Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Sally Purcell, Cllr John Robini and Cllr Jackie Keen.

To agree the notes of the meeting on 29 February 2024, published on the Council's website.

It was AGREED that the minutes of the meeting held on 29 February 2024 were a complete and accurate record.

To receive any declarations of interests under the Waverley Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no questions received.

There were no questions received.

To receive extract from the Q3 Corporate Performance Report 2023/24 relating to areas with the remit of this Board.

The Chair referred to an email sent to the Portfolio Holder from Cllr Barker-Lomax, following the discussions at the Overview & Scrutiny – Resources Committee the previous week. The email notes that the performance status shows that KPIs are far off their targets, especially responsive repairs and voids, and suggests that a competing contractor should be considered for responsive repairs.

The Chair further explained that the Ian Williams Task and Finish Group are currently undergoing a full review of the performance of the contractor and progress is being made and it would be a better place to discuss this matter. The Head of Housing noted that there would be administrative issues with having two Contractors, however, it could be revisited if the issue with the existing contractor cannot be resolved.

Cllr Janet Crowe queried about the possibility of bringing the contract in-house.

Joint Strategic Director of Housing and Environment, Julian Higgins, also commented and suggested that there needs to be greater understanding of the current contract with Ian Williams and the options within that contract need to be considered. If the Council were to procure a new contract at this stage or give 50% to another contractor, there is a risk of the contractor filing a significant claim against the Council for breach of contract. He further explained that re-procuring a good quality contract would take at least a year, so the best approach is to work with the existing contractor and to deal with the issues that are causing the underperformance and then look at the options.

The Joint Strategic Director of Housing and Environment explained that the Council works with a company (TLF) which measures satisfaction figures and are experts in improving performance in repairs. The company does surveys for thousands of Housing Associations and Councils across the country to work out how to improve customer satisfaction.

The Chair added that this exercise is not just about changing the targets, but it is essential to understand what the targets are measuring. He noted that the Task and Finish Group will look thoroughly at the performance data and report back to this Board and the Executive. The Chair explained that a contract is between two parties, and both must put in the effort. Terry Daubney, Leader of the Tenants Panel, agreed that the Council must look at what they are doing to improve the performance of the contractor and to improve communication between the parties involved. Contractors should be managed and targets should be clearly communicated to them.

Robert Stratford, Member of the Waverley Tenants Panel, addressed the Board and relayed that after having discussions with several Ian Williams employees, he noticed an overall feeling that employees are dissatisfied with the pay. Overall dissatisfaction in the building trade and rising costs in the sector are also factors that could be causing strain on the service.

The Board concluded the discussion and noted the Q3 Performance Report data for 2023/24.

Board to receive breakdown of expenditure and discuss suggestions to update policy to reflect increased fund and 53-week rent year. Attached is a breakdown of the current policy.

The Tenant Involvement Officer address the Board and provided an overview of the changes to the HRA Hardship Policy, notably changes to the dates and the reason for existence of the Policy. He advised that the Policy was first adopted in October 2022 as a fund of last resort for tenants, however this year due to the rent increase and change to UC tenants, the reason for the fund’s existence has been changed to reflect this. It is still a fund a last resort and though there will be more signposting to the fund, other options must be exhausted first.

The Tenant Involvement Officer explained that the Rents Team are taking a proactive approach and are in contact with tenants who have issues with rent arrears and who may fall into these issues.

The Interim Strategic Director of Housing and Environment advised that data of tenants who have used the fund should be taken and analysed to ascertain where the areas of deprivation may be and where the team can expect to offer more targeted support. This will assist officers with the proactive approach. The breakdown in expenditure will look at age, geographic area, ethnicity, and other mapping characteristics to understand areas where the rents team could offer proactive advice and help.

Action: Officers to bring a breakdown of expenditure to the Board to analyse.

Cllr Alan Morrison referred to Annex 1 and queried the 10% of tenants in arrears who were not involved with the rents officer and whether these are large or small sums. The Interim Head of Housing explained that there has been a slight increase in larger rent arrears over the past few years, however, these have been seen in cases with special circumstances such as issues with mental health and social services. There is now a full rents team and the capacity and resources to keep on top of arrears is more robust.

Action: Expenditure breakdown to include the amounts of arrears; highest and lowest.

In response to queries, the Tenant Involvement Officer explained that rent is always the first priority within the policy; so the rents team will always ensure that any other extra expenditure is put into rent. Sainsburys vouchers are the largest spend from the fund as these are a easy way to alleviate funds from the tenants budget so that they can pay their rent/cover their rent arrears.

Board to receive a presentation detailing Acuity information and to discuss areas of interest, further investigation and improvement to inform an action plan to come back to the LSAB for monitoring. 

The Tenant Involvement Officer delivered a presentation on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Survey conducted by Acuity, the survey supplier for the tenant satisfaction measures. The officer highlighted that from 2024, every registered provider must conduct a 12-question perception survey mandated by the RSH. This is similar to the STAR surveys previously conducted, with the last one being in 2021. The survey results will be presented in June as part of the 22 tenant satisfaction measures required by the RSH, where 10 of these measures are compliance-based, such as gas safety.

It was noted that two surveys were conducted last year, one in May and one in October, involving around 540 tenants selected randomly to ensure a statistical representation of council tenants. The methodology chosen was 70% phone surveys and 30% online surveys.

The overall satisfaction rate for the past year was 69%, a decrease from previous surveys in 2021 and 2017. This decline mirrors a national trend in falling satisfaction scores. The key reasons for satisfaction included the repair service, general happiness with the overall service, and the positive attitude of staff. Tenants who were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied cited repairs, contractor quality of work, and communication as areas for improvement. Major issues included the timescales for completing repairs, outstanding repairs, and the quality of work, with communication being a recurring issue.

The Tenant Involvement Officer noted that Waverley Borough Council generally fell in the bottom half compared to both housing associations and other councils. The exceptions were in areas like well-maintained homes, safety, and cleanliness of communal areas.

It was recommended that in order to improve satisfaction, the Council needs to work on enhancing communications with tenants and focus on timely and quality repair services. Officers are also developing an action plan based on the survey results. A key point raised was the high willingness (84%) of surveyed tenants to be contacted again, indicating potential for increased tenant engagement. The officer sought recommendations from the Board on key action points to incorporate into the action plan.

Key discussion points

1. It was unanimously agreed that improving the repair services would significantly enhance tenant satisfaction. The emphasis was on addressing the quality of work, contractor performance, and better communication regarding repair schedules.

2. There was a strong sentiment towards engaging with tenants who participated in the survey. The board discussed methods to thank these tenants and involve them in future consultations, possibly through the Tenant’s Panel. It was agreed upon that a thank you letter or email should be sent to those who participated along with an invite to attend a meeting of the Tenant’s Panel to voice any of their concerns.

3. The Board suggested that officers follow up with tenants who highlighted critical issues like damp and mould. The Tenant Involvement Officer confirmed that such issues were immediately passed to the relevant team for triage.

4. The board expressed interest in receiving regular updates on the progress of addressing the identified issues. They highlighted the importance of transparency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

The Board to receive a verbal update from the Interrim Head of Housing.

The Interim Head of Housing updated the Board on the latest progress in the Housing service;

-        The Council was successful in the bid for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fun Wave 2.2, which provides funds to decarbonise Council homes with high carbon output.

-        The Service is performing well and most teams are now fully resourced.

Action: The Chair suggested that the Members of the LSAB take a trip to the Ockford Ridge site to understand how effectively the Council is able to re-model homes to become more energy efficient.  

Amy Walton, Service Improvement Officer, to update the Board.

The Service Improvement Officer presented the monthly dashboard data.

Thursday 25 April 2024.