Agenda item

Objective: An update from the Chief Executive on key issues which may be of interest to the Cabinet Housing Committee.

The Chief Executive addressed the Committee and highlighted that:

-       All local authorities (LA) with retained housing stock are adjusting to the new regulatory environment and particularly the key difference between activity and evidence. Without evidence it is not possible to provide the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) with assurance.

-       The Committee has set a clear focus on ensuring the safety and compliance of our homes. Work has been continuing in earnest on both ensuring that we have a clear plan and timescale to complete the outstanding legacy fire actions, and to ensure that the data we hold accurately reflects the situation on the ground. In recent months, some discrepancies have been identified and reconciled through a bottom-up reconstruction by colleagues to ensure that the granularity of the data is accurate. Work is also being carried out to ensure that as fire risk assessments take place the resource is available to manage actions as they emerge to prevent a new legacy situation emerging. Progress is being made that is beginning to deliver dividends and will place the council in a much stronger position with our assurance on safety and compliance.

-       As we grow more comfortable with our position in relation to safety and compliance we are also carrying out a reassessment internally on the rest of the Consumer Standards with a fresh set of eyes. The same approach of being extremely self-critical about the evidence we hold will be followed to ensure we can provide critical data and assurance to the RSH. Once the internal process has been completed an external assurance exercise by experts will be carried out to ensure we have a clear road map for what improvements are needed, how they will be delivered and the timescales involved. It is vital that the cultural shift in evidencing our actions is embedded in every level of the housing organisation.

-       Stock condition surveys remain a critical piece of work to ensure that we understand our homes. 59% have now been completed which is roughly 200 properties behind the expected timeline. Measures are in place to improve progress and we are continuing to work closely with the contractor. As we reach the higher percentage points progress may slow due to difficulty with gaining access to properties. This is expected but work is beginning to ensure that we can gain access and we are working on communication with those tenants. Once stock condition surveys have been completed we will move to an internal rolling survey approach. We will also be using the data to inform future investment plans.

-       The Director of Governance, Housing and Communities has been working closely with the Interim Service Improvement Lead to gain a good understanding of the repairs and technical and investment teams. Aiming to carry out good recruitment in those areas in the next few months.

-       The deadline for final business case submissions on local government reorganisation and devolution is in November. We are working through three options for Gloucestershire. The government has acknowledged that this is a significant piece of work but are clear that they do not want other programmes of work to halt. This will in no way detract from our focus on safety, compliance, and our assurance journey with the RSH.

-       Acknowledge that we are not in the position we would want with voids. There have been a number of reasons but largely due to issues identified with ensuring that contractors are appointed safely and compliantly. It is imperative as a local authority that we appoint contractors in the correct way to ensure that they undertake the works in an effective, speedy, and efficient manner. Grateful to colleagues that the number of voids is starting to move in the right direction.

-       It has been a challenging few months in our improvement journey with a lot of work carried out behind the scenes. Hopeful that in the coming weeks and months we will see the dividends of this work, particularly in regards to the Consumer Standards. This will be reported transparently to the Committee to ensure that the improvement journey is monitored and demonstrate to the RSH that the Committee is driving this work.

The Committee’s discussion raised the following points

-       There has been a significant change in the culture and the attitude of staff in the last 9 – 10 months. They now recognise that it is important to be truthful and transparent to customers, rather than telling them what they want to hear. This is building from tenants, trust from councillors, and trust between officers.

-       A tenant representative confirmed that the person carrying out their stock condition survey was very professional and personable. It was very convenient that they could attend on a Saturday morning. The surveyor also confirmed that the council was acting very promptly on issues coming out of the surveys.

-       It was very positive to see work being done on social housing properties in the councillor’s ward.