Inclusive Access Strategy

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Executive Summary 

This Inclusive Access Strategy has 5 principles for delivery that reflect what our customers have told us and what the Regulator of Social Housing expects through the introduction of the four consumer standards from 1st April 2024. 

We recognise that an effective Inclusive access Strategy holds the customer voice at its heart, and this is a key theme underlying this strategy. 

This Strategy provides a framework to build on the work we have already undertaken at One Manchester and the continued work we endeavour to undertake, to support all of our customers with special requirements to access our services and benefit from them in the same way as all of our customers, so we can provide a good experience for all. 

The aim of this Strategy is to outline One Manchester’s approach to creating inclusive, connected, and sustainable places and services for all of our customers, including those who are vulnerable and/or require reasonable adjustments. It sets out our strategic ambitions and objectives, as well as considering our risk and how to manage such risk. 

Introduction and Purpose 

At One Manchester, our vision is to create inclusive, connected, and sustainable places where people can thrive and live well. Our purpose is anchored in providing good quality homes, great services, and real opportunities for our customers and communities. 

This commitment extends to ensuring that our customers, especially those facing vulnerabilities are have accessibility requirements, are supported to live well and thrive within our neighbourhoods and are treated with fairness and respect. 

Based on what our customers have told us through consultation, we understand that: 

  • Safety & Security can help reduce the feeling of being vulnerable. 
  • Being vulnerable can happen to anyone, regardless of age etc. 
  • Customers who feel most vulnerable often also consider themselves to be elderly. 
  • You can become vulnerable through life events or illness. 
  • Feeling vulnerable can also cause other problems to arise, e.g. depression and anxiety. 
  • We need to avoid accessibility and communication barriers to services (e.g. consider interpreters, translation tools etc). 
  • We need to support customers to access appropriate aids and adaptations. 
  • We need to provide training for colleagues and contractors. 
  • Frequent check-ins are beneficial. 
  • The data we hold should be up to date accurate and secure. 

On 1st April 2024 the Regulator of Social Housing set new consumer standards designed to protect tenants and improve the service they receive. In summary, under the standards, we are required to: 

  • ensure customers are safe in their homes; 
  • listen to customers’ complaints and respond promptly to put things right; 
  • be accountable to customers and treat them with fairness and respect; 
  • know more about the condition of everyhome and the needs of the people who live in them; and
  • collect and use data effectively across a range of areas, including repairs. 

At One Manchester, we are committed to ensuring compliance with all of these Standards in relation to all of our customers. To ensure we achieve compliance with the Standards and deliver a quality customer experience for all we have developed this Strategy to define our overall approach and a Reasonable Adjustment Policy to sit underneath this Strategy to support our vision and purpose of ensuring that all customers can access our services, sustain their tenancies and contribute to thriving communities. 

Key Principles 

This Strategy is centred around 5 key principles. These principles reflect what customers have told us about their priorities following consultation. The principles are as follows: 

  1. Inclusive Service Design: To design our services with and around our customers and what they tell us they need, not what we think they need. We will make informed decisions by understanding our customers’ diverse needs to create services that are as inclusive as possible.
  2. Culture and Communication: To create and sustain a culture of openness and acceptance to give customers the confidence to disclose and confide in us any specific needs that they have so that we can tailor our services around those needs.
  3. Data and Insight: To know our customers and to use the data we hold on them to provide a better quality and more accessible service, and to assure customers that the data we hold will be kept lawfully and securely and, where appropriate, confidential.
  4. Reasonable Adjustments: To provide reasonable adjustment allowing customers equal access to our services in line with a new Reasonable Adjustments Policy.
  5. Collaboration and Partnerships: To work with our community partners and relevant agencies and charities to better understand the needs of our customers and help them access both our services and the services of our partners without any unnecessary barriers. 

Principle 1 - Inclusive Service Design: 

All our systems and processes will be designed and co-created to meet the needs of our diverse customer base. Services and communications should be designed in an accessible and inclusive way by, for example, consulting with a cross-section of customers and obtaining feedback on our ways of working to improve them. We will not provide a diminished service to customers who have undeclared extra help needs. We should collaborate with customers and subject matter experts in designing our services. 

What we will do: 

  • We will consult with customers when we make any changes to our operating and service design. This will include ensuring, where possible, that we have a representative sample of customer to speak to, and feeding back to all our customers to obtain their views on any changes before they are implemented.
  • Interact with customers in a way that is inclusive for a diverse range of audiences.
  • Ensure all our strategies have regard and refer to this Inclusive Access Strategy. 
  • Ensure customers with vulnerabilities are given the opportunity to feedback on any existing services so that we can continuously improve the service we provide 

Principle 2 – Culture and Communication: 

We want to provide a high-standard, “Human Centric” level of service and support to customers requiring extra help. We will continually improve those services to the benefit of our affected customers by, amongst other things, ensuring that our colleagues are fully trained and developed to recognise and work with customers with vulnerabilities, declared or otherwise. 

We will introduce an expected minimum standard for colleague training requirements such as Dementia Friends, and training on customer care, mental health, learning disabilities, older people and sight and hearing loss. 

We will create a culture where “the 3Rs” form the basis of our management of customers with vulnerabilities: Recognise, Respond and appropriately Record vulnerabilities. 

What we will do

  • Offer customers a range of ways to interact and communicate.
  • Create bespoke training for all colleagues on recognising vulnerabilities and managing specific customer needs
  • Unconscious bias training
  • Develop and launch the One Manchester Service Style
  • Complete the EDI Strategy and action plan to include reference to this Inclusive Access Strategy 
  • Ensure the level and nature of support available to customers is presented in a way customers can understand 

Principle 3 – Data and Insight: 

Knowing our customers is the foundation to what we want to achieve. We will achieve this through Tenancy Experience visits and making every contact count. The information gathered about and from customers will be continually reviewed so it is dynamic and accurate.

We want to be adaptable and tailor our services to the changing needs of our customers by ensuring that the data we have on each customer and their households is up-to-date, relevant and visible. 

We will be transparent with our customers and notify them of the data we hold about them and consider with them who we share it with, before it is shared. 

What we will do

  • Use a range of data to monitor the effectiveness of our services and any associated reasonable adjustment requested by individual customers, and the satisfaction levels of customers who have made such needs known.
  • Continue the Tenancy Experience visits on a rolling programme
  • Ensure we make every contact count to check and update our customer data
  • Review all our data that we currently hold and updating this at every TEX and make every contact count
  • Review overall customer satisfaction using our demographic data held regarding vulnerabilities
  • Hold all customer data securely and in line with data protection requirements 
  • Clearly explain to customers how their data will be used, including choices available to them and explain when (and where necessary obtain permission) sharing their data may be necessary. 

Principle 4 – Reasonable adjustment:

 We will respond to all requests in a timely manner. 

We will assess vulnerability on an individual basis, recognising that it can be a temporary, fluctuating or permanent condition. Reasonable requests for adjustments will be recorded on our housing management system using a number of categories including: Home Attendance (e.g. ring before we attend, knock loudly etc); communication (e.g. specific language, email only, hearing impairment); service priority (e.g. home dialysis, electrical supply essential); service delivery (e.g. preferred appointments work and medical); customer contact (e.g. power of attorney etc). 

We will create a reasonable adjustment policy to implement “the 3Rs”: Recognise, Respond and appropriately Record vulnerabilities. 

What we will do

  • Implement reasonable adjustment policy based on the 3Rs 
  • Provide training to colleagues in the new policy
  • Adapt our services to customers in line with any known extra helps needs 

Principle 5 – Collaboration and Partnerships: 

We want to work with existing partners, and build new relationships across our communities to better understand how we can work with those partners to support vulnerable customers. 

What we will do: 

  • Continue to work with partners to refer to statutory services where appropriate.
  • Work with community leaders to help remove barriers when discussing vulnerabilities with customers. 
  • Consult with our stakeholders and other customer groups/representatives when making significant changes to our proposed service offering around vulnerability 

Overarching Objectives: 

In order to meet these principles, we will be mindful of the following objectives in the delivery of our services: 

  • Person-centric approach.
  • Information gathering.
  • Empowerment and involvement of residents.
  • Accessible, adaptable and responsive. 
  • Empathetic and inclusive communication. 
  • Informed letting practices.
  • Financial guidance and support for rent arrears.
  • Health and safety. 
  • Responsive repair services. 
  • Support with adaptations. 
  • Managing anti-social behaviour.
  • Tackling domestic abuse. 
  • Collaboration with external agencies. 
  • Responsive complaints handling.
  • Developing priority customer criteria. 

Measuring Success: 

The following are the operational metrics which will provide Board and the Customer and Communities Committee with assurance of the delivery of this Strategy:

  •  Achievement of action plan
  • Overall customer satisfaction and complaints split by demographic data and vulnerability. 

Risks 

Strategic risk refers to the events and circumstances that may make it difficult, or even impossible, for One Manchester to achieve the objectives and goals set out within this strategy. It also refers to the danger of One Manchester’s strategic choices being incorrect. 

To mitigate the latter, this strategy has been through a number of stages before being approved including: 

  • Customer consultation;
  • Colleague consultation;
  • Legal advice; and
  • Leadership Team approval. 

The strategy will also be subject to frequent review and, if necessary, rescoped depending on those reviews, the changing operational environment and customer need. The strategy will be monitored every six months by the Customer and Communities Committee, and annually by Board.

Examples of events or circumstances that could prevent the achieving of the objectives set out within this strategy and which should form part of the risk management/monitoring of this strategy include:

  • Strategic decisions that are unclear or poorly made;
  • Government changes to legislation; 
  • Regulatory changes (e.g. to Consumer Standards); 
  • Changes in senior management and leadership;
  • The introduction of new products or services; 
  • Sector changes, such as a shift in the needs or expectations of customers;
  • Problems with suppliers and other stakeholders;
  • Financial/funding challenges; 
  • Failure to adapt to a changing environment. 

The following process will be used and will form part of the reports to Leadership as part of the monitoring process as per One Manchester’s risk policy: 

  • Identify the risk 
  • Conduct a strategic risk assessment to determine the likelihood of risks occurring, and the impact they might have
  •  Agree a method for dealing with each risk
  • Monitor each risk over time to keep on top of any changes
  • Report at each stage of the strategic risk management process.

Key Objectives and Action Plan: 

The objectives of this strategy will meet these principles through creating a consistently customer first approach across the organisation. The main strategic objectives for 2024/25 will be presented in Appendix 1 of this document.