board of management meeting - homes for haringey
TRANSCRIPT
Board of Management Meeting
Tuesday 27 March 2018
Conference Room 1, 1st Floor
48 Station Road, Wood Green, N22 7TY
Refreshments: 18.00pm
Fire Safety Briefing – LFB Borough Commander 18.15pm
Board Meeting: 18.30pm
Item Subject Presenter Status Page Time
1 Welcome and apologies Chair - - 18.30
2 Declarations of interest Chair - - 18.32
3 Minutes of the meetings held on 30
January 2018
Chair Public 1 18.33
4 Actions log Chair Public 9 18.35
5 Chair’s report (Oral) Chair Public - 18.40
6 Managing Director’s report Managing Director Confidential 14 18.45
7 Business plan Director of
Corporate Affairs
Public 20 18.55
8 Budget 2018/19 Financial Controller Public 30 19.10
9 Asset management strategy and plan
2018-23
Director of Asset
Management
Confidential 34 19.20
10 Tenancy management restructure Executive Director of
Operations
Confidential 38 19.35
11 Performance report ELT Public 55 19.50
12 Procurement approvals ELT Confidential
70
72
20.15
13 Finance, Audit & Risk Committee
minutes 24 October 2017
Chair, FAR
Committee
Public 74 20.20
14 HR & Remuneration Committee 1
March 2018
Chair, HR & Rem.
Committee
Confidential 81 20.25
15 Any other business Chair - - 20.30
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Agenda
Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
Meeting: Board Meeting
Date: 30 January 2018
Venue: Conference Room 1, 48 Station Road, Wood Green
Present: Aman Dalvi (AD) – Chair, Adzowa Kwabla-Oklikah (AKOk), Joanna
Christophides (JCh), David Beacham (DB), Georgina Walters (GW),
Lorna Reith (LR), Tom McGregor (TM), El-Farouk Cheik (EFC), Yvette
Davis (YD)
Officers in
Attendance:
Chris Liffen (CL), Puneet Rajput (PR), Denise Gandy (DG), Astrid
Kjellberg-Obst (AKO), David Sherrington (DS), Esther Campbell (EC)
Shareholder: Michael Westbrook (MW)
Apologies: Anastasia Bloom (ABl), Dan Hawthorn (DH)
Item Minutes Action
01/18 Welcome and Apologies
AD welcomed everyone to the meeting. Sean McLaughlin, new
Managing Director, was welcomed to the meeting as an observer and
would be taking up post from 3 April.
MW was attending as shareholder representative in place of DH. MW
informed the meeting of the Haringey Council Leader’s decision to
stand down at the May local elections.
Apologies were noted as above.
02/18 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
03/18 Minutes of the Meetings Held on 28 November and 12 December
2017
The minutes were approved as accurate records of those meetings and
signed by the Chair.
04/18 Actions log
It was confirmed that Council nominee Board member terms had been
discussed with the Council and written feedback was awaited.
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
It was agreed that a report on the contact centre’s readiness for
Universal Credit should be brought to the Board before the proposed
November meeting.
AD was currently in discussion with CL in relation to performance
information and the potential use of car parks as sites for modular
developments.
05/18 Health and Safety Exception Report
DS explained that this was a standing item on the Board agenda to
allow management to update the Board on any emerging health and
safety related issues. AD stated that Health and Safety was a function
of the Board and a written report should be presented to the Board.
DS
06/18 Chair’s Report
Confidential item – see separate confidential minute. The Executive
(excluding the Company Secretary) left the meeting for this item.
The executive returned to the meeting.
AD updated the Board on various meetings held with Council
leadership. A new Management Agreement with HfH had been
approved by the Cabinet. The call in period had now lapsed and the
Agreement would be signed off by DH for submission to the Secretary
of State for approval.
AD had met with representatives of the HLA. The meeting was positive
and he would continue to meet with the HLA to maintain a dialogue
and forward momentum. The next meeting was scheduled for 20
February.
AD informed the Board of the appointment of Andrew Crompton and
Ola Akinfe to the Board. References were currently being taken up
and contracts would be issued subject to an initial probationary period
of one year.
AD welcomed Margaret Clapson, HLA Treasurer, to the meeting at
this point. CL presented questions that the HLA had raised for the
Board. These were discussed and the Board’s response is appended to
these minutes.
07/18 Proposals for Tenancy Panels
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Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
AKO presented proposals for the introduction of tenancy specific
forums following consultation feedback from the ‘Have your say’
survey. These were also being consulted on with residents.
In relation to criteria for supporting recognised groups, the Board had
challenged these at the last meeting. Legal advice had since been
sought and the criteria revised accordingly. AD confirmed that he had
spoken to the Chair of the HLA who agreed that any funding from HfH
could not be used to part fund legal action against HfH or the
Council. LR welcomed the inclusion of a forum for people in
Temporary Accommodation. AKOk emphasised the need for meetings
to be held in accessible locations. DB asked about the rationale for
forums being officer facilitated as opposed to resident chaired. AKO
replied that resident associations, the scrutiny panel and the
complaints panel were all chaired by residents. The intention was for
forums to operate differently and less formally through officer
facilitation drawing in material from a variety of engagements such as
task and finish groups and surveys as well presenting performance
information and progress with improvement plans. GW welcomed the
new approach.
The Board approved:
i) Proposals for the introduction of tenancy specific forums,
subject to resident consultation
ii) Proposed criteria for supporting recognised resident
groups, borough wide or local.
Margaret Clapson left the meeting at this point.
08/18 Managing Director’s Report
CL presented an update on fire safety work. Inspection of blocks with
full height frames was almost complete and there was potentially one
block with possible concerns.
Gas safety work at Broadwater Farm (BWF) was progressing relatively
well. 635 gas valves had been installed with 93 outstanding. Whilst
350 cookers had been replaced, access issues were hampering
progress. Enforcement action was currently underway and as a result
25 residents had been in touch; 67 remained outstanding. Forced
entries would commence shortly at the rate of 10 per day.
Design options were being appraised for the next phases at BWF. The
appraisal was due this week and the mostly likely recommendation
envisaged would be the reinstatement of district heating. Legal advice
on the procurement options for the next phases was being sought.
Occupancy agreements would have to be reviewed for the recovery of
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
hot water and heating costs. LR expressed praise for HfH staff handling
of the issues at BWF and confirmed her support for the enforcement
action being taken. AKOk asked about linking together hard to access
properties at BWF and the investigation work of the fraud prevention
team. CL responded that initially this had not been the course of
action in order to prevent clouding the safety issue with fraud and
confusing / deterring residents from cooperating with HfH. We were
now at a stage where the hard to access properties would be referred
to the fraud prevention team.
In relation to the Housing Demand directorate’s preparation for
implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act, this was progressing
well. Restructuring was nearly complete and extensive training was
underway. TM asked whether a strategy was needed for our approach
to implementation of the Act. DG responded that the Council was
reviewing its strategy which would support HfH’s work to implement
the Act. Broader work was also underway in relation to engagement
and raising awareness. The draft Homelessness Strategy was due to be
presented to the Cabinet for approval in March. It was agreed for this
to be circulated to allow the Board an opportunity to provide
feedback. GW asked what the difference would be in the work of the
department pre and post implementation of the Act. DG would
circulate information to the Board on this.
AKO
DG
DG
09/18 Performance Report
TM requested that the P5 performance information on homelessness
should feature as part of the performance report.
AKOk enquired about the collection rates for current and former
tenants’ arrears. AKO responded that there were three contributing
factors to a relatively static level of performance – i) 1% annual rent
reduction, ii) Housing Benefit (HB) over payment being clawed back
from rent payments by the HB team without approval from HfH and iii)
a backlog of HB claims yet to be processed. Plans were in place to
address these issues and reach target levels of performance by year
end. This also included Temporary Accommodation related arrears.
AD expressed concern at the level of former tenants’ arrears which at
£3m (3.86%) were considerably higher than most organisations. TM
commented that where former tenants’ arrears are outsourced to debt
collection agencies, account should be taken of vulnerable people.
TM commented on the relatively poor level of performance with call
abandonment at 13.6%. AKO responded that during October and
AKO
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Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
November it had been below 10% and this had subsequently been
impacted by the Christmas period. She commented that quality was
also an important aspect of performance and would be monitored.
There was concern at the level of repairs repeat calls at 40% which
were explained to be partly attributable to limitations with the current
IT system. AKO would provide a further update to the Board on this.
TM requested further information on homelessness in relation to
measures and targets for discharge of duty. This would be circulated
to the Board.
AD suggested a greater focus by the Board on void re-let time
performance. GW commented that this had been a longstanding
issue. AD added that the process involved several teams and needed
to be leaner. CL responded that team structures were currently being
reviewed and HQN were benchmarking cost and quality. The age and
quality of the stock were also a contributing factor.
AKOk requested a breakdown of sickness absence and AD suggested
adoption of the Bradford Factor for measuring sickness performance.
In relation to sickness levels at 13.17 days in Housing Demand, DG
responded that this largely related to stress and mental health issues.
She confirmed HfH was fulfilling its duty of care to employees and
offered occupational health and counselling services as well as
wellbeing initiatives. CL added that health and wellbeing was also part
of the remit of the Corporate Health and Safety Board.
EC presented the company’s financial position at period 9 (December
2017). An overspend of £122k was projected at year end. This had
reduced compared to the previous month’s projection and included
absorption of cost pressures such as sheltered housing redundancy
costs, legal disrepair costs and increased pension costs resulting from
a number of employees not opting out of the pension scheme
following auto re-enrolment. It was anticipated that HfH should be
able to achieve a balanced budget by year end. It was noted that the
Housing Demand directorate was projected to underspend by circa
£100k by year end. The Board requested information on how the
FHSG was being allocated.
AKO
DG
PR
DG
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
EC informed the Board of a projected £0.5m surplus on the HRA
budgets managed by HfH on behalf of the Council. This was largely in
relation to the commercial property portfolio which would be
transferring to the General Fund. AKOk asked whether the transfer
would take place regardless of the decision on the HDV. MW
confirmed this was the case.
An underspend of £5.6m was projected on the capital programme. It
was confirmed that this would be carried forward to 2018/19.
EC updated the Board on the current budget setting process for the
next financial year. A high-level draft budget will be presented at the
Finance, Audit and Risk Committee in February, with the final budget
being presented to Board for approval in March.
AD left the meeting at this point.
10/18 Capital Programme 2018/19
A 5 year capital programme was being developed for Cabinet
approval in February. This would inform an Asset Management
Strategy and Plan which would be presented to the Board for approval
in March. The programme for 2018/19 was smaller and largely based
on reactive works. The latter phases proposed for BWF would also
have to be taken into account. JC asked about the recurrence of
annual slippages to the programme. DS responded that working to an
annual budget cycle with Council approval in February presented
logistical difficulties with forward planning, procurement and
mobilisation of contractors and works to start in time from April. The
intention was to move to a 5 year budget which the Council will sign
off in February. LR asked about the Noel Park Pods and what
proportion of properties this represented. DS responded that they
represented approximately 50 properties out of 260. DB asked if the
pods were another temporary solution and how they would affect
leaseholders. DS responded that modern pods were more robust in
design and had a longer lifespan. The costs, however, were potentially
substantial and the extent to which they could be recovered would
need to be discussed with the Council.
11/18 Draft Business Plan Objectives
The draft business plan objectives were reviewed and discussed. LR
suggested that objectives in relation to improving leasehold
satisfaction needed to be more explicit in the plan given the current
level of satisfaction.
A final plan would be brought to the Board for approval in March.
PR
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
12/18 Customer Satisfaction Report
AKO presented a report setting out current levels of satisfaction as at
December 2017. Satisfaction was disappointingly stuck at 64%. Some
elements such as the street scene and antisocial behaviour (ASB), not
fully in HfH’s control, were contributing to low satisfaction. LR
commented that this was not completely surprising given issues with
repairs, repeat calls and staff not always communicating issues back.
She stated that tackling ASB should be within the control of HfH where
it occurs on our estates. HfH needed to adopt a tougher approach
and needed to be better organised in the management of this. JC
cautioned that harmless youth congregation could sometimes be
mistakenly seen as ASB and residents and staff needed to be mindful
of this. A report on ASB setting out the key issues would be brought to
the Board in May.
AKO
13/18 Procurement Approval
LR requested statistics on usage of the Homeswapper service by our
residents.
AKO
14/18 Finance, Audit & Risk Committee Minutes 24 October 2017
DB presented the salient points from the committee meeting. A
number of the health and safety related issues had been picked up
under the MD’s report. Management were confident the internal audit
programme would be completed within the year. A new Head of Audit
would be attending from the next committee meeting.
15/18 Any Other Business
There was no other business.
The meeting closed at 20:20
Signed:
Date:
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 30 January 2018
Questions to the Board from the HLA – 30 January 2018
1. Why have officers taken a decision on HLA recognition (attached) and not the
Board when the recognition criteria are clear that umbrella group recognition must
be decided by the Board?
Officers had assumed that the Board’s decision to reinstate recognition on 28
November 2017 included a decision to accept an application from the HLA for
recognition. For the avoidance of doubt the Board approves the HLA’s application
for recognition.
2. Why is funding being given from the date of receipt of the recognition application
and not from the date of the last AGM despite what it says in the recognition
criteria?
The decision to reinstate recognition was made by the Board on 28 November. It
was not made on the basis of retrospective application. This is against the spirit of
the Court Order. The date that has, therefore, been used to determine when
funding commences from is the date of application for recognition.
3. Why are the recognition criteria once again being ignored when the HLA have time
and again requested that they be observed?
We are not aware that the criteria are being ignored. The HLA has been accepted
as a recognised resident group. However, much of the documentation is in need of
review, and in relation to borough wide groups, is out of date. Homes for Haringey
has, therefore, commenced consultation with residents to review criteria for
recognition and support for all types of resident groups – local and borough wide.
This is part of a wider review of our resident engagement strategy.
4. Why are the recognition criteria being changed without consulting either the HLA,
the ATR or any other residents?
Residents are being consulted on proposals to update criteria for recognition and
how recognised groups are supported. The HLA have also been invited to a
consultation meeting and have accepted.
5. If the HLA proceed with the contempt of court case will our recognition application
be deemed not to have been made 'in good faith'?
This does not change the decision to recognise the HLA. It may affect the financial
support provided if this is used to part fund legal costs for the contempt of court
case. In any case the Board does not consider the HLA to be acting in good faith by
pursuing this case.
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Summary of Decisions 30 January 2018
Agenda Item No. Decision
Chair’s report 06/18 The permanent and interim Managing Directors remuneration details were
agreed and delegation to the Chair to set annual performance targets and
report to the Board.
Proposals for tenancy panels 07/18 The Board approved proposals for the introduction of tenancy specific forums
subject to resident consultation and proposed criteria for supporting
recognised resident groups.
Procurement approval 13/18
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Action log
Date of
meeting
Agenda
item
Action Action
owner
Target
completion
date
Status and comments
27/09/2016 5 Arrange for LBH governance lead to
present to full new Board
PR Nov-16
May-17
Sept-17
Jan-18
May-18
We have requested written information from
the Council.
28/03/2017 33/17 Board to input on development of a
medium term financial savings
strategy.
PR Oct-17
Mar-18
May-18
The Board agreed a high level direction for a
new MTFS at its strategy day last November.
This will inform a new value for Money
strategy to be approved by the Board in May.
28/03/2017 35/17 Value for money assessment to be
carried out at the end of the first year
in the event an absence management
service is engaged.
PR May-18
29/04/2017 n/a Benchmarking information on
management cost and overhead
analysis
PR Sept-17
Nov-17
Mar-18
May-18
HouseMark have produced 2016/17 cost
benchmarking for HfH. This is being reviewed
by management and will feature in the
performance report to the Board in May.
30/05/2017 46/17 Write to the Whips outlining proposal
for council nominee board member
appointment terms
PR Jul-17
Jan-18
May-18
We have written to the Council and await
their feedback.
30/05/2017 55/17 Report to be provided detailing
potential affects/delays as a result of
moving to shared tri borough IT
service
PR There are ongoing discussions between the
Council and the Chair and interim MD. An
update will be provided at the Board
meeting.
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Action log
Date of
meeting
Agenda
item
Action Action
owner
Target
completion
date
Status and comments
28/11/2017 91/17 Board to be updated on the contact
centre’s readiness for dealing with
calls relating to Universal Credit.
AKO May-18 An impact assessment is being prepared and
a dedicated project group will lead on the
implementation of action points, including
staff training and briefings to all teams.
28/11/2017 91/17 Contact centre targets and
benchmarking to be introduced in
future reports.
AKO May-18 This will be introduced from May 2018
28/11/2017 91/17 External mystery shopping to be
carried out to validate contact centre
performance.
AKO May-18 Mystery shopping will be commissioned to
take place in April.
28/11/2017 93/17 Performance information presentation,
format and content to be reviewed.
AD/CL May-18 A new KPI framework for performance
reporting to the Board is being developed to
be aligned with the new Business Plan. This
will be introduced from the May Board
meeting.
28/11/2017 98/17 Chair to provide information on use of
car parks as sites for modular
developments.
AD/CL Complete – Information has been provided
and options are being considered
30/01/18 05/18 Health and safety report to go to full
Board
DS May-18 This will commence from the May Board
30/01/18 08/18 Hard to access properties at
Broadwater farm to be referred to the
Fraud team
AKO NFA This is not applicable. Three cases
require legal action, two for mental health
issues and one leasehold compliance issue.
30/01/18 08/18 Draft Homelessness strategy to be
circulated to the Board with
DG Complete
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Action log
Date of
meeting
Agenda
item
Action Action
owner
Target
completion
date
Status and comments
information on new Act and the
difference pre and post
implementation.
30/01/18 09/18 Where former tenants arrears are
outsourced to debt collection
agencies, account needs to be taken
of any resident vulnerabilities
AKO Complete – The debt collection agency
adheres to key principles and where there are
concerns of vulnerability, we would not pass
this to the agency. Where vulnerability is
identified by the debt collection agency, the
case is passed back to us to resolve.
30/01/18 09/18 Further information on the nature and
size of repairs repeat calls to be
provided
AKO May - 18 A detailed piece of work is being carried out
and the findings will be reported to the
Board.
30/01/18 09/18 Information on measures of
homelessness targets and discharge of
duty to be provided
DG Complete
30/01/18 09/18 Breakdown of sickness absence and
consideration to be given for adopting
the Bradford factor as a KPI
PR Mar-18 Complete – information is provided in the
performance report. We have looked at the
Bradford factor as a measure of sickness
absence. This is similar to current KPI
reporting and at this stage, whilst we assess
the service provided by First Care, the
intention is not to make any further changes
at this stage.
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Action log
Date of
meeting
Agenda
item
Action Action
owner
Target
completion
date
Status and comments
30/01/18 09/18 Information on how the Flexible
Housing Support Grant is being
allocated was requested
DG Complete
30/01/18 11/18 A more explicit objective on improving
leasehold satisfaction to be included in
the business plan
PR Mar-18 Complete
30/01/18 12/18 A report on ASB and the key issues to
be brought to the Board
AKO May-18
30/01/18 13/18 Statistics on usage of the
Homeswapper service to be given to
the Board
AKO Mar-18 A verbal update will be provided at the Board
meeting
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Report for Board of Management
Title Draft Business Plan 2018
Agenda item 7
Report for Decision
Classification Public
Report author Puneet Rajput, Director of Corporate Affairs
Contact email [email protected]
Contact telephone 020 8489 3728
Portfolio / Board lead N/A
1. Introduction
1.1 This report presents the Board with a draft new Business Plan for review and
approval.
2. Background
2.1 Business planning commenced at the Board strategy day last November. This
was followed up with an interim report to the Board in January presenting
strategic priorities and objectives for a new five year plan.
3. Business Plan 2018
3.1 A draft Business Plan accompanies this covering report, for Board review and
approval.
3.2 The Managing Director’s introduction is set out in bullet points at this stage,
presenting the key messages that we want to make. It will be finalised with Sean
McLaughlin once he commences in post.
3.3 In relation to our values, the Board has previously stated that “Business like” and
“A trusted partner” are still relevant values for HfH but that the wording
describing these values should be refreshed. The current wording is set out
below and the revised wording is presented in the business plan for Board
consideration.
Business like
Innovative, proactive and skilled at providing solutions
Competent, qualified and have all the professional, technical and
personal qualities in place to do a good job
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Manage resources well
A trusted partner
Solid and dependable
Do everything we say we will do
Look to the future
3.4 Each strategic priority has an accompanying vision statement for that priority for
the life of the plan. It is followed by objectives, known at this stage, with the
intention of adding objectives in response to resident needs, the changing
environment, Council commissions and regular Board review of progress with
the plan and the operating environment. In this way the plan is intended to be
dynamic and ‘live’.
3.5 The business plan is supported by a detailed delivery plan intended as a tool for
management to help manage and deliver objectives effectively, on time and on
budget. This will be used to provide progress reports to the Board and identify
any areas of slippage or failure to achieve intended outcomes associated with
each objective.
3.6 Once approved by the Board and the Managing Director’s introduction agreed
with Sean, our graphic design service will produce an external version for
publication. The Board is recommended to delegate approval of this version to
the Chair and Managing Director.
4. Recommendation
4.1 The Board is recommended to:
i) Review and approve the content for the Business Plan 2018
ii) Delegate authority to the Chair and Managing Director to approve
the final public version of the Plan.
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Draft Homes for Haringey Business Plan 2018
Managing Director’s Introduction
(To be finalised with Sean McLaughlin once in post)
As the new Managing Director of Homes for Haringey (HfH), I am pleased to be
launching our new five-year business plan.
It is an exciting time for us, as Haringey Council recently awarded us with a new
10-year management agreement, demonstrating their faith in our work with
residents and partners to manage and improve the borough’s council housing.
We have a new chair of the Board, Aman Dalvi, who brings with him a wealth of
knowledge and experience, and who is committed to listening to our residents and
working with them to improve the services we offer.
In line with this, we undertook our largest ever consultation exercise on the
business plan in 2017, ‘Have Your Say’, with nearly 2, 000 residents participating
and giving their views on what our priorities should be for the next five years.
Our Board and Leadership team have used this feedback to develop this plan so
that it focusses on what matters most to residents.
It is a challenging time for the social housing sector and we have been effective at
responding to these challenges.
Following the Grenfell fire and tragic loss of life, social housing providers need to
ensure that we have the highest possible standards in place and we have been
working to improve fire safety management across our operation.
Local government and housing budgets have been significantly reduced and we
have successfully cut our operating costs whilst maintaining service performance.
Welfare reform and Universal Credit have had an impact on a significant number
of local residents and we are providing additional advice and support to those that
need it, as well as helping more people into employment and training.
This business plan sets out our aspirations for what we expect to have achieved
within the next five years. The document also sets out our four key priorities for this
period and our main areas of focus in 2018/19:
o Homelessness is a growing issue in Haringey and new government policy
on homelessness means we now have the opportunity to help a far wider
range of people than before.
o We will strengthen our focus on our customers, listening to their views and
taking greater ownership of the issues they raise.
o We are continually looking to improve the services we offer and to do this
we are redesigning our processes and making wider use of innovative new
mobile and self-service technology.
o We are a learning organisation that is focussed on developing a highly
skilled and responsive workforce as well as being a great employer.
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This is a dynamic plan and we will be updating it annually to make sure our work
makes a big improvement to the lives of our customers and to Haringey as a place
to live, work and thrive.
About Homes for Haringey (HfH)
Our purpose
Homes for Haringey exists to provide excellent housing services and to work with Haringey
Council and local communities to make the borough a better place to live. We fully share
the Council’s vision for housing and agree that:
“Housing is about people and communities, not just bricks and mortar. This means mixed
and inclusive neighbourhoods where residents can lead happy and fulfilling lives”.
This vision recognises the central importance of both high quality homes and successful
neighbourhoods to the lives of our current and future customers. We work in partnership
with the Council to improve the quality of life for people in the borough through initiatives
such as increasing the supply of affordable housing across a range of tenures and leading
on community development initiatives to provide training, skills and employment support
for local residents.
To contribute to improving Haringey as a place to live, we are continuing to strengthen
our core housing services and working with residents and partners to achieve a wider
range of outcomes. This means:
Aiming for top quartile performance across all of our major service areas
Offering excellent value, the proven ability to contribute to required savings as well as
making Council funding stretch further
Demonstrating excellent partnership working, contributing to a range of areas
including community safety, the local environment and local employment.
What we do
Homes for Haringey provides all landlord services on behalf of the Council, and manages
around 16,000 tenancies, 5,000 leases and 3,000 units of temporary accommodation.
Our landlord services cover repairs and maintenance, tenancy and estate management,
income collection, leasehold management and resident engagement. We also provide
services to respond to demand for housing in the borough, including housing advice and
assessment, homelessness applications, and temporary accommodation teams. We are
focussed on working with all our customers - tenants, leaseholders and people in need of
housing, so they have a real say in shaping the services we provide. A key principle of our
approach is to empower and enable people to become more independent and self-
sufficient.
We are committed to maintaining a high standard of leadership and staffing within the
organisation and the Board. Alongside creating an absolutely clear company identity and
culture, we empower and support staff to provide excellent service delivery for both
internal and external customers. Our strong approach to performance management
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includes training and developing all our staff, giving them opportunities for progression,
and strengthening effective working across teams. We are also introducing new
technology to improve the customer experience, increasing automation and self-service
wherever possible, and making more intelligent use of the data we hold to tailor our
services.
We recognise that we have a significant role in achieving the aims of the Haringey
Council’s Housing and Homelessness Strategies. In addition to maintaining and improving
existing homes and estates, we are managing the Council’s new build homes and
providing new homes through conversions. Our approach to tackling homelessness is
focussed on providing early intervention and targeted support, and increasing the range of
affordable housing options as an alternative to expensive temporary accommodation. We
are expanding initiatives such as ‘Project 20/20’ to reach greater numbers of young
people to deliver strong and positive outcomes relating to skills and employment. We are
also working with partners to leverage in additional funding and resources, monitoring
and measuring the impact of our work with local communities, and embracing new
service opportunities.
Progress in 2017/18
Homes for Haringey has made significant progress in recent years. Some key highlights
from 2017/18 are:
Our Housing Demand Service is leading on initiatives like the conversion of former
care homes to provide new rooms for homeless families and reduce our reliance on
private sector accommodation.
At the start of the year, our Domestic Violence Advice and Support Centre was short
listed in the 2017 Housing Heroes Awards as an outstanding service providing
“support and care” for Haringey residents dealing with domestic abuse.
Our Operations Service has seen strong performance on estate cleanliness, with 97%
graded at A & B, and Project 2020 has provided 186 employment and training
opportunities to local residents so far in 2017/18.
Our Estate Watch pilot installed remotely monitored CCTV cameras on the Love lane
estate and has been a great success, significantly reducing anti-social behaviour on
the estate.
In December 2017, HfH started safety works to nine low-rise blocks that failed
structural tests. This work is progressing well and over 600 homes have had gas safety
valves and sensors fitted.
Following a programme of work that brought over 9,500 tenanted dwellings up to the
Decent Homes standard over the last 8 years, our Property Services have developed a
new asset management strategy that plans the next five years of work to council
housing and estates.
We introduced a new case management system called Service Connect and this
played a significant part in helping our Repairs Service to reduce costs from £20m to
£15m.
HfH was recognised in a national housing sector competition. Organised by media
publication, 24Housing, the Top 50 Social Landlords competition ranked Homes for
Haringey at 16th overall.
24
In the process of consulting on HfH’s new Management Agreement, the Council
received almost 1,200 responses from secure tenants, with 81% supporting the
proposal of entering into a new agreement with HfH.
Our Vision and Values
Vision
We have adopted the Council’s vision for housing:
‘Housing is about people and communities, not just bricks and mortar. This means mixed
and inclusive neighbourhoods where residents can lead happy and fulfilling lives.’
Values
Our values help to describe our preferred way of working at HfH. They inform our desired
culture and guide our behaviour in the work place. They help us to give the best of
ourselves for the benefit of our customers and each other.
Business like
We have, or work towards developing, all the necessary skills to do an excellent
job
We take ownership of matters and focus on providing solutions
We seek to use our publicly funded resources efficiently and effectively and
minimise waste
We behave in a professional manner that helps to maintain a good reputation.
A trusted partner
We can be relied upon to do what is expected of us, the first time
We maintain productive working relationships with colleagues, customers and
others we work with
We always seek to add value, show understanding and act with care
We take decisions and act in a manner that is transparent and fair.
25
Five year Business Plan aspirations
This Business Plan runs for five years and within the life of this plan, we will have:
Continued to honour the Council’s trust in us, meeting the expectations set out in our
new ten-year contract.
Maintained our position as the best option to provide housing services in Haringey,
being seen as an excellent partner and contributor to the borough, as well as an
outstanding housing provider.
Redesigned our Housing Demand service so that it intervenes earlier to prevent
homelessness, has increased the supply of available housing and has significantly
reduced use of temporary accommodation.
Provided new homes as part of the Council’s programme, including conversions and
acquisitions, to offer alternatives to expensive private sector accommodation.
Delivered a ‘post-Decent Homes’ investment and capital plan for the Council, making
improvements to Haringey’s housing stock and estates.
Established Haringey Repair Services in a position where it has expanded into new
business areas, bringing back surpluses to support investment in housing.
Grown the work of our youth and community service, expanding projects such as
20/20 to reach greater numbers of people and to deliver strong and positive
outcomes relating to employment, skills and community development so that more
tenancies and neighbourhoods are sustained.
Improved and reformed tenancy and leasehold management services, enabling a
greater degree of self-service, use of technology and easy access to advice and
guidance; leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction.
Fully embedded a new approach to resident engagement, which enables all residents
and customers to have their say and influence decision-making.
Implemented a modern sheltered and supported service for older people, modernising
the approach to demand for such services by offering alternatives to traditional
sheltered housing.
Our Strategic Priorities
The strategic priorities that our Business Plan will focus on over the next five years are:
1. Homelessness
2. Our Customers
3. Service Improvement
4. Our People and Organisation.
26
Homelessness
Homes for Haringey share the Council’s vision that Haringey should be a place where we
all work together to prevent and resolve homelessness and rough sleeping.
We aim to reduce the financial and human costs of homelessness by intervening earlier to
prevent homelessness, increasing the supply of accommodation available and meeting the
needs of those already in temporary accommodation.
2018 sees the implementation of the most significant change in homelessness legislation
for 40 years and we are committed to taking this opportunity to fundamentally change our
offer to households who are facing homelessness. We will work with these households and
partners to achieve positive outcomes that avoid the need for temporary accommodation.
In 2018/19, we will:
significantly reduce the number of households living in temporary accommodation
and reduce our reliance on costly nightly paid accommodation.
implement a new structure and way of working to meet the requirements of the
Homelessness Reduction Act, which will increase the number of homelessness
preventions achieved and have a positive impact on customers’ experience of
accessing advice and homelessness services.
increase access to alternative sources of supply including increasing the number of
Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) secured, converting more emergency
accommodation to ASTs, and increasing take up of mobility options and Pathway
provision.
Our Customers
Our vision is to be valued as a company that really listens to, and is trusted by, our
customers. We recognise that we have different customers with differing needs. We will
strive to provide excellent tailored customer services that meet the needs of our different
customer groups.
Our customers are our priority and we are committed to developing greater
opportunities for customer involvement and feedback.
We will ensure our customers have a better understanding of what we do and are
more widely engaged in shaping our services.
In future, our staff will be more visible to our customers, enabling more frequent
interaction and greater ownership of issues.
In 2018/19, we will:
27
Develop a new customer service charter that sets out our service offering for each
of our different customer groups – people facing homelessness, tenants,
leaseholders and residents in sheltered housing – and will give residents clear
standards for what they can expect from us.
Implement a new resident engagement strategy so that residents will have a
genuine ability to shape our services and make a positive social impact for the
wider Haringey community.
Review the structure of our front line customer facing services so that we are more
visible to our customers and so that all our staff take greater ownership of issues
that residents raise with them.
Improve our leasehold services, the levels of satisfaction with those services and
seek independent accreditation of this.
Service Improvement
We are an ambitious organisation that continuously looks for ways to improve our services
and business processes.
We will deliver service improvement by empowering our staff and residents - ensuring they
have the capacity and capabilities – and using evidence and data to shape our
improvement activity. Measuring the effectiveness of improvement is vital. We promise to
listen and act on customer feedback and use this insight to deliver good quality, cost
effective services.
As a learning organisation we will be transparent about our performance; build
relationships with colleagues inside and outside the housing sector; encourage and invite
challenge; and take advantage of new ideas and technology. Our strategies, policies, and
performance targets reflect our approach to continuous improvement and will ensure we
deliver excellent service to our customers.
In 2018/19, we will:
complete the sheltered housing transformation programme and introduce a ‘hub
and spoke’ model to provide excellent housing and support services.
carry out a review of our responsive repairs service and implement its findings to
ensure we provide better quality repairs and improve resident satisfaction.
extend the ‘Estates Watch’ CCTV monitoring service to other hotspots of crime and
anti-social behaviour to contribute to safer neighbourhoods and cleaner estates.
Our People and Organisation
Our vision is to develop a highly skilled and responsive workforce that reflects the diversity
of our community and works in an inclusive and collaborative manner for the benefit of our
residents and each other.
28
Our staff are an important asset that we will continue to invest in so that they reach their
full potential and contribute more effectively towards our organisational purpose.
Our success is underpinned by good governance and we seek to have a high performing
Board with effective systems of governance, compliance and assurance.
Our organisation will be innovative and forward-looking. We will continue to develop lean
and agile systems and processes that support excellent customer relationship
management, together with secure and efficient information management.
In 2018/19, we will:
work to meet the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
so that customer data is fully secure and protected.
implement a People Strategy that will develop our staff and help us become a best
in class organisation.
upgrade our current housing management IT system so that it helps us manage
customer requests more effectively and allows greater self-service.
29
Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Report for Board of Management
Title Homes for Haringey Budget 2018/19
Agenda item 8
Report for Decision
Classification Public
Report author Esther Campbell, Financial Controller
Contact email [email protected]
Contact telephone 020 8489 2965
Portfolio / Board lead N/A
1. Introduction
1.1 The purpose of this report is to obtain the board’s approval of the company
budget for Homes for Haringey (HfH) for 2018/19.
2. Background
2.1 Homes for Haringey (HfH) has its own company budgets, for which it receives a
management fee from the Council.
2.2 The required saving for the current financial year (2017/18) is £1.295m, which
HfH is on target to achieve.
2.3 There are no required savings for 2018/19, however HfH has committed to find
savings to cover any internal growth pressures.
2.4 The 2018/19 budget setting process – which commenced in January 2018 –
involved the Finance team working with budget holders across the company to
compile the draft 2018/19 budget.
3. 2018/19 draft budget
3.1 The draft HfH management fee was set by the Council based on the 2017/18
fee, adjusted for the 1% pay increase and the 2.1% reduction in employer’s
pension contributions in 2018/19.
3.2 A comparison of the 2017/18 and 2018/19 budgets – along with the net
adjustments – can be found in the below table:
30
Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Savings
3.3 Savings have been identified through the deletion of unused budgets, proposed
restructures, converting vacant posts into trainee/apprentice posts and a review
of income and expenditure from capital projects.
Cost Pressures
3.4 The main cost pressures are additional staff posts created and increases in
contractor costs within Property Services (Client Services & Annual Maintenance).
These pressures have been offset in full by the savings identified in 3.3 above.
4. Considerations
4.1 Assumptions used:
4.1.1 Achievement of this budget is dependent on effective budget
management throughout the organisation combined with scrutiny and
oversight by management and the board.
4.1.2 The Council has not finalised the Service Level Agreements for 2018/19,
however, the management fee will be adjusted in line with any changes.
4.1.3 The budgeted pay increase is 1% across all salary grades.
4.1.4 HfH will seek additional funding – once commissioned by the Council –
for the following activities:
Lightning protection works (£150k)
Ventilation maintenance (£100k)
4.1.5 The Council have agreed to fund the additional cooker installations and
compensation (£138k) in 2018/19.
4.2 Financial risks:
HFH DIRECTORATE
2017/18
BUDGET
NET
ADJUSTMENTS
2018/19
BUDGET
Central Budgets (incl Management Fee) (37,903,662) (44,455) (37,948,117)
Managing Director 731,940 59,870 791,810
Corporate Affairs 2,756,020 (17,112) 2,738,908
Operations 11,321,980 105,730 11,427,710
Housing Demand 3,536,852 30,531 3,567,383
Asset Management (422,210) (12,422) (434,632)
Client Services & Annual Maintenance 5,321,840 352,667 5,674,507
HRS 14,657,240 (474,810) 14,182,430
TOTAL - - -
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Homes for Haringey
Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
4.2.1 The budgets contain many demand-led services, where it is difficult to
predict the correct level of budget required due to external factors outside
of our control, such as severe bad weather, for example. We have used
the best information available to derive an adequate level of budget for
these areas.
4.2.2 There may be further pressures arising from budget announcements or
changes in government policies or regulations; these may present as cost
pressures in year.
5. Recommendation
5.1 The board is recommended to approve the budget for HfH for 2018/19.
32
Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 31 January 2017
Appendix 1 – HfH 2017/18 budget:
DIRECTORATE
2016/17
BUDGET
MOVEMENT
OF R&M
BUDGET FROM
HRA TO HFH
ADDITIONAL
BUDGET FOR
INCREASED
SLAS
FULL YEAR
BUDGET PRO-
RATA FOR
HOUSING
DEMAND
2017/18
SAVINGS
ALLOCATION
OF 2017/18
SAVINGS ADJUSTMENTS
2017/18
BUDGET
VARIANCE
FROM 2016/17
BUDGET TO
2017/18
BUDGET
CORPORATE AFFAIRS 8,469,440 - 517,000 - - (£24,000) 92,960 9,055,400 585,960
HOUSING DEMAND 3,890,650 - - 383,610 - (£295,000) - 3,979,260 88,610
OPERATIONS 11,974,740 - - - - (£426,000) (£149,060) 11,399,680 (£575,060)
HRS 15,240,470 - - - - (£550,000) - 14,690,470 (£550,000)
ASSET MANAGEMENT 39,450 - - - - - (£37,830) 1,620 (£37,830)
CLIENT SERV & ANNUAL MAINT 682,620 4,540,000 - - - - 93,930 5,316,550 4,633,930
GF MANAGEMENT FEE (£4,219,650) - - (£383,610) 295,000 - - (£4,308,260) (£88,610)
HRA MANAGEMENT FEE (£36,077,720) (£4,540,000) (£517,000) - 1,000,000 - - (£40,134,720) (£4,057,000)
TOTAL - - - - 1,295,000 (£1,295,000) - - -
33
Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Report for Board of Management
Title Performance and Finance Report February 2018
Agenda item 11
Report for Discussion
Classification Public
Report author Carl Doogan, Head of Business Improvement
Esther Campbell, Financial Controller
Contact email [email protected]
Contact telephone 020 8489 5816 (Carl)
020 8489 2965 (Esther)
Portfolio / Board lead N/A
1. Introduction
1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Board with an overview of Homes for
Haringey’s (HfH) current financial position and performance against a suite of
indicators agreed with the Board and which incorporate the Council’s
Performance Management Framework indicators.
1.2 The Board is asked to review the contents of the report and consider the main
findings and implications for HfH.
2. Background
2.1 Detailed monitoring of HfH’s performance against these key performance
indicators (KPIs) is carried out by ELT and performance is reported by exception
to the Board. The Board’s performance dashboard is attached with this report.
3. Performance
3.1 Income Management
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
% of rent collected (including arrears and excluding
water rates) (GN & SH only) 101.31% 100.70% 99.71%
Former tenant rent arrears as % of rent due (excluding
voids) 3.92% 3% 3.86%
The proportion of rent collected for all temporary
accommodation 98.90% 99.00% 96.94%
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Current tenant rent & service charge arrears as % of rent
due (excluding voids) (GN & SH only) 4.54% 3.50% 4.64%
GN/SH collection rate: The collection rate increased to 99.71%. The net shortfall to
meeting the year-end target stands at £795k.
The service is confident that the outturn will be closer to the collection rate target once the
receipts from the April Direct Debits have been taken into account. The payment is made
on 1st April (18/19) but covers rent weeks at the end of 17/18 and so are included in
17/18 collection rate performance.
To ensure we meet target, the service will undertake the following activities on top of the
business as usual work plan:
1. Set up a special project for the In-House HB assessors to complete the HB
suspensions.
2. Agreed to send targeted SMS text messages outside office hours (evening and
weekends) with the view to maximising income and entering into payment
arrangements.
3. Agreed a more consistent approach to applying post-court actions. The service will
continue send out letters to 219 accounts with judgment shortfall. In addition, in
the last month we issued 39 warrants for the non-payment of debt in the sum of
£262k.
TA collection rate: collection rate increased to 96.94%. The rent shortfall now stands at
£740k. The service aims to achieve the collection rate closer to 98% by year-end. To
ensure this happens, the service will undertake the following activities on top of the
business as usual work plan:
1. In-house HB assessors are currently reviewing all HB suspended accounts to help
maximise income.
2. The service expects to receive DHP payments at least totalling £50k before the end
of this month. The service recognise this is an ambitious estimate but in line with
payments received at the same point last year.
3. A special project has been assigned to send SMS text messages which have been
sent outside office hours (evening and weekends) with the view to maximising
income and entering into payment arrangements.
4. Service are in the process of liaising with the Move on team to help maximise
contacts and engagement with hard to reach customers.
Current tenant rent & service charge arrears: performance improved on last month but is still
above the 3.5% target. The service is confident that successful delivery of the above
planned activities will help reduce the amount of current arrears.
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
As mentioned previously, this financial year’s 1% rent reduction has had a direct impact
on performance against this measure. We estimate the 1% accounts for c. £930k. This
impact will continue into 2018/19 as we apply a further 1% reduction. In addition, HB
overpayments being forced over to our current tenant’s rent accounts by the council
impacts on performance as this contributes to our rent arrears figure. Service have
requested regular reports to show the amount forced over, the amount deducted from
weekly benefits, and the amount invoiced directly to the tenant. Accounts subject to
overpayment will be monitored more rigorously going forward.
Former arrears: The service recently sent 1,179 former accounts to an external agency for
collection. The value of the debt passed to the agency totals £3,027,912. The service will
be monitoring the performance of collection.
3.2 Voids
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
Average re-let times (calendar days) HouseMark definition
(GN & SH only) 27.3 21 days 29.6
Average cost of voids repairs (£)
(GN & SH only) £3,175 £2,277 £3,637
Average re-let times: Sheltered Housing voids remain an issue. We held an open day in
February and this had some positive results, mainly with people becoming more willing to
consider the scheme and open up the areas they would like to move to. We will hold open
days in other schemes. The Hanover new build still has not been allocated to and there
are five vacant flats (previously there were three, but two people changed their mind). The
Lettings Team are working on getting these closed down so more focus can be placed on
our Sheltered Housing voids. Given Hanover does not require tenants to have a housing
related support need, Lettings will try to make direct offers to tenants in TA.
Performance on General Needs is becoming better and HRS are looking like they will
clear down all of the standard voids by the end of the financial year. This will put us in a
strong position moving into the new financial year. However, consideration still needs to
be given to the properties that are on hold in Love Lane and Broadwater Farm. It is not
yet clear when these will be coming back into use and therefore what the impact on
resources will be.
Average cost of voids repairs: we remain well above target; however, this figure does
include rechargeable repair work (which is yet to be finalised). We should shortly be able
to highlight and exclude the rechargeable elements of void repair work to provide a
clearer picture of the cost of void works. When we identify rechargeable works we invoice
the customer.
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
The average figure for the 39 GN & SH VAVS includes seven voids with a repair cost
between £5k and £14k. A review of these voids is being carried out to establish the
recharge value and extent of work required. It is worth noting that, if we excluded these 7
voids, the average cost reduces to £2,542.25.
The higher average cost is also affected by some older historical voids which are being
brought through for Letting.
3.3 Project 2020
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
Provide support, employment training and advice 245 240 216
Project 2020 are still without the full use of their building due to an on-going leak issue
that despite many attempts to repair it, has still not been resolved. This has impacted
hugely on the job club sessions on a Thursday as tenants would normally come in to
access the computers. The team delivered the half term programme in Northumberland
Park during this time, so the IAG appointments were put on hold. Interviews for a 3rd
Employment Support Officer will be held on 12 March 2018, at which four candidates
have been shortlisted.
3.4 Contact Centre
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
% of call centre abandonments (all queues) 16.3% 5% 15.7%
Our Customer Relations Manager’s secondment to the Contact Centre ends on 30th
March. She has been providing training to contact centre staff to maintain focus and
support improvements linked to HfH services. Discussions are underway to establish what
resource/support we provide to the contact centre in 2018/19.
As mentioned previously, tackling repeat calls would have a significant impact on waiting
times and abandonment performance. For information, around 40% of repairs calls are
repeat calls and work is underway to ensure we code/categorise calls. This will provide us
with a more accurate picture of the reasons customers call and therefore help direct
improvement activity.
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
The council highlighted problems with IT systems during February – these intermittent
problems contributed to the abandonment rate figure. We are told that these IT problems
have now been resolved.
It must be noted that the Council exclude any calls abandoned within 30 seconds because
the automated message directs the customer to another channel i.e. self-serve online. The
15.7% includes calls abandoned within 30 seconds and will continue to do so until a
reporting tool is developed that evidences that channel shift.
3.5 Feedback and complaints
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
% of Stage 1 Complaints responded to within 10 working
days 94% 95% 94%
Respond to Freedom of Information Requests within
Statutory Deadlines 86% 100% 88%
Stage 1 complaints: The Feedback Team did not send out their usual reminder out to
managers (w/c 05/20/18). Managers should not be reliant on the Feedback Team
chasing them up for responses; nevertheless, this did result in some delays in issuing
responses.
YTD performance:
Property 482/511 Operations 323/347
Demand 160/172 Corporate Affairs 4/4
Freedom of Information: So far this year we have responded to 88% of FOI within the 20
working day deadline (152/172 YTD). This decreased from 89% YTD reported in
January’s performance report. This is below the 90% threshold set by the Information
Commissioners Office.
YTD performance:
Property 29/36 Operations 48/53
Demand 51/57 Corporate Affairs 24/26
As at 15th March 10/19 FOIs had been responded to within timescales – bringing YTD
down to 85%.
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
3.6 Repairs
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
% of tenants satisfied with quality of repair (BMG) 76% 78.74% 78%
78% of the 200 customer surveyed in February were satisfied with the quality of repair.
This means our YTD performance (based on 2,201 responses) remains at 78%. Of this
group, 17% were ‘dissatisfied’ and 5% coded as ‘neither’. The service continues to call
customers who recorded their dissatisfaction to understand why and see what
improvements we can make to the service we provide. Service uses this contact to
apologise and/or raise new jobs where appropriate.
3.7 Asset Management
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
% of capital programme completed in time 94% 90% 85%
During Quarter 3, only one of the two schemes at NT9 Borough Wide (Phase 9) 2016/17
completed on time. Because of the low number of completions during the Quarter, the
outturn was 50% - which brought the year to date down to 85%.
The delays for the scheme not completed on time was because of a sourcing issue of roof
tiles and a delay in the procurement and replacement of balcony railings at Chestnut
Grove. These delays caused the scheme to overrun by 38 days.
3.8 People
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
Average number of working days lost due to sickness
absence (rolling 12 month figure) 11.3 6 9.87
The average number of working days lost to sickness was 9.87 days – average shot-term
sickness is 3.75 days and average long-term sickness is 7.84 days. A breakdown by
Directorate is provided below:
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
Av. number
of days lost
YTD
Short term
YTD
Long term
HfH 9.87 3.75 7.84
Property 16.41 4.37 11.82
Housing Demand 13.59 5.15 8.43
Corporate Affairs 5.81 3.63 1.87
Operations 5.5 2.75 5.07
Across HfH, 20% of absences relates to long-term sickness (i.e. 20 days or more sickness).
The long-term absence proportion is higher than the average for Property (27%) and
Operations (21%).
There is now a proactive approach in focusing on sickness and follow up appointments
with HR to ensure that return to work meetings are completed. A significant number of
long-term sickness cases have been resolved and HR are working closely with managers
to ensure those individuals settle back into work effectively.
Across the organisation, the main reason for new periods of sickness absence in February
was for flu-like symptoms. However, Musculoskeletal (back) remains the main reason for
absences over the last 12 months.
Return to Work meeting compliance on average is improving, the main reason for non-
compliance has been due to conflicting working patterns between the employee and
manager.
3.9 General Needs tenant satisfaction
Performance Indicator 16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
February
2018
Overall customer satisfaction rating HfH (monthly YTD
figure) 67% 80% 65%
69% of the 150 tenants surveyed in February were satisfied with HfH – meaning the year
to date position remains unchanged at 65%.
Overall satisfaction with the service provided, quality of home, and rent value for money
remain similar to the highs set in December-January. Dissatisfaction with the quality of
home is also at its lowest level to date - significantly lower than the average for June
onwards, and compared to the February 2017 baseline.
Satisfaction with repairs and maintenance / value for money of service charges is at its
highest level to date, although with no significant change compared to the previous two
months.
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Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
An improvement plan is being drafted which responds to the specific issues customers
have raised through the BMG survey, along with issues identified via feedback and
complaints. A task and finish group has been established (led by Community & Customer
Relationship Director) which will work with services across the organisation to focus efforts
to improve tenant satisfaction.
4. Financial overview
As at 28 February 2018 (period 11), the outturn summaries indicating an end of year (surplus)/deficit
for the Homes for Haringey (HfH) budget and the managed budgets can be found in the table
below:
Budget Budget
£’000s
Forecast Variance
£’000s
HfH management fee 43,982 0
HRA managed budgets (95,244) 465
Other:
HfH Managed Capital 45,023 (8,268)
GF Temporary Accommodation
(TA)
10,768 0
HRA - Housing Revenue Account GF - General Fund
HfH Management Fee
The HfH budget is projected to break-even at the end of the financial year; an improvement of
£122k since the last report to the Board.
The projected underspend for Property Services is £448k. Within Client Services and Annual
Maintenance, additional inspection costs on Broadwater Farm have remained in the projection; this
will be discussed with the Council. The forecasted overspend on legal disrepair remains at £480k.
The overspend for Operations as at period 11 is £464k, due to shortfalls in agreed MTFS savings
and the inclusion of restructuring costs. The forecast includes £115k for potential restructuring costs,
however, in order to capture restructuring costs in this year’s accounts, the restructures must be
approved and communicated to affected staff prior to year-end. If the restructures do not materialise
by year-end, the projected overspend will reduce.
The underspend for Housing Demand increased by £36k, resulting in a projected year-end
underspend of £175k, largely due to further utilisation of the Flexible Housing Support Grant
(FHSG). Housing Demand have not been recharged for various corporate services such as Finance,
HR and Facilities Management this year. The Finance team are reviewing these costs to determine
an appropriate recharge; this will be processed by year-end.
The overall company position is stated after the inclusion of significant in-year pressures arising from
disrepair works, unbudgeted restructuring and staff costs, and additional inspections on Broadwater
Farm. These pressures total £1.45m and have been covered from in-year underspends and
additional income generated.
62
Homes for Haringey Board of Management Meeting 27 March 2018
The year-end adjustments expected to impact the final position are the final calculation of capitalised
salaries and the review of the disrepair provision, however funds have been set aside to absorb the
impact of the provision. The expected closing Work-In-Progress (WIP) value has been included in
the current forecast.
Further details of the HfH budgets and spend can be found in Appendix 1.
HRA Managed
The HRA managed budgets are projecting an end-of-year deficit of £465k. The deficit is due to the
budgets not being reduced to reflect the transfer of income from the HRA to the GF; this is being
addressed with the Council. There was an increase in the Supported Housing costs this period,
which have been offset by the reduction in hostel expenditure.
The additional sweeping costs from Veolia have remained at £570k this period, based on a ‘worst
case scenario’ of what the Council may charge. Discussions are still ongoing with the Council
around the validity of this charge; this needs to be resolved as soon as possible due to the material
impact it has on the accounts. The increased costs have been factored into the 2018/19 service
charges.
Further details of the HRA managed budgets can be found in Appendix 2.
Capital programme
The HRA capital programme is forecast to underspend by £8.2m; a request will be made for the
final year-end underspend to be carried forward into 2018/19 as slippage. The underspend is
largely due to slippage in the Lift Programme and Mechanical & Engineering Works of £3.5m
combined, due to slippage in the design and tendering processes, as well as lead times. Staff
leading the M&E programmes have since December been working on Broadwater Farm works in
response to issues identified with the structures. There is £4.6m slippage in the Decent Homes
programme due to delays in signing off the approvals, poor weather and the consultants compiling
the Section 20 information.
Further details of the capital programme can be found in Appendix 3.
Temporary Accommodation
The GF Temporary Accommodation budget had initially projected to overspend by £573k – a
month-on-month reduction of £158k – however, this overspend will be met in full by the FHSG,
resulting in a break-even year-end position for TA. The reduced overspend means less of the FHSG
is being used this year, allowing further funds to be spent in future years.
HfH Earmarked Reserve (held in the Council’s HRA reserve)
Opening position as at 1 April 2017 629,362
Current balance as at 28 February 2018 629,362
Utilisation of reserve as at 28 February 2018 0
The allowable use of this reserve in 2017/18 is 30%, which equates to £188,809.
63
Green Green Green Quartile Key
11 17 16
Red/Amber Red/Amber Red/Amber
Homes for Haringey 13 10 12
Board Scorecard 14/15 15/16 16/17Latest
Performance
Year To Date February 2018 Green 44% 61% 55%Above
Target
All Figures are based on Year To Date, i.e. 01 April 2017 to 28 February 2018 Red/Amber 56% 39% 45%Below
Target
Ref14/15
Outturn
15/16
Outturn
16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
Latest
Performance &
RAG status
Direction
of Travel
P20 HouseMark Benchmarking
(Upper Quartile 2015/16)
Ref Housing Management
BV 66a 99.32% 99.27% 101.31% 100.70% 99.71% 99.66%
IC 07 4.11% 3.39% 3.92% 3.00% 3.86% 1.32%
Op 57 98.17% 98.49% 98.90% 99.00% 96.94% No Benchmark
BV 66e 6.39% 5.43% 4.54% 3.50% 4.64%
2.20%
HO 01 101.6% 103.7% 102.6% 100.3% 100.3%
No Benchmark
BV 212 26.2 28.0 27.3 21 days 29.6
19.9
BV 69 0.78% 0.67% 0.52% 0.68% 0.64% 0.69%
VO 28 NEW NEW £3,175 £2,277 £3,637 £2,216
ES 01 94.3% 93.7% 94.5% 94.0% 98.0% No Benchmark
CSR 02d NEW 233 245 240 216 No Benchmark
CCC 01 4.7% 5.2% 16.3% 5% 15.7% No Benchmark
CA 22 53% 95% 94% 95% 94%
No Benchmark
CA 14 74% 92% 90% 95% 97% No Benchmark
CA 30 53% 95% 86% 100.0% 88%
No Benchmark
CA 36 # 152 134 Trend 116 No Benchmark
CA 17 24 14 15Lower is
Better23 No Benchmark
No Benchmark
No Benchmark
The proportion of rent collected for all temporary accommodation
Current tenant rent & service charge arrears as % of rent due (excluding
voids) (GN & SH only)
Current leaseholder service charges arrears as % of service charges due
Project 2020: Provide support, employment training and advice
% of call centre abandonments
(all queues)
% of Stage 1 Complaints responded to within 10 working days
Average relet times (calendar days) HouseMark definition
(GN & SH only)
% of rent loss from voids
(GN & SH only)
Q3
No Benchmark
No Benchmark
No Benchmark% Members' Enquiries answered within 10 days
Average cost of voids repairs (£)
(GN & SH only)
% of estates graded at A or B by Quality Assurance Officers -
Overall Grade
Q4
No Benchmark
Q3
Q1
% of rent collected (including arrears and excluding water rates)
(GN & SH only)
Former tenant rent arrears as % of rent due (excluding voids)
Number or % increased - positive development
Number or % decreased - positive development
Number or % stayed the same - positive development
Number or % increased - negative development
Number or % decreased - negative development
Number or % stayed the same - negative development
Direction of Travel
Q1 Upper
Q2 Middle Upper
M Median
Q3 Middle Lower
Q4 Lower
No Benchmark
Q3
Quartile our current
Performance falls into
Q1
Performance Indicator
Number of Stage 2 Complaints answered YTD (cumulative)
Number of Ombudsman investigations opened YTD (cumulative)
No Benchmark
No Benchmark
Respond to Freedom of Information Requests within Statutory Deadlines No Benchmark
Business ImprovementCorporate Affairs Service
64
Ref14/15
Outturn
15/16
Outturn
16/17
Outturn
17/18
Target
Latest
Performance &
RAG status
Direction
of Travel
P20 HouseMark Benchmarking
(Upper Quartile 2015/16)
Ref
RP 10 96.9% 98.3% 98.8% 95.0% 96.9% No Benchmark
BV 72 97.5% 99.3% 99.6% 99.0% 99.7% No Benchmark
HMPI 100 81.0% 84.7% 83.3% 90.5% 91.7% 95.80%
RP 04a 76.2% 78.1% 76.0% 78.74% 77.9% 78.80%
HMPI F4Pi04 £716 £645 Annual £603 Annual £449
GS 01 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100.00%
GS 01c NEW 100% 100% 100% 100% No Benchmark
AS 07 NEW Nil Return 94% 90.0% 50%
No Benchmark
AS 08 95.1% 89.4% 91% 93.0% 94% No Benchmark
HMPI E5Pi04 £271 £219 Annual £209 Annual £198
NI 158 31.5% 26.9% 21.1% 19% Annual 0%
Ref
HY 8 NEW NEW 46% 80% 92% No Benchmark
HY 4c 2.55 2.34 2.50 2.10 1.10 No Benchmark
Op 67 28% 31% 37% 38% 43% No Benchmark
HY 156 2,997 3,164 3,147 2,980 2,960 No Benchmark
Ref
HR 01 6.22 8.60 11.3 6 days 9.9 No Benchmark
HMPI B1Pi03 8.7% 12.0% 17.3% 15.0% 8.2% 10.53%
Ref
CE 01 # 70% 67% 80% Annual 81.63%
CE 02 # 70% 67% 80% 65% 81.63%
Ref
BD 01 NEW NEW 97.5% Not Set 100.0%N/A
No TargetNo Benchmark
% of all homeless decisions made in 33 working days
Annual
No Benchmark
No Benchmark
No Benchmark
Q4
No Benchmark
No Benchmark
% of non decent homes
No Benchmark
% forecast spend v budget
Homeless acceptances per 1,000 people in the Borough
% of homeless preventions
(people presenting at risk of losing their home)
Number of homeless households in temporary accommodation
Average number of working days lost due to sickness absence (rolling 12
month figure)
Overall customer satisfaction rating HfH
Overall customer satisfaction rating HfH (monthly YTD figure)
% of all repairs first time fixed
(not including programmed works)
% of tenants satisfied with quality of repair
(BMG)
Cost per property total responsive repairs including overheads
No Benchmark
No Benchmark
N/A
No Benchmark
Q1Percentage of staff turnover
Budget
Satisfaction
% of properties with valid gas certificate -
PSLs (Landlord)
% of capital projects completed in time
Capital Programme: % of residents satisfied with outcome of works
No Benchmark
Housing Demand
People
No Benchmark
Q1
Property Management
% of All repairs completed by HRS within timescale
(includes programmed works)
Q2
Annual
% of properties with valid gas certificate -
Council properties (GN, SH & HOS only)
Performance IndicatorQuartile our Performance
falls into
% of urgent repairs completed within Government time limits
Q4
Cost per property cyclical maintenance Service provision -
includes overheadsAnnual
65
Budget
£000s
YTD Actual
(incl
Accruals)
£000s
p.11
Forecast
Spend
£000s
p.11
Forecast
Variance
£000s
Prior
Months
Variance
£000s
Month on
Month
Movement
£000s
Managing Director's Office 240 225 234 (6) (7) 0
Health & Safety 385 360 433 47 66 (19)
New Business 106 75 82 (24) 1 (25)
Lettings Agency - 0 7 7 7 0
Managing Director's - Directorate 732 663 755 23 67 (44)
Director of Corporate Affairs 149 124 135 (14) (13) (1)
Finance 275 213 256 (19) (18) (1)
Housing Information 695 575 667 (28) (18) (10)
Business Improvement 454 426 477 23 21 2
Procurement 205 154 174 (31) (18) (13)
Communications 259 224 273 14 14 -
Governance 326 213 266 (60) (40) (19)
Facilities Management 148 76 156 8 9 (0)
People Management 270 205 254 (15) 11 (26)
Corporate Affairs - Directorate 2,780 2,209 2,658 (122) (53) (68)
HRA Management Fee (40,032) (36,700) (40,032) (0) - (0)
GF Management Fee (3,950) (3,636) (3,950) 0 - 0
Overheads - (LBH Corporate Service Level Agreements) 5,236 4,854 5,316 80 80 -
Overheads - (HfH Insurance) 461 483 462 0 8 (8)
Overheads - (HfH Accommodation + Central costs) 328 307 377 49 54 (5)
HfH CONTINGENCY 53 22 179 127 (23) 149
Corporately Managed - Directorate (37,904) (34,670) (37,648) 255 119 137
Director of Operations 253 228 262 9 9 (0)
Community & Customer Relations 940 830 895 (44) (35) (9)
Estates & Neighbourhood Services 3,480 2,809 3,575 95 44 51
Tenancy Services 3,856 5,002 4,412 557 547 9
Income Management 2,576 1,987 2,378 (198) (151) (47)
Voids Management 198 224 245 46 46 (0)
OPERATIONS (Hsg Mgt) - Directorate 11,302 11,080 11,766 464 461 3
Client Services & Annual Maintenance (CS&AM) 5,152 4,614 5,368 216 50 166
Disrepair Structure & Compensation 925 958 1,202 277 395 (118)
Repairs Contract (Non-HRS) 265 57 229 (36) (36) -
Repairs Contract (HRS) - Income & Capitalisation (1,020) (411) (1,095) (75) (30) (45)
Client Services & Annual Maintenance (CS&AM) - sub total 5,322 5,218 5,704 382 379 3
HRS Haringey Repairs Service - sub total 14,653 12,238 14,013 (640) (640) (0)
Director of Asset Management 313 301 312 (1) 3 (4)
Capital Programme (1,047) (935) (1,232) (186) (194) 9
Policy & Strategy 311 283 308 (3) (3) 1
HfH HDV Compliance - 78 - - - -
Asset Management - sub total (422) (272) (612) (190) (195) 5
PROPERTY Services - Directorate 19,553 17,184 19,105 (448) (455) 8
Dir of Hsg Demand (686) (758) (697) (11) 5 (17)
Service Development 115 470 121 7 7 (0)
Housing Supply 949 804 898 (51) (26) (25)
Housing Needs 1,801 1,844 1,684 (117) (131) 14
Occupancy Management 1,129 1,258 1,140 11 17 (7)
Hearthstone 228 196 216 (12) (11) (1)
HOUSING DEMAND - Directorate 3,537 3,814 3,362 (175) (139) (36)
-
(Surplus) / Deficit - Totals - 279 0 0 0 (0)
HfH - Company Accounts
Period 11 (February) 2017/18
66
Budget £000s
YTD
Actual
£000s
p.11 SAP
Forecast
£000s
p.11
Forecast
Variance
£000s
Prior
Months
Variance
£000s
Month on
Month
Movement
£000s
Dwellings Rent Income (81,838) (74,374) (82,071) (233) (260) 27
Hostels Rent Income (1,996) (1,777) (1,962) 34 43 (9)
Garages Income (858) (668) (739) 119 118 1
Shops Income (2,139) (1,222) (1,164) 976 975 0
Rental Income - Total (86,831) (78,042) (85,936) 895 876 19
Leasehold Service Charge Income - Total (7,143) (13,216) (7,560) (417) (417) -
District Heating (336) (321) (349) (13) (14) 0
Light & Power (1,204) (1,089) (1,201) 3 2 0
Supported Housing (1,488) (1,361) (1,501) (13) (15) 2
Concierge (1,554) (1,402) (1,545) 9 9 0
Grounds Maintenance (1,922) (1,741) (1,919) 3 2 1
Caretaking (1,544) (1,398) (1,541) 4 3 1
Waste Management (1,626) (1,472) (1,623) 3 3 1
Tenant Service Charge Income - Total (9,674) (8,785) (9,679) (5) (9) 4
Hostels Service Charge Income - Total (341) (304) (335) 6 7 (1)
Estate Controlled Parking (Income) - Total (160) (83) (160) - - -
Water Rates Receivable (Income) -Total (6,295) (5,530) (6,089) 206 197 8
Total Income (110,444) (105,960) (109,759) 684 654 31
Water Rates Payable 5,277 5,010 5,030 (247) (247) -
Corporate Overheads 107 96 105 (2) (2) -
Tenants Incentive 358 303 370 13 13 -
Council Tax - Void Properties 150 131 150 - - -
Housing Management Costs - Total 5,892 5,540 5,655 (237) (237) -
Shops - NNDR/Repairs/Legal - Total 221 67 75 (146) (146) -
-
Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Leasehold Serv. Chgs 210 - 210 - - -
Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Shops 80 - 80 - - -
Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Dwellings 664 - 664 - - -
Increase in Bad Debt Provision - Hostels 68 - 68 - - -
Bad Debt Provision - Total 1,022 - 1,022 - - -
Supporting People 1,851 1,655 1,831 (20) (46) 26
Waste Management 2,100 2,028 2,670 570 570 -
Grounds Maintenance 1,680 1,283 1,760 80 80 -
Estate Controlled Parking 160 90 175 15 20 (5)
Energy Costs 1,417 540 1,050 (367) (367) -
Pest Control 277 145 277 - - -
Service Charge Costs -Total 7,485 5,742 7,763 278 257 21
-
Supported Housing Costs - Total - 7 - - - -
-
Hostels Costs - Total 579 359 464 (114) - (114)
Total Expenditure 15,199 11,715 14,980 (219) (126) (93)
(Surplus)/Deficit on Managed Accounts (95,244) (94,245) (94,779) 465 528 (62)
HRA Managed Accounts
Period 11 (February) 2017/18
67
HRA Capital Programme Appendix 3
Original
SAP
Budget
Revised
SAP
Budget
YTD
Budget
YTD
Actual
Current
Month
Accrual
Actual
including
Accrual
Total
YTD
Variance
Amount
Unprofiled
Forecast
Outturn
Forecast
Variance
Prior
Months
Variance
Month on
Month
Movement
£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s
H207 Estate Improvement 750 750 544 180 336 516 -28 0 623 -127 -11 -116 Variance of £127k due to the contractors
performance.
Variance of £116k due to the contractors
underperformance on the estate lighting & highways
projects.
H210 Planned Preventative
Maintenance
268 268 245 115 131 246 1 0 399 131 135 -4 Projected variance of £131k due to an increase to the
scope of the window maintenance programme. This
will be funded from the slippage in the lift programme.
H211 Structural Works 720 720 636 317 74 391 -245 0 520 -200 -163 -37 Projected variance or £200k due to a reduction in the
number of surveys required, additional monitoring, a
project having to be re-tendered and party wall
issues.
This is a demand lead programme and the spend is
dependant on the number of properties requiring
works during the year.
Variance of £37k due to inclement weather affecting
the works progress.
H212 Extensive Works Voids 500 500 339 274 29 303 -36 0 573 73 0 73 Variance of £73k due to this being a demand lead
project and the number of properties in the
programme.
Variance of £73k due to additional unforeseen works.
H213 Stock Survey 200 200 188 0 0 0 -188 0 15 -185 -170 -15 Variance of £185k due to slippage in the preparation
of the tender documents.
Surveying started in February. Estimated 6 month
contract and contractual commitment into 2017/19 of
£350k
Variance of 15k due to a delayed start of surveys.
H215 Boiler Replacement 3,500 3,500 2,761 2,529 270 2,799 38 989 3,500 0 0 0 Full spend now projected due to the BWF boiler
replacement which is estimated to cost £225k.
This is a demand lead project.
There is a risk of PO not being raised in time to record
the spend.
H216 Capitalised Voids Over £10k 420 420 331 466 27 493 162 0 495 75 32 43 Variance of £75k projected due to current demand
levels.
This is a demand lead programme and the spend is
dependant on the number of propertied becoming
void.
Variance of £43k due the higher number of voids
completed.
H218 Lift Improvements 880 880 345 -106 0 -106 -451 0 -60 -940 -921 -19 Projected variance of £940k is due to slippage in the
design process due to resources and the project
having to be re-tendered because only one tender
was returned.
Variance of £19k due to revision to the final accounts.
H229 Decent Homes Standard 18,392 24,615 20,980 12,323 2,089 14,412 -6,568 0 20,052 -4,563 -3,770 -793 Projected variance of £4,563k.
The variance due to undertaking the design,
procurement and delivery in the same year and the
following delays: agreeing the AMPs, consultants
compiling the information for Section 20 notice, signing
of the approval report, the raising of POs, obtain
access to dwellings to undertake the works.
Variance of £793k due to saving on final accounts
(£595k), no access, and inclement weather affecting
the progress of the works and the materials delivery.
H235 Asbestos Removal 220 220 174 196 1 197 23 23 220 0 0 0 Full spend projected
This is a demand lead project.
Period 11 (February)Comments on Monthly Variance
Comments on Budget Variance
68
Original
SAP
Budget
Revised
SAP
Budget
YTD
Budget
YTD
Actual
Current
Month
Accrual
Actual
including
Accrual
Total
YTD
Variance
Amount
Unprofiled
Forecast
Outturn
Forecast
Variance
Prior
Months
Variance
Month on
Month
Movement
£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s
Comments on Monthly Variance
Comments on Budget Variance
H243 Mechanical & Electrical Works 6,000 6,000 5,232 2,888 164 3,052 -2,180 0 3,394 -2,606 -2,272 -334 Variance of £2,606k projected which is due to slippage
in the design and tendering process due to resources
and outsourcing the design process. Further delays
were incurred by procurement team allowing projects
to be tendered.
The total includes £162k for new added to the
programme. There has also been saving identified in
the settlement of the final accounts.
Variance of £334k due to savings on final accounts
(£98k), reduction of programmed inspections and
remedial works (£31k), staff being diverted to the BWF
emergency works project and inclement weather
affecting the progress of the works and the materials
delivery.
H244 Professional Fees 2,000 2,000 1,671 1,851 174 2,025 354 0 2,100 100 115 -15 Variance of £100 projected. Variance of £15k due to adjusted projections for
vacant post
H247 Fire Protection Works 4,300 4,300 3,484 551 118 669 -2,815 0 4,453 153 -288 441 Full spend projected.
There is a risk of slippage if there are delays in raising
the PO.
There has been delays in the procurement design and
the signing of the approval report.
There are 3 projects currently in design with AMPs
being built up and 2 at the approval stage.
Variance of £441k due to projected valuations for
materials off site.
H253 Supported Living Scheme 0 0 0 16 0 16 16 0 16 16 16 0 Projects are closed and the final payments have been
made.
Adaptation of Office Accommodation 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 Project is closed and the final payment has been
made.
H257 Conversions & Extensions 320 320 299 273 62 335 0 0 380 60 72 -12 Variance of £60k projected due to tender being higher
than the pre-tender estimate.
Variance of £12k due to saving on final account
H265 Design Only Programme 250 250 167 0 0 0 -167 0 75 -175 -175 0 Variance of £175k due to delays in the procurement
process.
H259 Procurement 80 80 53 0 0 0 -53 0 28 -52 0 -52 Variance due to the delays in recruitment. Variance due to vacant post.
Total HfH Managed Capital 38,800 45,023 37,449 21,875 3,475 25,350 -12,135 1,012 36,783 -8,238 -7,398 -840
69
Homes for Haringey
Finance, Audit and Risk Committee Meeting 20 February 2018
Meeting: Finance, Audit and Risk Committee Meeting
Date: 6.30pm, 20 February 2018
Venue: Conference Room 1, 48 Station Road, Wood Green
Present: David Beacham (DB) – Chair, Anastasia Bloom (AB), Adzowa Kwabla-
Oklikah (AKOk), Anne Gibson (AG) – co-optee
Officers in
Attendance:
Chris Liffen (CL), Astrid Kjellberg-Obst (AKO), David Sherrington (DS),
Puneet Rajput (PR), Esther Campbell (EC), Dominic Johnson (DJ), Nick
Crago (NC)
Apologies: Joanna Christophides (JC), El-Farouk Cheik (EFC)
Item Minutes
Action
01/18 Welcome, Apologies and Declarations of Interest
The committee, officers and auditors were welcomed to the meeting.
Apologies were noted as above.
There were no declarations of interest.
02/18 Minutes of Meetings 24 October 2017
The minutes of the meeting on 24 October 2017 were agreed as an
accurate record of that meeting and signed by the Chair.
AG raised a concern in relation to the sheltered housing scrutiny
report. The fire doors which residents can’t open without assistance
was still an issue despite management assurance that this had been
addressed. This would be looked into.
AKO
03/18 Actions Log
DB asked about how the costs in relation to fire safety works would
be funded. DS responded that these were either part of a capital
budget agreed by the Council or would be new budget items in HfH’s
budget.
In relation to the sheltered housing scheme visits, these would be
deferred until after the local elections.
04/18 Safeguarding Exception Report (Oral)
AKO had previously updated the Committee on the death of a
supported housing resident as a result of smoking in her bed. A
74
Homes for Haringey
Finance, Audit and Risk Committee Meeting 20 February 2018
Item Minutes Action
Council safeguarding review was now underway in addition to the
coroner’s inquest due between 8 and 11 May.
05/18 External Audit Plan 2017/18
Andy Lowe, Partner at PWC, was welcomed to the meeting. The
standard auditing approach would not be significantly different this
year. Whilst there were no new accounting standards applicable for
the current year, there were some changes to auditing standards
which were more relevant for PWC. The audit report would be longer
and contain more information. The letter of engagement had not
been presented at this stage as it was still being updated to reflect
new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the new
auditing standards.
Two significant and one elevated risk had been identified in the plan.
The significant risks were mandated under audit standards. There
were two aspects to the elevated going concern risk: i) an outstanding
start up loan to Move 51and representation needed from the Council
that the loan would never be called in and preferably written off; and
ii) general uncertainty associated with a new incoming administration post local elections and the outstanding sign off of HfH’s new
Management Agreement by the Secretary of State.
CL said he would take the matter of the loan up with the Council.
The audit fee proposed was consistent with the proposed terms
agreed at contract renewal 18 months ago.
AKOk asked if a longer audit report was due to any performance
concerns. AL responded that this was in relation to a requirement to
make a public statement in relation to the auditors independence and
objectivity and to also provide an explicit view on HfH’s going
concern.
In relation to the risk of management override of controls, DB asked
what level of management this related to. AL responded that this was
any level that had access to assets, involvement in accounting,
manipulation of data and financial authorisations.
The Committee approved the external audit fee for the 2017/18 audit.
AL left the meeting at this point.
CL
75
Homes for Haringey
Finance, Audit and Risk Committee Meeting 20 February 2018
Item Minutes Action
06/18 Counter Fraud Report Q3 2017/18
38 properties had been recovered as at Q3 against an annual target
of 50. NC was confident the target would be achieved. In relation to
Right to Buy (RTB) investigations, there was a target to prevent 80
applications from inappropriate progression. It was expected to
achieve at least 75 by the end of the year.
AG asked how suspicion of non-occupation was identified. NC
responded that this was by several means including financial and
background checks and analysis of patterns. AKOk asked if the
counter fraud operation was working in tandem with the operation at
Broadwater Farm (BWF). AKO and NC confirmed that this was the
case and would feature in the Q4 report.
NC left at this point.
07/18 Health and Safety Report
DJ reported that overall performance was good and that the fire risk
programme was progressing well. More visibility was still needed in
relation to Temporary Accommodation (TA) and clarity from the
Council in relation to HfH’s responsibilities for adaptations. The
window restrictor programme had been paused post Grenfell and
would now move to a reactive maintenance programme in light of
priorities and resources. AKOk asked why this was the case. DJ
responded that this related to adopting more of a risk based
approach and reviewing changes in risks and repairs volumes.
Approx. 21% of all staff absence (7,304 days) was mental health
related. Work to promote health and wellbeing within the workforce
was under way to help address this type of absence.
AKOk asked if disciplinary action in relation to non-use of lone
working devices had started. DJ confirmed this was the case. She
asked about the servicing of emergency lighting and information on
the building comprising 4% not serviced. This would be provided.
In response to a question from AG, DJ stated that the definition of a
“near miss” was where there was a probability of an accident
occurring where if realised would result in actual harm.
AKOk praised the good performance in relation to TA compliance
KPIs.
DJ
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DS provided an update on progress with gas safety at BWF. In
relation to the 9 low rise blocks there were now only a small handful
of properties that hadn’t been accessed. These were in hand.
Tangmere had failed the higher standard for resistance and cooker
replacement and disruptor valve installation work was underway.
Kenley had passed the resistance test. Results for Northolt were
awaited as were a number of other survey results for Tangmere and
four storey blocks for compliance with the lower standard of
resistance. Residents were being kept informed and meetings were
taking place with the local residents’ association. An options
appraisal had been carried out for a longer term solution at BWF and
the preferred option for the Council and HfH was the installation of a
district heating system. The appraisal would be circulated to the
committee members.
DJ left the meeting at this point.
DS
08/18 Internal Audit Progress Report and Recommendations Tracker
The internal audit programme was progressing well and all field work
was on schedule for completion before the end of the financial year.
The recommendations tracker was noted.
09/18 Internal Audit – Contracts and Procurement
The audit had received limited assurance. A task and finish group
was working to improve vendor management, ensure the contracts
register was kept up to date and implement a procurement forward
plan. Further information would be provided on the 20 suppliers not
on the contracts register.
AKOk suggested internal audit revisit this either in 2018/19 or
2019/20.
PR
PR
10/18 Data Quality Audit Update
There were now two strands to the data quality audit project – i) a
series of data quality audits and ii) preparation for the GDPR in May.
A pre-Board briefing had been scheduled for the Board in May but
AB requested that this be brought forward to a written briefing by the
end of March in addition to the briefing in May. PR assured the
committee that HfH would be ready for the regulations in May and
work was well underway.
PR
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11/18 Internal Audit Plan 2018/19
A proposed internal audit plan was presented for 2018/19. This was
based on Mazars review of HfH’s risk map and ELT recommendations
on areas where internal audit could add value.
DB asked about the HRS bonus scheme as a risk area for audit. CL
responded that this had been reviewed and costs reduced. It was no
longer considered high risk.
AKOk asked about best practice. PR responded that there was a
desire to move a larger proportion of the allocated days towards a
continuous audit approach of high risk areas such as payroll and
accounts payable. This was in line with industry good practice.
AG asked if extra days could be bought if needed. This was
confirmed.
The Committee approved the internal audit plan for 2018/19.
12/18 Draft Budget 2018/19
EC presented a draft budget 2018/19 for HfH for committee review.
The variance between the budget and the agreed management fee
was currently £200k for which ELT were confident additional savings
would be found. In relation to the assumptions underpinning the
budget, DS commented that confirmation was awaited from the
Council that they would fund lightning protection and ventilation
maintenance works. The cost of TA was budgeted for in the Council’s
budget and not HfH.
13/18 Risk Register Q3 2017/18
In relation to risk PM8 (progressive collapse of towers at BWF) DS
commented that on reflection the probability was incorrectly rated as
“4” (likely) and was more realistically “1” (remote).
DB asked why risk HD2 (excessive reliance on TA resulting in
substantial financial pressures on LBH) had increased in severity. This
was largely due to delays in Council decision making due to the local
elections.
DB asked if HfH was ready for implementation of the Homelessness
Reduction Act. CL responded that the Housing Demand directorate
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had restructured and was undertaking extensive training. HfH would
be ready.
AKOk suggested that the wording of risk CO6 (poor procurement
and tendering practices) be reviewed in light of the internal audit
report on contracts and procurement and the risk re-evaluated.
There was a discussion in relation to risk CO2 (failure to manage
budgets effectively) and the large swings in year-end projections. CL
responded that this was largely due to a decision to account for costs
that had been assumed would be reimbursed by the Council and
had, therefore, been excluded from projections. A mild winter had
also led to the release of provisions in relation to gritting and
additional plumbing labour costs. PR commented that swings in
forecast position would be reported to the Board with greater
reporting on those budgets most volatile to those swings. EC added
that there was also more detailed information relating to assumptions
behind the composition of large budgets which would assist with
better monitoring and projections.
AKOk asked about IT related risk in relation to the tri borough shared
digital service. CL responded that HfH’s business case for updating
the housing management system had been approved.
AKOk asked about the red control rating for the management of
corridors in converted street properties. CL responded that this would
be reviewed once findings from inspections were completed.
PR
14/18 Write Off Proposals
AKO presented proposals to write off debt on accounts where
recovery actions had been exhausted or were now statute barred. AB
asked how this compared to the previous period and how such a
large sum had arisen in one quarter. Further information would be
provided on this.
AKOk asked when the recovery policy was last reviewed. AKO
responded that this was approx. 18 – 24 months ago but would
confirm this.
AG asked about unauthorised occupants and if they were
unauthorised how could rent be charged. AKO responded that it was
for this reason that the charge was not classified as rent but as an
AKO
AKO
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unauthorised occupants charge which was equivalent to the rent due
had the occupant been a tenant.
The Committee approved recommendation to the Council proposed
write offs for 268 accounts totalling £589,521.11
15/18 AOB
DB confirmed this was his last meeting before retiring as a Councillor.
The Committee thanked DB for his Chairmanship of the Committee
and wished him well.
There was no other business.
The meeting closed at 20:20.
Signed:
Date:
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