Agenda item

To receive an update on a range of performance indicators relating to the Housing service.

The Panel received a set of slides which provided an update on  arrange of Key Performance Indicators relating to the Housing Service, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 17-48. The following arose as part of the discussion of this item:

a.    The Panel commented on the 38% score for handling of ASB as part of the tenant satisfaction measures. In response the Cabinet Member commented that ASB was a difficult issue, particularly given the vulnerabilities of some of the people who perpetrated it. The Cabinet Member pointed to some successes in getting closure orders to prevent some of the more serious cases and commented that it was hoped that better cross working between the Council’s ASB team and the Housing ASB team, as well as the roll out of the good neighbour policy would help. The Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health commented that bringing these services together in one directorate helped focus support for vulnerable people. It was also commented that there was some work being undertaken with health partners, including the allocation of £2.6m to fund assertive outreach work, which included supporting mental health.

b.    The Panel commented that the level of homes that met the Decent Homes standard seemed to have remained fairly static. In response, officers advised that the Council had a target to bring all homes up to the decent homes standard by 2028 and that there had been an 8% improvement over the last three years. Officers also cautioned that the figure was not static and that homes became non-decent during the course of the programme.

c.     The Panel commented that there seemed to be a knock-on impact to resident satisfaction with things like repairs, arising from the problems they experienced in contacting the Council about that repair. The Panel set out the importance of improving call waiting times and being able to update tenants regularly on the particulars of their case. In response, officers acknowledged these concerns and the fact that there had been a drop in telephony performance within Customer Services in the past couple of months. It was commented that additional resources were being put into that team and that there was a service recovery plan in place. Officers also highlighted the importance of digital innovation and the integration of the Customer Services interface with the Housing repairs system. Officers commented that the Council had removed the capping of calls and that there was a system in place for people to get a call back.

d.    The Panel commented that the data suggested that performance around levels of satisfaction with repairs had decreased in the current year compared to last and that the Council had consistently failed to meet it’s target on this KPI. In response, officers set out that there were a number of factors that impacted performance in this area including; contact centre waiting times, volume of repairs, type of repairs. Officers provided assurances that they were working to resolve these issues and they had restructured the management of repairs and improved the process of tracking complex repairs.

e.    The Panel queried whether Council Tax was owed on empty void properties. In response, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Resources confirmed that this was the case.

f.      The Panel queried decreasing performance around leaseholder collection charges. In response, officers advised that annual bills went out to leaseholders in September and that this usually coincided an increase in queries where the leaseholder disputed some aspect of the bill. In addition, the bills had increased this year and this had led to a decrease in collection rates. Officers advised that there would be some briefings arranged for councillors and residents groups to explain some of the issues that had arisen this year.

g.    In relation to voids, officers advised that they were in the process of reestablishing the internal teams and reorganising them so they were multi-skilled. In addition, the Council had just appointed two new void contractors, so it was envisaged that this would make an impact in terms of being able to turn around more void properties. The Cabinet Member commented that historically, the Council had around 200 new lets in a year, but this year it had been 750. There was a lot more voids properties to turn around due to the increase in people moving into newly build Council homes.

RESOLVED

That the update was noted.