homes for haringey board of directors meeting february ......2016 annual general meeting 1st...
TRANSCRIPT
Homes for Haringey
Board of Directors Meeting
Monday 29th
February 2016
7.00-9.00pm
Conference Room 1
48 Station Road, Wood Green
Pre Board briefing 6pm LBH Contact Centre briefing
Sergio Sgambellone, Assistant Director of Customer Services- LBH
Item Presenter Subject
Standing Items
1. Chair Welcomes and Apologies
2. Chair Declarations of Interest
3. Executives Portfolio review- MTFS- finding more efficiencies- presentation
4.
Chair Minutes from the Board meeting held on 25th
January
2016 - Confidential – removed from public display
Notification of items for AOB
5.
Compliance Manager Risk map
6.
Director of Asset
Management
Health and Safety exception report – Confidential – removed
from public display
For Approval
7.
Managing
Director/Executive
Directors
2016 – 21 draft Business Plan
8. Chair of Appointments
and Remuneration
Committee – Board
Members
Appointment of Board Members- confidential- removed from
public display
Minutes of Remuneration and Appointments Committee
meeting- Board member recruitment 3rd
February
2016
9. Executive Director of
Property
Procurement approvals: Confidential- removed from public
display
Entryphone Maintenance Award of Contract Extension
10. Head of Corporate
Affairs
Financial Regulations
For Discussion
11.
Company Secretary Resident Board Member Elections
12.
Executive Director of
property
Modular Housing project- verbal update
For information
13. Chair AOB
Board of Directors Meeting
Monday 25th
January 2016
7.00 – 9.00 pm
Page 2 of 67
Homes for Haringey Board of Management forward plan
5th
April 2016
Resident Engagement Strategy Portfolio JD’s
10th
May 2016
Various Statutory reports to feed
into the Annual Accounts
preparation
28th
June 2016 Annual Accounts Business plan review
schedule
30th
July- away
day
27th
September
2016
Resident Board member
appointments-
recommendations to AGM
Other Board Member
appointments-
recommendations to AGM
Resolutions to AGM
24th
October
2016
Annual General Meeting
1st
November
2016
Budget and Business plan
6th
December
2016
Draft 2017/18 Budget and
Business plan
Closed session of the Board
14.
Chair of Appointments
and Remuneration
Committee-
Restructures
Minutes of the meeting held 9th
February 2016-
Confidential – removed from public display
Page 3 of 67
Board Risk Map February 2016
Risk
Ref
Risk RAG Status -
Before
Controls
RAG Status -
After
Controls
Causes Effects Specific Control Measures Date Control
Measure will
be completed
Ref Additional Information
Lack of influence at a strategic level with LBH; HfH Chair
relationship with LBH not effective
Loss of confidence in Board's ability to deliver 2015/18 Business plan approved & summarised – progress reviewed monthly
(allowing for flexibility in reacting to significant changes in the operating
environment and potential new opportunities)
01/02/2016 B1.1
Lack of appropriate skills and capacity on the Board leads
to ineffective decision-making
LBH intervention and potential withdrawal of the
contract
Specific Board member portfolios In place B1.2
Failure to demonstrate Value for Money has been
achieved / ineffective VFM Framework
Further development of robust Board self assessment process including success
factor measures. Board has commissioned Penna to support ELT MD, Chair and
Board to deliver over the next 6 months.
Ongoing B1.3
Joint working with LBH on key projects 01/03/2016 B1.4
Board & Staff Appraisal Process In place B1.5
Management Agreement not defined, too narrowly focused
or not fit for purpose
Monthly review of Board’s decisions against risk map Monthly B1.6
Reporting & monitoring processes are not effective or
reflect the customer experience
Decent Homes requirements not met
Key staff are ineffective, or leave the organisation;
Industrial action in response to proposed restrctures under
transformation programme
Board to oversee structured exit and handover periods for interim staff to avoid
loss of critical skills at a senior level and potential loss of faith by LBH
01/03/2016 B1.8
Risk appetite not defined / opportunities taken without due
diligence
LBH intervention leading to loss of contract TA Reduction Strategy & Action Plan Ongoing B2.1
Efficiencies not achieved because of lack of management Lack of autonomy to deliver wider growth/added
value objectives
Review of outsourcing options through transformation reviews Ongoing B2.2
Financial plans and monitoring inadequate Audit reports In place B2.3
Financial resources inadequate Monthly Board Financial update New reporting
drafted
B2.4
Political environment affects or delays decisions; or detail is
not adequately forthcoming to allow for effective planning
Inability to predict impact or to prepare solutions to
mitigate; govt policy impacts costs as well as
income
Horizon scanning reporting to inform risk maps and controls In place B2.5
Key staff are ineffective or leave the organisation Stakeholder influence with GLA and other bodies Ongoing B2.6
Failure to demonstrate Value for Money has been
achieved / ineffective VFM Framework
VFM Annual Self Assessment 01/03/2016 B2.7
Financial regulations and the controls around the use of
assets are not embedded, understood or effectively
monitored
LBH Intervention leading to loss of contract Review and monitoring of adherence to the financial regulations Ongoing B3.1
Procurement & Contract Management processes not
effective
Reputation is adversely affected Testing of controls around asset and financial management Ongoing B3.2
Breach of FCA regulations(once registered) New GRC framework in place and rolled out to all staff In place B3.3
Robust process of registering conflicts of interest in place Mar-16 (audit) B3.4
Tenancy audit undertaken during 2015-6 As part of LBH
fraud work
B3.5
Legislative requirements are not understood Regulatory intervention A&R Quarterly reporting includes compliance & procurement reviews In place B4.1
Inadequate oversight of Ombudsman findings and failure
to demonstrate that we have acted on them
Reputational damage; invisibility of consistent
service failings
All Ombudsman findings to be reported to Board and to be scrutinised for
opportunities for service improvements
Ongoing B4.2
Lack of clarity where accountability and powers of decision-
making sit
LBH Intervention leading to loss of contract New GRC framework in place and rolled out to all staff In place B4.3
Communication not understood by audience Financial loss from substantial and/or unlimited
fines
Compliance with NHF Code of Governance & FCA regulations 01/04/2016 B4.4
Financial loss from substantial and/or unlimited
fines
Tracking of looming political and legislative changes and modelling of likely
impacts, as well as consideration of how our own policies and procedures may
need to change
Housing Bill
due to be
delivered
January 2016
B4.5
Judicial challenge Informed, adequate legal advice Ongoing B4.6
A resident is harmed due to HfH lack of
appropriate action
External Assurance (external audit, whistleblowing etc) In place B4.7
Criminal action against Board members and liable
officers
Discussion & agreement at A&R Committee In place B5.1
Reputational damage Existence of a Safeguarding Board in liaison with LBH In place B5.2
H&S obligations not met Fines Detailed, specific gap analysis and action plan to address failures in Temporary
accommodation
In place B5.3
Risk Management process is ineffective and not embedded
into the business at all levels
Staff at all levels fail to identify business threats Roll out training and awareness-raising programme around Risk Ongoing B5.4
Failure to carry out regular reviews of support plans in
sheltered housing
A vulnerable customer suffers harm or inadequate
care
Full review underway as part of Work stream 5 to address deficiencies in the
Supported Housing service
Ongoing B5.5
Inadequate research
Risk Management process is ineffective and not embedded
into the business at all levels
B3 Incident of major
fraud
B4 Failure to comply with
statutory obligations
(e.g. data protection,
code of governance,
regulatory
requirements etc)
Feb-16:
•New BCPs are being drawn up across the business using the Council template and will be overseen by the Health and Safety committee. We are
working closely with the Council to make sure our approach is aligned to theirs, with our own detailed plans around local actions etc. The recent failure
of the heating system at Apex house has given us some learning around how the reduction in office space generally impacts on our ability to react to
similar scenarios.
Directorate plans adversely affected by a disruption
in delivery of goods/services
Feb-16:
• As above, the controls around gas safety have been greatly improved over recent months, reducing the risk of harm to TA customers.
• Compliance against support plans is now at 100%. It is still flagged as an amber risk for Operations because though all customers have a plan in
place we are developing a better system for regular review to give assurance that the recommendations in each plan are being delivered.
Robust disaster recovery / business continuity plan in place 01/04/2016 B6.1B6 Failure to anticipate
and prepare for an act
of god disaster/ major
incident
B5 Health and Safety
incident leads to
serious injury or death
of a customer or staff
member
Feb-16:
• The issues around compliance with gas safety within TA is now deemed to be under control and Board and Audit & Risk committee (A&R) are
recieving regular updates. Compliance is currently at 100%.
• The lettings agency is not yet registered with FCA, and there are concerns around what impact the Right to Rent policy may have. As it is a new area
of business, controls need to be robust and well tested and financial performance will be scrutinised. Close management is needed to measure
performance against projections. A detailed update on the Lettings Agency went to Board in January. An update is due to LBH senior leadership team in
March with the Business Pla,n where we will be asking for a change in policy to allow Moves 51*N to undertake sales functions.
• Mazars are conducting a Safeguarding Audit before the end of the financial year so until we get the results of this, we feel this should remain amber
for Board.
• We are in the process of taking pre-emptive action (prior to being instructed by the coroner) to carry out a serious case review of a suicide case which
occurred shortly after the resident was refused succession rights to his late fathers' property. The Board will be kept informed of the findings of this
review.
• The restructuring proposals which are currently being reviewed by the Appointments and Renumeration Committee need to be supported by robust
EQIAs. This is a Board member responsibility to ensure EQIAs are considered before any decisions to change are completed.
• There have been another 2 maladministration findings by the Ombudsman which will be reported to A&R. Work continues to analyse where the
process is falling down and to learn lessons from these cases.
• The external auditors began their pre-site work in February. We don't anticipate any issues. LBH has provided resource from the previously transferred
finance team to ensure continuity and delivery to the auditors.
Failure to identify and manage risk effectively
Lack of robust understanding and management of HfHs
safeguarding responsibilities
Feb-16:
• A culture of noticing and reporting suspicions around fraud has not yet been embedded but is gradually rolling out as part of the GRC framework.
Risk workshops launched in February, and mandatory e-learning modules will be launched shortly.
• RTB frauds are being picked up through our work with LBH so this is being controlled well. A new repairs stock control system is being piloted and
will be rolled out before the end of the year. An audit has taken place in TA procurement and has returned as substantial; this will be returned to A&R in
March. LBH have commissioned a full tenancy audit this year. A new financial reporting framework is being rolled out.
• Reviewed financial regulations are going to Board in February.
• An update of the annual audit programme will go to Audit & Risk Committee 8th March. We anticipate that the programme (other than 2 audits
which for strategic reasons will be pushed into Q1) will be completed by the end of the financial year.
Board fail to declare conflicts of interest
Financial loss
Feb-16:
•We are still forecasting a surplus on our budget for 2015-6. However there are some threats to that surplus i.e. cost of legal action to defend HLA
court cases; cost of buying out the MDs interim contract and the continuation of the tranformation project team at risk all could influnce the level of
surplus at year end.
• It is anticipated that the Council will agree to rebase the TA budgets - this will be decided at February Cabinet. Again, the quality of the Management
Agreement and SLAs for Finance services will be critical, following the move of most Finance staff to the Council under BIP, to ensure that Board are
provided with accurate, timely and robust financial management information.
• As Universal Credit (UC) rolls out in Haringey from March 2016, Board will want assurance that we are clear about the potential impact on rental
income and potentially on homelessness, and are using every opportunity to get the housing element of UC paid directly to us.
•The Housing Bill has not yet become law. We anticipate the 1% rent decrease over 4 years will become law which will impact on funds available for
stock investment (GN rents will reduce by 1% for 2016-7). More detail will be provided on this once the legislation is finalised. Work is also underway
with the Council to model costs and gains from the "Pay to Stay" initiative; again Board will be given more detail on this in due course.
Failure to produce / understand financial
performance information
B2 Failure to exert
financial control and
appropriate forward
planning within
approved budgets and
new commissioning
B1 Lack of alignment
between HfHs Business
Plan and LBHs
strategic objectives;
and failure to deliver
on these objectives
Feb-16:
• Board have approved the new Management Agreement. We are on track to present the final version to Chair, Managing Director and Cabinet in
March. All but two of the SLAs (legal and front line services) will be complete by the end of March. This will provide the framework to deliver the
Business Plan outcomes.
• The transformation programme is expected to deliver savings of £1m. The necessary cuts to staffing (in order to make the savings) may have a
detrimental impact on our service delivery, at least in the short term. This could curtail our ability to deliver the business plan commitments around
customer satisfaction, as well as having a detrimental reputational affect. This in turn could impact on our ability to raise funding for development (govt
focus and increased funding for shared ownership). We need to ensure that policy changes on service delivery are thoroughly thought through in terms
of knock-on effects and how things will be enforced.
• Board should also be mindful that the transformation plan savings will mainly be realised through staffing restructures. Organisational change must
be managed carefully, thoughtfully and compliantly with stakeholders and staff, as failure to do so could result in delays to implement a new structure,
and therefore failure to realise the savings within the timeframe.The Board have permenantly appointed to the MD position and will be considering the
appointment of a permenant Company Secrtary via the Appointments and Remuneration Committee.
• Board should consider if we are adequately influencing LBH on key strategic housing policy e.g. use of sheltered stock for NHS step-downs, stock
rationalisation and use of council property, fixed term tenancies etc
Lack of autonomy to deliver wider growth/added
value objectives
Interdependencies not understood within multiple change
programmes
A new MA is being produced which will ensure deliverables post-BIP and clearly
define measurable expectations between LBH and HfH
Ongoing B1.7
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Homes for Haringey Board Agenda Item 7
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Report for Board
Title Business Plan
Report for Approval
Business plan link Business Plan 2016-21, linking to new Management
Agreement/Contract with Haringey Council
Risk map link B1 Lack of alignment between HfHs Business Plan and LBHs
strategic objectives; and failure to deliver on these objectives
Authority for decision The Board sets the strategic direction of the Company
Officer to contact for more
information
Andrew Billany, Managing Director
Executive Director Andrew Billany, Managing Director
Portfolio Holder Keith Jenkins
KEY ACTION:
The Board is asked to approve the 2016 – 2021 Business Plan and associated delivery plans.
(Appendix one).
INTRODUCTION
1. The Business Plan is the key document to measure successful delivery of the contract with Haringey
Council. This is reviewed each year and reflects expectations, both current and long-standing.
2. Progress in drafting the Business Plan has been subject to detailed consideration by the Board,
Chair and Council representatives over the last two months. Feedback has been incorporated into
the final version now presented for approval. It is clear that the current operating environment is
volatile, with national policy changes under way relating to housing and how we are financed.
This makes it necessary for the Business Plan to be a document which is nimble enough to respond
to these developing challenges and support necessary change, innovation and improvement in
services.
TIMING
3. The London Borough of Haringey Cabinet expects to approve the contract with Homes for
Haringey at its 15 March 2016 meeting. The Board has received the near final version of the 10
Year Contract (the contract) and, subject to final amendments delegated to the Chair and
Managing Director, this Business Plan reflects the requirements of the Contract.
BACKGROUND
4. The contract places a number of requirements on Homes for Haringey. These requirements and
the actions required to fulfil them are set out in the Business Plan. Along with these contractual
requirements, the Business Plan aligns with our aspirations and the vision set out by the Board.
5. The draft contract states that the annual Business Plan shall:
be prepared by HFH in conjunction with the Council and in line with the business planning time
scales laid out by the Council. They shall take place against a three year horizon to complement
the three year Medium Term Financial Strategy and the current three year Council corporate plan;
include the overall strategy for our services and how HFH will deliver the key strategic goals of the
Council and the community the Council represents;
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Homes for Haringey Board Agenda Item 7
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outline HFH’s strategy in respect of its services and show how this supports the strategic goals that
have been set by the Council;
set all the outputs of the services, the key performance requirements and include the performance
standards expected on a ‘look forward’ basis;
detail the financial and staffing resources required to enable HFH to deliver the annual Business
Plan and perform the services to the ‘Contract Standard’ required.
be outcome focused, setting out all objectives, performance measures, project milestones and
SMART1
targets for the next twelve months including delivery plans for service delivery and
improvement;
6. At its January 2016 meeting the Board, and subsequently the Chair, gave specific feedback which
has now been incorporated, stating in summary that the plan needed to:
show more alignment to the LBH corporate plan and the contractual requirements;
define a clear journey around what and how we will deliver with links back into strategy;
set outcomes that are measurable and benchmarkable, but allow for innovation;
alert stakeholders to the position now, and the future and show the trajectory of improvement;
commit us to the set of ‘must dos’;
state the implications of adopting certain aspects of change;
say what we will do and how we will do it, sharpening the language.
7. Feedback from the Council has been incorporated and in summary said that the business plan
should reflect:
clear links to the Council priorities and in particular to the Housing Strategy outcomes;
clarity on what the plan is for;
clarity on where fees and income are derived;
clear links between targets and how the outcomes will be judged;
a clear statement about leaseholder services and satisfaction, leadership and resident engagement
and influence;
clarity on benchmarking and organisations being compared;
CONSIDERATIONS
Risks
8. There should be little risk to reaching an agreement on the Business Plan. The process is
complicated by the timing issue of not having an agreed contract in place first, but work to
complete the contract is close to completion and there is broad Officer agreement on shared
principles. There is also a tight timescale on agreeing the structural changes.
Finance (budget or cost effectiveness considerations)
9. There are no direct implications as a result of the report itself, although financial planning is a key
part of the Business Plan.
Customer/Resident impact (including equality and diversity implications)
1 Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
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Homes for Haringey Board Agenda Item 7
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10. The final Business Plan will have a close focus on customer and resident impact, with service
outcomes being the key driver of its content.
Communications (internal and external)
11. Homes Zone and our website will be the key areas where residents are updated on the Business
Plan progress. We will issue press releases from both parties to sector publications.
Human Resources (HR)
12. None as a direct result of this report but there are staff implications relating to the changes
planned in the Business Plan.
Decisions around the Private Sector team and its functions are still being made by LBH. As such,
this plan assumes that the functions will revert back to the Council. If the final decision is different,
the Business Plan will be updated to reflect this change.
Health and Safety
13. None as a direct result of this report.
Resident Involvement
14. Resident engagement is a key part of the Business Plan, and the need to improve the effectiveness
of that engagement is a key expectation from the Council over the coming period.
RECOMMENDATION
15. The Board is asked to approve the 2016-2021 Business Plan.
Andrew Billany
Managing Director
February 2016
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DRAFT Homes for Haringey Business Plan 2016-21
1. Introduction
2. What is our Business Plan for?
3. The Haringey and National Context
4. Our Vision, Aims and Values
5. The Outcomes we are looking to achieve
6. Our Performance Framework
7. Our Improvement Work
8. Our Leadership, Partners, Customers and People
9. Our Financial Plan
Appendices
Appendix A – Key Outcomes
Appendix B – Delivery Plan
Appendix C – Performance Framework (to follow from Haringey Council)
Page 8 of 67
1. Introduction
This is our first plan under our new ten year contract with Haringey Council. This plan shows our
present view of the next five years. This will inevitably be subject to change, as our operating and
financial environment changes. We need it to be clear about our expectations but also support us
in being nimble and intelligent about how we provide our services - keeping us relevant, effective
and modern.
Our plan aligns with the Council’s current three year plan for 2015-18 and shows the targets by
which we will be judged in the period to 31 March 2018. It will adapt as expectations and
circumstances change, with further financial and national policy shifts on the horizon and in
preparation for short notice reductions in budgets. We remain ambitious, within a challenging
operating environment, and the plan shows our aspirations for where we will be by 2021, at the 5
year review of our management agreement. This plan is a living document. It is not something to
sit on a shelf. Instead, we intend to review, monitor and revise our plan regularly so that it drives
our work for the next 5 years. We will be held accountable against it.
We know that if we cannot deliver more than the Council could do on its own we have no reason
to exist. The targets we have agreed with the Council in this plan are this year’s test of that; next
year we will agree and set a higher bar, and we will always strive to exceed the target even when
the changing environment means there are constraints on us. We will think differently and react to
those constraints by being innovative; and importantly, ensuring our customers shape the service
and have input into decisions that shape our business.
The basis on which our new contract was agreed1
requires us to:
Be at least as good as the best 25% of any comparable housing services, continuously
improving performance across all areas of activity;
Expand our offer to involve and engage tenants and leaseholders in the management of
their homes;
Continue to maintain a high standard of leadership and staffing within the organisation
and the Board.
In addition to our own robust performance management framework (which our Board monitors
and sets) the Council has set a wide ranging ‘Performance Framework’ to capture and track our
progress in meeting our expectations. It includes the performance measures which are typical of a
housing organisation and which allow us to be compared with the best of our peers. It also
includes the range of new activities which we will take on over the course of this Business Plan and
recognises the importance of being able to innovate and adapt to new challenges.
We must also make sure that too narrow a definition of success does not stop us providing
additional value to our residents and the Council. We will constantly check and challenge our
progress to make sure that this is operating as successfully as possible, being prepared to change
and adapt when that is necessary.
Details of this year’s targets are set out in the ‘Performance Framework’. Here are our key
deliverables for the period to 31st
March 2017:
1. Haringey Council – Cabinet decision on the Future Housing Delivery Model – 15 September 2015
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1. We will make each aspect of our service better at the end of the year than it is now.
2. We will collect all the rent and service charges owed to us, and at least an additional
£500,000 in arrears and unrecovered sums.
3. We will provide 100 of our own temporary homes, to reduce the cost of privately
rented temporary accommodation.
4. We will save £200,000 by being quicker in letting properties standing empty.
5. We will reduce the average cost of managing our tenancies and leases, establishing a
headline target each year to match the expected savings from a reduced management
fee.
We have important work under way currently to change and improve our service:
1. We have started a review, redesign and improvement of our approach to resident
engagement so that all of our customers are able to have their say and influence our
service. We have made some changes but recognise that more has to be done, over the
term of this Business Plan, so that this sits effectively behind all of our work.
2. For example, as rents will be reduced in each of the next four years, tenants will drive how
we determine the scope and style of services they receive within the new limits. This will
drive a fundamental review of our tenancy ‘offer’, with tenants telling us what should be
maintained and prioritised.
3. We will empower our leaseholders to help us deliver a service that has many more of our
leaseholders saying they are satisfied. Satisfaction is low amongst our leaseholders and
this needs to improve to be comparable with the best of our peers. We will be more
transparent with leaseholders about how we are spending their money and why. We will
continue to encourage leaseholders to work with us to help get costs down, whilst getting
the job done.
4. We will place the focus of our homelessness service firmly on how we prevent people
needing temporary accommodation and able to keep or find their own settled housing.
5. We will complete bringing our asset management, stock investment, development,
planned maintenance and repairs activity under one directorate and strategic approach.
This will continue strong improvements in our approach to managing property, bringing
better services and excellent value.
By 2021 we will have:
Met the range of performance expectations set out in this Business Plan and demonstrated,
each year, how we have provided innovative and highly effective solutions to our service
challenges.
Established our position as a top performing housing organisation in London, operating
consistently within the top 25% of our peers, across all of our services.
Established our position as the best option to provide housing services in Haringey, being seen
as an excellent partner and contributor to the Borough, as well as an excellent housing
provider.
Developed a consistently strong track record of new initiatives and new business, showing how
this has enhanced the value and effectiveness of our services.
Established our lettings agency Move 51 Degrees North for the private rented and sales
sector. By 2021 this will be operating strongly – improving standards, providing a greater
supply of housing and offering new income streams.
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Established a programme to provide new homes to complement the Council’s programme,
including conversions and modular homes on temporary sites, to provide alternatives to
expensive private sector temporary accommodation.
Established a transformed approach to the supply of settled accommodation in the private
rented sector for people in housing need. This to be established as an alternative to the
limited supply of Council and Housing Association affordable rented tenancies and removing
reliance on expensive and insecure temporary accommodation.
Delivered a ‘post-Decent Homes’ investment and capital plan for the Council, making
improvements to Haringey’s housing stock and estates.
Established Haringey Repair Services in a position where it has expanded into new business
areas, bringing back surpluses to support investment in housing.
Established a range of services for the private rented and owner occupied sector – including
repairs, handyperson schemes and housing related support and advice.
Grown the work of our youth and community service, expanding projects such as 20/20 to
reach greater numbers of young people and to deliver strong and positive outcomes relating
to employment, skills and community development so that more tenancies and
neighbourhoods are sustained.
Improved and reformed tenancy and leasehold management services, enabling a greater
degree of self-service, use of technology and easy access to advice and guidance.
Embedded a new approach to resident engagement, which enables all residents and
customers to have their say and influence decision making.
Implemented a modern sheltered and supported service for older people.
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2. What is our Business Plan for?
We have written our Business Plan so that all who use the housing services that we manage or
provide can understand what our plans and priorities are. It will provide a guide for everyone who
works with us, as staff or partner. As stated, it is a guide and a living document, so is also
intended as a trigger for comment and engagement in our direction.
From 1 April 2016, we have a ten-year contract and we enter the next period with long-term
certainty about our future. Haringey Council closely considered how best to manage its housing,
conducting a detailed review of options during 2015 and inviting tenants and leaseholders to
express their opinion. With a strong show of confidence from Council tenants and from the
Council, we are delighted that we were asked to continue through a long-term contract –
managing Haringey’s Housing for the next decade.
Our business plan is written as a description of how we will honour our new ten-year contract and
what Haringey Council expects us to do. For the contract to be effective, it will depend on this
business plan being relevant and clear – describing what we will do to meet our expectations and
holding that up to regular review and scrutiny.
We will be producing a new version of the business plan every year, to keep it relevant, effective
and demanding, but also to make sure we keep on track with our longer-term goals. We made a
promise to be, at least, in the top quarter of comparable Councils or Housing Companies in key
areas of performance and plan to achieve this by March 2018.
We start our contract at a time of considerable change and challenge. There is a reducing pot of
money running alongside rising demand for affordable housing. This makes our world tough but
we have two choices. We could give up and hand back the keys or be imaginative and innovative
and improve our offer. We have chosen the latter path. We see ourselves as a constructive,
ambitious and dynamic. We will succeed through rising to our challenges.
All the money we spend on residents comes from residents. All the money we spend on managing
demand for housing, and associated homelessness, comes from stretched Council budgets and
competes with other essential services such as social care.
We have to make sure we only spend money that has to be spent and that when we spend it, we
get the most we can from it. We will do more with less, as we have shown we can do in the past.
There are no single big gains that can be made, but the cumulative effect of small efficiencies is
profound.
Our service to tenants and leaseholders is and remains central to our business; we take seriously
our commitment to be an excellent housing provider. We recognise we must be better at
engaging with tenants and leaseholders so that we can focus our work to the best effect. There is
less money to manage housing, with rents reducing, so this will include a set of conversations
about how to shape our services to be excellent but also highly efficient. Some tough choices
about investment in our stock, or services which are currently offered, will have to be made but we
are confident that tenants and leaseholders will guide us in making the right choices.
Page 12 of 67
3. The Haringey and National Context
Haringey is a vibrant borough – and a place of great opportunity. As part of a world city, residents
come from many different cultures and we are proud of Haringey’s diverse communities. Like all
other London boroughs, housing demand significantly outstrips supply and the cost of housing is
beyond what many people can afford. Pockets of extreme deprivation are evident in the east,
where most of the homes we manage are located. There are more areas of vulnerability,
unemployment, high housing need and homelessness.
Since 2006, Homes for Haringey has been responsible for all landlord services on behalf of
Haringey Council, managing 16,000 tenancies and 4,500 leases, including repairs and
maintenance, tenancy and estate management, income collection, leasehold management and
resident involvement. In 2014, our housing service was unified to meet these challenges with an
integrated mix of services, merging previously separate teams in housing advice and assessment,
private sector housing, and sheltered and supported housing.
In 2015, we transferred our contact centres to the Council to provide a customer focused and cost
effective single contact approach for a variety of enquiries and service requests. We want to be
part of making services better, not defending the existing status quo, nor empire building.
Despite improvements, we have over 3,000 families living in temporary accommodation in
Haringey. This is the second highest in London. Clearly, preventing homelessness and reducing
the reliance on temporary accommodation is a priority. We helped almost 600 families to stay in
their homes last year, a success, but still not enough to match demand, as the number of
households living in temporary accommodation is rising because of the diminishing number of
vacant and new rented homes becoming available.
Our ability to address this need is hampered by a shortage in private sector supply – increasing a
reliance on more costly nightly rated accommodation. New solutions are required to approach this
issue, including working more closely with other housing providers and funding new temporary
accommodation in innovative and flexible ways.
In recent years changes to local government funding and to housing and welfare legislation put
significant pressure on both Local Authority budgets and the finances of Haringey residents.
Government cuts to the Council’s annual budget have amounted to £117m since 2010 and at
least a further £70 m of saving are expected by 2017/18.
We have promised to save approximately £9m in the period to March 2018, across General Fund
and Housing Revenue Account budgets.
Our plans have to be developed to withstand further financial cutbacks, with the 2015
announcement of a medium term rent reduction of 1% per year providing additional pressure to
Haringey’s Housing Revenue Account (our primary source of income for Council housing
management and stock investment).
In the context of financial and policy changes at a national level, we will substantially reduce the
cost of services we provide and become increasingly efficient and cost-effective. We have also
prepared to manage the effects of the new Housing and Planning Act, including policies such as
the sale of vacant high value council housing.
Page 13 of 67
After 2016, there will be no government funding for Decent Homes in Haringey. However we are:
Developing a new investment standard and asset management plan in support of the
Haringey Housing Strategy, which will protect the condition of the housing stock with
significantly reduced resources. The approach will focus on needs of each home and
neighbourhood, moving away from some of the constraints of the previous ‘Decent
Homes’ standard, where choices were directed by Government policy rather than local
needs.
Planning our role in developing and acquiring new homes, using our position and range
of skills to the best advantage.
Working closely with the Council to plan long term investment in the housing stock and to
support the regeneration of Haringey and the wider estate renewal programme.
Developing an open, honest and mature relationship with tenants in deciding investment
and service priorities. This will give more flexibility to meet the needs of individual estates
and we will be honest about the financial challenges and choices
Enabling tenants to take more responsibility for simple repairs and services.
We fully support and embrace the Council’s aspirations to make the most of Haringey’s potential
and geographical location, its multi-cultural community, its proximity to central London, its strong
transport links and its potential for further regeneration. Therefore, within a challenging context,
there are opportunities and we are linking in to regeneration initiatives and considering areas of
growth that will help improve our housing offer. We are also linking with wider initiatives to
improve Haringey, working with the Council and the range of partners within the Borough to
support improvements in health, well-being, employment and neighbourhood quality.
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4. Our Vision, Aims and Values
This Business Plan summarises how we will work in support of the Council’s Corporate Plan and
the Housing Strategy over the next five years. Our vision and aims below are strongly aligned to
those of our Council partner – our values are unique to us as a company with operational
autonomy.
Vision: We have adopted the Council’s vision for housing:
‘Housing is about people and communities, not just bricks and mortar. This means mixed and
inclusive neighbourhoods where residents can lead happy and fulfilling lives.’
Aims: Our strategic aims are directly aligned to the Council’s housing aims of improving help for
those in housing crisis and driving up the quality of housing for all residents:
Work in partnership to prevent homelessness and help those in housing need
Provide excellent housing management services and improve life-chances for Haringey
residents
Improve existing homes and increase the supply of high quality affordable housing.
(The table in section 5 below shows how our aims are aligned to those of the Council).
Values: We serve a diverse community and are:
Business-like
o Innovative, proactive and skilled at providing solutions.
o Competent, qualified and have all the professional, technical and personal
qualities in place to do a good job.
o Manage resources well.
A trusted partner
o Solid and dependable
o Do everything we say we will do.
o Look to the future.
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5. The Outcomes we are looking to achieve
As the Council’s Housing Company, all of our work will deliver outcomes to meet the Council’s housing priorities.
Our strategic aims and key outcomes are shown below in terms of their alignment with Council Plan and Housing Strategy aims. We are judged on
how well we deliver these outcomes. The measures for all of these outcomes are captured in the Performance Framework at Appendix C.
Council Plan Aims Housing
Strategy Aims
Homes for Haringey
Strategic Aims
To deliver these aims, Homes for Haringey will:
Prevent
homelessness and
support residents to
lead fulfilling lives
Improve help
for those in
housing crisis
Work in partnership
to prevent
homelessness and
help those in
housing need
Prevent homelessness through offering effective and early advice and options
Reduce the use of and the number of households living in temporary
accommodation, enabling them to find settled accommodation at sustainable rents
Provide a high quality of statutory decision making in relation to our homelessness
duty and as necessary discharge this duty into the private rented sector
Provide advice and support to vulnerable adults and support victims of domestic
violence
Improve the private rented sector through activity including licensing and the growth
of our lettings agency, Move 51 Degrees North.
Drive up the quality
of housing for all
residents
Drive up the
quality of
housing for all
residents
Provide excellent
housing
management
services and
improve life-chances
for Haringey
residents
Ensure customer satisfaction is consistently high, and improving
Collect the rent, service charges and debts which are owed to us and fewer tenants
are in rent arrears
Make sure that properties are let quickly, when they are vacant, and made available
to people who need them
Manage estates and housing well, so that they are well maintained, tidy, safe and
secure
Engage a wide range of residents successfully and can evidence increased influence
by residents on service delivery, policies and decisions
Use our position as a housing provider to enhance the life chances of residents –
Page 16 of 67
Improve existing
homes and increase
the supply of high
quality affordable
housing
supporting employment, skills and training to enable residents to live successfully in
Council housing.
Carry out repairs in a timely fashion, to a good standard and to a high level of
customer satisfaction – all efficiently and within budget
Deliver major works and capital investment programmes on time, to a good quality,
within budget and to a high level of customer satisfaction
Observe our health and safety obligations
Provide new homes to complement the Council’s programme and this includes
conversions and modular homes on temporary sites, to provide alternatives to
expensive private sector temporary accommodation.
Work effectively, collaboratively and flexibly with Haringey Council, able to take on
new commissions and to develop new business which contributes positively to wider
Council objectives
Use resources more efficiently
Recruit, retain and develop a highly effective workforce, with all managers and staff
placing a high value on quality
Have a high standard of service delivery that reduces complaints
Increase the use of ‘self-service’, so that our customers can access services easily
online.
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6. Our Performance Framework
As the Council’s Housing Company, all our work will be judged by how successfully we deliver on
outcomes linked to Council Plan and the Housing Strategy aims. This will mean achieving the
outcomes set out in the Performance Framework. This framework covers:
The project outcomes agreed as part of the Council’s Corporate Plan Programme for
Housing (Priority 5) and the associated Medium Term Financial Strategy savings targets
The specific project and programme commissions received from the Council
The performance indicators and targets included in the Council’s scorecard, which is
aligned to the Council Plan
The Cabinet recommendations from the future housing delivery report.
Our success against these outcomes will be assessed in a new annual performance report that will
be produced at the same time as our annual financial accounts.
In order to measure our progress to becoming a ‘top quartile’ performing organisation, across all
of our service areas, we will be tracking performance against our peers in Housemark’s London
ALMO and Councils’ group. This allows us to compare like with like and drive us to be the best
among our peers. This will include indicators including customer satisfaction, rent collection,
repairs, lettings and the prevention of homelessness. This is a realistic aspiration and we will also
push ourselves further with ‘stretch targets’ when we are at that level.
As we develop our business, we will look to find new and innovative approaches to drive
performance and we will seek out best practice across a range of sectors to help us to improve
and stretch ourselves to achieve success. This section describes how the Council currently
measure our performance. We know we can push further, and more imaginatively, than this and
are encouraged to do so by the Council.
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7. Our Improvement Work
Our Fit for the Future programme
We are re-designing our services and processes to deliver better outcomes with fewer resources.
The focus of our Fit for the Future programme of work, and our business plan as a whole, is that
we create:
1. Effective management of the demand for our services – This includes making it easier for
customers to serve themselves and the promotion of ‘early intervention’ where housing
problems such as homelessness can be prevented by acting quickly and effectively.
2. Customer focused services – Tailoring services based on customer needs and insight.
3. A cost efficient and business-like approach - Providing effective and efficient services
4. Empowered staff – Creating a solution focused culture that empowers staff and gives them
the tools and technology they need to achieve outcomes for customers.
The sections below summarise our main areas of focus as we transform our approach to service
delivery. All of the work identified contributes to achieving Housing Strategy aims and objectives.
Housing Demand
We are redesigning our Housing Demand service to manage demand for social housing and
temporary accommodation, reduce the time taken to discharge our statutory homelessness duty,
reduce costs, ensure that decisions are made effectively and efficiently, and ensure that our service
is streamlined and customer-focussed. We are making service improvements that will:
Prevent homelessness through a focus on early help and intervention, and more rapid move-
on into accommodation in affordable locations.
Extend the work of our innovative and effective ‘welfare reform hub’, to give early housing
advice to people who we know will be affected by the benefit cap in order to prevent
homelessness and find alternatives to temporary accommodation.
Help us get in early to prevent evictions, find more affordable housing solutions and support
tenants into finding jobs, training and better financial positions.
Tackle the shortage of temporary accommodation through effective policies and new supply
initiatives like modular build homes and new homes on existing estates.
Work to settle people in suitable housing, either in the private rented, housing association or
Council sector and to ensure that this is affordable for people, whether they are in work or on
welfare benefits.
Expand our offer into the private rented sector through a new lettings and management
agency, Move 51 Degrees North.
Provide advice and support to vulnerable adults who are at risk of homelessness and support
victims of domestic violence.
We are taking new approaches to temporary accommodation:
Reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation and the costs incurred by
progressing a range of innovative solutions to increase the supply of assured short-hold
tenancies and affordable accommodation.
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Progressing the refurbishment of former old people’s homes (Broadwater Lodge and Whitehall
Street) to provide additional units of hostel accommodation and setting up a programme of
modular build properties on Council land.
Exploring a range of other initiatives including:
o A property acquisitions scheme to allow the purchase of properties, using prudential
borrowing, to be let as assured short-hold tenancies.
o Working up financially sustainable partnerships with suppliers of private housing and
acquiring homes which can be let affordably to people in housing need.
o Converting office and commercial properties where it is appropriate to do so.
o Use of ‘decant’ properties for temporary accommodation.
o Building extra storeys on 2 or 3 storey blocks.
We are also working with the Council to develop the Borough’s overall Supply Plan and Placement
Policy. Once these are in place, they will underpin the progression of a more strategic and
systematic service wide approach toward the acquisition of affordable temporary accommodation
and other housing supply. The Supply Plan will underpin the Borough’s transition to a different,
and less costly, approach to temporary accommodation.
Housing Management
We are redesigning our Housing Operations service to improve self-reliance, increase self-service
and improve service consistency and quality. We will also work with residents to increase rental
income, reduce the demand for housing management and anti-social behaviour services, and
ensure customers are an essential part of the decision making process.
We are making improvements across a range of core services and we are:
Increasing rental income by preventing and recovering arrears and providing financial
inclusion support to customers who need assistance, including support through partner
agencies.
Reviewing our Income Management services and our Leaseholder Service Improvement Plan
will make improvements based on leaseholder feedback.
Improving our management of anti-social behaviour through more effective partnership
working with Council teams and local police. This work is being strongly supported by a
Resident Scrutiny Panel review of how we manage anti-social behaviour (ASB) on estates and
we are making changes based on the panel’s recommendations.
Designing a supported housing service that meets a wider range of needs, including those
within the local community.
Improving our estates and neighbourhood management, with our estate officers using mobile
technology to report and track issues through an app on their mobile phones.
Substantially improving how we prepare and let empty properties (voids). More work is being
done to make sure that properties are empty for a minimal amount of time, acting swiftly to
make safe, repair, prepare and let the properties so that we quickly provide homes to standard
for people in need.
Reviewing our complaint management process and introducing an effective case management
system to ensure timely resolution and completion of issues before they escalate. We are
focused on improving service quality to reduce the overall number of complaints.
Enabling tenants to take more responsibility for their homes and providing peer to peer
training of tenants, with rent discounts for tenant trainers, online videos giving instructions on
basic repairs, and consideration of ways to reward tenants who look after their homes.
Page 20 of 67
Enforcing strongly and consistently against tenants who are not caring for their homes,
gardens and frontages, being firm about charging tenants who damage their homes for the
cost of repairs.
We are strengthening our community development activities so that we provide a clear social
dividend to residents, as a good quality home is strongly linked to health, employment, financial
security and educational achievement:
Our pioneering work with communities through initiatives like Project 2020 is helping young
people and adults become more self-reliant by providing employment and training
opportunities.
We will enhance community involvement in decision making processes. Our new resident
engagement plan will streamline our engagement structures and ensure that residents’
involvement makes a real difference to service delivery. More residents will be engaged in
improvement projects in which they can make a difference on the local and estate based
issues that they are interested in.
Our services will increase our use of digital channels and initiatives, such as our work with
resident champions who will train other residents to access digital services. We will also be
involving hard-to-reach residents across all tenures in innovative ways, inviting residents to
provide more real-time feedback on our services and measuring the social returns on our
investment.
Property Services
We are redesigning our Property Service to become a modern asset management service that will
work with our Council partners to develop a thirty year investment plan. We are:
Introducing new approaches to asset management that will help us to target our investment
more intelligently, free of the constraints of a Government prescribed approach such as
Decent Homes.
Developing a new five-year asset management plan to make sure that we make the most
effective investment decisions possible for our neighbourhoods and estates, and consulting
residents on estates that need large scale estate renewal.
Building new homes for temporary use on available land and space within estates wherever it
is financially viable.
Using detailed information about the condition of all council housing to target improvement
on estates or blocks that are experiencing the most significant issues.
Developing a ‘stock viability model’, which we can use to assess whether there is a better
solution for a property when it becomes empty (perhaps, in some cases, selling one property
and using the money to build or acquire a new and better home).
We will also continue to establish our repairs service as a commercially sound, responsive and
effective operation, with a focus on getting repairs right first time and reducing the number of
repeat call-outs and avoidable repairs.
Our work is increasing in efficiency and productivity through effective use of data and new
technology and will ensure the service is fully compliant with all statutory and regulatory
demands.
We will ask residents to be more self-reliant and ensure they carry out the repairs in their
homes for which they are responsible, which will help reduce the high levels of demand for our
services.
Page 21 of 67
As the service continues to strengthen, we will look for opportunities to actively trade and offer
services more widely in the community and to other landlords.
Some of the main new initiatives we are planning in this area include:
A new investment programme that sets out a 10 year investment standard, based on our
detailed stock condition data and projected 30 year costs. This successor programme to
Decent Homes will cover major works to improve and modernise the stock.
An extensions and conversions programme that will bring together the current conversions and
extensions and Supported Living budgets. This will provide us with the flexibility to deal with
council properties for conversion of uneconomic voids to Supported Living schemes and
thereby reduce residential care costs for the council.
An assessment of options for stock investment on the Noel Park estate to improve the quality of
homes as part of Decent Homes and its successor programme.
An assessment of options for the Broadwater Farm Estate, exploring potential major estate
renewal works to deal with structural issues and long-term regeneration.
Corporate Affairs
Our ‘Fit for the Future’ programme is supported by additional work to transform our staff culture
and make sure that all our service areas work seamlessly together. This work will help manage
demand for our services, increase customer self-service and improve our operational and
organisational processes. We will improve our data quality and information management
systems, and closely align with the Council’s arrangements for support services and related
functions. Our work on our staff culture will change working practices and behaviour which will
measurably improve staff efficiency and productivity, and the quality of service delivered to
residents, the Council and partner organisations.
We will extend our commitment to equality and diversity and, in particular, to develop an action
plan to narrow the gender pay gap and to increase the number of young and inexperienced
workers via traineeships and apprenticeships.
In terms of workforce planning, the Company will improve its ability to forecast and manage the
demand for labour via redeployment, retraining, increased workforce flexibility, talent
management and close management of its workforce. This will cover:
Emphasis on a leadership style based on empowerment and coaching for performance
improvement
A new performance management approach and a new appraisal system
Greater organisational and job design flexibility
Investment in staff at the cutting edge; commercial emphasis, business understanding,
customer focus whilst managing expectations, and skills for new systems.
The new Contract will be accompanied by a tri-partite agreement between the Company, the
Council and the recognised unions which will set out new principles to underpin the employee
relations structure. The company will aim to build on its existing partnership approach with the
unions and their members and to strive to develop a positive industrial relations climate in which
all parties share the same commitment to the company’s success.
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8. Our Leadership, Partners, Customers and People
Our Board
Our Board is responsible for ensuring the delivery of this Business Plan and for monitoring the
compliance and risk which comes with an ambitious change programme. Our ten year contract
offer refers to the importance of effective leadership within Homes for Haringey. This has been
recognised as being a strength, so far, and is seen as crucial for ongoing success and the meeting
of ambitious expectations. We have a good balance of tenants, leaseholders, Councillors and
independent professionals on our Board and this enables a strong approach to governance to
support our achievements. As part of our effective governance framework, the Board has
developed a portfolio approach with each Board Member having a key role in overseeing each of
our main areas of work. The Board has worked with the Executive Team to drive down costs, to
improve performance in all our service areas and to develop an approach that will ensure we
meet the Council’s housing objectives. We are holding elections for resident Board members in
2016 and this will ensure that residents continue to have a decisive role in shaping the services we
provide.
Haringey Council
We have a formal management agreement with the Council to deliver our range of services. Our
relationship goes beyond that contractual agreement, however, and we are an integral part of the
Council’s approach to housing and its wider corporate plan. Maintaining good housing
standards and providing more homes are highly important priorities for the Council. We have
forward plans which will deliver our housing services and related improvements, whilst also saving
over £2.2 million over the course of the next year. This year, we have saved £3.2 million,
bringing forward efficiencies in repairs and helping the Council’s financial position. Our position
as Haringey’s Housing Company places us in a strong position to do more for the Council and to
gain the best advantage from our focus on housing, on Haringey and on residents. We are
owned and commissioned by the Council and this alignment is highly important. However, we are
able to take that advantage further, by being able to act more commercially, focus on housing
solutions and manage our resources tightly.
Our Customers
We place tenants, leaseholders and people in need of housing at the centre of everything we do.
There are several ways in which residents provide us with feedback, tell us how we are doing and
identify what changes could make a difference. This happens on a daily basis and we make sure
that we constantly learn from our customers on how to get things right, through complaints,
comments and conversations. However, we want to go further and our current engagement
service for both tenants and leaseholders needs to be better on all levels – both for individual
customers and through more organised groups. We know that leaseholder satisfaction is
significantly lower than tenant satisfaction and we will improve this. We are reviewing our
engagement structures with our customers, reporting back to our Board in March 2016. This will
be an integral part of how we deliver this Business Plan.
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Our Staff
Our Managing Director and Executive Leadership team have specific responsibility for driving and
monitoring progress of the Business Plan. This includes meeting the expectations within the
management agreement with the Council and playing a full part in wider Borough partnerships.
Our strengths, over recent years, have been the level of skill and commitment shown by our
employees and the ability of our management teams to inspire them to develop their skills and
take on new challenges. Our staff have worked well to improve the services we offer at a time of
substantial change and are continually looking at new ways to meet and exceed our customers’
expectations. We hold a range of national awards and accreditations to support our reputation as
an excellent employer and we will continue to live up to this reputation, as we manage change
and design new approaches to service delivery.
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9. Our Financial Plan
We are funded by a Management Fee paid by the Council and manage other Council budgets
which support activities such as preventing homelessness and managing temporary
accommodation. As well as being responsible for the management of large scale housing
services, we are also responsible for large capital programmes of investment in the housing stock
and for advising the Council on how this is best spent. Our Business Plan is looking to offer
greater efficiency to the Council in how this is managed most cost-effectively, by identifying ways
to make best use of available resources, in a period where total sums available are reducing. For
example, our plans to build our own modular housing, as an alternative to expensive privately
rented temporary accommodation, provides great value for money and savings to the wider
Council budget.
We have the resources to finance our plan for the next five years and this takes account of
reducing budgets in many areas, making necessary savings and efficiencies. Our growth and new
business plans are also funded, with ‘pay-back’ periods for the lettings agency and new build
programmes factored into separate and detailed business plans. Our plans to expand our
community development activity also involve the development of social enterprise and partnership
initiatives which would attract funding to avoid further subsidy through our Management Fee.
Our financial breakdown is summarised below:
Box showing breakdown of budgets, once prepared
At present, our financial plans are developing to make sure that our, and Haringey Council’s,
aspirations and priorities are addressed. As current resources are being reduced, it makes it
difficult to achieve ambitious expectations in areas such as addressing energy efficiency and fuel
poverty and the current plan is ‘light’ in some perceived ‘discretionary’ areas. However, as we
enter the ten year contract, this business plan is intended to be used to prompt further efficiencies
(for example, through cutting central costs, better use of new technology and greater ‘self-service’
within housing communities) to assist in releasing more funds for improvement. We also will be
working with Haringey Council to help them become more efficient, with savings in areas where
the Council provides a direct service to use to support our business. We also are targeting our
initiatives to create new business and growth in such a way which will deliver more opportunities to
achieve wider ambitions – with newly built homes providing affordable alternatives to private
temporary accommodation and the growth of our private lettings agency driving up standards in
that sector and generating a surplus to be ploughed back into other priorities.
We plan to continue working with Haringey Council to explore new and innovative ways to fund
our activities. Opportunities to use our freedom to raise finance through borrowing exist with our
company status and this is one option to support growth and contribution to the Council’s
corporate objectives.
Page 25 of 67
Homes for Haringey Business Plan 2016-21 Appendices
Appendix A – Key Outcomes
Please note that the top quartile targets set for March 2018 have been updated to more closely reflect our Housemark London peer group’s year-end figures for
2014/15. Alongside Homes for Haringey, this peer group comprises of the following organisations: Ascham Homes; Barnet Homes; Brent Housing Partnership;
CityWest Homes; Enfield Homes; Hackney Homes; Kensington and Chelsea TMO; Lambeth Living; LB of Havering; Lewisham Homes; and Tower Hamlets Homes. The
targets set for March 2018 reflect this peer group’s year-end figures for 2014/15.
Customer satisfaction is consistently high, and improving
Improve our customer experience satisfaction rating to 80% by March 2018. The Council are pushing for this measure to be set at 85%, to compare with Housing
Associations, but this is higher than the current top quartile measure with our direct peers of ALMOs and Council Housing departments. We accept the challenge of
aiming higher than 80% but are mindful of the importance of tracking this measure against directly comparable organisations, operating in similarly tough
environments, with reducing incomes.
We collect the rent and service charges which are owed to us
Improve income collection rate from 100.01% in March 2014 to 100.7% by March 2018 (where the additional 0.7% contributes to the recovery of arrears and other
debts).
We make sure that properties are let quickly, when they are vacant, and made available to people who need them
Reduce the average re-let time in days to 21 days by March 2018.
We carry out repairs in a timely fashion, to a good standard and to a high level of customer satisfaction – all efficiently and within budget.
Improve resident satisfaction with repairs from 76.2% in March 2015 to 78.5% by March 2018. The Council are also pushing for this measure to be set at 85%, to
compare with Housing Associations, but this is higher than the current top quartile measure with our direct peers of ALMOs and Council Housing departments. We
accept the challenge of aiming higher than 80% but are mindful of the importance of tracking this measure against directly comparable organisations, operating in
similarly tough environments, with reducing incomes.
We prevent homelessness through offering effective and early advice and options.
Increase the % of cases where homelessness is prevented, as a proportion of people presenting at risk of losing their home, from 22% in March 2014 to 35% by March
2018.
Page 26 of 67
Performance
Improvement Objectives
Ref Area
13/14
Outturn
14/15
Outturn
15/16
target
16/17
target
17/18 target
18/19
target
19/20
target
20/21
target
Housemark top
quartile at end
of 2014/15
1. Improve our
customer experience
satisfaction rating to
80% by March 2018
NE
W
Overall
customer
satisfaction
rating
-- NEW 75% 77% 80% 81% 82% 83%
Top quartile is
79.1%
2. Improve income
collection rate from
100.01% in March
2014 to 100.7% by
March 2018
HM
PI
210
% of rent
collected
Simple rent
collection rate
100.01% 99.48% 100.5% 100.6% 100.7% 100.8% 100.9% 101%
Top quartile is
99.82%
3. Improve our voids
relet time to 21 days by
March 2018
ex
BV
212
Average re-let
time in days –
standard re-
lets’
41.5
26.6
23 23 21 20 19 18
Top quartile is
21.70 days
4. Improve resident
satisfaction with repairs
from 76.2% in March
2015 to 78.5% by
March 2018
RP
04a
% of tenants
satisfied with
quality of
repair
79.3% 76.2% 83% 78% 78.5% 79% 80% 81%
Top quartile is
77.4%
5. Increase % of cases
where homelessness is
prevented from 22% in
March 2014 to 35% by
March 2018
Op
67
% of homeless
preventions
22% 28% 25% 30% 35% 38% 40% 40%
(No directly
comparable
indicator
available from
Housemark)
Page 27 of 67
Appendix 2: Delivery Plan
This Delivery Plan is a high level summary of the projects being monitored by the Council to achieve our shared objectives.
It provides a brief overview of each project and shows the high level milestones and performance targets that have been agreed for each project.
Detailed Implementation Plans setting out all supporting actions and milestones are available on request.
Priority 5 project title and brief description Project milestones Key performance deliverables to March
2018
HOUSING DEMAND
Reduce the use and cost of temporary accommodation
We will reduce the number of households living in
temporary accommodation by:
Offering ‘early intervention’ services to tackle the risk of
homelessness, rather than waiting for homelessness to
occur
Providing alternative housing options.
When placement is needed, we are moving away from
reliance on expensive ‘temporary accommodation’, where
rents are subsidised by the Council, and away from the
practice of housing homeless people on ‘nightly rate’
accommodation. We are exploring and developing
alternative approaches to supplying temporary
accommodation and private rented properties for homeless
people.
Increase the number of ASTs secured for use to prevent
homelessness and to discharge homelessness duty:
Increase to 400 ASTs in 2016/17
Further 400 ASTs in 2017/18
(It was 157 ASTs in 2014/15 and 160 are expected in
2015/16).
Delivery of revised TA offer:
Broadwater Lodge and Whitehall St completed in
September 2016
Net increase of 50 leases; 20 modular build units in
2016/17
Additional shared facility hostels taking the provision to
200 units; minimum of 100 out of London placements in
2017/18.
The Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy savings target
for Temporary Accommodation is currently being re-profiled.
Reduce the number of households
living in temporary accommodation
from 2869 in March 2014 to:
• 2800 by March 2017
• 2500 by March 2018.
Transform the Housing Demand Service (Finding and
keeping your home)
‘Finding and Keeping your home’ looks at all the services
related to anyone who approaches the Council who does
not have, or is at risk of losing, a home and includes all
tenure types. We are establishing a new service delivery
model that will transform the Housing Demand Service. We
Redesigned Housing Demand structure in place by August
2016 (TBC).
Achieve following savings by streamlining and integrating
housing functions
£50K in 2015/16
£150K in 2016/17
£150K in 2017/18.
Increase the % of cases where
homelessness is prevented, as a
proportion of people presenting at risk
of losing their home, from 22% in
March 2014 to:
25% by March 2016
30% by March 2017
35% by March 2018.
Page 28 of 67
will achieve the savings identified by streamlining and
integrating housing functions, improving processes, and
making year on year efficiencies.
Achieve following savings by improving processes and
achieving year on year efficiencies
£75K in 2015/16
£175K in 2016/17
£200K in 2017/18.
OPERATIONS
Transform the Housing Operation Service (Managing your
home)
Our ‘Managing your home’ work will make our Operations
service more effective by focussing on prevention, early
intervention and pro-active case management. We will
increase self-service and promote self-reliance by providing
customers with more interactive 24 hour service access and
a higher level of involvement in decision-making processes.
We are making improvements across a range of core
services, including: Voids and Lettings; Income
Management; Tenancy Management; Leasehold Services;
Supported Housing; Estate Management; Communities and
Social Enterprise; Quality Assurance and Improvement.
Redesigned Housing Operations structure in place by May
2016 (TBC).
This redesigned structure will take into account the review
of leaseholder services undertaken and the establishment
of a new leaseholder service improvement plan (March
16).
Achieve following savings by streamlining and integrating
housing functions
£50K in 2015/16
£150K in 2016/17
£150K in 2017/18.
Achieve following savings by improving processes and
achieving year on year efficiencies
£75K in 2015/16
£200K in 2016/17
£200K in 2017/18.
Achieve following increased savings through Garage Review
initiative:
£250K in 2016/17
£250K in 2017/18.
Achieve following savings by reducing internal monitoring:
£37.5K in 2015/16
£37.5K in 2016/17
£75K in 2017/18.
Improve our customer experience
satisfaction rating to 80% by
March 2018
Improve income collection to
100.7% by March 2018
Increase the % of income collected
across all temporary
accommodation types to 99% in
March 2018
Improve A or B estate grading
scores to 97% by March 2018
Reduce voids rent loss to 0.85% by
March 2018
Page 29 of 67
PROPERTY SERVICES
Transform the Property Service (Maintaining and improving
your home)
Our work in this area will maintain and improve the quality
of Council housing and estates. To achieve this, we are
transforming our Property Service into a flexible and
modern asset management service. This includes continuing
to establish our repairs service as a commercially sound,
responsive and effective operation. We will ensure
residents carry out the repairs in their homes for which they
are responsible, which will help reduce the high levels of
demand for our services. Our work is also focused on
increasing efficiency and productivity through effective use
of data and new technology, and will ensure the service is
fully compliant with all statutory and regulatory demands.
Redesigned Property Services structure in place by April
2016.
(HfH review of repairs responsibilities to inform new
structure and processes established).
Achieve following savings by establishing new approach to
service delivery:
£700K in 2015/16
£300K in 2016/17
£300K in 2017/18
Achieve following savings by improving processes and
identifying year on year efficiencies:
£75K in 2015/16
£200K in 2016/17
£200K in 2017/18
Achieve following savings by reducing internal monitoring:
£37.5K in 2015/16
£37.5K in 2016/17
£75K in 2017/18
Improve resident satisfaction with
repairs to 78.5% by March 2018
Improve % of all repairs completed
by Haringey Repair Service within
timescale (includes programmed
works) to 97% by March 2018
Develop new Asset Management Plan and establish Decent
Homes successor programme 2017-22.
We are close to completing the Decent Homes programme
and we are working with Council partners to develop a
thirty year investment plan to agree how available funding
can be best spent to deliver the most benefit to council
housing stock. As part of this work, we are developing a
new Asset Management Plan to make sure that we make
the most effective investment decisions possible for our
neighbourhoods and estates, with the limited resources
available. This plan will inform the establishment of a
successor programme to Decent homes to run from 2017
to 2022.
Production of a refreshed Homes for Haringey Asset
Management Plan to underpin the formulation of the
successor programme by Mar 2016
The above is linked to HfH’s work to introduce a stronger
system of reconciliations between work done, stock
condition data and financial investment by March 2016.
Cabinet report on successor programme to be produced
by July 2016
The production of a project plan with clear timescales so
the successor programme can be introduced in April
2017.
A resident and stakeholder consultation programme to
enable the successor programme to start in April 2017.
The successful completion of the 2017-2022 successor
Improve resident satisfaction with
major works to 93% by March
2018
Improve % of new capital projects
completed on time to 90% by
March 2018
Maintain 100% of properties with
a valid gas safety certificate.
Page 30 of 67
programme within time and budget by Mar 2022
The above work includes:
An assessment of options for stock investment on the Noel
Park estate to improve the quality of homes as part of
Decent Homes and its successor programme.
An assessment of options for the Broadwater Farm Estate,
exploring potential major estate renewal works to deal with
structural issues and long-term regeneration.
Deliver a modular build programme
We will be contributing to the provision of new modular
homes on temporary sites to complement the Council’s
programme.
Completion of modular homes on temporary sites to provide a
cost-effective alternative to expensive temporary
accommodation:
24 x 2 beds modular to be built in 2016/17
Complete at least 20 new modular
homes per annum.
MANAGING DIRECTOR SERVICE / CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Develop lettings and management agency
Our new lettings agency, Move 51 Degrees North will take
a lead role in driving up the standards of homes and
management in the private rented sector in Haringey.
Phase One of the agency’s development is focussed on market
rent at all levels in the local private rented market and has set
sign-up targets to the end of 2019/20.
Phase Two of the agency’s development is planned for
Summer 2016 and will focus on the development of products
and services to secure:
Assured short-hold tenancies
Longer term leased temporary accommodation
(Will also look at viability of Guardian service offering).
Sign-up 60 tenants in 2016/17
Sign-up 100 tenants in 2017/18
Sign-up 150 tenants in 2018/19
Sign-up 170 tenants in 2019/20.
Please note that HfH has internal projects to improve how we work across departments and with partners and to ensure all our staff are business-like and reliable.
Page 31 of 67
Homes for Haringey Agenda Item
1 of 3 Date
Report for Board
Title Financial Regulations
Report for Decision
Business plan link Cross-cutting assurance framework
Risk map link Risk 1 – Financial Control and viability. Failure
to maintain a control framework and robust
regulations could affect the financial viability
and governance of the organisation
Authority for decision Board Delegation
Officer to contact for more information Nisar Ahmed – Interim Head of Finance
Executive Director Catherine Hardy-Smith – Head of corporate
Affairs and Company Secretary
Portfolio Holder David Beacham
KEY ACTION: The Board is asked to approve the Financial Regulations.
1. INTRODUCTION
This report presents a review of the existing Financial Regulations for the company.
Amendments to this document have been periodically approved by board since they
were formally agreed in 2006. Attached is the latest version which has been updated
to reflect changes in the organisation.
2. TIMING
The amended regulations are periodically reviewed to ensure that they are fit for
purpose.
3. BACKGROUND
As part of the reorganisation of the company it has been necessary to update financial
regulations, and the major changes are listed below:-
a) Post titles have changed to reflect the new structure
b) New scheme of delegation which was approved by board in March 2015
c) Bad debt write offs – To match the councils procedures/regulations so that there was
no breaches by staff who followed the councils procedures and not the company’s.
This was picked up by audit and has now been corrected.
d) Reference made to Company Secretary having responsibility for promoting and
maintaining high standards of conduct in corporate governance and provides advice
and guidance to the Board in respect of this.
e) Reference to senior finance as “Senior Finance Officer”
f) To reflect changes in the Accounts and audit (England) Regulations 2015 and Local
government Act 2003.
Page 32 of 67
Homes for Haringey Agenda Item
2 of 3 Date
g) To include any subsidiary of Homes for Haringey in the updated regulations.
h) The Governance and Risk Manager will deliver a programme of assurance activities
including responsibility for the organisation’s internal audit forward plan and needs
assessment and overseeing the work of the Internal Auditors, ensuring that the Audit
and Risk Committee have the relevant, necessary and timely information to fulfil their
remit.
i) Risk Management - In accordance with the Scheme of Delegations, the Managing
Director is responsible for ensuring that proper systems of financial control, risk
assessment and risk management and legal and regulatory compliance are
established and maintained, and that regular reports on these are provided, at least
annually, to the Board.
j) Removal for the requirement to have a “Treasury Management” policy for the
company.
4. CONSIDERATIONS
a. Risks – Financial Regulations assist in the mitigation of risk by having a control
framework and scheme of delegation in place. This also promotes good corporate
governance.
b. Finance – There are no direct financial implications from this report. The regulations
also allow a financial framework in which the company can operate.
c. Customer/Resident impact – There are no direct implication.
d. Communications (Internal and External) – Updated and approved financial
regulations will need to be communicated to all staff.
e. Human Resources (HR) – Financial Regulations will need to be part of any new staff
induction process.
f. Health and Safety - There are no direct implication.
g. Equality and diversity impact - There are no direct implication.
h. Resident Involvement - There are no direct implication.
5. RECOMMENDATION
The Board is requested to approve the Draft financial regulations.
Index of appendices
Appendix A – Financial Regulations
Name Nisar Ahmed
Title Head of Finance
Page 33 of 67
Homes for Haringey Agenda Item
3 of 3 Date
Date 16 February 2016
Page 34 of 67
www.homesforharingey.org 020 8489 5611
Homes for Haringey Limited
Homes for Haringey Ltd
Financial Regulations
Page 35 of 67
Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 2 of 30
Contents Page
PREFACE AND STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES ................................................................................................. 4
1. GENERAL ................................................................................................................................................... 5
2. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION.................................................................................................... 5
3. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................... 6
General ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
The Board ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Committees of the Board.............................................................................................................................. 6
Executive Leadership Team........................................................................................................................... 6
Managing Director ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Company Secretary ....................................................................................................................................... 6
Senior Financial Officer ................................................................................................................................ 7
Executive Directors ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Virements to Company budgets ................................................................................................................... 8
Virements to Council budgets ...................................................................................................................... 9
Financial year ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Accounting policies ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Accounting records, procedures and returns .............................................................................................. 9
Annual reports and financial statements...................................................................................................... 9
Treatment of year-end balances .................................................................................................................. 9
4. FINANCIAL GOVERNANCE .................................................................................................................. 10
Preventing fraud and corruption ................................................................................................................ 10
Bribery and corruption ................................................................................................................................ 10
Financial irregularities................................................................................................................................. 10
Assets ........................................................................................................................................................... 10
Audit ............................................................................................................................................................ 11
5. FINANCIAL PLANNING .......................................................................................................................... 12
General ....................................................................................................................................................... 12
Preparation of a business plan ................................................................................................................... 12
Resource allocation .................................................................................................................................... 12
Budget format ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Budget preparation ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Budget pressures ......................................................................................................................................... 13
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 3 of 30
Budget monitoring and control .................................................................................................................. 13
6. RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF RESOURCES .................................................................... 14
Risk management ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Internal controls .......................................................................................................................................... 14
Treasury management ................................................................................................................................ 15
Staffing ......................................................................................................................................................... 15
7. SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................... 16
General ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
The accounting system ................................................................................................................................ 16
Income and expenditure ............................................................................................................................. 16
Scheme of delegation ................................................................................................................................. 16
Payments to employees and Board members ........................................................................................... 17
Taxation ....................................................................................................................................................... 17
Trading accounts and business units ......................................................................................................... 17
Write-off of Company debt ........................................................................................................................ 17
Write-off of clients’ debt ............................................................................................................................. 18
8. EXTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. 18
General ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Partnerships ................................................................................................................................................. 18
External funding .......................................................................................................................................... 18
APPENDIX A – TABLE OF THRESHOLDS....................................................................................................... 19
APPENDIX B – FINANCIAL INSTRUCTIONS 1 .............................................................................................. 20
BUDGET VIREMENTS ............................................................................................................................. 21
PETTY CASH ............................................................................................................................................ 26
APPENDIX C – VERSION CONTROL ............................................................................................................ 30
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 4 of 30
PREFACE AND STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
i. Financial Regulations provide the framework for managing the financial affairs of the
Company, in respect of its own resources and resources that the Company manages
on behalf of its clients.
ii. These Financial Regulations apply to every Board member, Committee of the Board
and employee of the Company and, for the avoidance of doubt, trustees, directors,
officers and employees of any subsidiary, related party, resident group or panel, trust
or company and anyone acting on its behalf.
iii. All Board members and employees have a duty to take reasonable action to provide
for the security of the assets under their control, and to ensure that the use of
resources of the Company is legal, properly authorised, in the best interests of the
Company and delivers value for money for the Company and its clients.
iv. The Senior Financial Officer has a duty to maintain a continuous review of the
Financial Regulations, submitting any additions or amendments to the Board for
approval. The Executive Directors are also responsible for reporting breaches of the
Financial Regulations to the Board.
v. Executive Directors have a duty to ensure that all employees under their management
are aware of the existence and content of the Financial Regulations of the Company
and other regulatory documents and that they comply with them.
vi. The Senior Financial Officer has a duty to issue advice and guidance pursuant to the
Financial Regulations, which Board members, staff members and others acting on
behalf of the Company are required to follow.
vii. It is a disciplinary offence to breach these Financial Regulations or Financial
Instructions issued by the Senior Financial Officer on the authority of Financial
Regulations.
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 5 of 30
FINANCIAL REGULATIONS
1. GENERAL
1.1 The proper conduct of the financial affairs of an organisation is of paramount
importance. The management of the financial affairs of Homes for Haringey will be
amongst the most important activities a manager will undertake, in order to comply with
legal requirements, principles of good corporate governance and to ensure that all
decisions with a material financial impact are made in a rational way, according to due
process, and can be demonstrated as such.
1.2 These financial regulations should be read together with the Scheme of Delegations.
1.3 The Senior Financial Officer may issue Financial Instructions to Homes for Haringey
employees, supplementing the directives and guidance contained within these Financial
Regulations.
1.4 It is a disciplinary offence to fail to comply with Financial Regulations or the Financial
Instructions issued by the Senior Financial Officer.
1.5 Homes for Haringey employees have a duty to report breaches of the Financial
Regulations to an appropriate senior manager and to the Senior Financial Officer.
2. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
2.1 Unless stated to the contrary, in these Financial Regulations the terms below shall have
the following meanings:
a) ”the Company” refers to Homes for Haringey Limited, registered company number
05749092;
b) “Subsidiary” refers to Homes for Haringey Residential Community Interest Company,
registered company number 09543450, trading as Move 51° North. Or any other subsidiary that becomes part of the HfH group.
c) “Board” means the Board of Homes for Haringey or any other formally constituted
member body operating within the terms of its reference (e.g. a Committee of the
Board);
d) “Non-executive director” means a duly appointed member of the Board of Homes
for Haringey;
e) “Executive Director” means an employee of Homes for Haringey holding a post
designated as Executive Director or Managing Director;
f) “Company Secretary” means an someone designated by the Board in accordance
with the Companies Act 2006, to whom duties are delegated in accordance with the
Company’s Scheme of Delegation; and
g) ”The Council” refers to the London Borough of Haringey.
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 6 of 30
3. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
General
3.1 Financial management covers the planning, organising, directing and controlling of all
financial activities and resources of the Company. This includes the policy, accountability
and control framework for the effective and efficient use of the Company’s resources, the
resources of subsidiaries and the resources it manages on behalf of clients.
The Board
3.2 The Board is responsible for adopting the regulations of the Company and the code of
conduct for Board members and for approving the framework of policy, control and
accountability within which the Company operates. The Board is responsible for
monitoring compliance with this framework and compliance with statutory regulations.
3.3 The Board is also responsible for monitoring compliance with its decisions, decisions of
any Committee of the Board, decisions of any Board member and of Executive Directors.
Committees of the Board
3.4 The Audit and Risk Committee is responsible for risk management and internal and
external audit. It has the right of access to all the information it considers necessary, and
can consult directly with the internal audit service provider and with external auditors.
3.5 The Audit and Risk Committee (as a committee of the board) is responsible for reviewing
auditors’ reports and the annual management representation letter required by external
auditors.
Executive Leadership Team
3.6 The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) consists of the Managing Director, the Executive
Director of Operations, the Executive Director of Property, the Director of Asset
Management and Deputy Director of Property, and the Head of Corporate Affairs and
Company Secretary.
3.7 In accordance with the Scheme of Delegation, ELT is authorised to manage the affairs of
the Company in accordance with the vision, values and objectives of the Company and
general policies and specific decisions of the Board and Committees.
Managing Director
3.8 The Managing Director is responsible for making sure the Board’s direction is carried out
in the business. He or she must report to and provide information to the Board and its
Committees. He or she is responsible for establishing a framework for management
direction, style and standards and for monitoring the performance of the Company.
Company Secretary
3.9 The Company Secretary is responsible for promoting and maintaining high standards of
conduct in corporate governance and provides advice and guidance to the Board in
respect of this. The Company Secretary is also responsible for reporting any actual or
potential breaches of the law or maladministration to the Board.
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 7 of 30
3.10 The Company Secretary is responsible for maintaining the Company’s statutory register
including; a register of past and present directors, minutes of general meetings, Board
meetings and Committee meetings.
3.11 The Company Secretary is responsible for filing annual returns and annual audited
financial statements of the Company to Companies House.
3.12 The Company Secretary (together with the Senior Financial Officer) are responsible for
advising the Board if they judge that a decision made or about to be made would be
contrary to, or not wholly in accordance with, the budget adopted by the Board. Actions
that may be judged ‘contrary to the budget’ might include:
(a) initiating a new policy, project or course of action with financial implications that
cannot be contained within the adopted budget of the Company or of the clients
of the Company or have not been properly assessed; or
(b) Committing the Company or clients of the Company to expenditure in future years
that is in excess of the budget for those years or has not been properly assessed.
Senior Financial Officer
3.13 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for:
a) the proper administration of the financial and tax affairs of the Company;
b) setting and monitoring compliance with financial management standards;
c) advising on the corporate financial position and on the key financial controls
necessary to secure sound financial management;
d) providing financial information;
e) preparing the Company budget; and
f) treasury management including staff pensions.
3.14 The Senior Financial Officer also has a professional responsibility in relation to the
financial administration and stewardship of the Company in support of the statutory
duties of the Council’s Section 151 Officer. This statutory responsibility cannot be
overridden. The statutory duties arise from:
a) Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972;
b) The Local Government Finance Act 1988;
c) The Local Government and Housing Act 1989;
d) The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015;
e) The Local Government Act 2003.
3.15 The Senior Financial Officer has a responsibility to report to the Board, Managing
Director, and external auditor if the Company, its agents, or one of its employees:
a) has made, or is about to make, a decision which involves incurring unlawful
expenditure;
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 8 of 30
b) has taken, or is about to take, an unlawful action which has resulted or would result
in a loss or deficiency to the Company or one or more of its clients;
c) is about to make an unlawful entry in the accounts of the Company or the accounts
of one or more of its clients;
d) causes the Company’s reserves, or the reserves of clients to be depleted other than as
set out in the relevant financial plans.
3.16 Unlawful actions include acts prohibited by law, or outside the terms of the objects
and/or Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, or contravening an
approved policy of the Board.
Executive Directors
3.17 Executive Directors are responsible for:
a) ensuring that all proposals have been agreed in accordance with the Scheme of
Delegations;
b) ensuring compliance within their division with Contract Regulations, the Procurement
Code of Practice, and any Procurement Instructions or guidelines; and
c) ensuring that all employees within their division are aware of Financial Regulations
and are adequately trained, skilled, and experienced to be able to comply with them.
3.18 It is the responsibility of each Executive Director to seek approval on any matter liable to
materially affect the finances of the Company, before any commitments are incurred.
Virements to Company budgets
3.19 The Senior Financial Officer will issue Financial Instructions prescribing where changes to
a budget during each financial year require approval by the Board or appropriate
Committee.
3.20 Prescribed changes will include at least the following:
a) all proposed virements between divisions of the Company;
b) all proposed virements between any two of:
i. the budgets of the Company (Management Fee budgets),
ii. managed Council budgets, and
iii. retained Council budgets;
c) any increase in the budgeted income of the Company from whatever source in excess
of threshold 1a; and
d) any increase in the budgeted expenditure of the Company in excess of threshold 1b.
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 9 of 30
3.21 Other changes may be authorised by the budget holder, in accordance with the
Company’s Scheme of Delegation, provided that the net expenditure or income of the
division remains unchanged.
3.22 All budget changes must be recorded on the accounting system.
Virements to Council budgets
3.23 The Senior Financial Officer will issue Financial Instructions prescribing where changes to
a budget managed by the Company on behalf of its clients during each financial year
require approval by the Board or appropriate Committee to the proposed changes, prior
to their being recommended to the Council or other client(s).
3.24 The Senior Financial Officer will consult with the Council and other client(s) in
determining which class or classes of budget changes should be so prescribed.
3.25 Other proposed changes may be recommended by the Executive Director responsible for
managing the budget in question, for approval by the client in accordance with relevant
agreements and protocols.
3.26 All changes must be recorded on the accounting system.
Financial year
3.27 The Company’s financial year starts from 1st
of April and ends on the following 31st
of
March.
Accounting policies
3.28 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for selecting accounting policies based on
acceptable accounting principles, standards and procedures, and ensuring that they are
applied consistently.
Accounting records, procedures and returns
3.29 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for determining the accounting procedures
and the structure, format, coverage, timing and retention of accounting records of the
Company, including but not limited to the preparation of budgets, the financial
statements of the Company and group accounts. The Senior Financial Officer will also
have to liaise with the council in relation to shared services on the delivery of accounting
services.
Annual reports and financial statements
3.30 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that annual reports and financial
statements are prepared annually in accordance with relevant statutes, regulations,
guidance and applicable accounting standards.
3.31 The Senior Financial Officer has the authority to make such amendments to the treatment
of the transactions of the Company as are in the overall interest of the Company
provided that such change in treatment does not depart from the “True and Fair view” of
the financial statements.
3.32 The Board is responsible for approving and adopting the annual reports and financial
statements for any given financial year end.
Treatment of year-end balances
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 10 of 30
3.33 The carry forward of any under-spend or over-spend on a Company budget will be
subject to a decision of the Board.
4. FINANCIAL GOVERNANCE
Preventing fraud and corruption
4.01 All employees of the Company and its subsidiary are required to conduct themselves to
the highest standards. The involvement of employees in any form of bribery, corruption,
fraud or deception will not be tolerated.
4.02 The Executive Directors are responsible for the development and maintenance of an anti-
fraud and anti-corruption policy and for ensuring that it is promoted throughout the
Company.
4.03 It is the responsibility of Executive Directors to ensure that their employees have
knowledge of, and comply with, the Anti-Fraud Strategy and Whistle-blowing Policy.
Bribery and corruption
4.04 It is a disciplinary offence for any person to use their position with the Company to accept
or ask for any gift, reward or other advantage from work done in an official capacity, or
to seek advantage for a friend or a family member.
4.05 Such acts seriously undermine the public image of the Company and its employees. As a
result the Company will discipline employees on the grounds of gross misconduct if they
breach Regulation 4.04.
Financial irregularities
4.06 Employees must act with absolute honesty and integrity when dealing with the assets of
the Company, its clients, or any other assets for which the Company is responsible. The
Company will rigorously enforce sanctions through the relevant Human Resources
policies and procedures. These give examples of financial irregularities that are
considered to be gross misconduct.
4.07 All employees must ensure that any irregularity or suspected irregularity involving
Company or client resources, funds, property or any other assets for which the Company
is responsible is reported immediately to the Company Secretary and the Senior Financial
Officer. This also applies to the misuse of computer passwords and the disclosure to
unauthorised individuals of information obtained by their use.
4.08 The Company Secretary will decide how such matters should be investigated.
4.09 The decision to report financial irregularities to the police will be made by the Company
Secretary. Where employees are involved, the Company Secretary will inform the
Managing Director and appropriate Executive Director.
4.10 The Company Secretary and Senior Financial Officer will report to an appropriate body
of the Company matters which are considered to adversely affect the efficient or proper
use of the resources of the Company.
Assets
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Homes for Haringey Limited Financial Regulations Page 11 of 30
4.11 Each Executive Director must ensure that records and assets are properly maintained and
securely held. He/she should also ensure that contingency plans for the security of assets
and continuity of service in the event of disaster or system failure are in place.
4.12 Executive Directors will ensure that the Company’s assets are used efficiently, effectively
and economically in order to demonstrate that value for money is being obtained.
4.13 Executive Directors will determine where an asset is no longer required by the Company,
by reason of obsolescence, exhaustion, wear and tear, over-provision, or otherwise. Such
determinations will be recorded in an appropriate register.
4.14 Disposal of an asset no longer required by the Company must be for the highest
available consideration.
4.15 Executive Directors will make arrangements for such disposals. Where the Executive
Director estimated the realisable consideration to be in excess of threshold 2, the
approval of the Board to these arrangements is required. Details of disposals shall be
recorded in the register.
Audit
4.16 The Council Member of the Company will appoint external auditors, in accordance with
company law, to carry out an independent examination of the Company’s financial
statements and its group accounts.
4.17 The Governance and Risk Manager and Senior Financial Officer will propose
arrangements for internal and external audit for approval by the Audit and Risk
Committee and will ensure the external audit programme is delivered on time and in line
with the Board’s expectations.
4.18 The Governance and Risk Manager will deliver a programme of assurance activities
including responsibility for the organisation’s internal audit forward plan and needs
assessment and overseeing the work of the Internal Auditors, ensuring that the Audit and
Risk Committee have the relevant, necessary and timely information to fulfill their remit.
4.19 The arrangements for internal and external audit relating to business activities carried out
by the Company on behalf of a client will be made after consultation with the client, such
that the audit is of a scope and quality and is carried out at a time to meet the needs of
both the Company and the client.
4.20 The Company Secretary may authorise staff members or audit staff to:
a) enter at any time all premises of the Company;
b) have unrestricted access to all records, documents, and correspondence relating to
any financial and other transactions, having regard to data protection legislation;
c) remove and/or secure any physical or electronic record, document, or
correspondence of the Company as considered necessary;
d) require and receive such explanations as he/she considers necessary concerning any
matter being examined;
e) obtain from employees or former employees an account of, and/or return of, any
cash, stores or other property owned, hired, leased or borrowed by the Company.
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5. FINANCIAL PLANNING
General
5.1 The Board is responsible for agreeing the framework of policy, control and accountability
of the Company. In respect of financial planning, the key elements include but are not
limited to:
a) the Finance Strategy;
b) the Management Agreement;
c) the annual Delivery Plan;
d) the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (“MTFS”) ; and,
e) the Asset Management Strategy
Preparation of a business plan
5.2 The Managing Director is responsible for annually proposing to the Board for their
approval a Business Plan, including a Delivery Plan setting out what the Company has
agreed to deliver to clients in each financial year.
Resource allocation
5.3 Executive Directors are responsible for developing and maintaining a resource allocation
process that generates budgets appropriate to the planned activities of the Company and
the budgets it manages on behalf of clients, as set out in the Management Agreement
and annual Delivery Plan, in accordance with the policy, control and accountability
framework of the Company.
Budget format
5.4 The structure and format of the budget will be proposed by the Senior Financial Officer
for approval by the Board, who will subsequently issue instructions to each Executive
Director and budget holder.
Budget preparation
5.5 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for preparing a detailed budget for each
financial year for presentation to the Board for adoption, covering each of:
a) the Budget of the Company (the Management Fee budget);
b) the Housing Revenue Account Managed Budgets;
c) the General Fund Managed Budgets;
d) the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme; and,
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e) the Budget of any subsidiary.
5.6 It is the responsibility of the Senior Financial Officer to ensure that any budgets that must
be notified to a client or proposed to a client for their approval are duly notified or
proposed in accordance with relevant agreements and protocols.
5.7 It is the responsibility of Executive Directors to ensure that budget estimates reflecting
agreed service plans are submitted to the Board for their approval and that these
estimates are prepared in compliance with the instructions issued by the Senior Financial
Officer.
5.8 It is the responsibility of each Executive Director or other staff member charged with
preparation and management of a capital programme, whether on behalf of the
Company or one of its clients, to ensure that budget estimates reflecting agreed capital
project plans are submitted to the Board for their approval and that these estimates are
prepared in compliance with the instructions issued by the Senior Financial Officer.
Budget pressures
5.9 Instructions on budget preparation will be issued to Executive Directors by the Senior
Financial Officer. These instructions will take account of at least, but not only, the
following budget pressures:
a) legal requirements;
b) government guidelines and policy changes;
c) inflation and cost-of-living increases;
d) the policy decisions of clients;
e) the policy decisions of the Company;
f) the Delivery Plan;
g) other miscellaneous cost pressures; and
h) risks.
Budget monitoring and control
5.10 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for providing budget holders with access to
appropriate financial information to enable them to manage their budgets effectively.
He/she will rely on the accounting shared service provided by the council to HfH. He/she
will monitor income and expenditure against budget allocations using all available
information, including information provided by Executive Directors and their staff, and
report to the Board on the financial position of the Company and of the budgets it
manages on behalf of clients on a regular basis.
5.11 There will be a monthly budget management process determined by the Senior Financial
Officer. It is the responsibility of each Executive Director to plan, control, monitor and
report on income and expenditure within their division and to monitor and report
financial performance with due regard to information provided by their own staff and the
Senior Financial Officer. They are responsible for reporting material variances against
budget, both actual and forecast, for their division.
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5.12 It is also the responsibility of each Executive Director to ensure that his/her staff take
action to avoid under or over-spends against budget and to alert the Senior Financial
Officer to any financial problems they encounter. Executive Directors will make adequate
provisions and accruals to reflect potential liabilities within their division. They will also
provide accurate income and expenditure forecasts against the budgets for their division.
5.13 Executive Directors and their staff shall pay due regard to budget advice and guidance
issued by the Senior Financial Officer including accounting guidance for closing the
accounts at the end of the financial year.
6. RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF RESOURCES
General
6.1 It is essential that the Company and subsidiaries develop and maintain a robust system
for identifying and evaluating risks to the business activities of the Company and
subsidiaries and the business activities managed by the Company and subsidiaries on
behalf of its clients. Identification of these risks must be responded to with meaningful
plans and action to reduce or eliminate the risk or mitigate or eliminate its impact. This
process should rely on the proactive participation of all those associated with planning
and delivering services.
6.2 In accordance with the Scheme of Delegations, the Managing Director is responsible for
ensuring that proper systems of financial control, risk assessment and risk management
and legal and regulatory compliance are established and maintained, and that regular
reports on these are provided, at least annually, to the Board.
Risk management
6.3 Every Board member, Executive Director and member of staff is responsible for ensuring
that risk management is effectively implemented.
6.4 The Board will establish a Risk Management Framework (RMF) including a Risk
Management Strategy based on a risk register which is updated regularly to ensure that
both new and emerging risks in the business are recognised.
6.5 The Audit and Risk Committee will oversee risk management including; monitoring the
effectiveness of implementation plans supporting the Risk Management Framework and
reviewing the risk register.
6.6 Each Executive Director is responsible for the management of risks as set out in the risk
register, and for registering, keeping under review, and managing any risks specific to
their divisions.
6.7 The Company Secretary is responsible for and has delegated authority to ensure that
insurance cover is in place that is suitable and sufficient for the employees, activities,
assets, potential liabilities and risks of the Company.
Internal controls
6.8 Internal control refers to the systems devised by management with the intention of
achieving the objectives of the Company in a manner that promotes, facilitates and
demonstrates economic, efficient and effective use of resources and that the assets and
interests of the Company are safeguarded.
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6.9 The Managing Director is responsible for advising the Board on the effectiveness of
systems of internal control and making arrangements to implement internal controls
appropriate to the activities of the Company. These arrangements must be compliant
with relevant law, recognised best practice and the policy, control and accountability
framework of the Company.
6.10 In respect of services received by the Company from service providers and management
services supplied to clients by the Company, the Managing Director may take into
account the internal control systems operated by the service provider or client in
determining the internal control systems required by the Company.
6.11 It is the responsibility of Executive Directors to ensure that their staff have knowledge of
and comply with all systems of internal control.
Treasury management
6.12 The Company Secretary and Senior Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that the
banking, cash handling, income collection, payment and investment arrangements of the
Company are compliant with relevant law, recognised best practice and the policy,
control and accountability framework of the Company and subsidiaries.
6.13 The Company Secretary and Senior Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that the
investment assets of the Company are managed in the best interests of the Company,
taking a balanced view of risk and potential gain.
Staffing
6.14 The Board, through the Scheme of Delegation, appoints the Managing Director
responsible for determining how staff roles within the Company will be organised.
6.15 The Managing Director is responsible for providing overall management to staff. He/she
is also responsible for ensuring that there is suitable system in place for determining the
remuneration of a post.
6.16 Executive Directors are responsible for controlling employee numbers and cost by:
a) making representations on staff numbers and cost for updates to the Medium-Term
Financial Strategy and other planning documents when required;
b) advising the Board on the staffing budget necessary in any given year to provide the
services set out in the Delivery Plan;
c) adjusting staffing to a level that can be funded within approved budget provision;
d) varying the provision as necessary within that constraint in order to meet changing
operational needs; and
e) the proper use of appropriate Human Resources policies and procedures.
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7. SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES
General
7.1 For sound financial management, financial planning and internal control to take place,
robust systems and procedures are essential; systems include, but are not limited to,
Information Technology systems.
The accounting system
7.2 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for the operation of the accounting systems,
the structure and format of accounts and the supporting financial records of the
Company and subsidiaries.
7.3 Any changes made to the financial systems used by a division or subsidiary, or the
introduction of new financial systems to a division or subsidiary must be proposed by the
Executive Director of the division or subsidiary to the Senior Financial Officer for
approval.
7.4 Executive Directors are responsible for the operation of financial processes in their own
divisions in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Company, and will have
regard to the advice of the Senior Financial Officer.
7.5 Executive Directors must ensure that their staff are aware of and comply with financial
policies and procedures and receive financial training that has been approved by the
Senior Financial Officer.
7.6 Executive Directors must ensure that, where appropriate, computer and other systems are
registered in accordance with data protection legislation.
7.7 Executive Directors must ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities under
data protection and freedom of information legislation.
Income and expenditure
7.8 It is the responsibility of Executive Directors to ensure that the Company’s Scheme of
Delegation has been established within their area, in respect of financial matters and is
operating effectively.
Scheme of delegation
7.9 The Company will maintain a Scheme of Delegation with respect to management
decisions, contractual commitments entered into, and the financial affairs and payments
made on behalf of the Company.
7.10 The Company Secretary will maintain the Scheme of Delegation and will conduct a
periodic review to ensure that it is fit for purpose and is being complied with.
7.11 The Senior Financial Officer will maintain a register of Authorised Signatories reflecting
the powers conferred on individuals through the Scheme of Delegation and will conduct
a periodic review to ensure that it is fit for purpose and is being complied with.
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7.12 The Company Secretary may issue instructions to all employees of the Company with
regard to the administration of the Scheme of Delegation and register of Authorised
Signatories.
7.13 It will be the responsibility of each Executive Director to ensure that all employees under
their management are aware of and comply with any instructions issued by the Company
Secretary with regard to the Scheme of Delegation and the register of Authorised
Signatories pertaining to their division.
Payments to employees and Board members
7.14 Human Resources (HR) are responsible for all payments of salaries and wages to all
Homes for Haringey staff, including payments for overtime, and for payment of
allowances and expenses to Board Members.
Taxation
7.15 The Senior Financial Officer (and HR for Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and National
Insurance) is responsible for advising the Board on taxation issues pertaining to the
business activities of the Company.
7.16 Executive Directors are responsible for ensuring that the appropriate controls and
procedures are operated within their directorates in relation to taxation issues.
7.17 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that the tax registrations of the
Company are appropriate to its activities in accordance with the law. This will include at
least:
Corporation Tax
PAYE
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Construction Industry Scheme
7.18 The Senior Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that the financial transactions of
the Company are accounted for and recorded in such a way as to provide an adequate
record for tax purposes and that tax payments are made and returns submitted by their
due date and that tax rebates are reclaimed.
7.19 All staff and Board members should adhere to VAT and income tax rules and regulations
and tax guidance issued by the Senior Financial Officer.
Trading accounts and business units
7.20 It is the responsibility of the Managing Director to advise on and authorise the
establishment and operation of trading accounts and/or Business Units. Executive
Directors will take due regard of this advice as it applies to their directorates.
Write-off of Company debt
7.21 All debts owed to the Company of a value less than £1,000 (threshold 3) which remain
unpaid may be written off on the authority of the Managing Director.
7.22 Debts above this threshold will be written off by the Board upon the advice of the
Managing Director.
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Write-off of clients’ debt
7.23 Arrears of housing rents owed to the Council and other housing income managed by the
Company on behalf of the Council may be written off in accordance with the Council’s policy
and with the following authorities;
a. Up to £100, the approval of the Managing Director and reported to the Council’s
Section 151 Officer.
b. £100 and up to £25,000, the approval of the Council’s Section 151 Officer upon the
advice of the Managing Director.
c. £25,000 or above, the approval of the Council’s Cabinet Member for Resources upon
the advice of the Managing Director and the Council’s Section 151 Officer.
7.24 The Company shall keep a record of all such sums written off and notify the Board
whenever write-offs are done during the financial year.
8. EXTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS
General
8.1 The Company may elect to enter into arrangements with other parties in order to achieve
the objectives of the Company.
Partnerships
8.2 The Board is responsible for approving delegations to other parties, including
frameworks for partnerships.
8.3 The Board may delegate functions, including those relating to partnerships, to members
of staff. These will be set out in the Company’s Scheme of Delegation.
8.4 The representation of the Company on partnership and external bodies will be set out in
the Company’s Scheme of Delegation.
8.5 The Company Secretary is responsible for promoting and maintaining the same high
standards of conduct with regard to financial administration in partnerships that apply
throughout the Company.
8.6 The Company Secretary is responsible for ensuring that the accounting arrangements
adopted in respect of partnerships, pooled budgets and joint ventures are adequate for
the purpose. He or she must also consider the overall corporate governance
arrangements and legal issues when arranging contracts with external bodies. He or she
must ensure that the risks have been fully appraised before agreements are entered into
with external bodies.
8.7 Executive Directors are responsible for ensuring that appropriate approvals both internal
and external are obtained before any negotiations are concluded in relation to work with
external bodies.
External funding
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8.8 Executive Directors are responsible for ensuring the collection of income pertaining to the
activities of their division, whether fees and charges to clients, recovery of debt, grant
funding or other source of funds.
8.9 Executive Directors are responsible for ensuring that they maintain an awareness of
potential sources of funds to support the activities of the Company and that they
investigate and exploit suitable external sources, subject to consultation and approval as
appropriate.
8.10 The ELT is responsible for monitoring and reporting to the Board the performance of the
Company in the collection of income, whether fees and charges to clients, recovery of
debt, grant funding or other source of funds.
APPENDIX A – TABLE OF THRESHOLDS
Threshold Value Explanation Financial
Regulation
1a £50,000 Maximum income budget permitted to
be vired by budget holder
3.17c
1b £50,000 Maximum expenditure budget permitted
to be vired by budget holder
3.17d
2 £10,000 Maximum asset disposal by Executive
Director
4.15
3 £1,000 Maximum write-off of Company debt by
Senior Financial Officer
7.20
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APPENDIX B – FINANCIAL INSTRUCTIONS 1
This table identifies the Financial Instructions issued under the authority of Financial Regulation
1.2.
FI No. Content
1 Budget Submissions 2007/08 [no longer applies]
1a Budget Submissions 2007/08 – Addendum [no longer applies]
2 Use of Contingency [no longer applies]
3 Budget Virements
4 Petty Cash
5 Benefits Declarations [no longer applies]
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HOMES FOR HARINGEY FINANCIAL INSTRUCTION NO. 2
BUDGET VIREMENTS
Introduction
This is a Financial Instruction issued under the authority of Homes for Haringey Financial
Regulation 1.2.
It sets out the arrangements for virements (budget transfers) relating to Company budgets (under
Financial Regulation 3.19) and Managed budgets (under Financial Regulation 3.23).
COMPANY BUDGETS
Company budgets are those that are funded from Homes for Haringey’s Management Fee
income, and are part of the Company’s accounts. They can be identified by profit centres
starting with an “X”.
Financial Limits
Budget holders may, on their own authority, approve virements internal to their own profit
centres up to a limit of £25,000 gross expenditure or income. This means that budget increases
must not exceed £25,000, nor must budget decreases. Virements must not be artificially divided
to avoid this limit.
Executive Directors may, on their own authority, approve virements internal to their own profit
centres up to a limit of £50,000 gross expenditure or income. This means that budget increases
must not exceed £50,000, nor must budget decreases. Virements must not be artificially divided
to avoid this limit.
The criteria set out in Financial Regulation 3.20 must also be observed.
Process
The budget-holder should complete section 1 of the template attached as Appendix A. Budget
holders should normally discuss the proposed virement with their Finance support contact in the
course of normal monitoring meetings, in advance of completing the template.
For virements under £25,000, the completed template should be sent to the Finance
Team. The Finance Team will complete section 2 and either process the virement or return
the template to the budget-holder for amendment, as appropriate.
For virements of £25,000 and above, the completed template should be countersigned by
the relevant Director and returned to the Finance Team.
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o For virements of under £50,000 the Finance Team will complete section 2 and
either process the virement or return the template to the budget-holder for
amendment, as appropriate.
o For virements of £50,000 and over, the Finance Team will arrange for approval
to be sought from the Board as part of the monthly reporting cycle. If approved by
the Board, the Finance Team will process the virement; if not approved, the
Finance Team will provide feedback on the Board’s decision to the budget-
holder.
MANAGED BUDGETS
Managed Budgets are those owned by the Council but for which management has been
delegated to Homes for Haringey through the Management Agreement. The revenue budgets
can be identified by profit centres starting with an “H”.
For Managed Budgets, the Council’s Financial Regulations will apply to the virement process
(see http://harinet.haringey.gov.uk/intranet/directorates/finance_services/corporate_finance-
2/financial_regulations.htm). This Financial Instruction sets out the process by which these Rules
should be observed.
Revenue - Financial Limits
All changes in gross expenditure and/or income budgets, between or within managed budgets
are to be approved as a virement in accordance with the below thresholds:
(a) Up to £100,000 by the relevant Director(s), and reported to the Council’s relevant Head
of Finance;
(b) £100,000 up to £250,000 by the Council’s Section 151 Officer following referral from
the relevant Director(s) and where it has been determined by the Council’s Section 151
Officer that there is no change to Council policy;
(c) £100,000 and above involving a policy change; or any other virement of £250,000 and
above, by the Council’s Cabinet.
The criteria set out in Homes for Haringey’s Financial Regulation 3.22 must also be observed.
Capital - Financial Limits
All changes in gross expenditure and/or income budgets within service areas, including
additions, are to be approved as a virement in accordance with the below thresholds:
(a) Up to £250,000 by the Council’s Section 151 Officer following referral from the relevant
Director(s);
(b) £250,000 and above, by the Council’s Cabinet.
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Any changes between service areas are to be approved by Council’s Cabinet and are a Key
Decision in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.
VIREMENTS BETWEEN SERVICES/DIRECTORATES
Virements between services within each directorate of the Company can be authorised by the
Executive Director, subject to the limits set out above. Alternatively, for virements of under
£25,000, both budget-holders may sign.
Virements between directorates can be authorised, subject to the limits set out above, by the
signature of both Executive Directors involved.
In other respects, virements between services/directorates should follow the process set out for
Company budgets above.
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SECTION 1
Virement Title
Report for Approval
Authority for decision In accordance with Financial Regulations
Budget holder’s name and
Position
Executive Director/ELT member
Portfolio Holder
1. Reason for Virement
1.1 To increase the ……... budget(s) by £………… in order to ……..
1.2 The ……… budget(s) should be reduced in order to fund these increases.
2 Virement Details
Increase(s)
Profit Centre PC Name Account Works Order Amount This Year Only
or Ongoing
£
Total £
Decrease(s)
Profit Centre PC Name Account Works Order Amount This Year Only
or Ongoing
£
Total £
Signature of Budget Holder(s)
___________________ Date __________ _______________ Date ________
Signature of Executive Director (if £25,000 or more)
_____________________________ Date ___________________
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SECTION 2
[For Finance Use Only]
5.1 Checklist
Profit centres within originator/Director’s span of control
Proposed virements add up to zero
Budget(s) to be reduced not overspent/likely to overspend
Budgets do not increase expected income
Proposed virements do not exceed financial limits (£25,000/£50,000)
5.2 Action
Return to originator for amendment [y/n] [Initial]
Sufficient approval to process [y/n] [Initial] Go to 5.5
Requires Board approval [y/n] [Initial] Go to 5.3
Requires Executive approval [y/n] [Initial] Go to 5.4
5.3 Committee/Board
Date Submitted [date] [Initial]
Approved? [y/n] [Initial] Go to 5.5
Requires Executive approval [y/n] [Initial] Go to 5.4
5.4 Executive
Date Submitted [date] [Initial]
Approved? [y/n] [Initial] Go to 5.5
5.5 Processing
SAP Budget Journal No. [y/n] [Initial]
SAP Budget Journal date [date]
Originator notified [y/n] [Initial]
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HOMES FOR HARINGEY FINANCIAL INSTRUCTION NO. 3
PETTY CASH
Status of this Financial Instruction
This is a Financial Instruction issued under the authority of Homes for Haringey Financial
Regulation 1.2.
It sets out the arrangements for the management of Petty Cash and other expenses claims.
Employees are reminded that the Scheme of Delegation and Financial Regulations must be
complied with in observing this instruction.
Purpose of Petty Cash
Petty Cash will be paid to staff only for goods or services paid for by themselves in order to
deliver services where:
A Purchase Order cannot be raised because of urgency or other valid reason; and,
The purchase is agreed by the appropriate manager prior to the purchase; and,
The value of the purchase is below £20.00 (or £60.00 for purchases paid for by Haringey
Repairs Service (HRS) staff); and,
The purchase to be reimbursed from Petty Cash secures value for money.
Claiming Petty Cash
An expenses claim form is available on the Finance Section of the Staff Intranet for
reimbursement of travel costs, mileage, subsistence and minor purchases can be reclaimed. This
form replaces the previous separate forms.
It is the responsibility of the claimant to correctly fill in the form. Incorrectly completed forms will
be returned to the claimant for correction.
Claims should be made within 2 months of incurring the expenditure. Claims beyond this date
will not be reimbursed unless prior agreement has been given by the Senior Financial Officer.
Claims of up to £20 (or £60 for HRS purchases) will be paid from Petty Cash. Claims over £20
(or £60 for HRS purchases) will normally be made via the payroll in accordance with the normal
weekly or monthly payroll cycle. In exceptional circumstances, payments may at the company’s
discretion be made by cheque.
Claimants should:
Use the correct form;
Fill in all the relevant sections, and make sure sufficient explanations and include the correct
account codes are shown;
Attach all relevant receipts including VAT receipts;
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Get the form authorised by an authorised signatory in the claimant’s Directorate; and
Send the form for checking and payment. For claims of up to £20 (or £60 for HRS
purchases), take to a Petty Cash Imprest holder.
For travel, claims must show the starting point and the destination as well as the purpose of the
visit. For business entertaining, the names of the recipients and their organisation must be
shown, and the purpose of the entertaining must be clearly stated.
The company will not reimburse any credit card or bank charges resulting from a delay in
submitting an expense claim.
Claimants may use the following checklist to ensure that the form is properly completed:
Is the arithmetic correct?
Have you attached all the receipts?
Do the receipts reconcile to the claim?
Has all VAT been separately identified?
Is the account/department code correct?
Has the claim been signed by an appropriate person?
Have you supplied sufficient information?
For all travel show start and end destination and purpose of visit.
For all business entertaining show names and organisation of recipients, and
purpose of meeting.
Is the mileage rate correct?
Is the claim for eligible expenditure that can be reimbursed by the company?
Authorising Petty Cash
Managers wishing to approve Petty Cash and other expense claims must be designated to do so
through the Authorised Signatories List.
Managers should use the above checklist to ensure that the form is properly completed, and in
addition consider:
Are the purposes of the claim within my power to authorise?
Is the total amount of the claim within my limits as an Authorised Signatory?
Receiving Petty Cash
Claims of up to £20 (or £60 for HRS purchases) can be reimbursed by Petty Cash Imprest
holders.
Claims in excess of £20 (or £60 for HRS purchases) can only be reimbursed by sending the
completed and authorised Expenses Claim Form to the Shared Service Centre (SSC) - Pay and
Data Team.
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Petty Cash Imprest holders are required to check that the form has been properly completed and
authorised, and totals £20 (or £60 for HRS) or less. Claimants must sign the form to signify
receipt of the cash paid out.
Managing Petty Cash Imprests
Petty Cash Imprest Holders are authorised to disburse Petty Cash in accordance with the
arrangements set out herein. If the Petty Cash Imprest holder has any doubts about the propriety
of the expenses claimed, the correct completion of the form, or the authority of the manager to
agree the claim, he/she should defer disbursement until having consulted with the Senior
Financial Officer.
Petty Cash Imprests should be returned to the agreed level at least every month. To do so, Petty
Cash Ijmprest holders need to:
Complete the appropriate form
Follow the guidance about how to complete
Have it signed by an authorized person
Send it cashiers.
Petty Cash Imprests must be made available for inspection and reconciliation at any time by
audit or other staff authorised by the Senior Financial Officer. It is a disciplinary offence for a
Petty Cash Imprest holder not to make their Imprest available for inspection when properly
required to.
Petty Cash Imprest holders must complete an annual return to the Senior Financial Officer
certifying the level of their imprest, in accordance with instructions and deadlines issued by the
Senior Financial Officer.
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APPENDIX C – VERSION CONTROL
Updated
by
Updated
on
Filename & path Status
Mark Smith Oct 2005 ALMO Financial Regulations v2.doc Approved by Shadow
Board
Andrew
Forde-
Johnston
20/06/06 C:\AFJ\Haringey\HfH Finance
Toolkit\Financial Regulations and
CSOs\HfH Financial Regulations v1.doc
Draft - Superseded
Andrew
Forde-
Johnston
28/06/06 C:\AFJ\Haringey\HfH Finance
Toolkit\Financial Regulations &
CSOs\HfH Financial Regulations v2.doc
Draft - Superseded
Mark Smith 15/08/06 HFH Financial Regulations v3.doc Approved by Finance
& Audit Committee
30-08-06
Mark Smith 01-03-07 HFH Financial Regulations v4.doc Approved by Finance
& Audit Committee
28-02-07
Rowann
Limond
10-02-09 HFH Financial Regulations v5.doc
Approved by Finance
& Audit Committee
10-02-09
Rowann
Limond
11-03-11 HFH Financial Regulations v6.doc
Approved by Finance
& Audit Committee
25-05-11
Andrew
Adegboye
Dec 2015 HFH Financial Regulations v7.doc
Review and updating
Nisar
Ahmed
Feb 2016 Review and updating
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Homes for Haringey Board meeting Agenda Item
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Report for Board
Title Resident Board member recruitment
Report for Discussion
Business plan link Governance Risk and Compliance Framework
Risk map link Failure to comply with statutory obligations (e.g. data protection,
code of governance, regulatory requirements etc)
Authority for decision Proposed changes to the organisations Rules are for the Board to
consider before making a Resolution proposal to the Council
Member.
Officer to contact for more
information
Catherine Hardy Smith – Head of Corporate Affairs and Company
Secretary
Executive Director Andrew Billany
Portfolio Holder Keith Jenkins
KEY ACTION
That the Board discuss the approach to the Resident Board Member recruitment process.
1. INTRODUCTION
Board members may be aware that the three-year term of office for all four resident Board
members comes to an end this year. Before starting the process of recruitment Board are asked to
discuss the approach for resident appointments to ensure that they are recruited on a competency
basis for their skills, knowledge and experience.
We also ask the Board to discuss the merits of the election aspect of Resident Board Member
recruitment and whether this part of the process continues to meet the needs of our residents and
organisation.
2. TIMING
The Board is required under its Rules to appoint Resident Board Members at its 2016 Annual
General Meeting which is scheduled for 24th
October 2016.
3. BACKGROUND
For the last round of resident Board recruitment in August 2013, 55 residents attended free Board
member training workshops. To qualify, candidates had to live in the borough, be over 18, and a
council tenant or leaseholder (residing in their leasehold property).
The workshops covered:
The role of a Board member
Effective decision-making
Having effective meetings
Influencing local community
Interview skills and CV writing
Preparing for election
Following this training, 25 HfH residents applied for, and were interviewed for, Resident Board
Member vacancies. Of these, 13 were deemed to have the appropriate skills and knowledge to
go through an election process, which was handled for us by UK-Engage.
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Homes for Haringey Board meeting Agenda Item
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In the past few years, HfH has experienced a changing and challenging economic, social and
political environment. We have worked to tighten our governance structure so we are able to
demonstrate robust control, forward thinking and effective risk management. In order to further
improve this, our Board members must have the right skills, knowledge and experience to meet
ever more challenging risks and demands of managing a £92 million pound business managed
under Company Law.
Research has shown that many housing providers are moving away from holding elections for
Resident Board Members, and instead focussing on applicants’ competence to take on the role. To
be clear, this isn't about removing the Resident Board member places- just the part of the election
in the appointment and whether this adds anything to the selection process.
4. CONSIDERATIONS
a. Risks
Our rules state: Prior to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2016 and prior to every AGM
where Resident Board Members are required to be appointed under article 18.1 of our Rules,
‘’direct or indirect elections shall be held among the Tenants or Leaseholders for the number of
Resident Board Members to be appointed thereat. Only Tenants or one Leaseholder shall be
eligible to be appointed as Resident Board Members but otherwise the mode and manner of such
elections shall be as the Board may from time to time agree subject at all times to compliance with
Article 16.’’ (Article 16 relates to the numbers of each type of board member and is not relevant
for this discussion.)
The Rules allow for the Board to set out the manner of appointment, under direct or indirect
election process’s. This means that a competency based framework can be used with a final
election process for those that are selected by the Board (or indeed other panel if the Board
wishes).
b. Finance
The recruitment (which is in fact in part an engagement process) process in 2013 cost £35,000. The
cost of running the ballot part of the process, cost £15,000. There is a budget for the 2016
recruitment of £20,000 which will cover the costs of promotion, training and support for potential
applicants so the engagement part of the recruitment process remains.
c. Customer/Resident impact
It could be argued that a change to remove the Election part of the process makes the Board more
accessible, as the previous system was based on both competency AND ability to win an election
campaign. A system without an election would be based on merit only, and obviously support and
training would be offered to interested residents in the form of application writing, interview skills and
understanding of requirements that will provide benefits to residents outside of the Board Member
appointment.
d. Communications (Internal and External)
HfH have a strong Resident Scrutiny Panel (RSP) and suite of various Customer Forums in place. As
part of the consultation around any considered change, we need to ensure we remind all our
residents about the routes by which they can be involved, other than via Board involvement.
The final approved method will be promoted through the various routes through which we can
gather feedback, including through social media etc.
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Homes for Haringey Board meeting Agenda Item
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e. Human Resources (HR)
A clear, accessible and well-planned programme of training and engagement will be outlined, in
order to provide assurance to potential applicants that their needs would be supported through the
process.
f. Health and Safety
There are no Health and Safety implications.
g. Equality and diversity impact
We need to ensure that as part of the recruitment planning we check that access to the recruitment
process is available to all residents, and that we are doing everything reasonable and necessary to
provide appropriate support for would-be applicants.
5. RECOMMENDATION
i. That the Board discuss the approach to Resident Board member recruitment, including the
election part of the process.
Catherine HardySmith
Head of Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary
15th
January 2016
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