Agenda item

This report provides an update on the current position of the Repairs and Maintenance Team and its performance throughout 2024-25.

The Housing Heads of Service provided an update on the Repairs and Maintenance team’s performance. The following key points were noted:

·       The report was written in February 2025, and the presentation would highlight areas of concern and the progress recorded to date.

·       The council managed 19,500 properties and 1,700 leaseholders across the city. The repairs team were responsible for repairs, compliance works (gas, fire, electrical, lifts), maintenance, and renovation works across the property stock. These were categorised under responsive repairs, emergency out-of-hours repairs, compliance work, planned maintenance, and renovation of void properties.

·       Repairs generally fell into three categories:

- Priority 1 (emergency repairs): Response time within 24 hours.

- Priority 2(routine repairs): Response time within 10 working days

- Priority 3 (programmed repairs): Response time between 8 – 52 weeks.

·       The team were working on improving current performance timescales in the coming months and adopting a new approach to ensure consistent data reporting and alignment with the requirements of the Social Housing Regulator.

·       A major challenge faced by the team was resourcing, which was a national issue, particularly within the construction industry. However, there had been some recent improvements given the collaboration with the recruitment team through the apprenticeship programme.

·       Another concern was job cancellations, with around 20,000 jobs cancelled this financial year, representing about 16% of all repairs. It was noteworthy that the repairs trend showed an increase in repairs reported, completed and cancelled in 2024/25.

·       There had been improvements in the repair KPIs since the report was written. An example given was that outstanding repairs had now reduced to less than 10,000, while out-of-category repairs were now about 4000. The team, however, recognised that the overall performance was below target on the percentage of repairs for general repairs, and efforts were underway to close this gap.

·       The out-of-category repairs primarily involved external works, which were relatively low risk. Over 60% of the outstanding repairs had had an initial visit, which helped to evaluate vulnerabilities and expedite the repairs (if necessary), based on findings.

·       The reduction of out-of-category repairs was, however, a priority, and the HRA Safety Oversight Board had been set up to receive a monthly progress report on the set targets. The Board had also agreed on a set of options to increase capacity and reduce the number of outstanding jobs, including additional contractor support, overtime support for operatives, implementing increased performance targets, and changing the process of how jobs are dealt with.

·       Most properties had annual visits (eg/ Annual Gas Safety check), which allowed tenants to raise concerns. Tenants could also report repairs through other available channels, and staff were trained to proactively identify repair needs during their visits.

·       The team was on track to meet the current projections for improvements over the next months, and steps had been taken to achieve this. Some of these were moving forward with a dedicated repairs contractor that meets the scope of requirements. The team also ensured that the right types of contractors were doing the required work, additional support was provided when needed, and resources were moved to areas where there was an increase in demand to enable the right level of capacity.

Compliance-Related Repairs

·       The team were well-established and had good processes in place for gas and fire. However, electrical EICR compliance was relatively new because it came into effect in April 2024, when domestic properties were mandated to carry out testing on a 5-yearly basis. To meet this requirement, a contractor had been engaged, and there was additional support in place internally. It was also planned that the apprenticeship programme would bring 11 more electricians onboard, which would improve the overall position of the team.

·       The communal EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Reports) compliance was currently at 89 % and was expected to be 100% in the next few weeks. The goal was for domestic EICR to be 60% compliant by financial year-end.

·       The challenge of the unavailability of tenants, leading to cancellations, also manifested under this category of repairs. There were plans to improve this via Housing Online and through improvements of the processes by which tenants were engaged.

Gas Compliance

·       The compliance rate was currently at 99.78%, but for some years, the compliance rate had been 100%, and the plan was to keep it this way. The principle utilised to maintain this high level of compliance would be extended to electrical compliance, including embedding similar processes, quality assurance, and quality control.

·       There had been an improvement to the performance since the report was written, for example, the total outstanding repairs had reduced to 825 and out-of-category repairs to 459. The out-of-category target for gas by year-end was 0.

·        There were no gas safety critical repairs that were out-of-category because of the established process for dealing with this. Where there was a complaint of a potential gas leak, the contractor would attend within 4 hours to investigate. A follow-up visit would also be arranged, and any necessary works undertaken. Tenants would be given safety advice, e.g., ventilating the property, etc.

Fire inspection

·       Performance was generally good, though further improvements were required. 90% of the repairs were completed within the category, with most issues stemming from the inability to gain access to the properties.

·       Another challenge was the wrong categorisation of complaints, which usually required housekeeping and re-categorisation.

Damp & mould

·       There continued to be an upward trend in demand, which had doubled compared to 2021-2023. This was a priority, with a new contractor engaged and the internal processes changed to ensure the right resources were available. There had been significant improvements since writing the report. Repairs in out-of-category, which were previously 1514, were now down to 1127. Based on the current progress being maintained, the team was projecting 0 out-of-category repairs by year-end.

·       The team’s approach was to ensure compliance with Awab’s Law (which was due to come into force in October 2025), refocus resources, and remove immediate risk by visiting properties which had outstanding damp work. The team was also collaborating with the Public Health team for a strategic needs assessment to understand vulnerabilities.

Voids

The voids team had made significant improvements over the last three years, achieving a sustainable vacancy rate of 1.45%, which was below the standard 2% target. Traditional capital works continued to be undertaken, including boilers, kitchen refurbishment, etc.

In response to comments/questions, the following points were made:

·       Regarding concerns about the level of electrical safety compliance, it was clarified that:

-        the need for an ongoing 5-year compliance electrical safety check was a new requirement and mandatory for local authorities. Previously, the council ensured safety by undertaking rewires and upgrade programmes, which ensured that no property was left with a wiring system older than 30 years. Additionally, EICR was carried out during mutual exchanges or new lettings, and Minor Work Certificates were issued for circuit upgrades to the kitchen/bathroom refurbishments. Emergency electrical issues reported by tenants were addressed within 24 hours. Therefore, the housing stock was safe in the first instance.

-       There was an ongoing procurement exercise ending in June, which would facilitate 4000 EICR annually. It was projected that by year 4, the council would be fully compliant.

-       Additional electricians and Quality Control (QC) officers were being recruited, with a projected 60% completion rate by the end of the first contract year.

·       Assurance was given that out-of-category repairs did not include gas safety concerns, and as such, did not pose any immediate risk to the tenants. If a repair was deemed critical, the operators would attend within 24 hours to make it safe. All gas staff were also trained and competency tested every 5 years to ensure they could identify gas safety issues and unsafe situations. The Quality Control team also regularly checked that inspections were carried out on operatives and compliance with regulations was ensured.

·       It was observed that the report seemed imbalanced by placing the responsibility for all cancellations on tenants, and a more balanced view was encouraged to help identify improvement areas. In response, it was noted that steps were being taken to ensure operatives genuinely attempt to reach tenants rather than simply marking jobs as visited. An example was to build some questions that allow the council to monitor the amount of time spent by and attitude of the contractor on the property during visits.

·       Additionally, there was no motivation for contractors to leave the jobs undone as they were not paid for uncompleted tasks. The council was already using text messages and advance phone calls to inform tenants before arriving for jobs, but cancellations remained a challenge. It had been observed that the rate of cancellation was higher for compliance works, compared to repairs raised by tenants.

·       It was suggested that financial penalties could be imposed to curb frequent cancellations, but this was deemed inappropriate given the financial vulnerability of many tenants. Other suggestions explored were for the system to allow tenants to select suitable appointment times, extend the hours dedicated for repair work, and incorporate the options for tenants to be able to amend or reschedule their appointments. While these suggestions were acknowledged, it was noted that the uptake of evening and Saturday appointments had been low.

·       There was a call for improvements to repairs to match the standards of gas safety, through improved communication with tenants and the full use of available tools.

·       With the increased reporting of damp and mould, it was noted that this only reflected rising demand and remained a priority for the council. Officers were usually quick to respond to complaints and would visit the property to assess the risk levels. However, there was more work to be done on getting the right message out during the first visit.

·       Over 95% outstanding damp and mould jobs referenced in the report had already been assessed by a fully qualified technician. Cases that were deemed urgent were usually escalated for immediate remedial action. As part of the technician’s visit to assess the level of damp and mould, there would be a full specification of all things required to be done.

·       Addressing damp and mould often required multiple visits due to case complexity, requiring a phased and monitored approach. The council would, however, not remove the jobs from the system until completion was attained.

·       The council had increased its resources within the damp and mould team, as well as contractor capacity, and this was already making a massive difference. An end- to-end process review was underway, and a risk-based approach was being adopted to support vulnerabilities.

·       On voids, the vacancy rate was currently 1.45% which was lower than the standard 2%.

·       Duplicate repairs often arose from the same issue being reported via different channels or descriptions. The council was reviewing its systems to streamline this process.

·       Regarding the timeline for radiator replacement, it was stated that this could be immediate or require a special order depending on the size or type of radiators. While the council kept a good stock, it was unlikely to have all the specs required. A procurement exercise for a new materials framework had just been completed and would see daily replenishment of commonly required items like radiators.

·       On the concern raised about the high cost of district heating, it was noted that installation of meters was voluntary, and the data and statistics showed that users typically saved money from having a meter installed. Complaints tended to come from those with technical issues or systems on continuous hot water loops.

·       Persons experiencing technical issues with their heating were encouraged to report so that the faults could be addressed, and overcharges (where found) could be refunded.

·       A proposed property MOT for properties was suggested, to enable the council to move from reactive to proactive maintenance. It was noted that the council was considering a housing health and safety system model that proactively identifies issues.

Action:

1. The commission noted the report
2. A bi-annual performance update on repairs to be provided to the commission.
3. The recommendation for annual proactive property MOTs to be added to the work programme.