Section: Best Practices & Standards
PROCUREMENT STRATEGY TARGETS QUALITY
The Housing Corporation launched its first Procurement Strategy to achieve
greater efficiency in the supply of new affordable homes. Through the Strategy, the Corporation plans to save £430 million worth of public
funds by 2008. If the Corporation achieves its target, the Procurement Strategy will deliver an extra 8,000 homes that would not otherwise have been
built.
The Procurement Strategy includes a whole series of new and existing tools to help the Corporation monitor and evaluate the
effectiveness of procurement in individual organisations. These include:
- a standardised business plan, allowing the assessment of
a given organisation's capacity to deliver efficiency savings; and
- a performance monitoring tool to better understand the relative
performance of those receiving social housing grant, whether housing associations or private developers.
In total, the
Government expects the entire affordable housing sector to make £1.66 billion in efficiency savings over a three year period. Organisations
(both public and commercial) receiving grant aid from the Corporation will be required to contribute £792 million towards this
total.
LA STARS
The following summarises some of the key issues raised in the Audit Commission local authority
inspection reports released during July and August 2005.
A1 Housing Bassetlaw (ALMO)
The housing service provided by A1
Housing Bassetlaw received a poor zero-star rating with uncertain prospects for improvement in a report issued by the Audit
Commission. Failure to achieve at least two-stars means the organisation misses out on an initial allocation of £18.5 million, leading
to a possible allocation of £62 million from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The ALMO was formed to manage the housing
stock of Bassetlaw DC in October 2004. The inspection found that services were not providing value for money to tenants, and highlighted the
following: the non-urgent repairs service was poor, the provision of aids and adaptations to tenants with disabilities was slow, and there was
confusion about which services are the responsibility of the ALMO and which are the responsibility of the Council.
Some positive aspects
to the service were noted, including high levels of rent collection, an improved response to anti-social behaviour, and a quick response to emergency
and urgent repairs. Inspectors also found that staff were committed to improving the service.
Breckland DC (Housing Strategy & Enabling
Services)
The strategic housing service provided by Breckland Council is a fair one-star service with promising prospects
for improvement, according to a report released by the Audit Commission. The inspectors found that:
- Staff are customer
focused.
- There have been recent improvements in written information for service users, and in services to some customer
groups.
- There is some emphasis on the benchmarking of costs to improve value for money.
- The Council understands the housing
needs of the district.
The report, however, also notes that:
- There is no strategic approach to access or
diversity to ensure services meet the needs of all users.
- There is only limited consultation with customers or partner agencies about
service improvement issues.
- The Council is not good at either preventing homelessness or dealing with private sector disrepair.
To help the service improve, the report recommends that the Council should, amongst other things:
- Develop access
and diversity strategies to ensure services meet the needs of all customer groups.
- Improve partnership working with other
agencies.
- Use its new legal powers effectively to improve the conditions of private housing in the district.
Corby BC (Housing Services)
Corby BC's housing service was rated as poor with uncertain prospects
for improvement in a report published by the Audit Commission. The inspection team gave the service zero-stars.
An earlier
inspection in June 2003 also classed the service as poor, but it was then considered to have promising prospects for improvement.
Inspectors made a number of recommendations for improvement, including:
- Ensure that there is regular annual gas servicing.
- Improve staff awareness of the diverse needs of the community and ensure that vulnerable people receive appropriate services.
- Ensure adequate and appropriate temporary accommodation for homeless people.
- Review the day-to-day repairs service to ensure
that all repairs are carried out in a timely and effective manner.
Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (ALMO)
The
housing services provided by Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing, on behalf of Kirklees Council, were rated by inspectors as excellent. They
awarded the service three-stars and concluded it had promising prospects to improve further. Strengths noted in the report
include:
- A strong customer focus throughout, with tenants fully and effectively involved in both strategic and operational
decisions.
- Customer satisfaction is regularly monitored for most services and there is a strong culture of recognising and promoting
equality and diversity within the organisation.
Newark and Sherwood Homes (ALMO)
In November 2004, Newark
and Sherwood Council set up an arms length management organisation (ALMO), Newark and Sherwood Homes, to provide landlord services to its stock of
5,500 homes and 130 leaseholders. A recent Audit Commission inspection assessed the ALMO as providing a good two-star service that has
promising prospects for improvement. Positive features identified in the report include:
- Customers can access services in
a range of ways, reflecting the dispersed nature of the stock.
- The available range of information is useful, including good use of the
ALMO's website, which also facilitates reporting repairs, paying rent, and bidding for homes.
- There is an effective choice based
lettings scheme in operation.
- A wide range of rent payment methods are available.
- There is a genuine commitment to resident
involvement, supported by resources, and a range of ways for residents to be involved.
- There is an effective approach to tackling
anti-social behaviour.
Weaknesses identified in the service include:
- Service standards are only in draft
form.
- Only 29% of repairs are done by appointment.
- The proportion of emergency and urgent repairs is high at 78% of all
response repairs.
- There is no customer information on the standard of vacant homes.
- Value for money or effective use of
resources cannot be demonstrated in areas such as rent collection.
Southampton City Council (Supporting People
Programme)
An Audit Commission inspection concluded that the administration of the Supporting People programme by Southampton Council
is a fair one-star service with promising prospects for improvement.
The inspection team found that vulnerable people
who are service users have a significant say, and the quality of support and standards of the accommodation provided is generally high. The time
taken, however, to negotiate new contracts with service providers is too long, and Supporting People services in Southampton do not yet provide value
for money.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
- Establishing a clear,
long term vision for the scale and nature of Supporting People services in the City by March 2006.
- Demonstrating value for money in all
new contracts and ensuring that these contracts are in place within twelve months, and preferably within six months, of the completion of each service
review.
Other Reports Issued
- Birmingham CC (Repairs & Maintenance)
Fair one-star service
with promising prospects for improvement.
- Blyth Valley BC (Housing Service)
Good two-star service with
promising prospects for improvement.
- Ealing Homes (ALMO)
Good two-star service with promising
prospects for improvement.
- Enfield LBC (Repairs & Maintenance)
Fair one-star service with promising
prospects for improvement.
- North Devon DC (Affordable Housing)
Fair one-star service with promising
prospects for improvement.
www.audit-commission.gov.uk
RSL PERFORMERS
Audit Commission housing association inspection reports
issued during July and August 2005 included the following:
Chester & District Housing Trust
The housing service
provided by the Trust was found to be poor with uncertain prospects for improvement. A team of housing inspectors from the Audit
Commission gave the service zero-stars. The report highlights a number of issues, which need to be tackled, including:
- Customers making enquiries were passed around the Trust, resulting in service delays.
- Value for money was not sufficiently
considered when exploring and deciding service options.
- The in-house maintenance service could not demonstrate a competitive service
compared to alternative providers.
- Gas servicing was not meeting legal obligations.
The Trust was set up in November
2000 to receive a stock transfer from Chester City Council.
Swaythling HS
An Audit Commission report found that
Swaythling Housing Society is providing a good two-star housing service to its tenants and has excellent prospects for
improvement.
Inspectors found that the Housing Society performs well at rent collection, has a strong framework to tackle anti-social
behaviour, and provides warm and safe homes for its tenants. The estates are well cared for, and Swaythling can demonstrate that many of its services
provide value for money. There is evidence of the good use of information to vary services according to the needs of all customers and to actively
support a range of community projects.
The report also found, however, that a clear set of service standards do not exist, there are
shortcomings in the quality of repairs offered to some tenants, and anti-social behaviour issues are not always consistently handled.
To
help the service improve, inspectors made some priority recommendations, including:
- Establish a consistently high standard of
responsive repairs and an effective monitoring system to check repairs are successful at first visit.
- Develop tenant involvement and make
contact with groups that represent people with sensory and/or physical disabilities, involving them in the way services are developed.
Other Reports Issued
- Fosseway HA
Fair one-star service with promising prospects for
improvement.
- Maritime HA
Fair one-star service with promising prospects for improvement.
- Notting
Hill Housing Trust
Fair one-star service with excellent prospects for improvement.
- Trent & Dove Housing
Good two-star service with promising prospects for improvement.
- Walterton and Elgin Community Homes
Good two-star service with uncertain prospects for improvement.
- Western Challenge HA
Fair
one-star service with excellent 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:
- Cloch HA was given B grades and a good rating for both its
housing management and property maintenance services. The Association owns 1,054 houses in Inverclyde.
- Copperworks Housing Co-operative
was given a B grade and a good rating for its property maintenance services. Its housing management services were rated as fair and
given a C grade. The Co-operative owns 292 houses in the Royston area of North Glasgow.
- Ferguslie Park HA received a B grade and a
good rating for both its housing management and its property maintenance services. The Association owns 773 houses in the Ferguslie Park
area of Paisley.
www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk
