Section: Best Practices & Standards
LA Stars
Blaby District Council
The repairs and maintenance service at Blaby District Council is still 'poor', according to a new report released during September by the Audit Commission. The inspection team gave the service a poor Zero-star rating.
Blaby District Council owns around 2200 properties, which following a ballot in November 2007 are to be transferred to Three Oaks Homes.
The inspection report shows that the service has changed little since the earlier inspection, meaning it has fallen further behind the standards set by the best providers. The Council has done some positive work with Three Oaks Homes, in readiness for the transfer of its housing stock to that organisation later this year. But it has failed to ensure that services were improving in the run-up to the transfer.
Inspectors made a number of recommendations, which they have asked the Council and Three Oaks Homes to work together to implement. These include:
- Improving the way services are designed, to provide customers with higher satisfaction and more closely match what they prefer.
- Ensuring services are provided in a fair way.
- Improving value for money, so that savings can be re-invested in services customers most want to see get better.
- Better management and monitoring of services, so that the best possible peformance is achieved.
Poole Housing Partnership
An Audit Commission report in September concluded that the
housing service provided by Poole Housing Partnership is 'excellent' and has 'excellent' prospects for improvement. The inspection team gave the service an excellent Three-star rating.
Poole Council has set up the Poole Housing Partnership as an arm's-length management organisation (ALMO), to undertake the landlord functions of its housing service for its 4,688 tenants and 521 leaseholders. The initial agreement began in April 2004 and is for five years, with an option to renew for a further five years.
Strengths identified by inspectors include:
- Tenants express very high levels of satisfaction with all aspects of the service and resident involvement is very well developed.
- It is easy to access services; there is high-quality written information and internet access; and the service is consistently customer-focused.
- Performance on income collection is strong.
- Performance on repairs, reletting empty homes and carrying out annual gas safety checks is strong.
- Resident involvement is well developed. It is clear that tenants have a real say over the policies and practices.
- There is a particularly proactive approach to building community cohesion and tackling the root causes of antisocial behaviour.
- The leadership and culture of value for money throughout the organisation is very strong. The ALMO is delivering a value for money service with a high degree of cost awareness and a strong focus on delivering value for money improvements in each service.
South Staffordshire District Council
The Housing Benefits service provided by South Staffordshire District Council is 'poor' but has 'promising' prospects for improvement, according to a report by the Audit Commission. Inspectors gave the service a poor Zero-star rating.
Some strengths were identifed by inspectors, including:
- Some progress in service improvement has already been made and there are plans in place to ensure further improvement.
- Councillors, senior managers and Benefits staff are committed to improving the service.
Weaknesses listed in the report include:
- Performance has been poor over recent years and remained below the average for English councils until earlier this year.
- The service is not designed around the needs of local people.
- Management of overpayments is weak.
- Value for money is not clearly demonstrated in all areas of the service.
Key recommendations made include:
- Improving the management and collection of all housing benefit overpayments.
- Involving customers in shaping a service that meets their needs and improving access to that service.
- Ensuring that customers are given correct information when they need it.
Other Reports
Other local authority inspection reports issued during September included:
- Aire Valley Homes (Leeds City Council ALMO - Housing Management and Repairs Services): Two-star good service with promising prospects for improvement.
- Ashford Borough Council (Community Safety Service): One-star fair service with uncertain prospects for improvement.
RSL Performers
Evesham and Pershore Housing Association
The housing services provided by Evesham and Pershore Housing Association are 'excellent' and have 'excellent' prospects for improvement, according to a September report from the Audit Commission. The inspection team gave the service an excellent Three-star rating.
This is the highest rating that can be awarded by the Commission. Evesham and Pershore is the first housing association in the West Midlands to achieve it - and it is only the fourth in England to gain this 'double excellent' score.
The Audit Commission inspection team found that services are easily accessible, vulnerable people are well supported and homes and estates are maintained to a consistently high standard.
Inspectors found:
- Innovation in the way residents can access services through digital and electronic service delivery.
- Repairs are completed quickly and to a high standard.
- Antisocial behaviour is tackled effectively and estates are well managed, providing a pleasant living environment for residents.
- A strong focus on value for money, supported by partnership working, is allowing the Association to do more for more people.
Recommendations made to help the Association improve still further include:
- Monitoring service standards with customers to make sure that services meet their agreed customer standards.
- Making use of customer profile information to ensure that services are delivered fairly to all groups.
Homes for Islington
Homes for Islington provide an 'excellent' quality service to its residents with 'excellent' prospects for improvement. This was the finding in an Audit Commission inspection report released in September, which awarded the service an excellent Three-star rating.
The inspectors? found:
- Staff answer telephones well and customers have access to plenty of good quality information on paper and online.
- Services are tailored to meet the needs of residents and vulnerable tenants are well supported.
- Effective partnerships result in well delivered major works and satisfied tenants. Residents are well informed and have the opportunity to input into aspects of the programme and work.
- Void properties are turned around quickly and new tenants are given a high quality welcome box.
- There is a well co-ordinated and effective response to antisocial behaviour with an out of hours service increasing residents' sense of safety.
- There isa robust approach to value for money and a drive towards efficiencies and making savings in many parts of the service.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
- Developing improved systems for finishing unsatisfactory major works.
- Improving performance on aids and adaptations with agreed standards and better joint working with the Council and other partners.
- Improving services to leaseholders and involving them more in service improvement.
Other Reports
Other registered social landlord inspection reports issued by the Audit Commission during September 2008 included:
- South London Family Housing Association (Housing Management Services): One-star fair service with promising prospects for improvement.
- Saffron Housing Trust (Housing Management Services): Two-star good service with promising prospects for improvement.
