These questions and answers provide an explanation of how the inspection results will affect Sutton Housing Partnership’s customers.

Q: Will I still receive day-to-day repairs to my home?
A: The result of the inspection will not affect the delivery of day to day repairs to our customer’s homes. In fact some of the changes we are introducing will mean you can start to see improvements in the repair service we provide.

Q:  Does this mean there will be no money for Decent Homes?
A:  No not at all, we have around £6 million pounds to carry out Decent Homes work for this financial year.  Although this is a significant amount, it is not enough to meet the immediate improvement needs for council homes.  We have also been given an extra resource of £2 million, by the London Borough of Sutton, for investment in major works next year.  We plan to spend this money on window, kitchen and bathroom renewals.

Q: How long will tenants have to wait for Decent Homes?
A:  We are still awaiting news from central government on how much money we can expect to receive to carry out the Decent Homes work programme. We have been promised this figure by the end of March. We would of course need to obtain a two star rating in our next inspection before we are able to access this additional money.

Q: Will any major works that have been planned now be stopped?
A:  No, any major works that are planned for this financial year 2008/9 will go ahead.

Q: Will my rent increase?
A:  No, not as a direct result of the Audit Commissions housing inspection.

Q: Will any of the services from Sutton Housing Partnership be reduced?
A:  No, however we are constantly looking at the services we provide to ensure that we are delivering value for money.

Q: Will there be job cuts?
A:  There are no plans to cut any jobs, however pressures on the Housing Revenue Account require us to constantly keep salary costs under review.

Q: What impact will the results have on Sutton tenants and leaseholders? 
A:  We are currently unable to access the money for additional works to our resident’s homes.

Q:  What are we doing in the meantime for our customers and how are we communicating to our tenants and leaseholders?
A:  We have a clear timetable in place for making the improvements recommended by the Audit Commission and are one hundred per cent committed to providing residents with the best possible services.
We will continue to talk to customers at every opportunity, through residents meetings, via our May edition of our Homefront magazine and with information on our website.

Q: When will SHP be re-inspected? 
A:  We shall soon be looking at when we can book another inspection with the Audit Commission.   We do not anticipate a re-inspection by the Audit Commission this year.

Q: Will SHP become a Housing Association?
A:  There are no plans for SHP to become a Housing Association.

Q: Will SHP go back to the London Borough of Sutton?
A:  There are no plans for the management of council homes to transfer back to the London Borough of Sutton.