Resident Annual Report 2014-15 Summer / Autumn 2015 insight The magazine for Alliance Homes tenants, leaseholders and their families Feedback, compliments and complaints Alliance Homes welcomes your feedback, no matter if it is a complaint or a compliment. If you are not happy with the service you are getting from us please tell us. This way we can put matters right and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. This publication is available in large print, audio tape, CD and Braille. Help is also available for people who require information in other languages. Please call us on 03000 120 120. Our offices Main Office 40 Martingale Way Portishead BS20 7AW Weston Office The Information Station St Andrew’s Parade Weston-super-Mare BS23 3SS Monday - Thursday 9.00am to 5.00pm Friday 9.00am to 4.30pm 03000 120 120 [email protected]Useful numbers Out of hours (For emergency use only) 01934 622 669 North Somerset Council 01934 888 888 Liberata (For council tax and housing benefit enquiries) 01934 888 144 Westonworks 01934 426 260 Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) 0117 942 0060 ‘Drop in’ for information and advice Housing Benefit (Liberata) Clevedon The Barn Great Weston Way Friday 11.00am to 1.00pm Nailsea Scotch Horn Leisure Centre Brockway Wednesday 9.30am to 10.30am Pill The Resource Centre 4 Baltic Place Thursday 9.30am to 10.30am Portishead Alliance Homes 40 Martingale Way Tuesday and Thursday 11.00am to 1.00pm Weston-super-Mare The Information Station St Andrew’s Parade Tuesday 9.30am to 11.00am Thursday 2.00pm to 4.00pm Worle Knightstone Housing Weston Gateway Business Park Tuesday 2.00pm to 3.30pm Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) The Information Station, St Andrew’s Parade, Wednesday 11.30am to 1.30pm www.alliancehomesgroup.org.uk NSAH (Alliance Homes) Ltd trading as Alliance Homes with charitable status. iN business for neighbourhoods How to contact us T 03000 120 120 www.alliancehomesgroup.org.uk [email protected]www.alliancehomesgroup.org.uk Competition Terms & Conditions: Alliance Homes terms and conditions of entry apply, copies available on request. Prize is non- transferable, as stated only, no alternative available. Where the prize winner’s rent account is in arrears, the account will be credited with the value of the prize. Winners will be notified within 28 days of closing date. Winners’ names may be made public.
Transcript
Resident Annual Report 2014-15
Summer/Autumn 2015
insight The magazine forAlliance Homestenants,leaseholders andtheir families
Feedback, compliments and complaintsAlliance Homes welcomes your feedback, no matter if it is a complaint or a compliment.
If you are not happy with the service you are getting from us please tell us. This way we can put matters right and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
This publication is available in large print, audio tape, CD and Braille. Help is also available for people who require information in otherlanguages. Please call us on 03000 120 120.
Useful numbersOut of hours(For emergency use only)01934 622 669
North Somerset Council01934 888 888
Liberata(For council tax and housing benefit enquiries)01934 888 144
Westonworks 01934 426 260
Stand Against Racism & Inequality(SARI) 0117 942 0060
‘Drop in’ for informationand adviceHousing Benefit (Liberata)
ClevedonThe BarnGreat Weston Way
Friday 11.00am to 1.00pm
NailseaScotch Horn Leisure CentreBrockway
Wednesday 9.30am to 10.30am
PillThe Resource Centre4 Baltic Place
Thursday 9.30am to 10.30am
PortisheadAlliance Homes40 Martingale Way
Tuesday and Thursday11.00am to 1.00pm
Weston-super-MareThe Information StationSt Andrew’s Parade
Tuesday 9.30am to 11.00amThursday 2.00pm to 4.00pm
WorleKnightstone HousingWeston Gateway Business Park
Tuesday 2.00pm to 3.30pm
Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI)The Information Station, St Andrew’s Parade,
Wednesday 11.30am to 1.30pm
www.alliancehomesgroup.org.uk
NSAH (Alliance Homes) Ltd trading as Alliance Homes with charitable status.
iN business for neighbourhoods
How to contact usT 03000 120 120www.alliancehomesgroup.org.ukcustomersupport@alliancehomes.org.uk
www.alliancehomesgroup.org.uk
Competition Terms & Conditions: Alliance Homes terms and conditions of entry apply, copies available on request. Prize is non-transferable, as stated only, no alternative available. Where the prize winner’s rent account is in arrears, the account will be creditedwith the value of the prize. Winners will be notified within 28 days of closing date. Winners’ names may be made public.
Quitting smoking just got easier Free medication, help withmotivation and support that works!Stop Smoking specialists are trainedto help you stop smoking for good.They’re on hand every Friday from1-2pm in the Alliance Homes’Substation, St Andrew’s Parade,Weston-super-Mare.
Hutton Moorswimming vouchers Hutton Moor Leisure Centre inWeston is giving away freeswimming vouchers. If you areinterested, you can pick these up from the Information Station onthe Bournville Estate.
Free 'flu' vaccinationfor carers If you get a carers’ allowanceand/or are the main ‘informal’carer for an elderly, disabledperson, or somebody who lives witha serious long term condition, youcan get a FREE ‘flu’’ vaccination.Contact your local GP orcommunity pharmacy to find out more.
Football Tournament
Staff took part in a 7-a-side FootballTournament arranged by WestonWarriors Ability Football Club. The club provides opportunities for people aged 16+ from NorthSomerset and the surroundingcounties who have mental healthissues, learning difficulties or arewheel/power chair users.
The Polytunnel is up! The Polytunnel on the allotmentrun by the Growing Togetherproject went up in July ready to startgrowing fresh fruit and veg, in timefor summer.
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Alliance Homes' staffraise £10k for charityEleven staff arrived safely in Paris,completing a 250 mile charity cycle that started in Portishead. The team raised £10,000 for theAlliance Homes Group CharitableFund, which provides “a smallamount, when it counts” to peoplein real need.
10th anniversary“Yarn Bombing”In celebration of the For All HealthLiving Centre 10th anniversary, theBournville Action Team surprisedstaff at the centre by “YarnBombing” the area around theInformation Station on St Andrew’sParade.
Chancellor’s budgetstatementA 1% reduction in rents paid bytenants in social housing andextended Right to Buy policies werejust two of several announcementsaround housing that featured inGeorge Osborne’s second Budgetof 2015.Fuller details are expected on thesechanges later in the year althoughwe expect that it will requirechanges to our services goingforward. We will keep you updatedon what it means for you, throughour website and Insight.
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CUSTOMERFEEDBACK-A NEW APPROACH
We have changed the way we measurecustomer satisfaction and have moved fromusing paper questionnaires to carrying outsurveys by phone. The new surveys arecarried out by an independent researchcompany called BMG and provide us with adeeper level of feedback. Previously you have told us that we could improve bytaking your views into account more and we thinkthat the more detailed feedback we will get throughthe new survey will help us to do this.
The survey is carried out every 6 months and every 3months BMG will also carry out telephone satisfactionsurveys with a portion of tenants who have had arepair to their property - this replaces the repairsmailers that we have done previously.
The new approach also means that we can compareourselves with a range of organisations and not justhousing associations.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far andif you get a call please be open with your feedback itreally helps us to keep improving.
The results so far:
Are you interested in reviewing
complaints? If so, we are looking for some new customers to be
trained and involved in reviewing complaints that we
are unable to resolve for our customers. We are
looking for people who are open minded, have
attention to detail, can understand complaints from
both sides.
If this is you, please contact our Community
Engagement Team on 03000 120 120.
Feedback into actionBased on your feedback we have made thefollowing improvements:
• Increased the number of staff in ourCustomer Support Centre.
• Extended the Customer Support Centreopening hours to cover 8am to 6pm.
• Simplified our complaints procedure.
• Updated our information about how youprefer to be contacted.
Future improvements:• You’ll soon be able to get in touch through
Twitter @alliancehelp
• We plan to re-arrange our reception area togive you access to a PC so that you can getonline
• We’ll be updating our website so that it’seasier to do things like report a repair onlineor pay your rent.
You said, We didAs well as feedback through surveys we arealways looking for opportunities to improve.
Here’s some improvements we have maderecently.
• Residents who had experienced anti-socialbehaviour wanted to find a positive outcomefrom the months of misery. Working with theresidents and Avon and Somerset Police, wehelped set up a Neighbourhood WatchScheme, which is now making a positivedifference in the community.
• A tenant advised she had never been shownhow to use the heating controls in her home.In light of this we changed our procedures sothat when our gas operatives visit a propertythey explain how the heating system works.
• A complainant of anti-social behaviour toldus that they found it difficult keeping writtenevidence and asked if they could record theincidents on their phone. As a result allwitnesses are now asked if they need helprecording evidence and if they do are offereda dictaphone to record incidents.
The detail behind theoverall satisfaction scoreFor overall satisfaction we scored 84. Here’smore detail on the top 5 areas that you tell usare important to you and which contributed tothis score.
The detail behind therepairs scoreFor our repairs service we scored 92.8. Here’smore detail on the top 5 areas that you tell usare important to you and which contributed tothis score.
5
8/10for meetingyour needs
8/10for treating youas a valuedcustomer
8/10for the qualityof your home
9/10for how easy itis to contact us
8/10for our staffkeeping theirpromises
86%said you wereshown photo ID
95%said wecompleted yourwork on time
9/10for the qualityof our repairs
10/10for treating youand your homewith respect
96%said that wekept to ourappointmenttime
Average Utilities
64.4
AverageLocal Public Services
71.9
AverageHousing Association
73.2
AverageNational Score
76.3
Sainsbury’s
81.7
Alliance Hom
es (2
014)
82.4
Boots
82.9
Alliance Hom
es (2
015)
84.0
Top Quartile Perform
ance
85.2
Amazon
87.6
John Lew
is
87.7
Alliance Hom
es (repairs)
92.8
UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) Comparisons
The benefits ofbeing onlineAccording to recent research the averagehousehold is losing £440 a year by notbeing able to use the internet. As well as cost savings there’s a range of otherreasons to be online and connecting to the webcertainly has its advantages. Whether it’s keepingin touch with family and friends throughFacebook or Skype, saving money by shoppingonline or learning to knit using YouTube.
We know that many residents like to keep intouch with us online and our Facebook page isgetting more popular. It’s a good way for us tokeep you up to date on news and events and toget your views so if you haven’t seen it take alook at www.facebook.com/alliancehomesgroupand like us.
We also have agrowing number ofresidents who preferto report a repair online through ourwebsite. If youhaven’t tried it, give it a go.
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We recently launched a new scheme calledTablets4Tenants (T4T) to encourage morepeople to get online. If you have £50 worthof ProPoints (that’s 10,000 points) you canget a tablet computer worth £100. AllianceHomes will pay the shortfall and what’smore, if you haven’t used a computer orbeen online before, we are also offering basictraining to get you started.
Victoria Rooke of Alliance Homes Group said:“We launched T4T to help people get onlineusing their ProPoints, with no financial cost tothem. The training offered by westonworks issimple and easy to follow and so far nearly 40
people have taken part in the training andreceived their new tablet computer."
Sandra from Weston-super-Mare is in her 60sand decided to exchange her ProPoints for atablet computer. She said: “I was a bit doubtfulat first, but I took the plunge and I am so gladI did as it is a brilliant way to learn. I would sayif you are given the chance, grab it with bothhands as it is a great opportunity to getstarted”.
If you would like to find out if you have enoughpoints to qualify for this scheme, contact theCustomer Services Team on 03000 120 120.
We have around 600 residentswho get Insight by email, if youare interested in joining thisgrowing trend just email us [email protected]. Sending Insight by email helps us toreduce paper and save costs.
insight by email
Work starts on £9m Worle ‘extra care’ schemeA ‘ground breaking’ ceremony marked the start of work on ournew £9m development in Worle. The new facility will provide 65self-contained flats and a range of specialist dementia services.
It represents the single largest new build project for Alliance Homeswho joined colleagues from Rydon (the building contractor) tocelebrate the start of the work.
Clive Bodley, Alliance Homes Group Chief Executive said: “This is animportant project for the Group which now provides support andcare services to around 2,700 people to help them to achieve ormaintain levels of independence in their lives. We look forward towelcoming the first residents next year.”
‘Whizzy Wheels’Cycle Track opens onthe Bournville EstateDozens of residents attended the opening ofthe ‘Whizzy Wheels’ children’s cycle track onthe Bournville in Weston-super-Mare.
The cycle track has been built on wasteland andoffers youngsters the opportunity to get active,have fun and practice their cycling and roadsafety skills.
Local school girl, Alyssa Cowell, came up with thewinning name for the track and was presentedwith her prize of an Apollo bicycle and helmet.
The track can be booked for group use throughthe IStation in Weston-super-Mare.
Weston Civic Society Awardfor Payne’s Way flats A judging panel has awarded Alliance Homes thisyear’s Weston Civic Society Award in the HousingCategory for Payne’s Way Flats. The judgeswere impressedwith the flats andfelt that they hadbeen thoughtfullydesigned withmany notablefeatures, includingthe ‘Green’ roof,PV panels.
First homes outside NorthSomerset For the first time,Alliance Homes hasdeveloped propertiesoutside NorthSomerset. The twelvehomes are in BishopSutton, in the ChewValley and include arange of affordablerent and sharedownership properties.
Tablets4Tenants
IT WorkPlacementWhen you live with a disability orspecial needs, it can sometimesfeel harder to get work experienceor secure a long term career.Though for Ben from Portishead,who lives with Asperger’sSyndrome, the future now looksmore promising. Having recently completed an eightweek work experience placement withAlliance Homes’ IT department, Benhas now been offered a further 9month’s paid employment as an ITtrainee - with fundingfrom the charityPluss and AllianceHomes.
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Alliance Living takes top award inCare and Support West Awards 2015Alliance Living Support won ‘The Team’ award for theirhousing related work to help people take control of theirlives and create opportunities.The awards are an opportunity to recognise people whoprovide care and support in the community.The judges said: “The team has a challenging role,supporting the most vulnerable people; however it isevident that they have succeeded in making a realdifference in many people’s lives.”
Alliance Homes works hard to helppeople build a better future andoffers a number of schemes to helppeople into work or training.
Juggling work and caringresponsibilitiesThis month sees The Crossroads Alliance launch a brandnew service for carers who want help to sustain or obtainemployment.
The Carers Employment Support Service is part of a nationalinitiative to support working carers at risk of leaving theirjobs because of the pressures of their caring responsibilities.
We are really interested in hearing from:
• Carers who want to go on a waiting list for support
• Anyone who wants to volunteersome time to support local carersusing this service
If you are interested in finding outmore, please contact Jeremy Townendor Donna Hayward on 03000 120 120.
Mock interviewsAlliance Homes HR team helped Year 10 students atGordano School to hone their skills at this year’s MockInterview event. Students were tasked with creating a CVand application form, to be submitted ahead of their 10minute interview.
It was good to hear what the students had beendoing during their work experience week. They wereall up for the challenge and hopefully they found ita useful exercise to prepare for the real thing!”Hayley Pirouet, Senior HR Business Partner
READYFOR WORK
The Care Academy offers a three weektraining programme to provide all theskills needed to become a carer. Itprovides the opportunity to gain arecognised care qualification and foodhygiene and health and safetycertificates. There’s also help withchildcare and transport and you’reguaranteed an interview with AllianceLiving Care our home care service.
If you go on to take up a job with us weoffer competitive pay with guaranteedhours together with ongoing professionaldevelopment.
To find out more about the Care Academy call us on
03000 121 447
Free support to help youstay independent at homeSome people struggle to manage the everydayjobs that many of us take for granted and worrythat they won’t be able to stay at home becausethey can’t cope. Alliance Homes has a range ofservices that can help. These range from helpingyou to claim the right benefits to finding suitablehousing or adapting your home so that you canstay safe and independent.
Here’s what one of our clients had to say about thesupport she received:
“I am writing to tell you of the wonderful support I’vebeen receiving. I unfortunately hit some really hardtimes and felt so alone. If anyone feels like I did I urgethem to contact Alliance Living, they have been such atower of strength to me and will do everything theycan to help you, because your ‘Life Matters’.”
To find out more call us on 0300 123 9121.
The Alliance Care Academy- a pathway to a career as a carer
Alliance Living Care- Our home care serviceTwelve months ago Alliance Homes Grouppurchased a home care agency to add to ourestablished support services. Providing homecare services was an easy decision to make asit fits perfectly with the other support serviceswe provide.
Alliance Living Care offers a range of home careservices including; washing and bathing,preparing meals and assisting with shopping.
If you think you or your friends or family mightbenefit from this service please call us on 03000 121 447 to find out how we can help.
We are always on thelook out for great carers Micha Andrews, whois a Carer for AllianceLiving Care, saidabout the role:
I love being a carer- no two days arethe same. Knowing
that someone needs you and relies on youleaves me wanting to go back every day.Once the results of your work start to show it isan amazing feeling and very rewarding.
So if you think you have got what it takes,please get in touch on 03000 121 447 todiscuss available opportunities and how wecan support you to become a carer.
Family Cinema DayInstead of our HalloweenCinema day we are holding aspecial Christmas themed eventon 22 December. We areplanning a few special surprisesfor the day so watch out forinvites coming through yourdoor later in the year.
Festival drawscrowds forsecond yearThe award winning Festival of Ages wasanother huge success this year attracting over500 people of all ages. Everyone who took partenjoyed a fantastic day celebrating the comingtogether of generations who shared stories,challenged stereotypes and helped break downbarriers. This year the festival was held at Court FarmCountry Park in Banwell, where everyone enjoyed afree day of activities from kite making, planting aflower, designing clothes, graffiti knitting, musicmixing, dancing, singing and drumming. The daystarted with a dance flash mob and ended with aharmony sung by all the volunteers and performers.Throughout the day the energy in the main barnwas so contagious it was difficult not to getinvolved and enjoythe performances,activities andentertainment.
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Alliance Homes is recognised inWeston College Business Awards Alliance Homes picked up two awards at this year’s event:Winner “Large Business Employer of the Year” Highly Commended “Work Experience Provider of the Year” The awards were presented by TV presenter Nicki Chapmanand Weston College Chair of Governors Jude Ferguson.
Alliance Community TrainingThe ACT autumn programme starts atthe end of September and offers a rangeof free workshops and training courses.Whether you want to improve yourconfidence, learn valuable life skills, feelhappier or deal with challengingsituations, ACT can help you improveyour life and reach your potential. Allworkshops are informal and friendly, soif you want to try something different,meet some new friends or simply havean interesting fun day get in touch withus to find out more on 03000 120 120.
If you would like to know more or getinvolved in your community, please contactKaren Bennett on 03000 120 120.
ACT Workshops and Courses 2015/2016
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Photos by Camilla Adams
Spotlight on Community Engagement
For more information on how you can getinvolved, visit the ‘Get Involved’ section of theAlliance Homes Group website(alliancehomes.org.uk/GetInvolved) or call theCommunity Engagement team today on
03000 120 120.
The Alliance Homes’ Community EngagementTeam offers opportunities for residents to getinvolved with their community, develop new skillsand have a say in the services we provide. We caught up with the team to find out moreabout their work. Q: What sort of events and training are available? A: There’s a range of ways to get involved - from
community events to feedback groups, one-offtraining workshops or short courses. There’ssomething for everyone, whatever their age orcircumstances.
Q: Why should residents get involved with AllianceHomes?
A: Their first hand knowledge is so valuable to usas they will have ideas about how we canimprove the services we deliver. People get involved for a range of reasons -maybe they have something to say about ourservices, they might want to meet new people,develop their confidence or learn new skills -whatever the motivation, everyone can benefitfrom getting involved.
Q: Can you point to a couple of things that havechanged as a result of residents being involved?
A: Residents have influenced so much in the lastyear alone, from working on our annual report(see it in this issue of Insight) to reviewing howwe let new homes. Residents have had a realimpact and we have seen some great results. Sothank you to everyone who supports us in thisway.
Q: What if people just don’t have much time toget involved?
A: Whether it’s a spare 5 minutes, 5 days orlonger, there’s an opportunity for everyone. We may also be able to help with transport andchildcare costs.
A thank you to good neighboursInsight received a letter from Ann
from Weston-super-Mare whowanted to thank her neighbours inWindermere Avenue for helpingher out while she was ill. Ann saysshe was amazed by their kindness
and support which ranged fromtaking her to hospital appointments
to walking her beloved dog.
Ann is recovering now but says the neighboursalways ask if they can do anything and that shefeels very lucky to have such kind people around her.
Q
Q
Q
Q
If you have something you want to share with other residents please write to us FREEPOST Alliance Homes (no need for a stamp) or [email protected]. It could be news or events from yourneighbourhood or a good deed that you wouldlike to share.
Local removals company CJB FurnitureRemovers has generously volunteered toassist some of our Alliance Living Supportclients with removal services free ofcharge. Alliance Living provides housingsupport to vulnerable people who struggleto live safely and independently at homeor who are facing homelessness. Some of our Alliance Living clients may need tomove into disabled adapted accommodation orcould be fleeing domestic abuse or facing evictionwhen a landlord wishes to sell their property. With restrictions on funding, covering the cost of removals can pose a huge challenge forvulnerable people.
CJB FurnitureRemovers businesspartners, Callumand Andy, wantedto find a way ofcombining theirday job withhelping the localcommunity.
If you think youmight benefit from housing support contactthe Support Alliance on 0300 123 9121.
Check out CJB’s website for more information abouttheir professional removals serviceswww.cjbfurnitureremovers.co.uk. Alternativelythey can be contacted on 01934 249 168 or 07525 099146. (Please note free of chargeremovals cannot be accessed by contacting CJBdirectly. Please speak to your support worker to findout more).
Growing Together volunteersfrom the Chocolate Garden andCommunity Allotment went tovisit three growing projects toget some ideas and inspiration.They visited the Westfield Farm Forest Garden nearChew Magna and Trinity Community Garden andthe Barton Hill Walled Garden in Bristol.
Volunteers particularly enjoyed getting some newideas from the forest garden for the edible hedge onthe community allotment and seeing a cob pizzaoven being built at the Trinity Community Garden.They also enjoyed relaxing in the peacefulsurroundings of the Barton Hill Walled Garden andare looking forward to using some of these ideas todevelop the sites on the Bournville.
Growing Together volunteer Nicky Osbourne said:“I’m especially looking forward to building our owncob oven like the ones we saw on our visit, so thewhole community can come and make pizzas orbread, whilst picking their own selection of freshherbs and spices to sprinkle on the top. In the futurewe would like to host more of our own open days atthe community allotment so that local children canhave the experience of seeing the flowers andvegetables growing around them.”
If you live in the Bournville area and are interestedin volunteering on the community allotment or inthe Chocolate Garden please [email protected] or call or text07966515027.
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ON THE MOVE
Growing Together
Garden Visits
Second Step is looking for peervolunteer mentors to workwith the Support Alliance.Peer mentors offer one to-one support a fewhours a week to help people reach their goals.Through building confidence and developingskills, peers and mentors set goals such asattending a new activity/group, signing up forvolunteering / training or something else theyhave identified they would like to achieve.
If you are living independently and have hadyour own ‘lived experience’ of mental ill health,homelessness, offending behaviour, drug &alcohol misuse , leaving care, learning difficulties,or have used the Support Alliance services andnow feel ready to support someone else, wewould like to hear from you!
Your experiences are valuable to others and youcan offer a unique perspective and hope.
You will get training, so no experience isnecessary! Have a look at Second Step’s websitefor more information.
Tiffany is 18 years old and has spent aperiod of time in care and hasexperience of being homeless. She wasreferred to the Alliance Homes ‘StepUp’ project via the Housing Team atNorth Somerset Council.‘Step Up’ has four properties provided byAlliance Homes and gives young care leavers 6months experience of living in their ownproperty. Tiffany was provided with support toaccess housing benefits, work benefits, furniture,budgeting, meal planning, shopping, cookingand training and employment. She has been inthe property and getting weekly support for fivemonths now and says that the she is much moreconfident as a result.
Tiffany is keen to get a job in care and supportto give something back and support others. Hersupport worker suggested she use her own lifeexperiences and become a volunteer to supportothers and help her with future job applications.
After a successful interview Tiffany is lookingforward to becoming a peer mentor and is alsoconsidering a career with Alliance Living Care.
Could you help someoneto reach their goals?
MONEYMONEYmattersmattersMONEYMONEYmattersmattersMONEYmattersUniversal Credit has arrived!
An increasing number of tenants are nowclaiming the new benefit, Universal Credit (UC).
UC was introduced as part of the government’swelfare reforms and replaces six working agebenefits and tax credits, including Housing Benefit.
The key features of the new benefit are:
• Single payment and claim process
• Administered online
• Paid monthly in arrears and direct to claimant(including housing costs). First payment will be5 weeks after claim-
• Some claimants can work a small number of hours without losing their benefit entitlement
• Strict claimant commitment and sanctions
Things to remember You can ask for a hardship payment to help youbefore your first payment - this might not begranted, and if it is, it will have to be paid back.
It’s important to say any difficulties you have withhealth, reading/writing, computers, money,housing etc. when you do your ClaimantCommitment at the Job Centre. You will besanctioned if it’s not kept - so best to be realisticto start with!
Claimants’ Housing benefit will be paid to them aspart of their Universal Credit payment. They’llneed to pay the rent to the landlord themselvesevery month.
Other Welfare reformchanges…• working-age benefits, including tax credits, will
be frozen for 4 years from 2016-17 (this doesn’tinclude maternity allowance, maternity pay,paternity pay and sick pay)
• the household benefit cap will be reducedto £20,000
• support through Child Tax Credit will be limitedto 2 children for children born from April 2017
• those aged 18 to 21 who are on Universal Credit will have to apply for an apprenticeshipor traineeship, gain work- based skills, or go ona work placement 6 months after the start oftheir claim
• rents for social housing will be reduced by 1% ayear for 4 years
ChildcareFrom September 2017, working families with 3 and4 year olds will receive 30 hours of free childcare -an increase from the 15 hours they’re currentlyoffered.
Income TaxThe tax-free Personal Allowance - the amountpeople earn before they have to start payingIncome Tax - will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17.
Living wageFrom April 2016, a new National Living Wage of£7.20 an hour for the over 25s will be introduced.This will rise to over £9 an hour by 2020.
Local help and support
Each edition we want to highlight a source of localhelp and support - this time it’s Nailsea DisabilityInitiative.
They provide free information and advice to thepublic. If you, a friend or relative, has an issue ofconcern, relating to disability, do get in touch!
They can help with benefit and grants advice,application forms, help with disabled accessproblems - and much more!
Get in touch or drop-in between 10:00 a.m. and3:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays Wednesday andThursdays:
14
Warm Homes Discount
Scheme now open for 2015/2016 - contact yourelectricity supplier, or apply online, to find out ifyou are eligible for £140! First come, first served.
Shopping vouchers
Our Tenant Reward Scheme has been up andrunning for two years now, with 1000 points amonth available to all tenants with clear garageand rent accounts, no anti-social behavior, up-to-date gas servicing, and tidy gardens.
Here’s how vouchers were used in June & July:
Please settle up before youmove onSadly over the past few years we have seen anincrease in the number of people who move out oftheir home owing rent. Often properties are alsoleft in a poor state, needing significant work to putthings right before they can be re-let to someoneelse. If you are thinking of moving please makesure you give us at least 4 weeks notice and returnall keys to us, leave the property and garden ingood order and clear of rubbish and make sure you settle your rent and any other bills beforemoving on.
If you are in financial difficulty don’t ignore it, talkto us and we will do our best to help and agree anaffordable repayment plan. If you don’t your debtwill be passed to a debt collection agency whichmay affect your ability to rent in future.
Home Move Support Scheme
Great news for people hoping to downsize - theamount paid by Alliance Homes to people down-sizing has gone up!
The grant is available in any combination of thefollowing methods:
• upon completion of the move
• direct to the supplier (e.g. removal company,utilities company, etc.) on receipt of writteninstruction from the tenant
How much money is on offer?Between £1,800 and £2,500 depending on thenumber of bedrooms you downsize.
Remember - you can’t get points if you haveany arrears with us, whether it’s your rent oryour garage. Get in touch with the IncomeTeam on 03000 120 120 to clear your debtsso you can earn points!
To find out more or if you would like help withHome Choice or Home Swapper forms, pleasecontact us [email protected] 03000 120 120.
MONEYMONEYmattersmattersMONEYMONEYmattersmattersMONEYmattersCredit History
Alliance Homes has joined upwith Experian and Big IssueInvest to help tenants build agood credit history andimprove their financialsituation. Many social housingtenants are excluded fromaffordable credit and otherservices due to the lack of acredit history.
Sharing your rental payment historywill help create an online proof ofidentity, proving you are who you sayyou are and that you live where you sayyou live. A good credit profile will makeit easier for you to open or changebank accounts, shop online, receivebetter mobile phone rates, receivebetter gas and electricity rates, orobtain cheaper credit.
16
Not only will Alliance Homes be able to workwith you more closely to manage your existingtenancy agreement, sharing your tenancy trackrecord will enable Experian to assist otherlandlords and organisations to:
• assess and manage any new tenancy agreements you may enter into;
• assess your financial standing to provide youwith suitable products and services;
• manage any accounts that you may alreadyhold, for example reviewing suitable productsor adjusting your current product in light ofyour current circumstances;
• contact you in relation to any accounts youmay have and recovering debts that youmay owe;
• verify your identity and address to help themmake decisions about services they offer; andhelp prevent crime, fraud and moneylaundering.
In autumn 2015 we will write to you asking yourpermission to share your tenancy informationwith Experian, including your rent and servicecharge payment history. We understand that insome circumstances there may be rent arrearsand where this is the case, we will work with youto address this.
Please contact us on 03000 120 120 if youwish to discuss rent arrears or any difficultiesyou are having paying your rent.
For further information about the RentalExchange please visitwww.experian.co.uk/rental-exchanget.Alternatively if you have any specificquestions about the Rental Exchange orany other questions regarding yourtenancy please call us on 0300 120 120.For information on credit reports andscores please visit www.experian.co.uk.
About us
The Alliance Homes Group is a not-for-profit organisation which meansthat any money we make goes backinto our services. We continue to work in genuine partnershipwith a range of public and private organisationsto make a positive difference to peoples’ lives.
We provide the following services:
Winners of the
'2014 Business in the Community Award'
Alliance Homes Group | Resident Annual Report 2014-2015
Stronger Communities
Last year we purchased a home care businesswhich we called ‘Alliance Living Care’ and we nowprovide care and housing support services toaround 2700 people each year.Enabling and creating training and employment opportunitiesremains important to us and last year we helped 73 customersgain employment, supported 436 onto skills programmes, 10 into apprenticeships and 28 into self-employment.
To protect victims of anti-socialbehaviour 24injunctions and 7possession orderswere obtained We also ended 3tenancies during the year
communitiesStronger Melissa Hook
Hannah Askey
Andrew Cartwright
Ian Sansum
Jayne Smith
Jo Moss
Kirsty WilsonSarah Mitchell
Weston-super-Maretown
centre
Oldmixon
Coronation
Bournville
Potteries
Summerlands
Milton
Portbury & Pill
AbbotsLeigh
Long Ashton
Dundry
Felton &Winford
Flax Bourton& BarrowGurney
Wraxall
Gordano Valley
Portishead
Redcliffe Bay &North Weston
ClevedonTickenham
Nailsea
Backwell
Cleeve,Claverham
&Brockley
Wrington& Redhill
Kenn
YattonKingstonSeymour
CongresburyPuxton &Hewish
Wick StLawrenceKewstoke
Banwell
Worle
Locking
Hutton
LoxtonUphill Bleadon Winscombe
Churchill &Langford Blagdon, Butcombe
& Burrington
Portishead
&
Anndrrew Cartwrightt
Iaan Sansum
Jaayne Smith
Jo Moss
Kirrsty WilsonSSaSaraah Mi
yah Mitchellchell
Weston-super-Maretown
centre
Oldmmixonn
Coronation
Bouurnvviille
PoottePootteererriesries
Summmeerlands
MMilton
okewstoKew
WWo
General use
4963Older people
1073Supported Housing
107
Shared ownership
33Leasehold properties
493Managed for others
201
At the end of March2015 the AllianceHomes Group owned or managed
6870properties:
Alliance Homes Group | Resident Annual Report 2014-2015
Where we have homes
102households werehelped to downsizeduring the year
409(includes 135
part-time)
Staff we employed
8/10Residents gave us
for taking theirsviews into account
Manages homes and deliverscommunity based services.
Delivers quality repairs andmaintenance services.
Provides energy & environmentally friendly projects.
Delivers support services to help people live independently in their homes.
Offers professional home care servicestailored to clients’ needs.
Increased thehousehold income of our customers by nearly
£1.7m
271referrals to the financialinclusion team
1914residents attendedtraining and eventsset up by theAlliance HomesCommunityEngagement Team
8/10Residents rated their
neighbourhoods
as a place to live.
1,783(up from 1,746 last year)
495 related to people and 1288were aboutlitter/rubbish or fly-tipping
Anti-social behaviour cases
9/10 residents satisfied with repairs
Alliance Homes Group | Resident Annual Report 2014-2015
kitchens replaced 348
Alliance Homes Group | Resident Annual Report 2014-2015
Better Homes
Last year we developed 50 new homes as wecontinue towards our target of delivering aminimum of 250 new affordable homes by2019 (124 to date). Following our successfulbid to develop an extra-care scheme in Worle,work started on site earlier this year withcompletion due in 2016.We continue to deliver significant cost savings on tenants’utility bills and new quality housing schemes for localpeople. Our work in these areas was recognised when wereceived awards for ‘Best Affordable Housing Development’and ’Best Energy Efficiency Scheme’.
9/10 residents say they are
satisfied with therepairs service
days average timeto re-let emptyproperty (up from 23 days)
25 Our carbon emissionreduction is equivalent to usplanting
so far
182,000trees
£3.8mspent on repairs
prepared
empty homes readyto re-let
522
£13.4mtotal spend onimproving andmaintaining homes
carried out
16,000repairs
168residents werehelped under theassisted decoratingscheme
bathrooms replaced 100
547 central heatingsystems replaced
1,489homes now havesolar panels,reducing electricitybills for around 2000 residents
residents werehelped under theassistedgardening scheme
340
Homes developed this year:Clevedon
4 x 1 bedroom flats 2 x 2 bedroom flats
Weston-super-Mare
8 x 2 bedroom flats1 x 2 bedroom bungalow 1 x 3 bedroom bungalow
Pill
8 x 2 bedroom flats2 x 3 bedroom houses2 x 2 bedroom houses2 x 3 bedroom houses(shared ownership)
Worle
1 x 3 bedroom bungalow6 x 1 bedroom flats6 x 2 bedroom houses5 x 3 bedroom houses2 x 4 bedroom houses
homesBetter
Over £900,000 value for money savings
Alliance Homes Group | Resident Annual Report 2014-2015
businessSmarter
Smarter Business
We have again put considerableeffort into preparing bothourselves and our customers forthe impacts of welfare reform,and work in partnership with arange of organisations toprovide support andinterventions. We continue to deliver Value for MoneySavings which gives us greater capacityto invest in local communities and havemaintained the highest levels ofcustomer satisfaction.
• Carrying out our own court actions £22,000
Alliance Homes Group | Resident Annual Report 2014-2015
We have a customer satisfactionscore of 82% which
places us at the top endwhen compared withover 1000 companies
in the UK
We have made savings of around£900,000 in the following key areas:
Around
worth ofProPoints havebeen cashed in
£280,000We have 3 fixedrate loans of£10m each,expiring in 2016,2031 and 2036
1,695householdsin arrears
compliments(up from 313 last year)
397252
£52.5mborrowing on whichwe pay £1.4m ininterest perannum
complaints (down from283 last year)
Top 3 areas of complaint:• Repairs & Maintenance • Staff and Customer Service • Estates Services
8/10Residents
rate their rent
for value for money
We were proud to be voted Top 10 Landlordby The Big Tenant Survey
• Negotiation with Suppliers £8,000• Secured funding from
