board of management meeting - homes for haringey

Board of Management Meeting

Tuesday 27 March 2018

Conference Room 1, 1st Floor

48 Station Road, Wood Green, N22 7TY

Refreshments: 18.00pm

Fire Safety Briefing – LFB Borough Commander 18.15pm

Board Meeting: 18.30pm

Item Subject Presenter Status Page Time

1 Welcome and apologies Chair - - 18.30

2 Declarations of interest Chair - - 18.32

3 Minutes of the meetings held on 30

January 2018

Chair Public 1 18.33

4 Actions log Chair Public 9 18.35

5 Chair’s report (Oral) Chair Public - 18.40

6 Managing Director’s report Managing Director Confidential 14 18.45

7 Business plan Director of

Corporate Affairs

Public 20 18.55

8 Budget 2018/19 Financial Controller Public 30 19.10

9 Asset management strategy and plan

2018-23

Director of Asset

Management

Confidential 34 19.20

10 Tenancy management restructure Executive Director of

Operations


11 Performance report ELT Public 55 19.50

12 Procurement approvals ELT Confidential

70

72

20.15

13 Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

minutes 24 October 2017

Chair, FAR

Committee

Public 74 20.20

14 HR & Remuneration Committee 1

March 2018

Chair, HR & Rem.

Committee


15 Any other business Chair - - 20.30

Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018

Agenda

Homes for Haringey

Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018

Meeting: Board Meeting

Date: 30 January 2018

Venue: Conference Room 1, 48 Station Road, Wood Green

Present: Aman Dalvi (AD) – Chair, Adzowa Kwabla-Oklikah (AKOk), Joanna

Christophides (JCh), David Beacham (DB), Georgina Walters (GW),

Lorna Reith (LR), Tom McGregor (TM), El-Farouk Cheik (EFC), Yvette

Davis (YD)

Officers in

Attendance:

Chris Liffen (CL), Puneet Rajput (PR), Denise Gandy (DG), Astrid

Kjellberg-Obst (AKO), David Sherrington (DS), Esther Campbell (EC)

Shareholder: Michael Westbrook (MW)

Apologies: Anastasia Bloom (ABl), Dan Hawthorn (DH)

Item Minutes Action

01/18 Welcome and Apologies

AD welcomed everyone to the meeting. Sean McLaughlin, new

Managing Director, was welcomed to the meeting as an observer and

would be taking up post from 3 April.

MW was attending as shareholder representative in place of DH. MW

informed the meeting of the Haringey Council Leader’s decision to

stand down at the May local elections.

Apologies were noted as above.

02/18 Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

03/18 Minutes of the Meetings Held on 28 November and 12 December

2017

The minutes were approved as accurate records of those meetings and

signed by the Chair.

04/18 Actions log

It was confirmed that Council nominee Board member terms had been

discussed with the Council and written feedback was awaited.

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Homes for Haringey


It was agreed that a report on the contact centre’s readiness for

Universal Credit should be brought to the Board before the proposed

November meeting.

AD was currently in discussion with CL in relation to performance

information and the potential use of car parks as sites for modular

developments.

05/18 Health and Safety Exception Report

DS explained that this was a standing item on the Board agenda to

allow management to update the Board on any emerging health and

safety related issues. AD stated that Health and Safety was a function

of the Board and a written report should be presented to the Board.

DS

06/18 Chair’s Report

Confidential item – see separate confidential minute. The Executive

(excluding the Company Secretary) left the meeting for this item.

The executive returned to the meeting.

AD updated the Board on various meetings held with Council

leadership. A new Management Agreement with HfH had been

approved by the Cabinet. The call in period had now lapsed and the

Agreement would be signed off by DH for submission to the Secretary

of State for approval.

AD had met with representatives of the HLA. The meeting was positive

and he would continue to meet with the HLA to maintain a dialogue

and forward momentum. The next meeting was scheduled for 20

February.

AD informed the Board of the appointment of Andrew Crompton and

Ola Akinfe to the Board. References were currently being taken up

and contracts would be issued subject to an initial probationary period

of one year.

AD welcomed Margaret Clapson, HLA Treasurer, to the meeting at

this point. CL presented questions that the HLA had raised for the

Board. These were discussed and the Board’s response is appended to

these minutes.

07/18 Proposals for Tenancy Panels

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AKO presented proposals for the introduction of tenancy specific

forums following consultation feedback from the ‘Have your say’

survey. These were also being consulted on with residents.

In relation to criteria for supporting recognised groups, the Board had

challenged these at the last meeting. Legal advice had since been

sought and the criteria revised accordingly. AD confirmed that he had

spoken to the Chair of the HLA who agreed that any funding from HfH

could not be used to part fund legal action against HfH or the

Council. LR welcomed the inclusion of a forum for people in

Temporary Accommodation. AKOk emphasised the need for meetings

to be held in accessible locations. DB asked about the rationale for

forums being officer facilitated as opposed to resident chaired. AKO

replied that resident associations, the scrutiny panel and the

complaints panel were all chaired by residents. The intention was for

forums to operate differently and less formally through officer

facilitation drawing in material from a variety of engagements such as

task and finish groups and surveys as well presenting performance

information and progress with improvement plans. GW welcomed the

new approach.

The Board approved:

i) Proposals for the introduction of tenancy specific forums,

subject to resident consultation

ii) Proposed criteria for supporting recognised resident

groups, borough wide or local.

Margaret Clapson left the meeting at this point.

08/18 Managing Director’s Report

CL presented an update on fire safety work. Inspection of blocks with

full height frames was almost complete and there was potentially one

block with possible concerns.

Gas safety work at Broadwater Farm (BWF) was progressing relatively

well. 635 gas valves had been installed with 93 outstanding. Whilst

350 cookers had been replaced, access issues were hampering

progress. Enforcement action was currently underway and as a result

25 residents had been in touch; 67 remained outstanding. Forced

entries would commence shortly at the rate of 10 per day.

Design options were being appraised for the next phases at BWF. The

appraisal was due this week and the mostly likely recommendation

envisaged would be the reinstatement of district heating. Legal advice

on the procurement options for the next phases was being sought.

Occupancy agreements would have to be reviewed for the recovery of

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Homes for Haringey


hot water and heating costs. LR expressed praise for HfH staff handling

of the issues at BWF and confirmed her support for the enforcement

action being taken. AKOk asked about linking together hard to access

properties at BWF and the investigation work of the fraud prevention

team. CL responded that initially this had not been the course of

action in order to prevent clouding the safety issue with fraud and

confusing / deterring residents from cooperating with HfH. We were

now at a stage where the hard to access properties would be referred

to the fraud prevention team.

In relation to the Housing Demand directorate’s preparation for

implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act, this was progressing

well. Restructuring was nearly complete and extensive training was

underway. TM asked whether a strategy was needed for our approach

to implementation of the Act. DG responded that the Council was

reviewing its strategy which would support HfH’s work to implement

the Act. Broader work was also underway in relation to engagement

and raising awareness. The draft Homelessness Strategy was due to be

presented to the Cabinet for approval in March. It was agreed for this

to be circulated to allow the Board an opportunity to provide

feedback. GW asked what the difference would be in the work of the

department pre and post implementation of the Act. DG would

circulate information to the Board on this.

AKO

DG

DG

09/18 Performance Report

TM requested that the P5 performance information on homelessness

should feature as part of the performance report.

AKOk enquired about the collection rates for current and former

tenants’ arrears. AKO responded that there were three contributing

factors to a relatively static level of performance – i) 1% annual rent

reduction, ii) Housing Benefit (HB) over payment being clawed back

from rent payments by the HB team without approval from HfH and iii)

a backlog of HB claims yet to be processed. Plans were in place to

address these issues and reach target levels of performance by year

end. This also included Temporary Accommodation related arrears.

AD expressed concern at the level of former tenants’ arrears which at

£3m (3.86%) were considerably higher than most organisations. TM

commented that where former tenants’ arrears are outsourced to debt

collection agencies, account should be taken of vulnerable people.

TM commented on the relatively poor level of performance with call

abandonment at 13.6%. AKO responded that during October and

AKO

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Homes for Haringey


November it had been below 10% and this had subsequently been

impacted by the Christmas period. She commented that quality was

also an important aspect of performance and would be monitored.

There was concern at the level of repairs repeat calls at 40% which

were explained to be partly attributable to limitations with the current

IT system. AKO would provide a further update to the Board on this.

TM requested further information on homelessness in relation to

measures and targets for discharge of duty. This would be circulated

to the Board.

AD suggested a greater focus by the Board on void re-let time

performance. GW commented that this had been a longstanding

issue. AD added that the process involved several teams and needed

to be leaner. CL responded that team structures were currently being

reviewed and HQN were benchmarking cost and quality. The age and

quality of the stock were also a contributing factor.

AKOk requested a breakdown of sickness absence and AD suggested

adoption of the Bradford Factor for measuring sickness performance.

In relation to sickness levels at 13.17 days in Housing Demand, DG

responded that this largely related to stress and mental health issues.

She confirmed HfH was fulfilling its duty of care to employees and

offered occupational health and counselling services as well as

wellbeing initiatives. CL added that health and wellbeing was also part

of the remit of the Corporate Health and Safety Board.

EC presented the company’s financial position at period 9 (December

2017). An overspend of £122k was projected at year end. This had

reduced compared to the previous month’s projection and included

absorption of cost pressures such as sheltered housing redundancy

costs, legal disrepair costs and increased pension costs resulting from

a number of employees not opting out of the pension scheme

following auto re-enrolment. It was anticipated that HfH should be

able to achieve a balanced budget by year end. It was noted that the

Housing Demand directorate was projected to underspend by circa

£100k by year end. The Board requested information on how the

FHSG was being allocated.

AKO

DG

PR

DG

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Homes for Haringey


EC informed the Board of a projected £0.5m surplus on the HRA

budgets managed by HfH on behalf of the Council. This was largely in

relation to the commercial property portfolio which would be

transferring to the General Fund. AKOk asked whether the transfer

would take place regardless of the decision on the HDV. MW

confirmed this was the case.

An underspend of £5.6m was projected on the capital programme. It

was confirmed that this would be carried forward to 2018/19.

EC updated the Board on the current budget setting process for the

next financial year. A high-level draft budget will be presented at the

Finance, Audit and Risk Committee in February, with the final budget

being presented to Board for approval in March.

AD left the meeting at this point.

10/18 Capital Programme 2018/19

A 5 year capital programme was being developed for Cabinet

approval in February. This would inform an Asset Management

Strategy and Plan which would be presented to the Board for approval

in March. The programme for 2018/19 was smaller and largely based

on reactive works. The latter phases proposed for BWF would also

have to be taken into account. JC asked about the recurrence of

annual slippages to the programme. DS responded that working to an

annual budget cycle with Council approval in February presented

logistical difficulties with forward planning, procurement and

mobilisation of contractors and works to start in time from April. The

intention was to move to a 5 year budget which the Council will sign

off in February. LR asked about the Noel Park Pods and what

proportion of properties this represented. DS responded that they

represented approximately 50 properties out of 260. DB asked if the

pods were another temporary solution and how they would affect

leaseholders. DS responded that modern pods were more robust in

design and had a longer lifespan. The costs, however, were potentially

substantial and the extent to which they could be recovered would

need to be discussed with the Council.

11/18 Draft Business Plan Objectives

The draft business plan objectives were reviewed and discussed. LR

suggested that objectives in relation to improving leasehold

satisfaction needed to be more explicit in the plan given the current

level of satisfaction.

A final plan would be brought to the Board for approval in March.

PR

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Homes for Haringey


12/18 Customer Satisfaction Report

AKO presented a report setting out current levels of satisfaction as at

December 2017. Satisfaction was disappointingly stuck at 64%. Some

elements such as the street scene and antisocial behaviour (ASB), not

fully in HfH’s control, were contributing to low satisfaction. LR

commented that this was not completely surprising given issues with

repairs, repeat calls and staff not always communicating issues back.

She stated that tackling ASB should be within the control of HfH where

it occurs on our estates. HfH needed to adopt a tougher approach

and needed to be better organised in the management of this. JC

cautioned that harmless youth congregation could sometimes be

mistakenly seen as ASB and residents and staff needed to be mindful

of this. A report on ASB setting out the key issues would be brought to

the Board in May.

AKO

13/18 Procurement Approval

LR requested statistics on usage of the Homeswapper service by our

residents.

AKO

14/18 Finance, Audit & Risk Committee Minutes 24 October 2017

DB presented the salient points from the committee meeting. A

number of the health and safety related issues had been picked up

under the MD’s report. Management were confident the internal audit

programme would be completed within the year. A new Head of Audit

would be attending from the next committee meeting.

15/18 Any Other Business

There was no other business.

The meeting closed at 20:20

Signed:

Date:

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Homes for Haringey


Questions to the Board from the HLA – 30 January 2018

1. Why have officers taken a decision on HLA recognition (attached) and not the

Board when the recognition criteria are clear that umbrella group recognition must

be decided by the Board?

Officers had assumed that the Board’s decision to reinstate recognition on 28

November 2017 included a decision to accept an application from the HLA for

recognition. For the avoidance of doubt the Board approves the HLA’s application

for recognition.

2. Why is funding being given from the date of receipt of the recognition application

and not from the date of the last AGM despite what it says in the recognition

criteria?

The decision to reinstate recognition was made by the Board on 28 November. It

was not made on the basis of retrospective application. This is against the spirit of

the Court Order. The date that has, therefore, been used to determine when

funding commences from is the date of application for recognition.

3. Why are the recognition criteria once again being ignored when the HLA have time

and again requested that they be observed?

We are not aware that the criteria are being ignored. The HLA has been accepted

as a recognised resident group. However, much of the documentation is in need of

review, and in relation to borough wide groups, is out of date. Homes for Haringey

has, therefore, commenced consultation with residents to review criteria for

recognition and support for all types of resident groups – local and borough wide.

This is part of a wider review of our resident engagement strategy.

4. Why are the recognition criteria being changed without consulting either the HLA,

the ATR or any other residents?

Residents are being consulted on proposals to update criteria for recognition and

how recognised groups are supported. The HLA have also been invited to a

consultation meeting and have accepted.

5. If the HLA proceed with the contempt of court case will our recognition application

be deemed not to have been made 'in good faith'?

This does not change the decision to recognise the HLA. It may affect the financial

support provided if this is used to part fund legal costs for the contempt of court

case. In any case the Board does not consider the HLA to be acting in good faith by

pursuing this case.

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Homes for Haringey


Summary of Decisions 30 January 2018

Agenda Item No. Decision

Chair’s report 06/18 The permanent and interim Managing Directors remuneration details were

agreed and delegation to the Chair to set annual performance targets and

report to the Board.

Proposals for tenancy panels 07/18 The Board approved proposals for the introduction of tenancy specific forums

subject to resident consultation and proposed criteria for supporting

recognised resident groups.

Procurement approval 13/18

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Homes for Haringey


Action log

Date of

meeting

Agenda

item

Action Action

owner

Target

completion

date

Status and comments

27/09/2016 5 Arrange for LBH governance lead to

present to full new Board

PR Nov-16

May-17

Sept-17

Jan-18

May-18

We have requested written information from

the Council.

28/03/2017 33/17 Board to input on development of a

medium term financial savings

strategy.

PR Oct-17

Mar-18

May-18

The Board agreed a high level direction for a

new MTFS at its strategy day last November.

This will inform a new value for Money

strategy to be approved by the Board in May.

28/03/2017 35/17 Value for money assessment to be

carried out at the end of the first year

in the event an absence management

service is engaged.

PR May-18

29/04/2017 n/a Benchmarking information on

management cost and overhead

analysis

PR Sept-17

Nov-17

Mar-18

May-18

HouseMark have produced 2016/17 cost

benchmarking for HfH. This is being reviewed

by management and will feature in the

performance report to the Board in May.

30/05/2017 46/17 Write to the Whips outlining proposal

for council nominee board member

appointment terms

PR Jul-17

Jan-18

May-18

We have written to the Council and await

their feedback.

30/05/2017 55/17 Report to be provided detailing

potential affects/delays as a result of

moving to shared tri borough IT

service

PR There are ongoing discussions between the

Council and the Chair and interim MD. An

update will be provided at the Board

meeting.

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Homes for Haringey


Action log

Date of

meeting

Agenda

item

Action Action

owner

Target

completion

date

Status and comments

28/11/2017 91/17 Board to be updated on the contact

centre’s readiness for dealing with

calls relating to Universal Credit.

AKO May-18 An impact assessment is being prepared and

a dedicated project group will lead on the

implementation of action points, including

staff training and briefings to all teams.

28/11/2017 91/17 Contact centre targets and

benchmarking to be introduced in

future reports.

AKO May-18 This will be introduced from May 2018

28/11/2017 91/17 External mystery shopping to be

carried out to validate contact centre

performance.

AKO May-18 Mystery shopping will be commissioned to

take place in April.

28/11/2017 93/17 Performance information presentation,

format and content to be reviewed.

AD/CL May-18 A new KPI framework for performance

reporting to the Board is being developed to

be aligned with the new Business Plan. This

will be introduced from the May Board

meeting.

28/11/2017 98/17 Chair to provide information on use of

car parks as sites for modular

developments.

AD/CL Complete – Information has been provided

and options are being considered

30/01/18 05/18 Health and safety report to go to full

Board

DS May-18 This will commence from the May Board

30/01/18 08/18 Hard to access properties at

Broadwater farm to be referred to the

Fraud team

AKO NFA This is not applicable. Three cases

require legal action, two for mental health

issues and one leasehold compliance issue.

30/01/18 08/18 Draft Homelessness strategy to be

circulated to the Board with

DG Complete

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Homes for Haringey


Action log

Date of

meeting

Agenda

item

Action Action

owner

Target

completion

date

Status and comments

information on new Act and the

difference pre and post

implementation.

30/01/18 09/18 Where former tenants arrears are

outsourced to debt collection

agencies, account needs to be taken

of any resident vulnerabilities

AKO Complete – The debt collection agency

adheres to key principles and where there are

concerns of vulnerability, we would not pass

this to the agency. Where vulnerability is

identified by the debt collection agency, the

case is passed back to us to resolve.

30/01/18 09/18 Further information on the nature and

size of repairs repeat calls to be

provided

AKO May - 18 A detailed piece of work is being carried out

and the findings will be reported to the

Board.

30/01/18 09/18 Information on measures of

homelessness targets and discharge of

duty to be provided

DG Complete

30/01/18 09/18 Breakdown of sickness absence and

consideration to be given for adopting

the Bradford factor as a KPI

PR Mar-18 Complete – information is provided in the

performance report. We have looked at the

Bradford factor as a measure of sickness

absence. This is similar to current KPI

reporting and at this stage, whilst we assess

the service provided by First Care, the

intention is not to make any further changes

at this stage.

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Homes for Haringey


Action log

Date of

meeting

Agenda

item

Action Action

owner

Target

completion

date

Status and comments

30/01/18 09/18 Information on how the Flexible

Housing Support Grant is being

allocated was requested

DG Complete

30/01/18 11/18 A more explicit objective on improving

leasehold satisfaction to be included in

the business plan

PR Mar-18 Complete

30/01/18 12/18 A report on ASB and the key issues to

be brought to the Board

AKO May-18

30/01/18 13/18 Statistics on usage of the

Homeswapper service to be given to

the Board

AKO Mar-18 A verbal update will be provided at the Board

meeting

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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018

Report for Board of Management

Title Draft Business Plan 2018

Agenda item 7

Report for Decision

Classification Public

Report author Puneet Rajput, Director of Corporate Affairs

Contact email [email protected]

Contact telephone 020 8489 3728

Portfolio / Board lead N/A

1. Introduction

1.1 This report presents the Board with a draft new Business Plan for review and

approval.

2. Background

2.1 Business planning commenced at the Board strategy day last November. This

was followed up with an interim report to the Board in January presenting

strategic priorities and objectives for a new five year plan.

3. Business Plan 2018

3.1 A draft Business Plan accompanies this covering report, for Board review and

approval.

3.2 The Managing Director’s introduction is set out in bullet points at this stage,

presenting the key messages that we want to make. It will be finalised with Sean

McLaughlin once he commences in post.

3.3 In relation to our values, the Board has previously stated that “Business like” and

“A trusted partner” are still relevant values for HfH but that the wording

describing these values should be refreshed. The current wording is set out

below and the revised wording is presented in the business plan for Board

consideration.

Business like

Innovative, proactive and skilled at providing solutions

Competent, qualified and have all the professional, technical and

personal qualities in place to do a good job

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mailto:[email protected]


Manage resources well

A trusted partner

Solid and dependable

Do everything we say we will do

Look to the future

3.4 Each strategic priority has an accompanying vision statement for that priority for

the life of the plan. It is followed by objectives, known at this stage, with the

intention of adding objectives in response to resident needs, the changing

environment, Council commissions and regular Board review of progress with

the plan and the operating environment. In this way the plan is intended to be

dynamic and ‘live’.

3.5 The business plan is supported by a detailed delivery plan intended as a tool for

management to help manage and deliver objectives effectively, on time and on

budget. This will be used to provide progress reports to the Board and identify

any areas of slippage or failure to achieve intended outcomes associated with

each objective.

3.6 Once approved by the Board and the Managing Director’s introduction agreed

with Sean, our graphic design service will produce an external version for

publication. The Board is recommended to delegate approval of this version to

the Chair and Managing Director.

4. Recommendation

4.1 The Board is recommended to:

i) Review and approve the content for the Business Plan 2018

ii) Delegate authority to the Chair and Managing Director to approve

the final public version of the Plan.

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Draft Homes for Haringey Business Plan 2018

Managing Director’s Introduction

(To be finalised with Sean McLaughlin once in post)

As the new Managing Director of Homes for Haringey (HfH), I am pleased to be

launching our new five-year business plan.

It is an exciting time for us, as Haringey Council recently awarded us with a new

10-year management agreement, demonstrating their faith in our work with

residents and partners to manage and improve the borough’s council housing.

We have a new chair of the Board, Aman Dalvi, who brings with him a wealth of

knowledge and experience, and who is committed to listening to our residents and

working with them to improve the services we offer.

In line with this, we undertook our largest ever consultation exercise on the

business plan in 2017, ‘Have Your Say’, with nearly 2, 000 residents participating

and giving their views on what our priorities should be for the next five years.

Our Board and Leadership team have used this feedback to develop this plan so

that it focusses on what matters most to residents.

It is a challenging time for the social housing sector and we have been effective at

responding to these challenges.

Following the Grenfell fire and tragic loss of life, social housing providers need to

ensure that we have the highest possible standards in place and we have been

working to improve fire safety management across our operation.

Local government and housing budgets have been significantly reduced and we

have successfully cut our operating costs whilst maintaining service performance.

Welfare reform and Universal Credit have had an impact on a significant number

of local residents and we are providing additional advice and support to those that

need it, as well as helping more people into employment and training.

This business plan sets out our aspirations for what we expect to have achieved

within the next five years. The document also sets out our four key priorities for this

period and our main areas of focus in 2018/19:

o Homelessness is a growing issue in Haringey and new government policy

on homelessness means we now have the opportunity to help a far wider

range of people than before.

o We will strengthen our focus on our customers, listening to their views and

taking greater ownership of the issues they raise.

o We are continually looking to improve the services we offer and to do this

we are redesigning our processes and making wider use of innovative new

mobile and self-service technology.

o We are a learning organisation that is focussed on developing a highly

skilled and responsive workforce as well as being a great employer.

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This is a dynamic plan and we will be updating it annually to make sure our work

makes a big improvement to the lives of our customers and to Haringey as a place

to live, work and thrive.

About Homes for Haringey (HfH)

Our purpose

Homes for Haringey exists to provide excellent housing services and to work with Haringey

Council and local communities to make the borough a better place to live. We fully share

the Council’s vision for housing and agree that:

“Housing is about people and communities, not just bricks and mortar. This means mixed

and inclusive neighbourhoods where residents can lead happy and fulfilling lives”.

This vision recognises the central importance of both high quality homes and successful

neighbourhoods to the lives of our current and future customers. We work in partnership

with the Council to improve the quality of life for people in the borough through initiatives

such as increasing the supply of affordable housing across a range of tenures and leading

on community development initiatives to provide training, skills and employment support

for local residents.

To contribute to improving Haringey as a place to live, we are continuing to strengthen

our core housing services and working with residents and partners to achieve a wider

range of outcomes. This means:

Aiming for top quartile performance across all of our major service areas

Offering excellent value, the proven ability to contribute to required savings as well as

making Council funding stretch further

Demonstrating excellent partnership working, contributing to a range of areas

including community safety, the local environment and local employment.

What we do

Homes for Haringey provides all landlord services on behalf of the Council, and manages

around 16,000 tenancies, 5,000 leases and 3,000 units of temporary accommodation.

Our landlord services cover repairs and maintenance, tenancy and estate management,

income collection, leasehold management and resident engagement. We also provide

services to respond to demand for housing in the borough, including housing advice and

assessment, homelessness applications, and temporary accommodation teams. We are

focussed on working with all our customers - tenants, leaseholders and people in need of

housing, so they have a real say in shaping the services we provide. A key principle of our

approach is to empower and enable people to become more independent and self-

sufficient.

We are committed to maintaining a high standard of leadership and staffing within the

organisation and the Board. Alongside creating an absolutely clear company identity and

culture, we empower and support staff to provide excellent service delivery for both

internal and external customers. Our strong approach to performance management

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includes training and developing all our staff, giving them opportunities for progression,

and strengthening effective working across teams. We are also introducing new

technology to improve the customer experience, increasing automation and self-service

wherever possible, and making more intelligent use of the data we hold to tailor our

services.

We recognise that we have a significant role in achieving the aims of the Haringey

Council’s Housing and Homelessness Strategies. In addition to maintaining and improving

existing homes and estates, we are managing the Council’s new build homes and

providing new homes through conversions. Our approach to tackling homelessness is

focussed on providing early intervention and targeted support, and increasing the range of

affordable housing options as an alternative to expensive temporary accommodation. We

are expanding initiatives such as ‘Project 20/20’ to reach greater numbers of young

people to deliver strong and positive outcomes relating to skills and employment. We are

also working with partners to leverage in additional funding and resources, monitoring

and measuring the impact of our work with local communities, and embracing new

service opportunities.

Progress in 2017/18

Homes for Haringey has made significant progress in recent years. Some key highlights

from 2017/18 are:

Our Housing Demand Service is leading on initiatives like the conversion of former

care homes to provide new rooms for homeless families and reduce our reliance on

private sector accommodation.

At the start of the year, our Domestic Violence Advice and Support Centre was short

listed in the 2017 Housing Heroes Awards as an outstanding service providing

“support and care” for Haringey residents dealing with domestic abuse.

Our Operations Service has seen strong performance on estate cleanliness, with 97%

graded at A & B, and Project 2020 has provided 186 employment and training

opportunities to local residents so far in 2017/18.

Our Estate Watch pilot installed remotely monitored CCTV cameras on the Love lane

estate and has been a great success, significantly reducing anti-social behaviour on

the estate.

In December 2017, HfH started safety works to nine low-rise blocks that failed

structural tests. This work is progressing well and over 600 homes have had gas safety

valves and sensors fitted.

Following a programme of work that brought over 9,500 tenanted dwellings up to the

Decent Homes standard over the last 8 years, our Property Services have developed a

new asset management strategy that plans the next five years of work to council

housing and estates.

We introduced a new case management system called Service Connect and this

played a significant part in helping our Repairs Service to reduce costs from £20m to

£15m.

HfH was recognised in a national housing sector competition. Organised by media

publication, 24Housing, the Top 50 Social Landlords competition ranked Homes for

Haringey at 16th overall.

24

In the process of consulting on HfH’s new Management Agreement, the Council

received almost 1,200 responses from secure tenants, with 81% supporting the

proposal of entering into a new agreement with HfH.

Our Vision and Values

Vision

We have adopted the Council’s vision for housing:

‘Housing is about people and communities, not just bricks and mortar. This means mixed

and inclusive neighbourhoods where residents can lead happy and fulfilling lives.’

Values

Our values help to describe our preferred way of working at HfH. They inform our desired

culture and guide our behaviour in the work place. They help us to give the best of

ourselves for the benefit of our customers and each other.

Business like

We have, or work towards developing, all the necessary skills to do an excellent

job

We take ownership of matters and focus on providing solutions

We seek to use our publicly funded resources efficiently and effectively and

minimise waste

We behave in a professional manner that helps to maintain a good reputation.

A trusted partner

We can be relied upon to do what is expected of us, the first time

We maintain productive working relationships with colleagues, customers and

others we work with

We always seek to add value, show understanding and act with care

We take decisions and act in a manner that is transparent and fair.

25

Five year Business Plan aspirations

This Business Plan runs for five years and within the life of this plan, we will have:

Continued to honour the Council’s trust in us, meeting the expectations set out in our

new ten-year contract.

Maintained our position as the best option to provide housing services in Haringey,

being seen as an excellent partner and contributor to the borough, as well as an

outstanding housing provider.

Redesigned our Housing Demand service so that it intervenes earlier to prevent

homelessness, has increased the supply of available housing and has significantly

reduced use of temporary accommodation.

Provided new homes as part of the Council’s programme, including conversions and

acquisitions, to offer alternatives to expensive private sector accommodation.

Delivered a ‘post-Decent Homes’ investment and capital plan for the Council, making

improvements to Haringey’s housing stock and estates.

Established Haringey Repair Services in a position where it has expanded into new

business areas, bringing back surpluses to support investment in housing.

Grown the work of our youth and community service, expanding projects such as

20/20 to reach greater numbers of people and to deliver strong and positive

outcomes relating to employment, skills and community development so that more

tenancies and neighbourhoods are sustained.

Improved and reformed tenancy and leasehold management services, enabling a

greater degree of self-service, use of technology and easy access to advice and

guidance; leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Fully embedded a new approach to resident engagement, which enables all residents

and customers to have their say and influence decision-making.

Implemented a modern sheltered and supported service for older people, modernising

the approach to demand for such services by offering alternatives to traditional

sheltered housing.

Our Strategic Priorities

The strategic priorities that our Business Plan will focus on over the next five years are:

1. Homelessness

2. Our Customers

3. Service Improvement

4. Our People and Organisation.

26

Homelessness

Homes for Haringey share the Council’s vision that Haringey should be a place where we

all work together to prevent and resolve homelessness and rough sleeping.

We aim to reduce the financial and human costs of homelessness by intervening earlier to

prevent homelessness, increasing the supply of accommodation available and meeting the

needs of those already in temporary accommodation.

2018 sees the implementation of the most significant change in homelessness legislation

for 40 years and we are committed to taking this opportunity to fundamentally change our

offer to households who are facing homelessness. We will work with these households and

partners to achieve positive outcomes that avoid the need for temporary accommodation.

In 2018/19, we will:

significantly reduce the number of households living in temporary accommodation

and reduce our reliance on costly nightly paid accommodation.

implement a new structure and way of working to meet the requirements of the

Homelessness Reduction Act, which will increase the number of homelessness

preventions achieved and have a positive impact on customers’ experience of

accessing advice and homelessness services.

increase access to alternative sources of supply including increasing the number of

Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) secured, converting more emergency

accommodation to ASTs, and increasing take up of mobility options and Pathway

provision.

Our Customers

Our vision is to be valued as a company that really listens to, and is trusted by, our

customers. We recognise that we have different customers with differing needs. We will

strive to provide excellent tailored customer services that meet the needs of our different

customer groups.

Our customers are our priority and we are committed to developing greater

opportunities for customer involvement and feedback.

We will ensure our customers have a better understanding of what we do and are

more widely engaged in shaping our services.

In future, our staff will be more visible to our customers, enabling more frequent

interaction and greater ownership of issues.


27

Develop a new customer service charter that sets out our service offering for each

of our different customer groups – people facing homelessness, tenants,

leaseholders and residents in sheltered housing – and will give residents clear

standards for what they can expect from us.

Implement a new resident engagement strategy so that residents will have a

genuine ability to shape our services and make a positive social impact for the

wider Haringey community.

Review the structure of our front line customer facing services so that we are more

visible to our customers and so that all our staff take greater ownership of issues

that residents raise with them.

Improve our leasehold services, the levels of satisfaction with those services and

seek independent accreditation of this.

Service Improvement

We are an ambitious organisation that continuously looks for ways to improve our services

and business processes.

We will deliver service improvement by empowering our staff and residents - ensuring they

have the capacity and capabilities – and using evidence and data to shape our

improvement activity. Measuring the effectiveness of improvement is vital. We promise to

listen and act on customer feedback and use this insight to deliver good quality, cost

effective services.

As a learning organisation we will be transparent about our performance; build

relationships with colleagues inside and outside the housing sector; encourage and invite

challenge; and take advantage of new ideas and technology. Our strategies, policies, and

performance targets reflect our approach to continuous improvement and will ensure we

deliver excellent service to our customers.


complete the sheltered housing transformation programme and introduce a ‘hub

and spoke’ model to provide excellent housing and support services.

carry out a review of our responsive repairs service and implement its findings to

ensure we provide better quality repairs and improve resident satisfaction.

extend the ‘Estates Watch’ CCTV monitoring service to other hotspots of crime and

anti-social behaviour to contribute to safer neighbourhoods and cleaner estates.

Our People and Organisation

Our vision is to develop a highly skilled and responsive workforce that reflects the diversity

of our community and works in an inclusive and collaborative manner for the benefit of our

residents and each other.

28

Our staff are an important asset that we will continue to invest in so that they reach their

full potential and contribute more effectively towards our organisational purpose.

Our success is underpinned by good governance and we seek to have a high performing

Board with effective systems of governance, compliance and assurance.

Our organisation will be innovative and forward-looking. We will continue to develop lean

and agile systems and processes that support excellent customer relationship

management, together with secure and efficient information management.


work to meet the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

so that customer data is fully secure and protected.

implement a People Strategy that will develop our staff and help us become a best

in class organisation.

upgrade our current housing management IT system so that it helps us manage

customer requests more effectively and allows greater self-service.

29

Homes for Haringey



Title Homes for Haringey Budget 2018/19

Agenda item 8

Report for Decision


Report author Esther Campbell, Financial Controller


Contact telephone 020 8489 2965


1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this report is to obtain the board’s approval of the company

budget for Homes for Haringey (HfH) for 2018/19.

2. Background

2.1 Homes for Haringey (HfH) has its own company budgets, for which it receives a

management fee from the Council.

2.2 The required saving for the current financial year (2017/18) is £1.295m, which

HfH is on target to achieve.

2.3 There are no required savings for 2018/19, however HfH has committed to find

savings to cover any internal growth pressures.

2.4 The 2018/19 budget setting process – which commenced in January 2018 –

involved the Finance team working with budget holders across the company to

compile the draft 2018/19 budget.

3. 2018/19 draft budget

3.1 The draft HfH management fee was set by the Council based on the 2017/18

fee, adjusted for the 1% pay increase and the 2.1% reduction in employer’s

pension contributions in 2018/19.

3.2 A comparison of the 2017/18 and 2018/19 budgets – along with the net

adjustments – can be found in the below table:

30


Homes for Haringey


Savings

3.3 Savings have been identified through the deletion of unused budgets, proposed

restructures, converting vacant posts into trainee/apprentice posts and a review

of income and expenditure from capital projects.

Cost Pressures

3.4 The main cost pressures are additional staff posts created and increases in

contractor costs within Property Services (Client Services & Annual Maintenance).

These pressures have been offset in full by the savings identified in 3.3 above.

4. Considerations

4.1 Assumptions used:

4.1.1 Achievement of this budget is dependent on effective budget

management throughout the organisation combined with scrutiny and

oversight by management and the board.

4.1.2 The Council has not finalised the Service Level Agreements for 2018/19,

however, the management fee will be adjusted in line with any changes.

4.1.3 The budgeted pay increase is 1% across all salary grades.

4.1.4 HfH will seek additional funding – once commissioned by the Council –

for the following activities:

Lightning protection works (£150k)

Ventilation maintenance (£100k)

4.1.5 The Council have agreed to fund the additional cooker installations and

compensation (£138k) in 2018/19.

4.2 Financial risks:

HFH DIRECTORATE

2017/18

BUDGET

NET

ADJUSTMENTS

2018/19

BUDGET

Central Budgets (incl Management Fee) (37,903,662) (44,455) (37,948,117)

Managing Director 731,940 59,870 791,810

Corporate Affairs 2,756,020 (17,112) 2,738,908

Operations 11,321,980 105,730 11,427,710

Housing Demand 3,536,852 30,531 3,567,383

Asset Management (422,210) (12,422) (434,632)

Client Services & Annual Maintenance 5,321,840 352,667 5,674,507

HRS 14,657,240 (474,810) 14,182,430

TOTAL - - -

31

Homes for Haringey


4.2.1 The budgets contain many demand-led services, where it is difficult to

predict the correct level of budget required due to external factors outside

of our control, such as severe bad weather, for example. We have used

the best information available to derive an adequate level of budget for

these areas.

4.2.2 There may be further pressures arising from budget announcements or

changes in government policies or regulations; these may present as cost

pressures in year.

5. Recommendation

5.1 The board is recommended to approve the budget for HfH for 2018/19.

32

Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 31 January 2017

Appendix 1 – HfH 2017/18 budget:

DIRECTORATE

2016/17

BUDGET

MOVEMENT

OF R&M

BUDGET FROM

HRA TO HFH

ADDITIONAL

BUDGET FOR

INCREASED

SLAS

FULL YEAR

BUDGET PRO-

RATA FOR

HOUSING

DEMAND

2017/18

SAVINGS

ALLOCATION

OF 2017/18

SAVINGS ADJUSTMENTS

2017/18

BUDGET

VARIANCE

FROM 2016/17

BUDGET TO

2017/18

BUDGET

CORPORATE AFFAIRS 8,469,440 - 517,000 - - (£24,000) 92,960 9,055,400 585,960

HOUSING DEMAND 3,890,650 - - 383,610 - (£295,000) - 3,979,260 88,610

OPERATIONS 11,974,740 - - - - (£426,000) (£149,060) 11,399,680 (£575,060)

HRS 15,240,470 - - - - (£550,000) - 14,690,470 (£550,000)

ASSET MANAGEMENT 39,450 - - - - - (£37,830) 1,620 (£37,830)

CLIENT SERV & ANNUAL MAINT 682,620 4,540,000 - - - - 93,930 5,316,550 4,633,930

GF MANAGEMENT FEE (£4,219,650) - - (£383,610) 295,000 - - (£4,308,260) (£88,610)

HRA MANAGEMENT FEE (£36,077,720) (£4,540,000) (£517,000) - 1,000,000 - - (£40,134,720) (£4,057,000)

TOTAL - - - - 1,295,000 (£1,295,000) - - -

33



Title Performance and Finance Report February 2018

Agenda item 11

Report for Discussion


Report author Carl Doogan, Head of Business Improvement

Esther Campbell, Financial Controller


[email protected]

Contact telephone 020 8489 5816 (Carl)

020 8489 2965 (Esther)


1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Board with an overview of Homes for

Haringey’s (HfH) current financial position and performance against a suite of

indicators agreed with the Board and which incorporate the Council’s

Performance Management Framework indicators.

1.2 The Board is asked to review the contents of the report and consider the main

findings and implications for HfH.

2. Background

2.1 Detailed monitoring of HfH’s performance against these key performance

indicators (KPIs) is carried out by ELT and performance is reported by exception

to the Board. The Board’s performance dashboard is attached with this report.

3. Performance

3.1 Income Management

Performance Indicator 16/17

Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

% of rent collected (including arrears and excluding

water rates) (GN & SH only) 101.31% 100.70% 99.71%

Former tenant rent arrears as % of rent due (excluding

voids) 3.92% 3% 3.86%

The proportion of rent collected for all temporary

accommodation 98.90% 99.00% 96.94%

55




Current tenant rent & service charge arrears as % of rent

due (excluding voids) (GN & SH only) 4.54% 3.50% 4.64%

GN/SH collection rate: The collection rate increased to 99.71%. The net shortfall to

meeting the year-end target stands at £795k.

The service is confident that the outturn will be closer to the collection rate target once the

receipts from the April Direct Debits have been taken into account. The payment is made

on 1st April (18/19) but covers rent weeks at the end of 17/18 and so are included in

17/18 collection rate performance.

To ensure we meet target, the service will undertake the following activities on top of the

business as usual work plan:

1. Set up a special project for the In-House HB assessors to complete the HB

suspensions.

2. Agreed to send targeted SMS text messages outside office hours (evening and

weekends) with the view to maximising income and entering into payment

arrangements.

3. Agreed a more consistent approach to applying post-court actions. The service will

continue send out letters to 219 accounts with judgment shortfall. In addition, in

the last month we issued 39 warrants for the non-payment of debt in the sum of

£262k.

TA collection rate: collection rate increased to 96.94%. The rent shortfall now stands at

£740k. The service aims to achieve the collection rate closer to 98% by year-end. To

ensure this happens, the service will undertake the following activities on top of the

business as usual work plan:

1. In-house HB assessors are currently reviewing all HB suspended accounts to help

maximise income.

2. The service expects to receive DHP payments at least totalling £50k before the end

of this month. The service recognise this is an ambitious estimate but in line with

payments received at the same point last year.

3. A special project has been assigned to send SMS text messages which have been

sent outside office hours (evening and weekends) with the view to maximising

income and entering into payment arrangements.

4. Service are in the process of liaising with the Move on team to help maximise

contacts and engagement with hard to reach customers.

Current tenant rent & service charge arrears: performance improved on last month but is still

above the 3.5% target. The service is confident that successful delivery of the above

planned activities will help reduce the amount of current arrears.

56


As mentioned previously, this financial year’s 1% rent reduction has had a direct impact

on performance against this measure. We estimate the 1% accounts for c. £930k. This

impact will continue into 2018/19 as we apply a further 1% reduction. In addition, HB

overpayments being forced over to our current tenant’s rent accounts by the council

impacts on performance as this contributes to our rent arrears figure. Service have

requested regular reports to show the amount forced over, the amount deducted from

weekly benefits, and the amount invoiced directly to the tenant. Accounts subject to

overpayment will be monitored more rigorously going forward.

Former arrears: The service recently sent 1,179 former accounts to an external agency for

collection. The value of the debt passed to the agency totals £3,027,912. The service will

be monitoring the performance of collection.

3.2 Voids


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

Average re-let times (calendar days) HouseMark definition

(GN & SH only) 27.3 21 days 29.6

Average cost of voids repairs (£)

(GN & SH only) £3,175 £2,277 £3,637

Average re-let times: Sheltered Housing voids remain an issue. We held an open day in

February and this had some positive results, mainly with people becoming more willing to

consider the scheme and open up the areas they would like to move to. We will hold open

days in other schemes. The Hanover new build still has not been allocated to and there

are five vacant flats (previously there were three, but two people changed their mind). The

Lettings Team are working on getting these closed down so more focus can be placed on

our Sheltered Housing voids. Given Hanover does not require tenants to have a housing

related support need, Lettings will try to make direct offers to tenants in TA.

Performance on General Needs is becoming better and HRS are looking like they will

clear down all of the standard voids by the end of the financial year. This will put us in a

strong position moving into the new financial year. However, consideration still needs to

be given to the properties that are on hold in Love Lane and Broadwater Farm. It is not

yet clear when these will be coming back into use and therefore what the impact on

resources will be.

Average cost of voids repairs: we remain well above target; however, this figure does

include rechargeable repair work (which is yet to be finalised). We should shortly be able

to highlight and exclude the rechargeable elements of void repair work to provide a

clearer picture of the cost of void works. When we identify rechargeable works we invoice

the customer.

57


The average figure for the 39 GN & SH VAVS includes seven voids with a repair cost

between £5k and £14k. A review of these voids is being carried out to establish the

recharge value and extent of work required. It is worth noting that, if we excluded these 7

voids, the average cost reduces to £2,542.25.

The higher average cost is also affected by some older historical voids which are being

brought through for Letting.

3.3 Project 2020


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

Provide support, employment training and advice 245 240 216

Project 2020 are still without the full use of their building due to an on-going leak issue

that despite many attempts to repair it, has still not been resolved. This has impacted

hugely on the job club sessions on a Thursday as tenants would normally come in to

access the computers. The team delivered the half term programme in Northumberland

Park during this time, so the IAG appointments were put on hold. Interviews for a 3rd

Employment Support Officer will be held on 12 March 2018, at which four candidates

have been shortlisted.

3.4 Contact Centre


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

% of call centre abandonments (all queues) 16.3% 5% 15.7%

Our Customer Relations Manager’s secondment to the Contact Centre ends on 30th

March. She has been providing training to contact centre staff to maintain focus and

support improvements linked to HfH services. Discussions are underway to establish what

resource/support we provide to the contact centre in 2018/19.

As mentioned previously, tackling repeat calls would have a significant impact on waiting

times and abandonment performance. For information, around 40% of repairs calls are

repeat calls and work is underway to ensure we code/categorise calls. This will provide us

with a more accurate picture of the reasons customers call and therefore help direct

improvement activity.

58


The council highlighted problems with IT systems during February – these intermittent

problems contributed to the abandonment rate figure. We are told that these IT problems

have now been resolved.

It must be noted that the Council exclude any calls abandoned within 30 seconds because

the automated message directs the customer to another channel i.e. self-serve online. The

15.7% includes calls abandoned within 30 seconds and will continue to do so until a

reporting tool is developed that evidences that channel shift.

3.5 Feedback and complaints


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

% of Stage 1 Complaints responded to within 10 working

days 94% 95% 94%

Respond to Freedom of Information Requests within

Statutory Deadlines 86% 100% 88%

Stage 1 complaints: The Feedback Team did not send out their usual reminder out to

managers (w/c 05/20/18). Managers should not be reliant on the Feedback Team

chasing them up for responses; nevertheless, this did result in some delays in issuing

responses.

YTD performance:

Property 482/511 Operations 323/347

Demand 160/172 Corporate Affairs 4/4

Freedom of Information: So far this year we have responded to 88% of FOI within the 20

working day deadline (152/172 YTD). This decreased from 89% YTD reported in

January’s performance report. This is below the 90% threshold set by the Information

Commissioners Office.

YTD performance:

Property 29/36 Operations 48/53

Demand 51/57 Corporate Affairs 24/26

As at 15th March 10/19 FOIs had been responded to within timescales – bringing YTD

down to 85%.

59


3.6 Repairs


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

% of tenants satisfied with quality of repair (BMG) 76% 78.74% 78%

78% of the 200 customer surveyed in February were satisfied with the quality of repair.

This means our YTD performance (based on 2,201 responses) remains at 78%. Of this

group, 17% were ‘dissatisfied’ and 5% coded as ‘neither’. The service continues to call

customers who recorded their dissatisfaction to understand why and see what

improvements we can make to the service we provide. Service uses this contact to

apologise and/or raise new jobs where appropriate.

3.7 Asset Management


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

% of capital programme completed in time 94% 90% 85%

During Quarter 3, only one of the two schemes at NT9 Borough Wide (Phase 9) 2016/17

completed on time. Because of the low number of completions during the Quarter, the

outturn was 50% - which brought the year to date down to 85%.

The delays for the scheme not completed on time was because of a sourcing issue of roof

tiles and a delay in the procurement and replacement of balcony railings at Chestnut

Grove. These delays caused the scheme to overrun by 38 days.

3.8 People


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

Average number of working days lost due to sickness

absence (rolling 12 month figure) 11.3 6 9.87

The average number of working days lost to sickness was 9.87 days – average shot-term

sickness is 3.75 days and average long-term sickness is 7.84 days. A breakdown by

Directorate is provided below:

60


Av. number

of days lost

YTD

Short term

YTD

Long term

HfH 9.87 3.75 7.84

Property 16.41 4.37 11.82

Housing Demand 13.59 5.15 8.43

Corporate Affairs 5.81 3.63 1.87

Operations 5.5 2.75 5.07

Across HfH, 20% of absences relates to long-term sickness (i.e. 20 days or more sickness).

The long-term absence proportion is higher than the average for Property (27%) and

Operations (21%).

There is now a proactive approach in focusing on sickness and follow up appointments

with HR to ensure that return to work meetings are completed. A significant number of

long-term sickness cases have been resolved and HR are working closely with managers

to ensure those individuals settle back into work effectively.

Across the organisation, the main reason for new periods of sickness absence in February

was for flu-like symptoms. However, Musculoskeletal (back) remains the main reason for

absences over the last 12 months.

Return to Work meeting compliance on average is improving, the main reason for non-

compliance has been due to conflicting working patterns between the employee and

manager.

3.9 General Needs tenant satisfaction


Outturn

17/18

Target

February

2018

Overall customer satisfaction rating HfH (monthly YTD

figure) 67% 80% 65%

69% of the 150 tenants surveyed in February were satisfied with HfH – meaning the year

to date position remains unchanged at 65%.

Overall satisfaction with the service provided, quality of home, and rent value for money

remain similar to the highs set in December-January. Dissatisfaction with the quality of

home is also at its lowest level to date - significantly lower than the average for June

onwards, and compared to the February 2017 baseline.

Satisfaction with repairs and maintenance / value for money of service charges is at its

highest level to date, although with no significant change compared to the previous two

months.

61


An improvement plan is being drafted which responds to the specific issues customers

have raised through the BMG survey, along with issues identified via feedback and

complaints. A task and finish group has been established (led by Community & Customer

Relationship Director) which will work with services across the organisation to focus efforts

to improve tenant satisfaction.

4. Financial overview

As at 28 February 2018 (period 11), the outturn summaries indicating an end of year (surplus)/deficit

for the Homes for Haringey (HfH) budget and the managed budgets can be found in the table

below:

Budget Budget

£’000s

Forecast Variance

£’000s

HfH management fee 43,982 0

HRA managed budgets (95,244) 465

Other:

HfH Managed Capital 45,023 (8,268)

GF Temporary Accommodation

(TA)

10,768 0

HRA - Housing Revenue Account GF - General Fund

HfH Management Fee

The HfH budget is projected to break-even at the end of the financial year; an improvement of

£122k since the last report to the Board.

The projected underspend for Property Services is £448k. Within Client Services and Annual

Maintenance, additional inspection costs on Broadwater Farm have remained in the projection; this

will be discussed with the Council. The forecasted overspend on legal disrepair remains at £480k.

The overspend for Operations as at period 11 is £464k, due to shortfalls in agreed MTFS savings

and the inclusion of restructuring costs. The forecast includes £115k for potential restructuring costs,

however, in order to capture restructuring costs in this year’s accounts, the restructures must be

approved and communicated to affected staff prior to year-end. If the restructures do not materialise

by year-end, the projected overspend will reduce.

The underspend for Housing Demand increased by £36k, resulting in a projected year-end

underspend of £175k, largely due to further utilisation of the Flexible Housing Support Grant

(FHSG). Housing Demand have not been recharged for various corporate services such as Finance,

HR and Facilities Management this year. The Finance team are reviewing these costs to determine

an appropriate recharge; this will be processed by year-end.

The overall company position is stated after the inclusion of significant in-year pressures arising from

disrepair works, unbudgeted restructuring and staff costs, and additional inspections on Broadwater

Farm. These pressures total £1.45m and have been covered from in-year underspends and

additional income generated.

62


The year-end adjustments expected to impact the final position are the final calculation of capitalised

salaries and the review of the disrepair provision, however funds have been set aside to absorb the

impact of the provision. The expected closing Work-In-Progress (WIP) value has been included in

the current forecast.

Further details of the HfH budgets and spend can be found in Appendix 1.

HRA Managed

The HRA managed budgets are projecting an end-of-year deficit of £465k. The deficit is due to the

budgets not being reduced to reflect the transfer of income from the HRA to the GF; this is being

addressed with the Council. There was an increase in the Supported Housing costs this period,

which have been offset by the reduction in hostel expenditure.

The additional sweeping costs from Veolia have remained at £570k this period, based on a ‘worst

case scenario’ of what the Council may charge. Discussions are still ongoing with the Council

around the validity of this charge; this needs to be resolved as soon as possible due to the material

impact it has on the accounts. The increased costs have been factored into the 2018/19 service

charges.

Further details of the HRA managed budgets can be found in Appendix 2.

Capital programme

The HRA capital programme is forecast to underspend by £8.2m; a request will be made for the

final year-end underspend to be carried forward into 2018/19 as slippage. The underspend is

largely due to slippage in the Lift Programme and Mechanical & Engineering Works of £3.5m

combined, due to slippage in the design and tendering processes, as well as lead times. Staff

leading the M&E programmes have since December been working on Broadwater Farm works in

response to issues identified with the structures. There is £4.6m slippage in the Decent Homes

programme due to delays in signing off the approvals, poor weather and the consultants compiling

the Section 20 information.

Further details of the capital programme can be found in Appendix 3.

Temporary Accommodation

The GF Temporary Accommodation budget had initially projected to overspend by £573k – a

month-on-month reduction of £158k – however, this overspend will be met in full by the FHSG,

resulting in a break-even year-end position for TA. The reduced overspend means less of the FHSG

is being used this year, allowing further funds to be spent in future years.

HfH Earmarked Reserve (held in the Council’s HRA reserve)

Opening position as at 1 April 2017 629,362

Current balance as at 28 February 2018 629,362

Utilisation of reserve as at 28 February 2018 0

The allowable use of this reserve in 2017/18 is 30%, which equates to £188,809.

63

Green Green Green Quartile Key

11 17 16

Red/Amber Red/Amber Red/Amber

Homes for Haringey 13 10 12

Board Scorecard 14/15 15/16 16/17Latest

Performance

Year To Date February 2018 Green 44% 61% 55%Above

Target

All Figures are based on Year To Date, i.e. 01 April 2017 to 28 February 2018 Red/Amber 56% 39% 45%Below

Target

Ref14/15

Outturn

15/16

Outturn

16/17

Outturn

17/18

Target

Latest

Performance &

RAG status

Direction

of Travel

P20 HouseMark Benchmarking

(Upper Quartile 2015/16)

Ref Housing Management

BV 66a 99.32% 99.27% 101.31% 100.70% 99.71% 99.66%

IC 07 4.11% 3.39% 3.92% 3.00% 3.86% 1.32%

Op 57 98.17% 98.49% 98.90% 99.00% 96.94% No Benchmark

BV 66e 6.39% 5.43% 4.54% 3.50% 4.64%

2.20%

HO 01 101.6% 103.7% 102.6% 100.3% 100.3%

No Benchmark

BV 212 26.2 28.0 27.3 21 days 29.6

19.9

BV 69 0.78% 0.67% 0.52% 0.68% 0.64% 0.69%

VO 28 NEW NEW £3,175 £2,277 £3,637 £2,216

ES 01 94.3% 93.7% 94.5% 94.0% 98.0% No Benchmark

CSR 02d NEW 233 245 240 216 No Benchmark

CCC 01 4.7% 5.2% 16.3% 5% 15.7% No Benchmark

CA 22 53% 95% 94% 95% 94%

No Benchmark

CA 14 74% 92% 90% 95% 97% No Benchmark

CA 30 53% 95% 86% 100.0% 88%

No Benchmark

CA 36 # 152 134 Trend 116 No Benchmark

CA 17 24 14 15Lower is

Better23 No Benchmark

No Benchmark

No Benchmark

The proportion of rent collected for all temporary accommodation

Current tenant rent & service charge arrears as % of rent due (excluding

voids) (GN & SH only)

Current leaseholder service charges arrears as % of service charges due

Project 2020: Provide support, employment training and advice

% of call centre abandonments

(all queues)

% of Stage 1 Complaints responded to within 10 working days

Average relet times (calendar days) HouseMark definition

(GN & SH only)

% of rent loss from voids

(GN & SH only)

Q3

No Benchmark

No Benchmark

No Benchmark% Members' Enquiries answered within 10 days

Average cost of voids repairs (£)

(GN & SH only)

% of estates graded at A or B by Quality Assurance Officers -

Overall Grade

Q4

No Benchmark

Q3

Q1

% of rent collected (including arrears and excluding water rates)

(GN & SH only)

Former tenant rent arrears as % of rent due (excluding voids)

Number or % increased - positive development

Number or % decreased - positive development

Number or % stayed the same - positive development

Number or % increased - negative development

Number or % decreased - negative development

Number or % stayed the same - negative development

Direction of Travel

Q1 Upper

Q2 Middle Upper

M Median

Q3 Middle Lower

Q4 Lower

No Benchmark

Q3

Quartile our current

Performance falls into

Q1

Performance Indicator

Number of Stage 2 Complaints answered YTD (cumulative)

Number of Ombudsman investigations opened YTD (cumulative)

No Benchmark

No Benchmark

Respond to Freedom of Information Requests within Statutory Deadlines No Benchmark

Business ImprovementCorporate Affairs Service

64

Ref14/15

Outturn

15/16

Outturn

16/17

Outturn

17/18

Target

Latest

Performance &

RAG status

Direction

of Travel

P20 HouseMark Benchmarking

(Upper Quartile 2015/16)

Ref

RP 10 96.9% 98.3% 98.8% 95.0% 96.9% No Benchmark

BV 72 97.5% 99.3% 99.6% 99.0% 99.7% No Benchmark

HMPI 100 81.0% 84.7% 83.3% 90.5% 91.7% 95.80%

RP 04a 76.2% 78.1% 76.0% 78.74% 77.9% 78.80%

HMPI F4Pi04 £716 £645 Annual £603 Annual £449

GS 01 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100.00%

GS 01c NEW 100% 100% 100% 100% No Benchmark

AS 07 NEW Nil Return 94% 90.0% 50%

No Benchmark

AS 08 95.1% 89.4% 91% 93.0% 94% No Benchmark

HMPI E5Pi04 £271 £219 Annual £209 Annual £198

NI 158 31.5% 26.9% 21.1% 19% Annual 0%

Ref

HY 8 NEW NEW 46% 80% 92% No Benchmark

HY 4c 2.55 2.34 2.50 2.10 1.10 No Benchmark

Op 67 28% 31% 37% 38% 43% No Benchmark

HY 156 2,997 3,164 3,147 2,980 2,960 No Benchmark

Ref

HR 01 6.22 8.60 11.3 6 days 9.9 No Benchmark

HMPI B1Pi03 8.7% 12.0% 17.3% 15.0% 8.2% 10.53%

Ref

CE 01 # 70% 67% 80% Annual 81.63%

CE 02 # 70% 67% 80% 65% 81.63%

Ref

BD 01 NEW NEW 97.5% Not Set 100.0%N/A

No TargetNo Benchmark

% of all homeless decisions made in 33 working days

Annual

No Benchmark

No Benchmark

No Benchmark

Q4

No Benchmark

No Benchmark

% of non decent homes

No Benchmark

% forecast spend v budget

Homeless acceptances per 1,000 people in the Borough

% of homeless preventions

(people presenting at risk of losing their home)

Number of homeless households in temporary accommodation

Average number of working days lost due to sickness absence (rolling 12

month figure)

Overall customer satisfaction rating HfH

Overall customer satisfaction rating HfH (monthly YTD figure)

% of all repairs first time fixed

(not including programmed works)

% of tenants satisfied with quality of repair

(BMG)

Cost per property total responsive repairs including overheads

No Benchmark

No Benchmark

N/A

No Benchmark

Q1Percentage of staff turnover

Budget

Satisfaction

% of properties with valid gas certificate -

PSLs (Landlord)

% of capital projects completed in time

Capital Programme: % of residents satisfied with outcome of works

No Benchmark

Housing Demand

People

No Benchmark

Q1

Property Management

% of All repairs completed by HRS within timescale

(includes programmed works)

Q2

Annual

% of properties with valid gas certificate -

Council properties (GN, SH & HOS only)

Performance IndicatorQuartile our Performance

falls into

% of urgent repairs completed within Government time limits

Q4

Cost per property cyclical maintenance Service provision -

includes overheadsAnnual

65

Budget

£000s

YTD Actual

(incl

Accruals)

£000s

p.11

Forecast

Spend

£000s

p.11

Forecast

Variance

£000s

Prior

Months

Variance

£000s

Month on

Month

Movement

£000s

Managing Director's Office 240 225 234 (6) (7) 0

Health & Safety 385 360 433 47 66 (19)

New Business 106 75 82 (24) 1 (25)

Lettings Agency - 0 7 7 7 0

Managing Director's - Directorate 732 663 755 23 67 (44)

Director of Corporate Affairs 149 124 135 (14) (13) (1)

Finance 275 213 256 (19) (18) (1)

Housing Information 695 575 667 (28) (18) (10)

Business Improvement 454 426 477 23 21 2

Procurement 205 154 174 (31) (18) (13)

Communications 259 224 273 14 14 -

Governance 326 213 266 (60) (40) (19)

Facilities Management 148 76 156 8 9 (0)

People Management 270 205 254 (15) 11 (26)

Corporate Affairs - Directorate 2,780 2,209 2,658 (122) (53) (68)

HRA Management Fee (40,032) (36,700) (40,032) (0) - (0)

GF Management Fee (3,950) (3,636) (3,950) 0 - 0

Overheads - (LBH Corporate Service Level Agreements) 5,236 4,854 5,316 80 80 -

Overheads - (HfH Insurance) 461 483 462 0 8 (8)

Overheads - (HfH Accommodation + Central costs) 328 307 377 49 54 (5)

HfH CONTINGENCY 53 22 179 127 (23) 149

Corporately Managed - Directorate (37,904) (34,670) (37,648) 255 119 137

Director of Operations 253 228 262 9 9 (0)

Community & Customer Relations 940 830 895 (44) (35) (9)

Estates & Neighbourhood Services 3,480 2,809 3,575 95 44 51

Tenancy Services 3,856 5,002 4,412 557 547 9

Income Management 2,576 1,987 2,378 (198) (151) (47)

Voids Management 198 224 245 46 46 (0)

OPERATIONS (Hsg Mgt) - Directorate 11,302 11,080 11,766 464 461 3

Client Services & Annual Maintenance (CS&AM) 5,152 4,614 5,368 216 50 166

Disrepair Structure & Compensation 925 958 1,202 277 395 (118)

Repairs Contract (Non-HRS) 265 57 229 (36) (36) -

Repairs Contract (HRS) - Income & Capitalisation (1,020) (411) (1,095) (75) (30) (45)

Client Services & Annual Maintenance (CS&AM) - sub total 5,322 5,218 5,704 382 379 3

HRS Haringey Repairs Service - sub total 14,653 12,238 14,013 (640) (640) (0)

Director of Asset Management 313 301 312 (1) 3 (4)

Capital Programme (1,047) (935) (1,232) (186) (194) 9

Policy & Strategy 311 283 308 (3) (3) 1

HfH HDV Compliance - 78 - - - -

Asset Management - sub total (422) (272) (612) (190) (195) 5

PROPERTY Services - Directorate 19,553 17,184 19,105 (448) (455) 8

Dir of Hsg Demand (686) (758) (697) (11) 5 (17)

Service Development 115 470 121 7 7 (0)

Housing Supply 949 804 898 (51) (26) (25)

Housing Needs 1,801 1,844 1,684 (117) (131) 14

Occupancy Management 1,129 1,258 1,140 11 17 (7)

Hearthstone 228 196 216 (12) (11) (1)

HOUSING DEMAND - Directorate 3,537 3,814 3,362 (175) (139) (36)

-

(Surplus) / Deficit - Totals - 279 0 0 0 (0)

HfH - Company Accounts

Period 11 (February) 2017/18

66

Budget £000s

YTD

Actual

£000s

p.11 SAP

Forecast

£000s

p.11

Forecast

Variance

£000s

Prior

Months

Variance

£000s

Month on

Month

Movement

£000s

Dwellings Rent Income (81,838) (74,374) (82,071) (233) (260) 27

Hostels Rent Income (1,996) (1,777) (1,962) 34 43 (9)

Garages Income (858) (668) (739) 119 118 1

Shops Income (2,139) (1,222) (1,164) 976 975 0

Rental Income - Total (86,831) (78,042) (85,936) 895 876 19

Leasehold Service Charge Income - Total (7,143) (13,216) (7,560) (417) (417) -

District Heating (336) (321) (349) (13) (14) 0

Light & Power (1,204) (1,089) (1,201) 3 2 0

Supported Housing (1,488) (1,361) (1,501) (13) (15) 2

Concierge (1,554) (1,402) (1,545) 9 9 0

Grounds Maintenance (1,922) (1,741) (1,919) 3 2 1

Caretaking (1,544) (1,398) (1,541) 4 3 1

Waste Management (1,626) (1,472) (1,623) 3 3 1

Tenant Service Charge Income - Total (9,674) (8,785) (9,679) (5) (9) 4

Hostels Service Charge Income - Total (341) (304) (335) 6 7 (1)

Estate Controlled Parking (Income) - Total (160) (83) (160) - - -

Water Rates Receivable (Income) -Total (6,295) (5,530) (6,089) 206 197 8

Total Income (110,444) (105,960) (109,759) 684 654 31

Water Rates Payable 5,277 5,010 5,030 (247) (247) -

Corporate Overheads 107 96 105 (2) (2) -

Tenants Incentive 358 303 370 13 13 -

Council Tax - Void Properties 150 131 150 - - -

Housing Management Costs - Total 5,892 5,540 5,655 (237) (237) -

Shops - NNDR/Repairs/Legal - Total 221 67 75 (146) (146) -

-

Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Leasehold Serv. Chgs 210 - 210 - - -

Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Shops 80 - 80 - - -

Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Dwellings 664 - 664 - - -

Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Hostels 68 - 68 - - -

Bad Debt Provision - Total 1,022 - 1,022 - - -

Supporting People 1,851 1,655 1,831 (20) (46) 26

Waste Management 2,100 2,028 2,670 570 570 -

Grounds Maintenance 1,680 1,283 1,760 80 80 -

Estate Controlled Parking 160 90 175 15 20 (5)

Energy Costs 1,417 540 1,050 (367) (367) -

Pest Control 277 145 277 - - -

Service Charge Costs -Total 7,485 5,742 7,763 278 257 21

-

Supported Housing Costs - Total - 7 - - - -

-

Hostels Costs - Total 579 359 464 (114) - (114)

Total Expenditure 15,199 11,715 14,980 (219) (126) (93)

(Surplus)/Deficit on Managed Accounts (95,244) (94,245) (94,779) 465 528 (62)

HRA Managed Accounts

Period 11 (February) 2017/18

67

HRA Capital Programme Appendix 3

Original

SAP

Budget

Revised

SAP

Budget

YTD

Budget

YTD

Actual

Current

Month

Accrual

Actual

including

Accrual

Total

YTD

Variance

Amount

Unprofiled

Forecast

Outturn

Forecast

Variance

Prior

Months

Variance

Month on

Month

Movement

£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s

H207 Estate Improvement 750 750 544 180 336 516 -28 0 623 -127 -11 -116 Variance of £127k due to the contractors

performance.

Variance of £116k due to the contractors

underperformance on the estate lighting & highways

projects.

H210 Planned Preventative

Maintenance

268 268 245 115 131 246 1 0 399 131 135 -4 Projected variance of £131k due to an increase to the

scope of the window maintenance programme. This

will be funded from the slippage in the lift programme.

H211 Structural Works 720 720 636 317 74 391 -245 0 520 -200 -163 -37 Projected variance or £200k due to a reduction in the

number of surveys required, additional monitoring, a

project having to be re-tendered and party wall

issues.

This is a demand lead programme and the spend is

dependant on the number of properties requiring

works during the year.

Variance of £37k due to inclement weather affecting

the works progress.

H212 Extensive Works Voids 500 500 339 274 29 303 -36 0 573 73 0 73 Variance of £73k due to this being a demand lead

project and the number of properties in the

programme.

Variance of £73k due to additional unforeseen works.

H213 Stock Survey 200 200 188 0 0 0 -188 0 15 -185 -170 -15 Variance of £185k due to slippage in the preparation

of the tender documents.

Surveying started in February. Estimated 6 month

contract and contractual commitment into 2017/19 of

£350k

Variance of 15k due to a delayed start of surveys.

H215 Boiler Replacement 3,500 3,500 2,761 2,529 270 2,799 38 989 3,500 0 0 0 Full spend now projected due to the BWF boiler

replacement which is estimated to cost £225k.

This is a demand lead project.

There is a risk of PO not being raised in time to record

the spend.

H216 Capitalised Voids Over £10k 420 420 331 466 27 493 162 0 495 75 32 43 Variance of £75k projected due to current demand

levels.

This is a demand lead programme and the spend is

dependant on the number of propertied becoming

void.

Variance of £43k due the higher number of voids

completed.

H218 Lift Improvements 880 880 345 -106 0 -106 -451 0 -60 -940 -921 -19 Projected variance of £940k is due to slippage in the

design process due to resources and the project

having to be re-tendered because only one tender

was returned.

Variance of £19k due to revision to the final accounts.

H229 Decent Homes Standard 18,392 24,615 20,980 12,323 2,089 14,412 -6,568 0 20,052 -4,563 -3,770 -793 Projected variance of £4,563k.

The variance due to undertaking the design,

procurement and delivery in the same year and the

following delays: agreeing the AMPs, consultants

compiling the information for Section 20 notice, signing

of the approval report, the raising of POs, obtain

access to dwellings to undertake the works.

Variance of £793k due to saving on final accounts

(£595k), no access, and inclement weather affecting

the progress of the works and the materials delivery.

H235 Asbestos Removal 220 220 174 196 1 197 23 23 220 0 0 0 Full spend projected

This is a demand lead project.

Period 11 (February)Comments on Monthly Variance

Comments on Budget Variance

68

Original

SAP

Budget

Revised

SAP

Budget

YTD

Budget

YTD

Actual

Current

Month

Accrual

Actual

including

Accrual

Total

YTD

Variance

Amount

Unprofiled

Forecast

Outturn

Forecast

Variance

Prior

Months

Variance

Month on

Month

Movement

£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s

Comments on Monthly Variance

Comments on Budget Variance

H243 Mechanical & Electrical Works 6,000 6,000 5,232 2,888 164 3,052 -2,180 0 3,394 -2,606 -2,272 -334 Variance of £2,606k projected which is due to slippage

in the design and tendering process due to resources

and outsourcing the design process. Further delays

were incurred by procurement team allowing projects

to be tendered.

The total includes £162k for new added to the

programme. There has also been saving identified in

the settlement of the final accounts.

Variance of £334k due to savings on final accounts

(£98k), reduction of programmed inspections and

remedial works (£31k), staff being diverted to the BWF

emergency works project and inclement weather

affecting the progress of the works and the materials

delivery.

H244 Professional Fees 2,000 2,000 1,671 1,851 174 2,025 354 0 2,100 100 115 -15 Variance of £100 projected. Variance of £15k due to adjusted projections for

vacant post

H247 Fire Protection Works 4,300 4,300 3,484 551 118 669 -2,815 0 4,453 153 -288 441 Full spend projected.

There is a risk of slippage if there are delays in raising

the PO.

There has been delays in the procurement design and

the signing of the approval report.

There are 3 projects currently in design with AMPs

being built up and 2 at the approval stage.

Variance of £441k due to projected valuations for

materials off site.

H253 Supported Living Scheme 0 0 0 16 0 16 16 0 16 16 16 0 Projects are closed and the final payments have been

made.

Adaptation of Office Accommodation 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 Project is closed and the final payment has been

made.

H257 Conversions & Extensions 320 320 299 273 62 335 0 0 380 60 72 -12 Variance of £60k projected due to tender being higher

than the pre-tender estimate.

Variance of £12k due to saving on final account

H265 Design Only Programme 250 250 167 0 0 0 -167 0 75 -175 -175 0 Variance of £175k due to delays in the procurement

process.

H259 Procurement 80 80 53 0 0 0 -53 0 28 -52 0 -52 Variance due to the delays in recruitment. Variance due to vacant post.

Total HfH Managed Capital 38,800 45,023 37,449 21,875 3,475 25,350 -12,135 1,012 36,783 -8,238 -7,398 -840

69

Homes for Haringey

Finance, Audit and Risk Committee Meeting 20 February 2018

Meeting: Finance, Audit and Risk Committee Meeting

Date: 6.30pm, 20 February 2018

Venue: Conference Room 1, 48 Station Road, Wood Green

Present: David Beacham (DB) – Chair, Anastasia Bloom (AB), Adzowa Kwabla-

Oklikah (AKOk), Anne Gibson (AG) – co-optee

Officers in

Attendance:

Chris Liffen (CL), Astrid Kjellberg-Obst (AKO), David Sherrington (DS),

Puneet Rajput (PR), Esther Campbell (EC), Dominic Johnson (DJ), Nick

Crago (NC)

Apologies: Joanna Christophides (JC), El-Farouk Cheik (EFC)

Item Minutes

Action

01/18 Welcome, Apologies and Declarations of Interest

The committee, officers and auditors were welcomed to the meeting.

Apologies were noted as above.

There were no declarations of interest.

02/18 Minutes of Meetings 24 October 2017

The minutes of the meeting on 24 October 2017 were agreed as an

accurate record of that meeting and signed by the Chair.

AG raised a concern in relation to the sheltered housing scrutiny

report. The fire doors which residents can’t open without assistance

was still an issue despite management assurance that this had been

addressed. This would be looked into.

AKO

03/18 Actions Log

DB asked about how the costs in relation to fire safety works would

be funded. DS responded that these were either part of a capital

budget agreed by the Council or would be new budget items in HfH’s

budget.

In relation to the sheltered housing scheme visits, these would be

deferred until after the local elections.

04/18 Safeguarding Exception Report (Oral)

AKO had previously updated the Committee on the death of a

supported housing resident as a result of smoking in her bed. A

74

Homes for Haringey


Item Minutes Action

Council safeguarding review was now underway in addition to the

coroner’s inquest due between 8 and 11 May.

05/18 External Audit Plan 2017/18

Andy Lowe, Partner at PWC, was welcomed to the meeting. The

standard auditing approach would not be significantly different this

year. Whilst there were no new accounting standards applicable for

the current year, there were some changes to auditing standards

which were more relevant for PWC. The audit report would be longer

and contain more information. The letter of engagement had not

been presented at this stage as it was still being updated to reflect

new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the new

auditing standards.

Two significant and one elevated risk had been identified in the plan.

The significant risks were mandated under audit standards. There

were two aspects to the elevated going concern risk: i) an outstanding

start up loan to Move 51and representation needed from the Council

that the loan would never be called in and preferably written off; and

ii) general uncertainty associated with a new incoming administration post local elections and the outstanding sign off of HfH’s new

Management Agreement by the Secretary of State.

CL said he would take the matter of the loan up with the Council.

The audit fee proposed was consistent with the proposed terms

agreed at contract renewal 18 months ago.

AKOk asked if a longer audit report was due to any performance

concerns. AL responded that this was in relation to a requirement to

make a public statement in relation to the auditors independence and

objectivity and to also provide an explicit view on HfH’s going

concern.

In relation to the risk of management override of controls, DB asked

what level of management this related to. AL responded that this was

any level that had access to assets, involvement in accounting,

manipulation of data and financial authorisations.

The Committee approved the external audit fee for the 2017/18 audit.

AL left the meeting at this point.

CL

75

Homes for Haringey


Item Minutes Action

06/18 Counter Fraud Report Q3 2017/18

38 properties had been recovered as at Q3 against an annual target

of 50. NC was confident the target would be achieved. In relation to

Right to Buy (RTB) investigations, there was a target to prevent 80

applications from inappropriate progression. It was expected to

achieve at least 75 by the end of the year.

AG asked how suspicion of non-occupation was identified. NC

responded that this was by several means including financial and

background checks and analysis of patterns. AKOk asked if the

counter fraud operation was working in tandem with the operation at

Broadwater Farm (BWF). AKO and NC confirmed that this was the

case and would feature in the Q4 report.

NC left at this point.

07/18 Health and Safety Report

DJ reported that overall performance was good and that the fire risk

programme was progressing well. More visibility was still needed in

relation to Temporary Accommodation (TA) and clarity from the

Council in relation to HfH’s responsibilities for adaptations. The

window restrictor programme had been paused post Grenfell and

would now move to a reactive maintenance programme in light of

priorities and resources. AKOk asked why this was the case. DJ

responded that this related to adopting more of a risk based

approach and reviewing changes in risks and repairs volumes.

Approx. 21% of all staff absence (7,304 days) was mental health

related. Work to promote health and wellbeing within the workforce

was under way to help address this type of absence.

AKOk asked if disciplinary action in relation to non-use of lone

working devices had started. DJ confirmed this was the case. She

asked about the servicing of emergency lighting and information on

the building comprising 4% not serviced. This would be provided.

In response to a question from AG, DJ stated that the definition of a

“near miss” was where there was a probability of an accident

occurring where if realised would result in actual harm.

AKOk praised the good performance in relation to TA compliance

KPIs.

DJ

76

Homes for Haringey


Item Minutes Action

DS provided an update on progress with gas safety at BWF. In

relation to the 9 low rise blocks there were now only a small handful

of properties that hadn’t been accessed. These were in hand.

Tangmere had failed the higher standard for resistance and cooker

replacement and disruptor valve installation work was underway.

Kenley had passed the resistance test. Results for Northolt were

awaited as were a number of other survey results for Tangmere and

four storey blocks for compliance with the lower standard of

resistance. Residents were being kept informed and meetings were

taking place with the local residents’ association. An options

appraisal had been carried out for a longer term solution at BWF and

the preferred option for the Council and HfH was the installation of a

district heating system. The appraisal would be circulated to the

committee members.

DJ left the meeting at this point.

DS

08/18 Internal Audit Progress Report and Recommendations Tracker

The internal audit programme was progressing well and all field work

was on schedule for completion before the end of the financial year.

The recommendations tracker was noted.

09/18 Internal Audit – Contracts and Procurement

The audit had received limited assurance. A task and finish group

was working to improve vendor management, ensure the contracts

register was kept up to date and implement a procurement forward

plan. Further information would be provided on the 20 suppliers not

on the contracts register.

AKOk suggested internal audit revisit this either in 2018/19 or

2019/20.

PR

PR

10/18 Data Quality Audit Update

There were now two strands to the data quality audit project – i) a

series of data quality audits and ii) preparation for the GDPR in May.

A pre-Board briefing had been scheduled for the Board in May but

AB requested that this be brought forward to a written briefing by the

end of March in addition to the briefing in May. PR assured the

committee that HfH would be ready for the regulations in May and

work was well underway.

PR

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11/18 Internal Audit Plan 2018/19

A proposed internal audit plan was presented for 2018/19. This was

based on Mazars review of HfH’s risk map and ELT recommendations

on areas where internal audit could add value.

DB asked about the HRS bonus scheme as a risk area for audit. CL

responded that this had been reviewed and costs reduced. It was no

longer considered high risk.

AKOk asked about best practice. PR responded that there was a

desire to move a larger proportion of the allocated days towards a

continuous audit approach of high risk areas such as payroll and

accounts payable. This was in line with industry good practice.

AG asked if extra days could be bought if needed. This was

confirmed.

The Committee approved the internal audit plan for 2018/19.

12/18 Draft Budget 2018/19

EC presented a draft budget 2018/19 for HfH for committee review.

The variance between the budget and the agreed management fee

was currently £200k for which ELT were confident additional savings

would be found. In relation to the assumptions underpinning the

budget, DS commented that confirmation was awaited from the

Council that they would fund lightning protection and ventilation

maintenance works. The cost of TA was budgeted for in the Council’s

budget and not HfH.

13/18 Risk Register Q3 2017/18

In relation to risk PM8 (progressive collapse of towers at BWF) DS

commented that on reflection the probability was incorrectly rated as

“4” (likely) and was more realistically “1” (remote).

DB asked why risk HD2 (excessive reliance on TA resulting in

substantial financial pressures on LBH) had increased in severity. This

was largely due to delays in Council decision making due to the local

elections.

DB asked if HfH was ready for implementation of the Homelessness

Reduction Act. CL responded that the Housing Demand directorate

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had restructured and was undertaking extensive training. HfH would

be ready.

AKOk suggested that the wording of risk CO6 (poor procurement

and tendering practices) be reviewed in light of the internal audit

report on contracts and procurement and the risk re-evaluated.

There was a discussion in relation to risk CO2 (failure to manage

budgets effectively) and the large swings in year-end projections. CL

responded that this was largely due to a decision to account for costs

that had been assumed would be reimbursed by the Council and

had, therefore, been excluded from projections. A mild winter had

also led to the release of provisions in relation to gritting and

additional plumbing labour costs. PR commented that swings in

forecast position would be reported to the Board with greater

reporting on those budgets most volatile to those swings. EC added

that there was also more detailed information relating to assumptions

behind the composition of large budgets which would assist with

better monitoring and projections.

AKOk asked about IT related risk in relation to the tri borough shared

digital service. CL responded that HfH’s business case for updating

the housing management system had been approved.

AKOk asked about the red control rating for the management of

corridors in converted street properties. CL responded that this would

be reviewed once findings from inspections were completed.

PR

14/18 Write Off Proposals

AKO presented proposals to write off debt on accounts where

recovery actions had been exhausted or were now statute barred. AB

asked how this compared to the previous period and how such a

large sum had arisen in one quarter. Further information would be

provided on this.

AKOk asked when the recovery policy was last reviewed. AKO

responded that this was approx. 18 – 24 months ago but would

confirm this.

AG asked about unauthorised occupants and if they were

unauthorised how could rent be charged. AKO responded that it was

for this reason that the charge was not classified as rent but as an

AKO

AKO

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unauthorised occupants charge which was equivalent to the rent due

had the occupant been a tenant.

The Committee approved recommendation to the Council proposed

write offs for 268 accounts totalling £589,521.11

15/18 AOB

DB confirmed this was his last meeting before retiring as a Councillor.

The Committee thanked DB for his Chairmanship of the Committee

and wished him well.

There was no other business.

The meeting closed at 20:20.

Signed:

Date:

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