Minutes of the Meeting of Weslo Housing Management Board No.237 Held on 22 November 2017 at 10.00am At 66 North Bridge Street, Bathgate

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Meeting of Weslo Housing Management Board No.237 Held on 22 November 2017 at 10.00am At 66 North Bridge Street, Bathgate Present: In Attendance: Kate Dewar, Chair Mike Bruce, Chief Executive Mike Crozier, Operations Director Douglas Drummond, Finance Director Brenda Higgins, Community Director Margaret McIntyre, Community Director Colin Torrie, Tenant Director Craig Torrance, Community Director Jim Green, Community Director George Finnie, Community Director Donald Beaton, Staff Observer Sarah Bickerstaff, Head of HR Alison Dunsmore, Corporate Services Administrator Fiona Muir, Corporate Services Administrator The Chair opened the meeting by welcoming Donald Beaton, Staff Observer and the three new Board members/directors, Craig, Jim and George to their inaugural meeting. The Chair invited each attendee to introduce themselves for the benefit of the three new Directors. The Chair noted a sincere thank you to Peter Robson for his contribution to the Board for the last 23 years. A lunch is to be arranged in January/February 2018 which will be attended by Board Members, in honour of Peter Robson. 1 Apologies There were apologies from Peter Robson and no apologies from Jim Porter. Action 2 Declarations Of Interest The CE declared he is a member of the Board of Weslo Initiatives, the subsidiary company of Weslo Housing Management and a Board member of Theatre Objektiv. The FD declared that he is a member of the Board of Weslo Initiatives, the subsidiary company of Weslo Housing Management. Kate Dewar declared that she is Chair of PACT, a subsidiary organisation of Fife Housing Association also a Director of the Board of Fife Housing Association and Convenor and a Trustee of The Lintel Trust, a subsidiary of the Link Group. Brenda Higgins declared that she is the Chair of the Board of Weslo Initiatives, the subsidiary company of Weslo Housing Management, she is also a Board

2 member of YPeople in Glasgow and Wishaw and District Housing Association. Margaret McIntyre declared that she is a Board Member of Compass Christian Centre. 3 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes were approved by all and signed by KD. 4 Matters Arising The Chair and CE having had a further discussion about the Salary Review and the presentation, protocols and content of the Salary Review will be discussed at the next Board Meeting on 7 February The CE advised that the Independence Agreement and other documentation between Weslo Housing Management and Weslo Initiatives are in the process of being reviewed. Any changes that are reflected in Regulator guidance will be incorporated, though it is likely that this exercise will be one of the first tasks given to the legal agents we employ in the new year at the end of the current procurement process. The Chair advised that the FD will have his Board Member appraisal on 22 November 2017 and thereafter, all but one will be complete. The Chair advised that all Board Members written notes have been typed up by the Chair and the Chair s comments have been sent out and approved by all board members undergoing appraisals. At the next meeting if all Board Members are happy with their typed up appraisals they must be signed and returned to the Head of HR. The Chair noted that Board Members may wish to check the typed copy of their appraisal to ensure it is an accurate reflection of their written notes. CE All 5 Risk Register The CE introduced his paper and explained the process for the new Board Members present. The CE noted that the increase in pension contributions for the next three years are mentioned in the paper and this will be discussed as an AOB item. The CE welcomed any questions. JG asked for further information on the Integrated Housing Management System. OD to arrange a demonstration on QL. OD Some discussion took place regarding the owner satisfaction survey results at 35 to 36%. The OD explained that Weslo costs for factoring are the lowest in Central Scotland and we haven t set a revised satisfaction target. Weslo now has an Owner newsletter and we involve owners in estate inspections. The CE stated that we acknowledge that the results could be better however we do not anticipate the result increasing. The Regulator has stated that tenants must not subsidise services to owners. JG asked about the Government cuts in welfare system. The OD explained that we currently have a maximum of 15 tenants on Universal Credit causing little impact but the position will continue to be monitored. CT advised that the manageability section of Failure to Satisfy Stakeholders and Information Management & Data Protection should be changed from green CS

3 to yellow. The Board agreed that these areas should be changed to reflect the status remarks. CS to change the manageability colouring on these sections. 6 Cycle of Board Activity The CE presented the report and the following points were noted; Discussion took place regarding the discussion at the previous board meeting and the wish of some board members that consideration is given to the Salary Review being presented at the same time as the Rent Increase in February. The cycle of activity will remain as is for the time being and this matter will be discussed at the next board meeting and subsequent cycles will be altered if necessary. The company away day takes place on 21 February New Business Planning Framework The CE presented the papers and explained that the draft Corporate Plan consists of 4 Business Priorities from which flow 10 strategic objectives. Consideration must now be given to identifying the business objectives that will, in turn, flow from these. Discussion took place regarding the content of the draft Corporate Plan and Board Members having more involvement in the content, notwithstanding that the Board away day in March had provided the impetus for the draft document tabled. A decision was made by all to have a separate meeting to allow Board Members the opportunity to contribute further to the draft Corporate Plan and Business Delivery Plan. A meeting will be scheduled for January In the meantime and to keep moving forward with the draft Corporate Plan and Business Delivery Plan, Board Members should feedback to the CE and the CE will ensure that all Board Members are copied into all feedback provided. 8 Payment of Board Members The CE presented his report and explained that an independent consultation was required to properly review this matter for us. The CE advised that he had approached Campbell Tickell and had agreed that because CT had previous knowledge of the organisation, the Board and its structure. The CE will progress this with a view to a report being available to the Board for the next meeting on 7 February Summary of Complaints (ARC Results) The OD presented his report and explained that the paper summaries Weslo s submission to ARC. There has been a drop in the number of complaints and training has been undertaken to reinforce our complaints policy to staff. All CS CE 10 Asset Management Strategy The OD presented his paper and explained that the wording of the Corporate Strategy section of the Asset Management Strategy will be changed to reflect the wording of the final Corporate Plan. Discussion took place regarding Strategic Disposals. The OD explained that we met a commitment to Mortgage to Rent in areas outwith West Lothian and Falkirk to prevent homelessness when there were no RSLs taking part in the

4 scheme in those areas at that time. Approval was sought to sell these properties on the open market when they became vacant with the exception of 9 properties in North Lanarkshire on the boundary of our main operating area. Sales of these properties will be considered on their merits as vacancies occur. The component replacement section of the strategy is to be expanded to explain that some components may be replaced on an incremental basis which does not necessarily match their full component lives. FD and OD After a general discussion the Board approved the strategy on the basis of the changes discussed. This was approved by Jim Green and seconded by Craig Torrance. 11 Business Review Financial Summary The FD presented his paper to the Board and explained that it summarises the financial position of the business and this is the 4 th version of this paper dating from The Board is provided with 4 options and on all previous occasions Options 1 and 4 have been chosen. After discussion there was a unanimous decision to choose Options 1 and 4 and continue to operate as an independent RSL. 12 Service Delivery Analysis at Termination and Tenancy Sustainability The OD presented his report and explained the results were broadly similar to last year. In terms of tenancy sustainability, 11 tenants transferred to another Weslo property. General discussion took place regarding transfers and the potential for mis use of this policy and the OD advised that this will be investigated as part of the allocation policy review to take place early next year. The revised allocation policy will be presented to the Board for approval in due course. 13a Chief Executive Report The CE presented his report and the following points were noted; The CE provided a verbal update on potential development opportunities. The CE advised of a new development opportunity at North Street, Armadale which has potential for 20 flats. The District Valuer valued the development as 0. This requires further investigation and the Board will be updated. CE highlighted the activities of the Head of Private Rented Services and the Rent Increase report contained within her activity report. The Weslo Initiatives Board has approved the Rent Increase and has presented the report to the parent company for formal approval. Approval for the Weslo Initiatives Rent Increase was proposed by George Finnie and seconded by Kate Dewar. CE highlighted his meeting with Mary Leishman of Investors in People and our successful platinum accreditation. This award reflects well on Weslo and our HR policies. An official presentation will take place and publicity will follow.

5 CE met with Annie Mauger and discussed a recent announcement by the Conservative Party in Scotland, calling for, among other things, a National Housing Agency. CE has contacted the Housing Minister and the Shadow Housing Ministers of the Labour and Green parties to discuss this further. He will report back in due course 13b Finance Director Report The FD presented his report and the following points were noted. 13c The FD introduced the Budgetary Control Report (BCR) for period ending 31 October FD advised that we are reviewing our procurement processes and are using the Public Contract Scotland Portal. External Audit is out to tender with 4 ESPD s (European Single Procurement Document's) returned. Legal Services are out for tender and to date we have 15 notes of interest. Insurance was put out for tender on 21 November Tendering for Internal Audit will take place later in the year. We have appointed a consultant to assist with procurement tendering. Part of his remit will be to train staff so we can self-deliver future procurement tendering. All 4 contracts will be on a 3 years plus 1 plus 1 basis. Although there will be no break clauses, KPIs will be incorporated to ensure quality of service. The Board noted the report. Operations Director Report The OD presented his report and the following points were noted; We will be out of QL project phase at the end of February The Project Manager post has been extended by 3 months for the transitional phase. There is 1 temporary staff member and 2 seconded staff members who have been part of the project for the last 3 years. We will approach Scott Moncrieff to carry out an audit to identity staffing requirements moving forward. OD explained that McDougall Group are still carrying out emergency out of hours repairs however we are looking to extend the hours of our tradesmen incorporating different shift patterns to provide a more flexible service to tenants. The extended shifts are targeted to begin at the end of this year. Arrears at the end of October 2017 are steady and there are no concerns. The OD asked the Board if the arrears graph is of value; the Board advised it was however 3 years of data is enough to view. The OD provided updates on individual arrears cases and current voids. Specific addresses will be removed from the report for data protection purposes. OD

6 The OD highlighted an arrears case which has recently had involvement by Shelter delaying the outcome and increasing the tenant debt. This had been highlighted in previous board meetings. The CE advised that Shelter informed us that the tenant had disengaged with their service and we should contact him direct. CE will discuss with Alison Watson of Shelter in due course. CE The OD invited questions and the Board noted the report. 14 Any Other Business Constitutional Change KD presented a letter from the Scottish Housing Regulator which shows that they have granted formal consent for the proposed constitutional change. Pension Contribution FD presented correspondence received from the Lothian Pension Fund in relation to our Fund Actuarial Valuation for Discussion took place regarding the contribution rates for the next 3 years. FD to produce a paper which will include a 10 year cash flow incorporating the new contribution rates and present this to the Board on 7 February FD Date of Next Meeting 7 February 2018 Signed Date.