Agenda item

Marianne Upton, Tenancy Services Manager:

1. presented a report to provide information to Members on a pilot structure being implemented in Tenancy Services

2. reported that the Tenancy Services Team worked generically with all Area Housing Officers, Housing Officers and Housing Assistants covering all aspects of housing and estate management for a geographical “patch” , split into 3 smaller teams in north, south and central areas of the city

3. highlighted the purpose of this pilot to improve the service to tenants; the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) report highlighted much lower satisfaction among tenants about how Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) was managed, making it very clear that managing ASB needed to be priority, which required dedicated Officers with enhanced skills and knowledge to focus on it

4. explained that the pilot structure would help to remove the conflicting responsibilities within team roles, and respond to feedback from staff that  were trying to manage such a wide variety of tasks, and unable to always give them their full attention

5. added that the pilot would enable staff to focus on specific areas of their role with the capacity to fully manage their work to an even higher standard, rather than needing to respond to all aspects of housing and estate management

6. outlined full details of the pilot structure which came into force on 15 July 2024, which involved the team splitting into three smaller teams, Rents, ASB and Tenancy and Estate Management; officers would still retain geographical ‘patches’ within their specialism for tenants to keep a named point of contact to get in touch

7. reported that all staff within the team remained on their original job description as this was a pilot structure to be reviewed after 6 months; it also allowed flexibility to meet the needs of the service as staff could be moved between teams if there were peaks in workload to be managed

8. highlighted that new email addresses and phone numbers were being set up for each area of the team so that tenants could easily contact the right specialist team and new contact details circulated internally to officers and Members

9. advised that all procedures for the team would be reviewed during the pilot period to maximise the opportunity for service improvements for tenants

10. confirmed that the pilot review would be completed in six months’ time by 15 January 2025

11. welcomed Members feedback on the content of the report.

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail.

Members commented as follows:

·       It was pleasing to see the introduction of a new team dedicated to anti-social behaviour. Thanks were given for the work already done in the Ward.

·       The pilot structure was forward thinking and members were looking forward to working with the three teams.

Members asked:

·       Question: If officers were approached with an anti-social behaviour complaint, would they initially request the complainant to talk amicably with the tenant to try to resolve the problem?

·       Response: New procedures were being put together. Each problem would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

·       Question: Would multiple complaints trigger action?

·       Response: Relevant legislation would be followed.

Debbie Rousseau, LTP Member advised she was the Lead on the Tenant Anti-Social Behaviour Group and asked if relevant officers would pay them a visit?

Marianne Upton, Tenancy Services Manager accepted the invitation for relevant staff members to visit the Tenancy ASB Group.

RESOLVED that:

1.    The content of the report be noted.

2.    A further report be presented to Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee following the review of the pilot period.