You Said We Did
At the end of last year 1,567 tenants gave their views about Hackney Homes in an independent survey carried out by Ipsos MORI. I would like to thank all residents who completed this survey. The results showed that more residents are satisfied with the services that Hackney Homes provides.
You told us that you were pleased with the good quality information that we provide, that you like the opportunities available to get involved and that our estates and green areas are looking cleaner and well maintained. You also told us about issues arising in your neighbourhood and this has been vital for us in prioritising our services.
Following this, many of you also gave your views to the inspectors from the Audit Commission about the services Hackney Homes provides. The result of the inspection was a testament of your feedback and I want to thank you for that.
We want to continue to improve on our services to you. In the past year, we have made some significant changes in the areas that were a priority and this booklet provides additional information about these.
We will once again be asking a random sample of residents how they feel about how we are performing. This will take place in the next month and I urge everyone to complete this survey if you are one of the residents selected.
Thank you once again. We still have work to do but we can only do this with residents working with us.
We have…
- improved the standard of cleaning and grounds. We are carrying out regular checks and we regularly find minimal instances of graffiti, abandoned vehicles or vandalism.
- identified areas where cleaning is required over the weekend. This cleaning is carried out by a dedicated team which helps to prevent the build up of rubbish during periods when the full cleaning service is not available.
- improved the estate environment and provided valuable work experience for people by working with local groups to employ people on probation and those without work opportunities to carry out gardening in communal and individual gardens.
- reported rubbish dumping on estates to the Council’s Enforcement Team who will investigate and issue fixed penalty notices where appropriate.
- publicised to residents some of the ways in which you can reduce waste by recycling more.
- plans in place to publicise cleaning and gardening schedules on the Hackney Homes website in particular the planned cleaning of rubbish chambers and external window cleaning.
We have…
- an Estate Safety Team to deal with high level cases such as those involving drugs, guns and pirate radios.
- reduced the time taken to close crack houses from 37 days in 2007 to 17 days (as of September 2008), and 79 closure orders have been served over the past three years as part of our work as an active partner in the Hackney Crackdown Project. This is helping to improve the quality of life of residents on estates suffering crime and ASB.
- worked closely with local Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Hackney to provide a visible presence on our estates. They are talking to residents on the ground.
- on offer a range of diversionary activities for young people on estates to take part in. We currently run football and basketball sessions as part of the Kickz programme as well as dance training for local people.
We have…
- made it easier to contact the Repairs Contact centre by telephone, email or via the Hackney Homes website.
- a wider range of appointment slots for repairs including Saturdays and evenings. The repairs appointment system is flexible, with appointments available 8am to 1pm, 12 noon to 4.30pm and 4pm to 6pm during the week, and between 8am and 1pm on Saturdays.
- 21 repairs surgeries on estates each month in community centres where we meet with residents face to face so that they can report their repair with us. Attendance at these surgeries has increased from 1,000 in 2007 to 2,600 in 2008. These surgeries are popular with residents whose first language is not English, and Hackney Homes arranges multilingual staff from the call centre to attend.
- been completing a large proportion of repairs on first visit.
- been carrying out post-inspections to ensure that works are carried out to the highest standard.
We have…
- modernised around 12,000 homes to date in Hackney as part of the Decent Homes Programme.
- achieved our 2 Star accreditation from the Audit Commission and will refurbish 7,000 homes in Hackney with new kitchens and bathrooms.
- been working closely with Hackney Council to carry out interim repairs on estates where plans are being put in place for regeneration.
- plans in place to improve homes as part of the Decent Homes and Planned Maintenance programmes in the next few years.
- plans in place for homes that will not get Decent Homes to carry out painting, install communal doors and lighting upgrades to ensure that the quality of these homes continue to improve.
We have…
- improved security on our estates including installation of 1,200 multi-locking steel front doors, 80 communal entryphone doors and 44 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) sites.
- a Crime Prevention Design Adviser, seconded from the Metropolitan Police, responsible for assisting us to design out crime hotspots on our estates reducing the fear of crime and designing in community safety features. This has contributed to a falling level of burglary in the borough.
- been working with Camden Mediation Service to assist with issues between residents which can be resolved at a local level.
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