RESIDENTS’ FORUM – 18 September 2013
MINUTES
Present: Sylvia Donaldson; Sharon Tate; Blossom Shakespeare; Ruth Cadby (Acting
Chair); Laurence Winkworth; Perpetual Emovan; Tracey Nisbett (prospective member)
Newlon: Steve Hitchins, Newlon Board member; Sunita Parbhakar, Housing Services
Director; Mark Newstead, Property Services Director; Annette Morrison, Quality Manager;
Ewan Moar, Senior Resident Involvement Officer.
Apologies: Martin Hughes, Claudia Wallis, Tracey Williams, Sandra Rozzee, Dare Odeyu;
Charmaine Moses.
AGENDA
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Introductions - Chair
Minutes of previous meeting - Chair
Matters arising and Action Points - Chair
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – Sunita / Mark
Feedback from Board – Steve
Property Services and the new Directorate – Mark
Long term residents’ survey – Sunita
Grounds Maintenance – Sunita
Anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance policies, procedures and strategy
Items for the Board - Chair
1. INTRODUCTIONS
Introductions were given.
2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
Minutes were agreed
3. MATTERS ARISING / ACTIONS UPDATE
Updates were provided for the actions - please see update sheet attached below. The
following are any additional comments made:
Employers Requirements: Lawrence raised the additional issue of low ceiling heights in
connection with the light fittings, chords, bulb (and light shade) that are hung which add
to the problem.
ACTION: Ewan to pass issue of light fittings and low ceilings to Mike Levey.
Starter Tenancies: Although the starter tenancies are legally restricted to be 12 months
only, Newlon will now ensure that all tenancies are actively signed over, whereas
previously only residents that were known to have specific issues around rent arrears or
ASB for instance were engaged with and assessed. The rest automatically became full
tenancies without any action being needed from staff or residents.
Question (Q): What is an Estate Champion?
Sunita: This is someone who does more than the Estate Inspections, such as reporting
repairs, helping to distribute information to residents and be a ‘responsible’ resident.
Q: How does this fit with Residents’ Associations? Is it a role for just one person?
Sunita: Possibly should be for consistency. A job description is currently being written.
4. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)
Sunita and Mark discussed the indicators that are below target:
Rent arrears: These are increasing and likely to continue to, following changes in
benefit rules. Depending on residents’ circumstances, differing approaches will be taken
to minimise the impact on them: debt managed and repaid over time; mutual exchange
moves encouraged; employability training provided etc.
Repairs: The target for ‘appointments kept’ is high at 97%. Newlon is currently reaching
91.5% so although good, more work is needed with Breyer particularly around managing
appointments.
Q: Do these figures include communal repairs?
Mark: No. These are harder to track but we are aware that this is an area that needs
improvement and will be considering ways to do this.
Q: Parking has been a problem for contractors at one scheme – is this discussed?
Mark: Yes - made clear to all contractors, but this may relate to a new contractor
(PDERS) who possibly took time to adjust to the needs of certain schemes. Hopefully
now dealt with.
Repairs: Average days to complete a repair. This is heading in the right direction but is
still below target
Q: Is this information split anywhere into the different timescales?
Mark: Yes – emergency 24 hr jobs, 7 days etc. so we still have the detail. The aim of this
10 day average target is to reduce the wait for any repair whatever the timescale. If it is
booked under a 28 day order – it shouldn’t actually take 28 days.
Q: Does this include surveyor’s appointments?
Mark: No it doesn’t. The statistics only begin when work has actually been ordered.
Q: This adds long delays on to the repair as often you get the surveyor attending, then
the contractor inspects, sometimes the surveyor comes back again. Adds a lot of time
and causes people to loose annual leave.
Mark: Yes we want to reduce this as it costs time and money. Pre and post inspection
has been good practice but we want to look at ways to improve. Sometimes it is difficult
to diagnose on the phone so does need a surveyor to attend and when the contractor
begins, the job may be bigger than expected so will require the works order to be
‘varied’ i.e. changed and increased, which Newlon has to agree. On one side this leads
to good financial control, so unnecessary work isn’t paid for, but it can lead to residents
being dissatisfied with the time it takes. So this needs to be considered.
STAR 2013 survey: The Forum noted that the overall satisfaction survey results shown
on the KPI sheet were concerning. The results have just been released and a paper
would be coming to the next meeting.
5. FEEDBACK FROM BOARD
Steve noted the following had been discussed at Board:
Employability Project: A target has been set to get 50 unemployed residents into
employment for at least a year something of great significance to the residents and
Newlon in the current climate.
Business Development: successfully have a series of projects in development despite
the reduction of Government funding.
Resident satisfaction in various surveys remains lower than hoped for. It may take some
time before Newlon Gold translates into increased satisfaction.
Reviews: Board has agreed reviews of Complaints and Involvement and a
recommended, independent consultant has been hired for the Complaints review.
A discussion about complaints followed:
Handling of complaints by Robin was praised by a Forum Member, who said that it is
actually what happens ‘on the ground’ that is the issue. Another member commented
that often the people who were happy after complaining were those that had been given
what they wanted; those who hadn’t often remained unhappy - the problem being that
Newlon has to say no at times and need to manage people’s expectations.
Steve said that the number of complaints had increased notably and this would be
looked at too.
Mark said that organisations can look at complaints differently – some embrace criticism
and use it to learn and don’t see complaints as a problem. Also useful to differentiate
between what Newlon records as a formal complaint and what a resident might see as a
‘making a complaint’.
6. PROPERTY SERVICES AND THE NEW DIRECTORATE
Mark presented an item that covered the creation of his new post – Director of Property
Services that now oversees all the services that Newlon provides to repair, maintain and
manage its ‘assets’ (homes, fixtures, fittings appliances and systems).
He also discussed how the Asset Management Strategy will be reviewed and updated,
and the overall ‘Vision’ for the service.
The priorities are:
 Health and Safety: an increasing service area and cost because of changes in
legislation and the increasing need to ensure resident safety in complex
buildings. It covers fire risk assessment, water hygiene and asbestos
management.
 Customer service and satisfaction: Acknowledge there are / can be problems
with service delivery, design, components and the quality of some homes; need
to manage some resident perceptions of the service as poor when service is now
greatly improved; accept there is a mix of reasons for the problems that do arise;
and contractors are not always to blame – be honest.
 Homes: Newlon’s stock is very diverse: from Edwardian and Victorian street
properties through to large very modern buildings with complex mechanical and
electrical systems. The issues that affect residents are therefore very varied.
Team Structure
A seperate department has been formed under the new directorship of Mark Newstead.
It includes the Surveying Team (responding to problems with homes and recommending
work); the Building Services Team (managing the complex systems, and their
maintenance contracts, in mainly newer buildings e.g. water pumps and arranging the
fire risk assessments); and the Administration Team.
Mark has proposed a new Department structure with different staffing levels to reflect
the changing need of Newlon’s homes and their management; but will work towards this
re-organisation in stages. This is so that as the new Asset Management Strategy is
developed, the new structure can be created and resourced appropriately.
Interim structure: The Property Services Director will over-see three Heads of three
teams:
 Asset Management: Including one Asset and Stock Surveyor; one Contract
Surveyor and an Administrator.
 Repairs and maintenance: including three Repairs Surveyors, two
Administrators and a Trainee Surveyor
 Building Services: Two Building Services Surveyors and one Administrator
The Final structure: the changes are
 Asset Management: gains one more Contract Surveyor
 Repairs and maintenance: looses one Administrator
 Building Services: gains one more Administrator
The Director will also have support from a new Property Information Analyst
Q: In the current set up - have you replaced Ian E Bates?
A: No - Ian was the Head of Asset Management. As Director I oversee all three teams.
Part of the aim is to build capacity in the Building Services to better manage this
increasing service area.
Day-to-day repairs will always be a priority and is the most visible of the service areas,
but Newlon may look at taking a different approach to managing them.
Asset Management needs careful planning and management to make the most of the
stock that Newlon has. It should take 60-70% of the budget and should cover work that
is done before it needs doing. Newlon needs to invest wisely and protect homes for the
existing residents and for the future and should meet the demands of a changing world.
Q: Is the budget split between planned and re-active work?
A: Yes this is shown as capital (planned) and revenue (re-active) spend
Q: Are you looking at the energy efficiency of Victorian properties?
A: That and sound proofing is an issue. Newlon needs to plan more strategically and
plan how we manage these issues. Some residents are dissatisfied in these properties
because of this, but to put in sound proofing and insulate them well would cost
thousands per property. Newlon needs to make sound decisions about how it invests its
money. At the moment there are grants available for funding insulation. Maybe it is wise
that Newlon directs resources to taking advantage of this in the coming year before they
stop. But this may mean that by doing one thing we can not do others such as sound
proofing.
We may also think about how we manage the letting of these properties and let to those
who want such older properties in certain areas.
Q: Prices are very high - Camden nearly sold all their street properties – would Newlon
do that?
A: I would be wary to do that: you can only sell your family silver once. It would also
mean reducing the social housing available in that area. However sometimes it may
make sense for a specific property as the upkeep costs might outweigh the sale value.
Q: I’m concerned that some street properties may get improvements for free, when other
buildings would be charged for such work.
A: No it’s not service chargeable so costs couldn’t be passed on to residents. But
ultimately it is residents money in the form of rent that we’re spending. But we need to
be realistic and agree what is achievable and good value for money. These are tough
choices.
Q: And this decision making process will involve residents?
A: Yes – we look at information gathered in surveys and feedback.
Q: Can you look at how we explain this to residents to manage their expectations better.
A: Yes
ACTION: The development of the Asset Management strategy to include resident input
and any explanation of the decisions made to be well communicated to residents.
An example of a Members’ Victorian home was discussed as an example of the
complexity of maintaining such a property. The Forum member’s view was that the
property should have had these issues dealt with while it was empty.
Q: What consideration is there for leaseholders for issues such as grants for insulation?
A: Newlon could encourage and ‘sign post’ Leaseholders in the right direction, could try
to secure the same offer from a contractor that we are working with for leaseholders to
benefit from.
ACTION: Newlon to consider how Leaseholders can be assisted in the Strategy Review
for issues such as insulation.
Mark then raised the importance of knowing what your assets are to improve the service
- having good, useable data on the type of homes we have, their appliances and
systems.
Lastly Mark explained that the ‘Vision’ was for an improving service that evolves over
time and that is sustainable. There is also never an ‘end’ point as that is the nature of
housing.
7. LONG TERM RESIDENTS’ SURVEY
Following the results of the STATUS survey in 2011 Newlon found that residents who
had been with Newlon for more than 20 years were likely to be more dissatisfied than
other residents.
A survey was conducted with those residents to identify what the causes were. Of the
404 sent, 61 residents completed a survey. Of those the large majority stated they were
satisfied with their home and that it still met their housing needs. 25% said they weren’t
satisfied (16 people) and 17% that it didn’t meet their needs (11 people). 80% of people
had been in contact with Newlon in the previous year and of those 56% said they were
satisfied with the way they were dealt with.
52% said they had a disability that affected the services they needed from us but only
19% said that we had changed our services to take this into account.
The main causes of dissatisfaction were the need for a new bathroom or kitchen; need
for aids and adaptations and the poor quality of repairs.
As a direct result Newlon has added priority alert flags on to the database where
needed, home visits were made to a number of properties and repairs ordered.
In the coming months street properties that have been converted to flats will be visited
for Fire Risk Assessments and this will be an opportunity to assess communal areas
and gardens.
Newlon’s approach to replacing bathrooms and kitchens will be considered as part of
the Mark Newstead’s review of the Asset Management Strategy.
Visits to all street properties through the year will also be considered as part of the
contact strategy that includes older and vulnerable tenants.
Q: Is Newlon funded by the Government to do Decent Homes work?
A: No the funding was for council homes and that programme has now finished.
Q: How many of these people are retired or elderly, shouldn’t they be a priority for things
like heating repairs already?
A: No, these are not all older people in that sense – just those who have been in a
Newlon property for 20 years. However there were a large number that said they had a
disability.
Forum discussed the issue of gardens – residents often don’t keep them in order
meaning children can’t use them and can affect neighbouring gardens and homes. The
Forum wondered if there could be anything done about this either when empty or have
services provided to them by Newlon.
Sunita agreed there were issues and said, however, not all residents want to pay for
gardening.
Q: How will residents be involved in agreeing what can be done to improve satisfaction?
A: A meeting of residents living in street properties will be organised to discuss issues
and see what comes out of the discussions.
Forum also discussed the pros and cons of downsizing, availability of supported /
sheltered housing for elderly residents. A question on CCTV and damage to communal
areas was held over for the item on Anti-social Behaviour.
8. GROUNDS MAINTENANCE
Newlon is reviewing the way that it provides gardening services to communal gardens.
Often they are carried out by the cleaning contractor of the building or in some cases is
passed on by them to a gardening sub-contractor.
The standard and quality of the service is to be reviewed and the Forum is asked for
their views on this and for members who want to be further involved in the process.
Only two of the residents received gardening services, neither was overly impressed by
the quality of the work.
Q: Where does tree surgery fit in?
A: This is an area of debate and needs to be improved. Newlon uses a dedicated tree
contractor but does not have a register of trees. This is needed for health and safety and
for general management.
Q: Doesn’t the Council have a register?
A: No only for ‘valuable’ trees like a large oak.
Q: What about paving?
A: Again an area of confusion and depends often on where the paving is.
ACTION: Sylvia and Ruth offered to be involved in the Service / Contract review.
9. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND NOISE NUISANCE POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND
STRATEGY.
Time had run short and this item was discussed briefly.
The old policy and procedure has been split so that there is now a separate procedure
for dealing with noise nuisance. This is to recognise the significance of it as the most
common form of ASB and needing specialised and varied approaches.
Because of the new ASB Team and all calls being handled by the Service Centre first,
the recording of ASB is more thorough and it has increased. Newlon will work in
partnership with other agencies but found that councils wanted to sell their services.
Newlon has employed companies such as Parkguard to help patrol buildings
experiencing ASB and criminal activity..
Q: CCTV is used in buildings as standard now and this costs residents’ money but the
quality of the images and their usefulness is often a problem. Newlon then relies on
residents having to give evidence. Do organisations work together on the quality of the
images and where the cameras should be best placed?
A: CCTV is one tool to help give details of when an incident is reported to us by
residents. We need evidence from people to alert us that something has happened and
then the CCTV footage can be checked to see what happened and possibly to identify
those involved. The positioning of cameras is a question and hidden cameras can be
used to get better information when needed. Solutions for ASB are very varied as each
case, building and situation are different.
10. ITEMS FOR THE BOARD
None
11. AOB
Next Forum Meeting is Wednesday 20th November 2013
RESIDENT FORUM ACTIONS ARISING UPDATE SHEET - SEPTEMBER 2013
ACTION
UPDATE
Ewan to pass issue of light fittings
and low ceilings to Mike Levey
Ewan
The development of the Asset
Management strategy to include
resident input and any explanation of
the decisions made to be well
communicated to residents.
Mark
Newlon to consider how
Leaseholders can be assisted in the
Strategy Review for issues such as
insulation.
Mark
Sylvia and Ruth offered to be
involved in the Service / Contract
Bill
Done
Formulating the new Asset Management
Strategy is at an early stage. However,
residents’ views will be taken in to
account. Resident satisfaction surveys will be
one of the major considerations. Once
drafted the new strategy will be widely
circulated and consulted on, including with
the Resident Forum. Once approved,
relevant exerts of the strategy will be well
publicised to residents.
Newlon’s sustainability works programme for
next year is currently being
formulated. Wherever Newlon is considering
works to rented properties in mixed tenure
blocks, leaseholders will be informed and
offered the opportunity to take advantage of
the works programme at their cost. Wherever
possible we will try to get contractors to
extend the same preferential rates or grant
funding available to Newlon to leaseholders.
review.
Done
OUTSTANDING ACTIONS
UPDATE
Newlon to provide a clear
explanation to the Forum of
Newlon’s Governance structure and
details of roles including payment.
Ewan
To be provided