Agenda item

That Quarter 1 performance reports be received and the contents noted.

The Head of Housing announced that the Council’s leadership work on improving energy efficiency and Mavis Croft, the chair of the tenant’s federation had been nominated for Welsh Housing Awards.

The Head of Housing introduced the report and stated that she would comment on amber and red rated items.  She circulated a rental arrears update which demonstrated a reduction in arrears of £109,357.89 and 472 fewer tenants in rent arrears compared to this time last year.  The Head of Housing said that the focus was on reducing the number of tenants that owed more than £1000.  The Head of Housing highlighted the following areas on the report to note:

·                     Empty properties took 44 days to return to the housing stock, which was a reduction of 100 days since the LEAN review.

·                     Emergency repairs had experienced issues about data transfer and back office reporting which had affected performance sliding.

·                     An improvement in urgent repairs to 8.87 days, narrowly missed the 8.5 day target

·                     Non urgent repairs at 82.16 days missed the target of 35 days.  Currently 70 jobs were in the back log.

The Community Support Services Manager spoke about the current issues faced in Community Support Services such as the re-emergence of longer waiting times in B&B accommodation with all households spending an average of 26.7 days in such accommodation.  She added that the Council had supported a house share with three single people who had elected to live together. The Community Support Services Manager reported that a Children’s Services officer supported homeless young people and that all persons in B&B accommodation received weekly visits from a support officer.  The Head of Housing said that welfare rights officers had secured, in the last quarter, £600,000 of welfare benefits for clients.

Councillor G. Hardcastle expressed concern that non urgent repairs had missed their target.  The Asset Manager explained that planned maintenance such as replacement of pathways and fences featured in this category and that he was in discussion with the Cabinet Member for Housing to see how these jobs could be completed.

Councillor A.M. Halford expressed concern about the amount of time lost to staff training.  The Asset Manager explained that the training in mobile technology did take a lot of time, especially for trades people who had never used such systems before.  He said that the system came into effect in April 2012, but problems had still been experienced in September, despite assistance from the Council’s ICT department.  He added that a senior member of Capita staff would come to the Council to investigate the issues.  Councillor Halford asked about redress from Capita and if they could make a presentation to the Council and set up a Civica/ICT steering group with Members. The Head of Housing said that this would be investigated.   Councillor Halford asked about the difficulties experienced with the tracking devices in vehicles. The Asset Manager explained that the difficulties concerned older vehicles undertaking more frequent journeys which had caused more pressure on the battery and ultimately the tracking device.  He suggested that this be resolved by the installation of larger batteries on the affected vehicles.

Councillor Hardcastle asked why some vehicle batteries had become flat.  The Head of Housing said that vehicle batteries had been run down by the tracker, which drew on the battery even when the vehicle was not in use.   The Head of Assets said that the tracker company had inspected vehicles and claimed the battery usage by the tracker was minimal.  He added that approximately 10 out of 100 vehicles were affected.

Councillor P.J. Curtis asked if the repairs section was fully staffed.  He also asked about issues which would arise with house shares and the re-designation of unsuitable sheltered housing.  The Asset Manager said that there were four trades vacancies to fill.  The Community Support Services Manager responded that a current house share comprised of three individuals who had lived together in a hostel and wanted to share a home.  The Head of Housing said that a survey had been conducted about re-designation and that they would look at all the various options for single people under 60 years.

Councillor R. Lloyd said that he was pleased that Mavis Croft has been nominated for an award in recognition of her voluntary work.  He went on to ask about how utility bills would be organised in a house share.  The Community Support Services Manager said that bills would be built into the rent.

            Councillor R. Davies said that a tenant had complained to him about a new gate post being installed without a catch.  He asked if the tradesperson responsible would be identified and spoken to by their manager.  The Head of Housing said that members should inform her of any shortcomings with standards of work.

The Chair thanked the Head of Housing for the report.

RESOLVED:

That Quarter 1 performance reports be received and the contents noted.