Excellent homes in thriving communities
Severnside Housing
ANNUAL REPORT 2014–15
Contents
03 Welcome 04 Chair’s Report 06 Our Board 09 Supporting our Customers 14 Jamie’s Story 17 Supporting our Communities 21 Getting Involved 22 Our Achievements 2014–15 25 Supporting our Business 31 Our Executive Team 37 Megan’s Story 39 Financial Summary
Photo: Severnside’s new development at Morda.
Photo: Ribbon cutting at Bomere Heath, with Sarah Boden and resident Poppy Nicholls.
Welcome 2014–15 saw a continued focus on supporting customers to manage the impact of the governments reductions to benefits, through our financial inclusion work and learning new skills through digital inclusion and our Learning Programme. The introduction of additional support for more vulnerable customers has helped them to sustain their tenancies and contribute positively to the community where they live. Severnside’s continued strength and financial robustness ensured the successful negotiation of funding through a private placement with Canada Life. This money is being used to support and grow Severnside’s development programme which, during 2014–15, saw 83 new homes completed and occupied. A very healthy development pipeline of 385 new homes has also been assembled for the next five years. Our development plans are supported by our partners in the S3 Consortium, Stafford and Rural Homes and South Staffordshire Housing Association (part of the Housing Plus Group). There have been a number of other significant achievements that we are proud of — our reaccreditation as one of the country’s top employers with the Investors in People gold award, achievement of the British Safety Council 5* award, setting up our new market rent division, Severn Homes and the growth and success of that portfolio. This report gives details of these and other successes across the year. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff, our Board and Committee members, all our involved residents and our partners for their input and support over the last twelve months and for ensuring Severnside continues to be focussed on delivering its objectives in accordance with its values.
Sarah Boden Chief Executive
Severnside Housing — Welcome
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OUR BOARD
Photo: Paul Smith, Chair of Severnside’s Board.
Chair’s Report The last year has been a very good year for Severnside, with much being achieved. We have built more new homes than ever before, achieved high levels of customer satisfaction, gained or retained awards and external accreditations and, very importantly, secured new funding. All this has been achieved thanks to the strong leadership from the Board and Executive Team and the hard work and commitment of Severnside staff.
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2014–15 Annual Report
As a business, we knew at the outset that 2014–15 was going to be a challenging year for both Severnside and our customers and that we had to respond appropriately. Therefore, as a Board, with the support of the Executive Team, we started by reviewing what we had already planned and refined and simplified our Corporate Plan, making sure that Severnside could continue to deliver our vision of ‘excellent homes in thriving communities’.
We recognised that in order to deliver and fulfil both our own and our customers’ aspirations, including building much needed affordable homes in what we all know is a desirable county to live in, we had to remain financially sound. We agreed it was time to re-finance and obtain new funding. We discussed our funding requirements with our existing funders and agreed with them that it was time to spread the funding risk. Therefore,
during the year, we approached several funders to discuss what they could offer to Severnside, eventually deciding to take private placement 35 year funding from Canada Life (in the sum of £35 million) at an attractive rate of interest. I recognise, as does the Board and the Executive Team, that we have more to do. Demand for affordable housing is higher than ever; there is a broad consensus that, nationally, more than 250,000 new homes will be needed each year. We want to do our part in Shropshire. To do so, it is vital that we operate
our business efficiently, whilst listening to our customers and delivering the high quality services that they rightfully expect. However, recent policy announcements by government will have a significant effect on all housing associations and their customers, including Severnside. It is important that we assess carefully what this will mean for all of us, and this work is already underway. Whatever these challenges, I am confident that Severnside is well placed to respond effectively, working with our customers to meet the
challenges that they too will face. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Board colleagues, the Executive Team, Severnside staff and our involved customers for their hard work, dedication and commitment. Without this, our significant achievements would not be possible.
Paul Smith Chair of the Board
Committees of the Board The Board is supported by the Audit and Risk Committee and the Nominations and Remuneration Committee. Board Member
Audit & Risk Committee
Paul Smith Rory O’Byrne Malcolm Price
Nominations & Remuneration Committee ✔
Resident Senate
(Chair) ✔
Sarah Boden Gareth Evans Elaine Ganderton
✔ (Chair)
Alyson Lanning
✔
Andy Parkes Peter Price Mike Roughan
✔ (Chair)
✔ ✔
Paul Williams
Severnside Housing —Severnside Our Board Housing
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OUR BOARD Paul Smith Chair
Malcolm Price Council Director
Gareth Evans
Independent Director
The former Chief Executive at the City and County of Swansea, Paul has extensive strategic management experience including governance, corporate and business planning, performance and risk management. He has a life-long interest in housing and community development and a passion for delivering excellent, value for money services. Paul is also a Parish Councillor in Munslow.
Malcolm is an Executive Member of Shropshire Council holding the Cabinet Portfolios for Planning and Housing. First elected in 2002, he represents the Battlefield Ward in North Shrewsbury. A former member of the Fire Service, Mal is particularly interested in the safety and well-being of Shropshire residents.
A retired banking professional, Gareth worked in the banking industry for 42 years, principally at Barclays Bank where he was a Corporate Manager. Gareth has particular expertise in business funding with considerable experience in funding residential and commercial property development.
Rory O’Byrne
Sarah Boden
Elaine Ganderton
With nearly 30 years’ housing sector experience, Sarah has been Chief Executive of Severnside since 2006. Under her leadership, Severnside has made significant improvements in service delivery, to governance arrangements and developed the range of housing offered. Sarah is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing, the NHF West Midlands Regional Committee and Marches Local Enterprise Partnership Housing and Planning Task and Finish Group.
Elaine is a strategic consultant with over 30 years’ experience in the social housing sector both as an Executive and NonExecutive Director. She has extensive experience of strategic management, governance, housing services and maintenance. Elaine has been involved in national policy making through the National Housing Federation and is passionate about providing quality services for tenants and residents.
Vice Chair
Rory is a Partner at Wace Morgan Solicitors in Shrewsbury and is a Social Housing and Development specialist. Rory focusses upon residential development and has over twelve years’ experience in delivering social housing, strategic land acquisition, stock transfers and regeneration projects for housing associations, local authorities, and the private sector.
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2014–15 Annual Report
Executive Director
Independent Director
Alyson Lanning
Independent Director
Peter Price
Independent Director
Alyson is a former journalist, the holder of a law degree and the recently retired Director of the Hive Music & Media Centre. She has a lifelong passion for the arts —particularly music. Alyson is committed to community development and making the arts accessible to everyone, including Severnside customers.
Peter is a qualified chartered accountant and spent the major part of his career in the health service. Previously Director of Finance with NHS Telford and Wrekin for over ten years, prior to that, he was Finance Director at the Shropshire Community and Mental Health NHS Trust and Princess Royal Hospital.
Andy Parkes
Paul Williams
Independent Director
A former Superintendent of the West Mercia force, Andy began his career in uniform, in community policing, rising to senior management and completing his career by leading the West Mercia Equality and Diversity Team. With particular interests in leadership & IT, Andy now runs his own company offering business development and is also a mentor for start-ups through the ‘Young Britain’ programme.
Mike Roughan
Co-optee Independent Director
Mike, a qualified engineer, worked in the Automotive Industry for over 48 years. He is an experienced Senior Executive, having held Directorships in a number of Blue Chip Companies. He is actively involved in the Community, Mike chairs Adoption Panels in Shropshire and Leicestershire and is on the Board of Governors of a Local Primary School and his Local Parish Council.
Independent Director
Paul is an electronics engineer with over 30 years’ experience in start-up and Blue-chip companies in the telecommunications, test and semiconductor industries. Paul is passionate about delivering excellent services that meet our customers’ needs. Having retired from senior positions in industry, Paul now runs his own electrical business in South Shropshire.
Severnside Housing — Our Board
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Photo: Residents enjoying the ribbon cutting ceremony at Bomere Heath.
OUR CUSTOMERS
Supporting our Customers
We aim to: 1. Deliver the excellent services customers want. 2. Strengthen customer involvement and communication. 3. Support the most vulnerable and isolated in our neighbourhoods. 4. Help customers manage their finances and to understand and plan for the impact of Welfare Reform. 5. Provide well maintained homes.
Customer Service Centre We have an experienced team of advisors, in our Customer Service Centre, who provide help and advice to customers, whether they contact us by telephone, in person or by email. Throughout 2014–15, the team answered 64,389 calls, 88% of which were answered in an average of 30 seconds, with 85.95% of the calls being dealt with at the first point of contact. The team also welcomed 13,971 customers to our reception and answered 3,804 email enquiries.
STAR Survey In 2014, a massive 45% of our customers completed an independent survey, enabling us to gain their views on the neighbourhoods in which they live, the
Severnside Housing — Our Customers
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OUR CUSTOME
Photo: Paul Smith, Councillor Joyce Barrow and Sarah Boden cutting the ribbon at the new development in Morda.
services they receive and understand any issues they may have.
Customer Involvement
As with the previous survey undertaken in 2012, overall customer satisfaction remained at 88%. Of our customers, 85% said they trusted Severnside and 81% felt we had a good reputation, while 84% also felt their rent offered good value for money.
We are passionate about providing our customers with opportunities to ‘get involved’ and have a real say in the service they receive.
An action plan to address any low performance trends, which was agreed with our Board and Resident Senate, is already progressing.
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2014–15 Annual Report
We have a large number of involved customers who met on a regular basis, throughout the year, to share their views and shape proposed projects and strategies. Our Customers are encouraged to raise any issues or concerns they may have and to talk to
their wider-community so that they are well informed on what really matters to them. During 2014–15: Resident Senate worked on a number of projects, including Severnside’s delivery of Value for Money and ensuring that customer support was in place, ready for the roll out of Universal Credit. They continue to make recommendations to our Board on how we plan and deliver services. Customer Panel is an open group where everyone is welcome to attend. The panel are consulted on proposed
ERS changes to services and how our customers will be affected by them. Resident Inspectors have been involved in our Estate Walkabouts to identify any issues that affect our local communities, as well as auditing our services and standards. Grounds Maintenance Inspectors inspected and assessed grounds maintenance services in their local area and raised any appropriate issues with service delivery. Equality and Diversity Group met to ensure our services are tailored to meet our diverse customer needs.
Digital Inclusion With only approximately 40% of our customers having internet access at home it is vitally important that Severnside provides digital inclusion opportunities. Throughout the year, free access to wi-fi and computers has been available at our Digital Dens in Meole Brace and Castlefields and also at the Two Fat Rascals Café in Riverside. During 2014–15 our digital inclusion initiatives provided over 1,500 hours of customer support and access to the internet with 750 hours at our Digital Dens, 160 hours through our Learning Programme and Learn my Way courses, 66 hours via our Job Clubs and 540 hours
with our drop-in sessions and pop up shop.
Job Clubs Over the last year, more than 500 people attended our regular job clubs held at our Digital Dens in Meole Brace and Castlefields. These job clubs offer people help and advice to get online, update CVs, search for jobs and assist with evidencing claimant commitment hours for the Job Centre. Two further job clubs were introduced in 2015 at the Baptist Church, Monkmoor and The Two Fat Rascals Café, Riverside which are proving extremely popular. All job clubs are free and available to anyone to drop-in on a casual or regular basis.
Welfare Reform Benefit changes, introduced as part of Welfare Reform, continue to have an impact on our residents and, with more changes still to come, managing the effects of Welfare Reform will continue to be a high priority in the year ahead. Our teams have provided ongoing support to help customers manage these changes, enabling customers to get online to complete benefit applications, understand benefit entitlement and get better deals on their utilities.
More than a 1,000 attendances were recorded during the year at our job clubs and drop-in sessions.
Financial Inclusion Severnside’s Financial Inclusion team received 383 referrals this year, either from tenants contacting the team directly, or via our Neighbourhood Officers who identify when a customer needs financial assistance. This is usually when a tenant has debt issues or is not accessing eligible benefits. The team aim to support customers in understanding and managing debt and ensuring that priority bills are paid, to keep their home safe. As a result of the team’s work, 90% of all the benefits applied for were successfully achieved, totalling £163,900 and just over 90% of all tenants supported were able to reduce their rent arrears.
Tenancy Sustainment Our Neighbourhood teams continue to work closely with the Tenancy Sustainment Service (TSS) to support all new starter tenants who require low to medium support in sustaining their tenancy. This involves regular contact with new tenants and signposting to other Severnside
Severnside Housing — Our Customers
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OU Household Types 2014–15
services, such as financial inclusion, wherever needed. As Universal Credit changes continue to be rolled out, our sustainment work becomes even more important to minimise tenancy failures.
Home Allocations A total of 487 properties were allocated during 2014–15, including 75 new build properties. To help customers maintain their tenancies, further pre-tenancy work, was introduced in 2014–15 to the allocation process. This included tenancy sustainment assessments, Experian credit checks and payment of rent in advance.
Mutual Exchange Throughout the year we held a number of events to promote mutual exchanges. We successfully helped 56 families to exchange their homes in 2014–15, saving £159,800 in empty property costs. At one ‘Get a Move On’ event, 46 families sought our help and advice, 22 of which were referred to receive further oneto-one assistance from our Financial Inclusion team.
Single Adult (aged over 60) or Older Couple (at least one aged 60 or over) Single Adult (aged 16–59) Two Adults (aged 16–59, no children)
Two or more Adults (with at least one child under 16) One Adult (with at least one child under 16) Data not provided
Ethnicity of our new tenants 2014–15 No. of Properties
Ethnicity White British
455
Asian or Asian British Indian
8
White & Black Caribbean (mixed)
3
White & Black African (mixed)
1
White & Asian (mixed)
1
Mixed White Other
2
Black, African Caribbean or Black British Caribbean
1
Asian or Asian British Bangladeshi
1
White Other
1
Black, African Caribbean or Black British African
1
Other Ethnic Group, Other
1
Undeclared
12 Total
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2014–15 Annual Report
487
UR CUSTOMERS Well Maintained Homes
Major works completed in 2014–15
During 2014–15, £10.24m was spent on repairing, maintaining and improving our homes.
Kitchens
We completed in excess of 18,000 repairs to our properties. The table below shows how we performed on repair timescales against our targets. Customer satisfaction across the year indicated that 87% of our customers were happy with the repairs service they received.
Item Bathrooms
Quantity 236 85
Central Heating Systems
301
Electric Heating Systems
32
Rewires
166
Full Re-roof
46
Fascia and Soffit
76
Windows (secondary glazing)
1 Photo: Bradley Smith, Apprentice Carpenter
Performance of repair timescales
Severnside Housing — Our Customers
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JAMIE’S STORY 20 year old Jamie, from the Monkmoor area, is getting his life on track thanks to the Severnside Learning Programme. Jamie, a Severnside tenant, came to work at the Two Fat Rascals Café, in the Riverside Shopping Centre, back in January 2015. Since then, Jamie has been able to make use of Severnside’s Learning Programme to gain valuable skills relevant to his role. The Two Fat Rascals Café is one of the venues used by Severnside to help people venture into the digital world. The digital team meet there every Monday morning to offer help and advice on using computers and the internet, and to offer assistance and information
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2014–15 Annual Report
to anyone wanting to use the Learn My Way digital programme. It was through this programme that Jamie completed his Level Two Food Hygiene Certificate. He has also used Severnside’s Learning Programme to complete his First Aid Certificate. Jamie says he loves his work at the Two Fat Rascals Café. He enjoys learning new things, meeting new people and getting to know the regulars. Jamie McKean works at the Two Fat Rascals Café using skills learned through Severnside’s Learning Programme.
Photo: Jamie McKean at work in the Two Fat Rascals Café
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I really enjoy meeting new people and getting to know the regulars. Severnside Housing — Jamie’s Story
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Photo: Customers seeing what’s on offer at the launch of Severnside’s 2014–15 Learning Programme.
OUR COMMUNITIES
Supporting our Communities
We aim to: 1. Develop training, skills and employment opportunities for Severnside customers. 2. Develop health and wellbeing initiatives that benefit local communities and staff. 3. Encourage and develop greater individual and community responsibility. 4. Ensure that we operate in a manner that respects our environment and reflects Severnside’s values.
Learning Programme Delivered in partnership with a number of local organisations, our inspirational Learning Programme helps our customers gain new life skills or develop existing ones. In its fifth year, the Learning Programme continues to offer a diverse range of courses suitable for everyone, no matter what their age or ability. Courses are free of charge to our customers and are open to the widercommunity at a nominal charge of just £2.50 per course. In 2014–15, 439 people attended training sessions and from those surveyed, 85% were highly satisfied with their course.
Prince’s Trust In partnership with the Prince’s Trust, Severnside has supported 30 young
Severnside Housing — Our Communities
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OUR COMMUN people, aged 16–25 years, to take part and successfully complete a twelve week team programme. Those who participate can make a positive change to their lives by taking part in community events, community projects and enjoy an action-packed residential week away from home. One of the teams helped us with the Heaths Houses Art Project. They engaged with former residents to hear stories and memories which could be portrayed in the commemorative art painted by artist Greg Rudevices. The completed artwork has been on display on the site hoardings at Heaths Houses (now known as Rowland Court) in Shrewsbury. Four young people undertook work experience with us during their time on the programme, resulting in one being offered a permanent position at Severnside. A video is available on Severnside’s You Tube channel, highlighting the partnership working between us and the Prince’s Trust and former participant Sam Morgan speaks about how much the Prince’s Trust has helped him.
Work Placements Severnside works in partnership with the Job Centre, to help young people develop skills
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2014–15 Annual Report
and gain appropriate work experience to assist them to gain secure paid employment. Each work placement lasts for eight weeks and we are proud to have provided eleven placements last year. Two of the people, who came on placement are now employed with our partner organisation, Social Telecoms, having proved their ability to learn and develop new skills during their placement.
Adult Learning Week Severnside’s Adult Learning Week, held in June 2014, invited Severnside customers and staff to take part in bitesized fun training sessions. Sessions included online literacy and numeracy assessments. Photography and fun ways of improving problem solving and team working were just a number of the other opportunities available. Over 81 people took part and feedback was extremely positive.
Data Warehouse Severnside’s Data Warehouse holds our customer and property information together with externally collated data from other agencies, including the Office for National Statistics, Shropshire Council and the
I SUPPORT KEEPING MY COMMUNITY CLEAN & SAFE
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHERE WE LIVE
These bin stickers were part of a NiSA initiative in parts of Shrewsbury
Police. The Warehouse, which is similar to a library, enables us to identify and respond to areas of need, manage information and also evidence the great work our teams are doing to address local issues.
Neighbourhood Standards Agreement Severnside has successfully used Neighbourhood Standards Agreements (NiSAs) for a number of years. NiSAs are drawn up in partnership with local agencies and all residents who live in the community, whether or not they are a Severnside tenant, are asked to sign up to the NiSA.
NITIES During 2014–15 we delivered new NiSAs in Nesscliffe, Moston Green, Bomere Heath, Belle Vue, Hanwood, Meole Brace and Harlescott. NiSAs are aimed at encouraging and developing greater individual and community responsibility.
Estate Walkabouts Estate Walkabouts are led by Severnside’s Neighbourhood Officers in partnership with key local agencies, including the Police and Shropshire Council. They are held regularly, throughout the year, and customers are encouraged to take part so that they can raise any concerns they may have about the community in which they live. In 2014–15 there were seventeen Estate Walkabouts held in the areas that Severnside has homes. The Walkabouts aim to highlight and address issues such as grounds and highway maintenance, street lighting, graffiti, litter, dog fouling, vandalism and parking problems. Following each Walkabout, action plans are drawn up to ensure that any identified issues are logged with the correct responsible agency, with a timescale for the issue to be addressed.
Grant Funded Project One project to receive Community Chest funding in 2014–15 was the West Mercia Police’s Urban Challenge Project. Through community projects, such as litter picking and gardening, the Urban Challenge Project enabled Police to engage and build good relationships with local children living in the Castlefields and Ditherington areas of Shrewsbury. The Police encouraged children to look after and take pride in the area where they lived and to also watch out for their neighbours. PC Andrew Gardner, who organised the project, had previously run the project in other communities and could evidence a substantial drop in the levels of anti-social behaviour as a result. Pictured below is PC Andrew Gardner and CSO Jennifer Randall, from West Mercia Police’s Urban Challenge Project, receiving a Community Funding cheque for the sum of £2,176 from Edge Abboh, Community Development Officer for Severnside Housing.
Community Chest Fund Severnside’s Community Chest fund continues to invite grant applications from any voluntary, community and recreational group working in the Shropshire area, whose work will directly benefit our customers and the communities in which they live. Over the year, five applications were awarded £5,342 of Community Chest Funding by our panel made up of Severnside customers and staff. Severnside Housing — Our Communities
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“
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I like it because I feel I can directly help other tenants.
GETTING INVOLVED
I’ve found my confidence has grown as I’m meeting people and using my skills. It’s also interesting to learn more about Severnside and some of the challenges it faces as a business. Deb has been a tenant with Severnside for about a year and a half and is really enjoying it. She says she had no idea how much better it would be to rent from a social landlord rather than a private landlord. “We have a decent house that was safety checked before we moved in and repairs get done. We’ve found the staff at Severnside to be approachable and we feel valued as tenants. And, of course, it’s cheaper.” These are some of the reasons why Deb wanted to become an Involved Resident. She said, “my kids were getting older and I felt I had something to give back. It surprised me to discover exactly what social landlords actually do and it is quite empowering to have the opportunity to get involved. I really appreciate what Severnside do for me as a tenant and I’d like to think
I can help them to help other tenants and continue to offer the services they do.” Deb has been a member of the Resident Senate since Autumn 2014 and before that was involved with the Customer Panel. The Resident Senate has many responsibilities, including ensuring the tenants have a voice at Board level, benchmarking Severnside against other housing associations, looking at Value for Money and, more recently, assessing systems supporting the roll out of Universal Credit. Deb also volunteers with the Community Development Team, giving up her time to help people get online and embrace the world of computers and other digital technology. She tells the story of one lady who came in filled with fear over her brand new laptop. Over a few weeks, she slowly became more
confident, even with the simple task of taking it out of her bag. Deb enjoys giving her time and getting involved and would encourage others to do the same. She says, “it can become quite insular and isolating to be at home all the time. I’ve found my confidence has grown as I’m meeting people and using my skills. It’s also interesting to learn more about Severnside and some of the challenges it faces as a business.” “Getting involved really does help — if you like it, then you can help it keep going and if you don’t like it, then you can help bring about changes. There are lots of different levels you can get involved at. I like it because I feel I can directly help other tenants.” Deb McBride is a member of the Resident Senate and also volunteers to her time to assist with the Digital Inclusion Programme.
Severnside Housing — Getting Involved
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ACHIEVEMENTS
Severnside has a dynamic leadership team who are committed to development and progression, bringing about strong business performance and driving change for the benefit of our customers, employees, stakeholders and suppliers.
✩
Diversity Network Accreditation
In March 2015, Severnside was delighted to receive the Diversity Network Accreditation from the Housing Diversity Network, recognising the great work we are doing to ensure equality and diversity is at the heart of our business.
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2014–15 Annual Report
✩
IIP Gold
In January 2015, Severnside was proud to be reaccredited with IIP Gold. To be rated again in the top five percent of organisations throughout the UK is a considerable achievement and highlights Severnside as a great place to work.
2014–15
Photo courtesy of Stonehouse Photography
✩
British Safety Council 5*
In December 2014, Severnside deservedly achieved a five star grading by the British Safety Council following a detailed, quantified and objective evaluation making us one of the safest employers in Shropshire.
✩
Star Landlord
Severnside was extremely happy to be presented with the 2014 HomeSwapper Star Landlord Award for the Midlands Region and described as one of the most forward thinking landlords Severnside Housing — Our Achievements
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Photo: Severnside’s Customer Service Team answered 64,389 calls during 2014–15.
OUR BUSINESS
Supporting our Business
We aim to: 1. Deliver high quality business performance. 2. Ensure excellent governance. 3. Maximise income. 4. Develop and acquire new homes. 5. Grow the business of the Group. 6. Demonstrate and continuously improve value for money. 7. Positively promote all members of the Severnside Group. 8. Have skilled, motivated staff who engage with our business and our customers.
Refinancing During 2014–15 we refinanced our loan portfolio, increasing our facility from £120m to £142.8m. This has provided long-term funding from Canada Life, Nationwide Building Society and Shropshire Council.
Governance The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) confirmed that we have retained our V1 and G1 rating for viability and governance — the highest rating available which provides assurance to our investors, stakeholders and Board.
Severnside Housing — Our Business
25
Photo: Chief Executive, Sarah Boden, greets some of Severnside’s operatives and admires the new van fleet.
Headline performance Our Group enjoyed strong performance last year which was evidenced by Severnside Housing outperforming against our financial plan. We achieved a turnover of £25,358m, up 3.5% on target. We also outperformed in all our financial
covenants with the variance to targets being: rr Earnings before interest and depreciation: +3.5% rr Budgeted deficit: -74% rr Asset Ratio Cover: +22% rr Debt per unit: -14% The private trading division of our electrical subsidiary, AWE
increased its turnover in 2014–15 by 27% and Shropshire Homes for All (SHFA) continued to operate successfully on a break even budget. We achieved significant efficiencies in 2014–15, realising over £420,000. Three projects alone yielded efficiency savings of £55,000 which involved the re-negotiation for the procurement of our kitchens,
Satisfaction rating for value for money of rental properties
2012 Percentage
2015
All Tenants
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2014–15 Annual Report
General Needs Tenants
Sheltered Tenants
Photo courtesy of Stonehouse Photography
a new van leasing agreement and a newly negotiated grounds maintenance contract. Finally, our Development team secured £1.5m in grant funding for developments of new homes during 2014–15.
Value for Money We work hard to continually improve business systems and reduce costs. We continue to deliver our Value for Money Strategy which aims to ensure Severnside’s resources are managed economically, efficiently and effectively. Tenant satisfaction for Value for Money was reported in the STAR survey in 2012 and 2014 and can be seen in the chart on page 26.
Procurement Severnside undertook two major tender exercises during 2014–15, re-procuring a new commercial fleet and changing the way Severnside Housing Property Services (SHPS) purchase building and plumbing materials.
Van fleet
We commenced a re-tender of our commercial fleet in 2014 with two reverse e-auctions to ensure the very best discounts were achieved from both the vehicle manufacturers and the lease companies. This process was completed in early 2015 and the following savings and added value have been achieved: rr 5% less than the previously discounted lease costs. rr Negotiating a local service and maintenance contract making significant savings. rr 20% savings in fuel due to a more modern, efficient fleet. rr The new fleet produces 58 tonnes less CO2, contributing a quarter of Severnside’s corporate objective of a 15% carbon footprint reduction by 2018.
Stores
A complex tender exercise was initiated in 2014 and a local, family owned merchant, Shropshire Building Supplies was awarded the exclusive contract to supply materials
from 2015. The benefits of the arrangement are: rr A reduction in the number of suppliers SHPS has to deal with. rr One electronic invoice per month, rather than over 3,000 paper invoices. rr More control over product specification and cost (estimated savings of 8%).
Development We are committed to providing quality, affordable homes for our local communities. As well as maintaining our existing housing stock, we have a key role in developing new homes in the local area, and work in association with a number of different organisations to do this. All of our new homes are built to the highest standards of quality and energy efficiency. Our new properties feature solar panel water heating systems, ‘A-rated’ high efficiency condensing boilers and Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) ratings that
Severnside Housing — Our Business
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OUR BUSINESS exceed the minimum recommended levels. Severnside also has a number of sites where new homes are still in the process of being completed. These will add an additional 221 homes and are shown in the table below.
Vacant Properties (Voids)
Void performance, as indicated in the chart on page 30, is measured in average calendar days from the time the keys are returned following
a tenancy termination, to the time the keys are issued at the commencement of a new tenancy. Improvement works and repairs were carried out, at a cost of £831k, to 408 properties that became vacant during the year, ensuring they met Severnside’s Lettable Standard before being re-let to customers. Customer satisfaction across the year indicated that over 93% of our customers were happy with the quality of their new home.
Number of sites in progress with expected completion dates Address WEM, Soulton Road (Phase 3)
Due
6 units
Jun 2015
SHREWSBURY, Bell Lane
4 homes
Aug 2015
SHREWSBURY, Glebe House (Holy Cross)
27 homes
Jun 2016
WELLINGTON, Wrekin Road
14 homes
Apr 2015
SHREWSBURY, Rowland Court
41 homes
Sep–Oct 2015
SHREWSBURY, Arlington Way
12 homes
May 2015
LEEGOMERY , Lawton Farm Way
11 homes
Aug–Nov 2015
OSWESTRY, Morda Bank
6 homes
Oct 2015
SHREWSBURY WEST
45 homes
Dec 2015–Dec 2017
WHITCHURCH, Tarporley Road
10 homes
Dec 2015–Dec 2016
WHITTINGTON, Station Road
1 home
Jul 2015
Buy backs
1 home
Aug 2015
SHREWSBURY, Riverside Meadow
15 homes
Sep–Dec 2015
TELFORD, Leegomery Road
15 homes
Sep 2015–Jan 2016
GOBOWEN, Wats Meadow
12 homes
Mar 2016
1 home
Jul 2015
HADNALL, Church Lane
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No. of Homes
2014–15 Annual Report
Tenures of Completed Properties
In 2014–15, a total of 83 new homes were completed.
Shared Ownership Social Rent Market Rent
Homes completed in 2014–15 No. of Homes
Address BOMERE HEATH, Chapel Close
18
MORDA, Weston Road
21
MUXTON, Egerton Court
8
BOMERE HEATH, Merrington Road
12
WEM, Soulton Road — Phase 1 & 2
17
‘Buy Back’ purchases
7
Affordable/ Discounted Rent
Photo: Matt Griffiths, Maintenance Operative
Severnside Housing — Our Business
29
Five year plan of major works Item
Quantity
Kitchens
1,410
Bathrooms
400
Central Heating Systems
1,254
Electric Heating Systems
188
Rewires
844
Full Re-roof
230
Fascia and Soffit
212
Apprenticeships We are proud of our apprenticeship programme. Over the last year, there have been seven Apprentices in Severnside, four are trade based (two work in our SHPS trades teams and two work with one of our contractors SJ Roberts). Each trainee enjoys the support of a mentor and receives an above standard salary. Each learner is exposed to real work situations and enjoys College support to study for a Level 2Â NVQ or higher qualification.
Voids (Empty Properties) Performance
Target Performance
Number of Days
Actual Performance
Standard Voids
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2014–15 Annual Report
Major Works Voids
All Voids
OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM
Sarah Boden
Sue Groom
MCIH Executive Director
With nearly 30 years’ housing sector experience, Sarah has been Chief Executive of Severnside since 2006. Under her leadership, Severnside has made significant improvements in service delivery, to governance arrangements and developed the range of housing offered. Sarah is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing, the NHF West Midlands Regional Committee and Marches Local Enterprise Partnership Housing and Planning Task and Finish Group.
Peter Donovan
FCMA, GCMA, MBCS Resources Director
FCIH Neighbourhood & Community Services Director Sue was appointed Neighbourhood and Community Services Director in July 2006 and has over 30 years’ housing sector experience. She has worked at a senior level covering all areas of housing services including spending several years in consultancy with HQN. Her particular strengths lie in strategic organisational development, engaging customers in developing the business and ensuring services are accessible, fair and equitable.
Ian Gardner
Peter was appointed Resources Director in October 2001. He has over 20 years’ housing experience. Previously Peter worked in the banking industry, private sector companies and commerce. He has helped the organisation through major challenges and change. His particular strengths lie in corporate and financial planning, treasury management, organisational excellence, and business and performance management.
PhD, FCIH, FCMI, FRSA Asset Management Director Ian was appointed Asset Management Director in November 2009. Prior to joining Severnside, Ian worked as a consultant and Interim Manager in the sector for nearly 10 years and has over 28 years’ housing experience. Ian has particular experience in performance improvement, Health & Safety and asset management.
Severnside Housing — Our Business
31
OUR BUSINESS Staff Breakdown The average number of staff increased to 245 in 2014–15 with 232 of these being employed full time. The average sickness absence was 4.83%, reduced from 5% in the previous year. Staff turnover was 13.5%.
Staff Engagement In September 2014, Severnside conducted its biennial Staff Engagement Survey. The overall results were excellent and an improvement on the good results achieved in 2012. Severnside is extremely proud to achieve a 90% participation rate (75% in 2012) and an overall engagement rating of 80% (77%
in 2012). This is truly upper quartile performance when compared to other Housing Associations nationally as the mean for this group is 70%. Although the results were excellent, a number of areas for further improvement were identified and staff will participate in focus group work to share their views and shape the development of change.
People Development Severnside is committed to developing and training its staff to ensure it has a highly motivated and skilled work force.
Staff breakdown per department Department
32
Male
Female
Chief Executive
2
6
Community Services
8
20
Development
3
1
Direct Labour Services
87
6
Finance
6
8
Housing
16
44
Human Resources & Marketing/ Communications
3
7
Investment Services
12
6
Legal
0
6
Severn Homes
0
2
UnITe
4
0
2014–15 Annual Report
The e-learning staff training programme continues to grow. In 2014–15, 499 online training courses and assessments were completed. The portfolio of online courses, currently Fire Safety, Display Screen Equipment and Data Protection, has expanded to cover Lone Working Essentials. The release of three more Human Resource based courses is imminent. During the year, 1,920 training days were undertaken equating to 7.77 training days per colleague. This included the roll out of a company-wide Lone Working training initiative. Research shows that adults who continue to learn throughout their lives are healthier, happier and have greater selfconfidence and self-esteem. In celebration of the 2014 National Adult Learning Week, Severnside offered a selection of short training courses for staff to take part in during the working day. Courses and activities ranged from photography workshops to team building sessions. An open day was also held at our Brassey Road site for our employees and customers featuring exhibits from local colleges and unions. Staff feedback for the week was extremely positive and Severnside plans to run the initiative each year. As part of Severnside’s commitment to reducing the staff sickness absence rate, and following the success of
Photo: Severnside is committed to training and developing its staff
Learning Week, Severnside implemented a Health and Well Being Week to promote being a healthy organisation.
Our Group & Partnerships
Staff were invited to attend a number of activities that focused around mental and physical health, well-being and relaxation. These included workshops to improve posture both in and out of the workplace and with the opportunity to experience therapies that promote relaxation. A designated open day and exhibition promoted the benefits of healthy eating, regular exercise and maintaining a healthy heart.
S3
and South Staffordshire Housing Association (part of the Housing Plus Group).
Severnside Housing, Housing Plus and Stafford and Rural Homes joined together to form the S3 development consortium. The organisations are all similar geographically and have both urban and rural housing stock. They are also like-minded in their values and bidding strategies. S3 is named for its three members: Stafford and Rural Homes, Severnside Housing
In its first joint bid, S3 was awarded over ÂŁ7m from the Homes and Communities Agency to build 355 new affordable homes, across Staffordshire and Shropshire.
Severnside Housing — Our Business
33
Photo: S3 members Chris Poulton, Ursula Bennion and Sepp Sargeant, Head of Development for Severnside Housing
Shrewsbury Homes for All
Shrewsbury Homes for All joined the Severnside Group in 2013 and is a local registered charity, working to ensure that people in the Shrewsbury area are adequately housed.
AW Electrical
AW Electrical is part of the Severnside Group and helps Severnside increase efficiency and value for money by providing expert electrical services. AW Electrical provides a full 24-hour call out service, with highly-skilled and experienced
34
2014–15 Annual Report
electricians on-call to provide emergency out of hours cover.
were previously managed by Severnside.
AW Electrical Contractors
At the end of March 2015, Severn Homes reported a total of 64 rental properties across Telford, Wellington, Wem, Baschurch and Shrewsbury with 14 more due in April 2015 with the completion of the Stretton Court project in Wellington.
Having worked with Severnside for a number of years, this company joined the Severnside Group in 2013. It carries out all electrical work in properties owned by Severnside, providing excellent services to our customers.
Severn Homes
Severn Homes was launched in 2014–15 to manage all the private rental properties, private sales and all the shared ownership properties, which
There were 57 shared ownership properties in Morda, Hanwood, Much Wenlock, Telford, Shrewsbury, Minsterley and Ford. Redevelopment work continued through the year at Rowland
OUR BUSINESS
Photo: Severn Homes redevelopment project, Stretton Court, Wellington.
Court, Shrewsbury. Due for completion in September 2015, it will bring a further 16 market rent properties, two shared ownership properties and 19 private sale properties to the Severn Homes portfolio.
Sustain Consortium
Severnside Housing is proud to be a leading member of the Sustain Consortium — a crosscounty partnership that delivers individual and group support services to vulnerable people in
Shropshire — along with thirteen partner agencies.
claiming £45k in benefits/PIP assessments and grants.
In 2014–15, Severnside was able to deliver one-to-one support to 1,019 Severnside customers, while Sustain partners delivered floating support to over 11,500 people.
Our Supported Housing Team completed training in Falls Awareness and Prevention in partnership with Shropshire Council. This training will be utilised with aged and vulnerable people within Shropshire.
Through the partnership and their services, Sustain came into contact with 42,599 older people across the county and 4,085 people attended drop-ins. Sustain assisted customers in
A partnership has been formed with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service to identify tenants who are at risk of accidental fires.
Severnside Housing — Our Business
35
“
“
Get stuck in and make a difference where you can.
MEGAN’S STORY “Megan’s advice to other Job Seekers is to make the most of any job placements you have the chance to go on. . . Take it seriously. . .” When Megan Ripley finished university she returned home to her family, who had recently moved to the Shrewsbury area from Stirling in Scotland. Megan signed up to Job Seekers looking for officebased work with a preference for a charitable organisation. Shortly afterwards, she was offered an eight week placement with Severnside Housing. Megan says, “I was grateful to be given the opportunity to do something productive and I was excited as it sounded like a position I could do well in.” As her eight week placement came to an end, a position became available in the Community Development Team. As Megan had been really keen and competent during her placement, she was offered an eight week
paid temporary contract. This was later extended to a twelve month contract which Megan hopes will be extended again. Her job title is now Community Development and Resident Involvement Support Officer and Megan says she is the first port of call for Involved Residents, whether it’s grounds maintenance, Customer Panels, or Resident Inspectors. She also assists with Severnside’s Learning Programme and helps the Community Development Team with events and administrative duties. Megan says the most interesting part of her job is working with the residents and getting to know them and the variety of her job. “Some days,” she says, “we’re doing things with the residents, other days we might be organising or running events and some days will be just administrative work. I enjoy the mix and feel like I’ve learnt a
lot and also been given a lot of responsibility.” Megan’s advice to other Job Seekers is to make the most of any job placements you have the chance to go on because you never know what may happen at the end of it. Take it seriously and build relationships within the organisation rather than thinking it’s only short term so it doesn’t really matter. Don’t be afraid to ask for opportunities or for more information. Get stuck in and make a difference where you can. Megan Ripley is the Community Development and Resident Involvement Support Officer at Severnside Housing
Severnside Housing — Megan’s Story
37
Photo: Edgefield Green, winner of the 2014–15 Communal Garden competition.
Financial Summary
OUR FINANCES
Consolidated Income and Expenditure Account For the year ended 31 March 2015 2015 £’000s
2014 £’000s
27,194
25,895
(19,620)
(18,858)
7,574
7,037
Surplus on sale of housing properties
325
243
Interest receivable and other income
39
20
Interest payable and similar charges
(6,442)
(5,205)
(306)
(464)
(6,384)
(5,406)
1,190
1,631
–
–
1,190
1,631
Turnover Less: Operating costs Operating surplus
Other financing costs
Surplus on ordinary activities before taxation Tax charge on surplus on ordinary activities Surplus for the year
Severnside Housing — Our Finances
39
Severnside Housing Expenditure for 2014–15 (£’000s) (excluding sub-groups) Other social and non-social activities £1,306 FRS17 pension costs £306
Housing Management £7,283
Interest on improvement loans and other charges £6,596
Routine repairs and maintenance Depreciation — properties £3,136 Bad debts £156
£3,419
Planned repairs* £3,798
*An additional £2,856k was spent on major repairs, which were capitalised to the balance sheet.
Severnside Housing Income for 2014–15 (£’000s)
Service Charges £274 Other housing related income £145 Surplus on disposal of properties £325 Other social and non-social activities £2,020 Interest earned on balances £32
Rent, net of voids £24,110
4040
2014–15 Annual Report
Association Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2015 2015 £’000s
2014 £’000s
117
233
136,966 (12,832) 124,134
125,163 (11,226) 113,937
4,165
4,247
128,416
118,417
Stocks
500
383
Debtors
732
1,280
Cash at bank and in hand
4,415
50
Investment in subsidiaries
200
200
5,847
1,913
(5,101)
(10,120)
746
(8,207)
129,162
110,210
(118,546)
(105,853)
(11,638)
(7,285)
(1,022)
2.072
Revenue
10,616
9,357
Pension
(11,638)
(7,285)
(1,022)
2,072
Intangible fixed assets Tangible fixed assets Housing Properties — cost less depreciation — less social housing grant Other tangible assets Total fixed assets Current Assets
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Net current assets/(liabilities) Total assets less current liabilities Creditors Amounts falling due after more than one year FRS17 pension liability, net Net assets/(liabilities) Reserves
Total Reserves
Severnside Housing — Our Finances
41
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01743 285 000 Severnside Housing 0300 300 0059 Brassey Road Old Potts Way www.severnsidehousing.co.uk Shrewsbury enquiries@severnsidehousing.co.uk SY7 3FA