Annual Report 2013-2014 - Inquilab Housing Association

Inquilab
Housing Association
annual report 2013/14
success
building on
about inquilab
Formed in 1987, the roots of Inquilab Housing
Association are in providing homes and supporting
the needs of people from black and minority ethnic
(BME) communities in West London.
board members
and senior
management team
Membership at time of publication
(year of joining in brackets)
Olu Olanrewaju (2009)
Chairman
In this spirit we are constantly initiating projects that help our
residents and local communities, ranging from community support
to employment.
Gina Amoh (2013)
Zakia Choudhary (2010)
We operate across eight West London boroughs, and in Elmbridge
and Slough, providing services in the following areas:
●
●
●
●
●
Trevor Davies (2011)
Rented accommodation
Shared ownership
Supported housing
New home development
Community investment
Duncan Hughes (2011)
Pamela Leonce (2014)
Encouraging the involvement of service users in all aspects of
Inquilab’s operation is central to our philosophy.
Kris Murali (2011)
Nigel Newman (2014)
inquilab’s values
Jane Vessey (2011)
Service:
providing services our customers value and
we are proud of
Trust:
being open, honest and demonstrating integrity
Accountability:
taking ownership and responsibility
Respect:
treating people with dignity and respect,
valuing differences
Executive Team
Gina Amoh, Chief Executive
Eric Nelson-Addy, Director of
Finance and Resources, Deputy
Chief Executive
Jackie Thomas, Director of
Operations
where we operate
Local
authority
General
needs
Supported
Housing
Shared
ownership
Total
Brent 1
118
22
140
Ealing 2
249
15
264
Elmbridge
5
Harrow 4
163
11
174
Hillingdon 5
313
8
321
Hounslow 6
152
8
166
Kensington & Chelsea 7
6
6
Kingston 8
10
10
Richmond 9
27
3
30
Slough 10
60
7
67
Total
1103
64
1173
4
1
5
2
5
6
6
7
6
9
8
10
8
our mission
To meet housing need and contribute to the
development of sustainable communities.
our vision
By 2016, to have secured a place
among the top quartile performers in
our peer group and built a strong
reputation as a leading provider of
culturally appropriate services.
contents
Building on success
4
Focus on change
5
Financial strength
8
Performance indicators
10
Governance
11
Local authority partners
11
Housing partners
11
inquilab annual report 2013/14
03
building on
success
hese are exciting times for Inquilab. Our
achievements over the past year are cause
for confidence and optimism as we
continue our journey of transformation
propelled by the vision of supporting our
diverse communities.
Although we are pleased to report positive
achievements, we recognise there is still much to
be done to embed our core values and improve
our efficiency and the quality of services we
deliver; we are continuing to initiate major
changes which are having a positive impact right
across the organisation.
Our operating environment remains challenging
and uncertain and we continue to assist our
residents and communities through tough times.
While the economic recovery is gathering pace,
the financial pressure on our residents remains.
With wide-ranging changes to the welfare system
underway, we are committed to supporting our
residents with services that span employment
and training, welfare benefits and budgeting,
family support, digital inclusion and a range of
innovative services designed to engage our
customers. In tough times, our determination to
break down the barriers that prevent our
residents and communities from reaching their
full potential is even greater.
Our financial performance has improved
markedly. Turnover increased by 13 per cent and
we posted a surplus of £1.83 million, a significant
increase over last year. That surplus will support
our continued investment in new homes,
improving our existing properties and helping
people and communities build better futures.
Our overall service standards are also on an
upward trend and we have continued to invest in
our people and technology to allow further
improvements in the year ahead.
We successfully raised £10 million through a bond
issue, which will enable us to build new homes.
Our growth plans include a development pipeline
that will deliver 120 new homes over the next year.
There are challenges inherent in this journey of
transformation and growth. It is particularly
important that Inquilab’s governance
arrangements are updated to reflect changes in
our external operating and regulatory
environment and that we identify and respond to
changes in our risk profile.
Our aim is for Inquilab’s governance and financial
viability regulatory ratings to be at the highest
levels. Following a governance downgrade during
the year, we focused on ensuring our structures,
capability and governance reflected the
increasing complexity of a growing organisation.
We also took steps to confirm that we were geared
up to deliver high quality, responsive services to
our residents. This included strengthening our
processes to deliver maximum value for money,
accessibility and quality. To this end we continue
to look for new ways to engage, involve and
interact with our residents so that we fully
understand and meet their needs and
expectations.
In this, our twenty-fifth year, Inquilab’s long history
and proud track record of delivery means we are
well-placed to use our local expertise to support
our communities. We can only achieve our
objectives by working closely with our customers,
residents and a wide range of partners. We extend
our heartfelt thanks to them, the Resident
Experience Panel, colleagues on the board, and
the executives and staff, for enabling us to
continue our important community role.
Olu Olanrewaju
Chairman
Gina Amoh
Chief Executive
04
inquilab annual report 2013/14
❝
❝ our achievements are cause for optimism and confidence
focus on
❝
❝ positive changes have been initiated
change
welve months ago, Inquilab put into effect
a new corporate plan with the aim of
delivering services that target the diverse
needs of residents and ensure they receive the
best possible service from us.
Since then, our business performance has
improved and we have continued to address
those areas of our service that customers
perceived to be falling short of their expectations
– focusing on measures that build on strengths
and remedy weaknesses.
Our customers said that repairs were a top
priority, so we recruited new multi-trade
contractors, put more staff in the repairs team
and set up a contact centre to deal with calls. We
worked with residents to set out new service
standards and a complaints process that focuses
on speedy resolution. We’ve also involved our
residents in reviewing and redesigning the
services that matter most to them and making
sure we deliver on our promises.
It has been a year in which positive changes
have been initiated and a momentum established
that will keep Inquilab moving forward to the
benefit of its diverse customers.
Right first time
While we’ve made steady improvements over the
years, we know from customer feedback that we
need to do more to get it right first time.
As residents’ expectations increase, we aim to
use our agility and customer knowledge to align
our products and services and the standards to
which we deliver them. We want our residents to
trust us, stay with us and recommend us to
others.
The radical overhaul of our repairs service led to
a marked improvement in the number of jobs
completed on time compared with previous
years, resulting in significantly better satisfaction
levels. Similarly, residents have noticed an
improvement in staff helpfulness, the new
contact centre providing a customer-friendly
one-stop shop for enquiries.
Providing more opportunities for customers to
self-serve on certain transactional services –
such as obtaining information, paying rents,
booking appointments and making enquiries –
will help meet expectations of ‘instant’ service
delivery.
Welfare reform
Inquilab has responded to unprecedented
government policy changes by addressing the
impact of the welfare reforms on our residents
and its effect on our core business. Taking a
targeted approach, we have put in place
strategies that have successfully minimised the
economic consequences of the reforms on our
existing residents, while allowing us to continue
investing in new homes and services.
Many of our residents are now facing changes to
the way they have been used to paying for
housing and services. We continue to keep them
informed about the reforms to the welfare
system, and how the legislation affects them;
one of the practical ways we are supporting our
residents is by encouraging more mutual
exchanges.
Value for money
We continually look for efficiency savings in the
services we provide and monitor progress
against our budgets and value for money targets.
Inquilab spends its money wisely to get the best
value and provide the best services; our costs
are generally low compared to those of our peer
group.
We have been able to reduce costs yet further in
a number of areas such as housing
management, service costs and the way we
procure goods. We are negotiating better value
contracts, currently focusing on three main
areas: estate services, repairs and maintenance
inquilab annual report 2013/14
05
❝ our focus has been on listening to residents, cu
❝ we closely monitor the quality of cus
❝ hearing and acting on what Inquilab’s residents
focus on change continued
and professional services. Using this approach,
we expect to make savings every year, enabling
us to invest even more on behalf of our
customers.
Working together
Our initiatives are designed to make the best use
of our finite resources and to add value to the
services we already provide – not just for
residents but for the wider community too.
Staff have attended workshops, training and
team sessions designed to involve them more
closely in setting Inquilab’s direction, while the
board and committee memberships have been
reviewed and new structures implemented to
ensure efficient and effective governance.
Building sustainable communities
Our social purpose, to help people improve their
lives and skills and to work with communities
through housing and support services, is at the
heart of everything we do at Inquilab.
During the past year, our community initiatives
and projects have evolved to reflect the
changing needs of people who live in West
London.
Our focus has been on listening to residents,
customers and partners, ensuring that we know
their needs and aspirations and taking measures
to fulfil them. We have supported a number of
residents into work and others have benefited
from externally funded training. We have also
established an employment, education and
training programme for residents.
06
Our measures to continue driving through
change within the organisation involve staff,
Board members and residents.
Hearing and acting on what Inquilab’s residents
have to say about issues that concern them is a
key driver in identifying and implementing service
improvements.
Members of Inquilab’s scrutiny group, the
Resident Experience Panel, engage regularly
with Inquilab’s board and executives to review
service performance and inform the
development of annual and strategic plans. The
Customer Advisory Panel is consulted on
various service areas, such as repairs and
issues relating to their local areas or housing
schemes.
Communication is critical to achieving the
satisfaction and support of our residents, as is
Inquilab’s accessibility. We closely monitor the
quality of customer contact and act promptly to
ensure that complaints are handled efficiently
and effectively. Our newly enhanced website has
been widely publicised as a source of useful
information and its communications role will
continue to develop in coming months.
Some residents have been helped to improve
their prospects by taking advantage of the
training and employment opportunities offered by
Inquilab’s intern and apprentice programmes.
While for customers facing hardship as a result
of benefit changes or unemployment, we offer
financial counselling, including practical advice
on how to minimise home running costs.
Providing more housing
Inquilab has a proud record of working with
volunteers, many of whom are highly visible
within the organisation; we have provided
regular placements for volunteer workers over
the last 12 months, some of whom have secured
permanent jobs as a result of our volunteer
programme.
The development of 120 new affordable homes
has begun and these are due for completion by
March 2015, adding to the choice we can offer
inquilab annual report 2013/14
Satisfying demand for good quality, affordable
housing is central to Inquilab’s role of meeting
the housing and support needs identified by our
local authority partners.
❝
have to say is a key
driver
❝
tomer contact
❝
stomers and partners
people in need of homes to rent or buy. In
addition, work has started to revise our asset
reinvestment programme to ensure that our
existing housing stock is well maintained. The
programme provides certainty as to when and
where planned maintenance is to take place.
delivering:
value for money
Restructured repairs service
One-stop contact centre
Last year’s planned programme saw the
replacement of kitchens, bathrooms, new
windows and external doors, with 100 per cent
customer satisfaction.
Training and intern opportunities
People
Monitoring contracts and costs
One of our key objectives, to be an employer of
choice, requires Inquilab to demonstrate a
commitment to investing in its workforce.
In addition to successfully recruiting a high
calibre staff team, over the last 12 months we
have implemented a plan that places customer
service excellence at the heart of everything we
do.
The ‘Our People’ strategy sets out ambitious
plans to deliver a learning and development
culture. We have placed strong emphasis on
retaining talented people and recruiting the very
best to drive our business forward.
Community initiatives
Financial counselling
Home energy advice
Efficiency savings
delivering:
cost and efficiency savings
Repairs costs reduced by £23,000
Financing costs reduced by £60,000
General overheads/services reduced by
£92,000
delivering:
good quality homes
To help individuals to take responsibility and
become more accountable for what they do, we
have restructured our customer-facing staff and
recruited a leadership team with accountability at
its very heart.
120 new homes developed by 2015
We reward and recognise excellence in our
people, creating an environment where people
thrive on results. ■
performance
Asset reinvestment strategy
Planned maintenance programme
delivering:
Relet times in the top quartile
Rent collection above target
Gas safety certificates in 100% of homes
Record financial surplus
inquilab annual report 2013/14
07
financial
strength
he year-on-year pattern of improved
business performance in key areas
continued during 2013/14, largely as a
consequence of the increasing focus and
stability of Inquilab’s staff team:
Finance
This year’s surplus of £1.83 million is the highest
we have ever achieved. It was delivered in part
by the increase in staircasing/first tranche sales
and the sale of our old office building.
● Our re-let times remains in the top quartile at
Turnover, including income from shared
ownership sales, increased by 13% to £8.38
million. Income from social housing rental
activities increased by 4.8% to £7.63 million
(2012/13: £7.28 million) while shared ownership
sales income grew by £0.6 million.
16 days
● Our rent collection which at 98.5% was above
the target of 98.2%
● We continued to perform well financially with
an operating margin at 38%
● An average 94% of repairs were completed on
time against a target of 95%
During the year we completed a £10 million bond
issue which has enabled us to finance our
growth plans. We currently have enough secured
facilities to fund our growth programme for the
next two years.
Balance sheet
(year ended 31 March 2014)
Housing properties at cost
Less: Social Housing Grant
and depreciation
Other fixed assets
Net current assets
Financed by
Share capital and reserves
Long term loans
2014
2013
£000s
£000s
160,095
149,486
(90,179)
(89,489)
184
187
69,916
1,275
59,997
2,725
71,375
62,909
16,081
14,247
55,294
71,375
48,662
62,909
A full set of accounts is
available on request.
08
inquilab annual report 2013/14
❝
❝ this year’s surplus is the highest we have ever achieved
Where our money came from
Rents
2014
2013
£000s
£000s
7,052
6,726
551
507
34
83
7,637
7,316
742
132
8,379
7,448
516
0
8,895
7,448
Service charges
Other grants and charges
Surplus on first tranche sales
Income from ordinary activities
Surplus on sale of fixed assets
Total income
What we spent our money on
2014
2013
£000s
£000s
1,633
1,566
Managing our properties
892
855
Cost of services, eg cleaning and grounds maintenance
545
506
1,238
1,171
907
301
Bank interest paid on borrowing to buy housing
1,846
1,890
Total expenditure
7,061
6,289
Surplus for investing in new properties and services
1,834
1,159
Maintaining our properties
Depreciation of our properties
Other charges paid relating to our properties
2013
How we spent each £1 of our income
21p
17p
■ Maintaining our properties
11p
■ Managing our properties
7p
■ Cost of services eg cleaning, ground maintenance
25p
2014
■ Depreciation of our properties
■ Other charges paid relating to our properties
4p
16p
18p
■ Bank Interest paid on borrowing to buy housing
10p
21p
■ Retained for future investment
6p
14p
21p
10p
inquilab annual report 2013/14
09
statistics and performance indicators
Property type
New lettings
Category
2014
2013
Category
General Needs
1103
1103
First/new lets
Supported Housing
6
6
Shared Ownership
64
68
1,173
1,177
Total
Performance
2014
2013
1
0
Re-lets
28
29
Total
29
29
Average weekly rent
2014
2013
Gross rent arrears
6.53%
6.19%
Rent collection
98.5%
Voids
Average letting time
2014
2013
1 bedroom
£93.15
£90.12
99.2%
2 bedrooms
£108.58
£104.64
0.13%
0.27%
3 bedrooms
£121.62
£118.17
16 days
31 days
4 bedrooms
£134.22
£130.51
No. of bedrooms
Source:
CORE data year
to March 2014
Repairs completed on time
Repairs
Jobs completed on time
Target
2014
2013
95%
94%
86%
Homes under construction
■ General needs
■ Shared ownership homes
62
56
37
37
22
22
6
Ealing
10
121
115
■ Total
inquilab annual report 2013/14
6
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Total
governance
Inquilab Housing Association complies with,
and is committed to upholding, the National
Housing Federation’s Code of Excellence in
Governance and Code of Excellence in
Standards of Conduct.
The Board and its committees have terms of
reference and clear statements of members’
roles and responsibilities, which form a key
element in the Board structure. Members
provide strategic direction and ensure
adherence to the Association’s values.
local authority partners
Elmbridge Borough Council
London Borough of Brent
London Borough of Ealing
London Borough of Harrow
London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Slough Borough Council
housing partners
Homes & Communities Agency
Thames Valley Housing Association
External auditors
Nexia Smith & Williamson
25 Moorgate
London EC2R 6AY
Internal auditors
Moore Stephens
150 Aldersgate Street
London EC1A 4AB
Solicitors
Batchelors
Devonshires
Prince Evans
Bankers
National Westminster Bank plc
1 The Mall
Ealing
London W5 2PL
Funders
Homes & Communities Agency
Barclays Bank plc
Nationwide Building Society
Lloyds Bank
Orchardbrook
Santander
Inquilab is a charitable housing association
registered under the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act 1965. Reg no 25733R.
Registered with the Homes & Communities Agency
LH3728.
A member of the National Housing Federation.
Registered office
Somerville House
50a Bath Road
Hounslow
Middlesex TW3 3EE
Tel: 0208 607 7777
Fax: 0208 607 7778
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.inquilabha.org
Pictures used in this report:
Front cover: © Thinkstock;
Page 3: © Greg Balfour Evans | Alamy;
Pages 5, 6 and 7: courtesy of Ealing Broadway Business
Improvement District (photographs from
www.thebiglondon.com)
inquilab annual report 2013/14
11
Inquilab Housing Association
Somerville House
50a Bath Road
Hounslow
Middlesex TW3 3EE
Tel: 0208 607 7777
Email: [email protected]
www.inquilabha.org

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