How do we currently stand on our approach to strategic asset management? - HRA Asset Management Plan
Through a process of external review and self-assessment, we have evaluated how well our organisation is currently performing against ten key aspects of strategic asset management. Our leadership team, senior and operational managers all contributed to this wide-ranging and robust assessment.
Governance - leadership, vision and strategy
- In response to new landlord obligations arising from the Social Housing Regulator - there are opportunities to;
- strengthen governance arrangements across services.
- develop a more joined up vision and aspirations we have for our tenants and council’s responsibilities as a landlord – maintaining our focus on tenant safety and delivering best in class tenancy management services.
- maximize our efforts to get better value for the money we spend on improving services and a better return to the Housing Revenue Account
Partnership working
- Whilst partnership working is strong, there are opportunities to develop greater openness, trust and honesty, to better agree shared goals and values and ensure better communication between our key service providers
- We need to seize the opportunity the Commissioning Review presents for re-setting the ODS relationship and ensure better outcomes for tenants .
- We need a shared partnership vision and goals that we all buy into and understand.
Data driven works programmes
- We are making improvements to data, but accessing it is difficult and need to work on removing barriers
- We are building our stock condition survey data, but recognise this will take time to complete, we need to ensure QL can effectively hold the data.
- Budgets need to be driven by up to date, accurate stock data, rather than by custom and practice.
Safety and compliance
- Recent regulatory involvement has brought compliance into focus, with policies, procedures and recording keeping all needing to be improved.
- Systems need to allow easy and full visibility of compliance at any one time.
- We need a clear understanding of outstanding remedial works in key compliance areas and works programmes in place to address these.
High calibre and motivated staff
- Staff turnover and good housing skill shortages across the profession is making it difficult to recruit the skills required
- We need to improve our approach to induction, training and team development.
- Our organisational culture needs building through a stronger operating framework and collaborative working
Investment targeted to future needs
- We need to take a stronger position on defining standards with reference to costs/benefits – for materials, works specifications, voids etc.
- We need to complete the development of a new energy efficiency/retrofit strategy.
- We need to develop and agree a longer-term, evidenced based plan for future investment
Systems, processes and procedures
- Our systems, processes and procedures need developing and their functionality improving.
- We need to develop a clearer view on what we are trying to achieve and what good looks like.
- We need a set of clear, transparent approaches to dealing with the range of key issues.
Value for money
- We need to ensure that we are making the best financial return for the HRA and value for money through our contracting.
- The delegation of budgets to ODS presents real challenges which need to be addressed through a much stronger strategic client role.
- The Commercial Review is a big opportunity for a reset on value for money with ODS and more widely.
Performance and programme management
- Our view on performance across the range of key asset areas isn’t sufficiently clear and we rely too heavily on third party data and reporting.
- We need to ensure robust contract management and oversight of all contractors, including ODS.
- We need to be a strong strategic client, taking ownership of the ODS relationship, taking a lead on budgets and specifying materials, components, specifications etc.
Tenant-focused services
- We are insufficiently open and transparent with tenants about services and standards
- We need to develop our service standards
- We need to develop a stronger focus on resident engagement with more resident groups, taking ownership to drive future programmes of work with them, building on the results of the tenant priorities survey in July 2024.
