accentgro
up.org
Dec’ 2017
Supported housing benefit and Universal Credit Update Andrew Williams, Director of Customer Service
SOME GREAT NEWS… The Prime Minister has recently announced that the Government will no longer make welfare changes that will result in people living in sheltered accommodation (independent living) and supported housing having their housing benefit capped.
days before they are entitled to any money. The announcement means that new claims for Universal Credit will be entitled to money the moment the claim is approved, removing the original seven-day waiting time. The change is due to take effect in February 2018.
In his November budget, the Chancellor also announced that people claiming Universal Credit will no longer have to wait seven
These announcements are great news to us – and a great Christmas present for the thousands of residents who they affect.
It may seem a strange thing to ask you to remember, but please make sure that paying your rent is on your Christmas to-do list this year. We know money can be tight around Christmas with extra
pressures on household budgets, but, making sure you have paid your rent will give you peace of mind and you can relax and enjoy the festive season! If you are struggling to pay your rent now, or at any time of year, please call us. We’re here to help.
Have you seen our Annual Performance Report? You can watch it online: www.youtube.com/user/AccentLtd
We have reported some welcome U-turns to the Government’s plans for welfare reforms on the front cover, but Universal Credit is still going ahead as planned. It may not affect you yet, as it is not yet paid in every area, but it will eventually affect you if you rely on any of these benefits: Child Tax Credit Housing Benefit Income Support Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Working Tax Credit
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Coming soon to a town near you – Universal Credit
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Universal Credit Call
What is Universal Credit? Universal Credit is a single monthly payment for people in or out of work which merges together some of the benefits and tax credits you might be getting now. You will receive one monthly payment which includes your housing costs. (This means that any housing benefit you receive will be included in your Universal Credit payment and you will be responsible for paying us your rent directly). When you change to Universal Credit, it will take at least five weeks before you receive your first payment. If you are struggling because you’ve changed to Universal Credit, or with your finances in general, we can help. Please contact us.
Appointment only at Middlesbrough Tracey Jackson
Housing Manager (North East)
From 1 January 2018, you will only be able to visit our Middlesbrough office if you have an appointment. As we have with all our regional offices, we are closing our Middlesbrough office to the public as we get very few visitors and, with our mobile technology, we can visit you in the comfort of your own home. If you’d like a home visit, contact us to make an appointment.
We can visit you in the comfort of your own home. Please contact us to make an appointment.
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Closing the office means we can no longer accept cash or cheque payments, but there are many other ways in which you can pay your rent. Please contact us if you need any help.
Co-Design Group gets to work Lewis Holloway Research & Insight Officer
Residents, staff and board members have been working together as the Co-Design Group to redesign our resident engagement strategy. Our aim is to come up with a way to involve as many of you as possible in our decision making so you have a chance to influence the services you receive. Taking into account the views of the group members, and the views of a further 365 residents who completed a survey, some very strong themes have come out.
Independent Consultant, Patrick Harkness who facilitated the Co-Design Group meetings
YOU SAID, WE LISTENED… You want more ways to engage online, so you can give us your views at your convenience, without having to attend meetings.
You think it needs to be easier to get involved. In the past, our various panels and committees have had very different aims and approaches.
You want to see more of a focus around groups of people with common interests; like families, older people or homeowners, rather than the current regional focus.
You want to know how your views have made a difference. We need to address that we have not kept you properly informed about the outcomes of surveys, focus groups and meetings.
We will keep you up to date on how the new strategy develops. In the meantime, visit The Hub at www.accentgroup.org/residents to take part in other surveys and consultations, and to see how your views have led to service improvements. Thank you to everyone who has taken part – your views really do count.
@ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
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Time for Change
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We are busy developing our new and improved customer portal and website. They will launch later next year. We will be looking for your help to design and test them. We are really excited about the changes we are making and looking forward to working with you to launch our new systems and further improve our services. In the meantime, don’t forget that you can choose how you talk to us, using our digital or personal service. Using our current customer portal is simple, straightforward and secure, and you can already manage many things to do with your tenancy online – see the list opposite for full details. Please contact us for more information, or speak to your housing officer when you see them.
Chip pan fires
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You can use your existing Customer Portal account to: View your rent account. Order a swipe card. Report and track a repair. Make a payment. Set up a Direct Debit. View your repairs history. Report anti-social behaviour.
(Information obtained by UK Fire Service).
Chip pan fires on cookers cause one fifth of all accidental house fires attended by the fire and rescue service in the UK each year. If you do choose to deep fat fry your food, make sure you do it safely.
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Precautions to take…
If you do have a chip pan fire…
• Never fill a chip pan more than a third full of oil. • Consider using a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer. • Never leave your cooking unattended. • If you’ve consumed alcohol, don’t be tempted to cook with a chip pan.
• Call the fire and rescue service on 999 immediately. • Have a clear escape route. • Close doors. • Never move the pan. • Turn off the heat (if it’s safe to do so). • Never use water on chip pan fires.
Top tips for a warm, winter home Neil Cox Director of Asset Management
When it’s colder, we get lots of calls about damp and condensation. We are always happy to help where there are serious problems, but there are some simple things you can do to help stop damp and condensation, just by following a few tips.
Condensation
Test your heating
Condensation happens when moist air comes into contact with air, or a surface, which is at a lower temperature. Cutting down on the moisture you make can help. Things like putting lids on saucepans when cooking and keeping a window open (or using an extractor fan) when taking a bath or shower can make a difference. If you can, use a tumble drier to dry your clothes. Don’t put them over radiators, but do make sure your tumble dryer vents outside.
Test your heating before bad weather sets in. If you have gas, turn all the radiator valves on and turn up the room thermostat to maximum. Then set the heating to run. Check your radiators are getting warm. If one or two are not, it could be because a small amount of air has got inside. You can ‘bleed’ those radiators with a bleed key. If none of the radiators are working, contact us.
A dehumidifier will help to get rid of moisture in your home. (Just turning up your heating will not get rid of condensation if your home is damp). Good air circulation around your home will also help. Don’t block air vents or let items touch outside walls. What should I do if a pipe bursts in my home? If you have a burst pipe, turn off the water at the main stop valve (find out where this is if you don’t already know) and switch off any central heating. If the pipe is frozen, thaw it by gently warming it (with a hairdryer for instance) and open your taps to drain the system. Please don’t touch any electrics if they’ve been affected, call us. @ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
If you have no heating or hot water Is the pressure on the boiler at zero? If so, you need to re-pressurise your boiler. If you don’t know how to do this, please contact us. Electric Storage Heaters Take care with electric heaters. Never cover the air vents and make sure there is a gap between the top of the heater and your curtains. Don’t leave anything flammable close to a heater. If there is a problem with your heaters, please contact us. 5
Our tenancy support service has supported hundreds of residents across Accent with: Setting up a new home – applying for grants, benefit applications, utilities, budgeting advice and help with settling in. Help with managing tenancies.
Tenancy Support A helping hand at Christmas and throughout the year… Sometimes, when we face a life changing event, we can all find it difficult to manage. As our resident, you may find it difficult to manage your finances or your tenancy. In the worst case, you could lose your home.
This is where our tenancy support service comes in. It doesn’t matter whether you live in a house or a flat, or what age you are. If you need help, contact us. We don’t judge, we just help.
Benefits and financial advice. Referrals for specialised help. Help with accessing services online. Emergency food supplies.
Here are some of the residents we have helped this year… Mr J: After a health and wellbeing call, we realised Mr J was vulnerable and eventually persuaded him to involve social services for some help. We also talked to him about a move into one of our independent living schemes. Mr J was reluctant at first, but two weeks later and he was settled and happy in his new home.
NORTH WEST
72 days to wait: With Universal Credit, we are seeing more residents waiting up to 72 days for any payment so we have been working with various local food banks. Maundy Money: We have chosen Maundy Relief in Accrington as our charity of the year. We plan to raise at least £3,000 for them.
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Mr D: Mr D had rent arrears of over £1,000. He worked part-time, but was struggling to pay his rent. We suggested some lifestyle changes and referred him to a local health and wellbeing service. Mr D has now cleared his debt and has money in his pocket to spend on his children. His rent is paid by Direct Debit.
Open Door: In Colne, in East Lancashire, we have been working with the Open Door Centre for the last four years to provide Christmas food and toy parcels. Many of our residents visit the centre for a hot meal, or advice and counselling.
Mr P: Mr P was in arrears. His health was poor and he was relying on food banks. We contacted utility companies on his behalf and secured a £750 grant. We made a claim for Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and applied for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The ESA claim was awarded and a £700 backdated payment made. His PIP claim was rejected but, after an appeal, Mr P was awarded £5,761 with a continuing weekly payment of £82.30. Mr P has since cleared his rent arrears and returned to work. yorkshire
Mr M: New resident Mr M had only made one rent payment in 18 weeks. We tried to make contact, but couldn’t. The rising debt and lack of contact left us with no choice but to take court action. A few days before the hearing, a Universal Credit payment was made against Mr M’s account, but we still couldn’t contact him. When Mr M unexpectedly attended court on the day of the hearing, it was clear he hadn’t realised the seriousness of his situation. He Had struggled with his Universal Credit claim when he moved house. Mr M is now back on track.
NORTH EAST
Mrs S: Due to her Universal Credit being sanctioned, Mrs S owed £950 in rent arrears, £1,200 in Council Tax and £280 on her water bill. Because of the high level of arrears, we issued a Notice of Seeking Possession. Mrs S appealed against the sanction and we are hopeful a Discretionary Housing Payment will be awarded to cover the rent. A PIP has also been requested from the Department for Work and Pensions. We will continue to support Mr S to give her every chance to stay in her home.
Ms J: When Ms J came to us she had some health issues, but she was receiving support, so she could manage her tenancy. However, we began to receive reports of anti-social behaviour, and Ms J wouldn’t engage with us, even when we issued tenancy breach warnings. Ms J was also struggling to manage her rent. Sadly, due to her personal circumstances, we had no choice but to involve EAST social services. We tried to continue to support her but it just wasn’t enough. Eventually, we had no choice but to evict Ms J. Eviction is very much a last resort, but is sometimes the only option.
Mrs H: Mrs H was struggling to pay even the minimum amount to clear her rent arrears. With an eviction date due, we talked to one of the many agencies we work with who offer grants and they were able to sort Mrs H’s debt issues. Because Mrs H engaged with us, we could help her get her life back on track.
If you don’t wish to talk to us, there are plenty of agencies which offer help and advice: Money Management Advice www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk Government Resources www.gov.uk/universal-credit National Debtline – 0808 808 4000 www.nationaldebtline.org
@ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
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The Cost of Christmas Lucky Khan Housing Manager, East
According to national figures, we borrowed £1.5billion on loans and credit cards in November 2016. A third of us borrowed to pay for Christmas presents. Christmas can be a difficult time with so many tempting offers and pressure to buy. If you are worried about arrears or other debts this Christmas – or at any time of the year – we can help. Talk to us, or for free, impartial debt advice you can turn to: Step Change Debt Charity
0800 138 1111 Citizens Advice Bureau www.citizensadvice.org.uk National Debtline 0808 808 4000 Money Advice Service www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
Reflecting on Summer Keith Bowman
Tenancy Sustainability Manager, East
Over the summer months, we held BBQs at our independent living schemes in the East region. We wanted to promote our services to our most vulnerable residents and show them how we might help. With some residents helping us take meals to their less mobile neighbours, we fed around 260 people for roughly £1 each. A number of enquiries were made resulting in referrals to specialist agencies. We have arranged more sessions to talk through the options available. At one scheme, we discussed recycling unwanted furniture with local care workers. Local councillors and the police are really appreciating our efforts.
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‘My first home and garden’ New homes in West Yorkshire In October, we were delighted to meet our new residents in Grove Mill, Keighley. One resident, Jessica Croft was thrilled to collect her keys, telling us she couldn’t believe this lovely new home would be hers. Thanks to the enclosed yard, it would be the first time her children would have a safe, outside place to play.
@ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
Regional Housing Director Deborah Kelly said: “homes like these form a vital part of any community and it is fantastic to see a new community starting to take shape.” We will be building many more new homes over the coming months, and we will let you know as they become available.
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New Repairs & Maintenance Contracts
Neil Cox
Director of Asset Management
On 25 September, we launched our new repairs and maintenance contracts. If you have had repair work done recently, you may have already met some of our new contractors. We hope they have provided you with a great service. Satisfaction with the new service remains high. It is not as high as it was, but it compares to the level it was in the last few months of our old contracts. We are working closely with our contractors to improve your satisfaction and we are certain it will improve, but we need to resolve a few minor issues first. Some of these come from repairs not being completed by our old contractors – not our new ones - so we have a bit of a backlog to clear. We have also had some issues with how we make appointments, and how our new contractors are
New Estate Services Contracts In July and August, we launched our new estate services, grounds maintenance, cleaning and window cleaning contracts. In the South, the cleaning contractors are working hard, and have taken on extra work the past contractors didn’t finish. The grounds maintenance contractors have had some issues, but they are working hard to make sure service improves. We are already seeing signs of this and have received some compliments. In Yorkshire and the North East, the cleaning contract launched smoothly. In the North West, the new contractors were a bit slower to get started, but were very quick to resolve any issues. Window cleaning was originally planned for every three months but, in some areas, it will be done monthly until March 2018. We know service has been slow to get started in some areas, but we are working with contractors to address this.
managing them. These have since been improved with a few changes to our systems. We are working hard to make sure outstanding repairs are done as quickly as possible, and we expect to see an overall improvement by the New Year. We are sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced, but you can rest assured we are sorting these issues and will catch up very soon. If you have a repair done by our new contractors, you will receive a survey call from us asking how it went. Please tell us. Your comments will help us monitor how well the service is being delivered, and to tackle poor service – making sure great service is provided to all residents. There are still some areas in Yorkshire, the North East and the North West that need monitoring but, overall, work is being done to our standards. (If you live in Yorkshire and our estate services team carries out your services, they will continue to do so). The cleaning contractor in the East region hasn’t changed and they are working well. The grounds maintenance contract doesn’t start until 2018. The present contractor will continue to provide the service. We appreciate the service provided will be different depending on where you live, but generally things are going very well. We are very sorry for any local issues you may have experienced since the new contracts went live, but things are improving. Please contact us if you are still seeing problems.
NEW Repairs Handbook
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Help with Hoarding Rob Mills
Regional Housing Director, South
Hoarding is where someone keeps and stores an unreasonably large amount of items in their home. These items are often of little, or no, value and eventually become an unmanageable amount of clutter. Hoarding is a growing problem for housing associations. One in four house fire related deaths can be linked it. We look to support residents who are hoarding, making sure they are living in a safe environment and managing their tenancy. If other support is needed, we will work with other agencies to make sure any concerns are addressed as soon as possible and the right support is provided. If we can’t get in your home to make repairs, we have a safety concern for the resident or their neighbours, or if damage has been caused due to hoarding, it may be classed as a breach of tenancy. Please contact us if you need help with hoarding, or you think you know someone who might.
A smarter way to tackle noise Clive Ledner
Anti-social Behaviour Officer, North East
We are now using a ‘noise app’ to tackle noise related anti-social behaviour. Noise nuisance is our most common complaint, and it can be quite complicated to deal with. Usually, only one person is complaining, and we are not there to see the problem for ourselves. Talking about noise with the person causing it can often be the best way to resolve it, but we appreciate that this isn’t always possible.
@ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
Collecting evidence with a meter is detailed and time consuming but, with the ‘noise app’, we can replace the process with something that can monitor several cases at the same time. We can contact residents through the app and, when a recording is sent, an email is issued and passed on to the investigating officer. For more information on the noise app, visit www.thenoiseapp.com If you are suffering noise nuisance and you can’t resolve it yourself, please contact us.
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If you are looking to borrow money, don’t get bitten by a Loan Shark We are working with the IMLT (Illegal Money Lending Team) to help stop residents borrowing from loan sharks this Christmas. Borrowing from a loan shark could mean you are paying back hundreds more than you borrowed. Probably without any paperwork, you won’t know how much you owe, or the interest you’re paying. To make sure you pay, you may be intimidated or threatened, even with violence. It can be scary to ask for help, but if you call the IMLT hotline on 0300 555 2222, you can speak to someone anonymously or in confidence. The IMLT will help, not judge, and explain your options so you can decide what to do. You can check if someone is authorised to lend money by searching for a company, person or postcode through the Financial Services Register. If you need a loan, or you’d like to open a savings account, visit www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk to find your nearest credit union. If you need help and you’d rather talk to us, we are only a phone call away.
How to spot a loan shark? Never borrow money from someone who: Provides no, or very little, paperwork on loans Randomly increases debts or adds amounts to loans unexpectedly Takes personal items as security (passport, driving license, bank cards) Intimidates and threatens people who borrow money
How to report a loan shark Call the confidential hotline 0300 555 2222 Text a report to: 078600 22116 Visit the website: www.stoploansharks.co.uk Email a report to: reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk Private message the team at: www.facebook.com/stoploansharksproject
STAY IN TOUCH! Address: Charlestown House Otley Road Bradford BD17 7SW
Social media: Telephone: @accenthousing 0345 678 0555 Email: customerservices@accentgroup.org
www.accentgroup.org
Our contact centre is open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and from 8am – 12pm on Saturday