Agenda item

The Property and Asset Manager’s report gave the Board an overview of the first four years of the integrated asset management (IAM) contract, particularly highlighting the growth and performance of the contract over that period.  There had been a year on year increase in demands on the contract, and challenges facing the contract.

External factors that had impacted the contract and explained in the report were:

·        Covid-19 pandemic.

·        Brexit.

·        Cost of living crisis/inflation.

·        Disrepair cases.

·        Damp and mould cases.

Internal factors that had impacted the contract and explained in the report were:

·        Staffing.

·        Stock investment.

·        Processes.

·        Resident expectations.

·        Partnership ethos.

There had been a consistent year on year growth in responsive repairs and void works, as well as an increase in exclusion jobs and rise in damp and mould cases.  The increased work load and factors such as inflation had attributed to the financial growth on the contract.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) contained in the report demonstrated numerous fluctuations in performance across all areas of the contract, with some KPIs showing a slight improvement and other showing a slight dip in performance.  It was noted that a detailed review of the price per void was currently underway.

The Property and Asset Manager reported that the management of the contract remained a challenge.  A high level review of the structure of the Property and Asset team in terms of resources and job roles was underway.  Ian Williams had also had changes in their structure and were facing similar recruitment challenges.

Explanations of many other issues were contained the Property and Asset Manager’s report including:

·        Reactive repairs.

·        Voids.

·        Planned works.

·        Handyperson service.

·        Social value.

·        Compliance and cyclical servicing.

·        Customer satisfaction and compliments.

·        Complaints.

There was a need to review and adapt the delivery model to meet service demand and ensure that the contract was delivered in the most efficient compliant manner possible.  There was an ongoing improvement action plan which was a live tool to ensure that those areas highlighted/recorded would be monitored to ensure standards were maintained and improved upon.  In addition to the action plan EDDC continued to benefit from the support of Echelon, the specialist consultant engaged to procure the IAM contract, carrying out in depth reviews of certain areas of the contract, specifically:

·        Voids.

·        Reactive repairs.

·        Processes within the Open Housing System for the management of the IAM contract including the interface with Ian Williams.

In response to questions from members, the Property and Asset Manager advised that it was expected that a proportion of the backlog of current void works would be cleared by mid-July 2023.  He explained that the repairs part of the voids process was just one phase and that properties also sat at different stages of the void process.  He was uncertain why the number of repair jobs had increased so much but attributed some of this to the recent publicity surrounding damp and mould cases.  Repairs identified as category one in the stock condition survey were being reported as urgent, other repairs would be assessed and dealt with accordingly.

The Assistant Director Housing reminded the Board that many things had changed since the contract was first tendered and that things were very different to five years ago.  It was important to consider this going forward and whether the current contract was fit for purpose given where it was now.

RESOLVED: that the Housing Review Board notes the explanation and context that demonstrates how and why we have had to adapt from the original intentions in the contract to provide a fit for purpose repairs and void service tailored to the requirements of the Council’s residents, and to note the performance in quarter 4 2022-23.