Agenda item

The Housing Service Lead updated the Board on the delivery of the Integrated Asset Management contract, as part of a regular update to the Board as well as a direct response to ongoing concerns raised regarding the delivery of some key functions of the contract.  She reported the drive and focus had been on specific areas of concern.  As a result the action plan had been revised and was included with the agenda papers for the Board’s information.  The tenant repairs review group would monitor the action plan going forward.  A focus session had been held in which members of the HRB had been invited to for a face to face meeting.  Representatives from Ian Williams had also attended the meeting of the Housing Review Board.

The Housing Service Lead drew the Board’s attention to the key performance indicators (KPIs) included in the report and the fluctuations.  In terms of responsive repairs, since January, six of the nine KPIs were moving in a better direction.  The complaint KPIs had improved slightly.  An area of concern was reactive repairs - overdue jobs.  This was a key area that was driving dissatisfaction with the service.

Voids were another main area to focus on.  The void fluctuations showed a worsening performance and work was focussing on this area.  The situation with Ian Williams was mainly due to labour shortages which had contributed towards a backlog of work.  The voids were also larger and typically requiring more work than originally anticipated in the contract, and a realistic price review was needed, as well as a review of void standards.  The void costs were driven by the type of properties and the condition they were returned in.  There had also been problems clearing previous debt left on meters which had caused a delay, but officers were in discussions with a third party provider (TSM) debt clearing service to resolve this.  The intention was to start a trial of this service from 1 July 2022.  It was noted that pre-void inspections were useful in identifying issues that might impact on void times.  The Housing Service Lead reported that this was something that had always been done, but the Covid-19 pandemic had prevented this and she was absolutely committed to reviewing the process to ensure that it was put back in place.

The customer satisfaction KPIs were good and also provided helpful feedback data.  Officers continued to drive forward the importance of the need for contractors to leave paper surveys in tenants’ homes.  The areas for improvement were all captured in an updated action plan that accompanied the report.

Overall the Housing Service Lead reported that there were encouraging signs that recent focus and interventions were paying off, but there was still a lot of work to be done to continue to drive improved performance.  It was noted that the Housing Service’s own staffing issues remained of concern.  In light of this the Portfolio Holder – Sustainable Homes and Communities requested that the Property and Asset Manager not report at the next meeting of the Housing Review Board to allow him and his team to focus on delivering the day to day work of the service.  This work would be kept under review by the Housing Service Lead, the Strategic Lead – Housing, Health and Environment and the Portfolio Holder – Sustainable Homes and Communities.

RECOMMENDED:  that the Housing Review Board:

1.     notes the update on the delivery of the Integrated Asset Management Contract; and

2.     recommends to Cabinet that the updated action plan is adopted, as set out in the report, to address ongoing performance concerns that relate to the Integrated Asset Management Contract.