Social housing and anti-social management

Why must the Housing Department behave in such a nasty way?
This is a copy letter recently sent to a "Social Housing Tenant".

We have redacted names - except for the Finance Administrator who has not learned yet to sign his or her name so that it can be read. What is the point of signing the letter at all if the name is not legible? Perhaps it is Donald Duck - who knows and who really cares....

Anyway the tenant is not in arrears. He assures SSTAG that there were some past difficulties due to illness and extra expenditure that could not be avoided. The Housing Department helpfully agreed a payment plan and that was fully complied with. There are no arrears of rent now. But even if this tenant did owe £60 - would that really warrant such a rude and threatening response?

Pay it (£60) within one week or else non-essential Maintenance Services will cease - any garage rental agreement or parking permit will be cancelled (the tenant has no garge or car of course), an UNANNOUNCED vist to your WORK ( the tenant cannot work) or home, reference to the PETTY DEBTS court, and wait for it... EXPULSION from "your home"......!!!!


We need to be aware that the Housing Department will soon cease to exist.  A new body ( to be known as the Housing Association or something similar) will become the effective "landlord" of all States' Social housing accommodation. Housing Minister Green will become the puppet of the Chief Minister's Office....

The States have already agreed that rentals will be increased to be something closer to those in the "private sector" ( in other words not affordable to people on lower incomes).
90% of private rentals for a smilar house or flat is the aim - although nobody has worked out yet which particular "private" accommodation will set the standards...

In fact, as we all know, "social" rents are effectively set by the Social Security Department in accordance with some weird formulae according to how much Income Support a person receives. It is disguised as the "Housing component".

Senator Le Gresley, Social Security Minister, recently refused (in the States) to publish his book of Income Support etc rules so that the public might study them. Too complicated he said, and as large as the "bible"....yes the same book that many people read and discuss every Sunday.


But suppose a "Private landlord" behaved like the Housing Dept Finance Administrator and made similar threats  - with or without £60 arrears -  what would the Royal Court have to say about such bullying behaviour? Can we really imagine that in 2013 the Judge would order immediate expulsion and/or the removal of rights and benefits over such a piddling amount of money?
(Only people without housing quals are supposed to receive such dreadful treatment in Jersey!)

And by the way - when did you last hear of the Housing Department actually REDUCING a rent because the maintenance of the property had been neglected (bearing in mind that the Treasury - now under Senator Ozouf's control - has been taking £25 millions out of the housing maintennac fund for decades), or the lifts were out of action, or the windows were ill-fitting, or the thermal insulation was inadequate or the properties were damp or the sound of people walking around above travelled through all the flats beneath...? Just suppose some tenants organised a "rent strike"...

So, is such a letter to this unfortunate tenant an indicator of the future? Is the screw tightening about to commence with even extra vigour...shall we soon see tenants forced out of their homes on the most frivolous pretexts. Shall the "Housing Association" be selling off housing stock at bargain prices to developers to put more cash into the kitty so that "new social homes" can be built to let to tanants at "realistic" market rents...?

As Senator Ozouf explained at a recent Scrutiny hearing - Jersey will only borrow money for projects such as new housing if there is a realistic expectation of a profitable return from rents - so we can all see in which direction those rents will be going....
He also explained that the financing of a super new hospital will also be similarly based - so stand by for yet more "User pays" projects and a public/private partnership health service where illness will be a very, very expensive luxury.....

Happy times are here again...you lucky people!

Jersey Registration Card Day One and concerns about Volunteering

Today is Jersey Registration Card Day One.

Or as the JEP more correctly describes it;

“A major new crackdown on people living and working illegally begins today in the biggest shake-up of immigration controls in a generation.”

So we are being ushered down to the Social Security aka SS Offices in La Motte Street to volunteer for prosecution under the welcoming “BENEFIT THIEVES LET’S STOP THEM” poster.

I called in at about 2pm today and found the extraordinary spectacle of no claimants or mystified members of the public at all queuing - but behind the front desk saw more grinning staff faces than a toothpaste advert on American TV.

What on earth was going on I wondered when I was beckoned over with a cheery wave – can this really be the same place that normally confronts enquirers with a barrage of empty chairs and just a few “I dare you” stares….?

Do you have any printed information? I asked.

Yes, what language would you prefer, English, Portuguese or Polish….Have you been busy? Yes and we have even had several lawyers in checking to see that we are doing things properly too…

Would anybody be prepared to give me an interview on video for my blog(s) I asked?

Leave your details and we will ‘phone back….

Whilst there, I called into the Work Zone to enquire about “Volunteering”.

Not for myself but we have received several “complaints” about things going wrong for volunteers who have been injured or incurred expense when giving their time for free.

Is there a written “Code of Standards” we wanted to know that protects the volunteers and the people they are helping?…

…after several onward referrals and a return to the front desk the verbal information was that…

In a word the answer is NO.

This is something that volunteers must sort out for themselves with the organisation or business that they have volunteered to work with.

Which seems a bit vague because the SS Department is very actively promoting voluntary, unpaid work for those out of work and these people can be school leavers (with little or no experience of the wicked world) or mature persons with very little money to spare and disabilities to contend with.

There seems to be an official reliance on “Registered Charities” and employers to act ethically but since there is no such thing as a “Register” in Jersey the whole system seems to be the usual, untested “Jersey way” of operating…and we are especially concerned that vulnerable people (either as volunteer helpers or those being helped) are adequately checked out and validated.

We shall of course be writing to Minister Le Gresley for clarification on these issues (assuming that the ‘phone remains silent re an interview) but we did also call in at the JACS office (behind the Ann Summers shop) to see what Employment or Social Security Tribunals are currently imminent.

In fact there has not been a Social Security Tribunal for months and none is planned which does surprise us at SSTAG since so many claimants complain to us about the treatment they receive at the SS office. What happens to all these unhappy people?

We did note that there is an Employment Tribunal scheduled for this Thursday according to the official note pinned to the external door…we have also learned through the grapevine that the electronic notification of such hearings might actually become a reality in the near future because an extra member of staff is being recruited!!!

Perhaps the official Jersey Delegation to China will be able to resource a cheap IT programme to help this come to fruition even sooner?

As always, we welcome any comments or information especially from users of the SS, Health or Housing Department systems.

Good or bad do tell us how you find the standards of service provided.