Section: Best Practices & Standards
Beacon Scheme for Associations
Jon Rouse, Chief Executive of the Housing
Corporation, unveiled plans for the introduction of a Beacon Association competition to actively promote and encourage cutting edge and best practice
in the housing association sector.
The Housing Corporation's Beacon Association competition will be open to housing associations who can
demonstrate outstanding performance in key areas of business. For the first year of the Beacon awards, the theme for the competition will
be:
- Tackling homelessness.
- Innovation in procurement.
Winners will be awarded the status of
Beacon Association and will be provided with significant funding to help disseminate and share their achievements and good practice. The
competition is to be formally launched in the autumn.
LA Stars
The following summarises some of the key issues raised in
a selection of Audit Commission local authority inspection reports released during June 2005.
Croydon LBC (Supporting
People)
The Supporting People programme being delivered by the London Borough of Croydon is a good two-star service and has
excellent prospects for improvement, according to a report released by the Audit Commission. The inspectors found:
- The
range of housing related support services for vulnerable people has been expanded to meet identified gaps in provision.
- A number of the
services provided have been reviewed and improved.
- The Supporting People team have a sound knowledge of the programme and there are good
relationships with service providers.
Key issues noted for improvement are:
- There is no directory of services
in place that would provide a comprehensive picture of all the services available.
- The Council is not yet able to measure the positive
impact of the services for service users.
Havering LBC (Housing Management)
An Audit Commission inspection concluded
that the London Borough of Havering provides a fair one-star Housing Management service that has promising prospects for
improvement. To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
- Improving the signage to all
housing offices.
- Taking steps to increase staff awareness in the tackling racial harassment and domestic violence, and becoming more
proactive in dealing with both these areas, and providing support to complainants.
- Ensuring that the new grounds maintenance contract is
based on outcomes and that tenants and leaseholders are involved in its production and award.
- Taking action to move towards a consistent
cleaning standard for all estates, taking into account budgetary pressures and tenant and leaseholder views.
- Ensuring that all statutory
time scales for the right to buy process are consistently met.
- Taking action to ensure tenants and residents involved in consultations
with the housing service are adequately represented.
- Ensuring that the tenant participation working party is open to the public and widely
publicised.
Other Reports Issued
- Bracknell Forest BC (Supporting People)
Fair one-star
service with uncertain prospects for improvement.
- Brighton & Hove CC (Landlord Services)
Fair one-star service
with promising prospects for improvement.
- Darlington BC (Supporting People)
Good two-star service with
promising prospects for improvement.
- Peterborough CC (Supporting People)
Fair one-star service with
promising prospects for improvement.
- Plymouth CC (Repairs & Maintenance)
Fair one-star service with
excellent prospects for improvement.
- South Holland DC (Landlord Services)
Fair one-star service with
promising prospects for improvement.
www.audit-commission.gov.uk
RSL Performers
Audit Commission housing association inspection reports
issued during June 2005 included the following:
BPHA
Formerly known as Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association, BPHA is
delivering a good two-star service to its tenants which has promising prospects for improvement, according to a report released by
the Audit Commission. The report highlights some key strengths in the service including:
- Officers are highly trained in all
aspects of customer care and service.
- The Association is aware of, and responds to, the needs of its diverse
community.
- Tenants are involved and consulted in a range of ways, with the results used to improve services.
- The Association
works with strategic partners, caretakers, and estate ranger services to maintain estates to a good standard and provide safe and secure
environments.
The report also highlights some issues that need to be tackled, including:
- Customer service
standards developed with residents are not always monitored and reported.
- Information on the website is underdeveloped.
- There
has been no development of customer service standards for the aids and adaptations service, and there is a lack of clear information on how requests
are prioritised and met.
Stonham HA
The Supported Housing services provided by Stonham, a division of the Home Group,
are good and have promising prospects for improvement, according to a report by the Audit Commission. In their evaluation of the
two-star service, inspectors found:
- Services are easy to access and a range of high quality information is provided for
service users.
- Service users are able to influence how the services are delivered and changes have been made as a
consequence.
- Ensuring that services provide value for money is a high priority and there are examples of improvements in value for
money.
- There have been significant improvements in collecting rent income in the last two years.
To help the service
improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
- Developing additional expertise to deal with the diverse needs of
refugees and asylum seekers.
- Ensuring all service users receive the same information and standards of service.
- Improving the
complaints systems to make sure that all complaints are dealt with quickly and appropriately.
Other Reports
Issued
- Hyde Group
Good two-star service with uncertain prospects for improvement.
- Sentinel
Housing Group
Fair one-star service with promising prospects for improvement.
www.audit-commission.gov.uk
Scottish Inspection
Reports
Inspections of associations in Scotland are arranged by Communities Scotland in its role as a regulator:
-
Ayrshire North Community HA was given a B grade and a good rating for its housing management, and a C grade and a
fair rating for its property maintenance services by housing inspectors working for Communities Scotland, the Scottish Executive's
housing and regeneration agency, in its role as the housing regulator.
The Association owns 700 houses in North and South Ayrshire and came
into being in 2000 when it took ownership of houses previously owned by Scottish Homes. This is its first inspection.
-
An
inspection of Easthall Park Housing Co-operative resulted in it being awarded an A grade and an excellent rating for its housing management
services. The Co-operative is also good at maintaining tenants' homes and was awarded a B grade and a good rating for property
maintenance.
Easthall Park Housing Co-operative owns 471 houses in the Easthall area of Greater Easterhouse, Glasgow. It has grown in size
since the early 1990s by taking ownership of housing previously owned by Glasgow City Council and by building new
houses.
-
Glen Housing Association was given a B grade and a good rating for its housing management, and a C grade
and fair rating for its property maintenance services by housing inspectors. The publication today of the inspection report follows a
comprehensive inspection in February 2005, to see how well the Association is delivering services to its tenants and how well it is
managed.
Glen Housing Association, based in Glenrothes, owns 337 houses in Glenrothes, Methil, and Leven.
www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk
