse Housing Association’s primary school children!

We have launched a Christmas card design competition and we want YOU to get creative and enter!

We know the festive season can be a really exciting time and even though plans may look a little different this year, we can all still celebrate the best things about it!

The challenge is free to enter for all LHA tenants’ & residents’ children at primary school.

Your design should have a festive theme and can be on paper or card and any size you choose.

Please email your entries to [email protected] or post them in the post box outside the office at 1 Cressy Street by Wednesday 16th December 2020 at 4pm and the winner will be chosen and contacted on Friday 18th December 2020.

Remember and put your name, address and age on the design so we know who you are! Also, an adults contact number!

The prize will be a £10 Waterstones book token so you can choose your favourite book to read during the Christmas holidays!

We cant wait to see all your festive designs!


LHA joins Charge Place Scotland NetworkLHA are delighted to announce the installation of our new electric vehicle (EV) charge point and be part of the country’s aim to reduce greenhouse gases and be carbon neutral by 2045. The charge point has been funded through Electric Vehicle Scotland and is part of Scottish Governments national EV charging network. ChargePlace Scotland provides a simple and convenient way for EV drivers to travel across Scotland with access to a range of charging facilities. Drivers of an electric vehicle can access the charge point by using a ChargePlace Scotland access card or the Charge Your Car smartphone app.

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COMPLAINTS...?Here at LHA we strive to provide high quality customer service and put our tenants at the heart of all that we do. We believe quality is a journey and not a destination!

We will continue to embed a culture of excellent customer service across all

staff teams. We aim to:

Listen to our tenants

Hear and understand what our tenants say, and

Act on any issues or concerns raised

If there are any aspects of our service that tenants are unhappy with, it’s important that we hear this as only when we know something is wrong can we do something about resolving it satisfactorily.

....or Compliments?As well as complaints, we like to hear what’s good about the services we provide too – who doesn’t like a compliment?

Summary of the complaints and compliments we have received so far this year Up to the end of September this year we dealt with 37 complaints at stage 1 of our complaints handling procedures. Complaints at this stage tend to be less serious and we can usually deal with them straight away, or within a few days. It is important that you let us know about less serious issues you find with the service so that we can make improvements and prevent them from becoming more serious!

We received 13 stage 1 complaints about our repairs service and 9 about general customer service issues. The rest of the stage 1 complaints were made up of things like staff and the way they handled certain issues; the factoring service; general estate management; the annual rent increase; how we allocate houses; and advice given by our welfare rights team.

We also received five more serious complaints this year that were dealt with at stage 2 of our complaints handling processes. These complaints usually take longer to respond to because they require an investigation. The stage 2 complaints we received ranged from problems with the quality of repair work that has been carried out in tenants’ homes to advice tenants have received to support them to sustain their tenancy.

This is a summary of our complaints’ performance up to September 2020. Please also see our Charter performance on page 17 for last years complaints performance.

HOW TO CONTACT USYou can contact the Association by phone, post, or email if you wish to make a complaint or compliment on any aspect of our service:

In person or by post: 1 Cressy Street Glasgow G51 4RB

By phone: 0141 445 4418By email: [email protected]

So far this year we also received 16 compliments from tenants who wanted to pass on their thanks and appreciation to staff in the Asset Management, Customer Services and Welfare Rights Teams. The compliments included how staff dealt with their repair requests or provided advice, including help with rent arrears and financial advice during lockdown. We appreciate feedback on the things that we do well too!

Complaints received by LHA 01 April 2020 - 30 Sept 2020

Stage 1 Stage 2

Number of Complaints Received 37 5

Number responded to within timescale 33 4

Number that received a full response 35 5

Number of complaints upheld 14 3

Number of complaints escalated to next stage 3 0

Average days to respond to a complaint 3.1 days19.6 days

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Be Ready for the Winter WeatherHere’s some wise advice which could help you stay warm and dry this winter, protect your home and help to avoid emergency repairs.

Outside your HomeDon’t wait for the freezing weather –

• Check your guttering and report any breaks or leaks now.

• On the roof, keep a look-out for loose or missing tiles and slates and let us know if you see any problems.

Inside your Home• Make sure you know how to turn off the water,

gas and electricity. You may need to do this in an emergency, so it pays to be prepared.

• Keep candles, matches, blankets, a torch and a battery powered radio somewhere handy in case of power cuts. A camping stove will be useful too.

• If you notice any leaking taps or pipes, please report these to our team and we will arrange for a repair, as leaks can cause pipes to freeze up.

• If you have an outdoor tap, wrap it up with insulating material or switch off the water supply to it altogether. If unsure please contact the office for advice.

Through the NightDuring the night is when the temperature is likely to drop. In very cold weather we recommend that you keep your central heating on at a low setting - at least 15 degrees Celsius.

Unoccupied PropertiesIf you are planning to leave the house unoccupied then please contact the office and we will arrange for your heating and water systems to be drained down and re-filled on your return. This will help reduce the possibility of pipes bursting due to extreme cold temperatures and the horrible experience of coming home from holiday to a flooded home.

Central Heating Breakdowns• Our engineers can be very busy in the cold weather

dealing with central heating breakdowns. Very often these faults can be rectified without an engineer attending.

• Before calling an engineer please check your central heating clock and timer is working properly, it is switched on and set at the correct time.

• Ensure your thermostats are set properly. Check all hot taps and ensure they are closed properly – any hot tap running will reduce your radiator temperature.

• Check that the main power switch (spur), often located to the side or below your boiler, is switched on.

• If you have a pre-payment meter, make sure that you have credit in both Gas and Electricity supply and the meter is not faulty or a power cut has not occurred.

• Sometimes, turning your boiler off or to the reset position for a few moments will repair any fault. Guidance for this will be found in your user manual.

Should your condensate pipe freeze you can sit a hot water bottle on the pipe to help thaw it out or pour hot (not boiling) water over the pipe to help defrost it. Please take extreme care when using boiling water.

For more advice, please get in touch. We’ll be happy to help.

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Nominate your good neighbourin recognition of all their support looking out for others…A number of our tenants have been in touch to tell us how much they have valued their neighbours support particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. They asked us to highlight this in our newsletter and we have decided to run a Covid 19 Good Neighbour Award scheme where the results will be published in our next newsletter. If you would like to

participate please complete the nomination slip and return to our office at 1 Cressy Street, G51 4RB. All nominations will be entered into a prize draw and the winner will receive a Kindle Fire HD8 and two runners up will each receive a £25 ‘Love to Shop’ voucher

Please only tell us information about your neighbour that they would want you to share. Don’t share personal information relating to their health or private life. We will tell your neighbour that they have been nominated.

Are you happy for us to tell them it came from you?

Closing date 31st January 2021, entries received after this date will not be included in draw.

!!

Who are you nominating?

Title First Name Surname

Address Postcode

Contact Number

Your details

Title First Name Surname

Address Postcode

Contact Number

Why are you nominating them?

What did your neighbour do?

Why do you think they deserve this award?

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ASSET & INVESTMENT NEWS

We have been developing proposals to upgrade our two blocks of multi-storey flats at 39 Mallaig and 15 Mountgarrie. We are currently out to tender for a works contractor to carry out a variety of different improvements including:• Replacement of fire doors to individual

flats and common areas

• Replacement of emergency lighting in common areas including stairwells

• Upgrading of cold-water storage tanks in common areas

As you can see, a lot of work will be involved in this project and as our tenants will still be at home throughout all of this, we want to reassure you that the Association and our contractor will be

strictly following the latest Government and Health and Safety guidelines while working in the properties. If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to call the LHA office on 0141 445 4418 and press option 1 for Asset Management or email [email protected]

Redevelopment of Drumoyne Primary School Site Starts! We are delighted to tell you that the Association has now purchased the Drumoyne Primary School site and initial works began in early November 2020.

You can expect to see a lot of activity on the site as the first stage of the new development will involve partially demolishing the main school building; however, we will be retaining the main entrance to the school and this will be used as part of the new block of flats.

The site will host 49 new homes including flats and houses of varying sizes, all for social rent. We will be keeping the old janitor’s house too and completely refurbishing the building into a new family home. We are very much looking forward to bringing you the Association’s first new development in many years and will continue to keep you all updated on progress so watch this space!

Phase 2 Window Replacement and Stonework Repairs We have started working on our next phase of window replacement and stonework repairs with works commencing early November 2020 at 7 and 25 Hutton Drive with the erection of scaffolding, and windows due to be fitted in December. Our contractor, CCG (Scotland) Ltd has already carried out surveys on the buildings to determine all necessary works and take measurements for the new windows.

All of the tenants who will be included in this phase of our programme have now been contacted by the Association and CCG (Scotland) Ltd, but if you have any more questions, please call the office telephone number: 0141 445 4418 and select option 1 for the Asset Management Team or if you would prefer, you can email [email protected]

Multi-storey Flats Improvements

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ASSET & INVESTMENT NEWS

During the winter months you will notice a reduction of our landscape maintenance services. John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance have now completed the final grass cut, shrub prune and hedge trim of the year and will be moving on to their winter works programme. This will

include:

• Litter picking• Bin store maintenance• Weed control on hard surfaces• Moss removal

As we approach February and March

you will see the team carrying out hard cutbacks of any overgrown shrubs and tree maintenance on LHA properties to prepare for the growing season in the Spring. If you have any queries regarding landscaping or our contractor, please contact the Asset Management Team.

Winter Landscape Maintenance

Smoke and Heat detector upgradesUnder the new Scottish Government regulations, Linthouse Housing Association must ensure that all its properties have the appropriate smoke and heat detection system installed. This work comprises of smoke detectors within hallways and lounge and a heat detector within the kitchen. These installations are not only for the health and safety of all our tenants and buildings but are also necessary to comply with Government legislation. Works may also require electrical testing, depending on when your last test was carried out as these should take place every 5 years.

Our contractor Fortress Security Alarms Ltd will be in contact with you soon to arrange access dates to carry out this work or testing in your property. It is imperative that you allow our contractor access to carry out these works.

You are responsible for ensuring that there is a sufficient electricity supply for us to carry out this work.

We can assure you that our contractors adhere to Government guidance and have the correct procedures in place relating to COVID-19 and safe working practices. Your co-operation in this matter will be much appreciated.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the Asset Management Team.

Gas Matters!With winter now upon us, LHA want all of our tenants to be warm and safe in their homes. In this article, we’ve provided an update about gas repairs and gas safety.

Capped Gas SupplyTo protect tenants’ health and safety, LHA has a procedure to check every three months that capped supplies are safe. So, if you have a capped gas supply, please get in touch with LHA. We can help you with:

• Having your meter uncapped

• Getting your boiler serviced

• Getting your heating and hot water working again

• Dealing with any debts to energy companies, or if you are facing financial hardship.

Energy problems can happen to anyone, so please don’t be embarrassed about asking for help – all you need to do is contact LHA for non-judgmental and friendly assistance.

Gas Servicing We’d like to remind all tenants that it is a legal requirement for us to carry out an annual gas safety check at every home with a gas appliance, if you cannot make your appointment please contact us to rearrange. If no access is gained following an appointment, GasSure will attempt access 7 days later.

Quality Assurance ChecksTo make sure the quality of work from our contractors remains high, LHA has appointed Argon Technical, as our quality assurance auditors. Argon are independent gas and electrical auditors and will complete a check on 10% of our servicing and installations combined. Your cooperation in giving Argon access to carry out these audits is greatly appreciated.

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ANNUAL LANDLORD REPORT

Annual Landlord ReportThe following information is a summary of Linthouse Housing Association’s (LHA) Annual Return on the Charter performance during 2019/2020. Each year we issue tenants with a performance report outlining how we have performed against each of the Scottish Housing Charter standards and outcomes set by the Scottish Housing Regulator. This year we have decided to include this information in our Autumn/Winter newsletter.

What is the Charter?The Scottish Social Housing Charter provides a framework outlining the areas of performance which all housing associations or registered social landlords (RSLs) and local authorities in Scotland should be focussing on to make improvements for their tenants and other customers through the housing services they provide.

Results As you can see from our results, we are pleased to have made improvements in most areas of the services that we provide. We feel that this has been due to the staff’s continued focus and commitment to providing the best service possible for Linthouse residents. Despite this we recognise that there are always areas where improvements can be made and we aim to address these within our Business Plan and the ongoing work being carried out, some of which you can read about in the newsletter.

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1. Your Home

2. Value for money

We are committed to providing high-quality, safe and affordable homes. We made changes in our staff structure so that our Asset Management Team can focus solely on our repairs and maintenance service to improve the quality of your home, in addition to building new homes for rent:

2019/20 2018/19

Scottish (RSL)

Average 2019/20

Average time taken to complete emergency repairs 2.5 hours

3.7 hours 2.7 hours

Average time taken to complete non-emergency repairs 4.8 days

4.1 days 5.7 days

Repairs completed right first time 91.0% 93.3% 92.8%

Tenants satisfied with the repairs service 89.0% 87.2% 91.7%

Tenants satisfied with the quality of their homes 80.1% 78.0% 88.4%

Stock meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) 70.6% 85.0% 93.8%

Homes meeting Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) 67.1% 64.3% 90.9%

We continually strive to achieve value for money to ensure we provide the most cost efficient and high quality services to meet individual needs and aspirations. 2019/20 2018/19

Scottish (RSL)

Average 2019/20

Tenants who felt their rent represents good value for money 89.7% 88.7% 83.5%

Rent lost through properties being empty 0.6% 0.9% 0.9%

Average number of days to let a property 18 days

26 days 26 days

Rent collected from tenants as a % of total rent due 99.7% 99.9% 99.3%

Rent arrears as % of due 8.4% 7.8% 4.4%

Owners satisfied with factoring service 75.0% 75.0% 68.1%

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Areas for Improvement Whilst we strive to improve our performance in all areas of the service we provide, this year there is a particular focus on:

• Gross Rent Arrears: The Customer Service and Welfare Rights Teams will continue to focus on income maximisation to make tenants claim for any benefits they are entitled to for helping to pay rent and to minimise arrears. We know this is of particular importance due to the impact Covid 19 will have on our tenants’ income.

• Complaints: All staff are receiving further training on complaints handling procedures.

• SHQS & EESSH: The Asset Management Team will continue to focus on planned maintenance and upgrade of LHA stock.

If you would like a copy of our full Annual Return on the Charter performance figures, please contact Yvonne Rooney, Head of Business Support on the usual phone number or email at [email protected].

The Annual Assurance Statement Every year our Management Committee has to submit a statement to the Scottish Housing Regulator to confirm that they receive enough information and evidence from staff to feel assured that LHA complies with all of our regulatory and legal requirements. This year the statement confirmed that the committee are assured we meet all of our regulatory and legal requirements except for when we were unable to carry out some of our gas safety inspections in tenants homes during the coronavirus lockdown.

We are now back on track with carrying out inspections but would ask all tenants to make sure they respond to staff when they are trying to arrange a gas inspection and let us know if there are any issues to ensure everyone is kept safe.

The Annual Assurance Statement was approved at the Management Committee meeting held 27th October 2020 before being submitted to the Scottish Housing Regulator. You can view the full Annual Assurance Statement on our website at www.linthouseha.com.

Community is at the heart of everything we do. This is more than just building and managing affordable homes; it is about achieving our long term vision which is the creation and sustainment of lasting, unique, vibrant homes in stable, popular and ambitious urban communities. We aim to provide a range of services that supports the local community to feel safe and secure in their homes and good about the area where they live.

2019/20 2018/19

Scottish (RSL)

Average 2019/20

Number of cases of anti-social behaviour resolved within locally agreed targets 98.7% 92.4% 94.9%

Tenants satisfied with how we manage their neighbourhood 83.7% 84.5% 87.8%

3. Our Customers

4. Communities

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we are committed to ensuring they are involved in the decision making process and in finding new ways to deliver services that reflect customers needs.

2019/20 2018/19 Scottish (RSL) Average 2019/20

Tenants satisfied with overall service 92.0% 90.3% 90.5%Tenants who feel we are good at keeping them informed about services and outcomes 95.2% 94.8% 93.1%

Tenants satisfied with the opportunities given to them to participate in our decision making 95.2% 94.8% 88.6%

No. of complaints received Stage 1: 92 Satge 2: 11Stage 1: 63 Stage 2: 7

Stage 1: 144 Stage 2: 20

Complaints responded to within timescale Stage 1: 98.1% Stage 2: 81.8%Stage 1: 92.1%

Stage 2: 85.7%Stage 1: 98.6% Stage 2: 94.2%

Average time to respond to complaints Stage 1: 3.8 days Stage 2: 21.7 daysStage 1: 3.3 days

Stage 2: 16.0days

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20Linthouse Housing Association, 1 Cressy Street, G51 4RB, Tel: 0141 445 4418Linthouse Housing Association, 1 Cressy Street, G51 4RB, Tel: 0141 445 4418

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Autumn/Winter 2020, Issue No. 87 · 2020. 12. 17. · Autumn/Winter 2020, Issue No. 87 Thursday...

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