Agenda item

Objective: To provide the Committee with a copy of the Improvement Plan developed to resolve areas of non-compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards.

The Head of Housing Improvement Programme introduced the report and noted that it provided detail of the progress of the Consumer Standards Improvement Plan. She explained that the report included a high-level summary of the projects that are currently live and reassured the committee that a lot of detail is being managed behind each project daily. She highlighted that the programme plan had been developed following a number of consultative exercises, including a gap analysis and a commissioned report from Pennington Choices which provided additional recommendations. These recommendations have been configured into the plan and cross referenced so they can be easily tracked. Nineteen key projects have been identified and a prioritisation exercise has been carried out to ensure those with the highest risk to customers and the organisation are delivered first. Early scoping sessions and scoping documents have been completed and a resource allocation exercise has been carried out to ensure the people and skills required are available.

The committee’s discussion raised the following points:

·         The report’s inclusion of human risk is an important focus as even the best technical processes will fail if people are diverted or aren’t fully engaged.

·         It was agreed that it would be better to manage the Improvement Plan through a more traditional programme deliver approach due to the scale of what needs to be achieved across the organisation. Using a programme approach also reduces the level of governance which is required compared to the workstream approach taken for the housing transition.

·         The ambition to be a C1 exemplar housing provider was recognised at the Programme Board but it was agreed that this should be managed with a two stage approach. The first stage will ensure that the organisations remains laser focused on ensuring we are compliant, particularly with the safety elements. Once this has been achieved there will be an opportunity to review the second stage and consider whether it is appropriate to target a C1 grade at that point.

·         Project 1 is focused on awareness raising, training and making sure everyone is fully aware of their obligations. This was not a specific recommendation from the gap analysis or Pennington Choices report but it is considered a vital element. A communication strategy is in development internally to raise awareness and demonstrate the importance of the Consumer Standards. This will make use of different channels both internally and externally.

·         There is a significant requirement in the programme for the development of reports and sophisticated data capture. We currently do not have the resources in house to deliver this work on a long-term basis and instead are using external specialist resources. This has been recognised as a risk to ensure that this situation continues to be monitored.

·         Currently an evidence log has not been started but the intention is to create a processed map bank of evidence which can be provided to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) when they carry out our In-Depth Assessment (IDA). The data is being collected but we are working on evidencing that we are carrying out processes.

·         A customer engagement strategy is being developed and will be brought to the committee at a future meeting.

·         We are working to improve communication and processes that have historically led to a siloed approach. Progress will be measured through tenant satisfaction and consideration of complaints and the lessons learned from them. It is important to also continue discussing concerns and opportunities with colleagues on the ground as they will often be able to identify issues before they emerge in the organisation’s performance.

·         We are also looking at the broader integration of CBC and housing IT systems this year to support greater collaboration and effectiveness. This integration was not carried out early in the transition to allow due diligence to be carried out and safeguard critical housing systems. It will be important to ensure there is full buy in right across the organisation to get the very best possible outcomes from these systems that are credible and accurate.