Value for Money Statement
This statement summarises C&C’s Value for Money (VfM) commitment, celebrates
accomplishments and sets out our approach and strategic priorities for the year
2014 – 2015.
C&C’s vision
C&C is the housing provider ‘where inspiration lives’. We believe everyone should
live an inspired life and are passionate about delivering excellent homes and
inspiring services for older people.
Our VfM commitment
Our VfM commitment supports our vision and sets out how we will maximize profit
that we can invest in the provision of excellent homes and inspiring services.
Scope
The C&C VfM commitment is company-wide, encompassing all of our staff and
activities.
Approach to VfM & Strategic priorities
Our approach to VfM was developed and contained within the business plan 201316.
1
Our four strategic priorities are under-pinned by thirteen strategies incorporating
VfM as a fundamental component and intrinsic part of the business. By referencing
VfM in all thirteen strategies, staff, residents and stakeholders are able to understand
our approach to VfM.
The board of management ensures VfM is achieved by setting and reviewing the KPI
reports, management accounts and other reports presented by the Executive Team
and ensures these are appropriate and sufficient. All reports to the board of
management include the financial impact of any decision. The board also seeks
reports and advice from external consultants and organisations as needed. This
ensures a balanced approach.
C&C’s Strategic Priorities are:
1.
We deliver personalised services for residents and establish a reputation for
excellence for older people
2.
Our properties meet the needs of our residents, are fit for the future and
contribute to our financial strength
3.
Our people are competent and motivated to deliver the best for our residents
4.
We sustain a healthy, viable business now and in the future
As last year, we have our VfM statement structured to demonstrate progress against
each of these four priorities.
A refreshed business plan will be launched in September 2015, so this will be the
last VfM statement in this format.
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Benchmarking
In addition, C&C is member of the Housemark benchmarking club where costs and
satisfaction levels can be measured against the performance of peers to better
understand where improvements can be made. We ensure that we select the most
suitable peer group as this is critical to truly understanding C&C’s position. The
figures used in this report are from the most recent published Housemark report,
that of the year ended 31 March 2014.
Table 1 shows the symbol used to indicate C&C’s position against its peers.
Table 1
Upper
Middle
Quartile
Upper
Median
Middle
Lower
Lower
Quartile
N/A
Valid dataset
C&C also benchmarks against other areas not specifically covered by Housemark
including the care section and HR.
Training
During the year, refresher training sessions were held for managers and staff to
explain what value for money means, how efficiencies can be made and how each
person can contribute to ensure value for money is achieved in everything we do.
There are targets set as part of the appraisal process.
3
Strategic Priority 1
We deliver personalised services for residents and establish a reputation for
excellence for older people.
This means that we will offer personalised services and homes that offer a
continuum of housing, care and support for older people, and work as partners with
residents in the development and delivery of our services. We will also understand
our communities and ensure our reputation for delivering excellent homes and
services for older people is recognised.
At C&C we are clear on what kind of association C&C wants to be. Providing
excellent homes and inspiring services to older people is what we do and why we
do it is because we believe everyone deserves an inspired life.
We will achieve this by engaging the talents, passions and life experience of our
residents in the spirit of collaboration and innovation that can empower them to
actively participate in the community and in doing so enhance their quality of life.
Return on Assets
We see our residents and stakeholders as fundamental assets to the business. In
order to deliver a personalised service we work hard to ensure that residents are our
partners in the design and delivery of homes and services.
Resident Scrutiny Panel
C&C launched its Residents Scrutiny Panel (RSP) in 2011, and in the last couple of
years it has come to the fore and has grown and developed to achieve a high
profile within the organisation.

The RSP prioritise and deliver independent service reviews. During the last year
the RSP have carried out a communications service review and have commenced
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a review into anti-social behaviour. The next two reviews were agreed at the C&C
Residents’ Conference and these will cover creative arts and how to retain good
staff.

The RSP review the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the association to
assess the performance of the association. The RSP have advised the Board on
setting the KPIs and agreeing which ones are critical for the association from a
resident perspective. The RSP will also review recommended actions from officers
to improve performance and agree timescales for improvements.

C&C has two resident Board members and the last three resident Board
members have been nominated by the RSP. At C&C we are therefore growing
and developing our residents who gain confidence and contribute to their
community wellbeing.

Individual RSP members may also observe at board meetings to gain a better
understanding of the work being done at board level and how this links with
C&C’s objectives. The board view the RSP as a significant part of the governance
process and have a specific post of RSP link through one of the non-executive
directors. In addition, the RSP has minutes of all Board meetings and comments
on decisions made, through the board liaison member.

The Heads of Service at C&C attend the RSP meetings to explain the work being
done and to be questioned on various matters. Other senior managers, executive
directors and board members also attend some RSP meetings.

The RSP includes two members from our care homes, so that scrutiny covers all
aspects of C&C’s work, not just housing. Places on the RSP are reserved for care
residents and their family members and this is currently under review with the
objective of having four care home members.
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Sheltered Housing Forum
In addition to the RSP, C&C facilitates a Sheltered Housing Forum for residents at
the sheltered schemes. Again, Heads of Service attend these to assist members with
any queries they may have and to ensure residents’ views and comments are not
only taken on board, but are acted upon.
Local Scheme budgets
Schemes have local scheme budgets that are set and spent by residents on locally
agreed priorities. These have included the following at our sheltered schemes:

Oldfield Estate: The various clubs that use the dining furniture requested that
these be replaced and the area redecorated. There was full consultation on
colours used and on what type of furniture would be preferred.

Rackstraw House: The tenants wanted the garden overhauled. This involved
having a large tree trimmed back, introducing a selection of bedding plants and
bringing in 3 tons of top soil and 2 tons of peat. The whole project was
managed by tenants who worked very well with our main gardening contractor.

Philip House: This scheme has a residents’ kitchen that is used on a daily basis.
The residents wanted a new cooker and a full new range of kitchen plates,
cutlery, equipment etc. This was provided along with two new BBQs which
serviced a very large summer BBQ. This brought out one of the largest turn-outs
at the scheme.

Vivian Court: The garden has been decked out in brand new wooden furniture
which was much needed and requested by a large number of residents. In
addition the front reception was requested to be made to look more like a front
reception area rather than a walk through. New sofas, tables and chairs have
now been added.

Cleve Road: There was an overhaul of the lounge area.
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Satisfaction Surveys
In order to assess how well we are doing, regular satisfaction surveys are carried out
via independent monthly surveys.
Last year we asked the question ‘How satisfied are you with C&C?’. This year we
asked ‘Would you recommend C&C as a place to live?’ as the board of management
believe this to be more indicative of residents’ views on the service provided. Chart
1 shows the results from September 2014 when this was first commissioned.
Chart 1 - Percentage who would recommend C&C as a place to live (2014-15)
100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
J AN
FE B
M AR
The satisfaction levels amongst our residents continue to be high. As part of trying
to improve the satisfaction levels, it is important to understand what matters most
to residents. The areas of greatest concern are maintenance and ensuring service
charges are correct and reasonable.
In last year’s statement, we noted that the repairs and maintenance services scoring
comparatively highly for satisfaction but that some qualitative data showed that
C&C could do more. As a result of a commissioned external review of the costs of
the service, C&C is looking at alternative models for delivering the maintenance
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service including an option of bringing this in-house which residents have stated is
their preferred option.
Comparative costs of delivering services
Table 2 is taken from the Housemark benchmarking review for the year ended 31
March 2014 and it shows that C&C has high housing management costs compared
to that of most of its peers. This is partly due to the additional staff requirements for
sheltered housing which are seen by C&C as important to the type of personal
service we want to deliver and is what residents have told us they want. A focus on
costs has led to a decrease in costs compared to last year.
Table 2
Housing Management - Cost Summary
KPI
Sample
Size
Upper
Median
Lower
Total CPP of
Housing
Management
14
463.30
583.68
653.99
Central and Cecil HousingCentral and Cecil Housing
Trust (2013/2014)
Trust (2012/2013)
Result
Quartile
Result
Quartile
598.36
707.58
VfM Achievements
In last year’s Value for Money statement, under the Looking Forward section, we
discussed the aim of setting up alternative models to sheltered accommodation for
older people. The review of the work with residents and the London Borough of
Camden, and the viability of the model and potential roll out for other sheltered
schemes will be concluded in the coming year.
Other value of money achievements include:
Arrears management
2014-15 was the first full year of the new Income Management team being in place.
Procedures have been updated to ensure a more methodical and structured
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approach to income collection and that best practice is adopted at all times. This is
already beginning to reduce the housing arrears figures as can be seen from Chart
3:
Chart 3 – Arrears Levels
Mar-15
Jan-15
No v - 1 4
Sep-14
Jul-14
May-14
Mar-14
J a n- 1 4
No v - 1 3
Sep-13
Jul-13
May-13
Mar-13
Jan-13
No v - 1 2
Sep-12
Jul-12
May-12
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
-
Water charges
Following discussions with Thames Water, residents in flats and studios were moved
from standard water rates to single person rates resulting in a saving of £26k for
residents.
Transfer of the West Midlands Properties
Properties were transferred to another more local provider reducing management
costs and improving the local management service.
Voids Management
As detailed in last year’s statement, the voids process was extensively reviewed
following the restructure within the housing team. This resulted in a significant
reduction in voids by more than 2%.
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During 2014-15 we commenced the process of moving residents out of one of our
larger schemes, Dora House (this is detailed further under Strategic Priority 3). This
block of flats is being redeveloped, so empty properties have been held at other
schemes to accommodate these residents. This has resulted in larger voids figures in
the year, which will continue to grow throughout 2015-16. This has been built into
C&C’s financial plan and is part of the long term strategy of ensuring the maximum
return is gained from our assets and our residents benefit from better places to live.
Care home review
As reported in the last two years’ statements, C&C had identified that the operation
of its care business as a key influence on the financial performance of the
organisation. In light of this, a new three year Care plan was created to enhance the
financial viability of the service and the quality of care being delivered. The plan
focused on the marketing of Care, the financial operation, the service being
delivered and the staff involved in its delivery.
C&C also launched its Principles of Care and is working closely with an external
expert in this field to ensure there is a coherent C&C approach to care and there is
greater resident engagement. This will demonstrate our unique approach to care,
giving residents and relatives a guarantee of what to expect and establish a clear
vision for care staff. The Principles of Care focus on three overarching principles:

An Inspirational Environment

An Inspirational Life

Inspirational Care
During the year the following has been achieved:

Negotiations with a local authority that has resulted in additional annualised
income of £1m. Negotiations are ongoing with other local authorities.
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
Continued investment in the homes to enhance their marketability and make
them better places to live for our residents.

A more structured fee setting process is now in place.

A new staffing restructure was started in the year and this is expected to be
completed during 2015-16. This includes significant pay increases for care staff
to ensure we attract the best possible employees and reduce our exposure to
agency costs.

The completion of all major works at Rathmore House care home in the London
Borough of Camden. This home is now back to its normal capacity. We initially
underestimated the marketing necessary in this care home which impacted on
income. Following intensive work, the beds are now filled. The service model is
different in that it reduces exposure to nursing in a small home but provides
extra dementia services.

Specific marketing activity aimed at the private payer market.
Other matters
The cleaning contracts and grounds maintenance contracts have been renegotiated
resulting in extra 80 hours at no extra cost.
Social value
C&C uses the g320 social value toolkit to assist C&C in measuring social value and
ensuring its proper delivery. The methodology prescribed in this toolkit allows for a
full breakdown of every activity that we record as they happen. We have financially
evaluated the various social benefits that have taken place during 2014-15 and
calculated these to total £6.8m. This includes savings for partner organisations like
the NHS. These activities include:
o Aromatherapy sessions
o Art classes
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o Bingo clubs
o Choir projects
o Christmas wreath making
o Cinema club
o Coffee mornings
o Creative writing
o Dance classes
o Digital clinics
o English literature talks
o Flower arranging
o Garland making
o Golden yoga
o Museum visits
o Painting classes
o Poetry sessions
o Tai Chi classes
o Terrarium and gardening classes
o Visits to the Royal opera House
o Various other social events
Looking Forward
Within Care, contracts are continually reviewed and negotiations are ongoing with
local authorities to ensure a fair price is obtained for delivering the best possible
service to our residents.
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Strategic Priority 2
Our properties meet the needs of our residents, are fit for the future and
contribute to our financial strength.
This means we will develop and redevelop properties in Central and West London
that meet the needs of older people. We will also focus our resources where they
can make the biggest difference and have clear and resourced investment plans
informed by residents for all our properties and deliver sustainable homes.
C&C defined its core activities and its key geographic areas. It is a supplier of homes
and services to older people.
Return on Assets
As discussed in last year’s statement, C&C is investing heavily in ensuring its
properties are fit for the future, contribute to the association’s financial strength and
more importantly are places that people really want to live in.
C&C owns a number of properties in prime locations within London that can be
used to generate wealth to fund other activities with upfront capital, thereby
reducing funding risk. This is an important consideration in light of the size of the
association compared to the scale of the investment priorities. This does not mean
selling off the best assets. It means ensuring the business plan objectives are
adhered to by cross-subsidising activities. The developments that C&C is currently
working on are co-designed with residents and staff wherever possible so as to
ensure that we build new homes that meet people’s needs and are adaptable and
efficient to manage into the future.
Asset Development Group
During 2013-14 C&C set up an Asset Development Group that carried out a detailed
analysis at all properties from a 3600 view, including demand, asset performance,
13
strategic importance, development potential and financial performance. This is
leading us to develop a comprehensive and robust 10 year investment programme
that addresses revenue and capital issues so that we can invest in our properties in
a sustainable way. This exercise is reaching completion and will allow the board of
management to make decisions on what properties should be refurbished, which
should have a change of tenure and which do not fit in with C&C’s core activities.
There may be some transfers of properties to other associations. The latter will
obviously only take place if this is financially viable and to the benefit of the
residents living in these schemes. At the start of 2014-15 C&C had transferred six
schemes in the West Midlands and two in Croydon to other associations. C&C will
also consider stock swaps.
The same applies to our eight care homes. These vary quite significantly from one
another in their locations, style of build and age of building and these are part of
the Asset Development Group’s work.
Supported Housing is no longer seen as core business and so services for the
vulnerable at some of our supported schemes are now continued through
organisations with the skills and capacity to deliver in the long term. The buildings
remain in the ownership of C&C and these are now leased to those providers while
providing an improved rate of financial return for C&C that can be reinvested in
priority services. We review all contracts as they arise to ensure additional VFM is
achieved.
Re-development of Dora House
C&C has commenced the re-development of Dora House, a 205 unit 1960’s
sheltered housing scheme in St John’s Wood, London. This is a block in a prime
location and in its current condition, requires significant refurbishment and
modernisation to bring it up to a good standard. A comprehensive options review
and subsequent deep investigation into the site potential identified a complete redevelopment as the optimum solution for the site. The costs of achieving this are
14
significant and the C&C board has agreed to use the large footprint of the scheme
to generate development funds for a brand new scheme of modern purpose built
apartments. These will be adaptable for changing needs long into the future and will
be for people aged over 55. This will be achieved by selling part of the land to fund
the development cost, and potentially enable further investment in the wider C&C
portfolio.
Throughout the project, information has been shared with residents of the scheme.
Information and advice have been provided throughout all iterations of options that
have been looked at. The ‘Dora Designer’ group of residents have fully engaged as
partner designers of their new scheme. The group have provided the blueprint of
the new scheme and also built cohesion as community representatives.
Residents have started to move to other C&C properties as part of the process of
emptying out Dora in readiness for its re-development. As residents’ welfare is
C&C’s main priority it has been very important to keep all residents, their families
and the local authority fully updated so they know exactly what is happening. In
addition, we have recruited extra staff to assist residents in what can be a traumatic
period. Funds have been set aside specifically for residents’ assistance.
Comparative costs of delivering services
The table below is taken from the Housemark benchmarking review for the year
ended 31 March 2014 and it shows that C&C has high maintenance spend on voids
works and major repairs compared to most of its peers.
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Table 3
Housing Maintenance Cost Summary
KPI
Total CPP of
Responsive
Repairs
Total CPP of
Void Works
Total CPP of
Major Works
Total CPP of
Cyclical
Maintenance
Sample
Size
Upper
Median
Lower
Central and Cecil
Housing Trust
(2013/2014)
Result
Quartile
Central and Cecil
Housing Trust
(2012/2013)
Result
Quartile
14
638.85
675.71
751.10
338.78
406.65
14
151.34
184.43
228.15
229.13
294.38
14
506.94
724.36
967.39
1,837.54
757.77
14
193.85
251.60
347.41
111.22
411.22
It can be seen from the table above that there are fluctuations in C&C’s
maintenance spend per property:

Total CPP of responsive repairs – The improved results reflect improved
control and management of the repairs service. This has been achieved by
having regular contract meetings with the service providers, more scrutinising
of payments and invoices together with improved controls and review of
expenditure on a month by month basis.

Total CPP of void works – This has also improved due to greater cost control
and improved management of the service as set out above. The lower quartile
rating is due to the higher frequency of voids for Sheltered and Care
properties as these have higher turnover of residents, so greater voids arise.

Total CPP of major works – The increase reflects the investment made by C&C
in 2012-13 and even more so in 2013-14, as a result of previous
underspending in this area. There has been greater spend on major repairs as
there has been a backlog of improvements that have been needed. There
have also been a number of major projects including the Chestnuts in
Uxbridge and window renewals in Philip House and Vivian Court, both in
Camden, which were partly funded by the Community Energy Saving
Programme (CESP).
16

Total CPP of cyclical maintenance – The 2012-13 spend was higher than
average with previous spend around £300k per annum. The 2013-14 budget
did include a larger than average spend in order to catch up on historical
issues. Cyclical spend is also higher than others due to high percentage of
properties with communal spaces.
The board of management are aware that there has been under-investment in
previous years. There is a thirty year plan based on a detailed stock condition survey
which clearly lays out what needs to be done and when. This is built into the long
term financial plan so we can manage programmes and costs. Capital investment
however, is not just about managing cash levels; it must also satisfy the loan
covenants. C&C’s negotiations with the lenders have taken this into account so the thirty
year maintenance programme is achievable.
VfM Achievements
Last year’s Looking Forward section and as discussed in detail above, the Asset
Development Group will report back to the board of management on all C&C’s
properties. There have been regular updates to the board during the year and this is
expected to be completed in 2015-16.
Redevelopment of DeVere
Work has commenced at a sheltered scheme in Wimbledon, South London that was
not fit for purpose. We are providing large wheelchair apartments to self-funding
people aged over 55 which is a grossly undersupplied market where there is little
choice of quality accommodation on offer. The scheme will meet a range of
accessibility needs in an unobtrusive way and is designed to facilitate greater
connections between people, for example some flats could accommodate friends or
older siblings that wish to move together but require personal private space.
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This fits in with C&C’s business plan and will also generate additional funds for the
organisation. This also meets the needs of the local authority partner, the London
Borough of Merton who want to release up owner occupied family homes.
Looking forward

As part of reviewing all of C&C’s assets, the Asset Development Group will
complete its work in 2015-16 and report back to the board of management. The
board will decide on the best treatment for each scheme based on their NPVs
and rate of return. This will produce an affordable asset plan factored into the
financial plan that will provide clarity on the management of the dwellings and
the financial needs of the business.

C&C is currently reviewing its outsourced maintenance services to consider how
to deliver the best service to residents at the best possible cost. There will be a
pilot scheme carried out during the year to evaluate if bringing the service in
house will be the best solution for C&C in delivering value for money.
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Strategic Priority 3
Our people are competent and motivated to deliver the best for our residents.
This means we will attract people that do the very best job possible for the benefit
of our residents and we will build upon the skills, talent and potential of our people
to improve in all that we do. We will also have a framework that supports people to
use their initiative, take responsibility and deliver agreed goals.
C&C believes that the success of the business relies on the quality of its people. In
particular its ability to meet its objectives and commitments to residents and
customers in an efficient and effective manner depends on the ownership of the
service by staff.
The HR and Nominations Committee meets three times a year to review the KPIs
and make recommendations to the board of management in relation to the various
matters relating to staffing, non-executive directors and Health & Safety.
Return on Assets
C&C believes its staff are its greatest asset. Only by investing in its staff can it
achieve success and provide the best possible service to its residents. There has
been significant investment, both financial and in internal resources, in recruitment,
learning and development, performance management and staff wellbeing.
During 2014-15 C&C spent £196k on staff training, which equates to over £400 per
member of staff per year. This is an increase of almost £100 per staff member. The
training is well planned to ensure it is relevant for staff and achieves value for
money. In the previous year C&C recruited an Organisational Development Manager
who manages the corporate learning and development programme. The following
changes were made during the year

Implemented and imbedded the new behaviours framework to reflect the values
and branding of C&C.
19

Continued to work on seeking Investors in People (IiP) silver accreditation.

Continued work on Investors in Diversity.

Ran development programmes for members of the board of management so
they are an instrumental part of imbedding core values and behaviours and
C&C’s brand “Where Inspiration Lives”.

Established a grant system for staff for extra-curricular activities including yoga
classes and staff choir.

Designed the new appraisal system and ensured it was fully implemented by all
managers and staff.

Ran a series of workshops on Dementia Awareness; mental health awareness
absence management, investigations and report writing, team engagement n
recruitment and selection. 161 staff attended these sessions.

Held a Leaders’ Conference to help managers drive through change.

Refreshed our Mary Gober ‘Inspirational Workshop’ programme.
Comparative costs of delivering services
Staff costs are regularly reviewed to ensure staff are paid market rates. As detailed in
last year’s statement a full and comprehensive exercise is taking place in 2015-16 to
review all staff costs and benchmark against the market. Not all salaries will be
adjusted as affordability and fairness will need to be assessed.
Care salaries have been benchmarked and these are on average higher than the
private sector but below the levels for the not-for-profit sector.
Both staff turnover and staff sickness levels are still relatively high as can be seen
from the table below which are extracted from the Housemark report. Work has
been done in understanding the reasons behind these and what can be done to
improve matters. Part of this can be explained by the fact that the care sector in
which C&C has most of its staff does have higher staff turnover levels and sickness
20
levels. We are working with Skills for Care, an independent charity, to improve
retention levels. The staff turnover and sickness levels have improved compared to
the previous year although we are aware that significantly more work is still
required.
Table 4
Sickness absence average working days/shifts lost per employee
Upper
Comparator Group Quartiles
Median
Results for Central and Cecil Housing Trust
6.1
8.1
Lower
10.3
Result
Quartile
Central and Cecil Housing Trust (2013/2014)
11.3
Central and Cecil Housing Trust (2012/2013)
12.8
Staff turnover in the year %
Upper
15.3
Comparator Group Quartiles
Median
19.1
Lower
25.4
Results for Central and Cecil Housing Trust
Result
Quartile
Central and Cecil Housing Trust (2013/2014)
22.5
Central and Cecil Housing Trust (2012/2013)
29.2
C&C lost 5,019 working days to sickness which equates to £354k. This represents an
increase of 1,014 days on the 2013-14 figure and an extra cost of £66k. There has
been a concerted effort to tackle sickness levels by ensuring managers at all levels
are properly trained to tackle absence and that the HR department provides the
necessary support whilst ensuring that this is an issue that must be managed at a
local level.
Whilst some staff turnover is good, it can have a significant cost impact on an
organisation. It is therefore essential for C&C to have a good staff retention record.
The care sector where C&C employs most of its staff does generally have a low staff
retention record. Following on from work carried out in 2012-13 in having better
performance management and a better recruitment process there has been a
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reduction in staff turnover and we now sit within the low to median benchmark
quartile.
VfM Achievements
In last year’s statement, we said that all the HR projects outlined in the Business Plan
have commenced, with on-going work required to ensure that they achieve their
objectives and ensure value for money improvements across the organisation. The
following areas have been completed:

Continuation of absence and sickness management with a target of 9 days per
employee – This is discussed further in detail below.

Rolling out of the manager self-service modules on the HR system for managing
holidays and sick pay – This has been completed and is now running
successfully.

Continuation of the Mary Gober customer excellence programme for those
working in the care homes and for all new staff – The programme has been
successfully rolled out to care home managers and is being properly embedded
across the organisation.

Design and implementation of behaviours for Care in line with the new
Principles of Care. The launch of a new Care Appraisal process has been delayed
pending the implementation of phase two of the care review.

Imbedding the use of the neutral vendor agency agreement and ensuring the
management information reports are effective in allowing management to
control costs – This has been fully implemented and has been particularly
successful in providing management information on agency spend in the
different areas of the business. This is discussed further under the agency staff
section below.

Ongoing review of the in-house final salary pension scheme – As discussed
below the two multi-employer schemes have now been closed. C&C is still
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running its own in-house scheme although this has been closed to new accrual.
Further discussions are taking place with the trustees of the scheme to assess
the best way forward.

A Managers’ Conference that will be an away day for managers across C&C to
focus on key leadership development issues – This took place during the year
and will be an annual event.

Design and roll out of a Leadership Development Programme – This has started
during 2014-15 and will carry on into next year.

A comprehensive review of the required learning and development needs
throughout the organisation, and a strategy developed and implemented to
meet these needs – There is now a clear strategy in place for learning and
development which is being embedded across the organisation.
Staff satisfaction levels
As stated at the beginning of this section, C&C believes its staff are its greatest
asset and that only by investing in its staff can it achieve success and provide the
best possible service to its residents. The figures in table 5 from the Housemark
report indicate that staff satisfaction levels have risen and are very good when
compared against peers in the sector. However, as discussed below, C&C will not be
complacent about this and there are areas in which further work is still required.
Table 5
Staff satisfaction with employer
Upper
89.0
Comparator Group Quartiles
Median
86.0
Lower
79.0
Results for Central and Cecil Housing Trust
Result
Quartile
Central and Cecil Housing Trust (2013/2014)
93.0
Central and Cecil Housing Trust (2012/2013)
85.6
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Sickness levels
As discussed above under Comparative costs of delivering services, sickness levels
are still very high. The chart below shows the movement over the last 3 years.
Chart 4 – Sickness Levels
Staff Turnover
Staff turnover levels are still very high but work is being done to ensure that this is
better managed and there is greater staff continuity. As with sickness levels, higher
staff turnover means greater costs due to the expense of recruitment and additional
training. Staff retention also means better customer service. Chart 4 shows the staff
turnover rates for the last five years. Following on from work carried out in 2012-13
in having better performance management and a better recruitment process there
has been a reduction in the last two years in staff turnover. Further work is still
needed however, to ensure this is continued as a downward trend.
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Chart 4 – Annualised Staff Turnover
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Pensions
Last year’s statement included a section on C&C’s withdrawal from two multiemployer schemes in 2013-14. The final payments totalling £4.1m were made in
2014-15 and C&C no longer has any obligations to either of these schemes. This
represents a saving of over £100k per year.
In addition, C&C has a defined benefit in-house scheme. This was closed to new
accrual at the start of 2014-15.
In closing these schemes, C&C had to not only consider the cost savings but also
the effect on its staff and their wellbeing. These matters were detailed in last year’s
statement but are worth repeating again. With the three defined benefit schemes,
C&C was exposed to a number of issues:

Risk – Fluctuations in market price can result in the employer being hit with
large deficit charge which will impact the income & expenditure account and
potentially endanger the banking covenants.

Cost – The costs of contributions and administration expenses are very high and
continue to rise.
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
Fairness – Other employees can join the defined contribution scheme but not
the defined benefit scheme.
Taking all of the matters above into consideration, C&C’s board agreed to withdraw
voluntarily from the two multi-employer schemes and to close the in-house scheme
to new accrual. This is a good example of well-planned value for money activity that
will result in reduced risk, saved costs and greater fairness for the workforce.
Agency staff
Using agency staff can be necessary for some organisation where there is a need to
cover sickness or other emergency situations. However this is not an efficient
method of staffing and should only be used where necessary. Agency staff are more
expensive, there is lost knowledge when agency staff leave and the lack of continuity
can be detrimental to the residents.
Following the introduction of the new vendor management process C&C now has
greater visibility on agency staff numbers and spend. The management information
received gives a very clear picture of where improvements need to be made.
It can be seen from the table below that the agency spend is still very high. Within
the housing departments and within central office agency spend is lower. The
concern for C&C is agency use within Care. The high levels are due to difficulties in
recruitment, especially nurses. To manage this C&C is finalising its care restructure
process which also includes a review of all care salaries. This is necessary to make
C&C a more attractive option for potential recruits. This along with the detailed
management information now being received will allow C&C to better understand
the data and to implement clearer procedures.
Table 6
Agency Staff as a Percentage of Total Staff Costs
Central & Cecil
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
14.78%
13.68%
11.86%
13.87%
15.83%
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Looking Forward
Many of the projects relating to our staff are ongoing and are part of a continuous
improvement process. The areas mentioned in last year’s Looking Forward section
that are still ongoing are:

Achieving successful silver IiP accreditation which will assist in the recruitment
process – This is ongoing and will be finalised in 2015-16.

Carrying out the next stage of the care restructure programme - This is ongoing
and will be finalised in 2015-16.

Ongoing review of the in-house final salary pension scheme – Further
discussions are taking place with the trustees of the scheme to assess the best
way forward.

Development and implementation of a new induction programme, that will assist
with the retention of new starters, and performance management – This is
ongoing and will be completed during early 2015-16.

Increasing staff satisfaction levels at C&C – C&C’s levels are good but these
need to be maintained and improved.
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Strategic Priority 4
We sustain a healthy, viable business now and in the future.
This means we will deliver efficiency in our services so people are happy to pay for
them now and in the future. We will also have systems in place that are fit for
purpose and support our business.
In the current economic and political climate it is essential for all housing
associations to have robust long term financial plans in place that are fully tested to
ensure real financial viability.
C&C has a dynamic financial plan that is regularly reviewed and updated to take
into account any major changes, both internal and external. The Board at C&C
reviews this plan annually and also receives reports on any changes and the impact
of regular stress testing analysis.
Return on Assets
As part of C&C’s financial planning, detailed stress testing is carried out to consider
where the potential breaking points are. The objective is to assess what factors can
affect C&C’s viability and put in place measures to counteract these. This stress
testing forms part of the annual financial plan presented to the board of
management. More importantly it is an ongoing process throughout the year so the
plan is always up to date.
C&C has put a new loan in place at very competitive rates, to finance the
development programme. As at the end of the year this had not been drawn down.
However, it will be required during 2015-16.
Comparative costs of delivering services
Table 7 details the main financial indicators for C&C.
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Table 7
The adjusted net leverage is low. This is to be expected as C&C is not heavily
geared. It has small loans compared to its asset base.
The recent planned asset rationalisation has resulted is a small fall in asset values
and a reduction in turnover over the previous year. This was planned and in line
with the financial plan.
C&C’s operating margins are very low. The 2013-14 figures are partly due to the
additional pension payment made in 2013-14 to withdraw from the two multiemployer pension schemes. However, the margins will be low due to C&C’s greatest
cost base currently being staff costs rather than interest, meaning this has a direct
hit on the operating surplus. With the very large redevelopment of Dora House
discussed under Strategic Priority 2, the operating margins will continue to be hit
until this is completed. The board of management have built this into the long term
financial planning.
The weighted average cost of capital is quite high as a large percentage of C&C’s
drawn down debt is fixed. This means that C&C is less susceptible to fluctuations in
interest rates, although these are tested as part of the scenario analysis carried out
on the financial plan.
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VfM Achievements
Last year the following points were included in the Looking Forward section:

A review of C&C’s IT architecture to assess the best way forward for the IT
strategy – The board of management have agreed to follow the managed
service provider model (MSP) of delivering IT services. This will mean greater
outsourcing to one provider who will deliver the majority of the IT services. In an
increasingly changing technological environment, the board of management at
C&C believe that this is the best route for a medium size association to access
the best services and products at the best possible costs. There will not be any
cost savings but this will provide access to more resources to manage and
improve our systems which are currently constrained.

The financial plan will continue to be updated with all major changes and will be
fully stress tested – This is an ongoing exercise as referred to above
IT Investment
There has been significant investment in IT to ensure value for money is provided in
all services. This is an example of spending money up front to provide better
services and cut costs in the long term. In addition to the upcoming transfer to a
managed service provider referred to above, there has been investment in a number
of areas including:

Mobile working for board and committee meetings.

Mobile working for operational staff.

A roll out of new terminals to staff.

An upgrade of software across the organisation making the systems more
efficient and creating significantly less downtime
Looking Forward

C&C will continue the process of transferring to a managed service provider.
This will be completed in 2016-17.
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
Although C&C has an efficient electronic invoice authorisation system in place,
the plan is to upgrade this to an electronic purchase ordering system. This will
give the association greater control on spend, better contract management and
better supplier management. The process will commence in 2015-16.

C&C is currently working on its assets and liabilities register. This work ties in
with the asset review discussed under Strategic Priority 2 above.
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