A GENDA - Your Homes Newcastle€¦ · A GENDA 1 Reminder to switch off mobile phones 2 Apologies...

Board Tuesday 24 January 2012 at 5.00 pm Meeting to be held at YHN House, Benton Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. Contact: Brenda Joyce telephone: 0191 278 8624 email: [email protected]

AGENDA

1 Reminder to switch off mobile phones

2 Apologies for absence

3 Declarations of Interest

4 Items which Board Members wish to raise, not elsewhere on the agenda

Items for approval Page No

5 Minutes

i To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 December 2011 1

ii To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 10 January 2012 13

Leazes Homes Update from Chair

6 Update by the Leazes Homes Chair

Director of Finance and Resources

7 Amendment to Standing Orders (section 16) 17

8 Heating Infrastructure Charges 2012/2013 21

Director of Tenancy Services

9 Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles at Scale (DALLAS) 27

Items for Information

10i Welfare Reform 35

10ii YHN Schemes Audit 2009-2011 45

10iii Officer Delegated Decisions: 12 July 2011 - 1 December 2011 47

10iv Board Forward Plan 49

10v Minutes for Information 51

Exclusion of press and public

To exclude the press and public during discussion of agenda items 11 to 16 because of the likely disclosure of confidential information. The definitions of what is considered confidential are contained within Section 16 of the company’s Standing Orders.

Protect – not for publication

11 Minutes

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 December 73

Chief Executive

12 Byker Trust Management Agreement 77

13 Voluntary Redundancy Policy

This report to be issued on a supplemental agenda

14 Right to Buy – Waive of Discount

This report to be issued on a supplemental agenda

Director of Tenancy Services

15 Supporting People Funding 2012/13 199


16 Minutes for Information 211

Board 13 December 2011 (5:00 pm – 7:45 pm)

Present: N Shukla (Vice Chair), J Common, L Doherty, P Dutton, R Harral, R Higgins, G Keating, A Mirza, M Myers, G Pattison, J Purvis, J J Reid, L Stephenson, J Stokel-Walker, J Turner, J Yugire

In attendance:

J P Lee - Chief Executive

S Breslin - Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Business

R Atkinson - Director of Finance and Resources

N Scott - Director of Tenancy Services

A Allison - Head of Housing Management

P Hickey - Manager, Central Administration

D Creighton - Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive

B Joyce - for Company Administrator and Board Support Officer

M Burn - Head of Support ＆ Care

L Forrest - Head of Finance

A Lister - Finance Manager

I Gallagher - Head Of Property Maintenance

D McGuinness - Lead Communications Officer

A Crute - Income Manager

S Doyle - Diversity Manager

Observers:

B O‟Doherty - NCC

M Talbot - Newcastle Tenants Federation

B Bowman - Former Board Member

P Delbridge - Former Board Member

P Bower - SIAG

D Van de Valde - SIAG

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19 WELCOME

The Vice Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

20 APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from S Murphy and E Snaith.

21 ITEMS RAISED, NOT ON THE AGENDA

Your Choice Homes advert

R Higgins again raised the issue of the font size of the print on the Your Choice Homes (YCH) advertisement in the Evening Chronicle. The small font size and style/colours were not at all user friendly and could cause difficulties for some people. N Scott advised that the intention was to stop advertising in the Chronicle when the new lettings policy was in place. From March 2012 a web based approach would be introduced as well as information sheets for individual properties. JJ Reid asked if the information could go in the Chronicle Extra. N Scott informed the meeting that the property information came out at a specific time during the week and that the costs of advertising in the Extra would be prohibitive. R Higgins stated that on the recommendation of the Elders Council bus timetables were now available in large fonts. He asked if YHN employed appropriate dialogue when framing advertising policy. N Scott advised that YHN had systems in place to ensure all publications were accessible including a readers‟ panel and that it had utilised the Elders Council in the past. Social Housing Equality Framework The Vice Chair informed Board that following a Diversity Peer Challenge against the Social Housing Equality Framework (SHEF) carried out last week YHN had successfully achieved „Excellent‟ status. The Vice Chair offered a big thank you from the Board to everyone who contributed to yet another milestone in YHN‟s development. J P Lee said that YHN had now been on this journey for a few years and he circulated the Peer Challenge Team outcome presentation for information. He went on to state that the organisation now had to maintain the good work done so far but also needed to further improve on the achievements. The Lord Mayor's Design Awards 2011 Lord Mayor‟s design awards this year went to the Station Court and Afton Way Developments. The Vice Chair said it was a testament to the work of YHN, NCC and Leazes Homes that such positive things were happening.

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22 MINUTES

In respect of a comment at Item 16, about the sharing of information between staff, a Member advised that this should read “the sharing of information between different agencies”. Subject to the above amendment the minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2011 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Vice Chair. Matters Arising HRA Self Financing R Atkinson advised that the model would be updated to reflect decision taken at this meeting with regard to rent and service charge increases. This would be reported to Board at the next meeting in January 2012.

23 RENT AND SERVICE CHARGE LEVELS 2012/2013

Submitted: Report by the Director of Finance and Resources (previously circulated, copy attached to Official Minutes).

The Vice Chair informed Board that this report brought together the key areas of rent and service charge levels at a pivotal time as YHN moved from a subsidy system to self financing. R Atkinson presented the report and advised that in the first instance Board approval was sought to recommend to Newcastle City Council‟s (NCC) Cabinet, changes in Council House rents and associated charges from 2nd April 2012, of 8.2% in line with Government Rent Restructuring Guidelines. The 69% of tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit (HB) would have their benefit adjusted to reflect any changes in rents and charges that attracted benefit. However, it was recognised that the 31% of tenants not in receipt of benefits could face significant challenges. There were two elements to the rent change, the inflationary increase which Government guidelines suggested should be Retail Price Index (RPI) plus ½% (5.6% plus 0.5% i.e. 6.1%) and added to this the 2.1% increase towards convergence with formula rents. As part of the Housing Revenue Account [HRA] self financing reforms the Government assumed that actual rents were changed in line with their recommendations and the debt settlement for Newcastle was set to reflect this. If rents were not changed as recommended there would be an ongoing loss of resources to the HRA and rent convergence might not be achieved by 2015-2016. Any reduction in resources would have an impact on the 30 year Business Plan and the delivery of current revenue and investment programmes. Section three of the report included scenarios and a real life example of the impact of the increase provided by the YHN Advice and Support Team. The 8.2%

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increase would mean that the person in the example was short by £3.55 every week. A report is scheduled to come to Board in January to address the changes to the welfare system and their impact on tenants. This section also detailed two options to increase rent by less than restructuring guidelines but as these would have a negative impact on the business model the 8.2% increase was recommended to Board. Comments/questions

A Member asked whether the 2.1% convergence rate increase implied a base figure of £100. R Atkinson advised that this was the limit to prevent extreme rent increases.

In response to a question from a Member on the rationale for convergence and a uniform rather than competitive market approach, J P Lee advised that at its simplest, convergence was about equalising rents in the social housing sector. It was considered that the current system, where RSLs and local authorities could charge different rents, was inequitable. Convergence was an aspiration and was, in part, dependent on RPI. B O‟Doherty gave the example of Cowgate, where residents paid different rents to live in the same street, by virtue of them having different landlords. He added that it had been initially envisaged that RSL rents would come down via the convergence system rather than Council rents go up. However, this had not been the case.

A Member pointed out that it would not only be low income earners who would be penalised by the scale of the proposed rent increase. Many workers had been subject to a pay freeze in recent years and would also be penalised by other price rises that have resulted in a cumulative negative effect.

A Member recalled a similar situation approximately 4 years ago when the proposed rent increase was 6.2% approx. At that time the Government had decided not to follow the guidelines and a lower increase was introduced.

Members expressed concerns about the rent increase in parallel with proposed welfare reform. J P Lee reminded Board that the last increase was over 7% and, with an 8.2% rise next year, together that was a significant rise. However, If YHN did not implement the recommended increase it would cost the organisation £7 million every year in addition to servicing the debt allocated to YHN under HRA reform.

Members agreed that they had no choice in this matter but felt that communication with the media and tenants on this needed to be very carefully managed.

The increase could cause difficulties for many people and advising tenants that they could be eligible for benefits because of it, was suggested by a Member.

A Member asked if there had been any noticeable correlation between large rent increases and the number of tenants in arrears. J P Lee said not specifically as YHN had managed to reduce arrears due to the good work by Tenancy Services Staff. N Scott went on to say that although there had

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been successes in recent years analysis of specific cases that had come through the Team had provided evidence to show that people were now in more complex debt situations and also had more debt.

It was pointed out by a Member that 69% of the increase would in fact be funded by the tax payer.

The Vice Chair advised that specific questions from the Chair of Newcastle Tenant‟s Federation (NFT) based on concerns around impacts on tenants had been received. The YHN response to the questions was circulated to Members at this point and the NTF Chair was invited to comment at the end of the paper. Board moved on to consider the second part of the report on service charge levels. R Atkinson advised that this year there was only a minor increase (from 11/12 to 12/13) in the cost of providing services overall. The cost of most services had not increased at all although many of these services still ran at a deficit. The relevant September RPI was 5.6% making the maximum increase possible 6.1%. Although tenants in receipt of HB would have any increases covered by additional benefit YHN was most concerned with the 31% of tenants not in receipt of housing benefit.

Four options were considered as set out below (although there were many in between):

1. Maximum allowed: 6.1%

2. All service charges increase at a restricted level of 3%

3. Service charges increased in line with their own cost increases

4. A freeze in service charges across the board Option 2 would be at an opportunity cost of £338k, option 3 would be at an opportunity cost of £539k and option 4 an opportunity cost of £660k. It was recommended that following discussion with the Council‟s Cabinet Member and Chief Executive, YHN could manage a freeze in service charges for next year (2012/13) for existing services to tenants. However, YHN would be considering separately applying an increase to all contracts with external partners for some of the services mentioned eg. furniture supply to East Durham Homes It was pointed out that this was the last year of this regime and the HRA would, in the future, be expected to be self financing. This meant that these decisions would be related to meeting the requirements of the 30 year financial plan based on the debt settlement in March 2012 rather than any future settlement. Comments/questions

A Member commented that the service charge proposal was a positive but questioned if YHNs external partners would be facing the same challenges. N Scott gave an example of the furniture services; if YHN

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charged East Durham Homes 6.1% more they could decide whether or not to pass that on to their residents.

A Member stated that a freeze in service charges seemed unfair to tenants not on benefits, that 31% of tenants would have to bear the brunt and it should be fairer across the board. The Member could see the rationale of the report but felt that communications to customers would need to be very carefully managed and not give false hope in case there were increases next year. The Member also questioned a freeze now and losing out on £700,000 income when this could be a year on year event. R Atkinson said that whilst we had no real choice about the rent increase due to the Government‟s expectations; on the service charge there was a viable option with llimited penalties to the HRA.

A Member asked if, in considering the options of either a freeze or a 6.1% rise, we could break down the impact by tenant. J P Lee advised that it would depend on which services any individual tenant received, for example, multi storey concierge, telecare, furniture pack etc. but not many tenants received every service for which there is a charge. To understand the net impact on each tenant was very complex as there were different rates within the services depending on the level of service purchased.

A Member suggested that the 31% who did not access additional services were going to bear the brunt of the increases. J P Lee informed Board that take up of services was mixed, for example, lots of people lived in multis and therefore utilised the concierge services. However, further analysis to assess the impact on people not on benefits would be carried out.

Other Members shared the concern about the burden on 31% of tenants although it was pointed out that people to whom the service charge applied would still be subject to the rent increase.

It was pointed out by a Member that there were more than 2 options although she favoured Option 3. She also agreed that people should pay for the costs of services they actually received and suggested a gradually escalating cost.

In response to a query regarding the stance of other ALMOs, R Atkinson informed Board that at a recent conference all of the providers in attendance had indicated that they would increase rent charges in line with guidance but there had not been discussions about service charges.

A member suggested a compromise, that this be Option 3.

It was suggested by a Member that service users should meet the actual costs of services received where possible.

J P Lee also raised the following points:

To a degree there always needed to be a pooling of resources for services. Absolute parity across tenancies was not possible for example some tenants needed more repairs than others.

This could be the last year we have this debate. HRA reform would give councils the opportunity to run housing as their own business. An average of 2.5% RPI going forward was assumed in the business planning model.

Linked to Option 3 the table at 4.1.6 illustrated that the only increase proposed would be 3.32% for sheltered housing. The table illustrated that in a year on year position there had been no significant changes; it would

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not cost any more to run the furniture service as costs had not increased. There were current deficits on most of the areas, for example concierge, but that was in the middle of a huge review at the same time as trying to provide a more equitable service.

Some services were reliant on Supporting People funding which was being withdrawn.

Most services struggled to meet their own costs; if it got to the stage where everything had to meet its own costs, YHN would only have a furniture service.

J P lee suggested there were two ways of taking this forward; 1. Further analysis of the data to include information on which services met their own costs. Officers could undertake this work fairly quickly but YHN did have to provide advice to the Council for its January meeting. 2. Also looking at what a communications strategy or plan would look like; this could include information from the other Tyne and Wear authorities on the scale of their increases. The dilemma then would be how the Board made the decision on the service charge. A special Board meeting could be called or a delegated decision could be taken by small group of members. Board had discussed the item in great detail and moved to vote on how best to take forward the decision. Board Members voted (10 in favour, 2 against) to delay the decision pending more detailed analysis of the impact of the increase on tenants. Members would be sent the new information and a date would be scheduled for a special meeting either the week before Christmas or the first week in January. This report also considered the new concierge service, Supporting People Service charges, heating charges, garage rents, YHN/ Leazes Homes rents and the Byker Community Trust rents. Comments/questions

A Member asked about the rent increase for properties transferring to the Byker Trust. R Atkinson advised that in future the Trust would decide on rent increases for the Byker estate but due to notice periods the 2012/13 increase would be in place prior to transfer. J P Lee stated that the Trust „Offer Document‟ had also linked Trust rents to council increases.

The Vice Chair invited Marion Talbot, Chair of the Newcastle Tenant‟s Federation (NTF), to speak to Board. M Talbot advised that a list of questions had been sent to the YHN Chair with regard to the details provided in the report for this item. Board discussions and the YHN response would be taken back to the NTF Executive Committee. NTF was concerned about the cumulative impact of rent increases, welfare reform and the new under-occupancy regulations being introduced from April 2013. She went on to propose that YHN work with NTF to

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formulate a response to Government. The Vice Chair welcomed the suggestion and stated that the Board looked forward to working with the NTF. RESOLVED: Board agreed to recommend to the NCC Cabinet changes in rents and charges from 2nd April 2012 as detailed below:

(i) An increase in HRA rents of 8.2% in line with rent guidelines issued by CLG;

(ii) A change in charges for Supporting People funded services

(Community Care Alarm Service and Wardens Care) in line with the recommendation of the Supporting People Commissioning Body (expected in January 2012);

(iii) There is no increase in the heating energy service charges for

2012-2013;

(iv) To increase rents for YHN dwellings in line with guidance from the Tenant Services Authority;

(v) To recommend an increase to Byker Trust tenants rents in line with

Rent Restructuring. RESOLVED –

Board agreed to delay the decision on whether or not to increase the services charges (including Concierge, Resident Concierge, Furniture, TV aerial, Wardens, Communal Heating, Garden Care and Security Alarms) until more information on the impact of an increase was further evaluated.

24 COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE

Submitted: Report by the Director of Finance and Resources (previously circulated, copy attached to Official Minutes).

R Atkinson introduced this report which provided details of amended to committee Terms of Reference. The revisions followed a review by all committees to assess how well the committee structure was meeting the organisations aspirations. The amended Terms of Reference would be effective following endorsement by Board. RESOLVED - Board agreed the amendments to the Committee Terms of Reference as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

25 YHN STRATEGIC INDEPENDENT ADVISORY GROUP (SIAG) ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - 2011

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Submitted: Report by the Peter Bower, the Chair of YHN‟s Strategic Independent Advisory Group (previously circulated, copy attached to Official Minutes). Peter Bower, the Chair of YHN‟s Strategic Independent Advisory Group (SIAG), presented an update on work progress from July to December 2011 and asked Board to approve the group‟s proposed work plan for 2012/13. He advised that SIAG had a key role to play in the following context: To provide a ‘critical friend’ for YHN in appraising our approach to equalities and diversity, especially at strategic level on all new or significantly changed policies, procedures, housing services and functions. Appendix 1 provided full details of the progress against the workplan and used the traffic light system to indicate the overall status of the workload; all indicators were green with the workload completed on target. SIAG met 3 times between July and November 2011 and had contributed to the Community Cohesion Strategy, the review of the content of the SIAG internet pages, the second round of consultation for the Community Care Alarm Service review, the Concierge Service review, Skills to Work Strategy review, Style Guide, Community Event Calendar and the Revised Diversity Guide. SIAG also participated in several key Equality Needs Impact Assessments, community events, the North East Equality Awards 2011, Diversity week 7 – 12th November 2011 and the Diversity Peer Challenge. The Chair of SIAG had met twice with Steve Murphy and John Lee to discuss key issues, with further quarterly meetings scheduled to continue into 2012. Activities to increase members of the Group had been successful and three people were interested in becoming members. New members would increase the group‟s knowledge on transgender and disability issues. The SIAG work plan was attached for approval at Appendix 2. Key aspects included: recruitment of new members through a targeted campaign to increase young people and LGBT membership; to continue to act as a critical friend in at least eight Equality Impact and Needs Assessments throughout 2012/13; to identify a project with the LGBT staff group to facilitate joint working; to contribute to the improvements identified in the Peer Challenge; and, to engage with HR staff to facilitate their understanding of how to increase the number of applications from under represented demographic groups and to explore ways of promoting YHN vacancies to those groups. It was recommended that the Board continued to receive a 6 monthly progress report against the plan and a full annual review in December 2012. P Bower stated that there were months of work in the people hours given to the work of the group and that this demonstrated added value. Board were asked to receive the report and approve the work plan for the SIAG.

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Comments/questions

A Member said that YHN estates were perceived as white and working class and asked if SIAG had a role in considering this challenge for people from other backgrounds. P Bower replied that this could be considered in the future and in principle it could be part of SIAG‟s role; he was happy to take this forward with the Chair and Vice Chair.

Referring to the employee/potential employee statistical information a Member asked if there was any way there could be a measureable improvement on the data collected. S Doyle advised work still needed to be done on why some people failed to complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring section of the application form.

The Member reminded Board that at the last meeting a new apprenticeship scheme had been agreed and he hoped that YHN could get people from non-stereotypical groups to sign up to this. S Doyle suggested SIAG could draw on their contacts to gain further information.

J P Lee advised that the presentation had alluded to the capacity and representativeness of SIAG. YHN now needed to go through the SHEF report and align it with the workplan. It was SIAGs role to advise YHN and to help YHN with mechanisms to recruit a more diverse workforce, although workforces were fairly static at present. A further report would be presented to Board when more information became available. RESOLVED - That the report was received for information and the work plan approved (subject to alignment with the outcomes of the SHEF)

26 ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

(i) Chief Executive‟s Report

Byker Community Trust

J P Lee updated the meeting on the recruitment of the fourth independent board member. A person with the prerequisite financial skills had recently agreed to join the board subject to the agreement of their employer. This would give further comfort to the financial institutions on providing the loan.

National Housing Awards The Vice Chair offered Board‟s congratulations to all of the staff involved in the submissions. Although the shortlisted projects were not successful on this occasion thanks went to everyone involved for their efforts.

(ii) Concierge Update

(iii) Delegated Decisions 24 October – 2 December 2011

(iv) Board Forward Plan

(v) Minutes :

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- Finance and Resources 15 September 2011

RESOLVED - That the items be received for information.

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED – That in accordance with the organisation‟s Access to Information provisions, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of agenda items 8 to 11 because of the likely disclosure of confidential information.

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Board Special Meeting 10 January 2012 (5:00 pm – 5:50 pm) Present: N Shukla (Vice Chair), L Doherty, P Dutton, R Harral, R Higgins, A Mirza, M Myers, G Pattison, J Purvis, J J Reid, D Slesenger, L Stephenson, J Turner and J Yugire In attendance: J P Lee - Chief Executive S Breslin - Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Business R Atkinson - Director of Finance and Resources N Scott - Director of Tenancy Services A Allison - Head of Housing Management M Burn - Head of Support and Care D McGuinness - Lead Communications Officer D Creighton - Executive Assistant L Forrest - Head of Finance J Wylie - Head of Business Services A Crute - Income Manager P Hickey - Manager, Central Administration B Joyce - for Company Administrator and Board Support Officer Observers: B O’Doherty - NCC M Talbot - Newcastle Tenants Federation J A Coulson - Newcastle Tenants Federation P Frost - Tenant

27 WELCOME

The Vice Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

28 APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from S Murphy and J Stokel-Walker.

29 Standard Service Charges and Garage Rents for 2012/12

The Vice Chair thanked Board for their robust discussion and debate on this subject at the last meeting; it was very good to see that level of debate and he was grateful for all of the contributions. The meeting today was necessary to ensure Board made the right decision and the Vice Chair thanked everyone for attending at such short notice.

The Vice Chair informed Board that the draft minute relating to the Rent & Service Charge Levels 2012/13 had been circulated with the report for this special meeting to

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help with the discussion. However, the minute would be included with the full minutes from the December meeting for approval at the next meeting on 24 January, 2012. He also advised that a balanced Evening Chronicle article on the rent increase was being circulated at the meeting.

J P Lee introduced the report to provide further information in relation to the service charges as requested at the last meeting. He reminded Board that the previous report had recommended a service charge freeze to mitigate against the significant rent rise. In discussing that paper members were concerned that the proposed approach may not be equitable and had asked for more detail on the services, the surplus or deficit in each service area and the numbers of people in receipt of housing benefit for each service.

JP Lee advised that problems had arisen in trying to provide relevant analysis of the data as the detail of each individual account needed to be evaluated, information extracted and further analysed in an attempt to ascertain specific figures. The tables in the report had produced a certain level of information but the data could not illustrate the inter-relationships between some people receiving services and individuals in receipt of Supporting People funding or Housing Benefit.

There were a number of options to be considered for the level of service charges. Table 4 set out the potential lost income from not applying the maximum full increase of RPI plus ½%. It also illustrated the wide range of options available to YHN and NCC. In financial terms the options ranged from generating £625k to no increased income to the HRA.

From the options detailed it could appear that an option to increase charges where 90% of customers were in receipt of Housing Benefit could provide an acceptable compromise between business needs and a concern for our customers.

If YHN were to apply the increased charge across the board and then utilise this income to offset a reduced rent increase this would amount to approximately £21.55 per tenancy in a year (44p per week over a 49 week year). This option was, however, fraught with complications.

At the last meeting Board had also asked that what the communications strategy would look like if the service charge was increased or frozen. J P Lee advised that at a time when there had just been a significant rent increase a rise in the service charge could provide an opportunity for the press to talk about YHN in a negative way. However, all advice on the communications strategy for the service charge had been to keep it simple.

Taking everything into account the simplest and most cost effective way of mitigating the impact of such a large rent rise was by not increasing the service charge for the year 2012-13.

Comments/questions

¤ A Member asked if it was a given that we could not operate a two tier system. J P Lee said this was impossible, primarily because of the pooled nature of the HRA.

¤ A Member said he was happy with the latest report and happy to endorse the recommendations but asked if another report could be provided on variable costs in the context of the challenging environment looking forward. J P Lee said this was an important point. For example, concierge did not meet costs and had undergone a review to examine how it could be made cheaper or closer to cost neutral. J P Lee was happy to report back on how the organisation remodelled itself to make charges affordable; alternatively this could be considered with Members at the Board away day on 7 February.

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¤ With regard to the Chronicle article (Saturday 17 December 2011 -circulated) a Member considered that it was not a balanced story. He had mentioned at the last meeting that he supported not increasing the service charge and that would have resulted in a balanced article. The media was not attracted to good news stories and to get a stand-alone story now would be very difficult. Although he understood some of the issues around inequalities and accepted the reason for this special meeting he felt that he and others had pointed out in December how the media would respond.

¤ The Vice Chair reiterated that there had been a robust discussion and a range of views at the last meeting. The Board had decided a decision could not be taken at that time and that a further meeting, with more information, would be necessary. The Board needed to take all views on board to ensure the right decision was taken.

¤ Another Member stated that she would have been unhappy with Board taking a decision before Christmas with the information available at that time. Making a decision based on possible press headlines had not been an option. She also said that it was possible the press could still spin freezing the service charge in a negative manner as 21,000 people would not benefit.

¤ The fact that some tenants paid service charges although they had not deliberately chosen a property where they applied was pointed out by another Member. Although he acknowledged the issue of fairness, on balance he was in favour of the freeze.

¤ A Member commented that if a decision had been made at the last meeting it would have been a divided decision. Board was forced to take the decision for the rent increase but now had the opportunity to evaluate service charges, potentially reduce costs and do a greater service to tenants in receipt of services. However, the withdrawal of Supported People funding would mean that Board could be faced with more difficult decisions in the future. It was necessary that difficult decisions were fully discussed.

J P Lee stated that there was still an opportunity to get a positive message in the press about the service charge; several commentators had been very positive about the level of debate at the last meeting and pleased that Board was taking the decision so seriously. He felt that the Evening Chronicle would be receptive to a story regarding freezing the service charge and print a positive story.

RESOLVED – Board agreed to freeze the service charge for 2012/13.

The report also recommended Board take a decision on garage rents. J P Lee informed Board that following a significant rise three years ago there had been a significant fall in the level of garage demand. G Pattison declared an interest in this item as he rented a garage. During the past year a review of garages had been carried and a number of actions were identified which would improve the current management arrangements and maximize the opportunities to increase demand/decrease the level of void garages. It was recommended that there was no increase in garage rents for City Council tenants in 2012/13. Board agreed last year to freeze garage rents, however with VAT increasing from 17.5% to 20% those garage tenants who were not City Council tenants had their garage rents before VAT reduced so that their VAT inclusive garage rent stayed the same. Board are

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now requested to increase the VAT exclusive garage rent for non tenants to the same level as City Council tenants with VAT then being applied. Comments/questions

A Member raised the issue of supply and demand. Reducing rents in some areas could increase demand and get vacant garages rented out. J P Lee stated that some local authorities did do this and that the market for garages did also change over time. Looking at how YHN marketed garages was one of a number of actions coming out of the review although some garages were very much in demand.

In response to a Member’s question about the application of VAT J P Lee informed Board that it was a HMRC mandate for people who were not tenants.

In response to a Member question A Allison advised that 16% of the stock/655 garages were void in December 2011. Garages were not as popular as they used to be and there was the additional issue of some of the garages no longer being fit for purpose. J P Lee said that the situation would continue to be monitored and remedial action would be taken if required.

It was pointed out by a Member that the garage situation had been raised at Finance and Resources Committee. N Scott advised that a further report would go to the Committee before the end of the financial year and that this update had been provided to keep Board appraised of the situation.

RESOLVED – Board agreed not to change to the existing Garage rents for City Council tenants, but to increase the VAT exclusive rent to non HRA garage tenants to the level of City Council HRA garage tenants from April 2012.

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Board Tuesday 24 January 2012 at 5:00pm

Amendment to Standing Orders (section 16)

Report by Director of Finance and Resources

For Decision

1. Background

1.2 The Government Protective Marking Scheme is a security system that ensures a common standard across agencies for the creation, handling, storage and disposal of our information and all other assets.

1.3 The scheme was designed to help individuals determine, and indicate to others, the levels of protection required to help prevent the compromise of valuable of sensitive information

1.4 YHN implemented the Government Protective Marking Scheme from 1 January 2012.

2. Board and Committee Reports

2.1 Members will be aware that Board and Committee papers previously marked as „confidential‟ will now be marked as „Protect – not for publication‟.

2.2 These reports will be printed on pink paper and only distributed to board/committee members and those on our distribution lists who are entitled to receive sensitive information.

3. Amendments to Standing Orders

3.1 To reflect the implementation of the Government Protective Marking Scheme Section 16 of the Standing Orders should be amended.

3.2 Under the scheme the term „confidential‟ is defined as “Serious or immediate risk to someone‟s personal safety (generally serious safeguarding cases

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where the police are involve” and therefore would not usually be appropriate for use on YHN reports.

4. Conclusion and recommendations

4.1 Board is recommended to approve the amendments to „sensitive‟ and the use of the label “Protect” at Section 16 of the Standing Orders.

5. Implementation

5.1 Standing Orders and the Governance Handbook will be amended in accordance with the decision.

Background Papers Standing Orders V2 Contact Officer: If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Brenda Joyce by telephone on 0191 278 7707 or email [email protected]

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16. Exclusion of Access to Meetings - Sensitive information 16.1 Members of the public must be excluded from meetings whenever it is likely in

view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that sensitive information would be disclosed.

16.2 Sensitive information means:

a. Information given to Your Homes Newcastle by another body on terms that forbid its public disclosure, or information that cannot be publicly disclosed by Court Order.

b. Information relating to a particular employee, former employee or applicant

to become an employee of Your Homes Newcastle, or a particular office-holder or former office holder or applicant to become an office holder of Your Homes Newcastle.

c. Information relating to any particular occupier, or former occupier of, or

applicant for, accommodation managed by Your Homes Newcastle , or recipient of services provided by Your Homes Newcastle.

d. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular

person or organisation (other than Your Homes Newcastle).

e. The amount of any expenditure proposed to be incurred by Your Homes Newcastle under any particular contract for the acquisition of property, the supply of goods or services or the terms or proposed terms of any such contracts

f. The identity of Your Homes Newcastle as the organisation offering any

particular tender for a contract for the supply of goods or services

g. Information relating to any consultations or negotiations or other discussions in connection with industrial relations.

h. Any instructions to counsel and any opinion of counsel (whether or not in

connection with any proceedings) and any advice received

i. Information obtained or action to be taken in connection with I. Any legal proceedings by or against Your Homes Newcastle

II. The determination of any matter affecting Your Homes Newcastle

j. Any action taken or to be taken in preventing, investigating or prosecuting crime

k. The identity of a protected informant

16.3 Reports dealing with any of the issues listed above and therefore to be

discussed in “closed” session of the Board will be treated as sensitive, labelled “PROTECT” and not for publication.

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Board 24 January 2012

Heating Infrastructure Charges 2012/2013

Report by Director of Finance and Resources

For Decision

1. Background information

1.1 An element of the heating charges to tenants is the infrastructure charge which is currently charged at £2.78 to unmetered properties over 49 weeks.

1.2 The infrastructure charge is levied to recover the costs of providing the systems to provide heat to the accommodation. The maintenance of the heating system inside the flat is part of the repairs and maintenance service.

1.3 The costs related to infrastructure are made up of premise costs for boiler houses, an allocation of central costs and the cost of the Citybuild District and Group Heating Team who maintain the heating systems.

1.4 The heating infrastructure charge is Housing Benefit eligible and therefore annual increases in the charge are restricted to retail price index [rpi] + ½%.

1.5 For properties on metered schemes the fixed heating charge recovers background heat loss and the cost of meter reading.

1.6 There are currently 2,554 properties on fixed heating charges. Of these 1,960 are being transferred to the Byker Community Trust in April 2012.

1.7 The efficiencies which will allow this reduction in charges have come to light since the December Board reports on Rent and Service charge increases.

1.8 If charges are to be amended for April 2012 tenants require 4 weeks notice and changes are required to the Northgate rents system prior to the rent year.

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2. Issues and concerns

2.1 Potential savings have been identified resulting from efficiencies in the provision of maintenance of the heating infrastructure service. It is possible to pass on these savings to customers through a reduction in the heating infrastructure charge.

2.2 We should consider reducing the service charge to tenants to reflect the cost of providing the service.

3. The possibilities

3.1 Infrastructure costs

The Infrastructure costs are the costs of providing district and group heating which do not relate to energy. These costs relate to the property and systems which provides the heat.

Budget 2012/2013 £’000

District & Group Heating Maintenance Team

325.0

Property Expenses 168.1

Administration Costs 21.2

Total Costs 514.3

Income from Unmetered customers 347.9

Metered customers 166.4

3.2 The income from unmetered customers is currently £347,900. The District & Group Heating team maintenance and property costs relating to metered schemes is £166,400.

3.3 The biggest element of the charge is therefore the District and Group Heating team who maintain and repair the system. A review of the activities of the Neighbourhood Service Team who provide this service has reassessed the quantity of their service which relates to repairs of heating systems inside resident’s accommodation.

3.4 The maintenance of heating systems within the dwelling could be provided through the repairs and maintenance contract which would allow a reduction in the size and cost of the District and Group Heating Team.

The District & Group Heating team are specialist in heating systems. The repairs inside the dwelling can be carried out by other trades such as

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plumbers through the repairs and maintenance contract.

A smaller specialist District & Group Heating team would be required if they concentrate on heating systems. The reduction in the District & Group Heating Team cost could be passed back to tenants through a reduction in the infrastructure charge.

3.5 The repairs and maintenance budget already bear 26% of the cost of the District & Group Heating Team. It is anticipated that provision of repairs inside dwellings will be carried out more inexpensively through using the repairs and maintenance contract to carry out all these repairs

More efficient and better use of resources can be passed back to users of the heating systems.

3.6 Tenants

Tenants who have not yet transferred to a metered charging basis could see a reduction in charges from £2.78 per week to £2.50 per week over 49 weeks if the anticipated reduction in the District & Group Heating team is reflected in the charge.

3.7 The infrastructure charge is Housing Benefit eligible. Therefore any change in charge will only impact tenants not in receipt of Housing Benefit.

3.8 Freeholders

The agreement with freeholders includes maintenance of the heating system inside the property. Freeholders do not pay rent and therefore they will make no contribution to the costs of maintaining the heating system inside their accommodation unless a higher or separate infrastructure charge is levied against them.

3.9 There should be no subsidy from tenants to freeholders whose accommodation has been transferred out of HRA stock through the right to buy process. To recover the costs of maintaining the heating system inside the dwellings of freeholders, an increase in the infrastructure charge is therefore required.

3.10 The cost of maintaining the interior parts of the heating system has been assessed as £24.97 per property or £0.51 over 49 weeks.

3.11 Leaseholders

Leaseholders should be charged in the same way as tenants but they are responsible for maintaining the heating system inside their own homes. In practice this can mean some works being carried out inside the leaseholders dwelling by the HRA to maintain the integrity of the system but that this cannot be recharged to the leaseholder.

If there were a leak in the system this could have a major impact on all the users of the system with expensive remedial measures. For these reasons an inspection regime for leaseholder properties is required to maintain the integrity and optimal working of the system.

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3.12 Byker

The residents in Byker will receive their heating service from the Housing Revenue Account [HRA] until the transfer of the heating system to the Byker Trust. It is intended that this transfer takes place in 4 years’ time after the system and boilers have been upgraded using grant funding.

Until the transfer the infrastructure costs can be recovered from Byker tenants in the same way as they are now. Byker tenants are on an unmetered scheme at present. Part of the system upgrades will explore metering controls for the system.

4. The Options / Appraisal

4.1 Option one – No reduction in heating infrastructure charges

If there was no change to the charges the HRA would benefit from any cost reductions. This could provide a reduction in costs of £125,000. These savings have still to be negotiated with Neighbourhood Services and it may not be possible to realise them all.

4.2 Option two – Reduce heating infrastructure charges

The anticipated cost reductions of infrastructure costs are passed on to users with a neutral impact on the District & Group heating account. Tenants will see a reduction in their charge by £0.28 per week over 49 weeks. There will be no impact on the level of HRA resources.

There will be no impact on metered heating charges which reflect the costs of providing metered heat to residents.

4.3 Risks

There is a risk that the anticipated savings from the review of the District & Group Heating Service do not materialise. There will have to be some restructuring of the team which may involve some one off costs.

5. The Business Implications

5.1 Mission and Strategic Objectives: A healthy HRA and YHN financial position supports the achievement of all YHN’s strategic objectives.

5.2 Value for money/efficiencies; YHN is seeking to pass on efficiencies to users of the service.

5.3 Resources (financial, property, technological or human): If the recommendations are approved the reductions in costs of the service will be passed onto the tenants.

5.4 Impact on services/performance: It is anticipated that the realignment of the service will not impact on the service to tenants.

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5.5 Outcomes for tenants/leaseholders: If the recommendations are followed Tenants will receive the same service but at a lower cost and a lower charge.

5.6 Risk (reputation, relationship): There is a risk that the anticipated savings from the review of the District & Group Heating Service do not materialise.

5.7 Environmental: It is expected that there is no environmental impact from this proposal.

5.8 Legal: Council tenants require 4 weeks’ notice of any change in service levels.

5.9 Equality and Diversity and Community Cohesion: This proposal may improve community cohesion through reduced financial pressure on tenants.

5.10 Stakeholder Involvement/consultation: None.


6.1 Board is recommended to set the following unmetered heating infrastructure charges from April 2012;

Tenants £2.50 per week over 49 weeks

Leaseholders £2.50 per week over 49 weeks

Freeholders £3.01 per week over 49 weeks.

7. Implementation

7.1 Tenants, leaseholders and freeholders will be notified of the amount they are due to pay for heating infrastructure along with all other rent and service charges at least 4 weeks before any change to the charges in April 2012.

Contact Officer: If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Ross Atkinson by telephone on 0191 2788708 or email [email protected]

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Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles At Scale - DALLAS

Report by Director of Tenancy Services

Decision


1.1 This report makes Board aware of a large scale competitive process named DALLAS (Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles At Scale) that YHN has been involved in. The report gives an update on the progress made so far and asks approval from Board to proceed to the final submission stage if selected in January.

The DALLAS competition is being run by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB). The TSB is the UK’s national innovation agency. Its role is to stimulate technology innovation in the areas which offer the greatest scope for boosting UK growth and productivity. It promotes supports and invests in technology research and development, advising Government on how to remove barriers to innovation and accelerate the use of new technologies.

1.2 DALLAS aims to show how assisted living technologies (Telecare) and services can be used to promote well-being and quality health and care, enabling people to live independently for longer.

DALLAS will establish up to five consortia across the UK with the aim of providing services to a minimum of 10,000 customers per consortia.

1.3 The consortia will aim to show how cost savings could be made alongside improved health benefits from both public and private provision. There will be a total investment over four years of at least £23 million. The Technology Strategy Board will invest £18 million in the UK-wide programme while the Scottish Government has agreed to invest a further £5 million, to co-fund activity in Scotland. It is anticipated that up to £5m will be made awarded to consortia to develop and deliver their services.

2 Progress so far

2.1 Chief Executives from YHN and NCC Adult Social Care authorised the submission of an YHN DALLAS application in July 2011. 470 applications were submitted nationally and 70 were successful in progressing to

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subsequent stages. The selection process since the first round has consisted of

Presentation of our proposal to the TSB and the 70 organisations successful at the initial round in September

IT workshops to consider the range of technology companies to work with

A second written submission in October, this resulted in the 70 organisations being reduced to 17, including out bid

Further workshops in November resulting in the 17 organisations being reduced to eight, including our bid

Four days of workshops at the beginning of January to determine which organisations will be invited to make a full submission in April. We will be advised whether we have made it through to the last stage on 20 January. The successful organisations at this final stage will each be given £50K to put their bid together. Board will be updated on this at the meeting

2.2 Further stages and dates in the DALLAS process are as follows:

Full proposal deadline – 4 April 2012

Presentation to judging panel – 18 and 19 April 2012

Successful bidders selected 30 April 2012

Contract to commence June 2012

The timetable for development and delivery of the partnership will be considered as part of the full proposal.


3.1 Board is being asked to approve that YHN can proceed to submit a final bid in April, assuming that we are successful at the January workshops.

3.2 There are no financial implications to YHN other than officer time as the Technology Strategy Board will award the successful applicants £50K to obtain whatever support needed to put the final proposal together.


4.1 Our vision is to develop a regional partnership delivering call monitoring activity for a wide range of customers. Working with existing and new partners we will use our expertise to coordinate the entry point for services utilising technology and skilled staff to create a one stop shop for customers.

4.2 We aim to be at the forefront of the preventative agenda by delivering services for people with long term conditions in receipt of intermediate care services through to older people with little or no particular health or social care needs.

4.3 The new technology will allow us to set individual, automated triggers and escalation processes to deliver outcome-focussed and tailored packages of

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care. Assessment and support planning process will be updated real-time as alarm activations and responses are used. Shared systems will enable customers to be more involved with their own support planning, transforming preventative aspects of services as well as basic community alarm functions.

4.4 The service will be supported by YHN’s investment in its Enquiry Centre providing the infrastructure to support the government agenda to rationalise Community Alarm control rooms.

5. IT system requirements

5.1 Integration of IT systems underpins our bid and we will need to work closely with other organisations to ensure the DALLAS requirements are met. We may require consultancy to help us make the right decisions in terms of infrastructure, integration, applications, devices and services.

5.2 It is fundamental for us to work with an IT partner that supports appropriate telephony to deliver an integrated call centre. We would like to work with a warden call monitoring partner that will support our vision to deliver shared, live support planning, together with new Telecare and Telehealth solutions.

5.3 It is important to commission a Social Return on Investment (SROI) evaluation so we can demonstrate for every pound of public money invested with us that our services reduce costs and make savings on Health and Social Care budgets. This will be achieved by automated technology delivering a wide range of functions that are normally time consuming and have high administrative staffing costs.

5.4 The consortia will link assistive technology with general consumer electronics and enable customers to engage with services and professionals in new ways and bring the market place into the home. For example linking TV’s to doctors and monitoring live health data.

5.5 The delivery of a flexible service model will see services and technology narrow the gap between services such as sheltered housing accommodation and residential care supporting key government agenda targets. Customers will receive seamless services that see a shift in how services work together by using technology, delivering large scale efficiencies and increased satisfaction with the implementation of a ‘one stop shop’ approach.

6. Partnerships

6.1 Our vision is supported by a range of representatives across health, housing and social care agencies North of Tyne, the voluntary and community sector, as well as independent and private organisations. In order to achieve our aspirations the governance requires commitment at a senior level from a range of organisations including:

Newcastle City Council, Adult and Culture Services

Newcastle PCT and Newcastle City Council Public Health

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GP Commissioning Consortia: Tyne Health GP Consortia;

NHS North of Tyne

North Tyneside Adult and Social Care

Northumberland Adult and Social Care

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Quality of Life Partnership

7. Potential Customer Groups and Market

7.1 It is proposed that the focus will initially be for residents of Newcastle then extending to other areas north of the Tyne, which incorporates, North Tyneside and Northumberland extending to neighbouring local authorities south of the Tyne at a later stage. The client group will be people aged over 60 with a potential client group of 241,000 rising to over 355,000 within the next 20 years North of Tyne.


8.1 YHN’s Care Services Manager has been approached by numerous potential partners in the North East all expressing support for the bid. If the bid is successful it is likely that a minimum of £5 million will be invested in Newcastle to provide the technology and resources needed to vastly enhance the level of service that is currently provided by YHN’s CCAS. After the pilot period the services would then be rolled out in a staged process to the rest of the North East and potentially beyond.

8.2 Effective governance will be essential in the successful delivery of DALLAS consortia for Newcastle. It is envisaged at this stage that a strategic partnership team will need to be set up to include a range of partners involved including statutory, private and 3rd sector representatives as well as representation from our customers and community members.

8.3 Partnership working will be key to the success of such a large scale programme such as this. As the programme carries such a high profile nationally, the named leads of the lead agencies (YHN and NCC) are at Chief Executive level.


9.1 Mission and Strategic Objectives:

A successful YHN DALLAS bid will help achieve our strategic objectives of

Support and care to communities

Three star excellent services

A quality workforce

Refurbishing and building homes.

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9.2 Value for money/efficiencies;

A successful DALLAS bid will mean savings across health; social care and housing by enable us to pool resources and share technology platforms. It will also have a large focus on prevention which means we will save the city money by preventing unnecessary hospital admissions, prescribing costs, delays in hospital discharges etc.

The services will be marketable to a wider range of customers including non-council tenants.

9.3 Resources (financial, property, technological or human):

As previously mentioned, if successful in January the TSB will award YHN £50K to put the final bid together. This will cover resources and consultancy costs.

A full proposal will include a detailed financial plan for the development and delivery of the new service.

9.4 Impact on services/performance:

The impact on services and performance has the potential to be large. CCAS are already one of the only services of its kind in the country to have ‘A’s’ across the board in the Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework as well as be awarded the Platinum Standard in the Telecare Services Association assessment framework. A successful DALLAS bid will raise YHN’s CCAS profile to a national level.

9.5 Outcomes for tenants/leaseholders:

The benefits to the customers of YHN and NCC will also be significant. We will be able to make significant improvements in the quality of people’s lives by helping them remain independent for longer through a wide range of services.

9.6 Risk (reputation, relationship):

Reduced credibility and risk to YHN’s reputation if recommendations to proceed to the final stage of the DALLAS programme are not agreed.

9.7 Environmental:

A successful DALLAS bid will mean a significant reduction in paper processes with the introduction of new hand held technology. Giving customers access to information via technology will reduce the amount of post that is sent. Enabling customers to connect to people via technology or purchase goods on-line also has a positive impact on the environment.

9.8 Legal:

There have been no legal issues to date. The development of a full proposal would need to take in to account relevant legislation, e.g. procurement.

9.9 Equality and Diversity and Community Cohesion

Maintaining people at home for longer supports community cohesion by

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reducing tenancy turnover. An equality impact needs assessment will be completed as part of the bid however it is proposed that the service will focus on customers age over 60 initially and this means that some people who may have benefitted from the new services will not do so.

9.10 Stakeholder Involvement/consultation:

There has been no consultation with customers to date. The main partners in the partnership have been involved in the competitive process as the stages have taken place. The Executive Director of Adult and Culture Services has fully endorsed the action to taken so far.


10.1 DALLAS presents a significant opportunity to access funding to develop and deliver new services for large numbers of older people. It requires the integration of systems that has not been achieved before in the UK but will facilitate the delivery of new health, social care and housing services.

YHN’s CCAS is already regarded very highly in Community Alarms industry and will be the focal point for YHN’s future involvement in DALLAS.

There will need to be effective governance in place and a robust business and project plans to deliver the DALLAS aims, these will be considered as part of the full proposal. At this stage there is minimal risk to YHN in Board agreeing to proceed with a full proposal if selected.

10.2 Board is recommended to approve the development and submission of a full DALLAS proposal if selected.

11. Implementation

11.1 If Board agrees to submit a bid officers will develop a detailed proposal and it will be submitted in April. Board will be advised of the outcome in due course.

Contact Officer: If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Alyson Bell by telephone on 0191 278 8759 or email [email protected] or [email protected]

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1. Introduction

The attached are for information:

(i) Welfare Reform

(ii) YHN Schemes Audit 2009 - 2011

(iii) Delegated Decisions 12 July 2011 and 1 December 2011

(iv) Board Forward Plan

(v) Minutes : – Customer & Service Delivery Committee – Audit Committee – Performance Committee – Finance and Resources Committee

2. Recommendation

Board is asked to receive these items for information.

Contact Officer: If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Brenda Joyce by telephone on 0191 278 8624 or email [email protected]

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Welfare Reform

Report by Director of Tenancy Services

Information


1.1 The purpose of this report is to advise Board of the proposed benefit changes in the Welfare Reform Bill and the potential impact for tenants, leaseholders and customers of YHN as well as the potential impact on YHN.

1.2 On 16th February 2011 the Welfare Reform bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill legislates for the biggest change to the welfare system for over 60 years. The Government aims to make the system of benefits and tax credits fairer and simpler. At the same time the substantial cuts associated with this reform are being driven by the Government’s deficit reduction programme. Nationally, these amount to £18 billion per year by 2014/15.

1.3 The key elements of welfare reform are;

The introduction of Universal Credit to provide a streamlined, income related benefit for working age people, paid monthly, (including online claim and management of benefit).

A stronger approach to reducing fraud and error with tougher penalties for the most serious offences.

A stronger approach to sanctioning people who do not comply with “into work initiatives”.

A new claimant commitment showing clearly what is expected of claimants.

Improved tapers to some benefits to support people to return to work or increase hours.

Disability Living Allowance for 16-65 year olds is being replaced by Personal Independence Payment.

Reforms to Housing Benefit, (inclusion in the Universal Credit and the

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introduction of an absolute benefit cap).

From 1st April 2013 the introduction of localised Council Tax Benefit.

Devolving parts of the Social Fund to local authorities.

Reforming Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance.

Changes to support a new system of child support.

1.4 Under the current welfare system, claimants receive benefits from different organisations i.e. Department of Work and Pensions, (DWP), local authorities and HM Revenues and Customs. The administration costs are £3.5 billion per annum. The government proposes to administer all benefits through the DWP only and reduce administration costs to £2 billion.

1.5 Housing Benefit is currently paid directly to social landlords to cover rent payments. The government considers that the current system is a disincentive for many tenants to actively seek employment. Approximately £150 billion is paid in benefits each year of which Housing Benefit accounts for £22 billion.

1.6 The government aims to simplify the benefits system, reduce administration costs, create incentives to work and ensure people are better off in employment than being on benefits, make sure those in greatest need receive the right benefit and slow down the rise in Housing Benefit expenditure by 2013.

1.7 Whilst all the welfare reform proposals will impact on YHN tenants, leaseholder and customers, there are a number of proposals that are specific to social housing providers such as YHN;

Increase in the level of non-dependent deductions from Housing Benefit.

Housing Benefit, for working age people to be awarded based on accommodation that is a suitable size for their needs.

The replacement of Social Fund discretionary grants and crisis loans with a locally devised system.

Introduction of Universal Credit.

Supported Housing and Local Housing Allowance.

1.8 The impact of welfare reform and the cuts in public spending will have a disproportionate effect on the North east which has a greater reliance on public sector services and social housing


2.1 In assessing how welfare reform proposals may impact on tenants, leaseholders and customers it is important to understand the following;

70.5% of people in Newcastle are of working age.

72% of our tenants are in receipt of Housing Benefit.

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32.2% of our tenants are employed.

YHN receives £67m pa from Housing Benefit in direct payments.

2.2 Increase in the level of non-dependent deductions from Housing Benefit.

Where a tenant in receipt of Housing Benefit has a non-dependent residing in their household, a non-dependent deduction is levied which is the responsibility of the tenant to pay to the landlord. The non-dependent deduction that is levied depends on what income the non-dependent receives and is on a sliding scale.

The government has increased the weekly non-dependent deduction. Neither the tenant nor the non-dependent in the household will receive any additional benefit to compensate for this. Currently there are 1,200 Council tenants in Newcastle in receipt of Housing Benefit who have a non-dependent deduction levied.

The government increased the non-dependent deductions in April 2011 and proposes to do so in April 2012 and 2013. The table below illustrates the 2010 and 2011 non-dependent deduction levels, (based on a 49 week collection period).

April 2010 April 2011

7.85 9.98

18.04 22.87

24.78 31.41

40.54 51.42

46.16 58.58

50.67 64.31

Our analysis showed that despite contacting all 1,200 tenants in advance of the April 2011 increase, rent arrears amongst this group of tenants rose by 25% in the first 3 months. The rise in rent arrears overall for the same period was around 10%. Clearly the increases in the non-dependent deductions in April 2012 and April 2013 may have the same impact.

2.3 Housing Benefit, for working age people to be awarded based on accommodation that is a suitable size for their household needs.

Currently tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit receive the Housing Benefit for the rent of the property they occupy regardless of whether the accommodation is too large for their needs. The amount of Housing Benefit awarded will depend on whether they are on benefits, are in lower paid employment, have non dependents in the household, etc.

The government proposes to only pay Housing Benefit for accommodation that is the suitable size for the household.

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A single adult or couple will be allowed to claim Housing Benefit for a one bedroomed property. If they reside in a two bedroomed property their housing Benefit will be reduced to the level of a one bedroomed property and the shortfall will have to be paid by the tenant or will accumulate as rent arrears.

A child under 15 years is expected to share with another child of the same gender, children under 9 years are expected to share with another child regardless of gender.

Clearly families occupying family homes that are under occupying will be similarly affected by the proposals.

The government proposes to introduce this change in April 2013. The amount of the reductions has been announced. Tenants will face a reduction of 14% (average £12 per week) in Housing Benefit for under occupying by one bedroom and a 25% reduction (average of £22 per week) for under occupying by 2 bedrooms.

In December 2011, peers voted to allow for a spare bedroom if no suitable alternative accommodation is available. We wait to see if the Government will overturn this in Parliament.

In view of the fact tenants will have to fund this shortfall themselves, the likelihood of increased rent arrears is high. There are several reasons for this not least that this will affect approximately 6,500 Council tenants in Newcastle and it would be impossible to facilitate rehousing to suitable accommodation for this number. In addition there are many more 2 bedroomed flats than 1 bedroomed flats in the multi storey blocks in Newcastle which over many years have been allocated to single people. If this had not been incorporated into the Council’s Allocations Policy it is likely that there would be a significantly higher level of void properties.

This proposal will hit the under 25 year age group hardest because under 25’s receive less in state benefits and would be much more vulnerable to the Housing Benefit reduction and the impact on the tenancy in terms of rent arrears and affordability.

We know from our analysis to date that approximately 6,500 Council tenants will be affected from April 2013 and that this will put £4.4m per annum of existing Housing Benefit income to YHN at risk.

There is a greater supply of two bedroom property than one bedroom property which over the last 20 years has been allocated to single people. This practice may have to be reconsidered and two bedroom properties designated for larger households. Similarly it may be necessary to consider developing shared accommodation.

2.4 Abolition of the Social Fund

The Social fund is currently administered by the DWP and incorporates Community Care Grants, Budgeting Loans, Crisis Loans, Sure Start Maternity Grants and Funeral Payments. Recipients repay the loans through direct deductions from their benefits.

It provides a safety net for thousands of tenants and residents in Newcastle and provides assistance to homeless households, people leaving hospital,

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etc., and helps to prevent low income individuals and families accessing expensive door step lenders or illegal money lenders.

From 2013, the Social Fund discretionary Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans will be abolished with councils expected to devise their own system utilizing only existing legislation.

If Newcastle City Council does not provide a replacement or significantly reduces the budget for this fund, many prospective and existing Council tenants will find it more difficult to take up and sustain a tenancy.

2.5 Universal Credit

The introduction of Universal Credit and direct Housing Benefit payments will have the biggest single impact on YHN and the Council out of the whole welfare reform proposals.

YHN receives £67m per annum in direct payment of Housing Benefit to rent accounts from an annual rental income charge of £99m.

The government proposes to bring together different forms of income related support to provide a simple integrated benefit for people both in and out of work. Housing costs will be part of Universal Credit.

The proposal is also to place a cap on the amount of working age household benefits that may be claimed from 2013pply a cap on the amount of Universal Credit that may be claimed. For example larger families can often claim benefits that are significantly above the average annual salary in the UK. The proposed cap is £26,000 per annum, equating to £500 per week. Example: An unemployed, able-bodied family with 6 children will get no help with rent or council tax due to the benefit cap.

Universal Credit will replace income support, income based job seekers allowance, income related employment and support allowance, housing benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit. The benefit will be paid direct to the individual household who in turn will be expected to take on responsibility for paying rent, council tax, etc.

It excludes child benefit, carer’s allowance, maternity allowance, statutory sick pay, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment etc.

All customers will be given an online account and will be expected to undertake transactions on line. Employers will be expected to inform the DWP of any changes to an employee’s income via the online facility.

The government propose to introduce Universal Credit for new claims in October 2013 and phase in for existing claimants by 2017.

Whilst there are clear advantages of administering benefits from one organisation, (as opposed to three at present), the main concern to YHN is the potential impact of £67m per annum of Housing Benefit being paid directly to tenants, (monthly in arrears), who then have to pay their rent to YHN. It is highly likely that rent arrears will rise significantly. This is addition to other cuts to Housing Benefit.

Tenants assessed as vulnerable may have their Housing Benefit rent payments paid direct to the landlord although the definition of vulnerable

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appears to be quite strict.

Tenants who fall into arrears of eight weeks or more may be eligible for direct payment to their landlord if they are at risk of losing their home.

It is likely that rent arrears will increase and that more Council tenants will lose their homes as a consequence.

2.6 Supported Housing and Local Housing Allowance

The government is currently consulting about proposed changes to Housing Benefit for supported housing provision i.e. homeless hostels, foyers, etc. The proposal is that the Housing Benefit level would be based on the Local Housing Allowance and any costs above this would have to be met by alternative funding or the claimant, (the homeless person in the Hostel).

The government is also proposing that specialist supported housing, for example where there is a requirement for a specifically adapted property that the Housing Benefit level should be based on the Local Housing Allowance and claimants would then need to apply to the local authority for funding to meet additional housing costs.

The government is also proposing that specialist supported housing, for example where there is a requirement for a specifically adapted property that the Housing Benefit level should be based on the Local Housing Allowance and claimants would then need to apply to the local authority for funding to meet additional housing costs.

Newcastle has several homeless hostel type accommodation and the numbers of homeless people in Newcastle are low, particularly among the younger age group. If Housing Benefit levels do not meet the rent charged in this type of accommodation then the Supported Housing Provider will have to seek the difference from the tenant or subsidise the service. This may mean providers will not view their accommodation as economically viable and may withdraw the service.


3.1 The Welfare Reform Bill received its third reading in the House of Lords in December 2011 and its third sitting on 11 January 2012. The Lords suggested that the government should reconsider the under occupation proposal, (outlined in 2.3) and made other amendments. The Lords also recommended that for the six local authorities who have agreed to take part in the Welfare Reform pilot programme, that the removal of Housing Benefit direct payments to landlords be scrutinised very closely.

3.2 Since the welfare reform proposals were produced earlier this year YHN has responded and undertaken the following;

Established an internal Welfare Reform Group to respond to the welfare reform proposals.

Team Brief on Welfare Reform in December 2011.

Joined the NCC Welfare Reform Strategic and Operational Groups

Page 40 of 72

Updated the YHN Business Strategy to identify that Welfare Reform is one of the 3 main challenges facing the business over the next 3 years.

Contributed to the Council Policy Cabinet on Welfare Reform.

Updated the Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Greater emphasis on combating worklessness on estates through the Skills to Work Strategy.

Reviewed our Advice and Support offerings and agreed to trial a new service for tenants in April 2012.

Worked with Welfare Rights and Money Matters to maximise income and mitigate high debts

Launching the new Allocation Policy in early 2012 providing for more flexibility regarding matching households to accommodation types.

Increasing the take up of direct payments for rent.

Tenant education (Managing Money training)

Supporting individuals to move to accommodation appropriate to the household size.


4.1 The Welfare Reform Bill has entered the House of Commons for the third and final reading. Until such time as the final outcome is known we will continue with the ongoing work outlined in 3.2.

4.2 A further report will be submitted to Board once the Bill is enacted detailing YHN’s response to the proposals contained within the Act.



The welfare reform proposals will impact on the strategic objectives; providing support and care to communities and providing excellent services. YHN will need to provide support to vulnerable tenants and customers to enable them to take up and sustain tenancies and in particular pay the rent in light of the benefit reductions being borne by those who are most vulnerable.

5.2 Value for money/efficiencies;

The welfare reform proposals will require an investment in the YHN services which support tenants and customers to take up and maintain tenancies. This may include investing in additional services to help tenants manage their rent payments.

5.3 Resources (financial, property, technological or human):

As in 5.2.


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Rent arrears performance is likely to be adversely affected with the cessation of direct payments of Housing Benefit to YHN. Our existing Advice and Support Services, and Young People’s Services may not be able to cope with the increased demand for services from customers and tenants.

It is likely that as private rented accommodation becomes more expensive and therefore less attractive, demand for Council accommodation will increase.


A large percentage of YHN Tenants and Leaseholders will be affected by Welfare Reform; over 70% are in receipt of Housing Benefit.

5.6 Risk (reputation, relationship):

An increase in rent arrears could harm our reputation as a 3 star ALMO and high performer. Future new build could be affected if we cannot maintain the rental income stream.

YHN and the Council have developed a reputation for excellent homeless prevention performance nationally that will be impacted by welfare reform. Both organisations have received positive testimonials evidenced by external evaluations such as the Heriot Watt university homeless prevention research and the Urbact research on the Prevention from Eviction Pathways protocols. Both pieces of research were recognised at a European level and any adverse impact on homelessness in the city would reflect poorly on YHN and the Council.

5.7 Environmental:

There are no direct environmental impacts of the Welfare Reform proposals.

5.8 Legal:

There is likely to be an increase in the number of possession cases taken to County Court for non-payment of rent which will increase legal costs.

5.9 Equality and Diversity and Community Cohesion

The impact of Welfare Reform on YHN and NCC’s excellent record of sustaining tenancies and preventing homelessness is at risk. If the proposals go ahead unchanged it is highly likely that there will be an increase in tenancy turnover, homelessness, etc., which will impact on community cohesion. In addition households on low income may turn to criminal activity to supplement their income which may also impact on neighbourhoods.

The Welfare Reform proposals will have a greater adverse effect on low income and vulnerable households.

5.10 Stakeholder Involvement/consultation:

Prior to the non-dependent deduction changes in April 2010, YHN contacted all 1,200 tenants affected by the new deduction change to advise of their responsibility for the new payment.

Page 42 of 72


6.1 The welfare reform bill presents one of the most significant challenges faced by council tenants in the last 30 years.

Whilst the principles of making the benefit system simpler and fairer with an emphasis on making sure that work pays are to be supported for many the impact will be reduced benefit levels and more stringent sanctions for non-compliance with the system. This will undoubtedly lead to higher levels of debt, including rent arrears, with a strong likelihood that more tenants will face legal action for debt recovery.

6.2 Board are recommended to;

Receive this report for information and make any relevant comments.

To agree to receiving a further report following the enactment of the legislation.

7. Implementation

7.1 The next steps are to continue with the actions outlined in 3.2 and to report back to Board following the enactment of the legislation.

Contact Officer: If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Martyn Burn, Head of Support and Care by telephone on 0191 2788599 or email [email protected]

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YHN Schemes Audit2009 - 2011

Report by Chief Executive


1.1 This report presents the findings of a Newcastle City Council design audit of the schemes in the new build programme (please see enclosed YHN Schemes Audit document).. The audit was undertaken by Newcastle City Council’s Development Management Section.


2.1 The report identified a number of positives findings. This included the design of schemes, scheme layouts, scale and massing

2.2 A number of areas were identified for improvement. These focused on improving procedures relating to the approval of materials and tightening up on monitoring on site. Procedures to address these areas will be introduced into the build process for future schemes.



Building new properties contributes to the Strategic Objective of refurbishing and building homes


The findings of this audit will be incorporated into future schemes to ensure development is high quality and meets the needs of residents.


High quality new homes.

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Background Papers YHN Schemes Audit 2009 – 11. Contact Officer: If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Jon Mitford, Development and Procurement Manager, by telephone on 0191 278 8718 or email [email protected]

Page 46 of 72

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Page 48 of 72


Board Forward Plan

1 Board Forward Plan

1.1 This Board Forward Plan lists the reports known at the present time that will be presented to the meeting on 6 March 2012.

Board Report

HRA Apprentice Led VFM Confidential

Audit Committee annual report to Board Non confidential

Annual Delivery Plan Non confidential

Board Membership Non confidential

YHN and HRA Budgets / Medium Term Plan Non confidential

HRA Reform Model Non confidential

1.2 Board is asked to note this information.

Contact Officer: If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Maureen Dickson, Company Administrator & Board Support Officer by telephone on 0191 278 8624 or email [email protected]

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1

Customer and Service Delivery Committee 26 September 2011

(4.30 pm – 6.25 pm)

Present:

R Higgins, A Mirza, J Purvis, J Reid, L Stephenson (Chair) J Turner, J Yugire

In Attendance:

N Scott - Director of Tenancy Services, YHN L Horsefield - Lead Customer Involvement Officer, YHN B O‟Doherty - Strategic Housing, Newcastle City Council W Keilty - Head of Customer Service and Improvement S Doyle - Diversity Manager, YHN D Slesenger - YHN Board Member H Rahman - Councillor, Elswick Ward M Bolan - Adelaide House Tenants and Residents Association S Darroch - Democratic Services, Newcastle City Council

1 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS L Stephenson welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced herself as the new Chair of the Committee following the Annual General Meeting. Committee members and those in attendance were then asked to introduce themselves. It was agreed to bring forward agenda item 6 as the first substantive report for discussion.

2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Keating, Councillor Myers and the Tenants Federation

3 DECLARATION OF INTEREST IN ANY MATTER TO BE DISCUSSED AT THE MEETING

The process for declarations of interest was noted.

4 REVIEW OF PROPERTY DESIGNATIONS – ADELAIDE HOUSE BENWELL AND GREENFORD ROAD WALKER

Submitted: Report of Director of Tenancy Services (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes)

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2

N Scott presented the report and welcomed Mr Michael Bolan from Adelaide House Tenant and Residents Association and Councillor Habib Rahman, Elswick Ward Councillor.

The committee was informed that following receipt of representations from Adelaide House Tenants and Residents Association (TARA), and separately a resident of Greenford Road multi storey blocks with regard to age restrictions at both premises, the committee had at its last meeting deferred a decision in respect of both locations and had asked officers to investigate further and report back.

(a) Adelaide House, Benwell

Background to the request was noted as set out in section 2 of the report. There was currently lack of clarity about the age designation being applied in the block and confirmation had been requested by residents that this should be limited to 55 years and over. A number of different age restrictions had been applied over time with officers being of the view that the age designation was 50 years and over. The following key points were then noted:-

There had been consultation with residents in November 2010. The results had been held back to allow consultation with residents of blocks elsewhere in the city. A petition had also been signed by all residents (irrespective of age) in support of an age restriction to 55 years and over.

There had previously been some debate at committee about the practical difference between an age restriction of 50 years and over and 55 years and over. Following the last meeting, officers had gone back to discuss the issue with tenants and had looked at turnover and allocations within the block. It was clear that residents had been unsure what designation was being applied.

The committee was asked to note section 2.5 of the report detailing why there was a strong feeling among the residents‟ group that 55 years and over was an appropriate limit. Consultation with ward members had also strongly supported the age designation being set at this level.

The Chair then invited Councillor Rahman and Mr Bolan to speak to the Committee and welcomed comments from committee members.

(i) Cllr Rahman thanked the committee for the opportunity to discuss this matter. He noted that clarity was needed on the age restriction at Adelaide House and as a ward member he supported the level at 55 years and over.

He explained that the Tenants and Residents Group at the block was well supported and active, with tenants taking pride in living at Adelaide House. There was a strong feeling that if the age designation was reduced this would significantly affect the dynamics within the block and could cause problems.

There had previously been some problems related to the nearby social club and there was a concern that the introduction of younger tenants could lead to difficulties. While it was recognised that some flexibility may be required, there was a wish to see the age designation going forward confirmed at 55 years and over.

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3

(ii) Michael Bolan on behalf of the Tenants and Residents Association then provided the committee with background to the range of social activities and tenant mix at Adelaide House. Concern existed that an age designation below 55 years could lead to existing older tenants feeling insecure and isolated, becoming less willing to participate in community life.

(iii) A committee member sought clarification on the practical differences with setting the age designation at 50+ instead of 55+ years. While he could appreciate there being a distinct difference between for example 18 years and 23 years he was less clear that such a distinction existed at this older age. He noted that one of YHN‟s priorities was to offer equal provision to as many people as possible, while acknowledging responsibility to existing tenants.

N Scott noted that if the recommendation to agree an age designation at 55+ years was agreed, this could still be reviewed at any point if it was not felt to be working. Setting the designation at 55 + years would enable YHN to actively promote the block to that age range and would remove the current confusion.

N Scott noted that there was a precedent in that the age designation at Tynedale House was already set at 55 years. However, he agreed that consideration had to be made of potential implications for other applicants. It was therefore proposed that the age limit be set at 55 years and over subject to ongoing review of the usual triggers i.e. any indication of difficulty with letting properties etc.

(iv) The Chair noted that feedback received indicated there were other YHN properties in the area that offered appropriate accommodation for singles and couples with no children. On that basis, those particular groups of prospective tenants with a Benwell connection would not be disadvantaged by the proposed recommendation.

RESOLVED – that

(i) future allocations to Adelaide House, be advertised as suitable for persons aged 55 years and older; and

(ii) officers monitor the situation and in the event of any difficulties in allocating vacancies, a further review be undertaken as set out in section 1.4 of the report.

N Scott undertook to write to all residents to confirm this decision and confirmed there would be no impact on existing tenancies – Add to Action list

(b) Hunter House, Merlay Hall and Wardroper House - Greenford Road Multi Storey Blocks, Walker

N Scott referred the committee to section 3 of the report, and explained that the report recommended that the existing age designation of 45 years and over at the blocks should be removed having regard to the evidence presented. It was noted that although an age designation existed, since the mid 1990s this had been relaxed in response to problems at that time with increasing voids and lack of demand. This had been undertaken without consultation with tenants or

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4

ward members. Having operated a relaxed approach to designation there was no evidence to suggest that there had been any major issues or difficulties associated with management of the blocks. There were relatively good tenancy and application rates in the properties which had been able to be achieved because of relaxation in designation and anti social behaviour rates were not presently concerning.

Comments/Questions

(i) It was noted that removal of the age designation would provide urgently needed accommodation in the area. In terms of alternative accommodation for older persons in the area, there was noted to be an age designated block at Church Walk and a number of sheltered housing schemes in the area.

(ii) In response to a query from a committee member it was explained that a tenant who chose to leave a property in response to a decision to remove an age designation would not receive priority for re-housing.

(iii) Response to YHN consultation on this issue in each of the blocks had been quite low with no strong or representative consensus that the age restriction should remain. In relation to Wardroper House, 10 residents had asked that the age designation remain and one resident had written to the Committee to suggest that the age designation be retained in one block, the preference being Wardroper House.

(iv) A committee member commented that the area urgently needed accommodation for young single people. While there were sometimes issues associated with young people managing tenancies it was important that they were not excluded from social housing and were provided with adequate support. He therefore supported the need for flexibility. He recognised the importance of security for older people, but also noted the potential benefits of inter-generational mixing within a supported and well managed framework.

RESOLVED – that in respect of Hunter House, Merlay Hall, and Wardroper House, the existing age designation restricting allocation of properties to applicants aged 45 years and over, should be removed and the decision communicated to residents of these properties.

5 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING HELD ON 18 JULY 2011

N Scott noted that he had received comments on minute numbers 59 and 60 from a Board member and former member of the committee who had been in attendance at the meeting. The member felt that a number of issues raised by him had been omitted.

It was agreed that these comments would be considered and it was

RESOLVED – that

(i) the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2011 be agreed (with the exception of minute numbers (59 and 60); and

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(ii) minute numbers 59 (Environmental Sustainability Update) and 60 (Property Designations), be reconsidered in light of the comments received and referred back to the committee, with any appropriate changes, for consideration and approval at the next meeting.

6 WORK PLAN AND ACTION LIST

(Previously Circulated and Copy attached to Official Minutes)

The Committee was referred to the Work Plan (Sept 2011 to July 2012) and Action List (Sept 2011) and the following points noted:-

(a) Work Plan:-

Asset Management Strategy (November) – this had been carried forward previously, pending the outcome of the final offer on HRA self financing going forward into 2012/13. It was considered that it was now unlikely that this information would be received before the end of the financial year.

Customer Insight (November) – A broader update would be provided, considering YHN‟s Customer Communications Strategy Action Plan.

(c) Action List – Noted.

7 REVIEW OF COMMITTEE SCHEME OF DELEGATIONS

(Submitted: Tabled Report and Copy attached to Official Minutes)

N Scott introduced the report which had been circulated to committees at the request of the YHN Chair, to seek views prior to his meeting with all committee chairs to discuss the report at the end of October.

Committee members were referred to section 2 of Appendix 1 which had previously been considered by Board and asked to consider and comment on the committee‟s delegations as specified. The following key points were noted to the committee:-

In response to a query it was confirmed that equalities was currently a Board responsibility.

N Scott proposed that with the committee‟s agreement, reference to “Tenant Involvement and Positive Activities should be changed to “Customer Involvement and Positive Activities to reflect the broader scope of work carried out on this issue.

Complaints – it was noted that there had previously been consideration about where this issue should sit and the matter had been raised again at the last Performance Committee. A report on this topic was noted to be included on the agenda at agenda item 7.

The Chair then invited comments on the points noted and the following issues were raised:-

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(i) L Horsefield noted that she agreed with the proposal to amend the reference to Insight Activities to refer to “Customers” rather than “Tenants” as this more appropriately reflected the work undertaken.

(ii) Noting similar discussion at Performance Committee, the committee considered the relative merits of whether responsibility for reviewing quarterly data on comments and complaints should transfer to Customer and Service Delivery Committee. It was noted and there was agreement that from a workflow perspective it was logical that the information should be received by this committee. It was also considered important that officer and committee time were not wasted in duplication of effort.

(iii) There was agreement that the work of the committee reflected those areas listed in section 2 and there was no requirement for amendment. However, it was noted that there may be slowdown on work related to the Investment Programme, depending on the outcome of HRA self financing.

(iv) Matters Reserved to Board as set out in section 3 were noted to be consistent across all committees.

(v) N Scott noted that the committee did not currently have a vice chair and members may wish to consider this, noting that most other committees had appointed to this position. A committee member commented that he thought that previous advice from Board supported the appointment of a vice chair.

A committee member noted that the role of vice chair could provide a good opportunity for newer committee members to gain valuable experience with appropriate training and support. It was agreed that anyone wishing to consider the role could speak to the Chair, former Chair, or Director of Tenancy Services.

(vi) It was agreed that frequency of meetings should remain bi-monthly.

(vii) Following discussion it was agreed that to reflect current responsibilities the Assistant Chief Executive & Director of Business should be relieved of responsibility as a joint lead officer for the committee, but would continue to attend from time to time when necessary.

RESOLVED – that

(i) the report be received and comments noted;

(ii) the committee recommend that its remit be amended to incorporate formal receipt and review of quarterly comments and complaints data.

(iii) Any committee member wishing to consider standing for vice-chair to contact, either the Director of Tenancy services, Chair or former Chair for an informal discussion.

8 COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS QUARTER ONE

Submitted: Report by Head of Customer Service and Improvement (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes).

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W Keilty, Head of Customer Service and Improvement, presented the report which set out an overview of compliments, and complaints for quarter one 2011.

The information was being presented to familiarise the committee with the regular reporting structure, with a view to the data in future being formally reported to Customer and Service Delivery Committee, rather than to Performance Committee (although still submitted to Performance Committee for information). It was noted that at Performance Committee on 13 September this recommendation had been discussed and it had been decided that an initial report would be brought to Customer and Service Delivery Committee for consideration after which the two chairs would subsequently meet with the Head of Customer Service and Improvement to discuss the way forward.

An overview of the structure and content of the report and the three key steps involved with complaint management were outlined.

A number of issues were then raised in discussion:-

(i) Demographic data indicated that during the quarter, more women had complained than men but more men had taken cases to the Ombudsman. Concern was expressed that cases had reached the Ombudsman and a query was raised as to whether this could have been avoided. W Keilty acknowledged this point and noted that as far as possible all efforts were made to cases progressing to this level.

(ii) The Chair noted that while good levels of data were available on age and gender; this was less the case in relation to religion or faith. She also noted the level of complaints from residents with long term illness, health problems or disability and queried whether this indicated any weakness with YHN‟s services.

N Scott acknowledged this and noted that work had been already been identified to undertake further analysis of demographic data in relation to Complaints for the January 2012 meeting. This would be along similar lines to the analysis presented at this meeting in relation to New Tenancies, Rent Arrears and Evictions and would include some further analysis of demographic data around disability – Add to Action List.

RESOLVED – that the report be received.

9 EQUALITY MONITORING, NEW TENANCIES, RENT ARREARS AND EVICTIONS

Submitted: Report of Director of Tenancy Services (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes)

N Scott presented the report which set out analysis of customer demographic information relating to new tenancies 2010/11, rent arrears in April 2011 and evictions for rent arrears from April 2010 to March 2011. This was noted to be a new report to the committee and feedback was welcomed.

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It was explained that analysis indicated that certain groups of tenants were over represented in rent arrears and evictions and suggested actions to address this were outlined.

The following specific points were then highlighted to the committee:-

While YHN held a great deal of demographic data about its tenants (e.g. age, gender; ethnicity) there were gaps in some area particularly around religious belief and sexual orientation.

Actions being taken to try to tackle these gaps were noted to include; asking for information at Tenant Sign-up (although tenants could decline to do so); using information captured by City Build on repairs customer satisfaction forms; asking Investment Delivery staff to collect information, where information is not already held.

The committee was referred to sections 2 and 3 of the report detailing the findings relating to New Tenancies and Rent Arrears. With regard to new tenancies, there were noted to be no significant issues identified with this area of work progressing well.

Incidences of rent arrears were more prevalent among Black African tenants. The committee was referred to section 3.8 of the report which identified steps being taken to address arrears and to support tenants across all tenant groups. With regard to Black African tenants, work was noted to be being undertaken to build on and improve the existing partnership with ACANE and officers were also working with the BME Forum in the Tenants Federation. The proposed actions were noted as set out in section 3.15 of the report.

The level of evictions among 16 to 24 year olds was noted to be disproportionately high. The committee was referred to section 4.2 of the report detailing existing support to tenants to prevent eviction and to section 4.6 which noted additional steps proposed to provide specific support to young people to prevent arrears and reduce evictions.

A consolidated table of actions were noted in the attached Action Plan.

It was explained that the report was the first of three proposed reports utilising analysis of demographic data to review key operational areas. It was confirmed that two further reports would be brought to future meetings on Repairs Services and Complaints – Add to Action List.

Committee members then raised a number of issues in discussion:-

(i) The focus on evictions was welcomed. There was discussion around the particularly serious consequences of the eviction of young people. The importance of the work YHN could take to reduce this risk was highlighted.

(ii) In response to a query, N Scott noted that section 2.5 of the report explained that 25% of new tenants in the past year had indicated that they were Christian compared with a citywide proportion of 70% of residents who had indicated they were Christian (based on old census data).

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(iii) A committee member noted that 15% of YHN„s tenants had some form of disability and 13% of new tenants had also indicated a disability. He queried whether this indicated that YHN had a higher than average level of tenant disability and noted that there may be a number of consequences for YHN tenants when the new welfare reforms were introduced. It was noted that while YHN would encourage new tenants to provide details of any disability, many would be reluctant to do so.

(iv) In response to a query from a committee member regarding the higher proportion of rent arrears among BME tenants, N Scott explained that it was recognised that BME tenants were not necessarily aware of the sources of support available through ACANE and the Tenants Federation. Work was therefore underway to develop these partnerships to ensure advice was available citywide.

RESOLVED - that

(i) the report be received and comments noted; and

(ii) the actions as set out in the report be agreed; and

(iii) the committee agree to receive two further reports at the November 2011 and January 2012 meetings as set out in section 1.2 of the report.

10 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of Customer Service and Delivery Committee take place on Monday 14 November at 4.30 pm at YHN House, Benton Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne.

11 EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED – that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda item 11 “Confidential Minutes of the Meeting Held on 18 July 2011”

12 CONFIDENTIAL MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 18 JULY 2011

RESOLVED – that the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2011 be agreed as a correct record.

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Audit Committee 29 September 2011 (5.00 - 6.35 pm) Present: G Clark (In the Chair) P Dutton R Harral M Myers J Reid N Shukla E Snaith L Stephenson

In Attendance:

J Lee - Chief Executive P Slater - Head of Audit and Strategic Risk I Pattison - Audit and Strategic Risk B O’Doherty - Head of Housing Development and Partnership Management J Miller - Democratic Services

49 WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS The Chair welcomed L Stephenson and N Shukla two new members of the Audit Committee. On behalf of the Committee he expressed thanks to the work and contributions of G Keating and J Common during their time as Members of the Committee.

50 MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 30TH JUNE 2011 The minutes of the meeting held on the 30 June 2011 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. Matter arising:- Appointment of External Auditors (minute no. 41 refers ) J Lee advised that the Board had reappointed Ernst and Young as the external auditors.

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51 AUDIT COMMITTEE ACTION LIST Shadowing Audits A member queried why she had not been able to shadow the specific audit that she had requested. P Slater explained he had not specifically said the member could not shadow the audit, rather he had suggested it might not be advisable and had offered to discuss the matter further with the member. It was noted that a member had shadowed an audit of Palatine and had found this useful. It was agreed in future that Members of the Committee be able to shadow any audit they wished to in order to provide them with the breadth of the areas covered by the audits. Members were reminded to contact the Head of Audit and Strategic Risk if they wished to shadow an audit RESOLVED- That the action list be noted.

52 AUDIT REPORT CHECKLIST RESOLVED – That the checklist be noted.

53 EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED – That the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the confidential minutes of the previous meeting and the following items. Tenants Federation Annual Accounts 2010/11 Progress Report arising from the audits of the Tenants Federation Internal Audit Progress Report including update on Internal Audit Recommendations Annual Internal Audit Plan 2012/13 Review of YHN Strategic Risk log and interim exception reports - verbal

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Performance Committee 25 October 2011 (5.00 - 7.00 pm)

33 PRESENT J Common (Chair), L Doherty, P Dutton, R Higgins, N Shukla, E Snaith, Stokel-Walker, and J Turner In attendance: H Hammock - Performance Management and Policy Officer L Horsefield - Lead Customer Involvement Officer S Breslin - Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Business B O’Doherty - Newcastle City Council J Edminson - Democratic Services, Newcastle City Council

34 CHAIRS WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, who all introduced themselves, especially the new members of the Committee.

35 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PERFORMANCE COMMITTEE HELD ON 13 SEPTEMBER 2011 The minutes of the meeting were confirmed and signed as a correct record, subject to the following additions

1) L Doherty and N Shukla be added to the list of attendees 2) J Stokel-Walker be added to the list of apologies 3) It was noted that in respect of Compliments and Complaints, and Customer

Satisfaction – Demographic Information – sexual orientation (pages 41 and 81 of the last Agenda) no responses were recorded for gay men and women and R Higgins was concerned as to how YHN approached getting the confidence of such people and how processes were managed so that people were more open.

S Breslin informed the Committee that the service had worked hard to address gaps in data collection and were running training courses for staff accordingly, and there was evidence that data collection rates were improving.

36 MATTERS ARISING

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N Shukla felt that it was vital to assess/quantify the impact that any staff training had on service delivery down the line. S Breslin advised that the results of the data analysis were being presented to Customer and Service Delivery Committee. This included actions to deal with any issues identified.

37 ACTION LIST UPDATE Reported that:

1) A report would be presented to committee on 28 February 2012 to outline what YHN was doing to ensure people with hearing impairment/those who were deaf were surveyed appropriately with regard to customer satisfaction. It was stated that a dialogue with the Deaf Forum and related charities could assist the process. – action point

It was stated that assessing the percentage of tenants with a hearing impairment was part of the ongoing process of demographic data collection.

2) A report would be presented to committee on the 6 December to provide further information on the work being carried out to address the areas of Repairs and Maintenance customer satisfaction which decreased from quarter 4 2010/11 to quarter one 2011/12 – action point

3) Engaging those furthest away from work in the ’Skills to Work’ agenda would

be reported to Customer and Service Delivery Committee in January 2012 and would no longer be included as an action point for Performance Committee.

RESOLVED - That the action report be received.

38 THEMED SESSION - PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW Copies of the slides from the presentation were circulated – copy attached to Official Minutes.

(A) The presentation covered the following topics

The basics of performance management A summary of YHN’s performance management framework The background to performance management The current remit of Performance Committee and how it works YHN Committee structure Issues with how the committee currently works and how these can be resolved

(B) The committee were posed the question ‘What do you think performance management is?’ and the following points emerged

Managing performance of the organisation Checking people had done what they are supposed to, and if not, why not?

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Ensuring the organisation is meeting its aims Ensuring there are no flaws in the system Ensuring everyone knows what is expected of them Attaching resources to activity Enhancing strengths, minimising weaknesses and striving for

continuous improvement (C) The committee was also asked ‘What are the benefits of performance management?’ and the following points were made

A successful organisation Customer satisfaction Success in its endeavours Knowing that you are doing the right things well Staff morale Early indicators of what is good and not so good about

the organisation Highlights what you can change and improve

(D) The committee were also asked their opinions on ‘What might happen if we didn’t have performance management?’ and the following points were made

Would not know if YHN was a good or bad organisation The organisation would be disadvantaged in attracting resources, i.e. financial Provides a yardstick by which to measure sub-contractors performance Customers would be disadvantaged - they need assurance that their requirements are being met Would not know if the organisation delivered value for money Makes YHN susceptible to inconsistency

(E) Performance management at YHN followed a top down strategic approach comprising

Corporate objectives, business strategy, delivery plan and top 20 indicators Service plan, Service improvement plan, local offers, service Standards and strategy action plans Team targets, appraisals and 1-2-1 supervision This framework had enabled YHN to achieve 3 stars (F) The remainder of the slides dealt with

The current aim of Performance Committee and how the committee currently worked through its business meetings and themed meetings. The YHN structure and current issues concerning

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Selection of reports based on historical requirements Majority of actions/targets reported as ‘green’ Presentation of information Focus of themed meetings in relation to the purpose of performance committee Relationship with other committees

(G) Arising from the slide presentation the following matters were highlighted

As there were no statutory performance requirements imposed on YHN, what do we put in their place? Having them was seen as a comfort blanket, but it was now up to YHN to steer its own course and self re-assurance. It was incumbent on the service to ensure standards were maintained. After 2 years of operation of the Performance Committee the time was now right to revisit the remit of the committee. In the absence of statutory performance requirements, external validations were of high importance such as Investors in People (IiP), Customer Service Excellence (CSE), and Charter Mark as these were external indicators of the organisations well being.. Agreed that a list of all places from which external accreditation derived could be presented to a future meeting for information – action point

Equality and diversity was cascaded down through the organisation. All teams had an Equalities and Diversity targets, where appropriate, which were reviewed on an annual basis as part of Business and Financial Planning process

(H) Members considered several matters in relation to the content and purpose of current reports and the frequency of submission to committee and made the following comments

YHN Top 20 - AGREED that it was essential that the report remains in its present format and frequency of reporting

Service Standards – AGREED to retain it in its present form and frequency of reporting

Capital programme – discussed whether Finance Committee would be more effective at scrutiny but it was recognised that Performance Committee also had a scrutiny role and needed to be assured that performance delivery was on target The capital programme should be presented to Performance Committee by exception, reporting only on terms of the performance element including pace, quality and spend within budgets. Action point - format a Capital Programme report to be agreed outside of the meeting.

Repairs Performance – AGREED that the report be presented in future ‘by exception’ where performance is ‘Red’ or there is a downward trend in ‘green’ indicators.

Repairs satisfaction – noted a lot of information was brought to committee but AGREED to retain it in its present form and frequency of reporting.

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Modern Homes satisfaction – important to tenants – AGREED to retain it in its present form and frequency of reporting.

It was emphasised that process was as important as the outcome and there was a continued need to re-affirm that that processes were relevant and robust in light of the removal of regulation.

Need to think about reporting performance against local offers in future Action point – to agree how local offers will be reported

The Service Improvement Plan – could be the subject of a future themed meeting. It was explained that themed meeting topics would be addressed later on in the meeting.

(I) How is the committee re-assured that robust processes are in place and challenging? Officers had prepared a list of themes, (see below), and members were asked to rank their top three, in order of priority given there would be three themed meetings of the committee next year. Themes were ranked in the following order

- Service standards development (1) - External accreditation (this was added by a board member) (2) - Estates standards group (3) - Mystery shopping/customer inspection (4) - Research programme (5) - Housemark,/benchmark/national indicators (6) - Business and financial planning (7) - Local offers, development and scrutiny - Service reviews - Service Improvement Programme - Appraisal and one to one process Action point – to propose a themed meeting forward plan at the next meeting There was insufficient time to discuss and re-draft the Performance Committee Terms of Reference. Action point – Terms of reference to be re-drafted and brought back to the next meeting for agreement. The Chair summarised the meeting saying that it had been most useful and it was worth re-thinking where we were at after two years of operation of the committee. The Vice Chair informed the committee that there could be an opportunity for someone else to experience this role if there was any desire – action point for next meeting.

39 DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting would be held on 6 December 2011 at 5.00pm and would be a normal business meeting.

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Finance and Resources Committee 8 December 2011 (4.00 - 5.35 pm) Present: A Mirza J Common L Doherty J Purvis J Yuguire

(In the Chair)

IN ATTENDANCE R Atkinson Director of Finance and Resources L Forrest Head of Finance A Crute Income Manager A Lister Finance Manager – Business Support G Ellingham Head of IT B O’Doherty Head of Housing Development and Partnership

Management J Miller Head of Democratic Services

43 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from R Harral.

44 APPOINTMENT OF VICE CHAIR RESOLVED: That Julie Purvis be appointed as Vice Chair.

45 MINUTES FROM 27TH OCTOBER 2011 The minutes of the meeting held on 27th October 2011 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

46 ACTION LIST REVIEW IT Strategy – It was noted that the workshop to provide members with an understanding of the software systems used by YHN had now taken place. Review of Garages – A report would be submitted to Management Team in December; Finance and Resources Committee in January with any recommendations going to Board.

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RESOLVED: That the action list be received and update accordingly.

47 RENT SETTING AND VERBAL UPDATE ON MEDIUM TERM PLAN AND RESERVES Submitted: Report by Director of Finance and Resources (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes) A Lister introduced the report which asked the Committee to review and discuss the rent and service charge increases proposes for 2012/13 which Board would be asked to recommend these to Newcastle City Council. Members considered the different options in relation to rents as detailed in the report. The following issues /queries /comments were made during debate:

It was a national decision to use RPI rather than CPI.

Newcastle had had a 15% increase in it’s debt which was higher than the 10% YHN had been told to expect. Newcastle had been hit harder than most areas. The debt had been set at £371m upon which interest had to be paid.

It was felt to be unfair that the 31% of tenants who paid the full rent had to bear the full cost of the increase whilst those on housing benefit would have the increase in rent covered by their housing benefit .They felt the situation would be particularly unfair for those paying full rent who had no services charges as they would not benefit from the service charges being frozen. A member undertook to raise this concern at Board.

If the service charges had been increased that income could have been utilised by the organisation, however, it was pointed out that this would have been a minimal amount i.e. the reduction in rent increase would have been a fraction of a percentage.

This large increase in rents following on from the large increase last year; the freeze in public sector wages and the increases in the cost of living would make it very difficult for many tenants.

Convergence would happen in 2015/16 so steeper rent rises were expected until then. Although there was the possibility that convergence could be pushed back future. It was anticipated that rent rises would be above 4% for the next few years.

This was the last year the money would be given back to the government. In future years if there was a rent increase the money would come to YHN who could decide how to utilise that funding.

It was acknowledged that YHN had very limited options in this matter given the impact of not introducing the full increase, as detailed in the report this would result in having to cut back on services and capital investment.

It was noted that Leazes Homes Board had agreed to recommend the full rent increase for its properties.

Officers advised there had been concerns regarding the level of the ‘cap’ however, the CLG had calculated the cap for Newcastle with Byker in the picture i.e. £396m .When Byker was taken out the cap would not be reduced which would allow £25m headroom.

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Work was being undertaken on the following year’s budget taking into account; the concierge review; the housing benefit reform; an interpretation of what the Right to Buy proposal might mean. Members acknowledged that in a situation of fewer resources difficult choices would have to be made. RESOLVED: That –

i The report be received; ii That when the report was considered at Board the members would

feed in the issues/ concerns/comments that had been raised during debate of this item.

48 WRITE OFF Submitted: Report by Income Manager (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes) A Crute introduced the report which provided a detailed breakdown of accounts recommended for write off, including former tenant rent, housing benefit, court cost and re-chargeable work arrears. There was to be a lean thinking workshop with the tenancy services team with a view to tenancy services officers getting involved in the 4 week pre termination period before tenants left their properties in order to obtain forwarding addresses. A member suggested that it may be worth considering petitioning for bankruptcy in some arrears cases. A Crute undertook to obtain more information on this suggestion from the member. RESOLVED: That the report be received.

49 IT STRATEGY UPDATE Submitted: Report by Head of IT (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes) G Ellingham introduced the report which provided an update on the implementation of the YHN IT Strategy and other IT-related matters with potential strategic impact. He drew member’s attention to the changes to Newcastle City Council’s (NCC) ICT services as a result of budget reductions at NCC. The situation would be closely monitored and any concerns would be brought to the committee’s attention. He reported that the replacement of the telephony system had saved £100k more than had been anticipated which had resulted in a surplus of £90k .With the £40k that allocated for innovation he would go to present to Management Team with indicative costings for everything in the IT Strategy for next year. In relation to the back up contingency he advised the dual site resilience was now very close to completion.

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The Chair referred to the need to ensure IT was properly resourced. RESOLVED: That report be received.

50 SICKNESS ABSENCE UPDATE Submitted: Report by Human Resources Consultant (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes) R Atkinson introduced the report which updated committee on the current sickness absence statistics for YHN. He drew member’s attention to the increase of 1.35 days since the last update report in September which appeared to be due to an increase in the number of short term sickness cases in all areas of YHN. As sickness usually increased over the next quarter there was a danger that the sickness absence levels may go back up to the levels of the previous year rather than improving. The situation would be closely monitored and the committee kept updated. Members felt that the situation may be improved by the introduction of hand sanitisers at YHN house; they felt this should be done as a matter of urgency rather than awaiting the outcome of the trial that was taking place at three of the community housing offices. The figures would be looked at again after the Christmas period and officers would decide if action needed to be taken. The members acknowledged that there had been a big improvement in sickness absence levels in tenancy services and welcomed this improvement. RESOLVED: That

i In light of the increase in sickness absence levels and update report be submitted to the January meeting;

ii The view of the Committee that hand sanitisers should be provided in YHN House now rather than waiting for outcome of the trial be passed onto the relevant officer.

51 LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT - INVESTORS IN PEOPLE (IIP) Submitted: Report by Manager, Organisational Development (previously circulated and copy attached to Official Minutes) RESOLVED: That the report be received.

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