Part of the Waterloo Group, de Montfort Housing Society (dMHS) owns and manages around 4,000 properties within the East Midlands. (A number of properties that we own in Lincolnshire are managed by our sister organisation, New Linx Housing Trust.) The stock includes 2,500 affordable rented homes of which a number are for older people and people with learning or physical disabilities.  The remainder of our properties comprises of a range of homes including leasehold, shared ownership and a growing portfolio of market rented properties.

de Montfort Housing Society is committed to continually improving services to its customers, working in close liaison with them collectively and individually.  We regularly check out tenant satisfaction and we received a massive vote of confidence this year when satisfaction levels placed us firmly in the top 25% of registered social landlords with regards service delivery and the ability of our customers to influence those services.

Our recently introduced customer involvement "menu"  has proved a real success in helping the organisation to engage with its customers in a variety of ways that ensures an ever increasing influence on the part of service users.

During the year, we have also reviewed the mechanisms we use to achieve continuous improvement to services, linking our now traditional Best Value Reviews with other improvement processes linked to the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation as a whole.

Improving the level and content of our communication with customers has been a priority this year.  Newsletters remain a central part of the strategy and the editorial board is made up of staff and tenants.  In fact, the board is run by one of our tenants.  The editorial board keeps a close eye on style, content, layout, themes and feedback from customers, staff and other stakeholders.  Dedicated newsletters for specific client groups (e.g.: retired leaseholders) and an increase in local information notices and key bulletins has helped to ensure that customers remain in touch with what's going on.

Supporting People funding continues to occupy our minds but we are receiving glowing reports from our customers who receive services through this route. A dedicated team established to run this part of our service has helped us achieve accreditation from the grant giving bodies.  We have continued to invest in improved information technology, regular training for staff, and much more through support planning for individual customers.

We continually strive to improve a whole host of services and in the last year we have:

• Improved appointment systems for maintenance works and gas servicing.
• Extended resources for repairs reporting (extended hours) and improved software for handling these calls.
• Improved response times for repairs.
• Introduced a Works Advisory Panel (Customer led) to advise on priorities, fixtures, fittings etc.  They are also involved with contractor selection and pre-contract discussions to ensure a customer focus is maintained.
• Extended the Painting and Decorating Team - with two experienced qualified tradesmen and three modern apprenticeships in association with a local college.  The team now carries out the majority of our external cyclical decoration programme.

As part of our broader community investment works, job placements are being arranged in all parts of the organisation.  This year, a local college nominated us for a "Trainer of the Year" award.