The Annual Report 2005/6 www.derbyhomes.org All our stars shine brightly! Contents Our Values Welcome to Derby Homes Annual Report Leading the Way Key Achievements Seven Strategic Aims Estates Pride Asset Management Investing in People Excellent Customer Service Value for Money Equality & Diversity The Long Term Future Performance Performance Team Rent Arrears Empty Homes Repairs & Maintenance Tenant Top Ten Targets Financial Statement Summary Languages To provide the people of Derby with the best housing service in the country. This annual report is a reflection of our achievements over the last year and a statement of our key priorities for the next twelve months. Our Values Our values are clear in everything we do and in how we operate as we work towards our vision. Integrity We are open and honest and Deliver our Promises Equalities and Diversity Our strength is anchored in the diverse contributions of our Board, employees, tenants and leaseholders. They define who we are. Learning Our individual and joint experiences help us grow in response to internal and external pressures. We learn from feedback and celebrate success. Excellence We pride ourselves on delivering an excellent service by placing people - tenants, leaseholders, employees and partners - at the centre of everything we do. Innovation We do not stand still, we inspire our employees to continually seek new and sustainable ways of developing our business. Stewardship The assets under our control are managed with great care. We are dedicated to a long term and ambitious vision of our estates. Welcome Derby Homes Fourth Annual Report 2005/6 When Derby Homes was formed by Derby City Council in 2002, its main ambition was to deliver substantial improvements to Council homes. The completion of the £120m Homes Pride Programme in March 2006 met that promise, and brought all Council homes up to the decent homes standard; on time, in budget and to over 80% customer satisfaction. In February 2006, the Audit Commission revisited Derby Homes to assess our value for money and services. They awarded us 3 stars for the excellence of our services and, just as importantly, found we had excellent prospects for improvement in the future. The Audit Commission, as an appendix to their report, identified examples of good practice and innovation in the services we provide. Here is a sample: • We carried out £3m worth of disabled adaptations work as part of our Homes Pride, decent homes programme. We assigned occupational therapists from Social Services to ensure elderly and disabled peoples’ needs were designed into new kitchens and bathrooms. • We issue repair statements along with rent statements four times a year. This lets tenants know what repairs have been ordered and the cost of the work. This increases tenants’ awareness of service costs and ensures repairs ordered are completed and accurate. • There is close joint working with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, monitoring the causes of fires in Council homes, running campaigns to raise awareness of fire safety, and promoting safety checks for new tenants. • We work closely with leaseholders to improve the services provided. For example, we offer them the chance to purchase major works and repairs services if they wish. We are proud of our achievements and we would like to thank all tenants, leaseholders, board members, councillors, staff, and our partner organisations for their hard work, enthusiasm and support. You are all stars. Dennis Rees - Chair of the Board Phil Davies - Chief Executive Leading the Way Our strong board and executive provide specialist skills, direction and support. Our board comprises four elected tenants’ representatives, one elected leaseholder representative, five councillors and five independents who are appointed by the board itself. Board meetings take place every two months where the focus is on strategic issues and ensuring the long-term goals for Derby Homes are achieved. Board meetings are open for the public and staff to attend. Agendas and minutes are available on the Derby Homes website and written questions from the tenants and leaseholders board are dealt with as part of the board meeting agenda. Operational issues are the responsibility of our two local housing boards, representing the north and south of the city, which meet bi-monthly. There are also a number of committees: Resources and Remuneration, Audit, and our new Performance Management Committee. Our executive each have responsibility for one of our three directorates: Customer Services and Housing Management, Company Secretariat and Finance, Investment and Regeneration. 1. Roy Webb Roy has worked for Rolls Royce as a quality engineer for the past 39 years and has represented Allestree Ward in the city since 1985, as both county and city councillor. Roy is pleased to be back on the board after a fantastic year of being Mayor of the city in 2005/6. 2. Fareed Hussain Fareed is service manager for Adult Services in Erewash and is also a member of Derby City Council Cabinet with responsibility for Adult and Youth Services. 3. Asaf Afzal Asaf is passionate about communities and people and is an advocate for tenant rights and inclusion. Asaf is driven to represent the views of the local community, which he has worked in for the past 15 years. 4. Bob Troup Bob has lived in Derby for over 30 years, has been a councillor since 1999, and is also governor at Bemrose School. Bob is determined that tenants should have the best housing service possible, delivered to the highest standard. 5. Tabani Ndlovu Tabani is an experienced business risk professional, specialising in the use of IT to strengthen governance systems. A keen enthusiast on issues surrounding social responsibility, Tabani spends his spare time participating in community development activities. 6. Phil Kay Phil has been involved with the community panel movement since 1992 and is a founder member of the DACP. Having been a tenant for 22 years, Phil brings a wealth of experience to the board, including a clear insight into the advantages and disadvantages of being a tenant. 7. Iain MacDonald Iain has been a member of the board since its beginning and is Chair of the Resources & Remuneration Committee and the Development & Regeneration Committee. A former local authority chief executive, and United Nations chief executive of Pristina, Kosovo, Iain also has prior experience as national President and Chairman of a number of professional associations. 8. Gwen Stubley Gwen was born and bred in Derby and has lived in her present home for the past 45 years. Gwen strives to make the most of her opportunity to improve services for tenants. 9. Nita Murphy Nita has lived in Alvaston for 16 years and has been a board member for four years. She derives great personal benefit and satisfaction from being involved in the running of Derby Homes. 10. Margaret Redfern Margaret is a local councillor for Derwent Ward, a governor at Beaufort Community Primary School and a member of the National Probation Board for Derbyshire. Margaret is committed to providing the very best services to tenants. 11. Dennis Rees Dennis has lived in Derby for 20 years and is very active in the local community. He speaks both locally and nationally about the benefits of ALMOs and works to ensure that Derby Homes tenants receive the best facilities possible. 12. Sue Glithero Sue lives in Derby and has prior experience working for the Council where she had responsibility for housing, communications and personnel. Sue is committed to providing tenants with the best services possible. 13. Jenny Bradley Jenny has been a leaseholder for ten years and is working with Derby Homes to improve services to both leaseholders and tenants. 14. Bob Osler Bob runs his own textile procurement and management consultancy businesses. He joined the board in 2002 with the aim of taking an active role in achieving sustainability of social housing in Derby. Bob also aims to make sure that tenants and leaseholders are properly catered for in the years to come. 15. Martin Latham Martin has over 30 years’ experience within the financial services sector, with extensive knowledge of housing finance. His previous roles have involved tackling financial exclusion and supporting community groups in Derby. Key Achievements 2005/06.. A commitment to the younger members of our community. Staff and partner organisations carried out £70,000 worth of improvements to Derbyshire’s Children’s Holiday Home. Links with local and national organisations will continue to be strengthened to enhance future prospects for our tenants - both current and future. Enhanced estate management after the introduction of additional inspections, targeted work on ‘difficult’ estates and the development of the role of housing officer. Obtaining the highest rating from the Audit Commission. Our three star status is evidence of our continuing dedication to “effective customer care, well co-ordinated improvement works, prompt repairs and well developed tenant participation”. Being one of the first organisations in the country to successfully bring all our homes up to the decent homes standard. On completion, over £120m had been invested and over 10,000 homes refurbished. The strengthening of trust between staff and tenants, leading to the successful eviction of residents involved in extreme anti-social behaviour. A determination to wipe out criminal activity on our estates, resulting in a joint venture with the Community Safety Partnership. Prolific offending, burglary and lack of youth inclusion projects were tackled head on. A dedication to increasing the diversity of our workforce: 20% of all new staff appointed came from black and minority ethnic communities. A ten fold increase in the number of website hits after a design overhaul and a greater range of services and relevant information available online. Acting upon tenants’ feedback regarding access to, and the type of services available. The introduction of direct debit, local paypoints and advice surgeries helped meet tenants’ changing requirements and expectations. Championing ‘cleaner, greener, safer’ neighbourhoods by working closely with the Council on neighbourhood management schemes. The renovation of parks, pathways and public spaces has improved the external appearance of estates and impacted positively upon residents’ quality of life. Revised rent payment systems, resulting in the lowest number of tenants in rent arrears since 1991. This earned us a place in the Audit Commission’s top performance quartile. Introduction of equalities training for all staff to ensure our commitment to achieving a balanced and diverse workforce moved beyond policy into practice. Working with tenants to modernise our Sheltered Housing service into a flexible Supported Living scheme. Examination of the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) owned house, established guidelines to identify and measure improvements to our housing stock. Receiving the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Silver Award for Health and Safety, indicating a high level of regard for tenant, staff and contractor wellbeing and recognition of the need to value all those working for, or on the behalf of Derby Homes. Estates Pride To improve the popularity of Council houses… Some positive changes have been made to our estate this year. What’s good is that Derby Homes haven’t just talked about making a difference - they’ve actually listened to what tenants want and have started to put these ideas into practice. Residents have established a good relationship with Derby Homes and I’m confident we can continue to work together to make our estates even better places to live. Keith Merry Derby Homes tenant Asset Management To maintain the decent homes standard… I was raised to appreciate the value of things - not just family, but the people around you and the house you live in. I’ve taken care of my home and I’m proud that it looks as good now, as it did when I moved in over 50 years ago! Derby Homes replaced my windows and insulation so now my home feels smarter and safer; it’s reassuring that Derby Homes value their properties as much as their tenants do. Ellen Lucas Derby Homes tenant Investing in People To be an excellent organisation… Retaining our Investors in People status was more than just a tick in a box. The standard provides us with a framework to ensure our employees have the right knowledge, skills and motivation to work efficiently. Investors in People has without a doubt helped to make us one of the best in the business Pippa Wood Excellent Customer Service To provide excellent customer service… Derby Homes constantly request feedback from tenants about satisfaction with repairs, response times and general services. It’s good to know that people like me have made their voice heard about keeping the more ‘traditional’ facilities. But you never know, even I might take advantage of the website services one day and decide to pay my rent online! Marjorie Mitchell Derby Homes tenant Value for Money To provide excellent services by making ‘value for money’ a key requirement in our organisation… As an accountant, I realise the importance of being open and honest with your clients. This is why I was pleased to see that Derby Homes are choosing to publicise more information relating to costs and to offer services at competitive prices. Ken Whitehead Derby Homes tenant Equality & Diversity To promote equal opportunities and value diversity… It’s important to me that I am able to continue to live my life to the full, despite having problems getting around. People can sometimes get pushed into the background, but Derby Homes encourage tenants to speak out about the services they need. I know that funds, care and support are available for every member of the community - whatever their age, status or background. Phil Raffle Derby Homes tenant The Long Term Future To ensure the long term future of Derby Homes… We’ve been residents of Derby for sometime now and will be raising our young family here. Like any parents, we want the best for our children and want them to grow up to be strong, healthy and happy individuals. The estates and communities being created by Derby Homes will provide an environment in which our children can thrive. It’s comforting to know that they share our vision for a safe, settled and prosperous future. Manjit Khaneja Derby Homes tenant Performance Team In March 2006, Derby Homes formed a new team to lead on customer service and performance management. We have a clear vision of what Derby Homes want to achieve in the short, medium and long term. The new team lead on managing our progress against the high level Delivery and Business Plan as well as the more service focussed aims within our Service Improvement Plans. The team work alongside section managers to manage new initiatives, research performance issues and present proposals to ensure that Derby Homes continue to be a leading service provider. The Customer Service & Performance team’s vision is to: • work alongside customers to deliver services which meet the needs and aspirations of our clients • embed a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organisation • set and review progress against meaningful targets, across all areas of service delivery • address issues of under performance in a positive and pro-active manner • enable the Performance Committee to manage risk and drive continuous improvement. This section provides information on end of year performance for 2005/06 in some of our main service areas. More detail on our performance can be viewed on our website…… www.derbyhomes.org/performance I want to make sure our new performance team is responsible not just for ensuring that statistics are collected and reported on, but also for making real improvements happen. By listening to customer and staff feedback and getting to the root causes of performance issues, the team can help make a real difference to services. Julie Hughes Customer Services & Performance Manager Rent Arrears Rent arrears have been cut by nearly £100,000 over the past year. Jaz Sanghera Rent Arrears Manager We launched a number of initiatives to make it easier for tenants to pay their rent: posting quarterly rent statements provided tenants with up to date reminders of their finances, the introduction of paypoints across the city increased opportunities for payment and the option to use direct debit removed the nuisance of writing monthly cheques and ordering balance transfers. The success of these projects is very clear: •At the end of March 2005, we had 3833 tenants in arrears, owing £827,655. •By March 2006 this had decreased to 3288 tenants in arrears, owing £728,690. •The use of automated arrears letters ensures that tenants receive early notification of arrears. •Money advice is offered as standard. •Our specialist arrears officers continue to make early contact with tenants. The numbers of court cases and notices served has reduced for the third successive year. • Housing benefit assessors operate surgeries in our local housing offices. They work alongside our staff to ensure accurate benefit assessments for new tenants. Empty Homes Our average re-let time has fallen by 3 days. Graeme Walton Allocations Manager For the fourth successive year we have reduced the length of time it takes us to relet empty properties. Equally the amount of rent lost has reduced. To make sure that we improve even further we have created a specialist Allocations team to help streamline the process. The team is made up of maintenance surveyors, contract supervisors, liaison staff and housing management allocations officers. We are now visiting all tenants during their 4 week notice period to carry out an inspection of their homes before they leave. • In 2004/05 our average relet time was 34.5 days • In 2005/06 this had decreased to an average of 31.48 days Next year we are raising the bar even higher and have set an ambitious target of 26 days. Repairs & Maintenance Repair response times have improved greatly. Targets have been tightened and new teams put in place to meet them. Steve Humenko Maintenance Manager •In 2004/05 we achieved an average of 11.1 days to complete non-urgent repairs. By 2005/06 this had fallen to 8.2 days -a reduction of 3 days. • In 2004/05, 47% of responsive repairs were carried out by appointment. We surpassed our 2005/06 target, and pushed this to 53%. •A target of 80% completion of repairs, carried out by appointment, has been set for next year. Meeting this target will allow us to make the best use of our resources and save money. Commercial Services will be co-located to help us achieve this goal. We aim to continually improve our services and get the very best contracts for tenants. Our responsive repair contract is currently out to tender and will be subject to an ongoing procurement process during 2006. Tenant Top Ten Targets 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Complete inspection visits by surveyors within five working days. ACTUAL 04/05 88% TARGET 05/06 87% ACTUAL 05/06 94% Attend appointments made for non-emergency repairs. ACTUAL 04/05 93% TARGET 05/06 91% ACTUAL 05/06 97% Complete emergency repairs within 24 hours. ACTUAL 04/05 95% TARGET 05/06 98% ACTUAL 05/06 98% Complete urgent repairs within five working days. ACTUAL 04/05 92% TARGET 05/06 95.5% ACTUAL 05/06 95% Complete routine repairs within four working weeks. ACTUAL 04/05 87% TARGET 05/06 96.5% ACTUAL 05/06 92% Inspect empty properties & place or within five working days of receiving keys. ACTUAL 04/05 82% TARGET 05/06 87.5% ACTUAL 05/06 82% Answer Derby Homes hotline within three rings (Enquiry Centre). ACTUAL 04/05 66% TARGET 05/06 87% ACTUAL 05/06 51% Clear gardens of empty properties within five working days of placing orders. ACTUAL 04/05 84% TARGET 05/06 80% ACTUAL 05/06 97% Reply to letters within seven working days. ACTUAL 04/05 85% TARGET 05/06 89% ACTUAL 05/06 90% Respond to all anti-social behaviour complaints within two working days. ACTUAL 04/05 88% TARGET 05/06 94.5% ACTUAL 05/06 93% We believe it is important to listen to what our tenants want and to act upon their wishes. This is why we ask residents to compile a list of the ‘top ten’ targets they want us to achieve. In 2005/6: • the percentage of inspection visits, carried out by surveyors within 5 working days, rose by 6% to 94% - above target • the percentage of emergency repairs completed within 24 hours rose from 95% to 98% - on target • the number of anti-social behaviour complaints responded to within two working days rose to 93% - a rise of 5%. Derby Homes tenants will continue to make decisions and set new targets for 2006/07. We will make every effort to meet them. Derby Homes will provide its award winning service to all clients with continued professionalism, passion and dedication throughout 2007 and beyond. click on www.derbyhomes.org Please contact us if you need help reading this document or any part of it translating. Please tell us if you need this document in large print, on audio tape, computer disk or in Braille. Telephone 01332 711000 Fax 01332 711001 Minicom 01332 711080 email enquirycentre@derbyhomes.org website www.derbyhomes.org Or use the equipment at the library to convert this into voice and large print. Please call the Library Service on 01332 716607 or Minicom 01332 256666 to find out which library the equipment is in at the moment. Derby Homes Limited is a local authority controlled company, being under the control of Derby City Council. Registered number 4380984. Registered Office Floor 2, South Point, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT Design & Photgraphy by in-house Graphic Design and Marketing Department