Link Group Ltd. annual review 2011

Annual Review 2011

valuing people, providing homes, building communities, working together

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Link Group Annual Review 2011 1

Annual Review 2011

Contents

Chair’s review ........................................................ 2

The Link group ...................................................... 6

Our vision, values and objectives .......................... 8

Valuing people ...................................................... 9

Providing homes.................................................. 21

Building communities .......................................... 29

Working together ................................................ 35

Company informationand contact details ..............................................40

2 Link Group Annual Review 2011

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Chair’s review

In the face of unremitting challenges arisingfrom the economic and political consequencesof the credit crunch and recession, the Linkgroup has enjoyed another very successfulyear in terms of both growth and serviceimprovement, consolidating our positionamong the leaders in the Scottish Third Sectorof social enterprises and voluntaryorganisations and resulting in several awards.

Key statistics in our 2010/11 Annual Accounts(published separately from this review) reveal:

• A surplus of £3.05 million• Capital expenditure on new or improved

housing for rent and shared ownership of£25.8 million

• Gross turnover of £34.1 million

t the end of March 2011 the group held:

• Revenue reserves of £21.1 million• Maintenance reserves of £16.4 million• Total reserves of £39.8 million

hese results have been achieved by taking aeasured and responsible approach not only toentifying and achieving efficiencies but also a

risk aware, not risk averse” approach to businessevelopment.

he Link Group Board reviewed its businesstrategy and agreed eight strategic objectives whicheaffirm our ‘overarching principles’ of growth,uality services and business development.

he objectives are:

• Continue to develop additional affordablehousing including accessible housing forpeople with disabilities

• Explore and model alternative tenure types• Maximise income streams (e.g. from energy

generation, housing for sale and other socialenterprises) and achieve surpluses forreinvestment in agreed areas of priority

• Further improve internal efficiencies through, forexample, improvements in KPIs and providingsocial and financial return on investment

> Robbie Robertson, Link Group Chair.


• Continue to provide support to – and developthe potential of – our employees, boardmembers and customers

• Further contribute towards environmental andsocial sustainability and organisational viability

• Develop and extend market coverage inappropriate markets (for example, privatesector leasing)

• Develop specific strategic approaches to servicedelivery and products in relation to: Older People,Young People and Disabled People

So, while putting in place a new organisationalstructure and continuing to review our staffestablishment to make the group more effective,we also developed our portfolio of servicesincluding private sector leasing, sharedownership for disabled people, tenancysustainment, peer education, affordable warmthand welfare rights advice.

With continued funding support from the ScottishGovernment, we developed new relationships withtwo local authorities areas in particular – EastRenfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire – whilecontinuing to consolidate in our ‘traditionalheartlands’ of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Renfrewshire,North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire.

These and other initiatives feature throughout thisreview and I believe they emphasise the enthusiasm,dedication and socially inclusive (but entrepreneurial)approach of our Board Members, Chief Executive,Directors and staff.

> Double win at the Herald Awards – Craig Sanderson, ChiefExecutive Link Group; Rhona Penman, OPAP Advice ServicesCo-ordinator; Gael McKenzie, OPAP Project Assistant; AsmaHussein, SmartLiving Peer Education Worker; IreneBlackburn, SmartLiving Co-ordinator; and Elaine Johnston,Director LinkLiving.

Next year we will celebrate our 50th birthday and Ihope I will then be reporting on a further package ofinitiatives we are currently developing with theScottish Government, local authorities andothers, which will take the whole Link groupforward into its second half-century with theconfidence and determination to achieve furtherhigh quality outcomes for a substantial number ofScotland’s citizens.

I would also like to congratulate all involved for therecognition Link has received as a great place towork. It is wonderful recognition of the approach wetake to organisational culture, staff conditions and


working environments, especially when times arehard and we could easily fall into the trap of lesseningour commitment to best practice and staff wellbeing.

My thanks to all.

Robbie RobertsonChairLink Group

Chair’s review

> ‘Large Housing Association of the Year’ at the Scottish HomeAwards 2010. Comedian Kevin Bridges, SFHA Chair LornaPaterson, Link Chief Executive Craig Sanderson and Link ChairRobbie Robertson.

5

Link Group Head Office, Edinburgh.


The Link group

The Link group of charitable registeredsocial landlords, voluntary organisations,and social enterprises offers a widerange of housing, support and regenerationservices to 10,000 families and individuals,primarily in Scotland’s central belt. In2011/12, Link plans to invest more than£25 million in new high quality, affordablehomes for rent and low cost ownership inareas where they are most needed.

Link Group Ltd is the parent company. It ownsmost of the group’s housing stock and other assets.It provides Asset Management, Business Support,Business Development, Communications,Corporate Services, Development, Finance, Health& Safety, Human Resources, Information Systemsand Technical Services to the whole group.

Link Housing Association Ltd is one of thelargest organisations of its kind in Scotland. Itprovides quality housing management services tomore than 6,500 tenants in social rentedaccommodation – both general needs andsheltered – with bases in east, central and westScotland and the Highlands. It provides propertymanagement / factoring services to 4,500 owners.Link Housing also provides first class adviceservices that combat poverty by means ofassistance and advocacy.

LinkLiving Ltd provides support to people to behealthy, happy and fulfilled and to manage thechallenges of everyday life more effectively.LinkLiving works in partnership with people andorganisations to make a difference with services inEdinburgh, Fife, Falkirk and Midlothian. LinkLivingworks with around 1000 people with a diverse rangeof needs every year including 100 volunteers (seepage 11), developing their skills and confidence toenable them to take advantage of opportunities andallow them to be in control of their own lives.

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Linkwide Ltd and Link Homes Ltd responsibilitiestransferred to Link Group and Link HousingAssociation on April 1 2011. Linkwide was formerlythe development and regeneration arm of Link. Italso provided advice services and built new homesfor sale, while its subsidiary Link Homes Ltdoffered commercial factoring and delivered theScottish Government’s LIFT Open Market SharedEquity (OMSE) scheme.

Larkfield Housing Association Ltd is aGreenock-based registered social landlord whichowns and manages a stock of 400 properties andprovides management services to an additional 550owner occupiers in the Larkfield area. Larkfield alsoprovides housing management to 237 Link tenantsand factoring services to more than 900 owners inPort Glasgow.

Horizon Housing Association Ltd is a nationalregistered social landlord which promotes andprovides affordable housing and services thatenable people, irrespective of impairment, to live fullindependent lives in the community of their choice.Horizon provides 811 homes for rent or sharedownership, integrating homes for wheelchair userswhich comprise around 25% of its properties. It alsoprovides factoring services for 19 owners andadvice and assistance to approximately 1000 olderand disabled people in West Lothian through itsCare and Repair service.


Our vision, values and objectives

Mission statement

Our philosophy

• Valuing people• Building communities• Providing homes• Working together

Vision

What we want to achieve overall

Link’s vision is to be a provider of choice andexcellence in the delivery of a wide range of sociallyinclusive regeneration, housing and supportservices.

Values

Underpinning all our activities and workingpractices

• Equality• Diversity• Customer engagement• Service quality• Wellbeing • Sustainability• Value for money• Continuous improvement

Aims

Our five key aims are to:

1. Provide excellent customer service2. Support the organisation’s growth agenda in

service provision, increased housing supply,wider role activities and appropriate groupstructure arrangements

3. Improve our operational efficiency to increaseand strengthen our financial capacity to deliverhousing programmes and extended services

4. Adopt a strategic marketing approach,engaging with relevant stakeholders to assist inthe development of the organisation andinfluencing housing, care and regenerationdecisions

5. Develop our people to improve capacity tosupport and deliver business aims

Val

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Valuing people

People are at the heart of everything we do.We serve more than 10,000 families andindividuals in 26 of Scotland’s 32 localauthority areas by providing affordable homes,offering personal support and care andworking with communities to regenerate localneighbourhoods. Our priorities are to reach anincreasing number of people, to continue toimprove our diverse range of services, tomaintain a strong focus on customersatisfaction and to equip our staff with theskills to enable us to achieve these goals.

We are driven by our aim continuously to improveservice delivery. In November 2010, following areview of the group structure and consultation withBoard members and staff, the Link Group Boardapproved changes to the governance andorganisational structures.

Key changes included:

• The disestablishment of Linkwide, with the LinkGroup Board absorbing the governance role ofthe Linkwide Board

• Creation of an Asset Management Directoratewithin Link Group which includes theresponsibility for maintenance and technicalservices as well as development andbusiness development

• Link Housing Association incorporatingLink’s Advice team and a consolidatedfactoring service

> SmartLiving DVD Launch. Asma Hussein, one of thePeer Education Co-ordinators, and some of thevolunteers who produced the DVD.


By better aligning our operational areas we expectnot only to improve our service delivery but also toincrease our financial capacity and be more efficientin our decision-making.

The value of our volunteers Link has over 100 volunteers who actively engagewith LinkLiving projects, which encourageparticipants to develop their skills and confidence,helping them to access education and increasingtheir employability.

LinkLiving’s SmartLiving project developed both aboard game and DVD which are used in peereducation sessions. These innovative andinteractive tools demonstrate that the choicesyoung people make have a huge impact on theirlives. SmartLiving continued its winning streak at theAnnual Volunteer Awards run by the VolunteerCentre Falkirk, achieving “Youth VolunteeringEngaging Organisation of the Year” for the fourth

time. The project was also named “ServiceProvider of the Year (working with under 24s)”at the Herald Society Awards 2010.

LinkLiving’s volunteer service continued to growwith the formation of two new projects inEdinburgh and Fife. SmartCatering was set up togive young people in Edinburgh the opportunity togain skills in food preparation. The volunteershave so far provided the catering for a number ofmeetings at Link’s Head Office, and we hope tocontinue and expand this initiative in the comingyear. In Fife, the RealLiving team established agardening project at Craigencault, the EcologyCentre at Kinghorn Loch. The volunteerstransformed an overgrown patch of groundinto one which has produced a range oforganically grown produce. The volunteers notonly learned how to plant, grow and harvest awide range of vegetables but they were taughthow to prepare, cook and incorporate thevegetables into their diet.

> LinkLiving Volunteer awards.


Chair’s review

Caring for customersWe continue to listen to and engage with ourcustomers and service users and are responsive totheir needs.

We work to fulfil our commitments to recognisediversity and provide equal opportunities tocustomers using our services. To support this, Link isnow a member of Happy to Translate. This schemeassists in ensuring that our customers have accessto support if they require translation or interpretationservices. Staff who have undertaken the trainingfrom Happy to Translate now have increasedknowledge and confidence in their ability to arrangethis assistance for customers who need it.

Our support activities are varied and recentlyresidents of Link’s sheltered housing complex inGlen Lyon Court, Cumbernauld, became ‘SilverSurfers’. Following training from Motherwell Collegeand funding from North Lanarkshire Council, theresidents are now able to use the computer in theircommunal lounge.

LinkLiving’s Counselling Service is now beingoffered to employees of Kingdom HousingAssociation. The counsellors have a wealth ofknowledge and are able to help Kingdom’s staffdeal with issues such as stress and anxiety,relationship issues, bereavement and depression.

Support servicesThe Edinburgh Young Persons Service (EYPS)launched its annual Impact Report in October 2010.The service offers support to around 400 vulnerableyoung people to help them to establish and maintaintheir tenancies. These young people often faceissues such as drug or alcohol addiction or physicaland learning disabilities. The report highlights thesuccesses of the service. These include:

• 79% of people reported that support helpedthem achieve greater independence

• 81% of people secured settled accommodation • 70% of clients experienced improvements in

their physical or mental health

In Fife, LinkLiving piloted two new services – aSupported Self Help service and an IntensiveTenancy Support service.

Valuing people

> ‘Silver Surfers’, Glen Lyon Court.

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The Supported Self Help service was set up inpartnership with NHS Fife in August 2010 and wasfunded for one year through the Local Mental HealthPartnership. This initiative was aimed at helpingpeople in Glenrothes and North East Fife who hadmild to moderate mental health issues to developtheir own personal coping strategies to managetheir mental health and well-being. Following theearly success of the service, the Local Mental HealthPartnership agreed to extend funding until the endof March 2012.

In partnership with the Social Work department inNorth East Fife, LinkLiving also developed a newservice for people who had significant addiction andmental health issues. So far, the Intensive TenancySupport Service has had a positive impact on anumber of service users. Initially a six-month pilot,LinkLiving was delighted when this was extended fora further six months to September 2011.

Four LinkLiving services were inspected by the CareCommission in 2010/11 and all were given verypositive results.

Quality Theme 1: Quality of Care andSupport, 10 grades were awarded, 2 ‘Excellent’7 ‘Very Good’ and 1 ‘Good’Quality Theme 2: Quality of the Environment(Care Homes only) 2 grades were awarded1 ‘Very Good’ and 1 ‘Good’Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing,4 Grades of ‘Very Good were awarded Quality Theme 4: Quality of Managementand Leadership, 2 grades of ‘Very Good’were awarded

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From 1 April 2011, the work of the Care Commissionpassed to a new body called Social Care and SocialWork Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) which willnow be responsible for regulating and inspectingthe services provided by LinkLiving.

LinkLiving currently works with 75 service users aspart of the Edinburgh Mental Health Service(EMHS). The service provides practical, social andemotional support to people from a wide range ofbackgrounds. The service is person centred, flexibleand responsive to changing needs.

LinkLiving continues to seek opportunities forindividuals and is committed to working with thosewho choose self-directed support to ensure thatthey purchase a service which meets their needs.Since April 2010, 31 service users using EMHS havedecided to exercise their right to choose to apply forDirect Payments.

Valuing people


Repairs and maintenanceLink’s services faced a serious challenge inSeptember 2010 when its repairs contractor(Connaught Partnerships Ltd) went intoadministration.

Interim arrangements ensured there was minimaldisruption to tenants while the contract wasretendered. Two new contractors (Mitie andMorrison – for the east and west regionsrespectively) were appointed in December 2010.Despite having to mobilise during severe weather,essential repairs services were maintained andcosts were contained within budget.

We continue to allocate resources to ensure weremain on track to achieve the Scottish HousingQuality Standard (SHQS) on all of our existingproperties by 2015. With £5.2 million invested in ofive-year planned and cyclical maintenanceprogramme, we saved £312,000 as a result of thein-house delivery of the programme this year.

ur

Our procurement strategy has helped to minimisecosts and to assist contractor selection for theprogramme of works. We advertise our contractspublicly as well as using framework agreements toidentify suppliers.

The overall programme of works during 2010/11included:

• Renewing 499 kitchens• Upgrading 175 bathrooms• Replacing central heating systems or boilers

in 366 properties• Replacement of Electric Storage Heating with

Gas Systems in 132 properties• Fitting new windows or doors in 77 homes• Cyclical painter work to 810 properties• Servicing 4256 gas appliances and carrying

out repairs and maintenance if required• Major adaptations to 75 properties to meet the

needs of older or disabled tenants

> Beardmore Place, Dalmuir.

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Link tenants continue to be satisfied with the workbeing carried out to their homes.

2010/2011 Customer Satisfaction Percentages:

Valuing people

Works

Converting Electric Storageto Gas Heating

Medical Adaptions

Windows & Doors

Bathroom Renewals

Kitchen Replacements

Gas Heating Upgrades

Cyclical Painter Work

80 90 100

Percentage satisfied

Larkfield continued its commitment to ensure that allits properties will meet the SHQS by 2015. A total of£407,000 was spent on major repairs work.Investments to the housing stock in the yearincluded fan installations, energy efficiencyupgrades and external roughcasting.

Horizon invested £753,000 on its plannedmaintenance programme, replacing and upgradingkitchens, installing new boilers and upgradingbathrooms. In addition, Horizon carried out over 60adaptations to tenants’ homes to enable them toremain living independently.


Our performance

The following tables show how Link, Larkfield and Horizon Housing Associations performed in key areasrelating to arrears, voids, lets and repairs.

Link Housing Association:

The percentages of repairs on time do not meet Link’s high standards. Putting in place an interim contract fromSeptember 2010 to January 2011 when Connaught Partnerships Ltd went into administration (together with thesevere weather in December 2010 and January 2011) had a significant impact on the capacity of Link and itscontractors to deliver the Repairs Service to standard.

Measure 2010/11 2009/10 2008/09

Current tenant arrears(net of Housing Benefit arrears)

3.5% 2.5% 2.8%

Former tenant arrears 0.7% 0.8% 0.9%

Average void days for all re-lets 35 29 21

% of relets let within two weeks 24.6% 28% 41%

% of relets let within four weeks 71% 64% 78%

Void rent loss 1.11% 0.9% 0.76%

Total number of lets during year 749 603 662

Lets to ethnic minority applicants 3.5% 4.5% 3.7%

Lets to disabled applicants 8.1% 3.3% 7.1%

Repairs response times achieved 89.7% 89.3% 89.4%

Spend on planned & cyclical maintenanceand major repairs

£5.2m £5.9m £5.4m


Valuing people

Larkfield Housing Association:

Measure 2010/11 2009/10

Rent loss on empty houses 0.2% 0.3%

Rent arrears as a percentage oftotal rent receivable

3.7% 5.2%

Average time taken to re-letempty properties

14 days 21 days

Percentage of repairscompleted within time

90% 96.7%

Satisfaction level withrepairs completed

97.0% 98.0%

Horizon Housing Association:

Measure Target 2010/11 Actual 2010/11

Rent collected as % of rent collectable n/a 97%

Rent arrears (excluding housingbenefit) as % of rent collectable

1.9% 1.73%

Rent loss on empty houses 0.75% 0.48%

Average time to relet a property 14 days 13 days

Average time to let a new property 4 days 3 days

Repairs completed on time 95% 99.7%

Care & Repair

Cases submitted for grant approvalwithin 8 weeks

95% 94%

Clients satisfied with service(based on 70% survey response rate)

95% 100%


Developing our peopleLink continues to support and develop ouremployees. We are proud to have retained ourInvestors in People accreditation and HealthyWorking Lives Gold Award. We are also recognisedas being ‘Positive About Disabled People’.

Link was honoured to be named the 12th “BestWorkplace in Scotland 2011” and 31st “BestWorkplace in UK 2011” by the Great Places to WorkInstitute. The scheme recognises organisations thathave achieved outstanding effectiveness in HR andpeople excellence. Based on staff surveys andmanagement questionnaires, both Link and GreatPlaces to Work gained a detailed insight into thesequalities in our various workplaces. Althoughdelighted to have gained this accolade, we aredetermined to keep improving Link’s reputation asan employer of choice.

We recognise that line managers have a significantimpact on how we support, encourage and developstaff. In conjunction with Brodies LLP we devised aLeadership Development Programme. A number ofleadership standards were agreed and ourLeadership Charter sets out what staff can expectfrom any line manager within Link. Staff new to a linemanagement role will receive training to ensure theyunderstand fully Link’s expectations.


Valuing people

We continue to encourage our employees toundertake formal qualifications as well as significantamounts of job-related training. Our trainingexpenditure for 2010/11 exceeded £100,000 whichhighlights our commitment to the professionaldevelopment of our employees.

Twenty staff in our Customer Service Centrecompleted the Chartered Institute of Housing’sLevel 2 Qualification in Housing, 15 housing andmaintenance staff achieved a City & Guild inEnergy Efficiency and over 65% of our Care andSupport staff have completed (or are undertaking)a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)recognised qualification.

LinkGiving

Our commitment to supporting local charitiescontinued throughout last year as part of our‘LinkGiving’ scheme. A total of £2,200 was raisedthrough various fundraising activities including abarbecue, a book sale, a music quiz and a cake andbake sale.

In addition, our sheltered housing staff, tenants andvisitors raised £5,840 for Alzheimer’s Scotland.

> Alzheimer cheque presentation. L-R (back) Kevin McKay,Forth Valley Dementia Advisor, Alzheimer Scotland and AmyMcKay, Link Sheltered Housing Manager, with tenants ofAlbany Court, Denny.

Prov

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Providing homes

New homes for rentand sale

The Scottish Government announced newcompetitive funding arrangements with asubstantially reduced Housing Association Grant(HAG) benchmark figure. Meeting the shortfall intraditional HAG is a challenge which we intend tomeet constructively to continue to achieve ourgrowth objectives.

We continue to invest in the traditional fundeddevelopment programme. Capital Expenditure in2010/11 was £17.3 million (achieving a grant planningtarget of £8.68m and completing 214 new homes).

In 2011/12, Link plans to spend over £25 million todeliver 253 new high quality, affordable homes forrent and low cost ownership in areas where they aremost needed.

Our Asset Management strategy provides aframework which will help to make decisions thatwill ensure the long term future of our stock. Thestrategy sets out how we manage our propertiesto optimise income as well as making sure theymeet modern standards and the needs of ourcustomers. In some cases it is more financiallyviable to dispose of properties. In Edinburgh weintend to sell 30 tenemental flats and reinvest salesinto new properties.

Land investmentWe continue to maximise opportunities from our£6 million Landbank Fund to acquire sites tofacilitate our development programme. The followingsites were acquired and will deliver 87 units:

• 16 homes for rent at Park Terrace, Brightons• 28 homes for rent and 10 for shared equity at

Falkirk Road, Bonnybridge• 33 homes for rent and shared equity at

Broadwood, Cumbernauld

Link is in discussion with the City of EdinburghCouncil to purchase a site at City Park which coulddeliver more than 200 units. It is anticipated that thefunds acquired from the disposal of several Linkproperties in Edinburgh will help to fund thisdevelopment – an innovative approach to meetingthe challenge of financing a landmark site withminimal subsidy.

> Barrhead: Rachel and baby Guy, our first tenants at John Street.


Delivery of affordablehomes

In 2010/11 we completed 214 properties – 188 forrent and 26 for shared ownership/shared equity.This comprised:

• 18 homes for rent at Graham Terrace,Bishopbriggs

• 41 homes for rent at John Street and HenryStreet, Barrhead

• 16 homes for rent at Mayfield Drive, Longcroft• 18 homes for rent, seven for shared ownership

and two for shared equity at Wood Street,Grangemouth

• 35 homes for rent at Torwoodlea, Larbert• 14 homes for rent at Sikeside, Coatbridge

(Refurbished)

• 40 homes for rent and eight for shared equity atBeardmore Place, Dalmuir – the developmentwas a finalist in the ‘Small Affordable HousingDevelopment of the Year’ category at the 2011Scottish Home Awards

• Six homes for rent at Jellicoe Street, Dalmuir• Six homes for shared equity at Auchinback,

Barrhead• Three homes for shared equity at

Greenloaning, Perthshire

> Barrhead opening. L-R Resident Fiona Sweeney, daughterAshley, baby Amy, Craig Sanderson, Robbie Robertson andCouncillor Danny Devlin.

> Cherrybank on site. L-R Mactaggart & Mickel Contracts’Manager Jamie McLean and Site Manager John Kelly; EastRenfrewshire Council’s Environment Director Andy Cahill,Housing Convener Danny Devlin and Council Leader JimFletcher; Link Chief Executive Craig Sanderson and SeniorDevelopment Officer Hazel Boyd.


The following projects will result in 137 newaffordable homes in 2011/12:

• 30 homes for shared equity at Cotton Street,Paisley

• 31 homes for rent at Allandar Park, Bearsden• 14 homes for rent and 15 for shared ownership

at Wauchope Square, Craigmillar, Edinburgh• 15 homes for rent at Cherrybank, Newton Mearns• 28 homes for rent at Bellsdyke, Larbert• 4 homes for rent at Sikeside, Coatbridge

(Refurbished)

Supporting regeneration Link continues to support regeneration in the areaswhere we develop.

Throughout 2010/11, we continued to work withWestpoint Homes on the regeneration project atCotton Street, Paisley. The first phase handover of30 homes at “The Cloisters” for New Supply SharedEquity was scheduled for July 2011.

Together with Westpoint Homes and RenfrewshireCouncil, Link signed a Community Benefits Charterto maximise community benefit for people andbusinesses in Cotton Street. The agreement saw thepartners working together to provide training andemployment opportunities for unemployed peopleand skills enhancement for people in employment.

We also helped sponsor a street party at CrossArthurlie Street, Barrhead. The party was organisedby East Renfrewshire Council to say “thank you” tolocal residents and businesses for their support

Providing homes

> Cotton Street Community Benefits Charter. L-R GrahamDickson, Westpoint Homes; Bob Darracott, Director ofPlanning and Transport, Renfrewshire Council; Derek Mackay,Leader of Renfrewshire Council; and Craig Sanderson.

> Cross Arthurlie Street party. L-R Councillor Tony Buchanan,Convenor Economic Development and Regeneration; CraigSanderson; Alex Neil, MSP, Scottish Government Ministerfor Housing and Communities; Councillor Douglas Yates;Vincent Waters, President, East Renfrewshire Chamber ofCommerce; Lorraine McMillan, Chief Executive, EastRenfrewshire Council.

during the regeneration works in the area. The partycoincided with the release of Link’s first phase of newaffordable rented housing at nearby John Street.

Helping aspiringhomeowners

Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE)Link successfully administered the ScottishGovernment's LIFT Open Market Shared EquityScheme across an extended area which includesEdinburgh, Lothians, Borders, Fife, Tayside, ForthValley and the west of Scotland.

OMSE helps people on low incomes, includingsocial renters and members of the armed forceswho want to buy a new home, but who cannot affordthe full purchase price. Buyers pay for a majoritystake in a home (normally between 70% to 90%) andthe Scottish Government funds the remaining equityin the property.

Link’s role is to generate interest and target agreedgroups of potential customers, to advise potentialbuyers and assess their eligibility for the schemeand to process applications.

Link successfully completed 511 sales in 2010/11(from a total of 579 by all RSLs throughoutScotland).

> Glasgow: Marianne Clark, who bought her house through theLIFT scheme.

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New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE)Link also successfully administered and completed60 New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) sales for newbuild developments within Falkirk, WestDunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Perthshire andGlasgow.

New Supply Shared Equity scheme fordevelopers (NSSE for developers)The Scottish Government relaunched the NSSEscheme for developers which had been a pilotproject in 2010/11. Link was appointed as agent towork with nine major house builders to deliver thisscheme, across a range of new build developmentswithin the central belt.

This scheme operates on the same principles asNSSE. The approved buyer is able to purchasebetween 60% and 80% of the new build propertyfrom the approved Developer. The balance of theequity stake in the property is split between theDeveloper and the Scottish Government.

Link’s role is to ensure that purchasers meet theScottish Government guidelines and to processgrant claims on their behalf.

Link successfully completed the sale of 72properties in the NSSE Developers (pilot) schemethroughout 2010/11.

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Providing homes

> Developing “The Cloisters”, Cotton Street, Paisley.


Mortgage to Rent SchemeLink is a participant in the Scottish Government’sMortgage to Rent scheme which helps homeownerswho are in danger of having their homerepossessed as a result of financial difficulties.

Link purchases eligible properties and the formerowners are given an assured tenancy to allow themto continue to live in the property. We havepurchased 44 properties through the scheme(including eight during 2010/11) with three pending.

Helping to meet housingneed for disabled people

Link and Horizon are committed to increasing thenumbers of homes suitable for wheelchair usersprovided by the group. Link will support this byacquiring land and developing new homes tounderpin Horizon’s plans. The strategy recognisesthe need to offer housing for wheelchair users in all

tenures and to establish minimum targets forprovision of wheelchair accessible properties as aproportion of the overall programme.

In 2010/11, Horizon completed 76 properties, 66 forrent and ten for shared equity. 24 properties weredesigned for wheelchair users.

• Ten homes for rent at McTaggart Avenue, Denny• 44 homes for rent and ten for shared equity at

Myreside Street, Carntyne, Glasgow• Nine homes for rent at Ruchill, Glasgow• Three homes for rent at Etive Walk, Livingston

Horizon (in conjunction with E&F McLachlanArchitects) was a finalist in the “SmallAffordable Housing Development of the Year”category at the Scottish Home Awards 2011 forMalloy Court, Denny.

> Wood Street, Falkirk.


Horizon’s partnership with Maryhill HousingAssociation delivered nine new homes for rentwithin Maryhill’s larger development project atRuchhill, handed over in August 2010. Horizonworked closely with Glasgow Centre forIndependent Living to achieve housing solutions fordisabled people (tailored to individual needs) atboth Ruchill and Myreside Gate, Carntyne. As aresult of this collaboration, Horizon has provided afive bedroom, purpose-designed home for a largefamily who had been waiting for suitable housing inRuchill for almost six years.

Horizon’s participation in the West Lothian StrategicAlliance with Almond Housing Association andWeslo Housing Association has continued,including the development of new housing in WestLothian. As a result of this activity, Horizon willreceive and allocate seven properties designed towheelchair standard in Livingston in early April 2011.

Providing homes

Access Ownership

In early 2011, Link welcomed the first AccessOwnership buyer, Jamie McGillivray into his newhome in Errol which he obtained through thisscheme set up by Link and Ownership Options inScotland.

Link contributed £1 million from its reserves to helpdisabled people across the country secureproperties on the open market on a sharedownership basis – thereby helping many peoplewho would not be able to afford to buy a homeoutright. It is also open to disabled homeownerswho wish to continue to live in their homes whilereducing their financial commitments.

The successful completion of six purchases and theprocessing of a number of further applications isexpected to exhaust Link’s allocation during 2011.

Going forward, Horizon will add its expertise to theadministration of this innovative programme onLink’s behalf. The three organisations are nowseeking funding from the Scottish Government tomatch the continued funding of the scheme by Link.

> Access Ownership: Jamie McGillivray and family

Build

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com

mun

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Sheltered housing complex, Peel Court, Cambuslang.


Building communities

In addition to providing new and improvedhomes, we are committed to ‘wider role’activities which promote mixed, safecommunities and help create places wherepeople want to live and where they can enjoyfamily life, pursue career aspirations andaccess health care and leisure activitiesreadily. We achieve this by working closely withindividual residents, tenants’ and residents’groups, the Scottish Government, localauthorities, health boards, emergencyservices, schools and other partners in a broadrange of innovative projects.

Our wider role activities are based around four keythemes:

1. Employment and Training

Link continued to be a partner in Green Actionthroughout 2010/11. This project is a volunteeringand employability initiative for 16-24 year olds in theFalkirk area. It aims to help young people becomemore prepared to move on to work or trainingthrough 12 week conservation and tourismvolunteering programmes.

The conservation programme gives volunteers theopportunity to contribute to environmentalimprovements, such as creating paths andgardens, mainly in the grounds of Action Outdoorsand The Falkirk Wheel.

The tourism programme gives volunteers theopportunity to gain experience in retail, reception,the café and administration at The Falkirk Wheel.

One of LinkLiving’s service users volunteered onthis programme and gained a number of new skillsto help her look for paid employment.

The project is funded by the Scottish GovernmentWider Role Fund and Voluntary Action Fund. Thepartners are The Waterways Trust Scotland, BritishTrust for Conservation Volunteers, Action Outdoors,Paragon Housing Association, British WaterwaysScotland and Link itself.

2. Environment

We undertake our business activities in a mannerthat supports and delivers improvements in thequality of life for all our customers, withoutcompromising the needs or aspirations of futuregenerations. We have developed a SustainabilityStrategy which allows us to do this. It has four keyobjectives, which are:

• Aiming for a responsible environmental impact• Creating sustainable communities• Providing support and advice to individuals

and communities• Efficient and responsible use of resources

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Link is involved in a number of projects to help makeour tenants’ properties more energy efficient and totackle the issue of fuel poverty. These include:

• The installation of a biomass district heatingsystem in Bridge of Allan as a “retrofit” toreplace old electric storage heating. The projectreduces carbon emissions and energy coststhereby reducing fuel poverty across an estatethat houses 185 people.

• The installation of 20 square metres of solarthermal panels at one of our sheltered housingcomplexes in Cambuslang. The project will limitthe demand for fossil fuel and will reduceenergy costs for residents who are on fixedincomes and could be “fuel poor”.

• Working with Scottish Gas to trial a micro-combined heat and power appliance at atenant’s house in Drip Road, Stirling – one ofthe first of its kind to be installed in Scotland.The appliance delivers renewable electricityand heat by utilising bio-natural gas.While producing heat, the unit generateselectricity, making it a cost effective way ofheating and providing energy in a home. TheCombined Heat and Power (CHP) has savedthe tenant almost £300 on fuel costs – animpressive outcome following the coldestwinter in 30 years.

3. Quality of Life

Link’s free, confidential welfare rights and moneyadvice services continue to help tenants and serviceusers improve their quality of life by helping them totackle social and financial exclusion.

We were pleased when Housing and CommunitiesMinister Alex Neil made an unexpected visit to ourAGM in September 2010. He took the opportunity topraise Link’s Older Person’s Advice Project (OPAP)and Older People’s Advice Service (OPAS) which atthat point had raised more than £4 million in benefitincome for older people in Scotland.

By 31 March 2011, the service had made more than2587 home visits. Since the service started in 2005,it has generated £6.6 million in new and backdatedbenefit for older people.

In many cases clients were unaware of their fullbenefit entitlement before receiving help andadvice. Our skilled advisors have had numeroussuccesses including securing £34,600 in backdatedpension payments for one couple and another sawtheir weekly income increase by £310.

This valuable service helps clients to increase theirhousehold income, improve their quality of life,reduce fuel poverty and reduce demand on NHSservices.

In addition to advising Link tenants, we now provideadvice services on behalf of a range of otherhousing associations and local authorities.



The service was honoured at the 2010 HeraldSociety Awards where it won “Service Provider ofthe Year (working with 65+ age group)”.

Our advice team also provides specialist welfarerights and money advice. In 2010/11, the adviceteam dealt with 1473 clients, sourcing benefitincome of £610,785 and helping our clients manage£335,654 of debt.

As part of our Affordable Warmth strategy wecontinue to pilot innovative low carbonreplacements which help to improve the energyefficiency of our homes. We have insulated 1100 ofour properties to a higher standard in the past year.We also distributed 7000 light bulbs to reduceenergy use in tenants’ homes.

Larkfield has continued to develop its wider roleactivity in Inverclyde, working with its partners in theLarkfield Community Safety Group. The Group

continues to bring together tenants and residentsand works to create a better community. Throughthis group, Larkfield has continued to support a newparent and toddlers group and assisted in bringingits community hall back to its full potential.

Horizon continues to provide the Care and RepairService in West Lothian and last year carried outsmall repairs in the homes of 353 older people. TheService also fitted key safes to over 400 properties,providing a secure external key store for carers andfamily members where the older person cannoteasily open their own front door. Care and Repairalso managed the collection for reuse of over 500‘Home Safety Units’, an assistive technologycombining alarm systems and monitoring devicesthat help support vulnerable people to remain livingin their own home.

> Alex Neil speaking at Link’s AGM.


4. Capacity Building

Our work in Petersburn, North Lanarkshire,continues to involve the whole community. Wehelped form the Petersburn Development Trust in2004 with the aim of involving the community,especially the younger people of the area. The lastphase of our work in the area will be the creation ofplaying fields at Petersburn Park.

In Paisley, we donated a shop on Caledonia Streetto the ABC Residents and Tenants Associationwhich serves the community of Andrew Street,Blythswood Drive and Caledonia Street, Paisley. Theshop had been renovated as part of our LinkGivingscheme in 2009 and has now been turned into amuch-needed community facility called theBlythswood Community Hub.

Link helped to secure additional funding for theKirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre from WatesLiving Space. The funds ensured that the centrewas able to deliver all of its intended activitiesduring 2010/11.

Horizon’s in-house maintenance team memberstook time out from their usual duties to lend a handin the Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens as partof the national Give and Gain Day. The team spentthe day helping to clear a woodland path andcreating boxed planting beds in the gardens onNHS Lothian-owned land at the Royal EdinburghHospital. Cyrenians oversees the development ofthe gardens, the aims of which are to grow goodfood and promote companionship, health andwell-being.

Link continues to be an active member of theScottish Social Enterprise Coalition. We will continuewith a commitment to promote and support socialenterprise as a means of encouraging thedevelopment of sustainable communities.


Wor

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toge

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Gordon Lloyd and Leanne Renfrew, who purchased one of our flats in Cotton Street, Paisley.

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Working together

We continuously develop relationships andseek to initiate new partnerships in order tohelp meet the varied needs of localcommunities. We build relationships with ourtenants, service users and customers, localpartners, statutory agencies and other housingproviders to create homes and delivermeaningful, sustainable projects.

Self assessmentIn response to the Scottish Housing Regulator’s(SHR’s) encouragement to registered sociallandlords (RSLs) regularly to review services, Linkbegan the first phase of a self assessment processinvolving staff and tenants in 2010.

Our self assessment programme allowed Link,Larkfield and Horizon to review how we performagainst a number of the SHR’s performancestandards. As part of the consultation process anumber of focus groups involving staff, committeemembers and tenants were held. A self assessmentimprovement action plan has been developed toaddress the issues and recommendations from thefirst stage.

Private Sector LeasingIn September 2010, Link Housing Association tookover the management of the City of EdinburghCouncil Private Sector Leasing (PSL) scheme.


The PSL scheme offers long term contracts toprivate landlords whose properties – currentlyaround 1600 – are then let by the Council to peoplewho are homeless and in housing need. Linkadministers the property and tenancy managementfunctions and is pleased to support the Council indelivering a quality service. Link’s PSL team hasdelivered an exceptional service meeting stricttimescales and expectations.

Keeping tenants informed We maintain our commitment to the prevention ofhomelessness and reducing the number of failedtenancies. Our Tenancy Sustainment Strategy hasset out how we work in partnership with tenants toachieve this. Through pre and post tenancy visits,providing information on welfare benefits andreferrals for support to LinkLiving’s support servicewe have seen a 51% reduction in evictions and a53% reduction in abandonments.

In partnership with five other RSLs, Link produced aDVD which provides tenants with valuable informationon areas such as insurance, repairs, maintenanceand anti social behaviour. The DVD is issued totenants at the start of their tenancy with Link.

PartnershipsLink’s subsidiary Larkfield Housing Associationwas officially recognised as a charitableorganisation by the Office of the Scottish CharityRegulator (OSCR) and the SHR in February 2011.Larkfield will use its new status to benefit tenantsand the community by investing financial savings instock service improvements.

Larkfield participated in a number of projects inpartnership with other local housing associations inInverclyde. Projects included a Tenancy SupportProject, a service designed to provide practicalsupport for people who need assistance and advicein maintaining their home. Fab Pad is a projectworking with young tenants between the ages of 16and 35, helping them through workshops and one-to-one support to learn all the skills they need to maketheir homes their own. Larkfield also participated in aYouth Outreach project (which aimed to engage withyoung people in the area) and a benefits andfinancial advice project called “Advice for All”.

> Images from new Tenancy DVD.


LinkLiving worked with Artlink in Edinburgh tosupport a growing range of opportunities forresidents and mental health service users tobecome more actively involved in theirneighbourhood. The work was supported throughfunding from LinkLiving and a Fairer Scotland grant.The work has been successful in starting to build anopportunity for individuals to impart their skills andcreate imaginative ways to share their experiencesand to build a stronger sense of community.

Link Housing Association gave its support to a newservice from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf(RNID) Scotland called ‘Hear to Help’. Volunteersfrom RNID Scotland provided advice and tips onmaintaining NHS hearing aids to hearing aid usersin Link’s sheltered housing complexes in Glasgow,North Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire.

Horizon led the establishment of a pilot EarlyIntervention Tenancy Support service supported byWider Role funding. The pilot was delivered byEdinburgh Cyrenians on behalf of the project

partners: Horizon, Link, Paragon HA, Almond HAand West Lothian Housing Partnership. Significantly,all tenants who engaged with the service hadsustained their tenancies throughout the pilotperiod. Amongst those who engaged in the serviceall had accessed healthcare and most hadimproved their financial circumstances. A quarterhad also been referred to education, training oremployment services.

Involving our tenantsWe continue to demonstrate our credentials in beingaccredited by the Tenant Participation Service(TPAS) in 2010 by ensuring our Tenant ParticipationStrategy is an essential part of our commitment todelivering excellent services.

We have developed a range of interactive andinnovative ways for tenants and residents to getinvolved. These include:

• Holding a dedicated conference exclusively foryoung tenants in August 2010 – over 100 youngpeople attended and were engaged in a varietyof discussions and workshops to identify theissues that matter to them and how our servicescould better meet their needs

• Tenants acting as ‘mystery shoppers’ to reviewperformance and staff training needs

• Tenants involved in the governance anddecision-making structures at Link HousingAssociation’s Board

• Support for 17 Registered Tenants Organisations• Tenant involvement in our self assessment

programme• Tenant-led inspection on the voids and

re-lets process• Training and development support• Bi-annual tenant newsletter

Working together

> RNID volunteer providing ‘Hear to Help’ advice.


• Neighbourhood planning – this was carried outby our housing officers as a way to gatherinformation at the local level and includedconsultation with tenants on their local priorities

We currently have 127 tenants who are membersof Link.

Larkfield also continued to encourage its tenants toparticipate and marked TPAS national “TenantsVoice Week”, by holding an open day for tenantsand residents of Larkfield. Tenants were given theopportunity to meet staff and local agencies were onhand to provide information and advice on a rangeof matters.

Larkfield also participated in the first InverclydeHousing Associations Forum Joint TenantConference which took place in November 2010.The conference gave tenants the opportunity to beinvolved in challenging landlords to improve theirservices and to be involved in the consultationprocess for the Social Housing Charter.

Larkfield also held focus groups comprisingtenants, committee members and staff to helpreview and develop a new Tenant ParticipationStrategy and update its Allocations Policy.

Link recently commissioned customer satisfactionsurveys focusing on factoring and propertymanagement services. A more holistic approachwas taken to assessing customer satisfaction thanin previous surveys. For instance, we looked athousing aspirations and affordability issues as wellas the full range of services we provide. In particular,the survey on services to housing applicants gave

us information on customer satisfaction with ourChoice Based Lettings system as well asinformation on applicants’ needs and aspirations.The information and views gathered will be used todevelop an action plan to help improve services.

Involving service usersLinkLiving continues to involve its service users in allaspects of the way services are delivered.

Service users are involved in the recruitment of newstaff, learning new skills and increasing theirconfidence.

A Board Advisory Group was established to enableservice users and volunteers to influence theLinkLiving Board more effectively They meet on aregular basis to discuss Board papers and considerways to make board meetings more accessible.Two service users sit on the LinkLiving Board,enabling them to raise issues which have beendiscussed at the Board Advisory Group.

> Tenant trip to Blair Drummond Safari Park.

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Board of ManagementR Robertson (Chair)

P Foreman (Vice Chair)

E BanksT Clark (Resigned August 2010)

A Colston A Currie C Donaldson (Appointed January 2011)

D Esslemont J HintonD McMillan (Resigned February 2011)

C MacneillJ O’NeillB Reidford R Shorter (Resigned September 2010)

R Stirrat Cllr D Wilson

Chief ExecutiveC Sanderson B Com

Director of Finance andCorporate Services/SecretaryJ N Hall FCCA

Director of Human Resources H Bayne MCIPD LLM PG DipBA (Hons)

Director of Development andAsset Management C Culross BSC QS (Dist) ICIOB

AuditorsScott-Moncrieff CA

BankersBank of Scotland

SolicitorsBurness LLP

FundersRoyal Bank of Scotland plcLloyds TSB Scotland plcDunfermline Building Society

Registered OfficeLink House2c New Mart RoadEdinburgh EH14 1RLTel 08451 559 559Fax 0131 624 7801

Email [email protected] www.linkhousing.org.uk

Registered under the Industrial andProvident Societies Act 1965 withthe Financial Services Authority,registered number 1481 R(S) Registered in Scotland as a Charity,number SC001026, and an exemptcharity under the Co-operativeand Community Benefits andSocieties Act 2003. ScottishHousing Regulator registrationnumber HAL 148.

Link Group Annual Review 2011


41

Committee of ManagementA Currie (Chair)

J Myerthall (Vice Chair)

R BaxterR FarrellyC Fancy A Hyndman R Laley J Lennon C MacneillC McGillivray A McMillan (Resigned April 2011)

J O’NeillM Reid A Welsh

DirectorM B Middleton

Watling HouseCallendar Business ParkFalkirk FK1 1XREmail [email protected] www.linkhousing.org.uk

Customer Service CentreTel 08451 400 100Fax 01324 417184Email [email protected]

Registered in Scotland, CompanyRegistration number SC216300.

Private Sector LeasingLink House2c New Mart RoadEdinburgh EH14 1RLTel 08451 550 021Fax 0131 624 7801Email [email protected]

West Region OfficeCenturion Business Park3 Seaward PlaceGlasgow G41 1HHTel 08451 400 100Fax 0141 418 5731Email [email protected]

East Region OfficeLink House2c New Mart RoadEdinburgh EH14 1RLTel 08451 400 100Fax 0131 624 7801Email [email protected]

Highland Region LocalRepresentativeTel 01397 702044Fax 01397 700194

Committee of ManagementE Banks (Chair)

S Cargill (Vice Chair)

L Brown (Appointed June 2010)

T Clark (Resigned August 2010)

J HintonD KempM Lessel B Millar L Nicol R Shorter (Resigned September 2010)

A Taylor

DirectorE Johnston

Link House2c New Mart RoadEdinburgh EH14 1RLTel 08451 559 559Fax 0131 624 7801

Email [email protected] www.linkliving.org.uk

Limited by Guarantee, CompanyRegistration number SC220855.Registered in Scotland as a Charity,number SC032418.

Board of ManagementE Bradley (Chair)

M Bell (Vice Chair)

M Jones (Secretary)

A McMillanJ CanningRev A McIntyreD McMillan (Resigned March 2011)

E Mukumba (Resigned September 2010)

G Ritchie (Resigned September 2010)

G Cameron (Appointed September 2010)

K McDade (Appointed September 2010)

J Scullion (Appointed September 2010)

Area ManagerL Griffin BA MCIH

AuditorsScott-Moncrieff CA

BankersBank of Scotland

SolicitorsPatten & Prentice

FundersThe Co-operative Bank

Registered Office14 Lothian Road Greenock PA16 0PG

Tel 01475 630930Fax 01475 636111

Email [email protected] www.larkfieldha.org.uk

Larkfield Housing AssociationLimited is a Charity registered inScotland number SC042066.Registered as a Friendly Societyunder the Industrial and ProvidentSocieties Act 1965, registerednumber 2509 R(S) ScottishHousing Regulator registrationnumber HCB 293.


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Board of ManagementD A McPhail (Chair)

(elected as Chair October 2010; as member

appointed September 2010)

G Harper (Vice-Chair)

(elected as Vice Chair October 2010; as

member appointed September 2010)

W F Rochford(resigned as chair September 2010)

P Croft, O.B.E. (appointed September 2010)

W Gunn R B Hartness (appointed September 2010)

A Laan-Ra M Potter J Pritchard (appointed October 2010)

M C Rodgers (appointed September 2010)

Managing Director/SecretaryJ Fitzpatrick MA (Hons) FCIH

Director of Housing Services(Job-Share)E Anderton / F Taylor

Director of Development &Property InvestmentM Turner

AuditorsScott Moncrieff

BankersClydesdale Bank

SolicitorsT C Young

FundersDunfermline Building Society

Registered OfficeLeving HouseFairbairn PlaceLivingston EH54 6TN

Tel 01506 424140Fax 01506 400052

Email [email protected] www.horizonhousing.org

Registered under the Industrial andProvident Societies Act 1965 withthe Financial Services Authority,registered number 1827(R)s.Registered in Scotland as a Charity,number SC011534. ScottishHousing Regulator registrationnumber 128.

Principal photography by Renzo Mazzolini

Link House2c New Mart Road

Edinburgh EH14 1RLTel 08451 559 559Fax 0131 624 7801

E-mail [email protected] Web Site www.linkhousing.org.uk

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Link Group Ltd. annual review 2011

Documents

Transcript of Link Group Ltd. annual review 2011