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Inspection report

August 2005

Housing Services Corby Borough Council

p 2 Corby Borough Council - Housing Services

Contents Summary 3

Scoring the service 4

Recommendations 7

Report 9

Context 9

The locality 9

The Council 9

The housing service and inspection 10

How good is the service? 11

Diversity 12

Access and customer care 13

Value for money 16

Stock investment and asset management 18

Housing income management 23

Resident involvement 24

Tenancy and estate management 26

Allocations and letting 30

Homelessness and housing needs 32

Supported and sheltered housing 36

Summary 37

What are the prospects for improvement to the service? 39

What is the evidence of service improvement? 39

How good are the current improvement plans? 41

Will improvements be delivered? 42

Summary 44

Appendices 46

Documents reviewed 46

Reality checks undertaken 46

List of people interviewed 47

Corby Borough Council – Housing Services p 3

Summary 1 Corby Borough Council is a district council in the north of the county of

Northamptonshire in England. Corby was designated a New Town in 1951, based on the local expansion of the steel industry. The population is 53,174, living in 22,610 households of which 1.7 per cent are from minority ethnic communities. A large proportion of the population originates from Scotland and from Ireland.

2 The Council is Labour-led, with 18 of the 29 seats.

3 The 2004/05 general fund revenue budget is £6.9 million. The Council employs around 400 staff across all services.

4 The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) expenditure budget for 2004/05 is £16.2 million. The budget for general management costs for 2004/05 is £3.5 million and for repairs and maintenance £2.6 million.

5 An inspection of Corby’s housing services, covering housing management, resident involvement, homelessness, housing need and supported housing, took place in March 2003 when the service was judged to be ‘poor’ (zero stars), but with promising prospects of improvement.

6 A further inspection, to which this report relates, took place during October 2004 and included a re-inspection of the housing services covered. Regeneration was not a specific element of this inspection.

7 This report includes only those parts of the service first inspected in March 2003.


Scoring the service 8 We have assessed Corby Borough Council as providing a ‘poor’, no-star service

that has ‘uncertain’ prospects for improvement. Our judgements are based on the evidence obtained during the inspection and are outlined below.

Scoring chart1: Corby Borough Council – Housing Services

Prospects for improvement?

Promising

Excellent

Uncertain

Poor

Poor

Excellent

GoodFair

A good service?

9 Housing in services in Corby are ‘poor’ because of the following.

A number of the recommendations made in the previous inspection have not been addressed. Of those that have, some are showing consistent improvement, whilst others have deteriorated or performance is inconsistent. For example, performance in making homes decent has improved but performance in dealing with both emergency and non-urgent repairs has deteriorated between 2002/03 and 2003/04.

Out of a total of 42 recommendations in the previous report, 13 have been fully met, 14 in part but 15 not met at all.

The centralised office facilities are cramped, and at times congested. The offices do not yet fully comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, although plans are in place, and have limited opening hours.

Frontline staff have had limited service training and no training in diversity awareness. The services do not comply with the Commission for Racial Equality code of practice for rented housing.

There is very limited information about the housing service for those people whose first language is not English or for those with a sensory impairment.

Aids and adaptations to properties are not dealt with promptly. At present, people receive a different level of service depending upon their tenure.

1 The scoring chart displays performance in two dimensions. The horizontal axis shows how good the

service or function is now, on a scale ranging from no stars for a service that is poor (at the left-hand end) to three stars for an excellent service (right-hand end). The vertical axis shows the improvement prospects of the service, also on a four-point scale.

‘a poor service that has uncertain prospects for improvement’


Service standards are in place for some services, but not all, and the standards are not consistently published and available for customers nor consistently monitored.

Value for money within housing management services has not been robustly tested as was recommended in the previous report.

The responsive repairs service has substantial backlogs. This was the case during our previous inspection, when efforts were made to clear it, but a backlog has now appeared again. Too large a proportion of repairs are dealt with as emergency or urgent.

Gas servicing is failing to meet minimum statutory standards. This is a health and safety issue.

The repairs appointment system for non-emergency repairs is not yet working effectively.

The cyclical external painting programme has ceased and must be restarted.

There is inadequate capacity within the service.

The available temporary accommodation for homeless people is inadequate and not appropriate to people’s needs. The Lodge does not meet statutory requirements for individual living space.

A number of houses are empty and have been so for some time, but there is no overall strategy to tackle all the long-term empty homes for either their re-occupation or demolition.

Positives

Frontline staff provide a courteous, caring and responsive service and access to the repairs service is good. The response to the emergency out-of-hours phone number works well.

Tenant and resident involvement has shown some improvement, particularly focused around the housings options appraisal.

The Council is tackling the increasing problem of anti-social behaviour.

Housing income management and major capital investment both provide reasonably effective services.

There have been improvements in some aspects of estate management. There is good partnership working on the Kingswood estate and a neighbourhood management plan has been produced.

The time taken to re-occupy empty homes has reduced.

There is significant progress towards meeting decent homes standard.

10 The housing service has ‘uncertain’ prospects of improvement because of the following.

The Council has focused on regeneration activities to the detriment of housing services and it is not yet clear that change in this will be sustained.

There is no strong track record in delivering service improvements or in staff responding well to the rapid pace of change.

A number of weaknesses, identified in the last report in April 2003, had not been fully remedied in October 2004 at the time of the re-inspection.

There were improvements in estate management but there were still large numbers of boarded-up empty homes and graffiti and dumped rubbish.


In preparing improvement plans, the principles of best value have not been applied.

The business plans lack clear measurable targets, and there is unclear ownership of the poorer performing areas. The plans are not well-coordinated.

Service standards are not comprehensive, challenging or well-publicised.

Performance management is not well-developed and some targets are not challenging.

The Council lacks self-awareness about its performance in housing and has limited understanding of the problems it faces and the possible solutions. The self-assessment and best value improvement plan progress reports were unrealistic.

There is a lack of capacity within the housing service, including resources, skills, clear priorities and delivery of basic working practices. This deficiency in capacity at middle management level is materially affecting delivery across the complete housing service.

Positives

There is the financial capacity and expertise in place to deliver the medium-term financial framework.

A number of new initiatives had recently been funded through central government, or been introduced into the Council, but it was too early to assess their impact.

Performance in the administration of housing benefit has shown a sustained improvement over the last two years, and there is now better co-operation between the Council and voluntary agencies, resulting in a reduction in complaints about the handling of rent arrears, homelessness and repairs.

In June 2004, the new leadership made housing a key priority for improvement.


Recommendations 11 To rise to the challenge of continuous improvement, organisations need

inspection reports that offer practical pointers for improvement. In this context, the inspection team makes the following priority recommendations.

Take urgent action to make safe all properties where gas appliances have not been serviced for more than 12 months, ensure that all tenants are in receipt of a valid gas safety check record and that new tenants before moving in, are provided with a copy of the gas safety record showing that all appliances have been checked within the previous 12 months.

Improve staff awareness of the diverse needs of the community to ensure that vulnerable people receive appropriate services. Take immediate steps to ensure full compliance with the CRE code of practice for landlords and provide information in appropriate languages and formats.

Ensure that the Council meets all its statutory duties under relevant legislation including the housing, health and safety at work, and environmental protection acts.

Ensure the provision of adequate and appropriate temporary accommodation for homeless people. Take immediate steps to cease the statutory overcrowding of rooms at The Lodge. Those people remaining, to be granted an appropriate contract for occupation of the premises. Provide any remaining occupied rooms with personal washing facilities including a wash hand basin or sink with an adequate supply of hot and cold water.

Devise effective performance management systems and use these to drive and sustain service improvement.

Ensure clear service standards are in place for all aspects of the service and that: these are publicised; shared with staff and customers; monitored and reported on; and that this information is used effectively.

Fully evaluate value for money across all services, produce a schedule of actions to deliver improvement and monitor outcomes of this work.

Review the responsive repairs service to ensure all repairs are carried out in a timely and effective manner. Review the repairs appointment system and ensure all people requesting non-emergency repairs are offered an appointment and that appointments are kept.

Review the adaptation services to ensure that adaptations are provided promptly and in accordance with the relevant legislation and circular guidance. The service to be based on the ‘need’ of the client and not their ‘tenure’.

Develop policies with service users for the re-occupation or demolition of all long-term empty homes.

Commence immediately consultation with residents on the prospects of potential demolition of all phases in Kingswood.

Review all recommendations contained within the report published in April 2003. Ensure that all outstanding or partially outstanding recommendations are actioned within six months of publication of this report.

Except where immediate action is necessary, ensure that all other recommendations are met by March 2006.


General

Take action to address all other weaknesses identified in this report.

Present the report to the appropriate member and tenant and resident bodies.

12 We would like to thank the staff of Corby Borough Council who made us welcome and who met our requests efficiently and courteously.

Peter Archer Affiliate Housing Inspector Alison Brown Housing Inspector Ron Price Housing Inspector Martin Walsh Affiliate Housing Inspector Kevin Cokayne Tenant Inspection Advisor Linda Birchall Lead Housing Inspector (East Midlands) Dates of inspection: 25 October to 29 October 2004 Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

For more information please contact

Audit Commission Central Region

1st Floor, Bridge Business Park, Bridge Park Road

Thurmaston Leicester LE4 8BL

www.audit-commission.gov.uk 0116 250 4100

‘© Audit Commission

The official version of this report is also available on the Audit Commission's website at audit-commission.gov.uk. Copies of this report are also available from the address above. The Audit Commission cannot verify the accuracy of and is not responsible for material contained in this report which has been reproduced by another organisation or individual’.


Report Context 13 This report has been prepared by the Audit Commission (the Commission)

following an inspection under Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1999, and issued in accordance with its duty under Section 13 of the 1999 Act.

The locality 14 Corby is a borough council situated in the north of the county of

Northamptonshire. Corby was designated a New Town in 1951, based on the local expansion of the steel industry. The borough covers an area of 8,115 hectares and has a population of 53,174, living in 22,610 households.

15 Corby is within the government’s designated Milton Keynes and South Midlands’ growth area. The Council’s ambition is to double the population by 2030 and to create 30,000 new jobs. In 2001, less than 1.7 per cent of the population was from non-white minority ethnic communities but there was a sizeable white population from the Irish Republic. A significant proportion of the population was born in Scotland, moving to Corby with the development of the steel industry. One quarter of Corby’s residents describe themselves as Scottish.

16 House prices are low in Corby by comparison with national averages across all property types. However, by the summer of 2004, Corby had the fastest growing housing market in Northamptonshire with 16,800 new homes planned by 2021. House completions have increased from just 19 in 1999 to 342 in 2003 and a projected 500 plus in 2004. The average price of properties in Corby in September 2004 was £115,656 compared to a UK average of £187,9712. Over the past three years, apart from Yorkshire and Humberside, the north west and the north east, the East Midlands has experienced the fastest house price inflation in England.

17 The overall health status of the residents of Corby is not good, with 43 per cent of households having one or more people suffering from a ‘limiting long-term illness’.

18 Unemployment stands at 4.2 per cent compared with the national average of 3.4 per cent3. On the 2000 Index of Deprivation, using the rank of the average ward scores, Corby is ranked as being the 82nd most deprived district in England out of 354 local councils. In 2004 Corby is ranked as 74th.

The Council 19 The Council comprises 29 councillors. The Labour party has control with

18 councillors, the Conservative party has 9 councillors and the Liberal Democrats have 2. The electorate rejected proposals to have a Mayor in 2002. Currently, the business of the Council is governed by an enhanced Committee and Scrutiny arrangement which was adopted by the Council in October 2001.

2 Source: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – House Price Index – September 2004.

3 Source: 2001 Census, ONS.


20 The Council’s overall budget for the year 2004/05 is £6.9 million. Current projections indicate that in March 2005 the budget will come in on target. However, the Council has a turnover of nearly £50 million when the housing revenue account, capital programme, specific grants and gross revenue expenditure are all taken into account.

21 Corby’s vision which is common to the local strategic partnership, Catalyst Corby, and the Council is ‘Corby as a confident, successful, balanced and prosperous community that is widely admired as distinctive, progressive and energetic. A community that exceeds expectations – Corby will be different, will innovate and implement better solutions with conviction’. The Corby Borough Council’s Mission Statement is:

‘Working together for the future to improve the quality of life for the people of the Borough’.

22 The Council’s ambition as identified in One Corby is to:

‘Double the population of Corby by 2030, create 30,000 new jobs, increase local prosperity, and raise the standard of public services to the very best’.

23 The ‘One Corby’ approach is designed to deliver what residents and business people said was important to them in an extensive consultation strategy carried out to draw up the Corby Community Strategy. It reflects the aims set out in the Council’s corporate plan which is the Council’s contribution to the community strategy. One Corby sets out four major themes which define its priorities for the coming year and over the next three years. The four main themes of the One Corby approach are:

regeneration;

community;

environment; and

leadership.

24 To monitor progress of delivery of One Corby, Mission Possible measures a wide range of indicators which are designed to make plain at a glance the progress in meeting the agreed targets. Mission Possible is the approach that has been taken to test progress on delivering the One Corby priorities. The Council has also introduced a corporate ‘One Corby’ project management system to secure a consistent approach to project and programme management, monitoring and delivery.

The housing service and inspection 25 A previous inspection of Corby’s housing services took place in March 2003

when the service was judged to be ‘poor’ (zero stars), but with promising prospects of improvement.

26 A further inspection took place during October 2004 and included a re-inspection of the Council’s housing management services, resident involvement, homelessness, housing need, and supported housing. Regeneration was not a specific element of this inspection.

27 This report only includes those parts of the housing service previously inspected in March 2003.


28 In the borough, there are a total of 23,184 homes of which 5,552 belong to the Council. The Council has around 580 sheltered properties and 20 per cent of its stock which is difficult to let or low demand. Almost 6 per cent of the Council’s properties were empty in April 2004 compared to 2 per cent of private homes. The Council estimates that around 200 of its properties zoned for regeneration are unfit for human habitation compared to 703 private dwellings.

29 The number of dwellings owned by the Council is falling significantly each year as a result of properties being sold under ‘Right to Buy’ legislation. Two to three hundred homes were being sold each year, although this is falling in 2004 and is projected to fall further in subsequent years.

30 The 2004/05 housing capital programme provides £6.433 million for capital works to housing revenue account (HRA) properties, of which £3.012 million is major repairs allowance, and a further £3.4 million from re-usable capital receipts mainly resulting from a joint housing venture at Oakley Vale.

31 The HRA expenditure budget for 2004/05 is £14 million. The budget for housing supervision and management costs for 2004/05 is £2.79 million. Despite continuing house sales of two to three hundred properties a year, current civic budget projections to 2009/10, indicate a year-on-year increase in both repairs and maintenance and housing supervision and management costs. Under current projections, and providing for the current growth bids for service improvement, the HRA is expected to continue to be sustainable until 2011/12 subject to reductions in management and maintenance costs.

32 In April 2004, there were 2,379 families on the housing register compared with 1,713 in 2001, representing an increase of 39 per cent in three years.

How good is the service? 33 The inspection undertaken in October 2004 was based on the new framework for

the review of housing inspection and assessment and the 13 new ‘Key Lines of Enquiry’ issued by the Audit Commission’s Housing Inspectorate between July and September 2004. This report focuses on a re-inspection of seven areas:

stock investment and asset management;

housing income management;

resident involvement;

tenancy and estate management;

allocations and lettings;

homelessness and housing needs; and

supported and sheltered housing.

34 To this core group of functions, also considered are the overarching issues of:

diversity;

access to services and

value for money.


Diversity 35 Weaknesses outweigh strengths.

36 The previous inspection published in April 2003, found that:

‘The Council has taken some positive steps in dealing with issues of diversity allied to service delivery, however, the overall strategy and direction needs further attention’.’

37 Improvements have been slow although there is a published Race Equality Scheme, and a funded programme to improve access and comply with DDA. The last inspection found that the Council was not complying with the Commission for Racial Equality’s (CRE) Code of Practice for Rented Housing, and the relevant ethnic data was still not being collected and analysed when we re-inspected. Compliance with the code is a best value performance indicator and the audited indicator for 2003/04 identifies the Council’s stated compliance, which is incorrect.

38 As part of ‘One Corby’ the Council is committed to improving the equalities policy and developing both member and staff awareness. The Council intends to reach level 2 of the Local Government Equality Standard by April 2005. It has a published Race Equality Scheme in line with the Race Relations Act 2000. However, at the time of inspection, diversity training had not been available for frontline staff and plans to provide such were not fully formulated and had not been shared with staff.

39 At the time of the inspection, the Council had incomplete information about the ethnic makeup and diversity of the community. In August 2004, the Council commenced a programme to identify the ethnicity of its 2,286 tenants. At the start of this programme, the Council was only aware of the ethnic background of 59 per cent of tenants, but by December 2004, after the inspection had been undertaken, the Council had collated ethnicity information for 99 per cent of all its tenants. There is information about new arrivals in the district from eastern and central European states, mainly from Portugal and the former Yugoslav states but little hard data or analysis of the housing needs of these people. As a result, no publications are yet available in the appropriate languages. However, the availability of translation and interpretation services is advertised in the office. We found that ‘Language Line’ had been used recently by officers to assist in discussions with service users.

40 The Council works closely with local agency groups concerned with diversity issues and has an effective working relationship with the Multi-Agency Group on Racial Harassment (MAGRAH). This group is an advocate for the needs of minority ethnic groups with particular emphasis on racial harassment. Positive work they are doing includes referrals for support through the tenancy support scheme; these can be made through a variety of agencies and internal staff. The Council keeps a register of the type of support offered and provided. Unfortunately, collated information is not being used to feed into a wider picture of future strategy development nor is it being linked to a computer system so that, for example, management and maintenance staff do not have details of vulnerable residents so cannot guarantee a sensitive tailored service.

41 The independent tenant advisor who is assisting the tenants undertake the stock options appraisal (SOA) has successfully pursued a range of activities to try and engage a diverse sector of the community including drop-in sessions, road shows, newsletters, and visits to places where younger people meet.


42 The new tenant consultation and participation strategy has an aim to address equal opportunities and diversity; this is underpinned by service improvement action plans. This objective ties in with FORTAC’s (Federation of Residents and Tenants – Corby) work to engage with ‘hard-to-reach’ groups for which a further £12,600 has been made available by the Council. At the time of the inspection, it was too early to judge whether this initiative would be successful.

43 Publicity in minority ethnic languages is deficient. Although there is a range of council leaflets on display in the housing reception area describing homelessness, housing advice and allocations services, the font size is small and the recently revised tenants’ handbook is difficult to read because of the size of the print and the colour of the typeface and the background. The leaflets are only readily available in English.

44 The Housing Services are not yet fully accessible although they are complying with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as there are detailed plays in place to remove physical barriers for easy access to all offices. Some doors do not open automatically and counter areas are not lowered. By the nature of the original design of Deene House, the housing and environmental health offices are extremely difficult to make fully accessible. Leaflets are not always at a height accessible to wheelchair users.

45 The Council has produced a costed schedule of works to comply with the Act and works has commenced with a budget commitment to March 2006 of £1 million.

Access and customer care 46 Weaknesses outweigh strengths.

47 We found that access to housing services in Corby needs improvement. The centralised office facilities are now more heavily used than when we last inspected the service in March 2003. As a result of this more intensive use, we found the offices cramped, and at times congested, with limited opening hours. Although frontline staff provide a courteous, caring and responsive service they have only had limited training. There is a good range of available information. The previous report highlighted the lack of an up-to-date tenants’ handbook as a key weakness. The new tenants’ handbook was distributed in July 2004 and it is limited in the information provided and would benefit from proof-reading. Progress has been made on developing service standards but these standards are not comprehensive nor consistently monitored and reported. They need to be extended to all elements of the housing service.

48 The housing and environmental health offices are situated on the first and second floor at Deene House. The offices are accessible to people in wheelchairs or to those with prams or pushchairs but once inside it is difficult to negotiate through the narrow doors and corridors. The services do, however, have some strengths.

The housing office has security cameras, public toilets including a specific public toilet for people with disabilities, and a range of leaflets.

An out-of-hours’ emergency telephone number is prominently displayed and is visible when the offices are closed. We tested the call centre number in the early hours of the morning; the call was answered promptly in a friendly and helpful manner.

Two of the four interview rooms are equipped with computer terminals for quick access to information.


The Corby website was revamped shortly before the inspection and following some early teething problems was found to be comprehensive and easy to use. However, we found difficulties in using the search facility.

There is a good level of customer care at the housing reception, but we did find that some customers have to wait a considerable time to see the appropriate officer.

There is regular communication with customers provided through newsletters, leaflets, posters and the website. The Council newspaper updates residents on corporate issues. An explanatory ‘One Corby’ leaflet was distributed to all residents in spring 2004.

There is a high level of tenant participation with quarterly meetings with FORTAC, and with the tenants’ and residents’ associations. FORTAC is consulted on strategies and plans affecting housing services and tenants are represented on the Community Committee, Overview and Scrutiny Panels and Catalyst Corby. However we were concerned that FORTAC was not adequately representative of residents and tenants – see section on resident involvement

49 There are a number of weaknesses in access and customer care.

Signposting to the housing and environmental health offices in the Corby shopping precinct is limited and unclear.

There are no low-level customer service counters available for wheelchair users, nor any hearing loop systems at the offices.

There was no information or leaflet concerning the local government ombudsman service. There are very few leaflets about services other than those relating to services for tenants.

At times, particularly Monday mornings, the reception area of the housing office becomes uncomfortably crowded, to the extent that people waiting in the queue can often overhear the conversation between the visitor and the customer services officer.

Frontline staff have only recently received training on allocations, and repairs and have not been trained in basic housing advice. The customer service team is still developing.

There are no toys or play equipment available for children in the waiting area of the offices or in the interview rooms. However, it is appreciated that by the nature of the office layout the provision of toys in reception might actually create a hazard to customers.

50 The new tenants’ handbook which was distributed in July 2004 is difficult to read and is not comprehensive. The handbook has few service standards, most of which are vague and imprecise; for example urgent repair work – priority 2 should be done ‘on an average of ten working days’. Jobbing repairs – priority 3 should be done ‘on an average of seven weeks. Specifying average times is of little practical use for service users. The tenants’ handbook provides no information about the way service charges are calculated nor what services are covered by the charge. This is a contentious issue particularly for tenants of sheltered accommodation as they see the move from resident to mobile wardens as diminishing the service to them without a commensurate reduction in service charges.


51 As part of ‘One Corby,’ Housing Pride, which is a delivery promise to service users, has seven key indicators to measure housing service performance. These indicators were developed and agreed with service users. The standards have been incorporated in the Tenant Compact and Participation Strategy. At the time of inspection, some limited information about performance was displayed in the housing reception area. There are also a few service standards for homelessness and allocations but performance against these is neither monitored nor reported.

52 The new repairs appointment system introduced in 2004 is not yet working effectively. This failure is said by the Council to be because of poor diagnosis of the required repair, resulting in operatives having to spend longer than expected or to leave the job to collect additional materials. This problem is avoidable by using the appropriate repair diagnostic computer software. We were told that although the software is available, it is not always used as officers find it slows down the reporting process. Poor diagnosis of repairs results in operatives being late for appointments and poor customer care. Tenants told us that they took time off work and then the repair appointment was cancelled as the operative was held up on a previous job.

53 Some tenants told us that they were not offered an appointment at all. At the end of September, some four months after introduction of the scheme, only 48 per cent of appointments were being kept. However, by the end of October, the situation had improved with 64 per cent of appointments kept.

54 Customers have good access to the repairs service. Staff show a good approach to customer care but have limited knowledge about the service. There is a single phone number for reporting repairs but no dedicated repairs reporting call centre. Customers can request repairs by telephone, personal visit and letter, or through the ‘drop-in’ surgeries in local neighbourhood community centres. There is a facility to request repairs by email but this is a very limited service compared with that provided by many councils. Tenants can also request a home visit. We found that the out-of-hours emergency phone number worked well with prompt and courteous response during the night.

55 Staff wear name badges; there is a code of conduct, and re-issued guidance on customer care. Office hours are limited with no evening opening, but there is a current trial of opening Deene House on a Saturday morning. The office on Saturday provides a limited service and does not deal with housing allocations, private sector housing enquiries, or homelessness.

56 The Corby Council website provides a section on ‘frequently asked questions’ which is targeted to specific groups in the community.

57 The housing service does not consistently collect information about customers’ ethnicity, vulnerability or disability thereby preventing customer services from being appropriately tailored to need. Frontline staff have not received diversity training but this is programmed for this autumn.

58 Tenant satisfaction rates with the landlord service are improving from a low base. In 2003/04, the last time a specific survey was undertaken; only 65 per cent of tenants were satisfied with the service, placing Corby 8 per cent below the average satisfaction rate for all stock owning English councils. However, the Council recognises the need to improve customer satisfaction ratings and a STATUS equivalent satisfaction survey was undertaken in June 2004. This showed an improvement in the level satisfaction with the landlord service to 78 per cent, and 77 per cent satisfaction with the repairs service.


Value for money 59 Weaknesses outweigh strengths.

60 The last inspection in 2003 found that – ‘the Council has taken some recent measures to reduce costs in the Housing Service. However, the Council’s HRA is under considerable current and projected pressure, and therefore minimising cost and maximising income, while providing good quality services to tenants, has to remain the Council’s priority’. The Council has responded by bringing the housing revenue account (HRA) under control and there are now substantial balances, some areas of cost have been reduced, but it has failed to minimise costs.

61 In October 2004, however, the local authority was still unable to demonstrate that it is achieving value for money from the services it provides for its customers The previous report recommended:

‘Review as a matter of urgency the competitiveness of the responsive repairs service. Take into account the developing market for Partnering and Egan principles in order to secure value for money. A report on this key issue should go before the Council within six months of the publication of this report’.

62 Since the last report the responsive repairs service has not been market tested and the Council recognises that costs for repairs done by the in-house team under the new contract negotiated with the work force are ‘at the higher end of cost comparators.’ There has been no review with service users related to added value or extra quality resulting from continuing to use the in-house service that would justify the decision.

63 The operatives’ new work contracts have brought some financial benefits. The Council's overall costs for responsive repairs per dwelling declined by almost 10 per cent in 2003/04 with a saving of £234,000. However, the Council is not effectively measuring the output and impact that these cost savings are having on the service received by tenants, or whether efficiency has improved as a result of the changes to contracts of employment and in working practices. Senior officers of the Council told us that a decision not to market test the responsive repairs service had been taken, awaiting firstly the changes to contractual and working practices, and secondly the outcome of the stock option appraisal process. We do not concur with the view that this was necessary. The efficiency, effectiveness and economic viability of the current service is questionable and this was raised during the previous inspection. Tenants are still paying high costs for a service that is not performing well.

64 The Council does not collect sufficient or accurate information about its services to allow it to effectively review cost effectiveness or performance. Tenants are not systematically informed about the costs and benefits of the services they receive.

65 The Council is not using modern procurement methods to obtain the best use of value for money for planned and responsive works. Contracts are short-term and use traditional methods of procurement. Although aware of the potential benefits from strategic partnering for repairs or rehabilitation contracts, the Council has explored few opportunities provided by modern procurement. Savings of £26,000 are being achieved by bulk purchasing of gas for a number of sheltered housing schemes through the Council’s participation in the Northants Consortium.


66 There is no information on unit costs of repairs as these are not being monitored. The Council does not know the average cost of repairing a void property. All void work is given to the in-house repairs team without any consideration of cost, competitiveness or value for money. We were told that the Council is at present considering contracting out all repairs to void properties but traditional tendering procedures will be used.

67 Emergency work remains uncompetitive and inefficiently controlled. Operatives are paid enhanced rates against the schedule of rate for emergency out-of-hours work. The cost of out-of-hours emergency repairs has not been addressed as part of the recent salary negotiations.

68 The Council is not following Audit Commission (AC) good practices guidelines in undertaking responsive repairs. In 2003/04, 75 per cent of all repairs were in the emergency and urgent categories. The AC recommends that in achieving value for money, emergency repairs should not exceed 10 per cent and combined emergency and urgent repairs should not exceed 30 per cent of all responsive repairs. In Corby, the figures for 2003/04 showed 33 per cent of all repairs were classified as ‘emergency’ and combined emergency and urgent repairs totalled 75 per cent of all responsive repairs. As a result, the tenants are paying more for their repair service than if the Council was following the Commission’s guidelines.

69 There has been a marked deterioration in the ratio of responsive to planned maintenance work. In 2002/03, 63 per cent of all non-capital expenditure was attributable to responsive repairs, by 2003/04 this expenditure had increased to 69 per cent. This is not a good long-term use of resources. The AC good practice guidance suggests that 60 per cent of expenditure should be on planned repairs and 40 per cent on responsive repairs.

70 In the absence of any strategic partnering, contractual arrangements for the capital programme are short-term. This results in a concentration of effort during the backend of the year, creating an uneven expenditure profile through the year. The procurement of materials, which was criticised in the previous inspection, is still being undertaken in the same way. However, the existing contract with a local supplier expired at the end of October 2004 and the Council is to go out to tender for a six-year material supplies contract which will be effective from April 2005.

71 Time taken to repair and re-let void properties has reduced but is still high, having an impact on the amount of rent collected. This is covered in detail elsewhere in this report.

72 No other housing service, such as homelessness, or housing advice has been market tested. The Council has not taken advantage of the flexibilities under the Regulatory Reform Order 2003 and advocated in ODPM Circular 05/2003 Housing Renewal to pass finance and other resources to a third party such as a home improvement agency to undertake housing renewal work on behalf of the Council.

73 The dispersed alarm system is not viable with its present number pf customers and is not breaking even. This is covered in more detail in the ‘supported housing’ section of this report.


Stock investment and asset management 74 Weaknesses outweigh strengths.

75 The last inspection in March 2003, found the repairs service in Corby poor. The report recommended amongst other things the introduction of a robust appointment system within six months, the clearing of the repairs backlog and immediate action to deal with the backlog in gas servicing.

76 In October 2004, we found positive performance in capital and planned works but that overall performance in relation to stock investment and asset management is still poor. Although planned investment is resulting in significant progress towards meeting the decent homes standard and the time taken to re-occupy empty homes has reduced, there remains a large backlog of outstanding repairs, the new appointment system is not yet fully effective, and gas safety is still an area of concern. Performance in dealing with both emergency and non-urgent repairs deteriorated between 2002/03 and 2003/04. The latest cumulative performance data for the current year to the end of October, taken from the Mission Possible report to Council on 18 November, shows deterioration in the percentage of urgent repairs done within government time limits and an increase in the time taken to undertake non-urgent jobs.

77 According to a tenant survey carried out in June 2004, 77 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the repairs service, whilst 23per cent were very or fairly dissatisfied.

78 There has been deterioration in the ratio between planned and responsive repairs compared to the Audit Commission good practice guidance of 60 per cent planned repairs to 40 per cent responsive repairs. The percentage of repairs classed as emergency or urgent was also much higher than suggested by good practice guidelines. These issues are covered in the section on value for money in this report.

79 There has been a programme to replace windows, frames and doors with those made in upvc, but a number of properties still have wood. The suspension of the external cyclical painting programme is resulting in the deterioration of a number of components including doors and frames, timber safety barriers, fascias, soffits and other external woodwork.

Capital improvement, planned and cyclical maintenance, major repair works

80 The Council is moving towards a more strategic approach to investment in its own stock. It has developed and is currently testing a sustainability matrix, which is designed to measure the investment needs of individual and composite lettings areas and which includes an assessment of liveability and social stability. This will enable more effective targeting of resources. Tenant satisfaction with major works is high and has improved from 78.5 per cent in 2002/03 to 82.4 per cent in 2003/04.

81 Substantial progress has been made in increasing the proportion of homes that meet the decent homes standard (DHS). At 1 April 2004, 37 per cent of Corby’s housing stock did not meet the DHS compared with the national average of 43 per cent. In 2003/04, the number of homes failing the standard fell from 2,711 to 2,071, indicating an overall improvement of around 10 per cent after taking account of houses sold through the year. However, the Council has not yet agreed with tenants any standards beyond the DHS; it intends to do that as part of the stock option appraisal.


82 Corby’s housing stock has an average energy efficiency SAP4 rating of 61. This energy efficiency rating places Corby’s housing alongside that of the best performing councils in England. The problem associated with the presence of asbestos in council dwellings is also being tackled. A register showing all the properties with asbestos present is almost complete and remedial action is taken where appropriate.

83 The housing stock although in reasonable condition has not received the major capital investment necessary. The recent 100 per cent stock condition survey (SCS) undertaken by a major national consultancy in the summer of 2004 concludes:

‘The stock has been generally well-maintained on a day-to-day basis but has not been able to receive the level of major capital investment to maintain all homes to recommended condition’.

84 The Council is not complying with good practice in stock investment and property maintenance. The Council is failing to adequately maintain its stock in so far as it has abandoned external painting and has no plans to reinstate any programme. This will result in key components such as fascias and barge boards failing.

85 The impact of this continuing lack of cyclical and planned maintenance is clearly visible across much of the Council’s stock. Timber windows, doors, soffits, fascias and safety screens to balconies and security fencing are in many places in an advanced stage of decay, resulting in eaves-gutters and rain water-pipes becoming detached. Longstanding running overflow pipes have caused permanent damage to some external walls.

86 With continuing investment at current levels, the SCS consultants forecast that the Council should be able to meet the decent homes standard by 2010. However, they warn that in years 1 to 5, the Council needs to spend annually more than £16 million to not only meet the DHS but to undertake catch-up repairs, response and void works, cyclical maintenance and other work to meet statutory requirements and obligations to tenants. Over the next 30 years, the consultants forecast that to maintain and to improve the stock, more than £300 million will be required. The data collected in the SCS is being transferred to the Council’s IT system, so the Council will be able to use the information when planning its stock investment programme.

87 The Council's current boiler replacement programme is insufficient to keep pace with boilers reaching the end of their useful life. The budget for 2004/05 is £220,000 which will provide around 100 new boiler systems. There is an urgent need for greater investment in new boilers and heating systems. To add to the problem, around 50 per cent of properties have open flues, which are not suitable for modern boilers. At present, the Council has not formulated a plan to deal with this issue. The Council has not explored alternative ways of funding this work including the potential use of leasing arrangements to enable replacement boilers to be installed in homes, without substantial initial capital outlay.

88 The previous report criticised the Council for having no strategy to address the long standing problem of one in five of its garages being empty. We found that this issue had still not been tackled; this represents a lost opportunity and a failure that causes considerable nuisance and blighting of neighbourhoods.

4 SAP – standard assessment procedure for measuring the relative energy efficiency of dwellings.


89 Last year, the Council achieved 95 per cent expenditure against the capital programme. This is good performance but because of delays in approving the capital programme a high proportion of expenditure fell in the last quarter. The Audit Commission recommends that councils should try to maintain a level expenditure profile throughout the year.

Responsive repairs

90 In some respects, the responsive repair service and re-letting of empty properties has improved since the last inspection in 2003. However, the service is far from satisfactory, with unacceptable and increasing waiting times and a large backlog of uncompleted repairs. The gas servicing programme is still unsatisfactory and is not meeting statutory requirements.

91 To improve repairs performance, the Council has introduced a number of changes including multi-skilled operatives, the appointment system, a trial system of providing vans with a comprehensive stock of materials, and late evening repairs appointments. As recommended in the previous report, there has been a trend away from pre-inspection, to post-inspection of repairs and the Council reports that 10 per cent of all responsive repairs are now being inspected after completion of the work.

92 As when we last inspected, operatives had to visit, often daily, one local major supplier to collect building materials. This is inefficient and time consuming. If the trial system of stocking vans with a comprehensive supply of building materials is successful, this will remove the need for operatives to regularly queue for material at suppliers.

93 According to the new tenants’ handbook there are in Corby three categories of repair:

priority 1 emergency work – within 24 hours;

priority 2 urgent work – within an average of 10 working days; and

priority 3 jobbing repair work – within an average of 7 weeks.

94 These timescales for priority 2 and 3 repairs lack clarity for tenants. An average time given for completion of the repair as in the present scheme is of little use to a tenant awaiting work. This problem is compounded by the poor performance of the appointment system.

95 Repairs are not being tackled promptly and performance is deteriorating. The percentage of right to repair jobs completed within government time limits (Corby local indicator NR6) fell from 2002/03 when 90 per cent were completed on time, to 86 per cent in 2003/04.

96 The average time taken to complete repairs outside the right to repair scheme, also worsened from 2002/03 when it took 16 days, to 27 days in 2003/04 (Corby local indicator NR7). After the completion of the inspection, a later Mission Possible report received by the Council on 18 November 2004, showed a further deterioration for the first six months of the year when non-urgent repairs took an average of 37.8 days to complete.

97 In October 2004, the Council currently had a backlog of around 900 overdue and incomplete responsive repairs requests. This was a reduction from around 2,500 in 2003. Efforts were being made to batch outstanding repairs into larger contracts. This is being applied particularly to fencing repairs.


Void repairs

98 The current ‘lettable standard’ is being updated with the assistance of FORTAC. The existing lettable standard is however more a works specification rather than a standard to which lay people can refer. Without a specific and promoted standard that can be easily understood by people with non-technical background, it is difficult for tenants to know what general standard of repair and decoration they can expect when moving into a new tenancy.

99 However, void repairs we found had been completed to a good standard and the standard of cleanliness in properties is also generally good, although at one property we found sanitary ware in poor condition and dirty. The decorative standard of void properties ready to let was generally reasonable. However, the Council's decoration policy is neither clear nor customer-focused. It is also not clear on what basis staff make such assessments and there is no monitoring process to ensure consistent and fair outcomes.

100 The Council is not making best use of resources in the management of void properties. This was an issue raised in the previous report. Steel cladding is applied to properties in an uncoordinated way. The first officer to visit after a property has been vacated makes a decision whether to arrange security cladding, not based on set criteria or policy, but by a general assessment of the potential risk of vandalism.

101 The revised staffing structure for dealing with voids and repairs has made some improvements to service in the year 2004/05 due to closer working between teams. The turnaround time for voids has been for some years an area of major concern taking 82 days in 2001/02 and more than 60 days in 2002/03. In 2003/04, turnaround times were reduced to 52 days, and in the first six months of the current year to 40.5 days against a target of 25 days. This remains poor performance when compared nationally. There are indications in the latest Mission Possible report that performance is continuing to improve and that the time to re-let a void property at the end of October 2004 had been reduced to 30.9 days.

Gas servicing

102 The previous report highlighted concerns about poor performance in meeting the Council’s statutory responsibilities for gas servicing. Action has been taken and improvements made, but many of the concerns have only been partially remedied.

103 The Council has failed to emphasise to its tenants the grave importance of regular and effective servicing of gas appliances. There has been very limited publicity describing its importance with only one item in the tenants’ newsletter during the last year. The new tenants’ handbook makes no reference to the need and statutory requirement for the landlord to undertake an annual inspection of all gas systems and gas appliances.

104 The Council is not meeting its statutory landlord requirements in regard to gas servicing and is not complying fully with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Although 98.2 per cent of all properties were serviced during the 2003 service schedule, a large backlog of servicing still exists. At 29 October 2004, there were 543 properties outstanding from this year's schedule, 64 properties not serviced for over two years, and 23 properties not serviced for more than three years.


105 Until the Monday of the inspection week, new tenants were not routinely provided with a copy of the gas servicing certificate. Previous to receiving such a certificate a tenant might be unsure as to whether their gas appliances were safe to use. Gas safety checks are not being carried out on properties where mutual exchanges take place.

106 The Council has been slow in instigating legal proceedings for access, through the enforcement of tenancy conditions. Not all of the 87 cases that are over two years old have been passed through to the legal department. A significant number of cases were only passed through for legal action during the inspection week.

107 The existing gas servicing contract expires on 31 March 2005. The contract allows for a possible two-year extension, although negotiations have not yet commenced to put the contract on a sound footing for 2005/06.

108 The Council's housing management IT system does not flag up when gas servicing is overdue. This facility would enable staff to prompt tenants to allow access when other contact was being made, for example, reporting other repairs. Staff said that the IT was generally capable of doing this, but the necessary software changes had not been implemented.

109 Gas safety quality control checks are not being carried out in sufficiently high numbers to enable the Council to be assured that the contractor is complying with statutory requirements. The current contract requires 2 per cent quality control checks. Two per cent is a very low figure, but the contractor is not complying with this requirement.

110 Although the gas servicing contract allows for servicing to take place between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, very little servicing is taking place outside normal working hours. This makes it difficult for working tenants to provide access to their home.

Aids and adaptations in council and private housing

111 The adaptation service for people living in Corby is inadequate. This is of particular concern because of the high proportion of residents suffering from a disability or limiting long-term illness. Our previous report recommended that senior staff become involved in addressing the delay in carrying out assessments by county occupational therapists. During this inspection, we were told by officers and partner organisations that if anything, the situation had deteriorated over the intervening period and that an assessment by an occupational therapist could now take more than two years to undertake and only at that point would the client be referred to the Council. However, further evidence provided post inspection showed that new procedures had been introduced in August 2004, when the community occupational therapy (OT) services were fully integrated reducing the waiting time considerably. By December 2004, the longest wait for an OT assessment was 16 months, which is an improvement but is considerably longer than the eight weeks suggested by current government guidance.

112 The timescales for completion of adaptations to owner occupier or privately tenanted property are highly unsatisfactory. In the case of the Council’s own stock, the tenant is initially referred to an occupational therapist who undertakes an assessment. Once CBC has received the referral from the occupational therapist, the specified works will be completed within a maximum period of 15 weeks. Smaller jobs such as hand rails and ramps are completed sooner, usually within two weeks. The 15-week period is inclusive of surveys, drawing preparation, and order of specialist materials.


113 The latest guidance from the ODPM and Department of Health issued in draft form in February 2003 and reissued in November 20045 recommends that an assessment by social services should be completed in no longer than 40 working days for low risk clients, 15 days for medium risk and three days for high risk.

114 It is apparent that the time taken to provide adaptations in Corby is more dependent on the tenure of the service user than their assessed need; this is contrary to good practice.

Housing income management 115 Strengths outweigh weaknesses.

116 Overall, the Council is dealing effectively with housing income management. The service is reasonably accessible and performance on rent collection is high. There is a corporate approach to debt recovery. The Council’s performance is best quartile for rent collection and now has a much improved benefits service.

117 In relation to rents and service charges, the Council complies with the Housing Act 1985. Rents and service charges are set in accordance with the ODPM’s guidelines for differential rents. When implemented, all tenants were advised of new procedures for calculation of charges. Formal notices are provided to all service users on an annual basis advising of revised charges for the forthcoming year. There is close working across teams to ensure that service users have detailed knowledge of rent collection.

118 The Council provides a comprehensive information pack to every tenant, incorporating the tenant’s handbook, and insurance details, along with direct debit and standing order payment forms. The tenants’ handbook incorporates details of how and where rent and service charges can be paid; availability of housing benefits and advice on rent arrears. The Tenancy Support Officer’s (TSO) role is clearly defined to assist with post tenancy visits for rent payment, benefit application, and repairs. Quarterly rent statements are issued to all tenants.

119 The previous report recommended the Council to: ‘Increase the methods of rent payment. Analyse the cost of providing SWIPE cards and work with tenants groups to determine whether they would be an effective addition.’

120 We found that the Council has increased the range of ways to pay rent. Following analysing the cost of introducing SWIPE cards, the Council decided, on grounds of cost and value for money, not to implement their use. However, further consideration has been given to the use of SWIPE cards and the Council is preparing to carryout a pilot scheme in April 2005. There are now five ways a tenant can pay rent; at the cash office using cash, debit or credit card, by direct debit, by standing order, by telephone or on the internet. On a pilot basis, the cash office opening hours have been extended to include Saturday mornings at Deene House for rent and other payments

121 Rents are low in Corby with an average weekly rent in 2003/04 of £45.87. Rent collection is good, with 98.7 per cent of rent being collected in 2003/04. Current tenant arrears fell from £453,000 at 1 April 2004 to £342,000 at 5 September 2004. Those tenants in arrears receive regular visits to provide support and assistance to ensure arrears are reduced to a minimum.

5 Delivering Housing Adaptations for disabled people: A Good Practice Guide – November 2004 – DH;

ODPM and Department for Education and Skills.


122 Despite a good record on rent collection, a significant amount of income is lost due to properties being vacant and the situation has worsened over the last three years. In 2003/04, 4.88 per cent of total rent due was lost because properties were standing empty. This percentage has increased from 2001/02, when the figure was 3.7 per cent. In 2002/03, 4.46 per cent of rent was lost; therefore, substantial potential income has been lost over this period.

123 We were told that there had been some problems in moving the warden service from a residential to a mobile service. At the time of the inspection, many residents of sheltered housing said that the reduced cost of moving to a fully mobile warden service on 4 October had not been reflected in a commensurate reduction in service charges. Tenants had not been informed how the new service charges were to be calculated.

124 The Council has a good and effective housing benefit service. Performance indicators have improved considerably over the last two years, and are continuing to improve during the current year.

125 Performance relating to former tenant arrears is not as good as in other parts of the revenue service and has deteriorated since the last inspection. Former tenant arrears have increased substantially from £300,000 in 2002/03 to £653,000 in 2003/04. Delays are occurring in getting all documentation to the revenues and benefit section on former tenant arrears to enable recovery procedures to be implemented. No former tenant arrears were written off in either 2002/03 or in 2003/04.

126 A corporate debt policy was introduced in January 2004. The debt policy encompasses a wide range of debt recovery procedures including council tax, non-domestic rates, sundry income, housing benefit overpayments and former tenant arrears. This policy is maximising debt recovery through more efficient use of resources, whilst ensuring a fair and transparent service in cases of multiple debt.

127 The local availability of independent money advice has reduced since the last inspection due to the closure of the money advice unit in August 2004 and a number of local solicitors withdrawing debt advice services. However, the Corby CAB and Corby Welfare Rights continue to be the main providers of debt advice outside the Council. Both these organisations are partly funded by the Council and provide a good independent debt advice service.

Resident involvement 128 Strengths outweigh weaknesses.

129 The previous inspection found that the Council has had good relationships with tenants groups and the Council had provided funding to help them to work effectively. The report criticised the current arrangements which were dependent on the goodwill and input of a small number of dedicated individuals. The report recommended the Council to:

‘Develop more active tenant involvement to support existing structures. Ensure that there are opportunities for the views of all tenants to be considered in the development of Housing Service improvements’.


130 Since our last inspection, there has been a major investment by the housing service in working with tenants and leaseholders, this has been especially important because of the stock option appraisal. There is, however, a lack of clear direction on the integration of different tenures in resident participation and there was concern among tenants as to how representative was FORTAC of the five thousand plus tenants across the borough.

131 Tenants and other residents in the Kingswood area, who were interviewed, expressed the view that there had been some improvement in housing services over the past year and in the opportunities for their involvement. They said that they are now listened to more than in the past and that their views are valued.

132 A new Tenant Consultation and Participation Policy and Strategy (tenants’ compact), the fourth such document, has recently been developed by the tenants in FORTAC with the support of the tenant participation officer. This compact provides an indication of the Council’s ongoing commitment to resident involvement.

133 The Council fully recognises the value of effective resident involvement, and this commitment is clearly demonstrated in the level of funding and resources that have been allocated to this activity. A dedicated customer service and tenant participation division comprising 14.5 full-time equivalent personnel was created during the April 2004 restructure of Housing Services. This team is designed to place the customer at the centre of the delivery of services. An additional tenant participation officer post was created as part of this restructure to augment the existing position.

134 A further demonstration of the Council’s commitment to resident involvement is the creation of the ‘housing futures communications officer’ and a ‘housing regeneration officer’; both posts provide support to the current stock options appraisal (SOA) and to housing renewal.

135 Significant financial resources have been allocated to promote active resident involvement. The devolved budget, currently £14,387, to FORTAC enables them to assume control of their programme. A further £12,600 is available to FORTAC this year to enable more effective engagement of traditionally hard-to-reach groups, such as minority ethnic groups.

136 The devolved FORTAC budget is designed to enable identified training needs to be met. To supplement the training organised directly by residents, in-house training is provided by council officers. The tenants have employed their own independent tenant advisor to assist with the current stock option appraisal.

137 The TPOs have played a key role in developing and maintaining individual tenant and resident associations (TARAs). The TPOs also assist in training needs assessments for the individual members. Informal training is provided on a monthly basis to all TARA groups through the provision of guest speakers during scheduled meetings. Tenants are being consulted over the proposed new lettable standard which is to focus on the principles of ‘safe, sanitary and secure’. However, the tenants and residents associations are very traditional with little involvement in housing service planning and in particular the development of the housing capital programme.


138 The Council’s efforts to improve the level of resident involvement are having an impact. There is evidence that resident involvement has resulted in service improvement. Examples include:

the introduction of a single telephone number for repairs reporting followed discussion at a FORTAC meeting;

the introduction of a fully appointed repairs process – although there is full recognition that the appointment system in not working properly;

the review of the rent arrears policy by FORTAC prior to approval at the Community Committee;

the development of the CBC Housing Pride Service Promise jointly with FORTAC has defined a small number of easily understood key service standards. While this is positive they are too limited to provide a good measure of the quality of involvement;

attendance at a Beanfield TARA meeting gave a clear indication that tenants are involved in the stock option appraisal;

on instruction from FORTAC, the independent tenant advisor has pursued a range of activities to try and engage diverse sectors of the community, including drop-in sessions, road shows, newsletters, and visits to places where younger people meet; and

FORTAC is consulted during the preparations of the annual capital programme.

Tenancy and estate management 139 Strengths balance weaknesses.

140 Overall, the quality of tenancy and estate management services is mixed. Some positive progress has been made in improving some weaker aspects of these services including dealing with anti-social behaviour but many of the changes are still ongoing. Tenants cannot yet be sure of receiving a consistently high standard of service.

141 Residents from a number of groups said that they are now listened to more than in the past and that their views are valued. As a result of this change in culture, the tenants have seen a noticeable improvement of conditions on the estates.

Tenancy management

142 The quality of tenancy management services is variable. There are some positive aspects such as post tenancy visits. However, the quality of information and procedures are not of a consistently high standard.

143 The information available to tenants on tenancy management services is limited. The tenants’ handbook provides only basic information on services in this area and there is only limited signposting to more detailed information. Tenants are not yet in a position to judge the quality of service against clear service standards.

144 There are some positive aspects such as the tenancy support team and initial tenancy visits. Tenancy management staff, within the tenancies’ team, are able to provide comprehensive advice to tenants and to unauthorised occupants of their rights and status in relation to carrying out improvements, mutual exchange, assignment and succession and the right to buy.


145 There are some service standards but targets are not always exacting. An example being that the Council does not have rapid timescales in place to deal with problems such as anti-social behaviour and racist graffiti. The Council’s ten-day target for visiting all reported cases of neighbour nuisance is too long. However, records show that in most cases, complaints were responded to in one to two working days.

146 The Council has been slow in the past to update tenancy agreements, conditions of tenancy and the tenants’ handbook. Action has now been taken as part of the recent restructuring to address this. However, the tenants’ handbook although updated and issued to all tenants in June 2004, now has to be revised and reissued because of recent policy changes.

147 In the tenants’ handbook, which is written in unnecessarily legal language, there is a clear statement as to the action the Council will take if there is a breach of tenancy conditions and the records show that the Council is taking enforcement action where necessary.

Enforcing tenancy conditions and dealing with anti-social behaviour

148 There has been an improvement in the way the Council deals with anti- social behaviour and other breaches of tenancy conditions since the previous inspection. The Council has delivered through effective partnership working, a range of measures to address anti-social behaviour across the borough including the provision of additional staff, installation of CCTV cameras, funding for a mediation service, taking legal action and diversionary measures.

149 Anti-social behaviour was highlighted by tenants and residents as a key concern and the Council has demonstrated through investment that they are taking steps to address these concerns. In March 2003, a dedicated tenancy enforcement team (TET) was formed that has a responsibility for dealing with concerns regarding council tenancies. This team works with the Corby Anti-Social Behaviour Partnership (an off-shoot of the crime and disorder reduction partnership) to consider issues of anti-social behaviour across the borough.

150 Positive outcomes have included:

the development and joint funding of the Anti-Social Behaviour Management Unit within the Police, to manage cases leading to anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) or acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs);

joint funding for community support officers who have a specific remit to tackle anti-social behaviour. People told us that this has been a successful and appreciated initiative;

the development of effective information sharing policies with their partners; and

provision of joint training for staff on how to gather evidence for taking legal action on nuisance cases.

151 The media has been used to promote some of the successes of the initiatives delivered. However, the Council still needs to identify how this work has addressed customers’ concerns. There is a need to develop a procedure on how the partners would address the long-term housing needs of persons evicted for anti-social behaviour otherwise the nuisance caused by anti-social behaviour will only be moved from one part of the borough to another.

152 Since the development of the TET, there has been an increase in the number of complaints received; the Council has responded by providing an additional member of staff.


153 There is some evidence of good partnership working with local agencies to provide support to tenants through the Council’s tenancy support scheme. Referrals can be made by agencies, from within the Council, or by tenants themselves. File checks generally show evidence of a sensitive, non-judgemental approach by staff to customers’ support needs including details of what type of support has been provided. After the initial referral, home visits are offered although the letters offering this service are very formal. If there is no response to these offers, support is withdrawn.

154 It is not always evident from files why support has been withdrawn or whether a referral has been made to other professional support agencies. An example being one case of withdrawal of tenancy support after the client, who suffered mental ill-health, exercised the right to buy. The appropriateness of this approach is questionable due to the vulnerability of the clients to whom the service is being offered. Improved record keeping would enable managers to maintain an overview of referrals to other services and ensure that withdrawal of support was appropriate.

Estate management

155 There have been some improvements in estate management since the last inspection including improvements to grounds maintenance, demolition of empty homes, closure of alleyways, removal of abandoned cars and estate surgeries. However, the Council’s approach to addressing resident concerns remains fragmented. Some of the initiatives are relatively new and therefore too early to evaluate there impact. Conditions on Corby’s estates remain variable and there are still areas where litter, rubbish and graffiti are common.

156 Due to the high levels of right to buy, many estates which were council-owned now have diverse tenure. Some areas have high levels of abandonment of the purchased private properties. The Council is working with residents on the Kingswood estate to develop a comprehensive neighbourhood management plan which includes a sustainability index which can be used to assist with investment decisions. Although the plan is still in draft, some actions within the plan have already been delivered such as clearing abandoned vehicles. Many of the actions and principles within the plan are positive but the Council is not currently applying examples of good practice across all of its housing stock.

157 The Council is taking steps to improve the physical environment of the estates where its homes are located.

The Council has adopted a housing estate management policy, which includes service standards relating to litter, graffiti, fly tipping and other issues. Since September 2004, two dedicated housing officers have started a programme of estate walkabouts covering the whole borough every four weeks. They carryout spot-checks, resolve disputes, and enforce tenancy conditions. The aim is to improve the overall ‘liveability’ of the borough’s estates.

Abandoned private properties in Lincoln Way, which were vandalised and an eyesore for local residents have been demolished. The area has been landscaped; barriers erected and adjacent brickwork and fencing renewed or refaced creating a pleasant public space.

Grassed areas on the estates we visited were generally kept clean, tidy and attractive, for example, the general appearance of large open areas on the Kingswood estate is good. Fencing and barriers appear well-maintained and there was only a small amount a litter.


Blocking off walkways at Arran Way has improved security.

However, a number of concerns identified in the previous inspection remain including broken windows to empty properties, dumped rubbish, graffiti and poor condition of communal areas. An example includes the main entrance at Angus House where the lock was broken and provided no security for tenants. The condition of the communal space and stairway was very poor, dirty and covered in graffiti.

There has been a lack of joint working with the county council to ensure that walkways and pavements that are their responsibility are kept in good order.

158 There are still a large number of council-owned empty garages and no strategy developed on how the Council will deal with this problem.

159 A view expressed to us by residents, which we share, is that an estate manager with overall responsibility and relevant powers is required to ensure the effective management and regeneration of complete estates.

Void property management

160 This area is of key focus for the Council. Performance on turnaround although improved is still poor. In 2002/03, it took an average of 60 days to turnaround an empty home. By September 2004, this time has been reduced to 41.5 days. Overall performance is being adversely affected by the reintroduction of long-term void properties, which have been held vacant pending regeneration.

161 The Council operates an effective arrangement for staff and service users to report vacations and unauthorised occupation. In most cases, checks on such reports are carried out the same day. Abandonment remains an issue, but the Council now has experience of the legal process to secure access and ownership and this is having a beneficial effect on void turnaround.

162 Accompanied viewings are conducted as part of the offer process with basic property information provided to the applicant. Refusal rates are monitored as an internal performance indicator. However, the reason for refusal is not always recorded so that this information cannot be used for investment decisions. Minor works are carried out after occupation where practical to enable speedier occupation. Post-tenancy visits are undertaken by housing officers who are able to provide appropriate support to new tenants.

163 There is no strategy in place to guide the necessary investment decisions related to the future of most of the difficult to let and low demand properties, or the large number of properties that are held vacant pending a decision as to their future. In April 2003, the Council sold on the open market 40 properties, sites and garages at auction. Our inspection revealed that in a some cases, flats and houses had been sold at auction and initially reoccupied but shortly became vacant again together with adjacent properties. The Council has stepped in to deal with two defaults on the covenant agreement, where the situation was causing anxiety and nuisance to local residents.

164 Some improvements are being made. As part of the draft neighbourhood management plan, in the areas where there are high numbers of empty homes, improvement work is being undertaken to enhance the local environment and to renew confidence. As a result of these works on Arran Way, the Council has decided to re-let a number of long-term empty homes. Residents have worked with officers to prepare a local lettings policy specific to Arran Way. During our inspection, we found many homes that had been empty 18 months previously, were still empty with security steel shuttering in October 2004.


Allocations and letting 165 Overall, weaknesses outweigh strengths in the allocations and lettings service.

166 There are areas where existing allocations practice is not fully compliant with the Housing Act 2002, there are no comprehensive service standards, there is no choice-based lettings scheme and although there is a common housing register with RSL partners, this has not been extended to a common housing allocations policy. Little regard is paid to the different housing needs of the diverse community and the value for money being achieved through operating this service has not been comprehensively considered. However, applicants are given wide areas of choice and steps are being taken to tackle the very high rate of offer refusals.

167 An integrated empty homes team currently has responsibility for the administration of the housing register and lettings, accompanied viewing to market homes, and multi-skilled repairs staff. We found the existing housing register is managed effectively. Only 3.2 per cent of housing in Corby (600 homes) is owned by RSLs but nomination agreements between the Council and the six stock-owning RSLs are in place and are monitored by the empty homes team.

168 There are several areas where existing allocations practice is not compliant with the Housing Act 2002. Existing and potential housing register applicants have yet to be consulted on the changes to the allocation system approved by Community Committee in October 2004. We found confusion among staff as to which version of the allocation policy is in current use. Recently, there have been a number of changes in the operation of the register, such as the conduct of annual reviews but these have not been discussed with service users.

169 There are no comprehensive service standards for the allocations process, other than the target for the time taken to acknowledge a housing application. However, a recent survey undertaken by the customer centre team indicated that 78 per cent of customers were satisfied with the service and 83 per cent found the staff helpful.

170 The Council is not making best use of its partner agencies to make housing information more accessible. Housing application forms are only available from the housing reception at Deene House. The Council’s website does not include comprehensive information about the allocation policy.

171 The housing service has made efforts to market individual difficult to let properties via advertisements in the housing office and in tenants’ newsletters. Lists of available properties have been given to housing advisers and councillors so they can promote properties during interviews and meetings.

172 There is no formal process routinely applied for assessing risk in general needs housing applications. However, the Council has approved a policy that permits local lettings schemes on a pilot basis. Once developed and approved, these local lettings policies should help to ensure the suitability of individuals or age groups for living in a particular area. Broader support needs are only considered for homeless applicants and on admission to temporary accommodation.


Housing register, housing allocations policy and offering choice

173 The Council operates a common housing register with its housing association partners, but there is no common allocations policy. The housing association partners reported that the existing nomination process works well with CBC returning the names of potential nominees by phone or fax within hours of the request.

174 The current council allocations policy is a points-based scheme and applicants are able to express some preference for choice of area and type of accommodation and can change preferences as often as they wish without penalty. It demonstrates some sensitivity to homeless households through awarding additional points if living in temporary hostel accommodation for more than three months.

175 Our random file checks of housing register applications found systems working effectively. The housing register is reviewed regularly in accordance with legislative requirements. Files checked were comprehensive containing supporting information, letters confirming points awarded, and evidence that regular and timely annual reviews are taking place. Applicants are informed of their right to appeal and where appeals are made these are undertaken by an independent senior officer. There were examples of referrals being made to the homeless and housing advice team for advice where applicants identified changes in circumstances.

176 The housing register has increased from 1713 households in April 2001 to 2,379 households in April 2004, indicating buoyant and increasing demand for rented housing in the borough. This demand for rented housing is being heightened by the fast rise in the cost of owner-occupation, making it unaffordable for families living on low incomes. The Council is working to understand the local housing context through the development of policies and initiatives to address lengthy re-let times and high levels of refusals and ensuring that the profile of stock is reflective of those who need it.

177 The Council has identified that 49 per cent of first time offers of a tenancy are refused with some of the highest levels of refusals being for older persons’ accommodation. A target has been set that refusals should not exceed 20 per cent of all offers. Following the analysis of reasons for refusal, the Council has developed new polices specifically to address this issue and is now using its new sustainability matrix to inform investment decisions. All new introductory tenants receive settling in visits but the Council is not using this opportunity to get feedback about the allocation and letting process and to identify service improvements.

178 The Council is not making best use of its housing stock in meeting housing needs as it is still not offering an empty property until the point it is ready for occupation, except on ‘fast track’ voids. This is not good practice as the prospective tenant is not involved in discussing the repair and redecoration work. Other authorities have found that to involve the prospective tenant at an early stage will speed the process and frequently reduces, rather than increases, the extent of necessary repairs and redecoration.


179 The 2004/05 housing business plan identifies an action plan to work towards a choice-based lettings scheme. However, the draft allocations policy approved by October’s Community Committee did not include this. This was a missed opportunity to implement an initiative which could be used to target long-term empty or low demand properties and high refusal levels. Although we were advised that officers use their discretion, the approved revised allocations policy states that applicants who refuse an offer of suitable accommodation will incur penalty points; this is contrary to the spirit of the guidance under the 2002 Housing Act.

180 The Council is in the process of re-introducing a number of long-term empty properties back into the housing stock. There are differing opinions between officers and members as to whom these properties should be let. Local lettings policies are being developed with residents to address concerns about sustainability of certain areas. The Council should develop policy with service users for the re-occupation of all long-term empty homes, other than those which are definitely to be demolished.

181 The Council does not collect information about the costs of the allocation and letting service and is not aware of unit costs of the service. It has not used procurement to achieve value for money. Apart from isolated examples such as nominations to housing associations, partnerships have not been forged to improve the efficiency and quality of the allocation service. Although the Council is able to identify that specific older people’s bed-sit accommodation is regularly refused by applicants, the information is not being used to inform investment or re-provisioning decisions. As a result, the Council continues to lose rental income from difficult to let properties. Some information has been used to inform the bid for extra care funding from the Department of Health, and is also stated to have been used to inform the stock option appraisal process.

Homelessness and housing needs 182 Weaknesses outweigh strengths.

183 The Council with its partners has made some positive progress to improve homelessness and housing advice services within the borough through a rent deposit scheme, provision of a crash pad for young people and dedicated housing advice officers. However, the homelessness action plan is weak, and the Council is failing to deliver on its priority to provide good quality temporary accommodation. The accommodation at Bridge Court for homeless women with children is cramped with the overcrowding of rooms and there are currently no facilities in the borough for single homeless women or those fleeing from domestic violence.

184 Conditions experienced by residents at the council-owned Lodge are unacceptable and remain a significant concern. The Council has not implemented the recommendation from the previous inspection to:

‘Decide on the future of The Lodge, with regard to the investment needs of the building, and put in place a firm and detailed action plan’.

185 Although in the intervening 18 months there have been many discussions and feasibility studies undertaken, no conclusions have been implemented. As recently as August 2004, the Community Services Committee has deferred making any decision on the future of The Lodge but did agree to gradually reduce numbers from 58 to 40 residents.


186 The number of households accepted as homeless and in priority need in Corby is low and stable. In 2003/04, 90 households presented themselves to the Council as homeless, of these 61 households were accepted, the same as in 2001/02. Half of all the acceptances of priority homeless households in 2003/04 were repeat acceptances. The Council has not yet analysed and tackled the reasons for this very high proportion of repeat homeless presentations and acceptances.

187 The homelessness and housing advice service customer charter is not challenging. Although it includes details of opening times, and some specific service standards, these are neither comprehensive nor challenging; for example, one standard is that ‘on request for housing advice the Council will arrange for an office interview within ten working days’. We were told that the service standards are not monitored or widely publicised.

188 We noted some positive comments received from service users about the standard of assistance received from the housing team during the homelessness and re-housing process. Files checks demonstrated that homeless applicants were treated in a sensitive manner.

Housing advice and homelessness prevention services

189 The Council’s priorities in relation to homelessness reflect national priorities namely; prevention, support and advice and good quality temporary accommodation.

190 The Council’s review of homelessness identified a number of key issues for Corby to address. The review found gaps in provision for vulnerable homeless people, including young people, people who abuse drugs and alcohol, people with mental ill health, teenage parents, people experiencing domestic abuse and ex-offenders. The review also found a lack of consistency in joint working and information sharing between agencies. There were opportunities to develop services and initiatives which could prevent homelessness and broader issues impacting on homelessness such as the greater use of supported private sector housing.

191 Although the action plan in the homelessness strategy is weak, a number of the actions which address some of the identified gaps have been delivered. This is helping to improve the availability of services to homeless and potentially homeless applicants in the borough. A number of initiatives have been started through the use of the ODPM Homelessness Grant.

To improve the accessibility of housing advice to young people, the Council has allocated £4,000 of ODPM homelessness funding to Connexions. This grant is being used to develop publicity about housing support agencies in Corby and to provide resource packs for schools and other agencies which will accompany a video entitled ‘bedding down’ made earlier in 2004.

The Corby Domestic Violence Forum is receiving an ODPM grant of £8,698 to develop new provision of temporary accommodation for victims of domestic violence.

The Heartlands Mediation Service is receiving an ODPM grant of £10,000 to recruit mediators, to provide training and to receive referrals from the Council.

CAN in Corby is receiving a grant of £9,000 to run the rent guarantee scheme to assist homeless households live independently with support as appropriate, including men currently resident at the Lodge.


192 Outcomes for customers to date from the above grant funded preventative work have been limited as each project has been developing. All the schemes are now operative.

193 The Council has a positive relationship with social services for dealing with young people who become homeless this includes:

a multi-agency protocol in place for young people aged 16 to 18 between the Council, Kettering Council and the county community support team; and

the provision of a crash pad which provides temporary accommodation for young people.

194 The Council has now its own dedicated housing advice officer, although independent housing advice can be accessed locally through CAN and from Shelter at surgeries in Corby’s Welfare Rights offices.

195 The housing advice service makes referrals to the tenancy support scheme to provide good ongoing support to people in rent arrears to prevent them becoming homeless. However, this service is limited to council and RSL tenants. Some advice for private tenants or for residents who are at risk of losing their homes because of mortgage arrears, may have been provided by Corby Accommodation Project (which receives some grant support), although this does not appear to have been monitored by the Council.

196 In 2003/04, all homeless applicants had been assessed within the target time of 33 days. The number of applicants in priority need declared as ‘intentionally homeless’ has increased significantly from 9 in 2001/02 to 16 in 2003/04. This trend to declare an increasing proportion of people presenting as being ‘intentionally homeless’ is likely to be as result of growing confidence in the homelessness team as the team becomes more experienced and skilled.

197 We checked a number of files of people who had recently presented as homeless and found that files had been updated with relevant documentation including a section 184 notice on the file, and a proportion had received an internal file check. However, we found one case where it was recorded that the homeless duty had been discharged, an offer of housing refused, but the file did not include any information about the right to have the claim reviewed.

198 The quality of the investigation into the majority of homeless person files we checked at random was not as thorough as those checked during the previous inspection but these did not result in an intentionally homeless decision being made. There was some improvement in the quality of investigation in the more recent cases. However, the service has suffered from staff shortages. A new enthusiastic team is now in place and they have been receiving external homelessness training.

199 The majority of cases we checked indicated that applicants had been handled professionally and sensitively.

200 Although the Council does not believe there is a level of rough sleeping in the borough, a rough sleeper count was undertaken on 19 October 2004. No one was found to be rough sleeping that night. The Council is aware of four men who do sleep rough on occasions but none of them was seen on the night of the count Efforts were made to locate these four known rough sleepers, two were located in other accommodation but the remaining two were not found.


Temporary accommodation for homeless families

201 The Council does not use bed and breakfast as temporary accommodation for households with children and states in its self-assessment that it has sufficient temporary accommodation. We found this assertion incorrect. Homeless families are accommodated in the Council’s Bridge Court hostel which has 15 rooms accommodating in cramped circumstances up to 31 people. The Lodge is currently used for accommodating 42 single men on a temporary basis. Six of the occupants at The Lodge have been there for more than ten years and only one third have been at the hostel for less than one year. Occupiers hold a license to occupy a room rather than a tenancy. Such licenses are designed for short-term occupation and are totally inappropriate for people occupying the same accommodation for long periods as is occurring at The Lodge.

202 We undertook a brief inspection of The Lodge and found living conditions totally unsatisfactory. None of the occupied rooms we inspected met the minimum space standard for occupation by an adult as a bedroom. This is a breach of housing legislation as any person who causes or permits the occupation of a room of less than 70 square feet by a person over the age of 10 is committing a summary offence – (section 327 Housing Act 1985).

203 The rooms at The Lodge are used by some occupants not only for sleeping but for food storage, food preparation and for cooking usually in a microwave cooker. If a room within a house in multiple-occupation is used for purposes other than sleeping, the government recommends that councils should fix local space standards which are dependent on the use of rooms, Corby has adopted no such space standards. The suggested standard for a room used by one person for sleeping, living and cooking is 13 square meters, approximately 130 square feet, this is about twice the size of the rooms currently available.

204 A number of people we met from external voluntary agencies and RSLs commented about the positive attitude of staff at The Lodge. However, the level of staffing at The Lodge is not appropriate for a facility with 42 single men many of whom have support needs. When we inspected The Lodge, the manager on duty was very helpful, but he was an hourly paid casual worker who had started working at The Lodge the previous week with no induction or comprehensive training. We were informed by the Council after the inspection that an additional support worker has been appointed.

205 The rooms we viewed at Bridge Court occupied by families were very cramped and also apparently overcrowded.

206 Other temporary accommodation includes use of the Crash Pad, and support is provided from other agencies including the Social Care and Health 'Leaving Care Team', the Stonham Project at Sutherland House, English Churches Housing Association and floating support programmes from CAN, and the Mental Health Team. The Council has used its own stock to provide temporary homeless accommodation including six self-contained flats for vulnerable teenage parents.

207 The Council has used ODPM funding to provide 100 resource packs for people in temporary accommodation which include items such as duvets, pillows, toiletries and food. Although the Council is working with a range of agencies to provide temporary and supported housing for a range of needs, this is usually focused on its own low demand stock. The review of homelessness highlighted this as a real concern for agencies consulted.


208 The Council does not monitor how long homeless households spend in non-secure accommodation within the Council’s own stock. At the time of inspection, there were 19 households on non-secure tenancies and in one case reviewed, the applicant had been in a non-secure tenancy for nearly two years.

209 A Supporting People quality assessment framework review has determined that The Lodge is not strategically relevant to the needs of Corby. A favourable response has since been received from the ODPM to the Council’s ‘Invest to Save’ bid for facilities to amend or replace The Lodge. A brief is being issued to design consultants to provide a definitive opinion on the suitability of the current building to contribute to future services.

Supported and sheltered housing 210 Strengths balance weaknesses.

211 The last inspection found that the sheltered housing service in Corby was providing a good service to tenants, with established policy and procedures in place, letting and maintaining homes in good condition which are let rapidly. We found the service provided to tenants in sheltered housing still generally good. Some properties are now experiencing low demand and the dispersed alarm system is not financially viable. There are some good initiatives in other areas of supported housing and some beneficial partnership working with RSLs.

212 The Council is effectively consulting with service users. As part of the Council’s work towards Charter Mark it established a sheltered housing focus group. The group has involvement in spending decisions for each sheltered scheme, receives annual reports on service performance and was consulted as part of the review of the sheltered housing service.

213 Feedback from sheltered housing service users indicated that they felt that the charging for services was unfair as many tenants did not require the level of care for which they were paying. Following a review, in response to the above criticism, and also because of the need to comply with the working time directive, the Council has moved to an entirely mobile warden service. It is also reviewing service charges to ensure they are being fairly apportioned.

214 Views of older people in Corby have been sought as part of the preparation for the Northamptonshire older peoples’ strategy jointly commissioned by the district councils and the supporting people commissioning body.

Supported housing provision

215 The Council’s dispersed alarm system is not viable in its current form. The Council currently provides a control centre service to 1,500 homes, including 512 of its own sheltered homes in 15 schemes, and dispersed alarms in homes in both the Council and private sectors. The service is partly funded by supporting people grant.

216 The Council’s current alarm system is dated and does not meet recognised modern standards. While a procurement process is underway to consider the options available, the Council has concerns about the long-term financial viability of the call centre which, with only 1,500 service users, falls short of the 12,000 required to breakeven.


217 The Council has no investment strategy for its sheltered housing. Until recently, the demand for the Council’s sheltered stock has been buoyant. However, 24 per cent of sheltered homes are bedsits (121 units) and several schemes have shared bathrooms. These properties are becoming increasingly less popular.

218 The Council is trying to provide supported housing for a number of client groups, however, the range and extent of facilities is quite limited. In partnership with Leicester HA, the Council has developed housing for teenage mothers using existing council stock. A joint seven unit mental health and addiction project has been developed with Leicester HA, CAN and the PCT. A new domestic violence refuge is under design.

219 In 1999, the Council worked with Hanover HA to enable the development of Swan Court, a 35 unit scheme for frail elderly people. However, a 2003/04 funding bid by Hanover to convert an existing council-sheltered scheme to extra care, was unsuccessful. Some specially adapted properties are available. In 2003/04, six fully accessible bungalows for elderly people have been developed in Rockingham by Orbit HA for allocation by Northamptonshire Rural HA.

220 The Council is working to provide support to vulnerable households to sustain their tenancies. Two tenancy support officers, funded by supporting people grant, provide additional support to 60 tenants experiencing difficulties sustaining their tenancies or who are vulnerable in any way. The supporting people inspection report for Northamptonshire states that feedback from other agencies during the homelessness review indicated that this was a useful service.

Summary 221 Overall, the housing services last inspected in March 2003, are still poor.

222 There are a few service areas such as housing income management and major capital investment where services are reasonably good. The Council is tackling anti-social behaviour, which is a particular priority for residents who live on the estates.

223 Resident involvement has improved, particularly focused around the housing options appraisal process.

224 Supported housing is being planned to meet a range of needs but there is no strategy to address the problems of reducing demand for some sheltered housing schemes.

225 There is now an increased focus on diversity and the approach is improving across all housing services. The housing service has plans in place to achieve compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 but it is not complying with the CRE code for rented housing. The Council recognises that housing information is very limited in languages other than English or in alternative formats, and is taking steps to address this. Language line is now in use.

226 There have been some improvements since the previous inspection in access to services and customer care although further improvements are required. Service standards are not comprehensive and are not monitored and reported on consistently. The centralised office facilities are cramped with limited opening hours. Reception staff are attentive and helpful but have had limited training.


227 While performance in capital and planned works is positive, the responsive repairs service has substantial backlogs of outstanding jobs and between 2002/03 and 2003/04, there has been a deterioration in the time taken to carryout both urgent and non-urgent repairs. The aids and adaptations service requires improvement. The Council is failing to meet minimum statutory standards for the servicing of gas appliances.

228 Some actions have been taken to improve value for money, including bringing the housing revenue account under control and reducing the cost of responsive repairs per dwelling. But value for money within housing management services has not been robustly tested and costs of repairs done by the in-house team are high. The Council is not using modern procurement methods to obtain the best use of value for money for planned and responsive works.

229 There is mixed performance in estate management.

230 Homelessness services are poor. The temporary accommodation available is inadequate, fails to meet minimum statutory standards and is not appropriate for people’s needs. Partner organisations have not been used effectively to assist in supporting homeless families.


What are the prospects for improvement to the service? What is the evidence of service improvement? 231 There has been limited progress in implementing the 42 recommendations in

April 2003 housing service inspection report. Of the 42 recommendations only 13 have been met in full, 14 met in part, with 15 not met at all. The tenant participation compact has been revised, the tenants’ handbook has been revised and reissued, a comprehensive range of housing services leaflets is now available, and the level of tenant participation has been improved. The housing revenue account has been brought under control and income management has improved. There is a positive approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour. However, there is still a backlog of 900 repairs jobs, the time taken to carryout repairs is increasing, gas servicing does not meet statutory standards, temporary accommodation for homeless families is unsuitable, estate management is mixed and the repairs service has not been market tested.

232 The Council has been unrealistic in reporting progress against its best value improvement plan. In many places the report states that actions are complete when in fact only small parts of the recommendation have been tackled.

233 The method of procuring materials is still uncompetitive. Although the Council intends to tender the supply of materials in 2005, the current arrangements are increasing the cost to tenants. This situation continues 18 months after the criticism in the previous report.

234 In September 2004, to augment existing arrangements, estate walkabouts covering the whole borough every four weeks were introduced. However, their introduction is too recent to have noticeable impact. The number of informal opportunities for customers to engage with the Council on the housing service has increased including the estate walkabouts, and drop-in sessions at four community centres and surgeries.

235 The Council has increased the range of ways tenants can pay rent. Telephone and internet payments have been introduced and the Council has programmed a pilot from April 2005 for rental payment using SWIPE cards. There is a campaign to promote payment by direct debit and by opening the cash office at Deene House on Saturday mornings, the Council has increased the times available to tenants to pay rent.

236 The Council has failed to implement the previous report's recommendation to develop plans for replacing The Lodge. Despite an officer report in August 2004 detailing an options appraisal, and a recommendation for the decommissioning of The Lodge and replacement with more suitable accommodation, the Council deferred any decision.

237 Council members, officers and tenants told us that there have been a number of discernible improvements including services to customers with more tenant involvement, the tenancy support team, tenancy enforcement, countering anti-social behaviour, and the new mediation service. These views were endorsed by resident associations, the Housing Needs Forum and the Community Safety Forum. We noticed an improvement in estate management with most grassed areas well-cared for with only small amounts of litter. However, there are still large numbers of boarded-up empty homes, dirty communal areas and graffiti.

238 The draft neighbourhood management plan, recently introduced in Kingswood designed to improve estate management, is having a perceptible impact on local living conditions.


239 Performance in the administration of housing benefit has shown a sustained and considerable improvement over the last two years. There is better co-operation between the Council and voluntary agencies resulting in a reduction in the number of complaints about handling rent arrears, homelessness and repairs.

240 There are a number of new initiatives funded through ODPM grant targeted at preventing homelessness including a rent deposit scheme, the mediation service, and information packs for schools. As all these projects are at an early stage in their development, it is not possible to assess their impact on service users.

241 The Council has delivered variable quality of improvement as reflected in local and national performance indicators. Performance on reducing the number of non-decent council-owned homes, raising energy efficiency ratings and handling claims for housing benefits has improved considerably. However, expenditure on responsive repairs increased as a proportion of all non-capital works from 63 per cent in 2002/03 to 69 per cent in 2003/04 and the amount of rent lost due to dwellings being empty rose during the same years from 4.46 per cent to 4.88 per cent of all rental income.

242 The Council has shown its willingness to learn from others and to apply that learning to its own context. It looked at the experience of Telford and Wrekin and Doncaster councils when developing a sustainability matrix. The matrix is designed to enable the Council to take a more strategic approach to stock investment and to target resources more effectively.

243 Staff commented that internal communication is now more constructive, there are joint meetings between staff in housing and environmental health, and the chief executive runs regular workshops aimed at increasing inter-departmental co-operation.

How good are the current improvement plans? 244 Our judgements here relate not just to the existence and quality of current plans

but also how they were developed. Using best value principles any improvement plan should set out what needs to improve, why and how that improvement will be delivered. It should contain targets which are not only challenging but also designed to demonstrate and ensure continuous improvement.

245 After the last inspection of the housing service when the service was judged as ‘poor,’ the Council was required to produce an action plan to address all the weaknesses identified in the report. This request has been met, but the Council’s approach to tackling the weaknesses and recommendations in the April 2003 report has been superficial in some aspects. Major changes have been made to the senior staffing structure in housing since the last inspection. The new organisation is not yet working effectively and further changes have been made in responsibilities and administration of the repair service.

246 The Council last undertook a best value review of the housing services in 2001. In preparing its improvement plans, the Council has not rigorously applied the four best value principles of ‘challenge’, ‘consult’, ‘compare’ and ‘compete’. Although there has been investment in resident involvement, overall consultation on plans for the housing service has been weak. FORTAC is generally only consulted at the end of the development of policies and programmes. There is very little consultation with tenants outside the formal organisations including the federation and the TARAs. FORTAC’s representation on the Community Services Committee, although laudable, does not obviate the need for broader consultation with all service users.


247 The Council has failed to carry out any local market testing of its repair service, preferring instead to rationalise its position by stating that it could not have market tested the service prior to the housing options appraisal process being completed. The decision not to market test the repairs service, has worked against the pursuit of value for money which is a priority regardless of any housing delivery option chosen. However, substantial revenue savings have been made by renegotiating conditions of service with the repairs operatives.

248 Overall, the Council’s improvement plans are still not a high quality. They have been developed without the benefit of an honest evaluation of the service.

249 There is a lack of SMART effective business plans covering the entire housing service. Key issues are fragmented across two directorates, and there is not clear ownership of poorer performing areas. The housing service action plan for 2004/05 does not address a number of areas of weakness, and at the time of inspection, there was slippage against some of the proposed actions.

250 Although the Council has joined Housemark, it is failing to undertake benchmarking of performance of its housing services. In particular, it is unable to provide unit costs for individual items of repairs or the unit cost of repairs to void properties.

251 The Council has developed a robust neighbourhood management plan for Kingswood, and individual officers have been given responsibility for delivering them. However the plan is still in draft form and resources are not identified.

Will improvements be delivered? 252 There are significant barriers to achieving improvements in housing services. The

chief executive, leader and deputy leader of the Council did not sign-up to the housing service’s self-assessment provided to the inspection team and the assessment did not demonstrate a clear understanding and acceptance of the outstanding issues.

253 There is no doubt that following election of a new leader and appointment of a new chief executive, there has been substantial improvement in a number of Corby’s services. This improvement was recognised in a recent CPA inspection. The regeneration agenda is ambitious with an aim of doubling the population between 2001 and 2030 and creating 30,000 new jobs.

254 The new leadership has concentrated on the regeneration agenda to the detriment of some of the core housing services. This is fully recognised and they have now turned their attention to improving the housing service.

255 Members, however, have shown a lack of resolve to deal with the known problems. In the case of temporary accommodation for homeless households, despite recommendations from officers, and having been aware of significant problems, councillors have deferred taking any decision on the future of The Lodge. Temporary accommodation for families is also very unsatisfactory but there are no developed plans for dealing with this deficiency.

256 In terms of prioritisation, residents and officers have identified a number of key issues that will receive special emphasis. For example, anti-social behaviour has been designated a key priority. Accordingly, additional resources, including finance and staff, have been directed towards addressing this priority.


257 The Council's housing service has lacked the capacity to deliver service aims and drive improvement. There is a lack of managerial capacity in the housing department as evidenced by the poor progress in fully addressing many of the 42 recommendations in the previous report. We found that performance in a number of service areas, including homelessness and undertaking non-urgent repairs, had actually deteriorated since the previous inspection.

258 There has been a lack of capacity, at middle management level, which has impacted on service operations and senior management has had to overly involve itself in operations management and development to the detriment of strategic planning and development. There is also a lack of specific expertise and experience in modern procurement. The Council states that capacity will improve with the restructuring of the service and the new senior management in place, but less than one month before the inspection, the responsibility for the response repairs service was moved from one division to another within the Directorate. It is too early to judge whether the restructuring will have the desired effect as some senior staff have only recently taken up their posts.

259 In terms of improving capacity the Council is building a range of external and internal partnerships to address concerns previously identified by residents such as anti-social behaviour. Some of these partnerships are still at a very early stage in their development. Historically, housing associations have had little involvement in improving Corby’s housing services. A new partnership with RSLs is now to be used for revitalising and remodelling estates as well as delivering new affordable homes on new developments.

260 A strong relationship has developed between Catalyst Corby and the Council; as a result, developers are anxious to build new homes in Corby. However, much more needs to be done to increase the involvement of local RSLs.

261 There are serious concerns being expressed by housing partners about the capacity to deliver an effective supported housing service within the borough. This includes a lack of appropriate resources, skills, clear priorities and delivery of basic working procedures.

262 To improve capacity there is a major training programme for staff in housing services. Joint training is being delivered for housing staff and voluntary agencies on domestic violence. Homeless and housing staff are attending a number of external training courses to improve knowledge and skills. However, much of this training is at an early stage.

263 Since the last inspection, the Council has introduced improved performance management systems. There is clear evidence of corporate and service planning with all services working to the goals set out in ‘One Corby’. There is a performance management framework with departmental performance clinics that report through a performance management steering group, and through to the modernising Corby steering group. Any variations in excess of 5 per cent are reported to the relevant overview and scrutiny panel.


264 Housing now has 25 national and local service performance indicators that are included within the housing services business plan and are reported regularly to members through the scrutiny panel. Progress is reviewed through the monthly departmental PI clinic. In turn, departmental clinics report into a corporate clinic, where any poor performing services are discussed and appropriate action taken. Progress is also reviewed monthly by the lead member for housing. Although this information is passed through to frontline staff, tenants and other service users are not involved in performance management. There is no evidence that merely gathering performance information is actually driving improvement. Performance in a number of areas, such as emergency and non-urgent repairs, had actually deteriorated and in other areas performance was inconsistent. Overall performance management is inadequate.

265 Financial monitoring takes place through monthly budget monitoring meetings. New time recording by staff has been introduced this year in order to review the split in revenue costs between the general fund and the housing revenue account. To improve financial planning, a new capital programme bidding process has been introduced for heads of service. Officers are required to justify their bids, based on a hierarchy of criteria with ‘meeting a statutory requirement’ at the head of the list. In achieving value for money, officers are expected to seek external funding sources where possible and to work in partnership.

266 Complaints about the homelessness service are recorded as part of the corporate complaints procedure and reported as management information to the performance clinic. Complaints from customers are now being viewed by staff in a more positive manner and as a tool for driving improvements.

267 Some informative data is being gathered on the tenancy support service in terms of locality of users and reason for engagement. However, this data is not being used to inform improvements to services or strategic policy development.

268 The Council has an effective monitoring system to track whether its assumptions on sales through ‘right to buy’ are robust. This is very important, as a fall in the number of homes sold will have a major impact on the amount of capital receipts that are available for investment. The Council has already identified that this year's assumption of 300 sales is likely to be over optimistic and that an outturn of 200 is more likely. The Council is making adjustments to its medium-term financial planning for capital expenditure on housing accordingly.

Summary 269 The Council has uncertain prospects of improvement in its housing services.

270 Although there have been some improvements since the service was last inspected in early 2003, more than half the weaknesses, identified in the last report, have not been fully remedied.

271 Of particular concern is the backlog of 900 repairs jobs. The best value improvement plan informed us that the backlog had been cleared. We were told that performance in carrying out non-urgent repairs had improved, but when we obtained the relevant statistics we found performance had deteriorated with repairs taking more than twice as long as in 2002/03 when the last inspection was carried out. Gas servicing still does not meet statutory standards, and the repairs service has not been market tested. There is lack of progress in dealing with The Lodge.


272 Despite these concerns, there have been other areas of progress. In particular, the housing benefit service has improved as has estate management, with one or two noted exceptions. The Council, with its partners, is making a concerted effort to tackle anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour for many residents is the number one issue of concern.

273 This re-inspection highlighted a lack of capacity within the housing service. This deficiency in capacity at middle management level is materially affecting delivery across the complete housing service. Senior management has had to overly involve itself in operations management and development to the detriment of strategic planning and development.

274 The Council lacks self-awareness about its performance in housing and has limited understanding of the problems it faces and the possible solutions. The housing services self-assessment produced in September 2004 is unrealistic about current performance.

275 The Council needs to have a realistic view of its performance and of the quality of all its housing services, together with improved co-ordination of plans and improved performance management in order to demonstrate better prospects of improvement.


Appendices The purpose of a inspection is to make two judgements. The first is how good is the service being inspected? The second is what are the prospects for improvement? We carried out a range of activities to enable us to reach our judgements.

Documents reviewed Before going on-site and during our visit, we reviewed various documents that the Council provided for us. These included:

Corby’s Housing self-assessment – 15 September 2004;

Corby Community Strategy and One Corby;

2002 Housing Strategy;

2004/07 Housing Revenue Account Business Plan;

Housing and Technical Services Business Plans;

Housing Investment Programme 2004 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix;

Housing Investment Programme 2004 Business plan Statistical Appendix;

best value performance plan 2003/04; and

Homelessness Strategy, Empty Homes Strategy and Private Sector Housing Renewal Strategy.

Reality checks undertaken When we went on-site we carried out a number of different checks, building on the work described above, in order to get a full picture of how good the service is. These on-site reality checks were designed to gather evidence about what it is like to use the service and to see how well it works. We also followed up on issues relating to the management of the review and the improvements flowing from it. Our reality checks included:

focus groups including – housing partners, frontline staff, and tenants;

interviews with a wide range of stakeholders;

an inspection of The Lodge and visits to other temporary accommodation;

estate walkabouts with tenants;

telephone calls to the out-of-hours repairs number and to council offices;

file checks;

shadowing of staff;

attending committee; and

attending Lodge Park and Beanfield Residents’ and Tenants’ Associations.


List of people interviewed We met a range of people involved with the service.

Assistant to the Chief Executive

Revenues and Benefits Manager

Head of Housing Services

Chief Executive – Catalyst Corby

Head of Street Scene, Environmental and Technical

Housing Advisor

Chief Executive

Chair Community Committee and Deputy Leader

Leader of the Council

Planned Maintenance Officer

Corporate Director

Repairs Team Leader

Supported Housing Consultant

Principal Environmental Health Officer (Domestic)

Deputy Chief Executive

Strategy and Resource Manager

Landlord Services Manager

Head of Legal and Asset Management

Support Team Leader

Head of Finance

Community Safety Officer

Customer Centre Team Leader

Principal Accountant (Housing)

Planned Maintenance Manager

PEP and Independent Tenant Advisor

Gas Servicing Manager


Corby CAB

Housing Advisor

Empty Homes Team Leader

Head of Performance Management, E-government and Scrutiny

Corby Welfare Rights

Northants County Council Supporting People

Corby Care and Repair

Leicester Housing Association

12 officers involved in delivering housing services participated in the focus group


Improving public services

The Government has placed a duty upon local councils to deliver services to clear standards – of cost and quality – by the most economic, efficient and effective means available6. Best value is a challenging framework that is designed to improve local services. Councils are required to assess their own performance and put in place measures to ensure continuous improvement in all of their services.

Councils must show that they have applied the four Cs of best value:

challenging why and how a service is being provided;

comparing their performance with others’ (including organisations in the private and voluntary sectors);

embracing fair competition as a means of securing efficient and effective services; and

consulting local taxpayers, customers and the wider business community.

The Government has decided that each council should be scrutinised by an independent inspectorate. The Audit Commission performs this role.

The purpose of the inspection, and of this report, is to:

enable the public to see whether best value is being delivered;

enable the Council to see how well it is doing;

enable the Government to see how well its policies are working in practice;

identify failing services where remedial action may be necessary; and

identify and disseminate best practice.

6 This report has been prepared by the Audit Commission (‘the Commission’) following an inspection

under Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1999, and issued in accordance with its duty under Section 13 of the 1999 Act.

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