Improving Lives update
Welcome to the autumn edition of our stakeholder newsletter.
It remains a challenging time for the Group and for the wider housing sector as we do everything we can to improve the services our customers receive. As part of our response to this, we've introduced additional support to strengthen our workforce and enhance our repairs service.
With the support of our contractors and the recent introduction of Plentific, we're continuing to reduce the backlog of outstanding work. Our Complaints Team is better resourced to resolve complaints more quickly and our contact centres are working closely with our contractors to monitor work and update our customers.
All of these challenges, as well as how we're responding to them, are laid out in our recently published annual report, which you'll find out more about in this update.
Last month we welcomed our new Chief Information Officer, Guv Dhaliwal, to the Group. In this new role, which is part of our Executive Leadership Team, Guv will lead our digital, data and technology IT capability. Guv has held various leadership positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance Group, with his most recent role being CIO of their internal brands organisation, and I'm sure he's going to be a fantastic asset for the Group.
In this update, we bring news of our latest development activity and the roll-out of our Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund project, which will improve energy efficiency in over 580 homes.
You'll also find out about the positive difference being made by our floating support service and an exciting six-year project we're working on with a primary school.
Julie Doyle, Longhurst Group Chief Executive.
Resetting our focus for future success
We've recently published our Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2022/2023.
Titled 'Resetting our focus for future success' the report outlines our priorities and highlights our key financial statistics and performance data while acknowledging where we need to improve, and more importantly how we’re going to do that.
Created to be accessible, engaging and interactive, this year's report is full of stories from our customers and communities that highlight how we've continued to support them and realise our vision to improve lives.
Resetting our focus features a series of video case studies, including the one below which showcases our Group Board and committee members touring some of our development sites earlier this year and illustrates our ongoing commitment to tackling the housing crisis.
My reflection on the last 12 months - Jenny Brown
In the last 12 months, the Group has retained a laser-like focus on improving our performance, scrutinising what we’re getting right and where we need to focus our resources to improve.
At the same time, we remain mindful of the enhanced attention and scrutiny on the wider housing sector and the role we need to play to transform pub
lic and political opinion.
As challenging as the last year has been for the Group and the sector, I’m privileged to see examples of the services we provide continuing to make a positive difference for so many people.
The passion and commitment of our people, united as one team to get things back on track is what's driving the whole Group to turn things around, and we’ve supplemented these efforts by investing further in our recovery.
We’v
e worked hard to learn lessons from the things we haven’t got right and are refocusing our efforts to make clear improvements. We've changed the way we work and stepped up our response as we continue to tackle the challenges we face.
Everyone at the Group is driven by an acute sense of purpose to ensure that the people who rely on us are able to live safely, healthily and happily in the homes w
e provide and have access to excellent support services. Quite simply, that’s what we’re here for.
A fond farewell
We'd like to congratulate our former Director of Customer Experience and Communities, Charmaine Simei (Cham), on her appointment as Chief Executive of Tuntum Housing Association. Throughout her career, Cham has led activity in many areas, including community investment, customer engagement and equality, diversity and inclusion.
We wish Cham well in her new role and would like to thank her and Bernadette Farrell, our former Director of Care and Support, who also recently left the Group, for their fantastic service. Bernadette had been with the organisation for 29 years and provided heartfelt dedication to our Care and Support colleagues and customers throughout that time.
Our customers and communities
Delivering housing, care and support
ork is progressing well on 16 new affordable homes in a Lincolnshire village. We’ve partnered with Lindum Group to build the t…
Providing the homes people want
Great partnerships
Pupils from a primary school in Boston have buried a time capsule on the site of our new housing development in the town.
As part of our efforts to improve our repairs service and tackle the backlog of jobs we need to complete, we’ve partnered with…