Grŵp Cynefin Annual Report 2016-17

To find out what Grŵp Cynefin does as a registered housing association and as a group of social businesses, please visit: www.grwpcynefin.org

Grŵp Cynefin is proud to report another busy and successful year

Our achievements during 2016-17 have included:

• Increasing our housing stock across North and Mid Wales by 67 units, to 4,552

• Achieving the Investors in People standard, demonstrating our com mitment to high performance through good people management

• Being selected as the development partner for two new Extra Care Housing schemes in Denbighshire

• Forming the Local Homes Scheme, an innovative partnership with Gwynedd Council, to deliver affordable homes in rural areas within the county

We’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to our successes over the last year.

John Arthur Jones, Chair and Walis George, Chief Executive

Our mission: to provide excellent homes and services, and develop sustainable communities where people want to live

More than housing We work in many ways to improve the lives

of our tenants and their communities.

Our Strategic Aims:

1. Quality homes

2. Excellent services

3. Improve lives

4. Sustain communities

5. Manage effectively

Quality homes

We shall provide high-quality affordable homes that meet local needs

In 2016/17 we added 67 units to our housing stock, which now totals 4,552, including 436 supported housing homes for a variety of client groups, and more than 700 shared equity and intermediate rental properties.

Repairing and improving homes

91% of repair work completed by target date

99% of tenants satisfied with the repair work

Housing Stock @ 31/03/17By: Type

Housing Stock @ 31/03/17 By: Local Authority

331

648

3201

General needs (3201)

Supported Housing (331)

Extra Care (105)

Shared Ownership (24)

Intermediate market Social Housing

Welsh Housing Partnership (95)

Intermediate Rent (71)

Homebuy (684)

Shared Equity (77)

1528

241

787

158

574

130

317

196

246

102

118

817

67

Gwyn

edd

Den

bigh

shire

Isle

of A

ngle

sey

Conw

y

Wre

xham

Flin

tshi

re

Pow

ys

2000

1500

1000

500

0

77

7195

24

105

Quality Homes...

Extra Care Housing DevelopmentsGrŵp Cynefin was proud to be selected by Denbighshire County Council as its partner to develop two new extra care housing schemes in Denbighshire.

The £11m Lon Ganol development in Denbigh will comprise 71 two- and one-bedroom apartments for people with extra care and supported living needs.

Communal facilities include catering facilities within a café, to assist those less able to prepare meals, and also to offer residents the chance to eat together.

Proposals for a second phase of development on the site of our current scheme in Ruthin, Llys Awelon, have also been approved, and work continues on the Hafod y Gest scheme in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, with completion of the £8.5m project expected in Spring 2018.

Extra care housing projects allow people to continue living independently in their own homes, with the reassurance that help and support is available 24 hours a day, should they need it.

Excellent services

We shall provide excellent customer service consistently across the group

We believe that tenants should have a central role in developing our services, and we’ve been working to provide opportunities for tenants to contribute towards shaping our future provision.

For example, this year’s Tenant Roadshow visited 28 estates across our operational area. Tenants were asked to complete a short survey on their health and wellbeing.

We’re now using the results to plan future events and activities, making sure they are tailored to tenants’ needs.

Also this year, we continued investment into a new housing management system. Due to go live by the end of 2017, it will integrate two systems into one and provide better services to customers and partners.

Improving lives

We shall provide help and opportunities for people

Grŵp Cynefin provides more than housing. And 2016-17 saw significant growth in our role as a provider of housing-based support that enables people with a variety of needs to live independently and safely.

The formal merger of Gorwel (our internal business unit) and South Gwynedd Domestic Abuse Service was completed on 31st March 2017. Gorwel now provides support to victims of domestic abuse across Gwynedd and Anglesey, in addition to supporting people at risk of homelessness in Gwynedd, Anglesey and Denbighshire.

Gorwel was also successful in winning the contract for an innovative new service for older people on Anglesey. It delivers community based support for people aged 55 years and over, irrelevant of their housing tenure, across the island.

The support includes assistance with independent living skills; managing finances and maximising income; and help with adaptations to improve home safety and accessibility.

Target 2015/16 2016/17

Rent loss – arrears 2% 2.10% 2.03%

Rent loss – empty properties 1% 1.10% 0.68%

Days taken to let 25 32.5 28

Number of ASB cases during the year n/a 432 511

Excellent services...

Letting and managing property

G rwelcefnogaeth a mwy • support and more

Sustain communities

We shall engage with local communities and be a catalyst for positive change

We’re proud to collaborate with others to meet the specific needs of communities across North Wales.

In 2016, we helped to secure a £1.4m Big Lottery Fund grant to create a community asset and help regenerate a rural area.

The funding will transform a Grade 2 listed former railway shed at Meliden, Denbighshire, into a heritage centre and café.

The shed also includes two workshops and business box workshop units, plus a community shop for small artisans to sell their goods.

Grŵp Cynefin prepared the Lottery application, and will manage this significant regeneration project, in partnership with Denbighshire County Council and community volunteers.

We aim to complete the asset transfer and renovate the building by the end of 2018.

Two other schemes that we set up and run for the benefit of the community, HWB Dinbych and Canolfan Fenter Congl Meinciau, have significantly increased occupancy rates and income streams this year. This improves the long-term sustainability of the schemes.

Innovative partnership boosts supply of rural housingGrŵp Cynefin has launched an innovative housing partnership with Gwynedd Council, the Local Homes Scheme, to deliver affordable homes for young people in rural Gwynedd.

A nine-property development at Mynytho, Gwynedd, was the first scheme developed by the partnership.

Whilst the new properties in the village have an open market value of £205,000 to £230,000, average local salaries remain low at around £22,000, meaning that young local families are often priced out of the market.

Thanks to the funding provided by the scheme, Grŵp Cynefin are able to sell the properties through shared equity, with purchasers owning a minimum of 50% and maximum 80% share of the property. When owners move on, they will sell their share back to Grŵp Cynefin or to a nominated person, ensuring that the properties remain affordable in the future.

Under the partnership, future developments will be planned according to local housing need, with new homes in Penygroes, Waunfawr, Bethesda and Llanuwchllyn being considered for the scheme. The tenures offered will driven by the needs of the local area.

Manage effectively...

Employees celebrate achieving performance award Grŵp Cynefin has been awarded the Investors In People (IIP) management standard.

IIP enables organisations to benchmark against the best in the business on an international scale.

It recognises commitment to high performance through good people management.

Securing this status means Grŵp Cynefin can deliver the best and most efficient services possible, to all our families and communities.

And it was only achieved thanks to the high standards of work and commitment of our 200-strong Grŵp Cynefin employees.

We are now working towards achieving the IIP Gold standard by 2020.

Manage effectively

We shall demonstrate the best leadership, governance and management practices as a group

By continually working to ensure best practice and outstanding governance across all our operations, we provide the most effective organisation and services for our tenants and communities.

We continue to invest in the development and improvement of our governance arrangements.

The primary focus in 2016-17 was to introduce a new Board member appraisal system, carrying out a Board self-assessment exercise, and developing a Board succession plan.

Full-timeequivalent

191

Numberof staff

222

Staffing

Corporate governanceThe board of Grŵp Cynefin directs the actions of the Association in accordance with its objectives and rules. It has prime responsibility for the effective governance of the group.

Details of its functions, sub-committees and of the Group structure are available on our website.

John Arthur Jones

A retired bank official from Llanrwst.

John is Chairman of the Association.

Di Bushell

Di was manager of the Citizens Advice Bureau on

Anglesey prior to retirement. She has

extensive experience in the third sector. She lives

in Caernarfon.(Resigned in March 2017)

Carys Edwards

The former head of adult services with Isle of

Anglesey Council, Carys lives in Y Parc, near Bala.

Julia Hughes

A former director of adult and community learning at Coleg Llandrillo, Julia

lives in Llangwyfan near Denbigh.

Appointed Chair of Audit & Resources Committee,

Sept 2016.

Bob Jones

A Grŵp Cynefin tenant from Trefnant, Bob is a specialist trainer in the

care sector and catering & hospitality sector.

Chair of the Customers and Communities

Committee.

John Pollard

John is a senior conservation manager for CADW and lives in

Llanllyfni near Caernarfon.

Chris Schoen

Chris works in an administrative position at Ysbyty Gwynedd. He is a tenant of the Association

and lives in Penygroes.

Appointed Vice Chair of Customers & Communities

Committee, Mar 2017.

Melfyn Parry

Melfyn is a self-employed financial advisor and lives

in Llangaffo on the Isle of Anglesey.

Appointed Vice Chair of Audit & Resources

Committee, Sept 2016

Dafydd Lewis

A former corporate director for housing and social care in Gwynedd

Council, he lives in Dolgellau.

Vice Chair of the Association.

Paul Quirk

Paul was head of housing at Denbighshire County

Council before he retired. He lives in Denbigh.

Our finances sustain our businessThe work we do is possible because we keep our finances on a firm footing.

Thanks to a firm financial foundation from inception, and strong results in each of our first three years of trading, Grŵp Cynefin passed a financial viability assessment conducted by the Welsh Government.

This was awarded on the basis that our 30-year financial plan complied with the government’s current policies, especially the Social Housing Rents Policy.

Our financial forecasts for 2016-21 show adequate resources to meet business and financial commitments.

We have sufficient cash and secured loans to meet funding needs until June 2018, and expect to need to agree additional facilities worth £17m to fund cash flows until March 2020.

More details can be found in our financial review and full financial statement.

Financial performanceGrŵp Cynefin and its subsidiaries created a surplus of £2.883m in the year ending 31 March 2017. Reserves at 31 March 2017 stood at £24.45m.

2017 £'000

(200,000)

(150,000)

(100,000)

(50,000)

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

£'00

0

291,859

Properties and OtherFixed Assets

12,207

Current Assets

(164,508)

Capital Grants

(4,118)

Pension Scheme

(109,990)

Other Liabilities

25,450

Reserves

2016 £'000 284,986 12,829 (164,152) (4.453) (106,643) 22,567

Financial performance...

Income

Financial performance...

Expenditure

Income £'000 2017 % 2016 %

Rents 16,823 69% 15,852 69%

Capital grant amortisation 2,194 9% 2,232 10%

Other projects 1,913 8% 1,811 8%

Canllaw (Eryri) Cyf 941 4% 946 4%

Service Charges 977 4% 942 4%

Conwy and Denbighshire Care & Repair 751 3% 714 3%

Property sales 155 1% 269 1%

Other 160 1% 298 1%

Revenue grants 56 0% 82 0%

Gwasanaethau Trais yn y Cartref 327 1% - - De Gwynedd Aquisition

Total 24,297 100% 23,146 100%

2017 2016

Expenditure £'000 2017 % 2016 %

Improvements and maintenance of housing stock 5,801 27% 5,766 27% Salaries 4,485 21% 4,422 20% Housing stock depreciation 3,047 14% 3,039 14% Mortgage Interest 3,009 14% 2,972 14% Other 2,053 10% 1,505 7% Remeasurement in pension scheme 0 0% 1,272 6% Other projects 1,296 6% 1,161 5% Canllaw (Eryri) Cyf 965 4% 1,012 5% Conwy and Denbighshire Care & Repair 758 4% 576 2%

Total 21,414 100% 21,725 100%

Surplus 2,883 1,421

2017 2016

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