We want repairs done well

Tenant Satisfaction was 95.3% in 2014 and increased to 97.8% in 2015. Our aim is to meet our target of 98%.

We made savings and re-invested £57,000 into repairs, maintenance and voids. 97.8%

We want to get through on the phone to a friendly, knowledgeable person

We’ve updated our telephone system so our tenants always speak to a friendly knowledgeable person. There’s a wide range of other ways to contact us including visiting our Hubs, estate visits, i-deal events or our new customer App.

With this improved service we have saved £6,000 on our telephone system.

NEW JOB

NEW JOB

COMMUNITY HUB

NextPage

We want repairs done on timeRepairs completed on time.

Gas servicing complete.

We re-tendered some of our contracts and made better use of our contractors skills and experience.

Our contractors employ 8 Modern Apprentices throughout the County.

93.75% 100%

We want you to help tenants affected by benefit changes

We reduced average arrears resulting from Universal Credit from £292 to £272.

Our Money Matters service generated £663,000 of financial benefit to tenants.

We supported 150 tenants to apply for and retain Discretionary Housing Payments, which covers a shortfall in their rent. This minimises the effect of the Bedroom Tax.

Value for Money Statement 2015Each year Impact prepares a full report on Value for Money. This is a summary of the key areas within the report which are of interest to our tenants.

Get through to someone on the phone

Repairs done well

Support people who may need

extra help

Repairs done on time

Help with benefits

Tenants pay their rent

Keep costs down

Build new homes

Resolve anti-social behaviour

Help to get a job

We want tenants to pay their rent

Current general needs rent arrears have reduced from 2.05% in 2014 to 1.64% in 2015.

Former general needs rent arrears have reduced from 1.08% in 2014 to 0.83% in 2015.

We continue to target and support tenants who we think may be getting into difficulties.

We have a range of ways tenants can pay their rent, including our new Customer App.

We want you to deal with anti-social behaviour

On average we close ASB cases in 41 days, which is 23 days quicker than other best performing Housing Associations.

1.64% 0.83%

We want you to support the people who may need extra help

We continue to be the first point of call for those who may be considered vulnerable.

2% of our homes were let to homeless people and 9.9% were let to those with a disability.

Our Money Matters service assisted 731 people, of whom 29% had mental ill health, and 19% were referred to Food Banks.

We provided 26,163 households with low cost furniture from our Furniture Stores and offer a £30 furniture voucher for all new tenants.

Our women’s refuge in Carlisle offered safe accommodation for 7 women and their children. LetGo, our Domestic Abuse service supported 576 clients and achieved national accreditation.

COMMUNITY HUB

NextPage

Here to help...

NEW JOB

NEW JOB NEW JOB

Get through to someone on the phone

Repairs done well

Support people who may need

extra help

Repairs done on time

Help with benefits

Tenants pay their rent

Keep costs down

Build new homes

Resolve anti-social behaviour

Help to get a job

We want you to keep your costs down

We saved £70,000 on office costs and this will rise to a further £100,000 every year for the next 4 years.

We are saving a further £70,000 by forming a new team dealing with compliance, audit and performance.

How do we compare

We want you to help tenants get a job

We run weekly sessions focusing on CV writing and Job Search. In the last 6 months over 100 tenants have accessed training and 8 moved into paid employment. We supported 46 people in our Positive Impact schemes to gain employment.

When can you start?

Service 2014 2015 Best performance by other HAs (top 25%)

% of Tenants satisfied with repairs 96.3% 97.8% 96.68%

Rent Arrears

General Needs Current Rent Arrears as a % of rental income 2.05% 1.64% 2.68%

General Needs Former Rent Arrears as a % of rental income 1.08% 0.83% 0.75%

Anti-social Behaviour

Average number of days to close / resolve ASB cases 41 41 64

Lettings

Average number of days to re-let an empty property 19 22 21.88

Gas Servicing

% of homes with a current Gas Safety Record 99.68% 100% 100%

We want you to build new homes

We raised funds to develop a further 40 affordable homes.

We invested £6.1m in new homes. We have looked at utility costs and provided cost effective services saving on average £61,000 annually across all of our new tenancies. Solar panels have saved our tenants an average of £325 per year.

COMMUNITY HUB

NextPage

Value for Money - into 2016...• Improved analysis of our Social Return on Investment• A detailed programme of reviews including fundamental reviews of back office functions• Comparing ourselves with similar housing associations and with those based in Cumbria• Continuing with VFM savings and efficiencies which will increase year on year

• Reviewing the future of our housing stock, including some remodelling and disposals• Sharing costs and services with local Housing Associations• Improving engagement with our tenants and tenants groups• Enhancing computer and IT systems for customers and staff• Remodelling of our Furniture Services• Working towards achieving our Vision 2020

COMMUNITY HUB

The full report is available on our website!

We will still be working closely to our 4 Key Purposes to make the maximum difference to people’s lives

Poverty Reduction | Transformational Services Raising Aspirations | Great Homes

1. Tenants who need a short term tenancy with support to assist them to move on into independence

We will have 200 flats and homeshares for young people in a range of configurations (an additional 20 per year), including the 3 existing Foyers

We will have funding/ sponsorship from a wide range of statutory, charitable and commercial sources

2. Vulnerable tenants who need a long term tenancy with support

We will have 240 units of specialist elderly accommodation, in a range of configurations (a new scheme every 2 years)

We will have a 20% growth in properties managed by other agencies on our behalf, mainly for people with physical disabilities or learning disabilities

We will have a limited role in homelessness, funded through statutory housing authorities

3. Tenants who would like to develop themselves further but do not have the confidence or skills to do so

A quarter of new tenancies will be short term, linked to employability programmes (provide by us and partner agencies)

Our local Hubs will be centres for training, job search and skills development

4. Tenants who simply need rented accommodation

Tenants will continue to get high quality service, face to face contact, good condition properties in attractive neighbourhoods

Our small market rented sector will be an attractive alternative to private landlords (for whom we may be providing a service)

5. Other people in our local communities where our involvement will make a real difference

We will continue our LetGo Domestic Abuse Service

We will provide community businesses whose purpose is to train and support people into employment

Moving forward...

If we can renegotiate all of our loans, we may be able to raise extra funds to build more houses

Housing Associations are independent charities. However, Government would like us to do different things- especially, to build new properties for first time buyers

It is important that new tenants work with us. If they are on benefits, they will need to work with Government and us to actively seek employment

We have saved £500,000 this year because of Government requirements; next year, the figure will be £1,000,000, the following year it will be £1,500,000, and so on. We have made this year’s savings without reducing our front line services…... Making it all stack up will become increasingly difficult however, we are up for the challenge!

VISION 2020VISION 2020

www.impacthousing.org.uk/vfm