Derby Homes

Housing abbreviations and terms

A

A&D - Achievement and Development - the scheme used to develop and train staff
AC - Audit Commission
Academy - Database that staff use to log housing functions, for example repairs, rent arrears and enquiries
AIS - Academy Information System
AGM - Annual General Meeting
ALMO - Arm's Length Management Organisation
AO - Arrears Officer
APS - Area Property Surveyor
ARC - Awareness Raising Co-operative
ASB - Anti-Social Behaviour
ASBO - Anti-Social Behaviour Order

B

BA - Benefits Agency
BIQuery - Reporting software that is used to extract information out of the Academy database
BIWeb - An attachment to the BIQuery that allows users to have online repotrs extracted from Academy
BME - Black and Minority Ethnic - used when talking about communities or people
BOYE - Build on your Experience - a training programme for tenants run by the DACP
BV - Best Value - a system of monitoring value for money of purchases, agreements and services
BVPI - Best Value Performance Indicator
BVPP - Best Value Performance Plan

C

CAB - Citizens Advice Bureau
CCJ - County Court Judgement
CCTV - Closed Circuit Television - surveillance cameras
CHCG - City Housing Consultation Group
CHIP - City Housing Improvement Plan - scheme for tenants to bid for environment improvements in the area
CIH - Chartered Institute of Housing
CIPFA - Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants
CLAIT - Computer Literacy and Information Technology - computer qualification
CLG - Communities and Local Government
CRE - Commission for Racial Equality
CSM - Customer Services Management - a module on Academy used to log queries
CS - Community Service - offenders can be given this as punishment
CSO - Customer Services Officer
CVS - Council for Voluntary Service
CWP - Community Watch Patrol - patrol our estates in the evening

D

DAAT - Drug and Alcohol Action Team
DACP - Derby Association of Community Partners - community organisation that helps tenants and raises issues affecting communities
DCC - Derby City Council - can also be used for Derbyshire County Council or Derbyshire Cricket Club
DCP - Derby City Partnerships
DDA - Disability Discrimination Act
Decant - Tenant moving out of a property while work is taking place in their home
DECHA - Derby's Ethnic Community Housing Advisory
DNDC - Derwent New Deal in Community
DNW - Derwent Neighbourhood Wardens
DWP - Department of Works and Pensions in charge of Housing Benefit and other benefit systems

E

ECD - Estimated Completion Date
ECDL - European Computer Driving Licence
EFL - English as a foreign language
EGM - Extraordinary General Meeting
EMDA - East Midlands Development Agency
EPC - Energy Performance Certificate
ESF - European Social Fund - source of funding
ESL - English as a second language
ESOL - English for Speaker of Other Languages

F

FIP - Family Intervention Project
FT - Furnished Tenancy
FTA - Former Tenant Arrears
Ferrets - Computer software systems for checking eligibility for benefits

G

GOEM - Government Office of the East Midlands

H

HA - Housing Association
HAT - Hiousing Action Trust
HB - Housing Benefit
HC - Housing Corporation - the government body that measures the performance and funding of housing
HCA - Housing and Community Agency
HFGs - Housing Focus Groups
HI - Housing Inspectorate - part of the Audit Commission
HIP - Housing Investment Programme - the government's annual allocation of capital housing spend
HO - Housing Officer
HOC - Housing Options Centre - based in Derwent Street - can deal with housing applications, homeless issues, right to buy applications and landlord disputes
HRA - Housing Revenue Account - the fund into which all rents are paid and all council expenditure is taken from

I

ICT - Information Communication Technology
IDeA - Improvement and Development Agency
IIP - Investors in People - quality measure for organisations
IPD - Institute of Personnel Development
IT - Information Technology

J

JSA - Job Seeker Allowance

K

KPI - Key Performance Indicator

L

LEA - Local Education Authority
LGB&T - Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
LHB - Local Housing Board - there are two of these, one for the North and one for the South
LHO - Local Housing Office
LHM - Local Housing Manager
LSC - Learning Skills Council
LTP - Local Transport Plan

M

M&M - Management and Maintenance Allowance - used by the ODPM to assess levels of subsidy to the HRA
Mods - Modernisation to properties
MRA - Major Repairs Allowance - used by the ODPM to allocate funds for council house repairs

N

NDC - New Deal for Communities - working on regeneration projects in Derwent
NNW - Normanton Neighbourhood Wardens
NOF - New Opportunites Fund - source of funding
NOPP - Notice for Possession Proceedings served on introductory tenants if conditions of tenancy are broken
NRF - Neighbourhood Renewal Fund - source of funding
NSP or NOSP - Notice of Seeking Possession - issued to a tenant as part of the process to evict
NTQ - Notice to quit
NVQ - National Vocational Qualification

O

Ofsted - Office for standards in education

ODPM - Office Deputy Prime Minister

P

Packet - Wallet containing void control documents and keys
Passive - When a property will not be re-let due to major repairs or a specified reason
PDF - Portable Document Format - type of file to make large documents easy to read - often found on the internet
PDP - Personal Development Portfolio - individual record of achievements and training
PEP - Priority Estates Project
PFI - Private Finance Initiative - method of funding projects with local business
PI - Performance Indicator - measure of performance against a benchmark
PIR Sensor Lighting - Passive Infrared Sensor Lighting
PIT - Process Improvement Team
PO - Principal Officer - senior staff grade

Q

QA - Quality Assurance
QTS - Qualification Training Scheme

R

R&M - Repairs and Maintenance
RDA - Regional Development Agency
RSL - Registered Social Landlord
RTB - Right to Buy - scheme for tenants to buy their council house
RTL - Ready to let

S

SEN - Special Educational Needs
SENCO - Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
SHOUT - Supported Housing Offering Unity and Trust
SMT - Senior Management Team
SO - Senior Officer - staff grading
SOR - Schedule of rates
SP - Supporting People - a scheme for funding services to vulnerable tenants by government funds
STO - Senior Technical Officer
SURG - Service User Review Group

T

TARA - Tenants and Residents Association
TAROE - Tenants and Residents Associations of England
TP - Tenant Participation
TPAS - Tenant Participation Advisory Service
TPO - Tenant Participation Officer
TQM - Total Quality Management
TRAQ - Tenants Reviewing Access and Quality
TSO - Tenants Services Officer
TSA - Tenants Services Agency
TUPE - Transfer of undertakings for protection of employment - meaning if your terms and conditions are protected if you move employers