Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change)

The Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change) presented the report which provided a summary of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and commentary across the Council’s housing services for Quarter 2 (2024/25). Normal voids is out of target and Major voids performance again is out of target albeit slightly better than it was in Quarter 1. Satisfaction with planned works is still not within target but has improved since Quarter 1. Disrepair cases per 1,000 properties is slightly above the target.

In terms of complaints there has been a big increase of 29%/24% in Stage ones and Stage twos. Most of the complaints are about repairs, which is not unusual. The performance has temporarily decreased because the team have been working hard on resolving some of the older cases. There is additional resource working on complaints for council housing and we are seeing that turnaround is improving. The intention is to incorporate complaints data into reports to this panel going forward.

A Member mentioned 3 points on the report. 1/ In the KPI regarding disrepair which highlights 90% have some aspect of damp and mould, they asked if there could be more information on damp and mould. 2/ With regards No Access, she asked what is being done to access these properties? 3/ Regarding KPI 151 (non-emergency repairs), they asked who and how is this being scrutinized?

The Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change) responded that it’s not unusual that there is such a high percentage of damp and mould cases in disrepair cases. That information is being shared with the cross-party maintenance group and it can be brought to this panel. With regard to No Access, there is a procedure being followed to give the opportunity for tenants to give access for gas and electric checks. Ultimately, it’s usually 3 formal attempts to get access but its probably more letters/communications than that.  If unsuccessful then it may have to go down the legal route and look for warrants to gain entry to the property because it’s important for tenants’ safety. With regard to KPI 151, there is always a bit of a time lag when receiving information from Morgan Sindall,  and the figures are scrutinized to make sure they are accurate. This is what was happening at the time this report was published.

A Member mentioned that there is one housing ombudsman case linked to damp and mould. He understood that one of the conflicts is that if there is damp and mould in a non-council property, Environmental Health get involved but they don’t when it’s a council property and would be interested to see the result of the ombudsman case. He also suggested that perhaps where damp and mould cases get to stage 2 that the Council involve their own environment health team.

The Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change) responded that there are a number of processes and checks and balances in place for damp and mould. Firstly, a mould wash would be arranged straightaway if there are mould spores to remove immediate risk of breathing them in. Also, somebody will go out to try and identify the cause, this is through a contractor who have specialists in this work. The source of the problem would be identified and then works get ordered and checked by surveyors. The works then take place with an inspection on completion to see if it’s satisfactory. It was agreed that the result of the Ombudsman case would be reported back in due course.

The Assistant Director (Homes & Neighbourhoods) added that with regard damp and mould there are decants if the issue cannot be resolved immediately the family will temporarily be moved out. Also, training has been undertaken under the Housing Health and Safety system and this is what the environmental health officers use when assessing for damp and mould.

A member asked with regards to decant how long this is for and how far away from their original home as it could be disruptive both to going to work and school.

The Assistant Director (Homes & Neighbourhoods) responded that the length of time would depend on the work required. Regarding location, the family needs are looked at to try and choose a relatively close location, but it won’t be an exact location. There is also negotiation with the tenant. The process is not perfect but there is a decant officer working with that.

RESOLVED:

The Panel noted the report.