Agenda item

(a)       That the positive progress being made to improve performance and to deliver the service improvement workstreams be noted; and

(b)       That the permanent establishment of the in-house disabled adaptations team be supported.

The Director of Community Services introduced an update report on progress with the repairs and maintenance service performance improvement workstreams.  He said that although the report demonstrated significant performance improvements, it was acknowledged that there was a need for further progress to be made.  He spoke of the challenges arising from the implementation of mobile working and thanked senior officers, managers and their teams for their positive work in response to the severe weather which had impacted on the repairs and maintenance service.

The Housing Asset Manager reported on improvements in a number of key areas such as the revised staffing structure and the implementation of mobile working which had been assisted by an increased level of IT support and dedicated server.  He advised that the extended hours service was due to be introduced on 13 May 2013 and expressed gratitude to the management team, staff and Trade Union colleagues for their contributions in progressing the change in contracts to reflect a 37 hour working week for all with effect from 1 April 2013, in line with other Council services.  On performance improvement in the repairs service, the Housing Asset Manager reported that despite the impact of severe weather conditions, figures for Quarter 4 2012/13 remained below the target of 35 days for non-urgent repairs.  He went on to report positively on the review of the in-house disabled adaptations team who were working in collaboration with other teams, and efficiencies achieved from the managed stores service.  On the latter, it was noted that the Council and contractor would each receive a 50% share of the profits achieved through the successful performance over the past 12 months.

In thanking management and teams for the improvements made, the Chairman commented that Housing was the most improved department in the Council.

In response to a question from Councillor G. Hardcastle, the Housing Asset Manager said that following the implementation of the new server and software fixes, all staff in responsive repairs together with gas and electric teams (approximately 50 employees in total) would be using PDA devices.  Although there would be less benefit in including the Voids team, this may be reviewed at a later stage.  Councillor Hardcastle echoed the comments made by the Chairman and requested that the Head of Housing send a memo to staff to express the Committee’s gratitude for the hard work carried out during the recent bad weather.  The Cabinet Member said that over 40 emergency calls per day had been received during that period.

Councillor A.M. Halford questioned what had brought about the improvements in the service and sought clarification on the removal of vehicles.  The Head of Housing felt that the most significant change was in management culture and paid tribute to teams within the service.  She spoke of positive working with Trade Union colleagues to achieve a common goal and the sharing of information which contributed to greater confidence in officers by Members.  Whilst staff morale had been affected by actions taken to improve services, there was a shared recognition that improvements needed to be made.  On the removal of vehicles, it was explained that this applied to supervisors who were not required to transport materials to sites and would not affect trades staff.  Through challenging negotiations with Trade Unions, agreement had been reached for this to be implemented with the new structure and would achieve £80K savings.  Employees using their own vehicles for work purposes would be able to reclaim their mileage.

Whilst referring to an issue relating to one of the contractors involved in the kitchen replacement programme, Councillor W.P. Shotton asked about the level of management input on contractors’ work.  The Head of Housing gave reassurance that monitoring of work was robust, given the scale of the programme.  She went on to say that although it was intended to further utilise the in-house team, a period of six months was required to build on non-urgent repairs work and to ensure that the day-to-day service was working effectively.

The Housing Asset Manager said that monitoring work had involved surveying carried out by independent officers, assessments by tenant liaison officers and involvement by the Capital Works Manager where required.  As a result of the issue, a notice had been issued to the contractor regarding their performance which was measured against key performance indicators (KPIs) and a decision taken to reduce the proportion of work allocated to that contractor.  He reiterated comments made by the Head of Housing in the aspiration to develop the in-house service to undertake work from the Capital Programme at a later stage.  The Cabinet Member for Housing spoke in support of this and was confident that progress would be made in stages.

Councillor R. Dolphin questioned whether an appointments system was in place for residents who were awaiting repairs and whilst welcoming the improved performance in the repairs service, asked if the backlog of historic repairs was a separate issue.  On the kitchen replacement programme, she reported on complaints received from residents due to design flaws and incomplete work and said that the Council’s inspectors should be carrying out checks, commenting that this may impact on the performance figures.

The Head of Housing said that tenants should be offered appointments for non-urgent repairs and that the repairs backlog had been addressed, with £300K available to deal with some of the previously reported non-urgent planned repairs.  Responding to the kitchen complaints, she spoke of the intention for the Council to utilise additional Council officers to inspect work, instead of this cost forming part of the contractors’ fee and assured Members that contractors only received full payment on completion of the work.

The Housing Asset Manager agreed to liaise with his officer who was aware of the issues raised by Councillor Dolphin.  In response to the question on appointments, he stated that the introduction of the new schedule of rates would assist in encouraging trades staff to self assess and carry out work on the same visit.

Councillor A.I. Dunbar also stressed the importance of inspection work and gave an example of problems arising from a replacement kitchen floor put down in a resident’s property which he had reported to the Housing section.

Councillor M.A. Reece suggested that some employees in the Repairs and Maintenance Team could be offered the opportunity to return to work from sickness absence to carry out inspections on kitchen refurbishments.

Councillor Hardcastle said it had previously been indicated that Council officers were carrying out inspections and he asked if they signed a form for each property as confirmation of this.  The Head of Housing was unable to confirm this but agreed to find out and provide a separate response.  Councillor P.J. Curtis suggested that the tenant should also be given the opportunity to sign-off the work.  The Head of Housing was unsure whether the tenant signed off each job but would check how rigorous the process was.  The Housing Asset Manager commented that a customer satisfaction survey was sent out after job completion, to enable the tenant to complete it at their discretion.

In response to further concerns, the Head of Housing explained the intention to replace around 1,000 kitchens during the year and that due to the problems experienced, the first contractor would be allocated a smaller proportion of work over the next few months.  If no improvement was shown and less than 30% of the work completed satisfactorily, that contract would be ended.  However, there were no such performance issues with the second contractor.  Councillor Curtis requested a list of the areas currently being covered by the kitchen replacement programme, together with the future programme, which had previously been shared.  The Head of Housing agreed to forward this information.

Councillor S. Jones welcomed the improvements made to the service and expressed her appreciation for the progress made.  In response to a comment on under-performing contractors, the Housing Asset Manager explained that a terminated contract would result in all of the work being allocated to just one contractor.  Following detailed discussion, the action previously discussed had been agreed as a compromise.

Councillor Halford asked about arrangements for engaging contractors and any future risks.  It was explained that contractors were engaged via formal tendering procedures in line with the Council’s regulations.  The credentials of the contractor under review were acceptable and it was thought that the problems experienced could have been the result of sub-contracting work.  The Housing Asset Manager advised that the improvements made to the service ensured that significant controls were now in place and the new processes had been agreed with Internal Audit.  The Head of Housing added that PDA devices would be used to measure performance and identify any variances.

Councillor Curtis pointed out that during the tendering process, the Council had no input if contractors chose to sub-contract their work, posing a potential risk in compliance with the contract.  The Head of Housing said that this was the responsibility of the main contractor and that the tendering process included an assessment of quality, experience, references of contractors as well as prices quoted.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the positive progress being made to improve performance and to deliver the service improvement workstreams be noted; and

(b)       That the permanent establishment of the in-house disabled adaptations team be supported.