A SHORT notice inspection of Great Places Housing Group found the services scrutinised had “more strengths than weaknesses”, according to a report by the independent Audit Commission.
Inspectors, who gave five days’ notice of their visit, looked at three areas of service – collection of rent and other income, repairing empty homes before customers move in, and servicing gas appliances – and found strengths outweighed weaknesses in all areas.
They found that a high proportion of rent is collected, empty properties are repaired and re-let promptly, and that gas servicing is up to date.
Riza Yassin, Audit Commission lead housing inspector, said: “The group is performing well in the service areas we looked at.
“Some good work has been done to raise performance and make standards consistent across all areas in which the group has homes.
“We have made recommendations to encourage improvement in complaints handling, aspects of equality and diversity and value for money.”
One particular strength noted was the group’s rent collection service that includes access to help and advice.
Inspectors found that as a result of this approach, more rent is being collected from current and former customers.
Another strength was the quick repair and re-let of empty properties, reducing rent losses and improving choice for those in need of re-housing.
The prioritising of gas servicing to maximise tenant safety was also seen as a strength.
Weaknesses included customer complaints are taking a long time to resolve, and improvements to some equality and diversity measures within a good overall structure.
To help Great Places to improve, inspectors, commissioned by the Tenant Services Authority, made a number of recommendations. These included resolving customer complaints more quickly, assessing the impact of policies on all sections of the community and taking action to address any disadvantage, plus routinely comparing costs, quality and performance information with other service providers to improve value for money.
Great Places chief executive Stephen Porter said: “We’re pleased that the inspectors felt we were performing well and that our services were strong. We were eager to hear their feedback and, together with our tenants, we will now design an action plan for improvements to areas that were deemed to be weaker.
“Great Places merged its three core subsidiaries into one organisation just weeks before the inspectors arrived. We were already working hard to ensure high quality and seamless consistency across the group, so it was especially pleasing that the inspectors recognised the positive impact of the changes we had already made.”
Copies of the report are available from Great Places Housing Group or from the Audit Commission website at www.audit-commission.gov.uk