Corporate Responsibility Statement 2019 / 2020

We acknowledge our responsibility to the environment and to our local communities. Below are a few examples of how we have shown our commitment to practice responsible corporate behaviour and to establish and support initiatives both in our offices and communities.

ILS Improvement Programme

During 2019 / 2020 we continued to deliver our Independent Living Scheme Improvement Programme, investing
£1.8m
to refurbish and redevelop a number of ILSs across the district, including Farfield Court, South Elmsall and Musgrave Court, Lupset.

Open ILS Farfield Court case study Open ILS Musgrave Court case study

Community Employment Advisors

Community Employment Advisors supported
204
customers into work, helped 210 to find training opportunities and held work clubs which were accessed by 1,623 attendees.

Investment in new homes

During 2019 / 2020 we invested
£28.7m
delivering 402 new homes.

Open new homes case study

Carbon footprint

We reduced our carbon footprint by
5%
during 2019 / 2020, achieving a 20% reduction against the 2014 / 2015 baseline, and exceeding our target to achieve a 10% reduction by 2020 a year in advance.

Community Leadership Programme

Our Community Leadership Programme took
60
young people from three local high schools to a week-long residential programme in the Lake District.

Income management

Open Debt Team case study

Our Debt Team continued to take a proactive approach to income management and supporting our tenants:

  • Providing 37,425 outreach visits to tenants.
  • Supporting 1,895 households to create a household budget.
  • Supporting tenants with applications to unlock £928,700 in grants.
  • Preventing evictions for 1,215 tenants at risk of eviction.

Community Safety Team

During 2019/2020 we resolved
6,374
complaints of nuisance and anti-social behaviour (ASB) for our tenants.

Our dedicated Community Safety Team specialises in managing ASB and funds additional support including five seconded police constables and five police community support officers (PCSOs).

Foundation Grant Scheme

Foundation Grant Scheme provided a total of
£96,971
of funding to support 91 tenants to boost their education or skills and improve their employment opportunities.

Care Link

Care Link dealt with
340,497
calls into our call centre and prevented ambulance calls for 2,177 falls attended in customers' homes ultimately saving costs to the NHS.

The Adaptations Team

The Adaptations Team:

  • completed 777 assessments for adaptations;
  • provided 1,697 adaptations, ranging from minor adaptations such as hand rails, to more major adaptations such as stairlifts;
  • completed 312 assessments for people who requested rehousing on medical grounds; and
  • undertook 203 accompanied viewings to ensure that accommodation met an individual's needs.

Cash Wise

Cash Wise provided
3,171
one-to-one visits to tenants and 23,034 contacts through phone calls, online or correspondence. The team also unlocked
£2.72m
in additional benefit, support grants, reduced utility costs and access to food banks.

Apprenticeship opportunities

Provided
11
new apprenticeship opportunities in
office based and construction roles.

Open apprentices case study

Training for Employment Programme

Delivered our Training for Employment Programme providing practical employment training and support to
37
individuals in Environmental Assistant roles.

Community Grant Scheme

Community Grant Scheme provided a total of
19,291
in funding to support 29 community groups throughout the Wakefield district.