Issue - items at meetings - Housing & Social Inclusion Performance Report Quarter 2 2012/13

Report of the Strategic Director, Place

34.1    The Housing Management Consultative Sub Committee considered the Housing and Social Inclusion Performance report for Quarter 2 for the financial year 2012-13.

34.2         Councillor Mears referred to paragraph 4.3 of the report, and asked how it could ever take longer than 7 days to change a light bulb, and why although 98% of cleaning passed inspection, some residents were still unhappy with the cleaning service provided. Officers said that in the vast majority of cases light bulbs were changed quickly, but there was one occasion where a particular bulb had been hard to source and therefore there had been a delay. With regard to cleaning, the service was regularly inspected.

34.3         Councillor Mears asked how many homes had been transferred to Seaside Homes. The Head of Housing said he did not have the information to hand, but believed it was in the region of 200. Mr Crowhurst confirmed it was 238 homes. Ms King said that a property near to hers had been empty and had been occupied by squatters; the property had now been transferred to Seaside Homes and re-let and she wanted to thank those involved. Councillor Mears asked if the HMCSC could receive regular update on the transfer of homes. The Chair agreed.

34.4         Ms V Paynter referred to paragraph 4.3 and asked how often the cleaning was inspected. Officers confirmed the cleaning was checked each week, with a full inspection every quarter. Ms Paynter referred to paragraph 4.2.3 and noted that of the 1496 repair jobs which were cancelled, 33% were due to difficulties gaining access to the property. Officers confirmed that was mostly due to people making appointments and then not being at home.

34.5         Ms L Bennett, Ms R King and Mr B Kent said that some tenants were unhappy with the standard of cleaning provided; there had been concerns that the same water and cloth were being used for large and different areas. A complaint had been made. Officers invited tenant reps to meet with the cleaners to discuss what they do and how they clean.

34.6         Mr T Worsfold said that there had been problems with the lifts being out of order and noted that the meetings were to be held with contractors. Councillor Mears said that lifts did break down and parts were sometimes hard to source, but said that it was important to look after tenants particularly those who had mobility problems when lifts were not working. Officers advised that when lifts could not be repaired the same day, they had a list of those who would be affected and contacted each resident; in extreme cases people would be re-housed. Ms King confirmed that that did happen and that officers did a very good job in those situations and ensured that everyone was looked after.

34.7         RESOLVED – That the Housing Management Consultative Sub Committee note the report.