Progress Issue 64 A proposed merger with Reside Housing Association page 2 Major works inside homes pages 4-5 Virtual Scarecrow Festival 2021 SignLive; new online page 2 sign language service page 7 Visit us online at www.progressgroup.org.uk A proposed merger with Reside Housing Association In the winter, we wrote to you You can do this by: to let you know that Reside Sending an email to community@ Housing Association is progressgroup.org.uk thinking about joining Progress Housing Group. Phoning us on 03333 204555 Or, if you need assistance, please ask Progress Housing Group is your landlord. your support worker or family member We provide homes all over the country for to help you contact us people who have a support need. What happens next? Reside Housing Association is like us and also provides housing to people Over the next six weeks, we will listen with support needs. Since we last wrote to your comments. We will then use your feedback to help us decide about to you, Reside, and Progress Housing Progress Housing Group and Reside Group have been learning about each No matter what we Housing Association joining together. other. decide, your home We will write to you again in the summer to and the support you If you have any questions, you can ask tell you what is happening. receive will not change. us. We would love you to tell us what you think about Reside joining Progress You can also read updates on our website, So you don’t need to Housing Group. www.progressgroup.org.uk/support worry about anything. Following a suggestion from one of our tenants, Virtual Scarecrow we are excited to announce our first Virtual Festival 2021 Scarecrow Festival. We would like to invite you to get creative and make your own scarecrow. You can use anything you have at home to make it, like old clothes, gardening gloves, plant pots, garden canes, straw, or things from your recycle bin. You might choose to make a traditional scarecrow or one inspired by your favourite character like the scarecrows in these photos made by members of the Progress Involvement Team and their families. Share a photo of your scarecrow and send it to community@ progressgroup.org.uk to enter or post it to our Facebook page. All entries received between now and 30 August 2021 will be shown in our newsletters, social media, and website. There will be The Minions Gangsta Granny prizes for the 10 most creative entries. We can’t wait to see them all! 2 Progress Can you help us make the next three years in Bloom count even more? Entries are now open for our annual ‘Progress in Bloom’ We are looking for enthusiastic, gardening competition creative and committed people or sunflower growing who live in our communities competition. to help us shape our future You can enter online at www. organisation. progressgroup.org.uk/ You will join the second group of our bloom, email community@ award-winning two-year part-time board progressgroup.org.uk or call trainee programme. 03333 204555. “We believe it is important to tackle The closing date is 30 June 2021. inequality and promote diversity. Our board developed this programme to Judging will take place on 13 July enable underrepresented people to 2021, with an awards event and gain access to non-executive board presentation on 23 July 2021. training and opportunities. Helping to ensure a wider representation of our Find out more by calling 03333 204555, society and communities and build using live chat www.progressgroup.org.uk strong governance for the future” or emailing [email protected] Jacqui De-Rose, Chief Executive, Progress Housing Group. Customer through each of the six areas, looking at what Progress Housing Group can do differently to make improvements. scrutiny This is a huge task, so we are looking at one area at a time. The Scrutiny Pool has completed its review of the first three areas and will complete the full update review over the next few weeks. Once each area is complete, a report will be produced detailing the findings of the Scrutiny Pool and their recommendations. You can find out more about the Our tenant-led Scrutiny Pool has been very busy over Together with Tenants Charter here the last couple of months. www.progressgroup.org.uk/together. The Scrutiny Pool comprises tenants In our last update, you may remember Tenants Charter: that the current scrutiny review is tenant who volunteer their time to get involved; engagement and involved looking at Relationships we are always looking for more people the National Housing Federation’s Communication to join the Scrutiny Pool. Together with Tenants Charter. Voice and influence Accountability If you would like to find out more For the Scrutiny Pool to carry out about this group or if you would like to their scrutiny review, teams from Quality suggest an area to be reviewed, please across Progress Housing Group have When things go wrong contact the Progress Involvement completed a self-assessment of their This work has now been completed. Team on 03333 204555 or email tenant engagement activities, using the The Scrutiny Pool is working its way [email protected]. six areas set out in the Together with 3 Visit us online at www.progressgroup.org.uk Investing in your home April 2021 was the start of this year’s of each element of every property in a Every year we carry out a package maintenance and improvement database. We continually update our of necessary major internal works, programme. We plan to spend £9 records using information collected from including the following: million on improving and repairing your our property inspections. We will contact Kitchen replacements homes over the coming year. you if we need to inspect your home and advise you when we will be attending. Bathroom refurbishments Looking back to last year, despite the Heating system renewals restrictions of COVID-19, we carried out How will I find out if any work is being Electrical rewiring £10.5 million worth of improvements. carried out to my home? We will tell you in advance if we are The major planned programmes run planning to carry out improvements throughout the year (starting on 1 April This is how the money was spent: to your home. We will usually let you and ending on 31 March). Planned improvements know by letter at least four weeks before We only carry starting any work that may affect you. Bathrooms, kitchens, electrical out those We will explain the works planned and rewiring, heating systems, etc. works that are the level of disruption you can expect. If required in Planned £1.4 million you live in a scheme, we will also work each property. improvements Cyclical maintenance closely with the care providers to ensure For example, everyone is aware of the work being one house Gas servicing, electrical testing, undertaken. £1.4 painting, energy efficiency works, etc. may have had million £4.6 million Planned maintenance and a new kitchen improvements installed more Responsive repairs Every year we carry out a programme recently than Day-to-day repairs, empty of planned maintenance and neighbouring properties and so may property repairs, etc. improvements to replace or repair the not need a replacement at this time. £2.8 million parts of your home that need to be Before any major internal works and external painting work, we will need Miscellaneous updated. This year, we will carry out the following works to your homes. Most of to carry out an asbestos survey at Environmental improvements, the work will be delivered by our chosen your property. You will be told if your major repairs and partner contractors. We will make sure home is part of the planned works maintenance, etc. the work is of a high standard and that programme, and an asbestos surveyor £0.2 million quality products are used. All the work will contact you in advance of the works to carry out the survey. If you TOTAL £10.5 million will be monitored and managed closely by our Progress Contracts Team. refuse to have an asbestos survey carried out, we will not be able to Types of work Number continue with the This year we will be investing more planned works. money into improving your homes, Major internal works with a repairs and maintenance budget Aids and adaptations of £9 million. This includes planned Kitchens and electric 65 Every year we carry out aids and improvements, repairs and maintenance upgrades adaptations work to help those with a and ensuring you are safe in your home. Bathrooms 61 disability enjoy their homes. Demand We will also make sure that if you were for these works is high, so we carefully Major external works on a planned improvement programme assess every request. last year and we were unable to carry Roofs 13 We have a health and wellbeing officer out the work, you will be on our priority Double glazed windows 11 who can advise on making the best programme this year. External Doors 52 use of your home. If you think that you would benefit from an improvement of How is the work planned? Heating systems To help us plan our future maintenance this type, email us at enquiries@ Gas heating 48 programmes, we record the condition progressgroup.org.uk or phone 03333 204555. Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ 4 ProgressStreetTalk Major works inside homes Painting the assist you if you need help. in communal Miscellaneous areas of our outside of your Electrical testing home Responsive supported £0.2 We have increased the number of living schemes, We will spend million repairs electrical tests we undertake by and disinfecting over £120,000 reducing the frequency of these water storage painting the £2.8 tests from every 10 years to every tanks.