The Audit Commission carried out a short-notice inspection of access and customer care and diversity at the Hyde South East part of Hyde Housing Association. Both areas were assessed as weak by an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.
The inspectors looked at how good access and diversity were addressed when tenants ordered a responsive repair or had problems with anti-social behaviour. Inspectors found that the standard of the service is not consistent between different areas and between different staff and Hyde lacks information on residents' needs and profile.
Hugh Boatswain, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector for London, said:
'Many aspects of the service were below the standard we would expect of a large Housing Association. The website is not as informative as others, residents are not told enough about progress on services they are waiting for or the organisation's performance. Overall satisfaction at 76 per cent is in line with the worst 25 per cent of housing associations nationally. Work on identifying residents who are not accessing services has been limited.'
Strengths include:
- effective customer care training is making a difference and the service is easy to access by telephone; and
- Hyde provides significant practical help to disadvantaged residents, helping them towards employment, providing money advice and enabling residents to participate in constructive activities.
Weaknesses include:
- low resident satisfaction with the complaints process and inadequate collection of satisfaction ratings for various services;
- residents find it difficult to understand how they can influence the service and Hyde is slow to carry out changes;
- Hyde does not know how representative most involvement structures are;
- Hyde lacks clear expectations of contractors on diversity; and
- the response to hate crime and domestic violence is not fully developed.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
- reviewing and improving services such as the website, the repairs appointment system, information provided to residents and the complaints service; and
- improving outcomes for tenants who have diverse needs by collecting information on residents and using it to meet their needs, by identifying residents who are not accessing services and by improving the response to reports of domestic violence and hate crimes.
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
Hyde South East manages 9,200 general needs units in London. Hyde Housing Association had a turnover of £138 million last year and employs 1,064 people while Hyde South East had turnover of £70 million and accounts for 163 of the work force.
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, Hyde South East will provide the Audit Commission with a plan showing how it will implement the report's recommendations. The Commission will then assess and publish Hyde South East's 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: Chloe Morales Oyarce, Regional Communications Manager (London) on 0844 798 2095