North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 The Board of Management present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 of North Belfast Housing Association Limited (the "Association"). This report is also known as the Trustees, report for Charity law purposes. Status The Association is an Industrial and Provident Society and is registered with the Department for Communities {"DfC") providing housing accommodation for those in need. It has charitable status with HM Revenue and the Association was registered as a charity on the 18 March 2014 with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, registration No. NIC 100038. Principal Activities The Association provides general needs accommodation, purpose-built accommodation for the elderly and supporting housing solutions for those in need, including those with addictions, family issues and young homeless people. . The objects of the association are to carry on for the benefit of the community:The business of providing housing, accommodation, assistan to help house people and associated facilitates and amenities for the prevention or relief of poverty or those in need by reason of youth, age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage,. and Any other charitable object that can be carried out by an industrial and provident society registered as a housing association by Dfc. As a registered Charity, The Association is legally required to comply with the reporting requirements set out in the Charities Act and to prepare accounts in accordance with legal guidance set out in law. The Association is regulated by the Dfc and supports the Seven Principles of Public Life. Strategic Imperatives Our vision and mission detailed in our Strategic Plan 2022-2025 are outlined as follows.. Vision Statement Everyone has an affordable, sustainable home in a supportive community that enables them to lead their best lives. Mission Statement To provide a pla to call home and an outstanding Servi to those in need. A home where people.. feel they belong- feel safe., feel financially secure., . feel supported" and . feel part of the fabric of the community. Supporting our Vision and Mission we have established a set of Values to Influen and infom how we work together and provide a high quality service as a landlord. Our values are.. Integrity Building relationships of trust by being respectful, caring and honest with others,. Page 2
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Empowerment- Listening to other people. maximising their ability to find solutions and make decisions that help them live their best lives- Excellence - Everyone is entitled to expect ServIS of the highest quality that are responsive to their needs- Collaboration - Working together with others in a supportive way to achieve the best outcome., Fairness - Everyone is of equal worth and entitled to be treated fairly and included. Diversity is something to be recognised and celebrated., and Sustainability - Being concerned with the environment and with the future of those we serve. Board of Management The Association is governed by a 13 member voluntary Board of Management. The board set the strategic objectives for the association and receive regular reports on the association's progress and perforrnan. The Board of Management are the directors of the company and are the trustees of the charity- The Board of Management, who served the Association during the year, and up to the date of signing the financial statements, were.. Mrs Ursula Mayers (Chair) Mr Tom Mervyn (VI Chair} Mr Brian Reid {Secretary) Ms Jane Shaw (Treasurer) Ms Janine Fullerton (Resigned 1610212023) Mr William Chambré (Resigned 1610212023) Mr John Simpson (Resigned 1610212023) Mr Bob Hopkin Mr Andrew McFadine Mrs Brenda Morgan Mrs Nicola Barber (Appointed 2310512023) Ms Victoria Dunn (Appointed 2310512023) Ms Dervla Kearney (Appointed 2310512023) Mr Paul Henry (Appointed 2310512023) Mr Patrick O'Hanlon {Appointed 2310512023) Mr Stephen Garvin (Appointed 410712023) The members of the Board of Management hold a fully paid share of £1 each in the Association and no financial benefit is derived from such membership. Executive officers of the Association hold no interest in the Association's share capital and although not holding legal status of directors they act as executives within the authority delegated by the Committee. Page 3
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Perfonnance for the year ended 31 March 2023 During the year the number of homes in ownership increased to 1,108 from 1,091 at the end of the prior year representing a 1.50/0 increase in stock size for the Association. Turnover increased by 2.7 % from £7,557,643 in 2021122 to £7,763,903 in 2022123. This increase is as a result of new homes added to the Association's stock during the year. An average annual inflationary rent increase of 3 % on much of our existing stock also helped to boost tumover. During the past year the association fad a number of significant challenges in the delivery of Maintenan projects. This resulted in a number of planned schemes being delayed. The association made progress in the latter part of the year by completing a number of procurements that will spread repair and investment workfiows across a number of capable contractors. £1,933,151 of purchase orders were issued close to the year end in relation to maintenance projects. Costs relating to these purchase orders have not been included in these financial statements. The Board of Management do not believe a constructive obligats'on have been created for these purchase orders as at 31 March 2023. Expenditure on component replacements last year was £381,258 and a further £40,000 was expended on adaptations. Operating costs of £5,219,674 represent 69°/o of turnover (2022.. 68 % ). The Association generated an operating surplus for the year of £2,011,243. The Board has a set number of key perf0mlan indicators monitoring the operations of the Association on regular basis. Performance Indicator Actual 22123 Target 22123
85% Emergency repairs carried out within 24 hours Urgent repairs carried out within 4 days Routine repairs carried out within 28 days Operating margin Net margin Gearing ratio Interest cover ratio 80% 78° 80% 34% 40° 28% 8.96 13.58 7.15 Net debt per unit Voids as a % of Stock £5,351 1.010 £5,367 1.61 % Page 4
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Tenant Views All tenants were issued with the annual tenant satisfaction SueY in March 2023. A total of 98 returns were received representing a return rate of 9 %. NB Housing's latest annual tenant satisfaction survey results showed percentage of tenants satisfied= 1. NB Housing Overall servi - 70°k" 2. Rent represents good value - 740 3. Accommodation - 76 %, 4. Area ILocation 76 %, and 5. Services represent value - 700A. The results showed a small positive increase across 3 areas and a fall in 2. The association is committed to listening to this feedback and has developed an action plan with the aim of making improvements across a range of service. Staff Development NB Housing was accredited Investors in People status in 2015116 and continues to focus on leading staff to achieve their potential and contribution to the success of the Association. This effort was further acknowledged by reIving the Investors in People Gold Award in 2019. The association has developed an IIP working group to review and develop workstreams to make employment with NB Housing both rewarding and attractive. Remote working was forced upon the association with the pandemic but the association has seen that remote working did bring benefits and a new Agile Working arrangement has been formulised and available to staff whose duties can be shared between home and the workplace. Staff absen had redUd during the year from 8.910 in 2022 to 5.760/0 in 2023. Recruitment difficulties remained during the year causing delays in replacing and filling some posts. The association also employed our first apprentice during the year. The Association continues to invest in staff development and training with an investment of 840 training hours with 271 attendanS at a cost of £12,080. Page 5
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Value for Money NB Housing is committed to providing ServIS and managing its assets in ways that achieve Value for Money (Vfm). Value for Money is: "Making the most efficient use of our assets and resources to deliver high quality and innovative seThices that successfully meet customer needs and expectations at lowest possible cost" For NB Housing, Value for Money is about becoming a modern and efficient business, improving our service quality and providing social housing for those in need. NB Housing take a comprehensive approach to self-assessment and use performance inft)rmation to drive business decisions, and develop our improvement plans. The information also highlights trends in expenditure and focuses our team's approach to Vfm. This report includes a self-assessment demonstrating the association is achieving value for money in meeting business aims. The association completes standard benchmarking with Housemark, who collate performance data across UK social landlords. This information enables the association to compare performance and share knowledge where best value is achieved. The information provided in this report is taken from a number of sources, financial information is taken from our Annual Audited Accounts, while other information has been collated from internal Key Performance Indicator reports and Tenant Feedback. In order to deliver value for money the association analyses a number of business processes, ensuring budget decisions are made that support business plan objectives, ensuring effective procurement is undertaken to source seNices. Page 6
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Expected perfomiance in the year ending 31 March 2024 The Association plans to enhance investment on repairs and Maintenan as a result of the challenges experienced during the reporting year and post pandemic. Overall budget for repairs and maintenance including revenue and capital programmes is estimated to be in the region of £3m. The works will include response repairs. compliance checks. cyclical Maintenan and well as major improvements. The association also wishes to continue to build to our stock and will develop a minimum of 50 units. Corporate Governance In the opinion of the Board, the Association is in compliance with the Best Practi issued by the National Housing Federation Code of G0Veman and with the Dfc Regulatory Standards. Corporate Strategy The strategic plan 2022 - 2025 is divided into seven business aims= Aims Customer Engagement and Wellbeing Aim.. To promote the wellbeing and participation of customers in decisions that affect them. Customer Service Aim.. To ensure that customers re1ve the highest possible level of service to meet their needs. Building for the Future Aim.. To develop new housing for those in need and maintain the high quality of our existing stock. Communication Aim.. To effectively promote the organisation and communicate with all stakeholders. Finance Aim.. Ensure NB Housing has the financial resoUrS it needs to achieve its aims and priorities and these are effectively and efficiently managed. Our People Aim.. Ensure NB Housing has the staff it needs to achieve its aims and priorities and they are effectively managed and supported to leam and develop. Premises, physical and digital resources Aim.. Ensure NB Housing has the premises and other physical reSoUrS it needs to achieve its aims and priorities and these are effects'vely and efficiently managed. Governance Aim.. Ensure that the governan of NB Housing complies with the requirements of the law, relevant regulators, and best practice. Annual Business Plan 2022 - 2023 Our annual business plan is designed to support the delivery of our strategic aims. The business plan contained a total of 83 objectives of which we achieved 73, partially achieved 3 and did not achieve 7. Page 7
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Going Concern After making enquiries, the Board of Management have a reasonable expectation that the Association has adequate resources to continue in operational existen for the foreseeable future. For this reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Treasury Management Policy The Association's aim is to maintain loan balanS at a level to support development while keeping loan interest charges to a minimum. This is achieved without comprising the Association's ability to meet its financial obligations at they fall due. Risk Management Responsibility for the identification of risk is cleady defined and operates through a rolling risk assessment process. A register of strategic risks is maintained and reviewed each quarter by the Board. The risk register includes potential risks from the list below-. Economic & Supply impact., . Windsor Framework and non-functioning executive; Inflation and cost pressures., Supplier cost pressures, inflation. energy, rna1ntenan and development costs., Loss of Board members" . Tenant Engagement., Potential pressure on association's ability to raise revenue, financial performance and fraud,. Cyber security and crime" Development challenges to growth" Poor service delivery., Net Zero target,. and Staff welfare. Measures are in place to control these risks and the implementation of further mitigating actions is regulady monitored by the Board. Page 8
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Financial Risk Management The Association's operations expose it to a variety of financial risks that include the effects of changes in credit risk, price risk and interest rate risk. The Association has in pla a risk management program that seeks to limit the adverse effects on the financial performance of the Association by regular review of activity levels against changing market conditions and adjustment to cashflow projections accordingly. The Association liaises with lenders on an ongoing basis to keep up to date with other products in the marketplace. Interest rate risk Exposure to fluctuating interest rates is managed by the composition of a baland portft)lio between fixed rate and variable rate loans. Liquidity risk The Association maintains a mixture of long-term and short-term loan finance that is designed to ensure there is sufficient fijnds to achieve business objectives and to facilitate planned growth. A managed cashflow predicts need and also ensures that the Association operates within it banking covenant Commitments. The Association has a rolling private finan facility available to fund ongoing developing plans over the next number of years. Working Capital and cashflow management is strictly controlled with moneys drawn from the existing facility as required. Regulation The Association's principal regulator is the Dfc. Their regulatory judgement for the year 2021122 gave the Association the highest rating of Level 1 assessing the 3 standards.. Governance, Finance and Consumer. The Association is subject to regulation by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland as it is a registered charity and the Northem Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in its role in administration of Supporting People funding. Environmental matters The Association recognises its corporate responsibility to carry out its operations and development program whilst minimising environmental impacts. The Board's continued aim is to comply with all applicable environmental legislation, prevent pollution and redu waste wherever possible. Page 9
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Internal Financial Control The Board of Management meets regularly throughout the year with specific responsibilities for housing management, development and propety management, finance, audit, risk and human resources. The Board of Management have delegated authority to the following subcommittee" Housing., Development and Propety Management., . Audit, Risk & Human ResOurs. and Finance. Each subcommittee operates within defined Terms of Referen. Subcommittee meetings are held quarterly and receive perf0rrnan reports and take necessary decisions within the delegated authority of the main Board of Management. Finance Committee The Finance Committee monitors financial reporting and accounting policies, along with the adequacy of the Association's internal finance control. Operationally, budgets are developed prior to financial year end are monitored by the Finance Committee quarterty. These are measured against actual performance with the budget review prOsS to account for any material fluctuations from plan. Short and medium term cashflows are completed to ensure the Association has sufficiency in working capital to carry forward its operational and development commitments. Forecasting is used to project long term to assess the impact of future stock investment strategy. The Board of Management is also responsible for the Association's systems of internal financial control and along with senior management is responsible for establishing and operating detailed control and reporting procedures. The system of intemal financial control can provide only reasonable but not absolute, assurance against misstatement and loss. The Committee has reviewed the effectiveness of the Association's system of internal financial control for the year and the reviews are ongoing. This included a detailed review of the business risks facing the Association and of the existing intemal financial control procedures. The key elements of the control system in operation are.. The Committee maintains responsibility for overall strategy, approval of all propety transactions and other major capital expenditure projects. There is an organisation structure with clearfy defined lines of responsibility and delegation of authority. Detailed budgets are prepared covering the Association's businesses which are reviewed and approved by the Committee. Actual results are compared against budget and appropriate action identified and initiated. Page 10
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 The Audit, Risk & Human Resour Committee review matters relating to intemal control and receives reports from the Dfc monitoring visits. intemal auditors and from senior management on a regular basis to enable it to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Association's internal control system. Statement of the Board's responsibilities in respect of the financial statements The Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 and Registered Housing Association legislation require the members of the Board of Management to prepare the financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the Association's affairs and of its surplus or deficit for that period. In preparing these statements the Board is required to= select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements., and prepare the financial statements on the going conrn basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Association will continue to operate. The members of the Board of Management are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Association and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 and the Registered Housing Associations {Accounting Requirements) Order (Northern Ireland) 1963. They have general responsibility for the taking of reasonable steps to safeguard the assets of the Association and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. Events after the Balance Sheet date The Association has no post balan sheet date events to disclose. Charitable donations Donations totalling £1,200 (2022: £5,814) were made by the Association during the year. No donations for political purposes were made during the year (2022= £nil). Financial sustainability The Association has a robust framework of longer tenn financial planning in place. The Board regulady considers the longer tenn financial plan which covers a 30 year period. Statement of disclosure of information to auditors So far as each of the members of the Board of Management at the date of approval of these financial statements is aware" there is no relevant audit information of which the Association's auditors are unaware, and that each Board member has taken all the steps that ought to have have been taken as a Board member in order to be aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Association's auditors are aware of that information. Page11
North Belfast Housing Association Limited Annual report and Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report of the Board of Management for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Independent Auditors The auditors, RBCA Limited, have indicated their willingness to continue in office, and a resolution proposing their reappointment will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting. Approved and authorised by the Board on 28 September 2023 and signed on its behalf by.. Mrs Ursula Mayers Director Page 12