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GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? • CONTACT US AT: Tel: 0141 881 0638 • Web: www.barrheadha.org • Email [email protected] • or follow us on
SCOTTISH CHARITY NO. SC 036265
At the heart of our community – investing in your future SPRING 2019
Allocation Policy ReviewWe are reviewing the policy to take accountof the changes being introduced by theHousing (Scotland) Act 2014.
Your views on how we apply the newlegislation and deliver our commitment tomeet people’s housing needs within ourpolicy are very important to us. As such wewill be holding a two-part consultationprocess on what needs to go into ourproposed Allocation Policy.
Firstly we will put a summary of anyproposed changes on our website and thenask your views through a survey which canbe down loaded from our website oravailable at our offices. Secondly, we will beholding informal drop-in events to provideopportunities for tenants, applicants,Registered Tenant Associations and anyother interested parties to discuss ourproposals.
Tenant Participation StrategyEffective participation give all our serviceusers an opportunity to influence decisionsabout the housing services they receive.
The introduction of the Housing(Scotland) Act 2001 created a legalrequirement for social landlords, includingBarrhead Housing Association to actively
develop and supporttenant participation. Wetherefore must have a TenantParticipation Strategy whichultimately enables “continuousimprovement in landlords’ performancein supporting and enabling tenants toparticipate”.
We are in the process of revising ourTenant Participation Strategy. This outlinesour commitment to tenant participation andhighlights the range of opportunitiesavailable to tenants, service users and othercustomers to become involved. It alsoexplains how your participation will besupported and resourced, the actions thatwill be taken to ensure the continualdevelopment of effective participation andhow these will be monitored.
We are therefore planning to hold a jointevent to review both our Allocation Policyand Tenant Participation Strategy. These willbe held at:
• The Barrhead Foundry, Main Street, Barrhead, Thursday 18th April 4pm-7pm.
• Neilston Development Trust, Main Street, Neilston, Wednesday 24th April 11am-2pm.
• The ARC, Aurs Road, Barrhead, Friday 26th April 1pm-4pm.
IN THIS ISSUE COMMUNITY CHOICES FUND • PROPERTY SERVICES UPDATE • 2019/20 RENT CONSULTATION OUTCOME • CAR CLUB SURVEY RESULTS
Rent IncreaseYour rent has increased by 3.4%from 1st April 2019. If you payyour rent by standing order, please getin touch with your bank to increaseyour payment to match the new rentcharge. You will find details of your newcharge on the rent increase letter whichwas sent to you in February 2019.Alternatively, you can contact the office.
Tel: 0141 881 0638 or email:[email protected]
If you pay by direct debit, theAssociation will change your paymentsfor you and if you receive housingbenefit the Association will notify theCouncil of your new rent charge.
Universal Credit and RentIncreases – Important Info
If you are on UniversalCredit, you must let the
Department of Work and Pensions(DWP) know about your annual rentincrease.
You should do this by putting thenew figure into your online journal. Youcan only do this from the date your rentincrease comes into effect – 1 April2019.
We can’t tell the DWP about yourrent rise on your behalf, but if you needhelp with your journal please speak toour Welfare Rights Officer who will behappy to assist.
How to update your online journalSign in to your Universal Credit onlinejournal at www.universal-
credit.service.gov.uk/sign-in andfollow these simple steps:• click on ‘Report a change of
circumstances’ – you will see amessage asking ‘What do you wantto tell us about?’
• click ‘Where you live and what itcosts’
• click the green ‘Change’ button• click ‘Something else’ from the two
options• add the date (1st April 2019) when
you want your rent change to start• add your new rent charge• you will get a link from your job
coach to upload a copy of yourrent increase letter.
1stA P R I L
2019 GardenCompetitionSpring finally seems to be arriving and wewill be out and about soon looking forbest kept gardens, backcourts andestates for our 2019 Garden Competition.There is no need to contact us, everyonewill automatically be entered. The winnerswill be announced in our next newsletterand invited along to our AGM to receivetheir prizes. Good luck! Best Kept Garden 2018 – Auchenback.
Your Opinion Counts!Allocation Policy Review & TenantParticipation Strategy ReviewWe will shortly be undertaking a full and comprehensive review
of these documents.
SPRING 2019
Community Choices Fund
Young Person Projects
Votes Project Funding Awarded
571 Barrhead Youth Football Club – Mental Health Workshops £2,500
530 Magic WAND Community Safety &Health Project – 20th Safetyin the Park £3,000
514 Auchenback Active – Arts and Craft Group £3,000
499 St. Mark’s Primary – Outdoor Area Improvement £3,42
483 East Renfrewshire ASN Parent Action Group £3,744
478 In Cahootz Barrhead Drama Group £3,656
418 1st Barrhead Boys Brigade – BB – STEM Ambassador programme £3,500
341 Levern Valley Community Brass – Brass Day £1,178.00
3834 Total £24,000
General Community Projects
Votes Project Funding Awarded
418 Levern Valley Defibrillator Community Partnership £4,000
365 BANDF – Action for Less Fortunate £4,000
349 All About Barrhead – Barrhead Rainbow Run £4,000
334 Barrhead Amateur Boxing Club – The Big Move £4,000
321 Include Me 2 Club – Social Blend £3,700
320 Waterworks Veterans Memorial £2,000
314 Auchenback Active – Community Safety Fun Days £500
301 Barrhead Netball BBN – Barrhead Bravehearts £500
287 Dunterlie Baby and Toddler Group £500
234 Knitting & Crochet Group £500
201 Prestige Analysis – PHAT CLUB £500
3444 Total £24,200
We look forward to seeing how all these exciting and worthwhile projects progress in
2019/20 and will update you regularly within our quarterly newsletter!
On Saturday 2nd March over 900 people came to Barrhead High School supporting a numberof Community Projects they wished to see get funding from the Scottish GovernmentsCommunity Choices Fund.
Attendees could also take part in spring themed craft, face painting and an Easter EggHunt.
19 projects competed on the day showcasing their bright and attractive project storyboards,with over 6000 votes cast on the day! We also received an additional 120 votes from tenantsand factored owners via a postal vote prior to the event. With so many worthwhile projects ondisplay we are delighted to announce that no one went away empty handed. Over £48,000 ofScottish Government money was distributed on the day and the winning projects were:
Community ChestFundWe are delighted to launch a new BarrheadHousing Association Community Chest Fundfor our tenants.
The BHA Community Chest gives accessto grants of up to £250 to pay for trainingcourses, clothing and membership that mightnot be affordable otherwise and supports ourCommunity Regeneration Objective: TenancySustainability: Support People intoEmployment.
Grant Rounds Deadlines:The Grant Round opens: 1st April 2019The Grant Round closes: 30th June 2019
Who is the grant aimed at?Tenants of Barrhead Housing
Who can complete an application?• A tenant over 16 • A parent, teacher, social services, doctor,
carer, council employee
What can we fund?• Fees for clubs, classes or membership• Education such as evening classes,
courses or extra tuition• Skills development related activities• Clothing for a specific event or need e.g.
a job interview, winter coat, shoes
If you would like an application then pleasecontact the office on either: Tel: 0141 881 0638
Email: [email protected]
Application forms are also available on ourwebsite at www.barrheadha.org
Our PowerIt was with regret that Our PowerEnergy Supply Ltd have ceased trading.Ofgem, the energy regulator haveappointed a new supplier, Utilita, whowill now supply Our Power customers.You will shortly receive a final bill fromOur Power. If you need to contact Utilitaplease phone them on 03300 583 392.
If you have any concerns about yourenergy supplier or would like someindependent advice about choosing anenergy supplier you can contact East Renfrewshire Citizens Advice on0141 881 3654 to get a full financialhealth check and independent energyadvice.
Did you know......that all returnedsurveys are enteredinto a monthly prizedraw and you couldbe in with a chanceof winning £25 highstreet vouchers? Repairs satisfaction
winner Mrs Ferguson
At the heart of our community – investing in your future
Important changesthat affect you!The Housing (Scotland) Act2014There are new residency requirementscoming into effect from 1st November2019 that affect how you qualify forassignation, joint tenancy orsuccession to tenancy.
What do these changes meanfor you? To succeed to your tenancy if you dieafter 1 November 2019, any person whois not your lawful spouse or civil partnermust have lived in the property as theironly or principal home for at least 12months immediately prior to the tenant’sdeath.
The 12-month period only starts whenwe receive written notification from youthat the other person is living in theproperty as their only or principal home.This is very important if someone elsehas given up their own home to care foryou.
If you do not advise us of any changesto your household occupants, includingcarers, it may impact on them qualifyingfor succession, assignation or jointtenancy rights.
A carer would be someone who is afamily member or friend who has movedin with you to help to care for you. Theymay help to look after you because youhave an illness, or disability, or just needhelp with everyday tasks, such asshopping, cooking, cleaning, help to getwashed or dressed, or help to stay safe.
In order to avoid them having to moveout in these circumstances it is importantthat you let staff at Barrhead HousingAssociation know they are living withyou.
Cyclical MaintenanceProgrammePainterwork We have successfully tendered and awardeda six year Painterwork contract to JS McCollwhich will commence in April 2019. Thiscontract will incorporate windows, doors,common closes and external areasdepending on the specification of eachproperty and development.
A detailed delivery programme confirmingthe properties involved and the scheduleddates for each area will be published on theBHA website in April 2019. These dates areprovisional and subject to change due to theunpredictable nature of the Scottish weather!
Common Close Cleaning The contract to deliver the common closecleaning is currently being tendered and willbe awarded to the successful contractor inMarch 2019 and the successful contractorwill commence work shortly thereafter.
Planned InvestmentProgramme Bathroom Replacement Programme Staff here will be issuing a tender to deliver athree year bathroom replacement contract
across various locations within our stock.This tender will be awarded in July 2019 andthe successful contractor will commencework in August 2019.
Full details of the properties involved inthis tender will be issued on successfulcompletion of the tender process. We will bein touch with affected properties shortlyafterwards in the 2019-20 delivery phase ofthis programme to confirm what is involvedin the replacement of bathrooms and thetimescales involved.
Boiler Replacement ProgrammeA four year boiler replacement tender will beissued in April 2019 for various propertiesacross our stock. The successful contractorwill commence work in May 2019 and detailsof the properties involved and the scheduledreplacement dates will be confirmed on ourwebsite in May 2019.
Fire Safety We will be conducting a pilot on sixproperties in March 2019 to install new LD2Fire Safety systems to comply with the newlegislation released by the ScottishGovernment in February 2019.
Based on the success of this pilot, we willthen be in a position to confirm the deliveryschedule for the Fire Safety programmewhich will run over the next two years andinclude upgrades to every single property.
Property Services Update
Barrhead Housing Association continues towelcome feedback from all of our customerswho receive services from us and ourComplaints Policy continues to highlightwhere you can make improvements in ourservice to you.
We received 57 complaints over theperiod 1st April 2018 – 31st December 2018.There were 38 Stage 1 complaints and four
Stage 2 complaints processed. • 53% of Stage 1 complaints were upheld. • 44% of Stage 1 complaints were not
upheld. • 3% of Stage 1 complaints was partially
upheld. • 100% of Stage 2
complaints were upheld.
Complaint Area You said We did
Improper use of Non-residents were parking in Installed residents only parkingparking bays residents parking bays at the and raised the issue with the
weekends to visit local park. local councillor about ERC providing adequate parking and signage to visitors of the park.
Gas contractor Gas contractor fitted a radiator Arranged for the contractor totoo big for the space resulting in source and refit a new radiatordoor not being able to close that fitted the space. Issueproperly. raised with contractor about
fitting suitable radiators first time.
Length of time taken Tenant unhappy with the length We met with the contractor to to carry out repairs of time taken to carry out a raise the tenants/our ownrepair. concerns regarding the
unacceptable level of service. We obtained a timescale for completion of the work and this was communicated back to the tenant, together with an apology.
Complaints Update December 2018
Examples of the main theme complaints DefibrillatorsTwo new public access defibrillators haverecently been installed in Barrhead, includingone outside the Association’s Offices.
This is part of the Levern ValleyDefibrillator Community Partnership’sambition to install up to 30 devices acrossthe Town. A further 12 devices are expectedto be installed over the next 12 months.
Instructions on how to access and use thedevices are provided at each location.
To support this initiative, Barrhead Rotaryis supporting defibrillator awareness courses.People are invited to sign up to attend thesefree courses which aim to teachpeople how they can save a life.
People can sign up to thecourses by [email protected], orgiving their contact details toAuchenback Resource Centre.
At the heart of our community – investing in your futureSPRING 2019
If you have any comments orcomplaints to make about any of ourservices, please contact the office:Barrhead Housing Association Ltd58-70 Main Street, Barrhead G78 1SBT: 0141 881 0638E: [email protected]: www.barrheadha.org
Car Club SurveyResultsRecently we sent out aCar Club Survey andwould like to thank all 48 peoplewho took the time to complete and returnthe survey. The results were as follows:
• 14 People who live within ten minuteswalking of office would be interestedin becoming a car share member if thecosts were subsidised.
• One person who does not live withinten minutes walking of the office whowould be interested in becoming a carshare member if the costs weresubsidised.
Some comments included:“Great Idea...could be used for picking ordropping off pensioners with little or nomeans of transport.”“Good Idea...I would still be interested at£60 a year, I think it is a great idea.”
As a result, we submitted a fundingapplication to the Energy Savings TrustPlugged-In Households Grant Fund to createa car club in the local area, which wouldhave provided highly subsidised mileagerates to our tenants. Unfortunately theapplication was unsuccessful, howeverfeedback was positive. Therefore if theyopen the fund for a second year, we maylook to apply again or we will explore otheravenues.
The winner of the £25 Asda Voucherraffle prize for completing the survey wasThomas Gallacher, congratulations.
2019/20 Rent Consultation OutcomeFollowing consultation which took placethroughout January and February of thisyear the Association have decided on a3.4% rent increase for 2019/20.
A new consultation leaflet confirming ourproposed increase of 3.4% was issued to alltenants week commencing 7th January2019. This offered a number of ways youcould respond with your views.
We consulted with you in a variety of ways,which also included.• Consultation with the Tenant Scrutiny
Panel in February 2019• Consultation with Sheltered Tenants in
February 2019• Staff undertook telephone surveys in
January/February 2019• Views were obtained when tenants came
into the office and when staff undertookhome visits
• Info was posted on our website, onFacebook and via Barrhead TV.
We also arranged three Drop-in RentConsultation Events to give every tenant anopportunity to speak directly to staff and letus know your views. There were held atVoluntary Action, Auchenback Resource
Centre and the Barrhead Foundry, morning,afternoon and early evening.
Thank you to all 45 tenants who took thetime to respond to us and for all the detailedfeedback that you provided to us on ourproposals which were all fed back to ourGoverning Board.
If you want find out more or get involvedin our focus groups, please contact LorraineDallas at the office for further information.
Rent Consultation Winners
As part of our rent consultation process weentered all tenants who returned acompleted survey into a prize draw withtwo chances to win £50 Asda Vouchers.
Peter McLauchlan –
Barrhead
Helen Mitchell –
Barrhead
BHA makes a standagainst domestic abuseIn December, BHA’s Board pledged tosupport the “Make a Stand” campaign,which was launched in June 2018 by theChartered Institute of Housing to help tackledomestic abuse.
This pledge gives housing organisationsthe opportunity to sign up to fourcommitments to provide support for peopleexperiencing domestic abuse. Thesecommitments are to:• Put in place a policy to support residents
who are affected by domestic abuse.• Make information about national and local
domestic abuse support services inplaces where the information will beavailable easily accessible for residentsand staff.
• Put in place a policy to support membersof staff who may be experiencingdomestic abuse.
• Appoint someone at a senior level in ourorganisation to champion the work weare doing to support people experiencingdomestic abuse.
Staff are now working to implement thesecommitments between now and September2019.
Charter Indicator Actual Performance Target Trend
to 31/12/2018
Average length of time to complete 1.93 hours 2.3 hours Downemergency repairs
Average length of time to complete 4.26 days 5 days Downnon-emergency repairs
Repairs that were carried out 85.94% 85% UpRight First Time
% of Appointments kept 99.25% 98% Up
Percentage of gas safety checks that were 100% 100% Levelcarried out by their anniversary
Current rent arrears 2.35% 2.02% Up
Former tenant rent arrears 0.78% 1.03% Down
Average length of time to relet properties 15.4 days 12 days Up
Rent lost through void properties 0.09% 0.35% Down
Percentage of anti-social behaviour 93% 95% Downcomplaints that were resolved within agreed targets
How well are we performing?Here are some results to 31st December 2018
