Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a report to update Housing Scrutiny Commission Members on the Division’s performance on the completion of responsive repairs to council properties, and the implementation of service changes reported to the Housing Scrutiny Commission and agreed by the Executive in November 2014. The Commission is asked to note the report.

The Director of Housing submitted a report to update Commission Members on the Division’s performance on the completion of responsive repairs to council properties, and the implementation of service changes reported to the Commission and agreed by the Executive in November 2014. The Commission was asked to note the report.

It was noted that:

a)    Requested information was attached at Appendix 2, ‘Number of repairs which are outstanding and out of Category by Area’. It was reported that 221 outstanding repairs were associated to a central team under general building works. Roofing related repairs sat under a team who could work at heights.

b)    Completing jobs on a first visit remained the main challenge. There had been some progress with a performance improvement to 82.6% of jobs completed on first visit, although the target was 90%.

c)    The old system had a standardised amount of time of 45 minutes, which was not long enough for some first visits, and another appointment had to be made.

d)    The Division was looking to amend the functional roles of Craft Operatives, and hold a review of materials in vans as part of the wider structure changes in 2016. It was hoped an increased number of jobs would be passed back to the same individual, who would own the job from beginning to end.

e)    The implementation of the new Housing IT solution, Northgate, would see improved communications, with the introduction of online reporting, tenants able to select appointments for jobs. Better satisfaction monitoring would be enabled, with Operatives using tablets for the tenant to complete a satisfaction monitoring report. Information would be fed immediately back to the manager, and would allow issues to be addressed the same day with the Craft Operative in situ.

f)     The system would also allow for enhanced materials delivery if Craft Operatives had access to their diaries, and could arrange appointments with the tenant.

In response to Members’ questions it was noted:

a)    The tenant responsibility handbook would be revised following the staffing review, to reflect changes. The document was 100 pages, as it contained a lot of pictures to highlight to people what they could do. The text and font size would be looked at to make it user-friendly. The standardised age for tenants’ responsibility for small jobs repairs was 60. People with mobility issues could contact the repairs service for advice.

b)    Customer satisfaction statistics would be included in a report when available.

c)    Vehicles in Housing all now had trackers installed. These are primarily used to provide driver feedback to aid how LCC drivers drive, including improving driver styles, reducing fuel spend, wear and tear, accidents and damage to vehicles linked to this. The information can also be used to substantiate where vehicles are linked to insurance claims or associated to managing staff

d)    The figure of 118, Humberstone and Rowlatts Hill in September (Appendix 2) was queried by Members. Officers would look into the increase and provide details of the increase to Members of the Commission.

A Member reported that the department had responded to a repair job for a tenant with mental health issues within one hour, and that the person at the end of the phone was extremely helpful. They asked that their thanks and appreciation be noted for the quick response.

In conclusion, the Chair thanked officers for the report, and noted the Commission would monitor progress in Responsive Repairs performance, and development of the service following the implementation of Northgate.

AGREED:

That:

1.    The report be noted;

2.    Details on the increased figure of 118, Humberstone and Rowlatts Hill in September (Appendix 2) be emailed to Scrutiny Commission.