Universal Credit - a bit like England losing on penalties

Mark Hendeson, Director of Housing at Wolverhampton Homes

Every so often it's nice to get the views and opinions of other people on my blog so I'm handing over the reins today to my Director of Housing, Mark Henderson - and he's already talking about football!

Preparing for Universal Credit over the past eighteen months or so has felt a little bit like England losing on penalties to Germany – it’s an inevitability; it will happen in the future; we’re just not too sure when.

So earlier this week when it was announced that we’ll be part of the final tranche of West Midlands authorities transferring over, there was a strange element of relief that at least we now know.

For some time now we’ve been bombarding our staff and our tenants with the message that Universal Credit is on the horizon - it’s on its way! But it’s a tough sell when you can’t say for definite when. The definition of ‘Coming Soon’ has been stretched somewhat – given that the start for new, single person claimants in Wolverhampton will be sometime between December 2015 and April 2016. 

But despite the frustrations of not knowing exactly when this is happening – what it does do is provide us with an opportunity. We’ve got a little bit more time than most to prepare as best we can. Unlike the under-occupancy charge where we had data and knew 90% of those who were likely to be affected; with Universal Credit it’s much harder. The first claimants of ours may not even be tenants at the moment and could well be in work and not claiming a penny of benefits right now.

What we do know though is that eventually, as claims for other benefits such as Job seekers allowance and tax credits are closed, around 1 in 3 tenants – that’s 8,500 – will end up transferring to Universal Credit; that’s a logistically tough challenge (and a huge business risk).

So without knowing who our first Universal Credit applicants will be, being focussed and targeted is tricky. What we can do though is set out three clear messages:

1) You need to be online

2) You need a bank or credit union account

3) You need to put a bit aside each month in preparation for Universal Credit being paid monthly.

For how long can you say 'coming soon'?

But what we do have already is buy-in from across the company. Colleagues know how this could impact our customers and our business so we’re drawing Universal Credit champions from tenants, staff members and customers alike to make sure that we’re as ready as we can be. And as part of our preparation, where customers may struggle, we’ll be encouraging them to apply for a short-term benefits advance, to give a buffer, and not allow arrears to build up, in advance of their first Universal Credit payment.

We’re also working with our neighbouring authorities – and that’s key. It’s like a Universal Credit self-help group. But aside from the opportunity to vent frustrations - it’s actually a really useful way of learning, sharing ideas and building effective networks.

We’re also re-focussing our business objectives. More than 5,000 tenants are signed up to our do-it-online account and we’re making a big push to get more and more services accessible through our website. No doubt mobile-apps and so on will follow – the next two or three years will see a revolution in housing terms when it comes to technology, of that I’m sure.

Employability is right at the top of the agenda too. We’re already linking in with local job clubs and utilising our double-award winning LEAP apprenticeship programme to get more tenants ready to get back into work and training.

But to a degree there’s only so much preparation you can do. At some stage you just need to get your head down and get on with it and see what quirks the new system will throw up.

But – with an election on the horizon – maybe there will be some tweaks and changes before our live date. The NFA’s call this week for payments to go directly to landlords for those tenants who’d prefer it to is a sensible suggestion. After all, individual choice is important – and if a direct payment to landlords is the best way for them to make sure their rent is paid and their home is secured, then surely that’s a win-win all round?

Whatever happens in the next 12 months – we’ll be as ready as we can be.

Dear Prime Minister...can we have more houses please

With the General Election just 65 days away – the issue of housing seems to be creeping back up the political agenda.

Over the past few days we’ve seen housing re-enter the top 10 list of voter concerns according the pollsters at Ipsos Mori. I’m delighted to see housing enter the political fray again. Over the last six months it seemed to have dropped off the radar but now it’s back; and the political parties seem to be taking note. All of the parties have been talking about it over the past few weeks and if the polls are to be believed, we could be heading for another coalition; so maybe it’s a good sign that there’s common ground amongst them when it comes to recognising that more needs to be done to tackle the housing crisis.

Later this month I’m heading down to London to take part in what’s being billed as one of the largest housing rally’s for a generation. The Homes For Britain campaign is uniting the housing sector as one voice – for the first time projecting one simple message – whoever has the keys to Number 10 in May – they need to set out a plan to solve the country’s housing crisis within a generation.

Some will say we need more aspiring homeowners, others will say we need more affordable homes and people like me will say we need lots more council housing to solve the problem. After all, in cities like Wolverhampton where there are 12,000 wanting a council house, there’s clearly a supply and demand deficit which only the government can address. The reality is, we probably need a little bit of all of these things – throw in a more regulated private landlord sector too - and you’d be well on the way.

But what we often seem to do is talk about housing as an asset or commodity – and what we really need to do is remind ourselves of the human impact housing has. Having somewhere to call home is, for me, a basic human necessity. Having somewhere that’s warm, safe – and that people can afford is a must for our society. What we do know is that the local will to make a difference is already there. Our council is an ambitious one and the 40 new homes they’ve just built in the city are a sign that locally we’re doing what we can – it’s the political will at Westminster that’s really needed now.

Not enough homes have been built over the year across the country. I think there’s been a recognition from all parties that this is an area they’ve struggled to deal with. And to be fair to them – it’s not necessarily an issue which has been at the forefront of the electorate’s mind either. The housing sector hasn’t pressed this forcefully enough – we haven’t got our message out there to the public.

But the tide is turning. Thanks to campaigns like Homes For Britain, more and more people recognise we’ve got a problem. Whether it’s young people looking to start a family, families getting bigger or older people desperate for a more suitably-sized home – people are more aware than ever that more needs to be done.

A lot can be achieved in five years - whoever enters Downing Street on 8th May may have just five years to leave their lasting legacy – wouldn’t it be something if that legacy was the solution to our country’s housing crisis?

You can find out more about Homes For Britain at http://homesforbritain.org.uk/.

Credit where it's due this Christmas

Credit where it’s due this Christmas

I have to admit I’d never really heard of the shopping phenomenon that is Black Friday until last week.

But the news coverage and some of the, quite frankly bizarre, footage we’ve seen of people literally fighting over the last item on the shelf really shows something quite worrying.

We all love a bargain; especially in the lead up to Christmas. Apparently, on average, we’ll all fork out more than £500 on festivities and present buying this year.

It’s easy to get carried away. But then I look at some of the tenants I’ve met in recent months. Struggling to pay their rent, not eating meals themselves so they can feed their children, relying on food parcels, struggling to find work.

Affordable borrowing with the credit union

The pressure to spend at Christmas - and to spend way beyond our means is there for everyone to see. Whether it’s scrapping over a bargain at Asda or desperately trying to find a few extra pounds from anywhere to get that present that you know that someone you care about really wants. And quite often it’s the really important bills, like rent, which suffer.

And that’s where pay day lenders make their money. They know that people are desperate and they know that people are borrowing more than they can afford. So they hand out the cash, at extortionate rates, and create what feels like a perpetual cycle of debt…a cycle, which for many tenants in Wolverhampton it feels near impossible to break.

Earlier today the Wolverhampton City Credit Union launched a campaign to get 10,000 members.

I know some people will say that encouraging people to take out loans full-stop is irresponsible. But borrowing money, sensibly and affordably is fine. That’s exactly what the credit union allows people to do. It allows them to access affordable credit - to buy things like school uniforms, their football season tickets or maybe even a holiday. Or to help them out when something goes wrong – like the car breaking down. It’s a community-based ethical bank who estimate that last year alone saved its 5,000+ members more than £655,000 compared to if they’d borrowed from the likes of Wonga.

I’m delighted that my colleagues at Wolverhampton Homes are saving with the credit union. Through our payroll, more than 10% of my colleagues pay in to a credit union account every month. As indeed do I and the Chair of our board, Sue Roberts MBE.

Christmas is an expensive time of the year. But if there’s one thing I’d like for Christmas this year, it’s to see the back of unscrupulous money lending.

Forget Black Friday bargains – opening an account with the credit union could just be the best investment you’ll make.

Stay Safe. Stay Put

Earlier this week we launched a new fire safety campaign on our high rise estates.

We’ve got 48 high rise tower blocks in Wolverhampton and the nightmare for every housing organisation or local council is that a tower block goes up in flames.

Lakanal House in 2009

The Lakanal House fire in Southwark in 2009 is a lasting reminder about how fires in tower blocks can be so dangerous. Six people died as a fire spread through a flat on the 9^th floor. There were a multitude of failings that day.

The advice from fire safety experts is fairly simple - if there’s a fire in a communal area in a tower block…stay put. We all know that our natural instincts are to try and get out but in these instances, unless you’re told by the fire service to move – you should stay put.

That’s because the flats were built to withstand fire. The concrete shells of each flat can withstand heat of several hundred degrees. And with the latest standard fire doors installed, the odds of the fire coming into a flat from a communal area is greatly reduced.

We’ve seen for ourselves how much damage fire can cause in a high rise block. Last year there was a fire in the communal lobby at Longfield House in Wednesfield. It’s sobering viewing when you see the CCTV footage to think how quickly the fire spread and how lucky we were that no one was hurt – let alone killed.

Stay Safe. Stay Put.

We also saw a fire in another block of flats in Wednesfield last year. This was confined to one flat – but it really hits home about how important it is to have a plan for when fire strikes in your home.

So this week we’re launching our Stay Safe, Stay Put message for tenants living in high rise blocks. Before we started the campaign we did a quick survey and this is what we found:

• 40% of people don’t check their fire alarm weekly 
• Nearly half had never heard of the stay put policy

This tells me that there’s still work or us to do.

That’s why every high rise flat will be getting a leaflet, a sticker for their front door and a phone call over the next 6 weeks.

With people’s lives at risk – it’s so important we get that message out there.

I’ll let you know how the campaign goes – but in the meantime, let me leave you with this footage from Longfield House…how long do you think it takes for the fire to spread?

‘Elf and Safety’ – excuses mask serious issues

If you’ve had one of those weeks and you really need cheering up then take five minutes to visit the Health & Safety Executive’s website and check out their myth-busting pages. They’re an absolute hoot!

The HSE's myth-busting page is well worth a visit

So far there are 285 cases on their website where companies have used ‘health and safety’ as an excuse for not doing something.

For years we’ve heard about the kids being banned from playing conkers at school and that everything is ‘elf and safety gone mad!’

But what these health and safety myths and excuses are actually doing is detracting from a really serious point. In 2012/13 148 people lost their lives at work. 148 people went to work in the morning but never came home. That’s why health and safety is important.

At Wolverhampton Homes, we’re responsible for keeping our staff safe. That’s around 750 people – plus the 23,000 homes we’re responsible for in the city and our contractors. That’s actually a huge responsibility and one which we really do take seriously. Sadly - and this may come as shock to some; accidents do happen. With that many people, some using pretty dangerous machinery at times, people are bound to have a near miss or have that momentary lapse in concentration which we all have from time to time. You’ll never stop accidents from happening. But what you can do is put things in place to minimise those risks.

Last week, we had a visit from ROSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). They came in to look at our health and safety procedures and policies and so on. I met with their assessors last week and I was so proud to hear that we’ve been awarded ROSPAs Level 3 Award. A lot of hard work has gone into helping us achieve this and I’m so grateful for the hard work of our excellent health and safety team.

You mention health and safety to someone and they either roll their eyes or give that slightly glazed look. And this isn’t because people don’t care about safety – if you give me a chainsaw I want to know how to use it so I don’t lop my arm off! But it’s because over the years ‘elf and safety’ has been given such a bad rep because people use it as convenient excuse to either not do something or to not practice a bit of common sense.

We do live in a more litigious environment and I understand why people can be so cautious. But sometimes just a few simple measures and a touch of common sense could avoid a lot of unnecessary hassle and angst.

So – my plea is this: health and safety matters. It’s important and it saves lives so treat it seriously, use a bit of common sense and don’t use it as an excuse which trivialises something which is so important.

In the meantime, check out the HSE’s website – my personal favourite is not stocking plasters in a First Aid box!