Issue - items at meetings - Repairs

Presentation on progress regarding the housing repairs and improvement partnership. This item will be introduced by Nick Hibberd, Head of Housing and Social Inclusion

30.1    This item was introduced by Nick Hibberd, Head of Housing and Social Inclusion; Tom Gillham, Head of Property and Investment; and Glyn Huelin, Partnering and Performance Manager.

30.2    In response to a question regarding the reasons for the high level of complaints, Mr Hibberd told members that recent investment in planned repairs had significantly increased repairs activity: inevitably, the more repairs undertaken, the more complaints generated. In addition, the process of assessing properties for the Decent Homes programme may itself generate complaints: e.g. from people assessed as not being eligible for a new kitchen or bathroom. Mr Hibbered also told members that the bulk of complaints received were not about the actual quality of repair work undertaken, with many complaints focusing on aspects of customer care, an area which was currently being addressed.

30.3    In response to a query on independent review of repairs complaints, Mr Hibberd told members that ‘mystery shopping’ was used to provide an independent perspective on housing repairs. However, the bulk of complaints information is collated by (Mears) contractors immediately after finishing work. This is clearly not 100% ‘objective’ data, and neither the city council nor Mears assumes that it is; practically speaking, the balance is between a flawed data collection method which produces a large number of responses, and a more objective system which produces relatively few responses (such as seeking customer feedback by mail/phone some time after a repair has been carried out). Provided that the contractor-collated complaints data is viewed alongside other forms of complaints information, it can be valuable.

30.4    In answer to a query about delays in repairs being carried out, Mr Gillham told members that the repairs call centre and repairs teams have now been co-located in an effort to provide a more integrated service with less potential for unwarranted delays.

30.5    In response to questions about dealing with vulnerable tenants, Mr Huelin told the committee that work was ongoing around sharing appropriate information on vulnerability with Mears – e.g. so that contractors were aware that residents at a particular address might need some time to answer the door. Mr Hibberd added that the repairs service possibly features a very high degree of activity, with more than 40,000 repairs carried out every year. There is therefore a real opportunity to use repairs data to help identify and support vulnerable people, whilst maintaining the appropriate level of client confidentiality.

30.6    RESOLVED – That the presentation from the Head of Housing and Social Inclusion be noted, and that Mr Hibberd be invited back to a future meeting to provide further information on user satisfaction with the repairs service, and developments in the use of repairs data to better support vulnerable clients.