Agenda item

The Report of the Strategic Director of Housing and Customer Service.

The Interim Head of Housing presented the report and highlighted that the repairs team is currently running at a 23% vacancy rate which had applied pressure on the council’s ability to deliver.

It was noted that mould and damp have been a particular issue and that around 500 cases had been identified which the department were now targeting. A particular area which needed to be addressed was the way in which repairs are categorised and targeted. It was highlighted that the new Head of Housing will be joining the authority in April and that she has a strong background in repairs and maintenance.

A member stated that he felt the quality of service had declined in recent years and officers responded that issues had been identified in the journey of repairs which were now being looked at. Solutions could involve upskilling front line staff to ensure the correct operatives are allocated to repairs jobs and to ensure that information is recorded accurately within the system.

In respect of member concerns around Park View sheltered housing, officers advised the meeting that emergency repairs had been carried out and that internal roof tiles had been removed to enable monitoring of the leak. It was confirmed that a budget had been approved to replace the roof of the sheltered schemes. The impact of Covid 19 was highlighted and members were assured that the council is working hard to catch up with repairs which had fallen behind as a consequence.

A member outlined some individual cases in council owned homes which had concerned him, and officers advised that the number of Housing Officers had been increased recently with two specialist officers employed to undertake tenancy audits, which would involve making referrals and carrying out inspections. It was noted that some of the problems which had been faced are resultant of cutbacks in social care more than a housing problem, and these more complex issues had been detracting from resources.

A member requested that Councillors be enabled to access the repairs system in order to see whether tenant problems had been logged or dealt with and officers advised that this should be possible and would allow members to be more aware of what cases were in their ‘patch’.

A member enquired as to how the understaffing issue had arisen and was advised that there had been problems nationally in recruiting to these industries as set out in the report.

A member asked why component replacement as a metric had risen so steeply and was advised that it is just the way the metric is displayed, and although it had been related to spend it was not a direct correlation.

A member suggested that a specific timescale be provided to give Scrutiny committee an update and it was agreed that 6 months would be a reasonable time to allow for investigative work to be carried out.

By affirmation of the meeting, it was

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    The report be noted and commented on by the Corporate Scrutiny Committee.

2.    An update report be added to the future workplan in approximately six months.