PRESS RELEASE
AUDIT COMMISSION SAY HOUSING SERVICES IN THE BOROUGH HAVE IMPROVED

Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing was formed in December 2007 and was inspected by the Audit Commission in February 2010 to assess the standard of the housing services that we provide to our customers. This is the first time that we have been inspected, the previous inspection having been of the housing services provided by Charnwood Borough Council in 2006.

In 2006 the Audit Commission assessed the Council’s housing services as a poor 0 star service, with promising prospects for improvement.

This time, the Audit Commission has assessed that services to residents in the Borough have improved and that we are providing a fair 1 star service, with uncertain prospects for improvement. Charnwood Borough Council and Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing jointly agree that the report represents a fair assessment of the services provided at the time of the Inspection, and welcome the positive comments made by the Lead Housing

Inspector for the Central Region about significant service improvements that have been made since the last inspection.

We are particularly pleased to note the positive comments made about the repairs, rents and estate management services and the acknowledgement that our current plans should help us make further improvements.

The range of strengths highlighted by the Audit Commission include:

• information for customers is comprehensive and easy to access using the website;
• staff understand the needs of different communities;
• customers have been involved in selecting major works contractors and in selecting choices of improvement works;
• an effective repairs service with most repairs completed in one visit;
• repairs to empty properties are to a standard agreed with customers;
• most properties have a current gas safety certificate;
• rent is collected effectively with a strong focus on tenancy sustainment;
• customers are satisfied with the ways they can be involved and involvement is well resourced;
• reports of anti-social behaviour are responded to effectively, in partnership with others;
• estates are generally well-managed and are clean and tidy;
• leaseholders are involved in shaping services and are more satisfied with services than when managed by the Council;
• new and prospective tenants are provided with effective support and advice to help them settle into their new homes; and
• the sheltered housing service provides effective support for customers.

We do of course, acknowledge that there is still work to be done achieve our ambition of excellent services for our customers and as a consequence we see the recommendations

and timeframes for implementation as a positive steer and both the findings and appropriate actions to address them have been fully incorporated within our improvement plans for 2010 - 2011.

Councillor John Bush, Cabinet Lead Member for Housing for the Council said: ‘The Council are pleased with the progress that has been made to date, that there are clear plans for improvements to frontline services and that CNH is moving in the right direction. We anticipate that CNH will be in a position to achieve a 2 star Inspection rating by the Summer of 2011 which given that the outgoing Government had deferred Decent Homes funding until 2011 - 12 means that if the deferment is lifted we will still be in a position to modernise customers homes to the decent homes standard as planned’

Roger Merchant Chair of the ALMO said: ‘We are moving in the right direction and it is difficult to jump from 0 to 2 stars - very few ALMOs have done that and we recognise that there is still a lot of work to be done in order to achieve excellence. It is pleasing however, that the Audit Commission has recognised the improvements we have made and the plans that are now in place to respond to their findings.

For all press enquiries please contact Maria Maltby, Service Improvement and Communications Manager for Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing Limited on 01509 632578, or email maria.maltby@cnh.org.uk