Homes and Communities Agency Consumer StandardsAs a housing association, Orbit East follows national standards by the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Throughout the report we’ll tell you how we’ve measured up in the following areas:

Tenancy• how we rent homes in a

fair and transparent way and make the best use of available housing

• how we meet the aspirations and needs of current and potential residents, contribute to local authorities’ strategic aims and help deliver sustainable communities.

On behalf of the Orbit East Resident Scrutiny Panel, we are pleased to present you with the Orbit East 2013 Resident Annual Report summary. This summary gives you information of how Orbit East has delivered against the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) regulatory standards and used resident feedback to improve services for all residents.

Resident feedback is really important and the Orbit East Resident Scrutiny Panel works closely with Orbit to review different areas and make suggestions for improvements. In this summary, you’ll see examples of how the

panel and other resident groups have worked to help shape positive changes across Orbit East.

We hope you find it interesting and if you

would like to get involved with the Orbit East Resident Scrutiny Panel, we would love to hear from you. Just

contact the Resident Engagement Team for

more information.

Tenant involvement and empowerment• how we give residents

opportunities to influence housing related policies and how our services are delivered

• how we involve residents in scrutinising performance

• how we manage complaints and improve our services by learning from them.

Homes • how we provide

homes that are warm, weatherproof and have modern facilities

• how we provide a cost effective repairs service that responds to, meets the needs of and offers choice to residents.

Neighbourhoods and community• how we keep

neighbourhoods clean and safe by working with residents and other partners

• how we promote social, environmental and economic well-being in the communities where we work

• how we work with other partners and agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour.

More information about the HCA’s national standards can be found at homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/standards

2012-2013 RESIDENT ANNUAL REPORT SUMMARY

To view the full version of the Orbit East 2013 Resident Annual Report, visit orbiteast.org.uk

A warm welcome from the Orbit East Resident Scrutiny Panel

Tenant involvement and empowerment

FeedbackOne of the most important ways for us to improve is to listen to what you tell us. There are a number of ways that we collect your feedback and use it to guide us:

The Orbit East Scrutiny Panel has had another busy year! Last year they reviewed our gas servicing to help improve our overall approach and ensure we gained access to properties to complete the safety checks. We currently have vacancies, so if you would like to get involved please just contact Orbit’s Resident Engagement Team on 0345 600 2535.

Last year, the Orbit East Resident First (Regional) Panel shared their views in a number of key areas including; the successful Residents’ Fair last September, the Orbit 2020 transformation project and a Government plan to reward residents for completing minor repairs in their home.

Resident focus groups, blogs, online research communities, panels,

forums and associations

STAR survey

Complaints

Local offers

Scrutiny panels

Street and Block Voices

Mystery shopping

Community events

MOT (moment of

truth) surveys

Neighbourhood Facebook pages

Committee and Board

membership

68.9%of residents are satisfied that we

take their views into account (down 3.7%

from 2012).

86.5%of residents think that we do a good

job of keeping them informed about things

that affect them as residents (a decrease

of 1% from 2012).

Resident Inspectors

Estate inspections

We also had a challenge to see which team could find the best savings and our Planned Works team saved an incredible £351,000 by sourcing outside funding and getting better prices for energy saving improvements and insulation upgrades at Old Foundry in Ipswich.

Delivering value for moneyGetting the best value for money is really important and we constantly look for ways to achieve this in all that we do. Every team at Orbit looks to identify and track savings and then each year, those savings are reinvested into our communities. Through these efforts, last year we saved an additional £535,000 which is being put towards a wide range of community projects.

All of this feedback allows us to continually learn from what we do. It

tells us what we do well and where we need to

improve, so that we can make positive changes for

all residents.

SCRUTINYRESIDENT

Homes

People who live in Orbit East homes

47%of residents

are male

26.2%of residents are over

the age of 60

53%of re

sidents

are fem

ale

23%Non-White

British

77%White

British

23.9%

of resid

ents

have to

ld us

they have

a

disability

6% of residents surveyed did not respond

Types of homes we manage

General needs rented 3,149

Homes for older people 600(includes Private Retirement Leasehold)

Supported housing (all ages) 333

Home owners and leaseholders 1,532 (not including Private Retirement Leasehold)

of Orbit East homes held a current gas safety certificate (as of 31 March 2013).

100%Gas safety 13,003

repairs completed

97.26% within targettimescales

Repairs

Getting homes ready for new residents

After residents moved out, we prepared 325 homes to be re-let to new residents who need them. It took us an average of 12.6 days to complete the works to get each home ready for new residents.

88%of residents are

satisfied with the overall condition of

their home (an increase of

1.4% from 2012).

The Orbit East Resident Scrutiny Panel helped review this area and as a result, we’re now developing checklists for cleaning and labelling for stop taps.

Last year, Orbit East inspired 22 residents to reach their goals by offering them a free two-day course on how to improve their lives. Offered in partnership with GOALS UK, the course helped motivate residents in a fun and practical way to make positive changes. It was so successful, we’re offering it again this year and are hoping more residents will take part. Just contact Orbit East’s Community Investment Officer for more details.

Neighbourhoods and communityLast year in Orbit East and Orbit South...

apprentices developed their skills in office administration, construction, sports/fitness and grounds maintenance

residents completed training and/or obtained a qualification

30 840

In Orbit East last year…

Our ‘Resident Led Improvement Budget’ saw us deliver £42,000 towards 17 projects that create cleaner, greener or safer areas. This includes CCTV in Newmarket, a bike shelter in Bury St Edmunds and landscaping at a scheme in Norwich.

(£546,304) (£765,297)

2012-132012-13

3.25%(£460,213) (£689,549)

2011-122011-12

3.14%4.40%

Tenancy677 new tenancies were started last year (including care and supported accommodation)

Gross rent arrears(rent before Housing Benefit payment)

Net rent arrears (rent after Housing Benefit payment)

We’ve been working hard to help you understand the changes that the new Welfare Reforms are bringing. We’ve published regular articles in Your Orbit and sent all residents a copy of our handy ‘Guide to Welfare Reform’ last September.

We have also added three new sketch animations to our website to give you a visual way of accessing information so you can check to see if any of the reforms affect you. Go to orbiteast.org.uk and follow the link from our homepage to find out more.

We have a specialist Welfare Benefits Advisor who can help guide you if you have any questions about the changes. Contact us on 0345 600 2535 to learn more.

Get involved!Whether you have a little or a lot of spare time, we are always happy to hear from residents who want to get involved in shaping our services. For more information, please contact a member of the Resident Engagement Team on 0345 600 2535.

225anti-social behaviour cases were reported 63

written warnings issued, along with 13 verbal warnings 5 cases of mediation

61early interventions by our Neighbourhoods Team, including one undertaking where we reached an agreement with a resident to stop their nuisance behaviour

7 injunctions issued (including 4 injunctions with the power of arrest)

3 possession orders issued

442 Orbit East households were identified by their local authority as being affected by the new Welfare Reforms including 377 of which were being under occupied. We saw 313 residents directly and wrote to all 442 households with further information.

It took us on average 15.2 days to let our general needs propertiesIt took us on average 55.4 days to let our sheltered and very sheltered properties

4.87%

8