Winter 2012 Edition 1ALSO INSIDE: Opening Times Reviewed page 3 • Rent Your First Priority page 7Energy Savings Programme page 10-11 • Looking to downsize? page15

Cadder News

Christmas Holidays The Committee and staff of Cadder Housing Association would like to wish all our residents and customers a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous and Healthy New Year.

The Association’s offi ce will close from 5.00pm on Friday 21 December and will reopen on Monday 7 January 2013 at 9.00a.m.

If you have an emergency repair issue please do not hesitate to contact City Building on 0800 595 595.

Further advice on our emergency service and some steps you can take to prevent damage to your home can be found on Page 16.

Christmas Holidays If you have an emergency repair issue please do not hesitate to contact

Regeneration in Cadderp12-13

Money & Benefi ts Advicep8-9

Director’s welcomep2-3

The newsletter of Cadder Housing Association Limited

Winter 2012

It’s a ‘WinterWonderland’Newly refurbished Community Centre party - See the pictures on pages 4 and 5

Winter 2012 Edition 32 Cadder Housing Association

On my return it was great to see the extent of the improvement works across the area, fi rstly to the properties where the Association was able to access funding from energy companies and the Government’s Community Energy Saving Programme to deliver a full package of improvements to our tenants’ homes. I’m also pleased that owner-occupiers were able to participate in this project and enjoy the discounts to make these improvements to their homes more affordable. These improvements will ensure that tenants and owner-occupiers that participate in the scheme will see the benefi t of having warmer and more comfortable homes, whilst paying less in their fuel bills. The cost of the improvements to the Association for our properties is £5million and has been funded from our reserves and a new loan facility. We will have to consider how we can replenish our reserves whilst funding this loan facility to be able to further improve our tenant’s homes in the future,

as well as fund improvements and achieve our aspirations in the regeneration of Cadder.

I vividly recall the day at the end of March 2010 when the Association secured a license to occupy the Cadder Community Centre from Glasgow City Council and I was able to pass the keys to community representatives, Kenny McGready and May Gahagan to open the Community Centre. This was a momentous occasion where the Association having worked closely with the community, had been successful in ensuring the centre would remain open. It had previously been scheduled for closure and demolition as it was regarded as ‘surplus to requirements’ by the City Council.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the improvements that had been made to the main building in the last 2 years, which recognises the commitment of the Association and its partners on the Cadder Task Group. The Task Group was established by the former Lord Provost,

Bob Winter following the City Council’s planned closure of centre in an effort to ensure continued delivery of community services and amenities for Cadder residents. There are exciting plans for the further development of the Community Centre and the Big Lottery has approved our application at stage 1 of their funding process, where they accept there is a need and demand for a new community centre in Cadder. We have now appointed the consultants to attract approximately £2million funding required to meet the costs of the new proposed centre; and architectural and professional services to design a centre to meet the community’s needs and aspirations, as well as ensure it is fi nancially viability and sustainability in the medium to long term. We aim to submit our stage 2 application to the Big Lottery in late summer 2013.

I’m committed to making the Cadder Community Centre a success providing a space for community events and

Director’s welcome...It has been nearly 5 months since I arrived back in Cadder following my appointment as the Association’s Director. I enjoyed my time as the Chief Executive Offi cer at Govan Housing Association and made good progress and initiated change in their work, but the opportunity to return to Cadder to lead the Association and take forward much of the regeneration work I had started in my fi rst spell with the Association, was for me far too great. I always felt that when I left Cadder for Govan in May 2010 that the job and regeneration of Cadder was incomplete, but I aspired to be a Director and Govan gave me that opportunity. I successfully made the transition to the Director’s position in Govan and that experience will hold me in good stead and prepare me for the future challenges in Cadder.

Cadder Reviews it’s Offi ce Opening Times

We have undertaken a comprehensive review of our offi ce opening times, which takes account of the views of our tenants and other customers in our recent satisfaction and consultation surveys. Our offi ce opening times were last reviewed in 2001 where we changed them to 10.00am-5.00pm with no closure for lunch. The review has highlighted that our tenants wanted us to open earlier; continue to open continuously throughout the day with no closure for lunch; and to consider a late night opening on one evening per week. We have assessed your views against our records of visitors to our offi ce throughout the day and the new opening times from Monday 7 January 2013 will be:

Monday 9.00a.m - 4.30p.m

Tuesday 9.00a.m - 4.30p.m.

Wednesday 9.00a.m - 4.30p.m.

Thursday 9.00a.m - 6.00p.m*

Friday 9.00a.m - 4.00p.m

Our records show that the quietist time of the day for visitors to our offi ce is between 4.00 – 5.00p.m across the week, but especially on a Friday. *We will pilot a late night opening on a Thursday evening of each week between January – June 2013 and assess whether there is a demand for our services at that time. If successful we will maintain this opening time to meet the needs of our tenants and other customers, if not we will change the opening time to 4.30p.m.

activities. At the time of writing this article the Association held its Winter Wonderland event, which provided a full programme of free activities for local residents. Photographs from the Winter Wonderland event can be seen on page 4/5 of the Cadder News. A fun fi lled and enjoyable evening was had by more than 200 local residents and throughout the night there was much praise for the event and its activities, but also that it was FREE. Children got to meet Santa, there were bouncy castles, face painting, disco, puppet show, a village story teller, bingo, free food and refreshments and much more. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Association’s contractors and suppliers, as well as local businesses for their donations which contributed to the cost of the evening and allowed us to make it a free event. I would also like to thank the Association’s Management Committee and staff who organised this event in a very short time and displayed tremendous endeavour and commitment to ensure a fun fi lled full programme of events were on offer for local residents to enjoy. It was a phenomenal achievement!!

I have long felt the major prize in the regeneration of Cadder was a new school campus and despite close working

with the City Council’s Education Services in 2006/07, this did not transpire due to political and economic reasons. The community was dealt a major blow when the Council closed St Agnes Primary School in 2009, which many people felt ended the concept of a campus for Cadder. In view of the failing condition of Cadder Primary School I am determined to work tirelessly to ensure there is a new or improved school for Cadder. In my short tenure since my return I have re-ignited this issue and met with the Head of Education Services, Maureen McKenna to give her the background to the campus proposal and also relay the Association and community’s concerns and aspirations for primary school provision in Cadder. I will be seeking to establish a working group of local people and group representatives to pursue this matter with Education Services and the City Council.

I’m delighted to have been reappointed to work for Cadder Housing Association and my aim is to excel in my role and improve the living conditions, local environment and amenities and opportunities for Cadder’s people.

Kenny

Winter 2012 Edition 54 Cadder Housing Association

Cadder residents congregated in the newly refurbished community centre for a Winter Wonderland Event. The Association’s Committee and staff organised this free event for residents, which was supported by its contractors and suppliers, as well as Cas for Kids and local businesses to ensure that local residents

could get into the spirit of Christmas and have a fun fi lled evening.

The Association’s Director, Kenny Mollins stated, ‘ It’s great to see all the children and not to forget their parents enjoying themselves in their local community centre. It certainly reinforces the need for new and improved facilities for local residents.

Kenny Mollins stated, ‘ It’s great to see all the children and not to forget their parents enjoying themselves in their local community centre. It certainly reinforces the need for new and improved facilities for local residents.

and not to forget their parents

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Cadder Housing Association Winter 2012 Edition 5

6 Cadder Housing Association Winter 2012 Edition 7

The Scottish Housing Regulator in their role to safeguard the interests of tenants and other customers will regulate housing organisations across Scotland. They will consider issues raised with them that are ‘Significant Performance Failures’, which relate to serious and persistent service failure of the housing association and impact on a number of tenants. These significant failures will include the following:

• Consistently do not do repairs when we should;

• Do not allow tenants to apply for another house;

• Put tenant’s safety at risk because they have not undertaken gas safety checks;

• Not helping tenants to report anti-social behaviour; and

• Are not reporting its performance in achieving the outcomes and standards in the Scottish Housing Charter.

The Regulator expects tenants to have undertaken the following before raising a Significant Performance Failure:

• Raise this issue with the Association first;

• Give the Association time to investigate and respond as outlined in the Complaints Handling Procedure; and

• Give the Association time to fix the issue.

The Association’s Director Kenny Mollins said: We encourage our customers to complain if they feel we have not attended to their initial enquiry or we have not met our high standards of service through the work of our staff or contractors. We will embrace the new complaints handling procedure and I feel that we will be able to respond to complaints in a more efficient and effective way in this new streamlined complaints process. We will provide regular reports to various stakeholders (tenants, Management Committee and Housing Regulator) to account for our service, but also to demonstrate that we are listening and analysing your complaints to take the appropriate action to prevent any recurrence of any issues”.

Cadder Streamlines its Complaint Handling ProcedureCadder Housing Association and our staff are committed to providing a high quality service to meet the needs of our tenants and other customers. There will be occasions where our tenants and customers feel we have not achieved these

high standards and want to complain.

The Association welcomes the new Complaints Handling Procedure proposed by the Scottish Public Sector Ombudsman (SPSO) to

standardise complaints handling across the public sector. The Association will introduce the Complaints Procedure on Monday 7 January 2013 and listed below are the stages of our new complaints process:

STAGE 2 : INVESTIGATIONWe aim to assess your complaint at this stage if you are dissatisfied with our response at stage 1. We may decide to fast track complaints to this stage if it is a complex issue and/or requires a detailed investigation.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and give you our decision at the earliest date, but no longer than 20 working days unless there is clearly a good reason for having to extend this timescale further. In these situations we will advise you of the reason for the extended timescales and a revised target timescale to issue of response to your complaint.

STAGE 1: FRONTLINE RESOLUTIONWe aim to resolve any complaint quickly and at your first point of contact with the Association, within 5 working days.

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can ask us to consider your complaint at stage 2.

The Scottish Public Services OmbudsmanIn the event that you are dissatisfied with our final decision or the way we have handled your complaint, you can ask the SPSO to consider it. We will tell you how to progress your complaint when we send you our final decision.

The Scottish Housing Regulator

We understand that everyone can have money issues from time to time. If this happens to you, tell us. We are here to help. There are ways we can help you to meet your required rent payments, such as checking if you are missing out on any benefits, getting you the best electricity and gas deals, setting up budgeting / repayment plans and rescheduling any debts you may have.

If you have a repayment arrangement with us to pay off rent arrears, you must maintain this to avoid the possibility of further action being taken against you. This may include court proceedings being raised, which could result in your eviction.

We appreciate that this may be a particularly difficult time of year for a number of our tenants. However, our message

is clear – Your rent comes first. We cannot accept festive expenditure being put before your rent being paid. You must ensure that your rent payments are made on or before the 28th of each month.

You can pay your rent in the following ways:

• at any Post Office • at any shop with the

‘PayPoint’ sign• by internet – www.

allpayments.net• by telephone - 0844 557

8321• by Direct Debit (you

will need to contact the Association to set up a Direct Debit. There’s no hassle - It’s quick and easy)

• by app – www.allpay.net/app

Remember, it is important to contact us immediately if you are having any problems paying your rent or any other money issues. The sooner you contact us, the easier it will be to help you resolve matters.

Acting Housing Manager, John McShane, said: ‘We will be supportive of tenants who have financial problems and make fair and reasonable repayment plans with tenants in rent arrears. However, we must be mindful of our business needs and provision of services to our customers. Rent payments are our main source of income and we must take a balanced approach to protect this income stream’.

Rent – Your First Priority

We have started the process of looking at next’s year budget. A key part of this is reviewing rents, services charges and the management fee through consultation with tenants and owner-occupiers prior to any proposed increase on 1 April 2013.

The Association is committed to providing value for money and quality services for all our tenants, owner-occupiers and other customers. We understand the current difficult economic circumstances, but we must ensure that

we meet our operating costs, particularly in relation to the monies that have and will be required for the ongoing improvement works being carried out under the Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) and expenditure on environmental improvements within the estate.

The Association’s Management Committee will shortly decide upon a draft budget. This will take account of all operating and management costs.

We are committed to keeping our costs low and this is shown when our rents and management fee charges are compared to other Scottish housing associations in our Peer Group (similar sized landlords), where we have the lowest rent and factoring amounts in this group.

The Association will be consulting with tenants and owner-occupiers in the New Year on any increase for 2013/14 and we would encourage you to submit your views.

Rent, Factoring Management Fee and Service Charge Review 2013-14

8 Cadder Housing Association

Please see the questions and answers below to find out how this will affect you.Q What will happen if I get

Housing Benefit but I have extra bedrooms?

A Your housing benefit will be reduced, and you will have more rent to pay. If you have one extra room you will have to pay 14% of your rent. If you have two or more extra rooms you will have to pay 25%. The rent figure used is the rent charge before any current benefits are taken into account.

Q I don’t pay rent so I won’t be affected, will I?

A Wrong! If you are a tenant then you pay rent. However at present it is likely that your Housing Benefit is paid directly to us by the council. This will seem to you that you don’t pay rent. If you have extra rooms you will have to pay the extra 14% or 25%.

Q What sort of amounts will this mean?

A If your monthly rent is £300:

• and you have one extra room you will have to pay £42 per month

• and you have 2 or more rooms extra, you will have to pay £75 per month.

Q I am single but I have my children every weekend and part of the holidays so I won’t be affected surely?

A Wrong! You will be affected. Where you share custody the decision will be decided by who gets Child Benefit.

Q I am over pension age, will I be affected?

A If you are over pension age you will not be affected. But remember pension age is slowly increasing. If you are over 62 years in April you will not be affected.

Q I have 2 boys aged 14 and 2, so they each have their own room. Will I be affected?

A Yes. They are of the same sex and under 16. You will therefore get Housing Benefit based on the need for a 2 bedroom home. Housing Benefit will be based on your current rent less 14%.

Q I am a foster carer and have heard that I am exempt. Is this true?

A You are nearly right. You are not exempt but you should contact the Housing Benefit section at your local council to tell them you are a foster carer and give them proof. The UK Government decided that additional help for foster carers should be made available through a Discretionary Fund.

Q I have two girls, but one of them is disabled. Will I be allowed an extra bedroom for her?

A Generally there are no exceptions. However if your daughter has severe disabilities which would make it very difficult for her to share a room then you should let your Housing Benefit department know. You may be able to claim help through the discretionary fund. You may be asked for some additional information about entitlement to DLA and information about the

disability. You can also ask our Welfare Benefits Adviser for help and advice about this.

Q I have been in work but have lost my job. I was able to pay full rent but am now having to claim Housing Benefit. Will I be affected?

A If you could afford your rent but now cannot then the size rule will not apply for 13 weeks provided you have not claimed Housing Benefit in the last 52 weeks.

Q What will happen if I can’t pay the rent?

A First of all start planning now to see how you will be able to cope. Options you might consider include:

• Looking for a smaller house. You can speak to us about registering to swap your property with another tenant

• Trying to get additional work

• Or you may know someone who could move in as a lodger and share some of your household bills.

Remember to speak to us first about any changes in your household

• You should make a list of your income and outgoings to see where you can make some savings, and plan for extra rent.

Remember we can offer benefits, debt and budgeting advice if you want it.

However you need to pay rent due and if you fall behind we will have to take action about the debt.

Money and Benefits Advice

Your tenancy is at risk if you do not pay the rent for your home

If you’ve looked at all of your options, made savings wherever you can and still think you will struggle to pay your rent once the Bedroom Tax comes in, then you could try applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP).

These are paid by your local council who will decide if you should receive help, how much you should get and for how long. DHPs typically cover things like:

• Help for those in desperate need following the introduction of the Bedroom Tax

• Help with essential work-related expense if you move further from your work place

• Rent deposits or rent in advance if you need to move home

Who can apply for extra help?

You can apply if you currently get Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit but you feel you need more help.

How do I make a claim?Ask for a ‘discretionary housing payment’ form from your local housing benefit office in Gairbraid Avenue or make an appointment with our Welfare Rights Service. Make sure you get the right form - it’s different from the one you filled in when you first claimed housing or council tax benefit.

What information should I send with the claim?You will be asked to give evidence of how much money you spend each month. This could be a copy of a bill or your bank statements. You should also provide any information

about your circumstances that make things difficult for you financially.

Is there any additional funding available next year?The Government has made an additional £30 million available to the DHP fund from next year.

If I don’t get it, can I appeal?No. You can ask the council to have another look at their decision but if they don’t change their mind, you can’t take the matter any further.

Remember, the Bedroom Tax comes in on 1 April next year so if you think you’re going to need extra help you should apply early in the new year.

If you need help and advice on coping with the changes to welfare benefits, please ask now. For advice about applying for alternative housing, or advertising your property for exchange, contact the Association.

L-R: Sam Steenson, Welfare Rights Officer & Trish Vass, Money / Debt Advisor

Bedroom Tax - 3 Months to GoIn just over three months time (from 1 April 2013) the new Bedroom Tax will come in, meaning that if you are under pension age and claim Housing Benefit, the help you get will depend on your family size and the number of bedrooms in your home. Even if you use all your bedrooms, you may have rent to pay.

The new rules allow one bedroom for:

• Every adult couple• Any other adult aged 16 or over• Any 2 children of the same sex aged under 16• Any two children aged under 10• Any other child (unless a foster child, or with a

main home elsewhere)• A carer who provides overnight care.

Could you get extra help?

Help and advice

Winter 2012 Edition 9

10 Cadder Housing Association Winter 2012 Edition 11

Community Energy Savings Programme Update The transformation of Cadder continues and many of the properties

have been completed or are nearing completion. This update identifies the achievements so far:

WINDOWSThe Programme commenced in September 2011 with the installation of energy efficient “A” rated windows and doors. These are also secure by design accredited which means that tenants’ homes have an added level of security. All of the 447 properties which were receiving new windows have been completed and the 93 terraced properties which were also receiving new front and back doors have also been completed. The exceptions are the small number of properties where access wasn’t made available and a few addresses where composite doors will be fitted. All of these will be completed early next year.

The new windows have also reduced noise levels within properties as well as reducing heat loss.

LOFT INSULATIONThe top up of the existing loft insulation started early this year and to date only a few properties still have to be completed. The depth of the insulation is higher than the joists so this means that it isn’t possible to use this space for storage. Many of our residents took the opportunity to clear their attics some of which were overflowing with collected items from a number of years!

HEATINGThere are now 410 new heating systems installed in Cadder throughout this year. These were full heating systems involving the replacement the existing ‘g’ rated boiler with an ‘A’class efficient condensing boiler as well as new radiators, heating controls and new pipework. Condensing boilers are extremely efficient thereby reducing running costs and also cutting carbon emissions. Kinder to the environment and lighter on tenants wallets and purses!

WALL INSULATION AND RENDERThe dramatic improvement in energy efficiency for Cadder has been helped by the application of the Rockwool insulated render system to 64 tenement performance and 93 cottage properties. The original render dated from the early 1950s and was in need of renewal. By using this system it has been possible to greatly improve the thermal properties of the buildings while also improving the external appearance. So far 93 cottages and 27 tenement properties have been completed with another 32 in progress. A subtle use of bold colours to the building details has complimented the work.

DISTURBANCE ALLOWANCESThe Association has recognised the effect that the work has had on tenants during the year. Tenants who had a new heating system installed are eligible for £150 in recognition of the disruption to their homes while the heating system was installed. A further disturbance allowance is being paid to tenants for the work carried out in installing the windows. This is £50 plus £10 for each room affected. We have paid out £63,800 so far this year and are currently processing another batch of payments prior to the winter shutdown. Our preference is to pay these sums directly into bank accounts. We still need bank details for a number of tenants so if you are due a payment, and you haven’t given us your bank details, then call into the office and we’ll process your payment. Owners in the tenement properties

have all been involved in the CESP programme. Owners in the cottage properties weren’t eligible but a separate project was offered by British Gas which also involved funding from Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government. This additional funding enabled around 80 owners to opt into carbon saving measures which involved the application of an insulated render system as well as other measures. This work is still in progress. There are 304 cottage

properties in Cadder but only 93 remain in the Association’s ownership. All of the Association’s properties were being upgraded and there was concern that the 201 owners weren’t going to get the improvements that the tenanted homes were getting. Almost 38% of have opted into the improvement package and further schemes called Green Deal and Eco will be available next year for those owners who wish to have the work carried out then.

OVERVIEWKevin McAllan the Association’s Technical Services Manager summed up the work on the CESP programme- “ I’m really impressed with the work carried out so far. Many residents stop me in the street to say how the work has changed the way the estate looks and how they feel proud of the area. They also talk about how their homes are warmer and their heating bills are more affordable. I’m less happy with the weather that we have had this year with extensive

rainfall reducing the time available for carrying out the rendering and the severe frost in December stalling progress with the work. This means that some properties will have scaffolding outside their home over this Christmas period. The programme will continue after the winter shutdown and it is anticipated that the work will be completed by March 2013. When the scaffolding comes down then we’ll all have a Cadder that fulfils our wishes for affordable heating and warmer homes. A Cadder that we all want to invest our lives in and we take pride in.”

The Technical Services Manager, Kevin McAllan stated, ‘ There have been a number of enquiries from owner occupiers who decided not to participate in the scheme asking if they can now get involved. Kevin confirmed that the scheme is now closed to owners, but the Association will continue to inform owners of any future schemes, although it is unlikely they will enjoy similar discounted rates for energy improvements’

OWNER’S SCHEME

Winter 2012 Edition 1312

The Association in partnership with Glasgow City Council, British Gas and the Big Lottery have in the last year been able to fund the necessary improvements to the Community Centre’s main building, thus ensuring it is a more usable and comfortable space to hold activities and events for local residents. In the New Year, British Gas will complete the transformation of the community centre when they render the outside walls.

Our plan is to build a new community centre on the site of the sports hall, which is no longer fi t for sporting and recreational activities due to the condition of the fl ooring, where it has blistered

following water penetration to the hall. The Big Lottery has accepted that there is a need for a new community centre in Cadder and have approved our application at Stage 1 of their funding process. An application for a development funding grant has been submitted to the Big Lottery to pay for these consultants and professional services and this will take us towards Stage 2 of the funding process in the summer 2013.

The Association has recently appointed a Design Team to further develop the community centre design and Regeneration Consultants to secure the £2million funding for this exciting project.

We will be approaching a number of organisations to seek fi nancial assistance to support the development of a new community centre for Cadder, they include Glasgow City Council, Community Planning Partnership, Scottish Government, Glasgow Regeneration Agency and Private Trusts.

Kenny Mollins, Director said’ ‘There has been real progress made by the Association and the community to take our plans for a new community centre to this stage. There is still much to do to further develop the design and attract the necessary funding, but also to demonstrate to the Big Lottery that going forward the centre can be fi nancially viable and self sustainable’

Regenerati on in CadderCadder Community Centre As readers

will be aware, the Cadder area has lacked play facilities for a number

of years. Following extensive community consultation with residents and other stakeholders, the Association is pleased to confi rm that the installation of a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) is due to commence in spring 2013.

In addition to the overwhelming positive response from the local community, support for a MUGA was also given by Cadder Primary School, Langa Street Nursery and North United Communities. The MUGA will offer fl exible sporting options and can be used for activities such as football, basketball, netball, etc. Funding has been provided by Cadder Housing Association, Glasgow City Council and Maryhill & Kelvin Community Planning Partnership.

Once installed, Glasgow City Council will be responsible for the upkeep of the MUGA and for ensuring daily site checks are carried out. As is shown in the drawing, the MUGA will be installed behind Skirsa Street shops. In addition to this, discussion is ongoing in relation to a children’s play area being installed beside the MUGA. We cannot guarantee that the installation of a children’s play area will go ahead, but are hopeful for a positive outcome.

Multi Use Games Area Coming to Cadder

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Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO. © Crown copyright and databaseright 2009. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100023379 .

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Proposed CadderMulti Purpose Games Court

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Skirsa Street Shops Cadder HousingAssociation Offices

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Primary School Provision in Cadder - Consultation

Kenny Mollins said, ‘we are grateful for the continued support from all political parties for our work to regenerate the Cadder community. There is recognition that Cadder has received limited investment in recent years and we are hopeful that we can deliver our regeneration ambitions to improve the educational and recreational services and amenities in Cadder’.

Bob Doris MSP with Kenny Mollins at Cadder Primary School

All Cadder residents will be aware of the Association’s partnership work with Education Services to deliver a new school campus for the area. Obviously this was unsuccessful due to changes in the political and fi nancial landscape. In our Annual Report we highlighted parents’ concern about the condition of the primary school.

Bailie Razaq co-ordinated a meeting between the Association’s Director, Kenny Mollins and the Head of Education Services, Maureen McKenna in November 2012. The meeting gave Kenny the opportunity to detail the background of the Association’s efforts with her predecessor, Ronnie O’Connor to deliver a new campus, as well as the

distress caused to many parents and the community when St Agnes Primary School was closed in 2009.

Maureen confi rmed that there are no plans to close Cadder Primary School and the next phase of the primary school investment strategy includes Cadder. This phase will be targeted at the 45% of the City’s primary schools that are unimproved and the focus will be on refurbishment, although there may in some instances be a need to consider renewal where the cost of refurbishment is uneconomical.

Kenny Mollins said, ‘The meeting with Maureen was an opportunity to restate our case for a new school for Cadder, but ended positively where the Council

confi rmed that they have no plans to close Cadder Primary School and it is included in the refurbishment phase of the Council’s investment programme. There was also discussion about future partnership working to inform the refurbishment of the school and development of community centre activities. I will aim to meet with Maureen in the New Year to take this matter forward’.

There continues to be much political support for a new and improved primary school in Cadder, which is also evident from a survey of local residents recently undertaken by Bob Doris MSP. Bob received a good response to his survey with over 200 responses. The fi ndings of the survey are as listed opposite:

CADDER PRIMARY SCHOOL

Q1 Do you think that education provision in Cadder needs to be improved?

Q2 If the council decides to improve primary school provision, is it important to you that this provision remains in Cadder?

Q3 Regarding Cadder Primary school, which option do you prefer-rebuilding or refurbishment?

Q4 Would you support a shared ‘campus’ if it was located in Cadder ?

Yes 1%No 99%

Yes  

No  

Yes 2%No 98%

Yes  

No  

Yes 15%No 85%

Yes  

No  

Yes 7%No 93%

Yes  

No  

YES

YES

YES

REBUILD

NO

NO

NO

REFURBISH

99%

98%

85%

93%

1%

2%

15%

7%

14 Cadder Housing Association

The Scottish Parliament passed the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011, which became effective on 1 October

2012. Our local MSP, Patricia Ferguson originally took the Code of Conduct to the Parliament to regulate all property factors.

The Association welcomes this new legislation, which has 3 main elements:

1. The requirement for all property factors to register with the Scottish Government;

2. The introduction of Code of Conduct, which includes 7 key areas relating to the factoring responsibilities of

property factors i.e. written statement of services, fi nancial obligations, debt recovery process; repairs and maintenance; and complaints resolution; and

3. The creation of a new statutory dispute resolution system for owner-occupiers, known as the Homeowner Housing Panel.

The Association has been successful in its application to become a Registered Property Factors and some of the work we require to complete by October 2013 to fully comply with this Act is as listed:

• Issue a Written Statement of Services, which set out the terms of the main terms of

the Deed of Condition and services provided by the Association;

• Review Factoring Arrears Policy and Procedures; and

• Approval of Owners Complaints Procedure.

The Technical Services Manager, Kevin McAllan stated, ’We pride ourselves on providing high quality factoring services to our owners, for an affordable fee. There will be some work to do to comply with the requirements of the new Act, The Association will be reviewing the Management Fee shortly to refl ect the services provided to owners and we will also take account of the additional work and costs incurred in implementing the new legislation.

New Legislati on to Protect Owners

All we want for Christmas is… to keep you safe.

With Christmas just around the corner, Strathclyde Police is warning the public to take extra care and responsibility for their own safety at this busy time of year.

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that people tend to be out and about more, shopping for presents and spending more money than usual –

and that’s before you get to the partying and socialising part.

There are so many things to fi t into already busy schedules, so it’s easy for personal safety and security to slip to the back of people’s minds. With that being the case, the festive period can be a time when thieves and criminals have more opportunities to target even more unsuspecting individuals.

Here at Strathclyde Police, our job is to keep you safe during the festive period – which is why we’ve once again launched our Christmas Safety campaign. Of course we want everyone to enjoy the festivities and make the most of their holidays, but we’d also like to reinforce the message that people must take responsibility for their own safety too.

For advice on how you can keep safe while enjoying the festive fun, please visit http://tiny.cc/lyesow or contact your local police offi ce on 0141 532 2000 and speak to your local community policing team.

You can also follow our Christmas Safety campaign on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StrathclydePolice, or keep up to date with us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keepingpeoplesafe

KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE AT CHRISTMASA message from Strathclyde Police

Following a recent review of the Association’s Allocation’s policy, priority will be given to Association tenants wishing to move to a smaller house.

We have done this to help free up much needed larger type family housing as we have many families living in overcrowded accommodation and to help tenants under occupying move to properties more suitable to their needs. We have also done this to help tenants who are set to face the Bedroom Tax. From April 2013, as part of the Coalition Government’s Welfare Reforms, working age tenants who receive Housing Benefi t and are under occupying their homes will have their Housing Benefi t reduced to the amount payable for a property that matches their household size. For example,

a couple occupying a three bedroom house on their own will only be entitled to suffi cient Housing Benefi t for a one bedroom property, this means the tenant will have to make up the shortfall in benefi t. This will put a number of our tenants into further fi nancial hardship.

The Association recently joined HomeSwapper (www.homeswapper.co.uk). This is a mutual exchange scheme, which operates throughout the UK and is free to Association tenants. We hope that by joining HomeSwapper that tenants looking to downsize will have increased opportunity to do so.

We have also changed the ages that children are expected to share a bedroom. Previously, children of the same gender were expected to share a

bedroom up to the age of 12 - this is now 16 years of age. We have also changed the age criteria where children of different gender could share a bedroom. This was previously up to 8 years of age and is now up to 10 years of age. We will be writing to all customers on our Housing List who will be affected by these changes.

Please contact the Association to discuss your options if you would like to move to a smaller house.

Looking to Downsize?

Swapping houses made easier

What is Homeswapper?Homeswapper is a website that gives tenants of Registered Social Landlords (RSL) a one-stop shop where they can look at possible Mutual Exchanges with other RSL tenants anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Why would tenants want to exchange?Mutual Exchanges are particularly useful for tenants who are moving to a new area. It also gives tenants a greater choice if they are looking for a smaller, larger or more suitable house in a particular area.

How much does it cost?As a tenant of Cadder Housing Association you can register free.

Do I need permission to exchange house?Yes. If you see a property and wish to swap with the other tenant, you should contact us and we will send the application forms to you. The Association will not be unreasonable in with-holding permission, but there are some conditions that would have to be met e.g. a clear rent account, and the swap should not result in overcrowding or underoccupation.

How do I get more details?If you have any queries with this scheme please feel free to contact any member of the Housing Management Team who will be able to assist you or go to the Homeswapper website at www.homeswapper.co.uk

If you do not have access to the internet yourself there are other ways for you to register and access the Homeswapper website;

• Family or friends

• Local libraries have internet access available to the public

• As well as internet cafes

Is your home too small for your household? Too big now the kids have left home? Or do you need to move for work, training or other reasons?

Winter 2012 Edition 15

During this winter holiday period its easy to forget that your home could be at risk when there are long periods of sub zero temperatures. There is a greater risk of burst pipes and utilities such as gas, electricity and water can be affected.

Some Handy Hints...

• In very cold or frozen conditions you should leave heating on at least a low setting (frost)even if you are away overnight. This will help to prevent the misery of burst pipes.

• Check that you know where your water stopcock is, just in case, so that you can shut water off immediately should a burst pipe occur.

• Keep the out of hours emergency numbers from this newsletter handy. Remember that if you have had a new heating system installed this year you should contact the British Gas hotline.

• Think about having House Contents Insurance.

CADDER HOUSING ASSOCIATION LTD, 66 Skirsa Street, Glasgow G23 5BA. Telephone: 0141 945 3282. Fax: 0141 948 0163 E-mail: enquiry@cadderhousing.co.uk

Winter Precauti onsWinter

Have you changed your telephone number and not notifi ed the association? Does anyone locally hold a spare set of keys on your behalf in case of emergency?

You may not realise the importance of the Association holding current, up to date phone numbers and any emergency contacts for you.

Have you thought about how we might contact you if there was for instance, a burst pipe within your fl at, possibly affecting your own fl at, and those of your downstairs neighbour? Might your belongings and those of others be damaged more than necessary because we are unable to access your fl at as we have no contact numbers for you and have to leave the repair until you return to your fl at?

It is in your own best interest that we have contact details for yourself, any keyholder or anyone who is authorised by you to act on your behalf. We would also suggest that, where possible, someone holds a spare set of keys for you should you either lose your keys or to allow access to your fl at should there be an emergency and you are unable to be contacted by the Association.

People often forget when they change their phone numbers to notify the Association and are surprised to fi nd when an emergency occurs that it is the old phone number we have on record. Please include us in your list of contacts to advise of your current numbers, and should you be among those tenants whose phones do not accept incoming calls advise us of an alternative number for you.

Changed your number?