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Annual Report
2007 ...
Introduction
We have themed this year’s Annual Report
around the kite
You will discover a brief history and some
fascinating facts about them as well as an overview of our
services and activities
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The Mystery of the Kite
While the exact date and origin of the kite remains
unknown, it is believed the first kites were built and flown in
China as early as three thousand years ago. One legend suggests
they were invented when a Chinese farmer tied string to his hat,
in order to stop it from blowing away in strong winds
The earliest recorded flight was around 200 BC
when Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty flew a kite over
the city walls of his enemy to measure how far his army would have
to dig to tunnel past opposing troops. Originally made from bamboo
and silk, the invention of paper saw the introduction of kites made
from the material zhiyuan, which means ‘paper kites’
During the Tang Dynasty, 618-907 BC, people began
to fix bamboo strips on to their kites to make them vibrate and
to ring in the breeze like the string instrument known as a zheng
This prompted the Chinese name for kite, fengzheng,
meaning ‘wind zheng.’ Today, there are no less than 300
varieties of kite. Some are hundreds of feet long, while others
are small enough to fit inside your pocket. They come in all manner
of different shapes, including humans, animals, fish, insects, birds,
and written characters
It is believed that flying and then letting go
of a kite can send off one’s bad luck and illness. It is also
believed one should not pick up a kite lost by other people; in
case they inherit the misfortunes of the previous owner
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Chairman’s
Foreword
2006 was a year that further proved Tung
Sing to be a determined, ambitious and forward looking organisation.
It continues to work to fulfil its role as a specialist black
and minority ethnic (BME) association under the current economic,
social and political climate
To enable Tung Sing to maximise its potential,
a strategic partner able to provide financial strength and
enhance efficiency gains was sought. The process adopted was
truly democratic involving Residents, Employees and the Board
Arena Housing Group was chosen over two
other Housing Groups. It was chosen on merit as it best reflected
the ethos of Tung Sing. Arena Housing Group is committed to
equality and diversity, and this is reflected by the fact
that it has transferred properties to two Liverpool based
BME associations
To strengthen our links with the Chinese
community, we have formed a strategic alliance with Wai Yin
Chinese Women’s Society. Wai Yin was initially set up
to help Chinese women who suffer domestic violence. It is
a well respected organisation that now provides a wide range
of employment, education and community services for men and
women. Together we offer culturally sensitive services such
as translation and social support. This partnership seeks
to ensure that all communities are offered choice and quality
products. Our aim is to continue to build on this relationship
in the future
Under the leadership of Ed Duguid (Interim
Chief Executive), Tung Sing’s employees worked very hard
during a period of rapid change, not just conducting business
as usual, but taking on new initiatives. I wish to formally
thank Ed and all the Tung Sing employees on behalf of the
Board and myself
There is always a need to change, modify
and develop, to keep pace with government initiatives and
the needs of our clients. With the two new permanent senior
appointments – Chief executive (Allan Chan) and Head
of Operations (Caroline Hough), we are confident the team
can turn vision into reality. Together with the Arena Housing
Group, Tung Sing continues to strive for excellence and aims
to deliver a 3-star rating (Audit Commission inspection standards-top
marks), to our residents.
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Board
Members
C McKune Chair
B Wilkinson
B Hu
H Terefenko
K Robinson
A Lowman
C Hirst
W Ng
J Lam (resigned November 2006)
A Iqbal (resigned February 2007)
Executive Team
Chief Executive Officer: Allan Chan (appointed
March 2007)
Interim Chief Executive Officer: Edward Duguid
Company Secretary: Jacqui Fendall
Head of Finance & Administration: Jacqui Fendall
Head of Operations: Caroline Hough
Head of Property Services: Nigel Mallion
Head of Equality: Mark Nesbitt
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Equality
& Diversity Unit
It has been another successful year for
our Equality & Diversity Unit (EDU). The EDU completed
the 3 year Big Lottery project and over achieved all annual
targets. Since 2004, the EDU have supported 5,019 residents
from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities to be involved
in their local area, in regeneration and renewal activities
and securing BME communities a voice with their strategic
authority and other statutory agencies. The EDU also supported
57 mainstream social landlords over 3 years to develop their
skills and expertise in supporting the enhancement of social
housing for BME communities. The EDU has now secured funds
from the Arena Housing Group to support their activities and
ensure the continuity of the EDU, post-Lottery funding
In addition to many resident involvement
activities, the EDU delivers varied projects including a Balance/Clore
Duffield Foundation funded project called Living Together
which provides language support to BME elderly residents so
they can access mainstream sheltered accommodation and funds
cross-cultural and intergenerational events to encourage community
cohesion. The EDU is also continuing to support other social
landlords through the BME Residents Network to address the
needs of BME residents and encourage greater resident involvement
in the City of Manchester
As a result of the successes in Manchester,
the EDU has been awarded the contract to deliver consultation
and research services for Merseyside Community Voice. The
Business Plus project, a project run in partnership with Places
for People, which supports entrepreneurship within deprived
communities, has now expanded into Bradford and is being developed
into an aspirational project for tenants
The EDU continues to provide high quality
consultancy services to other social landlords, organisations
and companies. Over the course of the year, the EDU has supported
landlords and Large Scale Voluntary Transfers by developing
their equality and diversity policies, strategies and action
plans conducting in-depth health checks and pre-inspection
audits
The EDU goes from strength to strength and
is looking forward to another very successful year
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Financial
Review
This year has been a year of change for
the Association. On the 1st October 2006, we joined the Arena
Group as a subsidiary. We have learned a lot from each other
particularly with regard to the processes and procedures each
company carries out. Six months later, the strategic partnership
with Arena has proved to be very successful
During the year the association performed
very well against the Operating Cost Index. This is a measure
of efficiency to assess the cost of providing the essential
social housing service. Compared to average housing association
costs, Tung Sing is placed in the best 13% when including
major repairs and the best 20% excluding major repairs
High priority has been given to achieving
our performance targets and by close monitoring of the performance
standards. Currently we have above average peer group performance.
We continue to hold an excellent track record for service
delivery to our tenants which is borne out by our last satisfaction
survey where 95% of tenants said they were happy with the
overall service
The association has achieved a surplus of
£387k before transfers, compared with the surplus last
year of £371k. Of this surplus, £379k has been
earmarked for future repairs to the Association’s properties.
Total accumulated reserves shown on the balance sheet are
£2,735k for the year ending March 2007, of which £2,108k
are designated for specific purposes. These figures demonstrate
the organisation’s commitment to improving and repairing
its properties when the need arises. The Asset Management
Strategy has been reviewed again this year with priority given
to investment in existing stock although we currently comply
with the Decent Homes Standard
The Association has successfully completed
its third year operating the Equality & Diversity Unit
part funded by £300k from the Community Fund. The unit
provides a range of services on a training and advisory basis,
to both BME communities and social landlords. We have also
managed to secure £59k in other grant monies for various
tenant related projects as well as £19k from our leased
offices and training room.
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Supporting
People
2006 has been a period of change for our
Supporting People Team
Working in partnership with Johnnie Johnson
Housing Trust (JJHT), Tung Sing undertook a research project
into the housing needs of elders in Manchester’s Chinese
community. The project identified that elders would benefit
from culturally sensitive support services to help them secure,
and then settle into, sheltered accommodation. We proposed
that we could provide the necessary support, which would also
help to address the sheltered housing void problem around
the City. Manchester’s Supporting People Team agreed,
and towards the end of 2006 we were delighted when we secured
an expansion of our Elderly BME Floating Support Service from
8 to 30 service users
To promote the service we have subsequently
held an open day which showcased both the service and the
facilities available at the sheltered schemes. The day was
a great success with many Chinese elders attending and expressing
an interest in moving onto the service, either now or in the
future.
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Customer
Service
Tung Sing is committed to providing a high
level of customer service for everyone. To further improve
the service we recently reviewed and introduced a new set
of Customer Service Standards. These highlight the minimum
service people can expect when they come into contact with
us. All staff were involved in developing the new standards
and received extensive training from an external training
company on customer service generally and more importantly,
how to deliver the new standards successfully
A shortened version of the standards in
our Customer Charter, has been produced and published in the
Residents Newsletter. It is prominently displayed on notice
boards in our schemes, in our reception area and in all departments
throughout our offices
Continual monitoring is undertaken to ensure
all staff are delivering the standards consistently and in
a manner which ensures everyone receives a high level of customer
satisfaction whenever they come into contact with us
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Growth
& Regeneration
During the financial year we have increased
our owned housing stock by 65 properties. This consisted of
two newly developed schemes for rent, one for shared ownership
and a stock transfer
The newly completed development for rent
consists of 23 family houses (which are mainly larger 3 and
4 bedroomed, many for extended families) and 12 two bedroomed
flats. This was an inner city site which required some significant
earth works and piling. We have retained an area of woodland
to the rear of the site which both improves the amenity of
the new homes and also helps to sustain the local wildlife.
We will maintain this woodland for the benefit of the community
Our first fully wheelchair designed home
has been built as part of this development. We identified
the prospective residents some months prior to completion
and worked with them and Social Services to ensure their needs
were met. The rest of the properties have been built to Lifetime
Homes standards as per our requirements
The Cheetwood shared ownership scheme is
our first, consisting of 12 houses acquired from Bellways
as part of their overall sales development. We were pleased
to accept the transfer of these new homes from Great Places
Housing Group who undertook the scheme on our behalf
In early 2007, following a period of consultation
with residents living in Arena homes in Trafford, Manchester
and Stockport, it was agreed that Tung Sing would take over
the management of these 75 properties. This change has significantly
boosted our stock holding in Trafford and Stockport. With
a housing office now virtually on the door step, residents
can look forward to receiving the same high quality and responsive
service as existing Tung Sing residents
Our membership of the Arena Housing Group
will provide enhanced financial support for our new developments.
As a member of the BLOC Partnership we expect to contribute
to and obtain local development projects. Although we have
achieved a huge amount with our resources to date, with additional
support from Arena and other local partnerships, we will achieve
further growth in both homes and services in order to even
better meet the increasingly diverse needs of the local communities
which remain the primary reason for our existence
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