Getting it right...

Self Assessment SupplementWales & West Housing | May 2013

At Wales & West Housing our vision is

strong, sustainable growth tomake a difference to people’slives, homes and communities

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Once in a while every company needs to take a long hard look at itself and think about howwell it is doing and what would make things better.

We talk to people every day and know how difficult it is to find somewhere to live which is why we want to grow and provide more homes for local people. We also know that we canmake a difference to our residents in how we run Wales & West Housing.

We’ve taken that long hard look at ourselves, at all the things we do, and want to tell you what we found. To help explain we’ve set our findings in a certain way. Here’s how:

2 out of every 3 repairs are done in one visit, less than 1 in 10 need someone to come back and fix them again and appointments made for about half of all jobs

General repairs take on average 16 days for us to do although most are donemuch quicker

Regular surveys of all homes make sure maintenance is done when neededand about 6000 homes have had new kitchens, bathrooms, boilers, windowsor doors and 500 homes have been adapted for people with disabilities, all inthe last three years

Cambria Maintenance Services is working well and has saved us money

Residents tell us they are really happy with the service, like early contact to tellthem about the works and like that they get to choose what is done and when

Residents also tell us we could keep people better informed about what’sgoing on with repairs and major works and we could make more

appointments

Heating repairs are not so good and take an average of 4 days before they are fixed. Some residents find using things like heating controls difficult.

Fix my home

Wales & West Housing will• Extend the appointment system to cover

as many jobs as possible

• Look again at the gas contract to make heating repairs better

• Employ more tradespeople to get works done more quickly

• Work with our suppliers so we have the parts to do more jobs in one visit

• Work with residents to improve the design of some systems like heating controls

Repairs are done quickly, in one visit and when people

want

People are kept informed of what’s happening about any works

going on

Homes are kept in good

condition

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£100Argos

vouchers

Tell us

what you think

and you could WIN

This is the name we’ve given to the

different services we provide for ourresidents

These speech bubbles say what we are aiming to do based on what our residents have told us what matters most to them

There’s a page like this

for each of the services

we provide and at the

end there is one for

‘how we run WWH’

In this place you will see what Wales & West Housingplan to do to furtherdevelop our services

Here’s some background

information. Much of

this we know by listening

to residents and other

people with whom we

work

Throughout thisbooklet and onpage 11 you’ll seethe different waysyou can tell us

what you think about what

we’ve said. And to

say thank you for

giving us your views,

we’ll enter you intothe prize draw to win

one of three £100Argos vouchers.

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2 out of every 3 repairs are done in one visit, less than 1 in 10 need someone to come back and fix them again and appointments made for about half of all jobs

General repairs take on average 16 days for us to do although most are donemuch quicker

Regular surveys of all homes make sure maintenance is done when neededand about 6000 homes have had new kitchens, bathrooms, boilers, windowsor doors and 500 homes have been adapted for people with disabilities, all inthe last three years

Cambria Maintenance Services is working well and has saved us money

Residents tell us they are really happy with the service, like early contact to tellthem about the works and like that they get to choose what is done and when

Residents also tell us we could keep people better informed about what’sgoing on with repairs and major works and we could make more

appointments

Heating repairs are not so good and take an average of 4 days before they are fixed. Some residents find using things like heating controls difficult.

Fix my home

Wales & West Housing will• Extend the appointment system to cover

as many jobs as possible

• Look again at the gas contract to make heating repairs better

• Employ more tradespeople to get works done more quickly

• Work with our suppliers so we have the parts to do more jobs in one visit

• Work with residents to improve the design of some systems like heating controls

Repairs are done quickly, in one visit and when people

want

People are kept informed of what’s happening about any works

going on

Homes are kept in good

condition

£100Argos

vouchers

Tell us

what you think

and you could WIN

4

We collect 99% of the rent and two thirds of residents receive housing benefit.

1 in 10 residents get into debt from the start of their tenancy and 1 in 4 are in rent arrears, often as a result of when things change,like reduced working hours.

The amount residents owe us is slowly rising and is now close to £1 million, most owe us less than £250 but some owe us a lot more.

We spend a lot of time helping people with big debts and notenough time with those residents that owe smaller amounts to getthem out of trouble. We try not to evict people but have to sometimes, last year it was 18.

7 out of 10 people have a bank account. One third of people payby direct debit and these people are more likely to stay out debt

With benefits changing to Universal Credit, ourstaff do not have all the information they need to manage arrears.

Help me pay

Wales & West Housing will• Talk more with new residents to

understand the help they need to start their tenancy in the right way

• Work more closely with residents on housing benefit to get them ready for the welfare benefit changes

• Help more residents get bank accounts and pay by direct debit

• Work with residents in debt on budgeting and make sure everyone has a repayment plan with us

Help people quickly when they miss

payments

Make sure everyone pays

and manages theirmoney as best as

they can

Make sure people know what

to pay, how andwhen

It’s so easy. Either: reply to the text we have sent you

reply online at our website www.wwha.co.uk. Or go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/GettingItRight2013

or call freephone 0800 052 2526 and ask for ‘Getting It Right’ customer survey

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We tell people straight away if we can give them a home or not and4 out 5 people got a home within 2 years of waiting. Our properties are empty for about a month before someone moves inand 9 out 10 new residents tell us they are really happy with theirhome and the help we give them when they move in.

Over 1,000 people are on our lists at present while almost 900 people asked for a home and were told we couldn’t help.

People are concerned about who we offer homes to... most are offered to local people and every one has to prove they are in realhousing need.

Information on how to get a home with us could be clearer andmore easily available. We also need to give better advice to peoplewhen we can’t give them a home.

I want ahome

Wales & West Housing will• Look again at how we manage lettings

so people can move in quicker to a home that suits them

• Make sure we record why some peopleare offered one of our homes and other people are not

• Spend more time with new residents tohelp them get established

• Give people more information about renting a home from us and what to do if we can’t help

People know if they can have a home with us

Who gets a home is fair to

everyone People move in to a home that's ready

for them

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£100Argos

vouchers

Tell us

what you think

and you could WIN

Reports of ASB problems have gone down and residents like wherethey live and that estates are well looked after. When issues dooccur, this is often due to a small number of residents who do notlook after their home or neighbourhood.

Some residents think we should solve the ASB problems they haveand often we can’t. When people have problems two thirds of residents report them to us.

ASB problems are resolved more quickly when residents take thelead. When we get involved, 1 in 2 of all people reporting problemsthink we take too long to sort problems and do not keep them informed.

1 in 3 residents want better security, mainly new or different doors.

Wales & West Housing will• Redesign how we deal with Anti Social

Behaviour problems

• Give residents more information aboutwhat they can do to solve ASB problems

• Use the house condition surveys to check security

• Work with residents on what can be done to encourage people to take more care of their homes

Estates are attractive, safe and well kept People are

helped quickly with ASB problems

Create neighbourhoods

that work

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It’s so easy. Either: reply to the text we have sent you

reply online at our website www.wwha.co.uk. Or go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/GettingItRight2013

or call freephone 0800 052 2526 and ask for ‘Getting It Right’ customer survey

People remain residents for an average of 8 years and 9 out of 10 older residents are really happy with the services they receive.

We don’t always know why residents leave us and if we couldhave done more to help them stay.

Getting support can depend on where you live instead of need.

Wales & West Housing will• Talk to residents to better understand

our role in helping people stay independent and in the home of their choice

• Gather more information on why people leave

Support people as they

get older Help people to keep their

homes

Help me live independently

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£100Argos

vouchers

Tell us

what you think

and you could WIN

More homes

New homes are very energy efficient and wherever possible weuse local builders and suppliers. 9 out of 10 residents are reallypleased with the quality and location of their new home and we letthem quickly.

Reduced grants from Welsh Government mean fewer new homesunless costs are reduced or other funds found.

New residents are not always given enough information abouttheir new home, for example, how to use heating or ventilation systems and we need more information on running costs for residents as well as the number of defects that occur when works are finished.

Wales & West Housing will• Work with residents to produce better

handover packs with the right information in them

• Make more use of local contractors to keep local people employed

• Collect more information from residents on what it is like to live in their home so we can improve our designs

• Devise standard designs of properties to make building them more cost effective

• Look into other ways of getting funding to build more homes

New homes are in places where

people want to live

New homes are good quality and

affordable to live in

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It’s so easy. Either: reply to the text we have sent you

reply online at our website www.wwha.co.uk. Or go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/GettingItRight2013

or call freephone 0800 052 2526 and ask for ‘Getting It Right’ customer survey

9 out of 10 residents are happy with the service they get from WWH – more year on year with 4 out of 5 residents saying we listen more and have got better with many of the things that needed work – repairs, newkitchens, bathrooms, doors and windows and making homes warmer.

Increases in running costs have been kept below inflation and with no profits to staff or shareholders, all money is put back into improving services and building more homes.

We are involved in lots of projects and partnerships to support and helplocal communities. Big changes such as setting up Cambria MaintenanceServices and building close to 200 new homes each year have broughthuge benefits.

4 out of 5 residents confirm that services are accessible and staff helpful.We are open about what we do and publish information about actionsthrough In Touch, on our website and on Twitter.

Welfare reforms will bring challenges for both residents and the Association.

How we runWales & West

Housing Wales & West Housing will• Make access to computers and the

internet easier for staff and residents to help them cope with benefit changes

• Improve our systems to make them ready for benefit changes when rents will be paid directly to residents

• Look at what else we should do to make sure residents can comment on and challenge what we do and how we spend rents

• Continue to review services to ensure residents needs are met

We are responsible, supportive

and fair

We do what we say

we will

We use the money we have

effectively

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Please give us your feedback. If you do, and if you give us your contact details, you’ll be entered into our prize draw.

It’s so easy. Either:

reply to the text we have sent you if we have a current mobile number for you

reply online at our website www.wwha.co.uk. Or go towww.surveymonkey.com/s/GettingItRight2013

or call freephone 0800 052 2526 and ask for ‘Getting It Right’ customer survey

Three lucky residents drawn at random from everyone who feeds back to us will each win Argos vouchers worth £100.

But don’t delay – please note that surveys received after June 30 will not be entered into our prize draw.

How well are we doing?

????

£100Argosvouchers

WIN

Wales & West Housing3 Alexandra Gate, Ffordd Pengam, Tremorfa, Cardiff CF24 2UD.

andUnit 2, Acorn Business Park, Aber Road, Flint CH6 5YN.

Telephone on 0800 052 2526 Email: contactus@wwha.co.ukWebsite: www.wwha.co.uk

@wwhawwhahomesforwales