Our Customer Feedback
"Yvonne Castle worked to support the Council's Comprehensive Performance Assessment in May 2008 Having been highly recommended by a previous client, another local authority, we already had an idea of the sort of support that she would offer. We agreed a number of ways we would like Yvonne to work with us that included reviewing our self-assessment, assessing our proposed evidence list and undertaking mock interviews with officers and members selected for inteview by the Audit Commission. She was very well prepared and undertook supportive yet challenging interviews designed to get the best out of attendees and to help them to better prepare fo the 'real thing'. A really positive detail was Yvonne gave each person a list of potential questions and areas for further investigation. Finally Yvonne presented a well researched and informative overview of her findings to our Exective members and senior officers after completion of interviews. She knew her subject area well and her past experience of having undertaken CPA inspections was evident in the attention to detail and knowledge of potential inspection questions. Yvonne's work definately helped us to better preapre for our inspection and I would highly recommend her to any other local authority or similar organisation going, or planning to go, through an external assessment."
Lorraine Poyster
Head of Executive Office
Erewash Borough Council
Wharncliffe Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 5RP
Telephone: 0115 907 2241
"Yvonne, I would like to offer my personal thanks for helping us to prepare for this inspection. Your desktop review of the self assessment was pivotal in getting our submission right and the mock inspection was invaluable as a dry run through a safe environment. Both of these elements have been key to our success."
Peter Simpson
Chief Executive
Hambleton District Council (scored excellent through CPA)
Civic Centre, Stonecross, Northallerton, North
Yorkshire
,
DL6 2UU
Telephone: 0845 1211 555
“Very pleased with both the quality of work and the outcomes. Good feedback from the participants, who felt much better prepared for the CPA Inspection as a result of this work. Yvonne Castle's background with the Audit Commission was particularly useful.”
Pat Wilson
Policy and Performance Director
High Peak Borough Council (scored excellent through CPA)
Hayfield Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, SK23 0QJ
Telephone: 0845 129 7777
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"YC Change Consultants carried out a full service Mock Inspection for the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust in November 2006 and have recently carried out a series of Health Checks on specific housing services. Yvonne and her team were comprehensive in their approach bringing a degree of rigour to the process that would be expected from external inspection. They remained approachable and informative throughout and both our employees on an individual basis and the trust collectively have gained much from the process. Deadlines were always met and the comprehensive reports produced afterwards have greatly helped develop our service improvement planning. In particular their best practice advice has helped us learn from others and achieve the quick wins they identified."
Andy Padmore
Corporate Performance Manager
Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust
Fairfax House, 69 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2NJ
Telephone: 01296 732635
“Just a note to say thank you for the excellent work you carried out for Corby Borough Council as part of our preparation for our Housing Inspection. Your comments on the self assessment and key documentation for the inspection process were first rate. Your external expertise was clear and focused and has helped us in our preparation. I have attached the final version of the self assessment for your information, once again thank you for your expertise, regards.”
Angela Warburton
Assistant Chief Executive and Head of Neighbourhood Pride
Corby Borough Council
Grosvenor House, George Street, Corby, Northants, NN17 1QB
Telephone: 01536 464003
"Yvonne and her team were excellent. The inspection process was challenging, but fair, and has really helped us move forward with our improvement plans. Our Members, staff and tenants found the team extremely approachable and knowledgeable and we all feel much more informed about the process and are well prepared for our actual inspection. We would recommend Yvonne to any of our peers in the future.
Ian Broughton
Director of Community Services
Chester-le-Street District Council
Civic Centre,
Newcastle
Road,
Chester-le-Street
, Co Durham, DH3 3UT
"From the very beginning Yvonne was methodical, helpful and kept me informed on a regular basis on progress and initial thoughts on the service provided. All the required deadlines were met and where additional deadlines were put in at short notice they were never refused. It is comforting to know from the outset that Yvonne was a Associate Inspector of the Audit Commission so therefore the work she did on "Challenge" on Homelessness were very much from the Audit Commission's perspective which was extremely useful to us as we are to have a Strategic Housing Inspection in the very near future Finally, the client/contractor relationship throughout was excellent."
Wyn Aston
Acting Head of Housing
Craven District Council
Granville Street, Skipton, BD23 1PS
Telephone: 01756 706338
"YC Change Consultants have worked with “Johnnie” Johnson Housing for several years, specifically acting as a “critical friend” in our preparations for Audit Commission inspection. They are utterly professional, extremely knowledgeable, and never short-changes on her promises, so is that rarity – a consultant who delivers value for money; they delighted us with the depth and breadth of their scrutiny in a very concentrated inspection. Their feedback was fair-minded and objective and the professional approach of the team earned the trust and respect of all."
Jim Lunney
Chief Executive
'Johnnie' Johnson Housing Trust
Astra House, Spinners Lane, Poynton, Cheshire, SK12 1GA
Telephone: 0845 604 1027
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"A big thank you to Y C Change Consultants Ltd for their invaluable help in training our residents on how to carry out mystery shopping. The training was relaxed, fun and interactive and enabled our reisdents to feel more confident in becoming involved in helping us to tailor our services more effectively. In addition to the training they advised on the most effective way of carrying out the process leaving everyone really clear about how to proceed."
Olivia Jackson
Head of Customer Service
Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust
Fairfax House, 69 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2NJ
Telephone: 01296 732605
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“During her time with Allerdale Borough Council Yvonne has been a highly regarded colleague to us, wider portfolio holders and elected members and the rest of the Management Team. She is a highly motivated individual who is delivery orientated and certainly a colleague that can be relied upon to take forward sound decisions, and deliver tangible results in an inclusive and measured way. Throughout this period at Allerdale, Yvonne has tackled complex management issues providing professional evidence based solutions and has used her expertise in local government and performance management to address a number of service based and corporate performance challenges. This has raised awareness of the importance of evidence based solutions performance information to officers and elected members to support our improvement and development agenda. Yvonne was a valued member of the Corporate Team and the knowledge and expertise she has provided will have a lasting affect within the organisation”.
Jim Musgrave, Leader of the Council
Gillian Bishop, Chief Executive
Allerdale Borough Council
Allerdale House, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 3YJ
Telephone: 01900 702702
“Yvonne worked as an interim Head of Policy and Performance for us for 4 months. I was amazed at how quickly Yvonne fitted into our organisation and with our culture. She adapted immediately and has worked extremely well with colleagues at all levels. I’ve felt that Yvonne’s been working with us a long time! She has managed our corporate policy and performance team and has supported all colleagues through our Corporate Assessment. I would have no hesitation in recommending Yvonne to anyone. Her help has been much appreciated.”
George Garlick
Chief Executive
Stockton On Tees Borough Council
Municipal Buildings, PO Box 11, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD
Telephone: 01642 527000
"I can't heap enough praise for Yvonne's interpersonal and management skills. She managed the Policy and Performance team through the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, providing excellent guidance and support for those that were lucky enough to work with her. A big thank you once again."
Jenny Elstob
Residents' Panel Co-ordinator
Stockton On Tees Borough Council,
Municipal Buildings, PO Box 11, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD
Telephone: 01642 393939
"I know I didn't have a lot of direct contact with you while you worked here Yvonne, but I appreciated having such a positive person around when lots of people were feeling the pressure. You are obviously very knowledgeable about what you do and your motivational approach to work and management was really refreshing. There was also a member of staff from another section who made similar comments to me. She felt your approach was really inspiring and motivated her to want to provide what was needed, rather than feeling as though it was an extra demand during an already busy and stressful time. I think for someone from a different area of the council to make this comment really is a testament to your style of working.”
Kirsty McNally
Diversity Officer
Stockton On Tees Borough Council
Working with Yvonne was a great experience. she is both inspiring and motivating. Yvonne’s professionalism is always evident but she also takes the time to get to know the people she’s working with and make it enjoyable. It’s rare to find someone who works as hard but still manages to have a sense of humour. At Allerdale, more than 12 months later, we’re still reaping the rewards. I’d jump at the chance to work with her again, she’s a true gem!
Hazel Cushin
Head of Corporate Services
Allerdale Borough Council
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“Yvonne carried out an Emergency Planning health check for us, along with a prioritised action plan for implementation of the same in relation to tenants’ homes and also our office’s (business continuity). The quality of work and timescales within which it was completed were excellent and I would have no hesitation in recommending Yvonne for this work. This area is one that can be overlooked by RSL’s until an incident happens – I would urge other RSL’s to address this before any major incidents arise. Yvonne is very flexible in her approach to work and will carry out as little or as much of the process depending on the amount of resources you have to spend.”
Julie Smith
Head of Operations
Green Vale Homes
Green Vale Court, New Hall Hey Road, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, BB4 6HR
Tel: 01706 836323
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