There are many changes taking place within the world in which Innisfree operates. Innisfree believes that one of the keys to success is through partnership and co-operation. Innisfree works closely and shares good practice with its partners to the mutual benefit of everyone, particularly our customers. This approach enables us to take advantage of new opportunities which open up on a regular basis. It also assists us in responding to challenges.

Legislation

*This is a national standard comprising four key components:

Fitness for Habitation
Disrepair
Modern Facilities
Reasonable Degree of Thermal Comfort

Changes in legislation and new approaches by government continue to provide opportunities for Innisfree as well as presenting challenges. Examples of these include:

opportunities for extending the range of housing options available to our customers;
the drive to create sustainable and cohesive communities where people can live in good housing and in safety and harmony with their neighbours.
the importance of meeting the Decent Homes Standard *

Supporting People

The new regime for supported services came into force in 2003. Supporting People Grant is now the principle source of funding for support services. One of the key aims of Supporting People is to develop flexible and innovative services, which are people-centred rather than property based. Six years on, Innisfree has retained all its existing funding and achieved excellent results from the service reviews. However, Government funding to local authorities for Supporting People is being reduced and will no longer be ringfenced.

This will put continued pressure on us to ensure our services are cost-effective. We are in discussion with colleagues about partnership working in order to protect these services.

Funding While public funding of social housing has increased in recent time, the focus on fewer "lead investors" has impacted on all small & BME associations. Innisfree has a strong relationship with private funders and an excellent record of raising money from the private sector at competitive rates. The Business Plan identifies the need to continue developing robust relationships with funders in order to secure loans at the most competitive rates. It also highlights the need to explore new and alternative sources of funding. Key objectives include raising funds through fund-raising, new initiatives and grants. This will help to ensure that rents are kept at affordable levels.

The Irish Sector

The Irish sector in London is active and thriving

The All Party Irish Parliamentary Group continues to raise awareness about Irish issues at the highest levels.
There are regular meetings of the London based Irish Councillors' network;
Innisfree has a positive relationship with the Irish Embassy in London;
There is strong co-operation and joint working within the Irish sector in Britain;
The Federation of Irish Societies takes a strong lead on key issues affecting the voluntary sector.

In addition, Innisfree attends regular meetings with the Irish Housing Forum to pursue areas of common interest. A number of joint initiatives have been launched as a result.

The wider black & minority ethnic (BME) and refugee sector

Changes in legislation, such as the Race Relations Amendment Act, new equalities legislation and the formation of the new Commission for Equality & Human Rights (CEHR) have heralded a change in approach to the BME sector. There is now greater focus on broader equality & diversity issues and on the wider community cohesion agenda. This coupled with the introduction of "choice-based lettings" has made it more difficult for BME organisations to focus on a particular client group. There is no longer any imperative for mainstream associations to work with BME partners. However, we welcome the fact that the CEHR is reviewing the concept of positive action.

There has been a lack of leadership in the BME housing sector in recent years and, simultaneously, some spectacular failures within the sector – mostly notably the demise of Ujima Housing Association.

Presentation, another large BME association, is merging with a mainstream association and several small BME housing associations have been subsumed into larger, non-BME associations. Others are due to follow.

Despite the above, a number of well-run BME associations, including Innisfree have continued to develop and grow and to attract the support of local authority partners and development agents. It is recognised that their specialist skills and knowledge and the ability to provide a culturally sensitive service is valued by a wide range of clients.

There is an increase in the number of new and emerging BME communities as a result of war and other political upheavals. In addition, a steady flow of people from the Eastern Europe has added to the pressures for decent housing. Refugees and migrants have suffered particularly in this environment and in London, regrettably, few housing providers have risen to the challenge. Innisfree, in conjunction with Inquilab, is involved in a Tenant Services Authority (TSA) sponsored project, Integrated in Brent, working with refugee community housing organisations (RCHOs).

Regulation

Innisfree had a positive relationship with the Housing Corporation, the former regulator for housing associations. The Housing Corporation underwent many changes in recent years. Even bigger changes are now on the way with the advent of the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) and the Tenant Services Authority (TSA). We look forward to working with them both.

Innisfree's last Housing Corporation Assessment was issued in January 2007 and it retained its "all green lights" status and its high reputation for being a well run organisation. To ensure continuing high standards in the important area of governance, we commissioned an independent governance review in 2007/8. An Executive Summary is attached at Appendix 9.

The inclusion of Innisfree and all associations with fewer than 1,000 homes in the "RASA" regime has meant much lighter regulation. It is too soon to predict what the impact will be on small associations of the HCA and the TSA but we hope to engage in a positive way with these new bodies. We also expect to see continued support for partnership working.

The TSA will be issuing its own guidance on performance standards after the publication of this document.

Best Value & continuous improvement

Innisfree is committed to continuously challenging and reviewing its services to ensure that they are truly responsive to tenants' needs and are delivered in the most efficient way possible. Staff currently meet on a regular basis with colleagues from other associations to share ideas and information on best practice.

Priorities for service reviews are substantially guided by the outcomes from our Tenant Surveys.

In Business for Neighbourhoods

Innisfree was one of the "early adopters" of the iN Business commitment to a successful neighbourhood agenda. Building on our strong track record, our business is to make a difference to local neighbourhoods. As we are a relatively small provider of housing, this means working in close co-operation with others to meet the challenges of building stronger communities. We are fully signed up to the three commitments set out below:

Commitment to neighbourhoods

We will put neighbourhoods at the heart of everything we do;
We will promote neighbourhoods where there is a place for everyone with positive support for diversity of people and places;
We will work in partnership with local people, councils and other agencies, and will champion local needs.

Commitment to customers

Customers are the driving force behind our business;
We will listen to them, respond to their views and engage them in our work at all levels;
We will offer them respect, choice and support;
We will do everything we can to prevent neighbourhood problems, and will deal firmly with people who are bad neighbours.

Commitment to excellence

We will pursue excellence and improvement;
We will make the changes needed, so we can rise to the challenge of being iN;
We will work with regulators and inspectors to build a culture of challenge and change;
We aim to be landlords, employers and partners of choice.

The Solomon Project

Innisfree is a founder member of the Solomon Project. Set up in 1998, it comprises six associations who created the forum for benchmarking and the sharing of good practice. From the outset, members have been eager to compare performance and explore competitiveness, thus laying the ground work for subsequent joint Best Value Reviews. Since 2006, the five South London members of SolFed (South London Federation of Small Housing Associations) have joined in with the benchmarking and other activities.

Other initiatives include:

an activity based costing exercise;
joint board events;
joint meetings with tenants representatives;
joint training;
a shared policy data base;
functional working groups covering maintenance, finance, central services, supported housing and housing management;
an annual staff conference for the staff of all 11 associations.

The group celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008.

Further background on the Solomon Project is provided in Appendix 5.

Stakeholders and partners

Innisfree prides itself on the strong and positive relationships that it has developed with stakeholders and partners. This was validated by a Stakeholder Survey carried out in 2008. For a relatively small organisation Innisfree has a very high external profile. This brings opportunities coupled with high expectations.

New technology

Innisfree recognises the importance of new technology. The organisation invests heavily in both its hardware and software. Staff are provided with appropriate training and support. A small firm provides expert technical back-up. New technology has been fully integrated into all day to day activities. Further investment has been programmed into this Business Plan to ensure that the organisation maximises its investment and use of new technology.