Special Edition Annual Report October 2013

Written with tenants for tenants Edition 25 October 2013

Housing Annual Report

2012-2013 houseSpecial Edition

O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3

e d i t i o n 2 5

� A Summary of the Year� Tenant Involvement andCustomer Care

� Maintaining Your Home� Tenancy Services� Neighbourhood andCommunity Services

� Older Persons Housing� Value for Money� The Tenants’ View

In this Issue...

Win aniPad – seepage 15

p a g e 2 w w w. w i n c h e s t e r . g o v . u k

If you have any particular needswhich affect how you are able touse or be involved in our servicesor how you would like to receive

information - for exampletranslation, interpreters, Braille,

audio tape, large print, sign language - please contact theCustomer Service Centre either bytelephone: 01962 840 222 or by

email: [email protected]

Winchester City Council, City Offices, Colebrook Street,Winchester, SO23 9LJ.telephone 01962 84 84 00 fax 01962 841 365email [email protected] website www.winchester.gov.ukTelephone calls may be recorded.Printed on 75% recycled paper.

T E X T P H O N EThis facility is available for readerswho are deaf or hard of hearing.Please telephone 01962 878 982.

thebigwordtelephone interpreting service

The Council uses a 24-hourTelephone InterpretingService, which also provideswritten or recordedtranslations.

If you, a relative or aneighbour would like to talkto the Council through aninterpreter, please contactyour Area Housing Manageron 01962 84 84 00.

Dear TenantsThe last year has seen somereally exciting developmentsfor Council housing inWinchester.

Changes to Government rulesmean we can now invest muchmore of the rent you pay backinto the services you receiveand this means more cash forrepairs, estate improvementsand for building new homes.

We are now able to invest over40% more in maintaining yourhomes than in previous years.This means we can replacemore kitchens, bathrooms andheating systems and alsorefurbish and improvesheltered housing schemes.

The recent tenants’ surveyconfirmed that 88% of tenantsare satisfied with our serviceand 82% agree that their rentprovides value for money. Thisis reassuring, although youalso told us that we clearlyhave more work to do in someareas, such as anti-socialbehaviour, groundsmaintenance and in justifyingservice charges.

I am delighted to report thatthe programme to build over300 new homes in the next 10years is now well underway.Tenants have now moved intonew homes in Compton,Stanmore and Denmead.Building has started on sites inMicheldever, Otterbourne andItchen Abbas and proposals forschemes in Weeke and central

Winchester are well developed.

This year, we are looking atways we can help tenantsaffected by welfare reformchanges and can offerincentives and help to those ofyou prepared to move tosmaller properties. We are alsoadapting homes that areovercrowded so tenants don’thave to move if they don’twant to.

I recognise that the currenteconomic climate and welfarechanges are hitting many ofyou very hard. Please makesure you contact your AreaHousing Manager if you arestruggling. We don’t have amagic wand, but will do all wecan to help.

Despite these tough times,there really is a lot to beoptimistic about and I’mlooking forward to anothervery positive year for councilhousing in Winchester.

Cllr Tony Coates

Portfolio Holder for Landlord Servicesand Strategic Planning

on discOn the house is available

in large print or on CD (audio). Pleasecall Tenant Involvement on Freephone 0800 716 987.

Cllr Tony Coa

tes

A n n u a l R e p o r t 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 p a g e 3

Annual Report 2012/2013

A Summary of the Year – Putting tenants first in 2012/13

The Council’s Local Standards –Our offer to you

The local standards agreed with youare set out in the Tenants Handbook.They are also summarised in a leafletthat is available on our website or atthe Customer Service Centre inColebrook St. To receive a free copy,please call Freephone 0800 716 987.

Housing Services

Customer Service Standards

Our Commitment to you

The Government requires all councils and registered providers to work

to key national standards and to agree local standards with tenants.

This leaflet sets out the service standards you can expect

from the Council as your landlord.

This report sets out how the City Council hasperformed in 2012/13 against the national standardsexpected of all social landlords and also the localstandards agreed with you.

The 4 national standards for social housing are:� Tenant Involvement and Empowerment – including customer service,

choice and equality

� Home – including quality of homes, repairs and maintenance

� Tenancy – including allocations, mutual exchanges and tenure issues

� Neighbourhood and Community – including managing local areas,joint working and addressing anti-social behaviour

Once again, tenants have worked with us to ensure the report is readableand accurate. A formal response from those involved is included on page 15.

Building New Homes – 17 new homes have been created, all byconverting buildings that had been empty for many years.

Repairs – £11m was spent on repairing and improving your homes,almost twice as much as last year. This included upgrading over 300kitchens and 200 bathrooms.

Rent – 99% of all rent was collected.

Tenant Involvement – Summer shows and roadshows on WelfareReform were well attended. Several new tenant groups were establishedand Tenant Scrutiny Groups challenged the Council in a number of areas,including grounds maintenance and sheltered housing.

Improving Estates – 43 projects completed at a cost of £280,000.

Disabled Adaptations – 569properties were adapted to allowdisabled residents to remain intheir homes.

Tenant Satisfaction – 63% oftenants responded to the Tenants’Satisfaction Survey in February2013. Satisfaction levels for theoverall housing service remain highwith 88% of all tenants satisfied (86% for general needs tenants and94% for sheltered housing tenants).

Photo courtesy of Hampshire Chronicle.


Tenant Involvement and Customer Care

Customer Service and Choice

Involvement and Empowerment

We aim to provide tenants with accessible, relevant and timely information about ourservices, how we perform and how tenants can get involved with making our services better.

The Council strives to deliver customer service we are proud of. Tenants continue to support us through mysteryshopping, scrutinising services and telling us how we can improve services.

In the last year, we responded to your requests for more choice on improvements to your home by introducing thenew “discretionary works scheme” (see page 7).

The Tenants’ Survey completed in February 2013 confirmed that overall you were happy with Housing Services,but that tenants had concerns in relation to Grounds Maintenance, Anti-Social Behaviour and Service Charges. Inthe next year, we will aim to address each of these areas and will report next year on what progress we make.

The Council continues to supportinvolvement in many ways,including supporting residentgroups, identifying tenant prioritiesthrough surveys, holding regularestate walkabouts, organisingtenant training and improving waysyou can let us have your views.

In the last year, the ShelteredHousing Forum has been relaunched and in November,

65 tenantsfrom acrossthe districtattended tohear RichardBotham,Head ofHousingServices and other officers speakon a range of housing issues.

Scrutiny Groups

In last year’s Annual Report we toldyou about the formation of tenant-ledScrutiny Groups. All four Groups havebeen active over the past 12 monthsmonitoring our performance andmaking recommendations for change.

Housing Services Scrutiny Grouphas been keeping an eye on ourvoids and arrears performance andis looking at new policies, such asour Tenancy Strategy (how we lethomes) and the Tenant IncentiveScheme (under occupation).

Repairs and MaintenanceScrutiny Group (pictured below)has challenged performancemonitoring, contractors’performance and the effectivenessof the Council’s Call Centre.

Tenant Involvement Scrutiny Grouphas been working on Housing

Services Complaints procedure, howmany complaints are received andhow complaints are handled.

Sheltered Housing Scrutiny Groupundertook a survey of tenants insheltered schemes which highlightedlandscaping and groundsmaintenance as the most importantissue for scrutiny.

Landscape Scrutiny GroupThis new group is working withhousing officers to improve the waythe Grounds Maintenance contract isdelivered and to ensure that tenantsget value for money.

Responding toDiverse Needs ofTenantsWe always aim to adaptservices to meet your needs.Last year, 130 tenantsreceived communications inlarge print. All Housingteams received additionaltraining to improve theirawareness and understandingof tenant needs.


Responding to youIn 2012/13, our average time to respond to a letter was 9.5 days

68% of letters were answered within 10 days

88% of letters were answered within 20 days

92% of calls were answered within 20 seconds

Youth FootballCoaching was held at 6venues (Winnall,Stanmore, Highcliffe,Weeke, Alresford, andnew for 2012, BishopsWaltham) with atournament held toround off the event. Arecord number ofchildren took part in theOctober tournament.

We accept that we don’t always getthings right so complaints can be areally useful way to help us improvethe service we offer to tenants.

We received 105 complaints lastyear, of which 42 were upheld.None of these complaints wereescalated to the Ombudsman. Ittook us an average of 13 days torespond to complaints, against atarget of 10 days.

Complaints

Over 1,000 local people joined us for Party in the Park, in Stanmore, July 2012

Tenant TrainingCourses on moneymanagement, gettingback into work andhealthy eating wereheld in partnershipwith A2Dominion.

What you think of usGeneralTenants’Response

Older Persons’Response

OurNational Rank

% of respondents very orfairly satisfied with theservices/overall serviceprovided by us

86.4% satisfied 93.5% satisfiedAboveAverage

% of respondents very orfairly satisfied that theirviews are being takeninto account by us

67% satisfied 74% satisfiedBelowAverage

Tenant CommentMrs Whitehurst, Swanmore -Winner of the TenantSatisfaction SurveyCompetition said:

“I have been a council tenantfor 23 years and have alwaysfound every member of thestaff courteous and helpful(and I am not just saying thatjust because I won the prize).”

www.facebook.com/WinchesterTenants

Maintaining Your Home

We shall ensure all our homes continue to meet the Government’s minimum Decent Homesstandard, provide cost-effective repairs and maintenance and work with other partners toensure homes are adapted to meet customer needs.

Government changes introduced in April 2012 mean that Councils thatstill manage housing can invest properly in maintaining and improvinghomes, as well as building new homes. This has meant we have beenable to spend twice as much as last year on maintenance, as well as startbuilding new homes for the first time in 20 years.

The table below shows how we have spent your rent money onimproving your homes. We aim to invest similar amounts every year forthe next 10 years and you will all see real improvements over this time.

Spending more on your home


DisabledAdaptations569 households receiveddisabled adaptations,improvements to theirhomes. These included:� No. of level access

showers installed 229� No. of stair lifts

installed 14� No. of assisted access

works completed 69

Where have we spent your money? Amount

Small works (day to day repairs) £2,189,000

Larger works:

Kitchens; bathrooms; central heating systems etc. £6,181,000

Preparing empty properties for re-letting £ 544,000

Cyclic servicing (gas servicing; repair and painting etc.) £1,076,000

Disabled Adaptation works £ 636,000

Sheltered Housing Improvements £ 310,000

Estate/Environmental Improvements £ 215,000

Updating your homeNumber of upgradescompleted during the year:

� Heating 532

� Kitchen 319

� Window 56

� Bathroom 234

� Insulation 145

New HouseBuildingIn the last year, we havecreated 17 new homes aspart of our “New Build”programme. Theprogramme aims to buildover 300 homes in thenext 10 years. The newhomes have all beencreated from convertingempty buildings, including:� The old Compton Post

Office into two highquality flats after it hadbeen standing emptyfor several years.

� A derelict shop whichhad been boarded upfor 10 years inStanmore into a smallnew house.

� A whole wing of 18sheltered bedsits inDenmead which theCouncil was unable tolet due to their poorquality into 14 new units with additionalcommunal space.

TenantCommentSteve Ruggles, Chair ofthe Repairs andMaintenance ScrutinyGroup said:

“Overall the repairs service is good, but wehave challenged the council to improve the“Green Card” system and how repairs arereported. Watch this space!”


Discretionary WorksScheme 2012/13

In 2012, tenants asked for morechoice on improvements. Welaunched the “DiscretionaryWorks Scheme”, giving one fifthof tenants options onimprovements to their homeeach year for five years. 435homes had work (includingshowers, new doors anddecorations) carried out underthis scheme in 2012/13. Afurther 336 tenants opted forDecorating Vouchers to completetheir own work. Another 1,000tenants will be invited to takepart in the scheme each year.

The Council has always provided tenants withadvice on how best to control excess condensationin their homes. However, the Council will now installnew fans to the kitchens and bathrooms ofproperties where condensation has been an ongoingproblem. Thanks to this and the steps that tenantsare now taking to control condensation, we areseeing a marked improvement. Advice on controllingcondensation is available by telephoning CustomerServices.

Condensation Control

What you think of usGeneral Tenants’

ResponseOlder Persons’

ResponseOur National

Rank

% of respondents very or fairly satisfied with theoverall quality of their home

82.05% satisfied 93.83% satisfied Below Average

% of respondents very or fairly satisfied with theway we deal with repairs and maintenance

81.06% satisfied 90.43% satisfied Average

How we performagainst our standards Target 2011/12 2012/13

Localcomparison

% of non decent councilhomes

0 0 0 Top 25%

Responsive Repairs - % ofjobs completed withintarget

95% 90.5% 90.4% Bottom 25%

Responsive Repairs -average time to complete arepair

8days

9.2days

9.9days

BelowAverage

Gas Servicing - % ofhomes with a current gasservicing certificate

100% 99.99% 99.95%AboveAverage

3,683 people were registered on the WinchesterHousing Waiting List as needing accommodation, anincrease of 16% on last year. The table below showsthe average waiting time for people in Band 3(having a medium priority for housing) getting ageneral needs property.

Wise Move

In January 2013, weworked with tenantsfrom the HousingManagement ScrutinyGroup to review theCouncil’s Incentive Scheme for Winchester City Counciltenants wishing to move to a smaller home. The ScrutinyGroup asked us to provide practical assistance to tenants,such as help with packing and removals, decorating,furnishings and carpets, as well as offering a cashpayment.

The new incentive scheme called ‘Wise Move’ waslaunched in April 2013. More information is available toview online at www.winchester.gov.uk/downsize orby calling us on 01962 84 84 00.

Letting our Empty Homes

269 of our empty properties were advertised onHampshire Home Choice and we received an averageof 100 bids per property.

Our most popular property was a 1 bedroom groundfloor flat in Stuart Cresent, which had over 333 bids.The successful applicant was in Band 2 and was atransfer tenant, with a priority date of 11 January 2013.

It took us on average 19 days to re-let our emptyproperties.

Average wait time for General Needs (Band 3) applicants 2012/13


Tenancy

We will let our properties in a fair, open and efficient way, support tenants to maintain theirtenancies and charge affordable rents in line with government policy.

Type of PropertyAveragewait

(months)

Numbers let

1 bed house 49 355

2 bed house or flat 36 84

3 bed house 44 34

4 bed house 67 3

Allocations

Review of the Hampshire Home Choice(HHC) Allocations Framework

In October and November 2012, the Council, inpartnership with East Hants, Havant and Test ValleyCouncils, undertook a consultation exercise with HHCapplicants to get their feedback on proposed changesto the Allocations Framework. These included questionsabout:

• Who should go onto the Housing Register

• Children sharing bedrooms

• When to suspend people from the Housing Register

594 responses were received and this feedback helpedus to produce the revised Allocations Framework whichcame into effect in April 2013 and is available to viewonline at www.hampshirehomechoice.org.uk

Rents

Bedroomnumber Bed-sit 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 &

above

No. ofproperties 19 1629 1670 1614 54

Average weekly rent

£76.49 £85.59 £99.03 £113.13 £122.89

Our average rent is£98.99 a week

Tenant CommentMr RobertHillier, whodownsized bymutualexchangefrom a 3-bed,said:

‘I am really happy in mynew home and I appreciatethe help the Council gaveme to downsize. It’s great toknow that a young family isenjoying my old house - Ishould have downsizedyears ago!’

Welfare Reform

Making you aware of the changes to the Housing Benefit system andsupporting those who were likely to be affected was a key priority forus. We contacted all tenants who were going to be impacted by the‘size criteria’ and ‘benefit cap’ to explain the changes, the impact for thetenant and what options were available.

In December we worked with A2 Dominion to provide a tenant event,‘Mince Pies and Money Matters’ to raise awareness of the benefitchanges and Council officers were on hand to give practical help andadvice. Over 180 tenants attended the event on a very wet Saturday. As well as agencies being available to help with a range of moneymatters, such as utility bills, finding work, managing debt and financialpressures, there were demonstrations on howto cook on a budget and Father Christmaspopped in with gifts for the children!

There are further big changes to come, forexample, the introduction of Universal Creditand we will continue to provide help andsupport to tenants who are worried by thechanges to the benefits system. Please lookout for further information and events.


Housing Benefit is Changing

From April 2013 the Housing Benefit system will be changing. This will mean some people will have their Housing Benefitreduced. Find out if these changes will affect you and where you can get help and advice.

Letting EmptyHomesLast year, we took anaverage of 20 days tore-let empty homes.We hope to reducethis by a further 3days this year.

Neighbourhood and Community

We will work with other agencies to make our estates and homes clean, safe and have apeaceful environment for people to live in.


The Council continues to deliverpositive and beneficialimprovements to the communitiesin which you live and the goodnews is spreading; the number ofsuggestions received forconsideration continue to come inthick and fast!

A number of projects have beencompleted this year, these haveincluded;

� Installation of more/improvedparking at Stoney Lane inWeeke, Spring Vale inSwanmore, Shedden Place inSparsholt, Fleming Place inColden Common, Hoyle Closein Upham and North Road inKings Worthy.

� The installation of a pagoda atWhite Wings in Denmead.

� The creation of a mobilityscooter storage and chargingfacility at Mildmay Court,Winchester.

� New benches at Chester Courtin Winchester and theCromwell Road RecreationGround in Stanmore.

The Council works with theLandscape Group (TLG) to maintainhousing land and communal groundsaround flats and sheltered housingschemes. City Cleaning providesinternal cleaning services to allcommunal housing areas.

The wet summer in 2012 hamperedgrass cutting in many areas andtenant groups have quite rightlydemanded improvements for this year.

If you are unhappy with standards ofgrounds maintenance or cleaningwhere you live, let us know on01962 84 84 00.

Estate Improvements

Estate Maintenance

If you have an idea abouthow your community couldbenefit from the EstateImprovements Programme,why not complete anapplication form?

Forms can be found on ourwebsite, or can be obtainedfrom the Council Offices.

Contact Sarah Charlton, AreaHousing Manager (EstateImprovements) on 01962 848175 for more information.

Neighbourhood Management - Local Area Co-operation

Last year Council officers andresidents participated in 24walkabouts in 14 locations acrossthe district. Residents and officerswalked the estates together,identifying issues of concern tothem. Early evening walkaboutstook place in Stanmore andHighcliffe to encourage moreresidents to get involved.

More Street Meets are being heldthis year, offering fun activities forchildren and an opportunity forresidents to talk to us about issuesthat matter to you. Look out for aStreet Meet near you. For moreinformation on Street Meets call theTenant Involvement team onFreephone 0800 716 987.

Community Payback inStanmore

The Council’s Estate ImprovementProgramme has enabled theCommunity Payback Team to workin the Stanmore area, which hasbeen a very valuable andwelcome addition. The team,

working under the supervision ofHampshire Probation Service,works in the area for 2 days aweek, and has been active inmany activities, including gardenand rubbish clearances, fencepainting and repair, cutting backof overgrown vegetation andother maintenance activities.

Their attendance has been so wellreceived that discussions will nowtake place to see whether theservice can be rolled out to otherparts of the District. Watch thisspace!


The ‘Winchester Community SafetyPartnership’ brings together a rangeof public and volunteering bodiesand coordinates our work onManaging Neighbourhoods. Twotenants were evicted for drug relatedoffences and anti-social behaviour.We worked closely with the Policeand local residents to gather theevidence to take positive action.

Ian Wheeler ofTwyford said:

“It is really good to seethe new parking atChurchfields. It will makesuch a difference for thefamilies living there.”

TenantComment

Walkabouts & Street Meets

We have had anothervery successful yearworking in partnershipwith the WinchesterAssessment andMediation Service(WAMS). 22 cases werereferred to WAMS, 18 ofwhich had a positive resolution which included successfulmediation between the parties in some cases.


Older Persons Housing

The Council provides dedicated housing for older people at 13 Sheltered Housing schemes across the district.

The schemes provide a warm and welcoming environment for older people. They allow independent living but withthe added security of a 24 hour emergency response service, as well as additional support when it is needed.

Most schemes have lovely, well maintained grounds with easy access for all residents to enjoy them. Common roomsand other community facilities mean residents can get involved in social activities as they choose.

Sheltered Housing

Community Alarm & Telecare Service

A number of schemes have benefitted fromimprovements through the year, including:

� Improvements to the communal lounge at LawnHouse;

� Provision of a new kitchen and laundry facilities atKing Harold Court;

� New curtains at Normandy Court;

� A new kitchen at Greens Close;

� New curtains and redecoration of the communallounge at Eastacre, as well as new windowsthroughout the scheme.

Our 13 schemes which provide vibrantcommunities for older people include:

� Richard Moss House, St Peters Street, Winchester

� Hyde Lodge, Worthy Road, Winchester

� Hyde Gate, Winchester

� Eastacre, Bereweeke Road, Winchester

� Godson House, Lawn Street, Winchester

� Lawn House, Lawn Street, Winchester

� King Harold Court, Christchurch Road, Winchester

� Mildmay Court, Eastgate Street, Winchester

� Normandy Court, Station Road, Wickham

� Greens Close/Blanchard Road, Bishops Waltham

� Makins Court, Windsor Road, New Alresford

� Spring House Close, Colden Common

� White Wings House, Ashling Park Road, Denmead

Improvements to Sheltered Housing

The Council continuesto provide its ownlocal dedicatedCommunity AlarmService, which isstaffed day and nightevery day of the year to deal with alarm calls fromsheltered housing tenants, older people in generalneeds housing and privatecustomers through the Lifelineservice.

The Control Centre itself wasupgraded in 2012, ensuring thatwe have the best technologyavailable to maintain andimprove the levels of service weprovide to our customers. The service retained its fullcompliance with theTelecare ServicesAssociation servicestandards forMonitoring,Installation andMobile Response.


The Council provides a dedicatedsupport service to older tenantswho need assistance to maintaintheir tenancy and to liveindependently. All shelteredtenants have access to thisservice, although tenants in allhousing across the district cannow benefit from this service.Support provided will varydepending on tenant needs butcan include:

• Assistance with householdbills and/or applying forbenefits

• Debt management advice

• Identifying needs andreferring to other agencieswhere necessary

• Helping tenants dischargedfrom hospital

• Helping tenants to live safelyin their home

In 2012/13, the Council provideddirect support to over 900tenants.

Information about our serviceshas been updated with the re-launching of the City Council’swebsite.

For more information on ShelteredHousing or other SupportedHousing options, or if you knowsomeone you think could benefitfrom this service, please contactthe Supported Housing team on01962 84 84 00.

Supported Tenants

Extra Care

Tenant CommentSusan Ellis, resident of Hyde LodgeSheltered Housing Scheme,Winchester, said:

“Hyde Lodge is truly special,With an enchanting rambling hue,That holds many special memories,To all who travel through.”

Extra Care Housing provides thebenefits of personal care services inconjunction with a safe, secure andgood quality sheltered housingenvironment. This year saw twosignificant changes in the Council’sExtra Care service:

In July 2012, the Council withdrewfrom directly providing care servicesitself. The care service and morerecently the support service, arenow provided through anarrangement with Radian Care &Support.

Towards the end of the year,Victoria House was closed and theservice transferred to DanemarkCourt, which offers a better size andstandard of accommodation. Alltenants were supported in movingto alternative suitable homes.


Value for Money

“Value for Money” is a balance of good performance with reasonable costs. We have shown you our performance andwhat you think of the services we provide in the earlier pages. This table shows how our costs compare with the unitcost for services provided by other social landlords in the South East of England.

HousingServices(incl. estatemanagement,

tenancyservices, etc)

Maintenance& New Build(incl. repairs,adaptations &improvements

OverheadsReserves Staffing

DebtRepayments

8p51p 21p 7p 6p7p

We will explain how tenants’ rents are spent and howtenants can get involved in prioritising our spending.

How Your Rent is Spent

We compare our costs andperformance with hundreds ofother landlords. A “Dashboard”showing how we compare forall services can be viewed onwww.winchester.gov.uk/housing/council-housing-tenants/performance

Our Costs in 2012/2013

Comparing with Others

Reducing Costs15% savings were madeby tendering the contractfor gas servicing and gasinstallations (approx.£300,000 per year)

More EfficientOverall numbers ofHousing staff haveremained staticdespite increasingannual budgets byover £4million

TenantSatisfaction82% of tenants aresatisfied that theirrent provides valuefor money

TenantCommentJudith SteventonBaker, Chair ofTACT said:

“With our rent now payingfor more repairs and newhomes, I see a better futurefor Council tenants.”

Annual cost per propertyOur Average

CostLocal Average

CostHow we compare locally

Housing Management £317.14 £411.68 Top 25%

Resident Involvement £26.30 £43.69 Top 25%

Repairs and Empty Property Servicing £605 £741 Top 25%

Estate Management £90.24 £152.55 Top 25%

In the last year, each £1 ofrent you pay has been spentin the following areas:

2012/13 has been a really positive year forsecure tenants in local authority housing.Government changes mean that Councils canretain the rent they collect and investproperly to make sure our homes are decentand we get value for money for our rent.

TACT has continued to work with the Council to make sureyour views are heard. It is really good to see the start ofthe Council’s housebuilding programme, something wehave long argued for.

We continue to challenge the Council, through TACTmeetings, Council meetings and through the new TenantScrutiny groups to make sure tenants get the servicethey deserve.

The Tenants’ View – A ResponseSome areas clearlystill need improving.We remain unhappywith the standard ofgrounds maintenanceon estates and alsotenants in communalblocks want muchclearer information onwhat our service charges pay for.

TACT is looking for new members and is keen to reach allareas of the district. Why not get involved and help shapethe future of your housing service? Phone the Councilfreephone number 0800 716 987 for more information onwhat’s happening in your area or how to get involved.

TACT Management Group

COMPETITION


Would you like the chance to win an iPad? Have you read this report? The answers to all four questions are included somewhere. Can you find them?

1. How many new homes were completed by the Council in 2012/13?

0 5 17 32

2. What was the level of tenant satisfaction with the overall services provided by the Council?

10% 53% 76% 88%

3. How many “estate walkabouts” were completed last year?

15 24 31 40

4. How many 3 bed homes does the Council manage?

504 780 1103 1618

Just circle the answers you think are correct, then cut out this page, fold as indicated in thenext page and send back to us by 16 November 2013.

Name:

Address:

Tel: Email

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Documents

Special Edition Annual Report October 2013