Audit Commission

Estuary Housing Association is effective at involving its residents but could do better on repairs and gas safety according to a report released today by the independent Audit Commission.

The Commission's inspectors reached this conclusion following a short-notice inspection of the Southend-based housing association. The inspection looked at: repairs that tenants report; servicing gas appliances; and involving residents. The report shows that the Association involves residents in decisions about the service they receive and how it is being improved. Customer satisfaction with repairs is high but not all repairs are completed within target times. Annual gas servicing at customers' homes is up-to-date but independent quality checks are not taking place.

Ann Bennett, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector, said:
'Estuary works closely with its customers to improve its services. We are also pleased with the way it seeks to get its repairs right first time. It now needs to answer calls quicker and ensure services meet the needs of all its customers.'

Strengths include:

• customers can get involved in ways that suit them
• customers are generally satisfied with repairs made to their homes
• estuary is working hard to ensure all customers' gas appliances are checked for safety once a year

Weaknesses include:

• telephone calls are not answered quickly enough
• information about what customers need is not being used to develop services
• not all emergency and urgent repairs are completed quickly enough

Recommendations include:

• ensuring that high quality written information is available to customers on all services
• collecting comprehensive information about its customers and using this to ensure services meet customer needs
• reducing the time taken to repair properties

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 inspections and the results are used by the TSA in its overall assessment of housing association performance.

Notes to editors

• Estuary Housing Association provides 3,400 homes throughout Essex and east London, with most in Southend-on-Sea. The association provides mainly general needs accommodation but has some shared ownership, market rent, and supported housing properties, including several care homes. The Association operates from its offices in Southend-on-Sea and employs around 330 staff.
• 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, Estuary Housing Association 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 more information, please contact Eric Ludlow on 0844 798 4183.