The report rated the Association as providing ‘satisfactory’ services in five out of eight key areas including its arrangements for the provision of housing; the letting of houses and in its equal opportunities policies. The report also found that the Association was providing ‘excellent’ services in housing management and ‘good’ services in its relationship to residents but there was ‘scope for considerable improvement’ in its maintenance services.

The report also looked at the Association’s arrangements to secure continuous improvement in its services. It concluded that the Association demonstrated clear strategic direction and was able to plan its work towards achieving set targets, with arrangements to ensure that the right staff and finances were in place to deliver improvements. There was a significant amount of change underway within the organisation, and recent initiatives were being refined and continually improved.

The report included a number of recommendations to promote further improvement, including:

• working with residents to develop tailored approaches to further involve them in the provision of supported housing;
• ensure lettings for people with support needs meet adopted targets;
• develop and introduce a comprehensive repairs appointments system for contractors; and
• making sure that staff targets link to corporate objectives, to help deliver strategic goals.

Jeremy Colman, Auditor General for Wales, said today:
“This report shows that the Wales &  West Housing Association overall is providing a satisfactory service for its tenants. The Association has demonstrated a willingness to improve in key areas and this, along with the recommendations I have made, should help it to further improve its services across Wales.”

Notes to editors:

• The inspection of Wales &  West Housing Association took place in July 2007. At the time of inspection the Association managed over 9,000 properties, of which one-third was sheltered housing.
• The Association was established in 1965 and has housing stock in 16 local authority areas across Wales. The Association has 12 elected Board members, a third of whom were Resident Board members elected directly by residents.
• 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/
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• 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.