wolverhampton homes’ board meeting...2015/12/11 · 8b draft 2016-17 delivery plan 8c draft...

Registered Office: Hickman Avenue, Chillington Fields, Wolverhampton, WV1 2BYRegistration No: 5441967

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES’ BOARD MEETING

A meeting of the Board will be held as follows:-

date: FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2015

time: 09:30 HOURS

place: MARSTON SUITE, NOVOTEL, UNION STREET, WV1 3JN

L RobertsChief Executive

For further information on the meeting please contact Ruth Fletcher, GovernanceManager, (tel: 01902-551009) (e-mail [email protected]).

Return to Agenda

Registered Office: Hickman Avenue, Chillington Fields, Wolverhampton, WV1 2BYRegistration No: 5441967

A G E N D A

1 Apologies

2 Declarations of Interest

3 Minutes of Previous Meetings –18 September 2015

4 Matters Arising

6 Outstanding Recommendations Tracking Report

Training

7 Health and Safety Ron Reid,Shoosmiths

7A Health Safety and Welfare Report

For Decision

8A Support Services Integration Project

8B Draft 2016-17 Delivery Plan

8C Draft Capital Programme for 2016-17

8D Supporting Tenants In Need Policy

8E Improvements to Leasehold Properties

For Information

9A Comprehensive Spending Review

9B Age Designation

10 Chief Executive’s report

11 End of year feedback from Board Champions

Return to Agenda

Glossary of Terms

ACCI - African Caribbean Community Initiative

ACOV - All Cultures One Voice

ALMO - Arms Length Management Organisation

BCM - Building Cost Model

BDA - Board Development Agency

BME - Black and Minority Ethnic

BRT - Business Recovery Teams

BSL - British Sign Language

CAADA - Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse

CAB - Citizens Advice Bureau

CCS - Considerate Construction Scheme (CCS).

CLG - Department of Communities and Local Government

CESP - Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP).

CRM - Customer Relations Management System

CSA/O - Customer Services Advisor/Officer

CSE - Child Sexual Exploitation

DA - Domestic Abuse

DASH - Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour Based Violence

DASM - Designated Adult Safeguarding Manager

DDA - Disability Discrimination Act

DERS - Domestic Energy Reduction Strategy

DHR - Domestic Homicide Reviews

E&D - Equalities and Diversity

EIA - Equalities Impact Assessment

ESP - Employment and Skills Plan

EMS - Environmental Management System

F&A - Finance and Audit

FY - Financial Year

H&S - Health and Safety

HCA - Homes and Community Agency

HCP - Housing Capital Programme

HPSG - Housing Providers Safeguarding Group

HRA - Housing Revenue Account

Return to Agenda

HSE - Health and Safety Executive

HQN - Housing Quality Network

IMT - Incident Management Team

KPI - Key Performance Indicators

ILM - Institute of Leadership and Management

JSA - Job Seekers Allowance

LAA - Local Area Agreement

LASB - Local Adults Safeguarding Board

LEAP - Learning Employment Achievement Programme

LHA - Local Housing Allowance

MARAC - Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference

MASH - Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs

MRA - Major Repairs Allowance

LAF - Local Area Forum

NFA - National Federation of ALMO’s

PING - Promoting inclusion and integration among the next generation

PSL - Private Sector Leasing

RTB - Right to Buy

SAB - Safeguarding Adults Board

SCS - Sustainable Community Strategy

SIG - Service Improvement Group

SILF - Strategic Local Investment Framework

SMT - Senior Management Team

TRA - Tenants and Residents Association

TOR - Terms of Reference

TP - Tenant Participation

TMO - Tenant Management Organisations

WCC - Wolverhampton City Council

WH - Wolverhampton Homes

WHO - World Health Organisation

WISG - Wolverhampton Information Sharing Group

Return to Agenda

MMeeting: WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES’ BOARD MEETING

Date: FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2015

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:-

Sue Roberts MBE (Chair)Ann BennettAlan BolshawAngela DaviesGraham DoddKevin FearonMike HardacrePeter KnightRita PotterAnn RamsbottomPaul SinghTersaim SinghMark Ward

STAFF IN ATTENDANCE:-

Lesley Roberts - Chief ExecutivePhilip Toni - Director of ResourcesMark Henderson - Director of HousingShaun Aldis - Director of Property ServicesSue Kunynec - Director of Corporate ServicesRuth Fletcher - Governance Manager

WOLVERHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES IN ATTENDANCE:-

Mila Simpson - Team Leader

Action1429 Apologies

Mary Griffiths and Bob Smith.

MINUTES

Return to Agenda

Action1430 Selection of Chair and Vice-Chair

Sue Roberts was unanimously selected as Chair of the Board.Ann Bennett was unanimously selected as Vice-Chair.

1431 Declaration of interest

Any tenant related issues – Angela Davies, Graham Dodd,Ann Ramsbottom, Sue Roberts and Mark Ward.

Noted with interest, allowed to remain and join in the debate.

1432 Minutes of previous meeting -12 June 2015

Agreed as a true record.

1433 Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

1434

Outstanding Recommendations Tracking Report (Appendix 6)

Resolved:Board members noted that the one outstanding recommendation wasbeing presented on today’s agenda at agenda item 8.

Budget Implications and Welfare Reform2015- Summer Budget – Implications for Housing (Appendix 7A (i))

Philip Toni presented this item. He advised that the Summer 2015budget had presented several challenges for Wolverhampton andsocial housing in general. One of the challenges was that it taken awaythe current formula for setting rents and replaced it with an ‘increase’rate of minus 1 per cent per year. The result of the change was thatinstead of expecting to see rents around 7% higher in four years’ time,it would see rents 4% lower instead. Therefore, in 2019/20 rents wouldbe about 11% lower than the provision within the current HRA model.The impact of this was an annual funding gap of £1bn nationally,representing 60% of councils’ total housing maintenance budget. Theimpact for Wolverhampton would be £622m, which was a significantamount of money.

Other issues were cutting tax relief on buy to let mortgage holders,

Return to Agenda

Action

1435

which may see the number of private properties to let go down, anddemand for social housing go up as there would be less privateproperties available to rent. Another concern was that there may bemore people being made homeless because of mortgage debt followingthe decision to convert the mortgage scheme, for those who receivedbenefits while they are out of work, into a loan. The budget alsoproposed charging families outside of London market rent, if they hadan income of over £30,000. A further important point was that thegovernment planned to review and limit the use of lifetime tenancies,and ensure households were offered tenancies that matched theirneeds. From 2017 the budget also removed the automatic entitlementto housing support for new claims in Universal Credit from 18-21 yearolds who were out of work.

Resolved:Board members:

(i) noted the report and the potential implications for HousingRevenue Account finances and Wolverhampton Homes;

(ii) noted the implications of the summer budget for the demandfor and the supply of social housing.

1436

Welfare Reform – Budget Implications (Agenda 7A (ii))

Mark Henderson presented this item. He advised that the summerbudget contained a number of proposals aimed at further reducing thewelfare benefit bill by £12.99 billion by 2019/20. While much of thedetail was still awaited, there were a number of changes that wouldhave an impact on tenants. Mark specifically referred to theabolishment of housing support for many 18-21 years olds. Currentlythere were 684 people on the housing register in this age group, and inthe past year 164 people between the ages of 18-21 had beenrehoused. A proposed change to the benefit cap in April 2016 to£20,000 per year for couples and £13,400 for single people wouldincrease the number of tenants affected. Currently there were 66Wolverhampton Homes managed households affected by the current£500 per week benefit cap. The further reduction in benefits wouldaffect an estimated further 800 households.

Mark advised that the publication of the Housing Bill, scheduled for theautumn this year, was eagerly awaited. It was hoped that more clarityon the government’s proposals would be provided. Meanwhile theorganisation would continue to prepare for universal credit.

Resolved:Board Members:

Return to Agenda

Action(i) noted the contents of the report;(ii) endorsed the action taken and proposed to date;(iii) agreed to receive a further update as and when the Housing

Bill was published later in the year;(iv) noted that a response would then be formulated to any

associated consultation.

1437

Revised Mission, Vision and Values (Appendix 7B)

Sue Kunynec presented this item. She advised that on the12 June 2015 board members had agreed that work should take placeto refresh the Mission, Vision and Values with a view to launching themin October 2015, to coincide with Wolverhampton Homes 10th

anniversary.

Board members noted the actions taken to consult on the refreshedMission, Vision and Values, and that HR Committee in July 2015 hadrecommended them to the board for approval, as follows:

Mission‘Helping people to get on in life’

Vision‘Unlocking people’s potential through housing, skills and technology’

Values‘Working together’‘Open to new ideas’‘Respecting differences’‘Delivering our promises’

Board members commented that it was good to see that all sectors hadbeen involved in consultation on the new Mission, Vision and Values.

Resolved:Board members approved the revised Mission, Vision and Values asrecommended by HR Sub-Committee.

1438(i)

Chief Executive’s report (Appendix 8)

Lesley Roberts presented this report.

Exclusion from Tenants Events PolicyResolved:Board members:

Return to Agenda

Action

1438(ii)

1438(iii)

1438(iv)

(i) approved the Exclusion from Tenants Events Policy;(ii) requested that guidance be produced and reported back to board

on dealing with harassment of staff on social media.

Dates of Board Meetings in 2016Resolved:Board members approved the dates for board meetings to be held in2016, as follows:

Friday 12 February at 9:30 hoursFriday 15 April at 9:30 hoursFriday 17 June at 9:30 hoursFriday 16 September AGM at 9:30 hoursFriday 9 December at 09:30 hours

Repairs UpdateResolved:Board members noted that it was planned to build more capacity in therepairs service by moving to a.m. /p.m. appointment slots to improveefficiency and complete more repairs on the first visit.

Community Switch – feedback from get-togethersResolved:Board members noted the feedback from tenant get-togethers onconsultation on the Community Switch energy switching initiative.

SK

Return to Agenda

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES BOARD (11/12/2015) AGENDA ITEM 7A

Open Report

Title Health Safety and Welfare Report

Status For information

AuthorContact No:

Mark Darmody01902 552135

Recommendations The Board is asked to note the report.

Key Risks orContentious Issues

Protecting the Health and Safety of employees andmembers of the public who may be affected by our activitiesis an essential part of risk management and must be led bythe board.Health and Safety law places duties on organisations,employers and Directors who can be personally responsiblewhen these duties are breached.

Summary

1. Purpose

1.1 The report summarises performance for Health and Safety between May 2015 andNovember 2015. It provides board with an understanding of control measures inplace and an assurance that Health and Safety is a priority for WolverhamptonHomes. The report also outlines recent initiatives and updates.

2. Landlord Incidents Summary

2.1 Since the last meeting there have been a further 31 incidents (appendix 1) resultingin a total of 41 for 2015. The total number of incidents reported, for the same period,last year was 42. This indicates consistency with our continued data sharing protocolswith West Midlands Fire Service.

3. Accident Summary (note: accidents are collated April-March)

3.1 For period May 2015 – November 2015 there have been a total of 26 accidents,compared with 36 for the previous year. The majority of the accidents were of a minornature with the exception of two, which were RIDDOR incidents due to being over 7day injuries and were reportable to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). SeeAppendix 2.

4. Lost Time Due To Industrial injury Summary

4.1 To date, for 2015, a total of 85 days have been lost, compared to 118.5 days, for thesame period, last year. This decrease is a result of last year’s roller shutter incidenthaving a big impact on the figures. See Appendix 3.

Return to Agenda

5. Benchmarking Data Stockport Homes and HQN SAFETYnet Survey 2013-14(See Appendix 4)

5.1 Stockport Homes benchmark is favourable.

5.2 Wolverhampton Homes Safety-net benchmark is favourable. Housing QualityNetwork (HQN) SAFETY-net Benchmarking Survey 2014 – 2015. There were a totalof 27 responses from social landlords – defined as Local Authority HousingDepartments, Arm's-Length Management Organisations (ALMOs), and HousingAssociations (HAs) – to the 2014/15 benchmarking survey. The organisations takingpart in the surveys are members of SAFETYnet, The Excellence in Health and SafetyNetwork managed by HQN.

6. Fire Safety : High, Medium and Low Rise Flatted Accommodation (appendix 5)

6.1 Fire risk assessments are all up to date with the exception of Wodensfield Tower andWilliam Bentley Court, which have been deferred until the refurbishment work iscompleted.

7. Health and Safety Performance Indicators 2015/16 Quarter 2(See Appendix 6 )

7.1 Health and Safety performance indicators for Quarter 2 are good.

8. Update Fire Safety Response to the Lakanal House Rule 43 Letter

8.1 West Midlands Fire Service

Following discussions Wolverhampton Homes and West Midland Fire Service haveagreed to run a National Conference during 2016 to promote Fire Safety in theHousing Sector. The venue is likely to be West Midlands Fire Service HeadquartersBirmingham. The objective of the conference will be to promote local AuthorityPartnerships and will include amongst others Wolverhampton Homes stay safe stayput strategy, data sharing protocol and a procedure to deal with hoarding.

West Midlands Fire service are in receipt of architectural information fromWolverhampton Homes relating to high rise tower blocks. Specific information will bedisplayed on the outside side of each high rise block on what is referred to as a“Strathclyde Plate”. Currently awaiting final approval from WMFS to proceed.

8.2 Fire Risk assessments

All are up to date. See appendix 5

9. Recent Initiatives and Updates

At the last meeting in April you were advised on a number initiatives taking place.

9.1 Asbestos

Return to Agenda

A review of the asbestos management procedures is currently being undertaken. Thekey aim and objective is to ensure that Wolverhampton Homes has evidence that isaccurate, relevant and up to date. Also to ensure that it can be readily understoodand can be easily accessed and communicated. An action plan has been agreed.The delivery, monitoring and signing off of individual actions contained within the planis being undertaken by the Health Safety and Welfare Committee.

9.2 Safety and Health Awareness Days

Safety and Health awareness days (SHAD) were successfully delivered duringAugust. The event was organised jointly with WATES and United Living and wassupported by the Health and Safety Executive and West Midland Working WellTogether. Four half day sessions over two days were facilitated at City ofWolverhampton College. Five toolbox talks were delivered by partner organisations atwhich 361 WH trades colleagues, managers, supervisors and contractors attended.Each of the sessions were opened with a presentation given by a Health andPrincipal Inspector (HSE) on the topic of Occupational Health exposure to dust in theconstruction sector. On all accounts based upon feedback from the HSE andfeedback forms from those who attended the event was well received

9.3 Fire safety Interventions Vulnerable Tenants

The Health and Safety Unit are working jointly with West Midlands Fire Service andcolleagues from Housing to undertake interventions with tenants who have beenidentified as vulnerable, and may be at risk from fire related incidents. Vulnerabilitiescan include substance and alcohol abuse, hoarding and mental health. Wherenecessary case conferences are convened with professionals from other serviceproviders to determine a recommended course of action.

9.4 Business Continuity Planning

To support the Business Continuity process four departments have undertaken afurther Business Impact Analysis (BIA). The four sections homes direct, repairs,lettings and housing operations are identified as critical services. The purpose of theexercise is to ensure that in the event of a disaster e.g. IT failure, fire, pandemic etc.,measures are in place to be able to continue the services over a given time period.The findings of the analysis will be monitored by the Business Continuity SteeringGroup. Further departments will also undertake a review of their BIA.

9.5 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health

In light of revised legislation, a review has been undertaken of all substancescurrently used in the organisation. These products are primarily substances suppliedover the counter by Travis Perkin. The review will also take into account othersources such as dust and fumes generated from certain processes e.g. soldering andplastering. All the assessments are retained in a shared electronic folder which isaccessible to office based staff. Trades staff will be given a hard copy which will beretained in their personal risk assessment file.

9.6 Strategic Partnership

The Health and Safety Unit meet on a regular basis with WATES and United Living

Return to Agenda

as well as attending the Survey Production and Standards meetings. Performancedata is being shared. Joint inspections are being undertaken and reported at HealthSafety and Welfare Committee. Other initiatives include sharing hazard alerts, safetyand health awareness days and the possibility of a joined up approach towardsasbestos awareness training. The purpose of this will be to supplement and enhancewhat is already a mandatory requirement when appointing sub- contractors.

9.7 Engagement Trade Unions

Monthly meetings are on-going with UCATT and a cycle of office inspections areundertaken with UNISON.

The voids team won the Annual Health and Safety Award (2014) jointly sponsored bythe trade unions. They devised and implemented a new electrical isolation procedure.

9.8 Audits Internal 2014/15

Internal Health and Safety Audits have been undertaken by the Health and SafetyUnit and have included tenant meeting rooms, management of road risk, lettings,decent homes, asbestos, control of contractors, fire and electrical .Further audits willbe scheduled which will include lifts and legionella. Reports detailing outcomes andany areas of non-compliance, or where action is required, are received by the HealthSafety and Welfare Committee following each audit. The audit committee havereceived an Annual Report (2015).

9.9 Manual Handling

As updated in the previous report an external manual handling trainer (PristineCondition) has been engaged. The purpose of this is to reinforce previous trainingundertaken by the Health and Safety Unit. The training is designed to challengehuman behaviour by utilising more simplistic lifting techniques The training will furthercontribute to reduce incidents related to manual handling. In most cases they areminor injuries. However these incidents have a knock on overall effect on Health andSafety performance. To date approx. 60 operative’s managers and supervisors haveundertaken the half day training session. A further 60 places have been sourced.Places are prioritised by risk To date feedback back has been extremely positive.

9.10 Construction Design Management Regulations 2015 (CDM)

Following changes to the Construction Design & Management Regulations,Wolverhampton Homes have implemented changes in property services includingtwo current staff who taken the role of designers, and another colleague the role ofPrincipal Designer. The Health and Safety Unit will continue to work with propertyservices to provide competent Health and Safety support on all construction projectsincluding pre-construction phase plans and site monitoring

9.11 Annual Work Equipment Inspection and Maintenance

The Annual Inspection and Maintenance of work equipment for all trade sections ison target and progressing for the period 2015. This includes all electrical workequipment being portable appliance tested (PAT) and all access equipment and face

Return to Agenda

fitted dust masks inspected.

9.12 Health and Safety Training 2014/15

Appendix 7 is a list of the Health and Safety training completed from April 2015 toNovember 2015.

Value for Money and Financialimplications

There are no significant financial implications.

Impact on Environment andCommunity

A better reputation for corporate responsibility amongcustomers and communities.

Leaseholder implications/Consultation/Feedback withTenants

The Health and Safety policy covers all who could beaffected by our activities thus includes tenants andleaseholders.

Long Term consequence forthe organisation

A robust Health and Safety policy and its effectiveimplementation will safeguard against litigation, improvereputation, increase productivity, and reduce insurancepremiums.

Employees interests Well-being, safe working practices, safe workingenvironment.

Impact on businessrelationships with suppliers,customers and others

A safe healthy organisation is important in the provision ofeffective and efficient services to our customers and isessential for the planning of quality services.

Maintenance of high standardsof business conduct

A better reputation for corporate responsibility amongcustomers and communities.Improved standing among suppliers and partners.

Impact on the WolverhamptonHomes Management System(WHMS) (i.e. up-dates topolicies, strategies,procedures etc)

NONE

Has an Equalities ImpactAssessment Carried out:

NO - Not applicable for interim Health and Safety Report

APPENDICES Appendix 1– Landlord Incidents on-going 2014 - 15

Appendix 2 – Total accidents / incidents and near-miss:April 2014 - current and Total 2013-14

Appendix 3 – Lost days resulting from workplaceaccidents

Appendix 4 – Benchmark Stockport Homes2015 andHQN safety-net benchmark 2014-15.

Appendix 5 – Fire Risk Assessments High Medium andLow Flatted accommodation 2015.

Return to Agenda

Appendix 6 – Health and SafetyPerformance Indicator quarter 2015-16 quarter 2.

Appendix 7 - Health and Safety Training completedJanuary – September 2014

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 1

Appendix 1 Landlord Incidents January 2015 - November 2015

1

7/1/15 Russell Court Dangerousoccurrence

No Injury Accident - barrierdropped onto vanresulting in barrierdamage no injury totrades Steve Tongueor apprentice AndrewFoster. Safe systemof work not followed.

Richard Henry hascarried out aninvestigation andsubsequent toolboxtalksCLOSED

2

10/1/15 67 BulgerRoad

Fire No injury Faulty appliance –tumble dryer

No further action -closed

3

21/1/15 156 St AnnesRoad

Fire No injury Cooker on fire No further action –closed

4


Fire No injury Cooking incident– wooden spoonin microwave –out on WMFSarrival

Closed

5

10/2/15 15aCastlebridgeRoad

Fire No injury Careless discardof smoking items

Closed

6

27/2/15 224GlentworthGardens

Fire No injury Cooking – panleft on hob – outon WMFS arrival

No furtheractions - closed

7

3/3/15 49 St Joseph’sCourt

AsbestosRelease

No injury Front door containingcrysotile – drilled byWates operative

Investigationongoing – TempStream Managerhas been dismissedRIDDOR completedby WatesCLOSED

8

4/3/15 23f GreenPark Avenue

Fire No injury Careless discardof smoking items

Job on northgatecompleted -closed

9


Fire No injury Electrical fire –loose connectionon spur point

Job completed -closed

10

5/3/15 110 FirstAvenue

Fire No injury Pan left on hob –hoarding issues

Joint visits H&S& EM – remedialworks completed- closed

11

24/4/15 3b GregoryCourt

Fire No injury Electrical fault invoid property

RIDDORcompleted byWates. Ongoinginvestigation.

12

30/4/15 44 Pope Road GasEscape

No Injury Gas leak due toconnection ongas fire not beingsufficientlytightened.

Closed

Return to Agenda

13

May 15 Heath TownBoiler House

Asbestos Historical incidentrelating to warmair units

Works ongoingto remove ACMsfrom warm airunits - closed

14

3/5/15 89 BrockfieldHouse

Fire No injury Very minorsmoke damage tobedroom onearound heatingvent.

Closed

15

3/5/15 9a JulianClose

Fire No injury Chip pan fire.Kitchen severedamage(unusable).Remainingproperty not toobad, minor smokedamage.

Kitchen severedamage(unusable).Remainingproperty not toobad, minorsmoke damage.Gas and elecboth isolated.

16

9/5/15 33 Star Street Fire Injurysustained

Electric kettleplaced on gashob – 83 year oldmale seconddegree burns

HousingManagementaware – closed.

1710/5/15 29 Whitmore

HouseFire No injury Small fire in

kitchenClosed - NOSP

18

27/5/15 109 MasefieldMews

Fire Minorburns totenant &neighbourtreated forsmokeinhalation

Accidental – seatof fire bedroom

Closed

193/6/15 22 Castlecroft

RoadFire No injury Small fire – toy

left on cookerClosed

20

5/6/15 86 CatisfieldCrescent

Fall fromheight

Fracturedfoot

Tenant jumpedout of bedroomwindow duringasbestos removal

RIDDORcompleted byUnited Living –investigationcomplete -closed.

21

17/6/15 202a BushburyRoad

Fire No info Small fire -cooking

Passed toHousingManagement.

22

21/6/15 36 GrosvenorCourt

Fire No injury Tenant left foodcooking on thehob and went out.

No real damageto property otherthan fire brigadeforcing entry –new doorrequired. Closed

Return to Agenda

23

24/6/15 150 StowheathLane

Fire No injury Tenant fell asleepwhilst cookingunder theinfluence

Passed toHousingManagement –closed.

24

26/6/15 1 BruetonRoad

Fire No injury Cooking – nofurther info


25

27/6/15 3a StirlingRoad

Fire No injury Fire in cooker Passed toHousingManagement –closed.

26

1/7/15 28 AlameinRoad

Fire No injury Used petrol tolight barbecue


27

1/7/15 31 BrockfieldHouse

Asbestos RIDDOR Tenant removedAIB

Fullenvironmentalclean-up ofdwelling –closed.

28

25/7/15 6 ArnhemClose

Fire No injury Chip pan left oncooker


29

7/8/15 12 SmestowStreet

Fire No injury Minor electricalfire was out onarrival

Passed to TMO– closed.

30

12/8/15 24 Lord StreetWest

Fire No injury Small fire incooker – was outon arrival


31

17/8/15 41 FifthAvenue

Fire No injury Grill pan on fire Passed toHousingManagement –closed.

32

17/8/15 30 GoughAvenue

GasEscape

No injury Gas leak Investigationcompleted byUnited Living –closed

33

23/8/15 15 NeedwoodDrive

Fire No injury Cooking leftunattended


34

23/8/15 7 Smith Close Fire No injury Cooking leftunattended – wasout on arrival


35

28/8/15 2 PrincessAnne Road

Fire No injury Pan of food left ingrill

Passed toHousingManagement

Return to Agenda

36

1/9/15 12 SimpsonRoad

Fire Smokeinhalation

Chip pan left onelectric cooker

Passed toHousingManagement

37

10/9/15 117a RabyStreet

Fire No injury Food on cookerand tenant leftproperty

PR H&Sattended site.

38

21/9/15 152 GreenLanes

Fire No injury Bonfire – fire inoutbuildingspread to house

Passed torepairs – closed.

39

22/9/15 74 CaledoniaRoad

Fire No injury Electrical socketadaptor causedfire


40

3/10/15 66 MyattAvenue

Fire No injury Arson – refusealight between66-64 causedexternal damage


41

11/10/15

34 DouglasPlace

Fire No injury Cooker fire out onarrival

Job on northgatepassed to repairs– closed.

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 2

Wolverhampton HomesAccidents / Incidents / Near-Misses and Physical Assaults - April 2015 – Current

HSERIDDOR

ReportableAccidents

Non-ReportableAccidents

HSERIDDOR

ReportableIncidents

Physical Assault Near-Misses

April 15 0 1 0 0 0

May 15 0 4 0 0 0

June 15 0 5 0 0 1July 15 1a 5 0 0 2Aug 15 0 5 0 0 0Sept 15 0 1 0 0 0Oct 15 1b 4 0 0 0Nov 15 0 0 0 0 3Dec 15Jan 16Feb 16March 16

Total 2 25 6

1a badley twisted ankle (over 7 day)1b collision with door frame (over 7 day)

Return to Agenda

Wolverhampton HomesAccidents / Incidents / Near-Misses and Physical Assaults - April 2013 – March 14

HSERIDDOR

ReportableAccidents

Non-ReportableAccidents

HSERIDDOR

ReportableIncidents

Physical Assault Near-Misses

April 14 0 6 0 0 1May 14 1a 4 0 0 0June 14 0 4 0 0 2July 14 0 10 0 0 2Aug 14 0 5 0 0 5Sept 14 0 4 0 0 2Oct 14 0 4 0 0 0Nov 14 1b 3 0 0 1Dec 14 0 3 0 0 1Jan 15 1c, 2c 2 0 0 0Feb 15 0 4 0 0 0March 15 1d 5 0 0 1

Total 5 54 0 0 15

1a – Fall from height through broken manhole cover (over 7 day)1b – Wrist injury while opening door (over 7 day)1c – Broken ankle falling down stairs2c – Fractured thumb (over 7 day)1d – back injury moving furniture – (over 7 day)

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 3

Wolverhampton HomesLost days resulting from workplace accidents

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016January 17 0 5 19 12 9 32 12February 77 28 58 19 4 2 23.5 20March 8 10 27 26 0 0 21 11April 29 14 26 6 0 0 0 0May 15 39 27 0 6 0 14 1June 21 11 31 6 21 0 1 0July 40 14 26 38 37 0 0 20August 47 0 22 78 43 0 0 0September 14 10 37 46 23 18 0 0October 52 158 48 5 38 0 0 10November 56 76 22 0 12 0 27 11

December 0 0 23 0 0 0 3

Total 376 360 352 243 196 29 121.5 85

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 4

Health and Safety Benchmarking Stockport Homes 2015

Lost Days Resultingfrom Workplace

Accidents

RIDDOR Total Number ofAccidentsReported

Total Number ofTool Box Talks

Near MissIncidents

WolverhamptonHomes

Quarter 143 3 14 8 1

Quarter 220 0 9 14 0

Quarter 320 1 12 12 2

Quarter 4

Total 83 4 35 34 3

Stockport HomesQuarter 1 0 0 6 12 7

Quarter 2 0 0 10 13 4

Quarter 3 0 0 10 14 9

Quarter 4

Total 0 0 26 39 20

Return to Agenda

Housing Quality Network (HQN) SAFETY-net Benchmarking Survey 2014 - 15

RIDDORIncident Rate per100 employees

Accident RatePer 100 employees

Health and SafetyTraining Days per

100 employees

Number of assaultsrate per 100employees

Accident by Type

HQN BenchmarkingSurvey

0.800 13.0 1.3 0.4

1.Slip Trip Fall

2.Violence / Assault

3.Lifting & Carrying

WolverhamptonHomes 0.681 8.17 1.1 0

1.Lifting & Carrying

2.Hit by moving/fly/fallingobject

3.Another type ofaccident

Return to Agenda

Fire Risk Assessment High Medium and Low Rise Flatted Accommodation 2015 APPENDIX 5

FRA'sNo of

blocks

Frequency

Required

No. in date

@

30/10/2015

No out of

date @

30/10/2015

No. of FRA's

issued to

Jacobs @

30/10/2015

Date Issued

No. inspected

by Jacobs @

30/10/2015

Reports still

o/s from

Jacobs @

30/10/2015

Comments/Issues

High Rise (6 storey +)

Category 136 12 months 36 0 0 N/A 0 0

Wodensfield Tower.William Bentley Court

have been deferred unitl completion of

refurbishment works

Low Rise (2 storey)

(Former Sheltered

Schemes - with

Communal Areas)

Category 1

10 12 months 10 0 0 N/A 0 0

High Rise - Deck

Access Blocks (Heath

Town(

Category 1

12 (1)2 years 12 0 0 N/A 0 0

(1)WH Fire Safety Policy states frequency

of 12 months for Category 1 blocks.

Jacobs recommend every 2 years for deck

access blocks. (To be amended as part of

Fire Safety Policy Review)

Medium Rise (3 - 5

storey)

Category 2

361 3 years 361 0 0 N/A 0 0

Low Rise (2 storey)

Category 3424 5 years 424 0 0 N/A 0 0

Non Domestic

Premises

Category 4

47 (3)1-3 years 47 0 0 N/A 0 0

Reudction in the number of Non-

Domestic premises by one. Vicarage

Road One Stop Shop closed down

Totals 890 890 0 0 0 0

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 6

Health & Safety Performance Indicators 2015 -16 Quarter 2

Health & Safety Year todate Target Direction

HS1Management of asbestos - % of re-inspections carriedout within timescales 100 100

A figurehigher thanthe target is

good

HS2Management of Fire Risk Assessments in CommunalAreas of Flats and Registered Non-Domestic Premises% of inspections carried out within timescales

100 100A figure

higher thanthe target is

good

HS3% of Supervisor and Operative mandatory refreshertraining carried out annually 100 100


good

HS4% of Supervisor and Operative mandatory medicalscarried out within timescale 100 100


good

HS5

% of Supervisor and Operative mandatory RPE face-fittests carried out within timescalea) Annual face-fit test carried out by independentb) Monthly maintenance examinations carried out in-house

N/A 100A figure


good

100 100A figure


good

HS6% of Mandatory Plant and Equipment tests carried outwithin timescales N/A 100


good

HS7% of mandatory four stage site clearance certificationfor reoccupation tests passed 1st time 100 100


good

HS8% of mandatory licensed modifiable treatment workscancelled on day of work start 0 0

A figureLower thanthe target is

good

HS9% of Gas/Biomass boilers that received aninspection/service within a 12 month perioda) Hobgate Road b) Tremont Street

N/A 100 A figurehigher thanthe target is

goodN/A 100

Return to Agenda

HS10% of Non Domestic sites fully Pat Tested at an intervalof 12 months N/A 100


good

HS11% of Lightning Protection Systems at High Rise andMedium Rise sites fully serviced and tested within a 12months period

N/A 100A figure


good

HS12% of Sites where a risk assessment has been carriedout for control of Legionella Bacteria in domestic watersystems within a 2 year period

N/A 100A figure


good

HS13Servicing and availability of Dry Risersa) % of Wet/Dry Riser receiving a Hydraulic testb) % of certificates held on asset management files

N/A 100 A figurehigher thanthe target is

goodN/A 100

HS14% of Emergency Lighting Systems on High Rise andMedium Rise sites fully serviced and tested within a 6month period

N/A 100A figure


good

HS15A) % of time lifts are availableB) % of Passenger lift plant serviced/inspected monthly

99.49 95 A figurehigher thanthe target is

good100.00 100

HS16 Electrical inspection testing 5 year programme TBC 100A figure


good

RP2a % of valid gas certificates for tenanted properties 99.98 99.60A figure


good

ES7% of fire safety inspections completed on low & mediumrise blocks (concierge) 100 99


good

ES11% of fire safety inspections completed on high riseblocks (concierge) 100 100


good

ES12% of low rise flat checks and fire safety inspectionscompleted every 3 months (caretakers) 100 99


good

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 7

Health and Safety Training Completed April 2015 to November 2015

Subject Time SpentAccident Investigation & Near MissTraining

1 session x 3hrs

Alert System Training 1 session x 3hrsAsbestos Operative Refresher Training 2 sessions x 1 dayAsbestos Supervisor Refresher Course 2 sessions x 1 dayAsbestos Awareness Training 16 sessions x 3hrsFire Marshal Course 3 sessions x 1 dayFirst Aid – Full Three Day Course 3 sessions x 3 dayHazardous Waste Training 1 session x 1 dayInduction 1 session x 1hrPersonal Safety Training 1 session x 1 dayPower Tool: Safe Use of Circular SawTraining

3 sessions x 2hrs

Return to Agenda


Open Report

Title Support Services Integration Project

Status For decision

AuthorContact No:

Philip Toni01902 553512

Recommendations The Board is asked:

(1) to agree the proposal for the integration of supportservices for procurement, health and safety, ITdesktop support and accountancy and creditorpayments, with the council from April 2016

(2) subject to consultation agree the TUPE transfer of staff


The support services integration project will mean that certainactivities will move over to become a single service for WCCand WH directly managed by the Council. These services willthen be provided to Wolverhampton Homes via a service levelagreement.

Risks for WH will change from those associated with the in-house direct management of staff to those associated withmanaging a service under a service level agreement. Servicequality will be determined by how well the service levelagreement is specified, delivered in line with the agreementand monitored. To minimise risks we need to ensure allservice level agreements are well specified, with clear agreedperformance measures and regular review meetings in place.There also needs to be workable arrangements in place tomanage any service failures, if they happen, and makenecessary changes to avoid them happening again.

Another area of risk potentially is conflict of interest. Thisapplies more in the professional service areas, i.e.accountancy, health and safety and procurement. Theinterests of WH and WCC may not be entirely aligned on allissues and it is important that any service level agreementsmake provision for ‘Chinese walls’. That is, clear rules to avoidconflicts of interest for staff delivering the service.

Risk, however, is mitigated by the fact that the range ofservices recommended for change is relatively small.

Management Summary

1. Purpose of Report

Return to Agenda

1.1 To update the board on the work that has already taken place to look at integratingsupport services and seek agreement for this work to be taken forward formallyfollowing this meeting.

2. Background to the Report

2.1 Wolverhampton Homes signed a new 15 year agreement with the council in 2013,demonstrating the council’s commitment to a long term partnership.Wolverhampton Homes has been working with the Council to look at options for thetwo organisations to work even more closely together, including the scope to shareback office services. This would be with the combined aim of improving servicestandards and making financial savings.

2.2 As a result of this review five areas were identified where it was thought there wouldbe scope to make low level savings (under £50,000 each) but achieve improvementin service standards through sharing knowledge and skills. These were:

Procurement Health and Safety IT desk top support Accountancy and Creditor payments

2.3 Wolverhampton Homes would still be responsible for ensuring its health and safetyand procurement arrangements etc. were adequate following these changes,however, it would be managing these services via a service level agreement ratherthan through the direct management of staff. As stated above, it is essential thatsound and consistent SLAs are in place for the five areas, and sound monitoringprocesses. WH needs to ensure that all SLAs are meaningful, capable of beingmonitored and contain clear unambiguous targets. Post April 2016 regular meetingsneed to be in place for all services to monitor performance, especially in the earlystages where more meetings are likely to be needed.

2.4 It is important to note that whereas IT desk top support and creditor payments areprocessing functions other areas (procurement, health and safety and accountancy)are professional services. This makes defining the service and its outputs moredifficult. Clearly, health and safety is a key issue and WH needs to ensure thatnothing happens to place staff, customers or the organisation at risk from anychanges to management arrangements. In a similar way, the long-term financialhealth of WH as an organisation depends on sound financial advice and soundprocurement. Ensuring the standard of service is maintained, if not improved, inthese areas is also very important.

2.5 A table appended to this report summarises the assessment of the case for / againstsharing for the various back office services.

2.6 What the council have made clear is that there is no agenda to take WolverhamptonHomes back into the Council as a directly managed service and this integrationproject is purely about lowering costs and improving efficiency in the interests ofboth parties. The agreement will include a provision for sharing any savings.

Risk Management and Financialimplications

Based on an assessment that the scope for savingson all five areas to be covered by the integration ofsupport services is assessed as low it is unlikelysignificant savings will come from this exercise.

Return to Agenda

Our ability to identify and carry out our own efficiencysavings has always relied on having very soundfinancial management in-house. To be successfulgoing forward we need to ensure that the standard offinancial support is maintained under the new servicelevel agreements / umbrella agreement.

Consultation/Feedback from Tenantsand Leaseholders

None at this stage. This does relate to back officeservices and should have no direct impact on tenantsand leaseholders.

Long Term consequence for theorganisation

Potentially these changes should improve efficiencyand better align back offices systems and processesfor the two organisations.

Employees interests Around seventeen staff would be affected. Staffwould TUPE to the council assuming the supportservices integration project went ahead.

Staff may benefit from the changes because they willbe part of a larger organisation at the Council, withmore opportunities to learn new skills and / or gainpromotion. TUPE guarantees existing terms andconditions of service, however, in some cases WCCmay pay higher salaries for comparable roles. Thismay be of benefit to staff transferring.

Impact on business relationshipswith suppliers, customers andothers

Some impact potentially in terms of where staff arebased and the fact that staff will be changingemployer, which would need to be explained topartners etc. currently working with those staff.

Risk to reputation It is important that service standards are maintainedto avoid loss of reputation.

Impact on the WolverhamptonHomes Management System(WHMS) (i.e up-dates to policies,strategies, procedures etc)

Not at this stage. However it will affect processesassuming the changes go ahead.

Equalities Impact AssessmentCarried out

NO – An equalities evaluation will be conducted.

APPENDICES: Appendix 1 - Table summarising pros and cons forvarious back office services to be part of the supportservices integration project.

Return to Agenda

Wolverhampton Homes and City of Wolverhampton – Summary of Support Service Integration Opportunities

Support ServiceCouncil

Lead

Wolverhampton

Homes Lead

Current StaffingLevel

SavingsPotential

Low < £50,000Medium £50,000

to £200,000High > £200,000

Rationale for RecommendationRecommendedposition 1 April

2016FTE £000

IncomeRecoveryService

Mark Taylor,Director ofFinance

Philip Toni,Director ofResources

10.1 266 N/A This is closely aligned to HousingManagement. There are no financialor practical advantages arising fromsharing at this stage.

No integration ofservice.

RentAccounting

Mark Taylor,Director ofFinance


3.0 84 N/A This is closely aligned to HousingManagement. There are no financialor practical advantages arising fromsharing at this stage.


Procurement Andy Moran,Head ofProcurement

Shaun Aldis,Directory ofPropertyServices

4.0 153 Low There are clear synergies with theCouncil’s Strategic ProcurementTeam and great potential for moreefficient working if teams areintegrated.

Integrate from1 April 2016.

IT Development(applicationbuild andenhancement;processimprovement;Northgatetraining; projectwork e.g. mobileworking; website; intranet;hosted systems,e.g. ReACT)

Andy Hoare,Head of ICT


7.5 343 Low – benefitswould be fromshared learning /cover more thanfinancial. Currentstaff are a keypart of deliveringon savingstargets. Anintegrated servicewouldn’tnecessarily givescope to reducestaff numbers.

There is potential for sharing andmaking the best use of managerialskills but with so much developmentin this area in both organisationsnow is not a good time to progressintegration. There is however scopeto collaborate on the digital andcustomer service agenda.


Return to Agenda


Lead

Wolverhampton

Homes Lead


SavingsPotential

Low < £50,000Medium £50,000

to £200,000High > £200,000


2016FTE £000

IT (Desk Top) Andy Hoare,Head of ICT


3 94 Low There are clear synergies with theCouncil’s ICT service, so anintegrated approach could beparticularly beneficial.

Integrate from1 April 2016

Managementand FinancialAccounting

Claire Nye,ChiefAccountant


3.0 129 Low There are good synergies with theCouncil and potential for wider useof the manager; also scope for betterprofessional and careerdevelopment.


SkillsDevelopment

AdrianMcCormick,Head ofTransformation

SueKunynec,Director ofCorporateServices

3 95 N/A No scope for integration, theCouncil’s current role is strategicrather than delivery. WolverhamptonHomes could however furtherincrease focus on looked afterchildren (LAC) leaving care.

No integration ofService,WolverhamptonHomes willhowever increasetheir focus on LACleaving care.

Payments Team Lisa Taylor,Head of the Hub


3.4 95 Low There are clear synergies with theCouncil’s Accounts Payable Teamunder one manager. The same ITsystem is used and there is potentialto save on managerial costs andsecure efficiencies.


Agresso Lisa Taylor,Head of the Hub


N/A N/A High(based onchargingpotential)

No charges for Agresso levied todate. A new charge could thereforebe introduced.

Introduce a newcharge forAgresso.

Return to Agenda


Lead

Wolverhampton

Homes Lead


SavingsPotential

Low < £50,000Medium £50,000

to £200,000High > £200,000


2016FTE £000

HumanResources

Denise Pearce,Head of HumanResourcesand/or LisaTaylor, Head ofthe Hub


6.5 209 Medium The Council’s HR service is rapidlyimproving. Closer working shouldtherefore be revisited in a year ortwo when there is more confidenceabout the potential for WCC to helpWolverhampton Homes achieve itsstrategic objectives.


CustomerServices(Homes Direct)

Sue Handy,Head ofCustomerServices

Shaun Aldis,Directory ofPropertyServices

TBC TBC N/A This is closely aligned to HousingManagement and retention of thisservice is a priority forWolverhampton Homes. There ishowever scope to collaborate on thedigital and customer service agenda.

No integration ofservice but closerworking andcollaboration willbe progressed.

Health andSafety

Jayne Goddard-Mills, InsuranceServicesManager


3.95 156 Low There are clear synergies with theCouncil’s Health and Safety Team, ifbadged as a joint service, this couldbring benefits in terms of capacityand staff engagement.


Other Considerations and Suggestions

Sharing of savings – suggest principle to be adopted is annual charge to be agreed along with annual uplifts. The level of the chargewill determine the savings that benefit both organisations. Also support approach consistent so savings across services are integrated

in the same proportion suggest 50/05 due to freeze on Wolverhampton Homes’ management fee. SLAs – the Council would create one holistic corporate SLA with Wolverhampton Home, rather than numerous individual agreements,

whilst this needs to be focussed and simple, it does also need to be capable of enabling effective monitoring. Any services being provided by the Council should result in TUPE transfer of staff from Wolverhampton Homes, this should be

completed as a single exercise rather than several smaller individual exercises.

Return to Agenda

Approval of these plans to be sought at the December meetings of Cabinet (Resources) Panel and Wolverhampton Homes Board,subject to agreement, staff consultation will be undertaken during January 2016 to March 2016, with staff TUPE transferring on 1 April2016. Clear and consistent communications should also take place across both organisation following approval and during this period.

Both organisations will work closely together during this period to ensure that there is effective and consistent levels of staffengagement during this process, it would be particularly important to ensure that those staff who are TUPE transferring receive apositive message about the use of their skills to benefit both organisations, making sure that they feel welcome and that they alsounderstood the career development opportunities that would result from this arrangement.

Return to Agenda

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES BOARD (11/12/2015) AGENDA ITEM 8B

Open Report

Title Draft 2016-17 Delivery Plan

Status For decision

AuthorContact No:


Recommendations Board is asked to approve the draft 2016-17 DeliveryPlan, as set out in Appendix A


The Delivery Plan will set our key objectives andoperational targets for 2016-17.

Management Summary:

1. Background

1.1 A draft annual delivery plan, setting out priorities and targets, is agreed with the Councilbefore the start of each financial year. At this stage the Board are asked for commentson the first draft.

2. The 2016-17 Draft Delivery Plan

2.1 The draft delivery plan sets out key priorities for the coming year. These are based onthe priorities in the Wolverhampton Homes Business Plan 2013-18 and the Council’sstrategic priorities.

Next Steps

2.2 The Board are asked to comment on the draft plan so that a final draft plan can bepresented to the Council for discussion in the New Year. The timetable for the deliveryplan process is detailed below, for information

10 February 2016 Delivery Plan Quarterly Monitoring Group agree final draft12 February 2016 Board to receive final draft24 February 2016 Cabinet02 March 2016 Full Council

Wolverhampton Homes’ Annual Delivery Plan Process

DATE ACTION

August Wolverhampton Homes Business Plan preparatory reviewbegins

SeptemberOctober

Wolverhampton Homes senior Management Team andBoard Business/Delivery Plan development process begins

Return to Agenda

OctoberNovember

First round Delivery Plan consultation with all stakeholders,including Wolverhampton Council, through the DeliveryPlan Technical meeting

DecemberJanuary

First draft of Delivery Plan produced for consultation with allstakeholdersWolverhampton Homes approved performance targets forthe new year forwarded to the Council for inclusion in theCouncil’s Corporate Business Plan

February/March Final draft of Delivery Plan, agreed by the Delivery PlanMonitoring Group and adopted by the Council’s Cabinetand Wolverhampton Homes Board


The financial context for next year’s delivery plan is amanagement fee freeze potentially running to 2020. A fullanalysis of the financial position of the company is set outwithin the delivery plan.

Health and Safety Implications Health and Safety implications will be addressed asrequired during the implementation of the priorities actionplan


This will be identified and addressed during theimplementation of the priorities action plan

Leaseholder implications Improving services to leaseholders and getting highersatisfaction is a key theme of the plan.

Consultation/Feedback withTenants

Consultation with tenants on Delivery Plan developmentissues are held throughout the year via Get Together’sand our other consultation mechanisms.


Setting and monitoring progress on the achievement ofthe strategic priorities provides an essential basis formedium and long term business planning.

Employees interests These are covered in the HR section of the plan.


Strong relationships with strategic partners andcontractors will continue to provide an important platformfor Wolverhampton Homes to pursue new businessopportunities and maximise value for money.

Maintenance of high standards ofbusiness conduct

Wolverhampton Homes’ credibility as a professional, wellrun and efficient organisation is essential for its long termrelationship with the Council and other partners. This willbe supported in particular by the updatedCommunications Strategy and action plan.

Impact on the WolverhamptonHomes Management System(WHMS) (i.e. up-dates to policies,strategies, procedures etc.)

NOThe Delivery Plan does not introduce any new or changesto current policies or processes. As the action plan isimplemented and any such changes emerge, the WHMS

Return to Agenda

will be updated.Equalities Impact AssessmentCarried out

NO - The Delivery Plan is too widely scoped for a singleImpact Assessment. Where strategic priorities result innew or significantly different policies/ processes an ImpactAssessment will be carried out.

APPENDICES: Appendix A: Draft delivery plan 2016-17

Return to Agenda

1

Delivery Plan2016-17

Version: draft11

Return to Agenda

2

CONTENTS:

Sections:

Introduction

1. Wolverhampton Homes’ management responsibilities and performanceframework

2. Supporting local priorities and priority actions for 2016-17

3. Financial plan for 2016-17

4. Human resources plan for 2016-17

Appendices:

1: Summary of Performance Review Arrangements for Wolverhampton City Council tomonitor Wolverhampton Homes

2: Action plan for delivery of 2016-17 priorities

3: Performance targets for 2016-17

Return to Agenda

3

INTRODUCTION AND FOREWORD

Welcome to the Wolverhampton Homes 2016-17 Delivery Plan. Now the Decent Homesprogramme has finished Wolverhampton Homes is taking the opportunity to re-focus itsDelivery Plan on wider tenant issues.

Our opportunities and aspirations to do more are set against the backdrop of the challengesfaced by both the Council and Wolverhampton Homes, the housing sector in general and thewider community including the challenges from welfare reforms.

With this as a context, this document outlines the plans for next year and our aspirations forthe future. It details our priorities and the actions and resources that will be applied to ensurethe successful delivery of our aims. The plan will be formally agreed with the Council beforethe start of the year and will then reviewed on a quarterly basis.

This plan demonstrates how Wolverhampton Homes will support the Council’s priorities inrelation to the Wolverhampton City Strategy 2011-26, the Wolverhampton Housing Strategy2013-18 and the Local Investment Plan 2015-18. The relationship with the Council hasalways been supportive and we want to see it develop into an even stronger partnership –working together to deliver to the community.

Although the future for social housing may look challenging Wolverhampton Homes is keento continue to deliver quality housing and housing management, but also to make adifference to the lives of its tenants and leaseholders through initiatives such as Digital Firstand LEAP. Wolverhampton Homes is keen continue to work with tenants to understandtheir expectations and the issues faced by the communities in which they live and play itspart in helping them cope with the changes they will be facing.

Sue Roberts MBE (Chair) Cllr. Peter BilsonWolverhampton Homes (Cabinet Member)

Wolverhampton CityCouncil

Return to Agenda

4

1 Wolverhampton Homes’ management responsibilities andperformance framework

1.1 Overall Wolverhampton Homes manages just under 23,000 properties of which 2,100are leaseholds.

1.2 Overview of governance and operational arrangements1.2.1 Wolverhampton Homes is an arms length management organisation (ALMO). It is a

company limited by guarantee, wholly owned by Wolverhampton City Council.Wolverhampton Homes started in 2005 and is operating under a 15 yearmanagement agreement signed in 2013.

1.2.2 Wolverhampton Homes is run by a Board of five Council nominees, five tenants andfive independent members. The board is responsible for the strategic direction of thecompany. Operational arrangements are led by the senior management team. Thisconsists of the Chief Executive and three directors and two assistant directors.

1.2.3 The importance of involving tenants and leaseholders in influencing decisions aboutservice planning and delivery is reflected in Wolverhampton Homes’ governance andoperational arrangements. In addition to representation at board level, acomprehensive range of formal and informal involvement mechanisms has evolvedwhich aim to promote projects to develop pride, capacity and community spirit.These include: Review Panel carrying out tenant led scrutiny of our services Four local “Get Together’s” held three times a year in each of the management

areas and two city wide meetings held in winter Leaseholder forum The Federation and individual Tenants and Residents Associations representing

tenants at estate level Mystery shopping Focus groups and satisfaction surveys, and One off projects that address specific community needs

1.3 Performance framework

1.3.1 Wolverhampton Homes has implemented a refreshed performance management andquality framework which moves the focus from a suite of performance indicators thatwere required by the government and audit commission to a streamlined suite of keyperformance indicators that reflect business and customer priorities.

1.3.2

1.3.3 Wolverhampton Homes is monitored by the Council within the terms of theManagement Agreement. The Performance Review Arrangements document,Appendix 1, sets out how monitoring by the council is undertaken.

2 Supporting local priorities and priority actions for 2016-17

2.1.1 The Business Plan 2013-18 provides an overview for how Wolverhampton Homes willsupport the Council’s key strategies and meet customer requirements. This forms thebasis for our delivery plan targets for 2016/17 but has been supplemented by issues

Return to Agenda

5

coming from the 2015 Summer Budget and the November 2015 ComprehensiveSpending Review.

2.1.2 The priorities for 2016/17 are: Supporting the Council’s City and Housing Strategies Undertaking a role in supporting the Council’s aspirations for new build Managing the freeze in management fee The roll out of Digital First and the promotion of our online self-service Continued focus on our very successful Learning Employment and

Achievement Programme (LEAP) Expanding our social enterprise/commercial business – continuing to

expand our commercial activities, with a closer link to LEAP Responding to Welfare Reform and introduction of Universal Credit Further value for money (VFM) reviews to help us make the most of

available resources Continued focus on improving leaseholder satisfaction

Wolverhampton Homes recognises and welcomes the key role it can play insupporting the wider City objectives for economic recovery and growth and improvedhousing opportunities for all residents

2.2 Action plan for 2016-17

2.2.1 Some on-going actions, particularly around managing the impact of Welfare Reform,will continue to impact on service delivery will continue as part of our delivery plan.Added to on-going issues there are a number of new priority areas for 2016/17.

Safeguarding and vulnerability

An important issue for the Wolverhampton Homes 2016/17 delivery plan is thesafeguarding agenda. Wolverhampton Homes currently support six of the youngpeople leaving the Council’s care each year out of the approximately thirty overall.For 2016/17 we have set a target to provide work and training opportunities to supporthalf the young people each year leaving the Council’s care.

Following a successful development project in 2015/16 a new vulnerabilities databasewill come into use in 2016/17 to assist in directing our resources to supporting ourmost vulnerable tenants. The database risk assesses our most vulnerable tenants toenable us to best target limited resources to provide support where it is most needed.In addition, we will also continue to work closely with the council in the establishmentof the MASH.

Through our corporate social responsibility work (Giving Something Back) we will besupporting a befriending service that will make regular contact with elderly isolatedtenants within our properties. Linked to this our Digital First campaign will continue totarget our most digitally excluded tenants to get on line to assist them with educationand training, job search and the transition to universal credit.

Return to Agenda

6

Managing and delivering change

In 2015/16 there was a major change in the way housing services were providedwithin the City in that the Wolverhampton Homes Chief Executive became responsiblefor both Wolverhampton Homes and retained housing services provided by the CityCouncil. At the end of 2015/16 there were further changes to the way services aremanaged. Changes to the senior management team at the end of 2015/16 saw thenumber of Directors reduce from four to three and appointment to two new assistantdirector roles. This has meant major changes in responsibilities at a senior level.

An important priority for 2016/17 will be bedding in this new structure and takingadvantage of opportunities that arise for further efficiency improvements. Aprogramme of reviews in 2016/17 will focus on how some specific services aredelivered and how these arrangements can be improved. Clearly, bearing in mind itsnew structure Wolverhampton Homes has an opportunity to look for greater integrationbetween Housing and Property services as they are now brought together under onedirector.

Service reviews will be a priority in 2016/17. It is essential that as much resource aspossible is made available for dealing with vulnerable. All reviews will be carried out inthe context that our financial planning is based on the need to reduce staffing pay toensure we keep to budget. This will result in some further small scale restructuring inspecific parts of the organisation in 2016/17 taking advantage where possible ofretirements and resignations.

An important change that will come into force in 2016/17 is the introduction of sharedservices with the City Council from 1 April 2016. This sharing of service will see newcombined back office services covering finance, payment processing, desk top ITsupport and procurement. It will offer opportunities for both Wolverhampton Homesand the City Council to learn from best practice and improve the quality of back officeservices overall. New service level agreements and monitoring arrangements willneed to be bedded in with the City Council to cover what were formerly in-houseservices. This sharing of back office services will reduce costs overall and move thefocus within the company for some services from the direct management of teams toensuring service standards are met within the new SLAs.

Service Development Priorities for 2016/17

From a customer service perspective our key priorities for 2016/17 will be the furtherroll out of on-line and automated services and encouraging tenants to “Get Online” toassist them with job search, social inclusion and coping with changes to welfarebenefits.

Having had definitive guidance from the courts on the three different leases in placefor the City’s 2,100 leaseholders we plan to build on improved relations withleaseholders in 2016/17 and move forward with agreeing maintenance andimprovement works for the City’s flatted estates overall.

Wolverhampton Homes is pleased that it has been offered a place on the Board for“The Way” and we intend to use this, together with Leap and our support for lookedafter children through private sector leasing, to invest in the City’s youth and improvetheir life chances.

Return to Agenda

7

From an internal governance perspective, in our eleventh year the time is right toreview how we manage our affairs at Board level. Current governance structures willbe reviewed in 2016/17.

There were significant changes to social housing policy and finance announced in the2015 Summer Budget following the general election. The Government’s plans forfuture rent levels, new build, incentivising right to buy and further changes to welfarebenefits will have the effect long term of reducing likely levels of resource for bothmanagement and maintenance of stock and capital investment, as well as increasingforecasts for the level of right to buy sales. Lower rent levels will also make it moredifficult to make new build schemes stack up in financial terms.

Against this background Wolverhampton Homes will still seek to support the council’sambitions to increase the amount of new housing in the city. These issues arecovered elsewhere within the plan and more detail on this is provided within thefinancial planning section. We plan to look at our staffing levels for capital works tosee how they will need to be adjusted in line with planned reductions in the capitalprogramme.

Staff Engagement

Bearing in mind the level of change we are facing in 2016/17 it will be important tomaintain the momentum we have created with staff engagement in the last few years.However, in the context of the financial pressures we face we need to reassess howwe do this. Although taking part in the Times 100 Best Companies survey has beeneffective it has also been at a cost and we need to decide how best to spend ourmoney to support staff engagement going forward. However we do it, bringing staffalong and engaging them in delivering the huge changes that will be needed isessential to the success of the delivery plan.

Working closely with tenants, leaseholders and other key stakeholders, including theCouncil, Wolverhampton Homes has the potential to make a real difference to thelives, not only of its customers, but also to the wider community. Tenants will continueto play a role through tenant involvement activities in ensuring that service delivery isproperly scrutinised and in the shaping of services.

2.2.2 Appendix 2 shows how Wolverhampton Homes will take forward the key prioritiesfrom the business plan during 2016-17.

2.3 Performance indicators and targets for 2016-17

2.3.1 Appendix 3 sets out the key performance indicators and targets relevant to theDelivery Plan 2015-16. These are not the entire suite of performance indicators usedby Wolverhampton Homes as the basis for monitoring and improving services butthose that are most relevant to the priorities set out above and in the action plan atAppendix 2.

Return to Agenda

8

3 FINANCIAL PLAN FOR 2016-17

3.1 The financial environment for local authority social housing was changed significantlyby the implementation nationally of the self-financing housing revenue account (HRA)business plans in 2012. This meant for the first time that Councils were able toproduce 30 year business plans for the HRA to cover both revenue and capitalexpenditure. The new self-financing model provided Councils with greater flexibilitywithin the HRA in terms of moving money between the two and planning ahead.

3.1.1 To focus more resources into new build, at the end of 2013 the Council revised theHRA business plan, resulting in a reduction in forecast Wolverhampton Homesmanagement fees over five years. A management fee freeze was introduced whichmeant that in effect the Company had to save 2% per year to cover the effects ofinflation from its own resources. This has been the basis for financial planning withinthe company since 2013.

3.1.2 The Chancellor’s 2015 budget was unexpected for social housing nationally in that itremoved the Government’s previous commitment to increase rents / housing benefitby the consumer price index plus 1% over a decade. Layered on top of this otherchanges such as further incentives to right to buy sales have also reduced forecastrevenues for the housing revenue account. The financial impact of the budget for theWolverhampton City Council HRA is very significant. The re-worked HRA businessplan taking account of the budget forecasts a reduction in income of £622M to theHRA over its 30 year timescale.

3.1.3 To accommodate the Government’s cuts the Council’s revised HRA model has had toextend the management fee freeze to 2020 and scale back inflation allowancesthereafter.

3.1.4 Wolverhampton Homes has built its 2016/17 budget around the assumption of anextended cash freeze. Although the Company has built up reserves to cope withpressures on its management fee it needs to continue to make savings in 2016/17and beyond to cope with the implications of the revised HRA forecasts. The companyhas already been making savings since 2013 to accommodate the existingmanagement fee freeze and its extension will add to the challenge. We are already atthe point where the establishment (700 staff) is at its lowest since the companystarted, so finding further savings without having a significant impact on the serviceswe deliver will be very difficult in the short term and increasingly challenging in lateryears.

3.2 Addressing potential future revenue funding challenges

3.2.1 Indications from the West Midlands Pension Fund are that employer contribution ratesfor Wolverhampton Homes may have peaked. Indeed, some decrease in contributionrates from 2018/19 may be anticipated. This is because the valuation of the fund isdriven by the return on government borrowing. The rates on treasury bills areabnormally low due to the current 0.5% base rate. This is likely to rise from 2015, andwill almost certainly have gone up by the time the next valuation is carried out in 2017.Increases in return for treasury bills, will increase the estimates for the amount thefund will earn. This will reduce the amount the actuary thinks Wolverhampton Homes

Return to Agenda

9

need to put into the pension fund. If this happens the result of this will be loweremployer contribution rates in the longer term.

3.2.2 In terms of new staff, the impact of new pension rules from 2014 will mean that thebenefits accrued by staff (and the resultant costs to Wolverhampton Homes as anemployer) will both decrease going forward.

3.2.3 The HRA is funded through rents and service charges collected by WolverhamptonHomes on behalf of the Council. Welfare Benefit reform creates a challenge both interms of demands on the service provided and to the main income stream, as incomecollection may become increasingly difficult.

Universal Credit

3.2.4 Universal Credit will generate a single payment of benefit covering what waspreviously a range of benefits. The Council will no longer receive the payment of allhousing benefit direct as a single payment from the Benefits Agency and will have tocollect this money from individual tenants. The number of active rent accounts thathave to be managed as part of rent collection will triple by the time Universal Credit isfully implemented. Universal credit will not be housing specific and recipients in somecases may struggle with budgeting and paying their rent. Universal credit is,therefore, likely to increase the challenge of collecting rent, and consequently, one ofthe big areas of focus going forward will be putting more resources into rent collection.

Value for Money Issues

3.2.5 A primary cost driver for Wolverhampton Homes is the cost of staff. SinceWolverhampton Homes was established in 2005, considerable work has beenundertaken to reduce staffing costs. In aggregate, there was a reduction of 81 postsover the three year period from 2007/08 to 2010/11. There was a further reduction of22 posts at the start of 2015/16. Staffing levels have since been consolidated in linewith the HR plan. Looking forward WH will need to revise its staffing further over thenext three years to meet its budget targets. Wherever possible this will be throughnatural wastage.

3.2.6 Two scenarios have been presented by the Council for the management fee in futureyears. Option 1 will see the management fee remain frozen to 2019/20 and increaseby CPI inflation thereafter. Option 2 involves an annual cut in management fee of 1%to 2020 but this is followed by increases of CPI + 1% thereafter. Broadly speaking thetwo options balance out as Option 2 has a sharper decline in management fee in realterms in the short terms but a higher increase in management fee after 2020. Eitherway, Wolverhampton Homes will need to make further savings and efficiencyimprovements in order to maintain services under either scenario.

3.2.7 Wolverhampton Homes approach to VFM has always been strongly focused onachieving savings by increasing efficiency. VFM reviews that are already on-goingthat will yield savings without impacting on the quality of the service delivered include:

3.2.7.1 The implementation of shared services for back offices should provide some limitedopportunities going forward for further efficiencies thus allowing resources to bemoved to front line services.

Return to Agenda

10

3.2.7.2 Plans to implement self-service options for tenants (e.g. cash payment machines,ordering repairs on line, etc.) will also reduce transactions costs.

3.2.7.3 A key focus for service reviews in 2016/17 will be the integration of housing andproperty functions within one directorate. Reviews will focus on looking for synergiesand streamlining service delivery where possible.

3.3 Capital Expenditure

3.3.1 Capital Expenditure on the Council stock is funded directly from the HRA.Wolverhampton Homes assists the Council in the delivery of the Capital Programme.

3.3.2 Capital expenditure overall in 2016/17 is forecast to be £000 million. This reduces to£xx million for 2017/18 and £ million for 2018/19. Although this will be a smallerCapital Programme, it does reflect the fact that vast majority of properties will havehad decency work carried out. Planned expenditure within the HRA Business Planhas been assessed by the Council and Wolverhampton Homes as sufficient tomaintain the housing stock at the Decent Homes standard.

4 HUMAN RESOURCES PLAN FOR 2016/17

4.1 Context

The year ahead will be demanding with the Council and Wolverhampton Homes facingsignificant challenges. This is set in the context of severely constrained public financesand significant housing and Welfare Reform. The Council have indicated that themanagement fee freeze that WH will have to manage will continue to 2019/20. Themanagement fee has been frozen since 2011/12.

There is clearly an element of unpredictability about the future however WH aims toretain as many jobs as possible in the medium term, and also wishes to continuegrowing the Learning Employment and Achievement Programme (LEAP) training andemployment programme. A new Skills Development centre is planned which willprovide training and facilitate work experience. In addition there is a new target toprovide work and training opportunities to support young people leaving the Council’scare.

In the meantime, WH faces unprecedented challenges from major changes to thebenefits system which will entail many thousands of tenants becoming responsible forrent payment from benefits, and the completely new system of benefits; UniversalCredit. Without extremely careful management, and a lot of staff time input to incomerecovery and assisting tenants with money management, this could result in loss ofincome for WH and for the Council (and consequential loss of service to tenants).

It is necessary, therefore, both to reduce the cost of staff and to redeploy staff to helpmitigate the effects of Welfare Reform.

It is also appropriate to consider the business case for realigning and changing someservices, including introducing shared/joint services to better meet the challengingeconomic circumstances with better ways of working.

Return to Agenda

11

4.2 Organisational Change and Efficiency

Wolverhampton Homes has a history of achieving significant efficiency savings. Thisand the value for money strategy WH has continued to operate has paid dividendswith savings on backroom costs used to fund front line services for tenants. LEAP isan example of this where employment prospects for tenants have been enhanced andthis will continue and expand throughout 2016/17 and 2017/18.

Further value for money service reviews may yield more efficiency; however, there willbe a need for a further reduction of staffing levels in 2016/17 and the two followingyears.

So, continued organisational change will be necessary in 2016/17 to achieve savingsand to facilitate the continued realignment needed to cope with the general challengesof Welfare Reform and the specific need to move resources to focus on incomerecovery, supporting vulnerable people, and Channel shift/Digital First.

4.3 Organisational Structure and Proposed Changes

In 2015/16 there was a major change in the way housing services were providedwithin the City in that the Wolverhampton Homes Chief Executive became responsiblefor both Wolverhampton Homes and retained housing services provided by the CityCouncil. At the end of 2015/16 there were further changes to the way services aremanaged. Changes to the senior management team at the end of 2015/16 saw thenumber of Directors reduce from four to three.

The three Directors cover the areas of Operations, Commercial and People. The newstructure allows greater opportunity to look for better integration between Housing andProperty services as they are now brought together under one director with anAssistant Director for Property and an Assistant Director for Housing. This togetherwith realigned responsibilities for a number of senior managers following theappointment of the two assistant directors has meant major changes in responsibilitiesat a senior level.

An important priority for early 2016/17 will be bedding in this new structure and takingadvantage of opportunities that arise for further efficiency improvements. Aprogramme of service reviews will also be a priority in 2016/17 and will focus on howsome specific services are delivered and how these arrangements can be improved. Itis essential that as much resource as possible is made available for dealing withvulnerable tenants, income recovery and Digital first.For example, a review of lettings will be one of the key reviews. This will focus onwhat checks are carried out etc. as part of the current process to see how things canbe made more efficient. A saving of 30% on current costs will be the benchmark forthis review.

In addition, an important change that will come into force in 2016/17 is the introductionof shared/joint services with the City Council from 1 April 2016. This sharing of servicewill see new combined back office services covering areas such as paymentprocessing, desk top IT support, health and safety and procurement. It will offeropportunities for both Wolverhampton Homes and the City Council to learn from bestpractice and improve the quality of back office services overall. New service levelagreements and monitoring arrangements will need to be bedded in with the City

Return to Agenda

12

Council to cover what were formerly in-house services. This sharing of back officeservices will reduce costs overall and move the focus within the company for someservices from the direct management of teams to ensuring service standards are metwithin the new SLAs.

4.4 Service and workforce planning

Workforce planning is about trying to predict the future demand for different types ofstaff and seeking to match this with supply. It involves analysing the currentworkforce, and then extending that analysis to identify the future skills andcompetencies needed to deliver new and improved services.The workforce is built around customer and service needs and the skills required todeliver them. The gap between demand and supply and how this can be addressedforms the focus of the workforce plan.

Workforce and service planning enables WH to identify how and where the workforceneeds to change to meet the future needs of the organisation and provides a meansof challenging and modernising the way WH delivers value for money services.

4.5 Workforce Profile (these will be provided later as @ 31.12.15)

The tables below include temporary and apprentice posts.

Tables 1 (a) & (b) show Wolverhampton Homes’ workforce numbers and profile atDecember 2015.

Table 2 shows length of service of staff that left Wolverhampton Homes’ employmentduring 2015/16 to 31 December 2015.

Table 3 shows staffing turnover rates for 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/142014/15 and 2015/16 to 31 December 2015.

Table 4 shows the number of new staff who joined Wolverhampton Homes during2015/16 to 31 December 2015.

Table 5 shows equality and diversity performance in relation to the workforce profile.

5

Return to Agenda

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES BOARD (11/12/2015) AGENDA ITEM 8C

Closed Report

Title Draft Capital Programme for 2016-17

Status For decision

AuthorContact No:

Shaun Aldis(01902) 552956

Recommendations That Board is asked to endorse the investmentpriorities identified within the 2016-17 CapitalProgramme.


Failure to invest wisely will have a detrimental effect on theHousing Revenue Account, the affordability of futurerefurbishment activity and the aspirations for new buildhousing.

This risk is mitigated through: our on-going programme of cyclical stock condition

surveys to identify the priorities for future investment the use of active asset management strategies to

maximise the life-in-use of components (geared arounda “just-in-time” replacement), whilst ensuring that eachcomponent is still performing adequately (and nothaving a detrimental effect on the repairs service)

our prudent management of the capital programme,utilising open-book cost management techniques tomaximise the value for money from the delivery of theworks

Management Summary

The proposed Capital Programme has been prepared following consultation with a range ofstakeholders including WCC Housing Services, the Federation of Tenants’ Associationsand the local repairs teams.

From consultation we carried out last year and more recently the consultation withresidents in Heath Town which was carried out in May 2015, it is evident that the prioritiesare:

1. improving the communal parts of blocks of flats (internal and external) includingaccess for disabled people;

2. replacing kitchens, bathrooms, showers and external doors not already renewed;

3. improving car parking – including increased provision for off-road car parking;

4. improving external lighting adjacent blocks and along un-adopted roads / paths;

5. increasing the amount of CCTV coverage to enhance security within and aroundblocks of flats

6. building more new homes for rent to meet the City’s housing needs

Return to Agenda

The proposed Capital Programme for 2016-17 details the schemes of work to be carriedout to the social housing stock, identified through interrogation of the stock conditioninformation. It balances stock investment need against affordability, sustainabilityobjectives and tenants’ aspirations, in order to determine the most appropriate investmentprogramme.

This is reflected in the 2016-17 Capital Programme, which contains:

Major refurbishment and completion of decency work at Heath Town to complementthe Council’s regeneration plans (£10.95m).

Re-roofing; priority pitched roofing, flat roofing and flat-to-pitch conversions (£2.52m)

Maintaining decency; a programme to deliver elements of Decent Homes work thatwasn’t previously done including work to void properties (£3.20m).

Sustainable estates; improvements to the communal areas of flatted estates(£0.60m)

Refurbishment of Merridale Court maisonette blocks (£3.10m)

Installing external wall insulation to solid wall properties and a range of insulationsolutions to 'hard-to-treat' properties (£1.00m)

Ad-hoc boiler replacement (£0.78m)

Disabled adaptations (£1.00m)

Lift replacement programme (£0.52m)

Door entry & CCTV programme (£0.35m)

Structural repair work (£0.93m)

External Improvement Programme (£1.65m)

Pathway improvement and safety programme (£0.20m)

Fire safety improvement programme (£0.25m)

New build – infill schemes. From next financial year the Council is hoping toincrease the number of new build council homes using HRA. Infill site developmentwill be a key contributor to this work. It is anticipated that new build development willsee a total of 450 new homes being built over the next 5 years:

o f/y 2016/17 – 100 homes

o f/y 2017/18 – 200 homes

o f/y 2018/19 – 2020/21 50 homes per annum

This can be done without breaching the borrowing cap. It is hoped that WH will takethe lead on the SCP element of these, this represents around 40 homes per year.This will be subject to the proposed legislation on disposal of high value voids tofund RSL right to buy, not changing the HRA business plan too much.

Value for Money andFinancial implications

Ensuring that the capital programme remains affordable,whilst addressing the investment priorities will remain anon-going challenge for the company. A range of sensitivityanalysis is being undertaken with colleagues at the Councilto ensure that it will be affordable in the short and long-

Return to Agenda

term. This will balance the needs of the stock, tenants andaspirations of the Council.

Health and Safetyimplications

There are no specific health & safety implications.


The programme has a number of schemes that will createa positive impact; The energy efficiency work will improve the thermal

comfort of solid wall dwellings and help address theissue of fuel poverty.

The Sustainable Estates programme is focused onimproving the areas around people’s homes, which willimprove the safety and security of these areas.

The work to refurbish the Heath Town estate will resultin significant improvements to the safety and security ofthese blocks of flats / maisonettes.

Leaseholder implications Any proposed scheme will be developed in conjunctionwith the local residents including all leaseholders. This willthen be subject to the legal (Section 20) consultationprocess, which requires us to demonstrate thereasonableness of our proposals.


Each scheme is developed in conjunction with the localresidents and other stakeholders to ensure that localissues are addressed and thereby maximising the impactand long-term benefit of the investment.

Long Term consequence forthe organisation

There are serious long-term risks for the organisation if therequired replacement of key components isn’t achievedthrough the delivery of the capital programme, as abacklog will be created. This in-turn will increase repaircosts and affect the viability of the Housing RevenueAccount in future years.

Employees interests Having a co-ordinated investment strategy that takesaccount of stakeholder concerns (such as those expressedby the LRTs) can boost the morale of staff.

Impact on businessrelationships with suppliers,customers and others

Providing the Strategic Construction Partners and theirsupply chains with visibility of our forward investment planallows us to promote and maximise the mutual benefits oflong-term partnership working to achieve excellent valuefor money.It will also enhance our business relationships withsuppliers, customers and others, through demonstratingthat we operate in accordance with asset managementbest-practice.

Maintenance of highstandards of businessconduct

The Capital Programme has been produced in accordancewith asset management best practice.

Impact on theWolverhampton HomesManagement System(WHMS) (i.e. up-dates to

NONE

Return to Agenda

policies, strategies,

procedures etc)

Has an Equalities ImpactAssessment been carried out:

NO - The Capital Programme details the schemes of workto be carried out to the social housing stock in the comingfinancial year. As it is a high-level document, it doesn’ttake account of the various demographics and the extentthat they will be affected by each scheme. It simplyfocuses on what work is needed to improve / maintain thesocial housing portfolio.

The design & planning-phase of these individual schemesof work is when any required Equalities ImpactAssessments (EIA) will be carried out, as the exact detailsof the properties that will be within the schemes and therelevant tenancies will be known at that stage. Forexample, work has already started on the EIA for the HeathTown refurbishment project.

APPENDICES: None

Return to Agenda

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES BOARD (11/12/2015) AGENDA ITEM 8D

Open Report

TitleSupporting Tenants In Need Policy

Status For approval

AuthorContact No:

Sue Kunynec(01902) 553515Jin Takhar(01902) 554650

Recommendations The Board is asked to note and approve the policyand supporting procedures.


Failure to meet legislative requirements is not tolerable;we must adequately identify and meet the needs of allsections of the community we serve and employ - asfeatured within the Equality Act 2010.

1.0 Purpose of Report

1.1 To present board members with the proposed Supporting Tenants In Need Policy.

1.2 The proposed policy can be found in appendix one. The supporting procedures can alsobe found attached in appendix two.

1.3 Identifying with and responding to ‘tenants in need of support ‘and routinely usinginformation gained to tailor services to meet the needs of vulnerable people is afundamental requirement of the Equality Act 2010.

2.0 Background

2.1 As a large social housing landlord we provide homes for some of the poorest and mostvulnerable people in society, many of whom have little or no real choice about theirhousing.

2.2 Wolverhampton Homes recognises that a proportion of its customers may have supportneeds which need to be met to enable them to sustain their tenancy and to live in thecommunity independently.

2.3 We recognise that we have a moral responsibility to do what we can to ensure that ‘tenantsin need of support’ are able to enjoy a good quality of life, and to live as independently aspossible.

2.4 Addressing the needs of our customers is also a key business requirement. Many of theissues faced by our vulnerable customers are / can be passed on to WolverhamptonHomes e.g. neglect to property/ gardens and also self-neglect/ unable to cope - concernscan also be identified.

Return to Agenda

3.0 Current Position

3.1 The policy has been written at a time when significant cuts are being made to publicexpenditure and at the same time the government continues its programme of majorwelfare and housing benefit reform and many of the changes will/are having a negativeimpact on many people - and therefore will require additional help, support and intervention.

3.2 The proposed policy outlines Wolverhampton Homes’ commitment towards identifying withand supporting new and / or existing customers who are, or who may become vulnerableand thus require ‘a different approach’ and support whilst in their tenancy. It is an over-arching document to be applied across our business. This Policy therefore provides a clearfocus for the organisation towards identifying with and supporting vulnerable people in allaspects of our service delivery.

3.3 The policy takes the broadest possible view of people who are or may be vulnerable.Therefore the definition adopted by WH is as follows; Wolverhampton Homes will look toprovide support and tailor services for any individual or household who may experiencedifficulty with meeting their obligations of the tenancy conditions, as well as support witheveryday living.

3.4 Details of the suite of ’29 indicators/triggers’ used to identify with an individual who may bein need of additional support are contained within appendix three to the report.

3.5 The strategic objectives of the policy are set out within section four, page three of thepolicy. Delivering on these objectives should bring us closer to our tenants, help us tobetter understand ‘the number/range of tenants ‘in need of support ’ and ‘the type and levelof support provided or required’. This in turn will help us to adapt/ target our services andresources more appropriately.

3.6 Detailed consultation has been undertaken with staff from across the organisation toensure that the policy and supporting procedures developed are ‘fit for purpose’ and ‘fullyowned’ by all service areas.

3.7 Developing the supporting procedures has allowed us to ‘systemise’ current workingpractices.

3.8 In addition to the policy and supporting procedures, ‘systems’ have been developed toimprove data management throughout the company; this to ensure information isconsistently gathered, loaded onto Northgate and the Access Database and keptrefreshed.

4.0 Next Steps

4.1 Implementation of new policy and supporting procedures/ database

Final testing/ sign off of supporting database 10th December 2015Final sign off of supporting procedures 10th December 2015Roll out of staff training 19th, 20th January and 25th

January 2016.Vulnerable Tenants Project Group meeting - update 29th January 2016Go live date with new arrangements Week commencing 1st February

Return to Agenda

Management reports showing trends/ patterns of concern Quarterly to Operations Directorateand SMT

Annual Performance Report To Business ImprovementCommittee


No specific issues.

Health and Safety Implications No specific issues.Impact on Environment and Community Supporting people to sustain tenancies will have a

positive impact upon the community and shouldincrease the general wellbeing of tenants.

Leaseholder implications No specific issues.Consultation/Feedback with Tenants The policy and supporting procedures were subject to

consultation in its development.Long Term consequence for theorganisation

The policy will need to be reviewed on a three yearlybasis and amended to reflect changing demands andpriorities.

Employees interests No specific issues.Impact on the Wolverhampton HomesManagement System (WHMS) (i.e.updates to policies, strategies,procedures etc.)

Written policies and procedures may need to beupdated/amended accordingly

Officer: Jin Takhar

By: 31 December 2015

Equalities Impact Assessment carriedout s

YES - Impact assessment presented at developmentstage and presented to ECF Panel.

APPENDICES: Appendix One –Supporting Tenants In Need Policy.

Appendix Two – Supporting/ Operational Procedures.

Appendix Three – Suite of 29 Indicators /methodology used to identify with an individual whomay be in need of additional support.

Return to Agenda

0

A P P EN DIX 1

S upportingT enantsInN eedP olicy

2015-2018

FinalDraftIssued01/12/15

Return to Agenda

1

1. Introduction

Asthem anagingagentforsom e21,048 tenantpropertiesand 1,975 leaseholdproperties,W olverham pton Hom esprovideshom esforsom e ofthe poorestanddisadvantagedpeopleinthecity ofW olverham pton.

Asacom pany,W olverham ptonHom esaim stocontributetow ardsm aintainingbalanced and sustainable com m unities and w ill w ork tow ards providingservicesthat are able to respond effectively to the needsof individualhouseholds.

T ailoring ourservicesto m eet the needsofindividualsisim portant to us,interm sofourbusiness;m any ofthe issuesfaced by those m ost in need haveim plicationsforthe com pany. Assuch,tailoring ourservicescan have thebenefit of reducing rent arrears,low ering eviction ratesand court actionproceedings,reducing ratesoftenancy abandonm ent and w orking tow ardshavinglessunrecoverabledebtam ongourtenantsandthew idercom m unity.

In addition,providing tailored services,to m eet the individualneedsofourcustom ers– thisw illallow people to enjoy agood quality oflife and live asindependently aspossible. M oreover,itistheresponsibility ofthecom pany torespond to issuesthat could affect the physicaland/or m entalhealth andgeneralw ell-beingofindividualsandtheirim m ediatehouseholdm em bers.

Being in need of tailored servicesdoesnot m itigate a tenant from theirresponsibility to abideby theirtenancy conditionsbutitisaccepted thatsom etenantsw illrequire help in m eeting thisresponsibility and therefore thisstrategy aim sto outline how the com pany,in association w ith key partners,w illlooktom eetitsm oralresponsibility tohelpthosem ostinneed.

2. A im oftheP olicy.

T he aim ofthispolicy and supporting procedurestherefore isto outline howW olverham pton Hom esw illidentify w ith and support new and / orexistingcustom ersw hoare,orw hom ay becom evulnerableandthusrequireatailoredservicew hilstintheirtenancy.

S ervicesS trategyT heaim 1

Return to Agenda

2

3. Definition: W hoisvulnerable?

W olverham ptonHom esdoesnotassum ethatw holegroupsofpeopleareinneedoftailoredservicesandnordoesthecom pany rely solely onthelegaldefinitionofw hoisseenas‘vulnerable’ althoughthisdefinitionm ustbeappliedw henreferringtoissuesaroundsafeguarding

Forthe purpose ofthispolicy,W olverham pton Hom esw illlook to providesupport and tailor services for any individual or household w ho m ayexperience difficulty w ith m eetingthe obligationsofthe tenancy conditionsasw ellassupportw itheveryday living.

Being ‘in need’ in term sofservice provision isnot astaticstate;need can beperm anentdue to asingle problem orphysicalorm entalhealth condition butequally it can be m ore fluid,lessperm anent. Assuch,it isim portant thecom pany isable to identify w ith and respond to situationsfaced by itscustom ersatany stage.

Individualsw ho m ay be in need ofadditionalsupport/ atailored service caninclude:

Frail Elderly Young Person at risk of failing their tenancy Ex-Offenders or people at risk of offending Victims or people at risk of Hate Crime and or Domestic Violence People with substance/alcohol misuse issues Teenage Parents Refugees People with a serious or life limiting illness People suffering Poor Mental Health Recently Bereaved Relationship breakdown Financial Hardship People Leaving Care People who have difficulty in speaking, reading , understanding English People who are recently divorced/ relationship breakdown People with a physical/sensory/learning disability People not coping with running a home

For

Return to Agenda

3

Forfurtherdetailsofthesuiteof’29 indicators/triggers’ used to identify w ithan individualw ho m ay be in need ofadditionalsupport are contained w ithinsection1.2 oftheproceduresattached.

W e w ill consider each individual case on its ow n m erit to ensure theappropriatetypeandlevelofsupportandcontactisprovided.

4. S trategic O bjectivesofthisP olicy

T hespecificobjectivesofthispolicy arethereforeasfollow s:

T o ensure that the provision ofservice to tenantsin need ofsupportrem ainsabusinesspriority and isem bedded at alllevelsw ithin theorganisation.

T o develop operationalproceduresand supporting datam anagem entarrangem ents-in orderto help build and ‘system ise’ current w orkingpractices.

T o develop robust referral processes both internally w ithin theorganisation and w ith external partners to ensure early help andintervention isin place and that the appropriate specialist support isprovided.

T o collect up to date inform ation and im prove the use ofcustom erprofiling inform ation/ intelligence collected in orderto respond m oreeffectively tocustom ersinneedofsupport.

T o develop abetterunderstanding ofthe num beroftenants‘m ost inneed’ according to the 29 vulnerability indicatorsadopted and also tobetter understand the type and levelof support and contact beingprovided. T hisin turn w illhelp to inform service planningand thushelptotargetresourcesm oreappropriately.

T o w orkw ith those custom ersm ost in need to reduce the riskofthemnotm eetingtheirobligationsinrelationtotheirtenancy agreem ent.

Return to Agenda

4

5. Identifying w ith those custom ersin need of tailored servicesandsupport.

T enantsin need ofsupport can be identified at aview ing or offerorsign upstage ofanew tenancy – S upport needsm ay also be identified w hilst dealingw ith existing tenants,such asw hen dealing w ith tenancy issuesregards,repairs,anti-social-behaviour,dom esticviolence ,rent arrears,property visitsorotherbreachesoftenancy .

T o enable usto do this, w e have introduced a ‘database system ’ and‘supporting procedures’ w hich w illallow usto identify w ith each individualtenant and their support needs– and thisinform ation w illbe recorded,m easured and m onitored ashaving eitherlow ,m edium orhigh levelsupportandcontact requirem ents.

6. R espondingtothosecustom ersinneedoftailoredservicesorsupport

S upportw illcontinuethroughoutthetenancy,dependingoncircum stances,toassist custom ersin m anaging and sustaining their tenancies. T hisw illbeprovided at a local level through the housing m anagem ent and housingsupportteam s.

W olverham pton Hom eshave introduced proceduresand adatam anagem entsystem / database that w illhelp provide inform ation ‘at aglance’ – oftheoverallsupportneedsw ithinahousehold/tenancy.

T hisinform ation w illallow usto betteridentify w ith and respond to individualtenants/household‘inneedofsupport’.

W here a tenant or household m em ber isrecorded ashaving ‘additionalsupportneeds’,dependingon the levelofneed and levelofsupportrequired,they w illbeassessed,scored and categorised asL ow ,M edium orHighpriority.T hisw illhelp W H to determ ine the frequency ofcontact required w ith thetenant to ensure that they are supported appropriately and needsare beingm et.

Forsom e custom ers,especially those w ith specific physicalorpoorm entalhealth issuesor child w elfare issuesor those facing m ore com plex fam ilysituations ,W olverham pton Hom esrecognisesthat it m ay not be the m ostappropriateproviderofsupportorservice.In som ecasestherefore,therew illbe aneed forstatutory orthird sectoragenciesto take the lead – w e w ill

Return to Agenda

5

therefore w ork in partnership w ith other providersto achieve the bestoutcom eforourcustom ers.

7. Im plem entationofP olicy & S upportingP rocedures.

P leasefind in appendix tw o ,detailsofthesupportingproceduresthatallstaffw illberequiredtofollow .

P lease also find in appendix three, details of the suite of indicators/m ethodology used to assessw hether an individualisin need ofadditionalsupport.

Effective im plem entation ofthe supporting proceduresw illbe m anaged byHeadsofS ervicew ithinO perationsDirectorate.

8. M onitoringDelivery andP erform ance.

T he policy itselfw illbe review ed every three yearsin line w ith any corporateorlegislativechangesandam endm entsw hichm ay benecessary.

O ur successin achieving our strategic objectivesunder thispolicy w illbem easuredinanum berofw ays:

Analysisofthe num beroftenants‘in need ofsupport’ identified and ourperform anceinrespondingtothesew ithintim escales.

A reductioninthenum berofevictionsorotherw isefailed/failingtenanciesinvolvingavulnerablepersonorhousehold.

Anincreaseinthecustom erprofilingdataheldby W H.

Zerocom plaintsbasedonthefailuretosupportatenantinneed.

R eductionintenancy breaches

Annualperform ance reportsshallbe provided to W olverham pton Hom esBoard detailing,the num bertenantsidentified ‘in need ofsupport’ – brokendow n by the range ofvulnerability indicatorsin place,along w ith the level&type of support provided. P erform ance inform ation shall also includeinform ationonany trendsorservicedevelopm entrequirem entsidentified.

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 2

Supporting Tenants In Need - Draft Procedure - updated 05/11/15

1. Introduction Responsibility

1.1 Customer profile data is confidential, is protected by the DataProtection Act 1998 and our data protection policy. Accurate data on ourcustomers will help WH to focus on tenants most in need of support, aswell as assist in the development and review of our policies and services.

All staff

1.2 Wolverhampton Homes will look to provide support and tailorservices for any individual or household who may experience difficultywith meeting the obligations of the tenancy conditions, as well as supportwith everyday living.

Our approach will not assume that ‘whole groups of people arevulnerable’ for example it is not correct to assume that all older people ordisabled are vulnerable.

A person can become vulnerable as a result of a single problem orcondition or a combination of factors. It may be because they are isolatedfrom their support network or not coping with their current circumstances.

Individuals who may be in need of additional support/ tailored service caninclude:

Frail Elderly Young Person at risk of failing their tenancy Ex-Offenders or people at risk of offending Victims or people at risk of Hate Crime and or Domestic Violence People with substance/alcohol misuse issues Teenage Parents Refugees People with a serious or life limiting illness People suffering Poor Mental Health Recently Bereaved Relationship breakdown Finanacial Hardship People Leaving Care People who have difficulty in speaking, reading , understanding

English People who are recently divorced/ relationship breakdown

All staff

Return to Agenda

People with a physical/sensory/learning disability People not coping with running a home

1.3 Support needs may be a permanent or temporary, howeverregardless of this it is important that Wolverhampton Homes holdsaccurate and up to date information to allow officers to respondappropriately to the customer by the tailoring of services accordingly.

All staff

1.4 It is important to note that tenants with support needs may notnecessarily need any additional help, support or services, for example ifthey already receive all the help that they need from a care package inplace or from a family member. However this will need to be confirmedand recorded .

All staff

1.5 Risks: The consequences of not identifying with and/or responding toan individual or household member who has support needs can result inthe following :

Risk to tenancy sustainment – the potential failure of a tenancyor be subject to social exclusion .

Risks to - Company reputation Risk to - our obligations to meet coporate social responsibility

1.6 Where a service does need to be tailored for an individual , theircustomer profile information held within Northgate will need to berecorded/updated .

(each of the 30 vulnerability indicators have a corresponding methodologyand these will need to be carefully considered by staff – this will allow abetter understand the ‘nature’ of the vulnerability and the level /type ofresponse / additional support required)

Information held on Northgate and ReACT will automatically be uploadedinto the Supporting Vulnerable Tenants Database on a weekly basisevery Wednesday.

The purpose of the database is to calculate a score (see 5.3) for theperson and it also provides an ‘at a glance’ view of overall support needswithin the household.

Where a tenant or household member is recorded as having ‘additionalsupport needs’, depending on the level of need and level of supportrequired, they will be scored and categorised as Low, Medium or Highpriority. This will help WH to determine the frequency of contact required

Housing -EstateManagers

Return to Agenda

with the tenant to ensure that they are supported approprairely .

Tenants with High priority needs require intensive support andcontact at least quarterly. In some cases it may require a monthlyor weekly contact .They may be at risk of failing their tenancy or besubject to social exclusion. Tenants may require on-going support,for example from WH Housing Support Team and EstateManagers.

Tenants with Medium priority needs will require a combination ofpersonal/ social care and support to live independently. A contactat least every 6 months will be required. This category will alsoinclude cases where other specialist support agencies areengaged such as TSO, Neighbourhood Support or Social Services,to ensure that the tenancy is not at risk.

Tenants with Low priority needs will require minimum levels ofsupport to live independently. A contact at least every 12 monthswill be required.

NB. The majority of tenants will have no support needs and so will not berecorded in the database.

1.7 The Supporting Vulnerable Tenants Database shall be overseenby the Principle Performance Officer and the Head of ICT.

The database will be populated automatically from data held withinNorthgate and ReACT.

Resources -Performanceand ICT /otherdesignatedofficers.

1.8 Within the Database there will be the 30 Vulnerability Indicatorsset out – (to mirror information uploaded from Northgate)

Each indicator will have :a) supporting definitions and methodologies - this to help staff tounderstand or define the nature of the vulnerability andb) a scoring criteria - this to help staff to understand the level of prioritygiven and describes how the need is scored Low, Medium or High.c) It will also provide information on who the responsible officers are forreviewing the data.

CorporateServices -EqualitiesTeam

1.9 The Vulnerable Persons Guidance Chart WHSP1040 details the typesof needs and the Equality and Diversity recommendations on the tailoringof services.

CorporateServices -EqualitiesTeam

Return to Agenda

Link to Safeguarding information protocol and processes also

2. Responsibility placed on staff to check whether tenants are in need ofsupport – at all points of contact

2.1 Checking the support needs is the responsibility of all staff at anypoint of contact with a customer.

Here are some examples:

General customer enquiry Housing application form and / or pre-tenancy assessment Post tenancy visit, 8 month home check or Tenancy audit Tenancy breach investigation ASB complaint Concierge enquiry or visit Rent arrears contacts and financial inclusion work Routine repair, adaptation, planned maintenance or decent homes

work, gas servicing Receipt of a newly completed customer profile data form – issued

every 3 years to customers Customer Feedback and complaints Referral of a concern from an external partner, e.g. Fire Service,

Police, maintenance contractors

All staff

Return to Agenda

2.2 All office based staff

The officer handling the customer contact or visit shall, during the courseof the enquiry (including both in-bound and out-bound telephone calls),check if the tenant or their household members have any support needsand review the current customer customer profile data held in Northgate.

All staff shall have access to the Supporting Vulnerable TenantsDatabase to allow them to see an overview of the known support needswithin the household.

If a support need is identified but there is no information on theSupporting Vulnerable Tenants Database, the officer shall inform theEstate Manager by raising the Action Code: Customer in Need ofSupport, within Northgate Customer Services adding details of theinformation obtained. (Ranjit - New action code)

If the information is recorded in the Supporting Vulnerable TenantsDatabase but it is incorrect, the officer handling the customer enquiryshall inform the Estate Manager by raising a Action Code: Customer inNeed of Support, within Northgate Customer Services adding detailsof the information obtained.

NB. No new information on tenants in need of support shall bereferred using paper forms or by telephone or email – all referralsmust be recorded in Northgate Customer Services as above.

All staff

2.3 All site based staff

All non-office based staff, e.g. Concierge, Caretakers, Trade Colleagues(including contractors) shall take responsibility for identifying tenants inneed of support.

Where a need is identified during a visit, on their return to the office at theend of each day, the officer shall be responsible for arranging for therelevant Admin Support Officer to check the Supporting VulnerableTenants Database to see if the support need is already recorded.

If a support need is identified but there is no information on theSupporting Vulnerable Tenants Database, the Admin Support Officershall inform the Estate Manager of the support need by raising a ActionCode: Customer in Need of Support, within Northgate CustomerServices adding details of the information obtained.

If information on the Supporting Vulnerable Tenants Database isrecorded but it is incorrect, the Admin Officer shall inform the EstateManager by raising a Action Code: Customer in Need of Support,

All staffwithin:

Housing –Neighbourhoods division

Property –Operationsdivision

Return to Agenda

within Northgate Customer Services adding details of the informationobtained.

NB. As in 2.2 above, no new information on tenants in need ofsupport shall be referred using paper forms or by telephone or email– all referrals must be recorded in Northgate Customer Services asabove.

2.4 Support needs/ vulnerability referrals from external partnersor contractors

Where a support need is identified during a visit by an external partner orcontractor, the contractor is responsible for making a referral to aresponsible designated officer within Wolverhampton Homes.

The designated officer shall be responsible for checking the SupportingVulnerable Tenants Database to see if the support need is alreadyrecorded. If the support need is identified but there is no information onthe Supporting Vulnerable Tenants Database, the designated officershall inform the Estate Manager of the support need by raising a ActionCode: Customer in Need of Support, within Northgate CustomerServices adding details of the information obtained.

If information on the Supporting Vulnerable Tenants Database isrecorded but it is incorrect, the designatged officer shall inform the EstateManager by raising a Action Code: Customer in Need of Support,within Northgate Customer Services adding details of the informationobtained.

Responsible designated officers:

Estate Managers (for direct referrals) Head of Contracts and Compliance (Roy Parlor) Citywide Annual Gas Service Programme: Property Supervisor –

Gas (Mark Langford) Strategic Construction Partnership: Decent Homes Housing

Manager (Sue Eynon, supported by Wilson Severn and MacFewtrell)

North Local Repairs Team incl. Out of Hours: Asst RepairsManager (Alan Eveson)

South Local Repairs Team incl. Out of Hours: Asst RepairsManager (Richard Henry)

Voids (in-house): Principal Voids Inspector (Zac Beech) Wolverhampton Works: Wolverhampton Works Manager (Steve

Property –Operationsdivision

Return to Agenda

Walters) Electrical Safety Inspection Programme: Property Supervisor –

Electrical (Simon Badger) Stock Condition: Principal Property Supervisor (Mark Taft)

The above nominated officers will need to advise of their adminsupport officers who will need training.

NB. As in 2.2 and 2.3 above, no new information on tenants in needof support shall be referred using paper forms or by telephone oremail – all referrals must be recorded in Northgate CustomerServices as above.

2.5 New tenants, housing applicants and tenant transfers

The Lettings Officer is responsible for fully updating the new tenantprofile data within Northgate. Information will be automatically uploadedinto the Supporting Vulnerable Tenants Database on a weekly basis.

Housing -LettingsOfficers

2.6 At Pre-tenancy, the Lettings Officer is responsible for ensuringthat housing applicants data is recorded in full, is kept up to date inNorthgate and validated at the pre-offer stage.


2.7 If any support needs are identified that cannot be recorded in afield within Northgate at point of tenancy creation, the Lettings Officershall ensure that the relevant Estate Manager is made aware of thisinformation when the tenant is signed up for the new tenancy by creatingthe Action Code: Customer in Need of Support, within NorthgateCustomer Services


2.8 If required, a support referral - for example to Housing Support -may be made directly by the Lettings Officer when the tenancy is created.This will be recorded in Northgate so that the Estate Manager is aware.

Add link to working instruction on how to log a support referral inNorthgate


3. Responding to new information identified - on tenants in need ofsupport.

3.1 The Estate Manager is the responsible officer for responding tonewly identified support needs.

Housing -Estate

Return to Agenda

Managers

3.2 On receipt of a the Customer in Need of Support referral viaNorthgate Customer Services, the Estate Manager shall respondwithin 3 working days (need a report to be able to monitor this) tovalidate the information by contacting the tenant - by home visit ortelephone call, depending on type/level of need, during which theTenant Needs Assessment form (add link) shall be completed.

It is important to note that the Estate Manager may themselves identifypossibly vulnerability issues in their day to day work and follow thissame process.

Contact with the tenant via their next of kin, if this information is known,may be more appropriate in some cases - for example where there is alanguage barrier.

NB. Details of confirmed support needs should not simply be recordedin a Northgate or ReACT notepads as information may be confidentialand could also be overlooked – information must be recorded in thecustomer profile in Northgate so that the Supporting VulnerableTenants Database is kept updated.


3.3 During this first assessment by the Estate Manager, where apreviously unknown support need is confirmed:

The customer profile data in Northgate shall always be checked againand updated if required.

The Vulnerability Indicator Methodology shall be referred to in orderto assess and score the case to determine the frequency of on-goingcontact.

Northgate shall then be updated to confirm that the contact has beenmade, the date and High, Medium or Low applied.

Following the completed contact, the Action code: Customer in Needof Support, within Northgate Customer Services shall be updatedwith action taken and then closed so that there is an audit trail iscreated for future reference if required. Check this with Ranjit.


Return to Agenda

3.4 Where required, a support referral to an external agency shallbe made and recorded in Northgate, in line with the recommendationscontained in the Guidance Chart WHSP1040.

Add link to working instruction on how to log a support referral inNorthgate.


3.5 Northgate (alerts) shall be updated with any requirments for thetailoring of the service, in line with recommendations contained in theGuidance Chart WHSP1040.

Add working instruction for this.


4. Checklist – for assessing tenants in need of support

4.1 The Tenant Needs Assessment form is a tool to help identify:

Potential support needs that may require a referral to outsidespecialist agencies for specific support. .

Level and type of post tenancy support required from WH specialistofficers within housing support unit and or money smart team.

Communication needs of the tenant Contact pereferences of the tenant Cultural requirements of the tenant .

This information will help/ enable the Estate Manager to better managethe tenancy and tailor the service to the customer accordingly.


4.2 If a support need is indicated during the visit and the TenantNeeds Assessment Form has been completed, following this initialassessment a more detailed assessment may be carried out by one ormore of the following support agencies following receipt of a supportreferral: Wolverhampton City Council - Tenancy Sustainment Team or

Neighbourhood Support Teams or Social Services; Wolverhampton Homes - Housing Support Team; Another external support agencies such as CAB, ACCI, RMC, One

Voice. Also refer / link to the procedure for Safeguarding Adults.

Add links to protocols with agencies?


Return to Agenda

The completed Tenant Needs Assessment form shall always be filedin Information @ Work for future reference. Use document ID:SUPPCASE (support case)

5. Review of exisiting data held on tenants in need of support

5.1 Note : As tenants circucmstances or support needs maychange it is important that the details of a tenants needs are kept up todate by completing periodic contacts and reviews.


5.2 A weekly report shall be made available from the SupportingVulnerable Tenants Database to inform Estate Managers of thedates of when customer contacts are due /completed or outstanding .All reports will show contacts due/completed or outstanding for eachcategory , eg - High, medium and low categories . (By EstateManager patch) .

Housing- EstateManagers

5.3 Tenants in need of support shall be scored according to theirlevel of need - and this will determine the frequency of contact , as perguidance contained within the individual Vulnerability IndicatorMethodologies:

High priority (red) cases scoring 100 points will require at least aquarterly contact by the Estate Manager.

In some cases it may require a monthly or weekly contact in the firstinstance by home visit, to confirm if the element of support need stillexists.

Medium priority (amber) cases scoring 50 points will require at least a 6monthly contact by the Estate Manager.

Low priority (green) cases scoring 25 points will require at least anannual phone call by Homes Direct.

Multiple support needs:

In the case where there are multiple support needs within a household,the highest scoring need will take preference.

If there are multiple support needs with the same score, this will notincrease the score.

For example, a person with two low categories of support need will still


Property -Homes Direct

Return to Agenda

receive an annual check, or a person with a low and a mediumcategory of need will receive a 6 monthly check.

5.4 For low priority cases, Customer Services Officers in HomesDirect will update Northgate to confirm that a) contact has been madeby telephone , b) support needs checked and updated and c) thereview has been completed.

Property -Homes Directand Housing -EstateManagers

5.5 For all categories of need it is possible that the tenant mayalready be receiving on-going support, for example from the ASBOfficer handling their current complaint, however it is the EstateManagers responsibility for making this check.


5.6 Contact with the tenant via their next of kin, if this information isknown, may be more appropriate in some cases, for example wherethere is a language barrier.


5.7 The Tenant Needs Assessment form may be used at anypoint of contact with a customer and, if required, a support referralmade.

Information on any necessary tailoring of the service shall always beupdated in Northgate.

As in 4.2, following the review the completed Tenant NeedsAssessment form shall be filed in Information @ Work.


5.8 On completion of the review of high priority and medium prioritycases the Estate Manager will update Northgate to confirm that thereview has been completed and date.


Change in circumstances:

Following the contact, if a change in circumstance is identified and thepriority of contact needs to be changed (e.g. from High priority to lowpriority), the Estate Manager shall amend the relevant field withinNorthgate.

Following a contact, should a specific high priority vulnerability type no

Estate Manager

Return to Agenda

longer exist within the household, the Estate Manager shall seek theauthority of the Senior Estate Manager before amending the customerprofile within Northgate.

5.9 As in 3.4 and 3.5, where required, a support referral shall bemade and recorded in Northgate or the information on the requirmentsto tailor the service shall be updated in Northgate, in line with therecommendations contained within the Vulnerable Tenants GuidanceChart WHSP1040.

When considering a support need, a possible referral or therequirments to tailor a service, the Estate Manager may seek furtheradvice from the Senior Estate Manager or the Housing Manager whomay refer the case to the Equialities Team for additional guidance ifrequired.

Housing -EstateManagers /Senior EstateManagers /HousingManagers

CorportateServices -Equalities Team

6. Performance monitoring and reporting

6.1 Weekly management reports will also provide performanceinformation on the numbers of contacts due and completed, bycategory and by Estate Manager, to ensure that this is controlled andtargets are met.

Resources –Performanceand ICT

Housing -HousingManagers /Senior EstateManagers

6.2 A 6 monthly performance report shall be provided to theWolverhampton Homes Board or Business Improvement Committeedetailing the numbers and categories of support needs identified,performance in responding to these within timescales, together withinformation on any trends or service development requirementsidentified.

Housing – Headof Housing

CorporateServices – Headof Equalities

Resources –Performanceand ICT

Return to Agenda

Name

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

APPENDIX 3

Wolverhampton HomesVulnerability Indicator Methodology

V.I. 1 - Physical Impairment

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having a physical impairment.

Details of a person’s physical impairment will be taken directly from the field stored in the Northgatesystem.

Physical impairment - means limitations to a person’s physical functioning, mobility, dexterity orstamina. And which has a substantial and long term effect on their ability to carry out day to dayactivities.

Such examples include; cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, morbid obesity, stroke, multiple sclerosis,spinabifida.

Where the persons disability/ physical impairment impacts on the tenants ability to sustain atenancy.

Automated to amber - 50 points (medium risk) - in the first instance, may be reduced to yellow – 25points (low risk) or increased to red - 100 points (high risk) following initial contact.

Removal of the indicator / scoring can only be done through Northgate.

Lettings officers loading information from Housing ApplicationsEstate Managers – adding/updating information to existing tenancies details heldHousing Support Team - adding/updating information to existing tenancies details held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 2 – Sensory Impairment

When a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having a sensory impairment

Details of a person having a sensory impairment will be taken directly from the fields stored inNorthgate system.

Sensory impairment can be defined as: When a person encompasses visual loss, hearing loss andmulti-sensory impairment. It is when your senses – sight , hearing, smell, touch , taste and spatialawareness is no longer there.

Where a person’s disability/ sensory impairment may impact on the tenants ability to sustaina tenancy and may require additional support .



Lettings officers loading information from Housing ApplicationEstate Managers - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details heldHousing Support Team - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 3 - Hearing Impairment

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having hearing impairment

Details of a person’s hearing impairment will be taken directly from the field stored in NorthgateSystem.

Hearing impairment is defined as: when a person has hearing loss and cannot receive ‘sounds’through the ear.

Where the persons disability/ hearing impairment impacts on the tenants ability to sustain atenancy.




Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 4 – Learning Impairment

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having a learning impairment

Details of a person’s learning impairment will be taken directly from the field stored in NorthgateSystem.

Learning impairment is defined as a person having reduced ability to understand ‘information andhow they communicate’.

This means having difficulty in;- Understanding new or complex information Learning new skills in any area of life, not just at school. Coping independently

Where the persons disability/ learning impairment impacts on the tenants ability to sustain atenancy.




Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 5 - Speech Impairment

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having speech impairment

Details of a person having a speech impairment will be taken directly from the field stored inNorthgate system .

Speech impairment can be defined as: a person’s ability to communicate with others through speechis impaired.

Where a person’s disability/ impairment may impact on the tenants ability to sustain atenancy.




Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 6 - Visual Impairment

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having a visual impairment.

Details of a person having a visual impairment will be taken directly from the fields stored inNorthgate system.

Visual impairment can be defined as : When a person has sight loss and this cannot be fullycorrected using glasses .

Where a person’s disability / impairment may impact on the tenants ability to sustain atenancy.




Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 7 – Poor Mental Health

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them suffering poor mental health.Where a tenant has a diagnosed or suspected mental health need. A mental health assessment mayor may not have been completed.

Details of a person suffering poor mental health will be taken directly from the field stored inNorthgate system .

Poor mental health is defined as: significant impairment of a person’s emotional / psychologicalwellbeing. Examples of this include: Having suicidal tendencies, self-harming stress, anxiety,depression, obsessional disorders, delusions/ hallucinations. This may also include Alzheimers anddementia.

Where the person’s poor mental health may impact on the tenants ability to sustain atenancy.



100 points - high score – (high risk) tenant lacks capacity to sustain a tenancy and / or poses a riskto others or themselves, e.g. suicidal tendencies / self-harming50 points – medium risk – requires on-going support to be engaged to sustain a tenancy25 points – low risk – requires some additional time and support in any contact or communication

For further guidance please refer to the Mental Health Advisor.

Lettings officers loading information from Housing ApplicationsEstate Managers – adding/updating information to existing tenancies details heldHousing Support Team – Mental Health Co-ordinator adding/ updating information to existingtenancies details held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 8 – Wheelchair User

Wheel Chair User – where a person is unable to walk due to an injury, illness and relies on awheelchair to move around

Details of a person’s disability will be taken directly from the field stored in Northgate System.

Wheel Chair User is defined as: when a person is unable to walk due to an injury, illness and relieson a wheelchair to move around.

Where the persons disability may impact on the tenants ability to manage a tenancy



Lettings officers loading information from Housing ApplicationEstate Managers - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details heldHousing Support - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 9 – Chronic Poor Health (unseen impairment)

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having a significant health issue impactingon their ability to manage a tenancy.

Details of a person’s poor health will be taken directly from the field stored in Northgate System.

Poor health is defined as: when a person is suffering ill health due to a medical condition/ disease -which has a profound affect on their ‘ well being’ and their ability to carry out day to day tasks /activity .

For example : Chronic Ashtma, Chronic arthritis, severe bronchitis.

Where the persons poor health impacts on the tenants ability to manage a tenancy.




Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 10 - Life limiting illness (Exceptional Needs)

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to a life-limiting illness – which is defined asillnesses where it is expected that death will be a direct consequence of the specified illness.

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to a life-limiting illness – which is defined asillnesses where it is expected that death will be a direct consequence of the specified illness.

Such illnesses may include, but are not limited to: Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Cancer. Heart disease,Aids, Heart Disease, Respiratory disease, Liver or Renal Disease.

Details of the tenant’s life limiting illness will be taken directly from the fields stored in the Northgatesystem.

A persons ill health/ wellbeing – may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy.

Automated to amber - 50 points - Medium Risk - in the first instance, may be reduced to green – 25points (low risk) or increased to red - 100 points (high risk) following initial contact.

Removal of the indicator / Scoring can only be done through Northgate.

Lettings Officers – Loading information from the Housing application formEstate Managers – updating/ adding information to existing tenancy details held.Housing Support team – updating/ adding information to existing tenancy details held.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 11 - People suffering from alcohol, drug or substance misuse

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them suffering from alcohol, drug or substancemisuse.

Data held on a need to know basis if impacting, or potential to impact, on their ability to sustain thetenancy.

Alcohol/drug or substance disorder is where an individual is physically or psychologically dependentupon drinking or taking alcohol, drugs or other substances (it becomes out of control and excessive)– and as a result can cause harm to a person’s wellbeing.

Details of the tenant’s Alcohol, drug or substance will be taken directly from the fields stored inNorthgate system.

A persons alcohol, drug or substance dependency – may impact on their ability to sustain theirtenancy – may require support

Automated to Amber – Pending initial assessment .Date of referral made to Housing support –important

Following assessment by housing support score may increase/ or reduce / or stay the same .:100 - high score – associated behaviour impacts significantly on ability to sustain a tenancy50 – medium score – requires on-going support to be engaged to sustain a tenancy25 – low score – requires some additional time and support in any contact or communication

Officer guidance will be required.

Estate Managers – updating / adding information to existing tenancy details held.Housing Support team – updating / adding information to existing tenancy details held.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 12 - People whose first language is not English

Where a person’s first language is not English

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them being unable to communicate in English –verbally or in writing and therefore may require assistance / access to communication supportthrough interpretation and or translation services.

Details of language spoken will be taken directly from the fields stored in Northgate system.

A person’s inability to speak, read or understand English may impact on their ability tosustain their tenancy.


Lettings Officers – loading information from Housing ApplicationEstate Managers – adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held.Housing Support - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 13 – Tenants refusing access to their property

Where a person is identified as being potentially vulnerable due to – Tenant refusing access toproperty – access required for gas servicing, essential electrical work, essential repairs, decenthomes work, planned improvement work or the completion of a tenancy audit.

This is a breach of the tenancy agreement.

Where a person is identified as being potentially vulnerable due to – Tenant refusing access toproperty – access required for gas servicing, essential electrical work, essential repairs, decenthomes work, planned improvement work or the completion of a tenancy audit.

The tenant or a member of their household may be vulnerable and could be impacted by anymaintenance work. The tenant could also be vulnerable if the essential work is not carried out asthere may be health and safety implications. The tenant may not be coping with running their homeand may be trying to cover this up by refusing access.

Details of the person refusing access will be taken directly from the fields stored in Northgatesystem.

Field – created in Northgate to show date of refusal to access property for gas service/electrical check/ essential repairs.

A tenants behaviour may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy – may need support.

Automated to redInitial score high - 100 points for an initial contact in case of any unknown change in circumstance/behaviour, poor health or wellbeing concerns. If a specific vulnerability is identified the relevantcategory will be applied.

Estate Managers

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 14 - Age

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to their age.

A person’s age will be taken directly from the age field stored in the Northgate system anddependant on which age group the age fails into an appropriate score will be allocated.

The Age category has been temporarily restricted to Tenants only due to the volume of nontenants who are at high risk.

A person age may impact on the tenant’s ability to sustain a tenancy

Each age group will have its own score associated with it:

16 – 25 = 100 points (red) – Automated to high risk26 – 59 = 0 Points (green) – No risk60 – 74 = 25 points– (yellow) Automated to low risk75 – 80 = 50 points (amber) – Automated to medium risk80+ = 100 points (red) – Automated to high risk

Lettings Officers loading information from Housing application forms Estate Managers – adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held Housing Support - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 15 - No contact in 12 months

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them having ‘no contact’ with WH within the lasttwelve months.

Details will be taken directly from the information from a Northgate – Business Objects Report.

No contact may suggest that the tenant is not coping well and needs some degree of help andsupport to sustain their tenancy.

No contact will mean:

The Tenancy has not started within the last 12 months No repairs have been ordered within the last 12 months They have not applied for re-housing or placed any bids on available properties in the last 12

months They have made no Customer Enquiries in the last 12 months There is no current arrears balance that would trigger an arrears visit. No Tenancy Audit or 8th month check has been completed in the last 12 months.

NOTE. To remove this indicator you must enter a Customer Enquiry into Northgate

A person circumstances / behaviour may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy – may needsupport.

Automated / Initial score high - 100 points - for an initial contact in case of any unknown changein circumstance/ behaviour, poor health or wellbeing concerns. If a specific vulnerability is identifiedthe relevant category will be applied.

Estate ManagersPerformance Team – Business Objects Reporting

Return to Agenda

Additional Information

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 16 - People in financial hardship

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them being in financial hardship.

The data for the financial hardship indicator will be taken directly from the field stored in Northgatesystem for tenancy sustainability (this is based on the Experian data).

Each household will receive a rating from the following:

1 - Resilient Money Managers2 - Vulnerable to Financial Stress3 - Credit Hungry4 - Stretched Money Managers5 - Current Financial Stress9 – No Data

A persons financial circumstances – may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy

The score will be automated as follows

Level 1 & 2 - No score.Level 3 – Low Rating – Yellow - 25 PointsLevel 4 – Medium Rating – Amber - 50 PointsLevel 5 – High Rating – Red - 100 Points

Automated as above.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 17 - Recently Bereaved

People who have suffered ‘a loss’ of a close family member or partner within the last 6 months.

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to a death of a close family member/ partner – withinthe last six months.

Close family member is defined as partner, child, brother, sister, mother, father, grandfather,grandmother.

Details of the person having suffered a recent bereavement will be taken directly from the fieldsstored in Northgate system.Date of loss field required - does not currently exist.

Fields to be created to show a) Date of loss/bereavemnent and b) who in the household isbereaved.

A persons 'change in circumstances’ may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy.

Automated to medium score – medium risk

Score to be medium risk - 50 points . Score may need removing after 6 months or re-categoriseddepending on any other vulnerability issues identified- following intial contact made .

Lettings Officers – for new applicantsEstate Managers – adding/ updating existing tenancy details held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 18 - Relationship Breakdown

People who have suffered a ‘relationship breakdown’ within the last six months

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to a relationship breakdown between two adults /partner – (recently divorced/ separated within the last 6 months)

Relationship relates to partner, spouse or civil partner.

Details of the person having suffered a relationship breakdown will be taken directly from the fieldsstored in Northgate system.Please note: date of relationship breakdown field does not currently exist.

Fields to be created to show a) the date of relationship breakdown


Automated to medium riskScore to be medium risk - 50 points - score may need removing after 6 months or re-categoriseddepending on any other vulnerability issues identified – following contact made .

Lettings officers – for new applicantsEstate Managers – adding/ updating existing tenancy details held.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 19 - Tenants in Rent Arrears

Where a person may be potentially vulnerable due to them having serious rent arrears and thetenancy is at risk.

Data will be automatically taken from the Northgate Rents Module.

The score will be based on the number of weeks the person is in arrears (e.g. if net rent is £10 andthe account is £50 in arrears then they are 5 weeks in arrears). This will pick up the lower level (interms of money) arrears cases where the tenant may be experiencing financial hardship.

Cases which receive full housing benefit but have an arrears balance will also be included in thescoring but this will be based on the outstanding balance.

Cases automatically default to Medium risk – 50 points – if they are at least 5 weeks in arrears or ifin receipt of full housing benefit where an arrears balance over £500 (but less than £1000) exists.

Cases automatically Increase to high - 100 points – when the account is 10 weeks in more inarrears, or if in receipt of full housing benefit where an arrears balance is over £1000.

A persons behaviour may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy .

Details of the persons level of rent arrears will be taken directly from the arrears module withinNorthgate.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 20 - New migrants (EEA nationals) without access to public funds (housingbenefit, UC or the housing element of UC)

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them being citizens of the ‘‘EU / EEA’ and who areWH council tenants and do not have access to housing benefit or access to public funds.

(EU – European Union and EEA – European Economic Area)

All new migrants from the EEA including the EU –can be understood as any person living temporarilyor permanently in this country (where he or she was not born in) for the purpose of lawfulemployment / work or personal convenience/prosperity.

EEA national include; Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungry, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia,Slovakia Bulgaria, Romania.

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them being ‘’EEA Nationals’ – and who are counciltenants – they become unemployed/ not in work – and then do not have access to housing benefitor access to public funds.

There is a risk of the tenant being unable to pay their rent, falling into rent arrears and possessionaction being taken, if they are not in work.

Details of a person’s EEA National status and confirmation of them having NO access tohousing benefit or access to public funds should be held on Northgate . Currently no fieldsexist to record this data. Field needs creating.

A persons financial circumstances may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy

Automated to - High score – 100 points- high Risk

Anne Herrmann maintains a record of these cases.

Estate Managers and Money Smart Team - adding / updating tenancy information held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 22 - Teenage Parent and/ or Teenage Expectant Mother

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them being - 16-19 year old introductory or extendedintroductory tenant - with parental responsibility for a child in the household

Or

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them being - 16-19 year old introductory or extendedintroductory tenant - with parental responsibility for the expected child.

Details of the teenage parent or teenage expectant mother will be taken directly from thefields stored in Northgate system?

Please note: Field to be created – due date field needed for expectant mother.

A person’s change in circumstances may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy.

Automated to red - 100 points (high risk) in the first instance, may be reduced to amber - 50points (medium) or green – 25 points (Low risk) following initial contact, or 0 points.

Lettings Officers – Loading information from the Housing application formEstate Managers – updating/ adding information to existing tenancy details held.Housing Support team - – updating/ adding information to existing tenancy details held.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 23 - Young Person Leaving Care

Where a person is potentially vulnerable due to them being a - 16-18 year old former looked afterchild (Young person who ceases to be looked after by or accommodated by the local authority) –and who takes on a new tenancy with Wolverhampton Homes for the first time – introductory orextended introductory tenant.

Date field needed – when the person left care.

16-18 year old former looked after child (Young person who ceases to be looked after by oraccommodated by the local authority) – and who takes on a new tenancy with WolverhamptonHomes for the first time – introductory or extended introductory tenant.

Details of the young person’s leaving local authority care – information will be taken directlyfrom the fields stored in Northgate system.

Please Note: Field to be created to show date when person left CARE - new tenant requiresadditional support due to being a ‘former looked after child’ (LAC) .

A person’s change in circumstances may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy.

Automated High score – 100 points ( High risk) to be applied.

Lettings officers – Loading information from housing application

Estate managers – adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held.

Housing Support Team

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 24 – Perpetrators of ASB (including hate crime) or a Tenancy Breach

Where a person is potentially vulnerable and identified as ‘ perpetrator of ASB or a tenancy breach’ .

Refers to a serious breach as a result of ASB and/ or a Tenacancy breach – resulting in tenancybeing at risk and court action is required.

Details of the person causing ASB or a Tenanacy Breach will be taken directly from the fieldsstored in Northgate system/ REACT .

Where the tenancy is at risk – as a result of ASB or tenaccy breach – where legal action has startedand support is therefore required to ensure the persons behaviour is modified so that the tenancycan be sustained.

Please refer to categories of tenancy breaches and ASB held in ReACT.

A persons ‘inappropriate behaviour’ may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy / runthe risk of loosing their tenancy

Cases automatically default to Medium – 50 points – (medium risk ) when a suspended orderis granted or an injunction is obtained.

Cases automatically default to ‘high’ - 100 points – (high risk) when tenant does not abide bythe terms of the order and a warrant is authorised or injunction breached.

Auto-populated from ReACT – Steve/ Ranjit ?

Estate Managers – adding/ updating tenancy information/data heldASB officers - adding/ updating tenancy information/data held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 25 - Victims of ASB or a Tenancy Breach (including hate crime)

Where a person is identified as being potentiaqlly vulnerable due to them being a victim of an ASBand or a victim of a tenancy breach.

Details of the person suffering ASB or a Tenanacy Breach will be taken directly from thefields stored in Northgate system/ REACT ??.

Victims of ASB or a Tenancy Breach where there is a severe adverse impact on them – andtherefore may require support to sustain their tenancy.

Category A (serious) ASB cases categorised as verbal harassment or intimidating behaviourthat causes severe distress and compromises the safety and well being of residents. This couldinclude aggressive or threatening language and behaviour; acts of violence against people orproperty; hate crimes that targets members of identified groups due to their perceived differences;or other criminal behaviour.

Category B (persistent) ASB cases relate to lower level but persistent forms of anti-socialbehaviour that causes alarm or fear, or unreasonably interferes with other people’s rights to the useand enjoyment of their home and community. This could be noise nuisance; vandalism toproperty; or drug related activity. The majority of category B cases generally relate to noise.

Whilst ASB issues are likely to have the most impact on a victim, it is also possible that someCategory A (urgent) tenancy breach cases, not managed as ASB, may also have an impact on avictim, for example someone living next door to a severe hoarder or next to a tenant causing arubbish issue that is a health hazard or in the same block as a tenant allowing an obstructionto cause a fire hazard in a communal area.

A contact with the victim will ensure that any impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy ismanaged and support is provided where needed.

Where the victim is the recorded complainant this contact will take place under the Management ofTenancy Breaches or the Control of Anti-social Bahaviour procedures.

Automated High – 100 points – High Risk – for victims of Category A and B ASB cases orcategory A Tenancy Breach cases .

Estate Managers- addaing/ updating tenancy information/ data heldASB officers - addaing/ updating tenancy information/ data heldVictim and Witness Support officerRanjit – auto-population weekly from ReACT for live cases . However – note - the victim mayor may not be recorded in ReACT

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 26 - Victims of Domestic Violence

Where a person is identified as being potentially vulneravble due to them being a victim of DomesticViolence.

Domestice Violenece is defined as : "Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse(psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have beenintimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality."

Details of the person suffering Domestic Violence will be taken directly from the fields storedin Northgate system/ REACT ..

Domestic Violence is defined as : "Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse(psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have beenintimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality."

Victims of DV may require support as their ability to sustain their tenancy maybe at risk.

Automated to High score – 100 points – High risk

Auto population from Northgate .

Lettings officers loading information from Housing ApplicationEstate Managers - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details heldHousing Support Team - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details heldASB TEAM – adding / updating information on REACT

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 27 - High Service Users – 40 separate occasions where contact has beenmade with Wolverhampton Homes within 12 months

Where a person is potentially vulnerable – due to the high level of contact made within 12 months.

Details will be taken directly from the Information held in Customer insight?

High level of contact is defined as : where a tenant has made contact on 40 separate occasionswithin 12 months.

Persons ‘behaviour’ may impact on their ability to sustain their tenancy - This may suggestthat the tenants is not coping well and needs specialist support and help to sustain their tenancy.

.High score – 100 points will ensure that an initial assessment is done within 3 months in orderto identify the specific vulnerability or concerns , if any.

This vulnerability type may be removed following this initial assessment, or another specificvulnerability type recorded.

Just Scott – Customer Insight dataEstate Managers - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 28 - Ex-offender

Ex Offender – A person with a criminal record – however details of the offence are confidentialinformation.

The tenancy start date should be entered in the field for these cases.

Where a person has served a 3 year or more sentence, recently been released from prison andrehoused by Wolverhampton Homes - ( a period of adjustment / tenancy support required - mayimpact on the tenants ability to sustain a tenancy )

When a new introductory tenancy starts within six months of the new tenant being released fromprison, the tenancy should be monitored for a period of six months.


Automated to High risk initially – 100 points.

This may be reduced to amber (medium risk – 50 points) or yellow (low risk – 25 points) followingcontact and assessment.


Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 29 - Adult and Child Safeguarding

Where a person is potentially vulnerable and identified as a vulnerable adult/child at risk

Safeguarding information is highly confidential and should only be held on a need to knowbasis – if there is an impact on the tenancy or the ability for the tenant to sustain theirtenancy.

Details of the safeguarding concern will be taken directly from the fields stored in Northgate system

(PLEASE NOTE – FIELD NOW CREATED TO SHOW SAFEGUARDING REFERRAL MADE –YES/NO AND DATE REFERRAL MADE

When a safeguarding issue is identified and ;

An ‘Adult Safeguarding Concern- SA1 Form is completed and referral made to socialservices.

A Children safeguarding Concern – SA2 Form is completed and referral made to socialservices.

Safeguarding concerns may impact on the tenants ability to sustain a tenancy .

Score will default to high – 100 points, but may be reduced by the operational lead officerdepending on circumstances.

Operational Lead - dedicated senior officer responsible for safeguarding.

Return to Agenda

Description

Definition

Scoring

Officer Responsible

V.I. 30 Managers Discretion Jin to amend

Where a person is potentially vulnerable and identified as ‘the cause is unknown’ – Tenant notcoping very well’ and no other vulnerability category applies.

Indicator to be used where warning signs are evident – e.g. if an officers ‘gut instinct’ says there issomething wrong and the tenant needs support.

Could be identified by any officer at any visit.

This field is password protected. The password is available to key managers only.

Where a person is potentially vulnerable and identified as ‘the cause is unknown’ – Tenant notcoping very well’ and no other vulnerability category applies.

Indicator to be used where warning signs are evident – e.g. if an officers ‘gut instinct’ says there issomething wrong and the tenant needs support.EG:

Poor living standards – cleanliness or clutter, hoarders, potential fire riskSigns of property and/or self-neglectSocial isolation within a community, e.g. due to ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation

Where the persons behaviour / circumstances may impact on the tenants ability to sustain atenancy

Once the field is unlocked 4 scoring options are available.

100 points – (High risk ) for an initial contact / assessment.50 points – (Medium risk)25 Points – (Low Risk)0 Points – Following intial contact , If a specific vulnerability is identified then the relevant category/risk will be applied. 0 points is then used to remove the points given in this category so that they arenot double counted.

Estate Managers - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details heldHousing Support Team - adding/ updating information to existing tenancy details held

Return to Agenda

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES BOARD (11/12/2015) AGENDA ITEM 8E

Open Report

Title Improvements to leasehold properties

Status For decision

AuthorContact No:

Mark Henderson01902 554844

Darren Baggs01902 551865

Helen Bellingham01902 550585

Recommendations The Board is asked to note the ruling of First Tier Tribunal(FTT) in relation to proposed works at Merridale Court,Graiseley and consequently agree a series of policies,clarifying issues relating to repairs and improvements onleasehold occupied properties.

Specifically Board is asked to;

(i) Agree an approach that is legal, fair and proportionatein respect of leaseholder contribution toimprovements;

(ii) Acknowledge and accept there may be occasionswhere planned/improvement works will benefitleaseholders, without legally being able to levy aconsequential contribution;

(iii) Continue with existing consultations that meet legalrequirements and good practice as outlined at 5.1;

(iv) Levy all leaseholders with a reasonable andproportionate charge in accordance with their lease,using the methodology deemed appropriate by FTT forany items of major repair as outlined at 5.2 and 5.5;

(v) Leaseholders will be levied for environmental andminor works only where there is a direct and exclusivebenefit to themselves as outlined at 5.3

(vi) Generally allow delivery of identified or planned worksto proceed irrespective of tenure profile, as outlined at5.6.

(vii) Where blocks are wholly occupied by leaseholdersundertake improvement works only when deemedessential or the maintenance costs are no longer costeffective, as outlined at 5.7.

(viii) Approve improvement works where a strong businesscase resulting in longer term benefits for HRA isforecast with the consequential ability to only levy a‘like for like’ replacement from leaseholders with lease1 or 2 as outlined at 5.8.


Contributions for improvement work are often contentious in anumber of ways. Leaseholders themselves can find a charge

Return to Agenda

for improvement works seemingly excessive and unnecessaryas it is claimed the need can arise through neglect and/or poormanagement.

Tenants can also be concerned where it is felt that contributionsfor any works are not properly apportioned to and recoveredfrom leaseholders.

Failure to properly apply an apportionment may unfairly burdenthe HRA with tenants potentially cross subsidising improvementworks.

Management Summary


1.1. To summarise the outcome of the recent FTT legal case between WolverhamptonCity Council (WCC) and leaseholders of Merridale Court, Graiseley.

1.2. Consider planned works upon communal areas or blocks managed byWolverhampton Homes and determine a process to seek a fair and reasonablecontribution from leaseholders wherever legally possible.

2. Background

2.1. Wolverhampton Homes, on behalf of the City Council, currently manage 2,111leasehold flats resulting from tenants exercising a right to buy. This numberincreases weekly and demand has increased as a result of Government’sreinvigorated right to buy policy.

2.2. Leaseholders are required to pay an annual service charge for services and workscarried out to their property/block/estate. This is credited to the HRA, are variableeach year and based on three areas;

Services, management and building insurance and ground rent Routine communal repairs Major repairs and improvements

2.3. A total of £653,318 was levied on leaseholders during 2014/15. Service charges,ground rent and routine communal repairs are payable within 12 months of theinvoice. However, leaseholders are offered interest free payment terms over a threeor five year period for major repairs and improvements. The following charges werelevied in 2014/15;

£535,652 Services, management, building insurance and ground rent £ 53,932 Routine communal repairs £ 63,733 Major repairs and improvements £653,318 Total

2.4. Since the early 1980’s the Council has issued three leases dependent upon the yearof purchase. The drafting of each lease varies and presents a number of oftencomplex challenges in relation to applying charges for works completed. In

Return to Agenda

summary;

Lease Numbers % Annual servicecharge

Repairs Improvements

One 157 7.4 Highest of £25 or10%

Yes, wherereasonable andproportionate

No

Two 417 19.8 Highest of £25 or10%


Unlikely

Three 1,537 72.8 Variable basedupon actual costcurrently £78.75



Total 2,111 100

2.5. A fourth lease is under consideration by the Council and may be introduced at somestage in the future which could include a forfeiture clause i.e. to allow possession of aproperty resulting from major breach of lease.

2.6. Improvements to properties and estates undertaken by Wolverhampton Homes areundertaken using a variety of both revenue and capital funding streams including;

Sustainable estates Planned improvement programme (PIP) Responsive repairs Asset maintenance/contracts and compliance Door entry programme Minor works programme Parking improvements budget.

3. Merridale Court

3.1. This estate consists of 157 flats encompassing 46 leaseholders incorporating allthree leases, within 9 blocks upon a single estate in the Graiseley ward ofWolverhampton. With an investment requirement of £3millon identified the estatepresented an ideal scenario for City of Wolverhampton Council and WolverhamptonHomes to take a proactive test case to FTT to explore and determine three key areasnamely;

Are the costs of the work reasonable? It is reasonable for works to be carried out? Are we entitled to recover the cost of work from leaseholders (i.e. is there

provision within the leases to allow).

3.2. After a 5 day trial at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court, FTT found;

All three leases allow the Council to charge leaseholders for costs of repairs; The Tribunal was satisfied that overall costs of planned work were reasonable.

Return to Agenda

All items are considered as repairs rather than improvements and therefore a fairand reasonable contribution is recoverable;

The current measure of apportionment is a fair system and the simple methodused for a number of years is reasonable;

The Tribunal was satisfied that a 67 week programme was the most efficient planand noted that leaseholders would, in certain circumstances be offered paymentplans; and

Any suggestion of historic neglect was more than made up for by items theCouncil is not proposing to charge.

3.3. FTT noted that lease 1 does not allow for the recovery of improvements but it couldbe argued that lease 2 may, however, this argument was not developed furtherduring the hearing. Subsequently Council’s legal officers feel that it will be unsafe incharging for improvements to leaseholders on lease 2.

3.4. A fundamental area of the hearing centred upon ‘reasonableness’ and our ability toput forward a reasoned and documented argument for the works planned. This isbest demonstrated by the attention given during the hearing to replacing pitched roofsof the 9 blocks, where FTT requested an independent survey to provide a conditionreport and life expectancy of the existing roof coverings. Wolverhampton Homes’argument was tiles were failing in many areas as they neared their component lifeexpectancy and therefore patch repairs; cost of matching handmade tiles andrepeated scaffold hire was false economy. Wolverhampton Homes thereforesuggested a preferred option was to renew all roof coverings finished with a morecost effective modular roof tile. This argument was accepted by Tribunal.

A copy of the full ruling is available at http://www.gov.uk/housing-tribunals/overview

4. Impact Upon Future Improvement

4.1. Often in recent times intended works upon blocks with leaseholders have beenplaced on hold or in extreme circumstances even cancelled as uncertainty of ourability to recover a leaseholder contribution grew. This is further complicated withconcerns that tenants money would be used to improve blocks that by defaultleaseholders will also benefit from (i.e. cross subsidy by tenants).

4.2. This hesitancy can be to the detriment of estates where investment to improve thecommunal areas (door entry), external environments (minor works) and aesthetics ofblocks is prevented upon blocks containing leaseholders. As a result we have onoccasions focused attention towards blocks without leaseholders where investmentneed has been identified.

4.3. New door entry installations/improvements and/or estate enhancement are regardedas essential to improve assets support sustainable estates. Not investing inblocks/estates owing to leaseholder occupation due to an inability to obtain financialcontribution merely because of poorly drafted lease terms at the point of sale isunpalatable if not untenable. In time condoning such an approach will lead to estatesdeclining and a decline in both tenant and leaseholder satisfaction.

4.4. As a result of the clarity now provided by FTT case, Wolverhampton Homs needs toagree a way forward and any assess any financial impact identified.

Return to Agenda

5. The Way Forward

5.1. There is a range of legislation that covers leaseholders, however, the two main actsare the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (Sections 18 to 30) and the Commonhold andLeasehold Reform Act 2002. Under the latter act we have a duty to consult withleaseholders prior to commencement of any major works where a leaseholdercontribution is going to exceed £250. Failure to do this effectively is likely to preventany recovery of contributions irrespective of whether there is provision within thelease. Board will be aware and reassured that our consultation processes are wellestablished are well known throughout the Company and fully documented on ourmanagement system and accepted by leaseholders. Furthermore there was nocriticism of this process by FTT. Therefore it is proposed to continue with existingmethods of consultation.

5.2. In addition legislation requires us to ensure that we are reasonable in carrying outany proposed works and that the cost is also reasonable. In order to fully understandand assess any potential financial implications, the following lists have been createdto help determine what items constitute a repair and what can be termed as animprovement. The areas identified are based on common sense in addition toprevious cases that have been determined by tribunal.

5.3. Day to Day Repairs – Chargeable under all 3 leases

Response repairs, not normally subject to consultation, carried out to areas such as:

Roof, chimneys, rainwater goods, communal pathways, drains, externalbrickwork, communal lighting, and communal area repairs.

5.4. Major Works of Repair (more than £250 contribution) – Chargeable under all 3 leases

Planned work, normally subject to consultation, which covers the followingprogrammes:

PIP Communal area painting/rewiring/flooring Roofing works if “like-for-like” for example to replace a flat roof with a flat roof Upgrade to any door entry system Structural repairs Fencing if fencing is already present Lift repairs Outhouses/sheds Sustainable estates (full scope of works yet to be determined)

5.5. Improvement Works – Chargeable under lease 3 only

Planned work, normally subject to consultation, which covers the followingprogrammes:

Installation of door entry to blocks of flats that have never previously had a doorentry system

Roofing works - example a flat roof is to be replaced by a pitched roof

Return to Agenda

Minor works, for example, if work is to improve area and not necessarily required Sustainable estates (full scope of works yet to be determined)

Note - The above lists are not exhaustive but illustrate typical works that havebeen undertaken by Wolverhampton Homes.

5.6. Board has previously agreed that environmental works undertaken on estates suchas landscaping, car parking etc. will only be recharged to leaseholders in any event,where there is a defined sole benefit to the leaseholder eg, a designated car parkingspace or exclusive access to a garden. It is proposed that this policy is continued.

5.7. There are a range of works undertaken by Wolverhampton Homes which areconsidered necessary to maintain both the physical construction of buildings andexternal environments and to prevent future excessive expenditure incurred throughreactive ad-hoc maintenance.

5.8. The scenarios presented at appendix 1 are regular situations where officers considerif contributions costs are applicable and recoverable from leaseholders. Scenarios 1and 2 are now supported by the recent FTT judgement and a fair and proportionatecontribution will be levied on all leaseholders due to works being considered asrepairs. Where this may differ is where a block is completely occupied byleaseholders who do not wish for the work to proceed. In this circumstance we havepreviously delayed works and returned when the works become essential.Consequently it is proposed to levy all leaseholders with a legal, fair andproportionate charge for any items of major repair.

5.9. Scenarios 3 and 4 present a very different situation. Whilst Wolverhampton Homeshas identified a programme of improvement works, there is no provision to chargeleaseholders with leases 1 or 2 for any contribution. In scenario 3 tenants willcontinue to be affected by reported ASB if work was not delivered because of notbeing able to recover a contribution from leaseholders. This situation is notuncommon and is experienced regularly when considering minor works applicationsor other identified works to improve communal areas/facilities upon estates.Therefore members are requested to generally allow delivery of identified orplanned works to proceed irrespective of tenure profile accepting a potentiallegal inability to recover a contribution from a minority of leaseholders.

5.10. Scenario 4 is also a common situation. The challenge here is delivering works upon ablock wholly occupied by leaseholders, who would not be required to contribute to theplanned works (irrespective of lease), thus the HRA would fully fund the investment.In such a situation it is proposed to undertake improvement works only whendeemed essential or the maintenance costs are no longer cost effective.

5.11. In terms of capital investment and major works, Wolverhampton Homes stockinvestment team identifies considerable long term HRA savings by changing a flatroof to a pitched roof rather than a like for like replacement. Whilst the cost ofreplacing a flat roof with a pitched roof will increase initial investment requirements by15% to 25%, the pitched roof will have a life expectancy of at least three times that ofa flat roof, thus preventing repeated scaffold costs, ad-hoc repairs and thereapplication of flat roof coverings every 15 to 20 years. Whilst leases 1 and 2prevent recovery of costs associated other than with a like for like replacement. Theinability to recover the improvement element from lease 1 and 2 is more than offset

Return to Agenda

by the projected long term HRA savings made possible by this alternative method ofroofing works. Therefore It is proposed that where a strong business case forimprovements resulting in longer term benefits for HRA is forecast thatimprovement works are undertaken with the consequential ability to only levy a‘like for like’ replacement charge from leaseholders with lease 1 or 2.

6. Financial Implications

6.1. Of three income streams identified in 2.3 of this report, it is only major works andimprovements which present an on-going challenge, i.e. PIP and capital projects(new door entry installations).

6.2. In terms of PIP, we have adopted a ‘just in time’ methodology backed up withevidence/justification to prove reasonableness to justify investment. This is furtherbacked by the FTT ruling that works planned are repairs thus permitting acontribution irrespective of lease type.

6.3. Where door entry installations or estate based minor works projects are planned,various considerations are made, as demonstrated in the scenarios The followingcalculation illustrates an annual financial implication of such works;

11,500 residents live in flatted accommodation, of which 2,100 (18.26%) areleaseholders

There is currently an annual £175,000 capital budget for new door entryinstallations. Therefore it is crudely assumed around £32,000 may be associatedwith leasehold properties and in situations governed by lease 1 or 2 (around 27%of all leaseholders) a contribution again crudely estimated at £8,640 will beunrecoverable.

7. Conclusions

7.1. This report identifies a number of challenges and considerations to be made whenplanning works upon blocks and estates where there are leaseholders in residence.However not investing in a block or estate as a result of being unable to seek aleaseholder contribution, has or will have a detrimental effect upon tenants and theappearance of properties/estates within our management.

7.2. We have well established processes which saw £650k being levied during 2014/15and fundamentally we do not need to deviate from these very successful processes.However, we do need to review the current concept of not delivering improvementswhere we cannot recover a leaseholder contribution.

7.3. This report identifies how various projects of works delivered by WolverhamptonHomes can have a positive impact upon estates/environments, which in-turn supportssustainable estates. The inability to recover a financial contribution for some certainelements of works is simply a matter of fact, and one of legality owing to the terms oflease agreement each leaseholder entered into. That said in the overall context ofthe HRA, the inability to apportion some costs upon leaseholders is minimal, and inany event somewhat offset by consequential efficiency savings.

Value for Money and Financial implications As highlighted within the report.

Health and Safety implications There are no Health and Safety implications

Return to Agenda

resulting from this report.

Impact on Environment and Community This report includes proposals undertakenthrough various environmental improvementschemes.

Leaseholder implications This report is specific to leaseholders.

Consultation/Feedback with Tenants None, however tenants regularly seekassurances that leaseholder contributions forimprovements are vigorously applied.


Proposals refer to a long term policy forimprovements to flats and estates whereleaseholders are in occupation.

Employees interests Satisfaction/engagement/ alleviate frustrationat wanting to deliver project but not able toowing to leaseholder implications.

Maintenance of high standards of businessconduct

Proposals are being developed inaccordance with legal requirements andprovisions within lease agreements.

Impact on the Wolverhampton HomesManagement System (WHMS) (i.e. up-datesto policies, strategies, procedures etc.)

NONE

Has an Equalities Impact Assessment beencarried out:

NO - The annual leaseholder satisfactionsurvey highlights differences in satisfactionlevels. EIA on the leaseholder survey will bein relation to actions resulting from thesurvey which will be subject to their ownEIAs.

APPENDICES: Appendix 1 Scenarios 1 to 4

Return to Agenda

Scenario 1 – Planned Improvement Programme (PIP)

A block of 6 flats has been identified as requiring PIP, delivering a suite of external rooflineworks consisting of scaffolding, re-bedding of hip and ridge tiles, repointing chimney, installingroof vents, new fascia, soffit and rainwater goods.

History of leaks, reported problems by occupants, Survey photo’s evidence works arenecessary.

Occupancy Total

Tenants 3 Lease 1 Lease 2 Lease 3

Leaseholders 3 2 1

Total estimated cost £10,700Total leaseholder contribution £5,350Individual leaseholder contribution £1,783

Scenario 2 - PIP

Identical to scenario 1, however the occupancy ratios differ.

Occupancy Total


Leaseholders 5 1 4

Total estimated cost £10,700Total leaseholder contribution £8,917Individual leaseholder contribution £1,783

Scenario 3 – Door entry installation

A block of 6 flats currently without any entrance doors or a door entry system where there hasbeen a history of ASB – fly tipping, littering, youths congregating.

Occupancy Total


Leaseholders 1 1

Total estimated cost £17,800Total leaseholder contribution NilIndividual leaseholder contribution NilLoss to HRA £2,967

Unable to recover costs as lease 2 doesn’t allow for improvement work.

Scenario 4 – Door entry installation

APPENDIX 1

Return to Agenda

A block consisting of 6 flats in a run of 6 blocks making up the estate. Five blocks received thedoor entry programme in previous years. Prior to the programme the communal areas wereopen areas without doors. It is intended to undertake the door entry works upon this block toimprove security whilst also addressing consistency, uniformity and aesthetics.

The block is located in a quiet area of the City with no history of ASB or nuisance.

Occupancy Total


Leaseholders 4 1 1 2

Total estimated cost £17,800Total leaseholder contribution NilIndividual leaseholder contribution NilLoss to HRA £14,833

Leases 1 and 2 do not allow cost recovery for improvements. Lease 3 only allows recoverywhere reasonableness can be proven. In the absence of any ASB or nuisance the need forsuch an improvement cannot be proven purely on consistency and aesthetics even though eachleaseholder welcomes the idea of a secure communal area.

Return to Agenda


Open Report

Title Comprehensive Spending Review

Status For informationAuthorContact No:


Recommendations The Board is asked to note the implications of thecomprehensive spending review


The comprehensive spending review confirms that there will beno further funding for affordable rented property or social rent.The focus within the review is clearly on facilitating increasedowner occupation.

Management Summary


1.2 To update the board on the contents of the comprehensive spending review.

2. Background to the Report

2.7 The comprehensive spending review took place in November 2015. It headlined thegovernment’s priorities and financial plans for this parliament. The key points from thecomprehensive spending review impacting on social housing/new build were asfollows:

The Government plans to deliver 400,000 housing starts by 2020/21, focused onlow cost ownership

The help to buy scheme/ISAs will also be used to assist people with buying houses Increased stamp duty for second homes and buy to let will be introduced to take the

heat out of the housing market £40M will be invested in preventing homelessness Right to Buy will be extended to Housing Association tenants (funded by the sell-off

of high-value local authority rented housing stock) Changes to planning law etc. will take place to aid accelerating new build Housing benefit will be capped at local housing allowance rates for social housing;

however this will not impact on Wolverhampton as council rents are below thislevel.

There will be no further funding for affordable rented products or social rent

2.8 Appendix 1 sets out a more detailed briefing on the comprehensive spending review.Risk Management and Financialimplications

The removal of further funding for affordable rentedproducts or social rent will move the focus of councilnew build nationally more towards general purposeproperty for sale and starter homes (smaller propertiesat a 20% discount to full market prices).

Consultation/Feedback from Tenantsand Leaseholders

None

Long Term consequence for the Plans for encouraging right to buy (e.g. implementation

Return to Agenda

organisation of market rents) and the forced sell off of high value voidproperties will act as a pressure to reduce stock levels.It will be difficult to fully counteract this through newbuild.

Employees interests No direct implications.


No direct implications.

Risk to reputation No direct implications.Impact on the WolverhamptonHomes Management System(WHMS) (i.e up-dates to policies,strategies, procedures etc)

No direct implications.

Equalities Impact AssessmentCarried out

NO – Not required for this process

APPENDICES: Appendix 1 - The Spending Review and AutumnStatement 2015 NFA Member Briefing

Return to Agenda

National Federation of ALMOs, Octavia House, Westwood Way, Coventry, CV4 8JP

Telephone: 024 7685 1729 Email: [email protected] Web: www.almos.org.uk

National Federation of ALMOs Ltd Registered in England Reg No 6781539

The Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 NFA Member Briefing

Introduction The Chancellor presented the Spending Review 2015 and made his Autumn Statement to the House today. Housing was trailed as an important part of the announcements and we saw a very welcome doubling of the housing budget for 2018-19. However as expected this additional money is all focused on increasing home ownership rather than supporting all parts of the housing market including social and affordable rent.

Key announcements for housing Departmental Budgets

Communities and Local Government: Local government spending in cash terms, to be same in 2020 as 2015.

Welfare and tax credits: £12bn of welfare savings will be delivered “in full”. Tax credits cuts scrapped. Department for Work and Pensions budget to be cut by 14%.

Opportunities for home ownership: Five Point Plan

A doubling of the housing budget (by £2bn) from 2018-19 and a re-focus support for housing towards low cost home ownership for first time buyers.

1. Deliver 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2020-21, focussed on low cost home ownership.

This will include:

200,000 Starter Homes which will be sold at a 20% discount compared to market value to young first time buyers, with a £2.3 billion fund to support the delivery of up to 60,000 of these, in addition to those delivered through reform of the planning system.

135,000 Help to Buy: Shared Ownership homes, which will allow more people to buy a share in their home and buy more shares over time, as they can afford to. The scheme will be open to all households earning less than £80,000 outside London and £90,000 in London, and will relax and remove previous restrictions such as local authorities’ rights to set additional eligibility criteria.

10,000 homes that will allow a tenant to save for a deposit while they rent.

At least 8,000 specialist homes for older people and people with disabilities.

This will be in addition to 50,000 affordable homes from existing commitments.

Return to Agenda




The government will also remove constraints that prevent private sector organisations from participating in delivery of these programmes, including the constraints to bidding for government funding.

2. Deliver the government’s manifesto commitment to extend the Right to Buy to Housing Association tenants.

The government will launch a pilot of the Right to Buy with five Housing Associations, to inform the design of the final scheme.

3. Accelerate housing supply and get more homes built by:

bringing forward further reforms to the planning system, including establishing a new delivery test on local authorities, to ensure delivery against the number of homes set out in Local Plans

supporting the availability of appropriate land for housing, including by releasing public sector land with capacity for 160,000 homes representing a more than 50% increase on the government’s record in the last parliament

ensuring the release of unused and previously undeveloped commercial, retail, and industrial land for Starter Homes, and supporting the regeneration of previously developed brownfield sites in the green belt by allowing them to be developed in the same way as other brownfield land, providing it contributes to Starter Homes, and subject to local consultation

backing SME house builders, including by amending planning policy to support small sites, extending the £1 billion Builders’ Finance Fund to 2020-21, and halving the length of the planning guarantee for minor developments

offering £2.3 billion in loans to help regenerate large council estates and invest in infrastructure needed for major housing developments

investing £310 million to deliver the first new garden city in nearly 100 years, at Ebbsfleet. This is part of a wider £700 million programme of regeneration at Barking Riverside, Brent Cross, Northstowe and Bicester Garden Town. Together these will support up to 60,000 new homes.

4. Extend the Help to Buy

Equity Loan scheme to 2021 and create a London Help to Buy scheme, offering a 40% equity loan in recognition of the higher housing costs in the capital. The scheme will offer buyers with a 5% deposit a loan of up to 40% of the value of a new build home, interest-free for 5 years. This can be used in conjunction with the new Help to Buy: ISA launching on 1 December.

Return to Agenda




First time buyers that save in a Help to Buy: ISA will receive a 25% government bonus on top of their own savings, up to a maximum government bonus of £3000, which can be put towards the purchase of their first home.

5. Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will be charged on purchases of additional residential properties, such as buy to let properties and second homes, with effect from 1 April 2016.

The higher rates will be 3 percentage points above the current SDLT rates. The government will use some of the additional tax collected to provide £60 million for communities in England where the impact of second homes is particularly acute. The tax receipts will help towards doubling the affordable housing budget. This will help first time buyers.

Homelessness The government will increase the funding available to invest in innovative ways of preventing and reducing homelessness, including:

protecting Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) funding for targeted homelessness intervention

devolving an increased level of funding to local authorities while ending the current management fee for temporary accommodation, giving them greater flexibility to invest in preventing homelessness

providing £40 million for services for victims of domestic abuse, tripling the dedicated funding provided compared to the previous four years and complementing the wider violence against women and girls strategy

Welfare Reform The government will give families longer to adjust to the higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society by not proceeding with the changes to the tax credit threshold and taper announced at Summer Budget 2015. As a result the OBR’s assessment is that the cap is not met in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

The Government will cap the amount of rent that Housing Benefit will cover in the social sector to the relevant Local Housing Allowance, which is the rate paid to private renters on Housing Benefit. This will include the Shared Accommodation Rate for single claimants under 35 who do not have dependent children. This will apply to tenancies signed after 1 April 2016, with Housing Benefit entitlement changing from 1 April 2018 onwards.

The Government will limit Housing Benefit and Pension Credit payments to 4 weeks for claimants who are outside Great Britain, from April 2016. At present, Housing Benefit recipients can go abroad for up to 13 weeks while continuing to receive Housing Benefit.

Return to Agenda




Additional Discretionary Housing Payment funding will be made available to local authorities to protect the most vulnerable including those in supported accommodation.

Universal Credit rollout schedule – The government will begin the rollout of the UC Digital Service in 2016, completing by 2021.

Health and Social Care The NHS will receive £10 billion more in real terms by 2020-21 than in 2014-15, with £6 billion available by the first year of the Spending Review so that the government fully funds the NHS’s own Five Year Forward View.

The government expects the NHS to deliver £22 billion of the efficiency savings it said it can find in the Five Year Forward View, to deliver the best value from NHS resources.

The government will make savings in local authority public health spending. The government will also consult on options to fully fund local authorities’ public health spending from their retained business rates receipts, as part of the move towards 100% business rate retention. The ringfence on public health spending will be maintained in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

A social care precept will be created to give local authorities who are responsible for social care the ability to raise new funding to spend exclusively on adult social care. The precept will work by giving local authorities the flexibility to raise council tax in their area by up to 2% above the existing threshold. If all local authorities use this to its maximum effect it could help raise nearly £2 billion a year by 2019-20.44

Social care funds for local government will rise to £1.5 billion by 2019-20, to be included in an improved Better Care Fund.

The Spending Review sets out an ambitious plan so that by 2020 health and social care are integrated across the country. Every part of the country must have a plan for this in 2017, implemented by 2020.

Areas will be able to graduate from the existing Better Care Fund programme management once they can demonstrate that they have moved beyond its requirements, meeting the government’s key criteria for devolution. The government will not impose how the NHS and local government deliver this. The ways local areas integrate will be different, and some parts of the country are already demonstrating different approaches, which reflect models the government supports.

The Spending Review includes over £500 million by 2019-20 for the Disabled Facilities Grant, which will fund around 85,000 home adaptations that year. This is expected to prevent 8,500 people from needing to go into a care home in 2019-20.

Return to Agenda




The government remains committed to introducing the Dilnot reforms to social care, with funding provided in 2019-20 to cover the costs of local authorities preparing for these changes. The cap on reasonable care costs and extension of means tested support will then be introduced and funded from April 2020. The deferred payments scheme already means that no one will be forced to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for care.

Impact for Councils and ALMOs New Build There will be no further funding for affordable rented products or social rent and the increase in funding for affordable home ownership is back loaded and will not take effect until 2018-19. This clearly shows the government’s intention to focus their housing policy on increasing owner-occupation and increasing owner- occupation only. In terms of new build Councils and ALMOs will have to look to building for specialist needs or for affordable homeownership products if they want to bid for government funding, otherwise it will be about making the best use of their own resources where possible to build affordable or social rented homes for the communities they serve.

Welfare Reform ALMOs and Councils will have to assess the impact of the announced changes in housing benefit entitlement in the social sector to the LHA rates. This could potentially affect households in the more expensive areas of the local authority area as well as single claimants in self-contained accommodation such as bedsits and 1 bedroom flats. It remains to be seen how far the additional DHP budget will assist vulnerable single households affected by the changes. The NFA will continue to assess the impact of these announcements over the coming couple of weeks and would like to hear from ALMOs about any concerns you have on the impact of the announcements in your particular local circumstances.

If you have any further questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact Chloe Fletcher at [email protected] or on 07515 050207.

Return to Agenda

mailto:[email protected]

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES BOARD (11/12/2015) AGENDA ITEM 9B

Open Report

Title Age Designation

Status For information

AuthorContact No:

Darren Baggs(01902) 551865

Recommendations The Board is asked to:(i) note the changes to the Age Designations within

the Council’s Lettings Policy(ii) specifically that the minimum age for lettings will

be removed on all general needs flats and on 3former sheltered schemes and a new minimum ageof 50 years will be applied to all other formersheltered scheme flats.


The proposals outlined in this report are potentiallycontentious to tenants/stakeholders and must be dealt within a sensitive way.

Management Summary

1. Background

1.1. The Council are reviewing the age designation (a minimum age for letting a property) on allflats including former sheltered schemes across the city.

1.2. The review is necessary to ensure compliance with Equalities Legislation - It is nowunlawful to discriminate on the basis of age unless good reason can be shown for thedifferential treatment (this is called objective justification).

1.3. There are 79 general needs blocks of flats and 16 former sheltered schemes with an agedesignation. The current age designations vary from a minimum age of 25 through to 55,these have been in place for many years and the reasons are often no longer clear, nor isthere a consistent approach as to why they have been applied.

2. The Review

2.1. The review could find no objective justification to continue to apply an age designation toany general needs properties. It is therefore recommended that the minimum age isremoved from all general needs flats.

2.2. The review has also considered the flats in the former sheltered schemes. Each block hasbeen assessed individually using the criteria:

“The scheme design and communal facilities allow like-minded residents to live in asupportive and secure environment that enables them to continue to live independentlyand combats isolation”

2.3. Where the former sheltered scheme meets this criterion a minimum age of 50 is

Return to Agenda

recommended. There are three former sheltered schemes that do not meet this criteria andthe recommendation is that the age designation is removed on these schemes (seeappendix 1).

2.4. All bungalows linked to former sheltered schemes will be allocated according to physicalneed rather than age.

3. What Happens next?

3.1. The recommendations will be put forward to the Council’s Cabinet in March 2016 and areexpected to be in effect from April 2016. In the meantime

All affected tenants will receive a letter (issued in the Councils name) - there is arolling programme to finish 31.01.16

There will be a door knocking exercise on blocks identified as sensitive by HousingManagement (carried out by WH staff)

Residents of the three former sheltered schemes where the age designation is beingremoved will be notified either via a meeting or door knocking exercise (by WH staff)

A new temporary lettings category will be introduced that gives residents in effectedformer sheltered schemes priority if they wish to move to a scheme with a minimumage of 50

The Council will inform WFTA All councillors have been briefed The Council have advised the other managing agents The Council have a communication plan in place and staff will be briefed prior to go

live A further review will take place in 12 months to assess the impact on the voids of the

former sheltered schemes


Some former sheltered scheme flats may become harder tolet and void periods may increase. A further review isplanned for 12 months after implementation to assess theimpact.

Health and Safety implications No Health and Safety implications have been identified


No environmental and/or community impacts have beenidentified

Leaseholder implications No specific leaseholder implications have been identified


No consultation is planned as this change is required toensure compliance with legislation. Tenants will have theopportunity to provide comments and these will be added tothe report to the Councils Cabinet in March 2016.


A more efficient use of housing stock that better meetsoverall tenants needs. Legally compliant and a lawfulAllocation Policy.

Return to Agenda

Employees interests Staff need to be kept informed at appropriate stages of anypolicy change. Staff will need to know that managers areable and willing to support them should contentiousdecisions have to be made.

Maintenance of high standards ofbusiness conduct

It is necessary to ensure that as far as possible the reasonsbehind the policy changes are as transparent as possible tomaintain positive relationships with all stakeholders

Impact on the WolverhamptonHomes Management System(WHMS) (i.e. up-dates to policies,strategies, procedures etc.)

Written policies and procedures may need to beupdated/amended accordingly

Officer Pauline Evans

Has an Equalities ImpactAssessment been carried out:

No specific Equality Impact Assessment has beenundertaken

APPENDICES Appendix 1 - Review recommendations for the formersheltered schemesAppendix 2 - List of flats with a current age designation

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 1

Review Recommendations for the Former Sheltered Schemes

All blocks in the City to have existing age designations removed including three formersheltered blocks as listed on the below table.

A designation of 50 plus will be applied using the objective justification definition to thefollowing former sheltered blocks.

Former Sheltered Scheme RecommendationThe Acres, Brantley Avenue, Finchfield, Wolverhampton 50 plusThe Dell, Hampstead Close, Wednesfield 50 plusGraiseley Court, Hallet Drive, Graiseley, Wolverhampton 50 plusGrosvenor Court, Lakefield Road, Wednesfield 50 plusHarrowby Court, Chetton Green, Wolverhampton 50 plusHayling Grove, Tudor Crescent, Penn 50 plusThe Hollows, Pond Lane (79-105 Odd) Parkfields RemoveLilleshall Cres (1-31a Odds), Parkfields, Wolverhampton 50 plusPond Lane (41-51 Odds), Parkfields, Wolverhampton 50 plusHugh Gaitskell Court, Stowlawn, Bilston 50 plusJohnson Court, Johnson Street, off Dudley Road, Wolverhampton RemoveLincoln House, Tremont Street, Heath Town 50 plusMasefield Mews, Masefield Road, The Scotlands 50 plusThe Mews, Shaw Road Woodcross 50 plusPark View Mews, Albert Road, Tettenhall Road RemovePatshull Court, Chetton Green 50 plusThe Poynings, Regis Road, Tettenhall 50 plusRedcotts Close, The Scotlands 50 plusSwanmore Close, Bradmore 50 plusTong Court, Boscobel Crescent, Wolverhampton 50 plusTremont House, Tremont Street, Heath Town 50 plus

Return to Agenda

APPENDIX 2

List of flats with a current age designation – the recommendation to Councils Cabinet isfor them all to be removed

Ward PropertyCurrent Min

AgeBilston East James Street 2 to 16 30 1.

Bilston North

Broadmeadow Green 35a – 44b 30 2.

Fellows Road 14a to 14b 30 3.

Green Lanes 111 to 127 30 4.

Langdale Drive 46 to 51 30 5.

Lawnside Green17a,17b,18a,18b,52a,52b

306.

Bushbury North Primrose Avenue 83 to 153 30 7.

Bushbury Southand Low Hill

Cannock Road 7 to 25a 29 to 59c 71 to73c

508.

First Avenue 98 to 141 30 9.

Ettingshall

Arthur Greenwood Court 25 10.

Boydon Close 4 – 60 30 11.

Frost Street 69 to 97 30 12.

Shaw Road Ettingshall 50 13.

Fallings ParkPrincess Court 1st and 2nd Floor 40 14.

Queens Court 1st and 2nd Floor 40 15.

Graiseley

Dale Street 30 16.

Graiseley Street 30 17.

Grosvenor Court Graiseley 30 18.

Lord Street 40 19.

Merridale Court 40 20.

Oak Street 40 21.

Russell Court 30 22.

St Philips Grove 30 23.

Heath Town

Wodensfield Tower 30 24.

Brockfield House 30 25.

Campion House 30 26.

Eversley Grove 1st floor 40 27.

Lincoln Street 30 28.

Longfield House 30 29.

Red Oak House 30 30.

Wednesfield Road 20 to 118 30 31.

Merry Hill

Highfield Court 30 32.

St Joseph’s Court 30 33.

Warstones Drive 150 to 182 30 34.

OxleyBarley Close 1 – 28 40 35.

Bracken Close 1 – 22 40 36.

ParkAsh Street 40 37.

Connaught House 30 38.

Return to Agenda

Vauxhall House 30 39.

St Peter's

Birch Court 30 40.

Weston Court 30 41.

Whitmore House 30 42.

Dinsdale Walk 30 43.

Tettenhall Regis

Field Head Place 7 to11,25 to 30, 49 to54

3044.

Kinfare Drive 41 to 41a 30 45.

Lower Street 22 to 44 40 46.

Regis Road 37 to 39a 30 47.

TettenhallWightwick

Brantley Avenue 30 48.

Bromfield Court 30 49.

Castlecroft Road 204 to 206, 256 to258a

3050.

Limehurst Avenue 30 51.

Sandy Hollow 55 52.

Wednesfield North

Adey Road 10 – 40 30 53.

Ferguson Street 18 to 60 30 54.

Gregory Court 30 55.

Higgs Road 14 to 28 30 56.

Prestwood Road 61 to 91 30 57.

Stanley Close 9 to 20 30 58.

Townson Road 30 to 48 30 59.

Wednesfield SouthGriffiths Drive 336 to 384 30 60.

Hart Road 91 to 97 30 61.

Return to Agenda

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES BOARD (11/12/2015) AGENDA ITEM 10

Open Report

Title Chief Executive’s Report

Status For Information

AuthorContact No:

Lesley Roberts/Ruth Fletcher01902 554700/551009

Recommendations The Board is asked to note the social media harassmentstatement which is to be added to the Exclusion from TenantsEvents Policy.

Key Risks orContentiousIssues

The Chief Executive’s report is intended to ensure that the Board iskept informed of issues affecting Wolverhampton Homes and wherenecessary approves the decisions and actions proposed by the ChiefExecutive and Senior Management Team.

Management Summary

For informationSocial Media Harassment StatementIn common with many social landlords, Wolverhampton Homes uses Twitter and Facebookto encourage open lines of communication with its tenants. Whilst this is a positive stepforward in terms of digital inclusion in a small number of cases this may pose a risk of theseinteractions developing into harassment of staff.

Under the heading ‘Anti-social Behaviour’, Section 49 of Wolverhampton City Council’sTenancy Agreement states: “You must not do, or threaten to do, anything which causes, oris likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to other persons residing, visiting, working orotherwise engaging in lawful activity in the neighbourhood or to any of our tenants,managing agents, employees, contractors or emergency services anywhere. Nor must youallow, fail to prevent or incite anyone living with you (including children) or your visitors to doany of these things.

Depending on the nature of what is reported, harassment of staff on social media mayconstitute a criminal offence (Protection of Harassment Act 1997) or it could be dealt with asa tenancy breach (Section 49 of the WCC Tenancy Agreement) which may result in tenancyenforcement action being taken being taken against the tenant. For example, a CivilInjunction could be quickly obtained prohibiting the perpetrator from harassing the memberof staff.

If staff believe they are being harassed on social media they should report it to their managerimmediately. The Anti-social Behaviour Team is available to provide advice and support tostaff who feel they are being subjected to harassment on social media.

Importantly, staff must take responsibility for their own safety and security when using socialmedia. Staff should not accept customers as ‘friends’ on Facebook for example (unless thetenant is a relative or a friend) and staff must take responsibility for their privacy settings onsocial media accounts.

The statement will be publicised among tenants and others.

Return to Agenda

Value for Money and FinancialImplications.

Any issues are identified for each item if consideredsignificant

Health and Safety implications Any issues are identified for each item if consideredsignificant



Leaseholder implications Any issues are identified for each item if consideredsignificant





Employees interests Any issues are identified for each item if consideredsignificant



Maintenance of high standardsof business conduct


Impact on the WolverhamptonHomes Management System(WHMS) (i.e up-dates topolicies, strategies, procedures

etc)

Yes The social media harassment statement will beadded to the Exclusion from Tenants Events Policy

Officer responsible Nigel HomerBy. 31 December 2015

Has an Equality ImpactAssessment been carried out:

NO – EIAs will be produced for each item, if required

APPENDICES: None

Return to Agenda

wolverhampton homes’ board meeting...2015/12/11 · 8b draft 2016-17 delivery plan 8c draft...

Documents