Pathmeads Housing Association, part of the Genesis Housing Group, has received a two star (good service) rating with promising prospects for improvement, from Audit Commission inspectors.

The inspection covered Pathmeads Temporary Housing, and was the first Audit Commission inspection to focus specifically on temporary housing. Pathmeads is the largest Registered Social Landlord providing temporary accommodation, managing around 5,000 units across 14 London boroughs.

The Audit Commission inspection team, which visited Pathmeads in September 2007, said that the association's over-arching approach to managing quality temporary housing goes above and beyond the minimum contract standard required, placing the tenant at its heart. Inspectors said Pathmeads' clear customer service culture is shared by all staff, who deliver a consistently high standard of customer service. They noted that customer satisfaction is high across most individual service areas.

The Commission's report also highlighted Pathmeads' strong Board and management structure and praised the commitment and service ethos of its staff.

Other strengths highlighted by the Audit Commission included good access to information and services, with comprehensive customer profile information used to tailor services, and a clear lead from Genesis on equality and diversity. The inspectors also praised the association's robust approach to managing value for money.

Tom McGregor, Managing Director of Pathmeads said: "We are very pleased with the outcome of a very positive inspection process. We feel very strongly that families in temporary housing should receive a service every bit as good as those in permanent housing, and have gone to great lengths to develop our Quality Temporary Housing service. The inspection demonstrates that we are achieving this. It sets us the challenge to improve the service even further, and will help us to develop the service to another level."

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Notes to editors

Pathmeads Housing Association is part of the Genesis Housing Group. It was created in February 2003 when there was a merger of the former West Hampstead Housing Association and PCHA temporary housing.

In addition to temporary housing, Pathmeads:
• Is managing a pilot Settled Lettings Agency scheme on behalf of the Communities and Local Government department and five south east London local authorities;
• Has developed a range of 'temporary to settled' leasing schemes;
• Works with local authorities across the south of England on refurbishing and managing empty homes;
• Provides a range of contract management, block management and mixed tenure management services for local authorities and private investors.

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east, with the overiding aim of putting customers first and providing excellent service to all. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. Genesis also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community and is one of the largest and most successful housing groups in the UK, owning and/or managing more than 40,000 homes.

The Audit Commission is an independent body responsible for ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively, to achieve high-quality local and national services for the public. Their remit covers around 11,000 bodies in England, which between them spend more than £180 billion of public money each year. Their work covers local government, health, housing, community safety and fire and rescue services.