Working through…
Income protection and
financial inclusion
Paul O’Connor
Income and Inclusion Specialist
Chartered Institute of Housing
Format for this session
 Update on financial inclusion – policy and latest developments
 Testway Housing – firm but fair approach to income management
 Working through – considering your approach to financial inclusion and
income management
 Q and A
 Conclusions
What is Financial Inclusion
“Financial Inclusion is where people have access to appropriate
and affordable financial products and services, and have the skills
and confidence to use them.”
Transact
National Forum for Financial Inclusion.
The business case for financial inclusion and early
intervention
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Reduction rent arrears
Lowered eviction rates and court action proceedings
Lower tenancy abandonment
Less unrecoverable debt
Less time spent dealing with
residents in crisis
– Sustainable communities
Future developments - risks
Universal Credit and direct payments 2013
HB and under occupation 2013
Increase in HB non-dep deductions April 2011
Disability Benefits review – PIP
Incapacity Benefit changing
Greater emphasis on worklessness – work programmes
Advice agency funding – review
Future developments and support
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£73 million DWP fund to develop and modernise Credit Unions
new Money Advice Service – April 2011
Hyde research on impact of delivering debt advice
Santander research on impact of financial capability
CIH publication on promoting Home Contents Insurance
BIG lottery - £30 million programme to support partnerships working to
reduce financial exclusion
How CIH can help…
CIH have recently published ‘Improving financial inclusion and capability in
social housing’ which is available free at:
http://members.cih.org/bookshop/Catalogue.aspx
The Income and Inclusion Service at CIH provides an holistic service
offering operational and strategic support to help improve income collection
and tenants’ wellbeing. Please see:
http://www.cih.org/incomeandinclusion/
CIH have developed a HB impact calculator so that you can accurately
assess what impact the changes to housing benefit might have on your
business. You can plan how to help your tenants and link this in to developing
your financial inclusion work. Please visit the CIH stand or see:
http://www.cih.org/housingbenefit/
Collecting the rent –
Testway’s firm but fair
approach
Elaine Curtis and Jill Field
Testway Housing
For our customers and for our businesses we want
to
 Minimise rent arrears and bad debt
 Maximise income
 Improve our
– customer focus
– individual & team performance
Support
 Someone always available in office or on phone to
discuss with our customers
 Home visits (out of hours) offered
 Tenancy support offered even before tenancy starts and
throughout tenancy
 Referrals to other agencies who may assist
 Regular contact with CAB, local authority (Homeless &
Housing Benefit)
 Strong in house tenancy support team
 Regular attendance at court user group meetings
Education
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Schools around budgeting and conducting a tenancy (12 to 14)
Pre allocation visit
Team Sign up – neighbourhood, income, local authority if necessary
DVD
Tone of voice
Tenancy support
Start as you mean to go on
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2 weeks up front or no keys
If you owe former tenant arrears – we decline
Starter tenancies
Escalation policy
Simple colour coded letters (Diversity)
Early intervention - £5.00
Notice at £30.00
Arrangements
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L1 (green letter) if arrear of £5.00 or more
L2 (red letter) if arrear of £5.00 or more
Visit / personal contact
Notice / Section 21
NO ARRANGEMENT until a notice /S21 has been
served
Maximising income
 Any arrangement (if arrear is over
£100.00) must be accompanied by
financial statement
 Escalation procedure identifies broken
agreement and suggests next action
After notice / Section 21
 If no arrangement or response, system suggests
warn of county court action
 Visit / telephone call / personal contact
 If arrear over £100.00 procedure states we can
consider issuing court papers
Court
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Possession Claims on Line
Accelerated possession claims
The amount owing on hearing date determines the type of order we request
We will request
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Adjournment on current rent plus
Adjournment with liberty to restore
Suspended possession
Forthwith
Breach of court order
 System suggests next action
 Options
– Letter/ visit / telephone call / personal contact
 Change order – must make application to court to
vary unless postponed possession
 If breach continues we will seek authority to evict
 Neighbourhood officer and income recovery officer
visit property by appointment
Stats
 We own and manage approximately 6000 properties
 Geographically we have properties in 7 local authority areas:
Basingstoke & Deane, Bournemouth, Fareham, Southampton,
Test Valley, West Berkshire & Wiltshire
 4 income recovery officers, 2 administrators and 1 manager
 We answer approximately 3500 telephone calls per month
 Responsible for recovery of rechargeable works orders,
sewerage charges, telecare charges (basically we chase any
money owed to Testway)
Stats cont..
Notices
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
2008/9
2009/10
2010/11
637
524
571
489
465
507
Court orders
191
245
196
129
80
120
Evictions
13 (33)
12 (41)
9 (23)
17 (43)
10 (29)
11 (30)
Stats cont…
 Current tenant arrears as percentage of annual
rent role
at 31 March
 2006 – 1%
 2007 – 0.93%
 2008 – 1%
 2009 – 1.04%
 2010 – 1.02%
 2011 – 1.3%
The tool box
Tool Box
Other tools?
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Recognise causes
Understand impact on business, customers & communities
Strategy for financial inclusion
Methods of prevention
Practical tools e.g. campaigns; new IT system; targeting estates etc.
Leadership/teamwork
Best practice/benchmarking
Personal & organisational effectiveness
“Success
“Is neither magical nor mysterious.
Success is the natural consequence
of consistently applying the basic
fundamentals.”
Jim Rohn
Over to you…
For discussion in groups:
1. What does your organisation currently do in relation to
financial inclusion and arrears prevention?
2. What information do you hold about your tenants
circumstances – are you able to profile where the help is
needed?
3. Do you plan to change anything within the way you collect
income in light of the economic climate?
4. Questions for Elaine, Jill and Paul?
Contact details:
Elaine Curtis – Policy and Performance Manager, Testway
Housing
Tel: 01264 405686
Email: Elaine.Curtis@testway.co.uk
Jill Field – Income Manager, Testway Housing
Tel: 01264 405555
Email: Jill.Field@testway.co.uk
Paul O’Connor – Income and Inclusion Specialist, CIH
Tel: 07852354170
Email: paul.oconnor@cih.org