LEASE Corporate Plan

The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) Corporate Plan for the period April 2005 to March 2008

This is the first Corporate Plan produced by LEASE. It sets out the organisation and ethos of the Leasehold Advisory Service, its history and development and the services we provide for the leasehold sector and Government. The Plan sets out the work that we do and our objectives for the next three years.
Background
1. LEASE is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (ENDPB) providing free legal advice on all aspects of residential leasehold and commonhold in England and Wales. It is set up as a private company, but which was identified as appropriate for ENDPB status in 2004 following 10 years of successful operation and development in the leasehold field. As an ENDPB it will receive grant-in-aid from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS) and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG).
  LEASE has gained public recognition as a fund of knowledge on residential leasehold and as a resource readily available not only to flat-owners and landlords but also to professionals working in the field, such as solicitors, valuers and managers.
History
1. LEASE was ten years old in 2004. The service was established in 1994 as the Leasehold Enfranchisement Advisory Service (L.E.A.S), to provide initial advice on the then new rights of freehold purchase and lease extension for flat-owners, introduced by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.
  The procedures of the Act are complex and these valuable new rights were not readily accessible to the layperson. The then Minister, Sir George Young, took the initiative in providing the means to set up a specialist service to provide free, independent legal advice on the Act. The stated intention was for a temporary service, based on a three-year grant, to fill the advice vacuum while the legal profession as a whole developed expertise in the new legislation.
2. Funding was initially on a shared basis, part Government grant and an equal private sector contribution. The latter came primarily from the lending industry. The Northern Rock Building Society (as it then was) provided the office rent-free and the Building Societies Association wholly funded one salary. We also received a financial contribution from the Association of Retirement Housing Managers, and from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
3. Demand for advice grew, and there was no evidence of the need for our service being replaced by the legal sector. Public dissatisfaction with leasehold abuse was growing and the Government responded to these concerns in the changes to leasehold legislation introduced in the Housing Act 1996. The Government recognised the value of L.E.A.S. as an advice service both to the public and Government in a provision in the 1996 Act allowing for full funding of a generic leasehold advice service, no longer restricted to the 1993 Act.
  With effect from 1 October 2003, LEASE's role was further extended to include general advice on residential commonhold under funding provisions in Part 1 of the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002.
4. LEASE was subsequently identified in 2004 as appropriate for non-departmental public body status (NDPB) and a substantial work programme is under way to ensure that LEASE complies with the requirements that such status places upon it at the earliest opportunity.
Organisation
1. LEASE is managed by a Board which is generally representative of the principal interests in the leasehold/commonhold sector, flat-owners, landlords, lenders, solicitors and surveyors, with an independent Chairman. The Board controls the general policies of the organisation, agrees the Corporate Plan and Annual Business Plan and is accountable for LEASE's achievement of the objectives, targets, and activities set out in those plans and ensures its independent and impartial approach. LEASE is staffed by advisers who are either solicitors or in-house barristers, and has a small administrative support team.
Residential Leasehold in context
1. Leasehold is a substantial, but generally little-understood, market. The generally accepted size of the sector is around 1,250,000 leasehold flats and around 800,000 leasehold houses, although these may be considered to be substantial under-estimations. In the region of 250,000 leaseholders are tenants of social sector landlords, Councils and other RSLs, following initial acquisition under Right to Buy and Right to Acquire legislation.
2. Until the commencement of Commonhold in September 2004 leasehold remained the only mortgageable interest in a flat, whether purpose-built or converted. Figures issued by the Housebuilders Federation in March 2004 showed that, for the first time, construction of flats in the UK had outstripped building of houses with 46% of all building being in creation of new flats. ODPM housing statistics show numbers of private-sector dwellings completed in 2002-3 England and Wales as 131,421, of which 27%, or 35,483 were flats. Applying the industry's new projections to this suggests the growth of the sector by some 3%, or around 30-40,000 flats per annum. There is no reason to believe that leaseholders of new property will be any more content with the inequalities of the system than other leaseholders and are likely to require advice, most probably in the areas of collective enfranchisement and right to manage, in order to achieve management control.
3. It is also significant that many of the larger housebuilders are presently creating and selling houses on long leasehold, to preserve controls over estate roads and services. This is sufficient to cause the expansion of the leasehold house sector, which up to now had been shrinking steadily as a consequence of both enfranchisement (buying the freehold) and social sector Right to Buy action.
4. Evidence therefore points to continuing growth in the residential leasehold sector, leading potentially to an increasing rather than diminishing need for advice provision.
Residential Commonhold
1. Commonhold is a new way of owning interdependent properties dependent on shared structures or facilities (such as flats) which came into effect in September 2004 as part of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. In effect, it allows the unit to be owned freehold rather than on a leasehold basis, with a commonhold association responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the common parts.
2. It is early days in the development of commonhold; few have been set up and the rate of take-up of the new system is, at this time, uncertain. It remains to be seen whether developers and housebuilders will embrace commonhold, sufficient to have any serious effect on the continuing expansion of the leasehold flats sector within the next 3-5 years. It is noteworthy, however, that commonhold provides a very useful alternative solution to control of estate services referred to in 5.3 above.
Funding, functions and corporate policy
1. Leasehold
  Under our present remit from ODPM, and for purpose of grant provision under S94 of the Housing Act 1996 in respect of the provision of general legal advice about residential leasehold law, LEASE pursues four key roles:
  - a responsive, demand-led, service in the provision of free legal advice
  - a research, advisory and policy development role to Government
  - communications, website publishing and training
  - proactive encouragement of improvement in management standards through liaison with other organisations
  It is our intention to maintain, refine and develop those services.
2. Commonhold
  Under our present remit from HMCS, and for purpose of grant provision under section 62 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 in respect of the provision of advice on residential commonhold, LEASE pursues three key roles:
  - a responsive, demand-led, service in the provision of the free legal advice
  - an advisory role to Government
  - communications, website publishing and training
3. Grant-funded functions are agreed annually with funding departments, to include specific objectives and performance indicators. A copy of the current agreed Business Plan is attached as Appendix 1.
Advice provision
1. Advice is provided direct to the client, with no element of casework or action on behalf of the client. The express role of LEASE, agreed with Government since the inception of the service, is the empowerment of the client, not the replacement of or intrusion into the remit of the professional adviser.
  Advice is provided on the following basis:
  - what the law is in relation to the problem
  - how this affects the client's position
  - what to do next
  LEASE advisers do not intervene on behalf of clients or contact third parties. The role of LEASE is to enable the client to comprehend his legal position sufficient for him to take remedial action or to be able to instruct a professional adviser to take the matter further. Matters can be complex and it is often more onerous for the adviser to deal with enquiries in this way rather than for a solicitor/surveyor providing traditional client advice. This is because our objective is to educate the client to achieve his own remedy, to fully understand his legal situation and context, rather than to simply take action on behalf of an uninformed lay client.
  LEASE is presently processing 28,000 individual enquiries per year (2003-4, 27,438), representing around 1.4% of the entire leasehold sector each year. 89% of enquiries relate to flats where, in the great majority of cases, the client is representative of and obtaining information on behalf of the block. We estimate that one enquiry represents a cautious average of 12 flats, therefore of the 89% of enquiries, 25,000 may be considered to relate to a little less than 300,000 flat-owners annually. It is a startling concept that LEASE may be providing legal advice to around 25% of leasehold flat owners annually.
  Advice is provided by telephone, in writing and in person. It is significant that 8% of clients (annually 2,240) are professionals, solicitors, surveyors and managing agents, who recognise LEASE's expertise.
2. Demand for advice on commonhold had been very limited to date, representing only 1% of overall enquiries to LEASE, and many of these have been of a general nature only. It is anticipated, assuming some limited take-up of commonhold during the next three years, that advice will centre initially on the two areas of setting up a commonhold and the differing rights and obligations of unit holders and leasehold flat owners. The adviser's role in relation to problems experienced by commonhold unit-holders will follow those established for leaseholder clients.
3. Overall demand for advice shows no sign of diminishing, notwithstanding the statutory improvements to leaseholders' rights. Each year of LEASE's operation has seen an increase in output. We are aware, however, that this still does not fully satisfy demand and it is an objective for the present year to find means of quantifying this latent demand.
  The improvements to leasehold legislation in the 1996 Housing Act were the catalyst for the expansion of L.E.A.S into a fully funded generic advice service in the recognition by Government that the leasehold sector needed to be fully informed of the new rights if they were to be effective.
  The changes being incrementally introduced by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, which LEASE strongly supports, have led to significant increases in demand for advice. For example the overall number of enquiries handled by LEASE increased by 26% in the 12 months following Royal Assent in May 2002; enquiries on the new rules for collective enfranchisement and lease extension increased by 31% in the 12 months following the first Commencement Order in July 2002 and enquiries on service charges by 11% in the same period. Not surprisingly, enquiries on the new right to manage increased by 87% following the second Commencement Order.
4. Advice provision - the future
  The experience of the 1996 changes does not suggest that the demand will significantly decrease within the next few years. Although the 2002 provisions introduce dramatic new protections for leaseholders, they are dependent upon both the leaseholder and the landlord being aware of them. The major, and most significant, change to the leasehold matrix is the much greater range of opportunity for lessee management, through freehold purchase or right to manage, and it is here that the need for knowledge will be greatest.
  There will be a growth area in instructing leaseholders in their new role as landlords; the protections provided for leaseholders will result in unexpected duties and burdens on the same leaseholders when they assume management control. Up to now the division of responsibility and knowledge requirement has been relatively polarised between landlord and tenant; the new rights will, in effect, create a new area of demand for advice.
  There must be a natural plateau for demand but this has not yet been evident. Demand increased after the 1996 Act but this did not, of itself, satisfy the increasing expectations of the sector. However, only a small proportion of the enquiries to LEASE (3%) relate to proposals or progress for change, the majority continue to relate to ongoing problems endemic to the nature of leasehold and the landlord-tenant relationship. It seems unlikely that there will be a substantial increase in demand for advice on commonhold in the short term and we can only conclude that demand for advice on leasehold will continue to increase until the plateau is attained. The effectiveness of the new rights available to leaseholders will clearly be dependent upon advice provision.
  All evidence to date suggests a continuing increase in demand from the existing sector but, even if this could be fully satisfied within existing resources, the dramatic expansion of leasehold flats will inevitably create its own additional demand. If only 5% of the 40,000 additional new leaseholders each year contacts LEASE this would result in an overall increase in present demand of around 7% per annum.
  This potential minimum additional demand of, say, 2,000 enquiries annually must be viewed in the context of the average output per Adviser of around 2,500 cases per year. Provision is made for this in the budget proposals at paragraph 13.2 by one additional Adviser post for 2006-7 and 2007-8.
  Flat development statistics will be regular monitored to inform future demand predictions.
Advice to Government
1. LEASE is fortunate in its close working relationship with Government and its opportunity to feed direct experience of the leasehold sector into policy formulation.
  Advice to date has been in the two fields of comment on existing legislation, and proposals for change. LEASE is uniquely placed to observe and analyse the practical effect of leasehold law in operation and, from this viewpoint, to provide impartial and objective input.
2. Because of its position, LEASE played an integral part in shaping the 2002 Act. There can be little suggestion that the reform of the leasehold law was completed by the 2002 Act and much still remains to be accomplished; LEASE will continue to provide advice to ODPM on further need for change and, in particular through its membership of the Commonhold Consultative Working Group, to HMCS on development of commonhold.
3. A complementary role is in provision of detailed advice to Government on secondary legislation, impartial comment from lawyers with a virtually unsurpassed immersion in leasehold issues. From the present timetable for implementation, it appears that secondary legislation in the 2002 Act will not be complete much before 2007, and there are likely to be new issues arising from the Housing Act 2004, notably the impact on the leasehold sector of the home information packs, the Housing in Multiple Occupation regulations, and new Leasehold Valuation Tribunal jurisdictions. It is therefore anticipated that LEASE will continue to have detailed input into the secondary legislation and regulations that are yet to come, relating to both leasehold and commonhold.
Communications strategy (including website publishing and training)
1. Complementary to direct advice provision, the LEASE communications strategy dispenses information through an expansive website, together with a range of bespoke printed materials and the provision of training.
2. LEASE has always held the main objective of providing practical advice, enabling the client to proceed, and our publications take this direction. We presently have a range of 17 publications, on both leasehold and commonhold, available in printed A4 booklets or on the website, all of which take the client through the practical application of the legislation in question. They are designed to be self- contained guides in each case, setting out both the legislation and its practical application. For example, both "Collective Enfranchisement-Getting Started" and "Right to Manage" deal with the practicalities of organisation and running a company, funding and management.
  Publications are regularly reviewed and updated or new guides produced, in accordance with changes to primary or secondary legislation or practice.
  The availability of this substantial library of printed advice material allows around 25% of initial enquiries to be dealt with by administrative staff, responding by provision of the appropriate publication, thereby freeing the Advisers to deal with more complex queries.
  All advice material is presently published in English only but LEASE is fortunate in having a wide range of second languages available through our diversity of Advisers. Where a client requires advice in a language not available to us within our own resources, or profoundly-deaf clients, LEASE arranges interpreter facilities. The need for second-language publications will be kept under review
  Our Equality and Diversity statement is attached as Appendix 2.
3. Communications strategy - the future
  There seems little reason for any duplication of effort, or public cost where written guidance on leasehold issues is concerned, and it has been agreed in principle for LEASE to take on the main role of drafting and production of all future Government advice notes on leasehold issues. LEASE is a professional advisory organisation and so better placed than ODPM on producing such materials. This would have the benefit of providing a continuity of service to the public.
  A logical extension of this proposal would be for LEASE to assume responsibility for drafting and production of advisory materials relating to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunals. Again, LEASE has an established expertise in this area and both LEASE and the Residential Property Tribunal Service (RPTS) are funded by ODPM. We believe that a better integration of available skills and practices could achieve cost savings and, again, present a better product for the consumer. However, this is something that will need to be explored further.
4. The website
  The LEASE website was designed and produced in-house with limited input from consultants at a minimal cost. It provides access to all our advice notes, reports and research papers, updates on the introduction of legislation plus details of LVT determinations with full case papers for around 3,000 decisions.
  Usage of the website is high and steadily increasing. In September 2001 for example, an average of 235 visitors accessed the site daily. By March 2005 this had risen to 1,144. The website itself is available as two CD-ROMs at a non-profit cost (currently �10). During 2003-4 we issued 144 copies.
  The website is, presently, unique in providing access to most Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) determinations, although we are aware that the RPTS is making progress towards providing access to LVT decisions on its own website.
5. The LEASE website is highly popular and clearly represents a major part of our service. Provision was made in the 2003-4 supplementary bid to ODPM for improvements to the site, including transition to knowledge-base software and to improve site navigation.
  There is clearly a need for a greater degree of inter activity with the client through the website and this remains a priority for future development.
6. Training
  LEASE provides training on leasehold and commonhold issues for landlords, managers, leaseholder organisation and professional advisers, as well as regular presentation at conferences, seminars, and other venues.
  Training remains a high priority, although very disruptive of our limited resources. Presently all training arrangements are responsive to requests - we carry out no active marketing of our training service. In 2003 we created a wholly-owned company LEASE Conferences Ltd, as a vehicle primarily for the organisation of the annual LEASE Conference. However, the long term aim is for the company to market LEASE training seminars on a self-financing basis. This is entirely resource-dependent.
Relations with others
1. LEASE has developed and maintains close working relationships with professional and trade organisations providing management services to flat-owners, particularly the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM), the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the Association of London Government (ALG). There are clear indications that LEASE's influence has led, directly and indirectly, to improvements in management standards. This is felt to be an important role, to be further refined, both as a service to the professional and the leaseholder and an aid to the promotion and visibility of LEASE.
2. In the context of the substantial and on-going flat-building programme LEASE needs to develop a working relationship with the development industry. The design, construction and documentation of new flats has the general priority toward point of sale rather than the future effective management of the building and the well-being of the end-user. It would be advantageous to develop contacts with a view to discussion of design and new lease documentation and, hopefully, to encourage greater contact between developers and the management industry, as is the norm in other jurisdictions, to try to avoid designed-in management and maintenance problems.
Objectives (April 2005 to March 2008)
1. Our overall objectives for the next three years are:
  - to provide a fully responsive advice service sufficient to satisfy all present and latent demand; to improve turn-around on enquiries
  - to develop a wider communications strategy to ensure all potential users are aware of LEASE and to develop new services as identified
  - to provide a full and comprehensive publishing service for the production of advice leaflets and information on leasehold and commonhold issues.
  - to further develop and expand the training and conferences role
  - to develop a mediation role for LEASE
  - to continue to work with professionals, trade organisations and others to improve management standards in the residential leasehold and commonhold sector
  - to continue to provide advice to Government on leasehold and commonhold issues.
2. Satisfying demand
  The service has suffered from limitation of funds and has never been in a position to satisfy all demand for advice, nor in many cases to deal with complex enquiries within an acceptable timescale, although efforts have been made by the ODPM to rectify this position. The telephone monitoring software installed during the later part of 2004-5 will provide accurate figures of demand, including unfulfilled demand, sufficient for LEASE to be able to produce objective targets.
  LEASE operates on a reactive basis, to respond as best as we can to all enquiries received and out-put strategy has always been based on that premise, as a publicly-funded service. As a centre of excellence in residential leasehold and commonhold law it is inevitable that LEASE is first port of call for a wide range of enquiries from clients, including professional clients who are unable to find information elsewhere or who need to confirm advice received from other sources. It remains a matter of concern that, outside of a limited number of specialist practices, professional advice on these issues remains of a generally poor standard, sometimes wholly incorrect, and it is appropriate that the public should have unrestricted recourse to a free authorative service.
  It may be necessary, to avoid escalating costs, to re-assess this approach and to determine whether any arrangements might be introduced to render service-provision more cost-effective without detriment to present and potential users. It would be advantageous to commission an independent study on potential demand for LEASE services, identifying if possible types of queries and any expected patterns. This will be entirely dependent upon budget provision but is considered a priority for purposes of long-term planning.
  A substantial amount of initial enquiries have been diverted to the website; certainly a large proportion of the 1,000 daily visitors to the website would otherwise contact LEASE as telephone or written enquiries. As noted in para 10.5 above the further development of the site is a priority to provide an interactive interrogation feature with the intention of a further diversion of enquiries.
  Objectives
  - to expand the service sufficient to meet existing demand
  - to provide for further growth to meet latent and developing demand
  - to further increase efficiency through IT and organisational means so as to reduce delay/increase through-put.
  Resources
  - At 31 March 2005 the existing advisory staff consisted of 13 Advisers, dealing with some 28,000 enquiries annually. This included input from the Principal and Senior advisers, plus a proportion of the Chief Executive Officer's time. One Adviser has been seconded by LEASE to ODPM.
  - Each Advisers out-put is monitored against a monthly total target of 2,500 completed cases; performance is recorded in terms of telephone calls received or made, letters or emails responded to and interviews carried out, with duration/response timings. This performance is regularly reviewed as part of standard Staff Appraisal to maximise output to greatest cost-effectiveness.
  - If the service is to be maintained at present levels, the expansion of the sector will necessitate budget provision for additional Advisers, see paras 8.4 and 13.2.
3. Communications strategy
  There is little doubt that LEASE requires a wider exposure to ensure that all potential users are aware of the facility available, which is provided at public cost. All current publicity arises from media contact on issues of current interest or LEASE being linked with publicity generated by another organisation, e.g. ARMA. We have been careful in the development and maintenance of a wide range of media contacts, ensuring that LEASE will invariably be asked for comment on current issues.
  The LEASE website also generates a wide general awareness of the service and needs to be further developed, beyond the areas already identified.
  The LEASE Annual Conference, which performs the joint role of education and publicity will continue as an annual event, with other events being planned.
  Objectives
  - to develop a formal policy and strategy for a wider awareness of LEASE and to actively promote LEASE through press releases, events and other means
  - to further develop the LEASE website to provide a more user active environment and to simplify use
  - to develop a wider conference/seminar role.
  Resources
  - following ODPM's agreement to additional administrative staff, it is considered that few additional resources will be necessary for the communications role as all can be handled in-house. Limited additional costs will arise from the purchase of mailing/contact lists and occasional and very limited consultancy advice.
  - website development will require additional software and improvement to present hardware/IT facilities.
  - conference and event promotion will require no grant resources from central government but will be self-financing through LEASE Conferences Ltd.
4. Publishing
  As set out in para 10.3, LEASE will provide a full publishing service for guidance on leasehold and commonhold issues, both in printed and electronic form.
  All existing ODPM leaflets on residential leasehold issues will be redrafted in the LEASE corporate style to include both a guide to the legislation and also practical advice on implementation, as is the established form for LEASE publications. It is proposed that this guidance, once agreed, will be endorsed by the ODPM and carry the LEASE identity, as well as both the ODPM and WAG logos.
  A contract will also be arranged with a distribution agency for all LEASE publications, both leasehold and commonhold, to ensure that easy access is provided to the guidance for both individual and agency clients.
  Objectives
  - replacement of all existing ODPM leasehold publications with new joint leaflets by Mid 2006, to include all new residential leasehold legislation commenced.
  - production of new publications with further commencement/amendment of primary and secondary legislation relating to both leasehold and commonhold
  - full production responsibility, including to other Government agencies, local authorities, Citizens Advice Bureaux etc, as required.
  Resources
  - additional provision needed in the printing budget.
5. Training
  The communication strategy will actively promote LEASE's training role, both for property managers and professional advisers. Existing training packages will be revised and new packages developed to meet the commencement of further provisions in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. Additional staff will be trained in presentation and training skills to increase output and ensure our training role is met.
  Objectives
  - to position LEASE as a main source of training for professionals on leasehold and commonhold issues.
  Resources
  - none required. Training to professional organisations (including local authorities and others) to be fee-earning sufficient to self-finance; training to residents' organisations to be free or at nominal cost, subsided from professional training where necessary.
6. LEASE Mediation Service
  Much of LEASE's responsive advice provision arises from disputes, or issues of dispute, between tenant and landlord. However, it is clear that there could be considerable benefit in our being able to extend the advice role into arranging and producing mediation between the parties.
  Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is becoming a more widely accepted approach, providing an agreed rather than imposed solution. It is particularly relevant to the leasehold sector where tenants frequently have to continue to live with the landlord after the dispute is over, and where expensive litigation can increase tensions which could have been abated through a mutually agreed, rather than inquisitional or adversarial, approach. This is particularly crucial where the landlord is a resident management company, an increasingly common situation with the increase in collective enfranchisement and the introduction of the right-to-manage.
  LEASE is aware of and has contributed to the Law Commission's review on housing disputes, due to report in 2007, and views ADR as a developing policy issue aimed at overall reform of dispute resolution machinery. We are well placed to offer a mediation service, with our unequalled knowledge and awareness of leasehold law and issues.
  We propose to run a pilot project, 12 months from September 2005, to offer, arrange and provide mediation to clients in or facing dispute. A number of LEASE advisers will receive formal training sufficient to fully qualify as mediators and the scheme will be operated from the new expanded premises.
  However, careful consideration must be given to the effects of providing a mediation service on LEASE's core business, (the provision of advice) the provision of which must not be reduced. If mediation were to take off in any significant numbers, additional resources may be required, although for purposes of the pilot no additional staff resources are required.
  The mediation service would initially be restricted to leasehold issues and its extension to commonhold reviewed after the pilot period.
  The pilot mediation project will be fee-based, initially set at �100 per party; this is intended less as a source of revenue, more a gesture of commitment by the parties.
  Assuming full training and utilisation of LEASE staff, mediations held in the LEASE office would incur no costs and the fee would be all income; assuming a maximum throughput of 50 mediations per year income could be in the area of �10,000. Mediations held outside London would be subject to accommodation and travel costs.
  Objectives
  - to seek an amicable and agreed solution between the parties to the dispute in question, avoiding the need for court or LVT action.
  Resources
  - Training costs for six advisers is estimated at around �6,500, and additional resources (staff) are likely to be required if a mediation service were to take off in any significant way.
7. Working with others to improve management standards
  This is seen as an essential element of LEASE's remit. Proper and effective management is vital to the leasehold sector, and we continue to work closely with a range of organisations to educate managers and improve management standards where necessary.
  Objectives
  - to ensure that the standard of management in the leasehold sector continually improves.
  Resources
  - none required. Already allowed for in existing budgets.
8. Advice to Government
  This is an important role for LEASE and our independent position ensures the provision of wholly impartial advice, based on an unparalleled level of access to the problems of the sector. We are uniquely placed to monitor the effects and practical implementation of new legislation and to make practical recommendations for change.
  Objectives
  - to continue to provide research, information and advice to Government on leasehold and commonhold issues, on our own initiative or in response to requests.
  Resources
  - none required, already allowed for in annual budgets.

Corporate Plan - budget figures

2005-6 2006-7 2007-8
Staff (1) 733,260 (2) 795,427 (3) 859,460
Rent etc 160,000 160,000 160,000
Post etc 28,000 28,000 28,000
Printing 38,340 40,000 40,000
Other Costs 52,000 55,000 55,000
Totals 1,011,600 1,078,427 1,142,460

(1) assumes inclusion of contributory pension @ 10%.
(2) assumes one additional Adviser post plus RPI @ 3%.
(3) assumes one additional Adviser post plus RPI @ 3%
Funding from other Government sources
All figures include the equivalent of one adviser post funded by HMCS, for commonhold work.
Funding from the HMCS, in respect of 2005-6, is equivalent to salary costs for a full time Adviser equivalent. However, the level of enquiries about commonhold have not, to date, increased above 1% of LEASE enquiries overall and it is anticipated that HMCS's contributions for future years may be reviewed to reflect the proportion of commonhold to leasehold enquiries.

2005-6 2006-7 2007-8
HMCS 39,000 10,000 10,000
Approximately 1% of leasehold enquires received by LEASE derive from Wales, and a contribution towards funding is therefore also received from the National Assembly for Wales equivalent to 1% of the funding provided by ODPM. While no agreement has been entered into, for the three years covered by this plan this is anticipated as follows:

2005-6 2006-7 2007-8
NAW 9,600 10,000 10,000
Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) status
While bringing some recognition to LEASE of the role it plays, classification as a NDPB inevitably brings with it certain obligations and requirements that LEASE will need to comply with. In doing so it will create additional burdens and costs, most notably in administrative terms. However, while it is clear that costs will be incurred, at this stage it is not possible to establish a sufficiently clear indication of exactly what effect the classification will have on LEASE and what the additional costs might be. Only once the position is clear will it be possible to take account of the effect of NDPB status.

Appendix 1

BUSINESS PLAN FOR 2005/2006

Area of work Objectives
1 (a) Provision of advice on residential leasehold law (ODPM) (a) To provide comprehensive, objective and impartial advice to tenants, landlords, professional advisers, professional bodies and others on all aspects of residential leasehold law in England and Wales.
(b) Provision of advice on Commonhold law (HMCS) (b) To provide general advice about the law of commonhold land, so far as relating to residential matters to unit holders, commonhold associations, developers, professional advisers and others in England & Wales.
2 (a) Responding to enquiries (Leasehold & commonhold) (a) To aim to respond to 28,000 enquiries in 2005/06.
(b) Target times for responding (b) To aim to respond to 90% of requests for guidance leaflets within 3 working days.
To aim to respond to 80% of enquiries requiring specialist advice within 15 working days.
To aim to respond to 100% of enquiries requiring specialist advice within 25 working days.
(c) Efficiency targets (c) To aim to improve response times for enquiries and increase output for 2006/07 through IT and organisational means, having procedures in place by April 2006.
3 Publications & Website
(a) Residential leasehold (ODPM) (a) Produce joint LEASE/ODPM guidance publications on residential leasehold (in conjunction with ODPM). Distribute leaflets to end users through distribution centre contract as necessary.
Liaise with RPTS on production of "Applying to LVT" guidance with view to avoiding duplication of effort & costs.
(b) Residential commonhold (HMCS) (b) Produce advice publications on residential commonhold as agreed with HMCS, including revisions or additions to current publications to take account of further legislation.
(c) Website (c) Maintain a comprehensive website with access to all LEASE publications & reports, and all LVT decisions and determinations, aiming to have LVT decisions on the website within 2 months of receipt.
4 (a) Statistics and monitoring information. (a) Provide monitoring information and statistics to ODPM (leasehold) and HMCS (commonhold) on a quarterly basis in the form agreed with each Department.
(b) Annual Report (b) To produce the LEASE annual report for 2004/2005 by 30 September 2005.
(c) Related reports and papers. (c) Provide reports, discussion papers and responses to Government consultations as appropriate.
5 Liaison & advice with Government & others
(a) Advising officials and Ministers of the ODPM (leasehold) and HMCS (commonhold). (a) Continue to advise ODPM and HMCS officials and Ministers on residential leasehold issues and the development of residential commonhold.
(b) Working parties and other groups. (b) Continue the operation and servicing of the leasehold reform working party and sub-groups (as necessary). Continue to take part in the Commonhold Consultative Working Group.
Set up and operate the residential leasehold social sector working party.
(c) Communication (c) Develop a strategy for a wider communications strategy to promote awareness of LEASE for implementation in 2006/07
6 (a) Training and awareness in residential leasehold issues and the development of residential commonhold. (a) Devise and effect awareness raising, training and education in leasehold legislation for professionals and others (as necessary).
Arrange an annual conference and seminars (as necessary) on residential leasehold legislation.
Continue to raise awareness of residential commonhold through demand led training.
7 (a) Working with leasehold organisations, professionals and trade bodies. (a) Continue to develop working relations with leaseholder organisations, the professions and trade bodies with an interest in leasehold.
(b) Seminars, speaking engagements & promoting wider understanding of leaseholder rights (Landlord & Tenant Law), and development of residential commonhold. (b)To participate in public speaking engagements/seminars to promote a wider understanding of leaseholder rights and obligations, landlord & tenant Law in general, and the development of commonhold.
(c) Work on improving professional standards of leasehold management (c) Continue to work with ARMA/ARHM/CIH and ODPM towards improving professional standards of management in leasehold property.
8 ENDPB status To achieve compliance with the requirements for NDPB status by April 2006, including:
Production of a Corporate Plan (to include aims, strategic objectives, and key performance measures & targets)
Production of Board Members Code of Practice and Register of interests
Production of a (yearly) business/budgeting plan
production of a staff handbook
Production of a pay remit & terms & conditions of staff
Ensure effective arrangements are in place for internal and external audit purposes.
Develop and publish procedures for dealing with customer complaints
Production of other documents as required to achieve ENDPB status.
Liaising with ODPM, HMCS & NAfW as appropriate on ENDPB issues.
9 Mediation Service (Alternative Dispute Resolution) To develop a pilot mediation service to allow disputing parties the option of resolving landlord & tenant disputes.
10 Accommodation Ensure that the relocation of LEASE to new premises, including the fitting out of offices, provision of IT services and dissemination of the new address details is achieved by Autumn 2005.

Appendix 2
EQUALITY & DIVERSITY STATEMENT
As well as being an employer the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) is an organisation that provides a service to a diverse society. We are committed to the principles of fairness and equality in both employment and service delivery, and to treating its directors, staff and users fairly regardless of race, ethnic or national origin, social circumstances or background, religion, gender, marital status, age, disability or sexual orientation.
As a service provider we aim to:
- Provide an advice service which is accessible to, and takes account of the interest of all sections of society
- Ensure that the service provided meets the needs and expectations of the service users and that users receive fair treatment in their dealings with LEASE
- Provide clear, meaningful information about LEASE's services and ensure that information is provided in other languages or formats on request
- Seek to influence others with whom we work, or from whom we purchase goods and services, to recognise and share a commitment to valuing diversity.
As an employer we aim to:
- Employ a workforce that reflects a diverse society
- Provide equality of opportunity in the recruitment and development of our staff
- Eliminate unfair discrimination and harassment in our workplace
- Involve all staff in discussions about equality and diversity issues and how they can be improved
Complaints
Any complaints arising from this policy and its application will be handled through the established LEASE complaints procedure.
Monitoring
LEASE will monitor its policies and actions continuously to ensure they conform with best practice.

	2005-6	2006-7	2007-8
Staff	(1) 733,260	(2) 795,427	(3) 859,460
Rent etc	160,000	160,000	160,000
Post etc	28,000	28,000	28,000
Printing	38,340	40,000	40,000
Other Costs	52,000	55,000	55,000
Totals	1,011,600	1,078,427	1,142,460

	Area of work	Objectives
1	(a) Provision of advice on residential leasehold law (ODPM)	(a) To provide comprehensive, objective and impartial advice to tenants, landlords, professional advisers, professional bodies and others on all aspects of residential leasehold law in England and Wales.
1	(b) Provision of advice on Commonhold law (HMCS)	(b) To provide general advice about the law of commonhold land, so far as relating to residential matters to unit holders, commonhold associations, developers, professional advisers and others in England & Wales.
2	(a) Responding to enquiries (Leasehold & commonhold)	(a) To aim to respond to 28,000 enquiries in 2005/06.
	(b) Target times for responding	(b) To aim to respond to 90% of requests for guidance leaflets within 3 working days. To aim to respond to 80% of enquiries requiring specialist advice within 15 working days. To aim to respond to 100% of enquiries requiring specialist advice within 25 working days.
	(c) Efficiency targets	(c) To aim to improve response times for enquiries and increase output for 2006/07 through IT and organisational means, having procedures in place by April 2006.
3	Publications & Website
	(a) Residential leasehold (ODPM)	(a) Produce joint LEASE/ODPM guidance publications on residential leasehold (in conjunction with ODPM). Distribute leaflets to end users through distribution centre contract as necessary. Liaise with RPTS on production of "Applying to LVT" guidance with view to avoiding duplication of effort & costs.
	(b) Residential commonhold (HMCS)	(b) Produce advice publications on residential commonhold as agreed with HMCS, including revisions or additions to current publications to take account of further legislation.
	(c) Website	(c) Maintain a comprehensive website with access to all LEASE publications & reports, and all LVT decisions and determinations, aiming to have LVT decisions on the website within 2 months of receipt.
4	(a) Statistics and monitoring information.	(a) Provide monitoring information and statistics to ODPM (leasehold) and HMCS (commonhold) on a quarterly basis in the form agreed with each Department.
	(b) Annual Report	(b) To produce the LEASE annual report for 2004/2005 by 30 September 2005.
	(c) Related reports and papers.	(c) Provide reports, discussion papers and responses to Government consultations as appropriate.
5	Liaison & advice with Government & others
	(a) Advising officials and Ministers of the ODPM (leasehold) and HMCS (commonhold).	(a) Continue to advise ODPM and HMCS officials and Ministers on residential leasehold issues and the development of residential commonhold.
	(b) Working parties and other groups.	(b) Continue the operation and servicing of the leasehold reform working party and sub-groups (as necessary). Continue to take part in the Commonhold Consultative Working Group. Set up and operate the residential leasehold social sector working party.
	(c) Communication	(c) Develop a strategy for a wider communications strategy to promote awareness of LEASE for implementation in 2006/07
6	(a) Training and awareness in residential leasehold issues and the development of residential commonhold.	(a) Devise and effect awareness raising, training and education in leasehold legislation for professionals and others (as necessary). Arrange an annual conference and seminars (as necessary) on residential leasehold legislation. Continue to raise awareness of residential commonhold through demand led training.
7	(a) Working with leasehold organisations, professionals and trade bodies.	(a) Continue to develop working relations with leaseholder organisations, the professions and trade bodies with an interest in leasehold.
	(b) Seminars, speaking engagements & promoting wider understanding of leaseholder rights (Landlord & Tenant Law), and development of residential commonhold.	(b)To participate in public speaking engagements/seminars to promote a wider understanding of leaseholder rights and obligations, landlord & tenant Law in general, and the development of commonhold.
	(c) Work on improving professional standards of leasehold management	(c) Continue to work with ARMA/ARHM/CIH and ODPM towards improving professional standards of management in leasehold property.
8	ENDPB status	To achieve compliance with the requirements for NDPB status by April 2006, including: Production of a Corporate Plan (to include aims, strategic objectives, and key performance measures & targets) Production of Board Members Code of Practice and Register of interests Production of a (yearly) business/budgeting plan production of a staff handbook Production of a pay remit & terms & conditions of staff Ensure effective arrangements are in place for internal and external audit purposes. Develop and publish procedures for dealing with customer complaints Production of other documents as required to achieve ENDPB status. Liaising with ODPM, HMCS & NAfW as appropriate on ENDPB issues.
9	Mediation Service (Alternative Dispute Resolution)	To develop a pilot mediation service to allow disputing parties the option of resolving landlord & tenant disputes.
10	Accommodation	Ensure that the relocation of LEASE to new premises, including the fitting out of offices, provision of IT services and dissemination of the new address details is achieved by Autumn 2005.

	2005-6	2006-7	2007-8
NAW	9,600	10,000	10,000