Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Housing Scrutiny Commission for noting. The report provides an overview and update of the next phase of the Housing Solution Replacement (HSR) Programme.

The Director of Housing submitted a report to the Housing Scrutiny Commission for noting, which provided an overview and update of the next phase of the Housing Solution Replacement (HSR) Programme, the Housing Division’s IT replacement scheme, replacing Open Housing. Paul Hussain, Programme Manager (Housing Systems) presented the report, and informed the meeting he had responsibility for delivering the next phase of the Northgate programme.

The Scrutiny Commission was informed that Northgate was the successful bidder in the tender procurement process to replace the IT system, and was put in place to collect rents, manage repairs and manage tenant accounts. It was reported that ongoing support costs were more attractive than previously. Phase 1 went live in January 2016, and was reported as being at year four of a seven year contract. Phase 2 would see the delivery of self-service modules to enable online transactions for rents and repairs.

It was noted that Phase 1 had been more complex than originally anticipated, with key staff leaving at a critical time, but challenges had been overcome, and post go-live issues had been resolved. The system had only failed once, and was more stable in comparison to Open Housing. The new system had also removed the need for duplication of inputting information for back office staff, and had increased productivity gains and efficiencies.

Phase 3 would deploy the Repairs Self-Serve and Mobile solution, and would take 12 months to deliver the full Repairs Self-Serve portal. For the Council’s Channel Shift agenda, the more services that could be provided online would see cost savings through reducing calls through the call centre. It was calculated that the cost of a face to face enquiry was £6.79. Northgate had calculated that contact through the system cost 15p per transaction. Additional services at Phase 3 would include the delivery of job information to operatives tablet device and list the materials needed to complete a repair for the operative, increase first fix repairs, and reduce return visits to the site.

It was acknowledged self-service was not a ‘one size fits all’, but would alleviate some of the work in back offices. The Division had talked to other authorities to find out how they had encouraged people to get online, and was a good insight as to what officers needed to do moving forward. It was also noted that not all people had access to online facilities, so there remained a need to deliver the current service for some tenants, particularly the vulnerable. As part of Channel Shift, the Customer Services would be asked how they were encouraging people to use the system.

The next phase of Northgate implementation would require further significant capital investment. The budget for 2016/17 was £1.446million with further funding required for 2017/18. It was anticipated the project would be fully implemented by the end of 2017.

The Chair asked that, as more was asked of Northgate, how confident officers were that the system would meet the department’s requirements, and as it neared the end of the contract whether more financial support be required as the system got older. The Chair also asked if other alternatives to Northgate had been considered during the procurement tender process. He asked that a demonstration of the system to Commission Members be arranged to enable Members to understand the system more.

In response, Members were informed that the system was being developed to offer a self-serve option. A mobile working module would also be developed for use on mobile devices. It was noted that Northgate had an active user group which the Council was part of. Any changes to the system were integrated into different update releases of the system. A full procurement exercise was undertaken through which any providers could submit a proposal and be considered. The process involved assessment of those proposals, demonstrations to staff and also visits to reference sites in order to select the best product for Leicester. The contract with Northgate was seven years with a +1, +1, +1 year extension option.

In response to further comments from Members it was noted that:

·         The budget for the comping phases had been considered and along with the existing budget was not anticipated to require a significant further investment in excess of £90k required for 2017/18.

·         When the system first went live there was an initial increase in calls to the internal IT helpdesk (from staff). Refresher training had been held with staff, and the team were now Northgate ‘experts’ in their own particular area, and the product had settled well.

·         People would be signposted to assistance if they had problems around self-service.

·         There was an underlying issue on the system with Housing Options and the bidding process, and the ability of customers to view their position on the Housing Register. The delivery of a solution was expected by October end.

·         There were currently around 2,200 calls a week regarding housing repairs. Once the Repairs Self-Service modules were implemented, information on how the new service impacted on the number of calls would be provided.

·         There were around 80 full-time posts servicing the Customer Service Centre.

·         A report on Customer Service data was scheduled for the Housing Scrutiny Commission meeting on 30 January 2017.

The Chair thanked the officer for the report, and looked forward to an update at a future meeting on how the system was progressing.

AGREED:

That:

1.    The report be noted;

2.    An update report on system progression be brought to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Commission;

3.    Members to be invited to a demonstration of the Northgate system.