Annual Report 2012

ANNUAL REPORT 2011-12

HOW ARE WE DOING? YOU DECIDE!

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Tenant involvement and empowerment 04

Home • Customer service 06• Decent Homes 08• Repairs and maintenance 10 Tenancy• Lettings and re-housing 12• Your tenancy 14 Neighbourhood and Community• Preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour 16• Your estate 18 Value For Money• Rents and other charges 20• Value for Money 21 Our Finances 22 How can you tell whether we are 23 meeting our commitments? Your feedback 24

Thanks to the following tenants for allowing us to take their photo for the front cover, left to right: Carol Gallagher and Carol Gallagher, Elaine Jones and Matthew Gallagher.

“Wolverhampton City Council is proud to endorse the third ‘Annual Report to Tenants’ prepared by Wolverhampton Homes who provide housing services to the Council’s tenants across most of the City.

“This report gives information on the performance of Wolverhampton Homes, as the Managing Agent working on behalf of the City Council. It shows how the management performance matches up to the standards put in place by the Homes & Communities Agency, which is the governmental regulatory body that oversees social housing in England.

“The City Council is aware that many tenants have helped shape the ‘Annual Report to Tenants’ and this highlights the City Council’s and Wolverhampton Homes’ commitment to engaging with and responding to tenants needs in relation to their homes and how they are managed.

“The City Council continues to support and monitor the work of Wolverhampton Homes to ensure that the service provided to tenants is of a high standard and that every opportunity is taken to improve further.”

Councillor Peter Bilson, Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration and Prosperity

Contents

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The report tells you how we have done with our promises or ‘Service Standards’. You can find our Service Standards on our website or as leaflets in our One Stop Shops. They are in five sections: tenant involvement and empowerment, home, tenancy, neighbourhood and community and value for money.

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

We have also produced a four page summary of this report inside the September edition of Tenants Update and a video which is on our website www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk and our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/WolvesHomes.

Thank you to Kathy Allen, Marlene Lambeth, Trudy Stables, Karen Trainer, Anita Dance, Dennis Wainwright and Yasmeen Hussain of the Communications Special Interest Group for their help in planning this annual report.

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

Did we do what we said we would do?Welcome to our annual report. This gives you the information you need to judge how we are doing and hear about how we are going to improve.

What we did

How our results compare

met target

partly met target

missed target

among the best

average

below average

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Tenant Involvement and empowermentWe want you to have a say and be involved in the services we provide. You are paying for our services so you should have a say in how we provide them. We provide a range of ways that you can be involved from standing for election as a Board Member or joining a Tenants and Residents Association to coming to our Get Togethers or Estate Inspections. Find out how you can get involved by visiting our website www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk and searching for ‘get involved’.

What we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Make sure every tenant and leaseholder has the opportunity to get involved at whichever level they choose.

Identify what’s most important to tenants and leaseholders and reflect this in service delivery arrangements.

Offer tenants and leaseholders the opportunity to join the Review Panel who scrutinise our performance against the service commitments we have given.

585 tenants participated in “Get Togethers”, Special Interest Groups and the Review Panel.

69% of tenants said they were satisfied that we take their views into account. Our target was 70%.

79% of tenants said they were satisfied that we kept them informed. This is a 2% increase on previous year. Our target was 79%.

This was a 4% increase on the previous year, but our performance was average when compared with other organisations.

Our performance improved by 2% on previous year and was average when compared with other organisations.

We have set these targets for ourselves. Other ALMOs have different targets that they work to so we can’t compare our results.

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We say:

Thank you to everyone who got involved this year. You have made a real difference to our services by giving us your feedback and views.

We’re pleased that we almost met our target and that you feel satisfied that we take your views into account but we’re sorry that some of you don’t feel that way. There are lots of ways that we use your views to change the way we provide services and improve them. This includes feedback from Get Togethers, Estate Inspections, Special Interest Groups, surveys and complaints. Examples of how we have taken your views into account are on our website www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk and search “you talk we listen”.

We’re pleased that most of you feel that we keep you informed but we’d like everyone to feel informed. There are lots of ways to find out what’s happening. You can read Tenants Update and our leaflets and you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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Customer ServiceWe know that when you contact us 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. We are always making changes so that we can provide a service you are happy with.

What we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Answer telephone calls to our contact centre - Homes Direct within 20 seconds.

92.86% of customers said they were satisfied with how their call had been handled.

We have set these targets for ourselves. Other ALMOs have different targets that they work to so we can’t compare our results.

We answered 48.50% of all calls over the year within 20 seconds; this was some way short of our target of 80%.

11.80% of calls were abandoned which was over our target of 5%.

Make it easy for customers to raise any concerns with us through a clear complaints procedure.

68.52% of people making complaints were satisfied with the way their complaint was handled, this is a 12.27% increase on the previous year. Our target was 66.25%.

The number of complaints resolved at stage 1 puts us among the best when compared with other ALMOs.

We were able to resolve 89.37% of complaints at stage 1 of our procedure.

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We say:We welcome your comments, whether they are good or bad. When we receive complaints we look at any trends and ways that we can improve. This helps us to learn from complaints and improve our services.

We have put a lot of work into improving the amount of time we answer your calls. We have increased the numbers of staff that answer calls and improved staff training.

By the end of year we improved our performance and answered 77.6% of your calls within 20 seconds, this was close to our target. The number of abandoned calls also went down to 4.2% which is on target.

From this year we have improved the options for you when you phone us so that you can now choose to be put straight through if you want make a card payment or speak to the Wolverhampton City Council’s housing benefit team. This will improve our service to you and the speed that we answer your calls.

Mondays are always our busiest day on the phones so if your call isn’t an emergency you may like to call later in the week. You can also contact us by email or use our website form, you can also text us and request a call back.

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Decent HomesWe have now completed 16,770 Decent Homes with about 6,500 homes to go. We will finish all of your homes by spring 2015. If your home hasn’t had the Decent Homes work yet, you can find out when the work will be carried out by visiting our website www.wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk and searching “yellow book”. Everyone was sent a copy of our yellow book last year, it gives the streets and year for when work is due to start.

What we said we would do What we did

Manage the programmes of works to enable all council homes in Wolverhampton to meet the Decent Homes Standard by 31/12/2012.

We carried out Decent Homes work to 2010 homes. Our target was 1973.

31.06% of employees engaged on the Decent Homes programme were from Wolverhampton. Our target was 30%.

463 tenants benefited from the Decent Homes aftercare decorating service.

We completed 98.55% of Decent Homes work within 20 days. Our target was 96%.

15.92% of Decent Homes employees were trainees. Our target was 10%.

99.57% of tenants receiving aftercare decorating said they were satisfied. Our target was 95%.

96.84% of tenants said that they were satisfied with Decent Homes work. Our target was 95%.

Provide support and an aftercare decorating scheme for elderly or disabled tenants.

Measure tenants’ satisfaction with the work carried out to their home.

Use the Decent Homes programme to create additional employment and training opportunities for local people.

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Repairs and MaintenanceWe 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 offer appointments for most general routine or urgent repairs so that you know when we are coming.

What we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Make emergency repairs safe within 24 hours.

Complete urgent repairs within seven days.

Complete routine repairs within 20 days.

Carry out customer satisfaction surveys.

We were ranked 22 out of 43 organisations that benchmarked this indicator.

77% of tenants said they were satisfied with the way we deal with repairs and maintenance. Our target was 81%.

We completed 98.87% of urgent repairs within 7 days. Our target was 99.5%.

We completed 98.86% of routine repairs within 20 days. Our target was 99%.

We carried out 99.46% of emergency repairs within 24 hours. Our target was 99.75%.

We did not achieve our target this year but performance was average compared with other organisations.

We were ranked 22 out of 44 organisations that benchmarked this indicator.

We were ranked 12 out of 44 organisations that benchmarked this indicator.

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What we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Carry out customer satisfaction surveys.

Carry out annual safety checks on all gas appliances belonging to Wolverhampton Homes.

We say:We want to continually improve our repairs service and know that it is an important service to you. We are making lots of changes including improving our appointments system, how we diagnose and plan repairs and carrying more parts on our vans so that we can complete more repairs first time.

Our annual programme of gas servicing resulted in 100% of occupied properties having valid gas certificates.

98.35% of our customers said they were satisfied with the gas servicing programme. Our target was 95%.

All tenanted properties received a gas service within 12 months.

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Lettings and Re-housingHow quickly we re-let homes is very important, it means new tenants can move into their new home as soon as possible and it means less rent is lost because a home is empty.

What we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Use the Council’s ‘Homes in the City’ scheme to let homes on behalf of the Council. (This is a system that puts housing applicants into bands according to their level of housing need and advertises weekly homes available for letting.)

Do everything we can to reduce the time that homes are empty

Agree the earliest possible date with new tenants to take up the tenancy subject to their circumstances.

1828 council properties were let using ‘Homes in the City’.

In addition 489 Housing Association and Private sector properties were advertised through ‘Homes in the City’.

97.18% of new council tenants said they were satisfied with the letting process. Our target was 95%.

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

Our performance was better than average.

We rank 7 out of 25 organisations that provided benchmarking data.

We re-let properties that required major repairs in an average of 35 days. Our target was 30 days.

We rank 7 out of 25 organisations that provided benchmarking data.

Our performance is among the best.

81.47% of tenancies were accepted on the first offer. Our target was 80%.

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We say:We’re sorry we missed our target for re-letting homes needing major repairs. We’re looking into why delays occurred how we can improve. We hope to re-let homes even quicker next year by introducing group viewings. A group of people that have bid on a home are invited to view it at the same time. This means that if the first person that is offered the property refuses, the second person who has the offer will be able to accept or refuse straight away as they will already have viewed it.

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Your TenancyTaking on a tenancy is a big responsibility and some people need more support than others to maintain their tenancy. We are here to provide support from the day you move in and throughout your tenancy. We visit you once every five years and at these visits we can identify if extra support is needed from our Money Smart team or if a home needs adaptations or if there are any antisocial behaviour issues.

What we said we would do What we did

Identify whether tenants need any extra help or support.

Visit all new tenants within four weeks of their tenancy commencing and in the eighth month.

We carried out 90.35% of home visits during the eighth month of introductory tenancies. Our target was 90%.

We carried out 92.32% of new tenancy checks within 28 days of the tenancy starting. Our target was 95%.

We said:We try our best to visit within 28 days but you can help by keeping our appointment or contacting us to rearrange the visit if you can’t be there.We have started a Steps to Success training session for young new tenants and housing applicants. This training programme explains what the tenancy responsibilities are, how to budget, how to carry out minor repairs and the problems antisocial behaviour causes.

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Preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour

Investigate all reports of antisocial behaviour promptly and work closely with tenants to keep them informed of progress.

We are improving but were just below the average ranking of 7 out of 11 organisations providing benchmarking information.

We are improving and exceeded our target but were just below the average ranking, with a rank of 8 out of 12.

What we said we would do What we did

How our results compare

Ensure that early action is taken to prevent the escalation of behaviour that is a nuisance into serious antisocial behaviour.

Take legal action, where appropriate, against anyone who continues to cause antisocial behaviour after all other remedies have failed.

1808 new cases of antisocial behaviour were reported to us. We took the following action:

• Mediation referrals: 74 • Number of referrals to support agencies: 81 • Surrender of property by perpetrator: 3• Warning Letters: 92

• Perpetrator visit / interviews: 3260• Acceptable Behaviour Contracts or parenting or voluntary agreements: 8 • Other early intervention measures: 23 cases• Family intervention project: 24 families• Number of closed resolved ASB cases: 1596• Number of closed unresolved cases: 146

82.32% of tenants said they were satisfied with the way we had dealt with the antisocial behaviour problem. Our target was 80%.

76.26% of tenants said they were satisfied with the outcome of their complaint. Our target was 70%.

We took the following legal action:• Notice of Seeking Possession (the legal notice telling a tenant that legal action may be taken to end or demote their tenancy): 20

• Eviction: 1• Criminal prevention injunction (antisocial behaviour orders, antisocial behaviour injunctions and undertakings to the court): 14

What we said we would do What we did

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We say: Antisocial behaviour is really upsetting to anyone who is a victim of it. This year we have improved our reporting systems so we can monitor active cases more closely.

We have improved the way that we deal with complaints of antisocial behaviour by interviewing perpetrators within three working days of the complaint instead of sending them a letter. This has more impact and can prevent further problems.

We have also provided more ‘diversionary activities’ by funding youth groups and clubs to prevent youth ASB. One of these was the Wolves FC led Kickz project which we have funded together with West Midlands Police.

We have set up a Family Support Project to help families whose children are involved in antisocial behaviour and our pre-tenancy support service provides help to young future tenants to make them aware of the tenancy conditions and the responsibilities they have to not cause nuisance.

Although we achieved our targets, when we compare our results with other housing providers we rank as below average. It is important to note that not all of the organisations provided information on their performance.

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Your EstateWhat we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Cut grass every 14 days in the growing season and trim shrubs if necessary.

Carry out fire safety checks and clean high rise blocks of flats (over six storeys) every day.

Carry out fire safety checks, any minor repairs and inspect cleanliness of low rise blocks of flats (under six storeys) every three months.

Provide access to a 24 hour service, seven days a week for blocks of flats with a concierge service, remotely at some sites.

We have set these targets for ourselves. Other ALMOs have different targets that they work to so we can’t compare our results.

We carried out 16 grass cuttings during the year on average every 10 days.

80% of tenants receiving a grounds maintenance service said they were satisfied with the service received.

We carried out 100% of daily fire safety checks.

We carried out 100% of three monthly fire safety checks.

73% of tenants receiving a concierge service said they were satisfied with it; this was a new measure for 2011.

Lifts were available for 98.67% of time. Our target was 95%.

Other ALMOs work to different standards so we can’t compare our results.

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What we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Inspect estates, including garage areas, with tenants, leaseholders and other agencies every three months.

We carried out 477 estate inspections every three months with 96.95% achieving a good rating. Our target was 92%.

We have set these targets for ourselves. Other ALMOs have different targets that they work to so we can’t compare our results.

We say:We want you to be happy with our grounds maintenance service so if you spot any problems you can report it to us and we will inspect it within three calendar days and try to put it right.

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Rents and Other ChargesWhat we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Give tenants a wide range of ways to pay their rent and other charges.

Encourage tenants to pay by Direct Debit and provide incentives for tenants to pay in this way.

Give tenants advice about managing their money.

Although we exceeded our target this was only average compared with organisations supplying benchmarking information.

We collected 98.43% of the rent that was due. Our target was 98.25%.

27.05% of tenants paid their rent by Direct Debit an increase of 4% from 2010. Our initial target was 25% but as this was achieved midway through the year we increased it to 27.5%.

Our Money Smart team gave advice to 205 tenants, 202 of those seen were able to keep their homes. The team helped another 550 by referring them to other agencies including Community Focus, the CAB, African Caribbean Community Initiative and the Pension Service.

We have set these targets for ourselves. Other ALMOs have different targets that they work to so we can’t compare our results.

This is a local initiative provided for the benefit of tenants managed by Wolverhampton Homes so no comparable data available.

We say:We continue to promote Direct Debit as the best method of paying rent and we have made it even better by introducing more payment dates so you have a wider choice.

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What we said we would do What we did How our results compare

Continue to implement our value for money strategy to drive down costs while continuing to improve services.

78% of tenants said they were satisfied with the value for money of their rent, an increase of 4% from 2010.

We lost an average of 6.89 days per employee through sickness down from 6.96 days in 2010. Our target was 8.5.

Value for Money

Our performance was average based on information provided by other organisations.

Our performance was among the best being ranked 11 out of 45.

We say:We want to make sure we spend money wisely and that you get a good deal for your rent.

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We received £38.9 million for major improvements to your homes, of which £35.6 million was for the Decent Homes programme.

We are always trying to reduce costs and achieve greater value for money. Some of the ways we’ve saved money this year are:

• We spent £233,000 less on staff salaries than in 2010/11

• We saved £100,000 on transport costs

• We trained our own IT staff in specialist areas and saved £50,000

We spent £750,000 on putting in new fences, improving garages and carrying our minor works schemes chosen by tenants. Tenants wanted us to spend more on these things and we were able to do this because of the savings we have made in other areas.

Our finances in 2011-12We were given £37.9 million by Wolverhampton City Council to manage your homes in 2011-12. This is called the Management Fee.

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We use a wide range of performance measures to check whether we are meeting our commitments. Some measure our efficiency e.g. how quickly we have completed a repair, while others measure customer experience e.g. satisfaction with the repairs service.

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.

Our Board reviews our performance across key services at every meeting. The Business Improvement Committee, a sub-committee of the Board, looks in detail at any area where we are not meeting our targets. The Review Panel and the Council also check our performance.

We check the information thoroughly ourselves before we publish it. The Council carries out its own checks. There are other tests: by our own and the Council’s auditors and by HouseMark, an independent organisation that allows us to compare our performance and costs with other social landlords.

How can you tell whether we are meeting our commitments?

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If you have any questions or would like any further information about this report please telephone us on 01902 556789 or e-mail us at [email protected] or write to us Communications, Wolverhampton Homes, Chillington Fields Industrial Estate, Off Hickman Avenue, Wolverhampton, WV1 2BY.

Name:

Address:

Postcode: Phone number:

What did you think of our annual report?

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Summary in Tenants Update:

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Your FeedbackIt’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 will be entered into a prize draw for £25 of vouchers.