Hyde Life October 2012.indd - Hyde Housing Association

Hyde 

Life 

The Hyde Group Resident Magazine 

Issue No. 8 October 2012 

Leading Ladies 

Award-winning Caroline 

keeps it in the family

Welcome 

So much has been going on since your last issue of 

HydeLife landed on your doormats, that it’s been hard 

to fit it all in for you! 

Firstly, there’s the great news about Caroline Benford who 

received the TPAS* Resident of the Year award. Caroline is 

part of a three-generation commitment to involvement in 

her community. You can find out more about this remarkable 

family in the Cover Story Keeping it in the family. 

Other residents have been recognised for their achievements 

too and you can read about this in Congratulations. 

You can find out more about some of the ways that you can 

get involved in your local community in the Inside and 

Out piece. 

As always, there’s been plenty going on in all three regions 

and there’s a flavour of some of it in Out and About. 

There’s also important news about Bedroom Tax or 

Under Occupancy in Changing rooms. This is one of the 

changes being made by the Government that will affect 

many people’s Housing Benefits. 

Hyde is currently asking suppliers to express interest in 

being considered for our repairs and maintenance contracts 

which will start next year. Residents are working closely 

alongside us to help make sure that the right suppliers 

receive the contracts for the work. Two members of the 

residents’ panel helping with this large project tell us 

more about it in Procurement Panel playing their part. 

You can find out more about our Customer Services 

team in At your service. 

There’s also a summary of the key messages from 

Hyde’s year in Residents’ Annual Report at a glance. 

As always, there are a couple of puzzles to try your 

hand at as well as a competition. This time there’s a 

chance to win £100 of Tesco vouchers – very handy 

for stocking up on food or to start planning for Christmas, 

so make sure you try your luck by sending in an entry. 

*Tenant Participation Advisory Service 

The Resident Engagement Team 

Contact the team by: 

Phone 0203 207 2767 

Email hydelife@hyde-housing.co.uk 

or 

Post by writing to: The Editor, 

HydeLife, 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ 

The Hyde Group, 30 Park Street, 

London SE1 9EQ 

Telephone: 020 3207 2600 

Fax: 020 3207 2780 

residentengagement@hyde-housing.co.uk 

Contents 

HydeLife 

3 Residents’ Round up 

Carol’s catch up. Homely or hazardous? 

4 Cover story 

Keeping it in the family. 

6 Get involved 

Inside and out. 

8 All in a day’s work 

At your service. 

9 Reports 

Residents’ Annual Report 

at a glance. 

13 Coming soon 

Changing rooms. 

14 Spotlight on 

Procurement Panel playing their part. 

16 Out and about 

What’s been happening. 

18 Congratulations 

and Competition 

Residents who have received 

awards or qualifications. 

Your chance to win £100 of 

Tesco vouchers. 

19 For information 

Performance. Useful Contacts 

20 ...and finally 

Word Search and a Sudoku. 

6 

9 

14 

4 

8 

13 

www.hyde-housing.co.uk 

18 

facebook.com/hydegroup 

twitter.com/hydehousing 

Please recycle this magazine after you’ve finished reading it. 

16 

2 If you have any queries, call our Customer Services Centre on freephone 0800 389 3576 or email customerservices@hyde-housing.co.uk 

For text relay from a text phone add 18001 before the number you want to call or to use Text phone dial 0208 297 7501 

19

Residents Round up 

Carol’s catch up 

Big changes are happening to welfare benefits as a asking us about, is something 

result of Government spending cuts. Some have already known as ‘under occupancy’ or 

started – such as increased deductions from Housing ‘bedroom tax’. Those who are 

Benefit for adult sons and daughters living at home – under retirement age who have a 

but most of the changes will come along from next year. spare bedroom (under new rules 

Our expert benefits and money advice teams are already where children up to a certain age are expected to share) and 

talking to some of our residents about what the changes who claim Housing Benefit will see their benefit reduced on 

might mean for them and helping them to plan and 

average by £14 per week per ‘spare’ room. You can find out 

prepare for these. Amongst other information available, more about this on page 13. 

they can explain to you about how Credit Unions can help 

you manage your bills without leading to large interest 

repayments building up. 

Carol Carter 

One part of the benefit changes that residents have been Group Director of Housing 

If you claim benefits and aren’t sure about how all the changes might affect you, please contact us now on 

0800 389 3576 or email customerservices@hyde-housing,co.uk for free and confidential advice on what the Welfare 

Reforms might mean for you. 

Homely or Hazardous? 

Many of the properties that we own and 

manage have areas that are used by all 

residents who live in them: Areas such as 

entrances, hallways, landings, stairways, 

and gardens. These areas are known as 

communal areas and as your landlord we 

have a legal duty to make sure that they 

are kept safe and secure for the sake of 

residents, employees, contractors and 

other visitors alike. 

With the help of some of our involved 

residents’ committee known as Hydewide 

Residents’ Voice, we have recently updated 

our Communal Areas’ Policy. The resident 

input was really helpful. They raised the point 

that some items that residents put there are 

to improve the look and homeliness of a 

communal area. This led to a decision by Hyde 

that it would allow some personal items such 

as framed pictures and door mats in communal 

areas, rather than placing a total ban on all 

personal items in communal areas, as some 

housing associations do. 

However, we do have to balance a person’s 

rights or wishes to personalise communal areas 

with making sure that all residents, contractors, 

staff and visitors are kept safe at all times and 

that we’re meeting our responsibilities under 

various acts of the law. So for example, it’s 

vital that communal corridors and fire escapes 

remain free from items that would increase the 

chances of a fire starting, make a fire worse or 

make escape from the building more difficult 

in the event of a fire. 

Please make the time to read the full policy 

and find out more either by visiting our 

website or contacting Resident Engagement to 

ask for a copy. You can contact them either by 

calling 0203 207 2767 or by emailing them 

at residentengagement@hyde-housing. 

co.uk 

Captain Green is always on the 

lookout for ways in which Hyde looks 

after the environment. Here’s one of 

the ways in which it plays its part... 

HydeLife is available as 

both a paper copy and on 

the Hyde Internet. If you 

already view it online, or 

would like to start doing 

this and would prefer not 

to receive a paper copy, 

please let us know, either 

by calling 0203 207 

2767 or by emailing 

residentengagement@ 

hyde-housing.co.uk 

If you have any queries, call our Customer Services Centre on freephone 0800 389 3576 or email customerservices@hyde-housing.co.uk 3 

For text relay from a text phone add 18001 before the number you want to call or to use Text phone dial 0208 297 7501

Keeping it in the 

At a special lunch event 

organised by Hyde, 

Caroline Benford, from 

the Hyde Village estate in 

Islington was congratulated 

on winning the Tenant 

Participation Advisory 

Service Tenant of the Year 

award.. 

Caroline began 

volunteering at the local 

Goodinge Community 

Centre when she was just 16 

years old, influenced by her 

mother Doris Hester, whom 

she describes as ‘the best 

teacher.’ 

Caroline’s eldest of her four 

children, Chloe Hester, aged 

20, is continuing the tradition 

in helping the community 

by assisting her mum at the 

weekly pensioners’ bingo 

club and with special 

events. 

Caroline dedicated 

the prestigious 

award to her mother, 

who herself is a 

community stalwart, 

single handedly setting up 

a drama group for young 

people from the family’s 

back garden, then in the local 

school hall and eventually, 

pushing for a community 

centre which has now been 

running for around 30 years. 

Described as ‘one of a kind’ 

by Hyde, Caroline continues 

Doris’s good work by running 

a number of groups from the 

centre, and works to improve 

the lives of her neighbours. 

Over the years, she has set 

up and continues to run a 

parent and toddler group; 

organised clean up days at 

the area’s memorial garden 

with local children, Christmas 

lunches for elderly residents 

and street parties; runs a 

local youth drama group, a 

pensioners’ bingo night and 

has even set up a floristry 

course to help elderly 

residents learn a new skill. 

She recently helped raise 

£3,000 for the family of a 

Hyde resident, who died 

following a brain tumour, 

enabling them to go to 

Disneyland. 

As well as being on the 

PTA of her children’s school, 

and Treasurer of the Hyde 

Village Community and 

Social Association, Caroline is 

a member of Hyde’s Resident 

Assurance Committee in 

Islington and works with 

other residents to scrutinise 



Cover story 

family 

and influence Hyde services 

for the benefit of residents. 

Caroline, who has partial 

hearing, has worked with 

Hyde for the past 10 years 

and is considered the vital 

link between the landlord 

and the community. 

She said: “I don’t do any of 

this for me, or for recognition. 

I just do it because I think it’s 

so important to involve the 

community – whether it’s to 

get a pensioner to bingo one 

night a week to make them 

feel like they’re not alone, or 

one kid to the centre where 

they are safe and can take 

part in the activities and not 

be on the street corner, then 

that’s great. 

“We couldn’t do half the 

stuff we do at the centre 

without money and we have 

a good relationship with 

Hyde. If there is money for 

something we want to set up, 

then they help us find it – and 

it makes a massive difference 

to all our lives.” 

Caroline’s next project, 

starting in October, is a 

luncheon club for pensioners, 

run three days a week, with 

the help of her mum. 

And she will be working 

with the Ben Kinsella Trust’s 

exhibition on knife crime, 

both as a family friend to the 

Kinsella’s and to educate the 

young people who attend 

youth clubs at the centre. 

“Chloe was particularly 

affected by Ben’s death, 

and this is something I am 

passionate about. If this 

exhibition stops just one kid 

from carrying a knife then it’s 

worked. We want to take the 

young people from the club 

to show them the knock-on 

effects of knife crime and the 

consequences of such actions. 

These kids need guidance 

– they are our next doctors, 

police, nurses, politicians and 

we need to show them what 

they can become.” 



Getting involved 

Hyde provides a whole variety 

of locally designed community 

projects, and expert advice, 

which help our residents to 

get involved, improve their 

community or to help them 

change their own lives or the 

lives of those around them. We 

often work in partnership with 

other organisations, or provide 

funding to help communities 

develop services or activities 

that they can then either take 

part in or run on behalf of 

others in their community. 

Here are four different ways 

that residents have got 

involved with their local 

communities... 

Inside and 

The Value of 

Volunteering 

When Kirby Mukeza wanted to 

find out more about working with 

young people we arranged for her 

to spend some time volunteering 

at the Underground Youth Centre, 

which Hyde runs and which is near 

to where Kirby lives. The centre 

provides a place for the young 

people in the area to hang out 

together and to take part in a range of different activities – some are provided 

at the centre and others away from it. 

To begin with Kirby felt a bit shy and wasn’t too sure of the best approach to 

use with some of the young people using the Centre, particularly the 15 to 18 

year olds, but as her placement went on, she became more confident about 

what did and didn’t work. 

During her placement, Kirby learned how to plan and deliver sessions and 

how to think on her feet. She also had regular sessions with the member 

of Hyde staff who was her supervisor. These sessions were used to set her 

individual goals and to talk over any concerns or issues that she had. 

Kirby said: “The atmosphere was really friendly and the staff were nice. 

The young people were a good group to work with. Volunteering increased 

my confidence and helped me to find paid work. I used examples from my 

experience a lot during my interviews.” 

Committed committees 

One of the community centres that Hyde owns is the Phoenix 

Centre in Brighton. Decisions about how the centre is run are 

made by a Management Committee which meets four times 

a year. They help Hyde prioritise the work carried out from the 

centre and provide an important link to the local community. 

Through their involvement, the group has been able to secure 

a number of things for the centre: 

Extra equipment and free wireless internet access for 

the IT suite 

Storage lockers fitted for groups to use for their 

equipment between sessions 

New flooring 

Better street lighting provided outside the centre 

Because of the successes of the committee, the local 

community can enjoy a range of services in the centre 

including: 

Yoga and Zumba classes 

Drop in services for youths 

A drop-in Jobs and Training advice service 

Groups for parents 

A community garden group 

IT drop-in and courses 

Outings 

The Committee is chaired by a Hyde resident and currently 

has 12 members, two are Hyde staff, three are Hyde residents 

from the estate and seven are people from the services and 

organisations who use the Centre. 



out... 

If you go down to the 

woods today... 

Rescued from over 50 years of neglect, by the Temple Hill Trust, the Enchanted 

Woodland in Dartford in Kent is now home to birds, butterflies, wild plants, trees and 

fungus. In 2011 it won the Acorn Awards 2011 for its spectacular transformation of 

the overgrown and fly tipped three and a half acre area. 

Hyde Plus has supported the project in a number of ways, it has provided advice, 

has a team member who is a trustee and has enthused local residents to have a 

sense of pride in their woodland and to get involved on volunteer days . 

The cash prize given as part of the Acorn Award was used to re-landscape an 

area in the woodland to create some natural stepped seating. Hyde was able to use 

their network of contacts to secure the services of two staff and a mini-digger from 

a local landscaping firm free of charge for the day to help with this. The area will 

be used by the local community to come together to enjoy music, plays and story 

times in the great outdoors. 

Local children already attend the hugely popular forest school programme where 

they discover forests are an exciting place to explore, make dens and play. 

The flag’s flying 

Funded and supported by Hyde Plus, local 

organisation Blooming Stockwell joined forces 

with a group of volunteer gardeners who are Hyde 

residents to take on the communal garden at 

Stockwell Community Resource Centre in London. 

This year they have been awarded a Community Green Flag Award which is 

proof that partnership work does pay. 

In order to receive this nationally recognised award, the 

community group had to 

demonstrate a number of things: 

Community involvement in the 

work 

That there was a long term vision 

for the garden and an annual 

maintenance plan in place 

Gardening techniques were 

being used to attract animals, 

insects and birds and also to 

help different types of flowers 

and trees to grow in it 

As part of the decision as 

to whether or not an award 

would be given, a Green Flag, 

representative also visited their 

garden. 

So if any of these are for you: 

Having fun and making friends 

Helping to create spaces where 

you can live and socialise, grow 

and play 

Volunteering at local activities 

Learning new skills and sharing 

your skills with others 

Using technology and the 

internet to connect with friends, 

hobbies and services online 

Getting your community project 

ideas up and running 

Applying for community grants 

and bursaries 

Or, if you have an idea for your 

community, or want to find out 

more about what’s going on in it, 

call 

0800 030 4424 or email 

hydeplus@hyde-housing.co.uk 



All in a day’s work 

Involved resident Joyce Dawkins 

was one of Hyde’s first residents 

to meet staff working in Customer 

Services. Whilst on a visit to our 

Chichester office, which is home to 

one of the two offices where our 

Customer Services staff are based, 

Joyce met some of the team and 

she had three questions for them... 

Why does Hyde have its 

Customer Services based at 

two offices (Chichester and 

Lewisham)? 

Hyde made the decision for its 

Customer Services to be based at two 

separate offices, so that in the unlikely 

event that there’s a problem at one of 

the two offices, the other one can still 

continue to give residents the help that 

they need. (This was particularly useful 

at the time of the riots in London in 

August 2011). 

When I ring up to report a 

repair, why am I asked so 

many questions? 

? 

? 

The questions that residents are 

asked when they call to report a repair 

are so that Hyde has all the information 

that the contractor will need to fix the 

problem. The Customer Services Officer 

is, in most cases, then able to contact 

the contractor whilst the resident is on 

the ‘phone, so that an appointment can 

be made right away. 

How come the Customer 

Services Officers are able to 

answer most of my questions 

without having to pass me onto 

someone else? 

? 

Customer Services staff receive 

training so that they’re able to deal 

with residents’ calls, no matter what 

the situation. Their training means that 

many residents can receive the help 

that they need straightaway from the 

Customer Services Officer. However, 

where there is a need to involve 

another person who works for Hyde, 

the Customer Services Officer makes 

sure that the issue is passed on to the 

right member of staff straightaway. 

Involved 

resident 

Joyce 

Dawkins 

Sometimes, the help needed by a 

resident is from another agency or 

service. In these cases, the Customer 

Services Officer will provide the resident 

with the necessary information. 

The change in the way that Hyde 

provides its Customer Services was 

made in July 2011 and the present 

system has greatly improved the 

service. 

Some more residents recently took 

up an opportunity to visit Customer 

Services at Lewisham on 7 September 

and Chichester on 14 September and 

here’s what they had to say... 

“I found it very 

reassuring to hear 

that although the call 

centres are spread 

over two locations 

they operate as one 

team with a healthy 

competition between 

the two which has 

a positive effect on 

performance which 

means a better 

service for us as 

residents.” 

“ I thought the session was 

good – it was well worth 

coming along.” 

“Fantastic improvement, 

excellent teamwork with 

everyone working together” 

“The Hyde Customer Service Centre is 

excellent as you don’t have to keep pressing 

various buttons to get through to speak to 

someone, it’s really good compared to other 

systems and this should be recognised.” 

“As a Resident Inspector it is 

nice to see how everything 

has evolved and to see that 

the recording has improved. 

I look forward to having 

access to hard evidence to 

support favourable KPIs*” 

“I didn’t realise 

how much extra 

stuff you do as 

well as answering 

the calls.” 

*Key Performance Indicators 

If you would like to visit Customer Services, contact Resident Engagement either by calling 

emailing them at residentengagement@hyde-housing.co.uk 

0203 207 2767 or 



Reports 

Message from 

Steve White 

Chief Executive of 

The Hyde Group 

Since our last Report 

so much has changed, 

both in the way we’re 

structured as a business, 

and how we serve our 

residents. 

Naturally, to be able to 

make this transformation, 

we’ve had to go through 

some challenging times, but 

the results we’re beginning to 

see, especially in improving 

performance figures, justify 

the changes. Looking back 

over the year, we’ve seen 

many milestones along 

the way. We launched our 

Resident Engagement 

Strategy, Residents’ Matters, 

placing our residents firmly at 

the heart of what we do. We 

published ground breaking 

resident involvement 

research and focussed on 

resident led scrutiny and 

involvement through the 

creation of six RACs. 

We brought together 

customer services 

departments and we 

prepared the way for 

improvements to services at 

local offices. 

Hyde is committed to 

providing an excellent 

service and aims to make 

a lasting difference to our 

residents every day. 

We are grateful to our 

residents for their partnership 

with us. 

This the second year that a full Residents’ 

Annual Report has been produced. Our 

involved residents once again played an 

active part in helping to create it. 

Residents’ 

Annual Report 

at a glance 

Lee Robinson, Chair of 

Hydewide Residents’ Voice: 

I’m extremely proud 

Copies of the Report were given to 

members of our Resident Assurance 

Committees (RACs) and were 

available at The Hyde Group Annual 

Meeting which some residents 

were invited to attend. For those 

of you who may not have had a 

chance to see the Report as yet, here’s 

a summary of what was in it. Go to the 

Hyde website to view the full Report. 

Hyde’s Finances 

of the look and feel of 

this report, but more 

than that, I’m pleased 

with the informative 

content which is so 

useful to residents. 

This is exactly the 

kind of information we 

need to continue making 

an impact on the services we 

receive. 

Hyde’s finances are healthy because we manage our income and costs effectively. Our 

Financial statements and Annual Review for 2011/12 are available on the Hyde website. 

Where every pound comes from and how it is spent 

Where does the money come from? How did we spend the money we received? 

Rents 70p Interest charge on loans 27p 

Service charges 6p Housing maintenance 12p 

Leasehold and management 6p Central services 11p 

fee 

Outright sales and market 6p Housing management 10p 

rent 

Shared ownership sales 5p Estate services 7p 

Supporting people income 2p Housing depreciation and other charges 7p 

Hyde Plus income 1p Outright sale and market rental costs 4p 

Local authority grants 1p Shared ownership costs 4p 

Other 3p Office rents 4p 

Supporting People costs 

2p 

Contract management 

2p 

Stock renewal 

1p 

Hyde Plus costs 

1p 

Other costs 

8p 



Estella Magloire, 

Member of Residents’ 

Annual Report 

Editorial panel 

and Vice chair of 

Hydewide Residents’ 

Voice: 

It makes perfect sense that 

residents have played such 

a key role in the creation of a report which is 

intended for them. They have been actively 

involved and should be very proud of their 

vital contribution. 

Resident Engagement 

Hyde’s new RACs have been set up to scrutinise local services and 

performance. Representatives from the RACs and Hyde Southbank’s 

Residents’ Council also sit on Hyde’s principal resident led committee 

known as Hydewide Residents’ Voice (HRV) which scrutinises services 

and performance at a Group level. See in the graphic (below) how the 

HRV feeds into Hyde’s formal corporate governance structure. 

Resident involvement structure 2011-12 

Group Board 

Hydewide Residents’ 

Voice, (HRV) Hyde’s 

principal resident 

committee 

Hydewide Residents’ Eye 

(HRE) Formal committee 

that oversees inspections 

of Hyde 


SE London 

RAC 


Minster 

RAC 


Martlet 

RAC 


Northside 

RAC 

Customer Services and 

Complaints 

We’ve created a Customer Services’ centre with 

specialist skills as well as a new Complaints’ 

Resolution Team dedicated to monitoring 

complaints. 

Satisfaction with call handling 

2010/11 

86% 

2011/12 

87% 

Improved 

from previous year 

Target 

85% 

Calls answered within 30 seconds 

Calls answered within service standard 


Kent 

RAC 

Roundshaw 

RAC 


Hillside 

(RAC in 

development) 

Local residents panels, forums, 

Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations and other groups 

Resident Assurance Committee = RAC Chair or representative from each RAC sits on HRV 

Number of involved residents 

2011/12 

4856 

14% 

Target 

3400 

10% 

Number of Hyde 5000* members 


Southbank 

Residents’ 

Council 

2010/11 

85% 

2011/12 

93% 

Improved 


Target 

80% 

2010/11 

700 2011/12 

2330 Improved 


Target 

1500 

*Hyde 5000 

is a database 

of involved 

residents 



Reports 

Repairs, maintenance and 

property services 

This year in partnership with residents, we will be reviewing 

all our repairs and maintenance services and going out to 

tender for these services. 

Satisfaction with repairs service 

Letting Homes 

Most of the homes we own and manage are let through 

agreements with local authorities. We advertise our 

properties through local authority Choice-based Lettings 

schemes where eligible people – including our residents 

– can ‘bid’ for properties. We also subscribe to two 

national mutual exchange schemes which enable our 

residents to seek opportunities to swap their homes. 

2010/11 

84% 2011/12 

86% Improved 


Target 

87% 

Satisfaction with lettings 

service 

Repairs performance 

Emergency repairs within target 

Just below target 

2011/12 

90% 

2010/11 

98% 

2011/12 

98.1% 

Improved 


Target 

98.6% 


Emergency: Aim to complete repairs within 24 hours of reporting a 

high risk problem e.g. burst water pipes or loss of heating in winter. 

Urgent repairs within target 

2010/11 

97% 

2011/12 

96.2% 

Worse 

than previous year 

Target 

97.5% 


Urgent: Aim to complete repairs within 7 working days of reporting 

problems that can cause discomfort or inconvenience. 

Hyde New Homes 

Routine repairs within target 

2010/11 

98% 

2011/12 

97.1% 

Worse 

than previous year 

Target 

97% 

Routine: Aim to complete repairs within 20 working days of reporting. 

Repairs that are not a risk to people or property. 

Formerly INplace, Hyde New Homes is a major provider 

of affordable homes, offering a wide range of properties 

throughout London and the South East. We offer: leasehold 

retirement housing; purchase through the Shared 

Ownership scheme; renting through our discounted rented 

schemes; as well as purchase or renting as a keyworker. 

Last year Hyde New Homes answered 19,000 calls from its 

0845 number alone and there were 90,000 hits on the Hyde 

New Homes website. 94% of customers rated our service as 

good or excellent. 



Neighbourhoods and community 

(including Anti-Social Behaviour) 

Hyde dealt with 1931 cases of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) over the past year. The 

most common cases were about noisy neighbours. Higher risk cases, such as 

harassment, are prioritised in our procedures for a response within 24 hours. 8.7% of 

reported cases fell into this category. 

Hyde took legal action in a number of cases and this led to improvements in 

behaviour, but unfortunately 22 households were evicted for various ASB reasons, 

including causing serious and continuing nuisance to their neighbours. We 

launched a new case management system for ASB which will help improve our 

service to you. 

We regularly inspect our estates – wherever possible with residents – to ensure 

standards are met and we get valuable feedback on our services. Over the past year, 

our staff teams completed 2,820 estate inspections, with 87.8% of these achieving 

excellent or outstanding scores. 

Satisfaction with ASB handling 

2010/11 

56% 

Rent and service charges 

The rent and service charges we receive pay for the cost of looking after your home 

and your estate and enable us to provide the housing service and support from 

your local office. Our dedicated Income Team has specialist skills to answer your 

calls and queries, including those about rent and service charges. Over the past 

year we’ve collected £185 million in rent (from over 40,000 tenancies) to pay for 

homes and services. Our Benefit Advice Team provides debt advice to those who 

need it. In eight months the team secured £130,000 in benefits for 139 residents. It 

has enabled us to contribute an additional £300,000 in six months to the costs of 

maintaining your home and delivering services. 

Percentage of rent due but not paid 

2010/11 

4.4% 

2011/12 

61% Improved 


2011/12 

4.1% Improved 


Rent collected (%)* 

Rent collected 

2010/11 2011/12 

Improved 

101% * 102% * from previous year 

Target 

70% 

We have worked with the resident inspectors who reviewed this service last year to 

help us improve how we handle ASB and we have been seeing improvements. 

Target 

4.2% 

Target 

100% 

*Figures more than 100% mean arrears are being paid from previous year. 

Hyde Plus 

Hyde Plus, a specialist team 

within Hyde, works to help us 

make a lasting difference to 

residents and the communities 

they live in. In the year 2011- 

12 Hyde Plus worked with 

individual residents and 

achieved the following with 

them: 

1692 residents received 

financial advice and support 

As a whole, residents receiving 

advice were £1,927,985 better 

off 

683 residents benefitted 

from our employment advice 

service 

Over 5,000 residents have 

also benefitted from a range of 

Hyde Plus community projects. 

In the next year we will 

Target our money advice and 

employment services to work 

with residents most affected 

by changes in the welfare 

system. 

Work to improve services 

to vulnerable and older 

residents. 

Work with more residents 

to turn their ideas for 

community improvements 

into reality. This will include 

training, advice, in some 

cases grant funding from the 

Hyde Charitable Trust, and 

help link them to other useful 

organisations. 

Leasehold 

This year we created a 

specialist service that offers 

support and advice across the 

Group, specifically in relation to 

our homeowners. 

We have created a dedicated 

Service Charge Team to 

handle complicated Service 

Charge issues and oversee 

communication with residents 

about Service Charges. The 

team is now working closely 

with residents to improve 

these services. 



Coming soon... 

Changing 

Rooms 

In April 2013 the Government is bringing in new rules for residents living in affordable 

housing who get full Housing Benefit. The rule changes will apply to all residents unless 

they’re a pensioner or live in a shared ownership home. The new rules are to do with 

something called ‘under occupancy’ and are sometimes called the bedroom tax. 

What is under occupancy? 

Under occupancy is when you live in a 

home with more bedrooms in it than 

the rules say you need for the number 

of people in your household. 

Residents are allowed one bedroom 

for: 

Each adult couple 

Each person aged 16 years or over 

Every two children of the same sex 

under 16 years of age 

Every two children under 10 years 

of age, no matter what sex 

A carer (who does not normally 

live with you) if you or your partner 

need overnight care. 

What about foster carers and 

residents living in properties 

adapted for people with a 

disability? 

You may be able to claim a 

discretionary Housing Payment from 

your Local Authority, each case will be 

considered individually; contact us for 

more information. 

Rent (per week) £75.00 £100.00 £125.00 £150.00 

Weekly loss £10.50 £14.00 £17.50 £21.00 

 

 

 

 

How much will I lose in Housing 

Benefit? 

The amount you lose will depend on 

how many ‘extra’ bedrooms you have. 

Some examples of how benefits are 

affected are shown in the table below. 

The table shows what will happen if 

you are under occupying by one bed 

room (have one extra bedroom than 

you need). 

We’re here to help! 

We have experts who can: 

Offer free benefits advice and work out the 

amount of benefits you can get 

Give free confidential money and debt 

advice and can help you plan for the future 

Help you set up a payment plan and direct 

debit payments so you don’t get into 

arrears 

Help you to look at options if you need to 

move to a smaller home 

Please do get in touch with any questions 

that you have or for any help that you might 

need. 

You can either email us at welfare.reform@hyde-housing.co.uk or call 

Customer Services on 0800 389 3576. 

For text relay from a text phone add 18001 before the number or to use a 

Text phone dial 0208 297 7501 



Spotlight on 

Procurement Panel 

playing their part 

Hyde is currently looking at what we 

want from our contractors who do 

our repairs’ and servicing work and 

how we want them to carry out this 

work. The information will be used 

when we ‘procure’ (buy) the services of 

contractors from 2013 onwards. 

We know that our residents have 

an important part to play in this piece 

of work and that’s why we’ve set up a 

Resident Procurement Panel to work 

closely alongside our Procurement 

Steering Group. Residents on the Panel 

are a mix of tenants and leaseholders 

and they’ll be involved in all areas of 

the project as it progresses, including 

contractor interviews and selection. 

John O’Leary and Julian Haring are two 

members of this Panel. We put some 

questions to them to find out more. 

What attracted you to 

become a member of the 

Procurement Panel? 

John: “I’ve been an involved resident 

now for the last seven or eight years 

and feel that the current repairs’ service 

Discussing options 

doesn’t fully meet the needs or standards 

expected by residents. I strongly believe 

that Hyde’s decision to involve residents 

in the procurement process for these 

new contracts means that residents can 

help to shape the services that they want, 

rather than having this decision made for 

them.” 

Julian: “When Hyde set up this Panel to 

play a major part in this very important 

project, I realised just how seriously it 

takes resident engagement and thought 

that it was essential to get involved.” 

What has the Procurement 

Panel been doing so far? 

John: “So far, the Panel has played a key 

role in giving their opinion about the 

way new contracts should be structured 

Fellow Panel member 

Jackie Puddifoot 

Getting to grips with the 

language of procurement 

to deliver the best possible service for 

residents. We have pre-briefs before each 

session to make sure that we’re familiar 

with the language and processes involved 

in each step of the procurement process. 

Staff and residents are working closely 

together and there’s even a buddy system 

in place for staff to support residents, if 

needed.” 

Julian: “To help us take on our work as 

Panel members, Hyde is providing the 

Panel with lots of training along the 

way about the purpose of the project, 

the language of procurement and the 

processes involved in it and also the 

benefits for residents that the changes 

in how contracts will be procured from 

2013 will have. It’s been very beneficial to 

understand the steps a large organisation 

has to take to move forwards and improve 

services. The Panel has already taken 

part in a number of workshops to give 

the residents’ point of view. The training 

we’ve had so far has meant that we’ve

een able to give informed opinions, 

knowing what is and isn’t possible.” 

What skills do you bring to 

the role? 

John: “As well as my work for Hyde as a 

member of Hydewide Residents’ Eye (HRE) 

and as a resident inspector, I’m also very 

active in lots of different ways in my local 

community, including being a tutor at 

Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital. Through all 

of my different experiences, I hope I have 

a fair and practical approach and can look 

at the bigger picture and the needs of 

everyone receiving the services, to make 

sure that we get the best fit for all.” 

John (left), and Julian 

Julian: “I’m reasonably quick at getting 

to the heart of problems, dismissing 

irrelevancies and finding solutions by 

thinking ‘outside the box’ when needed. 

I’m also good at moving things forwards. 

Sometimes, particularly during the 

workshops, I’ve been a bit radical with 

my ideas. I’m certain that all my thoughts 

have been listened to by Hyde, even if it’s 

turned out that some of my ideas won’t 

work in practise.” 

What do you want from the 

new contracts? 

John: “The top four things that I want 

from the new contracts are: 

Good communication – For contractors 

to get back to residents when they say 

they will. Everyone understands that at 

times there can be delays or changes. This 

isn’t a problem, as long as residents are 

kept informed throughout the process. 

Responsive and efficient services – 

When residents are told that something 

will be done and when it will be done, 

this should happen and if it can’t, then 

residents should be informed why not, 

what will be happening instead and 

when. 

Strong contract management – For 

Hyde to monitor their contractors to make 

sure that they do what they say they will 

and if they don’t, to deal with this. 

And last but not least, Value for Money” 

Capturing key points from group discussion 

Julian: “The main thing I want is 

increased customer satisfaction; I think 

that’s the primary aim of this whole 

process. Residents know what their 

services should look like. Hyde’s decision 

to involve residents and encourage them 

to have the confidence to speak up, 

knowing that their views will be valued, is 

the key to success in this project.“ 

What would you say to 

people thinking about 

getting involved? 

John: “If there are things that you think 

could be better, do something about 

it – talk to Hyde and get involved. Hyde 

wants your input and does listen 

to residents. Yes it takes time and 

commitment to get involved, but you do 

see results. You work closely with staff 

and learn a lot about the business, as 

well as developing your own skills and 

knowledge.” 

Julian: “Absolutely do it, unequivocally! 

Two or three years ago it did feel as if 

there was an ‘us and them’ situation 

between tenants and landlords, but now 

this isn’t the case at all. As residents we 

do have a voice, an increasingly powerful 

voice, but this only works when lots of 

people get involved. It’s your Housing 

Association. Use your voice.” 

If you have any feedback or comments for the Procurement Panel members or want to find out more about how you can get 

involved with Hyde either in the procurement project or in other ways, contact Resident Engagement by calling 0203 207 2767 

or by emailing them at residentengagement@hyde-housing.co.uk 



London Region 

Packington youth pulled in the crowds when they performed 

a play about community life called ‘Unpacked’ in Packington 

Square. The script was based around information learned 

from older residents about their experiences of living on 

Packington Square. 

Meet and Greet events held 

in Islington, Stockwell and 

Harlesden provided a chance for 

staff to meet up with their local 

residents and chat. 

Energetic youngsters who took 

part in the Summer Sizzler 

holiday programme in Islington 

enjoyed a trip to Highbury 

Fields where there were a range 

of Olympic and Paralympic 

sports to try including 

wheelchair basketball, boxing, 

table tennis, athletics and 

gymnastics. 

South Region 

Making a splash, 

Lucie Goodman 

received her 

Achiever of 

the Year award 

at this year’s 

Southern 

Water ‘Learn to 

Swim’ awards 

from former 

gold Olympic 

medallist Duncan 

Goodhew. 

Reaching new 

heights, a 

Community 

Warden at 

Tangmere takes to 

the climbing wall 

to show youngsters 

how it’s done. 

Roundshaw resident David Weir’s 

winning ways at the Paralympics 

are pure gold. 

Football in the Community 

across Sussex this summer 

saw over 1000 young 

people take part in football 

sessions delivered by Albion 

in the Community coaches 

in partnership with Hyde 

Martlet. 



East Region 

Out and about 

Resident Jon Stratton took centre stage when 

Councillor Doe (left) performed the official 

opening ceremony at the new 13 property 

development at Gillingham in Kent which 

includes four wheelchair accessible properties. 

Ceremony and celebration. Residents 

at Simon de Senlis Court celebrated the 

Diamond Jubilee in style with the Mayor 

of Northampton and his wife popping 

in for a visit and joining the fun loving 

residents for lunch. 

Budding young gardeners in Ramsgate 

received an award for their greenfingered 

good deeds around their estate. 

Dean enjoying time in his very special sensory garden – 

created by his Mum. 



WINNER! 

‘Congratulations to Anne Warren from 

Billingshurst, West Sussex.who correctly answered 

the question in the May 2012 issue of the magazine. 

The answer was C. The Hyde programme for change 

is called One Hyde One Vision . 

WIN £100 WORTH OF 

TESCO VOUCHERS! 

One of our cover 

stars, Caroline 

Benford, won 

the coveted title 

of Tenant of the 

Year at the TPAS 

awards.. 

For your chance to 

win £100 of Tesco 

vouchers, just answer the following question: 

What does TPAS stand for? 

A Tenant Participation Advisory Service 

B Town Planning Advisory Service 

C Team Participation Awards Scheme 

How do I enter? 

Send the correct answer (A, B or C) along 

with your name, address and telephone 

number by: 

email hydelife@hyde-housing.co.uk or 

Post to HydeLife. The Hyde Group, 

30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ. 

CLOSING DATE: Friday 14 December 

2012. 

The winner will be announced in the next 

edition of HydeLife. Good luck! 

Please note: This competition is only for Hyde 

residents and employees of The Hyde Group 

and their families may not enter. 

Sudoku solution 

1 4 9 

6 5 8 

3 7 2 

9 6 1 

2 8 7 

5 3 4 

4 1 3 

7 2 5 

8 9 6 

6 2 5 

3 4 7 

8 9 1 

4 7 8 

5 1 3 

2 6 9 

7 8 2 

9 3 6 

1 5 4 

7 8 3 

9 1 2 

6 5 4 

3 2 5 

4 9 6 

8 7 1 

5 6 9 

1 4 8 

2 3 7 

Congratulations & Competitions 

Our residents’ skills and contributions have once again led 

to a number of awards and qualifications. We wanted to 

add our congratulations and well done to the following... 

Anne Gray and Cheryl Gillett 

Anne and Cheryl were among 200 

Community Heroes 2012 award winners 

rewarded with tickets for the London 2012 

Olympics for being exceptional members of 

their community. 

Cheryl, received her “People’s Champion” 

award for conquering challenges and 

inspiring others. Well known in the community where she lives for working 

tirelessly on behalf of fellow residents and looking after their interests, 

Cheryl is the first Chair of the Hyde Northside Residents’ Assurance 

Committee (RAC) and is also Chair of the Packington Square Leaseholders’ 

Group. 

Anne, who earlier in the year received the Islington Mayor’s Civic Award, is 

also well known for her work over more than 16 years to help create a better 

environment for her neighbours and to help the disadvantaged. 

Claudette D’Silva 

Music has always been a very important part 

of Claudette’s life so she was delighted to 

learn that her talent for music had earned 

her recognition as Student of the Year, 

at this year’s UK Music Student Awards. 

Claudette received her award at the 

Echo Arena in Liverpool. The awards, now in their eighth year, celebrate 

and support new talent within music and give the stars of tomorrow an 

opportunity to be seen by highly respected music industry professionals. 

Adult Learners’ Week 

Well done to the following residents who 

took up the opportunity to attend courses 

organised and run by our Hyde Plus services 

during Adult Learners’ Week during May 

and who received accredited qualifications 

in interview skills: David Bailey; Julie 

Evans; Marilyn Francis; Faye Gilmour; Elaine Jackson; Stacey Jones; Monica 

McPherson; Angie Passingham; Gloria Walsh; Angela White. 

Wordsearch solution 

U N D E R O C C U P A N C Y 

T E E R G D N A T E E M M Y 

U W A E W A Z K B O V R E S 

G H U Q E H H J E A O K T L 

I O Y V I F S E Y F L J N I 

Y S U D V P I M E C U X E Y 

I L O P E K V R S O N L M D 

S S X N R P E G W M T M E F 

T X V S L R L G M M E Z R Z 

Z R W J A Q P U T U E P U C 

R Z O F U X N Z S N R E C K 

V E L X N U T Z A I I E O O 

M E F U N D I N G T N Y R R 

W A T Y A M E F Z Y G L P P 

Hyde Youth Bank Panel 

The Panel, whose work was featured in the May 

issue of HydeLife, received a Youth on Board 

award from the British Youth Council. High 

praise and recognition indeed, as the decision 

about who receives Youth on Board awards is 

made by a group of young people. 

Claire Harding 

(2nd from left) and 

Amy-Louise Tilley 

(centre) receiving 

the award on 

behalf of the Hyde 

Youth Bank Panel 

at the recent 

Liberal Democratic 

Party Conference. 

Anne (left) and Cheryl 

Claudette (centre) 



April 2012 to June 2012 

This performance information for The Hyde Group covers the three months from 

April 2012 to June 2012. It tells you how well we did delivering your services over 

these three months. Our target figures are given as bold numbers and the faces tell you 

whether we have met the targets: 

Service promise and 

performance indicator 

Phone calls answered within 30 

seconds 



Respond to complaints within 10 

working days 

% satisfied with complaints 

handling 

Access and customer care 

Our target 

85% 

Our target 

90% 

75% 

How we did 

92% 

The Facts 

Continued hard work has resulted in good performance against 

our new and more challenging target of 85%. (Previously, the 

target was 80%) 

Complaints 

Repairs and maintenance 

How we did 

70% 

33% 

The Facts 

Action plans have been put in place to tackle the fact that 

we’re still not achieving the results we’re aiming for and August 

performance is showing early signs of improvement. RACs 

across the Group check all aspects of Hyde’s performance and 

as part of this they’re monitoring the action plans that we’ve put 

in place. 



Emergency repairs completed 

within 24 hours 

Urgent repairs completed within 

7 days 

Routine repairs completed 

within 20 working days 

Overall satisfaction with 

the repairs service 

Our target 

100% 

97.5% 

97.5% 

89% 

How we did 

99.1% 

97.5% 

97.6% 

87.2% 

The Facts 

A promising start to the financial year (which starts in April) 

has seen targets met for both urgent and routine repairs. The 

much tougher target of 100% for emergency repairs wasn’t 

far off being achieved either. Overall satisfaction with the 

repairs’ service whilst below our new higher target of 89%, has 

improved from 85% in March to 87.2% . 

Where can I find out more? 

For more information on our performance please visit 

our website at www.hyde-housing.co.uk 

For information 

Performance on or above target 

Performance close to but below target 

Performance significantly below target 

Useful information to keep to hand 

October 2012 

For: 

General Enquiries 

Reporting a Repair 

Making a Complaint 

Call Hyde Customer Service Centre on 

Freephone 0800 389 3576 or 

email customerservices@hyde-housing.co.uk 

Gas Emergencies: 

If you smell gas call the National Gas Emergency Number 

on 

Freephone 0800 111 999 (24 hours). 

Phone from a nearby property and do not use a landline 

or mobile phone in the affected property. 

Turn off the supply at the mains. Don’t smoke or use a 

naked flame or turn any electrical switch or appliance off or 

on (this includes mobile phones or pressing doorbells) as 

this could ignite the gas. Open all doors and windows 

IMMEDIATELY to ventilate the property. 

Emergency out of hours repairs (evenings and 

weekends) contact Hyde on the following numbers 

depending on where you live: 

Hyde Hillside Freephone 0800 783 7587 

Hyde Martlet Freephone 0800 085 4195 

Hyde Minster 0778 7536 312 

Hyde Northside Freephone 0800 389 6646 

Hyde South East Freephone 0800 389 3576 

Hyde Southbank Freephone 0800 195 2527 

Roundshaw Homes 0207 346 6555 

(Hyde Property residents) 

0208 773 5050 

(Roundshaw residents – 

Metropolitan/Hyde properties) 

Getting involved with Hyde and your community or to 

find out about free training courses: 

Contact the resident engagement team on: 

0203 207 2767 

or 

email residentengagement@hyde-housing.co.uk 

Free debt advice or help getting a job or finding work 

experience: 

Contact Hyde Plus on: 

0800 030 4424 

or 

email hydeplus@hyde-housing.co.uk 



...and finally 

Wordsearch 

W A T Y A M E F Z Y G L P P 

M E F U N D I N G T N Y R R 

V E L X N U T Z A I I E O O 

R Z O F U X N Z S N R E C K 

Z R W J A Q P U T U E P U C 

T X V S L R L G M M E Z R Z 

S S X N R P E G W M T M E F 

I L O P E K V R S O N L M D 

Y S U D V P I M E C U X E Y 

I O Y V I F S E Y F L J N I 

G H U Q E H H J E A O K T L 

U W A E W A Z K B O V R E S 

T E E R G D N A T E E M M Y 

U N D E R O C C U P A N C Y 

If you would like this document in 

another language or format, such as 

large print, Braille, CD or audio tape, 

please contact us. 

ARABIC: 

BENGALI: 

FRENCH: Si vous souhaitez obtenir ce document dans une 

autre langue ou sous un autre format ou si vous avez besoin 

des services d’un interprète, veuillez nous contacter. 

ITALIAN: Se desidera ricevere questo documento in un’altra 

lingua o in un formato diverso, oppure se ha bisogno di un 

interprete, La preghiamo di contattarci. 

KURDISH: 

ANNUAL REVIEW 

COMMUNITY 

FUNDING 

HYDE PLUS 

MEET AND GREET 

PROCUREMENT 

UNDER OCCUPANCY 

VOLUNTEERING 

WELFARE REFORM 

LITHUANIAN: Jei pageidaujate šio dokumento kita kalba ar 

 

 

MANDARIN: 

Sudoku 

POLISH: 

 

 

1 

7 

1 4 

3 6 

8 9 

5 

PORTUGUESE: Se gostaria de ter este documento em 

outro idioma ou formato, ou se necessita de um intérprete, 

contacte-nos. 

6 9 

3 

PUNJABI: 

8 7 

6 9 

1 

3 2 4 

6 5 

9 2 3 4 7 

2 

5 4 

2 8 

7 

5 8 

1 

SOMALI: Haddii aad dokomantigan ku rabtid luqad ama hab 

 

soo xiriir. 

SPANISH: 

este documento en otro idioma o formato, o si necesita los 

servicios de un intérprete. 

TURKISH: 

 

VIETNAMESE: 

 

 

If you have ideas for future issues of HydeLife magazine, please 

get in touch. Email: hydelife@hyde-housing.co.uk 

: 

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Hyde Life October 2012.indd - Hyde Housing Association

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