Avon Area Panel Meeting Monday 16 th November 2015 Held at Endeavour House, Ringwood Attendees: Lorraine Thompson - Chair (LT) John Branscombe (JB) Sarah O Mara (SO) Elijah Nkomo (EN) Staff members: Stephanie Stanley () James Maxwell (JM) Bernadette Fry (BF) Lee Huxtable (LH) Finance Business Partner (Non Support) Tom Ramadan Contact Centre Manager (TR) Sue Kenny -Minutes (SK) Apologies: None Outcomes & Actions SK to investigate whether invoice for LT s training in May has been presented yet. to investigate and speak to Bill about where we are at in regards to the budget. SK to send the correct cost code for lunch on the Stock Tour to Maggie SK to invite Lee or Anna to attend on a quarterly basis or supply a paper on the Avon AP budget. TR to find out if a web-chat could take place from Ringwood. to email ideas about Estate Champions to AP to comment on to investigate topics raised in Exec Team s web chat are there are any topics that could also be used in the Avon AP web chat. Action Milton Road to be considered as a place to establish an Estate Champion and for a web chat session to take place. On-going Actions carried from previous meetings Only outstanding and on-going actions noted. Planned Maintenance to contact Emma Brett with regards to an article being written for the Rmag giving details of Officer Responsible SK SK SK TR Aggie Batchelor 1
their expenditure and budget. 16.11.15 Aggie Batchelor to produce article for next R mag. 1. Welcome and Apologies LT welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked them to introduce themselves, 2. Budget Update LT introduced Lee Huxtable, who is the Finance Business Partner (Non Support) to the group and he gave a brief overview of the format of the table and then worked through the paper. LT questioned whether a carer s allowance was needed for Avon as it had not been used from the past two year s budget. LH replied that this could perhaps be adjusted for next year s budget. In terms of mileage and taxis, it would appear at this stage that more funds were being spent on mileage rather than taxis and this should be encouraged, as mileage payments were a cheaper option. The group held a discussion on the benefits of combining mileage and taxis into one transport budget. It was decided that in order to compare the two forms of transport, it would be more beneficial to keep the items separate. LH pointed out that there was a large amount of funds left in the External Courses/Conference budget. A question was raised of whether the course attended by LT in May had come out of the budget yet, Action SK to investigate whether invoice has been presented yet. Consultancy fees indicated that approximately 75% of this budget had been spent. However, in fact this was a payment to Shore Consultancy for work undertaken last year, which had been split between the four Area Panels. LH suggested that funds could always be moved around within the budget if an element was overspent. LT thought that the entire advertising budget had been spent on items such as the gazebo and flags but the table was showing a surplus of 585.00 Action to investigate and speak to Bill about where we are at in regards to the budget. BF queried whether lunch on the stock tour, which she had paid for on her Radian credit card had been debited to the Stock Tours budget. Action SK to send the correct cost code for the food to Maggie. LH said that Avon had a healthy budget left and advised the funds be utilised. He went on to explain that Radian s income would be down by 25M over the next five 2
years, in part due to rent changes. Radian did have a healthy balance sheet but that could change and this had to be borne in mind for the future. LH suggested that if a training course was booked but could not be attended until after April 2016 then payment could still be taken from this year s budget. JB asked if LH could attend or send a paper on a quarterly basis to give an update on the Avon AP budget. LH said that he or a colleague Anna Bispham would be happy to attend or send a paper. Action SK to invite LH or Anna to attend or send a paper on a quarterly basis 3. Digital Communications LT introduced Tom Ramadan (TR) Contact Centre Manager. TR gave a brief overview of his role and the increasing importance of providing digital services. Radian is working with Capita to improve digital services. In order to achieve this, services had to become smarter. In the future it was hoped the on-line system could be used to not just book a repair but also be able to track it on-line. Three or four years ago texting had been investigated but had not been successful. The use of texting is now being investigated again, in conjunction with IT and Technical Services. The question of web-chats was raised as TR had recently arranged one for the Solent AP and Avon were keen to hold one. Action TR to find out if a webchat could take place from the Ringwood office. The group held a discussion on potential topics and how to find out what people would be interested in. This could perhaps be found out by using Survey Monkey or by asking people who attend the two upcoming events, for discussion topics. JB suggested maybe targeting Milton Road, as they seem to have a problem with service charges. BF said that maybe an Estate Champion would be good to establish in this area. This would be someone who could provide an informal connection and was perhaps willing to communicate via a web-chat. Action to email ideas about Estate Champion s to AP to comment on. JB asked BF if she would be happy for Avon to take this task on and BF replied that she would be happy for that to happen in the Avon area. TR explained that it was easy to set up a web-chat but it easier if it took place out of office hours. He would be happy to assist in the promotion of it and attend the first one to offer any assistance, if it was needed. 3
BF said that the Exec Team will be doing a web chat and maybe the Avon AP could harvest some topics from that event. Action to investigate. LT raised the question about the resident s census and the need to answer questions in regards to household income levels. She was concerned that this might seem to some people, an invasion of privacy and have data protection implications. Also some people on high incomes might be tempted not to answer truthfully, if they thought it might have an effect on their ability to retain a social housing property. BF agreed that this could be the case and added that Radian would need to be very honest about why and how the information would be used. SO said that it was good to hear that texting was now going somewhere. 4. Minutes and Matters Arising From Outcomes and Actions on the 7 th September 2015. JM to investigate and feedback on the reasons for dissatisfaction JM has spoken to Lizzie Edwards. Due to the fact that people have to give permission to be contacted, this option had not included in past survey questions. No further progress can be made at the moment. JM has also spoken to Petra Norris about ASB figures. Petra had reported that there did not seem to be any particular theme. However, many people had indicated that they wanted more regular contact something has been addressed by the new weekly contact. Permission is now sought to contact people, who have completed a survey. To try and enable more information to be gathered on why particular people are experiencing dissatisfaction with the ASB process. Areas on the system to be grouped into towns to make reporting more effective. JM reported that the grouping could be based on towns or estates. In his statistical analysis both Salisbury and Milton Road in particular indicated a high level of dissatisfaction with service charges. JM explained that in relation to Milton Road the properties had been purchased from the Home Group, who had supplied a warden and undertaken services such as grass cutting. These services had now been stopped but the service charge had risen in the past two years, this fact could play into the dissatisfaction rates. JB suggested that there may be a need for more information to be supplied and reasons given, why the service charges had to be increased. The group agreed that Milton Road might be a good place for an estate champion to be recruited and for a web chat to take place. Action Milton Road to be considered as a place to establish an Estate Champion and for a web chat session to take place. 4
5. Update on Health Van Events and LT had attended a meeting Wellbeing People who concentrate on health issues and providing solutions. The company has worked with Golding Homes in the Maidstone area and LT had been very impressed with what they could deliver, their professionalism and delivery style. They had for example produced a video for preschool children about the importance of drinking water. LT thought they would be good to work with on an ongoing health project and suggested that some LIG funding could be used to fund work with this company. stated that we need to be mindful what areas we use Wellbeing People for as we do have Community Involvement staff to provide the same services. BF suggested that if Wellbeing People could assist in making more contacts within the NHS and create a buzz and draw people in that would help with our wellbeing van project. However, she emphasized that they would not come cheap. Event on the 16 th Jan gave a brief update. Event on the 26 th November will be the launch of the Wellbeing Van at Heather Road. Avon AP members confirmed that they would be able to cover the hours for the whole event. ran through other organisations who had agreed to attend. 6. Neighborhood Team Update JM ran through some of the work being undertaken in housing including that NHO s had undertaken training on ASB. Radian is still awaiting the accreditation results back from House Mark but it looks as if it maybe a positive result. Training for tradesmen on See something Say something has been undertaken to make them more aware of vulnerable residents. New guidance on hoarding is being finalised taking into account experience of case managed by Barbara. Officers are completing tenancy audits, based on Experian data. Surveyors patches have been adjusted; trades will be completing more inspections in future to streamline repair process. Cleaning contracts for blocks are due to be retendered. Riverdown Park: more handovers in early December, scheme may be completed by March 2017. 7. Update from Residents Council LT gave the group a brief overview of the meeting and the topics covered. 5
8. AOB will email about the photo opportunity and KPI information sheet Christmas Meal suggested that instead of just CI staff being invited this year the invitation be opened up to NHO s. Action All to email with dates and suggestions for venues. JB queried why the CIH training was taking so long to arrange. explained that there had been some changes at the Thames office which has meant this hasn t progressed as expected. SK is now working with Cath Price to book in the dates as soon as possible. There had been some changes at the Thames office which has meant this hasn t been progressed as expected. Meeting closed at 8:05pm Next Meeting: Monday 25 th January 2016 at Endeavour House at 6pm 6