December 2023

This update is from Claire Warren who is deputy Chair of the Board. Claire has been a Board member since January 2020 and is also Chief Executive of Pickering Ferens Homes, a registered social housing provider and almshouse based near Hull.

Before the normal meeting there was a chance for the Tenant Voice Scrutiny Panel (TVSP) to share the findings and recommendations with Board members (no staff are in attendance) on their latest review. It is great for Board members to hear directly from customers and they meet with Board at least twice a year. This review was on First Time Fix for repairs and we know how important the repairs service is for customers. There was a good discussion about the report and recommendations from customers. The Board and customers agreed the four recommendations and these will now be implemented by staff and contractors in 2024. The full report can be viewed here.

The Board also thanked the three members of TVSP who were retiring from the group – Carole, Eric and Geoff who have all been members of the group since it was created in 2011.

The focus of the main Board meeting was on reviewing progress across a range of areas as we are now over half way through the 2023/24 financial year.

A number of tenants were involved in the creation of the Leading and Growing Vision to 2026 and each year a Corporate Plan is created to set objectives linked to this vision. The Corporate plan for 2023/24 was approved by Board in March 2023 and it was good to get an update on what had been achieved this year. Some examples of the objectives delivered this year are:

• We have carried out works to improve the energy efficiency of 45 homes reducing heating costs for customers and lowering carbon emissions. We hope to carry out works to a further 55 properties by 31 March 2024.
• We are on track to deliver 80 new homes by 31 March 2024 which is more than our target of 75
• We have made some progress on improving customer satisfactions with complaints. This was at 64% for the first half of the year and our target by 31 March 2024 is 70%

There were also updates on financial performance, performance (including customer satisfaction) and health and safety. These are important areas for the Board to monitor and we discussed with staff where targets were being missed or areas of underperformance.

There was a long discussion about the rent increase for 2024/25 – this is a difficult decision for Board members who have to consider the impact on customers, affordability of rents and the financial pressures faced by North Star. The Board agreed with recommendations based on guidelines from advisors and benchmarking policy with other similar housing organisations.

Finally, staff have been working for the last six months to put some new funding in place – this is key to ensuring we can continue to invest in our existing homes and build new properties. Staff shared an update on this work and we are hoping to formally approve the final agreement in January 2024.

Overall it was a good afternoon of meetings with customers and staff.