HouseMark Anti-social Behaviour Club…….

 

Evidence shows that ASB and nuisance are one of the biggest priority areas for tenants. High profile cases that have recently been in the public eye demonstrate the consequences that can occur if landlords and their partners fail to respond effectively to ASB incidents. 2014 will see the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Bill become law. This will have major repercussions for the delivery of ASB services, with the focus on supporting victims, new tools and powers and the desire for more effective partnership arrangements.

HouseMark’s ASB club, in conjunction with ReACT and the most extensive ASB data sets, will support landlords in this critical year making sure that responses to the Act are effective, strengthening and ensuring service continuity. In line with other HouseMark performance focussed clubs the ASB club will be about:

Hearing how experts from within the sector are responding to changes in the operating environment
Drawing on ASB benchmark data learn from the ‘best in class’ – how to achieve high levels of satisfaction and performance, whilst keeping service costs low
Knowledge transfer between peer organisations, sharing of good practice and networking opportunities
Engaging with to speakers ranging from the Police, probation, the courts,, SLCNG and DCLG to understand and respond to the evolving policy agenda
Sharing relevant reports, briefings and “how to” guides
Access to the ASB club page, share best practice on-line, providing club meeting details, presentations and  documents from HouseMark’s knowledge base
Two club meetings per year north and south bringing members together (starting April 2014)
Discount on the annual HouseMark ASB conference

Topic coverage – the club will also look in depth at some key issues affecting members including:

Preparing for the ASB Act – what you should be doing, what others are doing. Specifically learning how to maximise the use of the new tools and powers
Developing effective local partnerships
Delivering a ‘victim centred’ approach
Analysing and evaluating open data sources and ASB benchmark data in order to learning from others to improve service delivery
Using ASB benchmarking and other data to challenge your service – what is the value and at what cost?
How do private sector organisations deliver ASB services and what are the lessons for landlords
How to maximise technology such as GIS to identify ‘hotspots’ and case management software to improve approaches to cases
Learning from those who ensure effective management of cases where the victim and perpetrators are vulnerable
Diversionary schemes – what are others doing, evaluating there worth and measuring their success
How to achieve satisfaction with both how you handled the case and the case outcome
How to undertake effective interviewing victims, witness and perpetrators
Gather evidence, considering  best practice examples

Who should join? The club is aimed at those responsible for managing ASB services.

Cost?  Club membership for 12 months is £495 + VAT

For more details contact Gez Kinsella by email to gez.kinsella@housemark.co.uk or by mobile to: 07962 698499

ReACT will be sponsoring the ASB Clubs and EBS is anxious to hear from any one with a story to tell!

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant

Training Webinars for ReACT Users……..

Electronic Business Systems holds regular training Webinars for users on a variety of ReACT related topics.

The following are the Webinars, to be hosted by Lizzie Sharland, ReACT Project Manager, over the next few months:-

 

13th March @ 10.30 – ReACT 4 System Administrator

To register for this Webinar please click here

4th April @ 10.30 – HouseMark ASB Benchmarking

To register for this Webinar please click here

25th April @10.30 – ReACT Outlook Plugin

To register for this Webinar please click  here

After registration a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar will be sent.

Readers may wish to forward this information to a colleague for whom it may be more relevant.

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant

 

ReACT Lifetime Support Policy…………..

In common with most software solutions Electronic Business Systems (EBS) has a Lifetime
Support Policy for its products and a number of ReACT customers have requested guidance on what “end of life” provision they should be making.

The EBS policy provides consistent transparency and the ability to forecast support for the ReACT software product portfolio. This policy applies to all EBS developed software solutions and comprises 6 years of support consisting of 5 years mainstream and 1 years extended support.

Mainstream Support

When a new release of ReACT is approved it is available on the EBS product portfolio. At this point mainstream support commences consisting of the following and subject to a paid support contract being in place:

Case support logging  where an issue raised with EBS is progressed through the incident support workflow as documented in the standard  EBS support level agreement (SLA)
Security Updates
Bug fix updates
The ability to raise Requests for Enhancement (Request to change).
Contact with EBS by telephone, email and web. (For issue investigation this also includes access to a remote connection tool).

Extended Support

Once a ReACT version reaches its 5th year mainstream support comes to an end and extended support is activated. Extended support comprises:

Security Updates
Pay as you go (PAYG) support is available for bug fixes only.

Please note that EBS is unable to accept requests for warranty support when a product is in a period of extended support.

What does this mean for ReACT users?

As ReACT approaches its final twelve months of mainstream support, and subject to a support contract being in place, the account manager will contact the customer to explain the options available relating to upgrading and/or migrating and the limitations that will be in place for EBS to provide the level of support users are accustomed to.

Effectively the end of mainstream support for the product should prompt users to take action.

EBS releases a road-plan for each product annually. This road-plan, available from the account manager, clearly highlights each product and version of each product and its mainstream and extended support period after which no new security updates, non-security bug fixes, free or paid assisted support is available.

With end of life support in mind, it is important to keep ReACT software up to date, not just for technical reasons, but also because ReACT is updated regularly to provide the latest functionality and recognised best working practice.

For more information about existing ReACT versions in use or to enquire about software upgrades please email Paul Johns at  paulj@e-b-s.co.uk or telephone 0121 384 2513.

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant

ReACT events in 2014

The ReACT Team sends everyone best wishes for the New Year.

Please note the events in 2014 that will feature ReACT and its suite of products are:

24th to 26th June – CIH Annual Conference, Manchester. (As in previous years ReACT will share a stand with SLCNG).
9th July – SLCNG Wales ASB Conference, Llandrindod Wells
17th July – HouseMark ASB Benchmarking Conference, University of Warwick.
1st October – ReACT User Group Meeting, Birmingham (provisional date).
11th & 12th November – SLCNG Annual Conference & Exhibition, Solihull (includes the Annual Awards ceremony).

For more information on these events please contact the ReACT Support Team on 0121 384 2513 option 4 or email react@e-b-s.co.uk

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant

Sharing information – are we making progress?

Regular readers of the ReACT Newsletter will know that we have, for some time, been complaining about the very considerable problem of the reluctance of many stakeholders to share vital information – and we are not alone in this. As most ASB practioners know this reluctance or even outright refusal to talk to one another has led to severe  and often justifiable criticism by inquiries set up to investigate a breakdown in service delivery which has so often resulted in tragedy.

Well, there may well be a glimmer of hope in that following a good deal of pressure from the likes of SLCNG, the Police (through the National Policing Intelligence Portfolio led by Durham Chief Constable Mike Barton) and many others, the Law Commission has set up a project to investigate the claim by public bodies that they cannot always share the data they need to share and, as a result, miss out on opportunities to provide better services to citizens.  At the same time, it is accepted that there is a need to ensure that the security of data and privacy of individuals are not put at risk.

The aim of this project, which is out for consultation between April and 16th December 2013 (did you know about it?) is to establish what the obstacles are to sharing data between public bodies, and whether those obstacles are desirable.

The Commission acknowledges that the law surrounding data sharing is complex. Powers to share data are express or implied in numerous statutes and in the common law.  The Data Protection Act 1998 sets the limits on data sharing and the rules for handling personal data.  The law of confidentiality protects confidential or private information.  Contract, employment and European Union law plays a part, as does the European Convention on Human Rights.  There are also professional regulations, such as those that prohibit doctors from breaching the confidentiality of their patients. Public bodies collect large amounts of data from individuals and organisations.  But they continue to report significant obstacles to sharing that data in ways that are effective and useful. The project, which is due to report in Spring 2014 aims to establish whether these perceived obstacles are embedded in practice or culture, or whether they are to do with the substance of the law or how it is written.

Is someone taking notice at last but maybe we should not expect to much?

For more information go to http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/areas/data-sharing.htm

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant

Note: The Law Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice.

The ASB Bill – the saga continues…………

The House of Lords Committee continued is scrutiny of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill at 3.15 pm on Monday 25th November. Progress was rather slow with Mondays debate  covering from clause 44 – remedial action by local authorities through to clause 69 – closure orders. The Committee adjourned at 10.12.pm.

One noticeable amendment agreed was that introduced by government requiring a local authority to publicise its intention to make a Public Spaces Protection Order so as to allow persons affected to make representations. In the normal way, a local authority would be bound to consider any such representations before making an order. This process is also replicated where the local authority plans to extend, vary or discharge an existing order [Clauses 56 and 57]. The proceedings followed the pattern of earlier sessions with the great majority of amendments being either withdrawn or not moved in line with the convention of the House of Lords to not vote on amendments at Committee Stage. Accordingly many of the issues involved (including the IPNA “test”) will resurface at the Report Stage. The full transcript of the proceedings is available on the UK Parliament website at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldhansrd/text/131125-0001.htm

The next Committee session is today, 2nd December when Part 5 – Recovery of Possession of Dwelling-Houses, will be considered and is of obvious interest to social landlords. Amendments tabled to Part 5 so far reflect the concerns expressed by some Committee members that some of the proposals lack precision and may lead to unintended consequences (e.g. to civil liberties) with the amendments seeking to “raise the bar”. A full list of the amendments tabled to date is available at
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2013-2014/0052/amend/ml052-IV.htm

The ReACT blog will continue to report on the progress of the Bill.

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant

(With my usual Thanks to Eamon Lynch – MD of Social Landlords Crime & Nuisance Group).

SLCNG Annual Awards 2013 – the winners………….

Some 300 delegates and guests attended the SLCNG Annual Awards ceremony and conference  dinner at St Johns Hotel, Solihull on the evening of Tuesday 11th November. A highlight of the conference, the annual awards, are regarded as probably the highest accolade for ASB practioners in the UK.

As in previous years a substantial number of nominations for the four categories were received presenting the judges with a difficult task but, as usual, they did their job well and the results are as follows:-

Best Project Award – Sponsored by HouseMark

CHANGE YOUR CHOICES – CITY WEST HOUSING TRUST

Team of the Year Award – Sponsored by EBS/ReACT

POPLAR HARCA ASB TEAM

Residents Award – Sponsored by Glasgow Housing Association

COLIN SHAKH – NOTTINGHAM COMMUNITY HOUSING ASSOCIATION

Tim Winter Award

JAMIE LOCK – POPLAR HARCA

EBS and the ReACT Team sends sincere congratulations to the winners, runners up and those highly commended and thanks everyone who submitted nominations. We look forward to next years awards when the Team of the Year Award will, once again, be sponsored by ReACT.

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant

 

Further update on the ASB Bill……………..

The timetable…..

The Bill was has now transferred to the House of Lords.
The Second reading – the general debate on all aspects of the Bill – took place on 29th October.
The Committee stage – the line by line examination of the Bill – is scheduled to commence on 12th November.
The Bill will then have its  Report stage and Third Reading in the Lords.
Current thinking is that Royal Assent is likely to be given early in 2014, possibly by Easter. Parliamentary rules require that a minimum of 3 months must elapse before the provisions within a new Act may commence. This suggest that the new measures become operational in practice by or during the summer of 2014.

The Second Reading

As was the case in the House of Commons, the Second Reading had more to do with Members contributing higher level policy views and statements as distinct from examining the detail of the Bill, that being a key purpose of the Committee stage which follows next.
One positive announcement was on the matter of irresponsible dog ownership. Lord Taylor confirmed “that the Government will bring forward an amendment in Committee to increase the maximum penalty to 14 years in a case involving the death of a person, to five years where a person is injured and to three years in any case involving the death or injury of an assistance dog.”

The topics of concern that featured most prominently in the debate centred around

• The definition of antisocial behaviour
• The evidential test for the IPNA (Injunction to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance).
• The impact of the new injunction on young people, including ‘naming and shaming’
• The strengthened powers to evict.

A full transcript of the debate at Second Reading is available by clicking here

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant – with acknowledgements to Eamon Lynch MD of SLCNG

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders down again………………

The latest statistics on Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) for England and Wales have been released and cover the period 1st April 1999 to 31st December 2012. These are the headlines:

For the full period of some 13 years 23,078 ASBOs were issued.
In 2012 1,329 orders were issued, a decrease of 6% 0n the 1,414 issued in 2011
The highest number of ASBOs issued in any calendar year was 4,122 in 2005. Since 2005, there have been year-on-year falls in the number issued.
In total since 1 June 2003, 86% of ASBOs have been issued to males (19,693 were issued to males and 3,281 to females).
A greater proportion of ASBOs have been issued following conviction for a criminal offence rather than following an application. In total, 60% of ASBOs (13,896) have been issued following conviction for a criminal offence.
The remaining 40% of ASBOs issued (9,182) were the result of an application made to magistrates’ or county courts. The overwhelming majority (93%) of applications were made by the police or local government authority.
Of the 23,078 ASBOs issued up to the end of 2012, 61% were made for a duration of between two and three years, 12% were made for five years or more and 6% until further order.
In 2012, there were 886 ASBOs breached for the first time, compared with 2,204 breached for the first time in 2005 – the year the highest number of ASBOs were breached. This is in part a reflection of the decreasing number of ASBOs issued, resulting in fewer available to be breached in 2012 than in 2005.
There have been a total of 64,521 separate breaches of ASBOs. If an ASBO is breached, on average it is breached five times.
By the end of 2012, juveniles (aged 10-17 years) accounted for 44% of all ASBOs breached, despite accounting for just 37% of ASBOs issued.
Just over two-thirds of juveniles had breached their ASBOs at least once by the end of 2012, compared to 52% of adults.

 A copy of the full statistical release together with detailed spreadsheets are available on the GOV.UK website by clicking here

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant – with acknowledgments to Eamon Lynch MD of SLCNG

Congratulations to Pat……………..

Electronic Business Systems and the ReACT Team sends warm congratulations to Pat Brandum, Chief Executive of WM Housing Group who scooped the prestigious Best Housing Professional at the recent Women in Housing Awards.

From left, senior consultant from sponsor Campbell Tickell Radojka Miljevic, Pat Brandum chief executive of WM Housing Group and winner of the Best Housing Professional, special guest and business woman Karren Brady, and Maggie Rafalowicz, senior associate consultant at Campbell Tickell.

Mike Blomer MBE
ReACT Consultant