Agenda item

Yvonne Fox, Assistant Director of Housing:

 

a.    provided Housing Scrutiny Sub Committee with a quarter two report on Performance Indicators for the 2021/22 financial year (April 2021- September 2021), as detailed at Appendix A of her report, which combined all performance relevant to Housing Landlord issues

 

b.    advised that of the 21 measures, 7 were on or exceeding targets for the year (year-end), and 13 had not met the normal targets set

 

c.    highlighted that of the 13 measures that did not meet the target, 6 of these were within 5% tolerance of their respective targets (Amber rating), 3 of the 6 were year-end targets (Decent Homes and 2 financial measures) and one measure did not have a target set (Complaints replied to in line with corporate policy)

 

d.    reported that over the last eleven years the Council had been working with the Lincoln Tenants Panel to improve external scrutiny and to meet the standards implemented by the Tenant Services Authority

 

e.    reported that from April 2010 all social landlords were required to have local offers in place alongside the national standards, as set out in the new Regulatory Framework for Social Housing, amended with effect from April 2012, although the principles remained the same

 

f.     referred to Appendix A which attempted to simplify the overall analysis of the data by listing performance on a service functional basis (rents, repairs, etc) and then showing the source of the indicator (reason)

 

g.    added that for comparison purposes each indicator showed last year’s performance against the target for the current year (where applicable) and progress made in the current year

 

h.    referred to paragraph 4.3 of the report and highlighted areas of good performance:

 

·         Anti-Social Behaviour

·         % of Rent Collected as a % of Rent Due

·         Repairs Indicators

 

i.      reported at paragraph 4.4 of the report on reasons where we were close to achieving our targets (amber rating) as follows:

 

·         Arrears as a % of Rent Debit

·         % of Homes with Valid Gas Safety Certificate

·         Housing Investment and Programmed Maintenance

 

10. further highlighted a brief explanation of reasons where we had not achieved our targets as detailed at paragraph 4.5 of the report:

 

 

11. stated that although there were no direct financial implications arising from the report, there were several indicators that did affect the HRA including the amount of rent collected and repairs and improvements; we continued to monitor our financial position with our finance colleagues

 

12. invited committees’ questions and comments.

 

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail. The following key comments emerged:

 

·         Current performance was promising to see with only a short dip due to circumstances surrounding COVID.

·         There was currently a general shortage of staff across the country in all professions Hopefully the red rating in the area of urgent repairs carried out within 3 days would disappear in time.

·         The average number of days to resolve Anti -Social Behaviour cases for quarter 2 at 49.1 days represented good performance.

 

The following key questions emerged:

 

·         Question: Performance in relation to the percentage of Anti-Social Behaviour cases resolved/closed was showing as 98.54%. What proof did officers have to back up this data?

·         Response: Each case opened was allocated a case file and progress was tracked accordingly. A case could not be closed until it was resolved with full compliance. A customer satisfaction survey was also completed prior to closure.

·         Supplementary Question: Were cases closed because the customer received a satisfactory conclusion or because the case couldn’t be taken any further? Whose decision was it?

·         Response: The figures quoted related to tenancy services. There may be cases on occasions which took a long time to resolve but these were exceptional cases.

 

·         Question: Was the percentage of customer telephone calls answered within 90 seconds at 18.2% in this quarter, set against a target of 80% due to having staff shortages?

·         Response: Advice taken from Joanne Crookes, Customer Services Manager revealed that calls were more complex and taking longer to deal with. There were also instances of staff absence due to COVID and recent staff turnover meant that staff were in training. Figures obtained from the Customer Services Manager recorded average waiting times in September 2021 as follows: Of the 10.691 calls answered the average waiting time to get through to an agent was 7.13 minutes, with 28% of calls being answered within 90 seconds. (Subsequent to the response provided at the meeting, figures obtained for October 2021 showed a marked improvement: Of 10,574 calls answered the average waiting time to get through to an agent was 5.16 minutes, with 42% of calls being answered within 90 seconds.)

 

·         Question Were callers informed what number they were in the telephone queue?

·         Response: Yes. They were also offered a call back in this duration and referred to the online service available as an alternative.

 

·         Question: Why had the percentage of all priority repairs carried out within the time limit by Aaron Services dropped from Quarter One to Quarter 2?

·         Response: Performance had dropped slightly. Regular meetings were held with Aaron Services, who also had recruitment issues and illnesses due to COVID. There were solid reasons for the current situation. The company worked very hard in partnership with the Housing Service and provided good value for money

 

·         Question: Performance in terms of complaints was improving, however, still along way from reaching the target. When was the target last reached and how recently were the actions identified to address the problems implemented? If this was recently, why had it taken so long?

·         Response: The nearest the service had been to the target was 90% in April 2020. The targets in relation to the Housing Service were much more stringent than corporate targets. There was also a significant higher number of complaints received compared to other departments Many instances registered as complaints were in fact service requests. An action plan was in the process of being implemented to deal with these anomalies and complaints monitoring reviewed.

 

·         Question: Could officers provide additional detail regarding measures ongoing to address the shortfall in % of urgent repairs carried out within time limits i.e., flexible recruitment campaigns, job advertisements, how success was measured?

·         Response: The service was currently undergoing a flexible recruitment process for fixed term/part time/ afternoon/evening workers. It also linked up with local colleges to give opportunities for school leavers. (Council policy required all vacancies to be advertised internally first which caused some delays. Also, employees were entitled to resign with only a month’s notice) Recruitment open days were being arranged/recruitment videos introduced. Progress would be measured in the next 4-8 weeks as new operatives were recruited. The benefits of working for a local authority were being advertised e.g., pension scheme, good working hours, tools and PPE equipment provided. It was very challenging to recruit staff in a ‘boom’ economy.

 

·         Question: How was performance measured for repair appointments kept compared to appointments made measured?

·         Response: This data was provided by the Performance Team

 

·         Question: There were examples where customer services had contacted tenants to book repairs that had already been completed. Was this an occasional occurrence?

·         Response: Officers were not aware of such issues; however, they would investigate further if provided with greater details.

 

·         Question: What was the current position regarding the delay in completion of electrical safety testing work?

·         Response: There was currently a six-week back log of electrical testing work compared with gas inspections over a 5-year period; gas inspections were being continued.

 

LTP members requested that data be prepared to propose instigation of a 5-year electrical testing scheme to reach the same standards as gas inspections.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1.    The current performance outcomes during the financial year 2021/22 be noted.

 

2.    Data be prepared on a 5-year electrical testing scheme to reach the same standards as gas inspections

 

3.    A commitment to continued reporting on a quarterly basis and to determine a programme to have more interim in-depth reviews of service specific performance particularly in relation to Anti-Social Behaviour be noted.