Open session - Tower Hamlets Homes · 2017-18 Finance Outturn Report For Information Neil Isaac 9. Community Investment Annual Report For Information Paul Davey ... Julie Fagan -

MEETING OF THE BOARD

25th July 2018 - 6.00pm – 8.00pm

CE Office, Harford Centre, 1st Floor, 115 Harford Street, E1 4FG

AGENDA

Type

Lead

Open session Introductory items 1. Apologies for Absence

For Information Chair

2. Declarations of Interest For Information Chair 3. Questions from Members of the Public

For Discussion Chair

4.

Open Minutes of the meeting of the Board on 22 May 2018

For Decision

Chair

Items for decision and discussion 5. Leasehold Services Improvement For Decision Ann Otesanya/

Paul Davey

6. Apprentice/Graduate Trainee Schemes For Decision Paul Davey

7. Two Stage Complaints Process For Decision Paul Davey

8. 2017-18 Finance Outturn Report For Information Neil Isaac

9. Community Investment Annual Report For Information Paul Davey 10. CE Report For Information Susmita Sen 11. Customer Access & Experience

Programme Update For Information Paul Davey

Closed session

Items for decision and information 12.

Fire Safety – Secondary Means of escape For Decision

Will Manning

13. Confidential minutes of the meeting of the

Board on 22 May 2018 For Decision

Chair

1Tab 1 Agenda

1 of 124Formal Board Meeting-25/07/18

14. Ratification of Parkguard Contract

For Decision Chair

15. Accommodation Update

For Information

Neil Isaac

16. Forward Plan For Discussion Chair Items for information and limited discussion 17. Any Other Business For Discussion Chair

Tab 1 Agenda

2 of 124 Formal Board Meeting-25/07/18

TOWER HAMLETS HOMES

NOTE BY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Where Members of the Board have an interest in any business of the

Board, then she/he must disclose this interest. Members must disclose the existence and the nature of the interest at the

start of the meeting and certainly no later than the commencement of the item when the interest becomes apparent.

Personal Interests

A Board Member must regard themselves as having a personal interest in any matter if the matter relates to an interest in respect of which

notification must be given, or if a decision upon the matter might reasonably be regarded as affecting, to a greater extent than other

tenants or inhabitants of the Tower Hamlets Homes area, the wellbeing or financial position of themselves, a relative or a friend, OR

a) Any employment or business carried out by such persons;

b) Any person who employs or appointed such persons, any firm in which they are a partner, or any company of which they are a director;

c) Any corporate body in which such persons have a beneficial

interest in a class of securities exceeding a nominal value of more than 2% of the issued share capital in a company;

d) Anybody listed in sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of paragraph 14 of the Resource Pack in which such persons hold a position of

general control or management.

Prejudicial Interests

1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 below, a Board member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a tenant of Tower Hamlets

Council as covered by the Management Agreement or a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably

regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the Board member’s judgement of the public interest.

2. A Board member may regard themselves as not having a prejudicial interest in a matter if that matter relates to –

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Tab 2 Declarations of Interest


a) Another relevant organisation of which they are a member;

b) Another public organisation in which they hold a position of general control or management;

c) A body to which they have been appointed or nominated by

Tower Hamlets Homes as its representative;

d) Where a Board member holds a tenancy or lease with a

relevant organisation, provided that they do not have arrears of rent with that relevant organisation of more than two months, and provided that those functions do not relate

particularly to the Board member’s tenancy or lease.

Participation in Relation to the Disclosure of Interests

A Board member with a prejudicial interest in any matter must –

a) Withdraw from the room where a meeting is being held whenever it becomes apparent the matter is being considered at that meeting,

unless she/he has obtained a dispensation from the Board’s Chairman or Company Secretary; and

b) Not seek improperly to influence a decision about that matter.

Should you require any further information, please contact Paul Davey, Director of Business Transformation, telephone: 020 7364 7328,

[email protected]

Tab 2 Declarations of Interest


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Open minutes of Tower Hamlets Homes Board Meeting Tuesday 22 May 2018 6:10 to 8:35pm

CEO’s Office, Harford Street

Board Members Present:

Ann Lucas - Chair, Independent Board Member (AL) Claire Tuffin - Resident Board Member (CT) Helen Charles - Resident Board Member (HC) Andrew Bond - Independent Board Member (AB) Cllr Helal Uddin - Councillor Board Member (HU) Cllr John Pierce - Councillor Board Member (JP) Cllr Sabina Akhtar - Councillor Board Member (SA)

Co – Optee Board Members Present: Iain Lawson - Co-Optee from the Finance & Audit Committee (IL) Mahbub Anam - Co-Optee from the Finance & Audit Committee (MB)

Officers Present: Susmita Sen - Chief Executive (SS) Neil Isaac - Interim Director of Finance (NI) Paul Davey - Director of Business Transformation (PD) Will Manning - Director of Asset Management (WM) Beverley Greenidge - Head of Neighbourhoods (BG) Nikki Motohashi - Project Officer (NM) Hilton Armand - Transformation Programme Manager (HA) Chris Smith - Head of Resources (CS) Seton Akojenu - Health and Safety Co-ordinator (SA)

In Attendance: Mark Baigent - Council Representative (MB)

Apologies: Julie Fagan - Resident Board Member (SJ) Caroline Compton-James - Independent Board Member (CCJ) Safia Jama - Independent Board Member (SJ) Cllr Marc Francis - Council Board Member (MF) Ann Otesanya - Director of Neighbourhoods (AO) Sameena Raouf - Governance Officer (SR)

1 Welcome

1.1 AL welcomed all to the meeting. Apologies for absence were noted for the

above.

2 Declarations of Interest

2.1 2.2

CT, HC and IL declared their interest as leaseholders of Tower Hamlets Homes. MA, SA and JP declared their interest as members of the Council.

3 Questions from Members of the Public

3.1 3.2

Three questions were read on behalf of a THH leaseholder regarding costs of repairs being inflated through the misuse of the SOR code system, WM responded to say that contractors can misinterpret codes or mistakes can be made in the double-booking of equipment. In any cases where these overcharges have been identified, the resident has been refunded and the contractor alerted of the mistake. AL confirms that a more detailed response to this query will be circulated to the Board once completed.

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Tab 3 Open Minutes of the meeting of the Board on 22 May 2018


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4 Open minutes 26 February 2018

The Tower Hamlets Homes Board APPROVED the open minutes of the

Board meeting that took place on 25 February 2018 PD noted that the Resident Fire Safety report had been updated – paper copies were circulated.

5 Performance Year End Report 2017-18

5.1 PD opened this item for the Board.

5.2

It was noted that the target for the collection of Major Works service charges was not achieved because of bills raised at the end of March which are actually collected in the new financial year.

5.3

A Councillor Board Member expressed concern over the fact that 15% of calls are not answered. SS confirmed that benchmarking is in progress and the aim is mid 90%.

PD advised that work is being done to encourage the use of MyTHH for issues like parking, as well as to introduce text message updates for repairs appointments. These advances will hopefully reduce the number of calls to the service centre and therefore decrease unanswered calls and call waiting time.

5.4

It was noted that the measure for estimating properties at risk of fraud across the housing stock is one shared with the Council’s fraud team. BG confirmed that there would be more targeted work around fraud detection in

the future.

5.5

A Councillor Board Member suggested that residents were unclear about the rationale behind service charging. SS agreed that Major Works charges must be as transparent as possible but highlighted that the situation is complicated by different leases that allow different charges. Sending leaseholders pre-emptive charges is intended to prevent the shock of being billed for the full cost at the end of a project. HC confirmed that she has been working with THH on this problem and attested that leaseholders need more clarity about the difference between normal service charges and Major Works Service charges – perhaps something to include in a welcome pack.

6 Customer Access and Experience Programme

6.1

HA presented this item to the Board. This report provided an update for each of the ongoing projects in the first tranche of the Customer Access and Experience Programme.

6.2

It was noted that all of the projects have progressed significantly, with online reporting for ASB now live and Mears Appoint to go live on 31 May. An anonymous reporting form for ASB will be available from 23 May. HA confirmed that residents had been involved in developing and testing new procedures and metrics have been agreed for tracking improvements in customer experience.

6.3

A Board Member queried whether there would be an online booking system for repairs. HA confirmed that Interfinder software is being developed as part



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of the programme to offer this but WM advised that owing to a software clash with Mears Appoint, the full process is still 9-12 months from launch. Currently residents can raise a repair on MyTHH but staff will have to call back with an appointment.

6.4

A Board Member asked about the issues with speeding at Watts Grove. ACTION: HA offered to find out more about this for the Board.

HA

6.5

A Councillor Board Member asked for more information around the new ASB processes, particularly the handover between NHOs and the ASB team. HA advised that the new procedures will go live on 4 June and all staff will be trained in their responsibilities.

7 The GDPR update

7.1

CS presented this item to the Board. This report provided a summary of the actions THH has taken to prepare for compliance with the incoming General Data Protection Regulations.

7.2

It was noted that there is still work to be done, for instance system upgrades to automate retention/deletion schedules. However, lots of work has been done to improve processes and train staff ready for the GDPR on 25 May.

7.3

A Resident Board Member queried whether Data Sharing Agreements are in place with all partners. CS confirmed these have been signed.

7.4

A Resident Board Member asked about the response rates to emails asking for consent to be contacted. CS advised that these emails were only necessary in specific areas – the eNewsletter and Getting Involved register. All contact that is a formal part of Housing Management is covered by Article 6(2) of the GDPR – contractual obligations so there is no need for residents to opt in.

7.5

It was noted that a privacy notice would be uploaded to the website and sent out with the next rent statements.

7.6

A Councillor Board Member raised a concern about the automatic uploading of resident cases to iCasework without consent. CS agreed that sensitive cases should not be uploaded to any system without consent and that there should be appropriate controls in place to prevent this. ACTION: CS to talk to Ruth Dowden, the Council’s DP officer, in order to confirm the approach to this.

CS

7.7

A Resident Board Member asked about the approval processes for reporting Data Breaches to the ICO, since this has to be done within 72 hours. CS confirmed that an accord has been reached with Ruth Dowden regarding communication with the Council. However, further clarification is needed around cover for absent or uncontactable staff members in such instances – ACTION: CS to follow up.

CS

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________________________ _________________ Chair Date

Actions Log: Open minutes of THH board 22 May 2018 6:05pm – 7:20pm

Item Action Who Due Status 6.5

A Board Member asked about the issues with speeding at Watts Grove. HA offered to find out more about this for the Board.

Hilton Armand

Completed Simon James wrote to the Board Member on 01/06/18

7.6 CS to talk to Ruth Dowden, the Council’s DP officer, in order to confirm the approach to protecting residents’ data on iCasework

Chris Smith

LBTH have

confirmed that

iCasework does

provide

restrictions on

access to cases.

Each staff user is

appointed to a

team, and can

only access cases

that are in their

team. A few staff

have overall

administration

rights, which

enables them to

look up any case.

The system also

tracks and records

each action on the

system. If further

clarity is required

a meeting can be

arranged with

Beverley

McKenzie of

Member Support

to discuss specific

concerns in more

detail.

7.7 However, further clarification is needed around cover for absent or uncontactable staff members in cases where data breaches must be reported to the ICO within 72 hours – CS to follow up.

Chris Smith

It is proposed that under the Breach Notification Procedure in the absence of any member of EMT being contactable during the 72 hour period, within which an organisation must report a data



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breach to the ICT, the SMT member on Emergency Call Out will be consulted and have delegated permission to approve the report of the breach. The Breach Notification Procedure includes guidance on the nature of personal data breaches that need to be reported, as per the ICO guidance.

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Board of Directors

25th July 2018

Report authorised by: Susmita Sen - CEO

Report Author: Ann Otesanya – Director of Neighbourhood

Services Hilton Armand – Transformation Programme Manager

Report type: For decision

Title: Leasehold Services Improvement

1. Introduction

This report sets out some of the historic challenges we face in the management of the leasehold portfolio and changes we have been making to services for THH leaseholders including performance improvements in some critical areas and outlines plans to further improve services to leaseholders through the Customer Access and Experience Programme over coming months.

2. Recommendations 2.1 That Board notes the progress made in the improvement of services to leaseholders 2.2 That Board approve the plans for as full review of leaseholder services within the

Customer Access and Experience Programme 2.3 That the Board nominates the Board Directors who will be on the Leasehold Services

Steering Group and the Resident’s ‘task and finish’ Group (as per paragraph x)

3. Background and context

As at 1 July 2018 we have a total of 9604 leasehold properties of which 3488 are registered

sublets. Over the last 2 years we have identified a number of historical practices and service

delivery challenges which have required new focus and different approaches. Some of these

changes have been uncomfortable for some leaseholders and certainly the pace of change

in some areas such as major works billing has caused some confusion. Alongside this,

Board Directors will be aware that we have a significant capital programme including

Tab 4 Leasehold Services Improvement


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additional works relating to fire safety and this can present additional tension points both in

terms of changes in the programme and rationale/cost and quality concerns.

We are firmly focused on being a leader in the field of local authority leasehold management. We aim to do this by:

being transparent in all our dealings with lessees

ensuring value for money

providing excellent services

being visible in the sector

As stated we recognised that there were a number of areas on Leasehold Services that needed attention and whilst we certainly have more to do, we have made progress on a number of fronts. Some of the changes, such as a focused approach to income recovery and a more robust approach to alterations without consent can at times be controversial with some leaseholders. We have made and will continue to make significant changes to Major Works (MWs) billing, procurement and governance arrangements which we are confident have been and will be beneficial to leaseholders. 4. Improvements 4.1 Changes to Major Works Governance Last year we introduced a completely new governance process for every Major Works (MW’s) project (including lifts, door entry heating and hot water etc.) through our Asset Governance Group (AGG). The AGG assesses each project at block level and agrees the outline works and budget. A purchase order is now raised for each individual project allowing for precise scrutiny on costs and spending. This cash flow is monitored monthly. If the budget for any project is exceeded it has to come back to the AGG for scrutiny and accountability. 4.2 Changes to Major Works Billing From April 2017 we introduced a completely new way of billing for major works, whereby we now bill on estimate every 1st April. This means that leaseholders have information at the start of the financial year detailing planned works alongside estimates for day to day service costs. For the first time this year (April 2018) we issued a ‘proportionate’ estimate. Some lessees have found this confusing. What we are aiming to do is, as far as possible, match the ‘cash flow’ of a project. However, we also need to seek to minimise the potential variability of a scheme. It can be a number of months after being on site that we are still carrying out detailed surveys to determine what is or is not required. Likewise, actual costs will not be known until later in the project and ultimately at final account. We also took the decision that rather than waiting for a Final Account, we would actualise all MW’s expenditure and issue the costs incurred in any given year as a statement of actual expenditure to the lessee. This is also partly as works take place over a long period of time. So we could have done an initial survey in April 2016, walkabout in January 2017, consultation in March 2017, on site August 2017, complete works April 2018.

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We appreciate that these are major changes and we need to redouble our efforts to ensure they are effectively communicated to leaseholders. The approach to communicating these and other such changes will be reviewed as part of the leasehold services review project underway this year (See section 6). There are significant benefits for leaseholders in this new approach. Certainly it will eradicate the possibility of a backlog of bills. In turn, given that many projects will cross two financial years, lessees will receive two estimates. This means that instead of two year’s interest free they can receive four. It also means that leaseholders will have details of planned major works spend for the year ahead at the start of the year, alongside their day to day service charge bill. 4.3 Major Works and Value for Money We know that in general leaseholders are sceptical about whether they receive value for their money. The new Better Neighbourhood’s Qualifying Long Term Agreement (QLTA) has been structured to facilitate value for money and ensure quality and that final accounts are issued promptly. Firstly the contractors’ entry onto the framework is on a competitive tender basis. The award of work then requires a direct call-off or mini-competition to be undertaken. This will in many instances result in a lower cost for the works. The new contracts will be transparent in terms of pricing and there are several price mechanisms for fairly valuing variations. Regular benchmarking and competition can be carried out amongst the contractors to sustain competitive prices. Good cost-effective contractors will be rewarded with direct call-off subject to ongoing demonstration of good performance and value for money. 4.4 Improved approach to major works consultation Just over a year ago we instituted enhanced consultation and included in this approach are joint block inspections and agreed scope of works. This enables a common understanding of the work being planned, likely costs and timescales. We also offer lessees project groups that can meet before, during and after the works have completed. We introduced our 5 year programme interactive map where lessees can see the planned works on their block for the next five years. In fact we are seeking to significantly increase the information available on line and ability for leaseholders to self-serve where they wish to do so. 4.5 MyTHH We have already made leaseholders statements available on line and leaseholders can also view live information on communal repair orders at their individual block. With only a soft launch nearly 1000 leaseholders have registered for this service since it was launched last year. 4.6 Involving lessees in the services they receive We are changing the way we involve leaseholders and have most recently held a series of meetings on communal repairs. We are acting upon the recommendations made and this includes items such as:



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- Use of a repairs diagnosis tool to improve the quality of repairs ordering.

- Ensuring the new post-inspection regime, which gives greater emphasis on post-inspecting

communal repairs, is working effectively.

- Introduce alerts to notify residents / caretakers that jobs are done.

- Arrange for our repairs contractors Mears to provide before and after photos for certain

jobs.

- Lessees can now make use of our repair contractor Mears for gas servicing and drain

downs and can also use our contractor to purchase and fit fire resistant doors. We also have two lessees currently assessing the new long term qualifying agreement we hope to issue in September this year. 4.7 Income recovery We have been making significant progress in recovering unpaid service charges ensuring that leaseholders meet their responsibilities under the lease. In the last 3 years we have collected nearly £3,000,000 more than the service charge raised. Appendix 2 details further information on our debt profile. 4.8 Decent Homes It is fair to say that we have suffered from the way the previous contract was configured and the emphasis put on receiving grant to complete works to the maximum number of properties. This has led to a number of issues both at the time of the works and currently. For leaseholders it has led to long delays in receiving their final account bills. We have now employed two full time quantity surveyors to scrutinise every block before we issue the final account to the lessee. Our new way of estimating and actualising will mean that this backlog of billing cannot occur again in future. 4.9 Managing mistakes Managing a mixed tenure housing portfolio can be complicated. That’s not an excuse to accept mistakes but a challenge to rise to. We are scrutinising our actual charges before they are issued. For the 2017/18 actual we have already identified over 250 repairs that lessees are not liable for. These have been removed from leaseholder charges. They normally arise through miscoding the repair at the outset. This is an area of work that we are focussing on as part of our training and ICT package 4.10 Highlights over the last 2 years

1. Arrears

Net Debit raised each

year

Income within the year

Collection on Debit

2014-15 £12,049,690 £11,938,577 £111,113

2015-16 £13,520,196 £14,669,402 -£1,149,206

2016-17 £14,025,998 £14,356,253 -£330,255

2017-18 £13,535,262 £15,109,386 -£1,574,124

Total £53,131,146 £56,073,618 -£2,942,472

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2. Over the last 2 years the value of benefit applications processed by our Financial

Inclusion officer was in excess of £850,000

3. The full cost of recovery of service charges commenced in 2015/16 (that is no subsidy

or dampening arrangements applied)

4. The number of staff in the leasehold team has reduced from 55 to 44 in the last 3

years.

5. Day to day Leasehold Management charge to lessees have reduced from 2014/15:

£224; 2015/15: £210 and 2016/17: £197

6. First ever voluntary deductions introduced where blocks have Commercial Units

(2016/17)

7. First ever actual for MW’s will be issued this September (this means no more s20B

Notices: over 250 blocks have been served s20Bs to date)

8. First ever MW’s estimate issued on 1st April 2017 (improved on 1st April 2018 and will

be further improved in April 2019)

9. First ever digital offer launched in 2017/18 whereby lessees can view their accounts

on line and can view communal repairs. Further enhancements planned.

10. First time for many years we have a full time RTB team. Caseload reduced from 997

at end of 2015 to current level of 655, despite an additional 30 cases a month

11. Alterations fees for lessees to replace their front entrance doors waived in 2018

saving lessees £340 each

12. Proposed policy confirming that windows comprise part of the structure and are the

landlords to maintain, repairs and replace (currently with LBTH)

13. Confirmed in 2016 with LBTH that going forward all window charges are apportioned

by the standard block apportionment method.

14. Introduced enhanced consultation for MW’s with a pre-s20 block invitation and walk

about (2017)

15. Leaseholders have been encouraged to form a small working group for the duration of

MW’s projects (2017)

16. New alterations policy introduced in March 2017

17. Unprecedented number of s20s issued in 2017/18: 51,000

18. The Head of Leasehold Services regularly attends the London wide Council

Leasehold Group and presented at the recent HQN Leasehold Summit seminar (June

2018)



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5. Looking Forward

THH is committed to a process of continuous improvement across our services and that, of course, includes services provided to leaseholders.

Section 4 of this report sets out a series of service improvements that have been achieved. We are now in a position to look closely at services to leaseholders as a whole and plan further improvements with leaseholders.

This section explains the methodology and governance of further improvement through the Customer Access and Experience Programme. This programme with its strict governance will ensure that a series of improvements, agreed beforehand with leaseholders, will be delivered in a timely fashion.

6. The Leasehold Services Review Project

The leasehold services review is the first of the projects to be progressed within the second tranche of the Customer Access and Experience Programme. The terms of reference for this review are attached at Appendix 1 and they incorporate the comments made by the Customer Experience Task Force at its meeting on 10th July 2018.

As part of the project, officers will be working closely with a ‘task and finish’ group comprised of leaseholders. This group will be facilitated by an external facilitator and arrangements are currently in hand to appoint this person. The Customer Experience Task Force expressed a strong wish for Board Directors to be represented on the ‘task and finish’ group, as well as on the Leasehold Services Steering Group (see the attached governance structure). The Board is therefore requested to nominate the Board members who will be on the Leasehold Services Steering Group and on the residents’ ‘task and finish’ group.

Next steps The next steps will involve:

Recruiting leaseholders for the task and finish group.

Interviewing and appointing the external facilitator (the brief has been sent to five candidates, including HouseMark and HQN, and proposals are due back on 27/7/2018).

Using the terms of reference to produce the draft PID, which will set out the objectives, deliverables, project plan, communications plan, scope, risks and budget implications.

Arranging the first task and finish group workshop with the leaseholders and external facilitator.

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Leasehold Services Review – Project Mandate and Terms of Reference

1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this document is to set out the terms of reference for the leasehold

services review project and to seek approval to start the project, including producing the Project Initiation Document. The terms of reference are based on information from various sources, including feedback from leaseholders, members’ enquiries, complaints and discussions with the THH Board and Executive Management Team (EMT).

1.1 Once approved, this document will be used to create the Project Initiation Document, which will set out in detail the project scope, objectives, deliverables, structure, governance, risks and a project plan.

2. Background

2.1 THH provides services to leaseholders of 9,583 flats and maisonettes1. Under the

terms of the leases, THH (on behalf of the Council) retains responsibility for a range of services, including the repair and maintenance of the structure and common parts of blocks and estates and for carrying out improvement programmes.

2.2 The review is being undertaken as part of the second tranche of the Customer

Access and Experience Programme in response to concerns raised by leaseholders and by councillors on their behalf. Many of the concerns relate to communications with leaseholders regarding the level of costs being paid by them for ongoing services and major works. As a result, the THH Board and EMT have asked for a comprehensive review of the services provided to leaseholders.

3. Terms of reference and project objectives 3.1 The objectives of the review will be to:

a) Review and identify improvements in relation to the service provided to

leaseholders. This will include our communication with leaseholders around the level of service provided, how we monitor quality and deal with the provision of information to leaseholders to evidence costs.

b) Where possible, improve the value for money of services by examining the cost and quality of services.

c) Ensure there are user-friendly procedures for leaseholders to challenge disputed

items.

d) Oversee and monitor the implementation of the resulting improvement plan. 3.2 The main expected benefits / outcomes that will arise from the project after its

completion are:

To increase leaseholder satisfaction with THH (the target for 2018/19 is 73%; the 2019/20 target will be agreed by the THH Board and the council).

1 Figures correct as at April 2018

Appendix 1



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To investigate the potential for achieving efficiency savings.

4. Scope

4.1 The detailed scope for the project will be included in the Project Initiation Document; however, the following are the broad areas that will be in and out of scope:

In scope

All communications with leaseholders (including methods, format, etc).

Achieving value for money and improving the quality of services.

Review of staffing structures for the main teams involved in delivering services to leaseholders, e.g. the Leasehold Services Team and the Service Charge Team.

Day-to-day service charges – information and quality of services.

Major works process – including consultation, information, billing and payment options.

Support for leaseholders – including dealing with hardship and vulnerability.

Recognising the different categories of leaseholders and tailoring our services to meet their needs, e.g. resident and non-resident leaseholders.

Rights and responsibilities of leaseholders – including clarification and communication of these.

Examine the profile of leases based on their remaining number of years and agree a pro-active approach for contacting leaseholders about the options available.

Develop the online offer for leaseholders

The future involvement of leaseholders in monitoring services.

Right to Buy Team structure

Out of scope

Review of the contracts for the delivery of major works and repairs.

Detailed review of individual front-line services (although the project might highlight the need for separate reviews to look at individual services).

Review of the leases.

Subletting of leasehold properties (this is the subject of a separate project).

Right to buy processes.

5. Governance and structure 5.1 Appendix 1 shows the proposed governance structure for the project and a

description of each role. The Project Sponsor will be Paul Davey, Director of Transformation. He will be accountable for the project, ensuring it meets its objectives. His role will include approving the project plan, the risk register, the quality assurance arrangements and the communications plan.

5.2 The Project Manager will be Adam Coates, Head of Finance. He will be responsible for managing the setting up and delivery of the project and for producing the key project documents, including the Project Initiation Document, the risk register, highlight reports and the communications plan.

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5.3 An external facilitator with expertise in leasehold services will be engaged to work with the leaseholder Service Development Group (task and finish) and the Project Board to coordinate the findings from the review and to help develop the improvement plan. A separate brief has been produced setting out further details of the external facilitator role.

6 Leaseholder involvement in the review 6.1 THH regards the involvement of leaseholders in the review as vital. Therefore, a

Service Development Group (task and finish) comprised of leaseholders and Board members from the Leasehold Services Steering Group will take part in the review. The Group will meet in order to identify problems with the current services received by leaseholders and to suggest improvements. Leaseholders from THH’s ‘Getting Involved’ register will be invited to put themselves forward for the Group (objective criteria will be used to select the members of the Group). It is envisaged that the Group will consist of up to 10 people.

6.2 As well as working with the Service Development Group, the Project Board will

examine other ways of involving leaseholders in the review, for example using surveys and running separate focus groups.



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Tower Hamlets Homes

Leasehold Services Review – Governance Structure

4

Tab 4 Leasehold S

ervices Improvem

ent

19 of 124F

ormal B

oard Meeting-25/07/18

Page | 11

Leasehold Services Review – Governance Roles 1. Sponsoring Group (THH Board)

The THH Board will be responsible for ensuring the leasehold services review project remains aligned with the strategic direction of the business and delivers the changes required to meet the corporate objectives. The THH Board will also be responsible for taking any key investment decisions relating to the project.

2. Leasehold Services Steering Group This group will be responsible for scrutinising the project on behalf of the THH Board to ensure it remains aligned with THH’s strategic direction and delivers the changes needed to achieve the corporate objectives. It is envisaged that the Group will meet bi-monthly.

3. The Programme Board The Programme Board is responsible for ensuring that the leasehold services review project is properly aligned with the overall programme objectives and therefore the organisation’s strategic objectives. It is also responsible for ensuring that the project is correctly set up, initiated, delivered and completed. Finally, the Programme Board will ensure that the benefits that are anticipated from the project are clearly identified, monitored and realised.

4. Leasehold Services Review Project Board The Project Board (through the Project Sponsor) is accountable for the success of the project and ensuring it delivers the improvement actions on time, to the required quality and on budget.

5. Service Development Group (Task and Finish) This group will be comprised of leaseholders and officers and will work with the project Board to identify problems with the current service and identify possible solutions. The solutions will be drawn together into an improvement plan. The group needs to be representative in terms of absentee and non-absentee leaseholders and be reasonably balanced demographically.

6. Workstream Teams The purpose of these teams will be to deliver the various actions in the improvement plan identified during the project. The work-stream teams will be responsible to the Project Board.



Page | 12

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Board of Directors

25th July 2018

Report authorised by: Paul Davey, Director of Business Transformation Report Author: Steve Phillpott, Head of People Services


Apprenticeship and Graduate Trainee Schemes Update

1. Introduction

1.1. This report provides an update of our apprenticeship programme and progress towards our target of 33 apprenticeship starts by 2020. Progress has been made, with starts in Environmental Services and Neighbourhoods during 2017-18 and further starts in 2018-19 in the pipeline.

1.2. Additionally, this paper provides an update on THH’s graduate scheme,

provided via Charityworks, through which we appointed four graduates on 12-month work plans in September 2017, which we will repeat again this year.

1.3. Together these schemes contribute towards the delivery of our People

Strategy through attracting a diverse pool of new talent, engaging and developing existing employees, and strengthening our workforce planning to enhance the stability of our workforce. They also provide opportunities for THH residents looking to get into work.

2. Recommendation

2.1. That Board approves the Apprentices and Graduate Trainee schemes set out in this report.

3. Background

3.1. As of April 2017, employers with a pay bill of over £3m are required to pay into an apprenticeship levy at a rate of 0.5% of their pay bill. Employers may then draw funds from this levy to spend on training of existing staff or new apprentices through approved apprenticeship standards. Public sector bodies have an additional target to deliver a number of annual apprenticeship starts equal to 2.3% of their workforce headcount, or 33 apprenticeship starts over three years for THH.

Tab 5 Apprentice/Graduate Trainee Schemes


3.2. THH has taken a mixed approach to delivering our target of 33 apprenticeship starts through a combination of:

direct employment of new apprentices in service areas with existing salary budgets to accommodate this;

the provision of a designated salary budget to directly employ apprentices in service areas which need them but do not have the existing salary budget; and

deploying apprenticeship training to develop existing staff.

3.3. The projected breakdown of apprenticeship starts was agreed in July 2017 as follows:

4. Current position

4.1. The overall position is that we are on track to achieve our target of 33 apprenticeship starts by 2020. Progress within each service area is as follows:

Environmental Services

4.2. During 2017-18, five individuals completed an eight-week pre-apprenticeship

“traineeship” in Environmental Services, with four progressing to a full apprenticeship in Level 2 Facilities Management (i.e. equivalent to 5 GCSEs at grades 4-9).

4.3. The training for these staff is provided by the Training and Recruitment

Partnership (TRP), who have relationships with two registered providers, as well as Sutton, Merton, and Croydon local authorities. They have an existing relationship with sub-contractor Boldly Equipped that is well placed to provide training in Cleaning and Environmental Services.

4.4. Later in the 2018 calendar year, we are planning to recruit a further six

apprentices in Environmental Services, undertaking caretaking and/or drainage roles. These apprenticeships will be aimed at women – our gender pay gap analysis, conducted for the first time this year, highlighted how these trades were male-dominated and so we have a desire to improve access for females into this part of our workforce.

Service Area 17/18 Starts 18/19 Starts 19/20 Starts Total


6 6 6 18

Neighbourhood Services

4 4 4 12

Asset Management

0 0 3 3

Other 1 - - 1

Total 11 10 13 34

5



Neighbourhood Services

4.5. At the onset of the programme, it was intended that the 12 apprenticeships in Neighbourhood Services would be taken by existing staff at the team leader level and would focus on management skills, including responsibility for managing a team and projects. These apprenticeships would be at Level 3 (equivalent to two A-Levels) and Level 5 (equivalent to a Foundation Degree). Both courses would follow the ILM qualification.

4.6. Ten individuals were identified for Level 3 training, and two individuals were

identified for Level 5 training. However, due to the review of Neighbourhoods, it was felt that managers and team leaders in this area would be overstretched if they were to study at the same time as the review was taking place. Consequently, we had four starts at Level 3 and one start at Level 5 at the team leader/manager level. We were also pleased to be able to offer a Level 3 opportunity to an aspiring manager. This means we are now ahead of target in this area and can adjust our future targets accordingly.

4.7. The training for these staff is provided by the Council’s leadership

apprenticeship training provider, Just IT.

4.8. Later in the 2018 calendar year, we are planning to create at least four new apprenticeship opportunities; two new opportunities would be created for directly employed apprentices, as part of succession planning for an ageing workforce; these apprentices would study for the CIH Level 3 Certificate in Housing Practice (QCF). At least two further apprenticeship training opportunities would be created for existing staff/managers in Neighbourhoods.

Asset Management

4.9. There were no starts scheduled for Asset Management within 2017-18. In

order to accommodate directly employed apprentices in 2018-19 in Neighbourhoods, we are planning to create three new roles in heating, electrical, and lift engineering in 2019-20, as part of succession planning for an ageing workforce. These apprenticeships will be at Level 3 or Level 5, depending on the specific programme and training provider selected by THH.

Other

4.10. During 2017-18, we successfully created a new role in our

Communications team for an apprentice (Public Relations Level 4, with training via Damar Limited), which has been successful and we are now looking at onward arrangements for this individual following completion of their training later in the year.



4.11. Whilst we intend to meet our target of 33 apprenticeship starts through the three prongs described above, we are also continuing to look for opportunities to develop existing staff via apprenticeship training, or make use of existing staffing budgets to recruit apprentices into roles. Success in doing so will allow us to mitigate any lower-than-anticipated starts elsewhere.

5. Revised schedule

5.1. Taking into account our experience in 2017-18, our proposed schedule towards our target of 33 starts is now as follows:

6. Salary budgets

6.1. The organisation has allocated a specific budget for apprentice and graduates salaries when service areas cannot accommodate this within their existing budgets. The following table projects expenditure against this budget.

6.2. Salaries for the caretaking apprentices are budgeted to remain at £7.50/hour

as agreed by Board in July 2017.

Timing Hourly pay

rate Total salary

Total salary with on-costs

2017/18

Caretaking apprentices (x5)

Dec-Mar £7.50 £15,750 £18,162

Communications apprentice (x1)

Nov-Mar £10.27 £6,830 £8,598

Graduates (x4) Sep-Mar £10.99 £46,667 £58,267

Plus Charityworks fees £16,680

TOTAL SPEND (against budget of £125,000) £101,707

2018/19


Apr-Jan Feb-Mar

£7.50 £81,900 £99,180

Communications apprentice (x1)

Mar-Feb £10.27 £17,253 £21,738

Service Area 17/18 Starts 18/19 Starts 19/20 Starts Total


4 6 6 16

Neighbourhoods (existing staff)

6 2 3 11

Neighbourhoods (apprentices)

- 2 - 2

Asset Management

- 0 3 3

Communications 1 - - 1

Total 11 10 12 33

5



Neighbourhood apprentices (x2)

Sep-Mar £7.50 £15,750 £18,985

Graduates (x4) Apr-Aug Sep-Mar

£10.99 £80,000 £101,510

Plus Charityworks fees £16,680

TOTAL SPEND (against budget of £277,100) £258,093

2019/20


Apr-Mar £7.50 £61,425 £74,203

Neighbourhood apprentices (x2)

Apr-Feb £7.50 £25,200 £29,834

Asset Management apprentices (x3)

Apr-Mar £15.01 £61,466 £81,174

Graduates (x4) Apr-Aug £10.99 £33,334 £42,295

Plus Charityworks exit fees £8,000

TOTAL SPEND (budget yet to be set) £235,506

6.3 Within the delivery plan for current target of 33 apprenticeship starts, a

smaller salary budget will be required for 2020-21 to see through part-year salaries for the Asset Management apprentices as they finish their apprenticeships (c£80,000 incl. oncosts).

7. Digital Apprenticeship Account

7.1. The actual apprenticeship levy charged to THH in 2017/18 was £74,307. This represents 0.5% of our £17.8m salary bill, allowing for the £15,000 exemption. In budget setting for 2018/19, THH set aside an additional £83,069 for payment of the apprenticeship levy, based on our £19.6m salary budget.

7.2. Apprenticeship levy money can only be spent on training for approved

apprenticeship standards. Each apprenticeship standard has a funding band – the maximum amount of money that can be drawn from the levy to fund training on that standard.

7.3. Therefore, our projection of our Digital Apprenticeship Account balance is:

Item and date No. of learner starts

Money in Money out Balance

2017/18 actual levy (incl. 10% government top-up)

- £74,307 - £74,307

2017/18 actual expenditure – caretaking

4 - £0* £74,307

2017/18 actual expenditure – neighbourhoods

6 - £11,771 £62,536

2017/18 actual expenditure – communications

1 - £1,200 £61,336



2018/19 projected levy (incl. 10% government top-up)

- £83,069 - £144,405

2018/19 projected expenditure – caretaking

6 - £15,000* £129,405

2018/19 projected expenditure – neighbourhoods

4 - £48,228 £81,177

2019/20 projected levy (incl. 10% government top-up)

- £83,069 - £164,246

2019/20 projected expenditure – caretaking

6 - £9,000 £155,246

2018/19 projected expenditure – asset management

3 - £18,000 £137,246

2019/20 projected expenditure – neighbourhoods

3 - £15,000 £122,246

*- Costs for 2017/18 caretaking apprenticeship training were billed in 2018/19.

7.4 By this projection, we will meet our target of 33 starts with a sizable underspend – although given the disparity between the actual levy in 2017-18 and projected levy in subsequent years, this may be overstated; any surplus can be used on some additional apprenticeship training as need arises by service area.

7.5 Funds in the Digital Apprenticeship Account will remain accessible for two

years from the point of payment, at which time they will revert to the treasury if unspent.

8. Graduate Scheme Update

8.2 In addition to the apprenticeship scheme, in 2017 we launched a new graduate scheme in partnership with Charityworks, a leading graduate scheme in the not-for-profit sector. We recruited four graduates on a year-long placement, with the graduates working in different parts of the organisation on a variety of projects as well as undertaking work-based assignments and national development activities. They have each been further supported by members of EMT acting as their internal mentors.

8.2 The graduates are due to finish their placements in September. At the time of

writing, two have successfully obtained onward employment within THH, which is very pleasing. Work continues to support the remaining two graduates in their onward journey either within THH or outside.

8.3 It is felt that participation in the scheme has added value to a number of

projects, with the quality of graduates being very high. We have therefore decided to repeat our participation in the scheme for a further year, again with

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four graduates. Building on our experience, we have decided that all four graduates will be placed centrally and rotated across service areas, with placements in front-line services and ‘back office’/support services as well as a placement involved with organisational strategy. This will provide the graduates with exposure to how the various parts of our organisation interact, and allow them to discover what they are good at and enjoy. For us, all areas of our business will be able to benefit from the graduates’ ideas and inputs.

8.4 It is gratifying to note that all four graduate trainees have found employment

post this graduate trainee scheme. Three with THH and one has been offered a three-year Civil Service traineeship with a permanent job to follow.

8.5 In line with our procurement codes, we will formally review the continued use

of Charityworks in January 2019. The use of Charityworks incurs an administrative fee for the national recruitment service and training components and consideration is to be given as to the value obtained for this.

Appendices: None

Further information is available upon request from Steve Phillpott, Head of People Services ([email protected]).



mailto:[email protected]

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Board of Directors

25th July 2018

Report authorised by: Paul Davey - Director of Business Transformation Report Author: Gulam Hussain – Scrutiny and Resident Feedback Manager / Debbie Palmer – Complaints and Members Enquiries Manager


Title Moving to a Two Stage Complaints Process

1. Introduction 1.1 This report informs the Board of changes the Council are making to their

complaints process. It also provides an overview of discussions that have taken place at the Customer Experience Task Force and seeks approval on a preferred option for THH.

2. Recommendations 2.1 Agree the principle of THH adopting a two stage complaints process as set

out at 6.8 2.2 Agree the proposal to transition the Complaints Learning Panel to a formal

Complaints Review Panel presented in 7.5.

2.3 Comment on the membership of the Complaints Review Panel considered under section 7.

2.3 Agree that the Terms of Reference for the Complaints Review Panel and

operational procedure are presented to the Customer Experience Task Force for consideration.

3. Background 3.1 The Council currently operate a three stage complaints process. Under

current arrangements, THH manages stages 1 and 2 and complaints that escalate to stage 3 are subject to independent investigation and response by the Council.

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Tab 6 Two Stage Complaints Process


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3.2 In 2016, the Council began exploring the feasibility of transitioning to a two stage complaints process to improve efficiency and reduce the overall time taken to investigate and resolve complaints.

3.3 In essence, the changes being introduced entail:

Extending the response time for stage 1 from 10 days to 20 days to enable fuller investigation and resolution of the complaint

Independent investigation by the Councils corporate complaints team at stage 2. The time allowed for stage 2 is to remain at 20 days.

Introducing a target of no more than 5% of cases escalating from stage 1 to stage 2.

3.4 In late 2017, the Council adopted a proposed timeframe to implement the two stage complaints process by July 2018. Earlier this year we were informed that this timescale has since slipped with an indicative date for implementation of September 2018.

3.5 At a meeting arranged by us on 11th July2018, to get an update on the Council’s progress in moving to a 2 stage process, we were told that the Council had brought forward the implementation date to August 2018

3.6 The management agreement (Clause 33.3), initially binds THH ‘to comply with

and adopt as its own the Council’s complaints policy and subsequent changes as approved by the Council’. Section 4 of this report highlights the implications of these changes may have for THH.

3.7 Over the period March to May 2018, the Customer Experience Task Force

(CETF) and EMT considered a range of options available to THH. These are set out in section 6.

3.8 Preference was expressed for THH to adopt its own two stage complaints policy and procedure, under which all stage 2 responses should be considered by complaints panel comprising of residents, board members and EMT.

3.9 In deciding on the preferred option, account was taken of the planned review of the management agreement for THH which, on balance, was thought not to be a barrier.

4. The Councils Position

4.1 Whilst we have not received anything in writing that sets out the Council’s rationale for wanting to manage stage 2 of the process, the reason provided to us by the Service Manager for LBTH Complaints and Information Governance was that the Council must retain responsibility for the final stage as ultimately they are responsible for cases that escalate to the Ombudsman.

4.2 THH has a good track record with the Housing Ombudsman and maintains a

close working relationship with them. Although official comparative data is not published by the Ombudsman service we are informed that we benchmark



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well. Appendix 1 provides an overview of our performance. It is likely that as part of the process of assuming responsibility for all stage 2 complaints, the Council will seek to reassert itself as the primary contact for all future engagement with the Ombudsman.

4.3 The terms of the Management Agreement requires THH to ‘initially’ follow and

adopt as its own the Council’s complaints procedure. The choice of wording in the agreement would suggest there is scope for THH to seek to adopt its own complaints policy with the agreement of the Council.

4.4 A review of 13 ALMO’s shows none included any involvement from the

Council as part of their complaints procedure, this fact together with the risks summarised below were the main drivers for wishing to pursue an independent route. .

4.5 Appendix 2 sets out some comparative information on complaints processes

used by other ALMO’s in England. In line with the practices seen elsewhere in the UK, a number of options were considered as an alternative to LBTH management of stage 2 cases or as part of a separate complaints procedure for THH.

4.6 There is scope for the Council to delegate full responsibility for managing complaints to THH, with this aspect of service delivery being covered by the Councils clienting function. The Council position may in part be driven by a misunderstanding of how ALMOs can operate or may relate to a matter of trust.

5. Implications for THH 5.1 The proposals set out by the Council suggests that THH will be expected to

transfer ownership for all stage 2 cases to LBTH as is currently the practice for cases at stage 3. THH will also be expected to adhere to the Councils performance standard of no more than 5% of cases escalating from stage 1 to stage 2.

5.2 Although the changes to the response period at stage 1 is likely to aid in

reducing the number of cases escalating, the possibility of cases escalating to the Council, as opposed to an internally managed stage, may contribute to a disproportionate focus on the resolution of complaints by the Council.

5.3 THH performance in responding to complaints has improved significantly

since 2016/17 when our performance for stage 1 was 79% and for stage 2 74%. For the first quarter of this year we have performed at 96% for stage 1 and 94% for stage 2. The Councils performance at 3 remained static at 77% responded to within 20 days for the years 206/17 and 2017/18. In the first quarter of this year performance is recorded at 29%. This raises concerns about our ability to influence the speed at which residents receive a resolution and the potential impact it has on our reputation.

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5.4 Additionally we risk losing internal capacity to recognise and understand performance trends and embed learning in to the delivery of services. A rise in a culture of overcompensating or overpromising in order to reduce escalations may also become an issue.

5.5 The Council’s proposals are also likely to have a cost implication for THH to reflect the volume of cases that may be escalated to the Council. The existing SLA is valued at £60,000 per annum. We have been informed to expect an increase to reflect inflationary changes for last year and at the time of writing we have yet to receive notification of SLA charge for 17/18.

5.6 Should the Council take on the management of stage 2, it is likely that this would have implications for the SLA. We continue to seek clarity on the full cost implications for THH.

6. Options Considered 6.1 The option to simply adopt the change proposed by the Council for them to

take on stage 2 cases was discounted.

6.2 Adopting our own two stage complaints policy would offer greater flexibility to address issues such as the grounds for escalating a complaint in order to reduce misuse of the process and how THH would choose to manage the escalation process. Within this option several permutations were considered and are covered below.

6.3 THH Board/Resident Complaints Review Panel: This option would include

establishing a panel comprised of members of the THH Board, CEO and residents to review outcomes at stage 2. This could eventually transition to an entirely resident led process. This option would be in keeping with our strategic objectives and allow for a more customer centric approach to learning and shaping our services.

6.4 Recruiting and maintaining the involvement of residents in the panel is likely

to be a challenge. For the approach to work, there would need to be sufficient assurance that caseloads are manageable and that we have adequate capacity within the panel to prevent involvement becoming burdensome.

6.5 Council/Board/Resident Complaints Panel: This option would include

establishing a joint panel with the Council. This option would open up opportunities to involve the Council, Residents and members of the THH Board and offer the Council visibility of all stage 2 cases and degree of input to the decision of the panel. Challenges to managing the recruitment and retention of residents would equally apply.

6.6 THH CEO to sign off on stage 2 cases: Under this option, the investigation

and draft response would be reviewed and signed off by the THH CEO.

6.7 LBTH to sign off on Review Stage investigations carried out by THH: This option is partially in line with the Council’s proposals. The Council would



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continue to exercise its function of reviewing the outcome of investigations carried out by THH and signing off on the decisions.

6.8 The preferred option to emerge from CETF and EMT was for THH to adopt its own 2 stage complaints policy and procedure, under which all stage 2 responses should be considered by formal Complaints Review Panel comprising of residents, board members and EMT.

6.9 Agreement of the Council will need to be sought to any changes THH may

propose. Should Board agree to the recommendations of this report, the indicative timetable that the Council is working to in transitioning to a two stage process means negotiations with the relevant council officers will need to commence immediately.

7. Complaints Review Panel 7.1 As is the current practice, if a resident is unhappy about our service, we will

try and resolve this outside of the formal complaints process. For example, we will always seek to re-book a missed appointment or complete an outstanding repair with the consent of the resident before recording as a complaint.

7.2 Stage 1 – If the resident is still unhappy with our service, we would log as a

formal complaint. The duration for investigating Stage 1 complaints would increase from 10 to 20 working days. Investigations and responses for this stage would continue to be signed off by Heads of Service, to ensure there is an overview of the service, a consistent approach and the necessary authority to rectify any failings. This would be known as the Resolution Stage.

7.3 The basic proposed revised arrangements for managing stage 2 of the

process are given below. 7.4 The aim of the Complaints Review Panel would be to independently review

and resolve complaints where the complainant is unhappy with the response they received from THH at stage 1. The Panel would apply the principles of fairness; putting things right and helping THH learn from complaints in carrying out this role.

7.5 We currently have in place a Board/ Executive Complaints Learning Panel

who meet each quarter to ensure learning from complaints is captured and that actions are being appropriately progressed. It is recommended that the existing Complaints Learning Panel transition to become the formal Complaints Review Panel, with the additional membership of residents.

7.6 It is also recommended that a Board member chairs the Complaints Review Panel to ensure independence. Ultimately the position of chair could move to a resident.

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7.7 There is also an option to extend an invite to the Council to either observe or participate in the Complaints Review Panel.

7.8 It is anticipated that about 10 cases a month could escalate to stage 2 and potentially the panel would need to meet every 2 weeks to prevent unacceptable delay. A pool of members will be required to ensure sufficient membership to cover this frequency of panel meetings.

. 7.7 THH would need to provide training, advice and support to members so they

can carry out the role. Members would need to undertake training and demonstrate that they have the skills and abilities before they could sit on the Panel. Options for such training are currently being explored.

7.8 A draft procedure is currently being developed to reflect THH adopting its own

complaints policy. Should the Board agree to the principle of adopting a THH Complaints Policy it is recommended that the Terms of Reference for the Complaints Panel and operational procedure are presented to the Customer Experience Task Force for consideration.

8. Financial Implications 8.1 The Council’s proposals are also likely to have a cost implication for THH to

reflect the volume of cases that may be escalated to the Council. The existing SLA is valued at £60,000 per annum and is expected to increase to reflect inflationary changes.

9. Legal implications 9.1 There are no legal implications. Under any policy residents would retain the

right to escalate a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman having the exhausted the internal complaints process.

10. Risk Management Implications

10.1 Key risks are highlighted in section 5, Implications for THH Appendix 1: Housing Ombudsman performance

Outcome 2015 / 2016 2016 / 2017 2017 / 2018

Freq % Freq % Freq %



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q q q

- 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Advice on complaints handling 1 2% 0 0% 0 0%

Advice provided 23 38% 17 30% 3 9%

Assistance to make a complaint 6 10% 4 7% 0 0%

Assistance to resolve dispute 2 3% 1 2% 3 9%

Complaint progressed 6 10% 2 4% 1 3%

Information provided 10 17% 13 23% 5 14%

Maladministration 0 0% 1 2% 2 6%

No Maladministration 0 0% 2 4% 10 29%

OSJ 2 3% 2 4% 5 14%

Reached settlement 0 0% 0 0% 1 3%

Reasonable offer of redress 0 0% 4 7% 0 0%

Referred to landlord for local resolution

1 2% 0 0% 0 0%

Service Failure 1 2% 11 19% 3 9%

Signposted 6 10% 0 0% 1 3%

Withdrawn 2 3% 0 0% 1 3%

Total 60 100%

57 100%

35 100%

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Appendix 2: Complaints process across ALMO’s

ALMO Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Barnet 10 days Senior Manager-

10 days

City West 15 working days –

Snr Manager 20 Working days Complaints Team

Haringey 20 working days –

Snr Manager 25 Working days Feedback Team

Nottingham Service Manager –

timescales not disclosed

Complaint Resolutions Team –

timescales not disclosed

Lewisham 10 working days –

Service area 15 Working days –

Head of Service Independent adjudicator

Welwyn and Hatfield

10 working days – service area

10 working days – Head of Service

South Essex Homes

10 working days – Team

leader/Manager

10 working days - Director

Complaint Review panel made up by Board Members

Derby Homes 10 working days –

no more info 10 working days –

no more info Complaints appeal

– 3 tenant members

Northampton Partnership

10 working days – Service Manager

10 working days – Head of Service

Complaints Panel – Member of EMT, Member of Board

and a member from Complaint Panel

Stockport Manager from service area

Appeal Panel – Head of Service

and 2 trained residents

Six Town Housing

10 working days – Service Manager

10 Working days - CEO

Solihull Community Housing

15 days – Service Manager outside

service area

Review Panel – Members from the

Board



Finance & Audit Committee

19th July 2018

Report authorised by: Neil Isaac Report Author: Adam Coates

Report type: For information

Title: Outturn Reports 2017/18

i. THH Company Accounts ii. Delegated Accounts iii. Capital Accounts iv. Use of Reserves

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 This report presents the outturn position for the various budgets managed by

THH for the financial year 2017/18.

1.2 The report provides commentary on significant variances, highlighting areas of note for management team and Finance and Audit Committee.

1.3 This report also presents the use of THH reserves in 2017/18, and forecast

use of reserves for 2018/19. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 That Finance & Audit Committee note the contents of the report, as

summarised below:

Core Company outturn of £888k surplus, £33m expenditure funded from £32.2m management fees and £1.6m from THH reserves.

Delegated budget outturn of £65m net income (£63m budget)

HRA Capital outturn of £28.4m expenditure (£41.7m budget)

THH invoices and received additional funding

A draft reserves position of £3.2m as at 31 March 2018. 3. CORE COMPANY OUTTURN

3.1 The outturn position is presented in Appendices 1 & 2, and shows a surplus

of £888k for the year after funding from reserves. This position includes a total of £489k received from LBTH as agreed funding for fire safety works and compliance. This section sets out the key variances by Directorate.

7

Tab 7 2017-18 Finance Outturn Report


3.2 Asset Management Directorate

The Directorate’s year end spend of £4.95m is £87k lower than budget and £128k lower than forecasted in period 11. The under spend is largely driven by the following: a) Repairs Management – This service is showing a year end underspend of

£176k mainly driven by vacancies within the team combined with underspends on professional fees.

b) Capital Programme Management - The overspend of £165k is driven by overspends on agency costs (£116k), business rates (£32k) that had not been budgeted, the purchase of a new asset management module (£111k), partially off-set by underspends on professional fees (£93k) linked to the reduction in spend on the capital programme.

c) Health & Safety – The Health & Safety team is showing a year end

underspend of £43k. This underspend is driven by one vacant post within the team and no spend on Professional fees.

3.3 Chief Executive Office

The Chief Executive office has underspent in 2017/18 by £90k as a result of a vacant post and underspends on professional fees.

COST CENTRE DESCRIPTION 2017/18

BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

(A)

VARIANCE P11

FORECAST

(B)

FORECAST

VARIANCE

(A-B)

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Capital Programme Manager 2,667 2,833 165 2,737 95

Repairs Management 1,617 1,441 -176 1,621 -181

Investment Planning 281 248 -34 249 -1

Health & Safety 253 210 -43 228 -17

Dir. of Investment Services 218 218 1 242 -24

Grand Total 5,037 4,950 -87 5,078 -128



3.4 Business Transformation Directorate

The Business Transformation Directorate has a small net overspend of £13k. There are a number of broadly off-setting variances within this area of the business, with explanations provided below:

ICT, Risk & Contract Gov overspend of £166k relates to an increase in SLA costs from LBTH, however, this was funded through an increase in management fee income.

Vacancies within Business Development team have resulted in a £74k underspend

Community Partnership underspend relates to lower spend on professional fees than had been budgeted.

The overspend within the Director’s area is a result of the executive officer post that had not been budgeted for.

3.5 Finance Directorate

The Finance Directorate for 2017/18 is showing an overall overspend of £118k. The two main areas driving this overspend are;

a) Director of Finance – This underspend is primarily a result of a vacant

post. This post has been given up as savings for 2018/19. The


BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

(A)

VARIANCE P11

FORECAST

(B)

FORECAST

VARIANCE

(A-B)

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000

ICT, Risk & Contract Gov 2,173 2,339 166 2,282 57

Facilities Management 1,989 1,962 -27 2,033 -71

Human Resources 694 717 23 747 -30

Business Development 522 448 -74 447 1

Community Investment - -4 -4 - -4

Community Partnership 390 329 -62 324 5

Scrutiny and Resident Feedback 349 296 -53 316 -20

Communications 294 276 -17 294 -18

Director of Business Transformation 183 243 61 243 0.46

Total Business Transformation 6,593 6,606 13 6,685 -80


BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

(A)

VARIANCE P11

FORECAST

(B)

FORECAST

VARIANCE

(A-B)

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Dir. of Finance 374 298 -76 262 37

Rent Accounting Team 138 122 -16 120 2

Leaseholder SC Team 236 216 -20 234 -17

Finance Management 1,545 1,798 253 1,670 128

Apprenticeships & Graduate Trainees 125 102 -23 87 15

2,419 2,537 118 2,372 165

7



business has also seen a large increase from the previous year (£57k) in employer’s liability insurance to £112k however this increased cost is off-set by underspends of £57k on professional fees.

b) Finance Management – The overspend of £253k is largely due to additional legal costs charged via the SLA with LBTH. Legal services recharges are charged to THH at year end leaving this area difficult to quantify. This has been raised with LBTH legal, and a review will be undertaken in 2018/19.

3.6 Neighbourhood Directorate

The Neighbourhood Directorate’s year end spend is £107k under budget. There are variances contributing to the overall underspend with the main drivers being; a) Area South - This service is overspent by £176k, largely driven by a £106k

overspend on salaries and agency and a £44k overspend on Professional fees relating to the Ocean Estate Warden’s costs. There is a further £19k overspend on responsive repairs. There are smaller variances across the team that contribute to the overall overspend.

b) Housing Advice Centre – The significant underspend in this area is primarily driven by employee costs (£62k), third party payments (£110k) and an underspend of £40k on telephone rental.

c) Head of Caretaking – Approximately half of the overspend in Caretaking

relates to employee costs (£95k). The remainder relates to supplies and services (£55k), fleet management SLA costs (£36k) and some minor overspends on property and transport related items.

d) THH Grounds Maintenance – The main contributing factor to the overspend in this area is additional spend on the GM contract.


BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

(A)

VARIANCE P11

FORECAST

(B)

FORECAST

VARIANCE

(A-B)

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Head of Caretaking 6,996 7,202 206 7,118 84

Housing Advice Centre 2,474 2,271 -203 2,486 -215

Leaseholder Services 2,399 2,158 -241 2,157 1

Central Rent Management 1,233 1,166 -67 1,161 6

Area South 772 984 212 930 54

Area North 688 647 -41 677 -30

THH Grounds Maintenance 727 820 93 807 12

ASB Housing Service 645 682 38 681 1

Drainage Operations 381 406 25 403 3

Head of NHOs 309 268 -41 263 5

Director of Neighbourhoods 278 215 -63 227 -13

Voids Team 211 187 -24 187 0

Grand Total 17,113 17,006 -107 17,098 -92



e) Leaseholder Services – There is a significant underspend (£381k) on

employee costs within this service as a result of a number of vacant posts. This underspend in staffing is partially off-set by overspends in other areas; supplies and services budgets were overspent by £148k mainly due to additional printing costs (£43k), computing costs (£28k) and professional fees (£78k). These additional costs are related to managing activity on RTB.

4. DELEGATED BUDGETS OUTTURN

4.1 The delegated budgets are managed by THH on behalf of LBTH and include

income budgets of £94.646m and expenditure budgets totalling £31.840m.

4.2 The outturn position on these budgets is a favourable variance of £2.531m, and is presented in Appendix 3. The remainder of section 4 describes the reasons for the more significant variances.

4.3 Expenditure

The cost of Repairs & Maintenance was £858k lower than originally budgeted. This is also £533k less than forecast in period 11. EMT will recall that the level of accruals and the methodology for their calculation has been problematic in previous years. The 2017/18 accrual is £2.9m, made up of £2m of jobs that are complete but not yet paid for, plus an estimate of £0.9m for jobs where target completion date was up to 31st March, but were not showing as completed on the system. By way of comparison, the 2016/17 accrual was £2.16m (£1.49m accruals and £0.67m WIP). The main drivers for the underspend are;

a. Mears Contract – The year end variance of £298k on this contract is

driven by many small unders and overs however the main significant variances are as follows;

Spending on Communal areas was significantly increased following the Grenfell fire, resulting in an overspend of £239k.

The Gas Servicing contract has overspent by £131k, this is due to additional properties being serviced in 2017/18 and unaccrued costs from 2016/17.

The Home Decoration Scheme in its various guises has proven to be a popular service albeit challenging to spend the entire budget. The service will be offering more options and making the scheme better targeted, it is believed that the full budget allocation can be utilised year on year. The new service offer will need rebranding and relaunching to ensure that it is sufficiently communicated to residents.

An underspend of £119k on responsive repairs to play areas is a direct result of having planned works in the capital programme.

7



A total of £4.228m was spent on void works in 2017/18. The outturn position, an underspend of £457k on revenue funded void works is due to an increase in costs being charged to capital. This increased capitalisation includes LBTH Buybacks and Poplar Harca properties. In total £3m on these works was transferred and charged to capital.

b. Precision Contract – A £97k underspend in responsive lift works. The lift renewal programme means that a number of newly installed lifts are within their “defects period”, and as such, we are seeing a reduction in our own servicing and repair costs.

c. Repairs Blocks Monitoring – Underspend of £73k. This budget has traditionally been volatile, as the service has in previous years seen unexpected costs from LFB actions. The 2017/18 budget was set to accommodate such charges however they have not materialised. The service has reported that renewed lift floors and GSM units with auto dialers have contributed to fewer LFB call outs.

d. Repairs Blocks (Communal Works) – Underspend of £698k. The

service has previously benefitted from retaining this unallocated budget. For 2017/18 this budget was earmarked to fund the Estate Curtilage Programme, with planned spend of £400k per annum over three years. The underspend is a direct result of a delay in the programme start up. Whilst this is reflected as an underspend in 2017/18 the works are still scheduled but will be delivered in later years.

Water Rates – Costs underspent by £456k in relation to the set budget. Thames Water billed THH £4.6m for 11,257 properties with deductions for Voids and Commission of £1m. Therefore the actual charge for 2017/18 and associated income is in line with expected position.

Communal energy - underspent by £807k against a budget of £3.950m. Timely information has not traditionally been made available to us by LBTH, and as such forecasting has been challenging. A meeting is scheduled with LBTH to establish a reasonable approach for 2018/19 and beyond.

£000 £000

Total Voids for the year 2017/18 4,228

Balance c/f prior year accruals 2016/17 -369 3,860

2017/18 Void costs transferred to capital

Capital voids -1,749

RTB Buy Backs -458

Poplar Harca Buy Backs -885

Total transferred to capital -3,091

2017/18 Voids Balance 769

2017/18 Voids Analysis



Building Insurance – There has been a large increase in the costs of buildings insurance. This was communicated late in the financial year, and as such hadn’t previously been reported. The significant increase has been challenged and is believed to be legitimate.

Estate Projects – The £140k overspend in this area is primarily a result of 2016/17 costs not being accrued, and as such, hitting this financial year.

Mayoral Bid ASB – The Council has set aside £2.458m over three years for additional anti-ASB activities, covering dedicated police officers and other security staff. The project was slow to start during 2017/18 resulting in underspend of £578k. It is important to note this is not a saving on the project, but a delay as to when costs start to be incurred.

Estate Capacity – Underspend of £231k. This budget is managed by LBTH and relates to the New Build Team located within Asset Management. Salary costs for the 2 project officers are charged here as well as other costs directly managed by LBTH.

NNDR – This budget is showing an underspend of £171k. The associated cost centres managed by LBTH relate to business rates and council tax on THH void properties. The 2017/18 charge of £113k was advised late by LBTH. This cost was unfortunately not accrued for in the 2017/18 accounts.

4.4 Income

Dwelling rents – There was £303k more rent than budgeted for this is in part due to new builds and lower than anticipated RTB sales.

Leasehold Charges – There has been £155k less service charge income than budgeted. This is largely due to a drop in the number of RTB sales.

Tenant service charges – the income budget for recently de-pooled electricity charges is over-stated, and will need to be amended in future.

Water Commission – The 2017/18 budget was set prior to commission rates being agreed, and as such, was overstated by £128k. The actual commission received, £792k, is in line with the agreed rates.

Major Works Income – Income over achieved by £149k. This income relates to the administration charge on Major Works Invoices.

CDM Fees – The outturn position shows extra income of £237k. The delivery mechanism for CDM fees has changed. Previously internal staff performed this task and would charge for the service, however from this year the service has been contracted out. The additional income relates to previous years not charged. Therefore going forward, there will be no income generated on this cost centre.

7



5. HRA CAPITAL OUTTURN 5.1 The outturn position is summarised in the table below:

5.2 The 2017/18 outturn position was £28.365m compared to a revised budget of £41.764m, which represents slippage and underspends of £13.4m. The service has been projecting significant slippage for a number of months. The final outturn position actually presents higher levels of spend than had been forecast in period 11.

5.3 The primary reasons for the variances from budget are:

£11m budget for Decent Homes work was brought forward, but following more detailed spec, it was identified that only £6m was required.

Contingency and provisional sums were removed during the year.

Changes to the scope of a number of Better Neighbourhood projects and associated fee reductions saw costs reduce.

Delays on a number of lift replacement projects.

Delays on a number of Door Entry projects due to issues with planning and with leasehold consultation.

Less activity on Overcrowding Initiatives, with only one “knock-through” being undertaken in 17/18

5.4 The majority of the work completed in 2017/18 related to the Better

Neighbourhoods programme, which incorporates former Decent Homes

BUDGET DESCRIPTION

ORIGINAL

BUDGET

2017/18

REVISED

BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

2017/18

£000 £000 £000 £000

Housing Capital Programme

Better Neighbourhoods 30,700 28,769 18,937 -9,832

Mechanical & Electrical inc Planned 7,170 7,275 4,283 -2,992

Fire Risk Assessment 1,500 1,500 1,983 483

Housing Initiatives 3,650 3,650 3,151 -499

Contingency Projects 500 500 0 -500

Communal Play Areas 30 30 0 -30

Total Housing Capital Programme 43,550 41,724 28,354 -13,370

FUEL POVERTY WORKS - EWI 40 40 11 -29

Total Fuel Poverty Works 40 40 11 -29

Total Housing Revenue Account 43,590 41,764 28,365 -13,399

CAPITAL BUDGETS - 2017/18

VARIANCE

2017/18



work. Almost £19m was spent in this area against a budget of £28.8m. The remainder of the programme spent a total of £9.4m, against a budget of £13m. £2m of expenditure on voids was capitalised in 2017/18, which represents £500k more than had been budgeted for this area.

5.5 There was £483k of THH salary costs charged to the capital programme

which represents an underspend of £166k. This charge is made up of costs of Quantity Surveyors and Clerks of Works that can be directly attributed to specific projects.

6. Use of Reserves 2017/18 and 2018/19 6.1 At the start of 2017/18 Finance and Audit Committee agreed a target

minimum level of reserves of £2m to be retained by THH.

6.2 As at 31 March 2017 THH retained £3.96m in reserves. 6.3 A number of exceptional one-off projects have been identified as being

funded from reserves, namely; ICT Digital Strategy, works associated with the office moves, and procurement costs linked to capital works.

6.4 As is shown in Appendix 1, we have utilised £1.6m of reserves in 2017/18 in

funding these projects. 6.5 Due to an in-year surplus on our company accounts, we will be making a

contribution to reserves at year end of £888k. This leaves a draft position of £3.23m in reserves as at 31 March 2018. It should be noted that the accounts have not yet been through their external audit, so this may be subject to change.

6.6 It is proposed that £1.073m of reserves are used to finance the following

projects:

£813k for the ICT Digital Strategy, based on the original allocation of £1m, less the £187k spent in 2017/18.

Residual works associated with the office moves, that will also be off-set by a reimbursement from the landlord for works already completed (net position estimated to be £300k contribution to reserves)

Severance costs relating to key restructures (£500k) 6.7 This approach would result in a reserves balance of £2.2m as at 31 March

2019, which is in line with the previously agreed minimum balance. The table in Appendix 4 summarises this position.

7



DESCRIPTION 2017/18

BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

(A)

VARIANCE P11

FORECAST

(B)

FORECAST

VARIANCE

(A-B)

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Income

Management Fee -31,946 -32,090 -144 -32,090 0

Rechargeable Salaries -188 -141 47 -163 22

Interest -25 -43 -18 -27 -16

Transfer from Reserves - -1,622 -1,622 -1,965 343

Additional Mgmt Fee - - - -466 466

Total Income -32,159 -33,896 -1,737 -34,711 815

Expenditure

Asset Mgmt 5,036 4,950 -86 5,078 -128

Business Transformation 6,593 6,606 13 6,685 -79

CEO Office 377 287 -90 362 -75

Finance 2,419 2,537 118 2,372 165

Neighbourhoods 17,113 17,006 -107 17,098 -92

Contingency 621 - -621 621 -621

Cost of Service 32,159 31,386 -773 32,216 -830

Funded from Reserves

Accommodation - 1,025 1,025 1,223 -198

Digital Solutions - 187 187 315 -128

Procurement - 410 410 427 -17

Sub Total: Reserves Funding - 1,622 1,622 1,965 -343

Subject to LBTH Funding

Emergency Work Funded - LBTH - - - 466 -466

Legal Costs - - - 50 -50

ICT SLA Costs - - - 53 -53

Sub Total: LBTH Funding - - - 569 -569

Net Cost of Service - -888 -888 39 -927

APPENDIX 1

COMPANY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS 2017/18 PERIOD 12



DESCRIPTION 2017/18

BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

(A)

VARIANCE P11

FORECAST

(B)

FORECAST

VARIANCE

(A-B)

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000

Income

Management Fee -31,946 -32,090 -144 -32,090 0

Rechargeable Salaries -188 -141 47 -163 22

Interest -25 -43 -18 -27 -16

Transfer from Reserves - -1,622 -1,622 -1,965 343

Additional Mgmt Fee - - - -466 466

Total Income -32,159 -33,896 -1,737 -34,711 815

Expenditure

Employee Costs 21,622 21,665 43 21,542 123

SLA 6,040 6,406 366 6,203 203

Supplies & Services 2,742 2,174 -568 2,767 -593

Third Party Payments 437 224 -213 285 -61

Property Costs 487 729 242 617 113

Transport Costs 185 148 -37 142 6

Depreciation 25 40 15 40 0

Contingency 621 - -621 621 -621

Cost of Service 32,159 31,386 -773 32,216 -830

Funded from Reserves

Accommodation - 1,025 1,025 1,223 -198

Digital Solutions - 187 187 315 -128

Procurement - 410 410 427 -17

Sub Total: Reserves Funding - 1,622 1,622 1,965 -343

Subject to LBTH Funding

Emergency Work Funded - LBTH - - - 466 -466

Legal Costs - - - 50 -50

ICT SLA Costs - - - 53 -53

Sub Total: LBTH Funding - - - 569 -569

Net Cost of Service - -888 -888 39 -927

PERIOD 12COMPANY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS 2017/18

APPENDIX 2

7



DESCRIPTION 2017/18

BUDGET

2017/18

OUTTURN

(A)

VARIANCE P11

FORECAST

(B)

FORECAST

VARIANCE

(A-B)

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000

R&M 15,908 15,050 -858 15,583 -533

Water Rates - Costs 4,841 4,385 -456 3,592 793

Communal Energy 3,950 3,143 -807 3,100 43

Building Insurance 1,350 1,902 552 0 1,902

Estate Project 1,346 1,486 140 1,327 159

TMO Allowances 901 845 -56 869 -24

Mayoral Bid - ASB 886 308 -578 598 -290

Cleaning Materials 600 518 -82 563 -45

Estate Capacity 600 369 -231 600 -231

Concierge 430 445 15 390 55

Estate Parking 340 402 62 470 -68

NNDR 275 104 -171 232 -128

Service Charge Payments 200 230 30 200 30

Neighbourhood Action 100 145 45 19 126

Rent Payments 63 23 -40 63 -40

ASB 50 4 -46 50 -46

Expenditure 31,840 29,359 -2,481 27,656 1,703

Dwelling Rents -65,601 -65,904 -303 -66,014 110

Leasehold Charges -14,395 -14,240 155 -14,083 -157

Tenant Service Charge -7,345 -7,109 236 -6,743 -366

Water Rates - Income -4,559 -4,496 63 -4,059 -437

Garage Rents -1,300 -1,285 15 -1,205 -80

Water Commission -920 -792 128 -792 0

Major Works -300 -449 -149 -350 -99

Estate Parking -100 -99 1 -110 11

CDM Fees -70 -307 -237 -304 -3

Drainage Income -55 -15 40 -15 0

Mortgage Interest -1 0 1 -1 1

Income -94,646 -94,696 -50 -93,676 -1,020

Grand Total -62,806 -65,337 -2,531 -66,020 683

APPENDIX 3

DELEGATED REVENUE BUDGETS 2017/18



DESCRIPTION

£000 £000

Reserves b/fwd 1 April 2017 -3,961

Digital Strategy 187

Office Accommodation 1,025

Procurement 410

1,622

Contribution to reserves: 2017/18 Surplus -888

Draft Reserves c/fwd 31 March 2018 -3,227

Digital Strategy 813

Office Accommodation -300

Severance Costs 500

1,013

Forecast Retained Reserves March 2019 -2,214

AMOUNT

APPENDIX 4

7



1 | P a g e

Finance & Audit Committee

19th July 2017

Report Authorised by: Neil Isaac Report Author: Adam Coates

Report type: For Information

Title: Final Accounts 2017/18

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. This report presents a draft set of THH financial statements for review by

F&AC. These statements are subject to external audit by KMPG, which is scheduled to take place in early August.

1.2. A final set of these financial statements will be presented to F&AC in October 2018 following the conclusion of the audit, ahead of submission to Board for final sign-off.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1. That F&AC note the draft financial statements, and that a final position

will be presented in October.

Tab 7.1 Final Accounts 2017/18


Tower Hamlets Homes Limited Directors’ Report and Financial Statements 31

March 2018

1

Tower Hamlets Homes

Limited

Directors’ report and financial

statements for the year

ended 31 March 2018

Limited Company By Guarantee

Registered number 06249790

7.2

Tab 7.2 Directors’ report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2018



March 2018

2

Contents

Page

Company information

3 - 4

Directors’ Report

5 – 6

Strategic Report

7

Statement of Internal Control

9-10

Statement of directors’ responsibilities

11

Report of the independent auditors to the members

of Tower Hamlets Homes Limited

12-13

Statement of Comprehensive Income

14

Statement of Financial Position

15

Statement of Cash Flows

16

Statement of Changes in Equity

17

Notes to the Financial Statements

18 - 29




March 2018

3

Company Information

Company Registration No

06249790

Registered office: Jack Dash House

2 Lawn House Close

London

E14 9YQ

Bankers: National Westminster Bank

plc

Docklands South Quay Branch

54 Marsh Wall

West India Dock

London E14 6LJ

Solicitors: Trowers and Hamlins LLP

3 Bunhill Row

London

EC1Y 8YZ

Auditors: KPMG LLP

15 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5GL

Board of Directors:

Name Type Appointed Resigned

Ann Lucas (Chair) Independent 10-Dec-12

Shamsul Hoque Resident 03-Jul-08 18-Dec-17

Claire Tuffin Resident 06-Mar-13

Caroline Compton-James Independent 10-Sep-15

Andrew Bond Independent 10-Sep-15

Safia Jama Independent 06-May-16

Cllr Sabina Akhtar Council 14-Jul-15

Cllr Marc Francis Council 14-Jul-15

Cllr John Pierce Council 14-Jul-15

Cllr Helal Uddin Council 14-Jul-15

Helen Charles Resident 20-Jan-17

Julie Fagan Resident 31-Jul-17

Company Secretary

Paul Davey

7.2




March 2018

4

Company Information (cont)

Executive Management Team

The members of the Executive Management Team who held office in the year are listed below

with their current Directorate responsibilities.

Name Role From To

Susmita Sen Chief Executive 15-Sept-2015

Ann Otesanya Director of Neighbourhoods 15-Feb-2016

Paul Davey Director of Business Transformation 13-Jun-2016

John Tunney Director of Asset Management (interim) 18-Jul-2016 Jan 2018

Neil Isaac Director of Finance (interim) 16-Sept-2016

Will Manning Director of Asset Management Jan 2018




March 2018

5

Directors’ report

The Directors present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended

31 March 2018.

Legal Status

The Company is a controlled company (by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets), limited

by guarantee without any share capital. The Council undertakes, in the event of the

Company being wound up, to contribute such amount as may be required for the payment

of the debts and liabilities of the Company providing this amount does not exceed £1.

The Company was overseen by a Board which met regularly throughout the year. The

composition of the Board reflects the range and mix of skills and experience required for the

effective management of the Company.

The day to day running of the Company’s business has been delegated by the Board to the

Strategic Management Team.

Dividends

The company is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital, or shareholders.

Directors and directors’ interests

The directors who held office during the period are detailed on page 3. The company has no

shares or shareholders.

Political and charitable contributions

The Company made no contributions to political or charitable organisations.

Employment of Disabled Persons

THH promotes equality of opportunity in its recruitment, selection, training and

development policies and practice.

We welcome applications from applicants with disabilities and evaluate solely on ability to

carry out the duties of the job, taking into account any reasonable adjustments required.

Communications Policy

The Company communicates all matters of financial or other interest to staff through its

weekly electronic in-house newsletter, through team meetings or through other media as

appropriate.

Payment of Creditors

The Company’s policy is to pay creditors as they fall due. At the 31 March 2017, all creditors

had been paid within the due dates.

Directors’ declaration

The directors who held office at the date of approval of this directors’ report confirm that, so

far as they are each aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s

auditor is unaware; and each director has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken

as a director to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish

that the Company’s auditor is aware of that information.

7.2




March 2018

6

Auditor

In accordance with section 489 of the Companies Act 2006 a resolution for the re-

appointment of KPMG LLP as auditors to the Company is to be proposed at the forthcoming

Annual General Meeting.

The Directors’ Report was approved by the Board on XXXXXXX 2018 and signed on its

behalf by:

Going Concern

The company has disclosed its business activities, principal risks and uncertainties in the

strategic report on pages 7 & 8. The business has significant reserves and retains a

contractual relationship with its main client until 2020. The directors have a reasonable

expectation that the company is well placed to successfully continue its business while

managing risk and uncertainty.

Paul Davey

Company Secretary

Jack Dash House

2 Lawn House Close

London E14 9YQ




March 2018

7

Strategic Report

The Directors present their strategic report for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Business Review

Tower Hamlets Homes Ltd (THH) is an Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO) set

up by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH) to provide housing management

services, including the income collection, tenancy management, estate services, day-to-day

repairs, major works, planned maintenance, leaseholder services, resident participation,

customer services, service development and training to residents of the borough’s housing.

The ALMO started on 7th July 2008 under a ten-year term contract with a five-year break

clause. Since inception we have achieved the two star performance threshold required to

access Government funding and secured £108m grant for investment in stock. We have a

solid track record of improved performance, income collection, and resident satisfaction

while reducing the annual management fee. In recognising these achievements, on the 6th

December 2016 LBTH’s Cabinet approved a two-year contract extension to the 7th July

2020.

Economic pressures and national austerity policies continue to drive resources lower. This is

evident in Government policy to reduce rental income to the HRA which in-turn reduces the

resources available to THH through the management fee. The implementation of a five-year

saving strategy starting in 2017/18 has helped emphasised the need for THH to focus on

efficiency and value-for-money, as a result THH has initiated a Company-wide

transformational change programme including a review of resources and service delivery

models in 2016/17. This will ensure resources are better focussed on the needs of our

residents and meeting the Council’s aspirations for the service.

Results & Performance

The Company’s principal activity during the year is the provision of housing management

services to residents of LBTH. The Company also manages delivery of the planned and

responsive repairs and maintenance programme and manages delivery of the housing

investment programme for LBTH.

Financial

The Company received a management fee of £32.786m (2016/17: £33.376m) to manage

and maintain LBTH’s HRA stock. Although managed by the Company, the cost of repairs and

maintenance and investment programmes are shown in LBTH’s financial accounts.

This year the Company made a generated a profit of £882,910 (2016/17 profit of £336,313)

before exceptional costs of £1,622K for the accommodation move, procurement team and

digital strategy. The 2017/18 budget was set fund these exceptional cost by drawing

£1,622K from reserves.

7.2




March 2018

8

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Board has overall responsibility for identifying and mitigating the principal risks it is

willing to take to achieve the Company’s strategic objectives. This is done within the

Company’s system of internal control including effective risk management.

Strategic risks are considered by their potential to impact on the delivery of the aims,

objectives and the provision of services together with the predicted likelihood of the actual

event or occurrence and the score registered on a risk matrix. A member of EMT is assigned

as being the risk owner and assumes the responsibility of ensuring effective mitigation

actions are in place.

The key risks faced by the business include changes in Central Government and / or Local

Government policy which could impact on LBTH’s decision to extend or award new

contracts. Customer satisfaction and performance is fundamental to influencing LBTH when

reviewing the contract; with recent, continued improvement in both these areas LBTH has

recently extended the contract to 2020.

The business has set aside appropriate provisions to meet its liabilities and has accumulated

reserves to facilitate service delivery and protect the business against uncertain risk.

Paul Davey

Company Secretary

Jack Dash House

2 Lawn House Close

London E14 9YQ




March 2018

9

Statement of Internal Control

The Board of Directors acknowledges its ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the

Company has in place a system of controls that is appropriate to the various business

environments in which it operates. These controls are designed to give reasonable

assurance with respect to:

the reliability of financial information used within the Company or for publication;

the maintenance of proper accounting records; and

the safeguarding of assets against unauthorised use or disposal.

It is the Board of Directors’ responsibility to establish and maintain systems of internal

financial control. Such systems can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance

against material financial misstatement or loss. The system of financial control includes the

following key elements:

formal policies and procedures are in place, including the documentation of key

systems and rules relating to the delegation of authorities, which allow the

monitoring of controls and restrict the unauthorised use of the Company’s assets.

Within the Company’s Financial Regulations & Standing Orders authority levels are

specified for all authorised signatories and delegated authorities documented;

experienced and suitably qualified staff to take responsibility for important business

functions. Annual employee development review procedures have been established

to maintain standards of performance;

regular internal audit to undertake reviews on the effectiveness of internal controls;

the establishment of written policies and procedures and a scheme of delegated

authorities designed to ensure that proper accounting records are maintained;

a risk management framework in which priority risks are reviewed by the Chief

Executive and senior managers;

forecasts and budgets are prepared which allow the Board of Directors and

management to monitor the key business risks and financial objectives and progress

towards financial plans set for the period and the medium term. Regular

management accounts are prepared promptly, providing relevant, reliable and up-to-

date financial and other information and significant variances from budgets are

investigated as appropriate;

all significant new initiatives, major commitments and investment projects are

subject to formal authorisation procedures, through the Board of Directors and

officers of the Company;

the Board of Directors reviews reports from management, from internal auditors and

from the external auditors to provide reasonable assurance that control procedures

are in place and are being followed. The report by management includes a general

view of the major risks facing the Company and the Risk Management department

monitors these risks and provides countermeasures to the risks where necessary;

formal procedures have been established for instituting appropriate action to correct

weaknesses identified from the above reports.

During the period management has received regular reports from the internal auditors

covering the effectiveness of the systems of operational and financial controls. On behalf of

the Board, management has reviewed the effectiveness of systems of internal financial

control in existence for the year ended 31 March 2018. No weaknesses were found in the

7.2




March 2018

10

internal controls which resulted in material losses, contingencies or uncertainties which

require disclosure in the financial statements. The Board of Directors is satisfied that this

remains the case up to the signing of these documents.




March 2018

11

Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities in respect of the

Strategic Report, the Directors’ Report and the Financial

Statements

The directors are responsible for preparing the Strategic Report, the Directors’ Report and

the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year.

Under that law they have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with UK

Accounting Standards and applicable law (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are

satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the

profit or loss of the company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the

directors are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any

material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to

presume that the company will continue in business.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to

show and explain the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any

time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial

statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They have general responsibility for

taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the company

and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

The directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and

financial information included on the company’s website. Legislation in the UK governing

the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in

other jurisdictions.

7.2




March 2018

12

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Tower Hamlets Homes Ltd

We have audited the financial statements of Tower Hamlets Homes Limited for the year

ended 31 March 2018 as set out on pages 14 to 29. The financial reporting framework that

has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and UK Accounting Standards (UK

Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard

applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter

3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we

might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an

auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not

accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's

members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Respective responsibilities of directors and auditor

As explained more fully in the Directors' Responsibilities Statement set out on page 11 the

directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being

satisfied that they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit, and express an

opinion on, the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International

Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the

Auditing Practices Board's Ethical Standards for Auditors.

Scope of the audit of the financial statements

A description of the scope of an audit of financial statements is provided on the Financial

Reporting Council’s website at- www.frc.org.uk/auditscopeukprivate

Opinion on financial statements

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 March 2018

and of its profit for the year then ended;

have been properly prepared in accordance with UK Generally Accepted

Accounting Practice; and

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act

2006.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006.

In our opinion the information given in the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report for the

financial year is consistent with the financial statements.

Based solely on the work required to be undertaken in the course of the audit of the financial

statements and from reading the Strategic report and the Directors’ report:

we have not identified material misstatements in those reports; and



http://www.frc.org.uk/auditscopeukprivate


March 2018

13

In our opinion, those reports have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act

2006.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006

requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our

audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and

returns; or

certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our

audit.

Harry Mears

(Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor

Chartered Accountants

15 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5GL

7.2



Tower Hamlets Homes Limited Directors’ Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2018

14

Statement of Comprehensive Income For the year ended 31 March 2018

Notes 2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Turnover (Management Fee) 2 32,786,139 30,817,996

less Cost of Sales (33,559,939) (31,617,589)

Operating (Loss)/Profit (773,800) (799,593)

Interest receivable & similar income 6 43,388 72,383

(Loss)/Profit on ordinary activities before Tax 3 (730,412) (727,210)

Tax 7 (8,678) (14,477)

Profit for the Financial Year (739,090) (741,687)

Other comprehensive income:

Actuarial Gain/(Loss) in Pension Scheme 13 359,000 2,713,000

Related Movement in Reimbursement Right

Asset 13 (359,000) (2,713,000)

Total comprehensive loss for the year (739,090) (741,687)

The notes on pages 18 - 29 form part of these statements.




15

Statement of Financial Position At 31 March 2018

Notes 31-Mar-18 31-Mar-17

Fixed Assets £ £

Tangible Assets 8 62,826 68,004

Current Assets

Reimbursement Right Asset 13 359,000 734,000

Debtors 9 760,481 83,747

Cash 15 6,446,579 7,820,060

7,566,060 8,637,807

Current Liabilities

Creditors: Amounts falling due within

one year 10 (3,156,247) (1,713,404)

(3,156,247) (1,713,404)

Net Current Assets 4,409,813 6,924,403

Total Assets less Current

Liabilities 4,472,639 6,992,407

Provisions for Liabilities

Pension Liability 13 (359,000) (734,000)

Other Provisions 11 (892,174) (2,297,852)

Net Assets 3,221,465 3,960,555

Capital & Reserves 12 3,221,465 3,960,555


The financial statements were approved by the board on XXXXXX 2018 and were signed

on its behalf by:

Ann Lucas

Chair

Jack Dash House, 2 Lawn House Close, London E14 9YQ

Reg. No. 06249790

7.2




16

Statement of Cash Flows For the year ended 31 March 2018

Notes 2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Cash flows from operating activities

Operating profit for the financial year (773,800) (799,593)

Adjustments for:

Depreciation of tangible assets 39,620 41,210

Taxation (8,678) (14,477)

Decrease/(increase) in debtors (676,734) (3,672)

(Decrease)/increase in creditors 1,442,843 9,569

Increase/(decrease) in provisions (1,405,678) 797,038

(Profit)/loss on disposals 692 325

Net cash from operating activities (1,381,735) 30,400

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchases of tangible assets 8 (35,134) (26,862)

Net cash from investing activities (35,134) (26,862)

Cash flows from financing activities

Net interest 14 43,388 72,383

Net cash from financing activities 43,388 72,383

Cash & cash equivalents at start of year 7,820,060 7,744,139

Cash & cash equivalents at end of year 6,446,579 7,820,060





17

Statement of Changes in Equity For the year ended 31 March 2018

£

Profit & loss account at 31 March 2016 4,702,242

(Loss)/Profit for the year (741,687)

Actuarial Gains on Pension Scheme 2,713,000

Reduction in reimbursement right (2,713,000)

Total comprehensive loss for the year (741,687)


(Loss)/Profit for the year (739,090)

Actuarial gains on Pension Scheme 359,000

Reduction in reimbursement right (359,000)

Total comprehensive loss for the year (739,090)



7.2




18

Notes (forming part of the financial statements)

1. Accounting policies

The following accounting policies have been applied in dealing with items which are considered

material in relation to the Company’s financial statements.

Status of Company & Composition of the Board

The Company is limited by guarantee and does not have any share capital. The London Borough

of Tower Hamlets, the ultimate parent organisation, undertakes in the event of the Company

being wound up, to contribute such amount as may be required for the payment of the debts

and liabilities of the Company providing this amount does not exceed one pound. After the

satisfaction of all the debts and liabilities the remaining assets will be transferred to the

Council’s Housing Revenue Account (as defined in the 1989 Act).

A Board of non-executive directors provides strategic management of the Company and is

intended to be comprised as follows:

4 Borough Council nominees;

3 appointed tenants and leaseholders;

4 independent members appointed from the local community.

The composition of the Board reflects the range and mix of skills and experience required for

the effective management of the Company. The Board is supported by a strategic management

team which is responsible for the day to day running of the Company.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable United Kingdom

accounting standards including FRS102 - The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the

United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and with the Companies Act 2006.

Tower Hamlets Homes Limited undertakes the management and maintenance of the housing

stock of The London Borough of Tower Hamlets under a management agreement. Tower

Hamlets Homes Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of The London Borough of Tower Hamlets

and in the event of Tower Hamlets Homes Limited winding up, all assets and liabilities will

transfer to The London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Turnover

Turnover represents the amounts derived from Management Fees in respect of the provision of

goods and services to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is stated net of value added

tax.

In 2017-18, the Company received £32,786,139 in total, being £30,199,139 in management

fee and £2,587,000 towards pension contributions.




19

Notes - continued

Fixed assets and depreciation

Depreciation is provided to write off the cost, less the estimated residual value, of tangible fixed

assets by equal instalments over their estimated useful economic lives as follows:

Fixtures, fittings & equipment 5 Years

ICT equipment 3 Years

Leases

Operating lease rentals are charged to the Income & Expenditure Account on a straight line

basis over the period of the lease.

Post-retirement benefits

The company participates in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The scheme is a

defined benefit pension scheme based partly on final and partly on average pensionable salary.

The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Company in an independently

administered fund.

Pension scheme assets are measured using market values. Pension scheme liabilities are

measured using a projected unit method and discounted at the current rate of return on a high

quality corporate bond of equivalent term and currency to the liability.

The pension scheme surplus (to the extent that it is recoverable) or deficit is recognised in full.

The movement in the scheme surplus/deficit is split between operating charges, finance items

and actuarial gains and losses.

Pension reimbursement rights

It has been agreed with The London Borough of Tower Hamlets that where a deficit arises that

they will provide an indemnity in respect of the pension obligations of the company.

Accordingly where a deficit arises, an equivalent reimbursement right asset is recognised on the

balance sheet to reflect the Council indemnity. The change in value of this reimbursement right

asset over the year is shown in the statement of comprehensive income.

Taxation

The charge for taxation is based on the result for the period and takes into account taxation

deferred because of timing differences between the treatment of certain items for taxation and

accounting purposes. Except where otherwise required, full provision is made without

discounting.

7.2




20

Notes - continued

Cash and liquid resources

Cash, for the purpose of the cash flow statement, comprises cash in hand and bank deposits

repayable on demand. Liquid resources are current asset investments which are disposable

without curtailing or disrupting the business and are either readily convertible into known

amounts of cash at or close to their carrying values or traded in an active market.

2. Analysis of turnover on ordinary activities before taxation

2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Management fee 32,786,139 33,375,996

Less pension contributions (2,587,000) (2,558,000)

Turnover 30,199,139 30,817,996

Turnover is made up exclusively of the management fee, the sole activity being management of the Council’s housing stock.

3. (Loss)/Profit on ordinary activities before taxation

2017-18 2016-17

£ £

(Loss)/Profit on Ordinary Activities before Taxation (740,312) (727,210)

Auditor’s remuneration 25,950 25,000

Depreciation 39,620 41,210

Gain/(Loss) on disposal of fixed assets 692 (1,298)

Exceptional restructuring costs

(1,078,000)

4. Remuneration of directors

The Directors are defined as being members of Tower Hamlets Homes Limited Main Board.

None of the Directors received any remuneration or taxable benefits, and none were members

of the pension scheme.




21

Notes - continued

5. Staff numbers and costs

The average number of full time equivalents employed by the Company during the period,

analysed by service, was as follows:

Directorate 2017-18 2016-17

Asset Management 69 73

Business Transformation 40 24

Chief Executive 2 3

Finance 11 20

Neighbourhoods 331 336

453 456

The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:

2017-18 2016-17

£(000) £(000)

Wages & Salaries 15,711 15,356

Social security costs 1,522 1,527

Other pension costs 2,587 2,558

Total 19,820 19,441

The emoluments of the highest paid employee amounted to £145,002 (2016-17: £130,000)

excluding employer’s pension contributions of £26,680 (2016-17: £30,030).

The highest paid employee received emoluments 6.82 times that of the lowest paid full time

employee.

During the 2017-18 financial year there were 23 payment of termination benefits by the

Company amounting to £1,346K (2016-17 17 payments amounting to £411k).

No further termination benefits were agreed in the year.

7.2




22

Notes - continued

6. Interest receivable and similar charges

2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Interest receivable and similar income 43,388 72,383

Interest payable and similar charges (47,000) (103,000)

Related movement in reimbursable asset 47,000 103,000

(43,388) (72,383)

7. Taxation

A. Analysis of charge in period

2017-18 2016-17

£ £

UK Corporation Tax in the Period 8,678 14,477

Tax on (Deficit)/Surplus on ordinary activities 8,678 14,477

B. Current tax reconciliation

Factors affecting the tax charge for the current period:

The tax assessed for the year differs from the standard rate of corporation tax. The differences

are explained below.

2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Interest Received 43,388 72,383

Third Party Trading 0 0

Total current tax charge at 20% 8,678 14,477

Published guidance from HMRC states that transactions between an ALMO and a Council do not

constitute trading and are therefore non-taxable. The Company is liable to tax on dealings with

any third parties and any interest received; the rate and amount payable reflects this position.

The basis of this ruling is that the relationship between the ALMO and the Council lacks the

necessary degree of commerciality to be trading for corporation tax purposes. Should the

relationship between the bodies change, or should the ALMO diversify its activities, then this

exemption may not be available.




23

Notes – continued

8. Tangible fixed assets

Fixtures Fittings & Equipment £

At Cost 31 March 2017 645,759

Additions 35,134

Disposals (2,083)

At Cost 31 March 2018 678,810

Accumulated Depreciation 31 March 2017 577,755

Depreciation 39,620

Disposals (1,391)

Accumulated Depreciation 31 March 2018 615,984

Net Book Value 31 March 2017 68,004

Net Book Value 31 March 2018 62,826

9. Debtors & Prepayments

2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Staff Loans 33,243 45,998

Third Party Debtors 2,269 2,493

Prepayments 41,540 35,256

77,052 83,747

10. Creditors: amounts falling due within year

2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Third Party Creditors 723,813 592,645

Intercompany Creditor 2,335,628 949,268

Corporation Tax Creditor 8,678 14,477

VAT Creditor 88,128 159,765

3,156,247 1,716,154

7.2




24

Notes – continued

11. Provisions for Liabilities and Charges

At beginning of period 2,297,852

Decrease during the year (1,405,678)

At end of period 892,174

Provisions have been offset against the on-going business transformation costs.

12. Reserves

£

At beginning of period 3,960,555

Loss for the period (739,090)

At end of period 3,221,465




25

Notes – continued

13. Pension Scheme

A. Introduction

The Company participates in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Pension Fund. The pension

cost charge for the period for current service costs amounted to £4,736,000 (2016-17:

£3,360,000).

There were no outstanding or prepaid contributions at either the beginning or end of the

financial period.

The pension scheme provides benefits based on final or average pensionable pay, contributions

being charged to the profit and loss account so as to spread the cost of pensions over

employees’ working lives with the Company. The contributions are determined by a qualified

actuary. The most recent valuation was at 31 March 2018.

The Company recognises the entirety of its pension scheme rights and obligations on its own

books, rather than only those rights and obligations that have arisen since the transfer of staff

to the ALMO.

However, where a pension scheme deficit arises, an equivalent reimbursement right asset is

recognised on the balance sheet to reflect the Council indemnity. This reimbursement right

asset is further explained above in Note 1.

B. Retirement Benefits

Under the requirements of FRS17 the Company is required to disclose further information on

the assets and liabilities of the scheme on a market value basis at the end of the accounting

period.

The required information is set out below:

Financial Assumptions Period ended 31-Mar-2018 31-Mar-2017

Pension increase rate 2.4% 2.4% Salary increase rate 2.2% 2.2% Discount rate 2.7% 2.6%

Mortality Assumptions Males Females

Current pensioners 22.1 24.1

Future pensioners 23.9 25.8

Projected Costs to 31 March 2018

Assets Obligations Net Net

£(000) £(000) £(000)

% of pay

Projected service cost 0 4,132 (4,132) -37.1%

Past service cost including curtailments 0 0 0 -

Effect of settlements 0 0 0 -

Total Service Cost 0 4,132 (4,132) -37.1%

Interest income on plan assets 2,806 2,806 25.2%

Interest cost on defined benefit obligations 2,824 (2,824) -25.4%

Total Net Interest Costs 2,806 2,824 (18) -0.2%

Total Included in Profit & Loss 2,806 6,956 (4,150) -37.3%

7.2




26

Notes – continued

C. FRS102 Pension Scheme Disclosures at 31 March 2018

Period Ending 31 March 2018 Assets £(000)

Obligations

£(000)

Net (liability)/asset

£(000)

Fair value of plan assets 97,466 97,466

Present value of funded liabilities 98,200 (98,200)

Present value of unfunded liabilities

Opening Position as at 31 March 2017 97,466 98,200 (734)

Service cost

Current service cost 4,275 (4,275)

Past service cost (including curtailments) 461 (461)

Effect of settlements 0 0 0

Total service cost 0 4,736 (4,736)

Net interest

Interest income on plan assets 2,559 2,559

Interest cost on defined benefit obligations 2,606 (2,606)

Impact of asset ceiling on net interest 0 0 0

Total net interest 2,559 2,606 (47)

Total defined benefit cost recognised in Profit/(Loss) 2,559 7,342 (4,783)

Cashflows

Plan participants' contributions 777 777 0

Employer contributions 2,587 2,587

Contributions in respect of unfunded benefits 0 0

Benefits paid (1,277) (1,277) 0

Unfunded benefits paid 0 0 0

Effect of business combinations and disposals 0 0 0

Expected closing position 102,112 105,042 (2,930)

Remeasurements

Changes in demographic assumptions 0 0

Changes in financial assumptions (2,226) 2,226

Other experience 0 0

Return on assets ex amounts included in net interest 1,063 1,063

Changes in asset ceiling 0 0 0

Total remeasurements recognised in SCI 1,063 (2,226) 3,289




Closing position as at 31 March 2018 103,175 102,816 359




27

Notes – continued

D. FRS102 Pension Scheme Disclosures at 31 March 2017

Period Ending 31 March 2017 Assets £(000)

Obligations

£(000)

Net (liability)/asset

£(000)




Opening Position as at 31 March 2016 82,605 85,147 (2,542)

Service cost

Current service cost 2,790 (2,790)

Past service cost (including curtailments) 570 (570)

Effect of settlements

Total service cost 3,360 (3,360)

Net interest

Interest income on plan assets 2,922 2,922 Interest cost on defined benefit obligations 3,025 (3,025) Impact of asset ceiling on net interest

Total net interest 2,922 3,025 (103)

Total defined benefit cost recognised in Profit/(Loss) 2,922 6,385 (3,463)

Cashflows

Plan participants' contributions 778 778 Employer contributions 2,558 2,558 Contributions in respect of unfunded benefits Benefits paid (1,421) (1,421)

Unfunded benefits paid Effect of business combinations and disposals

Expected closing position 87,442 90,889 (3,447)

Remeasurements

Changes in demographic assumptions (1,448) 1,448 Changes in financial assumptions 13,239 (13,239) Other experience (4,480) 4,480 Return on assets ex amounts included in net interest 10,024 10,024 Changes in asset ceiling

Total remeasurements recognised in SCI 10,024 7,311 2,713

Fair value of plan assets 97,466 97,466 Present value of funded liabilities 98,200 (98,200) Present value of unfunded liabilities

Closing position as at 31 March 2017 97,466 98,200 (734)

7.2




28

Notes – continued

14. Analysis of adjustments to cash flows

Returns on investment and servicing

of finance 2017-18 2016-17

£ £

Interest receivable from bank 42,306 71,044

Interest receivable from staff 1,082 1,339

43,388 72,383

15. Analysis of movement of net funds

2017-18 Cash flow 2016-17

£ £ £

Cash in hand & at bank 6,446,579 (1,373,481) 7,820,060

16. Commitments

Lease Commitments 31-Mar-18 31-Mar-16

Within one year 135,000 135,000

Within two to five years 540,000 540,000

Over five years 0 135,000

The company holds one property lease, on offices the Harford Centre, Harford Street, E1. THH

signed a ten year lease for office space in May 2013 at a rent of £135,000 per year.




29

Notes – continued

17. Related party disclosures

Details as to the status of the Company and composition of the Board of Directors are given in

Note 1.

The ultimate controlling party is The London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

The Company’s main source of income is a management fee for the management of The

London Borough of Tower Hamlets housing stock: this amounted to £32,786,139 (2016-17:

£33,375,996), at the end of the financial period. Of this £2,587,000 relates to reimbursement

of employer pension contributions (2016-17: £2,558,000).

There was a related party creditor balance of £1,652,200 at 31 March 2018 (£949,268 at 31

March 2017).

In the event of the Company being wound up, The London Borough of Tower Hamlets

undertakes to contribute such amount as may be required for the payment of the debts and

liabilities of the organisations providing this amount does not exceed one pound. The exception

to this is the reimbursement rights asset relating to the pension liability which fully covers this.

After the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities the remaining assets will be transferred to the

Housing Revenue Account (as defined in the 1989 Act) of The London Borough of Tower

Hamlets.

18. Contingent Liability

The Company had no contingent liabilities as at 31 March 2018 (2017: Nil).

19. Ultimate parent company and parent undertaking of larger group of which the

company is a member

The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, although

the Council has determined that the accounts of Tower Hamlets Homes Ltd are not sufficiently

material to warrant consolidation into its own accounts.

7.2



Board of Directors

25th July 2018

Report Authorised by: Sarah Pace Report Author: Fokrul Hoque – Community Partnerships Manager

Report type: Information

Title: Community Investment – End of first year report

1. Introduction

1.1 . This paper provides a progress on the work on delivering the community

Investment Strategy.

2. Recommendation: 2.1 That Board notes the content of this report and the significant progress and

achievements in the last year.

Tab 8 Community Investment Annual Report


Introduction

Tower Hamlets is a fast paced, fast growing and changing borough. Its economy is thriving, more homes are being built here than anywhere else in the country, more and more people want to live here, and large-scale and ambitious regeneration and infrastructure projects continue to bring fresh opportunities. The population is diverse, but there are many active communities who get on well together, with a thriving community and voluntary sector. The borough has seen unprecedented educational success, opening up more opportunities to the young people coming through school, and employment rates are rising. Despite all this, Tower Hamlets still has challenges to face. Too many residents are not in work and struggle to make ends meet, especially as reforms erode the welfare state and costs of living rise. One of the biggest challenges the borough faces is ensuring that the benefits of growth and prosperity reach all parts of our community, with a fairer distribution of wealth and income across Tower Hamlets. With extraordinary demand for housing in Tower Hamlets, only those with high needs qualify to become new tenants. This situation is contributing to the already high levels of vulnerability, poverty, and ill-health among our residents. As cuts to public services deepen, there will be fewer support services available. This increasingly puts Tower Hamlets Homes on the front line of a community response. A recent NFA best practice briefing, ‘Improving Lives’ (April 2017), has highlighted a

key role that ALMOs are playing in working to improve the life chances of those living

in the properties they manage, as well as the wider community.

Tower Hamlets Homes over the last few years has been playing its role, both in providing safe and secure homes, but also investing in our neighborhoods and our residents. We have been investing in our residents, by supporting them into training, jobs and apprenticeships; developing community food gardens to create healthier and cohesive communities and by supporting those being impacted by the welfare reform changes, to name a few activities. In September 2016, the THH Board approved a renewed Community Investment

Strategy with four broad objectives:

1. Create safer neighbourhoods 2. Increase financial resilience 3. Support mental wellbeing and vulnerability 4. Build resilient and cohesive communities

Following partnership development work, project development and commissioning,

delivery on the actions in the strategy commenced in April 2017.

The work programmes under these objectives are now beginning to provide some

significant outcomes and impact, and this report provides a summary of this work.

8



Summary – in numbers

102 residents supported into work - 28% reduction in rent arrears.

300 hours of street work with young people - 111 Young people supported – 48% reduction in ASB reports in targeted neighbourhoods.

1023 residents supported with welfare reform & financial inclusion - £1,076,742 in benefit claims supported.

Over 1,500 people use the 24 community food gardens, with 79% reporting improvement in health and wellbeing and 84% improvement in cohesion.

£23,703 in Inspiring Communities Fund Grants distributed to 21 estate based groups, benefiting over 1000 residents.

216 residents participated in the 25 courses of the Joint Residents Training Programme, delivered in partnership with 11 other housing providers.

Total number of people engaged & benefiting from our projects / activities:

5895

Total number of people our projects have had a meaningful impact on: 2199

Social value net benefit the programme has delivered:

£1,270,258

Social value return on investment £1:£12.76

Engage/involve = Residents attending or participating in a THH funded event/activity

Meaningful impact = Recorded outcome such as attendance on a training programme,

securing a job or self-reporting of a positive impact or outcome from participant.

Social value = Social value produced using HACT Social Value calculator, based on

Wellbeing Valuation (WV) theory, the latest thinking in social impact measurement and

an approach developed and used by government.

1. Create Safer Neighbourhoods 1.1 ASB Diversionary Project The key project that we commissioned in partnership with the ASB Team was our ASB Diversionary Project, which is being delivered by Streets of Growth. The project seeks to engage with 100 high risk young people, and help change the life trajectories of at least 50 of them, through targeted intervention. As well as taking referrals from the ASB team, Streets of Growth also carry out estate based outreach work, targeted on the Sidney, Shadwell & Chicksand neighbourhoods.



In numbers: - 300 hours street outreach work, engaging over 80 young people - 71 young people referred by ASB team, with successful engagement with 64 - 47 young people have completed an accredited training programme - 10 Young people have secured full-time employment - Average reduction of 48% in ASB reports in the 3 targeted neighbourhoods

(Average reduction of 18% across the borough)

1.2 Locksley Youth Project With ASB as a key concern for the TRA, we had a unique opportunity to bring in a community partner to deliver some targeted interventions and diversionary activity at the Locksley Community Centre, as we manage this centre under a licence from LBTH. Working with the TRA, we brought in Newark Youth, a local youth organisation that delivers a range of diversionary activities for young people, as they had their own funding and were looking for premises from which to deliver their services from. They deliver two evenings of youth club activities from the centre as well as carrying out outreach work on the estate.

In numbers: - 2 evening youth club sessions - 65 registered members - 25 – Average attendance each session

2. Increase financial resilience 2.1 Employability Programme With the ever increasing impact of welfare reform and the increasingly rolled out Universal Credit, our residents are feeling the pressure, which is causing even greater poverty and financial exclusion. This project, being delivered by Go Train who won the contract following a tendering exercise, works with residents impacted by welfare reform as well as other residents seeking work, to help and support them with IAG, training, work experience and ultimately support them into employment. The project is delivered from the Wyn Garrett Residents Resource Centre, with drop-ins taking place every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10-12 and by appointments at other times. Go Train bring with them to this project other sources of funding and provide residents with employability skills, CV writing, interview skills as well as other soft skills to make them work ready.

In numbers: - 17 outreach events - 177 residents engaged and attending regular job search and support - 77 completed an accredited training course

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- 54 supported into full-time employment and a further 5 into apprenticeships - Average 28% reduction in rent arrears of those supported into employment

2.2 Childcare Training In 2015, working with Limehouse Project, Account3 and Somali Integration Team, we brought in an external fundraiser to access funding for longer term and bigger project, following a pilot project that we seed funded in 2014. The fundraiser was able to help us secure just over £350,000 from the National Lottery for a three-year training project. By the end of the project, the three organisations would have engaged 500 women and provided them with a range of training and development, with at least 198 of the women gaining a CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Early Years Education & Care (QFC). The project is now in its third year, with 440 women engaged by the project to date with 127 women receiving the qualification and many securing employment, with the others participating in a 12 week confidence and capacity building training programme. The figues outlined below are for the 2017-18 period:

In numbers: - 178 women actively engaged in programme - 143 participating in 12 week capacity building programme - 51 participating in CACHE Level 2 Certification in Early Years Education and Care - 25 have secured employment

2.3 Caretaking Apprentice The Community Partnership Team supported the HR and Environment Services Teams with the recruitment of the Apprenticeship Scheme for trainee caretakers.

In numbers: - 2000 residents being impacted by welfare reform written to with the apprenticeship opportunity - 3 Drop in sessions held with 52 people engaged - 7 registered for the pre-apprenticeship training programme

2.4 Girls Mentoring Project We are working with a organisation called The Girls Network to provide young female residents with mentoring so that they are able raise their aspirations and fulfil their full potential acedmically and then in their chosen career fields. The Girls Network recruit mentors from the corporate sector, who are then trained in mentoring and vetted and matched with a young female student who they mentor for a year.



With Tower Hamlets being a deprived area and with many of the young women living in our homes, having no female role-model within their home or family/friends network that has exceeded in a professional capacity in the world of work and thus no-one to seek advice and guidance from, this project provides a vital line of support for these young women to succed academically and professionally and raise their aspirations. The Girls Network is working with Year 12 students from Central Foundation Girls School and Tower Hamlets College and have matched them all with mentees.

In numbers: - 10 THH residents participating - 98 1-2-1 mentoring sessions held - 4 corporate events held - 80% increase in motivation and confidence

2.5 Welfare reform & financial inclusion support As well as the above programmes our welfare reform teams in Rents & Leasehold Services provide a range of interventions and support to residents impacted by welfare reform as well as those falling into rent and service charge arrears. The government’s welfare reforms are designed in a way that encourages people to get into employment and for many residents this is the best or only option. Both the rents & leasehold welfare reform officers refer those residents who are being impacted by the reforms and are seeking work to our employment support provider, Go Train.

In numbers: - 1023 residents supported with welfare reform and financial inclusion - 435 residents referred to and accessing debt and welfare advice from Account3 - 35 residents impacted by welfare reforms referred to Go Train - £1,076,742 in benefit claims support for residents

3. Support mental wellbeing and vulnerability 3.1 Community Food Gardens Over the last 7-8 years THH have been supporting our residents to set up Community Food Gardens in their estates, as a means to bringing underused land into productive use to help reduce ASB, reduce social isolation, improve community cohesion and improve people’s health.

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To date we have developed 26 food gardens across our estates, with over 527 growing beds and over 1,500 people using them on a regular basis.

In numbers: - 24 Community Food Gardens - 527 growing beds - 1,500 people regularly using the gardens - 79% have reported improvement in health and wellbeing and 84% improvement in cohesion*

*Based on independent research we commissioned earlier this year to assess the impact of the gardens on individuals and communities.

4. Build resilient and cohesive communities 4.1 Residents Training Programme THH has for the last four years developed and delivered a residents training programme aimed at empowering residents to develop their skills, so that they can play a more active and effective role in the community as well as develop their own personal skills. The 2017-18 programme was a huge success with nine other housing providers involved and buying into our programme which was also supported by Tower Hamlets Federation of TRAs and Idea Stores. Training courses ranged from setting up and managing a community food garden, fundraising skills, chairing meetings, first aid, running an event, amongst others.

In numbers: - 11 housing providers involved in programme - 25 Separate training courses - 216 residents participating in programme - 98% satisfaction with training courses

4.2 Community events Over the last year we have delivered a number of events that help bring communities together to celebrate the various cultural and religious events that our residents celebrate. This helps forge a better understanding of each other’s cultures and religions and build stronger relationships. In turn this will help residents feel safe and happy in the neighbourhoods that they live in. Community events are also known to help bring positive perceptions of landlords by residents, as it provides visible presence of landlord staff in fun and interactive settings. They also help organisations improve perceptions and relationships with partners, such as the local authority, police and community organisations.



We delivered the following events throughout the year in partnership with our residents, TRAs and community partners:

Eid, Christmas, Iftar, Fun days x 2, Brodick House Opening, Somali Open Day, THH OSCCAs (THH Residents Awards), Chicksand Open Day, Fun Palace.

In numbers: - 10 Community events - 1375 residents attended and participated in events - 87% rated the event as good or excellent

As well as the above events, we supported our TRAs, community food gardens and other groups to deliver a range of other events with practical support and funding.

4.3 Inspiring Communities Fund We deliver a small grants programme each year with three funding rounds per year, with groups being able to apply for up to £2,000 to deliver small community projects to help improve the neighbourhoods people live in, through environmental and social/community projects. The grant is open to THH residents, TRAs and other local estate based groups. As well as giving out the grants, THH staff provide advice and practical support to the groups to help them deliver their projects.

In numbers: - 2 funding rounds - 21 groups/projects funded - £23,703 funding distributed - Over 1000 residents benefiting from the events/projects

4.4 Watts Grove Resettlement Project In April 2017 we commissioned the Bromley by Bow Centre (BbBC) to engage and support residents moving into the new housing development at Watts Grove. The key objectives of the work were to:

Work in partnership with THH, London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH) and other key partners to settle-in and integrate the community moving into the new development

Provide dedicated engagement and coordinated support to new residents pre sign-up and after tenancy commencement

Support residents to settle into their new neighbourhood, making households aware of local schools, services, facilities and provision

Encourage community cohesion and stimulate residents from both the new development and existing residents to play an active part in their neighbourhood

Help identify those who need extra help and work with those residents and local partners to ensure that they are accessing the help and support that they need.

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In numbers: - 148 face-to-face household needs assessment carried out with signposting to local services - 13 events/workshops delivered and attended by 70 residents - 48 residents have received or registered for financial inclusion advice/support - 31 residents have registered or taken part in training and employment projects

5. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities Last year we worked with our contractors and other corporate companies to deliver CSR activities that help bring much needed resources and benefits to our residents. Approach Gardening Project – Deutsche Bourse Group based in Canary Wharf, with whom we have partnered over the last two years worked with 12 of our residents and 18 of their staff at the community food garden, to clear up the garden, build some new trellis, planting and repair some damaged growing boxes. As well as their staff time, they also paid £960 towards the various material/plants used on the day. Cleveland Gardening Project – 12 volunteers from Barclays bank spent a day at the Cleveland Community Food Garden with some of our residents, building some new planters, clearing weeds and other rubbish as well as building trellises. They contributed £450 towards materials. Keepmoat – We have worked with Keepmoat to deliver two DIY workshops for our residents so that they can learn basic DIY skills that they can use around the house. These DIY workshops have been hugely popular, with more planned over the next few months. Keepmoat have also been working with some of our partners, such as LBTH Workpath, Tower Hamlets College and local schools to provide insight into the construction industry, deliver health and safety sessions, as well as other employability programmes. Keepmoat also co-sponsored our Iftar & OSCCAs events. Mears – We have worked with Mears to support some of our community food gardens with obtaining and installing water butts and sponsorship of community events. They have also worked directly with some of our TRAs to deliver various projects. Mears also co-sponsored our Iftar & OSCCAs events. 6. Key deliverables for 18/19

Financial Wellbeing

Employability Project – Ongoing delivery of the project with Go Train to provide

training to at least 100 residents and support at least 60 residents into employment.



Financial Health Centre – the development of a Financial Health Centre at the Wyn

Garrett Residents Resource Centre, working in partnership with a range of third

sector partners, LBTH, JCP and others.

Corporate Social Responsibility - Ongoing work to support our residents into

apprenticeships and other opportunities with our contractors and other CSR

partners.

Safer Neighbourhoods

ASB Diversionary Project - Ongoing delivery of the project with Streets of Growth

targeting six new neighbourhoods.

Bling my Hood – Restarting our award winning Bling my Hood project that engages

young people in social action projects to give something back to their neighbours

and neighbourhoods

Support Health & Wellbeing

Community Food Gardens – Ongoing support and development of existing

community food gardens, development of a Food Garden Forum to co-ordinate

support and development, and the set-up of new gardens where needs are

identified.

Social Isolation Project – Complete the commission of the pilot project to support

residents who are socially isolated and roll out the delivery

Build Resilient Communities

TRA Capacity Building Programme – Deliver a capacity building programme to

support our TRAs and equip them with the skills, knowledge and tools to play a more

pro-active role in creating vibrant neighbourhoods.

Joint Residents Training Programme – Ongoing co-ordination and delivery of the

joint residents training programme in partnership with other local housing providers.

Community Events – Delivery of a range of community events throughout the year

that brings communities together to celebrate the diverse cultures of our residents

and enhance better understanding of each other and thus improving relationships.

Inspiring Communities Fund – Delivery of our small grants programme, to support

small estate based community projects.

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Board of Directors

25th July 2018

Report authorised by: Susmita Sen - CEO Report Author: Paul Davey – Director of Business Transformation


Title: CEO Report

1. Introduction This report provides briefings from the Neighbourhood Services and Asset Management directorates, an update on the recent fires on our estates, some news about changes to rent statements and meeting some of our new Elected Members.

2. Recommendation 2.1 That Board Directors note the contents of this report.

3. Performance

3.1 Performance reported here is for the first quarter of 2018-19 and relates to 17 Business Critical Indicators [BCIs] agreed with the Council, and 27 additional indicators selected by the Board. The latter includes a number of new measures reflecting the focus on Fire Safety, Communal Repairs, ASB and MyTHH.

3.2 Year-to-date targets are being achieved for 6 of the 17 BCIs with a further 4 close to

target and 2 not reporting a result this month. Overall of the additional indicators selected by the Board, 16 are at or very close to target with 6 missing target at this stage of the year. The full suite of PIs is attached as Appendix 1. To seek to ensure we meet these targets all Heads of Service have produced an improvement action plan on their indicators regardless of whether the agreed target is currently being met.

3.3 Overall 11 of the 44 indicators are currently ‘red’:

Unauthorised occupancy: homes recovered. This indicator is missing target by just one (11 against a target of 12). Recovery of homes occupied by unauthorised occupants is subject to legal process and therefore uneven. It is forecast to be back on track next month.

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Service charge and major works charges collected Service charge collection is currently £252k below target and cases having received two arrears letters are now being referred for legal action. Major works collection is below target by £408k. Performance is being impacted by the legal requirement for prolonged pre-action protocol. The major works target is being discussed again with the Client Team. Satisfaction with the Housing Service Centre This new indicator was adversely affected in Quarter 1 by the Idea Store only having 1 counter resulting in longer wait times exacerbated by some unplanned absence, which caused further issues until cover could be arranged.

Leaseholder satisfaction Performance against a very challenging target dipped in Q1. Work is underway to understand and reverse this drop. Unique visits to MyTHH Efforts are being made to increase the range of services offered through MyTHH for example reporting ASB, and to improve the resolution rate of service requests made. Upgrading to Housing Online will improve the look and feel of MyTHH across all devices and encourage use. Housing Online will also offer the opportunity to login with social media accounts which should make it easier for customers to access their accounts more quickly and thus encourage more frequent use. Going paperless by default with rent statements should also encourage more regular checking of rent accounts via MyTHH. ASB cases resolved Detailed case reviews have been carried out by the service and discussed with the relevant officers in order to improve on this measure. Major Works programme delivery The team has processed a number of contract variations for Better Neighbourhoods schemes prior to Practical Completion which has resulted in a lower than anticipated spend in Q1 2018/19. Achieving the desired spend against forecast in Q2 is heavily dependent upon the LCP Framework contract awards being signed off by LBTH Competition Board in July and the client making a decision about a number of blocks which are in the programme but are potentially earmarked for regeneration or rooftop development. Major Works invoices issued Two temporary Quantity Surveyors have been appointed within Property Services to review and sign-off the historic Decent Homes final accounts for leaseholder billing. Final Accounts for a number of additional blocks have recently been sent from Asset Management to Leasehold Services to issue. Staff survey: residents at the heart of THH, and % of Agency staff The People Strategy aims to recruit, retain and reward staff who exhibit positive behaviours towards our residents and deliver a customer focused service. The new agency worker policy went live at the end of May 2018. This will be supplemented by September with a new secondment/honorarium policy.

3.4 Two indicators which caused concern to the Board last year have shown significant

improvement to this point in 2018-19.

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The first is the percentage of calls answered by the housing advisors in the Housing Service Centre. Performance in the three months to June 2018 was almost 89% against a target of 90% with June’s performance being over 96%. The repair and non-repair call answering performance is almost identical at 88.8% and 88.6% respectively.

3.5 Complaints responded to in target in the quarter stands at over 96% against a target

of 90%. This improvement in timeliness of response is mirrored in performance on responding to Members Enquiries [92%].

4. Neighbourhood Services Update 4.1 Antisocial behaviour 4.1.1 Further strengthening of our approach to ASB

Board Directors will recall that following a review of the ASB service carried out last year, the following changes were implemented from November 2017:

A partnership with a newly created Police team funded by the Council and the (London) Mayors Office for Police and Crime promoting a visible presence of Police and ASB staff on estates. The joining up of these two services has created a more co-ordinated partnership.

Procurement and roll out of use of Parkguard, an accredited security agency patrolling estates and providing community re-assurance and intelligence to the Police and ASB team

Weekly tasking of the police and Parkguard teams by the ASB manager agreeing which estates/blocks will be patrolled, ensuring maximum coverage across THH estates and particularly known ASB hotspots. The tasking meetings are attended by the police teams and Parkguard and the feedback from the patrols influence the following week’s taskings, as well as intelligence/information from the ASB team.

The ASB team taking on the initial response to all ASB callers to ensure we “get it right” on the vital first contact, using our in-depth knowledge of estates and residents.

Two specialised ASB teams concentrating on estate based issues such as drug dealing and gangs or tenancy issues.

We’ve introduced varied working hours so that team members are available at peak reporting times and are able to accompany Police on evening visits.

Strengthened the relationship with estate based staff e.g. caretakers to make full use of local knowledge/intelligence.

Working closely with colleagues in community investment team to maximise the gains from targeted interventions being undertaken by Streets of Growth ( reported in some detail in item 9 on the agenda

4.1.2 Some of the results

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Since the introduction of the new team, there has been a dramatic increase in targeted actions on THH managed estates. Estate patrols co-ordinated by the ASB team and involving our partners have made;

1359 Anti-Social Behaviour Warning

920 Stop and Searches

162 Arrest and Cautions

34 Cannabis related raids

21 Penalty Notices for Disorder

25 Section 59 warnings – (powers that give the police the basis for dealing with the anti-social use of vehicles. A constable has the power to seize a motor vehicle that is being driven in a manner contrary to Sec 3 Road Traffic Act 1998, or that is being driven elsewhere than on a road, if it is causing or likely to cause harassment)

23 Vehicle seizures

72 abandoned vehicle process applications There has also been successful action led by the ASB team in the Chicksand and Shadwell areas, two ASB hotspots near Canary Wharf and travel interchanges. The joint working with our estate based staff is impacting with a local caretaker reporting: “We had some of the worst ASB I have seen in 16 years as a caretaker. The estate was rife with drug addicts, homelessness and prostitution. With the help of the ASB and Police teams, the amount of disturbances we are getting now has dropped dramatically”

4.1.3 Making best use of tools Work has included obtaining community support for the use of Premises Closure Orders and Partial Premises Closure Orders. The latter is a police-council partnership initiative that prevents unauthorised persons such as street drug users and drug dealers from entering the communal areas of an estate. In areas where Closure orders have been used ASB calls are down by more than a half. We put our first partial premises closure order in place in February at Bentworth Court, a block housing higher numbers of or older and more vulnerable residents. People not living in the block were making lives a misery for residents with drug activity and using the corridors as toilets. We have now put in place a total of seven partial or full premises closure orders and Since February, we have briefed other boroughs such as Hackney and Islington about the success of the approach The scheme has also been covered in BBC and ITV bulletins.

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4.1.4 Levels of reporting and improving communications We recognise that there is under reporting of ASB and we are keen to encourage residents to tell us about incidents and recognise that effective case management of individual cases and broader communication about the actions that we are taking on individual estates will impact on residents’ willingness to come forward to us and or other agencies. Since April 2018 the ASB Liaison Officers have answered 973 calls and 1528 emails including emails reports generated out of hours and anonymously, plus caretaker’s reports. This has generated 336 new ASB cases and the team currently have 324 live ASB cases open made up of 196 Estate focused investigations and 123 tenancy focused, with five nuisance cases being investigated by the Neighbourhoods team. We recently introduced a closed case satisfaction survey. Since April 2018 Kwest have surveyed a number of residents who have had ASB cases closed asking them about their experience. Satisfaction of the handling of the case is at 52%, and this increases to 55% when asked about whether they would recommend the ASB team. Detailed monthly reviews of the April and May Kwest satisfaction results have been carried out with the ASB team briefed on the findings. Case reviews with poor/terrible ratings have been carried out and discussed with the relevant officer, with the customers also contacted to better understand why they gave that rating. We will continue to do this. As well as the headline performance data widely reported the team have been focusing more specifically on block and estate feedback and have increased their profile on Twitter with the team tweeting 81 times in June. In addition flyers were delivered to residents of 10 separate blocks/estates in June providing updates about action/interventions/successful outcomes taken specific to those areas, including arrests made, ASB warnings given, Civil Injunctions obtained, and a request for residents to continue to help us by reporting further instances of ASB. We will continue to actively push this method of communicating to residents about the positive actions being taken by the ASB team, Parkguard and the police.

4.2 Neighbourhood Services Review Implementation

Phase 2 of the neighbourhoods review went live on 2 July 2018. There is still ongoing dialogue with colleagues in the service and the Unions with the latter being afforded the opportunity to submit an appeal against the evaluation of the NHO job description. This will be considered using our normal employee relations practices. We have also committed to keeping the changes under review with a specific commitment given to take stock after 6 months

To recap the key changes arising from part 2 of the review are as follows:

Introduction of a voids team to focus on the end to end process of returning an empty property to use

Deleting the local NHD’s performance team and mainstreaming performance management as part of management of staff

Performance reporting to be transferred to the performance function within business development team

Clarifying the role of the NHO and providing refreshed and new procedures to support the function

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Recognising the growing leasehold portfolio and the role of the NHO in working with others to manage LH stock

Rationalising the patches and moving from 27 patches to 22.

Delivering savings without compulsory redundancies

The NHD review clearly sits within a broader context of the organisation’s transformation journey

offering an enhanced digital offer via MyTHH to those who can and want to do business with us in that way,

strengthening the service provided by the Housing Services Centre –so that they are able to answer queries first time on a broad range of areas and where they are unable to routing the caller to the right place as quickly as possible

strengthening our overall approach to dealing with ASB – NHOs dealing with low-level ASB.

improving management of leasehold portfolio with NHO role given specific responsibility for LH management on the ground within a specific patch supported

focussing on fire safety with the NHO working closely with the fire safety team. In brief the key responsibilities of the new role are:

Tenancy management

Leasehold management

Estate inspections

Tackling housing fraud

Addressing unauthorised occupancy

Permissions

Transfers

Introductory tenancy management

Getting to know you visits

Low-level ASB

Vulnerability

Supporting Tenant and Resident Associations

Resident involvement

Involvement in access for repairs

Communal repairs

Safeguarding Next steps in implementation and development of the service

Ongoing induction programme delivered to NHD teams, other teams and SMT

Session with leadership team to focus on performance and desired culture

Contacted all TRA Chairs to provide an update on the NHDs review

Re-programme Estate inspections

Two page spread in the upcoming Open Door Magazine to update residents.

Move to the new office

Briefings for new Cllrs

Provide update to next All TRA briefing session

Review at 6 months (including the Fire Safety team) of the way things are going

using the following criteria:

Review drivers and principles of change

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Contribution to Customer Access and Experience Programme

Contribution to achieving THH People Strategy

Performance information

Good practice assessments

5. Capital Programme Update 5.1 Progress of Better Neighbourhoods Programme 5.1.1 External work- blocks now on-site

At the time of writing 29 of the 38 blocks included in the Better Neighbourhood programme are virtually complete and awaiting Practical Completion by the end of July 2018. A further three blocks are due to complete by the end of August 2018. The remaining blocks are due to be completed by the end of November 2018.

The programme of works to 73 street properties will be completed by the end of July 2018. Estimated total spend of £1.3m, equating to approximately £17k per property.

5.1.2 Mechanical & Electrical

Of the 2017/18 programme, three lift renewal projects remain on-site. Seven lift renewals have been delayed through being placed on hold as a result of a clash with works on the BNiP.

Out of the 21 projects to upgrade Door Entry Systems (DES), thirteen are complete, four are currently on-site due to be completed by July and two are due to start on site shortly with a programmed completion date of August 2018. The remaining two projects have been delayed due to the external building works on the BNiP being given priority.

The 2018/19 M&E Programme includes lift renewals, DES, communal boiler refurbishment and replacement of domestic boilers in tenanted properties. All projects have been identified and are at various stages of development and design, including proceeding through the THH internal governance process and S20 consultation.

5.1.3 Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is collected by KWEST via telephone surveys. These surveys are now being collected across all of the capital programmes.

Overall satisfaction remains well over the BCI target of 75% at 86.1% 5.1.4 Capital Budget The capital budget for 2018/19 is £36,44m including all fees relating to project management.

The main risk to the budget is currently the procurement process, which has already been delayed.

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5.1.5 Better Neighbourhoods Procurement

THH expect the LCP contracts to be delayed by approximately three weeks because of the need to undertake additional due diligence, around the potential award to one of the applicant contractors. Further delays will impact the end of year outturn and the Delivery programme will need to be recalibrated/ additional resources may be required to deliver a compressed programme.

The new Better Neighbourhoods framework appointment date has moved to September 2018. The tenders for both works and consultancy services for this framework have now been received and are currently being evaluated.

The first mini-competitions under the framework are expected to take place in Q3 2018/19. 5.2 Fire Safety Works

5.2.1 Avebury estate

Chigwell Construction are currently working through a programme to install fire breaks in the roof space of 27 blocks with pitched roofs on the Avebury Estate. This is on target to complete end of July 2018.

5.2.2 Dickinson House

The reinstatement works at Dickinson House have cleared the LBTH procurement process and the contract has been awarded to Wates Living Ltd. The THH delivery team is currently in the process of mobilisation of the contract. The works are currently programmed to be complete in November/December 2018.

5.2.3 Cranbrook estate

Mears are carrying out fire safety works to the six blocks on the Cranbrook estate that received “Substantial” assessment risk ratings

Following THH instruction; Mears have acquired an alternative supplier, which can provide a suitable FD30S front entrance door. The door installation is due to recommence week starting 16th July 2018.

5.2.4 Brewster House / Malting House (Barley Mow estate)

The original project brief included internal communal compartmentalisation, overhaul of the smoke vent system and the removal of the external cladding and these are now complete. The order for the new FD305 front entrance doors will be placed in early August. Whilst the small blocks adjacent to Malting and Brewster Houses have the same cladding system a decision has been taken not to re-clad these buildings based on the following:

The low rise blocks are moderate risk as opposed to the substantial risk for the high rise.

There are open walkways and semi-open staircases as opposed to enclosed corridors and staircase.

The insulation is in good condition.

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The blocks comply with current building regulations.

There are no historic fires to suggest that combustible cladding (EWI) on low-rise

buildings poses a fire spread risk.

In addition, in the very unlikely event that the EPS is ignited, the fire spread would be

limited / localised, and the travel distances for residents escaping are short and fire-

fighting access to the whole façade is available from ground level without special

equipment.

A desk top study in January 2018 by Carter Clack had recommended that further surveys be carried out to check the structural integrity of the block in line with government recommendations for progressive collapse buildings. Two residents have come forward to agree to their properties being tested and the surveys were completed in June 2018.

The results of surveys of the two properties tested will take approximately 6-8 weeks from mid-June.

We expect recommendations will be made to undertake additional structural repairs. The cost of repairs is currently unknown.

6. Recent fires in THH stock 6.1 The LFB have reported an increase in incidents, mainly as a result of the continued

hot weather. We have had three fires in THH managed properties over the last two weeks of June and first week of July.

The most recent was on the balcony of a flat in Kinsham House, Bethnal Green. I’m pleased to say no-one was seriously hurt and the London Fire Brigade put the fire out quickly. While the fire was contained, all residents were evacuated and returned once the building was safe. The suspected cause is a discarded cigarette that was blown onto a balcony. A letter was issued to residents of Kinsham and also Westhorpe as it is of a similar design reiterating key fire safety measures. The Neighbourhood Fire Safety Team will visited both blocks, spoke with all residents and completed a fire check of all flats.

Because the cause of this and our other two recent fires were completely avoidable (candle and another discarded cigarette), we delivered a letter to all THH residents restating that fire safety is a top priority and offering fire safety advice. This was available in community languages. We have also added fire safety videos to our website as our continued promotion of fire safety to residents.

I have also written to all TRA chairs to update them and ask for their help in getting safety messages out. We will be holding a session dedicated to fire safety for all Councillors in September with presentations from THH, LBTH and LFB detailing the strategic and operational approach to fire safety. I am pleased to say that the Mayor welcomed this as an excellent initiative.

Our response to these fires has been positive given the new emergency processes we have put in place and the exercises we have run with staff to respond to these very situations. During our ongoing liaison meetings with the LFB, they have commended TH on the work being undertaken by the Neighbourhoods Fire safety Team in that it tackles behaviours and educates residents.

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7. Paperless Rent Statements

The client has agreed that after October 2018, the quarterly paper rent statements will no longer be sent out as they now have limited value. Firstly, the statements are 2-3 weeks out of date by the time they are received and this causes anxiety for customers who may have made recent payments that are not reflected in the statements. Secondly, the statements were originally intended to prompt tenants to pay any outstanding arrears; however, the arrears escalation process ensures that an automated letter is sent to tenants who are two weeks in arrears.

Importantly, tenants will still be able to request a rent statement as and when required and can register on MyTHH to see their up to date rent statements at any time. We will be publicising this change and the availability of MyTHH through various channels, including: Open Door, Open Door Extra, leaflets at front counters, inserts in letters, the website and door-knocking by all staff as part of the conference in September 2018.

The change does not affect the statutory letters giving 4-weeks’ notice of rent increases that go out in February or the letters that go out in mid-March giving a breakdown of the new rents and housing benefit. These letters will continue to be sent out in their current format.

A full equality impact assessment was produced in relation to the rent statements and one of the areas covered was around digital inclusion. It highlighted the need to focus our digital inclusion work on supporting older residents and residents with a disability to get online and to register for MyTHH. This will be one of the projects in the second tranche of the Customer Access and Experience Programme.

The move away from paper rent statements is in line with some other social landlords, such as Barking and Dagenham, and will result in annual savings of £51,000 (£42,000 in terms of postage and printing and £9k of staff time).

8. New Member meeting arrangements

It is our intention to invite new Members for a walkabout on estates within their new wards with staff from Asset Management and Neighbourhood Services in attendance to discuss capital works, issues such as ASB and other things raised by constituents. We are doing this in a phased way so that we can send out bespoke information on the ward within a small pack so that Members are best equipped to ask relevant questions. Some of these walkabouts have already taken place and have proved an effective early communication with new members that will be important in the year THH is reviewed by LBTH.

9. First Care

The pilot with our new nurse-led sickness absence reporting process delivered by First Care continues successfully. Early concerns expressed by the trade unions have not, thus far, been followed up and compliance by staff with the First Care procedure is very high. It is still early days with this scheme but we are gaining data all the time and should soon be in a position to assess its efficacy. It seems to be contributing to a month on month fall in sickness absence at this stage. I will keep you update over this 12-month pilot period. Month Jan 18 Feb 18 Mar 18 April 18 May 18 June 18

% days/person 12.02 11.09 10.89 10.33 9.65 9.60

9

Tab 9 CE Report


Page | 11

Tab 9 CE Report


Tower Hamlets Homes Key Performance IndicatorsNOTES ON PERFORMANCE

Benchmarking

l At or above target

l Below target, above minimum

l Below target, below minimum

KPI Name Target YTDMinimum

Score1 YTD TREND

2

No. Customers

1 % of calls answered 90% 85.5% 88.7% p

2 % of Complaints responded to in target STAGES 1 & 2 ONLY 90% 85.5% 96.3% q

3 Complaints Escalation: % of Complaints Upheld at Stage 2 10% 10.5% 7.4% p

Homes & Neighbourhoods

4 Repairs: Appointments kept 98.5% 93.6% 94% q

5 % of properties with a current gas safety certificate 100% 100% 100% tu

6 Repairs: Emergency repairs in target 98.5% 93.6% 96.6% q

7 Repairs: Non-emergency repairs in target 98.5% 93.6% 95.7% p

8 % of repairs completed right first time 90% 85.5% 87.3% q

9 % of tenants rating the repairs service as excellent, good or fair 94% 89.3% 90.8% q

10 Unauthorised Occupancy: Homes Recovered 12 11 11 q

Organisational

11 Average time to relet empty homes - Short term (days) 23 24.2 18.1 q

12 Average time to relet empty homes - Long term (days) 44 46.2 24.9 p

13 % rent collected (of rent due) 99% 98.5% 100.25% p

14 Current arrears as % of rent roll 5.81% 5.84% 4.31% q

15 % of Members' Enquiries responded to in target 90% 85.5% 92.1% q

16 Service charge collected (£M) 100% 99% 94.4% q

17 Major works charge collected (£M) 100% 95% 69.9% q

Notes

1 Minimum Score: Lowest value to avoid indicator showing 'red' 2 TREND: Compared to previous month

* The target for Service Charge Collection is 110% of the total billed in 18/19. The projected collection profile for each month reflects this higher amount,

which means that the performance target for each month, as recorded here, is therefore 100% of the projected collection figure for that month.

** The target for major Works Charge Collection is 35% of the total oustanding amount billed from years before 18/19. The projected collection profile for each

June 2018

Year to date performance: June 2018

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

1. % of calls answered

2. % of repairs right first time

3. appointments kept as % of appointments made

4. % properties with a valid gas safety certificate

5. % of rent collected

6. % rent arrears

7. Average short term re-let (days)

8. Rent loss through voids

THH QUARTILE

Tower Hamlets Homes

Benchmarking:

Housemark Performance

Data

Quarter 4 2016/17

THH

1. % of calls

answered

75.50%

2. % of repairs

right first time

81.74%

3. appointments

kept as % of

appointments

made

98.26%

4. % properties

with a valid gas

safety certificate

100%

5. % of rent

collected

99.98%

6. % rent arrears 3.70%

7. Average short

term re-let

(days)

22.60

8. Rent loss

through voids

0.40%

Benchmarking cohort consists of London Boroughs and ALMOs.

Latest data available is March 2017

*

*

9.1

Tab 9.1 Appendix 1


Homes & Neighbourhoods : Repairs11-12-103YTD

4 Appointments Kept 11-12-103 3

TARGET Current Last TREND YTD

98.5% 93% 94% q 94%

R A A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR

Kept 290 407 255 11-12-103N

Made 309 433 273 11-12-103D

Month 94% 94% 93% 11-12-103

YTD 94% 94% 94% 11-12-103YTD

PERFORMANCE

MONTHLY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS June 2018

Comments: Why has performance missed target/weakened? What is being done to remedy this? When will this be completed? Will this bring performance back on track/reverse the trend? When?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

102 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : Repairs11-12-34aYTD

6 Emergency Repairs In Target 11-12-34a 3


98.5% 94.3% 98.8% q 96.6%

A G A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


In Target 1450 1182 1619 11-12-34aN

All 1489 1196 1716 11-12-34aD

Month 97.4% 98.8% 94.3% 11-12-34a

YTD 97.4% 98.0% 96.6% 11-12-34aYTD

PERFORMANCE


80%

82%

84%

86%

88%

90%

92%

94%

96%

98%

100%

Comments: Why has performance missed target/weakened? What is being done to remedy this? When will this be completed? Will this bring performance back on track /reverse the trend? When?

9.1

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

103 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : Repairs11-12-4aYTD

8 % of repairs completed right first time 11-12-4a 3


90% 85.4% 91.2% q 87.3%

R G A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


RFT Reps 263 404 234 11-12-4aN

ALL Reps 315 443 274 11-12-4aD

Month 83.5% 91.2% 85.4% 11-12-4a

YTD 83.5% 88.0% 87.3% 11-12-4aYTD


PERFORMANCE

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%


BCI

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

104 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : Repairs

9 11-12-3 3


94% 89.5% 91.2% q 90.8%

A A A

11-12-3YTD

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


EGF 290 404 246 11-12-3N

All 317 443 275 11-12-3D

Month 91.5% 91.2% 89.5% 11-12-3

YTD 91.5% 91.3% 90.8% 11-12-3YTD

% of tenants rating the repairs service

as excellent, good or fairPERFORMANCE



80%

85%

90%

95%


BCI

9.1

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

105 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : Neighbourhoods11-12-25bMYTD 11-12-25bCM

10 Unauthorised Occupancy: Homes Recovered 11-12-25bM 3


4 3 4 q 11

11-12-25bMYTD 12 R G R

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


Recovered 4 4 3 11-12-25bM

Target 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 11-12-25bM

YTD 4 8 11 11-12-25bCM

YTD Target 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 45 50 11-12-25bMYTD

PERFORMANCE

Monthly Performance Against Monthly Target

Progress Towards Annual Target


0

2

4

6

8


4 8

12 16

20 24

28 32

36 40

45

50

05

101520253035404550

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

106 of 124F

ormal B


Organisational : Service Charges11-12-11 11-12-11YTD

16 Service Charges Collected 11-12-11M 3

11-12-11M£ TARGET Current Last TREND YTD

£1.53m £1.35m £1.14m p £4.21m

R R

£4.46m

YTD 25.6% Collected £4.21m Year-End Projected £16.4m

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


Collected £1.71m £1.14m £1.35m 11-12-11MN

Due £1.70m £1.23m £1.53m £1.23m £1.53m £1.23m £1.23m £1.53m £1.23m £1.53m £1.23m £1.23m 11-12-11M£

Month 100.8% 93.4% 88.0% 11-12-11M

YTD 100.8% 97.7% 94.4% 11-12-11YTD

YTD Coll £1.71m £2.86m £4.21m 11-12-11CM

YTD Targ £1.70m £2.93m £4.46m £5.69m £7.22m £8.44m £9.67m £11.20m £12.43m £13.96m £15.19m £16.42m 11-12-11YTDM


PERFORMANCE



Collection


£.00m£.50m

£1.00m£1.50m£2.00m£2.50m


BCI

£.00m£3.00m£6.00m£9.00m

£12.00m£15.00m£18.00m


9.1

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

107 of 124F

ormal B


Organisational : Major Works11-12-99 11-12-99YTD

17 Major Works Charge Collected 11-12-99M 3


£.52m £.33m £.29m p £.95m

R R

£1.36m

YTD 17% Collected £.95m Year-End Projected £5.4m

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


Collected £.33m £.29m £.33m 11-12-99MN

Due £.42m £.42m £.52m £.42m £.52m £.42m £.42m £.52m £.42m £.52m £.42m £.42m 11-12-99M

Month 78.7% 69.6% 63.2% 11-12-99M

YTD 78.7% 74.1% 69.9% 11-12-99YTD

Cum Coll £.33m £.62m £.95m 11-12-99CM

Cum Targ £.42m £.84m £1.36m £1.78m £2.30m £2.72m £3.13m £3.66m £4.08m £4.60m £5.02m £5.43m 11-12-99MYTD

Collection


PERFORMANCE




£.00m£.10m£.20m£.30m£.40m£.50m


BCI

£.00m£1.00m£2.00m£3.00m£4.00m£5.00m


Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

108 of 124F

ormal B


Business Critical Indicators & Key Service IndicatorsQUARTERLY INDICATORS

Target

YTD

Minimum

ScoreYTD

Customers

1 Percentage of residents rating the HSC as excellent, good, or fair 90% 86% 81.1%

2 Percentage of residents agreeing with the statement 'THH does what it says it will do' 82% 78% 80.1%

3 Overall Satisfaction: Residents 84% 80% 80.1%

4 Overall Satisfaction: Tenants 89% 85% 86.9%

5 Overall Satisfaction: Leaseholders 73% 69% 62.4%

6 No. of MyTHH Registrations 2200 2090 2415

7 No. of unique MyTHH visits as a % of residents registered 60% 57% 50.4%

8 Reduction in the number of telephone calls about parking 839 797 839

Homes & Neighbourhoods

9 Satisfaction With Caretaking 85% 81% 85.2%

9a Satisfaction With Caretaking : Tenants 85% 81% 86.7%

9b Satisfaction With Caretaking : Leaseholders 85% 81% 80.9%

10 % of residents satisfied with the service provided by the caretaker 92% 87% 94.6%

11 % of residents satisfied with the neighbourhood 88% 84% 84.0%

12 ASB: % of cases successfully resolved 95% 90% 79.5%

13 ASB: % of residents satisfied with handling of ASB 49.0%

14 % Reduction in the number of telephone calls about repairs 25632 24350 25632

15 % of communal repairs completed right first time 80% 76% 85.5%

16 Major Works Programme Delivery 86% 82% 81.1%

17 Major Works Invoices Issued 100% 95% 26.7%

18 Pecentage of residents rating capital works as excellent, good or fair 80% 76% 86.1%

19 % of 9 High-rise blocks with Fire Risk Reduction to Tolerable works completed 9 9 #DIV/0!

20 % of eligible blocks with an up to date Fire Risk Assessment in place 100% 95% 100%

21 % of contractor schemes subject to additional health & safety monitoring 15% 14% #DIV/0!

Organisational

22 Void Rent Loss as % of Rent Due 0.4% 0.42% 0.38%

23 % of managers trained in health & safety 75% 71% #DIV/0!

24 People Strategy: Staff positively rating "Residents are at the heart of what we do" 90% 86% 84.0%

25 Average Days Staff Sickness 9.7 10.19 9.7

26 % of Agency Staff 7% 7.4% 12.8%

27 Staff Turnover 9.5% 10% 2.7%

June 2018

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

BCI

9.1

Tab 9.1 Appendix 1


Customers : Satisfaction11-12-153YTD

1 11-12-153 1


90% 81.1%Patrice Redhead-Smithq 81.1%

R G R

1 2 3 4

Res'd 1st time 11-12-153NQ

Total Resolved 11-12-153DQ

PERF

YTD 1st time 11-12-153NC

YTD Tot. Resvd 11-12-153DC

YTD PERF

81.1%

81.1%

920

81.1%

746

746

920

QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS June 2018

Percentage of residents rating the

HSC as excellent good or fairPERFORMANCE

QUARTER 1 QUARTER 2 QUARTER 3 QUARTER 4

81.1%


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

BCI

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

110 of 124F

ormal B


Customers : Satisfaction11-12-135YTD

4 11-12-135 1

[Excellent, Good & Fair Responses Counted] TARGET Current Last TREND YTD

89% 86.9% Kwest q 86.9%

A G A1 2 3 4

Nos Satisfied 11-12-135NQ

Total Asked 11-12-135DQ

PERF

YTD Satisfied 11-12-135NC

YTD Tot. Asked 11-12-135DC

YTD PERF

86.9%

86.9%

11-12-136YTD

5 11-12-136 1

[Excellent, Good & Fair Responses Counted] TARGET Current Last TREND YTD

73% 62.4% Kwest q 62.4%

R G R

1 2 3 4

Nos Satisfied 11-12-136NQ


PERF

YTD Satisfied 11-12-136NC


YTD PERF

62.4%

62.4%

141

62.4%

62.4%

88

88

141

Satisfaction with THH -

LeaseholdersPERFORMANCE


367

86.9%

319

319

367

June 2018

Satisfaction with THH - Tenants PERFORMANCE


86.9%

QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS


9.1

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

111 of 124F

ormal B


Customers : Access11-12-157YTD

7 11-12-157 1


60% 50.4% #N/A #### 50.4%

R #N/A R

1 2 3 4

Unique Visits 11-12-157NQ

Av. Registrations 11-12-157DQ

PERF

YTD Unique 11-12-157NC

YTD Av. Registrations 11-12-157DC

YTD PERF

50.4%

50.4%

2324

50.4%

50.4%

1172

June 2018

1172

2324

No. of unique MyTHH visits as a %

of residents registeredPERFORMANCE




0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

112 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : ASB11-12-143YTD

12 11-12-143 1


95% 79.5% q q 79.5%

R G R

1 2 3 4

Nos Resolved 11-12-143NQ

All Cases 11-12-143DQ

PERF

YTD Resolved 11-12-143NC

YTD All Cases 11-12-143DC

YTD PERF

79.5%

79.5%

259

79.5%

206

206

259


ASB: % of cases successfully

resolvedPERFORMANCE


79.5%


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

9.1

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

113 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : ASB11-12-163YTD

13 11-12-163 1


49.0% Kwest q 49.0%

G G G

1 2 3 4

Nos Resolved 11-12-163NQ

All Cases 11-12-163DQ

PERF

YTD Resolved 11-12-163NC

YTD All Cases 11-12-163DC

YTD PERF

49.0%

49.0%

49

49.0%

49.0%

24

24

49


ASB: % of residents satisfied with

handling of ASBPERFORMANCE


Comments: Target to be agreed after Q1

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

114 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : Major Works11-12-146YTD

16 11-12-146 1


86% 81.1%Chris Basfordq 81.1%

R G R

1 2 3 4

Actual Spend 11-12-146NQ

Proj. Spend 11-12-146DQ

PERF

YTD Actual 11-12-146NC

YTD Proj 11-12-146DC

YTD PERF

81.1%

81.1%

£2.7m

81.1%

£2.2m

£2.2m

£2.7m


Major Works Programme Delivery PERFORMANCE


81.1%


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

BCI

9.1

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

115 of 124F

ormal B


Homes & Neighbourhoods : Major Works11-12-88aQYTD

17 11-12-88aQ 1


100% 26.7%Abu Supian q 26.7%

R G R

1 2 3 4

Invoices Issued 11-12-88aQNQ

Planned 11-12-88aQDQ

PERF

YTD Actual 11-12-88aQNC

YTD Proj 11-12-88aQDC

YTD PERF

26.7%

26.7%

30

26.7%

26.7%

8

8

30


Major Works Invoices Issued PERFORMANCE



0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

BCI

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

116 of 124F

ormal B


Organisational : Staff11-12-167YTD

24 11-12-167 1


90% 84.0% Kwest Kwest 84.0%

R G R

1 2 3 4

Nos Agreeing 11-12-167NQ


PERF

YTD Agreeing 11-12-167NC


YTD PERF

0.84

0.84

79

94

84.0%

June 2018

People Strategy: Staff positively

rating "Residents are at the heart

of what we do"

PERFORMANCE


84.0%


79

94

BCI

Comments:

Why has performance missed target/weakened? What is being done to remedy this? When will this be completed? Will this bring performance back on track/reverse the trend? When?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

9.1

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

117 of 124F

ormal B


Organisational : Staff11-12-139YTD

26 11-12-139 1


7.0% 12.8%Stephen Phillpottp 12.8%

R R R

1 2 3 4

Agency Staff 11-12-139NQ

Total Staff 11-12-139DQ

% Agency

YTD Av. Staff 11-12-139NC

YTD Av. Total Staff 11-12-139DC

YTD %

12.8%

12.8%

12.8%

61

June 2018

% of Agency Staff PERFORMANCE


475

12.8%

61

475



0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

JUNE SEP DEC MAR

Tab 9.1 A

ppendix 1

118 of 124F

ormal B


1

THH Board of Directors

25th July 2018

Report authorised by: Paul Davey, Director of Business Transformation Report Author: Hilton Armand, Transformation Programme Manager


Title: The Customer Access & Experience Programme – Progress Update and Confirmation of the Second Tranche Projects

1. Introduction 1.1 This report provides the Board with a progress update on the Customer

Access and Experience Programme and confirmation of the second tranche projects.

2. Executive Summary 2.1 The eight projects agreed for the first tranche of the Customer Access and

Experience Programme are listed in paragraph 4.1. All of the projects are in progress and the Anti-Social Behaviour project has now been completed. The main updates regarding the projects are shown in paragraph 5.1.

2.2 The second tranche projects are listed in paragraph 6.1. The final list was

prioritised following comments from the Customer Experience Task Force and the Residents’ Panel and by evaluating the projects using various weighted criteria.

2.3 One of the second tranche projects is a review of leasehold services and

some of the preparatory work for this review has already been completed, such as producing the terms of reference for the review and agreeing the governance structure for the project. Further details are included in the report entitled ‘Leasehold Services Improvement’, which is on the Board agenda.

3. Recommendation 3.1 That the Board notes progress in relation to the first tranche of the programme

and notes the projects that will be included in the second tranche.

10

Tab 10 Customer Access & Experience Programme Update


2

4. Background 4.1 The projects in the first tranche of the Customer Access and Experience

Programme are all well underway and in fact the Anti-Social Behaviour project has now been completed. The projects in the first tranche of the programme are:

Anti-social behaviour

Communal repairs

Parking

Responsive repairs (online access and automated SMS)

Residents’ Services Improvement Project (reviewing processes & procedures)

Digital Strategy (mobile working)

People Strategy (culture change)

Environmental services project

5. Progress on the first tranche projects 5.1 The projects are at different stages, but some of the highlights since the last

report are:

a) Anti-social Behaviour – The changes introduced as a result of the project are:

New ASB workflow and letters went live on 4/6/2018 in the Comino workflow system following staff training. The new working arrangements include all ASB calls initially going through to the ASB Team so that the ASB Liaison Officers can triage the calls.

New ASB service standards were agreed and are on the THH website. They will also be published in Open Door in August 2018.

New arrangements are now in place for Kwest to survey customers who have reported ASB so that we can test customer satisfaction with the new arrangements.

b) Repairs Online – the repairs appointment system has been improved by

going live with ‘Mears Appoint’. It means that staff in the Housing Service Centre can now book repairs appointments directly into the Mears system using available timeslots for operatives. It means that customers will now have greater certainty that appointments made by THH will not be changed by Mears. There is an outstanding issue at the moment, which is that the appointment information is not writing back to the Northgate system. This means that we have to rely on the Mears system to check the appointments information. This has been raised with Mears.

c) Parking - a new online parking management service has been procured

and will be introduced later this year. This will allow customers to apply for



3

permits online without the need for THH intervention. We are waiting for Cabinet approval to introduce pre-paid parking permits (in line with street parking) and for the Council to introduce Traffic Management Orders on housing land to regularise the permit enforcement arrangements.

d) Communal repairs – six meetings took place with a residents’ task and

finish group and as a result an action plan has been produced in order to achieve correct and timely ordering of communal repairs, improved quality of repairs and improved accuracy of billing for communal repairs. The action plan has been sent to the residents involved in the project and has been reported to the Customer Experience Task Force. The actions within the plan include:

Using a repairs diagnosis tool to improve the quality of repairs ordering.

Ensuring the new post-inspection regime, which gives greater emphasis on post-inspecting communal repairs, is working effectively.

Introducing alerts to notify residents and caretakers that jobs are done.

Arranging for Mears to provide before & after photos for certain jobs.

Improving the way communal repairs are recorded on Northgate in order to allow more effective cost and performance management in relation to communal repairs.

e) Digital Strategy and mobile working:

MyTHH - the number of residents registered on MyTHH was 2,432 as at 5/7/2018. The target for 2018/19 is 4,000. The future move to paperless rent statements will help to encourage residents to register for MyTHH and a communications plan has been produced in relation to this. It involves articles in Open Door, giving out fridge magnets, leaflets at front counters and door-knocking as part of the staff conference in September 2018.

Mobile working – work has almost been completed to make the work of the Fire Safety Team (FST) more efficient (and paperless) by issuing them with tablet devices to record the outcomes from their inspections. The devices have been piloted by the team and the full roll out to the team will take place during week beginning 23rd July 2018. An evaluation of the time savings resulting from the deployment of the devices will be carried out in August 2018.

Work is progressing on the main mobile working project, which will involve estate inspections and pre/post repair inspections being recorded on tablet devices. However, this part of the project is dependent on the upgrade of the Northgate computer software and therefore the overall timescale for this part of the mobile project will be later than initially anticipated, i.e. the installation, configuration and development of the Kirona mobile software will take place in August; system testing and User Acceptance Testing will be in Sept; and ‘go live’ will be in Oct 2018. In the meantime, work is underway to fully understand the requirements of the teams that will be affected.

10



4

f) Environmental services – Meetings have taken place with residents and staff to discuss options around split shifts for caretakers in order to extend the time that caretaking teams are available on site. Meetings have also taken place with the trade unions and following these meetings the Unite Union has requested additional time to consult its members. This will result in a delay of approximately a month in terms of the overall project. A pilot to test the effectiveness of the split shift system started on 18th July 2018 and will run for four weeks. This will be followed by an evaluation of the pilot, a further meeting with residents and formal consultation with staff. The anticipated start date for the new working arrangements is now 5th November 2018.

g) People Strategy (including culture change) – the overall approach is:

Various HR systems, policies and procedures have been developed, including:

The new nurse-led sickness absence reporting service, Firstcare, went live.

New HR policies on Sickness Absence, probation and capability and the use of Agency Workers have been implemented.

Our new Employee Engagement Portal, THHbuzz, is now live. Phase 1 has strengthened our employment offer on employee wellbeing as well as giving us a platform for a wider review of our employee offer. Phase 2, due late June/July, will include recognising excellence and a Staff Award scheme.

The new recruitment system, Networx, is now live.

The Apprenticeship programme has successfully launched, with five new apprentices in caretaking and one in communications, plus six existing team leaders/managers in the Neighbourhoods Directorate having commenced their ILM qualifications. The programme remains on track to deliver against the target of 33 apprentices by 2020. The Graduate Programme is also ongoing, with planning now underway for the 2018 intake and succession planning for the 2017 graduates.

The Senior Management Team development programme (Leadership Excellence) has been launched.

h) Residents’ Services Improvement project – 38 new tenancy and

leasehold management procedures have been produced as part of the process of reviewing and updating our ways of working. The new procedures include dealing with: probationary tenancies, voids, mutual

Excellent leaders + clear expectations = excellent employee experience = positive culture = engaged staff = happy customers



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exchanges and under-occupation. In terms of the under-occupation procedure and toolkit, one of the Neighbourhood Area Managers led this piece of work on behalf of the council and the toolkit has been adopted for use by housing associations in the borough.

6. Second tranche projects 6.1 The projects for the second tranche of the Customer Access and Experience

Programme have been selected using various criteria and feedback from the Customer Experience Task Force and the Residents’ Panel. The projects are:

Project Name and Description Anticipated start date

1. Review of leaseholder services – this will be a wide-ranging review covering organisational structures, communication, service standards, billing, consultation, support and payment options.

July 2018

2. Management of sublets for leaseholders – this will enable THH to take a pro-active approach in relation to the subletting of leasehold properties, including creating a register of sublet properties.

Aug 2018

3. Institute of Customer Services accreditation – the accreditation will provide external scrutiny on the impact of the changes we are making. It will also help to identify and address areas for improvement.

Sep 2018

4. Digital inclusion - The project will help to encourage and enable those who are currently digitally excluded to get online. The project will complement the work we are doing to promote online self-service.

Oct 2018

5. Next phase of mobile working – the project will continue to enable staff to access and update systems while on site using mobile devices in order to improve efficiency.

Apr 2019

6. Review of the THH website – the focus will be to ensure the website is accessible and user-friendly in order to encourage customers to make full use of the website.

Apr 2019

6.2 The leasehold services review will be the first of these projects to be

progressed and further details about this project are included in the report entitled ‘Leasehold Services Improvement’, which is on the Board agenda.

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7. Financial Implications 7.1 The Customer Access and Experience Programme continues to be delivered

within existing resources and all projects are proceeding within budget. A business case will be produced for any additional expenditure required as a result of the programme. All projects will consider whether efficiency savings can be generated.

8. Legal implications 8.1 Some of the projects have legal implications and in these cases advice has

been obtained from Legal Services. 9. Risk Management Implications

9.1 A detailed risk register has been produced for the programme using the JCAD

system and is monitored by the Customer Access and Experience Programme Board. Appropriate action is taken to mitigate risks.

9.2 Individual projects will continue to maintain a separate risk register, which will

be monitored by each Project Board.



Open session - Tower Hamlets Homes · 2017-18 Finance Outturn Report For Information Neil Isaac 9. Community Investment Annual Report For Information Paul Davey ... Julie Fagan -

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