Audit Commission report on Homes for Islington

p 56 London Borough of Islington - Homes for Islington (ALMO)
351 The use of consultants to bring in additional capacity has been appropriate, they
have been used to carry out value for money assessments of SLAs and some
external challenge which were considered high priorities and HFI lacked the
immediate capacity to resource the work internally.
352 HFI with the council have increased resources through the PFI schemes to deal
with disrepair and deliver a higher standard than DHS and HFI will receive
increased income in 2005/06 of around £4.5 million from the end of loan
payments from an investment made in the 1970s by the council.
353 The relationship with the council works effectively, there are clear and regular
formal and informal contact between HFI and the council, with six monthly
meetings of the chair of the board and HFI’s CE with the council’s CE, deputy CE
and Executive Member. There are also monthly monitoring meetings between the
Council as client and HFI officers. HFI is invited to corporate initiatives such as
‘One Islington’ and they invite the council to their conferences. Relations are
seen as positive and not intrusive and the performance management
arrangements are working effectively with key targets in the service development
plan (SDP) being met. HFI sees itself as a major partner delivering the council’s
corporate objectives which are also its own objectives. There are board members
on the LSP and the boards of regeneration schemes as well as less formal
networks, these are positive links that ensure a two way traffic of information.
354 The council has not placed onerous conditions on HFI to maintain council support
services as HFI can give notice at any time and use an alternative supplier. This
gives HFI the flexibility to get the best VFM and they are in the process of doing
this.
355 Seven of the 17 board directors are residents, thereby ensuring that residents
have more say in strategic decisions affecting the way their homes are managed.
356 As well as board directors, the managed property and contracted services
sub-boards are made up of associate directors drawn from the nine elected
consultative forums all of whom are residents. Sub-boards such as this are an
effective means of involving residents in decisions and managing performance to
allow the board to have a more strategic overview.
357 Through away days and training the shadow board slowly established a
consensus about their role as a board. They understand what they need to
achieve and the business planning and strategic direction to achieve this. There
is clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the both the main Board and two
sub-committees. There is a good skills mix with clear criteria used to recruit
independent board members. As a consequence the independent members have
skills and knowledge that include human resources, accountancy, equalities,
procurement, the construction industry and sustainable development. The board
are clear about changes essential for business needs however and are setting up
an equalities committee to address this key area of provision. A selection
sub-group has been set up, that has a majority of tenants, this group is
developing future selection arrangements and succession planning. The board
are also setting up a protocol with the council to ensure their nominees build on
the skills of the board.
358 The board have not yet firmed up some posts within the structure of HFI and
want the flexibility to assess how current arrangements are working for example
the director of resources is also the company secretary and the board want to
see whether this is the most effective way of servicing this role.