Equity Housing Group 'has a balance of strengths and weaknesses' according to a report released today by the independent Audit Commission.
Audit Commission inspectors reached this conclusion following a short-notice inspection of the Stockport based housing association, which develops and manages housing across more than 20 northern local authority areas. The inspection covered how Equity delivers day-to-day repairs, manages empty properties and lettings and involves customers.
Inspectors found it is easy for customers to access services and they are consulted on the activities of the association. However, it is taking too long to carry out repairs and allocate empty properties to people on the housing waiting list. Gas servicing is effective but monitoring of the programme is flawed.
Mark Elsworth, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector, said:
'Equity Housing Group delivers a convenient repairs service to customers offering appointments to suit their needs. It now needs to complete more repairs on time. Tenants have a say in activities but more should be done to ensure they have a stronger influence.'
Strengths include:
- clear and publicised standards in service delivery agreed with customers
- regular well attended scheme meetings are valued by customers as an opportunity to discuss local priorities and potential improvements
- profiling information is held for the majority of customers and used to target some services
- most properties have a current gas servicing certificate
- the standard of ready to let properties is acceptable and meets the publicised Decent Homes standard
Weaknesses include:
- repairs to Equity properties take too long to complete and performance does not meet Equity's targets
- options to access services remotely through EHG’s website are limited
- the impact of proposals on the local community is not being assessed to ensure they are inclusive
- monitoring of the gas servicing programme was not robust at the time of inspection
- tenants and leaseholders are largely being consulted on proposals rather than being involved in shaping them
The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is the affordable housing regulator in England and works with the Audit Commission on the inspection of housing associations. The TSA commissions the Audit Commission to carry out Short Notice Inspections when the regulator is concerned about the services that tenants are receiving, and the results are used by the TSA in its overall assessment of housing association performance.
Notes to editors
Equity Housing Group (EHG) has dispersed housing stock over a wide geographical area, operating in more than 20 local authorities, with the highest concentration, 30 per cent, in Stockport and Manchester. Other areas include Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire and Sefton. The public reception and call centre located in the head office, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, provides the first point of contact for customers.
Equity Housing Group was formed in 1963 and develops and manages social rented housing and shared ownership housing. EHG has charitable status and also comprises Equity Housing Association, developing and managing shared ownership housing, and Provincial Housing Association, which owns and manages leasehold schemes which have been developed without public grant.
In the 2001 census 7.2 per cent of the Stockport population were from BME backgrounds, lower than the regional and national figures of 7.83 per cent and
The Audit Commission introduced short-notice inspections for housing associations to give inspectors a clearer and more realistic view of the services that tenants receive.
Associations are given just five days notice of the inspection before their services are rated on a four point scale - from 'strengths significantly outweigh weaknesses' down to 'weaknesses outweigh strengths'.
Within two months of the publication of this report, EHG will provide the Audit Commission with a plan showing how it will implement the report’s recommendations. The Commission will then assess and publish its prospects for improvement.
The Audit Commission is an independent watchdog, driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local public services to deliver better outcomes for everyone. Our work across local government, health, housing, community safety and fire and rescue services means that we have a unique perspective.
We promote value for money for taxpayers, auditing the £200 billion spent by 11,000 local public bodies. As a force for improvement, we work in partnership to assess local public services and make practical recommendations for promoting a better quality of life for local people.
For further information please contact: David Rose, Regional Communications Manager - Northern on 0844 798 6654