annual report - Byker - Tyne Housing

TYNE HOUSING ASSOCIATION LTD

ANNUAL REPORT 2016

CONTENTS

2

Chairman’s Statement

3

Welcome

4

Your Home

6

Our Performance

7

Investing in Your Home

9

More than just Housing

10

Finance

15

Contact Us

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www.tynehousing.org.uk

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT Year ended 31 March 2016

After 27 years of service, we said farewell to our former Chief Executive who retired at the end of June 2015. We wish him a happy and long retirement. We welcomed our new Chief Executive, Ian Johnson in November 2015. Ian has already implemented new ideas and has helped the Board to form its new vision, values and plans for the next five years. I am also pleased to report that we have delivered good financial results in 2015/16 despite the cuts to Supporting People contracts and lower than average rent increases. The latest external challenges in 2016/17 and beyond include changes to rent setting and Welfare Reform regimes as potential 1% rent reductions from 2017/18 and capping of Housing Benefit to local housing allowance rates from 2018/19 increase the pressure on the Associations turnover. With this in mind, the Board commissioned its first 30-year financial business plan. This identified the need to mitigate interest rate risks and the need to continue to invest in property acquisitions to enable additional rental income to be offset against the impact of potential rent cuts. During the year we acquired Gordon House, an eight bedroomed general needs accommodation in North Tyneside. A further 12 bedspaces are planned in the 2017 financial year. I would like to thank all of our staff, managers and volunteers for their hard work during the year. Thanks also go to my colleagues on the Tyne Board and those of our subsidiaries for their continued commitment and support.

G Brown Chairman

7th September 2016


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WELCOME

On behalf of Tyne Housing Association Ltd and its tenants and residents, we are pleased to present our 2015/16 annual report. We hope you find the information both interesting and valuable. We would like to thank all of our managers, staff and volunteers for their continued hard work and who have helped to made a real difference to the lives of our residents and tenants. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any comments or suggestions for future editions.

Our Commitment to You

Our vision is… ‘to support everyone to be the best they can.’ As part of our Corporate Standards, we are committed to putting you, the customer, at the forefront of everything we do, will be a listening and learning organisation. We will do this by offering various ways in which you are able to have your say about the housing and services we provide and create more opportunities for you to become involved in shaping and improving our services. As in previous years, we commissioned an independent survey to seek your feedback and suggestions about the quality and standards of all our services.

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The survey team was made up of an independent survey coordinator and a resident representative. We were very pleased that the response to the survey achieved 65.52% participation rate and we will do all we can to increase this rate in future surveys.

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Below are some examples from the survey where your views have helped us to change how we work.

We asked…

Your views on the standard of the decoration in our shared Houses?

You said...

- Cowboys did this house, there was paint everywhere and it wasn’t on the walls - The decoration takes forever - We pay a lot to live here and the decoration is very poor

We Did...

We undertook a fundamental review of our existing approved contractor list. This review focussed on service delivery, timescales, quality, customer service and value for money. Following this review Tyne Housing Association removed any contractor whose performance fell short of this expected criteria. We then undertook an additional exercise to create a new preferred contractor list who can evidence quality of workmanship, efficiency and value for money. As a result of this process, we anticipate that all future investment, repairs and maintenance work will be carried out to a higher and more efficient standard.

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Your views about our full Board provision at our shared house?

You said…

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We asked…

- We should be buying our own stuff and gaining more independence - It causes horrendous problems I’m just sick of the whole thing - I want self-catering and a fridge in my room - Our whole house wants to go self-catering and have choice

We did…

Following your feedback, we piloted self-catering provision at one of our shared supported houses. Following the success of this pilot, we have now taken the decision to withdraw all full board provision across all of our other shared housing schemes commencing the beginning of April 2016, and replacing this provision with a self-catering service.

We asked…

Your views about the standard of repairs?

You said…

- Not so urgent repairs take a long time - They sometimes use cowboy builders and then the work needs done again - It took 2 months to fix my bedroom radiator - Takes a very long time to get things fixed

We did…

As part of our full review of our approved contractor list, we examined the performance of our repairs and maintenance contractors, specifically around timescales, quality of workmanship, customer service and value for money. We have since removed any contractor whose performance fell short of this expected criteria.


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YOUR HOME RENT We want to make it as easy as possible for you to pay your rent and service charges so it’s one less thing to deal with. Please read your statement to help keep on top of your payments. If you have any queries regarding your statement a member of staff will be happy to help. Tyne Housing Association staff will always work with all residents to help them to maximise their income and promote financial inclusion. Residents with multiple debts who fall into difficulties paying their rent or service charge can access financial advice and guidance from housing staff to ensure that they can maintain their tenancy. For those affected by benefit reform, we can provide advice and support to deal with universal credit, and changes to working tax credits and personal independence payments. Staff at Tyne are always on hand to offer advice about Housing Benefit claims or any other aspect of the benefit system. Whether it’s paying your rent and service charges or rent arrears, we want to make the process simple and easy which is why we have lots of ways for you to pay. You can pay by cash or cheque at our head office or to a member of the housing team, you can pay by debit or credit card with chip and pin service at our head office. You can also pay over the phone using your debit or credit card.

Why you need to pay

Paying rent is a priority when it comes to your money as it can not only affect your credit rating but you may end up losing your home if you accrue debt. Please read your quarterly rent statement when you receive it and if you have any questions please speak with a member of the housing team who will be happy to help. The statement means that you can view your account for the entire period, check that you’re paying the correct amount or receiving the right amount of housing benefit where applicable. It also shows your rent and service charge breakdown meaning that your better able to be in control of your money.

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OUR PERFORMANCE We’re continuing to work closely with our Local Authority stakeholders to maximise our occupancy and provide vital accommodation to those most in need across our region. We are continually exploring other ways to ensure that our accommodation and support services are promoted to as many people as possible to reduce letting times and fill empty properties. We’ve offered money advice to those affected by Universal Credit, benefit reform and changes to working tax credits and personal independence payments. Staff at Tyne Housing Association are always on hand to offer advice and guidance to residents about their Housing Benefit claims or any other aspect of the benefit system. Through provision of our supported housing schemes, we are working with partner agencies to reduce repeat homelessness and hospital admissions for the homeless by helping and supporting our residents to successfully manage their long-term conditions with our support which helps relieve the pressure on the country’s health and homelessness services. We will continue to build and strengthen our partnerships with other agencies that can provide additional services to our residents, allowing us to create a stable support base in challenging financial times. During 2015/16 we achieved 97.52% paid occupancy which was above our target of 97.00% During the same period, we had a total of 4,042 days where rooms within our shared houses and some of our self-contained flats were not let. This number includes 871 days in which some properties were unavailable to let due to repairs or redecoration being required. Gas Servicing - We remain compliant with gas servicing with 100% of properties having a valid gas servicing certificate. Decent Homes Standard - Tyne Housing Association is 100% compliant with the decent homes standard.


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FINDING YOU A HOME During the period 2015/16, we received 1,077 applicants for our housing. During the year, we housed a total of people 448 people. Our average relet time was 9.6 days compared with 10.7 days the previous year. We have worked hard this year to reduce the length of time that voids remain empty and at the end of the year we achieved 96.60% occupancy. Though we are encouraged by this, it is slightly below our target of 97%.

Summary of applicants

Applicants by Area

Newcastle (476) South Tyneside (102) Northumberland (45)

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North Tyneside (84) Gateshead (361) Other (9)


Applicants by Age

Under 25 (392) Age 40 to 59 (224)

Age 26 to 39 (444) Over 60 (17)

HEARING YOUR VIEWS We view all complaints as a positive for potential service improvement and welcome the views of customers to let us know if any aspect of our service is not meeting their needs or expectations. During the period, we received four complaints to the Association. None of these were upheld following an internal investigation and none were referred to the Housing Ombudsman. All of the complaints received by the Association were dealt with in line with the Association’s complaints policy and procedures and responded to within the specified timescale.

INVESTING IN YOUR HOME We’re doing all we can to ensure that our residents and tenants enjoy their homes. We work with you, our approved contractors and a whole range of other service providers, to keep your home safe and well maintained to the best possible standard. Property MOT’s - All Tyne Housing Association owned and managed stock has received a property MOT. This identified all general and major repairs required to ensure properties were in a good state of repair. This will be actioned throughout 2016/2017 and will cost £65,500 to undertake. Window and Door replacements - Tyne Housing Association invested £43,000 within 2015/16 to upgrade windows and doors to ten properties. This benefited thirty-five residents. Windows were upgraded to A-rated energy efficient UPVC double glazed windows.


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Planned Decoration Programme - Tyne Housing Association invested £12,500 on planned decoration in 2015/16. This was predominantly external decoration works to five schemes. In total of twenty-nine residents benefited from this investment. Future Planned Investment - The planned investment schedule for 2016/17 has been agreed. This will include window, boiler, kitchen and bathroom replacements to various properties throughout the group’s stock. This investment is budgeted to cost in excess of £95,000. In total, more than forty-five residents will benefit from these modernisations. Responsive Repairs - Tyne Housing Association has fundamentally overhauled its approved contractor list. We have also created a ‘preferred’ contractors list. The aim of our preferred contractors is to continue to deliver an efficient, customer focused repairs service. We will also be working closely with our contractors to ensure repairs are undertaken ‘right first time’ wherever practical.

MORE THAN JUST HOUSING Giving the support you need

Our supported housing service combines accommodation with support. They are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of vulnerable and homeless people across five Local Authority areas. We offer a mix of accommodation options for applicants to our supported housing schemes, including shared housing ranging from small two-bed houses to ten-bedroomed houses in locations across North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead and Northumberland. Some of our supported housing schemes are designed for people who need support to enable them to live in their own tenancy, so we also offer single supported tenancies for a maximum of two years for those who have successfully completed a period of support at one of our shared houses and are progressing towards moving into mainstream housing.

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We provide housing related support to over 300 residents each year through our specialist supported housing services and prepare them for independent living in mainstream housing. Below are two success stories.

David’s Story David moved into supported housing and hasn’t looked back since. Between the ages of 18-31, he led a life of crime and spent most of his time in and out of prison. He had a drug and alcohol addiction which led to more crime and homelessness when he wasn’t in prison. He explains that if support and accommodation had not been offered, his story would have been very different to today. He said, “I was determined to stay out of jail for good. The last time I was released, I decided I wanted to change my life so went into a homeless hostel provided by THA. I lived there for a year before moving into a supported house – I felt ready and able to manage in a smaller shared house. It was much better for me to go into a shared house with support instead of going into somewhere on my own with no support, I hated being on my own at the time.”

Keith’s Story Keith underwent rehab in a drug and alcohol unit before being admitted into a psychiatric unit after suffering from a mental breakdown. He eventually responded to dealing with his situation and moved into supported housing by THA. “It made me change my life and gave me time to reflect on my situation. A support worker helped me and I managed to clear my debts before being offered a supported tenancy on my own”, said Keith. “If It wasn’t for supported housing, I’d be in jail and on the streets if I was released as other places wouldn’t help me. Supported housing means everything because it has helped me and although you may not see it at the time, I have now moved on and can look back on things and what mistakes I made. It changed my life and I got a lot better. I can see a future and I have a nice flat with my own kitchen and also have friends in the same building.”


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We can help with: • Support to access treatment services for alcohol, drug or health problems. • Support and advice with getting benefits.

• Support in developing independent living skills, such as budgeting and cooking.

• Increasing physical and mental wellbeing, including support to access social activities and peer support groups. • Encouragement to reconnect with family and friends, or develop new social networks.

Direct Access Unit We provide 31 emergency bed spaces to homeless people from across the City. We work closely with Newcastle Housing Advice Centre to ensure that vulnerable homeless people can be temporarily housed in a warm, safe and supportive environment at our Direct Access Hostel in Byker. During 2015/16, our Direct Access Unit provided emergency accommodation to 206 people in comparison with the previous year of 170 people. This is an increase of 17.47% of homeless people accessing our hostel.

Joseph Cowen Health Centre We provide vital health and housing advice, and welfare and benefit advice for homeless people from across the City. We also offer bathing facilities, clothing, GP services and a needle exchange and drop in facility. During 2015/16, we had a total of 3,907 visits to the Centre (includes more than multiple visit by same individual). 607 visits for housing advice 866 visits for benefit advice 78 visits for access to a GP 25 visits for health advice 826 visits for needle exchange 832 visits to the Nurse service 673 visits to use the drop-in facility The Health Centre also made 196 contacts with individuals through its Outreach and Soup Kitchen service.

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OUSEBURN FARM Ouseburn Farm is a registered charity located in the Lower Ouseburn Valley, just a mile from Newcastle city centre. The Farm aims to: • Provide an integrated setting where people with disabilities and the able-bodied can work together, in developing and running a farm project, which is of benefit to and widely used by the whole community. • Develop agricultural, horticultural and environmental skills of vulnerable adults, volunteers and members of the public through the livestock, growing and environmental projects based at the Farm. • Provide heritage, farm-based and environmental education for visiting school children and students. • Provide an information point for visitors to the Ouseburn Valley. • Demonstrate best practice in environmental construction and sustainability.

Adult Services

Through our informal adult placement courses, Ouseburn Farm offers a safe and relaxing environment with many opportunities for people to develop meaningful skills, that support their vocational, health and well-being and recreational needs. Adults with varied needs and abilities are able to choose from a selection of farm related courses including gardening, catering and animal projects as well as creative training subjects. For more info, please visit the Ouseburn Farm website at www.ouseburnfarm.org.uk or call 0191 232 3698.


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Get Involved Without the help of committed volunteers, we could not continue this work. Many of our volunteers have great skills that are very useful to the farm and we want to give as many opportunities for volunteers to develop their skills, build their confidence and be provided with stepping stone in preparation for work. No matter how much or how little time you can give, if you have a particular skill you can bring to the farm that you would like to share, then we would like to hear from you.

Interested?

Please make an appointment with a member of our staff by calling 0191 232 3698 or by emailing [email protected].

Preloved Furniture Warehouse and Workshop Preloved Furniture Warehouse and Workshop renovates, recycles and up-cycles furniture donations to be sold in one of our two stores. The workshop provides work experience and skills in woodworking for Adults with a variety of disabilities as well as residents from Tyne Housing Association. All sales from the shops are used to fund the workshop project.

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FINANCE Our aim is deliver value for money services. As a not-for-profit housing provider, our focus is to remain as efficient as we can in order to invest in new and improved homes and services. Where did our income come from?

Where did our income come from?

Rents (69%) Grants (27%) Sales (3%)

Fees (1%)

How did we spend our money?

Staff (42%) Repairs (12%) New Development (8%)

Food & Personal (14%) Loans (9%) Management (15%)

We are facing a number of challenges with a reduced income due to welfare changes, rent reduction, less government investment. To help protect us, we plan with caution and stress test our financial plans.

Governance and Viability Board members are appraised annually to ensure they have the skills to govern effectively. We offer briefings and training opportunities to support our members throughout the year.


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Contact Us

Tyne Housing Association Ltd St. Silas Church Building Clifford Street Byker Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 1PG T. 0191 265 8621 E. [email protected] W. www.tynehousing.org.uk If you would like this report in a different format, please contact head office for more information.