Value for money
For A2Dominion, value for money means delivering savings and improving quality by simplifying everything we do whilst achieving a balance between costs, quality and outcomes.
Achieving value for money
- Understanding our costs better
- Improving the way we purchase so that we purchase good value products and services
- Maximising our income which means making sure we are more effective in collecting rent and service charges and in raising funds and other income which are ploughed back into the business and into the services residents consider to be a priority.
- How we have prioritised how much we spend on key services?
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- Residents are involved in all aspects of our frontline services and through membership of our six service improvement groups they are able to play a key role in contractor selection which includes agreeing the cost of the contract and the selection of the contractor.
- For smaller neighbourhood projects, residents in our Resident Executive Groups, with housing officers can make bids for service improvement funding from the neighbourhood improvement fund.
- The Resident Executive Groups make the final decision and decide on budget allocation. Residents have used the budget to enhance and make improvements to playgrounds and community facilities on estates.
- Feedback from our surveys are evaluated and areas of concern for our residents are included in the Group’s service improvement plans and priorities for the coming year.
- How do we provide value for money?
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- As at December 2010, we achieved £678,000 of the £970,000 efficiency target we set when we merged.
- We have achieved significant savings of £2.4m via Property Services procurement which has been reinvested in other areas of the planned maintenance programme.
- The cost of using media agencies has been reduced by the Sales & Marketing team. The total saved to date amount to £31,440.
- The Group has reviewed the way we use existing postal services including couriers and have made greater use of scanning facilities. As a result of this review, savings per annum are estimated to be in the region of £35,000.
- We have achieved best value when purchasing goods and services as set out in our procurement policy. Expected savings from our electricity and gas suppliers are in the region of £88,000 per year on new contracts.
If you have any ideas or suggestions around how we can provide services in a more cost effective or efficient way, please contact us.