Our promise to improve services

Last year our regulator, the Tenant Services Authority, asked us to work with tenants to develop 'Local Offers'. This means making an agreement with our residents about how we deliver housing services and the standards we will reach.

In the summer 2010 edition of '@Home magazine' Opens in a new window we asked tenants for their thoughts about our services. From the information we received we worked with a group of residents, developing a number of Local Offers designed to improve the services that matter most to tenants. We published these Local Offers in our Annual Report to Tenants Opens in a new window, in October 2010.

Throughout this year we have been working hard to make sure we make improvements to our services so that we can be sure that we have delivered what we promised.

We have recently sent you an update on our progress this year in your summer tenant magazine 'Isos News Opens in a new window'. You can also check our website which has lots of detailed information about our Local Offers.

Recently, we have been working with your Area Panels to develop a new set of Local Offers, and the panels have asked if we can rename them to help explain their purpose, so we are now calling them our Promises to tenants,

Tenant involvement and engagement standard

1. Develop our resident engagement

"The Big Society" is an idea, introduced by the Government, to make sure that communities have the power to make decisions and improve the areas where they live.

To help improve the communities where we work, we want every customer to have a say on:

how we run our organisation;
how we support local communities and provide opportunities for residents;
how we tackle local issues.

To do this we will make three big changes:

Provide lots of different ways for residents to get involved and have a say about what we do;
Provide support and training for our Area Panels so that they can represent different residents' points of view;
Make sure that the Area Panels are involved in developing our business plan so that we tackle the local issues that matter to you.

2. Improve access for residents by adopting a new 'customer service vision':

"We will put our customers first and pay attention to the little things, so that we can be the best."

To do this we will make three big changes to our organisation:

Provide a single customer service team that you can easily get in touch with;
Provide new technology to let the customer service staff access all the information they need;
Improve the support, training and information we provide to our staff, so you know the first person you speak to can help with your enquiry.

3. Improve communication with residents:

We will change the way that we collect your views about our services and improve how we measure and collect information about our performance.

To do this we will make five big changes:

Work with experts at Northumbria University to decide how and what information we should collect so that we can understand what our customers want and expect from us;
Build a system that can store information on our residents' views so that we can decide which services we need to improve, and which new services we need to develop;
Give our Area Panels copies of our performance and service improvement plans and report to them on our progress, at least four times a year;
Work with councils, housing associations and other community organisations to share ideas about how we can improve our services and perform better;
Update our website about the progress we are making and our plans for the future. We will provide a forum for residents so you can let us know what you think.

Home standard

We will develop our repairs service, Isos Property Services, so that we can be sure that we are providing the best possible service.

To do this we will make three big changes:

Improve support, training and information for our repairs staff so they can carry out every repair quickly and to a high standard the first time they visit your property;
Provide training, employment opportunities and apprenticeships;
Compare ourselves with other repairs companies to help improve our service, reduce costs, and provide the service you want from us.

Tenancy standard

We will develop our general needs housing service, supported housing service and service for older people to make sure that our customers receive high quality housing, support and advice so that they can maintain their tenancy.

To do this we will make five big changes:

Provide financial support and advice for tenants who have seen a change in their benefit entitlement due to their tenancy with us;
Work with the National Fraud Initiative to make sure that the right resident is living in the right property;
Provide advice and support for tenants struggling to pay their rent;
Provide help to increase our residents' income from welfare benefits by £1m per year
Provide a Telecare service for vulnerable residents, alongside another organisation. Telecare equipment can support our service users to live independently. The equipment can sense risks, such as smoke, floods and gas, can remind service users to take pills and can even call for help in the event of a fall.

Neighbourhood and community standard

We will support communities to make decisions about their local area, build their skills and confidence to increase their employability and help people work together and respect one another.

To do this we will:

Continue to provide local activities in areas that have experienced problems with anti-social behaviour. By providing these activities, people have a chance to meet and talk about local issues - and hopefully find solutions;
Consider providing legal advice to tenants experiencing problems with anti-social behaviour and other issues;
Work with community partners such as council and parish representatives, police and local schools to tackle anti-social behaviour and nuisance;
Help our Area Panels collect information from all our resident committees and from their local communities to make sure we respond to local issues;
Provide intern and apprenticeship opportunities so that residents can build their skills and opportunities for further employment.

Value for Money standard

We need to demonstrate that we provide value for money and show what efficiencies we have made. Value for money is about more than just saving money, it is about getting the maximum benefit from every pound we spend. Any savings we make allow us to re-invest in services for our residents.

To demonstrate value for money and what savings we make, we will:

Work with our suppliers to improve the quality and price of the materials we use to repair and refurbish your home;
For any repair not normally covered by Isos as part of your tenancy agreement, we will provide our residents with the option of having the repair carried out by Isos at an agreed price;
Check if our repairs service is meeting your expectations and compare how we perform against other repairs companies.

Governance and financial viability standard

The services we provide are regulated by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA). However, the Government is now planning to transfer the responsibilities of the TSA to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which will become our new regulator.

We have to meet the requirements set by our regulator and obey laws such as the Equality Act 2010.

To do this we will:

Continue to develop our Local Offers with our customers, and comply with the national standards set by the TSA - these are key requirements which are all set out in the TSA's regulatory framework document (April 2010);
Ensure our policy team keeps up-to-date with any new laws which might affect you, and develops new strategies and policies to reflect those changes.