Austen Reid, Chief Operating Officer of Circle Housing Group and Neil McCall, Group Operations Director of Affinity Sutton will be attending.

Austen Reid, Chief Operating Officer of Circle Housing Group and Neil McCall, Group Operations Director of Affinity Sutton, appeared before the Panel to answer questions on the forthcoming merger of the two organisations.  The merger was introduced as necessary because of the end of the public subsidy and the on-going need for substantial additional housing in London and England.  The consent of the Homes and Community Association (HAS) to the merger is anticipated this month and the legal merger is expected in November 2016.

The merger will allow 50,000 new homes to be built over the next decade; efficiencies will be achieved through the two organisations coming together which will allow investment in affordable housing.  Additionally, the commercial sale of housing will be used to cross subsidise the development of affordable housing.

In response to member questions, Mr Reid and Mr McCall clarified:

·         The business case for the merger was agreed by both boards in December 2015.  Residents were consulted in January 2016 with the boards of both organisations considering the outcomes of this exercise;

·         This is a merger: the two companies will come together with no money changing hands.  Circle will actually be merged into Affinity but this will be a completely new organisation with a new name and brand which isn’t yet approved and therefore cannot be announced;

·         Based on Affinity’s prior experience of managing housing stock in Bromley and Sutton, it has been established that it is best to provide a local and in-house maintenance and repairs service (excluding gas servicing).  This will be a key outcome of the merger.  Mr Reid noted he had been specifically appointed to address delivery issues and that he sees the merger as they key means of achieving a solution.  He noted Affinity’s strong track record on repairs;

·         The consultation on the nature of the merger didn’t receive much interest from residents; their interest is in repairs, security of tenure and what organisation is their landlord;

·         Noted they have responded to Stephen Hammond MP and are happy to meet with him and the High Path Residents Association;

·         Gave reassurance that the new organisation will have customer service at its core.  It will undertake 1,000 repairs a day and have an open and transparent culture with a commitment to service;

·         Feel it is important to have an in-house repairs service and to move away from a schedule of rates which typically adds time and costs to the repair process –confidence is provided where those undertaking repairs are doing so as your employees;

·         All emergency repairs will be completed within 24 hours.  All others will achieved through making an appointment with the resident and subsequent planning;

·         Whilst the promises made to Merton as part of the stock transfer process are coming to an end, the new organisation does want to retain its relationship with the council.  How this relationship will be structured is not fully understood as discussions are on-going about putting in place a regional board for the South London boroughs.  This will feature local representation;

·         Acknowledged the need to improve the response to enquires made by Councillors and avoid the need for discussion of individual cases at Panels such as Sustainable Communities.  This will be specifically examined as part of the merger process; and

·         Discussions are on-going with the council about what involvement the new organisation can have in the borough’s regeneration plans.  The High Path regeneration is seen as just the start of what is possible.  Noted that councils are beginning to work with housing associations on regeneration projects as their capacity develops and they gain experience in managing the risk involved.

Members asked to be kept informed of the new organisation’s developing strategy so that this can be scrutinised.  The scrutiny officer will ensure that once the new organisation is established, members will be informed of how to make contact and raise issues on behalf of residents in their wards.