Northern Housing Consortium

1. Northern Housing Consortium Action Learning Group 30 April 2008

2. Session Content An introduction to Gentoo Group How the Group measures neighbourhood sustainability � the Neighbourhood Assessment Matrix The Group�s response and how the Neighbourhood Assessment Matrix informed investment decisions Measuring the impact of the Group�s investment � a research study

3. Gentoo Group Context

4. Gentoo Context

5. Gentoo Context Sunderland Housing Group created by stock transfer in 2001 � transferring approximately 36,000 stock Stock transfer promises to residents focussed on rents, improving homes, securing neighbourhoods, protecting tenancy rights, customer involvement and service improvements Excellent progress made in keeping the transfer promises but a realisation that restructure was necessary to achieve the Group�s long term ambitions Re-structuring and re-branding launched Gentoo Group in June 2007

13. Neighbourhood Assessment

14. Measuring Sustainability Transferred 36,000 properties in 2001 within 104 neighbourhoods Distinct variations in terms of mix, condition, type, and socio-economics How successful were the Group�s neighbourhoods as viable communities? What should the Group do in terms of investment and management?

15. The Neighbourhood Assessment Matrix The NAM was developed to: identify the relative level of stability in neighbourhoods help inform property investment decisions identify trends in neighbourhoods over time identify where stability is declining or improving take a consistent approach to assessing the future of estates The NAM works by combining the use of a series of weighted statistical indicators with a subjective assessment of each neighbourhood. The NAM involves three separate models � housing, socio-economic, and perceptive and has been applied to every neighbourhood in the Group�s ownership on an annual basis since 2002/3

16. NAM Scoring Three Models make up the NAM: Model 1 � housing indicators Model 2 � socio economic indicators Model 3 � perceptions of staff Each Model is scored out of 1000 points, making the maximum total score of 3000 points. The higher the score, the less sustainable a neighbourhood is. The 1000 points are distributed across the indicators. Scores are weighted based on previous customer opinion research carried out by the Group

17. NAM Model 1 Model 1 contains the following data. With the exception of average market house prices, all information is provided in-house on an annual basis. Households in receipt of housing benefit Households in arrears Average number of expressions of interest Voids Right to Buy Sales Average valuation of RTB sales Market house prices Relet times Tenancy length Terminations Rent loss Property standard

18. NAM Model 2 Much of the information used in the Model 2 is sourced from statistics that are published nationally. There are issues with inconsistent spatial boundaries and a variance in timelines used by different agencies The primary sources of information drawn upon in Model 2 are: the Census 2001 the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2000 and 2004 local authority crime statistics (annually) attainment levels of schools (annually) Gentoo tenancy breach monitoring system (annually)

19. NAM Model 2 Model 2 contains the following data. Low income deprivation Barriers and access to housing and services Unemployment Long term limiting illness Population Change Youth Crime Educational attainment Tenancy Breach - Environment Tenancy Breach - Anti Social Behaviour

20. NAM Model 3 Model 3 is derived from the views of local housing staff responsible for managing particular neighbourhoods. Due to the nature of the Model, the information gathered is subjective, and there have been issues with consistency of data � particularly attributed to staff changes over time Every Neighbourhood Manager ranks each indicator in order of the affect they think the indicator has on neighbourhood sustainability. The ranking is from 0 � 5, where 5 shows a negative affect and and 0 shows a positive affect.

21. NAM Model 3 Model 3 contains the following data. Socio Economic Mix Non traditional -v- traditional properties Location Property ratios Density and dispersal Collective and individual tenant feedback Stigma Young people issues Security measures Requests to move Management moves required Estate layout Vandalism/graffiti Void Property Security Landscape quality Illegal parking Other Services

22. NAM Rankings and Critical Measure Each Model is scored out of 1000 points, making the maximum total score of 3000 points. The higher the score, the less sustainable a neighbourhood is. This produces a �ranking� of neighbourhoods from �worst� to �best� and this is used to inform decision making The Group developed a �critical measure� to help categorise neighbourhoods into �sustainable� neighbourhoods; �priority/option appraisal� areas, and neighbourhoods to �monitor� Gentoo Group uses 20% either side of median score as the critical measure

23. Critical Measure

24. Critical Measure � �Sustainable�

25. Critical Measure � �Option Appraisal�

26. Critical Measure � �Monitor�

27. Using the NAM Results The NAM results helped the Group�s Boards decide the most appropriate option for each neighbourhood 30,000 properties were located in neighbourhoods which were which assessed as �sustainable� or �monitor� but 6,000 were in neighbourhoods which were assessed as �option appraisal� This was a one-off use of the NAM and it is unlikely to be used to inform property investment decisions in Sunderland on this scale again. The NAM, however, will continue to monitor existing neighbourhoods.

28. The NAM Review The NAM has helped to guide the Group�s property decisions. It is now to be reviewed to ensure that it is more people focussed, and will be used to help inform and target the Group�s social and economic initiatives in future. There are a range of issues that are to be addressed as part of the review. These include: Changes to patch/neighbourhood boundaries over time make it difficult to use the NAM to accurately �track� changes in sustainability data from external sources, particularly relating to socio-economics, does not match the Group�s neighbourhood boundaries data from external sources is gathered and updated within different time periods the perceptive model has focussed upon staff perceptions and needs a greater customer focus

29. After the NAM �.

30. Using the NAM Results 30,000 properties in neighbourhoods which were which assessed as �sustainable�/ �monitor� but 6,000 in �option appraisal� neighbourhoods The sustainable properties were included in the Group�s �Investment Plan� which has brought all homes to a standard beyond the Decent Homes Standard The �option appraisal� neighbourhoods were subject to further analysis and most formed the basis of the Group�s �Renewal Plan� Both plans are supported by the Group�s Social Investment Programme

31. �350 million funding to modernise homes and spending over �1 million a week From 80 modernisations per year before transfer to 3,000 per year since transfer � over 20,000 now completed Exceeding the Government's Decent Homes Standard with a wide range of improvements to existing homes Extensive customer consultation prior to work beginning and high levels of customer satisfaction with completed work

32. Tackling unsustainable neighbourhoods where problems are related to stock condition, obsolescence and wider neighbourhood/ socio-economic problems Being replaced with high quality mixed-tenure neighbourhoods providing and a better balance properties �300 million funding secured to deliver the Renewal Plan. Nine schemes completed so far providing 480 new homes, with a further 8 projects on site

33. Measuring the Impact

34. Gentoo is investing �350m in modernisation and a further �300m in renewal How do we make sure an investment is having an impact? We have carried out regular research into the impact of investment by tracking neighbourhoods using the NAM We have also completed research into the economic multiplier affect of the Group�s investment in Sunderland

35. IGP funding secured to carry out a study into the Social and Economic Impact of Large-scale Housing Investment Carried out in 2007/8 by the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University staff Alan Middleton, Alan Murie, Patrick Loftman and Emily Smith undertook the research The study was completed in early 2008 and a series of dissemination events are planned for this year

36. The main aims of the project were to measure the impact of housing investment in Sunderland and develop a methodology that can be used by other organisations The report presents the results of the first stage of a longitudinal study that will analyse the impact of Gentoo�s investment, particularly the �600 million that are being invested in improving and replacing stock.  The study doesn�t seek causal relationships between the financial investment and any social and economic outcomes in neighbourhood. Instead, it was intended to produce a model that would use quantitative and qualitative information to investigate relationships between various social and economic inputs and outputs in different neighbourhoods over time.

37. We cannot say, for example, that �x of investment in housing will cause an increase of y in health or a decline of z in crime. A change in one variable, such as investment in housing, can impact on a number of other variables, such as employment or health, which in turn can impact on each other or on other variables such as education. In theory, however, it should be possible to build a model that takes account of the changes and predicts outcomes at a community or neighbourhood level. To test the model requires data that can be aggregated for each of the variables into neighbourhoods. This requires that the information on relevant variables is collected in spatial units that are being capable of being aggregated to correspond with defined neighbourhoods.

38. All research was undertaken by the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University staff and consisted of primary and secondary research The study involved primary research in the form: a survey of 1,200 residents interviews with residents and stakeholders a series of focus groups It also involved secondary research in the form of gathering and analysing data from a variety of other organisations, and a review of relevant policies

39. The researchers undertook a review of all relevant national, regional and local policy documents including the Government�s approach to sustainable communities, the RES, the RHS, the RSS, and Sunderland�s Housing Strategy The researchers concluded that while all levels of government in the region recognise the importance of evidence for the development of strategic policy, it would appear that no one wants to take responsibility for this evidence at a local level. They argue that if we are to achieve the delivery of sustainable communities, particularly through multi-agency activity where information needs to be shared, there needs to be an agreed protocol in which responsibilities are agreed. Their experience of what they found when they tried to collate data for a variety of government sources confirms this.

40. The problems are mainly the result of a lack of coherence around the spatial boundaries used by government agencies, the low priority given to collecting and using neighbourhood statistics and a lack of willingness to share what little information is available. When collecting data from all of the agencies, there were difficulties in obtaining data that was useful for neighbourhood analysis. Most of the data was not available at the lowest level, such as postcode or Output Area level. Many agencies and organisations approached needed to carry out substantial amounts of work to get their data down to this level

41. National Statistics Online (Neighbourhood Statistics section) does provide a reasonable service that helps to get some of the available data. However, while they hold comprehensive databases for 2001 census, obtaining up-to-date (2007) statistics that can be reconfigured for neighbourhood analysis is much harder. Most of the Government�s Neighbourhood Statistics are, in fact, quite inadequate for their intended purpose. The data is not available at a level that allows aggregation to neighbourhood boundaries and the quality of information for different geographical levels varies considerably

42. The Group gathers and analyses an array of statistical information at a range of different levels. The approach is generally effective but issues were identified. Being able to get a handle on how the Gentoo management patches, leaf codes and other geographies such as output areas and postcodes linked up proved to be difficult for the researchers. Part of the problem was that different departments in the Group were using different geographical boundaries and were restricted by what data was available from other agencies The researchers found that even within the Group there was an uneven approach to gathering and using data.

43. The main issue with health data was pinpointing who within the Health Authority held large-scale data sets on the kinds of data we needed. The NHS is a huge organisation and with more than one PCT operating within the Sunderland area, finding the correct person to approach proved to be extremely difficult. On the face of it, it looked like the health service did not really know themselves who could provide important data on the running of the service When the researchers eventually received the data requested from the PCT, it actually was of little use - it was not at the correct level, was patchy and did not make sense.

44. This proved to be the easiest to obtain. Gentoo already had a contact within the City Council who could provide crime statistics The only data not to be collected was Output Area data for 2001 � it was not readily available although the reasons for this are not clear. Data was provided at Ward level for 2001 but this is not without its problems � as the ward boundaries changed in 2004 this data is hard to reconcile with data then produced for years after 2004. The Council also raised concerns about how this data would be used. The data was only supplied on the proviso that it was not reproduced in the public domain.

45. There is a large amount of education data available on the DfeS website that details performance on a school-by-school basis at Key Stages 2, 3 and 4. However, further information is needed on an individual pupil/ postcode basis that the local Education Authority generally holds. There are data protection issues around issuing data at post-code level, but this information could be aggregated up to Output Area level and linked to other information through this spatial unit. The Council�s Education office was contacted and it was agreed that work could be done to get the data we needed. However, it was extra work for them and it took a long time to receive any data. When it arrived, it was not what the researchers thought they had agreed.

46. It is generally accepted that there are pockets of poverty in affluent local authorities all round the country and that analyses that focus on well-being at the district or local authority level ignore concentrations of deprivation at the neighbourhood scale. Similarly, where ward level analyses of deprivation are carried out, pockets of poverty in wards that are mainly affluent are hidden from sight. In order to be able to identify and treat localised areas of deprivation, therefore, it is important to be able to carry out analysis at the level of neighbourhoods. The way that statistics are gathered, however, still makes this extremely difficult.

47. The researchers have developed a method that will allow them to link Gentoo�s leaf codes and neighbourhood management data to OAs and post-coded external data If information on management, social or economic indicators is available in certain spatial units it can be analysed at other spatial levels. Ideally, the basic building block for all information would be the OA. Using the above model, the researchers have been able to produce social and economic profiles for neighbourhoods and housing management areas. The Tyne and Wear Research and Information Office (TWRI) allowed temporary access to their Area Profiler2 database to partly test the model

48. The researchers concluded that there is clearly a need for more integrated prevention and care, which means integration with other non-health carers and providers of other services. This will increasingly take place in the community and professionals from different agencies will need to share information if there is to be effective collaboration. It is not just health professionals who provide care for the elderly, but we might expect that there will be limits to what information on individual patients can be passed around from one agency to another.

49. Some information sharing is necessary if rational strategic decisions about resource allocations are to take place. With increasing care in the community, there needs to be some common understanding. defined. A major issue in the future will be older people living longer in the community, with slowly deteriorating health. It is recognised that the providers of Social Housing, Health Care and Social Services will need to work closely together to meet the needs of this segment of the population, much more than in the past. Addressing these issues implies not only an alignment of resource allocation policies at a strategic level but also an implementation plan at the local or neighbourhood level.

50. There is no overall framework for gathering the data that is required for community-based policy and there are certain conditions that hamper the successful gathering of evidence that can be used for its implementation and evaluation The staff who have responsibility for gathering the information do not do so with any rigour. It is often held by people who have no interest in or understanding of how it might be used. When it can be tracked down, it can be difficult to gain access to it for other reasons. These include genuine reasons relating to data protection and privacy but this is often used as an excuse for the bureaucratic preservation of knowledge and power or the hiding of information to avoid political embarrassment When information can be accessed from different agencies, it is difficult to collate it. Different organisations use different spatial units of analysis and these units change over time. Some of the information that is available is technically good, but out of date.

51. There are pockets of poverty in affluent local authorities all across the country and within affluent wards in many areas there are pockets of deprivation that are hidden. To effectively deal with inequalities in housing, health, income, employment, education and crime, we need to have greater detail at the local level than is currently available from most of the key agencies To begin to overcome these informational blockages, the researchers have developed a model that allows them to link the information for Gentoo�s management areas to OAs, LSOAs and post-coded external data. Using this model, it is possible to produce social and economic profiles for neighbourhoods and housing management areas, and to assess changes in neighbourhoods over time.

52. In addition to the specific issues of data collection and analysis the researchers also focussed on Gentoo�s commitment to sustainable communities. They carried out a survey of 1,200 residents; interviewed staff, residents and stakeholders; and carried out a series of focus groups with vulnerable groups The arrived at a number of conclusions in terms of the impact of the Group and its investment on staff and resident satisfaction, stakeholder perceptions, social capital, and the views and perceptions of vulnerable groups.

53. Most of the staff who were interviewed transferred from Sunderland City Council at the time of stock transfer. All of these staff who transferred were positive about the change in the organisation and their working environment. They had worked in the most deprived areas of the city over a number of years and they now felt, for the first time, that they had an opportunity to have an impact on the lives of residents and make a difference to their lives. They said they had more resources to enable them to do their job and more freedom to make decisions than they had before.

54. The resident representatives that were interviewed agreed that they were kept well-informed and the level of consultation was a big difference between the Council and SHG/Gentoo. From the point of view of these resident representatives, the whole of Sunderland has vastly improved because of what Gentoo has done. They agreed that �when the job is finished, Sunderland will be a tremendous place� to live. There was consensus that houses have been improved by SHG/Gentoo, which would not have happened under the Council, but there was also recognition that the Council could not make improvements because they did not have the funds.

55. The interviews with the resident representatives showed a generally very high level of satisfaction with the improvements that had taken place and with the way they were carried out, which was later confirmed in the social survey There was a good deal of discussion about people who lived in different streets and areas of the city and about how things had improved in relation to anti-social families who had been tackled.

56. The vast majority of the external stakeholders interviewed were extremely positive about the organisation and what it was trying to achieve The role of the Group in tackling key issues such as economic regeneration, city centre regeneration and worklessness was acknowledged The researchers highlighted that there had clearly been a difficult relationship with the City Council, which both sides genuinely appeared to be trying to overcome. There was concern from some parts of the voluntary and community sector about the Group�s involvement in activities which were seen as out of its scope of operation, but a desire for the Group to provide strategic direction for the voluntary and community sectors in the City

57. The concept of social capital is one that has become increasingly important in recent years. Social capital is thought to be the glue that holds communities together. The study included specific questions in relation to social capital and the Sunderland results were compared directly with the Bournville Village Trust. Ways of measuring bonding social capital are to ask the extent to which people know their neighbours, feel lonely or isolated or have relatives living in the same area. The survey showed that the people of Sunderland do not suffer from feelings of loneliness or isolation. The striking thing about the people interviewed in Sunderland was the relatively high proportion of residents who had family living nearby.

58. The researchers asked questions relating to bridging social capital, concerning membership of civic organisations They discovered that the residents of the housing areas managed by Gentoo were much less likely to join these organisations, either within the city or beyond. Only two per cent of those interviewed were members of residents or tenants associations compared with 28% in the BVT management area Influencing housing management is not something that residents in Sunderland appear to aspire to . When asked if they would like a bigger say, only 7% said that they would, compared to 25% in Bournville.

59. The researchers carried out specific research into social capital within the Group�s new developments. South Hylton Green appears to be different from the norm in Sunderland in terms of the connection of its residents to each other and to the members of their families. Only 38% have relatives living in the area, compared with 66% in Sunderland as a whole. During interviews with residents, there was a suggestion that the social disruption caused by redevelopment had a negative impact on the community, in the sense that it was disruptive of community relations and cohesion. The study concluded that this does not appear to be the case in South Hylton Green where residents were more likely to respond that they knew quite a lot or almost all of their neighbours. The redevelopment, which includes a community meeting space and community-based activities, does appear to have enhanced community relations, rather than destroyed them.

60. Comparing South Hylton Green and Pennywell (an existing estate in the vicinity, large parts of which are to be redeveloped) the researchers found that there is clearly more community cohesion in the former than the latter. When the researchers asked about how many of their neighbours they knew well enough to have a chat with, the residents of South Hylton Green were much more likely to say quite a lot or almost all. The difference between the estates was highly significant and it is clear that if the responses in Pennywell are compared with those from across the whole study area, neighbourliness in this estate is extremely low. There is a significant difference between Pennywell and Sunderland as a whole, with the estate showing much less interaction between neighbours. Bonding social capital in Pennywell is even more dependent on family than we found across the city.

61. Residents� levels of satisfaction with homes, neighbourhoods and with Gentoo were very high. There is an overall satisfaction level of 90% amongst tenants and those who have bought under the right to buy and less than 4% were dissatisfied with their property. Gentoo tenants who had had their homes renovated had the same general satisfaction levels as owner occupiers However , although Gentoo had a satisfaction rating of 81%, the City Council had an overall rating of 85%! This may be due to the fact that the council is no longer responsible for housing repairs but there is also the issue that many residents did not distinguish between Sunderland Housing Group/ Gentoo and the City Council.

62. Overall, there was a generally high level of satisfaction with the neighbourhoods where residents lived. Despite the reputation of some of these areas, 94% of residents were happy with where they lived. Interviewees were offered a number of words that could be used to describe an area and were invited to say which of them applied to their neighbourhood. The most commonly used words were friendly, pleasant and quiet. Taken together with current levels of involvement in the community and the lack of enthusiasm for getting more involved in the management of their neighbourhoods, the researchers were inclined to conclude that the residents are generally satisfied with what Gentoo are doing, there are social problems that are seen to be largely outside the responsibility of a landlord, and they just want Gentoo to get on with delivering their service.

63. Most of the survey findings were reflected in the focus groups with vulnerable residents but in these meetings the participants had more opportunity to pursue particular interests: The over-65s were very positive about their homes and mainly positive about their environments. They were concerned about young people hanging around with nothing to do and this was connected to fears about security, particularly at night. People with disabilities were also very positive about their experience of Gentoo, referring to the refurbishment as �brilliant� and praising the way some housing officers looked after them. They also pointed out that they needed support in negotiating their way through the Gentoo and Council bureaucracies. For young people, the key issue was the impact of choice-based lettings, which they said was preventing them from getting decent accommodation Young families also had issues about gaining access to accommodation, in this case mainly to the right size of property in neighbourhoods where they did not feel threatened by difficult neighbours. Young people in the BME community complained about lack of facilities, and security was a major concern. These concerns were compounded by racism, and they felt that they were defenders of their community and their elders.

64. The study report has now been completed and the full report will be published soon A range of dissemination papers and events are planned for the coming year Please feel free to contact me on (0191) 525 5958 or at peter.harrison@gentooliving.com if you would like any further information.

65. Northern Housing Consortium Action Learning Group 30 April 2008