1. Purpose of the report and policy context

1.1 This report provides updates on performance indicators covering a range of Housing services. The report covers Quarter 4 of the 2022/23 financial year alongside end of year results and is attached as Appendix 1.

1.2 Some key headline results from the quarter include:

· Customer feedback – 75% of stage one complaints responded to within 10 working days, a decrease from 84% in the previous quarter. The total number responded to increased from 182 during Q3 to 207 during Q4

· Private sector housing – 66.43% of Houses in Multiple Occupation have met all special conditions (of those licensed for over 12 months) at the end of Q4, an increase from 65.00% at the end of Q3.

· Housing adaptations – the average time taken to approve major adaptations to private sector homes decreased from 18 weeks in Q3 to 15 weeks in Q4

· Housing needs – there were 1,791 households in temporary and emergency accommodation on the last day of Q4. This is a slight decrease compared to 1,795 at the end of Q3.

· Council housing – supply – 56 additional council homes were delivered during Q4, up from 16 during Q3. This included the completion of a new build scheme of 42 homes at Victoria Road in Portslade.

· Council housing – empty homes – The average re-let time for empty council homes continues to improve, from 64 days in Q3 to 61 days in Q4 when excluding the time these properties spent undergoing major works.

· Council housing repairs and maintenance –50.2% of routine repairs were completed within 28 days, a decrease on the previous quarter. Of the 502 tenants surveyed about recently completed repairs, 97% were satisfied with the standard of work and 98% were satisfied with overall customer service.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That Housing Committee notes the report.

3. Context and background information

3.1 The report uses red, amber and green traffic light symbols to provide an indication of performance, and also trend arrows to provide an indication of movement from the previous quarter.

4. Analysis and consideration of alternative options

4.1 This report is for noting so alternative options are not required.

5. Community engagement and consultation

5.1 This report is going to Area Panels in June 2023 for residents to comment and enquire upon and discuss.

6. Conclusion

There continue to be areas of strong performance, with 7 performance indicators on target for Quarter 4 2022/23 and 9 on target for the financial year. Furthermore, there has been an improvement in 9 of the performance indicators since the previous quarter and 13 since the previous financial year.

7. Financial implications

7.1 The financial implications of the Housing performance indicators are incorporated in the monthly Targeted Budget Management (TBM) Process for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Communities (HNC) and the HRA through which action is taken to manage spend within budget wherever possible. The financial outturn for the year 2022-23 will be reported to Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee in June 2023.

Name of finance officer consulted: Monica Brooks Date consulted: 30/05/23

8. Legal implications

8.1 In relation to repairs, the standard secure tenancy agreement contains the following clauses:-

· We will carry out repairs for which we are responsible within a reasonable time, giving priority to emergency repairs.

· We must carry out certain urgent or ‘qualifying’ repairs within a set time. If we do not complete them within a certain time you may have the right to do the work yourself and charge us for the work.

Given the repairs performance set out in the report, there is a risk of compensation claims against the council for disrepair.

Name of lawyer consulted: Liz Woodley Date consulted: 24/05/23

9. Equalities implications

9.1 There are no direct equalities implications arising from this report.

10. Sustainability implications

10.1 Although this report is for noting, it includes monitoring of the average energy efficiency rating of council homes.

11. Other Implications

11.1 There are no other direct implications arising from this report, which is for noting

Supporting Documentation

1. Appendices

1. Housing Performance Report Quarter 4 and end of year 2022/23