Awards and accreditations

British Safety Council - 5 Stars

BHP has achieved a five star rating (the highest possible) following a British Safety Council (BSC) health and safety management system audit.

Health and Safety has always been a top priority of BHP. This award is a result of a great deal of hard work right across the organisation in the last few years across all areas such as fire safety, gas servicing, lone working, legionella, roof top safety, lifts, asbestos management and communal windows safety.

The BSC undertook a week long audit at BHP's offices in early February 2011; they reviewed all of the policies and procedures, undertook site visits across the housing stock and interviewed staff right across the organisation.

The accreditation lasts for three years, and BHP will be regularly assessed to ensure it is continuously improving services, and maintaining health and safety.

British Safety Council website

Keep Britain Tidy

Brent Housing Partnership is determined to improve environmental conditions for our tenants and leaseholders, so that our residents can feel prouod of the areas in which they live.

It is important for us to work in partnership with tenants, leaseholders, our contractors, the police and other agencies to drive through improvements to ensure that the communal areas of blocks are clean, the grounds are well maintained, the area is free from graffiti and litter and communal repairs are dealt with quickly and efficiently.

To the end we applied to an organisation called ENCAMS (now Keep Britain Tidy)  for a Quality mark assessment of our estates. We initially applied for a Quality mark assessment for two areas, Wembley and East Brent.

We were assessed by external assessors working for Keep Britain Tidy who judged how good our performance was and we were awarded the Exemplar level for these two areas and then a year later we achieved the Exemplar level for the remainder of our areas, South Kilburn, Harlesden & Brentfield/St. Raphaels.

Keep Britain Tidy website

Warden Charter

The Wardens' Charter has been developed to show residents, stakeholders and funders that local warden schemes are of a high standard, and are valued by local residents.

It is an opportunity for local service providers to clearly demonstrate the quality and reach of their work, and the specialist service areas they are involved with.

BHP's Neighbourhood Warden Service successfully completed and met in full the Warden Charter Standard for 2011 and has been certified by the London Training and Resource Centre (LT&RC) with the Warden Charter valid from 1st June 2012 to 31st May 2013.

LT&RC is responsible for reviewing all warden assessments, and for issuing certificates to those schemes that meet the Warden Charter Standard in recognition of the positive work Neighbourhood Wardens have carried out in their local community.

Warden Charter website

ISO 9001:2008 Certificiation Quality Management System

BHP has achieved the BS EN ISO 9001:2008. BHP was first certified in 1996.

BHP is certified by BSi (British Standards Institution).  BSi is the certification body accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service). The accreditation covers the provision of housing management services to Brent Council.

ISO (International Standard Organisation) is a worldwide federation of national standard bodies. BS EN 9001: 2008 is the official version of the international standard for quality management systems.

Having this accreditation demonstrates that BHP has a quality management system in place in the form of written procedures, with quality control checks. This enables BHP to provide a quality service to its customers.

British Standards Institution website

Investors In People (IIP)

The Investors in People (IIP) Standard is a national quality standard which sets a level of good practice for improving an organisation's performance through its people. It provides a framework for improvement through a planned approach to setting and communicating business objectives and developing people to meet these objectives.

BHP was assessed and successfully retained the IIP status in June 2011. Being recognised as an Investor in People organisation shows commitment to continuous improvement through people. In order to retain recognition as an Investor in People, organisations are reviewed every three years.

IIP has developed a framework over 17 years in consultation with some of the world's leading organisations. A sample of some of the questions the full framework poses includes:

• How successful is your organisation at developing effective managers and inspirational leaders?
• Are your organisation's values widely shared and believed?
• What return do you gain from your investment in people?
• Does your organisation allow talented people to thrive?

Investors In People website

Leaders in Diversity - Working towards

We have recently applied to become accredited 'Investors in Diversity' with an external organisation and will be working with them to review our progress in achieving our equalities and diversity objectives.

We hope to achieve the 'Leaders in Diversity' status in 2013.

National Centre for Diversity website

Digital Ready

On 2nd December 2008 BHP were accredited by Digital UK as having put in place arrangements for the digital switchover due in London in April 2012.

The application process required BHP to demonstrate that properties served by communal aerial systems would be upgraded, and an action plan was in place to consult with residents and arrange the work.

Digital UK website

Housing Heroes Awards

Winner of the 'Inspirational Colleague of the Year' category in the Housing Heroes Awards 2010

During May 2010, Brent Housing Partnership's Neighbourhood Warden, Francis Kabia, was the winner of the Housing Heroes Award in the 'Inspirational Colleague of the Year' category, beating stiff competition from around the country.

The Housing Heroes Awards recognise the achievements of the unsung heroes of the social housing world.

The ceremony was held at London's Hilton Hotel in Park Lane on 14th May 2010 and was hosted by adventurer and TV presenter Ben Fogle and organised by Inside Housing magazine and the Chartered Institute of Housing. 

Winner of 'Customer Services Team of the Year' category in the Housing Heroes Awards 2009

A lunchtime awards ceremony was held on 10 June 2009 at the Hilton Hotel in London's Park Lane to celebrate the Housing Heroes awards.

The Neighbourhood Warden Service was the winner of the 'Customer Services Team of the Year' category competing against high profile organisations from around the country. Michael Portillo hosted the awards ceremony and presented the team with their award.

Registered provider with the TSA

On 1st April 2011 BHP became a Registered Provider with the Tenant Services Authority (No.4569) for our directly owned homes.

The application process required BHP to demonstrate its compliance with the regulatory standards published by the TSA

Tenant Services Authority website

Investment Partner with the HCA

In July 2007 BHP pre-qualified with the Housing Corporation (now the Homes and Communities Agency) to bid for grant funding to provide new homes, and was one of the first three ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organisations) to receive a funding allocation from the 2008-2011 National Affordable Housing Programme.

Homes and Communities Agency website