Diversity and Equality Service Standard
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These are the diversity and equality standards you can expect from Ascham Homes.
More detailed advice about equality is available in the ‘Residents Information Pack’.
Ascham Homes is committed to being sensitive to people’s backgrounds and circumstances when shaping the way we plan and deliver services. We wish to make sure that no one receives unequal treatment, whatever the cause.
Be professional, accessible and open to your views
We will:
- visit older people or vulnerable people to see what services they may need
- hold ‘service surgeries’ so that you can discuss your service needs or other issues in your preferred language
- open our contact centre on Saturdays to make it easier for you to call us
- offer translations or special formats of our main documents and of any letter we send, and
- use clear policies – in partnership with ALERT – to tackle domestic violence and hate crimes.
ALERT is the Council’s ‘Project Against Attacks and Harassment’. Their address is 806 High Road, Leyton, London E10 6AE. They have a daytime phone: 020 8539 3007 and a 24-hour hotline: 020 8539 3433 (incorporating Minicom).
ALERT has two domestic violence workers who provide support in complete confidence. They offer sensitive and sympathetic advice, work with other agencies and provide a referral service. The unit also has a wide range of information about many support agencies. And their offices are suitable for people using wheelchairs.
Work in partnership with you
We will:
- consult you about, and then publish, a ‘Diversity Action Plan’. This plan will include our plans for making sure that we meet or do better than the requirements of the various laws on equality, and
- continue to promote our commitments to equality in our work with community organisations, community representatives, residents groups and the voluntary sector.
Learn and improve
We will:
- work to achieve level 3 of the Equality Standard for Local Government
- monitor the way we handle some key service areas, including cases of domestic violence and harassment. We now monitor all service complaints on this basis
- monitor the ethnic mix of our own workforce and those of our partners to ensure that we have a work force representative of the community we serve
- make sure we keep our practice in line with the most current legislation, such as using tenancy agreements that allow same-sex partners to join the tenant in applying to buy their home
- collect up-to-date details about our customers relating to their ethnic background, religion, age, state of health, ability or disability, gender and sexuality to help us improve services. We will hold this information in the strictest confidence; for further information see ‘Tenant and Leaseholder Profiling’
- carry out yearly sample checks to see if any tenants / leaseholders are experiencing problems accessing services or receiving a poor standard of service
- add, under the ‘Diversity Action Plan’, new targets for our performance on Diversity and Equalities issues and in agreement with our partners, and
- assess equality impact of all new policies, schemes and service changes to make sure that they promote equality.
Further support
If you have an identifiable community-care need relating to mental health, physical disability, age, serious ill health or learning disabilities and you need housing-related support; our officers will refer you to the Tenant Support Service. A tenant support officer will then visit you within three to five days in an emergency, or within 10 days in normal circumstances.
The tenant support service provides support including benefits advice, help with budgeting, rehousing advice and liaising with other services, for example, social services. They also help you to maintain a safe and secure home.
Performance targets
Our aims include:
- having 29% of tenant representatives from BME communities by 2008/09.
- having 37% of staff from BME communities
- making sure that we follow the Commission for Racial Equality’s code of practice in rented housing and the Good Practice Standards for Social Landlords on Tackling Harassment included in ‘Tackling Racial Harassment: Code of Practice for Social Landlords’
- satisfying 76% of ethnic minority tenants with the overall service provided in 2007/08 (during our next satisfaction survey)
- satisfying 77% of non-ethnic minority tenants with the overall service provided in 2007/08 (during our next satisfaction survey)
- satisfying 77% of ethnic minority tenants with their opportunities for participation in management and decision making in relation to housing service provided in 2007/08 (during our next satisfaction survey)
- satisfying 79% of non-ethnic minority tenants with their opportunities for participation in management and decision making in relation to housing services provided in 2007/08 (during our next satisfaction survey), and
- collecting up-to-date details about at least 95% of our customers relating to the above diversity and equality points by 2007.
They are also available at each public board meeting (held every six weeks). Or you can phone Ascham Direct on 020 8496 4197 and ask for a copy.
Customer Care
We will provide good customer care to all our customers, our staff will be friendly, polite and keen to help you, dealing with your enquiry with sensitivity and discretion.
We will:
- wear a visible identity badge
- promote and provide equality and fair treatment for everyone
- reply to all correspondence within seven working days
- provide a contact name, office and e-mail addresses, and a direct dial number in all our letters
- deal with all complaints within 28 days and learn from them
- write in plain English
- answer your phone call within five rings, telling you who we are and asking how we may help you
forward our phone to colleagues when we are out of the office - call you back on the same day if you call before 1pm or call you back by 1pm the following day if you call after 1pm
- make sure all our publications are available in the most common community languages, and other formats such as audio tape, Braille and large print
- communicate through interpreters and British Sign Language (BSL) signers for residents who have specific needs, and
- do our best to give you information and advice about other local services that we do not provide, including services provided by the council and by other agencies.
Further, we agree to:
- provide your personal details when we pass your enquiry to a specialist, together with the details of your enquiry so, that you do not have to repeat it to another person
- keep the appointment that you have made and tell you beforehand if we have to cancel it
- carry out customer satisfaction surveys of at least 10% of our customers, and
- keep you informed of how well we are doing in delivering the service.
You can help us by:
- treating your home and surroundings and our staff with respect
- telling us about any changes in your circumstances so that we can provide you with the best possible service, and
- telling us what you think of us.
We will use customer feedback to improve our service. Please tell us if you feel that we have not met any of the service standards. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can make a formal complaint.
The leaflet ‘Ascham Homes Complaints Procedure’ gives you information about making a complaint and is available through all of our outlets. Our staff will help you make a complaint if you are not able to do so.
How to contact us
If you would like to know more about Ascham Homes’s diversity and equalities polices or activities, if you want to tell us about an equalities issue, or if you would like to work with us in developing equality, please contact:
The Diversity Coordinator
Ascham Homes, 1 Wood Street, London E17 3JU
Telephone: 020 8496 4960
E-mail: diversity@aschamhomes.org.uk
Ascham Homes, 1 Wood Street, London E17 3JU
Telephone: 020 8496 4960
E-mail: diversity@aschamhomes.org.uk
You can access our services in a number of ways.
Telephone Ascham Direct on 020 8496 4197
The lines are open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday for a full service.
The lines are open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday for a full service.
If you live in Billericay or Wickford, you can phone Ascham Direct on 0845 3000 363 (charged at the local rate).
You can write to us at:
Ascham Homes
1 Wood Street
Walthamstow, London E17 3JU.
Ascham Homes
1 Wood Street
Walthamstow, London E17 3JU.
You can e-mail us at:
direct@aschamhomes.org.uk
direct@aschamhomes.org.uk
Please note that although we check this site regularly during the day, you should not use it to report urgent repairs.
You can visit us at:
Ascham Homes
1 Wood Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3JU.
Open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
Ascham Homes (Billericay office)
16 Morris Avenue
Billericay
Essex CM11 2LB.
Open 9am to 11am, Tuesdays and Thursdays
16 Morris Avenue
Billericay
Essex CM11 2LB.
Open 9am to 11am, Tuesdays and Thursdays
In an emergency outside the normal hours, as mentioned above, contact the joint Ascham Homes and London Borough of Waltham Forest emergency service on:
020 8496 3000
Other useful contacts:
Waltham Forest Direct, 772-776 High Road, Leyton, London E10 6AE
Waltham Forest Direct is the London Borough of Waltham Forest Council’s contact centre. For all council services, call them on: 020 8496 3000
Homeless Persons’ Unit (Housing Services, Willow House)
Telephone: 020 8496 6468
Telephone: 020 8496 6468
Allocation, Choice and Mobility team
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Phone: 020 8496 6459 or 020 8496 6517 or 020 8496 6494 or 020 8496 6500
E-mail: movingon.up@hsg.lbwf.gov.uk
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Phone: 020 8496 6459 or 020 8496 6517 or 020 8496 6494 or 020 8496 6500
E-mail: movingon.up@hsg.lbwf.gov.uk
ALERT is the Council’s ‘Project Against Attacks and Harassment’. Their address is 806 High Road, Leyton, London E10 6AE. They have a daytime phone: 020 8539 3007 and a 24-hour hotline: 020 8539 3433 (incorporating Minicom).
Community Advice and Involvement Service (CAIS), 020 8496 2690
CAIS is located at the:
Tenants’ Resource Centre
195 Wood Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3NU.
Tenants’ Resource Centre
195 Wood Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3NU.
Open 10am to 12 noon and 2pm to 4pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 10am to 1pm on Fridays (this may change).
Email: resource.centre@aschamhomes.org.uk
Email: resource.centre@aschamhomes.org.uk
Leytonstone Citizens Advice Bureau
Greater London House
547 – 551 High Road
Leytonstone
London E11 4PB
Phone: 020 8988 9620
Fax: 020 8558 7911
Walthamstow Citizens Advice Bureau
167 Hoe Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3AL
Phone: 0870 126 4026
Website: www.walthamforestcab.org.uk/wcab
167 Hoe Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3AL
Phone: 0870 126 4026
Website: www.walthamforestcab.org.uk/wcab
Age Concern Waltham Forest
Zenith House, 210 Church Road, Leyton, London E10 7JQ
Telephone: 020 8558 8716
Zenith House, 210 Church Road, Leyton, London E10 7JQ
Telephone: 020 8558 8716
KIRAN Asian Women’s Aid
Advice and accommodation for women fleeing domestic violence.
Telephone: 020 8558 1986
Advice and accommodation for women fleeing domestic violence.
Telephone: 020 8558 1986
ASHIANA
A safe Hostel for Asian, Turkish, and Iranian women.
Telephone: 020 8539 9656
LAGA (Lesbian and Gay Action) on 020 8556 8563
London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard on 020 7837 7324
Ascham Homes's publications
You can get copies of our service standards, information leaflets, Decent Homes programme, Tenants Compact and Residents Information Pack from:
- Ascham Homes reception at 1 Wood Street
- Waltham Forest Direct Shops, and
- Social services public reception areas
If you would like us to post a publication to you, please call Ascham Direct on 020 8496 4197.
You can download all our publications from this website.
Related Documents
These are the diversity and equality standards you can expect from Ascham Homes. (338 KB)