As a bungalow care alarm user, we’re seeking your feedback on how it is funded and how the cost is charged to our residents, to help us plan future improvements to the service. Complete the survey for a chance to win a £75 supermarket voucher of your choice.

Earlier this year, Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) contacted all bungalow care alarm users to inform them of the £1 increase for the service in 2025/2026, and the need to further increase the charges to fully cover the cost to fund the care alarm in your home.

The current care alarm system for general needs bungalows is funded through a mix of resident payments and a grant from Plymouth City Council (PCC) which is gradually being phased out (reduced by half in 2025/26 and reduced again by half in 2026/27) and will end in 2027.

The full cost of running the service (maintenance, all equipment, support and call monitoring) is £4.70 per week.

We recognise any increase is difficult, and we want to hear your thoughts and feedback on how we transition to full payment with two different options put to you below.

Don't miss the deadline - This survey will close at 11pm on 16th November 2025. If you would like to know more please feel free to call us on 0808 230 6500 or email residentinvolvement@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk
Information on payment options

Current Payer categories – Protected Payers (1&2) and Full Payers
There are currently three different types of payers for our bungalow care alarms. These include:
· Protected Payers 1 – residents who started to use the service before April 2025 and are in receipt of housing related benefits.
· Protected Payers 2 – residents who started to use the service before April 2025 and are not in receipt of housing related benefits.
· Full Payers – residents who started the service from April 2025 who currently pay the full charge (currently *£4.70). Residents who already pay the full charge will not be subject to a stepped increase, only a 15-20p inflationary increase.

*The full charge (£4.70) is reviewed each year and is subject to PCH Board approval, it will usually increase annually from April based on the September rate of inflation (CPI).


What are the proposed changes to bungalow alarm payments?
We are currently looking at two different funding options per type of payer for the bungalow care alarms. At the current rate, it will take approximately four years of increases to reach the full charge for option one, and three years for option 2.

· Protected Payers 1 – currently paying £1.00 per week, will be subject to the stepped increase. Options are to apply an increase of £1.00, or £2.00 extra per week each year until the full charge (currently *£4.70) is reached.
· Protected Payers 2 – currently paying £3.35 per week, will be subject to a reduced stepped increase as your current charge is already close to the full charge. Options are to apply a stepped increase of 50p or £1.00 extra per week each year until the full charge (currently *£4.70) is reached.
· Full Payers – currently paying *£4.70 per week, will only see a small increase from next April in line with CPI inflation (estimated at around 15-20p increase per week).

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* Which one of these options do you prefer the most?

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* Do you have any other suggestions or concerns about the bungalow care alarm system charges?

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* Do you currently have access to the internet or Wi-Fi in your home?

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* Have you completed a PCH survey before?

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* How satisfied were you with this feedback form?

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* Do you agree that PCH values suggestions and ideas from residents and uses this feedback to influence service quality and delivery?

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* Do you agree that PCH works in partnership with residents and provides opportunities for you to hold us to account about the quality of our homes and services?

Help us make sure we reach all residents
In this section, we ask you to tell us a bit more about yourself to help to make sure we are hearing from a range of voices. Please note that disclosing this information is optional. All feedback is confidential, and is collected solely for reporting purposes which will be anonymous and will not be used to identify any individual resident.

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* Are you a PCH resident?

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* Which of these age groups are you in?

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* Are you?

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* To which of these groups do you belong?

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* Which of these best describes your current circumstances? (Please tick all that are relevant)

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* Thank you for your feedback.
Please select from the following options. Disclosing this information is optional and you are only asked to provide your contact details if you have chosen to enter the prize draw or have expressed interest in receiving follow-up communication or getting involved with PCH. Please note: This information will not be included in the report and will be used solely for administering the prize draw or responding to your request.

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* Please enter your details below if you have ticked any box above

Thank you for completing our survey. For information about this survey or to discuss getting involved, please contact Resident Involvement Team on FREEPHONE 0808 230 6500 or email residentinvolvement@plymouthcommunityhomes.co.uk

PRIVACY NOTICE
Important Notice: Your feedback is valuable to us and we acknowledge that some of the content may be sensitive and results will be anonymised to protect your identity. However, by participating in this survey, you are disclosing information at your own discretion. PCH may be able to signpost you to support and we will respond to safeguarding issues and any other welfare disclosures.

Please note this survey is confidential. All survey results will be anonymised in report. The information you provide will be stored securely and handled according to GDPR regulations. You are only asked to give your contact details if you have specified that you want to be entered into the PCH prize draw to be won by a PCH tenant or have ticked any of the boxes re feedback or joining an information list. A Prize Draw Winner will be chosen at random after the survey has closed. The winner will be notified in due course. If the selected winner cannot be contacted within 10 working days, an alternative winner will be chosen. We will not publicise the winner's details unless we have permission to do so. For more information on how we handle your personal data and your individual rights, please refer to the Privacy Notices on our website or request a paper copy from us.

Specific housing issues or complaints
We strongly recommend that you contact your Housing Officer with regard to specific problems that you may have mentioned in this survey, or discuss your complaint with our Customer Experience Team by calling 0808 230 6500. Please note we will not accept comments that are discriminatory, defamatory or that use offensive language.

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