Wolverhampton Homes Annual Report 2012-13

Wolverhampton Homes Annual Report 2012-13

Have a look at our facts and figures and tell us how you think we’re doing!

www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk

2 Annual Report 2012-13

Did we do what we said we would do? 3Tenant Involvement 4Customer Service 5Decent Homes 8Repairs and Maintenance 10Lettings and Re-housing 12Your Tenancy 14Preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour 16Your Estate 18Rents and value for money 20Our finances in 2012-13 22How can you tell whether we are keeping our promises? 23Your Feedback 24

Thanks to Lisha Miller, Amargeet Rattu, Lisa Dimmock, Brandon O’Kelly, Kura Downes and Tyler Downes for their help with the photos for this report.

CONTENTS


Here’s our report of how we’ve done over the last year.

Did we meet our targets?

What do you think about how we did?

This report tells you if we have met our targets, how we compare to other organisations and what we are going to do to improve.

Too much information here?

Why not watch our video – it’s on our website www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk and our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/WolvesHomes.

Once you’ve read this annual report or watched the video, please tell us what you thought so we can make next year even better.

You could win £25 vouchers for telling us what you think. Just fill in the feedback form on page 24 and send it to us.

This is what Councillor Peter Bilson said - he’s responsible for housing in the city:

“Wolverhampton City Council is proud to endorse the fourth ‘Annual Report to Tenants’. In a year that has seen many changes to social

housing the Council has renewed its commitment to Wolverhampton Homes for a further fifteen years by signing a new management agreement with them for the delivery of housing services to the Councils’ tenants.

“Wolverhampton Homes has performed well against standards put in place by the Homes and Communities Agency, the regulatory body for social housing in England. The City Council continues to monitor and support Wolverhampton Homes to ensure services of the highest standard are provided for the Councils’ tenants.”

DID WE DO WHAT WE SAID WE WOULD DO?

Annual Report 2012-13 3

KEY

Missed target

Partly met target

Met target



TENANT INVOLVEMENT


...we’d listen to tenants and leaseholders and make sure everyone has the opportunity to get involved at whichever level they choose.


We promised

593 tenantsparticipated in “Get Togethers”, Focus Groups and Review Panel.

More than six out of ten (65%) tenants are satisfied that we listen to your views and act upon them.

Almost eight out of ten (77%) tenants said we are good at keeping them informed about things that might affect them as a tenant.

Eight out of ten (81%) tenants said they were satisfied with the Tenants Update magazine.

What we did

What you say

Mr & Mrs Agbonmare from Fordhouses said:“You provide us with lots of information about different thingsand you listen to our views and act on them most of the time.”

Jenny Harris from Wednesfield said:“I would just like to say a great big thank you to all the tenantparticipation advisors at the Heath Town office who are sofriendly and helpful. They work very hard for their community.”

We say: “You are paying for our services so we want you to have a say in how we provide them. There’s a range of ways you can be involved from standing for election as a Board Member or Review Panel to coming to our Get Togethers, Estate Inspections or Focus Groups. Thank you to everyone who got involved this year. We do take all your views seriously and use them to improve our services.If you want to get involved find out more at www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk/tenants/get-involved or phone and ask for our tenant engagement team.”



CUSTOMER SERVICE

We promised

...we’d answer phone calls to our Homes Direct Contact Centre within 30 seconds and that we’d make it easy for customers to raise any concerns with us through a clear complaints procedure.



More than eight out of ten (86%) customers said they were satisfied with how their call had been handled.

We answered six out of ten (64%) of all calls within 30 seconds; this was an improvement on the previous year’s performance but short of our target of 75%.

6% of calls were abandoned before we answered which was better than last year but we didn’t meet our target of 5%.

We responded to 95% of complaints within our timescales. Our target was 95%.

We handled nine out of ten (92%) of complaints at stage 1 of our procedure.Our target was 90%.

What we did

What you say

Mrs Bourne from Tettenhall Wood said: “It would be helpful if when people say they will phone, they actually could. It is really annoying and time wasting.”

Mary Barlow from Compton said:“They are really helpful and there for me if and when I need them.”

95% 92%

We say: “We know that it is important that you can get through to us easily and quickly and that our staff can answer the majority of your queries during that first call. Since April, we’ve been much quicker at answering your calls and we hope to keep on improving. There are lots of ways that you can get in touch with us, by phone, email, text or online.

We launched our Do It Online account in April so you can report your repairs and check your rent account online from the comfort of your home or on your smart phone when you’re out and about.

We’ve also now got a separate phone line for anti-social behaviour calls.” DO IT

ONLINE



DECENT HOMES


...we’d carry on with plans to make sure council homes meet the Decent Homes standard by the end of 2015 and that we’d measure how happy people were with the work. We also said we’d use the Decent Homes programme to create jobs and training opportunities for local people.


We promised

We carried out Decent Homes work to

1,681 homes. Our target was 1,670

We completed eight out of ten (83%) of Decent Homes work within 25 days. Our target was 96%.

More than nine out of ten (96%) tenants said that they were satisfied with Decent Homes work. Our target was 96%.

Three out of ten (32%) employees working on the Decent Homes programme were from Wolverhampton. Our target was 30%.

Almost two out ten (17%) Decent Homes employees were trainees. Our target was 10%.

What we did

What you say

Angela Lowndes from Wednesfield said:“I had a new kitchen, rewiring and new central heating. It was a bit traumatic having it all done at once but it was worth it. I’m so pleased with my new kitchen, they’ve done a great job.”

We say: “We’ve now finished more than 18,000 Decent Homes. We will finish all of your homes by spring 2015.

We’re happy that you like the Decent Homes work. Next year we’ll be working to complete more of the work within our 25 day target. We’ve now started the new contract so we hope you will be as satisfied next year.”



REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE


...we’d make emergency repairs safe within 24 hours, fix urgent repairs within 7 days and complete routine repairs within 20 days. We also said we’d carry out customer satisfaction surveys for people who’d had repairs done and we’d also carry out annual safety checks on all of our gas appliances.


We promised

We carried out more than nine out of ten (98.7%) response repairs within our timescales. Our target was 99%.

This means we were ranked 10th best out of 32 compared ALMO to other organisations.

More than nine out of ten (98%) tenants said they were satisfied with the way we deal with repairs and maintenance, an increase of 1% since last year.

This means we were ranked 3rd best out of 11 when compared with other ALMO organisations.

Our annual programme of gas servicing meant that more than almost all (99.9%) homes have a valid gas certificate.

What we did

What you say

Margaret Perry, Tettenhall:“I think we are all extremely lucky in Wolverhampton, the Repairs Service we have used is first class.”

James Clarke, Wednesfield:“The biggest weakness is the inconsistent response when dealing with repairs.”

We say: “We want you to live in a well maintained home and we know that you want repairs to be completed quickly and in one visit.

We almost met our targets. We’ve now started text reminders for your repair appointments and we’re changing how we deal with repairs so that, in the future, we hope to fix most problems the first time.”



LETTINGS AND RE-HOUSING

We promised

...we’d use the Homes in The City website to re-let homes and do everything we can to cut the time that homes are empty and get new tenants in their homes as quickly as we can.



We let

1,701council properties using ‘Homes in the City’.

More than nine out of ten (97%) new council tenants said they were satisfied with the letting process. Our target was 95%.

We were ranked 8th out of 19 ALMOs.

We re-let homes on average in 17 days. Our target was 18 days.

We were ranked 3rd out of 14 ALMOs.

We re-let properties requiring major repairs on average in 36 days. Our target was a strict 30 days.

We were ranked3rd out of 20 ALMOs.

More than eight out of ten (85%) tenancies were accepted on the first offer. Our target was 80%.

What we did

What you say

Venia Bwititi of Wednesfield said:“I think all the services are great. Apart from that I am stuck in a 2 bedroom flat with 2 children a boy 9 years and a girl 5 years.”

Lorna Harris from Wednesfield (via Twitter):“Today’s the day collecting the keys to my @WolvesHomes apartment in Wednesfield!! #mixedfeelings #excitedyetscared”

97%

85%

We say: “There’s a huge demand for accommodation and not enough housing to meet that demand. It’s also worth knowing that under the new benefit rules and the council’s allocations policy, children under ten, of any sex, are expected to share a bedroom. We do offer advice to help people make the most of their bids and to give them other options.

We try to re-let homes quickly so that new tenants can move into their new home as soon as possible and we are not keeping much-needed homes empty for any longer than necessary.”



YOUR TENANCY


...we’d visit every new tenant within 4 weeks of their tenancy starting and again after 8 months to make sure they’re settling in okay. We also said we’d personally visit every tenant at least once every five years.


We promised

We carried out more than eight out of ten (86%) of home visits during the eighth month of introductory tenancies. Our target was 92%.

We carried out more than eight out of ten (86%) of new tenancy checks within 28 days of the tenancy starting. Our target was 95%.

We carried out more than three out of ten (34%) of tenancy audits (Non high rise stock). Our target was 100%.

What we did

We say: “Taking on a tenancy is a big responsibility and some people need more support than others to maintain their tenancy.

We want to support you from the day you move in and throughout your tenancy to see if you need any extra support from our Money Smart team or anti-social behaviour team, or if you need an adaptation to your home.

We missed our targets this year, so we’ve increased the number of people doing these visits.”

86% 86% 34%



PREVENTING AND TACKLING ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

We promised

...we’d investigate every case of anti-social behaviour reported to us and take action early on to make sure that cases don’t escalate. We also said that if we had to, we’d take legal action against people causing anti-social behaviour if we’d exhausted all other means of dealing with the issue.

Police and Crime Commisioner, Bob Jones, with the anti-social behaviour team.



1,537 cases of antisocial behaviour were reported to us. We took the following action:

• Warning Letters/visits = 2610

• Mediation referrals = 127

• Referrals to support agencies = 131

• Acceptable Behaviour Contracts = 14

• Extension or demotion of Introductory Tenancy = 6

• Referral to the Police = 8

• Criminal prevention injunction (ASBO, ASBI, undertaking to the court etc.) = 18

• CCTV / Noise monitoring equipment installed = 21

• Family Intervention Project, Tenancy Support, and / or Parenting programme = 2

We took the following legal action:

• Outright Possession Order at Court = 2

• Number of Anti Social Behaviour Orders/ Interim Anti Social Behaviour Orders = 18

More than eight out of ten (85%) tenants said they were satisfied with the way we had dealt with the antisocial behaviour problem. Our target was 80%.


More than eight out of ten (82%) tenants said they were satisfied with the outcome of their complaint. Our target was 75%.


What we did

What you say

Mrs B from Old Heath said:“The anti-social behaviour team are very good they have helped and keep an eye on us.”

We say: “Anti-social behaviour is really upsetting to anyone who is a victim of it. This year we have introduced our new city-wide anti-social behaviour team with more staff and a direct phone line, so we hope to carry on improving the service.

Although we achieved our targets, when we compare our results with other ALMOs we rank as below average. It’s important to note that not all of the ALMOs provided information on their performance.”



YOUR ESTATE



What we did

What you say

We promised

...we’d cut the grass every 14 days and carry out estate inspections at least once every three months. We also said we’d clean and carry out fire safety checks in our high rise flats, every day. For low-rise flats, we’d do this every three months. We also said we’d provide a concierge service for our high-rise flats.

Karl Jones from Parkfields said:“Could they change estate inspection times? Realistically how can they expect people who work to go on them and give feedback etc?”

Katelin Hughes from Bilston said:“You keep the gardens nice.”

We say: “We want you to be happy with your estate, so please come to your estate inspection and let your estate manager know how it can be improved. During the summer months, the inspections take place at 5pm, so hopefully more people can come along.

You can also report any problems to us and we’ll inspect it within three working days and try to put it right.”

We carried out grass cutting every 10.7 days on average.

We carried out ten out of ten (100%) of daily fire safety checks.

We carried out more than nine out of ten (96%) of three monthly safety checks.

Seven out of ten (75%) tenants receiving a concierge service said they were satisfied with it.

Lifts were available for 99% of time. Our target was 95%.

We carried out 120 estate evaluations every three months with 97% achieving a good rating. Our target was 95%.

100%

96%10.7

DAYS



RENTS AND VALUE FOR MONEY

We promised

...we’d encourage tenants to pay their rent through Direct Debit and give tenants advice and support on managing their money. We also promised to make sure we were offering value for money by driving down our costs and improving our services.



We collected £98.28 out of every £100 (98.28%) of the rent that was due. Our target was 98.25%.

We ranked 8 out of 19 ALMOs.

Almost three out of ten (29.4%) tenants (not on full Housing Benefit) paid their rent by Direct Debit and increase of 2.3% from 2012. Our target was 30%.

• 188 people were referred to our Money Smart Team.

• 39 people were referred for the hardship fund and 21 were successful with a total of £4,198.92 paid out.

•The team tried to contact 3,136 tenants who were affected by welfare reform.

• All tenants (23,000) were posted a Welfare Reform booklet.

More than seven out of ten (75%) tenants said they thought their rent was good value for money.

What we did

98.28% 29.4%

75%

We say: “Thank you for paying your rent on time. We’re trying to make it as easy as possible to pay your rent, so you can pay by Direct Debit on a range of dates or pay online from the comfort of your home.

Although we missed our target we have seen a strong growth in direct debit take up and we continue to promote this method as the preferred payment method.”



OUR FINANCES IN 2012-13

We were given £37.9m by Wolverhampton City Council to manage your homes in 2012/13. This is called the Management Fee, this covers day to day repairs and housing management costs. We set aside £1m of it for the council to buy back 10 properties that had been sold under Right To Buy to help provide more homes.

We spent £40m on major improvements to your homes, of which £37m was for the Decent Homes programme.

We are always trying to get more for our money and use it in the way that will benefit tenants the most. This year we have:

• used job vacancies to create apprenticeships through our Learning, Employment and Achievement Programme (LEAP)

• trained more staff to help advise you with the changes to welfare

• spent £1.3m putting in new fencing, improving garages and carrying out minor works and car parking schemes.



We use a lot of different ways to check how we are doing on:

• Performance (e.g. how quickly we have completed a repair)

• Satisfaction with a service.

Targets

We set targets to improve services and these are agreed with the council. Our joint aim is that we should match or be better than the best performing social landlords. The Audit Commission independently inspected us in November 2010 and found that we were a ‘three-star excellent’ organisation.

Performance Checking

Our Board and Business Improvement Committee review our performance at every meeting. The Review Panel and the council also check our performance.

We use HouseMark, an independent organisation, to compare our performance and costs with other social landlords.

If you want to check our performance at any time, without waiting for our annual report, you can visit the performance pages on our website at www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk/aboutus/performance

HOW CAN YOU TELL WHETHER WE ARE KEEPING OUR PROMISES?

It’s really important that you tell us what you think of this annual report so that we can improve for next year. Everyone who gives us feedback by 31st October 2013 will be entered into a prize draw for £25 of vouchers.

Name:

Address:

Postcode:

Phone number: Email:

What did you think of our annual report?

Detailed version on website:

Summary in Tenants Update:

Video on website:

How satisfied were you with our annual report?

Very satisfied Satisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

YOUR FEEDBACK


Wolverhampton Homes Annual Report 2012-13

Documents

Transcript of Wolverhampton Homes Annual Report 2012-13