The Impact of Estate Management on the Organizations Equalities Objectives - Report Example

The Impact of E Management on the Organization’s Equalities Objectives After conducting the self-assessment questions of the SHR Scottish Housing Regulator), it is clear that CHA will need to accomplish the following Action Plans in order to comply with the regulations pertaining to Equality of opportunities afforded to all tenants. These will represent the greater part of the impact on the organization’s equality objectives. Immediate Action Plan 1. To prove sincerity in the effort of CHA towards compliance with SHR’s standard pertaining to equality of opportunities, there is a need to start organizing the available 81% tenant profile, by identifying tenants in relation to the categories of (a) employment, (b) race, (c) religion and belief, (d) gender, (e) marital status, (f) sexuality, (g) disability, and (h) age. Short-Term (1-5 years) Action Plans 2. CHA must include the target of achieving 100 % tenant profile within the year in order to allow for a more thorough assessment of the organization’s performance in terms of providing Equality of Opportunities to all tenants, by the next reporting period. 3. Based on the available 81 % of Tenant Profile, there is a need to produce a set of questionnaires that will enable the Staff to gather feedback from each of the categories. The feedback ought to be about how well CHA performed the expected and prescribed services for customers. This will then result in a summary according to each category. 4. Within the first round of releasing, following up, and collecting, summarizing, the management should publish informative materials that every tenant should know so that all tenants will be aware of the opportunities made available to them by the government and CHA. This will at least give the Staff a chance to answer YES to the Self-Assessment Questionnaire that inquires if the organization has “published documents that clearly and specifically set out our commitment and approach to equalities issues” as found in the website of the SHR. However, the publication should be very careful not to communicate any hint of discrimination to any category of tenants. 5. In order to meet its moral obligation to every tenant under each category, another set of Survey Materials that are relevant to each category should be developed for the purpose of clarifying the perception or tenants. It will enlighten the management when it is able to find any discrepancy against the perception of the management concerning the way a category of tenants can be satisfied with products and services. 6. To expedite the gathering of survey results, providing restricted, online questionnaires would be a workable recommendation. Tenants should be emailed their Username and Password to access the survey questionnaires. This will prevent just anybody from being able access the private questionnaires. 7. But even before the formulation of questionnaires, the Staff should know under what category each tenant will fall under. There should be a more specific set of questions meant for each category. For example, if a tenant is gainfully employed, questions related to Equality of Opportunity may be phrased based on the assumption that the tenant can afford to spend for a higher end design, and will have options to choose loans to access. Those available financing facilities should be communicated to the gainfully employed tenant. If the tenant is unemployed, CHA can offer grants made available by the government. And the options for these people would be the more affordable designs. Equal opportunity should be defined as the relative chance to have a home that complies with the Decent Home Standards with the available means that tenants can afford to utilize. It should not be made to mean that everybody will be offered grants, since grants are limited. If the people who are employed are the tenants notified about grants and they avail of it, what can be utilized for the unemployed to refurbish their homes in order to comply with the Decent Homes Standards ? 8. A qualified Staff who can deal directly with the local authorities about clarifications and sound reason in the implementation of Equal Opportunities ought to be selected. As soon as the Staff formulates the questionnaires for each category of tenants, it would be a good idea to first have them validated by the SHR during coordination with SHR through the qualified Senior Staff Representative. Some of the answers to questions may have been already established by other organizations. Coordinating with the local authorities will allow CHA to properly answer the Self-Assessment question that asks, “Do we have agreements on these targets from our partners in any relevant local partnerships ?” One of the local partnership is with the local authorities. 9. Accountability for the attainment of targets related to Equality can be assigned to a Senior Staff who should supervise the effort of all Staff members in the work to meet targets. Through such a Senior Staff, the need for additional training and time can be communicated to management. 10. The same Senior Staff should serve as the representative who will coordinate with service providers in the proper interpretation and implementation of Equality of Opportunities given different situations of different categories. Thereafter, he can recommend the formulation of policies and procedures, with justifications concerning why they are important for CHA. 11. Furthermore, there are many groups involved. Before CHA commits resources to each equality group, somebody from among the Staff would have to be familiar with the details of problems and the opportunities available to resolve those problems. This can be served by the Senior Staff who can gather feedback from all Staff Members before coordinating with management. 12. When the Staff members are able to gather the information from the survey of tenants, there can be many technical (sometimes trivial) questions that will need analysis of the pattern observed. There may be multiple interpretations and analysis for all those gathered information. Once again, those multiple interpretations and analysis can be reconciled or clarified by a Senior Staff before further communication of feedback. 13. The monitoring system of CHA for purposes of ensuring compliance would have to be developed through a series of feedback gathering and communicating with many groups, for further clarifications. This will see to it that all parties involved will have a common understanding of what Equality means. 14. How should the performance indicators be phrased for the common understanding of both management and local authorities such as the SHR ? 15. There will be many areas of service delivery that will be in need of review, considering that CHA manages 2,500 tenants with a variety of categories that will all need some time and attention. Some cases may fall on the boundary lines of compliance or non-compliance, thereby making it difficult to resolve issues even after coordinating with the parties involved. Complaints, for example, have to be handles with special care. 16. One other requirement by the SHR is for the organization to take the initiative to compare performance with other similar organizations. There are many other RSLs and housing associations in the UK. 1,200 associations belong to the National Housing Association of England. Somebody would have to study their performance reports in order for CHA to compare its performance with most other housing associations. At the moment, CHA is hoping to cope up with compliance in the matter of Equality of Opportunities by regular coordination with the local authorities. But to objectively compare CHA with other housing associations, such regular coordination will not be sufficient. The report that proves that would have to be based on verifiable facts and not based on word of mouth. Two self-assessment questions should be answered in compliance with the regulation to practice Equal Opportunity, namely, (1) “Do we benchmark our performance against other comparable organizations?” and (2) “Do we identify and share examples of good practice in our service delivery?” Naturally, this requires study of the performance of so many other members of the industry. Management has to decide who should be assigned for the purpose of making this possible. 17. Due to the multiple services provided by the CHA and the multiple providers involved, Staff members have to be given a share of the responsibility to review the services of Service Providers based on feedback coming from all the tenants who were served. Focus should be on complaints that will most probably point to disparities. The disparity may be due to a difference in the category of tenants or a failure to provide Equal Quality to people belonging to the same category. Was it because the providers were not informed about the standards ? Was it because the tenants themselves added input that another did not add ? 18. As of the present, the Staff is not aware about possible barriers to consider for tenants to access equal opportunity or to gain equal outcome for specific groups. It will take feedback and some time of experiences to identify those barriers unless service providers themselves communicate those barriers in the course of their work. For example, some tenants might prefer the services of a favored service provider. But because that service provider is not free to render the desired service, tenants can be dissatisfied from the very beginning. 19. Accessibility of services to all sectors of the community should be demonstrated to tenants. However, they have to be informed about the advantages and disadvantages of choosing services. There can be cost differences and other factors to consider. At the very least, all tenants should be informed ahead of time prior to actual improvements. 20. There should be a set of guidelines to handle each category of tenants. Those guidelines have to be clarified, explained, and communicated to the service providers for their use in order to arrive at satisfaction for each category of tenants. In the event of disputes, there should be ready alternative solutions still leading to customer satisfaction. With such guidelines, CHA can affirmatively say that the organization has taken actions to “remove or reduce the impact of any barriers to access or equal outcomes”. 21. Perhaps a Specialist should be appointed to attend to quick resolutions or effective procedures that will respond to the issues about discrimination or harassment. If the Senior Staff will tackle substantial review of performance by other housing associations for purposes of comparing CHA performance, and will also formulate the guidelines, then he will be tied down to that burden. Therefore, someone else should be assigned to troubleshoot equality problems in compliance with SHR regulations and to follow the CHA guidelines during implementations. In a report to management, the Self-Assessment Questions of SHR should be presented with the corresponding answers. Most of the answers to those questions can only be answered by NO. Thus, some steps have to be taken in order to arrive at compliance when it comes to Equal Opportunities. The recommended set of Action Plans above should be considered. The procedures and concepts can summarized with a diagram presented below. Step 1. Recognize that CHA does not meet the SHR goal for Equality of Opportunity. Step 2. Trace the reasons why the present CHA cannot possible pass the self-assessment. a. Feedback gathered from tenants were not organized according to the prescribed category employment, race, religion and belief, gender, marital status, sexuality, disability, and age. Thus, a lot of the information needed are unknown. b. Clarifications about how CHA should practice Equality of Opportunities for tenants have to be known, and based on the relevant feedback yet to be gathered from tenants. c. Questionnaires for each category have to be formulated and sent to the respective respondents. d. To arrive at comprehensive questionnaires for each category, different services and opportunities should first be defined, and the available information (e.g. complaints) have to be considered. e. SHR requires organizations to compare the performance benchmarks with other similar housing associations. There are many of such associations in the UK. Somebody should be held accountable for the review of such information in order to compare the performance of CHA with other housing association insofar as the benchmarks for Equalities of Opportunities is concerned. f. CHA does not have guidelines as of the moment in handling disputes, complaints, differences, and procedures that service providers can use to comply with the Equality of Opportunities regulation of the SHR. And nobody is assigned to respond immediately to issues like dissatisfaction, complaints, harassment, or discrimination. g. Even the Tenant Profile is not yet 100 % complete to date. Step 3. The management must take immediate steps to prove its sincerity about wanting to comply with the SHR given the available resources. Such immediate steps can include the order to complete the Tenant Profile, the preparation of a provisional definition Equity of Opportunities for each and every tenant category, and the completion of questionnaires to conduct a survey that will identify the preferences of tenants in terms of services and products they would like to receive from CHA. Step 4. All Staff Members should be mobilized to gather initial information leading to a provisional performance assessment or at least the identification of performance indicators that can serve as basis for the assessment. To expedite results, online survey should be attempted. Phone calls can be used to follow up the feedback. There will be so much information to tabulate and analyze. It is not certain how long it will take to finish the analysis per category. Step 5. A Senior Staff can be assigned to look into the performance of other housing associations with regards to the Equality issue. He/She can also be given the task to get the consensus of Staff Members as to how they understand the implementation should be done. And then, the Staff can be trained to correst their interpretations or understanding in order to meet the desired standards of SHR. Step 6. CHA should also act on the complaints as soon as possible by assigning a Specialist who can deal with issues pertaining to Equality and satisfaction of customers based on analysis of their feedback and investigation with service providers. Step 7. The management has to produce the set of policies and procedures for the aspect of Estate Management, particularly with Equality of Opportunities for tenants. These should be based on the findings and recommendations of the Senior Staff Member and the Specialist. By then, communications and coordination should have been done with the different parties involved, including the local authorities and the service providers, aside from tenants and management. A sample of such guidelines has been appended to this report. References Blackaby, B. and Chahal, K. (2000), Black and Minority Ethnic Housing Strategies, Chartered Institute of Housing, Federation of Black Housing Associations and The Housing Corporation. Bowes, A. et al (2001), Race Equality Policy and Practice in Scottish Housing, University of Stirling 2001. Bowes, A. et al (2001), Assessing Housing Providers’ Equal Opportunities Policies, University of Stirling 2001 Chartered Institute of Housing (2001), Housing Management Standards Manual Version 2.5, Chartered Institute of Housing 2001 Clarke, J. and Speeden, S, (2000), Measuring Up: Report of a Study of the Adoption and Implementation of ‘Racial Equality Means Quality’, the Commission for Racial Equality’s Standard for Local Government, CRE 2000 Commission for Racial Equality (1991), Code of Practice in Rented Housing, CRE 1991 Commission for Racial Equality (1995), Racial Equality Means Quality: A Standard for Racial Equality for Local Government in Scotland, CRE 1995 Commission for Racial Equality (1999), Auditing for Equality: Auditing Council Performance Against the Commission for Racial Equality’s Standard for Local Government, ‘Race Equality Means Quality’, CRE 1999 Commission for Racial Equality et al (2001), Equality In Practice: Report of a Survey on the Adoption and Implementation by English Councils of ‘Racial Equality Means Quality’, the CRE Standard for Local Government, CRE Commission for Racial Equality et al (2001), Race and Housing Enquiry – Challenge Report 2001, CRE et al Commission for Racial Equality (2001), The General Duty to Promote Racial Equality: Guidance for Public Authorities Under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, CRE Commission for Racial Equality (forthcoming), Statutory Code of Practice on the Duty to Promote Race Equality in Scotland, CRE Commission for Racial Equality (forthcoming), The Duty to Promote Race Equality – A Guide for Scottish Public Authorities, CRE Commission for Racial Equality (forthcoming), Ethnic Monitoring – A Guide for Public Authorities, CRE Communities Scotland (2003), Thematic Regulation Study: Equalities in Practice, Communities Scotland COSLA (date not known), Guidance on Best Value and Equalities, COSLA COSLA (1999). Mainstreaming: Integrating Equality into all Council Activities, COSLA Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2002), Reflecting the Needs and Concerns of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in Supporting People, DTLR 2002 Disability Rights Commission (revised 2002), Disability Discrimination Act: Code of Practice for the Elimination of Discrimination in the Field of Employment Against Disabled Persons or Persons Who Have Had a Disability, HMSO 2002 Employers’ Organisation for Local Government et al (2001), The Equality Standard for Local Government, Employers’ Organisation for Local Government et al Equal Opportunities Commission and Commission for Racial Equality (1999), Questions of Mainstreaming: Examining Policy and Legislative Proposals within an Equalities Framework, 1999 Governance of Scotland Forum (2000), Learning from Experience: Lessons in Mainstreaming Equal Opportunities, University of Edinburgh 2000 Local Government Association and JUSTICE (2000), Deciding Rights: Applying The Human Rights Act to Good Practice in Local Authority Decision-Making, Improvement and Development Agency Housing Corporation (2002), The Big Picture: Disability and Housing, Housing Corporation 2002 Housing Corporation (2002), The Big Picture: Young People and Housing Associations, Housing, Housing Corporation 2002 Housing Corporation (2001) A Question of Delivery: An Evaluation of How RSLs Meet the Needs of Black and Ethnic Minority Communities, Housing Corporation 2001 Housing Corporation (2002), A Review of Housing Associations’ Race Equality Strategies, Housing Corporation Housing Corporation (2002), Equality and Diversity Policy: Welcoming Diversity in Employment and in the Community, Housing Corporation 2002 Joseph Rountree Foundation (2000), Improving Housing Services for Disabled Children and their Families, JRF 2000 National Disability Council (1999), Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Code of Practice - Rights of Access - Goods, Facilities, Services and Premises, National Disability Council 1999 National Housing Federation (1994), Tackling Discrimination Against Lesbians and Gay Men: a Good Practice Guide for Housing Associations, NHF 1994 National Housing Federation (1998), Race Equality in Access to Housing Services: a Good Practice Guide, NHF 1998 National Housing Federation (1998), Equality In Housing: a Code of Practice, NHF 1998 National Housing Federation (1999), Equality in Housing: Guidance for Tackling Discrimination on the Grounds of Disability, NHF 1999 National Housing Federation (1999), Equality in Housing: Guidance for Tackling Discrimination on the Grounds of Gender, NHF 1999 National Housing Federation (1999), Tackling Racism: Lessons For Housing Associations From the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, NHF 1999 National Housing Federation (2001), Race Equality: a Framework for Review and Action, NHF 2001 National Housing Federation (2002), Race Equality Code of Practice for Housing Associations, NHF 2002 Netto, G. et al (2001), Audit of Research on Minority Ethnic Issues in Scotland From a ‘Race’ Perspective, Scottish Executive Central Research Unit OCarroll, D. (2001), A Guide to the Human Rights Act for Housing Professionals, Chartered Institute of Housing 2001 “Performance Standard: AS1.10 Estate management”. The Scottish Housing Regulator, 2011. Available @ http://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/shr_as1.10estatemanagement-sel.hcsp#TopOfPage “Performance Standard: GS2.1 Equal Opportunities”. The Scottish Housing Regulator, 2011. Available @ http://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/shr_gs2.1equalopportunities-se.hcsp#TopOfPage Riddell, S. and Banks, P. (2001), Disability in Scotland - A Baseline Study, Disability Rights Commission Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health Services (1998), Developing Housing Services for people with Mental Health Problems, 1998 Scottish Executive (2000), Equality Strategy: Working Together for Equality, Scottish Executive 2000 Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (2001), Guidance Booklet No. 11: Good Practice for Interpreting and Translating, SFHA 2001 Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (2002), Code of Conduct: Equal Opportunities, SFHA 2002 Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (2000), Raising Standards in Housing Chapter 9: Equal Opportunities, SFHA 2000 Scottish Homes (2001), Scottish Homes Policy Statement: Housing Scotland’s Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, Scottish Homes 2001 Smith, A. and Calvert, J. (2001), Opening Doors, Working with Older Lesbians and Gay Men, Age Concern 2001 Appendix Sample Policies and Procedures / Guidelines for Equality of Opportunities: Equal opportunities in housing policy Outline 1. Statement of Intent 2. Detail Access to housing services Tackling harassment and violence and any other form of hate crime Staff training Working with contractors 1. Statement of Intent 1.1 It is the Councils aim to ensure that no applicant for accommodation or housing services is treated less favourably than others because of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. 1.2 The Council will tackle the following forms of discrimination where they arise in relation to the provision of housing services: direct discrimination - when a person is treated less favourably than others indirect discrimination - when a requirement or condition is applied which, whether intentionally or not, adversely affects people of a particular group in gaining access to, or retaining, housing services victimization - when a person is treated less favourably than others because that person has made a complaint or allegation of discrimination or harassment Institutional discrimination - where an organisation collectively fails to provide an appropriate and professional service to a group of people because of such things as their sex, race or disability. 1.3 The Council believes that no-one should live in fear of harassment or violence which is perpetrated because of a persons race, colour, nationality, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age, and will counter all forms of harassment and violence in its housing. 1.4 The Council recognises the need to ensure that housing services are available to all members of the community according to the priority of their housing needs. 1.5 In order to meet its objective of ensuring equal opportunity in the provision of housing services, the Council will strive to ensure that all members of the workforce are aware of the Councils equal opportunities policy and their responsibilities under it. To this end the Council is committed to provide equal opportunities in employment. 2. Detail Access to housing services 2.1 The Council will strive to ensure that its policies and procedures for allocating accommodation and other housing services do not discriminate against particular groups or individuals on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. In particular, the Council will ensure that no individual or group is placed at a disadvantage, unjustifiably, by requirements or conditions that have a disproportionately adverse effect on that individual or group. In order to meet this commitment, the Council will regularly consult organisations representing a range of groups within the community about the content and application of housing policies. 2.2 The Council will seek to ensure that application forms, leaflets and other information sources relating to the provision of accommodation and other housing services are accessible to all members of the community. Particular attention will be given to the need for written translations, large type, audio-tape, interpreters and home-visits. Tackling harassment and violence and any other form of hate crime 2.3 The Council, and Housing Services, will continue to comply with the CRE Code of Practice in Rented Housing 1991. 2.4 Any officer of the Council receiving a complaint of harassment or violence shall accept the account of the person affected in a sympathetic and supportive manner, and shall assist that person in recording his or her complaint and commencing proceedings under the Councils procedure for countering harassment. 2.5 The Council will counter harassment in all its forms in its housing by: (i) Seeking to identify incidents that occur. (ii) Recording incidents as they occur, in accordance with set procedure, ensuring that the cause and nature of the incident is identified and using the corporate record of initial complaint. In particular incidents of harassment and violence perpetrated because of the race, gender, sexual orientation or disability of the person affected shall be separately recorded and monitored. (iii) Providing a rapid and effective support service to victims of harassment, taking action against perpetrators, and wherever possible, attempting to prevent further incidents. This shall include (but is not limited to) the following: (a) ensuring that the person affected is interviewed as soon as possible, and at most within 48 hours of the incident being reported (b) interviewing the alleged perpetrator (and/or parents), and issuing warning letters in accordance with Council procedure (c) carrying out emergency repairs, and/or removing graffiti as soon as possible, and at most within 24 hours of the incident being reported (d) interviewing any witnesses who have been identified (e) agreeing on an appropriate course of action, in consultation with the person affected and the Councils legal department. This may include court action to prevent further incidents and/or proceedings for the eviction of the perpetrator (f) informing and liaising with the appropriate agencies, with the permission of the person affected (g) reviewing the need for transfer of the person affected (h) keeping the person affected informed about any action proposed or taken. Staff Training 2.6 All staff will receive training and guidance on the content of this policy, and their responsibilities in implementing the Councils commitment to equal opportunities. Working With Contractors 2.7 The Council aims to encourage contractors and consultants to adopt equal opportunities policies and practices, and will monitor the progress of business partners involved in the provision of housing services. Performance against equal opportunities targets will be considered when new contracts are awarded 3. Further Information 3.1 Woking Borough Councils policies apply to all services within the Council: Being Equal: A Valuing Diversity Policy In Woking our community benefits form our cosmopolitan make-up. The many different people in our Borough make it an interesting place to live. This is Woking Borough Council’s being Equal: Valuing Diversity Policy which aims to enhance both the quality and effectiveness of Woking’s services in meeting the needs of everyone within the Borough. This policy includes a policy statement and what the council will do to deliver this. Details available @ http://www.woking.gov.uk/community/edsi/eqdiv/bevdp.pdf Race Equality Scheme Policy The Race Equality Scheme outlines Woking Borough Councils aims and objectives to promote race equality within the organisation and the wider community. The scheme outlines how the council will do this. This is a summary version of the scheme. Details available online @ http://www.woking.gov.uk/community/edsi/eqdiv/race/ress.pdf 4. Targets / Standards 4.1 Monitoring of the implementation of the Councils policy and procedures of equal opportunities in Housing Services is undertaken by the Housing Services Manager through the Housing Equalities group and the Corporate Equalities group. 4.2 Housing Services will work with the Corporate Equalities group towards achieving Level 3 Equality Standard for Local Government by March 2009, then monitoring the standard thereafter. 4.3 The Council will monitor the effects of its equal opportunities, and will use the information gathered to develop and review strategies for tackling discrimination and harassment. 4.4 The Council will monitor the effects of its housing policies upon applicants for housing, and those gaining access to housing services, looking in particular at the following: ethnic background age gender religion disability belief sexual orientation. Date approved: 18 September 1995 Date updated: April 2008 Read More