history of damp and mould at the property, displayed a lack of empathy, and did not consider the resident’s vulnerabilities. We also failed to monitor the remedial work that we said would resolve the issues. We are very sorry that our resident experienced damp and mould in their property over an unacceptably long period. Despite several attempts to rectify the problem, it took us far too long to identify the cause of the damp and we acknowledge the distress this will have caused. We have personally apologised, paid compensation, and have followed the actions and recommendations made in the Housing Ombudsman review, completing the work. We have also ensured our internal processes are as robust as possible and implemented new procedures. We have taken a risk-based approach to reviewing our portfolio for the risk of RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete), considering the age and construction of our properties and driving a programme of review and site inspections at 379 of our locations. We have concluded that there are 49 properties where additional investigation is required to fully rule out the presence of RAAC, but believe the risk to be low. Financial performance In spite of the wider economic challenges, we delivered a strong performance for the year. Occupancy levels in housing at 98.7% were consistent with the previous year and were just 0.2% below pre-pandemic levels of 98.9%, and demand for our services remained strong as evidenced by our waiting lists. Housing arrears were £8.8m reflecting 2.6% of housing turnover, £1.7m higher than the prior year (£7.1m and 2.3% of housing turnover respectively). Our customer base is largely above pension age and as such we continue to have limited adverse exposure to the employment market and Universal Credit system. We have seen a 6% increase in the proportion of arrears which are over 180 days old from 31% to 37% which we believe is attributable to the cost-of-living crisis. Occupancy recovery remained a focal point for our care homes, and we achieved a 2.6% growth from 85.5% 2 Strategic Report including Operating and Financial Review
The care sector has experienced labour market shortages for several years, and according to the Skills for Care’s report ‘The State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England – October 2023’, care workers had a turnover rate of 32.9%, which equates to an estimated 54,000 leavers in the sector over 12 months. At Anchor we have focused on our recruitment of overseas colleagues who already reside in the UK, but who require a certificate of sponsorship to work. This has proven successful with almost 400 colleagues joining our workforce, driving down our vacant hours from 30,000 to 19,000 hours with an overall reduction in our colleague turnover from 31.9% last year to 29.7% at March 2024. Vacant hours are otherwise filled by the much costlier use of agency staff. Materials and labour shortages also impacted our development activities, with three developments comprising 197 units which had been expected to open during the year, now expected to open in the next financial year. The introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 places new requirements on landlords in relation to the design, construction and management of high-quality homes. Aimed at enhancing residential safety and standards, the Act mandates comprehensive safety assessments, rigorous construction protocols, and continuous maintenance obligations. Landlords must now ensure that buildings adhere to updated safety regulations and implement robust management practices to prevent hazards. This legislative shift emphasises accountability, promoting safer living environments and greater protection for people in their homes, in the residential sector. The Act introduced new regulations relating to buildings of seven storeys or 18 metres and over. Our seven high rise properties as defined by this Act have all been registered and approved by the Buildings Safety Regulator. We are working with independent consultants to establish the nature and extent of any remediation works required to external wall systems once site surveys are complete at six buildings which have been assessed as high risk. In the meantime, appropriate fire safety mitigations are in place at all affected locations. To ensure we effectively manage damp and mould, we follow the guiding principles laid out within the operating guidance of the Housing Act 2004, Section 9, inspection and assessment of hazards given in HHSRS (housing health and safety rating system). This allows categorisation of damp, mould and condensation hazards as category 1 and category 2. We assess damp, mould and condensation hazards through a risk-based methodology to determine a risk rating. This is achieved firstly by identifying the issue and cause of the defect, then capturing the severity of the hazard and the impact it has on both the resident and the home. During the year, the Housing Ombudsman made a ruling of severe maladministration against Anchor. The case related to our handling of reports of damp and mould, and complaint handling, in relation to a resident in a rented home. We recognise that recordkeeping and management was lacking, we did not consider the
(restated to include all Halcyon care homes) to 88.1%. Our newly opened care homes, Skelton Court in Skelton-in- Cleveland and Marsh Farm Manor in Royal Wootton Bassett have occupancy levels in line with plans, and The Mill House in Skipton is ahead of target with occupancy of 72% just nine months after opening. We continually review our care home portfolio to assure ourselves that we are best placed to deliver services in each location and during the year we handed five care homes over to other providers. Care home arrears on a like-for-like basis, including the Halcyon care homes, were £8.9m at the end of the year compared with £7.9m for the prior year. The £1.0m increase was attributable to increases in fee rates and occupancy compared with the prior year. The level of debts over 90 days increased by £0.3m indicating that some residents are taking slightly longer to pay. As a percentage of fee income, the debt levels for 2024 and 2023 were consistent at 3.1% for both years.
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