February 2015

JOHN’S BRIEFINGNEIGHBOURHOOD SERVICES

ROWING THE LONDON MARATHONEuropean Cruise

AND MUCH MORE!See page 11

REMEMBER

Ebuzz is put together following John’s briefings every other month. This is your newsletter and it would be great to hear some of your stories!

If you have anything you want to share, please get in touch with Louise Davies via InHouse, 01495 761104 or email: louise.davies@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy this edition.

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John’s BriefingBoard MeetingThe Board meeting was held on 28th January 2015.

Treasury Management StrategyThe strategy looks at the way in which MHA handles money, currently MHA have borrowed £18m from Barclays. As part of the strategy the Board have assessed whether to move the debt to another lender although the breakage costs will be £8m. Currently within the Business Plan (which is approved by Barclays), there are opportunities for development with the construction of more properties without drawing on anymore monies; Barclays are asking MHA to be more ambitious with the plan. The strategy was approved by Board who also agreed on drawdowns from Barclays for the next financial year and at what cost.

Regulatory Outcomes 1 and 9John explained that both regulatory outcomes have been to Board; John noted our Regulatory Outcomes always receive good reviews from the Welsh Government.

Regulatory Outcome 1 is about ensuring MHA places the people who we want to use our services at the heart of our work – putting the citizen first. Regulatory Outcome 9 ensures MHA repair and maintains homes in an

efficient, timely and cost effective way. Both regulatory outcomes were approved by Board.

John commented that since the transfer there have been significant changes in the delivery of services, including more resources and communicating with tenants. The Miller Report following the Big Chat has been useful in drawing attention to what our tenants want. Nevertheless a lot more needs to be done as the issues which tenants want MHA to deal with are not as clear as we would like. It’s important for MHA that the next Offer to tenants helps to create clear blue water between MHA and our competitors.

The planned maintenance program has made a significant impact on the standard of housing through the WHQS program but going forward these will be on a lower level due to the amount of work done. Some of what we will do may not add as much value in the tenants eyes as internal works but will protect the asset. MHA must make progress clear to current and future tenants how much value the works we do add from a quality of home and quality of life perspective. The works and services we deliver will mark us out from other landlords and the private rental landlords. Private rental landlords may prove a bigger threat than MHA recognised, particularly with the pension scheme changes and older people have monies

to invest in properties, thus probably contributing to an even greater expansion of the private rented sector.

The Repairs service has made significant improvements, but MHA still needs to work on understanding the costs and the way things are done. Improvements are possible, an example is Disabled Facilities Grants, which until recently regularly made a 20% loss, but now, with improved ways of delivery they are more cost effective and can make a 20% profit.

Direct Payment PilotCally McCarthy a Neighbourhood Officer with responsibility for the Direct Payment Pilot scheme spoke about how during the first cycle of payments, 47 of the 49 households taking part in the scheme paid on time. Cally also commented the lessons learnt thus far included communicating effectively with the tenant, maintaining good relations and not always being purely a commercial entity. Lessons learnt will be deployed as the numbers on the scheme increase.

Lean Thinking Karen Doyle, Senior Maintenance Officer visited Wales and West HA to look at the way they have implemented Lean Thinking into the work place, with some thoughts on how to implement them into MHA. John commented it’s about chipping away at current processes to make them more cost effective and fit for purpose.

Welsh Language SchemeThe Welsh Language Scheme has been approved by Board. MHA adheres to the scheme and will implement changes, if necessary, when the new Act is adopted. Welsh Language Courses are available for all staff, please contact HR if you are interested.

Quarter 2 Performance ReportThe main concerns are the re-let times, which has a target of 20 days but is currently at 29 days, 18 properties which require major works are not included in the figures. It takes 77 days to let accommodation in the sheltered schemes, this will be considered in the offer to Older People which will be part of the Corporate Plan.

Sickness is just over 4% when the target is 3.5%, having time off puts more pressure on the rest of the team.

DevelopmentThe Board approved a number of development opportunities including:

• The purchase of land at the rear of 85 Park Crescent, Abergavenny to construct six apartments.

• The purchase of land at Old Hereford Road, Abergavenny to construct 17 flats over two blocks.

• The Board also approved the disposal of a property in Trellech, with the proceeds of the sale allowing MHA to purchase 5-8 properties.

• The Board approved the contractor for the land at the rear of 61 Sandy Lane, Caldicot.

CapselThe Board discussed Capsel at the Away day and are nervous about the trading subsidiary, particularly the Waste business. The Waste business must take 50 tonnes of waste per week to break even, the waste consists of white goods, construction waste etc. The business will commence in March. The Board will review progress and governance at the end of March.

Capsel Lettings is now in operation and looks at every aspect of the lettings market.

Management AccountsCurrently there is a surplus of £441k compared to a budgeted deficit of £868k at this point in the year. It is anticipated that this year MHA will spend approximately £1.4 million more than we earn.

Board Away DayThe Board Away Day was held on 4th February 2015, the Board considered longer term plans for the future, including the threat of changes within the Local Authority set up, and looked at strategic alliances going forward. They also looked at Value for Money – the implementation of a new IT System and our offer to tenants including the introduction of Universal Credit.

Customer Excellence Assessors VisitThe Customer Service Excellence final Assessment will be taking place on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th February 2015.

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New Board Members

Pip WilliamsTenant Member MHA BoardPip has lived in his home in North Abergavenny since 1997 and has been an active member of the Tenants’ Forum since 2003. He was also Chair of the Tenants Forum for 7 years. He qualified as a Housing Practitioner with the Chartered Institute of Housing during that period.

Pip is a member of the Welsh Government’s Tenants Advisory Panel and also sits on the TPAS Cymru Management Committee.

He is a part time music teacher in a performing arts academy in Abergavenny and is an active member of the Musicians Union sitting on the Wales and South West England Regional Committee and the Teachers Section Committee.

MHA have 12 Board Members made up of 4 Independent Members, 4 Council Members and 4 Tenant Members. Last summer elections were held for 2 tenant members, Pip Williams and Gary Witcombe were elected and Andy Jones joined the Board as the new Independent Member.

The Capsel Board recruited a new Independent Member in May 2014 – Nick Battersby.

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Andy JonesIndependent Member MHA BoardAndy took the opportunity to retire from Barclays Bank PLC in June 2014 after more than 38 years’ service. Andy’s last 13 years with Barclays were spent funding Housing Associations throughout Wales and the South West (with Barclays being one of the biggest funders in the sector). He looked after over 30 clients and a lending book in excess of £1bn.

Andy joined Santander in September 2014 working as a Relationship Director covering Education, Healthcare and Communities throughout Wales.

Andy was recently a Board Member at First Choice Housing Association and resigned in September 2014 after 10 years involvement including two terms as Vice Chair and three years as Chair of the association.

“I am looking forward to working with a dynamic and progressive organisation making a real difference in their area of operation.”

Andy was originally from Abertillery and is married with two grown up children and now lives in Penarth. Andy’s interests include DIY, most sports (particularly squash) and walking.

Gary WitcombeTenant Member MHA BoardGary has lived in social housing for the past 75 years, both within Torfaen and Monmouthshire.

Gary is a member of a number of tenant groups within MHA, including the Better Build Group, Steering Committee and Tenants Forum to name a few.

He has held a number of roles with trade unions including being Branch Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, a Shop Steward for workers for NUPE National Union of Public Employees and is currently the Party Leader for the Welsh Independent Party.

Gary served 7 years in the army, which included action in Malaya and Germany.

Nick BattersbyBoard Member Capsel BoardNick has recently joined the Board and brings a wealth of commercial experience to the Capsel Board. Nick is the Managing Director of Reid Lifting which is based in Chepstow.

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Sarah HarrisonLettings NegotiatorI have spent most of my career working in the private sector in residential sales/lettings making the move last year to Cartrefi Hafod handling temporary accommodation and now joining Capsel Lettings. I am a mum to 4 and in my spare time when I’m not at the side of a football pitch or at cubs, I enjoy running with our dog.

Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with and why?If I was stuck in a lift it would have to be with Daniel Craig – very easy on the eye and I’m sure 007 would have no problem getting us out!

Why not say hello to all the new starters on

We wish them the best for the future.

Marie Rennie Cleaner

Dafydd Evans Lettings Officer

Margaret Langley Senior Community Safety Officer

Andrew Nash Neighbourhood Services Manager

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Wellness EvaluationAs more and more of us are trying to live a healthier lifestyle, we are watching what we eat and increasing our activity levels, but do we really know how and what impact this has on our lives and our bodies?

There is something which I have stumbled across which has helped me achieve my targets and goals. It’s with thanks to the knowledge and the training I’ve received that I have been able to make small alterations which have made a big change in my lifestyle. So I wanted to share this and help others who want to change and become fitter and healthier in their lives.

It all starts with a ‘Wellness Evaluation’. A Wellness Evaluation is based on your age, gender and height and consists of calculating your Hydration %, Muscle Mass %, Bone Density, Visceral Fat, Body Fat %, BRR (Basal Metabolic Rate), BMA (Basal Metabolic Age).

If you are interested in finding out more and having a ‘Wellness Evaluation’ carried out please contact me to arrange an appointment: sarah.needs@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk. It only takes a few minutes and could be the first step for you to achieve your personal goal, whatever it be; to gain muscle, lose body fat, get fitter, lose weight or generally feel better.

Feed your family for £20 a weekby Sarah Needs

With the continual cost of living rising, we all know that the weekly food shopping can be a chore, in particular a strain on the wallet when it comes to feeding your family.

So I just wanted to share with everyone a Facebook group which I’ve been following called:

‘Feed your family for about £20 a week’

Yes that’s right a family of 4 for £20 for 1 week!

The Feed Your Family for about £20 a week’s aim is simple, they try to get the best value of your pound to feed your family (2 adults, 2 young children) for £20 a week.

This is an open page where you can not only take ideas and meal suggestions but you can also add recipes, make suggestions, get advice and tips and gain some great cost cutting ideas.

The page caters for all dietary requirements, they advise what times the main supermarkets discount their daily products such as the whoops’ and the oops’ etc. They also direct you to other websites and stores where food is of great quality, fresh and more importantly low cost. The page has about 336k followers and it is very popular and constantly growing.

I’ve tried a few of the suggested recipes as well as gained knowledge of how to make savings from the supermarkets and other food stores and I find it’s a great tool when funds are low and payday is nowhere in sight.

I hope this is as useful to you as it has been for me. Happy shopping.

“Realise that if a door closed, it’s because what was behind it wasn’t meant for you.”

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

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Capsel has now appointed Sarah Harrison as its Lettings Negotiator who will be driving forward Capsel Lettings. Sarah will be setting up procedures, pricing strategies and working with marketing to get all signage and branding developed ready to launch from March 2015. Capsel Lettings will be managing all MHA’s intermediate rental properties and target private landlords to manage their rental properties.

Capsel’s first market sales development was officially launched in September with a presentation home being opened to the public in December. Interest in Bowen Gardens has been encouraging with deposits already received for nine homes. This leaves just three remaining homes for sale at the site. The whole project which is on the same site as the new Trevor Bowen House development is due to be completed in March / April.

Capsel is in the process of recruiting a heating engineer to join the Home Essentials team with interviews taking place at the beginning of February. Work will then start on launching the service to leaseholders and the public from March. The gas servicing and installation part will be pushed first.

Property Services have been working on Tai Calon’s Arbed project and have an additional 80 houses under the contract. This means the initial contract with Tai Calon has been extended with work expecting to complete in December 2015.

Property Services have also been pushing the cyclical painting works and have recently painted MHA’s HQ. The team are also working on MHA’s older persons schemes which are being rebranded as part of the new Life Begins accommodation. The team are also pricing works for one off homeowners and are looking for a new painting apprentice to join its team.

Property Services will also be starting work on the development of a new build property in Sandy Lane. The two bedroom bungalow will be specially adapted to provide suitable accommodation for a disabled gentleman.

Capsel Waste is in the process of getting the yard set up which is based in Mamhilad Park Estate. New signage is being developed and processes are being set up ready to launch this business after March. The USP of Capsel Waste will be that it offers a ‘one stop shop’ solution for all construction waste and its ability to segregate waste and recycle the majority of waste that comes through the yard.

Update

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Fancy a game of football after work?Every Tuesday 17:00-18:00 at the Football Factory, Cwmbran.If you’re interested in joining up with colleagues for a friendly (but competitive) game of 5-a-side after work on a Tuesday, drop Michael Harper or Dewi Parry an email.

You don’t need to be Messi or Ronaldo, we welcome all comers!

Way Into WorkKyron HughesVolunteering with Capsel

Cath placed me with Capsel for some volunteering as

part of the Way into Work programme. I didn’t really know what to expect at first but as I got into the routine I started to really enjoy myself. Learning how Capsel deal with waste and recycling was really interesting and I learnt a lot. The colleagues that I worked with at Capsel were really welcoming and enjoyable to be volunteering with. Capsel have given me the opportunity to better myself in the work place as well as outside of work. My attitude towards work has changed and I now no longer look at it as just a way to make money! I would highly recommend volunteering in Capsel to anyone who wanted to learn new skills.

Wear Red to Work Day

On Friday 6th February staff wore red to work for the British Heart Foundation.

A competition also took place to “Guess how many sweets there are in the sweetie jar”. Heather Donne guessed closest with 1,333

(there were 1,328 sweets in the jar). She won half the takings and also the sweets! She kindly donated her winnings of £29 back to the British Heart Foundation.

Staff raised a total of £98.90!

COMPLIMENTSCOMPLIMENTSMiss Rogers would like to thank Nick Brown for...”Carrying out the repair to the boiler. She said he was very polite and did a great job, he was brilliant.”

Mrs Blackwell would like to thank Daniel Yandle for...”Painting work carried out at her property. She wanted to pass on how thrilled she was with the operative. She thought he was very lovely, polite and was clean and tidy whilst carrying out the work.”

Mr Sunderland would like to thank Neil Binnell for...”Running such great support services, thank you.”

Mr Evans would like to thank Naomi Pearson for...”The presentation made as part of the Poppy Project. They really enjoyed it and Evie gained a great deal by being involved in the project.”

Mrs Gizzie would like to thank all of the staff at MHA for...”The perfect service she has received, nothing is too much trouble for MHA. From all at the end of the phone, to the brilliant workforce, all is absolutely tops. The truly great team of girls over at Plas Mawr also do a brilliant job.”

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Coaching & Mentoring (C&M)

The Staff Communications Group have recently had a recommendation approved to widen the availability of C&M for all employees. The Group presented a report to the Senior Management Team after a number of managers underwent a C&M course and could see the worthwhile benefits for all MHA employees.

Coaching and Mentoring are defined as development techniques based on the use of one-to-one discussions to enhance an individual’s skills, knowledge or work performance.

Whilst MHA uses the principles of C&M to carry out One-to-One meetings and PDR’s, the Staff Comms Group felt it was important to provide this opportunity to staff outside of their line management.

Some of the agreed outcomes will include:

• New employees will be appointed a Mentor

• Employees undertaking a professional qualification will be appointed a Mentor

• Employees are able to request Peer Coaching

The process for implementing the scheme is currently being finalised and further information on this will become available in the next few weeks.

6 NATIONS RUGBY 2015 FIXTURES:Friday 6th FebruaryWales v England (20:05)

Saturday 7th FebruaryItaly v Ireland (14:30)France v Scotland (17:00)

Saturday 14th FebruaryEngland v Italy (14:30)Ireland v France (17:00)

Sunday 15th FebruaryScotland v Wales (15:00)

Saturday 28th FebruaryScotland v Ireland (14:30)France v Wales (17:00)

Sunday 1st MarchIreland v England (15:00)

Saturday 14th MarchWales v Ireland (14:30)England v Scotland (17:00)

Sunday 15th MarchItaly v France (15:00)

Saturday 21st MarchItaly v Wales (12:30)Scotland v Ireland (14:30)England v France (17:00)

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GUESS THE SIX NATIONS RUGBY PLAYERS AND WIN TICKETS TO BLUES V OSPREYS!Listed below are scrambled names of rugby players, who are all involved in the Six Nations squads for their country – there is one player for each of the countries participating. Unscramble the names and submit to sian.hughes@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk by March 13th 2015 and you could be in with a chance of winning two tickets to see Cardiff Blues v Ospreys at the Millennium Stadium on April 25th KO 14:30.

1. RMITNA IRASNOCITGNOVA2. ANEU ARMRYU3. IMHUAET DRESBAUAAT4. HSCRI RHOASWB5. AND GIRBGA6. NCAI LAEYH

MENS HEALTH DAY will be held at MHA HQ on February 23rd 2015.Keep an eye out for further information by email and posters in the staff forum.

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Neighbourhood Services is made up of 2 Neighbourhood teams (North & South) and 1 Maintenance team. The Neighbourhood team’s main priority is to enable tenants to manage and sustain their tenancy. This includes:

• Helping tenants manage their rent accounts (and taking appropriate action when they aren’t engaging/paying)

• Dealing with low level anti-social behaviour and estate management concerns

• Providing and signposting tenants to support (internal and external)

• Dealing with general tenancy issues – mutual exchanges, successions etc

• Being proactive in our approach to welfare reform • Working in partnership with other departments

and agencies to ensure our communities are attractive places to live

Likewise the maintenance team is also very varied and they deal with any maintenance issues our tenants are experiencing. The Maintenance Officers are responsible for carrying out pre and post inspections to our tenants’ home. These inspections include:

• Where tenants are unsure of what the problem is or how it has occurred

• Complex technical issues that require an assessment and a solution to address them

• Wide ranging issues such as fencing in gardens to leaks internally and condensation or damp penetration

• Advice and guidance to private owner/occupiers, generally where there is a joint boundary

• Carrying out weekly/monthly tests to the alarms and lighting within our Older Persons Accommodation and compiling all of the statutory information, including Legionella

• Carrying out pre-void inspections and raising any work required to ensure it can be relet and the works are completed within the timescales set.

Within the team our project officer David Hood is solely responsible for delivering the WHQS Environmental Works, this includes tenant consultation, designs for the areas and site management when works are ongoing. His role also includes monitoring the budget ensuring that MHA are achieving Value for Money for the works being carried out and that it is beneficial for the tenants.

Welcome to Neighbourhood Services

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The Bedroom Tax - Dean PhillipsMiss B has lived in her 3-bedroom house since 1998. Miss B suffers with mental health and mobility issues. The introduction of the Bedroom Tax in 2013 meant that Miss B now needed to pay for the two spare bedrooms in her home. The need to find an extra £20 per week from an already limited budget led Miss B back into arrears but with the support from her Neighbourhood Officers (Lauren Francis & Dean Phillips) she has been able to manage these. Miss B has been supported over the last year to successfully make two applications for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) to offset the effect of the Bedroom Tax and to help with travelling costs to attend the support groups that are vital to help her cope with her health issues. The DHPs have enabled her to remain in her home close to her mother who requires daily care for cancer and in a place where she feels safe and close to her family who provide support and enabling her to look after her grandchildren in a suitable property.

The Best Possible Outcome - Alison BromhamI contacted Miss A as I could see from her rent account that she was struggling financially and was also affected by bedroom tax.

She felt confused and did not know which way to turn as she had other debts building up and was currently working with Mind to try and resolve these issues. There were also family problems, which resulted in her own daughter going into foster care as she felt it was the best solution to safeguard her daughter’s wellbeing.

The stress caused to Miss A as a result of the debt and personal issues, as well as trying to hold down a full-time job took its toll on her and she ended up on the sick.

Sarah and I visited the tenant with the support worker and although we were limited in what we could do as they had already provided the relevant financial and debt help/advice. We all agreed that it would be

beneficial for Miss A to move to a smaller property to negate the additional burden the bedroom tax was placing on her.

A few days later I received a mutual exchange application along with supporting letters from Social Services and Support Workers asking that we accept the exchange and support the reasons for the move and advised us that she had found someone to exchange with outside of the area. I had hoops and barriers to get through as there were a few issues that could stop the move E.g. Rent arrears and rechargeable repairs, however I worked with my line manager to make the move happen and set up a payment plan with the tenant to ensure any outstanding monies were repaid.

I got the go ahead for the exchange and arranged for the exchange to take place the morning of the 15th much to everyone’s delight as there was a hearing on the 19th December as to whether her daughter could go and live with her at the property.

I received a voice message on the evening of the 19th saying that her daughter had been allowed to return to live with her at the new address. She thanked me for all my help and assistance in helping and pushing for the exchange to happen and it was the best Christmas present she could have asked for, but sad to be leaving me as she had been my tenant for nearly 14 years when she first came through the homeless route.

Neighbourhood Services ComplimentsA private owner thanked Suzanne Powell for her joint work with a tenant and the private owner and the way she explained both parties’ responsibilities.

Nigel Casson - had a note left him from a lady who had moved out of her property thanking him for his kindness and help.

David Hood and Jane Philpott received a compliment from the lady, for the way they conducted the WHQS meeting held on 30th January 2015.

Neighbourhood Case Studies

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Life Changing Steve Hamer Aged 32 It’s hard to know where to start with my story, as when I look back, there were some very obvious warning signs of what was going on - but nobody seemed to pick up on them.

Ever since I’d been at university, I’d given up on my running - I went from being part of the Greater Manchester team at 17 to smoking 20 a day and drinking far too much whilst at university.

My job as a Regional Account Manager meant I spent 50k miles / year in my car, living out of a kit bag in hotels plus living it up on rich food and booze on my expense account.

It all came to a head one day in late January 2011 when I had an aching chest and arms. That evening, I cooked dinner and sat down with my wife to eat. I started to feel ill, feeling a little nauseous and didn’t feel like eating. This then got worse - I left the dining table, and ended up on the floor in the lounge - for some reason, I put myself into the recovery position, whilst screaming in agony. Katie then called 999.

The paramedic was with us within a few minutes, he gave me aspirin, then hooked me up to an ECG machine before resorting to a clot buster, which is

what probably saved my life. Finally the ambulance arrived and they rushed me into a local hospital before being transferred to the Heath in Cardiff.

I was pretty much rushed straight into theatre - I’d had a near total blockage of my left anterior descending artery and was incredibly lucky to have survived the night. This blockage is usually known as ‘the widow maker’, as it mostly affects men and usually kills them.

I was in hospital for a week - then had a 2nd operation to have a precautionary angioplasty and stent fitted to a secondary artery.

Once released, I was referred to the local cardio rehab unit by the consultant. The recommendation was to start walking, it was hard work initially, I could barely walk 400 metres. But after 6 weeks or so, they considered me fit enough to start with the rehab classes. These classes are supported by BHF funding and BHF funded nurses. They take place at local gyms and provide a safe and controlled environment to help cardio patients recover from their traumas. I soon joined my local gym and embarked on a programme of gentle cardio and weights to build my fitness.

No Smoking Day is the annual big push by the British Heart Foundation to get smokers who want to quit started on the path to being ‘Proud Quitters’.Proud to be a Quitter presents quitting as something to be proud of, and ‘Quitters’ as people to be admired. BHF recognise that smokers each have their own reasons for wanting to quit.

The first No Smoking Day was in 1983. Back then there were twice as many smokers in the UK as there are today, so something’s going right.

Over 10 million people in the UK still smoke, and around 100,000 die every year from smoking-related causes. That’s 100,000 deaths too many.

The campaign is run by the British Heart Foundation and helps smokers who want to quit by creating a supportive environment, and by highlighting the many sources of help and advice available.

The fact remains, No Smoking Day is one of the most cost-effective health interventions of its kind, and its success depends on you.

If you are quitting smoking please let us know!

www.nosmokingday.org.uk15

NO SMOKING DAY11TH MARCH 2015

I stopped smoking, had cut back alcohol and was attending a gym 3-4 times a week! Before I went back to work, I’d climbed Pen Y Fan - I think we did this around 6 weeks post heart attack. It wasn’t recommended and it wasn’t easy!

I set myself the challenge to do the BHF Santa Run in Bute Park in December 2011 and started structured classes at the gym. I also signed up to the Caerphilly 10km, whilst I struggled to finish I thoroughly enjoyed it! From this I started doing Parkrun in Parc Bryn Bach, which has lead to me being an active member of the Parc Bryn Bach Running Club. My running shoes are always with me and packed for every business trip.

Finally… we’ve both signed up to run the Berlin 25k race in May this year. Some people call me mad!

It has been a long trip to what I’d call a ‘full’ recovery and my last ultrasound showed that I’ve recovered a lot of what I lost in my heart attack and is now around 50% efficient. Normal range is 55-70%.

Katie still volunteers in the local BHF shop one morning a week and I try to do one event a year to raise money and awareness for them - as I wouldn’t have made it this far if their rehab team from BHF hadn’t initially inspired me!

Information booklets available from HR

Sian Hughes is ‘wheeling’ the Swindon Half Marathon in aid of the British Heart Foundation on October 11th 2015 and is always looking for

people to run/train with her!

by Philippa Worgan

EuropeanCruise

16 Barcelona

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Joe and I got married in December 2013 but didn’t go on a honeymoon straight away as we wanted to save a bit more money to be able to go on a longer holiday. Joe doesn’t really like flying so as much as I tried to persuade him we eventually settled on going on a 16 night cruise with Royal Caribbean in September. The ship was amazing, much more impressive than I had imagined. There were fabulous restaurants and bars, an ice skating rink, theatre and gym and spa on board. We departed from Southampton and had 3 days at sea before our first destination – Gibraltar. Here we climbed up to the top of Gibraltar rock which took us through the nature reserve where we saw lots of the famous monkeys.

We stopped at several places in Italy – Rome, Florence, Pisa and Sardinia. Rome was full of history and beautiful art work. We visited the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican and the incredibly conserved Coliseum. Florence was one of my favourite places, full of restaurants and shops! Can’t say we thought much of Sardinia, it was quite dirty and we couldn’t wait to get back on the ship!

We stopped in the south of France at a picturesque port called Villefranche. From here we travelled by train on a short journey to Monte Carlo, Monaco which is famous for its Grand Prix and Casinos. It was amazing to see all the yachts and flash cars, it was very clear that it was certainly a playground for multi-millionaires!

We stopped at several other cities such as Barcelona, Malaga, Seville and Lisbon. I was a bit sceptical about going on a cruise as I thought we would be the only young couple on board! However, it was very family orientated and there were all sorts of ages and nationalities on board. We met an American couple from Columbus, Ohio whilst on the ship and subsequently spent a lot of time with them and have kept in touch since. They are coming over to the UK in the summer and are staying a few nights in Wales so we will meet up with them again.

Overall, it was a great way of seeing so many countries in a relatively small space of time and we would go on another cruise, perhaps the Norwegian Fjords next time.

EuropeanCruise

Rome

Gibraltar

Lisbon

Villefranche

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Cheryl TracyNeighbourhood

Services Manager

I started my career in housing as a Trainee Housing Officer in 2010 after a number of soul-destroying years working for a loans company! My trainee role gave me invaluable experience as I was able to move around different departments, as well as study an MA part-time which gave me a solid understanding of the wider issues affecting the sector. I moved from this role to Community Investment Coordinator in 2011 where I was responsible for community projects and activities across the County until recently.

I’m really excited to be joining the Neighbourhood Services Team and I feel lucky to have such a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience within the team, which will be important to pool together and utilise to combat some of the pressing external challenges facing us in the next few years. We’re already making great progress and have some exciting ideas for the future – Watch this space!!

Amy BrinePartnership and

Projects Manager

My housing career began 10 years ago when I joined the Disabled Facilities Grants team in Monmouthshire County Council, part time, whilst I studied for a degree in Business and Legal Studies which I successfully completed. After 9 months I took the role of admin housing support officer in the Abergavenny Area Office with the Housing Team, I continued within this role during and after stock transfer.

After a restructure, post transfer, I became a Lettings Officer, which included the setting up of the Lettings team along with developing multi agency Partnership working. I felt it was a fantastic opportunity for me to specialise in a role within housing; I also gained a CIH Certificate in Housing. I progressed to Senior Lettings Officer and started managing a team, which is when I completed the ILM Level 3; I am currently working on ILM Level 5.

Recently I became the Partnership and Projects Manager which is a big step and am very much looking forward to embracing the next level of responsibility. The role is very diverse and involves managing the Lettings team, Community Safety Team, Leaseholder and Right To Buy, Projects and Policy along with Welfare Reform. I am really looking forward to meeting the challenges facing the team over the next 12 months and also learning from the wealth of knowledge and experience that the P&P team have.

New Roles for Staff

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DIY TIPSNEW

By Scott Collier

Colliers 10 Commandments:1. Prepare well ( The more time you give

to preparation the less time you’ll spend on the task).

2. Give yourself plenty of time (Nothing worse than an unfinished project).

3. Use the right tool for the right job. (ie. Don’t use a screwdriver as a chisel or vice versa).

4. Have everything you think you need to hand. (Better to be looking at it than looking for it).

5. Don’t leave yourself short of materials. (It’s easier to return leftover material ie. paint, wallpaper etc. Than to have to run around looking for more if you fall short).

6. Check batch numbers on materials.

7. Always use appropriate PPE.

8. Always use good quality ladders/steps/hop ups etc. (Not the rickety old chair out the shed).

9. Keep children/pets out of the way.

10. If in doubt ask!

Michele MorganCareer Progression to

Assistant Director of Housing & Communities

My career in housing started in 1993 when I became the Area Housing Assistant for Monmouthshire County Council. After the reorganisation in 1996, my role was Home Ownership Officer for MCC which was a new role for the authority and involved working with members of the public and landlords in the areas of low cost ownership, right to buy and leasehold management.

In 2000 I became the Strategy and Policy Officer for homelessness and private housing which involved working on the Homelessness Strategy, reviewing temporary accommodation and working with private landlords. In 2005 I returned to front line work as Area Housing Manager for the South of Monmouthshire, as well as working on the merger of area housing teams in preparation of stock transfer.

I transferred to Monmouthshire Housing Association (MHA) during the stock transfer in 2008. In 2011 I took the role of Partnership and Project Manager, which is a challenging role and included the setting up of the Homesearch Service, the Community Safety Team, embedding tenant insight, developing leasehold management and leading on policy and project work such as preparing for welfare reform.

In January this year I took up the role of Assistant Director of Housing & Communities which is an exciting opportunity, a fresh challenge and an opportunity to see what I am capable of!

During my career I have studied whilst working full time and attained an Undergraduate Degree in Business and Finance and a Post Grad in Housing. I am also a Corporate Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and am currently working towards my ILM Level 5 Certificate in Leadership & Management.

I’ve seen many changes throughout my housing career but feel that since transfer MHA has been in control of its own destiny and has seen the organisation go from strength to strength. “We are not where we want to be yet but we’re certainly heading in the right direction and it’s great to be part of this journey.”

This year the Race for Life 5km in Cwmbran is being held on Sunday 21st June at 11am. Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life is a series of 5k or 10k women-only fundraising events, which are raising money for research to help beat all 200 types of cancer sooner.

Last year 8 MHA employees took part in the Race for Life, this year they are looking for more people to join them – if you want to take part in the Race for Life with your colleagues please contact louise.davies@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk.

Louise and Philippa are also taking part in the Pretty Muddy Cardiff 5km in July 2015.

www.raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org20

5 Tips for Reducing Sedentary Behaviour from the British Heart Foundation Heart Matters Magazine1. Try to take regular breaks from looking at a

screen. If watching television, get up in every ad break. At work, walk away from your computer screen at regular intervals.

2. Stand instead of sitting when you can. Try it for short periods while watching television, in meetings, at your desk or while on the phone.

3. At work, walk over to colleagues instead of emailing or phoning them.

4. Plan in some active time when you are usually sedentary. For example, in the evenings, consider an exercise class, going for a walk or cooking a healthy meal from scratch instead of heating a ready meal.

5. Set time limits on sedentary behaviour. It might be that you limit television to an hour in the evening or that you ban yourself from reading emails or using the internet for a certain period in the day. If you have a family, it’s great for everyone to follow these limits.

Here are a selection of “Pickles” that you have awarded to your colleagues recently:

Margaret Langley has ‘pickled’ Bill Fitzpatrick and Alan Webber for… “buying and delivering Christmas presents of slippers and a number of other small presents for an elderly tenant who has been living in relatively poor circumstances over recent years. I am sure these were much appreciated.”

Cath Murray has ‘pickled’ Jane Grayer for… “helping with bringing in a Way into Work volunteer this week and last week. Thank you for supporting this young man and giving him encouragement during your journey to and from work.”

Domini Barnes has ‘pickled’ Rob Absalom and Phil Gething for... “dealing with a huge influx of works and just getting on with it despite working in wind, rain and cold weathers.”

Rob Carey has ‘pickled’ Claire Dunning for… “helpful advice to the TP team and going the extra mile.”

Tania O’Neil has ‘pickled’ Karren Davies for… “logging onto the phones remotely on her day off to see if the fault was rectified. Thank you!”

Do you think your colleagues should be recognised for their additional work efforts? Going above and beyond customer expectation and showing a good service. Then award them a pickle via InHouse.

A prize will be awarded to the employee with the most pickles during the quarter.

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How to turn your ideas for MHA into £50Each quarter the Staff Communications Group consider your GEMS Staff Suggestions and award £50 to the winning idea.

So what makes a winning idea?Ideas should benefit MHA through improvements in service delivery, quality and/or effectiveness. They are not necessarily about saving money but they must demonstrate an improvement for staff and/or our customers that are in line with MHA Values.

The Group will assess the feasibility of implementation of the idea, through consultation with the relevant service manager, and subject to this, will then nominate a winner.

How do I submit a GEMS Staff Suggestion?You can either complete a card and post it into one of the suggestion boxes situated on each floor in HQ, complete an on-line form on In House, or send an email to Carol Thompson, HR Team.

What happens if there is no winning Suggestion?The group are able to allocate a ‘roll-over’ for a deserving suggestion in the following quarter.

See page 31 for a selection of your GEMS.

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Member of the Board

by Cheryl Tracy

I wanted to become a board member as I believe a decent and safe home is essential for individuals and families to feel part of society and is a prerequisite to health, wellbeing, employment and happiness. Housing Associations, their boards and staff have a unique and important role to play to ensure that decent housing is accessible to every member of society, regardless of income. Becoming a board member was also an opportunity to give back to a sector which I have benefitted from greatly as an individual.

The role of board member includes working as a collective in the best interests of the housing association. Examples of what this entails include; approving major strategies, reviewing performance, managing risk and ensuring we’re adhering to our business plan and loan covenants. We meet once a month and the papers are sent in advance of the meeting giving us plenty of time to query anything we’re not sure about and prepare for the board meeting. During the meeting itself, board members are guided through the agenda by staff and each one is discussed, giving the board the opportunity to scrutinise, provide advice and also praise! After each discussion decisions or recommendations are made and agreed.

Going forward it will become even more important for boards to contain a mix of skills, experiences and knowledge. The external environment that we’re working within is rapidly changing, bringing

substantial challenges with it. The most obvious is the threat posed by Universal Credit which will fundamentally change our relationship with our customers and also see an increase in resources needed to potentially collect less income. There is also the headache of accessing finance at attractive borrowing rates at a time where we’re seeing traditional grants diminish, which poses particular challenges to developing housing associations. For LSVTs in particular there is also the risk of being locked into areas of economic and social decline which can have a knock-on effect to the desirability of our homes. Finally, as we’re seeing cuts to both local authorities and the third sector, housing associations are in many respects “the last man standing” in our communities left to plug the increasing number of gaps, however I’m certain that as a sector we can meet the challenges ahead.

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Rowing the London Marathon by Bill FitzPatrickMy sporting background is playing rugby, football, cricket and racket sports and also running. I have raced on the road, cross-country and ran a few half and full marathons, with my best marathon time of 2.49 and my PB for the half was around 1.15. Later in life, when my knees gave up on me, I started indoor rowing and bought a Concept2 Model C which is in my garage. It’s a great bit of kit and gives you a full body as well as a great heart & lung workout. I started rowing in 2007 and rowed about 2.2 million meters in the first year but only managed just over a million last year – still quite a bit I suppose.

Thinking I needed a goal, I decided that I’d make an occasion of London Marathon. I’ve run London twice and it’s a fantastic event to be involved in, but now that I can no longer run it, I’m going to row the full marathon distance over the two days, (25th & 26th April) half marathon distance on each day totalling 42,195 meters or 26.2 miles. I’m not too bothered about time but it would be nice to do it in under three hours in total.

Given that my fitness is pretty poor at the moment it’s going to be hard work. Whereas normally my

attitude to rowing is to keep pushing to improve time, I need to discipline myself to make sure I’ve got the stamina to do the distance. One of the tough things about indoor rowing is the mental aspect, bearing in mind that as far as the surroundings are concerned you are wholly static and that the action is completely repetitive; it can be soul destroying. I train in my garage at home and have a TV set up so I can keep my mind occupied, but this can sometimes mean that you lose focus on the session. My aim is to be rowing around 30-40k a week in 3-4 sessions.

Rowing is great from the point of view of losing a bit of weight. My attitude is that it’s such hard work that when you’ve done it, you don’t want to blow the effort on unhealthy living. Added to the fact that it’s quite calorie intensive as a form of exercise, if you can maintain a regime for a few months or longer, it’ll keep you in good shape.

I’ve just done my first few week’s training – starting off with fairly short but very, very hard sessions, which tells me that it’s going to be a long road (metaphorically speaking). Let’s hope it gets better pretty quickly!!

1,752 Followers

On Twitter? Why not follow us @mon_housing

Proud to be sponsoring the National Cyclo-championships in Abergavenny this weekend, pop along to watch a great event.

Tweet (@Mon_Housing)

Sponsorship helps local communities purchase life saving equipment plus training 22 volunteers on using the PAD’s.

Tweet (@Mon_Housing)

Monmouthshire Homesearch enabled 417 families across the county to find affordable housing in 2014...

Tweet (@Mon_Housing)

Our new accommodation for over 60’s in Monmouth is now available to register via Homesearch. 1&2 bed apartments...

Tweet (@Mon_Housing)

@Post16_MYS @Mon_Housing Congratulations on a fab week with WiW – two job outcomes in one day! #teamwork #supportingyoungpeople

Tweet (@TraceyT13)

Meet our Tenant & Resident Involvement Support Officer @Jessie_MHA follow her for the latest updates on Tenant Participation.

Tweet (@Mon_Housing)

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1,288 TweetsFollowing 336 Karen WilliamsThis is the second Dry January that we’ve done. Thankfully my partner is up for the challenge too so we can support each other. We don’t drink a lot, but the biggest hurdle is a Friday evening after a busy week at work and we’re trying not to think about our usual way of chilling out with a good bottle of red. Our way of getting through the weekend without alcohol is to fool ourselves with different non-alcoholic drinks, served up in a special glass with ice and a slice. I do feel good for going ‘Dry’ that might be just because it’s achieving a challenge. We will be faltering slightly this year because we have a weekend away at the end of the month and the 31st January falls on the Saturday – I will be putting my watch forward several hours on that day.

Becky HogginsI decided to take part in the Dry January challenge this year. I wanted to do this for three reasons, the first to prove to myself that I can go a whole month without alcohol which I did, in fact I stopped drinking on New Years Eve, the second reason was to boost some weight loss because I’m getting married in July this year and the third reason because Cancer Research is a charity close to my heart.

I found the challenge hard at times, usually on a Friday after work because I felt I deserved a glass (or bottle) of wine to celebrate the weekend, and for getting through the week. I found one Saturday evening so hard, all I could think about was enjoying a glass of wine so to take my mind off it I put my running kit on and ran for 3 miles – this definitely stopped the urge.

I have felt healthier, more active, and less lethargic due to not drinking and am considering keeping it up until I reach my target weight. Since January I have felt so good that I have been running 3 to 4 miles four times a week, and I lost 12lbs in 4 weeks as well. I am on target to lose another 14lbs before my Hen Do in May.

I feel great for completing the challenge, and intend to continue this healthy lifestyle forever, well at least until I’m married!

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CuIsine Corner

Welcome to Cuisine Corner! We all love food and it’s always good to get some inspiration from others about what to cook and where to go. Each edition, we want some tantalisingly tasty, tried and tested recipes and reviews to feature in Cuisine Corner.

Restaurant ReviewCripple Creek, RaglanBy Maria Williams

I used my winning voucher to go to the Cripple Creek, Raglan. Having grown up in Raglan and at the time living a stone’s throw away from the restaurant it seemed the most obvious choice.

The Cripple Creek is situated just outside Raglan on the Old Abergavenny Road and I always find it to have a friendly and cosy atmosphere, especially in winter with the log fire roaring. Sunday lunches are always a good bet, although it can get busy so I would suggest booking in peak times. Food is served 12:00 - 2:30pm and 6:00 - 9:30pm every day.

Both my mother and I have both worked at the Cripple Creek for a previous owner, although it looked very different at the time.

The current owners have not only changed the layout but over time have built up a fantastic reputation for good quality, home cooked food, priding themselves on using very locally sourced produce.

I took my mum and brother, Anthony along who was visiting from his home in New Zealand. We really enjoyed the food and reminiscing about growing up in the local area.

Staff were friendly and helpful and although we enjoyed our starters of Asparagus with Parma ham, Pigeon (Slightly chewy in places) and deep fried brie, our main courses were the real star of the show. The venison in redcurrant sauce was rich and deep in flavour and Pork in Calvados with herbs was cooked to perfection. All dishes have the option of a variety of potatoes and vegetables and if there was something you particularly wanted I am sure the staff would do their best to accommodate.

Being as the bill was pretty much covered, all that was left for us to do was to fight over that last glass of wine! Thank you MHA – a pleasant evening and one I would thoroughly recommend.

RECIPEBanana Oatmeal Smoothie

Ingredients for Banana Oat Smoothie:• 1/2 Banana• 1/2 Cup of Plain Greek Yogurt• 1/2 Cup Skim (Fat-Free) Milk• 1/4 Cup 100% Whole Grain

Rolled Oats (Oatmeal)• 2 Teaspoons Flaxseeds• 1 Teaspoon Honey• 1/2 Cup of IceNutritional Info:• 281 Calories• 19g Protein• 4g Fibre

Making this smoothie is pretty simple, all you need to do is add all the ingredients into the blender and let it do its thing. For the oatmeal make sure it doesn’t have any extra ingredients in it. Look for 100% whole grain oats as the only ingredient.

If you would like to share your ideas with us, then please get in touch with the Corporate Services Team.

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Sponsorship Applications 2014Each year MHA have a budget to help local community groups by giving sponsorship for a wide variety of things such as purchasing equipment (including sports equipment) and help towards putting events on. The community groups submit an application form to MHA and the Directors decide if the sponsorship is granted. To date in 2014/2015 MHA has given sponsorship to the value of £31,000 for a variety of projects including:

Monmouth Off Street Project – Skate Park

Defibrillators for remote areas – Llangybi, Coed-y-Paen and Llandegfedd. The defibrillators are part funded by MHA and the British Heart Foundation. Before installing the defibrillators, 20 residents undertook training on how to use them.

Usk CIW Primary School – Provision of sports wear.

Monmouthshire County Council – National Road Cycling Race around Monmouthshire. MHA provided a childs mountain bike for the winner of the jigsaw puzzle competition in Monmouthshire.

Mardy Juniors FC – MHA helped towards the cost of purchasing sports wear for the young team.

Usk in Bloom – MHA helped towards the costs of hanging baskets and flowers. Eight hanging baskets were provided at our Plas Mawr complex as part of the competition.

Abergavenny Baby and Toddler Show – which was hosted in Abergavenny in October 2014.

Monmouthshire County CAB – MHA awarded sponsorship to help provide more training and extend the service to more areas within Monmouthshire. The grant is split over two years.

Children First Llanarth – MHA have helped support Children First by providing them with sensory equipment for a sensory playroom for children with special needs. The room is based in Llanarth Village Hall and will open in February 2015.

Cyclocross 2015 – MHA helped towards the cost of Abergavenny Road Club hosting the 2015 National Cyclocross Championships; part of the course was named after MHA!

White Ribbon Rugby Event – Monmouthshire County Council worked with Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women to hold a day of rugby in Monmouth Comprehensive School to raise awareness of violence against women. Guest stars included Scott Quinnell and the young players from Newport Gwent Dragons. MHA helped towards the cost of the event.

Monmouthshire County CAB

Cyclocross 2015

Mountain Bike Prize Winner

Defibrillators for Remote Areas

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Medieval Manor House Llanthony Secunda Manor, Monmouth – Friday 27th February 2015 (£59)

Many visitors that have visited here have reported hearing voices, as well as seeing people walking in the gardens. Items that have been left in one place are often moved, or even placed into different rooms. The tower room at the top of this medieval mansion is one of the darkest areas. Will you be brave enough to undertake a lone vigil in this area? How long will you be able to stay for?

www.simplyparanormal.co.uk

Andy Parsons ‘Live and Unleashed – But Naturally Cautious’Savoy Theatre Church Street, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, NP25 3BU, Saturday 14 March 2015

With four sell out national tours, three DVD releases and a special for Comedy Central already under his belt, Andy Parsons, is back on the road in 2014 and coming to Monmouth. “Hysterical live show. Andy Parsons is on fire” The Mirror. Licensed bar.

8:00pm Tickets: £15.00 direct from the theatre or by phone 01600 772467 or online: www.monmouth-savoy.co.uk

Is our climate really changing?

18th March 2015 7.30 – 9.00pm, Chepstow Leisure Centre,

A GWT Chepstow Local Group evening talk

Speaker: Andrew Baker, who will give an illustrated talk on this vital subject.

www.gwentwildlife.org

Three Peaks Trial Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 5HD, Saturday 28 March 2015

The Three Peaks Trial is an organised challenge walk arranged each year in March by the Cardiff Outdoor Group. Since 2010 Longtown Mountain Rescue Team provide support with marshalls on all the mountain top checkpoints. The walk was first held in March 1963 and was designed for less experienced walkers who wanted to test their powers of endurance and skill at map reading. It is now the oldest challenge walk in the UK. Over the years the event has been modified so in 2015 there is a choice of four other routes. The current four routes are: Platinum Route: This is a linear walk of about 17 miles and 5000’ of ascent from Llanthony Abbey to Abergavenny over Bal Mawr, Pen Cerrig Calch and Sugar Loaf. Entry to the Platinum Route is limited to 200.

www.threepeakstrial.co.uk

Chepstow Annual Walking Festival Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Thursday 9 April 2015 to Sunday 12 April 2015

Join us for three days of walking fun! Guided walks led by local experts who will be showcasing the very best that Chepstow and the Lower Valley has to offer. The walks will involve parts of the Offa’s Dyke Path, Wye Valley Walk, Wales Coast Path, the Gloucestershire Way plus other less known routes. Walks vary in length from 3 – 12 miles. There is something for everyone, including dog walkers, Welsh speakers and families. Chepstow is an accredited Walkers are Welcome town supported by local businesses. Free parking for all those that take part. Full programme available online from mid February at www.walksinchepstow.co.uk or alternatively at Chepstow Tourist Information Centre. Tel 01291 641856

www.walksinchepstow.co.uk

Social Events

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DSOOur lunch was organised by Rhiannon Taylor and a fabulous choice she made; The Hall Inn at Gwehelog.

We all had a fabulous time and great food. All served piping hot and all together. So there was no one finishing as someone started. I would definitely recommend The Hall Inn for a meal.

Neighbourhood Teams (North, South and Maintenance)Our Christmas lunch was held once again this year at the Horseshoe Pub, Mamhilad, and as has become the norm in recent years, organised most capably by Karen Doyle.

The food, service and venue were all good, fun was had by all and no complaints. The only blip was Karen saying she is handing over the mantle as she has now arranged three for us. Will anyone step up to the plate for next year I ask myself?

The ‘Secret Santa’ was also the source of much hilarity as recipients tried to guess their Santa’s identity. Although one didn’t need to guess as their kind Santa – (mentioning no names at this stage), signed their gift tag.

Competition was fierce for the best Christmas jumper. Everyone was declared the winner as the standard was so high this year.

Property ServicesOur Christmas lunch was organised by Rachael Hopkins. We dined at The Little Crown in Wainfelin.

The theme was that we all wore something Christmassy, most wore jumpers (very festive). Before we had lunch we opened our ‘Secret Santa’ pressies and pulled crackers. Lunch was well presented and very tasty. A good time was had by all.

Resources & Corporate ServicesThe Resources and Corporate Services Team lunch was organised by Carol Thompson and we went to The Little Crown in Wainfelin. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed their meals which were served quickly on arrival. I think everyone would recommend going to The Little Crown again for a meal.

Financial Inclusion, Community Investment and Tenant Participation On the 2nd December, 13 of us went to the Yew Tree in the afternoon for our team Christmas lunch and we all wore our Christmas jumpers to get into the festive spirit. We had picked our meals beforehand from the set menu, which was reasonably priced with lots of delicious choices to choose from. We all took part in Secret Santa & exchanged our gifts before the meal, we tried to guess who had bought what present for what person once they had opened their gift (this was very amusing). The starters came and they were very yummy; these included goat’s cheese & balsamic onion, homemade soup and pate with sweet chilli chutney. Then came the mains which were even more scrumptious & huge and finally the desserts which ended our Christmas lunch & went down a treat! The food and the service we received was fantastic and we were all left feeling very full & sleepy when we returned to work for the afternoon!

Christmas Lunches 2014

Every Friday Matt Taylor will be posting a Money Saving Tip onto the homepage of In House. Keep your eye out and see how you could be saving!

A budget done correctly is the most precise tool for analysing your finances imaginable. It answers two key questions...

1. Do I spend more than I earn?An instinctive assessment is easy - if you’re eating up your savings or building up debts, you’re likely to be overspending. Yet before you can solve this it’s important to get an accurate idea of the size and scale of the problem.

2. What can I afford to spend?Once you know where you’re spending, you can start to alter and prioritise what you do with your money to enable you to stick within your means.

More helpful information on how to budget correctly is in this short video: http://youtu.be/WCQFgMAVcUQ

We are currently working towards improving In House and making it more interactive for staff. We will be looking to launch the new site in March. If you have any suggestions or would like to be on the project group, please contact Louise Davies on 2104.

Matts Money Saving Tips

In House Upgrade

This and much, MUCH more can be found on

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Direct Payment Pilot Project Our Direct Payment Pilot project is now live. We have successfully signed up 49 existing tenants who will receive their Housing Benefit payments into their bank account and will be responsible for paying their rent directly to MHA.

Tenants received their first direct Housing Benefit payment on the 27th January 2015. Cally will be working with tenants throughout the project to ensure they are aware of the various ways to pay rent to MHA and to monitor the level of support tenants require.

All new tenants are also being assessed by Homesearch to see if they are eligible to join the Direct Payment Pilot Project with the number of tenants on the project expected to reach 200.

We are working closely with the Housing Benefit team on this project who have agreed to give varied payment dates for our new tenants which will help us replicate Universal Credit as best as we can.

The next few months will give us a unique opportunity to learn more about our tenants and their payment habits, it will also give us a valuable insight as to what support they might need in the future when Universal Credit is implemented.

Cally McCarthy

PRESS RELEASES

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If you have a suggestion and to be in with a chance of winning £50, please complete a GEMS form via In House or using the cards and GEMS post boxes allocated around building.

Instead of the music we use when people are on hold. Use this to advertise/promote our services and inform people about events, meetings and estate walkabouts being held etc. Still with IT. Not Resolved Have a managers reward toolkit, for example when the team have carried out a project and has gone really well or have had to cover at short notice due to sickness, a small additional reward for the team for their efforts by taking them for a bacon roll and a coffee before work or at lunch time - just to say thanks and remind them they are appreciated. When you have a team of four or more it can be expensive for the manager to pay themselves - however there would have to be a limit to how much and how many times it can be used.Karen Williams to take to SMT to discuss process.

To have a facility to purchase stamps either via petty cash or have a stamp machine. Finance comments - Occasionally people ask if they can post their own personal letters through the machine and give us the cash to cover it. However this is based on trust that people tell us. We don’t want this to become a common practice as monitoring it would be a nightmare. We can’t buy stamps any cheaper than anywhere else either so there would be no benefit to staff. Facilities agreed.

Have an area where people can go and de-stress - a quiet room with mood lighting i.e. something like “the egg” a 15 min relaxation machine - just a small room that if you are poorly you can go - like the nurses office when you were in school.Bed ordered by Facilities to be placed in shower room.

Walking Desk. To share amongst departments on a daily rota. To raise moral and enthusiasm as well as keeping fit.Sue Kidd looking into practicalities. CSA to test.

To order sick bags for first aid boxes. (Incident when employee was feeling sick, no facilities).Mary Mills to order.

Update and keep updated email distribution list on Outlook and In House with correct job titles, tel numbers and remove individuals that no longer work here. Most new starters refer to this, so important to keep updated.IT to check and update from list of employees and posts from HR. IT requested anyone who spots an incorrect piece of information to tell them. Employees are able to add/change their phone number on In House.

It would be handy to have a description of the meeting rooms on the booking page, where it is, number of people it holds, what equipment is available inside...IT has started to do this.

Any employee phoning in sick leave for the third time or more in a 12 month period to phone their Director or HR Manager to report their sickness. This should act as a further deterrent for people phoning in and having short sick absences.Karen Williams - The sickness management procedures mirror our Capability Procedure, so a Director and the HR Manager can only be involved if the formal procedure reaches the appropriate stage. It is important for managers to speak to employees when they ring in sick regardless of the number of occasions to clarify work requirements.

Suggestion

Action

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MHA0254

Don’t forget to tell our tenants that they can

use this page to keep up-to-date with all the

latest events and activities we have going on

within their communities.

www.facebook.com/Monmouthshire.Housing

www.facebook.com/MHACommunityBuzz

We now have 2 active Facebook pages180 Likes

95 Likes