TenantsAnnual Report

2014/2015

Written by residents, for residents

➤ Welcome

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Welcome to Gedling Homes’ Tenants AnnualReport 2014/15. Every year we produce an annualreport to let you, our tenants, know what we aredoing well, where we need to improve and whatwe plan to do in the year ahead.

This report will provide an overview of how we areperforming, looking at the promises we made,how well we achieved these, and what our plansare over the next year.

A note from our Tenants Editorial Panel: “We hopeyou enjoy reading this report, we’ve really enjoyed

working on it and being involved with drafting thecontents. We hope that you like what we haveput together and look forward to hearing anyfeedback that you might have.”

John Callender, Mary Callender, Raymond Ellis,Burley Saxton, Shirley Palmer, Alan Whiteand Gordon Aitken - The tenants who workedon this report.

John Callender Mary Callender Raymond Ellis Burley Saxton

Shirley Palmer Gordon AitkenAlan White

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➤ Contents

➤ Our Highlights

➤ Welfare Reforms

➤ Our Promises - What we saidand what we did

➤ Value For Money

➤ Great Homes

➤ Great Neighbourhoods

➤ Great People

➤ Getting in Touch

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06-07

08-09

10-11

12-13

14-15

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16

Gedling Homes owns and manages3579 properties across GedlingBorough in Nottinghamshire and ispart of the New Charter Group.

Gedling Homes was created on the transfer ofall of Gedling Borough Council’s housing stock inNovember 2008, following a ballot of tenants.

Providing a variety of services to our tenants,including housing repairs and maintenance,through our GH Response service, helping ourcommunities with programmes like the GreaterTraining Academy and involving residents in keydecisions via our award winning tenant scrutinypanel and editorial team, we strive to put ourtenants at the heart of everything we do.

Alan White is a member of both the tenantsindependent complaints panel and the tenantseditorial team. He said:

“It’s great to be involved in decisions and to beable to have a say about what’s happening in thelocal community. Gedling Homes likes to involvetenants as much as possible and it’s brilliant to bepart of that and have some real influence.”

➤ AboutGedlingHomes

Alan White

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➤ Our HighlightsOver the past year we have beenworking hard to keep our promises toyou and represent our values; GREAThomes, GREAT neighbourhoods andGREAT people. Here’s a quickoverview of some of the GREAT thingswe have achieved:

➤ We launched GH Response, our in houserepairs service, making a saving ofapproximately £300k

➤ We began redeveloping St. Andrew’s Houseto deliver Extra Care facilities in the borough,in partnership with Nottinghamshire CountyCouncil, securing £600,000 of funding fromthe council. This work will be completedin 2015/16.

➤ We delivered £2.5 million of external worksincluding fencing, roofing and improving hardstanding areas

➤ Provided Lifeline services to over850 customers

➤ 92% of our customers were satisfied with theway we dealt with their ASB complaint

➤ Won the Excellence in Annual Reportregional TPAS Award for our 2013/14Tenants Annual Report

➤ We won the national TPAS Award fortenant-led scrutiny

➤ 94% of tenants were satisfied with the qualityof their home

GH Response

St Andrew’sHouse

TPAS Awards

94%of tenants were

satisfied with the qualityof their home

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➤ Welfare ReformsWelfare Reform has affected some ofour tenants, the proposed BenefitCap reduction and the roll out of theUniversal Credit being the two mainareas of concern to both tenants andto Gedling Homes.

There are also further proposals for the future,including no automatic entitlement to help withhousing costs for 18-21 year olds, a 7 day waitingperiod for new claimants of Universal Credit and afreeze on working age benefits for 4 years.

If you have difficulties with Welfare Reform thenGedling Homes can offer advice on debt, benefits,available financial products, affordable warmthwith specialist teams for great opportunities anddigital inclusion.

Illegal money lendersGedling Homes continues to publicise the possibleharmful effects of using illegal money lenders oftenreferred to as ‘loan sharks’. These unlicensedmoney lenders often prey on the most vulnerableand ‘in need’ residents who feel they have no otherchoice for borrowing money. If you know of anyloan shark activity in your neighbourhood, pleasereport it confidentially to the Illegal moneyLending Team on 0300 555 222 or textLOAN SHARK and your details to 60003 or emailreportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk

Remember if you have borrowed from an illegalmoney lender, you haven’t committed a crime.

My Home Finance - fair loansMy Home Finance is analternative lender offering fairloans to residents andleaseholders. This organisation has beendeveloped by the National Housing Federation inpartnership with housing providers. If you arelooking for a loan, budgeting advice and help withbank accounts call ‘My Home Finance’ on0845 519 7237, call into any of our hubs or visitwww.myhomefinance.org.uk

If you know of any loanshark activity in your

neighbourhood, please reportit confidentially tothe Illegal Money

Lending Team

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➤ Our PromisesLast year we made 8 promisesacross the organisation, here’s whatwe have done to achieve these:

Launch GH Response,our in house repairs teamto improve the quality ofour repairs service at a reducedcost, delivering savings that willbe reinvested into the serviceswe offer.GH Response was launched in July 2014 and hascurrently saved the company approximately £300k.

Deliver our first ExtraCare scheme atSt Andrews House,Mapperley, in partnership withNottinghamshire County Council.The scheme will provideaccommodation and flexiblesupport services specifically

designed to support older peopleto live independently for longer.The scheme was developed during 2014/15 andofficially reopened in June 2015. St. Andrew’sHouse has been designed to meet the specifichousing needs of older people. Care has beentaken with the structural and interior design toensure the accommodation is comfortable andsuitable for older people with particular care needs,such as dementia.

The scheme has been redeveloped from a 1980sblock of sheltered housing bedsits in Mapperley,Nottingham and transformed into modernaccessible homes for older people, 15 of which aredesignated for housing with care, which have beenachieved in partnership with NottinghamshireCounty Council. This service is an enhancementto traditional sheltered housing where olderpeople can live independently in their own homewith the reassurance that care staff are on-site for24-hours a day.

Deliver energy efficiencyimprovements to theexternal walls of over 500properties across Gedling borough.We have started work on the external wallinsulation programme to support fuel poverty andenergy efficiency throughout our homes.

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➤ Our PromisesEstablish our GedlingNeighbourhood ResolutionPanels, to help resolveconflict caused by anti-socialbehaviour.We have delivered a Restorative Justice project,called the Gedling Neighbourhood ResolutionPanel, which aims to help reduce anti-socialbehaviour from reoccurring and provide solutionsto long-standing problems.

Achieve the HousingQuality Network’s EstateAccreditation, ensuring weprovide a GREAT estatemanagement service.Work is currently underway regarding thissubmission and will be completed by the endof the year. We have also been workingtowards the submission of 2 other accreditations,TPAS and Housemark ASB Accreditation.Gedling Homes is committed to reaching thehighest service standards by achieving these.

Provide moreopportunities for tenantinvolvement through socialmedia and online platforms.Over the past year audience engagement via ouronline platforms has significantly increased.This is mainly thanks to Jump Start June, whichwas led by our Community Engagement team.The month saw a variety of activities happenacross the borough, which were designed to helpimprove tenants’ homes and their communities.Throughout the month we reached 2105 peoplevia Facebook, increased our page likes by 89

and saw 352 people visit our Facebook page.We also had 118 retweets (people sharing whatwe posted online) on Twitter and 98 favourites(people liking what we posted). We currently have138 likes on the Gedling Homes Facebook page(www.facebook.com/GedlingHomes) and 841followers on Twitter (@Gedling_Homes).

Deliver all 21 differentcourses through ourGREATer TrainingAcademy.Courses have been delivered to 143 tenantsthrough the Greater Training Academy. It has beena great success and 16 courses were run, with morebeing planned for 2015/16.

Implement allrecommendations fromour tenant scrutiny panel,Gedling Eye, to ensure our servicescontinue to improve.The Gedling Eye tenant scrutiny panel deliveredscrutiny reviews for the complaints service,difficult to let properties and the external worksprogramme. All recommendations were presentedto the Gedling Homes Board and all agreedrecommendations were implemented and theirperformance was monitored by the scrutiny panel.

352people visited ourFacebook page

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➤ Where our moneycomes from

79%

Rent

7%

ServiceCharges

7%

VATRefunds

4%

Right toBuy Sales

1%

Other SocialHousing Activities

1%

Other Income

1%

Garage Rent

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➤ Where our money goes

49%

InvestmentWorks

12%

Responsive &Void Repairs

11%

ManagementCosts

10%

Staffing Costs

7%

Services toCommunal Areas

7%

Interest onBank Loans

2%

Other SocialHousing Activities

2%

CyclicalMaintenance

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➤ Great HomesGedling Homes own and look after3579 homes across Gedling borough.We want these properties to beGREAT homes for you and we striveto maintain them to a high standard

Repairs and maintenancePart of our commitment to providing GREAThomes is to provide a responsive service forrepairs and maintenance. This year we are proudto say that we launched our dedicated in-houserepairs and maintenance service, GH Response.

In order to help develop this service, we have alsorecruited 8 new members of staff at GH Response,including 6 new technicians, helping to boostemployment within the borough.

We have also welcomed our very first GHResponse apprentice into the team, MatthewHutcheson. He explains why this opportunity is aGREAT one: “It’s a brilliantway to learn a trade, I’velearnt so many practical skillsalready, the experience isbrilliant. I’ve got my ownmentor, so I’m following himaround’ to ‘shadowing himand learning from him.

You learn something new every day, working withthe team has been really good, it’s good to knowwhat is expected in a professional environment.”

Looking after our assetsWe also aspire to provide GREAT housing stockand this year, we started work on the externalwall insulation programme to support fuel povertyand energy efficiency throughout our homes,which secured a £70k ECO (Energy CompanyObligation) grant.

We have worked hard to improve the outside ofour properties, delivering £2.5 million of externalworks including fencing, roofs and improving hardstanding areas.

We have also brought 4 empty homes back intouse, which secured a £40k grant.

GH Response

MatthewHutcheson

External Works

It’s a brilliant way to learna trade, I ’ve learnt so many

practical skills already,the experience is GREAT

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➤ Great HomesStats and facts for 2014/15➤ Since launching our in-house repairs and

maintenance service, customer satisfaction forresponsive repairs has risen to 95.30%

➤ 98% of jobs were completed right first timeand on target, which is a 3% improvement onlast year’s figures

➤ 98.26% of all repairs have been completedon time

➤ We’ve ensured that 100% of our propertieshave a gas safety certificate

➤ 98.91% of our customers were satisfied withthe condition of the property at let stage

➤ 98.71% of our customers were satisfiedwith the Gas Servicing that was carried out ontheir property

➤ 89% of our customers were satisfied with theinvestment works that have been carried out

How we’ll improveWe will aim to maximise our external funding fordevelopment through the Affordable HomesProgramme and other external funding sources.

We will market and develop the scope of GHResponse as a preferred local contractor to ensurethat the service is operating commercially togenerate income to support our social aims.

We will ensure that GH response is more efficient,ensuring value for money is embedded throughoutall activities.

100%of our properties havea gas safety certificate

98%of jobs were completed right

first time and on target

➤ Great NeighbourhoodsAt Gedling Homes we don’t just lookafter bricks and mortar, we also wantto create GREAT neighbourhoods foryou to live in.

This includes looking after the surrounding areas,reducing problems like anti-social behaviour anddeveloping our communities.

Working with our communitiesAs part of our commitments to help developour communities, over the past year, we haveworked with over 400 pupils at Arnold HillAcademy to support the Science Technologyand Maths Curriculum.

To help highlight the impact of anti-social behaviourand educate young people about its effects, we alsoengaged with 710 pupils from Years 7 and 8 throughthe 999’s initiative, working locally with the Policeand other partners. This is an increase from 520 forthe previous year.

We have also been working hard to developthe Gedling Neighbourhood Resolution Panel,which offers a Restorative Justice model to helpreduce instances of anti-social behaviour (ASB).This involves mediation between the affectedparties and has, to date, been very successful.

The Neighbourhood Resolution Panel is run bycommunity volunteers, who facilitate the panels.We have trained 9 volunteers so far, CommunityVolunteer Caitlin O Connel tells us why she thinks

the panel has been so effective:“The NeighbourhoodResolution Panel has workedreally well. It has been a reallyinteresting and rewardingexperience to be involved inthe service. It clearly seemsthat the restorative justiceapproach to addressing anti-social behaviour worksand results in long-term solutions to ingrainedanti-social behaviour issues.”

Our dedicated Family Intervention Projectkeyworker also worked intensively with 7 familiesthroughout the year who were most at risk ofeviction due to anti-social behaviour. As a result ofour intervention work none of these families losttheir home and all have subsequently sustainedtheir tenancies with us.

Providing essential services whenyou need themAs part of our commitment to providing essentialservices to those who need them, we haveprovided Lifeline services to over 850 customersthis year. The service uses your existing telephoneline to connect to an emergency response centreshould you need them, all you have to do is push anemergency button and help will be at hand.The service is available to anyone who needs alittle extra support to maintain their independencein their own home.

CaitlinO Connel

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➤ Great Neighbourhoods

We have supported 149 sheltered housing tenantsto improve their health and wellbeing and maintaintheir independence. We have achieved this byworking in partnership with NottinghamshireCounty Council to provide our residents withadvocacy advice, advice on nutrition, access tobenefits, support with personal safety and supportto access services in local their local communities.

Stats and facts for 2014/15➤ 95.8% of our tenants were satisfied with the

lettings and viewings process

➤ 87% of customers who reported anti-socialbehaviour were satisfied with the outcome oftheir complaint

➤ 92% of customers who reported anti-socialbehaviour were satisfied with the way GedlingHomes dealt with the complaint

➤ 100% of our Lifeline customers were satisfiedwith the service they received

➤ We relet our properties within 26.2 days(excluding low demand)

How we’ll improveWe will continue to implement the interventionsthat tenants and residents have told us they wouldlike to see in their neighbourhoods to increaseneighbourhood sustainability.

We will aim to expand the use of the GedlingNeighbourhood Resolution Panel in order toprovide long lasting solutions to neighbour disputes.

We will aim to re-secure accreditation of ouranti-social behaviour intervention service to provideconfidence to customers that we are delivering agreat service.

Through greater partnership working with localauthorities, the Clinical Commissioning Group andthe voluntary sector, we will secure support todiversify, grow and extend our offer in relation tohomes and services to older people and othervulnerable adults.

Lifeline service

100%of our Lifeline customerswere satisfied with theservice they received

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➤ Great PeopleAs well as offering GREAT Homes inGREAT Neighbourhoods, we want ourpeople to be GREAT.

Why we think you are greatYes we think our tenants are great and we can tellyou a few reasons why! Thanks to the brilliant ideasof our tenant editorial panel we were proudwinners of the Excellence in Annual Report regionalTPAS Award for our Tenants Annual Report.

Gedling tenants also helped us to win theTPAS National Award for Excellence inTenant-Led Scrutiny.

Not only that, we also won the Housing 24Welfare Wise Award.

Training our tenantsMore than 20 courses were delivered in the first fullyear of the GREATer Training Academy.

The academy has been set up to offer trainingopportunities to all our tenants, whether it’s acreative course you are looking to do, learningabout health and wellbeing or training and supportthat you need, we’re on a mission to help ourtenants become GREATer together!

Sheltered housing tenant,Mark Crocker, took part in ourI.T. training, money mattersand cook and eat workshops.He said: “The courses havereally improved myconfidence.” Since attendingthe courses Mark has gainedthe confidence to start lookingfor work and has even gained work experience atThe Nottingham. He said “It was a really goodexperience and they have provided me with a greatreference.” Mark is now keen to develop his CVwith the assistance of the Employability course thatwe offer as part of the GREATer Training program,which he hopes will assist him in the next step ofgetting an interview and hopefully a job.

TPAS Awards

MarkCrocker

GREATerTraining

It was really goodexperience and they

have provided me with agreat reference

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Managing debtsWe know that for some of our tenants, managingdebts can prove to be a difficult problem.

That’s why we run a debt advice service and thisyear we helped to manage £387,168 of debt for82 clients. We also helped 112 tenants with theirwelfare benefits.

We also secured a trust fund and grant awardsto the sum of £16,966, which will be used as ahardship fund to help tenants who may bestruggling financially.

Stats and facts for 2014/15➤ We responded to 100% of complaints that

we received

➤ We trained 143 of our tenants through ourGREATER Training programme

➤ We gave benefits advice to tenants through ourMoney Wise service, helping to maximise theincome of our tenants, amounting to £378,022

➤ We helped tenants manage £387,168 of debt

➤ We collected 99.67% of rent from our tenants

How we’ll improveWe will seek to maintain our rent collectionperformance above 99%

We will review the GREATer Trainingprogramme to ensure that it is meeting ourtenants training needs.

We will actively engage with carers and partners toensure support is available for carers and the caredfor within our community.

We will look to develop schemes aimedat improving the health and wellbeing ofour customers.

➤ Great People

MoneyWise team

143of our tenants were

trained though our GREATerTraining programme

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➤ Getting in touch

Chinese

Gujurati

Kurdish

Urdu

Polish

Gedling House, Wood Lane,Gedling, Nottingham, NG4 4AD

0115 905 1515

enquiries@gedlinghomes.co.uk

www.gedlinghomes.co.uk

/GedlingHomes

@Gedling_Homes

The design concept and themefor this report has been developed by

Jade Taylor and Resource Housing, on behalfof New Charter Homes.

This has been shared with Gelding Homes as part ofthe New Charter Group, reducing costs andimproving efficiency for both organisations.