|
Pontypridd and District Housing Association is providing good or excellent services in nearly all areas, although it needs to address weaknesses in the management of gas servicing, according to the Auditor General’s first ever report into Welsh Housing Associations. The report also says the Association has the characteristics of a continuously improving Association that is raising standards of delivery.
The report, published today, rates the Association as excellent in its approach to providing housing, its housing management service and accommodating people with support needs. It also found that there were good arrangements in place for its relationship with residents and equal opportunities and that it was also providing good rent and letting services.
The Association’s maintenance service was also generally regarded as good with high levels of satisfaction recorded from tenants. Whilst it is failing to meet key expectations for gas servicing, the Association had begun to address this issue prior to inspection and now has a thorough programme in place for programmed maintenance to ensure the Welsh Housing Quality standard is met.
The report identifies several areas of good practice including joint working with Cynon Taf Housing Association and Rhondda Housing Association to produce ‘Living in Harmony’, an information leaflet for tenants. Other examples of good practice include:
• Obtaining and using the views of service users to improve services
• Tenancy support scheme
• Aligning service and financial planning
• Working with other groups, such as local police, local authorities and other Housing Associations to promote services available to tenants
Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman said today:
“Pontypridd and District Housing Association is achieving excellent standards in many areas of its services, and the joint working it has conducted with other Housing Associations, local authorities and the police in providing services for tenants is highly commendable.”
Notes to Editors:
• The inspection of Pontypridd and District Housing Association was undertaken in May 2005.
• Pontypridd and District Housing Association is a well established community based Association and manages 451 proprieties in Pontypridd and the surrounding area.
• The Welsh Assembly Government has appointed the Wales Audit Office to carry out the inspection of housing associations in Wales. Inspection is carried out under the Local Government Act 1998, as amended by the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004
• The specific questions about each aspect the inspection covers are set out in the latest version of the Assembly Regulatory Code for Housing Associations in Wales. This can be found by clicking on the following link:
http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/housingandcommunity/housing/publications/
regulatorycodehas;jsessionid=9B45EEEB797A798A2F70307FCF99609A.www1?lang=en
• The Wales Audit Office is independent of government and is responsible for the annual audit of some £19 billion of annual public expenditure.
• The Wales Audit Office was created in April 2005 through the Public Audit (Wales) Act, 2004, which expanded the functions of the Auditor General for Wales and enabled the transfer of staffs from the Audit Commission in Wales and National Audit Office in Wales to his employment.
Ends
For more information please contact Rachel Harries (Communications and Media Officer) on 02920 262 675 or email rachel.harries@wao.gov.uk
|
