N.I.T.A.P. Routes Magazine

Issue No. 28 - JUNE 1999

The 1999 Community Involvement Awards

Insured or not Insured? That is the Question

Housing Rights Advisor

Millennium Hall for Loughgiel

Community Groups take advantage of Easy Ways to Pay

Community Advisory Group Update

Finding Funds

THE 1999 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AWARDS Your Chance To Say Thanks

In September, Cookstown will host the Second Community Involvement Awards Conference. The Awards, which were a great success last year have been organised once again by NIHE, CAG and NITAP to identify and show appreciation to those people, groups and organisations that have worked to improve their local areas.

The 1998 awards categories were: District Consumer Panels, NIHE Individual Staff, Community Groups and Individuals from the community. In order to widen the scope of the awards and increase the diversity of applications this year there will be 2 new categories to include local level projects concerned with Energy Conservation and Improvements to the Environment

Northern Ireland is well known for its high level of dedicated and innovative people who work free of charge for the good of their community. These people often work for many years with little or no recognition, the Community Involvement Awards is your chance to put that right.

Closing date for nominations: 9th July 1999
Conference to be held 30th September 1999 at the Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown.
For further details contact your local NIHE.

Insured or not insured? That is the question.

Fact: 70%of NIHE Tenants do not have home insurance!!!

Have you contents insurance for your home?
Do you find it difficult to find the lump sum payment?
Are you under-insured?
Is contents insurance the last thing on your mind?

If your Home Contents Insurance is the last thing on your mind, perhaps you need to think again about how you would cope if the worst happened in your home. Take a look at this unique scheme set up by NITAP.

What's the worst that can happen?

Burglary - an intruder enters your home and makes off with your TV, Video and other valuables.

Storm/Flood - imagine having to replace your carpets and furniture in the event of water pouring in.

Fire - suppose your house caught fire and you lost everything.

NITAP's Home Contents Insurance Scheme offers many advantages:-

Good basic, no frills, Insurance Protection covering all the main risks to which householders are exposed to.

Competitive, affordable premiums.
A choice of simple payments methods:-
- Annually by cheque,
- Monthly by Direct Debit,
- Fortnightly by Swipe Card at your local Post Office

The scheme is designed to make joining and payment as easy as possible and is available to Tenants and Owner Occupiers. Your proposal form can be completed either by yourself and posted in a pre-paid envelope or over the phone by the tele-sales staff at the Underwriters. So take time and think of what could happen and how NITAP's Scheme can help. It Makes Good Sense To Join!

For further details, competitive quotations or a proposal form contact: (0800) 389009

HOUSING RIGHTS ADVISOR Right To Repair

Last year the Right to Repair Scheme, a Citizen's Charter initiative was introduced to ensure that Housing Executive tenants have certain repairs, which may affect health, safety or security, carried out as quickly as possible. This edition of Housing Rights Advisor looks at the scheme in more detail.

What is the Right to Repair? If a repair is not completed within the specified time scale, the Right to Repair enables you to request the Executive to issue the work to another contractor. If the second contractor fails to complete the work within the prescribed time period, you may be entitled to compensation.

Are all repairs included in the Right to Repair Scheme? No, only certain repairs are included. These are referred to as qualifying repairs. Qualifying repairs are those which are classified by the Housing Executive as either:-

Emergency (i.e. must be completed within 24 hours) or

Urgent (i.e. must be completed within 4 working days).

Repairs which are assessed to be Routine (i.e. must be completed within 4 weeks) are NOT covered by the Right to Repair Scheme.

When you report a repair, the Housing Executive should advise you whether or not it is a qualifying repair.

What should I do if a repair isn't carried out on time? If your repair is classified as either emergency or urgent and is not carried out within the time specified you should:

Contact your local District Office and tell the Maintenance Department if you would prefer another contractor to carry out the work.

You will then be given a new last date for completion (a further 24 hours or 4 working days will be given depending on whether the repair is classed as emergency or urgent).

If the contractor fails to carry out the work within the second time period, you may be entitled to an initial compensation payment (currently £10) with further payments for each day that the repair remains uncompleted (currently £2 per day). If you feel you are entitled to compensation you should contact the Maintenance Department of your local district office. (The maximum sum for compensation under the scheme is currently £50).

What happens if I owe money to the Executive If you owe money to the Housing Executive you will have any entitlement to compensation under the scheme offset against the amount owed. For example, if you are in rent arrears the Housing Executive can use your compensation entitlement to reduce your arrears account.

Are there any circumstances where the Right to Repair Scheme does not apply?

Yes, the Right to Repair scheme does not apply where:

your repair is classed as Routine;
you have informed the Executive that you no longer require the repair work;
you have failed to provide reasonable access details for the contractor or for an inspection to be carried out;
there is genuine difficulty in completing the work due to factors outside the control of the Housing Executive.

Leaflets explaining the details of the scheme are available from local District Offices.

If you require any further information contact:

Housing Rights Service (028) 9024 5640

Monday - Friday
9.15am - 1.00pm

Millennium Hall for Loughgiel

Loughgiel Community Association have now received confirmation of funding for the provision of a new Community Centre planned for the village. The massive project which is estimated to cost in the region of £1 million has been under discussion with various funding bodies over the last eighteen months and the Association are now confident that the work will commence later this year and be completed in the Millennium year.

Funders include the Department of Agriculture (Rural Development Division), 21st Century Millennium Halls, International Fund for Ireland (IFI), The National Lotteries Charity Board, North Antrim Rural Action (NARA) and Ballymoney Borough Council.

The development was officially launched in Loughgiel on 14th May 1999 and was warmly welcomed by Angela O'Hagan, Manager of the Loughgiel Community Association, who commented: "We are all looking forward to the challenge of such an exciting project - everyone in the Community Association has worked so hard to make this possible."

The launch was attended by a wide range of individuals from the local community with invited speakers including Mr. William T McCarter, Chairman of IFI and Mr. Danny McNeill, Deputy Secretary, Department of Agriculture.

The new Centre incorporates a spacious hall that can seat over 300 people and a portable stage which will make it suitable for concerts and shows as well as indoor games. Attached to the hall are a number of rooms and youth club facilities. The Centre will also have a fully equipped child-care facility, which will cater for all ages of children from three months upwards.

An important aspect of the development is the provision of a number of business units, notably a Teleworking Centre which will provide facilities for employment whilst helping to meet the running costs of the Community Centre.

The Chairman of the Community Association, Gerard McCloskey has expressed his personal delight: "This is a very exciting development for the whole Loughgiel area and as well as providing a much needed facility for the various clubs and groups, it will also create new employment opportunities for all sections of the community".

The Association has distributed brochures to every household in the greater Loughgiel area, which spell out in detail the facilities which will be on offer when the Centre opens. Authorised collectors for the Association have been selling "bricks" for the Centre and the local community have made a considerable contribution towards the overall funds. The purchase of a brick entitles the holder of the brick to have their name entered into a Millennium Book which will be displayed in the new Centre.

Loughgiel Community Association, which has been in existence now for ten years, has a formidable record in setting up successful projects. The Association has sponsored a very successful ACE Scheme over the years which has given employment to over 200 people and has resulted in 67% of these obtaining full time employment elsewhere. The Computer Training Rooms at Magherahoney have been used to introduce new information technology skills to a wide range of users, including farmers groups from all over North Antrim.

On the social side, the Association runs a Thursday Luncheon Club where older people from the community have the opportunity to come together for a meal and a chat. Youth activities including an Out of School Club are also catered for in the Community House as well as organised trips to the Riada Centre and other recreational venues. The latest initiative of the group was the publication of a 40 page colour illustrated Community Booklet which identifies the many diverse clubs and activities in the area. An Interagency Group, including NITAP helped in this exciting project.

With the advent of the proposed new Centre the future for Loughgiel is looking very bright indeed.

Community Advisory Group Update

"The CAG aims to promote the development and involvement of communities in the formation of Housing Policies and Procedures as well as identify and promote best practice across the province in partnership with NITAP/NIHE"

Building on the success of the first ever 'Estate Line' pilot teleconference held in February 1999, CAG has agreed that this method of networking presents a useful mechanism to link up with Community Association representatives around the province to share experiences and good practice. As the teleconference participant only needs to have access to an ordinary phone, this ensures full input from all members of the community. Another teleconference will be planned in the near future.

Community Base Lease:   A Standard lease has now been approved to be used for all NIHE properties for non residential use e.g. commercial properties/shop units.

Anti-Social Behaviour:   A joint protocol is presently being finalised promoting joint working relationships between NIHE, Councils and RUC.

ACE Schemes:   CAG along with NITAP and NIHE have been considering the impact of the loss of ACE and the effect it will have on the community at large. In view of this, a meeting with T & EA was held in May to consider potential ideas working specifically at roles within NIHE estates. Further details will be reported in later editions.

Redecoration Policy:   Modifications have been made to this policy following a query raised at CAG, these will be amended in the Community Association Handbook update.

Other items addressed by CAG in the last quarter

NIHE Corporate Plan
Update on work of Anti-Social Behaviour Working Group
Disabled Adaptations Policy
Decanting (to mobiles) Policy

Future Work includes:

Heating Policy
Consultation Standards User Guide

Community Groups take advantage of Easy Ways to Pay

TV Licensing is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the very latest information on payment schemes and other TV Licensing related issues. For this reason, we issued a special edition newsletter to Community Groups on NITAP's mailing list in December 1998.

Brendan McKeever, Head of TV Licensing NI said, "We really wanted to make sure that everybody was aware of the full range of payment schemes, particularly as we now have options for those who wish to spread the cost of a licence."

The newsletter also gave groups advance warning of the TV Licensing crackdown due to take place in the region in January 1999. The newsletter contained information on all the ways to buy a licence, from joining the monthly Direct Debit scheme over the telephone, to signing up for a weekly cash payment scheme designed for those on income-related state benefit - Cash Easy Entry.

The Cash Easy Entry application forms provided with the pack proved especially popular with Community Groups, with one group ordering a further 500 application forms.

TV Licensing is keen to build on its relationship with Community Groups to ensure they continue to receive the latest information on payment schemes as well as advance warning of forthcoming campaigns, wherever possible.

Finding Funds

There are hundreds of Trusts across the UK that have pots of money to distribute to Community Projects, all specialising in their own particular cause. It can sometimes be difficult for Community Groups to decide which Trusts they should approach for funding. To assist groups identify appropriate Trust Funds for their project, NITAP offers practical help through its FunderFinder Service.

FunderFinder is a computer package designed to access information on its database and produce details of Trusts that may consider funding specific projects. All you have to do is complete a short questionnaire giving specifics of the project you wish to find funding for and we will send you the list of Trusts the computer comes up with.

This service is free. To obtain a questionnaire or for further information please contact Marie-Louise Kelly, Funding Officer Tel: (0128) 2564 5676.

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