YHN Annual Report 2011/12 by Your Homes Newcastle

Annual Report 2011/12

Contents A word about how this year’s report was produced

Interview with Steve Murphy

Board members’ thoughts

How we run ourselves

YHN management structure

Your Homes Newcastle Board 2011/12

Interview with John Lee, Chief Executive

National standards: Tenancy

Home (Modern Homes)

Home (Assets and programming)

Home (Repairs and maintenance)

Neighbourhood and community (Estate management)

Neighbourhood and community (Anti-social behaviour)

Tenant involvement and empowerment

Value for money

Performance

Focus on: Support and care

Board and Committee calendar

Throughout this document we have featured key performance indicators. Here is a colour code to help you see how we have done.

A word about how this year’s report was produced… During the year we changed the way we involve customers in the information we produce. Customers now have regular access to staff at Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) specifically to help them get the information they need to write articles for our customer newsletters and reports. For this report, several of our involved customers interviewed senior members of staff, including our Chief Executive and Chair. The interviews focused on the Tenant Services Authority’s (now the Homes and Communities Agency) national standards, whilst trying to capture the big issues that our key services face on a daily basis. Questions looked at how our services performed during 2011/12, how customers have been involved in services and our challenges for the year ahead. We’re keen to give as many customers as possible the chance to be actively involved in the information we publish. Involving customers helps us make sure that the information is relevant and interesting, allows customers to compare our performance against that of other landlords, and gives both parties the opportunity to draw on their experience and get their views across.

“For this report, several of our involved customers interviewed senior members of staff.”

We hope that you find this new format informative and useful. The customers whose hard work has made it possible were;

Paul Booth

June Matthews

Val McDonald

Tony Moore

Pauline Frost

Tim Gilks

Key performance indicators colour code: Our target Achieved or exceeded Improvement needed 2010/11 Actual figure

Interview with Steve Murphy “The days of just handing the keys over to a tenant at sign up have long gone…” Byker resident Paul interviewed Steve Murphy, Chair of YHN. Paul said “It seems that you’re very customer focussed and quite ethical in your approach and that you genuinely do care. “You do stuff because it not only benefits YHN but also benefits us and the rest of the tenant group.”

“It’s now more important than ever that we know where every penny is going, what it’s being spent on, and that it has been spent wisely.”

This has been a year in which we continued to improve our services and have been flexible in our response to the evolving needs of all our customers, be they tenants, leaseholders, local and national government, or our many local and regional partners.

In addition to that ongoing improvement work, we have prepared for major government changes to the housing finance system. Officers worked with Board over several months to understand what the new arrangements would mean for us and how the changes would influence our 30 year business plan. Our investment decisions over the next few years will have a huge impact on the services we can provide in the future.

This is because the government has written off around half of the debt that had been assigned to Council housing in the city over the years, leaving us with sole responsibility for managing the remaining debt. This is almost like having a mortgage of around £14,000 on each council property in the city. To enable us to manage that debt successfully we now have sole control over all the rent we collect on behalf of the City Council. In the current economic conditions it’s now more important than ever that we know where every penny is going, what it’s being spent on, and that it has been spent wisely. As part of this approach we will have to look for new business opportunities to add to the comprehensive range of products and services that we already offer, some of which may seem quite far removed from our core housing services. For example, I’ve yet to hear of any other housing organisation that is managing a supported employment bed manufacturer. One of the things I’ve learned in my time here is that the days of just handing the keys over to a tenant at sign up have long gone and that these additional and support services are central to our mission. However we have to be sensible about what we invest in. Measures have been in place throughout to ensure that growth is controlled and consistently related to our aim of supporting customers to improve their lives. Any surplus that these services generate is put back into the business for the benefit of tenants. An enormous amount of work has gone on to get ready for the creation of the Byker Community Trust and a lot of people, including tenants, have been involved. The change will enable a transformational level of investment into the Byker Estate over the next couple of years, and we wish the Trust every success.

Leazes Homes is also becoming more independent and is continuing to build within market conditions that many mainstream private house builders are finding difficult to navigate. Lots of affordable properties have been lost in the city over the years, so it’s important that it makes the most of any opportunities to build new homes – not least because it enables it to create employment opportunities at a time when apprenticeships are in short supply in the city. Leazes Homes has already built 165 affordable and 98 private units which have delivered 400 employment and training opportunities, thus playing its part in supporting the region’s economy. These changes place YHN in an entirely new commercial relationship with Byker Community Trust and with Leazes Homes, and we have to make sure that their customers receive the level of service that they would have expected as customers of YHN, and that they can also continue to access services that individually they might not be able to get elsewhere, such as home contents insurance.

We’ve been able to continue bringing Council homes up to the government’s Decent Homes Standard despite having less money. We should complete the programme in 2012/13, which will be another major achievement. By far our biggest current challenge, however, is welfare reform. There are some huge changes on the way as a result of the changes to the benefit system that are being proposed by the government. Customers in receipt of Housing Benefit will receive less money if they have spare bedrooms, anyone living with a non-dependant person will get less Housing Benefit, and all people in receipt of benefits will directly receive a single regular payment from which they are expected to meet all of their household bills, including their rent and council tax. This will be a major challenge for some people and we will be working hard to support tenants through it. We must make our housing offer so attractive that people will choose to prioritise paying their rent and thereby avoid putting their tenancy at risk. This is going to be a big change for everyone, and our future prospects are closely linked to it. If we lose too much rental income we will have less money with which to maintain our housing stock, and may have to make some hard choices about the range of services we provide. There is certainly a lot to think about - but be assured that we are covering all the bases. There may be difficult times ahead for social housing providers and their tenants but we’re proud of our achievements, confident about the future, and keen to rise to the challenge.

“This is going to be a big change for everyone, and our future prospects are closely linked to it.”

Steve Murphy Chair, Your Homes Newcastle

Board members’ thoughts ... Tenants Val and Tony interviewed Lisa Doherty, Lynn Stephenson and Rob Higgins on their decision to join the Board and the impact it’s had on them and YHN.

Why did you join the Board?

Lisa: I didn’t actually know that the Board existed and that tenants could get involved! But after some issues with my Modern Homes work I found out about the Board and applied to join. I thought it would be a good way for me to get involved in some of the big decisions.

Lynn: I originally saw something about the area boards so I got involved in that before joining the main Board. I know how the house and the area you live in, and how they meet your needs, can impact on your life. I think social housing is one of the most crucial things in our society and I wanted to be involved because I think YHN is going to play a major part in the city’s future.

Rob: I joined the Board because social housing is part of my history - even before I became a councillor I was involved in tenants groups or social group activities. So I wanted to be part of the organisation and contribute to its success.

What key decisions have you made over the last year on the Board? I’m on the Finance Committee as well as the Board so it’s mostly been about the changes to the housing finance system. I was also involved in the decision to continue paying for our Supporting People funded services when that funding stopped, as they provide key services to people across the city.

What impact do you think these decisions have had on customers? What Val and Tony thought… “It’s good that you are putting the effort in and are actively doing the things you say you will.” “It was good to hear that changes to the welfare system is one of the key things you are thinking about.”

What key decisions have you made over the last year on the Board? I was involved in producing our thirty year business plan, because the money we may or may not have influences how we can invest in the future. I looked at decisions around the new Napier Street properties, windows in multi-storey blocks and at YHN’s business strategy. All of these things affect how we deliver services to people.

What impact do you think these decisions have had on customers?

What key decisions have you made over the last year on the Board? I looked at how we continue the Modern Homes Programme. We had to make some difficult decisions about how to carry on the programme and how we prioritise the work because it directly impacts on tenants. I was also involved in the changes to the lettings policy – the different bands and criteria and the new online service; so some very important decisions over the last twelve months.

What impact do you think these decisions have had on customers?

We work hard to make sure the time and money we invest provides the best services to customers. We want to be the best in the North East so we have to make sure that customers are at the heart of our decision making.

The impact on customers is a practical one – if your house is being modernised then you’re getting a better house to live in. But it’s also important for customers’ morale. We need to reassure people that we are still meeting their needs and retain a sense of optimism.

What key pieces of work will you be involved in during 2013?

The main thing that is going to affect everyone on the Board and YHN is welfare reform. We need to see how we can help customers deal with the impact as well as prepare for the impact on the business.

I’m interested in the review of the Sheltered Housing service as that’s my background. And I think the whole Board will be involved in the work around welfare reform. The other crucial area will be how we invest the money we have in developing services, developing service delivery and how we invest in properties.

Developing our lettings policy which is about making the best use of the homes we have, to make sure people are in the right property for the number of people in their household.

Lisa Doherty, Tenant

Lynn Stephenson, Independent

Rob Higgins, Councillor

Quite a beneficial one. Some of the bigger decisions like the Supporting People funding means we can keep providing those services which has a huge impact on some of our more vulnerable customers.

What key pieces of work will you be involved in during 2013?

How we run ourselves

Your Homes Newcastle Board

Our board is made up of 19 people: six tenants, six council nominees, six independent people and an independent Chair. The Board meets every six weeks and is responsible for:

The Board has five committees:

• setting our vision and our strategic objectives and agreeing how we deliver services • setting the budget each year and making sure that we spend it wisely • agreeing improvements to services and homes • monitoring all of our work to make sure that we meet our objectives.

• Audit • Customer and Service Delivery • Finance and Resources • Performance • Remuneration.

Tenant, council and independent members are all represented on the committees. We have appointed an external person to chair our Audit Committee to bring an independent, objective approach to make sure that our practices and processes are efficient and effective. During 2011/12 Board attended several workshops to discuss big issues affecting YHN. Those issues included the findings of the recent governance review, current events in social housing and how these impact on business planning, and our approach to long term business planning under the new self-financing arrangements.

Management structure Neil Scott Director of Tenancy Services

• Support and Care Services • Business Services • Housing Management Service • Environmental Services • Property Maintenance

“During 2011/12 They attended training Board attended sessions to gain an several workshops understanding of their to discuss the big roles and responsibilities as company directors and issues affecting value for money. Members YHN” also received training on how to effectively contribute to meetings. A review of our governance function and how we support Board members was carried out in September 2011 and we are looking to review the structure of the committees during 2012/13 to look at how effective they are and how they can be improved.

John Lee Chief Executive

Sheila Breslin Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Business

• Assets and Programming • Leasehold/Right to Buy • Development and Procurement • Business Strategy Team • Customer Involvement • Investment Delivery • Organisational Development

During 2011/12 our Board members were:

Steve Murphy (Chair)

Bill Bowman

Judith Common

Lisa Doherty

Paul Dutton

George Pattison

Julie Purvis

John James Reid

Nitin Shukla

David Slesenger

Roger Harral

Rob Higgins

Gerry Keating

Ammar Mirza

Matthew Myers

Elaine Snaith

Lynn Stephenson

John Stokel-Walker

Jacqueline Turner

Jane Yugire

• Communications • Equality and Diversity • Governance

Ross Atkinson Director of Finance and Resources

• Central Services • Finance

During the year we have had a number of changes to our board membership. Since April 2011 the following members have left the Board and we would like to thank them for their contributions to YHN:

• Customer Service

Bill Bowman, Gerry Keating, George Pattison and John Stokel-Walker.

• Human Resources • Income • YHN IT

Interview with John Lee, Chief Executive We are continuing to go well beyond the traditional housing management role, spending over £100m last year on a range of activities that support tenants and maintain and help to create sustainable communities. Paul interviewed John Lee. Paul said “You give a lot back to customers. You are very giving and I think the organisation is excellent.”

“Some of the government’s policies will have a massive impact on society.”

Since we opened for business in 2004 we have developed a comprehensive range of services that benefit not only the tenants and leaseholders in the 30,000 homes we manage in Newcastle, but also the tenants of other housing providers across the UK.

We are only able to do this by running the financial affairs of the organisation really well, with any surplus that we generate being reinvested in services and programmes that improve the life chances of tenants. For instance, our Your Homes Your Jobs scheme gives people living in our homes six months paid work experience at YHN. It costs around £200,000 a year, but we believe it benefits both our customers and the business to create opportunities like this at a time when young people are struggling to get into work. The way we manage our resources is changing on 1 April 2012. Whilst we are expected to be self-sufficient, we have debts that we need to manage, so we have to look at how much money we have and what we use it for over the next four years. We will have approximately £80m to invest each year on improving people’s homes, maintaining services, new build and acquisitions, and maybe tackling some properties in the city that aren’t fit for the twenty first century. That money needs to provide maximum benefit for our tenants and as many other people in the city as possible. Some of the government’s policies will have a massive impact on society. The proposed reforms to the welfare system are daunting not just for us, but for any organisation providing social housing. The real challenge for us is how we provide support to our customers whilst keeping the risks to the business to a minimum. We are going to try and visit each of the tenants that we think will be affected; a sizeable task which will require staff to be exceptionally well organised and resilient in the face of some difficult situations for tenants with whom we have built strong relationships over the years.

And that’s not the only challenge our staff will be facing. Last year we set up an enquiry centre to improve the way we serve the growing number of customers that contact us by phone. The idea is to use the centre to handle more and more of our low level queries over the next couple of years. It will enable housing office staff to spend more time on their patch, which in turn will benefit customers because being out on estates is where the more productive work is done. We’re also changing the way we deliver the concierge service. It’s a big challenge for staff, but we’ve got to get the financial side right because it does cost money and we don’t currently cover that cost with what tenants pay for the service. We know that this service is highly valued. The new structure will ensure we can get staff to where we need them and we can deliver a cleaning service to communal areas of multistorey blocks. Newcastle is a small place so if there is an emergency we can “We intend to keep have somebody there within 10 or 15 minutes. We have no choice but to modernise the service for the twenty first century and are thinking carefully about how we support those staff through what can be a life changing episode, particularly if they are being asked to take on a new role or, regrettably, face redundancy.

on at a steady pace into the coming year, taking the opportunities that come our way.”

Up until now everything we have been managing has been owned by the City Council. However, things are changing as we now manage properties for Leazes Homes and will soon be managing properties for the Byker Community Trust, both of whom are now operating more independently. We have management agreements and are learning what it’s like to work as a contractor, rather than a client, which is a new experience for us. We are hopeful that in time, it might open up more business opportunities for us. It’s testament to all the hard work staff have done over the last year that we were finalists in five categories at the prestigious Chartered Institute of Housing UK Housing Awards in 2011, including the Delivering Efficiency and Value for Money and Involving and Empowering Communities categories. We were also finalists in the 2012 UK Housing Awards in the ALMO of the Year and Development of the Year – Small Schemes categories. And in December 2011 we became the first ALMO in the north east to be accredited with the ‘Excellence’ level of the Social Housing Equality Framework, recognising the work services across the business are doing to embed equality and diversity. With this in mind, we intend to keep on at a steady pace into the coming year, taking the opportunities that come our way whilst making sure we maintain that high level of service that customers have come to expect from us. It’s not going to be easy, but through sheer determination and the commitment of our staff, we can succeed.

John Lee - Chief Executive, Your Homes Newcastle

National standard: Tenancy

Type of properties let during 2011/12:

Letting homes in a fair, transparent and efficient way whilst considering the housing needs and aspirations of tenants and potential tenants. Paul and June talk to John Urwin, Housing Needs/Your Choice Homes Manager, about lettings, the effects of welfare reform on social housing tenants and how a shortage of properties is an ongoing challenge for housing providers…

YHN Bungalows

129

Flats

1617

186

Houses

1018

Maisonettes

162

Number let to priority status

689

June agrees with John that honesty is important “that’s all tenants want really…for you to be straightforward with them. “It’s good that you treat everyone personally…you are looking out for their welfare.”

“Now they are offered options like private rented accommodation, mutual exchanges or adaptations”

Managing customer expectations is a constant challenge in social housing. People join the waiting list in the hope of getting a council home but with the lowest levels of empty properties ever (174 empty properties across the city at the end of 2011/12) YHN have to look at what other options they can offer. The introduction of a new lettings policy means that customers aren’t automatically put on the list to wait an indefinite length of time for a property they may or may not want. Now they are offered options like private rented accommodation, mutual exchanges or adaptations.

And since launching a new partnership called Tyne and Wear Homes, people can register and bid for a wider selection of homes across the region and have more control over their application through a new online service. John said “It’s about being honest with people…and coming up with a plan that’s right for them. “By giving people more control through the Tyne and Wear Homes website, it means staff can focus their time on supporting some of our more vulnerable customers.” General needs

Sheltered

But John and his team also face a bigger challenge in the coming year. With government bringing in changes to the benefit system, he knows it’s going to have a major impact on the lettings service. The “spare bedroom tax” will mean that thousands of tenants will receive less housing benefit if they have more bedrooms than they need. YHN will have to make different considerations when they let the properties they do have available. And new government guidance on allocations means that despite only just launching a new lettings policy, they might now have to make changes to it.

YHN

2,926

At the end of 2011/12 - number of empty properties by type 12

He said “Customers were involved in developing Tyne and Wear Homes, from things like the name of the scheme, to our newsletter. Using their feedback is key to delivering a better service.”

Average bids per property by type:

Number of properties let

154

John also says that they regularly work with customers to help shape the lettings service. He meets with Newcastle Tenants’ Federation and other local groups to get feedback on the service they’ve received and ask how YHN can change things for the better.

Number of RP* homes let

248

*RP = Registered Provider.

Sheltered bedsit

Sheltered flat

Older people’s bungalow

Bedsit

Bungalow

Three storey two bedroom flat

N/A

High rise one bedroom flat

One bedroom flat

Multi-storey two bedroom flat

Two bedroom house

Three bedroom house

Two bedroom maisonette

National standard: Home (Modern Homes) Ensuring tenants’ homes meet the Decent Homes Standard by December 2011 and continue to meet this standard. The team was originally set up to deliver the Modern Homes Programme, but now that’s coming to an end, Investment Delivery has branched out. Pauline and June find out more…

The team has continued to deliver the programme and maintain high standards of quality. Jen Vinton, Head of Investment Delivery, is proud of her team and says “despite some issues with contractors and having less money to spend, we achieved 97% satisfaction with our external work and 89% with internal work. We also exceeded our target for the number of homes made decent. It makes me really proud to see the improvements and the positive impact they have Customer on tenants.”

involvement has been at the centre of much of the team’s activities.

Working closely with Assets and Programming, Investment Delivery have assisted in the completion of external insulation projects (tenants in these homes are already benefiting from lower fuel bills) and received £56,000 grant funding to deliver an energy efficiency event on the Pendower estate. They have also saved £110,000 by making it easier for older and disabled customers to move to homes that better meet their needs, which often releases a family home.

Customer involvement has been at the centre of much of the team’s activities. Regular workshops with tenants and contractors and drop in surgeries help to make sure any problems with Modern Homes work are ironed out. And involving customers in creating local offers has helped the team make some small changes that have made a big difference.

Number of properties made decent during 2011/12

Customer satisfaction with internal packages

Customer satisfaction with external packages

10/11 11/12 11/12 Actual Target Actual

3,134 4,014 4,033

92%

90%

89%

98%

95%

97%

Jen told us “We reviewed our respite care arrangements so customers having work carried out now always have somewhere to go if they need it, and we improved the way we communicate planned Modern Homes work so if there are any delays customers understand why and how long for.”

Pauline commented “We had fair warning that we could move to a different place but I decided to stay in the flat and put up with it. The end product is brilliant…I felt less anxious about my Modern Homes work.” The team has a new structure which Jen believes has led to improvements in the service; it is better equipped to meet tenants’ needs. However, settling into their new structure is also one of the team’s main challenges for next year. The work they’ll be doing is quite different to what they used to do, so Jen is busy organising training for staff to give customers energy efficiency, fuel poverty and fire safety advice. Her team are also applying for grant funding for future investment projects. Until the Modern Homes Programme ends, another challenge for the team is keeping contractors focused and committed to ensure customers at the end of the programme receive the same quality improvements as those at the start. No easy task, but a challenge Jen is willing to take on!

Average cost to make a property decent

Total number of properties made decent since 2004

Multi storey flat 2011/12: Typical house 2011/12:

£13,554

£17,005

28,439* *at the end of 2011/12 a total of 26,800 homes were decent. The difference in the 2 figures is due to loss of stock through Right to Buy and demolition.

2010/11: £18,991

2010/11: £12,041 14

National standard: Home (Assets and Programming) Ensuring tenants’ homes meet the Decent Homes Standard by December 2011 and continue to meet this standard. Working closely with Investment Delivery, Assets and Programming deliver long term investment projects, manage our leasehold service and develop our approach to environmental sustainability…

Talking to David Langhorne, Head of Assets and Programming, it’s clear the team has been busy. When asked about the year’s achievements he talks at length and with enthusiasm. Assets and Programming now includes Health and Safety and David says this is so YHN can take a more balanced approach to managing health and safety and meeting its legal responsibilities.

And YHN is doing lots more to protect the environment.

And YHN is doing lots more to protect the environment. Heat meters have been installed in properties on district heating systems so tenants have more control over the heat they use and how much they pay. Fire alarms have also been upgraded or replaced in all sheltered accommodation.

831 sets of solar panels have been installed on various types of homes including houses, mid-rise blocks and new build homes. The team is also overseeing external wall insulation to homes in Fenham, West Denton, Blakelaw and Elswick - projects which will benefit tenants through lower energy bills and warmer homes. David commented “An environmental sustainability strategy will give us more focus to improve the environmental performance of the homes we manage, which should make tenancies more sustainable in the future.”

£54.5m

Total expenditure on the Modern Homes Programme during 2011/12 16

Bringing together the Leasehold and Right to Buy teams has made them more efficient and improved the service to customers. Leaseholders now have a range of optional services available to them and the team is better equipped to deal with repairs enquiries. David admits there is still work to do but the improvements “will prove to leaseholders we do listen to their views and want to provide services that are fit for purpose.”

Involvement with customers plays an important role in Assets and Programming. Customers were consulted on the Leasehold service and attended focus groups to identify improvements; and each year Right to Buy applicants are asked to complete a satisfaction survey. Consultation events take place across the city where work will affect particular blocks or areas, or if major changes to the service are planned. When asked about the team’s challenges for the coming year, David immediately refers to their post Modern Homes Programme plans along with the challenge of self-financing. He says their strategy will focus on new projects including making sure homes remain fit for purpose, supporting tenants to maintain tenancies and bringing in external funding for environmental activities.

4,654 Modern Homes packages delivered Internal

External

3,975

679

Housing stock now “decent”

94% 17

National standard: Home (Repairs and maintenance) Registered providers shall ensure a prudent, planned approach to repairs and maintenance of homes and communal areas, which represents value for money. Val chats to Ian Gallagher, Head of Property Maintenance about YHN’s repairs service, customer inspectors and customer satisfaction.

When Val spoke to Ian it was clear that he’s proud of the repairs service. Last year it achieved 96% satisfaction (against a target of 92%) and he attributes this to a number of things. Ian believes customer involvement has been one of the main reasons for that fantastic figure. During last year customer inspectors carried out an inspection of the service and identified a number of improvements. “Customers made They visited the call centre and went with repairs operatives to see some really positive how the service works every day. He says “their involvement went right through the service – customers made some really positive challenges and it challenges and it was an interesting journey; we learnt a lot from it.” was an interesting

journey; we learnt a lot from it.”

Val herself was one of the customer inspectors and she shared her thoughts “I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learnt a lot about the service and now I can see it from both sides so I understand the bigger scale of it all.”

The repairs service also works to a set of local offers, which are a set of promises, created with tenants, aimed at improving housing services. Working with tenants has helped Ian and his team make changes to the service such as the way they manage appointments, how they publicise their performance and improvements to the handyperson scheme – by lowering the age limit from 65 to 60 it means more people are eligible to use the scheme.

When discussing local offers Ian said “They are the changes that customers have identified make a difference to them. Feedback so far has been really positive.” Ian was keen to mention some of the other things the service has done over the past year, like the review of the repairs and maintenance contract. The outcomes of the customer inspection formed much of the report that was approved by YHN’s Board, and he believes that achieving high satisfaction and value for Total number money, as well as regular consultation with customers, contributed to the of emergency contract being extended. repairs completed But he’s not complacent – Ian knows there is still work to do and believes his biggest challenge is to continue the improvement. “I would like to see an ongoing increase in satisfaction and to make sure our performance indicators are challenging but realistic. At the same time we need to make sure we don’t lose sight of the service we are here to deliver.”

When asked about missed repairs appointments Ian says that it’s something the team monitors closely. Not only do they look at their own performance, they compare it to other organisations. And new initiatives such as texting and calling customers before a repairs operative arrives, have helped to reduce the number of missed appointments.

Repairs completed on time:

Urgent

Routine

10/11 11/12 11/12 Actual Target Actual

99.81% 99.5% 99.7%

99.45% 99%

99.78% 99%

Emergency

99.7%

99.6%

12,616

Total number completed on time

12,572

Total number of urgent repairs completed

50,789

Total number completed on time

50,615

Percentage of repairs completed first time

Customer satisfaction with repairs service

10/11 11/12 11/12 Actual Target Actual

98.4%

96.35% 98%

98%

Total number of routine repairs completed

49,056

Total number completed on time

48,872

National standard: Neighbourhood and community (Estate management) Keeping neighbourhoods and communal areas clean and safe, working in partnership with tenants and other providers where necessary. As the face of YHN, the Housing Management service works with customers every day to help maintain tenancies and create estates to be proud of. Tony talks to Allison Allison, Head of Housing Management, about how they’ve been doing this over the last year.

Listening to Allison it’s clear that Housing Management is a big part of the organisation – staff in the service have really varied roles; from signing tenants up to getting involved in community events and dealing with anti-social behaviour; no day is ever the same. Snow, fire and floods are just some of the things staff had to deal with last year and it’s refreshing to know how readily everyone pulls together to help. Allison talks about staff who have assisted tenants to move home and visited them on a weekend to make sure they’ve settled in. Tony said “I’d had a few issues with my home but I liked the way YHN sorted them. I’m really happy with everything they’ve done to help.” During the year customers mystery shopped housing offices, identifying accessibility issues that have since been resolved (St. Anthony’s office was refurbished to make customer access easier). And staff regularly meet tenant and resident groups and get involved in community activities. Their community clean ups programme has gone from strength to strength; providing skips for residents to clear their garden or working with “I’m really other organisations to deliver healthy eating and ‘grow your happy with own’ projects.

Linked to this was the creation of the Housing Management local offers. Along with tenants, the service agreed to produce information on each housing officer’s area of responsibility so customers know who to contact. Staff will also be receiving anti-social behaviour training once a new IT system is in place.

“Despite the changes in Housing Management we still met our targets.”

One of the service’s biggest changes last year was the Housing Management Review. This identified several areas for improvement, not least changing the job roles of Housing Services Officers. Customers now have a named officer, and smaller patches mean staff can get out on estates and build those essential relationships. Allison is proud of the service’s achievements saying “despite the changes in Housing Management we still met our targets – we reduced rent arrears, re-let properties within our 17 day target and responded to 96.2% reports of anti-social behaviour on time.”

“Recruiting new staff has made a big difference too. They are really enthusiastic and have been a welcome addition to existing teams who all want to make a difference and support customers however they can.” When asked about the challenges ahead Allison instantly refers to welfare reform. In their support role, housing staff will be closely monitoring rent arrears to make sure tenants don’t fall behind with their payments and helping tenants access benefits. Training staff on the new anti-social behaviour and allocations IT systems will take some time but Allison is confident they will have a positive impact on the service they provide and allow YHN to make best use of the properties that become available.

everything they’ve done to help.”

Satisfaction with overall housing service

Average re-let times

10/11 11/12 11/12 Actual Target Actual

81%

82%

81.2%

19.14 17 days days

16.51 days

National standard: Neighbourhood and community (Anti-social behaviour) Co-operating with partners to help promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing, and with other public agencies to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) can have a huge impact on communities; affecting the lives of tenants if not dealt with properly. Val and Tim speak to Nick Dodgeon, Tenancy Services Manager, to find out how YHN’s Housing, AntiSocial Behaviour and Enforcement Team (HASBET) got on last year… Nick is aware that dealing with ASB can be difficult for everyone involved, so to achieve a high rate of satisfaction (87%) is a big achievement. Customer confidence is really important. People are less likely to report ASB if they think nothing will be done about it so developing local offers with customers has been a positive change for HASBET. But, HASBET didn’t quite achieve all their local offers last year. Nick said “Several of our offers were about raising awareness and keeping in touch with customers, which can be difficult to monitor. But we’ve introduced a new IT system which should help us with this.”

To achieve a high rate of satisfaction is a big achievement.

The team has seen other changes over the last 12 months, many as a result of their service review and recommendations from customers. But sometimes it’s the little things that make the difference. “The creation of personal action plans mean both staff and customers know what they need to do, and by giving customers guidance on filling out diary sheets, the information helps us take action against offenders.”

On hearing Nick talk about the service Tim said “It’s interesting that Nick cares about and is passionate about what he does. He really does want to do the best for tenants while meeting his targets and having the pressure from outside forces.” Aside from diary sheets and action plans the team has also been fortunate enough to buy two noise monitors, using money it was awarded at the You’ve Got the Power event to help customers deal with noise complaints. This might not sound like much but they are very expensive pieces of equipment and previously the team had to wait until one from the council became available.

Nick told us “Noise nuisance is a really tricky area so having our own noise monitors is helpful. Sometimes we need to hear how loud the noise is, so using the monitors as well as diary sheets helps us deal with complaints better.” Nick also oversees the Rent Recovery team, which works with tenants who are in serious rent arrears. They also went through some changes and made a saving of roughly £35,000 by taking on some work from the council. That saving could be really important in the coming year as the effects of welfare reform take hold, and the team has to work with tenants who are struggling to make ends meet. And Nick is keen to point out that it’s not just his team that deals with ASB. Customers can also speak to their housing office to report anti-social behaviour and get advice from their local Housing Services Officer. Housing office teams are often the first point of contact for residents reporting anti-social behaviour and are experienced in resolving issues such as neighbour disputes, reports of noise nuisance and untidy gardens which allows us to give a prompt response to resident concerns. Over the coming year Nick says that getting to grips with the new IT system will be one of their biggest challenges. “It will help us to keep in contact with customers more regularly and improve the service they receive”. But first he has to make sure staff right across HASBET and Housing Management are trained in the new system.

Satisfaction with handling of ASB 2011/12

16.3% not satisfied

% of responses to ASB carried out within timescales (HASBET and Housing Management)

% of responses to ASB carried out within timescales (HASBET only)

10/11 11/12 11/12 Actual Target Actual

99.7%

too loud... 22

too rude...

too much...

97%

94%

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83.7% satisfied

2010/11 - 79.4% satisfied

National standard: Tenant involvement and Empowerment: Offering a wide range of involvement opportunities and consulting with customers, enabling them to influence policies and services and assess our performance against the national standards. Val talks to Louise Horsefield, Business Strategy Manager, about customer inspections, training courses and how customers are involved right across YHN.

The team carried out five customer inspections, involving customers in every aspect of services.

YHN has an impressive range of involvement activities available, and one of the biggest is You’ve Got the Power. This year customers got involved in organising the third of these events, planned for summer 2012, which gives customers the chance to say how YHN will spend £50,000 of efficiency savings.

Your Goals Newcastle is one of the projects previously funded by You’ve Got the Power. This year it expanded so it doesn’t just help to reduce anti-social behaviour on estates, but also helps young people get qualifications and jobs with YHN’s partners.

The team carried out five customer inspections, involving customers in every aspect of services – challenging their quality and cost and developing customers’ own skills at the same time. Val took part in the repairs and maintenance inspection and said “I really enjoy everything we do. I’ve loved every minute of it, the repairs inspection was brilliant, and it was so interesting going out with the workmen.” And they increased the number of training courses on offer like basic DIY, gardening, CV writing and interview skills. Louise said “It’s been really nice to see courses increase in popularity. We’re now working with partners like Newcastle Eagles to offer training around setting up your own business. Val agrees with Louise saying “I’ve got more confidence. By doing training and then getting a job I’m meeting a lot Satisfaction more people, learning new skills and getting to socialise with involvement more, because when you haven’t worked for a few services years you tend to lose your confidence.”

10/11 Actual

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Setting local offers is another major project. These are commitments made by services, developed with customers, to improve housing services. Customers were consulted on what they wanted to see in the local offers and are involved in monitoring their progress.

Customers were consulted on what they wanted to see in the local offers and are involved in monitoring their progress.

The Customer Involvement team offers opportunities for customers to get involved in other services like the review of estate services. Now Modern Homes work is coming to an end, customers want their estates to look nice so the review looked at things like grass cutting, street cleaning and litter picking. But Louise is quick to say that involvement doesn’t just happen through her team – it goes right through the organisation. Housing management and concierge staff regularly attend tenants and residents groups; the repairs service meet with Newcastle Tenants’ Federation to look at rates of customer satisfaction; and the Young People’s Service holds regular meetings with customers in the hostel to help build confidence, develop relationships and engage more with YHN services. The list is endless and shows that all staff at YHN are committed to involving customers and giving them the opportunity to influence services. This is evident by the continuous increase in the number of tenants who are actively involved with YHN, sharing their views and helping to influence services through things like local offers and service reviews. Louise’s team is preparing for the changes being made to benefits. She says “We need to work with customers, through things like training courses, to help people manage their money or learn to cook on a budget – things that will maximise the money they do have.”

involved tenants

Number of involved tenants

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National standard: Value for money Planning how we manage our resources to provide cost-effective, efficient, quality services and homes to meet tenants’ and potential tenants’ needs. Lisa Forrest, Head of Finance: “Since launching our value for money strategy we’ve done a lot of work to emphasise that value for money is not about making cuts. In the current economic climate it’s important that we make every penny count and it’s great to report that during the year we achieved £6.5m of efficiencies, which was well above our target.”

Much of this is through large scale procurement activities. Both our Procurement “These team, and everyone across the business has a responsibility whenever they buy reviews are still anything so our success is down to the efforts of all staff. going on but already Service reviews are another way we make efficiencies and achieve value they have achieved for money. During 2011/12 we embarked on two big reviews: Housing significant value Management and Concierge. These reviews are still going on but already they for money have achieved significant value for money savings – reducing the number of savings.”

housing offices, enabling staff to get out onto estates more and through bringing in new technology to make us more efficient and provide even better services in the future. We also set out our finance strategy which outlines our three big challenges for the coming years. The finance strategy supports the wider business strategy – making sure that financially, we can deliver the things we say we will.

How we spent your money on behalf of Newcastle City Council and Your Homes Newcastle YHN Tenancy services £12.8M 9.9% Reserves £3.5M - 2.7%

Care services £4.8M - 3.7%

Property maintenance £27.2M - 21.1% Renewal charges £19.5M - 15.1% Debt repayment £4.0M - 3.1%

£129.3M

Other management costs £22.8M - 17.7% Investment & loan charges £34.7M - 26.8%

“Long term planning will be very important in making sure we can continue to provide the services we currently do.”

Challenge 1: Coping with getting less money from our traditional methods of funding. Planning our finances in the long term and looking for other sources of income are ways that we are trying to overcome this, as well as looking at how we can generate income as a business. We will also make sure that we keep a healthy amount of reserves so that we can continue to deliver services when things like inflation increase. There are some smaller areas within the business where we can make efficiencies and we’re working with staff to identify where savings can be made.

Challenge 2: Housing Revenue Account reform and self-financing. From April 2012 we are responsible for our own finances and will no longer rely on government funding. Long term planning will be very important in making sure we can continue to provide the services we currently do, and we have been consulting with customers and the City Council to find out what their priorities are and make sure the plan benefits as many people as possible. We will also be looking to bring in as much income as we can through existing services. Challenge 3: Welfare reform. Changes to benefits will mean big challenges to both YHN and our customers. We need to make sure we can be flexible with our finances to meet these changes. We have set up a Financial Inclusion Team to help new tenants with things like managing debt, budgeting, claiming benefits and changing utility providers. Getting value for money is going to be really important in the coming years so we have to prepare for the changes ahead. We are in a good financial position at the moment, and through planning and careful spending, are well placed to continue providing excellent services to customers. Reserves: Provisions we’ve made for future years’ expenditure - to cover potential shortfalls in funding for our Modern Homes Programme, for example. Property maintenance: Maintenance and improvement of homes. Renewal charges: These costs reflect the reduction in value of HRA properties and equipment due to use. YHN Tenancy services: This includes our Housing Offices, Concierge Service, Leasehold team, Newcastle Furniture Service. The figures also include costs related to Grounds Maintenance, District and Group Heating schemes, and a specialist Customer Service and Improvement team that works with staff to ensure that they give the best possible service to customers. Care services: Support services for older and vulnerable customers. Includes Sheltered Housing, Mobile Wardens, Young People’s Service, and our Advice and Support team. Other management costs: Sometimes called ‘back office services’ this figure includes staff and structural costs associated with the provision of services for our staff. This includes teams that make up our Directorates for Finance and Resources (such as Finance, IT) and Business Development (such as Organisational Development, Customer Involvement). These teams support our customer facing services. Investment and loan charges: Interest payable on loans and investment income.

*The pie chart represents our day to day spending but we also spent £54.5M on Decent Homes. Some of this is represented by the renewal charges

Performance - How we did in 2011/12 We collect a large amount of performance information to tell us and others how well we do, compared to other organisations and what we set out to achieve. The information is used to celebrate success and to identify areas where we need to do better. We have developed a set of ‘Top 20’ targets which show whether we are doing what we need to in order to meet our and our customers’ priorities. All our services have their own individual targets to make sure they are doing things right and improving. We also measure performance against a number of indicators which are set nationally so we can compare our performance with other housing providers. In order to make it easier for customers to compare our performance, this year we have used the same performance indicators as last year so you can see where we’ve improved and where we need to do better.

Support and care

As well as the information on this page, our performance results can be found throughout the report. In 2011/12 we exceeded targets including: • The number of homes made decent • Reducing rent arrears • Satisfaction with our repairs and maintenance service • Building new homes • Making efficiency savings We need to improve in some areas including: • Satisfaction with the overall housing service Whilst satisfaction was higher than in 2010/11 we missed the 2011/12 target by 0.8%. We are looking into the reasons why some people are not satisfied. We will then do what we can to resolve the issues and improve our services.

Local offers Net arrears

Number of complaints

11/12 Target

£1,900,000.00

Informal 09/10 10/11 11/12

11/12 Actual

2881 3610 3914

£1,749,941.31 10/11 Actual £1,795,070.89

Number of staff sickness days 10/11 11/12 11/12 Actual Target Actual

8.14 days

8 days

8.59 days

Formal 09/10 10/11 11/12

638

663

636

Reduce YHN carbon footprint New Target 11/12

11/12 Target

11/12 Actual

16%

Local offers are measurable commitments, designed by customers, to improve housing services. They are another way we monitor performance. During 2011/12 we developed local offers for Customer Involvement, HASBET (Housing, Anti-social Behaviour and Enforcement Team), Housing Management, Modern Homes, Repairs and Maintenance; and throughout the year customers have been involved in monitoring our progress against them. Find out more from the interviews in this report.

Number of new homes complete

Efficiency savings

10/11 11/12 11/12 Actual Target Actual

3.4%

4.47%

Staff sickness levels continue to fall. Whilst we missed our target in 2011/12 it is still much lower than in 2009/10. We continue to work on reducing the number of days sickness.

Martyn Burn, Head of Support and Care, talks about the work of our support services over the last 12 months and the challenges we face in the future. Whilst many other housing organisations have support services in place, few have the whole package. YHN isn’t just about providing homes; but building communities, enriching lives and encouraging independent living through offering advice and support, creating employment opportunities and providing essential household items through our furniture service. A Financial Inclusion Team was set up towards the end of the year. It’s early days but there’s already been some positive outcomes – one tenant saved money by switching energy supplier, received £125 a year through the Warm Homes Discount and got £472 of back dated benefits by moving to the correct rate of Income Support. It might not sound much, but if we can do something with every customer we contact, it starts to make a difference. I’m pleased to say that several of our support services – Advice and Support, Young People’s Service, Care Services and Sheltered Housing - achieved A’s in the Council’s Service Quality Framework Assessments, recognising the high quality of service we are providing our most vulnerable customers. And in October 2011 Care Services was awarded the Telecare Services Association Platinum Award, one of only a few organisations in the country. Supporting People funding helps us to run those support services, but in December 2011 Supporting People funding was withdrawn for our sheltered housing officers. There’s a lot of vulnerable older people in the city who rely on the sheltered housing officers. In early 2012 we recommended to Board that we use reserves to fund the shortfall in the service for the next 12 months, which they approved. We are reviewing our Sheltered Housing Service during 2012/13.

Their findings were extremely positive, identifying our range of support services, strong partnership working and approach to debt and rent arrears as reasons for our success. And our work on employability has continued to develop; we now have 20 tenants working for us through our Your Homes Your Jobs programme and 10 apprentices. Part of our responsibility to tenants is to help them back into work wherever possible so initiatives like Your Homes Your Jobs is one small way of doing this, coupled with the practical training courses on offer through our Customer Involvement team. We have also developed our partnership with FareShare, based at the Furniture Service warehouse. Regular food deliveries are made to the Young People’s Service and the Advice and Support service at Gosforth High Street, who pass the packages to tenants and customers in need. We plan to expand this in 2012/13. Government changes to the benefit system are going to have a massive impact on YHN and our customers, so our biggest challenge over the coming years will be dealing with those changes. We are doing what we can to prepare – setting up a dedicated project group, developing straightforward information for customers, looking at our lettings policy, reviewing how we can support customers, assessing the potential impact on our rental income stream and creating a Financial Inclusion Service to help new tenants manage their money. Communicating with customers will be central to help understand the effect of the changes and what options we can offer in terms of information and support services.

During December 2011 Heriot Watt and Northumbria Universities evaluated our work on homeless prevention.

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Ces informations concernent les demandes de travaux pour votre logement. Si vous avez besoin de ces informations en français ou dans une autre langue, téléphonez au : 0191 278 8633. Right to Buy Ces informations concernent les droits des locataires relatifs à l’acquisition de leur logement social. YHN general / Homes + ، ‫ﺎﺳﻞ‬ ‫ﺷﻬﺮدارى ﻧﻴﻮﻛ‬ ‫از ﺳﻮى‬de ‫ﺳﺎزﻣﺎن‬ ‫ اﻳﻦ‬.‫ﻋﻤﻠﻜﺮد آن اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻧﯿﻮﮐﺎﺳﻞ« و‬ ‫ در‬une ‫ﻫﺎى ﺷﻤﺎ‬ » ‫ﺳﺎزﻣﺎن‬ ‫اﻃﻼﻋﺎت درﺑﺎره‬ Si vous avez besoin ces informations en français ou dans autre‫ﺧﺎﻧﻪ‬ langue, téléphonez au : ‫اﻳﻦ‬ People 0191 278 8633. ‫ در ﺻﻮرت ﻧﻴﺎز ﺑﻪ اﻳﻦ اﻃﻼﻋﺎت ﺑﻪ زﺑﺎن ﻓﺎرﺳﻰ ﻳﺎ زﺑﺎنﻫﺎى دﻳﮕﺮ ﺑﺎ ﺷﻤﺎره ﺗﻠﻔﻦ‬.‫ﻣﺴﺌﻮﻟﻴﺖ اداره ﺧﺎﻧﻪﻫﺎى دوﻟﺘﻰ را ﺑﻪ ﻋﻬﺪه دارد‬ @ói@óäb @NóäbmóØòìíäb‚@ñòìóä†‹ÙØbš@üi@ðîŒaí‚a†@ðmóïäüš@ói@pòŠbió@óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷ Tenancy Ces îŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷@m‹ Šòì@óÜ@çbmŒóyŠó ó÷ informations concernent vos responsabilités en tant que locataire de la municipalité de Repairs .‫ ﺗﻤﺎس ﺑﮕﻴﺮﻳﺪ‬٠١٩١٢٧٨٨۶٣٣ Newcastle. Si vous avezNç‹i@ñ‡äòí—q@ besoin de ces informations en français ou dans une autre langue, 0191 278 8633@ðäüÑïÝm@òŠbàˆ@ói@óîóè@óÙî†@ðÙ—äbàŒ@Šóè@bî@ñ†ŠíØ@ðäbàŒ téléphonez au : 0191 278 8633. @ói@óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷@m‹ Šòì@óÜ@çbmŒóyŠó ó÷ òŠb’@ñaŠü’@ðäbØòìíäb‚@î ‹Ø@üi@çbåï“å–‹Ø@Àbà@ói@pòŠbió@óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷ YCH Right to Buy Ces informations concernent notre@Nservice de location. Si vous avez besoin de ces informations en français ou dans une autre langue, téléphonez au : 0191 278 8633. Nç‹i@ñ‡äòí—q@0191 278 8633@ðäüÑïÝm@òŠbàˆ@ói@óîóè@óÙî†@ðÙ—äbàŒ@Šóè@bî@ñ†ŠíØ@ðäbàŒ YHN general / Homes + Ces informations concernent Your Homes Newcastle : qui est chargé de gérer les logements sociaux @m‹ Šòì@óÜ@çbmŒóyŠó ó÷ @Nóîa‡Ý—bØüïä@óÜ@Šb’@ñaŠü’@ðÙ—åï“å–‹Ø@íØòì@òí—÷@ðäbØóïmóîb‹qŠói@ói@pòŠbió@óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷ People Tenancy au nom de la municipalité de Newcastle et comment nous procédons. Si vous avez besoin de ces informations en français ou dans une autre langue, téléphonez au : 0191 278 8633. N ç‹i@ñ‡äòí— q@ 0191 8633 @ðäüÑïÝm@òŠbàˆ@ói@óîóè@óÙî†@ðÙ—äbàŒ@Šóè@bî@ñ†ŠíØ@ðäbàŒ@ói@óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷ <português> ou noutra língua,278 queira ligar para o 0191 278 8633. Rent Estabî@informação à sua desta informação em <português> ouóäbîŠbïäaŒ@ noutra ãó÷ @Šóè@ ñ†ŠíØ@ ðäbàŒ@refere-se ói@ óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ ãó÷@ renda. m‹ Šòì@Se óÜ@precisar çbmŒóyŠó ó÷ @ Nóîóá—÷@ ð–‹Ø@ ðäbØómóà‚@ ói@ pòŠbió@ YCH língua, queira ligar para o 0191 278 8633. Nç‹i@ñ‡äòí—q@0191 278 8633@ðäüÑïÝm@òŠbàˆ@ói@óîóè@óÙî†@ðÙ—äbàŒ Repairs Esta informação refere-se ao pedido de reparações em sua casa. Se precisar desta informação em @òìóÝ—bØüïä@ñŠb’@ñaŠü’@çóîý@óÜ@óØ@óîóØóä†‹ØŠbØ@ðmóïäüš@ì@ <português> ou noutra língua, queira ligar para o 0191Your 278 Homes 8633. Newcastle@ói@pòŠbió@óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷ YHN to general Right Buy / Homes + @ðäbàŒ@ói@óäbîŠbïäaŒ@ãó÷@m‹ Šòì@óÜ@çbmŒóyŠó ó÷ Esta informação refere-se ao direito que @Nos inquilinos têm de comprar a sua habitação social. Se pbÙi@ðmóîaŠóiòí–Šói@Šb’@ñaŠü’@ðäbØòìíäb‚@óØ@òìaŠ‡—q@ñòìó÷@ðØŠó÷ People precisar desta informação em <português> ou noutra língua, queira ligar para o 0191 278 8633. @ðäüÑïÝm@òŠbàˆ@ói@óîóè@óÙî†@ðÙ—äbàŒ@Šóè@bî@ñ†ŠíØ Nç‹i@ñ‡äòí—q@ 0191 278 8633 Tenancy Esta informação refere-se às suas responsabilidades como inquilino social em Newcastle. Se precisar desta informação em <português> ou noutra língua, queira ligar para o 0191 278 8633. YCH Esta informação refere-se ao serviço de arrendamento. Se precisar desta informação em <português> ou noutra língua, queira ligar para o 0191 278 8633. YHN general / Homes + Esta informação refere-se à Your Homes Newcastle, a organização responsável pela gestão da People habitação social em nome do Município de Newcastle, e a nossa situação actual. Se precisar desta informação em <português> ou noutra língua, queira ligar para o 0191 278 8633.

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這是關於我們的出租服務的信息。如果您需要此信息的廣東話版本或其它語言版本，請致電 0191 278 8633 索取。 Ces informations concernent le service « mobilier » de Your Homes Newcastle, qui fournit du mobilier aux locataires lesNewcastle（您的紐卡素住房）機構的信息，內容解釋了我們代表紐卡素市政府 aider à s’installer dans leur logement. Si vous avez besoin de ces 這是關於 Your pour Homes informations en français ou dans une autre langue, téléphonez au : 0191 278 8633. （Newcastle City Council）負責管理市政房屋以及如何運作。如果您需要此信息的廣東話版本或其它 Ces informations concernent votre loyer. Si vous avez besoin de ces informations en français ou 語言版本，請致電 0191 278 8633 索取。 dans une autre langue, téléphonez au : 0191 278 8633.

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Zvn‡jisGB bv¤^v‡iYour †dvb Ki“b0191 278 8633 who are responsible for managing council homes on This information about Homes Newcastle, Rentto Buy 这是有关您的租金账户的信息。如果您需要此信息的普通话版本或其它语言版本，请致电 278 GB Z_¨ nj †Ubv›U‡ì KvDwÝ‡ji Ni AwaKvi m¤^ Ü| GB Z_¨ this hw` <evsjvq> A_ev Ab¨0191 †Kvb Right behalf of Newcastle City Council, and howevox we†Kbvi are doing. If‡you need in your language or afvlvq different 8633 索取。 cÖ ‡qvRb nq Zvn‡j bv¤^v‡iThis †dvbinformation Ki“b- 0191 278 language phone 0191 278 GB 8633. is 8633 also available in large print, Braille and audio tape. GB Z_¨ nj wbDKvm¨vj KvDwÝ‡ji †Ubv›U wnmv‡e Avcbvi `vq `vwqZ¡ m¤^‡Ü| GB Z_¨ hw` <evsjvq> A_ev Ab¨ †Kvb Tenancy Repairs 这是有关要求维修您的住房的信息。如果您需要此信息的普通话版本或其它语言版本，请致电 0191 We can also arrange fornq you to GB seebv¤^ a vBritish Sign 0191 Language interpreter. fvlvq cÖ ‡ qvRb Zvn‡j ‡i †dvb Ki“b278 8633 278 8633 索取。 GB Z_¨ nj Avgv‡ì †jwUs mvwf©m( fvov welqK) m¤^‡Ü| GB Z_¨ hw` <evsjvq> A_ev Ab¨ †Kvb fvlvq cÖ‡qvRb nq YCH Right to Buy 这是有关租客有权购买他们的市政房屋的信息。如果您需要此信息的普通话版本或其它语言版本，请致 Zvn‡j GB bv¤^v‡i †dvb Ki“b- 0191 278 8633 电 0191 278BDi 8633 索取。 Z_¨ nj †nvgm wbDK¨vmj mg‡Ü| Ges Avgiv wKfv‡e `vwqZ¡ cvjb KiwQ †m mg‡Ü| BDi †nvgm0191 wbDK¨vmj, YHN Rent general/Homes + GB 這是關於您的租金賬戶的信息。如果您需要此信息的廣東話版本或其它語言版本，請致電 278 Tenancy 这是有关您作为纽卡斯尔市政租客所需要承担的责任的信息。如果您需要此信息的普通话版本或其它语 wbDK¨vmj wmwU KvDwÝ‡ji c‡¶ KvDwÝ‡ji Ni evox eë¯’ v cbvi `vwqZ¡ c Ö v ß| GB Z_¨ hw` <evsjvq> A_ev Ab¨ †Kvb People 8633 索取。 fvlvq cÖ‡qvRb nq Zvn‡j GB bv¤^ v‡i †dvb Ki“b- 0191 278 8633 言版本，请致电 0191 278 8633 索取。 Repairs 這是關於如何要求維修您住房的信息。如果您需要此信息的廣東話版本或其它語言版本，請致電 0191 YCH 这是有关我们的出租服务的信息。如果您需要此信息的普通话版本或其它语言版本，请致电 0191 278 278 8633 索取。 8633 索取。 Right to Buy 這是關於租客有權購買他們的市政房屋的信息。如果您需要此信息的廣東話版本或其它語言版本，請致 YHN general / Homes + 这是有关代表纽卡斯尔市政府（Newcastle City Council）负责管理市政房屋的 Your Homes Newcastle 電 0191 278 8633 索取。 People （您的纽卡斯尔住房）组织的信息，内容解释了我们是如何运作。如果您需要此信息的普通话版本或其 Tenancy 這是關於您作為紐卡素市政府租客所需要承擔的責任的信息。如果您需要此信息的廣東話版本或其它語它语言版本，请致电 278 索取。 une traduction écrite. téléphoner au 0191 278 pour obtenir 言版本，請致電 01910191 2788633 86338633 索取。廣東話／粵語

October 2012

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Repairs

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September 2012 Mon

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普通话／国语

Board meeting calendar September 2012 to August 2013

Rent

YHN general / Homes + People

idioma, llame al 0191 278 8633. Ésta es información sobre cómo pedir que se realicen reparaciones en su casa. Si necesita esta información en español o en otro idioma, llame al 0191 278 8633. Ésta es información sobre los derechos de los inquilinos a comprar su vivienda municipal. Si necesita esta información en español o en otro idioma, llame al 0191 278 8633. Ésta es información sobre sus responsabilidades como inquilino municipal de Newcastle. Si necesita esta información en español o en otro idioma, llame al 0191 278 8633. Ésta es información sobre nuestro servicio de adjudicación. Si necesita esta información en español o en otro idioma, llame al 0191 278 8633. Ésta es información sobre Your Homes de Newcastle, que es la responsable de gestionar las viviendas municipales en nombre del Ayuntamiento de Newcastle, y sobre nuestra manera de hacerlo. Si necesita esta información en español o en otro idioma, llame al 0191 278 8633.

Your Homes Newcastle Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Registration number 5076256. Registered office: Newcastle Civic Centre, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8PR. A company controlled by Newcastle City Council.