Northgate-is - News Item 817

Wolverhampton partnership set to transform housing services across the city

Wolverhampton partnership set to transform housing services across the city
Wolverhampton City Council and Wolverhampton Homes today announce a new partnership to transform its housing services and strengthen community well-being for the city’s quarter of a million citizens.

Wolverhampton Homes and other managing agents which manage the council’s housing stock are working with Northgate Information Solutions, a leading provider of innovative services to the public sector and utilities markets, to provide residents with wider opportunities to access high quality housing services and information.

Under an agreement between the City Council and Northgate worth over £1 million over five years, and following implementation which will be project managed by NCC Group, Wolverhampton’s communities will benefit from:

• greater resident empowerment through enhanced communications with housing employees and improved feedback into services;
• access to multi-lingual self-service systems and assistance in their operation, enabling employees to better reach out to Wolverhampton’s diverse communities, at the point of need;
• improved staff access to comprehensive and up-to-date housing information to help citizens with every aspect of their housing needs;
• a quicker and more proactive management of property allocation for all citizens, including those hardest to reach;
• enhanced management and monitoring of homeless applicants and their requirements, helping to tackle and solve homelessness in the area;
• a proactive housing repairs service that plans repairs and reacts quickly and effectively and puts the needs of residents at its heart.

Northgate will also provide Wolverhampton Homes and the other managing agents with specialist advice on performance transformation, enabling the organisations to realise efficiencies, focus on achieving the Decent Homes Standard, and meet future challenges with confidence.

Richard Carr, Chief Executive of Wolverhampton City Council said: “We are proud of our new partnership with Northgate as the Council strives to deliver first class housing services that focus on the needs of all Wolverhampton citizens. Our partnership will deliver enhanced housing services, enabling us to target and support hard-to reach groups effectively and deliver long-term sustainable value for money services to all residents.”

Lesley Roberts, Chief Executive of Wolverhampton Homes said:
"Wolverhampton Homes is on the way to becoming one of the best housing providers in the country but has been held back by legacy IT systems. The Northgate partnership will enable us to achieve three star status by increasing the capacity of the organisation and making significant value for money savings. We will be able to put more resources into maintaining the housing stock, and less into back room administration and bureaucracy. And tenants and leaseholders will have quicker and easier access to housing services. "

Joe Bradley, Managing Director of Local Government & Social Housing for Northgate Public Services, said today: “Northgate is passionate about delivering first-class housing services that focus on the needs of all residents, including those in the most vulnerable communities. We wholeheartedly support Wolverhampton Homes’ objective of providing affordable and sustainable housing that places residents at the heart of trusted public services.”
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For more information:
Fellows’ Associates:
Kathy Sutton 020 7849 3403; 07966 890401; ksutton@fellowsassociates.com
Kuntal Biswas 020 7849 3347; 07930 566291; news@fellowsassociates.com

Note to editors:

1. Wolverhampton Homes manages Wolverhampton City Council’s 22,300 homes and delivers almost £400 million of refurbishment and improvement works to bring its housing stock up to the government’s decent homes standard by 2012. Wolverhampton Homes was established in October 2005, operating as an ALMO (Arms Length Management Organisation) to manage the council housing stock of the city on behalf of the council.

2. Bushbury Hill Estate Management Board, Dovecotes Tenant Management Co-operative, Heath Town Estate Management Board, New Park Village Tenant Management Co-operative & Springfield Horseshoe Tenant Management Co-operative are the other managing agents responsible for the Council’s homes.

3. Northgate Information Solutions is a leading provider of innovative services to the public sector and utilities markets. Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology, and to share in the economic and social benefits that this brings. Northgate supports public service transformation through sustainable performance partnerships. Its specialist housing technology services are used by over one hundred public and community housing organisations across the world. In the UK the company works with four out of five local authorities and every police force. Its services are used in the administration of more than £12 billion of revenues and benefits; in electoral administration systems covering 18 million people; to support the national system for reporting police performance; and in the management of over three million local authority and housing association properties worldwide. Founded in 1969, the company has over 7,000 employees.

4. NCC Group is a leading global provider of independent IT assurance, security and consultancy services. It helps over 15,000 public, private and not for profit sector organisations, including 92 of the FTSE 100, to make the most efficient use of information and technology and to manage the associated risks.