Care & Repair Chief Executive Maggie Walker with AgeUK Wigan Borough Chair Matthew Hothersall, Andy Burnham MP , Cllr. Keith Cunliffe and AgeUK Handyperson Billy Conway

Wigan Borough Care & Repair and Wigan Council were presented with the ‘Excellence in Commisioning Home Improvement Agency Services’ award by local MP and Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham on Friday 11 May 2012.

Wigan Borough Care & Repair is a new more effective way to help older people keep their homes in good repair. Older residents from across the borough can call on free support for bringing in a contractor for home repairs and a trusted handyperson service for small “DIY” jobs.

Andy Burnham MP praised the service, saying:

“We need to get word out about this service which provides that key “little bit of help” to our older residents. This service helps reduce the isolation of older people with practical assistance.”

People who have used Wigan Borough Care & Repair’s services are full of praise. The daughter of a satisfied client said:

“My friends cannot believe that such a service exists, to support and safeguard the interests of the elderly. Without this service, how on earth would an elderly person cope with a major building upheaval and come through it without being traumatised, their health affected or unfortunately in many cases financially ‘ripped off?”

The staff team and key stakeholders, including Handyperson sub-contractor AgeUK Wigan Borough came together at the event to celebrate the achievements of the highly successful collaboration between Wigan Council, Care & Repair and Age UK.

Janette Linacre, Service Director, said:

“Since we began operating in October 2011, the team has been working hard to help local people. If anyone doesn’t know about the service they can find out more by ringing 01942 239360 or looking on our website at www.careandrepair-wigan.org.uk”

Trafford Care & Repair sent out the following update about its services to community groups across Trafford today.

Trafford Care & Repair, a local voluntary organisation provides services for older people in Trafford. These include:

• A handyperson service at £15 per job for jobs that relate to safety or warmth in the home – other small jobs can be referred to small contractors
• A home repairs support service supports older residents to get repairs or adaptations carried out in their home, and works to get charitable funding where people are struggling to afford the cost of essential building work
• A DFG brokerage service – supporting people eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant with that process
• Referral to reputable building contractors

Enquiries for the service can be made on 0161 873 8666 or to trafford@careandrepair-manchester.org.uk

From 1st March 2012 TC&R no longer provide one other service, known as minor adaptations. That service, and that alone, is now provided by Trafford Housing Trust.

If any organisation or group would like leaflets or further information contact Janette Linacre, Services Director on 0161 873 8666

Kate Green MP for Stretford and Urmston visited Trafford Care & Repair on January 6th. She was presented with our report celebrating 10 year’s activity in the borough.

Kate told us that she understands what an important service Care & Repair is for local residents.

To download the Trafford Care & Repair 10 Year Service Review, please click here.

Care & Repair's Karen Kennedy speaking with AgeUK special advisor Mervyn Kohler

A project to help vulnerable elderly people access benefits and support has been hailed a success. More than 20 companies, charities and public  services teamed up for the 18-month Combining to Care scheme.

Care & Repair’s expertise in helping residents to keep warm in their home and the number of older people we are in touch with has made us a key partner in all three boroughs. Our expertise in providing training to residents and to community champions and health and care staff has enhanced the reach and sustainability of this work locally.

Many people do not realise the risks in not keeping their home warm, and Care & Repair can help with small handyperson jobs, advise on bigger repairs and raise awareness of the importance to keeping warm at home in preventing falls and illnesses.

For Trafford residents the service is linked to a special “Warm and Healthy Trafford” Helpline 0161 848 2409. In Wigan and Manchester residents who want more information or practical help in keeping warm at home should contact Care & Repair directly, Manchester 0161 872 5500 and Wigan 01942 239360.

Care & Repair Chief Executive, Maggie Walker, said:  ”We are very pleased that the Dept. of Health and local councils have recognised the help people need to keep their homes warm and safe through cold weather. The last two winters have been particularly challenging, especially for people who struggle to pay for home repairs or heating. If older people take simple practical measures, they can avoid the being a victim of the cold weather, especially if neighbours make sure they know about the advice and services available.”

People who are receiving certain benefits or have an income of less than £16k may be entitled to £120 credit on their electricity bill from their suppliers known as a “Warm Home discount”. This would be reduce the amount they need to pay at the time of their  next quarterly bill. The Warm Home Discount Scheme is a 4 year programme run by the government and energy suppliers to provide rebates on the electricity bills of households that need it most. The criteria differs for each supplier, so please contact yours to check if you’re eligible, on the numbers below.

Quote “Warm Homes Discount”

British Gas 0800 072 8625    (Meter) 0800 294 8604

EDF 0800 096 9000

EON 0800 051 1480

NPower 0800 980 5525

Scottish Power 0800 027 2700

Scottish & Southern 0800 300 1111

Other help with gas and electricity debts

In some circumstances help may be available from The British Gas Energy Trust. Grants from the trust can be made for assistance to clear Gas and/or Electricity debts. In addition The Trust can also make Further Assistance Payments to British Gas customers for the following items:

• Bankruptcy Deposits/Debt Relief Order fees

• Household Items- e.g. energy efficient washing machines, cookers, refrigerators etc

• Telephone Debts (where there is a specific need for the customer to have access to a telephone)

• Funeral expenses

If you are an older home owner in Manchester, Trafford or Wigan, who needs help from the British Gas Energy Trust contact your local Care & Repair office or local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

Customers are people who use Care & Repair services themselves, who are the carers or family of people who use our services or who refer clients to Care & Repair in an employed or volunteer role. Over the years, Care & Repair has used a number of methods to learn from the views of our customers:

• We value the comments made on customer satisfaction surveys
• We have invited service users to events and to “focus groups” on particular developments
• It is the nature of our work that we meet our service users face-to-face in their homes, and many offer their views
• Many years ago, a group called “Friends of Care & Repair” provided a customer involvement panel, we have had a client on the Board and in 2010 we issued a customer newsletter
• We appreciate the letters of thanks and the occasional complaints and learn from them
• Our web-site invites comments

In summer 2011 we decided to talk to our customers about what more we could do.  The customers in our customer involvement steering group decided that it is important to talk with customers as a group, but that the groups should be people from a similar geographical area so that the issues are alike. They suggested that each meeting have a theme and suggested two main themes for first meetings, how Care & Repair gets feedback from service users and how Care & Repair promotes its services. The views from customer panels will be reported to the Board who manage Care & Repair.

Some of the customers we consulted offered to become volunteer Community Promotion Ambassadors for Care & Repair. They give out leaflets and put up posters in their local area.

We are now planning our first customer panel meetings and we welcome offers from customers to join the customer panel.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Elizabeth Lauder on 0161 874 1659 or e-mail elauder@careandrepair-manchester.org.uk

If you believe your home may be in need of insulation, there are several options available to you.

• Warm Front

The Warm Front Scheme offers grants for heating and insulation improvements up to £3,500. (Or up to £6,000 if your home needs oil central heating.)
Grants are available for improvements such as:

* Loft insulation
* Draught-proofing
* Cavity wall insulation
* Hot water tank insulation
* Gas, electric, liquid petroleum gas or oil heating
* Glass-fronted fire – the Warm Front scheme can convert your solid-fuel open fire to a glass-fronted fire

To find out if you qualify, call a Warm Front advisor free on 0800 316 2805 (lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am-6pm and Saturdays from 9am-5pm) or visit the Warm Front website.

Get Me Toasty has improved its offer for Autumn / Winter 2011, and is now offering loft and cavity wall insulation completely FREE to private tenants and home-owners. Loft and cavity wall insulation will help you keep warm this winter, and also save you money on your energy bills. To see if you are eligible, book a survey on the website or call 0800 512 012.

HELP is interest-free and available to homeowners in Manchester for the provision of energy saving measures. Administered by Manchester Care & Repair, HELP loans could pay for a variety of repairs, including loft and cavity wall insulation and replacement central heating boilers. We can help you to select a reputable and trustworthy contractor (builders, plumbers, roofers, electricians and so on) and will supervise the work whilst it is in progress. We charge a small fee for this service, which can be included in the loan amount. Download our leaflet or call us on 0161 872 5500 for more information.

In the same paper there is the potentially misleading statement that “We have retained all neighbourhood wellbeing groups – sometimes called Good Neighbour Schemes”. The Generation Project provides a neighbourhood well-being group for East and parts of North Manchester. This decision appears to disadvantage these deprived areas compared with South Manchester.

Chief Executive at Manchester Care & Repair, Maggie walker says, “I have repeatedly asked for information on the assessment that resulted in this decision. We believe it is based on the high cost of the service in comparison with services operating in South Manchester. We believe that the higher cost relates to a wider range of services and high quality standards. We are willing to continue the well-being service for a lower cost that would meet the council’s criteria, but this proposal has not been listened to.”

“We believe that the Council should make sure that residents in East Manchester get their fair share of the well-being money for local services.”

This is only a proposal at this stage. The Council’s “Overview and Scrutiny Committee” will be reviewing this decision on Thursday October 20^th with a final decision at an Executive meeting on Wednesday October 26^th.

The main well-being activity of the Generation Project is the Befriending service which has 32 volunteers providing weekly support visits to some of the most isolated and vulnerable local residents. The wider Advocacy and Information services have reached thousands of local residents over the last 9 years. There have been a number of very positive evaluations of the Generation Project’s work.

Maggie also said “Care & Repair wish to reassure residents that they have some charitable funds to keep services going and are working to raise charitable funding and sponsorship to continue the services in the future. However we hope that Manchester City Council will continue some of their financial support.”

If any residents would like any further information they can contact the Generation Project on 0161 202 2522 or Maggie Walker on 0161 874 1682

This course is designed to improve the effectiveness of handyperson skills specifically gaining a greater understanding of client needs, identifying hazards and disrepair in the home, understanding the urgency to refer problems and also personal safety. Handyperson staff and agency staff who attend a clients home will benefit from this course.

Effective Handyperson and Home Assessment Skills

2 November 2011, London
6 December 2011, Birmingham
10 January 2012, Northallerton
7 February 2012, Manchester
10 April 2012, London
9 May 2012, Birmingham
12 June 2012, Northallerton

To find out more or book your place please complete the booking form which can be found on the Foundations website or contact the Foundations Training Department on 0845 864 5170 or email leyres@cel.co.uk