SPRING 2017 News
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the SPRING 2017 news IN THIS EDITION: • Update on our regulation status • Introducing the new Maintenance Team • Rent Matters • Your questions answered: Rent Restructure Keep up to date with what’s happening in your community. 1 Message from the Chair Regulation Plan Scottish Housing Regulator The Regulator has decided to keep We are all working together for the good Wellhouse Housing Association on “High” of Wellhouse. Engagement. This means we will continue Wellhouse Housing Association Ltd In keeping with our values of Honesty and to work closely with them and send copies Integrity, the Plan appears in full in this of our committee papers to them. newsletter on pages 3 and 4. We work to strengthen our committee If you have any questions please email and have recently restructured our finance 31 March 2017 [email protected] team and business plans. This Regulation Plan sets out the engagement we will have with Wellhouse Housing Association Ltd Maureen Morris Maureen Morris – Chair (Wellhouse) during the financial year 2017/18. Our regulatory framework explains more about our assessments and the purpose of this Regulation Plan. Introducing... The New Maintenance Team Jonathan Danks – Jonny Alex Alex Regulatory profile Maintenance Assistant Wellhouse was registered as a social landlord in 1994. It owns and manages 796 houses and provides Jonathan joined us on the 12th factoring services to 51 owners in Easterhouse, Glasgow. It has charitable status and employs 20 people. December 2016 and is also very At 31 March 2016 its turnover was just over £4.1 million and its debt per unit was £11,359. experienced within the social housing sector. Jonathan will be your main contact for day to day repairs, gas servicing, and electrical testing and will provide administration Engagement support to the maintenance team. In December 2014 we identified serious management and embedding the new leadership weaknesses in Wellhouse’s governance and and culture. In November 2016 we decided to Alex Gemmell – Senior financial management and used our statutory end the appointment of the statutory manager Maintenance Officer powers to appoint a manager to Wellhouse under as the serious and immediate risks to tenants’ Section 58 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. interests had been addressed. We need to engage Alex was appointed to his new Since then the governing body has worked openly with Wellhouse as it continues to manage this position in September 2016. The and constructively with us to implement the challenging period of change. senior maintenance officer will necessary improvements to ensure that Wellhouse Wellhouse’s governing body has two additional generally not deal with day to meets our Regulatory Standards of Governance members with appropriate skills and expertise day repairs matters; however Alex Hogg – Maintenance Officer and Financial Management. to support it. Wellhouse continues to work will be responsible for managing Alex was appointed permanently on 1st April 2017 and joins Wellhouse to strengthen its governing body through maintenance staff and delivering our We consider that Wellhouse has made good Housing Association with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the social recruitment. planned maintenance programme. progress in delivering the required improvements. housing sector. Alex main duties will be void inspections, cyclical maintenance Alex is also part of the new Wellhouse has a continuing programme of Wellhouse has contracts in place to bring the programme and technical inspections. Alex will also be responsible for quality management team and will help improvement actions to ensure it fully complies remaining small number of homes up to the control on our repairs service. deliver the aims and objectives of with our Regulatory Standards. These include Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS). There Welhouse Housing Association. All three are familiar faces in Wellhouse and are dedicated to providing you all areas of risk such as strengthening the governing have been some delays with the contracts and we with the best service possible. body, completing its staff restructure, risk will continue to monitor progress. Any questions? ………Let us know! 2 TRUST • HONESTY • INTEGRITY • EXCELLENCE • ACCOUNTABILITY • SUSTAINABILITY 3 Universal Credit Update Our engagement with Wellhouse Housing Association Ltd in 2017/18 – High It has been announced recently that the rollout of Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), that they should Universal Credit (UC) for everyone, including families with make a claim for UC now. However, this is a new benefit, We will have high engagement with Wellhouse in light of the serious governance and financial issues it is children, couples and those with an illness or disability, with lots of different rules and scenarios, therefore please dealing with. will affect Glasgow from September 2018 onwards. get in touch with a member of the Housing Team at the In the lead up to this date, there will be many more Hub, who will be able to assist in ensuring you take the 1. We expect Wellhouse to continue to engage 3. Wellhouse will: single people who find themselves being advised by the best course of action for your circumstances. with us to assure us it is making the necessary - provide us with all governing body papers improvements to meet our Regulatory and minutes; and Standards of Governance and Regulation Plan Help with 31 March 2017 Wellhouse Housing Association - update us on progress with SHQS by 30 Wednesday June 2017. Housing Ltd Financial Management. 19th April 2017 4. We will provide feedback on the business plan 2. Wellhouse will send us by 30 April 2017: Costs for 18- FARE • Bannatyne House and discuss the financial projections by 30 - its approved business plan; 31 Drumlanrig Avenue September 2017. 21 Year Olds Easterhouse • G34 0JF - 30 year financial projections consisting 5. Wellhouse should alert us to notifiable events of statements of comprehensive income, and seek our consent as appropriate. It should financial position and cash flows, complete There has been a lot of provide us with the annual regulatory returns with assumptions and explanatory press coverage recently in we review for all RSLs: narrative; relation to the removal of - audited financial statements and external - a comparison of projected loan covenants the automatic entitlement auditor’s management letter; for help towards paying Tenants’ against current covenant requirements; - loan portfolio return; your rent, for tenants aged - financial sensitivity analysis which 18-21 years old. Please Conference compares the resulting covenant - five year financial projections; be advised that if you calculations with the current covenant - Annual Return on the Charter; and requirements, together with risk currently fall into this age 9.15am to 1.15pm • Tenants’ Conference mitigation strategies; and - the return on the Energy Efficiency bracket and are in receipt of Standard for Social Housing. help with your rent through - its reports to the governing body in The future is bright – the future is Easterhouse! Universal Credit (or Housing respect of the approved business plan, 30 Benefit) this does not mean Hear all about: Cleansing Services; Thriving Survivors; year projections and sensitivity analysis. that you will automatically MacMillan – improving the Cancer journey; Environmental Task Force; stop getting this help. Thriving Places and much more… These new rules affect This plan will be kept under review and may be changed to reflect particular or new events. The engagement all NEW claims for help 2pm to 3.30pm • Greater Easterhouse Hustings strategy set out in this plan does not restrict us from using any other form of regulatory engagement to seek with housing costs from Come along and hear from, and question, the candidates who are additional assurance should the need arise. Our regulatory framework and other relevant statistical and performance September 2018 in Glasgow. standing in the local election to represent you. information can be found on our website at www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk. So if you are already in receipt of help, this will not Contact your local housing office to let Refreshments necessarily change. If you and Transport Our lead officer for Wellhouse Housing Association Ltd is: We have decided what type of engagement we need are worried about these them know you are going along, to arrange Name: Eleanor Sneddon, Regulation Manager to have with this organisation based on information it changes, please do not free transport or for any other information. provided Address: Buchanan House, provided to us. We rely on the information given to us to hesitate to call into the Hub 58 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow, G4 0HF be accurate and complete, but we do not accept liability if and speak with our Income Everyone Welcome Telephone: 0141 242 5860 it is not. And we do not accept liability for actions arising Advice Officer, Pamela who from a third party’s use of the information or views will be able to advise on contained in the Regulation Plan. Regulation Plan 31 March 2017 how this may affect you Wellhouse Housing Association Ltd personally. 4 TRUST • HONESTY • INTEGRITY • EXCELLENCE • ACCOUNTABILITY • SUSTAINABILITY 5 Wellhouse’s Garden Guru Wellhouse: Making it the place to be British Summer Time already!!! out my nesting boxes round the Our Estate Wardens are out and the bins provided. This happens on #gaunynodaethat! back. I’ve also heard frogs croaking at a weekly basis and we are trying to What’s that all about? about within Wellhouse everyday #wellhousetheplacetobe night in the pond. Not bad for a wee establish who is doing this, if we I must admit that I’ve done nothing working to make a real difference to toaty bit of land in a city. identify tenants that are failing to Like us on facebook to in the garden but tidy up. The the community and trying to ensure place their rubbish in the bins, they keep up to date with issues ground is so wet I can’t even turn it I’d like to take this opportunity to we provide a cleaner, greener and will be charged for us cleaning up the affecting our community yet.