Agenda item

The Director of Housing and Projects introduced the item which covered housing performance within the Housing Service, covering technical service, housing management and compliance.

 

The Head of Service, Technical went through that part of the report which covered his section highlighting key achievements and areas where improvements were required.

 

Repairs Call Handling 

 

Call handling was all ahead of target.  There had been a drop in call handling in December which was due to holidays and less days at work during the period.

 

Reactive Repairs – All Repairs

 

Productivity was down in December with a high number of repairs works in progress which was again down to less working days in December.  A Member asked a question about this, to which the Head of Service, Technical responded that this was a seasonal “norm” which was to be expected.  What they didn’t want to see was a significant increase in the number of overdues as this was an aspect that had been worked on over the last 18 months. It was expected that in January the figures would reduce.  Reassurance was given to the Committee that emergency jobs were checked for completion regularly.  Completion of all repairs jobs was down to 35 days which was a big improvement from the previous figures of 44 and 48. It was noted that the Council was getting quicker at carrying out repairs which was reflected in the TSM survey responses.

 

Reactive Repairs – In-House

 

There was a slight increase in the Work in Progress numbers and the non-emergency completion on times were just below target. Performance was fairly stable with the in-house repairs team which carried out most of the repairs.

 

Reactive Repairs – Sureserve

 

A number of repairs were being received in respect of heating and that was reflected within the Work in Progress and the number of overdue jobs.  It was noted that this was part of the seasonal “norms” that put pressure on the service and there was a drop  in performance.  Emergency performance was positive at 97% and figures were checked by Officers to ensure work had been completed.   One of the jobs for the newly appointed Officer was to monitor and improve the completion of those jobs.

 

Reactive Repairs – Other Contractors

 

It was noted that new contractors were being mobilised but the figures before Members did not reflect the new mobilisation.  Due to the low numbers involved if one job was late that had a big impact on the performance figures.  Going forward these figures should reduce. Average time was reducing.

 

Damp and Mould

 

The new Damp and Mould Team had been established for some time and the results of the work could be seen in the data before Members.  Weekly meetings took place to review performance which was reflected in the amount of green shown on the slide, especially as winter was the most challenging time for damp and mould issues and it reflected the amount of additional resources used.

 

Voids

 

There had been a sustained management of performance in respect of voids and that could be seen in the data before the Committee which had halved from 100 in March 2025 to 50 in December 2025.  Housemark bench marking standard had been included on the slide.  The Council was performing in line with the medium quartile.  Currently it was 45 days for a standard void and 43 for the sector.  It was noted that the Head of Service, Technical had an additional slide in respect of benchmarking with other Social Landlords and that would be circulated to Members.

 

Customer Satisfaction

 

This showed a positive performance, which when benched marked with Housemark showed the Council was in the medium quartile.

 

Planned Works

 

An improved position, delivered against our programme with a number of completions against planned works. The forecast was being reviewed to make sure the Council delivered against the targets set.  Focus was being kept on kitchen, bathrooms and external refurbishment.

 

Asset Management

 

99% properties were classed as Decent Homes standard, with 24 properties being classed as non-decent which was the focus of work.  Reviews were continually being carried out and it was expected that the work on the non-decent properties would be completed by year end.

 

Stock Condition

 

It was noted that 9% of properties had a survey which was over five years old and that was due to being unable to gain access to properties to carry out surveys.  Three attempts were made before support from housing was requested to try and gain access.   It was hoped that by year end they would be close to 100%.

 

Members discussed the performance before them with comments being made in respect of the fantastic work undertaken by the Damp and Mould Team, whether the targets needed to be stretched, the overall improvement and the concerns around the repairs backlogs, the customer satisfaction response rate and risks around not completing stock condition surveys on time.

 

The Head of Service, Housing then presented the slides which covered Housing Services Performance.

 

Allocations and Lettings Call Handling

 

There was a dip in the number of calls in December due to holidays, but call handling was consistently hitting above the target of 90%.

 

Housing Options

 

Numbers in temporary accommodation had increased slightly in December, there had been a fall in the number of active homelessness cases.  The Chairman commented about the lack of colour and the Head of Service, Housing stated that it was difficult to colour code targets around housing options and homelessness due to the inability to know who would be coming asking for help from the service.  The number of successful homing outcomes had been added to the bottom of the slide.

 

Allocations

 

The number of housing register applications waiting for assessment had decreased, the checks carried out were stringent and therefore did take time as circumstances could range vastly with complex assessments required. The numbers were reducing gradually.  The numbers within the Bands reflected what Officers expected to see at the different times of the year.  It was noted that the data before Members was a snapshot at a specific time.

 

Tenancy Management

 

Reference was made to the number of Anti-Social Behaviour reports which did not reflect the number of cases.  The number of RTBs had declined due to the changes in the RTB regulations.  It was noted that the number of Tenancy Checks due could be colour coded to reflect the tolerances.  MESNE was when a person was occupying a property, liable for use and occupation charges, but was not a tenant.  This could occur after an unsuccessful succession for example.

 

Members were reminded that a Glossary of Terms was attached at the end of the appendix.

 

Questions were asked about overdue checks and it was stated that these were in excess of the target, whether credit points in respect of time being in a particular Band were given, this was not the case, however applications received from veterans were prioritised within Bands. It was noted that relationships/partnership working with Housing Associations were very good and that there was a new Senior Officer in post which would hopefully strengthen that relationship. The Chairman indicated that an overview in respect of Housing Associations could be a future topic for the Committee.

 

ØAction

 

That an overview of Housing Associations and the Council’s relationship with them be an agenda item for a future meeting of the Committee.

 

Compliance

 

The Head of Service, Health & Safety, Emergency Planning

and Housing Compliance stated that compliance for legionella, asbestos, fire risk assessment, lifts and Smoke/CO were all at 100%.  There had been a slight drop in gas but this was seasonal and to be expected.  EICR was slowly improving however, it was noted that those who were non-compliant were new and it wasn’t the same set of properties.

 

Fire Risk Assessments

 

Members were shown a slide showing the remedial actions in respect of Fire Risk Assessments (FRA).  Although the slide showed outstanding actions of  603 theHead of Service, Health & Safety, Emergency Planning

and Housing Compliance informed the Committee that this was now 504.  From when the slide was published the medium actions had reduced from 118 to 115.  30% of the issues highlighted for action were in respect of new bin storage areas, there was nothing actually wrong with the building from a FRA, it was where a new bin store was to be located which needed to be determined and consultations needed to be carried out with residents.  The remedial actions had reduced significantly since April 2025 with a colossal amount of work being carried out.

 

Housing Compliance – Gas Remedial Actions

 

Again Members were reminded that this was a relatively new addition to the performance data shared with Members.  The total number of remedial actions currently outstanding was 35.  None of the items shown were critical to life or property function.

 

Housing Compliance – EICR Remedial Actions

 

It was noted that C1 and C2 remedial actions were completed/made safe on site.  The remedial actions outstanding related to non-urgent repairs or parts that needed replacing.

 

Members congratulated Officers on the work being undertaken.  The Director  of Housing and Projects stated that targets needed to be reviewed but that Officers had to be mindful of the budgets available so targets had to be realistic and within budget.