wales & west housing's spotlight on merthyr tydfil spring 2013

MERTHYR TYDFILISSUE 5 | SPRING 2013

SPOTLIGHT ON

Welfare Reformweathering thestorm

Getting online thriving online

Our latest newdevelopments in your area

Connect24 telephone and telecare services

2 | Spotlight on MERTHYR TYDFIL | Spring 2013 | www.wwha.co.uk

First of all I am very pleased to tell you that in ourmost recent Resident Satisfaction Survey 88% ofour residents told us that they were satisfied withthe overall service provided by WWH. This is a 2%increase compared to the survey we did in 2011,and, a significant increase of 7% on the results weachieved in 2007.

Another significant development since our lastSpotlight on Merthyr Tydfil is the investment wehave made in seven new innovative Tenancy Support Officers posts. After a successful recruitment exercise our new TSOs are, as I write,starting their new roles across Wales and will betaking a proactive and handson approach to helping our residents to weather the welfare reform storm. Across the business we are continuing to explore and invest in new technology and our digital inclusion programme iscontinuing apace, in itself playing an increasinglyimportant role in helping our residents to dealwith forthcoming welfare reform changes.

I am also very pleased to announce that, in recognition of our capacity as a developing association, we have been granted a substantialtranche of additional funds by the Welsh Government to help us build more much neededaffordable homes across Wales. When we sentyou our Business Plan last autumn we told you wewould deliver 800 new homes in the next fiveyears. Thanks to this new investment we are nowon course to deliver 1,000 new homes in the nextfour years.

However developingnew homes is just apart of what we do andso to ensure that we remain customerfocussed, and readilyaccountable, we are undergoing our regularselfassessmentprocess. I and my fellow directors have been conducting our annual staff roadshows and haveso far spoken to more than three quarters of allour staff across Wales, many of whom live in thecommunities in which they work, gaining invaluable insights and feedback from them.

Finally, it gives me great pleasure to tell you thatSunday Times Best Companies has ranked us thetop notforprofit organisation in Wales for the second year running – placing us 7th in the UKoverall. We not only moved one place up the ranking from our 2012 position in 8th place, butwe also retained our coveted gold standard ThreeStars rating. I’m sure you will agree that this is another very pleasing result and a testament tothe hard work and dedication of our fantastic staff. To conclude, I hope that this briefing will help tokeep you up to date with much of our grassrootswork in your area, as well as the bigger pictureabout WWH. Please don’t hesitate to get in touchat any time with your ideas and comments aboutany aspect of our work.

Yours Anne Hinchey, Chief Executive.

ANNE’S INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Spring 2013 edition of Spotlight on Merthyr Tydfil, bringing you updates about Wales & West Housing initiatives in your area. This edition features our usual mix ofnews about some of our current countyspecific projects, plus relevant organisationwide updates.

3 | Spotlight on MERTHYR TYDFIL | LOCAL NEWS | Spring 2013 | www.wwha.co.uk

Working efficiently with Merthyr Tydfil Housing Benefit team we have been able toidentify the 66 WWH households in the countywho will be affected by the change.

Our staff have contacted all affected residentsto talk through the changes, discuss the potential impact on household budgets and towork with them to find affordable solutions.

To date, the vast majority of our residents havetold us that they intend to stay in their existinghomes although many may struggle to makeup the shortfall in their housing benefit.

In recognition that many of our residents willneed more help to sustain their tenancies, wehave also invested heavily in providing ongoing support through the creation ofseven entirely new Tenancy Support Officerposts.

Starting work with us now and based acrossWales – four (Natalie Davies, Amanda Collins,Stuart Lock and Sharon Jones) in the South,one (Donna Steven) in Mid Wales and two(William Brook and Jen Bailey) covering ourproperties in North Wales – they will workwith residents to help them deal with the impact of all forthcoming welfare reforms, including the introduction of Universal Credit,giving them the knowledge, choices, strengthand hope to weather the forthcoming storm.

Of course, one knockon effect of the bedroomtax is that we are now seeing some of ourlarger properties – especially three bedroomfamily homes – becoming available. Again weare working closely with all our local authoritypartners, and all other appropriate partners tomake sure that the right people in housingneed are able to access these affordablehomes.

WELFARE REFORMWEATHERING THE STORM Our agenda has been, and continues to be, dominated by welfare reform and in particular the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’which came into effect on April 1st.


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Overall Satisfaction We are really pleased toreport that 88% (four out of five residents)were satisfied with the overall service provided by WWH. This is a 2% increase compared to 2011’s survey and a significantincrease of 7% on the results we achieved inour 2007 survey.

Customer Service Our scores for the standardof customer service when making contactwith us are very good. In particular more thanhalf of households (52%) gave us a perfectscore of 10 for the helpfulness of staff, withthe average overall score being 8.65 out of10. There has also been a significant increasein satisfaction levels for receiving a responsein a timely manner (7.99 average, up from7.70).

The Property On the whole, respondentswere satisfied with their property, with an average rating of 7.99 out of 10, including32% of the sample who scored 10. In general,average scores for each feature of the homewere equivalent to, and in most cases higherthan, those reported in 2011.

Merthyr Tydfil specific results People’s perceptions of their neighbourhood overall istypically an important factor in how satisfiedor not they are with their accommodationand landlord. So it is positive to see

respondents in Merthyr Tydfil scored theirneighbourhood an average of 8.3 out of 10which owes much to the fact nearly a half(46%) scored it 10. Determining factors inwhat residents like about their neighbourhood, include over a quarter of respondents stating they have good neighbours (38%).

We also asked residents about our prioritiesfor improvement in a variety of areas of workover the coming years. The results clearlyshow that we are planning to improve areasof service provision that are relevant and valued to our residents. The top three itemsidentified by our residents in Merthyr Tydfilare:

• review the services to support older residents to help them live independently in their homes.

• making homes more energy efficient

• To help residents affected by changes to Housing Benefits move to homes they can afford.

So what next? We are now exploring in moredepth the results of this survey and the specific comments that residents have made.These will be invaluable to us in moving forward and further improving our services.

RESIDENT SATISFACTIONSURVEY (RSS) - MERTHYR TYDFILWe carry out our annual Resident Satisfaction Survey of athird of households (approximately 2,700) every year. Weundertook our second annual, and most recent, survey in autumn 2012. Here are some headline results plus insightsinto what is important to our residents in Merthyr Tydfil.


Sharon and Natalie will be helping our residents to deal with the many challengesof welfare reform, as well as providing support and advice on effective budgetingand information on employment and training opportunities. Both will initially beconcentrating their efforts on helping thoseresidents who we have already identified asbeing at risk of potentially facing financialhardship, or falling into arrears, due tochanges brought about by the ‘bedroomtax’, and other forthcoming welfare reform.

TENANCY SUPPORTWe are delighted to be able to introduce Sharon Jones andNatalie Davies, our new Tenancy Support Officers for theMerthyr Tydfil area.

In addition to branch offices Moneyline alsowants to offer a telephone service to peoplefrom other areas of Wales and to peoplewho cannot get to their offices. So they arenow operating from our Customer ServiceCentre in our Head Office in Cardiff on anexperimental basis. The service went live inFebruary and the threestrong team are currently taking overflow calls from existingMoneyline Cymru branches.

MONEYLINE CYMRUNOW OPERATING FROM OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE

Moneyline Cymru is currently operating out of a number ofbranches primarily in South Wales, including the new officeat Picton House, Swan Street, Merthyr Tydfil opened by AMHuw Lewis. We are sure that this will prove to be a greatbenefit to the community and as one of the founder members of Moneyline Cymru were are delighted to see theexpansion of this vital service.

Sharon Jones Natalie Davies


DEVELOPING NEW HOMES IN MERTHYR TYDFIL

Vulcan House: We are due to complete 15new apartments for affordable rent in May asthe conversion of this Grade 2 Listed buildingnears fruition. Working in partnership withMerthyr Tydfil County Borough Council,Wates Living Space are on track to deliver this£1.8m project on schedule and have beenworking with ourselves and Cyfarthfa JuniorSchool to record the history of this historicproperty. Gill Foley, retired deputy head ofthe school, has been working with childrenfrom years 5 and 6 to record the history ofthe site in poem, story and picture formats,over 10 weekly sessions. Topics have includedthe building’s links to the foundry and lateron the brewery in its grounds, its links to theChartist movement and its use as Council offices. Once all this information is put together by the children, it will be saved on awebsite where it can be accessed by presentand future generations.

Quakers Yard: We are working closely withMTCBC and Greenhill Construction to enablethe redevelopment of the site of the formerschool at Roderick Terrace.

Merthyr town centre: Again we are currentlyreviewing the wider redevelopment potentialof the Labour Exchange and the surroundingPontmorlais area, working closely withMTCBC.

We have been successful in securing additional funding from the Welsh Government which will enable us to delivermore than 1,000 units during the next fouryears across all areas in which we operate.

The supply of enough high quality, affordablehomes for Wales remains a pressing issue.However we remain confident of our abilityto meet a range of needs. We are in a strongposition financially and thanks to this we areable to build not only more new homes, butmore of the right type and specification tomeet local demand. By providing homes atdifferent prices provides not only us, but alsomore importantly, our current and potentialresidents, with real choices.


SUPPORTING THECOMMUNITYCYFARTHFA WARD COMMUNITIES FIRSTAlison Chaplin, WWH Community Development Project Officer covering MerthyrTydfil received a Certificate of Appreciation –Working in Partnership – Making a Differencefor outstanding contribution and membershipof Cyfarthfa Communities First PartnershipBoard at the Gellideg Foundation GroupAwards night on 7th December 2012.

The certificate was awarded to Alison and anumber of other local residents by the Mayorof Merthyr Tydfil, Cllr Lisa Mytten. Alison hasrepresented WWH on the Partnership Boardfor a number of years. She also lives in Cyfarthfa Ward.

Alison Chaplin and Cyfarthfa Ward partnership board members receiving acknowledgement for the work andcommitment shown during the year for the benefit of the community.

9 | Spotlight on MERTHYR TYDFIL | THE BIGGER PICTURE | Spring 2013 | www.wwha.co.uk

Mindful of the need for many residents todownsize as a result of the ‘bedroom tax’we have joined forces with Cadwyn and LincHousing Associations to back the creationof the House Swap Wales project on Facebook. Essentially a series of countybycounty Facebook groups – eg:House Swap Cardiff, House Swap Wrexhametc – House Swap Wales is aimed at social housing tenants who need to move due towelfare reforms including the bedroom tax,or who simply want to move for other

reasons. It provides a simple and readily accessible online platform for residents toadvertise their own properties free ofcharge, find out about potential propertiesthey could move to, and facilitate the movesthemselves. Find out more at

www.facebook.com/HouseSwapWales and follow us on Twitter @HouseSwapWales

SUPPORTING HOUSE SWAP WALES


So we’re continuing to support our residentsto get online, and make the most of being online, through a range of digital inclusion initiatives across Wales.

Our aims are: • to help people maximise their incomes and

deal with welfare reform in particular the introduction of Universal Credit

• to combat social isolation by enabling residents to be better connected within, and beyond, their communities

• to assist residents to get better value by accessing information and purchases online

• to support residents to take advantage of all the educational – and fun – benefits that being online brings.

In South Wales our affordable broadband WiFi access pilot scheme at Ty Pontrhun in

Merthyr Tydfil is providing us with a greatfoundation from which we can roll out this initiative, where possible, across Wales.

And in North Wales we have also recently WiFi enabled a communal lounge at Nant yMôr, our extra care scheme in Prestatyn, Denbighshire. Work is now ongoing to WiFienable communal lounges in a number of ourretirement schemes in both North and SouthWales.

We are also running ‘how to’ sessions with residents, as part of the ‘Take Ctrl’ project,which we host on behalf of the North Wales Financial Capability Forum. To date Take Ctrlhas helped more than 500 residents get online, with the support of 48 volunteers. JenBailey, one of our Tenancy Support Officers, isconcentrating in particular on this area of demand.

GETTING ONLINETHRIVING ONLINETechnology liberates, empowers and enables. More and moreservices, including access to benefits, are becoming availableonly via the internet and yet the majority of our residents arenot connected.


CONNECT24 TELEPHONEAND TELECARE SERVICES AT WWH

Why Connect? Because it’s all about connecting people with the services theyneed to enable them to live independentlyand safely in their homes.

And 24? Because we are available 24 hours aday, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

Currently we provide Connect24 emergencyalarm and telecare services to more than 4,000households across Wales and have contractswith:

• Valleys to Coast Housing in Bridgend• Pennaf Housing Group in North and Mid

Wales• Newydd Housing Association in South and

Mid Wales

We also monitor alarms for individuals inrented accommodation as well as owneroccupiers. A simple alarm monitoringservice, including the equipment, costs as little as £2.50 per week. This helps to giveolder and vulnerable people the reassurancethey need to continue living independently intheir own home, and their families somepeace of mind, and all at an affordable price.

We also offer a full 24/7 outofhours serviceand currently have contracts with the following housing associations, seeing us deliver out of hours services to 27,000 households across Wales:

• Hafan Cymru across Wales• Grwp Gwalia across Wales• Bron Afon Community Housing in Torfaen

For more information about Connect24 pleasevisit our website www.connect24.co.uk orcontact Jackie Edwards, Customer ServiceCentre Manager or Cate Dooher, Head of Support Services on 0800 052 2526.

We have been delivering telephone and telecare services formore than 10 years and such is the significance of this area ofour business that we have recently given it its own brand identity, Connect24.


Adopted by staff as our main charity partnerthis January we have already raised morethan £10,000 for Stroke. Events include regular dressdown days for staff, participation in the St David’s Day Fun Run,and most recently a sponsored skydive.

WWH charity team leader Di Barnes wasjoined by admin officer Verity Kimpton andChief Executive Anne Hinchey for the jump,from 13,000 feet over Swansea Airfield, onSaturday April 6th. Huge thanks to everyone who supported them in this hairraising enterprise. More details about

CHARITY UDPATEAfter a terrific two years during which staff and residentsraised £25,000 for Help for Heroes, our new corporate charitypartner for the January 2013 to December 2015 period isStroke Association Cymru.

forthcoming charity events and fundraisingon our website and on Twitter @wwha.

Other charities to benefit from stafffundraising include Comic Relief Red NoseDay, and Trusell Trust Foodbanks in Cardiff,Merthyr Tydfil, Wrexham, Vale and Bridgend.

Di Barnes, Verity Kimpton and Anne Hinchey, WWH’s crack skydive team.


TPAS Cymru Participation Awards 2013:

Les Cooper has been posthumously shortlistedfor the Inspirational Colleague Award. Les, formerly our Money Advice Officer based atour Flint office in North Wales, sadly passedaway unexpectedly last month. An activemember of the North Wales Financial Capability Forum, Les was enormously influential and respected in the sector and hada hugely positive impact on the lives of allthose with whom he came into contact.

Greenfingered gardeners, aka ‘Western CourtEcoWarriors’ from our retirement schemeWestern Court in Bridgend, have been shortlisted for the Improving the EnvironmentAward.

CIH Housing Heroes Awards:

Scheme Manager Helen Jones from Llandudno, Conwy, has been shortlisted in theintensely competitive Inspirational Colleaguecategory.

HR Excellence Awards:

Anne Hinchey, Chief Executive, has been shortlisted for the Most People Focussed CEOAward in the Charity/ NotforProfit sector. Thisis the third consecutive year that Anne hasbeen shortlisted for this award.

AWARDS ROUND-UPAt the time of going to print we have a number of staff and residents shortlisted for major awards. They are as follows:

Les Cooper Helen Jones Anne Hinchey

Western Court gardeners

14 | Spotlight on MERTHYR TYDFIL | LOCAL STAFF | Spring 2013 | www.wwha.co.uk

All areas: LR Tony Wilson (Finance Director), Shayne Hembrow (Deputy Chief Executive/Commercial Director), Anne Hinchey (Chief Executive), Steve Porter (Operations Director)

All areas: Lynnette Glover, Head of Housing Nikki Cole, Head of DevelopmentAlex Stephenson, Head of Property Services

Merthyr Tydfil

Housing Manager: Bridget Garrod (General Needs)Housing Manager: Jackie Bloxham (Retirement Housing)Commercial Manager: Robin Alldred (Repairs)Commercial Manager: Mike Wellock (Planned Maintenance)Development Manager: Vacant (to be appointed)

Housing Officers: General Needs Retirement

Alex BevanMorris Marcelle MackayLiz Daniels (HA)

Neighbourhood Initiatives: Bridget GarrodAlison Chaplin (Community Development Project Officer)Claire Hammond (Resident Participation Strategy Officer)

Asset Management Officers: Ian WilliamsJohn HarrisonMartin Lambert

Environment: Owen Jones

Tenancy Support Officers: Sharon Jones Natalie Davies

Telephone: 0800 052 2526Email: [email protected] Website: www.wwha.co.uk

LOCAL STAFF

Wales & West Housing3 Alexandra Gate, Ffordd Pengam, Tremorfa, Cardiff CF24 2UD

andUnit 2, Acorn Business Park, Aber Road, Flint CH6 5YN.

Telephone: 0800 052 2526 Minicom: 0800 052 5205Email: [email protected] Website: www.wwha.co.uk

@wwhawwhahomesforwales

Published April 2013

wales & west housing's spotlight on merthyr tydfil spring 2013

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