Annual Review 2015/16working together, growing stronger

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Spokesperson’s Review, our 7thedition!

As FLAIR spokesperson, I would like towelcome you to our 7th Annual Review. Aswell as FLAIR’s spokesperson, I am alsochairperson of Bridgewater HousingAssociation in Erskine. I am also a tenant ofBridgewater Housing Association. I waselected in November 2015 as FLAIRSpokesperson. FLAIR represents theFederation of local housing associations inRenfrewshire and East Renfrewshire – weare Barrhead, Bridgewater, Linstone,Paisley South and Williamsburgh housingassociations.

I’d like to start by thanking NanetteReid BEM, our previous FLAIRSpokesperson for her contribution toFLAIR. She is a great ambassador forFLAIR and has worked hard to promoteFLAIR over the last few years. She nevermissed an opportunity to mention FLAIR atany conference or to any GovernmentMinister.

It’s been another busy year for FLAIRand a lot has happened in the politicallandscape which has and will, have aneffect on our businesses. The result of theIndependence Referendum is now behindus and we can probably score this off our

risk registers – at least for the time being.We have a new Scottish Governmentwhich doesn’t have the majority that it didbefore, so that will make for interestingnegotiations, in terms of its Programme forGovernment. It might also presentopportunities to place housing further upthe priority list. It is true that if theGovernment is to meet their own target of50,000 affordable homes over the courseof the next parliament – they won’t do itwithout the Paisley South’s, theWilliamsburgh’s, the Linstone’s, theBarrhead’s and the Bridgewater’s of thisworld. There’s only so much that largerregional associations can do.

There are a few highlights from the lastyear that are worth noting and readingmore on from this Annual FLAIR Review.Here are just a few things that I’d like tosummarise...

• Congratulations to Barrhead HA inreaching their 30-year milestone and forcompleting and opening 15 new homesin Rankin Court. They also led on therecruitment of a new communityregeneration officer post earlier this yearto help progress the FLAIR regenerationStrategy.

• IFLAIR – I recently spoke at the launchof our new property maintenanceframework event where the contractorswere signed up the second Frameworkwhich covers the next four years. Weshouldn’t underestimate thisachievement – we are one of a fewhousing groups across the country whocollaborate in this way and we nowhave considerable experience offramework working thanks to JohnLivingstone the lead partner fromWilliamsburgh Housing Association.

• The strength of organisations is built onthe quality of our staff and in somecase their longevity. Recently EVHrecognised over 150 years’ service frommembers of staff at WilliamsburghHousing Association.

• At the other end of the spectrum, is the

work that we are doing with youngpeople. Some FLAIR associations wereinvolved in employing young modernapprentices, many whom celebratedtheir work at the SFHA conference thisyear. We also work with CommunityJobs projects providing worthwhile jobexperience, sometimes permanent jobsand certainly learning new approachesto dealing with old problems. PaisleySouth has been tackling youthunemployment with two young peoplejoining their new estates team.

• I’d like to congratulate Linstone HA forwinning their Customer Excellenceaward at the Scottish Home Awards for2016.

• Bridgewater HA, who never intendeddeveloping has three newdevelopments under its belt and alsorecently secured external funding forthe Care and Repair project, for thehandy person service and for the olderperson housing service.

• Bridgewater and Barrhead werepositively mentioned in the recentRegulator’s thematic study for factoring.

• Bridgewater are also taking a leadingrole on the Renfrewshire PovertyCommission, helping to ensure that theviews of local associations are heardand actions hopefully taken to alleviatechild poverty in Renfrewshire.

That’s just a few things I’ve highlighted overthe last year – there is lots more to read inthis Report. I hope you enjoy reading aboutour work and as always we welcome yourfeedback. Kind Regards...

Hugh CameronFLAIR Spokesperson

Front page: Housing Minister, MargaretBurgess MSP congratulates Barrhead’s ShirleyRobison at the opening of Rankin Court.

FLAIR Annual Conference June 2016Glynhill Hotel Paisley

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risks involved in not getting it right, andsome good examples of how the ruleswill apply going forward.

• Digital Renfrewshire – RenfrewshireCouncil’s digital assistance projectmanager, Diane Webb gave delegatesan update on what is happening acrossRenfrewshire to improve technologyand its accessibility across Councilowned facilities for the future.

• Paisley Bid 2021 – Stuart McMillan,Regeneration Manager, from Paisley’s

City of Culture 2021bid also provided agood presentation onPaisley’s bid and howpeople can get moreinvolved.

Once again, our successful conferencetook place at the Glynhill Hotel in Paisley.Hugh Cameron, FLAIR spokespersonopened the 6th conference welcoming over60 guests to the event. He introduced theprogramme for the day which would tacklesome hot topics facing our housingenvironment at this time as well as somelighter events that bring benefits to ourcommunities.

The conference is successfullyadministered for FLAIR by Paisley SouthHousing Association. The workshopsincluded the following:

• Value for Money – a hot topic acrossthe housing sector, Cairn HousingAssociation gave an overview of theirrecent value for money strategy andscorecard.

• Village Storytelling Group – provideda new approach to engaging ourcustomers with the simple use ofstorytelling. All conference attendeesprovided a simple story about theirchildhood that was shared across thegroup. In a few short minutes,participants were chatting andcommunicating with one another as ifthey were old friends.

• New Rules Around Procurement –SFHA’s procurement advisorprovided an update on thenew Procurement Rules thatare now in place. Given ourrecent work with IFLAIR,our staff teams havelearned a lot about whatthe new Rules mean, the

Our new spokesperson paid tribute to Nanette Reid BEM at the conference as our previousspokesperson.

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IFLAIR Procurement – £27m housingdeal is signed with contractors

Communities are set to reap the rewardsof a deal worth £27m following our groupof eight housing associations, known asIFLAIR, securing the services of 27contractors to deliver maintenanceprogrammes to homes across Renfrewshire,East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. As partof the deal, contractors will have to providebenefits to the community where the valueof work excedes a £100,000. This can beanything from doing a presentation at alocal school, promoting work experience inthe building trade or hiring a modernapprentice or graduate.

IFLAIR which includes Arklet, Barrhead,Bridgewater, Cloch, Linstone, Oak Tree,Paisley South and Williamsburgh HousingAssociations met with contractors in April2016 to sign the paperwork. The dealfollows on from a previous collaborationwhich involved £23m of work.

Benefits to the housing associationsinclude senior staff saving time by notneeding to approach contractorsindividually and getting quicker quotes forwork. Contractors are given guidelines onwhat is expected of them when theyaccess peoples’ homes and how to deal

with complaints. Project leader, JohnLivingstone from Williamsburgh HA said:“Collaboration on procurement is activelypromoted by the Scottish Government and,given the successful track record whichIFLAIR carried on from its previous initiative,it was obvious to all associations involvedthat this would be the way forward”. IFLAIRmanages more than 8,000 homes.Contracts will include window and doorreplacements, kitchen and bathroomupgrades, roofs and gutters, external walls,painterwork, electrical and gasmaintenance.

Launching the event in April 2016,Hugh Cameron FLAIR spokesperson said:“We now have quite a long history ofworking collaboratively in Renfrewshire andInverclyde and extensive experience offrameworks. We have tried to build on whatworks from the previous framework anddiscard those arrangements which

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potentially hindered successful outcomes.And so what we have now is a newimproved framework which we anticipatewill provide both tangible benefits that ourBoards will be able to see for themselvesand perhaps not so tangible, but equallyimportant, benefits in terms of the new

community benefit clauses which we haveintroduced”.

Pictured below is an example of IFLAIRwork completed – new external render androofs at Auchenback, Barrhead.

Healthy WorkingLives

Many of the FLAIRAssociations areworking towards

various levels of the Healthy WorkingLives awards. The programme helpspeople to think healthily about their dietand activity and encourages goodattendance at work.

Pictured below is Bridgewater staffat a recent away day.

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A whole range of events are taking place in2016 as Barrhead celebrates 30 yearsoperating within the local community. Theofficial 30th Birthday party took place on16th June 2016 with a Fun Day in the localcar park at Cochrane Street. Kicking off thecelebrations with local radio stationpresenters Pulse FM and music providedby the excellent duo The Moonlighters,local residents were entertained with 80stheme music and activities all afternoon. Allstaff were dressed up for the day in 80scostumes. The free afternoon providedlocal people with a range of activitiesincluding slides, bouncy castle, beat thegoalie, sumo wrestlers, face-painting and acaricaturist. For those feeling fit, you could

watch a short film by peddling twobicycles, as well as join in with the rubixcube competition. 30 hidden goldentickets were found by local schoolchildren– each winner receiving a 80s themed jar ofsweets. Children were able to handle owlsand small birds and the Glasgow basedStorytelling Village Company providedchildren with some entertaining andinteractive funny stories.

Working with Barrhead HousingAssociation, many of the events andpreparations were also delivered bycreative Glasgow based organisation,Impact Arts and sponsored by localcompanies. Local young people training onthe Creative Pathway employability project

and also our Craft Café at thesheltered housing complex bothhelped out on the day. Prizes were

awarded to two local schools. Theyboth entered the Association’s

competition to design a 30th birthdaybadge. Three winners came from P4 pupilsof St John’s primary school and threewinners from S1 students from St Luke’ssecondary school. Both schools alsoreceived a donation from the Associationas a thank you for getting involved. Stafforganised a swap shop with books, toys,DVDs, and clothes were offered out – localpeople gave a donation for each item andthe Association raised nearly £50 for thelocal St Vincent hospice charity.

Barrhead HA – 30th Birthday, 1986-2016

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The opening of 15 new homes in RankinCourt, Barrhead took place on 15th March2016. The £1.6m development wasformally opened by Margaret Burgess,MSP and Minister for Housing and Welfare.On the site of the former St John’s PrimarySchool, the land was successfullytransferred from East Renfrewshire Councilearly last year to allow for the demolition ofthe existing building. The developer,McTaggart Construction, commenced on-site last April 2015. The Associationreceived funding of £837,000 from theScottish Government to complete the site.Development agency services wereprovided by Atrium Homes based inKilmarnock and the design team was ledby Robert Potter Architects from their Ayroffice.

Of the new homes, Barrhead HA’schairperson Rena McGuire BEM said: “TheAssociation is delighted to complete thisdevelopment – the first new buildcompleted by Barrhead HA since 2010. Allnew homes have been allocated from theEast Renfrewshire Housing Register.”

Formally opening the development, MrsBurgess said: “The Scottish Governmenthas invested more than £800,000 to helpBarrhead Housing Association to deliverthese 15 high quality homes. Thecompletion of the £1.6 million developmentis good news for local families who havebeen given access to much-neededaffordable homes.”

Soon to be getting her keys to her newhome, prospective tenant Mary McDadesaid: “I’m absolutely delighted with my newhome – it’s just lovely. It will be easy to heatand there is space for everything I need.Thanks to the Association.”

Barrhead HA‘s official opening by the Housing Minister,Margaret Burgess MSP, March 2016

Community Regeneration Officer for FLAIRIn January 2016, FLAIR appointed Tania Morlan as CommunityRegeneration Officer. She will develop a FLAIR wide CommunityRegeneration Strategy in consultation with partners and the widercommunities. Tania was able to get off to a great start working withthe Auchenback Resource Centre where she achieved asuccessful application for an energy project with funding of£96,000 from the Climate Challenge Fund.

Linstone HousingAssociation washonoured at theScottish HomeAwards 2016 for

Customer Service Excellence earlier thisyear. The event took place at the CornExchange, Edinburgh in June 2016.Linstone was crowned winner for CustomerService Excellence over a number of publicand private sector entries throughout thecountry, and were also shortlisted in theLarge Housing Association of the Yearcategory.

Linstone’s Chairperson, Nanette J Reid,BEM, said “This award means a great dealto everyone connected with Linstone. Forthe staff it recognises their hard work anddedication to improve the services weprovide. Through a number of communityevents, getting to know our customers and

enhancing our online services we aremaking a positive difference within ourcommunities and for our tenants.”

The impact locally has been evident,with improved performance in a number ofareas including quicker times to re-letproperties, less empty homes andsignificant improvements to their repairsservice.

One of Linstone’s tenants made thefollowing comment “We have been in ourproperty since October 2015 and wouldjust like to say a big thank-you from the Bellfamily. Your staff have been brilliant, anyissues addressed quickly. We are veryhappy with standard of high tenant service,a special mention to Laura the housingofficer for Johnstone Castle; she is a greatasset to Linstone. Many thanks to one andall.”

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Linstone HA win Customer ServiceExcellence Award, 2016

Linstone’s CommunityConnector Programme

Community Connectors is aproject co-ordinate byLinstone HA which links GPservices, Recovery Across

Mental Health (RAMH) and ActiveCommunities to provide one inclusiveservice. Through this, Linstone provide ahousing advice service, open to anyonein Linwood and Johnstone regardless oftheir tenure. We have helped not onlyour own tenants, but factored owners,private sector tenants and owners out-with our stock area.

John was referred by theCommunity Link Worker based in theJohnstone surgery. John is currentlyliving with family as he recently returnedto the area. He wanted to exploregetting a home of his own but had onlyever lived in the private sector. In totalJohn had three appointments with aHousing Advisor. Initially he was ratherunsure of the project and wasconcerned that he was wasting our timeas he was not sure if he was in aposition to move at the time. Throughdiscussion with the Housing Advisor,they explored John’s current housingsituation and where he would like to live.As the area identified by John as hispreferred choice was out-withRenfrewshire it was agreed that theHousing Advisor would do a bit ofresearch on his options for other areas.By the end of the three sessions, Johnwas equipped with the information herequired to make an application forhousing in the area of his choice. Hehad the relevant application forms andan understanding of the assessmentprocess and how properties areallocated. It was agreed that if John felthe needed help to complete theapplication forms he could contact theHousing Advisor for assistance.

Williamsburgh HA were delighted to seethe long service of five of their staffmembers recognised at an awardsceremony, hosted by Employers inVoluntary Housing (EVH).

The ceremony took place in EVH’sGlasgow office and was attended by bothBoard and staff members from housingassociations throughout the West ofScotland. Awards were presented to long-serving voluntary Board members, as wellas those staff members who had achievedthe milestone of 30 years or more service.

The awards went to: Owen McMillan(Maintenance Manager); Sheena Gordon(Admin Officer); Lesley Adie (AdminAssistant); Gaynor Corry (Admin Assistant);Sandra Doherty (Housing Officer).

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Williamsburgh HA’s staff awarded forlong service

Williamsburgh’s App –Keeping Tenants InformedOver the past few months, theAssociation has been working with ourdesign consultants on developing aWHA App for mobile telephones.

The App contains useful facilitiessuch as ‘reporting a repair’ and ‘payingyour rent’. It also contains informationon local events and WHA news. It ishoped that customers, includingtenants, factored owners and housingapplicants will find this a useful sourceof information.

The App is available to downloadFREE to mobile phonesand Ipads. The App will beregularly updated, keepingresidents advised of whatis happening within WHA.

Bridgewater HAdevelops FLAIRPartnership Plan

Each year, FLAIR Directors set out a full listof scheduled meetings covering 12 monthswhen they will meet. As part of this review,they have developed a more strategic plan,called the Partnership Plan, to map outwhat work we intend to do collectively. Italso maps out which organisation will leadon any specific task. Essentially the Plandescribes what areas there is commonagreement for a partnership approach. Partof the Plan for 2016 will see the formalagreement to include Ferguslie ParkHousing Association re-establishing itself aspart of FLAIR, following an exit in 2013.

FLAIR is not formally constituted, butwe’ve worked together for nearly 20 years.We remain autonomous and responsiblefor our own individual organisation,however through this collaboration, thegroup has achieved a significant amount ofwork that benefits each organisation andour communities.

For 2016, the Partnership Plan hasbeen agreed and work will focus on thefollowing areas – policy development inareas including risk management,donations and equal opportunities; insharing a value for money strategydeveloped by the housing sector;producing this Report annually which hasbeen confirmed as very useful in promotingFLAIR; deliver training locally for our staffand our Board members on commonissues; producing and sharingbenchmarking information and goodpractice; procuring services whereverpracticable for example planned andcyclical maintenance; sharing services fordevelopment or finance or clerk of worksand for community regeneration; and todevelop a strategy to support the PaisleyCity of Culture bid for 2020.

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All FLAIR Associations have beenstrengthening the work we do with ourtenants and residents. A number of FLAIRorganisations got together to undertakemystery shopping which helps improveservices to tenants and residents byfocusing questions from telephone callerson specific areas including allocations,repairs and rent arrears. The resultsdemonstrate a commitment to improvingservices for customers.

Paisley South HA’s Tenant ParticipationWorking Group has also undertakentraining on tenant scrutiny which wasdelivered by TPAS. It has identified theAssociation’s Letting Standard as its firstscrutiny exercise. The Association’sGoverning Board and staff have completedthe Chartered Institute of Housing’s course‘Stepping up to Scrutiny’ with everyonecommitted to achieving the positiveoutcomes that scrutiny can bring theorganisation. For Williamsburgh HA, theyare delighted at the on-going success oftheir Residents Focus Group. The Group,comprising of tenants and owneroccupiers, meets 4 times per year todiscuss various matters, ranging fromsetting local timescales for dealing withcases of anti-social behaviour, to helpingdesign the Association’s report on theSocial Housing Charter. The informal andrelaxed structure of the meetingsencourages feedback and discussion,thereby allowing the Association to obtain aclear indication of what residents think ofthe services provided.

Development inresidentparticipation

Training Opportunities for Young People across FLAIREach FLAIR association has been involved in a range of training opportunities over thelast year – encouraging housing as a career through modern apprenticeships andemploying community job funded posts for young people to work within our estates.Barrhead’s young apprentice, David Adam took part in the SFHA’s modernapprenticeship challenge this year. Having only been employed for a matter of a fewweeks, he managed to complete and upload a video of Barrhead’s newestdevelopment at Rankin Court for inclusion in the challenge along with 18 otherapprentices. An overall winner was announced and they all were congratulated on theirentries.

Linstone Housing Association is planning totransform a multi-storey block of flats intoan innovative development for olderpeople. An integrated flexible approach tosocial inclusion and health will meanresidents can stay in their homes longer,enjoy group activities and provide avaluable hub to the surroundingcommunity. Linstone are now looking to thefuture of the development, and seekfunding to help deliver great homes to meetthe needs of the aging population.

Linstone’s Chairperson, Nanette J ReidBEM said “Linstone has made anapplication to the Scottish Government forfunding to provide community facilities forany older person living in the Linwoodarea.”

The Belmar Court development hasalready begun, with a large scale insulationprogramme completed; which provides anew look for the external walls.

Director of Housing and PropertyServices, David Adam said “We are excitedso see plans for Belmar Court goingahead. The first stage of externaldevelopment is complete, with new doorentry systems, lighting and CCTVimplemented to ensure our tenants are safeand secure in their homes.”

Linstone has also seconded a full-timemember of staff to work both at Belmarand Asbury Courts. Margaret Baillie is busygetting to know tenants and has started aprogramme of activities for tenants andresidents in the area.

Linstone Housing marks a new beginningfor older people’s living in Linwood

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Benchmarking information to 31.03.16How well do we perform?Given our close working relationship, FLAIR members can learn from one another. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in benchmarking,where we share information on performance and highlight good working practices.

Key Performance Indicators 2015/16

Category Barrhead Bridgewater Linstone Paisley South Williamsburgh FLAIR Avge

Total stock 902+6=908 (+1) 850 1579 1204 (-1) 1623 (-3) 1233

Total rent due £3,597,063 £3,935,249 £6,159,211 £4,842,997 £5,710,297 £4,848,963

% rent increase 2016/17 2.0% 1.5% 1.5% 2.02% 0.70% 1.54%

Average weekly rent £82.05 £89.05 £72.75 £79.31 £69.60 £78.55

Satisfaction with overall service 95.9% 88.95% 85.5% 89.8% 86% 89.25%

Satisfaction – being kept informed 98.6% 91.9% 91.3% 94.4% 90.3% 93.3%

Satisfaction – opportunities to

participate 58.6% 69.8% 70.1% 63.5% 71.9% 66.78%

Meeting SHQS 98.45% 97.4% 76.09% 99.75% 100.00% 94.34%

Emergency repairs 2.45 hours 2.02 hours 1.37 hrs 1.87 hours 3.50 hours 2.24 hrs

Non-emergency repairs 4.46 w/days 5.02 w/days 4.8 w/days 3.67 w/days 3.86 w/days 4.36 w/days

Repairs completed right first time 89.01% 86.3% 96.12% 96.89% 92.98% 92.26%

Appointments kept 96.5% n/a 95.8% 98.23% 97.60% 97% (4)

Satisfaction – repairs in last

12 months 93.2% 92% 94.75% 78.01% 94.34% 90.46%

Anti-social behaviour cases

resolved within local target 59 cases/94.9% 13/30.8% 113/92.9% 146/90.41% 272/72.43% 121/76.31%

Total rent collected 99.34% 100.6% 101% 98.66% 94.97% 98.91%

Gross arrears 3.82% 1.6% 5.13% 4.5% 6.17% 4.24%

Rent lost – empty homes 0.26% 0.61% 1.43% 0.52% 0.91% 0.75%

Time taken to re-let 11.6 days 27.5 days 32.47 days 15.7 days 28.23 days 23.10 days

Days lost to sickness 3.2% 5% 5% 1.39% 5.0% 3.92%

60-70 Main Street, Barrhead, East Renfrewshire G78 1SBT: 0141 881 0638E: enquiries@barrheadha.orgW: www.barrheadha.orgCharity No: SC036265

flair = community regeneration • community work • partnership • employability

1st Floor, Bridgewater ShoppingCentre, Erskine PA8 7AAT: 0141 812 2237E: enquiries@bridgewaterha.org.ukW: www.bridgewaterha.org.ukCharity No. SC035819

17 Bridge Street, Linwood,Paisley PA3 3DBT: 01505 382383E: general@linstone.co.ukW: www.linstone.co.ukCharity No. SC027454

Ralston House, Cyril Street, Paisley PA1 1RWT: 0141 887 8613E: admin@williamsburghha.co.ukW: www.williamsburghha.co.ukCharity No: SC035350

64 Espedair Street,Paisley PA2 6RWT: 0141 889 7105E: admin@psha.org.ukW: www.psha.org.ukCharity No: SC035589

If you would like to find out moredetails or information on FLAIRplease contact:Barrhead Housing Association60-70 Main Street, Barrhead, East Renfrewshire G78 1SBT: 0141 881 0638E: enquiries@barrheadha.org D

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