Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Commission to provide an update on the performance of the Housing Divisions Repairs and Maintenance service.

The Head of Service presented the item in which it was noted that:

·       Work has been focussed over recent years to improve voids performance to ensure properties are available for let with significant improvements realised and a reduction in the number of voids held at any one time.

·       Resources are being prioritised to respond to ongoing issues around damp and mould given the heightened awareness following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak. A damp and mould policy has been developed with cross divisional working and a commitment as a landlord to deal swiftly with mould. Greater allocation of resource to ensure inspections are undertaken quicker to assess and identify any works has resulted in some increased work in other areas. Measures to tackle damp and mould include humidity tracking, dehumidifiers and mould resistant paint.

·       Repairs were completed within target time for 85% of cases, although key performance indicators of day-to-day responsive repairs are not meeting set targets. There has been an increase in repairs and issues with resource to undertake works has been a challenge. Recruitment in craft and trade industries can be seen nationally and across public and private sectors. The service have also struggled with the backlog that was created during the pandemic where only emergency repairs were permitted, and a further spike was caused by the cyber attack that prevented access to systems to undertake day-to-day repairs.

·       Improvements have continued with emergency repairs. Tenants are more educated on what constitutes a genuine emergency repair to ensure a better service is provided and responding quicker where necessary.

·       The gas servicing team continue to work to ensure almost 100% compliance with meeting legal requirements for gas safety checks. The team have supported the district heating meter programme, assisting with ensuring systems are operating as efficiently as possible for tenants to pay for what is needed. Three new gas engineers have been appointed through the internal apprenticeship programme and have also been successful in external recruitment.

·       Recruitment continues to be a challenge with twenty vacancies. Issues also persist that when individuals are recruited, other officers may be promoted or moving within the division creating vacant posts again. The service is working with Human Resources to identify how to broaden and attract talent. The apprenticeship programme has been expanded from 30 to 40, with an intention of training, recruiting and retaining individuals.

·       Materials are required to fulfil repairs and the service have advertised a tender for an inventory management system to modernise stores. Also tendering for materials framework for core items to be delivered and provide better assurance that stock will be available in aa shorter timeframe to allow appointments to be booked to complete repairs and provide a more efficient service.

·       A project group is working across the repairs service to identify improvements, including better van stock to enable repair completion on first time visit and grouping works together to prevent multiple visits etc. 

In response to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·       Housing stock affected by damp and mould is a small proportion at around 3-5%. The team have reviewed information and advice available on our website and work with public health and neighbourhoods to ensure tenants and those in the private rented sector are educated. The service is also working proactively to ensure officer are able to identify and report early signs of damp and mould when undertaking work to better understand our housing stock and intervene earlier. It was agreed that information can be shared with the commission on update communication and options for when assessing a property.

·       The pandemic had an impact on the performance of the repairs service, but the main challenge continues to be recruitment issues. All roles are job evaluated and governed by the local authority pay structure, but additional council employee benefits are promoted to incentivise and attract candidates. The Council have simplified the recruitment process as it was recognised that trades may not follow the traditional recruitment route of completing forms. The service work with colleges and attend job fairs to attract talent but skill shortages can be seen nationally across construction and trade sectors, with contractors also highlighting they are unable to complete additional requested due to limited resource.

·       The service work with adult social care and tenancy management as well as liaising directly with tenants to identify and prioritise those who are vulnerable. If tenants are known to be vulnerable, they will be allocated priority one for works to be completed within fourteen day whereas priority two requires works to be completed within eight weeks. Timeframes are defined by the policy but cases can be escalated and often completed quicker where concerns are raised and vulnerabilities known.

·       A service improvement plan was created to address performance for voids which includes various factors for efficiencies. This includes undertaking better surveys initially to identify works needed, working with tenancy management to ensure tenants are aware of their responsibilities before handing the keys back, strengthening cross service working and capital investment. The repairs pledge also allow tenants the opportunity to move into a void quicker by completing works to ensure safe and other works within six weeks at a convenient time for the tenants.

·       Repairs are categorised when raised for timeframe to be completed, such as within 24hours, 14working days and a year etc. Key performance indicators are measured for whether repairs are completed in their allocated category timeframe.

·       Various determinants can impact whether a repair is deemed an emergency or not. Call agents are able to provide advice to tenants and discuss solutions for cases.

·       A supply of core radiator  stock that is regularly used is stored by the service but there are so many different types and sizes of radiators that it would not be possible to store all types fitted across the housing stock. It would not be feasible to replace all radiators with a standard solution as they would have been determined for appropriateness of room size, type of building etc. 

·       The service has around 300 craft staff and management support. There are currently 20 vacancies and therefore a significant shortage of skills to be able to undertake work per day, week, year etc.

·       The centralised planning team work more efficiently to be able to respond to damp and mould or complex repair cases. Previously, teams would work in silo to complete repairs but now work together to ensure teams are aligned and multiple tasks booked together to provide a streamlined process and better service.

It was highlighted that the repairs and maintenance service is for council owned housing stock although the private rented sector strategy includes standards that can be enforced, and an item is listed on the work programme for further discussion at a future meeting.

AGREED:

·       The Commission noted the report.

·       Additional information to be circulated.