Autumn 2017 Tenants’ News Voice of the Federation of Tenants’ Associations

Pictured above are 5 of our long standing members. From left to right is Rita Heath from Old Heath, Mary Price from , Vera Browning and Jeanette Spence from and Julia Spencer from Compton. They were attending our general meeting on 18th September 2017 where we again discussed fire safety in flats. We were joined by Darren Baggs, an officer from Wolverhampton Homes, who came along to explain what measures are being taken by Wolverhampton Homes to ensure tenants’ safety following the disaster at Grenfell Tower.

What’s inside… Pages 2&3: Fire safety Page 6: Social care Page 4: Universal Credit Page 7: Homelessness Reduction Act Page 5: Stop Loan Shark Project Page 8 What’s on — help desk Fire safety

Following the disaster at Grenfell Tower, we wrote to our members in July 2017 about standards of fire safety in high rise blocks in Wolverhampton. Since then we have met with officers from Wolverhampton Homes (WHs) and with our MPs. We are informed that whilst 18 high rise blocks in the City have been clad over the years during refurbishment works, only 8 blocks (5 at and 3 at Graiseley) have the rain screen cladding but we are told this cladding does not have the same characteristics as that fitted at Grenfell. We are also told tests have been carried out on the cladding material and that it is fully fire retardant and meets required standards. Further tests are being carried out to the complete cladding systems to ensure the installations were fitted correctly and to meet building regulations of the time. At our meeting with Eleanor Smith MP and Pat McFadden MP on 7th July we raised a number of points and have received a response to these from WHs. The first 2 queries concerned leaseholders. Question: Whilst there are a number of leaseholders in tower blocks we believe some do not have fire doors fitted to the entrance to their flats. What is being done about this? Response: WHs say that they are seeking to ensure that where a leaseholder has replaced an original flat entrance door, that certification is provided to evidence the door set meets a thirty minutes fire rating. Where proof of compliance cannot be provided, leaseholders are required to replace the door set to the required specification. This situation is being monitored closely by WHs senior management team, who receive a weekly update. Question: What is the position as regards leaseholders and gas safety? Response: As regards gas safety there is no gas supply to high rise blocks in Wolverhampton, however there are concerns in terms of gas safety in low and medium rise flats. WHs has made representation to Government to put in place legislation to ensure leaseholders, in blocks owned by the Council, comply with fire safety initiatives. At this time there are no legal rights to support WHs requiring leaseholders to carry out annual gas safety inspections. WHs offer advice on this and other issues regarding fire safety, for instance on checks to appliances. Question: How effective are the frames to communal fire doors. Answer: As long as the doors fit properly and securely the frames will be as fire proof as the doors themselves. Inspections are taking place to ensure that all fire safety measures are main- tained at the correct level. However some doors and frames maybe reaching the end of their serviceable life and so WHs plan to replace these in the short to medium term, on a ‘worst first’ basis. We also asked about the availability of a high reaching ladder for the Fire Service but were told that due to cuts the nearest aerial appliance is at the Walsall Fire Station, so if needed it would take approximately 25 minutes to arrive at the scene. Fire Service advise that the high reaching ladder is not intended for mass evacuation of tower blocks, and they would use the internal stair case should evacuation be necessary.

Page 2 Fire safety continued ...

As regards other issues such as installation of sprinklers and central fire alarms and the ‘stay put’ policy, WHs tell us they are waiting the outcome of the Grenfell inquiry, and that should the best practice guidance be altered they will look to implement recommendations as soon as possible on the back of consultation with residents. We have raised concerns as to fire safety in the former high rise sheltered blocks and are told that tenants and residents have been contacted and advised on the ‘stay put’ policy. In fact WHs are contacting tenants and residents in all flats to advise them of the appropriate policy. The general rule is if you have a front door that opens onto a communal area you should stay put, unless the fire is within your flat. Wolverhampton Council are conducting a scrutiny review, to be led by Councillor Brackenridge (who is an ex -fire fighter), on the issues raised after the Grenfell Tower disaster and the Fed has been able to nominate a tenant representative to sit on that review. We will keep you informed of developments. The judge led inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster has begun and is being headed by Martin Moore-Bick. We understand the initial report will be available by Easter 2018. The inquiry will:

 examine the immediate causes of the fire

 its spread

 the design and refurbishment of the tower

 the actions taken by authorities before the blaze

 how the aftermath was handled

 the regulations and fire safety measures in place at the time of the blaze. However there is some concern that it will not cover wider issues regarding social housing.

Federation Board members meeting with 2 of our Members of Parliament to discuss Fire Safety in high rise flats. Ms Eleanor Smith MP is seen above in the pink top and Pat McFadden MP is seated centre in the white shirt. Cllr Bhupinder Gakhal can just be seen seated to the left of Eleanor Smith.

Page 3 Universal Credit

Universal Credit (UC) was launched in 2013 but there have been several delays in the roll out. Initially, only those people with straightforward claims ie standard jobseekers were included in limited areas. From May 2016 more complex cases, ie people with disabilities, were introduced but only at a small proportion of job centres. In Wolverhampton the ‘go live’ date for Universal Credit to be rolled out was 6th February 2016. Since that date a small group of people, mainly single people, who are unemployed and who meet certain criteria have been able to claim UC in this area. The latest Department for Works and Pensions announcement is that Wolverhampton will be a full service area from 13th December 2017 ie all eligible claimants should be able to apply for UC from then. However there will be some exceptions ie large families with 3 or more children who will not be able to claim UC until at least November 2018 . In addition some Wolverhampton postcodes are designated to come under the ‘full service’ roll out for Dudley in July 2017 and Walsall in April 2018. The roll out of the full service in Wolverhampton will no doubt present many challenges for local people and local groups and organisations. Nationally 50 new areas, including Wolverhampton, will see the extension of UC over the next few months. Some 8 million households will be transferring to the new system by the end of the roll out. We are concerned that this will see widespread economic hardship with increased rent arrears, evictions, and use of food banks. For support and advice go to:- www.universalcreditwolverhampton.co.uk/ In the short term with many areas switching to UC in November and December this year and with the 6 week wait for receipt of the first payment, there may be many destitute families in the run up to Christmas. If a delay in payment is likely to cause financial hardship then a person may claim a short term advance but this will be a loan and will have to be repaid from future UC payments. Under the UC full service young single claimants, aged 18 to 21 years, will not be eligible to claim help towards their rent, although there are some exceptions. Also under the UC full service people will be expected to apply on line at:- www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit In order to apply you will need:-

 an email address

 a bank, building society or credit union account

 proof of identity If you need help contact the UC Service Centre on 0345 600 0725 We will keep you updated on the roll out and the effects of it in Wolverhampton.

Page 4

We have been successful in obtaining a small grant from the Illegal Money Lending Team to carry out a project to raise awareness of the issues of illegal money lending. Illegal money lenders, more commonly known as loan sharks, lend money without having the correct permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority. They often offer cash loans without any paper work and want double the amount back or charge extortionate interest rates and if you struggle to make repayments they may use violence, threats and intimidation to ensure you keep paying them. The aim of this funding is to raise awareness of the issue in the new migrant community in the Wolverhampton area. We will be working with the TLC College based in Dunstall on this project.. To safely report a loan shark call on 0300 555 2222.

African Caribbean Community Initiative

The African Caribbean Community Initiative was set up in the 1980s and it was registered as a charity in 1986. The organisation supports individuals of the Afro-Caribbean community affected by mental ill health and raises awareness of mental ill health within the community. It offers the following services — supported accommodation, day resource facilities, support group for carers, therapeutic and holistic counselling, advice on housing, welfare rights and life skills, and offers emotional support. The project is based at 217, Waterloo Terrace, Newhampton Road East. Email — [email protected] Tel no — 01902 571230

Get it by email If you have an email account, why not join our growing list of members who prefer to receive our information electronically. We can email you our latest material such as newsletters, minutes of our meetings and invitations to all our events and sessions. It’s a great way to save on paper and it helps the environment too. If you would like to join our email database, please telephone on 01902 55 6816 or email [email protected]

Have you any outstanding issues - you haven’t been able to get resolved at a local level? We meet with Wolverhampton Homes on a regular basis and we will be happy to flag up any issues that you, our members, have not been able to get resolved with officers at a local level. We have to stress that you must first try and resolve matters with your local housing officers, but if this has not been possible, please get in touch and we will see what we can do to help. We are also happy to act on behalf of all Council and Housing Association tenants in the same way. Contact Lal on 01902 55 6816 or email [email protected]

Page 5 Social Care

New research carried out by Newcastle University predicts that there will be an additional 353,000 older people with complex needs by 2025, requiring extra care. It has revealed that many people over 65 years are living longer but with substantial care needs, in fact the report says that for adults over 65 years the number of years spent with substantial care needs has nearly doubled between 1991 and 2011. This shows that there is an urgent need to look at how care is funded. But quality care isn’t just about care home beds, 61% of people are cared for in their own home which has an impact on housing need for the elderly.

Tackling on line abuse and hate crime

If you experience on line abuse or hate crime you should:-

 Stay calm

 Don’t retaliate, don’t reply

 Tell someone else ie a friend, a third party reporting agency, the police

 Keep a copy of everything. Most applications and websites have reporting features or there is an email address to contact administrators. There are different ways you can report on line abuse or hate crime to the police.

 In an emergency dial 999

 For a non emergency dial 101

 Report in person to a local police station, or

 Online through True Vision https://beta.met.police.uk/true-vision-report-hate-crime/ Do not suffer abuse or hate crime online.

Funding Groups looking for funding are advised to register with the Wolverhampton Voluntary Sector Council (WVSC). It has a funding data base and it issues regular notifications on current funding regimes. Their tel no is 01902 773761. We at the Fed are also happy to help and advise where we can. Contact Lal on 01902 55 6816 or at [email protected]

Page 6 Homelessness Reduction Act

We are told by the Department for Communities and Local Government that the Homelessness Reduction Act will come into force from April 2018. The Government has set aside £61 million to distribute between Councils to fund the new responsibilities Councils will face under the Act. This includes intervening at an earlier stage to prevent homelessness and an expected increase in the reviews to take place when a person is deemed not to be in priority need. How the funds will be allocated will be announced shortly and it is anticipated that monies will be distributed over the winter months.

Credit rating

Credit rating agencies do not routinely include rent payment history when calculating credit scores, although some are looking to do this in the future. A good credit score can help if:-

 Opening or changing bank accounts

 Getting a better deal on your mobile phone contract

 Getting better deals on gas and electric

 Preventing identity fraud. Private landlords will no doubt want to check a future tenants’ credit rating and the Residential Landlords Association are lobbying Government to require rent history to be included in the assessment. Social housing tenants should not be disadvantaged but whilst there may be advantages to the inclusion of rent payment in credit ratings it could prove to be a disadvantage. A tenant who is on benefits may experience a delay in receipt of monies which could mean that they receive a poor credit rating through no fault of their own. Wolverhampton Homes (WHs) are working with credit reference agency, Experian, on a rental information exchange project. Any WHs tenant who does not want to be involved in this project can opt out.

Facebook Page — We now have a Facebook page where you can view our latest updates, and links to our website. If you use Facebook, why not like our page on - http://www.facebook.com/pages/ Wolverhampton-Federation-of-Tenants -Associations and tell us what you think.

Page 7