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Draft Corporate and Business Plans 2014/15 – 2016/17
Contents
About us......................................................................................................................................... 3
Our Vision ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Our Mission Statement: ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Our Core Values: ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Foreword ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Context .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Government priorities .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Programme for Government / DSD Housing Strategy (2012 – 2017) ................................................................... 5
Local Government Reform .................................................................................................................................... 5
Social Housing Reform Programme ...................................................................................................................... 5
Welfare Reform .................................................................................................................................................... 5
The Housing Market ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Fundamental review of Housing Allocations ........................................................................................................ 6
The need to improve our housing stock ............................................................................................................... 6
Improve our work and our services ...................................................................................................................... 6
Regional Services Objectives ........................................................................................................... 7
Regional Services Budget ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Expenditure 2014/15 ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Regional Services Corporate Objectives ........................................................................................... 8
Objective 1 – Identification of housing requirements across Northern Ireland ................................................... 9
Objective 2 - Investing in homes and neighbourhoods ........................................................................................ 9
Objective 3 – Improving people’s homes ........................................................................................................... 10
Objective 4 – Transforming people’s lives .......................................................................................................... 12
Objective 5 – Enabling sustainable neighbourhoods and regeneration ............................................................. 13
Landlord Services Objectives ......................................................................................................... 14
Objective 1 – Delivering quality services ............................................................................................................ 16
Objective 2 – Delivering better homes ............................................................................................................... 18
Objective 3 – Fostering Vibrant Communities .................................................................................................... 21
Support Services Objectives .......................................................................................................... 22
Finance Division .................................................................................................................................................. 22
Corporate Services Division ................................................................................................................................ 23
Appendix 1: Programme for Government priorities and NIHE supporting actions ........................... 28
Contact us .................................................................................................................................... 30
We can let you have a copy of the plans in a language that meets your needs and in
different formats, including:
Large print
DAISY
Computer disk
Braille
Audio cassette
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Draft Corporate and Business Plans 2014/15 – 2016/17
About us
Our Vision
As the comprehensive housing agency for Northern Ireland, our vision for housing is:
“One in which housing plays its part in creating a peaceful, inclusive, prosperous and fair
society.”
We will deliver this vision through our two distinct roles - Regional Services and Landlord
Services – and supported by our Finance and Corporate Services Divisions.
Our Mission Statement:
Working in partnership to ensure that everyone has access to a good affordable home in
a safe and healthy community.
Our Core Values:
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Openness and accountability
Responsiveness to our customers and community
Fairness and equity
Caring for the environment
Valuing and developing our staff
Value for money
Regional Services activities
Working in partnership;
Identify housing need;
Meeting housing need;
Home Energy Conservation Authority;
Rent register;
Vesting powers;
Homelessness issues;
Providing housing advice;
Supporting People;
Housing Benefit;
Private sector repairs;
Consulting with councils and the
Housing Council;
Research and market intelligence
provision.
Landlord Services activities
NIHE stock management income collection:
including rent, leaseholders & commercial
properties;
Providing housing advice;
Consulting with councils and the Housing
Council;
Working with other sectors;
Community safety, cohesion and integration
Maintenance including response, planned,
grounds &heating and adaptations;
Resident involvement.
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Draft Corporate and Business Plans 2014/15 – 2016/17
Foreword
Our Corporate Business Plan articulates our vision, priorities and outcomes for 2014-15
to 2016-17 and sets out how we will achieve them. We have worked hard to address and
rectify a number of legacy issues which emerged within this organisation over recent
years and we are now fully committed to ensuring the Housing Executive regains the
confidence of all our stakeholders as a housing body which provides the highest quality
services to all our tenants and customers.
We believe that 2014 marks a turning point for the Housing Executive. Already we have
introduced two new directorates delivering Regional Services and Landlord Services
under our vision for housing and neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland. Later this year we
will introduce new Business Excellence Strategies to guide us on our 'Journey to
Excellence', ensuring we get back on top.
We are working to deliver our Programme for Government targets. Appendix 1 shows
how our objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) support a number of the
Programme for Government priorities. Alongside these important Ministerial priorities,
we have also set ourselves demanding targets to ensure we meet our responsibilities to
all our customers and partners in an effective and efficient way. These are described in
later sections of this plan.
We will continue to serve Northern Ireland’s housing needs in a fair and impartial way,
delivering services to our customers across all tenures of the housing market. The final
version of our Corporate Plan will consider the views of those that we consult, helping to
shape our priorities for future years.
We welcome your comments on this year's draft Corporate and Business Plan. We can
let you have a copy of the plans in a language that meets your needs and in different
formats. Requests for alternative formats should be requested from
business.performance@nihe.gov.uk and responses to this consultation should be sent to
Janet no later than 24th of September 2014.
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Context
Government priorities
In setting our priorities we are guided by the Programme for Government 2011 – 2015
(PfG), and the Department for Social Development’s (DSD) Housing Strategy Action Plan
for Northern Ireland (2012 -2017).
Programme for Government / DSD Housing Strategy (2012 – 2017)
The PfG requires the delivery of 8,000 social and affordable homes (RSKPI 3, 4 &5),
improve the thermal efficiency of NIHE stock and ensure full double glazing in all NIHE
properties (Landlord KPI 10). Included in this Corporate Plan are targets to meet these
and other strategic commitments.
Local Government Reform
The Reform of Local Government (RLG) in Northern Ireland will be implemented from
April 2015. We welcome this opportunity to work with the new Councils to promote
housing and associated regeneration. We will be preparing for the transfer of
responsibility for HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) and fitness functions from the
Housing Executive to local government by the 1st of April 2015. A project group has been
set up with representatives from Human Resources, I.T. and relevant Heads of
Departments to progress a project plan to ensure the smooth transfer of these housing
functions, which is on target.
Social Housing Reform Programme
The Social Housing Reform Programme requires us to explore options to deliver a more
financially sustainable model for housing and neighbourhood regeneration. The Housing
Executive is working closely with the Department for Social Development to develop any
resultant structural changes which are fit for purpose and protect the interests of our
tenants, communities, staff and key partners. In the coming year we will commence
work with DSD staff to develop the oversight regime for Landlord Services.
Welfare Reform
When Welfare Reform is fully implemented in Northern Ireland, a substantial number of
social housing tenants are likely to be directly affected by the changes. The likely
associated impacts include an increased demand for the limited stock of smaller
properties and greater demand for discretionary housing payments. Continuing delays in
the legislative process of the Northern Ireland Welfare Reform Bill mean that the NIHE
will continue to have a substantial Housing Benefit caseload for much longer than initially
expected.
We are working with colleagues and partners to manage the impact of welfare reform
and our action plan will provide support to tenants to help them manage the changes.
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The Housing Market
Those requiring housing and deemed to be in housing stress (including homeless
presenters) now exceed 20,000 and we estimate that to address housing need, 2,000
new homes need to be started each year over the next few years. The Social Housing
Development Programme target for 2014/15 is for 2,000 new social homes to be started
and 1,200 to be completed. (Regional Services (RS) KPIs 3, 4, 5 & 6).
Reductions in real disposable income mean less investment in owner occupied housing,
with a potential knock-on effect on the condition of the housing stock. However, it is
anticipated that the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme and similar schemes will
stimulate the housing market.
Our House Condition Survey measures the impact in terms of overall percentage energy
efficiency improvement against the baseline, fuel poverty rates, SAP improvement, CO2
reductions, annual NI savings on fuel bills and more. You will see specific targets in the
plan aim to assist both our own tenants and households in the private sector (RSKPI 7 &
Landlord Services (LL) KPI 10).
Fundamental review of Housing Allocations
The Department for Social Development is carrying out a fundamental review of housing
allocations policy in Northern Ireland. The findings of the review have been published for
consultation and we await the final report. We will proactively manage the Housing
Selection Scheme to prioritise and address need.
The need to improve our housing stock
Reduced availability of capital funding from both government and the sale of surplus
assets has meant that we have not been able to invest adequately in our own housing
stock. Recent independent work into the condition of our stock highlights a significant
lack of capital investment since 2009. The budget for 2014/15 is similarly restricted,
although we will make efficient use of the funding available to us to improve the quality
of some of our stock (Landlord KPIs 10, 11 & 12). However, there will still be a significant
shortfall in investment.
Improve our work and our services
At the beginning of 2014, we embarked on a programme to improve all aspects of our
business. The first stage has been implemented: an internal restructuring process to
provide clarity and focus for our landlord and strategic regional housing functions. We
will be developing four overarching Journey to Excellence strategies (page 24), and a
range of specific actions will underpin the strategies. These will be implemented across
the coming years, starting in 2014/15. Progress on these strategies will be reported
regularly to our Board and the Department for Social Development.
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Regional Services Objectives
The core business of the Regional Services Division is focused on influencing and shaping
the strategic direction of housing and associated regeneration within Northern Ireland.
Through research we identify current and future housing needs, developing and
delivering suitable responses which seek to maximise the wider social, environmental
and economic benefits whenever possible. We manage the Housing Selection Scheme
which allocates social housing. We support the supply of new social housing through
grant funding and the use of Housing Executive owned land, encouraging the
development and regeneration of sustainable and shared neighbourhoods.
We also manage and fund key services to support and extend the housing options
available to a significant number of our citizens, many in challenging and potentially
vulnerable circumstances, through our Homelessness programmes and Supporting
People. Through our grants programme, we provide financial assistance to improve the
quality of life for tenants living in their own or rented accommodation, focusing on fuel
poverty, energy efficiency, essential home repairs and adaptations for people with
disabilities. We work closely with a wide range of partners across a number of important
areas, co-ordinating and implementing effective services. A new challenge this year will
be to establish effective partnerships with the 11 shadow local councils.
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Regional Services Budget
Regional Services has a total budget of £277.8m funded almost all by grants issued
through DSD: £153.811m of these funds is for capital investment and £124.006m is for
revenue purposes. The funding provided by government is applied across two main
areas:
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
mainstream programme expenditure, including capital costs associated with the
improvement programmes, together with the revenue costs, private sector grants
and the Social Housing Development Programme;
ancillary expenditure to support the mainstream programmes, including capital
expenditure on land & property and accommodation, together with revenue
expenditure, staff and related costs and other miscellaneous areas. Significant
elements of expenditure for Regional Services are summarised below.
Expenditure 2014/15
Regional housing expenditure
Social Housing Development Programme (incl. Co-ownership)
Supporting People
Private sector grants/Warm Homes
Land and Property acquisition
Support services
Capital improvements (Travellers)
*Miscellaneous functions
Total
£k
116,481
72,381
33,250
4,000
41,817
80
9,808
277,817
*Covers a range of items such as Travellers’ sites, energy marketing, HMO registration fees, Homelessness
and sundry items such as fees, grants and inspections. It also includes SPED acquisitions and disposals.
Regional Services Corporate Objectives
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Objective 1 – Identification of housing requirements across Northern
Ireland
Objective 1 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
•
•
RSKPI 1 Market intelligence
Produce a robust annual research and development programme, targeting
contextual conditions, market needs, conditions and gaps in delivery;
RSKPI 2 District Housing Plans
Publish District Housing Plans to consult and inform Councils in order to help shape
their local housing market, regeneration priorities and NIHE investment plans in
their area by December 2014.
In addition to our key performance indicators, we will also:
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enhance our public reach and expand in the area of market intelligence;
establish a number of sectoral exchange forums, commencing this year, to gain
knowledge of up to date market intelligence, to analyse local and regional
changes and dynamics, and to carry out local and international benchmarking of
best practice;
increase our supply and dissemination of information to our stakeholders and
cultivate a more interactive exchange of information;
support the DSD, through our Research Unit, in its review of the fitness standard
which may be applied to a future House Condition Survey in NI.
Objective 2 - Investing in homes and neighbourhoods
Our aim is to plan, enable and invest in homes to ensure affordable high quality
sustainable housing and neighbourhoods are provided across Northern Ireland.
New social housing at West Green, Holywood by Clanmil Housing Association
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Objective 2 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
•
•
RSKPI 3, 4 & 5 New social homes
Administer grant aid to Housing Associations to start 2,000 new social homes by
March 2015, including 200 one bed units to meet the requirements of welfare
reform; and complete 1,200 new social homes by March 2015.
RSKPI 6
NIHE to facilitate the advance purchase of land to allow housing associations to
build 1,200 units.
In addition to the key performance indicators outlined for Objective 2, and to assist
sustainable economic development, we will support DSD to provide at least 3
intermediate housing pilots to test and evaluate the draft Affordable Housing Policy and
bring forward a land asset management strategy to maximise the potential for building
future homes.
We will work with others across a variety of tenures and sectors to maximise
opportunities for sustainable town centre, rural and estate regeneration. Six
neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland have been identified for development as pilots
this year. These are: Lower Oldpark, Belfast; Tigers Bay/Mountcollyer, Belfast; Doury
Road, Ballymena; Lower Shankill/Brown Square; Lenadoon; and Divis.
Objective 3 – Improving people’s homes
We want to ensure that the quality of people’s homes are improving and that we are
tackling the current issues of fuel poverty, unfitness and the difficulties with achieving
independent living across Northern Ireland.
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Objective 3 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
•
•
RSKPI 7 Private Sector
Approve 700 applications for home repairs grants;
Approve 8,500 applications for boiler replacement;
Implement the new Affordable Warmth Scheme to run concurrently with the Warm
Homes scheme for 9,000 privately owned properties and improve SAP ratings by
15%;
Help 1,300 households to maintain independence in their own homes by approving
disabled facilities grants.
RSKPI 8 Houses in Multiple Occupation
Register 650 Houses in Multiple Occupation and Inspect 1,800 HMO living standards.
In addition to our key performance indicators, we will be working on the following
business areas. We will:
• as Home Energy Conservation Authority for Northern Ireland, measure and
report progress on improving the energy efficiency of Northern Ireland’s housing
stock (for more information see heca_seventeenth_annual_progress_report);
• support the introduction of the DSD’s Warm Homes replacement scheme;
• assist independent living through financial support for disabled facilities grants
and provide a policy framework for strategic adaptation work to ensure
consistency of standards across housing tenures;
• prepare for the transfer of HMO responsibilities to District Councils - we are
working closely with DSD and liaising with the district council Solace group to
achieve the 1st of April 2015 transfer date;
• develop and deliver a loans pilot for repairs and improvement in the private
housing sector as part of the DSD's Review of Support for Repair and
Improvement in the Private Housing Sector -the pilot will operate from
September 2014 and will operate in parallel with the discretionary grants scheme
until legislative changes are in place.
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Objective 4 – Transforming people’s lives
There are a number of activities in
this objective: helping those most
vulnerable in society, assessing an
individual’s need for housing,
Supporting People services and
providing a Homelessness Service.
Our Homelessness Strategy 201217 places prevention at the
forefront of service delivery along
with reducing the length of time
households and individuals
experience homelessness and
removing the need to sleep rough.
Objective 4 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
•
•
RSKPI 9, 10, & 11 Supporting People (SP)
Continue to provide 17,000 housing support places through the SP Programme,
assisting over 23,000 of the most vulnerable citizens in our local community;
Fund the development of an additional 340 SP housing support places to meet
Bamford and Homelessness requirements;
Provide home based support services for 4,000 SP service users in the private rented
sector.
RSKPI 12 Homeless Service
Deliver the Homelessness Strategy action plan.
In addition to the above key performance indicators, we will be carrying out work in the
following areas. We will:
•
•
•
work with DSD to carry out a strategic review of our Supporting People policy and
programme and carry out our own strategic review of procedures to be
completed by June 2014;
manage the Housing Selection Scheme to assess an individual’s housing need and
provide an advice service;
implement a procured Private Rented Sector regional access scheme to assist in
the prevention of Homelessness and provide housing choice options.
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Objective 5 – Enabling sustainable neighbourhoods and regeneration
Regional Services will contribute to the growth of the economy through the use of our
public assets, networks and expertise to grow mixed use and mixed tenure site
developments. This will support contemporary urban and rural regeneration, create the
environment to explore new delivery models, and provide a strategic overview of the
opportunities available for neighbourhood and other regeneration initiatives.
Objective 5 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
•
•
•
•
RSKPI 13
Develop housing regeneration Best Practice Principles and identify a potential
mixed use, mixed tenure regeneration project.
RSKPI 14
Together Building United Communities - support DSD in the delivery of 3 shared
housing estates.
RSKPI 15
Develop a housing social enterprise programme to encourage and support capacity
building in local communities.
RSKPI 16
Implement the Empty Homes Strategy Action Plan.
In addition, to the above key performance indicators, we will be carrying out work in the
following areas. We will develop a land strategy to protect and maximise development
potential of our land asset and explore alternative funding streams, progress our Rural
Strategy, deliver the Special Pockets of Deprivation (SPOD) funding on behalf of DSD, and
continue to ensure that our work delivers in line with DSD’s commitments to the
Sustainable Development Strategy.
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Landlord Services Objectives
As the largest social Landlord in the UK we manage 88,638 homes in urban and rural
areas throughout Northern Ireland. Our services are delivered by 1,541 staff, including
355 direct labour staff providing a response and grounds maintenance service.
We deliver our main customer services through a network of 33 locations across
Northern Ireland.
Income collection including rent,
leaseholders & commercial properties;
Maintenance including: response, planned,
grounds, heating and adaptations
Community safety, cohesion and
integration
Resident involvement
Lettings and void management
Adaptations
“We want to make every £1 of tenant rent count”
We aim to focus on making our landlord business better by maximising rental income to
provide the best possible services that meet the needs of our customers. We want the
landlord function to balance the rights and obligations of both tenants and landlord,
retain our social obligations but work with commercial realities to deliver value for
money in all that we do.
We work in partnership with 500 community groups and community champions through
the Housing Community Network, building on this through our Customer Service
Excellence accreditation. We also work closely with a wide range of statutory and
voluntary agencies with a common goal to build vibrant communities within our
neighbourhoods. Support and promotion of community cohesion in many parts of
Northern Ireland is a vital part of this.
To help us achieve our goals we have 3 key Landlord Corporate Objectives:
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Landlord Services Budget is £328.5m.
The bulk of this funding relates to revenue expenditure, with only £12.4m available for
capital investment.
In order to deliver our programmes of activity, funding is applied in two main areas:
•
•
Mainstream programme expenditure, including capital costs associated with the
improvement programmes, together with the revenue costs of maintenance and
other improvement programmes;
Ancillary expenditure to support the mainstream programmes. This includes
capital expenditure on land & property and accommodation, together with
revenue expenditure on loan charges, staff and related costs and other
miscellaneous areas.
Income 2014/15
Rental income
Capital receipts
Miscellaneous income
DSD grant
Total
£k
290,312
14,500
4,860
18,826
328,498
Expenditure 2014/15
Planned maintenance
Response maintenance
Grounds and general maintenance
Heating maintenance
Miscellaneous maintenance
Capital improvements
Land & property acquisition
Loan charges
Support Services
**Miscellaneous functions
Office accommodation and equipment
Total
£k
77,727
44,405
15,850
7,327
4,291
9,376
1,000
102,238
57,971
6,313
2,000
328,498
** Covers a range of items such as public liability, insurance costs, demolitions,
valuations and inspections, corporation tax and shared communities programme and
other services.
As noted earlier in this plan, the Savills’ housing stock condition survey of NIHE stock in
2009 has recently been revisited. The survey also provides an assessment of the ongoing investment needed to maintain and modernise our housing stock. The original 30
year investment estimate of £5.1 billion excluded major adaptations, regeneration and
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enhancements to thermal performance. In addition, new regulatory compliance
requirements have come into existence, and with the passage of time, prices have gone
up. It is now estimated that the minimum investment requirement moving forward could
be around £6.1 billion. Over recent years we have not been able to invest in accordance
with the needs defined within the Savill Report and, as a result, an accumulation of
essential component replacement work has built up. There is a large deficit between
what needs to be done and what we are currently able to spend. To address this issue,
we will be supporting DSD in developing a five year investment plan for our stock (KPI
11).
Objective 1 – Delivering quality services
We will improve our business through the more effective collection
of our rental income, which is key to providing better services. We
recognise that our tenants may need to pay more rent if Welfare
Reform is introduced in Northern Ireland and we have developed
an action plan to advise and support tenants impacted by the
changes to the welfare system.
Objective 1 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
• LLKPI 1, 2 3 & 4 Management of rental income.
Collect 99.8% of rent due including Housing Benefit;
Collect 99.6% of rent due excluding Housing Benefit;
Reduce current arrears, as at April 2014, by £100k;
Increase the number of tenants with a clear rent account by 1.16%.
• LLKPI 5 & 6 Manage Stock
Take no more than 25 days to relet empty properties;
Ensure voids are no greater than 1% of lettable stock.
• LLKPI 7 Welfare Reform
Work with Department for Social Development to develop and implement a
plan to advise and support tenants impacted by the changes to the welfare
system.
• LLKPI 8 Sustaining Tenancies
Implement the Sustaining Tenancies strategy in all Areas.
• LLKPI 9 Landlord Services
We will redesign and simplify how we collect rent and manage lettings and
voids so that our processes are more streamlined and reflect ‘Best in class’.
• LLKPI 10 Tenancy Fraud
Implement our Tenancy Fraud Action Plan.
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In addition to our key performance indicators for Objective 1, we will:
•
•
•
monitor customer satisfaction and use this information to develop our services;
benchmark our main services against other housing organisations throughout the
UK to ensure we are providing a value for money service - our key performance
indicator is aimed at improving our quartile position in a range of our services;
effectively manage the allocation of our stock to ensure need is addressed.
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Objective 2 – Delivering better homes
We aim to enhance the quality of life for our tenants by continuing to maintain and
improve our homes within our current budgetary levels. We will also continue to work
through the Social Housing Reform Programme in examining and delivering new ways to
provide a more financially sustainable model for social housing provision for future
generations.
Objective 2 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
• LLKPI 11 Asset management
Support DSD in the delivery of a stock condition survey by March 2015;
Develop an asset management strategy by March 2015;
Develop a five year investment plan by March 2015.
• LLKPI 12- Maintenance of NIHE stock
Commence planned maintenance to our homes which includes starts to:
o External maintenance (9,000);
o Kitchen replacements (5,000);
o Heating installation (6,000);
o Double glazing (9,800).
• LLKPI 13 Adaptations to our homes
Install 1,100 showers;
Install 250 lifts;
Start extensions to 200 properties.
• LLKPI 14 Response maintenance
90% of jobs completed within contractor target date;
90% customer satisfaction with service from contractor and quality of work.
• LLKPI 14-01 Response maintenance targets
Emergency 24 hours;
Urgent 4 days;
Routine 4 weeks;
Change of tenancy 25 days.
• LLKPI 15 Inspections
Ensure all homes have a valid annual gas safety certificate.
• LLKPI 16 Stock Transfer
Initiate Tranche 1 of the stock transfer programme to allow housing
associations to undertake investment in a number of current Housing Executive
properties.
• LLKPI 17 Energy advice
Provide energy advice to 8,500 customers; helping our tenants to make the
most efficient use of heating systems as well as gains from our heating
programme to help reduce the energy efficiency element which contributes to
fuel poverty.
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In addition to our key performance indicators for Objective 2, we will:
• Implement a pilot scheme to address thermal efficiency in our properties which
are termed ‘no fines’ to help address the poor thermal qualities of the walls by
retrofitting with external insulation;
• Develop proposals for regeneration of two NIHE estates.
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Objective 3 – Fostering Vibrant Communities
In fostering vibrant communities our 3 Key Performance Indicators focus on creating
safe, welcoming, supportive and active neighbourhoods. We work within all the local
Policing and Community Partnerships to stamp out anti-social behaviour.
Objective 3 Key Performance Indicators - What we will do for you by 2015:
• LLKPI 18 Community Safety
Implement the action plan from the Community Safety Strategy 2014-2017.
• LLKPI 19 Community Cohesion
Increase support for shared housing among our tenants:
Develop 14 further shared communities;
Develop good relations in 88 NIHE estates.
• LLKPI 20 Community Involvement
Implement the 2014 Community Involvement Strategy, particularly the
introduction of tenant scrutiny panels to all Areas;
Promote social enterprise projects.
Supporting and encouraging shared housing and developing greater community cohesion
within our estates are key priorities for the Housing Executive and we are working closely
with the Department for Social Development to deliver on the Assembly’s United
Communities Strategy which has Shared Communities as one of its four priorities. Our
work in this area has recently been recognised in the 2014 Chartered Institute of Housing
Awards where our Cohesion Team received the Promoting Integration Award.
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Support Services Objectives
Our Finance and Corporate Services Divisions provide necessary support services to
underpin Regional and Landlord Services. We will provide these services based on the
foundation of our excellence strategies set out at the start of this Plan.
Finance Division
Our Finance Division provides corporate accounting, financial support, counter fraud &
security and Housing Benefit services. The establishment of the new Regional Services
and Landlord Services Divisions will require Finance to develop new financial reporting
and information structures. The revised accounting arrangements are also required to
meet the new requirements stemming from the decision by the Office for National
Statistics to reclassify the Housing Executive from a public corporation to a Non
Departmental Public Body (essentially Regional Services) and quasi-Public Corporation
(essentially Landlord Services). This work is already under way and will be further
developed in 2014/15, including an internal cost apportionment model.
Key Performance Indicators - What we will do by 2015:
 SSKPI 1 Finance
Ensure that financial resources are managed effectively, maximising the benefits
to tenants and customers.
 SSKPI 2 Finance
Continue the development of revised financial reporting arrangements, including
an internal cost apportionment model.
 SSKPI 3 Housing Benefit
Process new Housing Benefit claims within an average of 25 days;
Process changes of circumstances within an average of 8 days;
Ensure an accuracy rate of 97% for housing benefit assessments;
Recover at least £14m of overpayments;
Reduce the level of fraud and error by 0.75% from 4.1% to 3.35% of benefit
expenditure by March 2016.
 SSKPI 4 Housing Benefit Welfare Reform
Working with the Department for Social Development to develop and agree a
transition plan to respond to the changes to the welfare system.
The efficient and effective use of scarce resources is a vital requirement for all
organisations. We need to able to demonstrate that across all our activities we provide
excellent value for money, delivering high quality and responsive services. During
2014/15 we will develop and implement a Business Excellence Strategy to achieve this.
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In 2013/14 we paid over £638m of Housing Benefit to applicants in the public and
private sectors. During 2014/15 we will continue to provide an effective housing benefit
service and prepare for the implementation of welfare reform and the proposed transfer
of rates relief.
Corporate Services Division
Corporate Services Division includes Human Resources, IT, Legal Services, Facilities
Management, Internal Audit and Corporate Assurance, Procurement, and Information,
Secretarial and Communication Services.
Key Performance Indicators - What we will do by 2015:
 SSKPI 5 Communication
Through better use of technology and the internet we will develop ways for our
customers to manage the services they have with us.
 SSKPI 6 Internal Services
We will develop better internal ways of working that are based on robust
technology and that support efficient ways of working.
 SSKPI 7 Programme Management
Put in place a clear and structured programme management function and
methodology to ensure delivery of the organisation’s needs going forward.
 SSKPI 8 Ministerial correspondence
Reply to Ministerial correspondence within the timescales requested, which may
vary.
We consider our employees across NIHE to be our most valuable resource and we are
committed to ensuring that each employee is empowered in whatever they do. In
addition to the key performance indicators above we will be working on other key areas
for 2014/15 and we will:




Develop a workforce plan to ensure we have the right people with the right skill in
the right place to drive forward the aims and objectives of the organisation in a
planned and efficient manner;
We will begin to move our internal and external ways of working from paper
based processes to technology driven solutions in order to streamline how we
work;
We will develop reporting methods that give us insight into our performance and
drive decisions that help us better understand and meet the needs of our
customers;
We will embrace social media in order to extend the ability we have to interact
with our customers and stakeholders;
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Draft Corporate and Business Plans 2014/15 – 2016/17


We will produce a new procurement strategy that will deliver both value for
money and a more diverse supply base helping us deliver for our customers;
We will deliver a new Learning and development strategy to ensure we have
leading edge skills not only in professional and technical competences but also in
leadership to ensure the organisation is equipped for current and future needs.
This will include renewing our IIP accreditation.
Details of our performance against objectives for 2013/14 can be found in our Annual
Report.
Reporting structure
The Chief Executive, as Accounting Officer, has responsibility for maintaining a sound
system of internal control that supports the achievement of our policies, aims and
objectives, whilst safeguarding public funds and the Housing Executive’s assets. We
operate a risk management process in line with best practice and, following a Review of
our Governance by the Department for Social Development, we are working on
implementing the recommendations contained within the report. We will continue to
apply the requirements of the Management Statement and Financial Memorandum
(Dossier of Controls) which set out the controls to be exercised over the different areas
of the NIHE's activities.
Journey to Excellence Strategies
This year we introduced Journey to Excellence Strategies to help us to deliver top class
housing and regeneration solutions in all that we do (internally and externally), meeting
the needs of our communities and partners now and in the future, providing value for
money, delivered by high performing staff across the organisation.
1. Develop a Business Excellence Strategy, including procurement, and monitor
outcomes to ensure that we deliver an efficient service across all areas of the
business;
2. We will listen to our customers and develop a Customer Excellence Strategy to
give the best services that our customers tell us they want in a way that most
suits their needs;
3. Develop a cohesive People Strategy developing leadership talent, succession
planning, a culture of valuing and empowering staff, delivering skills and
commitment to ensure customers’ needs are supported into the future;
4. Develop a Technology Strategy driving a customers’ needs modernisation
programme, and delivering enabling technologies such as improved workflows
and customer insights.
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Draft Corporate and Business Plans 2014/15 – 2016/17
Appendix 1: Programme for Government priorities and
NIHE supporting actions
Programme for
Government
Priorities
PfG key commitments
NIHE supporting actions
Priority 2
Creating
opportunities,
tackling
disadvantage and
improving health
and well-being.
Deliver 8,000 social and affordable
homes over the period of the
Programme
Introduce and support a range of
initiatives aimed at reducing fuel
poverty across NI including preventative
measures. New initiatives from DSD to
reduce fuel poverty links closely to our
role as Home Energy Conservation
Authority
Improve the thermal efficiency of NIHE
stock and begin a programme to
provide double glazing in all NIHE
properties by 2015/2016
Provide £40m to address dereliction
and promote investment in the physical
regeneration of deprived areas through
the Social Investment Fund. This links to
our work on regeneration
OFMDFM to develop a range of
measures to tackle poverty and social
exclusion. We contribute through our
work in Supporting People, Community
Cohesion and the sustaining tenancies
strategy.
Bring forward a £13m package to tackle
rural poverty and social and economic
isolation in the next 3 years.
NIHE action -RS objective 2
Investing in homes and
neighbourhoods KPI 3, 4, 5 & 6.
RS Objective 3 Transforming
people’s lives RSKPI 7.
Develop and implement a Financial
Capability Strategy for consumers.
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Landlord objective 2 Delivering
better homes LLKPI 12.
RS objective 5 Enabling
sustainable communities and
regeneration.
RS objective 4 Transforming
people’s lives RSKPI 9-12 & LL
objectives 1, 2 & 3 LLKPI 8 &
LLKPI 13 & LLKPI 19.
This will have a close
association with our work
under the present Rural
Housing Strategy. RS objective
Enabling sustainable
communities and regeneration.
This will have positive
implications for our work on
sustaining tenancies and
financial inclusion and debt
prevention strategies.
NIHE action - LL objective 1
Delivering quality services
LLKPI 8.
Draft Corporate and Business Plans 2014/15 – 2016/17
Programme for
Government
Priorities
Priority 3
Protecting our
people, the
Environment and
creating safer
communities.
PfG key commitments
NIHE supporting actions
Continue to work towards a
reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 35% on
1990 levels by 2025.
RS objective 3 improving people’s
homes, 1 Delivering quality services
LLKPI 8 through our Home Energy
Conservation Authority role, RS
objective 5 and through our
improvements to thermal efficiency
of NIHE homes.
This is already a topic that we deal
with under our sustainable
development objective, RS 5 Enabling sustainable communities
and on the Landlord side through
grounds maintenance.
Landlord Services Objective 3 LLKPI
18 Community safety, LLKPI 19,
Community cohesion and LLKPI 20
Community involvement. We work
within all the local policing and
community partnerships to stamp out
anti-social behaviour and through our
work in local communities
implementing our community
cohesion strategy.
We have introduced policies for
safeguarding children and vulnerable
adults.
Work towards halting the loss of
bio-diversity by 2020.
Reduce the level of serious crime.
Priority 4
Building a strong
and shared
community.
Introduce a package of measures
aimed at improving Safeguarding
Outcomes for Children and
Vulnerable Adults.
Publish the Cohesion, Sharing
and Integration Strategy to build
a united community and improve
community relations. This is
supplemented by an ambitious
goal to seek agreements aimed at
the removal of peace walls, many
of which border on our estates.
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Landlord Objective 3 Fostering
vibrant communities, LLKPI 19,
community cohesion and Regional
objective 2 investing in homes and
neighbourhoods and Objective 5
Enabling sustainable communities
and regeneration RSKPI 14.
Draft Corporate and Business Plans 2014/15 – 2016/17
Programme for
Government
Priorities
Priority 5
Delivering high
quality and efficient
public service.
PfG key commitments
NIHE supporting actions
Introduce “Social Clauses” in
public procurement of supplies,
services and construction.
Support Services Section - Our own
contracts have already taken these
issues on board.
Establish the new 11 council
model for Local Government and
is to be adopted by 2015
NIHE action will require a variety of
responses and we already have
strong working links with councils
which we will build on in respect of
community planning, and the new
planning authorities. We will also
prepare for the transfer of HMO
functions to local councils. Further
work to increase the availability of
government services online is
included as a priority.
We are working closely with DSD to
ensure any resultant structural
changes are fit for purpose and
protect the interests of our tenants,
communities, staff and key partners.
By the end of 2014/15, to have
implemented new structures to
support the improved delivery of
housing services to citizens of
Northern Ireland.
Contact us
We welcome comment on our Plans and all aspects of our work.
To discuss or comment on the Corporate Plan get in touch with:
Janet Thomas
Business Planning Manager
NI Housing Executive
2, Adelaide Street
Belfast BT2 8PB
janet.thomas@nihe.gov.uk
business.performance@nihe.gov.uk
02890 318554
You can also keep in touch through
Facebook – www.facebook.com/housingexecutive
Twitter - @NIHEcommunity
YouTube – www.youtube.com/HousingExecutive
Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/nihe
RSS feed - http://www.nihe.gov.uk/rss.xml
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