Value for money
Laying the foundations
This year has focused on making sure we’re set up for the future. We’ve been through an IT transformation, which saw a new IT Manager join us. The IT team has changed the way they work, collaborating with other teams more and taking on more work internally to have better control and oversight.
Through better collaboration, staff have seen a better response time to dealing with issues, meaning they can support residents quicker, as well as being supported with the skills to prevent and troubleshoot issues themselves, should they arise.
We’ve upgraded servers and databases which has seen an increase in speed and reliability, meaning staff can successfully deliver a better service. All of this is in preparation for upgrading our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, Cx next year.
By reviewing processes, we’ve been able to see where the skills gaps are, allowing us to plan targeted training ahead of the system upgrade. This will help staff better utilise Cx.
Overall, with better efficiency, capacity, trained staff and an upgraded system, we'll be better placed to serve our residents.
The majority of helpdesk tickets have been resolved within one day, with only more complex cases taking longer.
Since last year, we’ve increased the usage of Cx and CRM cases by 14%.
Financial Year 2023/24
Total CRM Cases
Financial Year 2024/25
Total CRM Cases
Service charges
This year, we've taken steps to strengthen the value for money delivered through our service charges. We undertook a comprehensive review of internal processes to ensure costs for each of our schemes are more accurate and transparent.
Our housing teams played a key role in reviewing and signing off contract budgets. This ensured our service charge estimates are robust and reflective of actual service delivery.
Additionally, we identified the need to reconfigure our housing management system (Cx) to ensure it produces reliable, home-level service charge information. This work is a key project for 2025/26 and forms part of our commitment to improving data integrity and transparency for residents.
Stock review
To make sure that we use our money in the best way possible, we’ve reviewed our supported housing function. It’s essential that our services continue to support both us and the wider community.
We’ve worked with a number of different support providers to help us deliver this service and we’re continuing to build on these relationships. These have included The Nehemiah Project, St Mungos, Barnardos, Look Ahead, Hestia, and Adelaide Care.
We’ve also been speaking with local councils to see how we can use our properties to support the care function in the boroughs. We’ve submitted several applications for support providers to use our spaces and are actively working to get these to be approved so they can begin providing care to the local community.
Invoicing and cost control
Delivering value for money remains a core priority in how we manage resources and serve our communities. Over the past year, we’ve taken steps to strengthen financial oversight, improve cost management, and foster greater accountability across the organisation.
We’ve successfully embedded our internally configured invoice management system into day-to-day operations. This has enabled budget holders to monitor spending more effectively and make informed decisions that align with our financial goals.
We plan to introduce a new purchase order system next year. This will be a key tool for improving cost control, provide better accuracy when forecasting and is essential for proactive financial planning.
This year, budget holders have actively contributed to supporting our year end position by telling the story of the reality of operations. This bottom-up, collaborative approach has enhanced ownership and accountability, helping us to better anticipate and manage costs.
These efforts reflect our ongoing commitment to using our resources wisely, ensuring transparency, and delivering the best possible outcomes for our residents and stakeholders. We look forward to building on this progress in the coming year.
