BUSINESS PLAN 2014 TO 2019

Transcription

1 BUSINESS PLAN 2014 TO 2019 Last reviewed May

2 emh group Business Plan Contents: Section Page 1 Aims and Objectives 3 2 Group Vision and Values 3 3 Organisational Background & Context 4 4 Operating Environment 6 5 Strategic Plan Governance Co-regulation Human Resources and Organisational Development Growth and Business Development Housing Services Care and Support Asset Management Value for Money Business Excellence Accountability and Corporate Social Responsibility Financial Management Managing Risk Monitoring and Implementation 24 Appendices: Page Appendix 1 Group Timeline 2003 to Appendix 2 The Group structure April Appendix 3 The new consolidated Group structure from September Appendix 4 Geographical spread of emh homes stock profile 28 Appendix 5 Summary of Strategic Risk Map 29 Appendix 6 Financial Plan 31 2

3 1. EMH GROUP AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.1 Our Aim: To provide high quality homes and services which contribute to sustainable communities. 1.2 Our Objectives a) To provide affordable homes in mixed tenure and balanced communities. b) To provide excellent, locally accountable customer services with customers at the heart of everything that we do. c) To invest in and regenerate the communities and neighbourhoods we serve and, in partnership with other stakeholders, develop safe and decent neighbourhoods. d) To tackle social exclusion by taking a wider view towards the provision of care and support, employment, training and other services as appropriate. e) To provide effective and efficient business support services that provide value for money and promote continuous improvement. f) To ensure our actions contribute to national and global strategies for environmental protection and sustainable development. g) To ensure we remain financially secure and stable with sufficient headroom in all of our financial covenants. 2. EMH GROUP VISION & VALUES 2.1 Our Vision: Our vision is to be widely recognised as one of the best social housing businesses in the country, leading the market as service provider and employer. 2.2 Our Values: Integrity Diversity We are an independent, profit for-purpose 1 organisation working to the highest ethical standards. We will promote equality and fair treatment for all and treat people with decency and respect 1 EMH Group s rules prohibit it from trading for profit. The association cannot pay or transfer by way of profit to its shareholders. 3

4 Openness Accountability Clarity Excellence We will be open about our work and share information with all our stakeholders. We will be accountable to the communities we work with and empower customers to meaningfully influence our priorities. We will be consistently clear about our vision, values and strategy. We will aspire to be the best among our peers, particularly in the quality of customer services and standards of performance. 3. ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND & CONTEXT 3.1 emh group is a social housing and care provider operating across the East Midlands. Since it was established in 1946, emh group has gone through periods of significant change, reinventing itself in response to the emerging needs of its customers and the markets in which it operates, whilst holding firm to the social values on which it was founded. 3.2 The last 10 years have been a period of strengthened performance and rapid growth for the organisation, seeing it expand through partnerships and a healthy development programme from 8,000 homes, 19 million turnover and 245 staff in 2003 to its current position of 17,000 homes, 90 million turnover and over a 1,200 employees. 3.3 emh group has a proven track record in transformational change management. Since 2003, the Group has acquired and turned around the performance of three troubled housing providers: two were under the supervision of the Regulator for weaknesses in governance and service provision, and the third had a zero star rating from the then housing inspectorate, the Audit Commission. During this period, a focus on employee development and continuous improvement contributed to the Group achieving a two star rating from the Audit Commission, along with the Customer Service Excellence, Investors in People and Investors in Excellence accreditations. In 2013 the Group was awarded the highest rating by the Social Housing Regulator for Governance and Viability. 3.4 A reputation for quality services, robust financial performance and strong leadership meant that on 1 st April 2013 the organisation was able to attract two further successful partners to join its Group: enable became the Group s Care and Support provider, and Sharpes Gardening Services became a new division providing social enterprise landscape maintenance activities within the Group. 3.5 The past two years have also been a period of consolidation, streamlining legal structures, reducing Board membership by two thirds, and moving to a smaller team of Executive Directors. The Group now comprises emh group, a non-asset owning parent, with two largely ring fenced functional divisions: EMH Housing and Regeneration Limited, trading under the name emh homes, which is a Registered Provider regulated by the Homes and Communities Agency; and enable, which is the Care and Support arm of the Group, and whose regulated activities fall within the remit of the Care Quality Commission. 4

5 3.6 On the strength of a AA- rating from credit agency Standard and Poor s, in January 2014 emh group secured 200 million (including 50 million retained) in the capital markets through a public bond issue. The group raised the funds to boost its plans to develop much-needed affordable homes across the east midlands, as well as to refinance existing facilities. The injection of cash will see the group build 330 new homes a year. Working in partnership with local authorities and regional developers, the funds will also help strengthen local economies and stimulate growth. According to recent research by the National Housing Federation, every new home in the region adds 69,045 to the regional economy and creates 1.6 jobs directly an din the wider regional economy A timeline mapping the Group s transformation over the past 10 years is set out in appendix 1 of this report. The Group structure in April 2013 is shown in Appendix 2. The new consolidated Group structure from September 2013 is set out in Appendix emh homes is a charitable industrial and provident society providing landlord services to over 17,000 homes across the East Midlands region. It was formed in September 2013, through the amalgamation of four asset holding Registered Providers within the Group (see appendix 2). emh homes currently has two Direct Labour Organisations providing in-house property maintenance services, one based in the North and one in the South of its area of operation. 3.9 enable comprises two legal entities: Enable Housing Association, which is a charitable Industrial and Provident Society, and its subsidiary, Enable Care and Home Support, which is a company limited by guarantee and registered with the Charities Commission. enable has historically worked primarily with people with Learning Difficulties in Derbyshire. Joining emh group provides enable with the opportunity to widen its geographical areas of operation whilst diversifying its target client groups, through the management of the Group s current and future floating and accommodation-based support services. For the Group as a whole, enable offers the opportunity to focus on care as well as support and to provide dedicated and regulated services in health and social care The group is governed by non-executive directors from a range of commercial and social backgrounds including finance, education, not-for-profit sector, regeneration, human resource management and the health service. The Group Board is supported by three committees, Treasury, Audit and Remunerations The two major operating businesses in the Group have their own Boards, a third of which, including the Chair, are Group appointees. The remaining independent members are drawn from a range of commercial and not-for-profit backgrounds The Group also includes three specialist legal entities: EMH Treasury PLC, a special purpose vehicle established primarily to raise funds through the Debt Capital Markets; Midlands Rural Housing provides management and development services to four rural housing associations, managing around 1,400 homes. It also provides general rural consultancy services and campaigns for more investment in rural affordable housing, and is an Industrial & Provident Society; 2 Economic impact database. Centre for Economics and Business Research for National Housing Federation 5

6 Sharpes is an in-house landscape maintenance company which acts as a social enterprise within the Group The Group is run on a day-to-day basis by an Executive Management Team, comprising the Group Chief Executive, and six Executive Directors: Finance, Development, Housing, Care & Support, Human Resources and Business Support emh group leads the Quantum development partnership, which is recognised by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) as a development partner. The partnership consists of a number of long established associations with a successful track record of developing affordable homes in the region. 4. OPERATING ENVIRONMENT 4.1 Overview Over the recent past, we have seen the external environment change significantly, with the impact of prolonged economic hardship, Welfare Reform and the Localism Act affecting every aspect our business. At the same time, the regulatory regime has changed with a new focus within social housing on economic rather than consumer regulation. Consumer standards are largely addressed through tenant scrutiny of services within the Group s co-regulation mechanisms The Global accounts for the Social Housing sector for year ending March 2012 have recently been released by the HCA. 3 These show that despite the problems in the wider economy, the sector remains financially robust. The sector manages a total of 2.6m homes. There are some 1,500 providers but most of them own less than 1,000 homes each. Just 5% of total providers (79 providers including emh group) own or manage more than 10,000 homes each The overall picture is one of a diverse and fragmented social housing sector with significant asset base, high surpluses, high reserves and capacity to develop Within the East Midlands region, there is growing demand for housing. The National Housing Federation s publication, Home Truths 4 evidences the following: The average house price in the East Midlands in 2012 was 162,693, 59% higher than the average for ; Private sector rents in the East Midlands are expected to rise by 45% by ; The number of households in the East Midlands is expected to increase by 18,753 a year between 2013 and emh group seeks to strongly influence regional and local housing, planning, economic and social policy. To this end, its members play a leading part in a range 3 Homes & Communities Agency, 2012 global accounts of housing providers, March National Housing Federation: Homes Truths 2013/14: The Housing Market in the East Midlands) 5 Source: Simple Average House Prices, Land Registry data 6 Source: Projections for National Housing Federation, Oxford Economics, Household population projections by district, England, , interim 2011 based Department for Communities and Local Government April

7 of organisations, including the National Housing Federation, Chartered Institute of Housing and Health and Supporting People commissioning bodies and PlaceShapers. emh group is actively engaging with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), House Builders Federation (HBF) and with all the Local Economic Partnership (LEPs) in the East Midlands to continue to make the case for the impact of housing and construction investment on economic growth One of the biggest challenges facing the social housing sector is that of Welfare Reform. The introduction of universal credit and its associated payment methods, benefit caps, and the under-occupancy subsidy (bedroom tax) present new challenges for social landlords and their customers. A task force has been established within emh group to minimize the impact of these changes. Early analysis of the impact within emh group indicate that of the 5000 tenants of working age who are receiving Housing Benefit, 31% are affected by the under occupation charge compared with the regional average of 27%. The average reduction in Housing Benefit is predicted to be per week per affected tenancy. This equates to a potential 21,233 per week drop in income. However, as at end of March 2014 the real impact is lower than originally predicted. Early intervention, advice and support strategies are being targeted at high risk customers, and realtime outcomes are being closely monitored The Social Care market was estimated to be worth 37bn in 2008/9, and is forecast to grow by 6bn by 2015/16 to meet increasing demand. Expenditure on enable s core client group, adult Learning Difficulties, is the second highest area of adult social care expenditure, representing 30% of total national expenditure in 2011/12. There has been an increase in funding in each of the past 5 years. It is anticipated that the need for services for adults with learning difficulties and mental health will continue to rise. However, since April 2011, Social Care expenditure by way of the Supporting People allocation has been subsumed into the Formula Grant paid to local authorities, meaning that the allocation is no longer protected by a ring fence. There has been a consequent reduction in funding within the region, and a new emphasis on personalisation There are approximately 40,000 organisations in the UK delivering care services, the majority of these (approximately 80%) are private organisations. The market is still very fragmented (the top 5 players account for less than 10% of specialist care provision), and the sector is predicted to grow and consolidate in the future Demographic projections indicate that the increasing average age of the population is one of the greatest challenges to National Health Service resources. Appropriate housing and high quality domiciliary care is beginning to be recognised as a value for money option by commissioners, presenting opportunities to care for older people with complex needs outside of hospitals. 4.2 PEST Analysis As part of the exercise to analyse our operating environment, we involved and consulted our board members, corporate managers and customers. This has helped us to identify the key political, economic, sociological and technological factors affecting emh group. 8 Figures quoted in paragraph 4.16 and 4.17 are taken from a report by Baker Tiley. Market Sector Overview: The UK Care and Support Sector January This report was commissioned by emh group prior to enable joining the Group. 7

8 4.2.2 The results of the full PEST analysis are shown below. Political Welfare Reform Pensions Reform Localism Act Changes in regulation and coregulation New Development and Planning Frameworks Housing and tenure reform Green agenda National Housing Strategy General Election 2015 Economic Structural Deficit Economic Uncertainty, including inflation/deflation, rising cost and lack of availability of funds Restructure of Public Services Affordable house prices Pensions deficit Unemployment New rent regime Loss of ring-fencing of Supporting People Grant House price inflation Sociological Increased homelessness and poverty Rising youth unemployment Rising customer expectations Demographic changes Tenure flexibility Work-life balance Flexible working Social and financial exclusion Repossessions Care and support needs Response to climate change Decrease in social cohesion Social concern over immigration & potential impact on community cohesion Care Act 2014 Technological eco-homes/carbon reduction/renewal energy Remote/mobile working Assistive technology Lack of access to internet & other technologies within socially excluded groups Home working E-commerce and partnerships Electronic Document Management Data Security Business continuity and disaster recovery Integrated systems/virtual offices Pre-manufactured construction method Data integrity Open source software Cloud technology Social networking 4.3 SWOT Analysis The SWOT diagram below shows the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the organisation Our strengths are considerable and emh group is well placed to respond proactively to the changing environment in which we are working, and to make the most of the new business and business improvement opportunities that arise Our response to the weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing emh group are set out later in this document within our Strategic Plan. The threats largely revolve 8

9 around the economic uncertainty, rising cost of funds, reduction in capital subsidy for new development, Welfare Reform, and reduction in Supporting People funding. Strengths Clear leadership and strategic direction from Board Clear and streamlined Group structure Common shared values Strong financial performance Positive relationship with Regulators Good reputation Strong stakeholder relations Concentrated high quality stock High customer/service user satisfaction rates Diversity of product e.g. low cost home ownership, DLO Social enterprise expertise Top quartile performing Customer Service Centre Strong neighbourhood services Rural specialism Care organisation with strong track record Change management skills Strong executive leadership and staff commitment EMH Academy & enable apprenticeship schemes Development track record Opportunities Local Enterprise Partnerships New health and social care infrastructure Focus on localism Care market demographics Fragmentation in care and support & housing markets Efficiencies from amalgamation Stock rationalisation Social enterprise activities Commercial activities (Green Deal, Lifeline, Repairs Line) Development services Capital funding via bond market Organisational development programme Weaknesses New co-regulation structure needs to be embedded Greater diversity on Boards would be desirable The new care and support operation needs to be embedded Sheltered housing long-term fitness for purpose Short-term viability of DLO Need to explore subsidy through other means/new ideas ICT development Customer profiling High cost terms and conditions Pensions Threats Welfare Reform Economic uncertainty Funding for new development Market renting a challenging method to generate income in the East Midlands Reduction/loss of supporting people funding Pension deficits Decline in operational performance during period of transformational change Loss of skills on board due to ending terms of office Staff turnover following major restructure 9

10 5. STRATEGIC PLAN 5.1 The key areas of priority for the Group are: governance; co-regulation; human resources and organisational development; growth and business development; housing services; care and support; asset management; value for money; business excellence; accountability and corporate social responsibility, financial management and managing risk. 5.2 Governance emh group has recently completed a comprehensive review of its governance arrangements. It now has streamlined, flexible, effective skills-based Boards, which share a common social vision for emh group, whilst focusing on greater commercialism The Group Board takes a lead on setting the values and strategic direction, providing a delegated authority framework for operating Boards to deliver the highest standards of customer services and improve performance on a continuous basis. Subsidiary Boards are responsible for overseeing the operational delivery of the Group Business Plan Remuneration is paid for members of the Group Board and first tier operating company Boards as a means of attracting and retaining people with the right skills. Payment is part of a wider governance package, designed to continuously improve the quality of governance and performance in the organisation Individual board members are appraised and the effectiveness of the board as a whole evaluated on an on-going basis. Appropriate learning and development opportunities are provided for board members to update their skills. A dedicated members website is available to make access to information easier Key Strategic Goals Governance: Deliver a Board Development programme that focuses on skills, leadership, shared values and cultural integration across emh group; Ensure all Board members across the Group have an appropriate level of understanding of both the care and housing related environment in which we operate; Strengthen the commercial acumen of our Board membership; Implement a robust succession plan to refresh skills, broaden the diversity of outlook and experience within our Boards and ensure on-going constructive challenge. 5.3 Co-Regulation emh group and its active residents have undertaken a thorough review of its approach to consumer regulation. New structures have been developed that are inclusive and tenant led, empowering tenants and service users to influence service 10

11 delivery, help steer the strategic direction of the Group and hold decision makers to account A new approach to tenant scrutiny has been agreed that is independent from Board, staff and other strategic resident groups. Recruited on the basis of skills, the Scrutiny Panel is being trained to examine landlord performance and make recommendations directly to Board. This Scrutiny Panel is serviced by emh group s Quality and Standards team, and is to be supported by trained tenant inspectors, mystery shoppers, and researchers The Group s Co-Regulation structures build upon a commitment to promote involvement at a local level, working with residents to develop meaningful local offers that meet residents needs, enhance service delivery and offer choice enable has a strong tradition of service user and carer involvement and is working to build on these structures to maximise their capacity to shape service delivery and choice Key Strategic Goals Co-Regulation: Ensure that open and effective channels of communication underpin all coregulation activities within the Group, including those between Boards, staff, wider stakeholders, and those tenants and service users who have chosen not to get involved; Provide independent support to establish and train a newly recruited skills based emh homes tenant scrutiny panel and ensure that they are adequately trained and resourced. Strengthen service user and carer participation forums within enable and ensure that they are adequately trained and resourced. Achieve a recognised quality accreditation for Tenant Scrutiny by December 2015; Establish and deliver a learning and development programme for active residents and service users which helps build the capacity of residents to participate and influence decisions; Increase opportunities for participation amongst residents and service users in the under 25 age group in order to help ensure that homes and services meet future customer aspirations; Review the value for money of co-regulation activities across the Group to ensure maximum impact and measurable, cost effective outcomes; 5.4 Human Resources and Organisational Development emh group employs 1,200 people and recognises that a well motivated and trained workforce is crucial to success. Our objective is to achieve the Investors in People (IIP) Gold accreditation across the Group and gain entry to the published list of Times Top 100 Employers within the next two years The Group s Skills for the Future project is based on a belief that a strategic approach to talent management is vital if organisations are going to improve their 11

12 business value, achieve their operational goals, and enable customers and service users to be actively engaged in developing thriving and sustainable communities. The EMH Academy provides apprenticeship and traineeship programmes across the group. Leadership development programmes, including coaching opportunities, are provided for the executive and senior managers. All members of staff will have regular one to ones with their line managers to discuss performance and any support needs, plus an annual appraisal focusing on performance against targets, evaluation of training activities, and a personal development plan for the next 12 months. enable is approved to examine and award City of Guild qualifications The Group has an active programme of providing student placements for those studying at University to become social workers or for degrees in general nursing, health and social care. Such placements generate an income, and help foster strong partnerships and shared learning opportunities with six local Universities The Group is committed to complying with applicable legal requirements in regard to Occupational Health and Safety within a framework for setting and reviewing H&S objectives. We firmly believe in ensuring the health, safety and welfare of our employees and any other persons who can be affected by our working practices. As such emh group are committed to installing and implementing the standard framework set out in OHSAS in an effort to strive for continual improvement within our health and safety management systems. This project will be regularly reviewed to ensured compliance is achieved within satisfactory timescales which will be driven by the Executive Management Team and cascade within all appropriate areas of the business Key Strategic Goals HR and Organisational Development Embark on a comprehensive organisational development review; Review the Group s HR Strategy to ensure it reflects best practice and the changing environment in which we are now operating; Review benefits, terms and conditions of staff, including pension provision, to ensure that they remain competitive and sustainable; Ensure effective change management and communication as new staffing structures are embedded across the Group; Maximise the strategic use of ICT in our HR services, including enhanced arrangements for electronic recruitment processes, the implementation of new HR management systems; the development of a new suite of HR related performance reports, and enhanced opportunities for digital learning; Achieve better work-life balance by continuing to promote flexible working practices to meet the needs of a diverse workforce; Expand the Partnership for Practice Education (PEPE) within enable to help meet the rising demand for nursing and social work student placements across the Region; Continue to develop and expand EMH Academy, developing links with a range of potential local employers to expand employment opportunities for apprentices; 12

13 Continue to invest in leadership development for current and potential leaders; Implement new competency and values based role profiles so that greater benefits may accrue to the business in terms of skills transferability and career development opportunities; Develop an approach to talent management and succession planning that maximises the ability of employees to meet their full potential; Review agency staff costs and performance to maximise service quality and value for money; Further develop our delegated authority framework to maximise empowerment for front line staff and speed up decision-making; OHSAS accreditation for Health and Safety. 5.5 Growth and Business Development emh group is the Registered Provider with the largest number of homes in the East Midlands region, and plans to retain and strengthen its market share within its traditional areas of operation. emh group will also look to expand to other locations where there is a demonstrable need for social housing, and where housing market conditions can support an active development programme through affordable rents and/or disposal programmes emh group will explore opportunities for growth through strategic partnerships and acquisitions, whilst continuing with a development programme of mixed tenure and rental products Business plans are in place for the provision of environmental services, Lifeline Services, and Repairs Line services, all of which have the potential to generate an income from commercial activity emh group provides a development delivery service to four independent small rural associations. Similar agency contracts will be sought when they arise with other small registered providers and Local Authorities, helping improve the cost efficiency of the in-house development team Through our unique operating business, Midlands Rural Housing, we continue to provide a wide range of skills and expertise in the assessment of rural housing needs, the development and management of homes, strategy formulation and lobbying for rural housing provision Key Strategic Goals Growth and Business Development: Core Affordable Housing will comprise Social Rent, Affordable rents (80% of market rent levels), and Shared ownership / equity sales. These will be delivered primarily through emh homes at an average target of at least 200 homes each year; Explore options to enable diversification into non core development products, including Market Rent and outright sale, through consideration of a limited joint venture arrangement with a key development partner; 13

14 Seek to use available Recycled Capital Grant Fund and internal resources to secure match funding from partners to make HCA bids competitive, seeking to balance the pipeline at 50% nil grant and 50% grant supported developed units; Maximise the use of land assets and existing schemes that are suitable for redevelopment for new housing provision across the Group; Actively engage with local strategic partnerships in key areas of our operation and contribute proactively to the development of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) strategies; Seek opportunities to deliver a target of 10 supported units each year with the primary focus being the needs of people with learning disabilities and also those with mental health issues; Seek to secure funding packages and start on site with 2 extra care projects within the next three years; Adopt Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 as a baseline target for all grant funded developments, and seek to exceed this standard where additional funding is available; Continue with the existing 5m land banking facility to help achieve its development targets; Continue to actively lobby at the neighbourhood, local, and national level on rural housing issues whilst developing opportunities for the provision of rural housing consultancy and support services to help meet rural housing need; Seek to sell development services and provide support to key partners. 5.6 Housing Services emh homes is the main body for the delivery of housing services within the Group. The organisation has embarked on a period of transformational change, responding both to the changes required internally by the amalgamation from which it was formed, and drivers in the external environment such as Welfare Reform emh homes has reorganised its operations in order to create a functional structure but also strong local delivery. emh homes now comprises the following functional divisions: A centralised Customer Service Centre, bringing together teams currently spread over three sites; A neighbourhood s team, overseeing front line housing and estate services, including anti-social behaviour, community development, neighbourhood management and income recovery. A specialist centralised income management team is being created to work with local teams on tenant support and face to face contact; An asset management team, overseeing maintenance services across emh homes and delivering the organisation s asset management strategy; 14

15 In-house maintenance teams for the North and South It is important that a local focus on service is maintained. The localism agenda is being met through a regional structure that splits the emh homes into North and South operational areas emh homes is committed to growing and developing the two Direct Labour Organisations (DLOs) currently within its portfolio. A DLO development strategy has been produced. The vision is that the DLOs become viable businesses, with a reputation for excellence customer focus, service quality and value for money. The DLOs will be emh homes contractors of choice, and will have a commercial portfolio of external contracts which enables investment in the growth of the business and internal costs to be reduced Key Strategic Goals Housing Services Deliver and embed the cultural and structural changes, ensuring that projected efficiencies are achieved, and that customer services are enhanced across the organisation; Continue to deliver emh homes strategy for responding to the challenges of Welfare Reform, using customer profile information to target timely support, intervention and information and advice services at those most affected by the change; Embed the activities of a newly established centralised, income management team, supported by local, face to face, tenancy support services; Review emh homes DLO vision and strategy to ensure that in-house maintenance services are efficient and viable, and remain in line with the business and customer needs of the newly amalgamated organisation; Deliver emh homes revised Neighbourhoods Strategy, working with partner agencies to adopt a neighbourhood management approach on issues such as safety, crime and disorder and community cohesion; Review emh homes traditional sheltered housing products including the lifeline services to ensure that they are fit for the future; Reconfigure and update our integrated housing management ICT systems to reflect the operational needs of the newly amalgamated organisation, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and enhanced call centre technology; Enhance levels of access to Information Technology and digital inclusion amongst residents and broaden the opportunities for residents to use technology as a channel to access services and influence decision making across the Group; Maintain a focus on delivering high levels of performance & customer satisfaction, and take a proactive approach to ensuring these are not disrupted during the implementation of emh homes structural change programme; 15

16 Keep emh homes allocations and tenancy strategies under review, in consultation with partners, local authorities and customers; Develop and deliver local partnership agreements with key strategic Local Authority partners. 5.7 Care and Support Until April 2013, emh group s support services represented less than 5% of the Group s turnover. However, this financial position did not reflect the level of strategic value or cultural influence that care and support had within the organisation. Many of its support activities were considered flag ship services, both within the Group and by its service users, external funders and partners. In Spring 2012 emh group s Board therefore took the decision to explore opportunities to expand Care and Support activities within the Group, widening our offer to customers, and meeting a wider range and complexity of need Our partnership with the high performing local Care provider, enable, was secured in April 2013 when they joined the Group, and has accelerated the delivery of this vision, with over 20% of turnover now derived from our Care and Support activities. Benefits to the Group of this partnership include the creation of a larger and more diverse organisation with new competencies such as social work skills, and access tonew business opportunities enable s charitable status means that any surpluses generated by its activities are reinvested in future services, and in ensuring that the organisation has highly trained people to deliver them. enable s focus in on maintaining a team who are professional, well motivated, and who continuously demonstrate their empathy and compassion for the people they serve In partnership with emh homes, enable now manages services for people with learning difficulties, older people, people with physical disabilities, people requiring mental health support, homeless people including mothers/fathers and babies, and people experiencing domestic violence. These shall remain emh group s target client groups Key Strategic Goals Care and Support: Raise awareness of enable s services and expertise with key strategic partners in its new areas of operation; Continue to pursue growth opportunities that are financially viable and which help meet the needs of enable s priority client groups. In particular, take the lead in bidding for Leicestershire s older person s support services which is to be tendered in late 2013/early 2014; Continue to focus on providing high quality services to people with learning difficulties in the North of the region; Develop in-house care services to support the Group s target of building extra care schemes; Develop a domiciliary care strategy for emh group s residents and for people living in their own homes in Derbyshire and Leicestershire; 16

17 Develop detailed service plans that ensure that services are financially sustainable and that any cross subsidy between services is transparent, and time limited; Ensure on-going tight control of back room costs in order to maintain competitiveness; Maximise benefits arising from being part of a wider Group, including access to a wider range of business support services, and efficiencies through shared procurement of goods and services; Explore options and opportunities for achieving a relevant quality accreditation that applies standards that go beyond those provided by the Care Quality Commission; Develop and implement a Volunteering Strategy, to create new volunteering opportunities for customers, whilst improving the efficiency of services delivery. 5.8 Asset management Prior to the amalgamation of its asset holding registered providers, the Group was unable to maximise the impact of its approach to asset management as each operating subsidiary needed to work within its own financial capacity and business plan objectives. That impediment has largely been removed allowing a more holistic approach to be taken to asset management and development decisions emh homes stock profile is summarised below. The geographical spread of stock is set out in Appendix 4: 87% of the stock is rented 2% of the stock is leasehold owner-occupied 9% of the stock is shared-ownership 1.5% of the stock was acquired as a mortgage rescue 62% of the stock is for general needs rent 23% of the stock is rented retirement accommodation 3% is rented supported housing 70% of the stock was built before emh homes asset management priority is to maintain the Decent Homes standard across the stock. Forecasts using life cycle costing on the building components, shows sufficient investment to sustain a 100% compliance with the Decent Homes standard. This is fully funded within the Group s business plan emh homes is also working with tenants to define a Decent Homes Plus standard with the long term aim of applying this as a minimum standard across all tenanted properties in the Group Key Strategic Goals Asset Management: Maintain and build on the Decent Homes Standard for homes across the Group; 17

18 Develop an EMH Decent Homes Plus standard, supported by local offers to meet local needs and spending commitments, with the long term aim of applying this as a minimum standard across all tenanted properties in the Group; Apply learning arising from the Group s Knowledge Exchange Partnership with De Montfort University and seek further opportunities to inform investment decisions that improve the environmental sustainability and affordability of our homes; Establish target minimum energy ratings with the aim of reducing fuel poverty and carbon emissions; Involve customers more effectively on asset management decisions and priorities; Explore opportunities arising from environmental initiatives to broaden sources of investment income in energy efficient home improvements; Identify opportunities for neighbourhood renewal programmes; Identify properties suitable for remodelling, such as sheltered blocks which are no longer fit for purpose or reconversion of houses or flats to meet changing demand; Consider how aids and adaptations to properties may help to improve tenancy sustainability and meet our care and support objectives; Ensure that our development strategy is consistent with the requirements of the asset management strategy; Adopt stock rationalization principles as a tool for achieving the optimum stock profile with a mix of tenure, property size and location. 5.9 Value for Money emh group is committed to being an effective and efficient social business, achieving Value for Money (VfM) in all the activities that it carries out. The concept of VfM is fundamental to a successful organisation, emh group defines VfM as achieving its social and business objectives in the most cost effective way possible There are a range of activities underway within emh group to ensure the delivery of VfM. They include a clear role for Governance in setting strategic priorities and the delivery for VfM; the involvement of customers in shaping services and scrutinising how their rent is spent; performance management and benchmarking; effective financial management and the dissemination of accurate and relevant financial information; clear efficiency targets reflected in budgets; and effective procurement across the Group, with tender assessments weighted towards price wherever possible. The Group has a continuous improvement programme of customer service reviews, each of which has achieving economies and efficiencies as a fundamental requirement Interest payable is the largest single cost within emh group. Effective treasury management is therefore central to achieving VfM. The Group s Treasury Policy and Strategy is reviewed annually and opportunities taken to reduce interest costs whilst also limiting risks to the Group. 18

19 5.9.4 Key Strategic Goals Value for Money: Ensuring that target efficiencies arising from the amalgamation are realised with no detriment to service delivery; Maximise opportunities for procurement efficiencies arising from economies of scale across the Group; Produce an annual value for money statement, which is transparent, and enhances the Group s accountability to stakeholders, and which measures social return on investment; On a three yearly basis, review of the cost effectiveness of the in house maintenance teams, making reference to external pricing mechanisms, the outcome of tenders from related services and where necessary independent validation; Make strategic use of benchmarking information to help the Group achieve its objective of being upper quartile performer on cost efficiency measures for both housing and care services; Support residents to develop a Scrutiny Programme that focuses on value for money and maximising the impact of future rental streams; Continued growth of emh group through organic growth and expansion through acquisition Business Excellence The Group Support Centre (GSC) provides high quality, cost-effective business support services to all members of the Group. Such services include: governance support, company secretariat, finance, IT, HR, development, treasury management, research, policy and information, communications, health and safety, quality and strategic support. emh homes has a top quartile performing Customer Service Centre, with a newly established Customer Experience team, set up to monitor complaints and ensure trends are captured and acted upon Building on its Investors in Excellence accreditation, emh group has adopted W E Deming s Plan, Do, Check Act cycle as a golden thread through all its continuous improvement activities. This approach to continuous improvement links process control with performance improvement initiatives in the Group and provide greater coherence between management activities and business outcomes A Business Improvement Group (BIG) has been established, led by Members of the Group Board, to steer and co-ordinate business improvement and value for money initiatives across the Group All organisational objectives are translated into departmental, team and individual targets. Executive management team and corporate managers meet regularly to consider key performance indicators affecting the health of the business and take corrective action as necessary. Performance is benchmarked with other organisations and comparisons are used to prioritise service reviews. A Quality and 19

20 Standards Team supports and co-ordinates continuous improvement activities across the group Key Strategic Goals Business Excellence: Review Service Level Agreements annually for all business support services to ensure they remain fit for purpose; Carry out service reviews of key business support services as part of a continuous improvement programme; Enhance the Group s mobile and home working facilities where appropriate; Implement effective technology systems and continue to develop the external websites to provide greater accessibility for customers and contractors; Review internal processes and automate them where it will be beneficial to do so. This will include an automated document management; Regularly test our disaster recovery and business continuity systems; Ensure that we maintain appropriate levels of controls and clear lines of accountability to ensure the security and integrity of our data; Embed the newly established Customer Experience team within the Customer Service Centre to oversee the administration of complaints, and ensure that complaints are handled consistently and professionally, and within published timescales, and that lessons are learned from any service failures; Work with customers to establish an independent residents complaints panel; Implement the Group s digital inclusion strategy to help improve access to digital services for people in socially excluded groups; Recognise and facilitate the effective operations of an external complaints panel of customers; Achieve reaccreditation for Investors in Excellence, Customer Service Excellence, and IIP Gold standard across the group, and ensure that these accreditations are used as a strategic tool to help raise standards and achieve continuous improvement Accountability & corporate social responsibility emh group is committed to the principles of openness and transparency in its decisions and actions. The Group will share information with its stakeholders unless there are good reasons for not doing so for example, for legal reasons or on the grounds of personal or commercial confidentiality emh group recognises the importance of being accountable to its external stakeholders. A robust probity policy and code of conduct is in place and the Group adopts a rigorous approach to declarations of interest which go well beyond legal and regulatory requirements. 20

21 Regular meetings are held with our Active Stakeholder Forum which provides external and independent challenge to the Board, helping safeguard the Group s adherence to its values and corporate social responsibilities Through its Kaleidoscope strategy, the Group actively promotes a commitment to diversity as one of its core values, and monitors outcomes in relation to governance, employment, service delivery and procurement. A new joint staff and customer Diversity Group is in place to promote the Kaleidoscope Project and ensure good practice in embedded in all areas of our activity Social enterprise activities within the Group help address the social and financial exclusion of customers and build the capacity of the communities and neighbourhoods it works with, including initiatives such as credit unions, employment, training and apprenticeships emh group was the sole UK delivery partner in a European Union funded initiative looking to test the effectiveness of training for excluded groups in Digital Inclusion. emh group will continue to invest in this area One of the challenges facing the Group is to ensure actions are compatible with sustainable development and contribute to national and global strategies for environmental protection. The Group s environmental strategy includes a commitment to improving the environmental performance of the business and to communicating results to stakeholders Key Strategic Goals - Accountability & Corporate Social Responsibility: Formalise communication links between Boards and our customers, ensuring that governance activities across the Group are transparent and accountable to residents and service users; Refresh the Group s Social Enterprise strategy to reflect new opportunities arising from enable joining the Group, and examine potential growth areas such as gardening, catering, cleaning, and lettings agency services; Disseminate learning derived from De Montfort University s Knowledge Exchange Partnership across the social housing sector; Refine the Group s approach to quantifying the social impact of its activities; Respond to feedback from emh group s Partner Opinion Survey undertaken in the Autumn of 2013; Review the Group s communications strategy to promote and showcase the work it does and outcomes for the customers and communities it serves Financial Management Financial viability is a key objective for the Group and is crucial for the achievement of business objectives. Despite the recent economic circumstances, we are well equipped to meet the challenges. 21