Your Rent 2022 - 2023

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£26.9M was the amount of rent collected for both current and former tenants.

We collected £105k of the former tenant arrears debt and £34,499 from rechargeable repairs.

2179 people accessed our Money Advice Service which is an increase of 151 families using this service.

The Money Advice Team helped tenants secure a total of £354k by providing support and advice in relation to benefit applications and helpingtenants with benefit issues relating to paying their rent.

The team also helped tenants to secure personal income totalling £524k through support which included benefits, budgeting, and debt resolution.

We held 12 weeks of Financial Awareness sessions in our Independent Living schemes to raise awareness and increase benefits take up. We had many successful outcomes from this support.

Example: one of our tenants had a benefits take up assessment. Our Money Advisor discovered that Council Tax Support had not been claimed. They liaised with the Councils Housing Benefit team and a backdated award of £1,037.86 for council tax support was made. This helped the tenant reduce their debts and alleviate their money worries.

We have created strong partnerships with West Lancashire Debt Advice and the Job Centres in Skelmersdale and Ormskirk so customers can get a resolution at first point of contact and to offer a wrap-around support service in one location.

627 families were helped to move onto Universal Credit, and we supported 640 residents of the Borough providing vital support on many issues including poverty, mental health, and debt.

We successfully referred a tenant suffering with Dyslexia for Universal credit, and she complimented the money advice officer who had listened to her and explained everything at her pace and in detail.

We had a very successful year delivering on actions in the Financial Inclusion Strategy:

  • including provision of drop-in sessions across the Borough to support those seeking money advice
  • completing pre tenancy affordability assessments
  • carrying out regular awareness campaigns on affordable credit and Credit Unions. Further examples can be found in the Financial Inclusion Strategy

465 tenants were prevented from facing court proceedings following help from our Money Advice Service. We supported our tenants during the pandemic, and changed the way we work, this meant only 1 tenant was evicted due to rent arrears.

We work closely with the Councils Housing Benefit team to support residents to access funds from the Governments Household Support Fund. We assisted 197 tenants to complete Household Support Fund applications, which resulted in over £42k in payments and support. The Government's Household Support Fund can support West Lancashire residents to access funds to help towards the rising costs of energy bills, food and other essentials such as white goods. To find out more about the scheme and to apply visit www.westlancs.gov.uk/householdsupportfund

Money Advice worked with a tenant to support them getting housing benefit, resulting in a backdated award of £775.26 to the rent account and their income was maximised.

We received some positive feedback from one of our residents. 'Hi Rachael, I hope you are well & happy. I just wanted to send huge Thanks for your huge efforts when dealing with our applications. We received an award from Council Tax last week which has been deducted from our bill. You are a valuable member of staff and hope that you are appreciated the way you should be. Thanks again Rachael, you're a Star. Miss H'


HOW WE SPENT YOUR RENT

  • 31p on investment in major repairs and new homes
  • 28p on our people and service running costs.
  • 26p on day-to-day repairs and planned maintenance
  • 14p on loan interest payments
  • 1p Bad debts

£26.9M was the amount of rent collected for both current and former tenants.

We collected £105k of the former tenant arrears debt and £34,499 from rechargeable repairs.

2179 people accessed our Money Advice Service which is an increase of 151 families using this service.

The Money Advice Team helped tenants secure a total of £354k by providing support and advice in relation to benefit applications and helpingtenants with benefit issues relating to paying their rent.

The team also helped tenants to secure personal income totalling £524k through support which included benefits, budgeting, and debt resolution.

We held 12 weeks of Financial Awareness sessions in our Independent Living schemes to raise awareness and increase benefits take up. We had many successful outcomes from this support.

Example: one of our tenants had a benefits take up assessment. Our Money Advisor discovered that Council Tax Support had not been claimed. They liaised with the Councils Housing Benefit team and a backdated award of £1,037.86 for council tax support was made. This helped the tenant reduce their debts and alleviate their money worries.

We have created strong partnerships with West Lancashire Debt Advice and the Job Centres in Skelmersdale and Ormskirk so customers can get a resolution at first point of contact and to offer a wrap-around support service in one location.

627 families were helped to move onto Universal Credit, and we supported 640 residents of the Borough providing vital support on many issues including poverty, mental health, and debt.

We successfully referred a tenant suffering with Dyslexia for Universal credit, and she complimented the money advice officer who had listened to her and explained everything at her pace and in detail.

We had a very successful year delivering on actions in the Financial Inclusion Strategy:

  • including provision of drop-in sessions across the Borough to support those seeking money advice
  • completing pre tenancy affordability assessments
  • carrying out regular awareness campaigns on affordable credit and Credit Unions. Further examples can be found in the Financial Inclusion Strategy

465 tenants were prevented from facing court proceedings following help from our Money Advice Service. We supported our tenants during the pandemic, and changed the way we work, this meant only 1 tenant was evicted due to rent arrears.

We work closely with the Councils Housing Benefit team to support residents to access funds from the Governments Household Support Fund. We assisted 197 tenants to complete Household Support Fund applications, which resulted in over £42k in payments and support. The Government's Household Support Fund can support West Lancashire residents to access funds to help towards the rising costs of energy bills, food and other essentials such as white goods. To find out more about the scheme and to apply visit www.westlancs.gov.uk/householdsupportfund

Money Advice worked with a tenant to support them getting housing benefit, resulting in a backdated award of £775.26 to the rent account and their income was maximised.

We received some positive feedback from one of our residents. 'Hi Rachael, I hope you are well & happy. I just wanted to send huge Thanks for your huge efforts when dealing with our applications. We received an award from Council Tax last week which has been deducted from our bill. You are a valuable member of staff and hope that you are appreciated the way you should be. Thanks again Rachael, you're a Star. Miss H'


HOW WE SPENT YOUR RENT

  • 31p on investment in major repairs and new homes
  • 28p on our people and service running costs.
  • 26p on day-to-day repairs and planned maintenance
  • 14p on loan interest payments
  • 1p Bad debts
Page last updated: 28 Sep 2023, 02:33 PM