Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive, CityWest Homes

7.1       The committee received an update from Jonathan Cowie, Chief Executive Officer of CityWest Homes, and Martin Edgerton, Executive Director of Customer Services, on CityWest Homes (CWH) Transformation Programme.

7.2      The committee was asked for feedback on what they saw as the highest priority from residents; where they saw the most opportunity for greater joint working across CWH services and which aspects of the service was most in need of modernisation.

7.3       The committee asked questions and received responses on a range of issues including:

7.3.1    How performance and resident satisfaction with the new operating model and repairs and major works contracts will be assessed?  Mr Cowie explained that this would be achieved through monitoring key performance indicators that are set by the Council.  These are reviewed by various boards both within CWH and the Council.  Resident satisfaction will also be captured through the independently run annual resident satisfaction survey.

7.3.2    Members were keen to ensure that there are more holistic approaches to addressing the needs of vulnerable residents with links between CWH and other Council services and partner organisations such as the NHS.  Barbara Brownlee, Director of Housing and Regeneration, advised that one of the Council’s top priorities is to ensure that CWH is closely integrated with the hubs programme which aims to make better use of the Council and partners assets to improve access to preventative services.  In response to further questions Barbara Brownlee stated that the estate offices that were due to close could possibly be used as hub offices or alternatively CWH may be provided with space alongside other services in alternative hub spaces.  Mr Cowie stated that he would welcome the development of coordinated plans to address residents’ needs.

7.3.3    The Committee asked how CWH was engaging with the Council’s emerging digital strategy.  Mr Cowie reported that the chief executive had asked him to sit on the Council’s Digital Board.  He explained that in the future residents would be able to see the collective data held about them by the two organisations through their ‘My Account’ facility.  He explained that in advance of this a significant amount of work would need to take place to clean up the current resident data held by CWH.  Additionally the data held by each organisation would need to be accessible from a single point.  He believed that it would take approximately 2 years to implement this. 

7.3.4    Members asked for an update on the CWH out of hours call centre which was currently being operated by the Council.  Mr Edgerton acknowledged the challenges for CWH to provide this service.  He stated that when CWH takes back the service from the Council it will look at the hours over which the service is provided.  Mr Cowie advised that CWH’s ambition is to be proactive and update residents on issues that they have reported so that they do not have to contact the out of hours call centre.

7.3.5    Officers were asked what mitigation CWH was taking to protect residents from noise, dust or fumes as a consequence of building works being undertaken underneath Kemp House on Berwick Street.  The committee was informed that the development was being undertaken by a private sector developer rather than CWH.  CWH and the Council were looking at how they could be more forceful in dealing with third parties impacting on CWH tenants.  This included asking the CWH development team to look at opportunities to pursue party wall agreements to avoid leaks into residents’ properties as well as asking a City Council structural development surveyor to look at opportunities to address issues caused by the developer.

7.4       RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

7.5       ACTIONS:

1.    The committee would like to receive regular updates on the performance of and resident satisfaction with the new operating model and new repairs/major works contracts.  (Action for: Jonathan Cowie/Martin Edgerton, CWH)

2.    Provide Councillor Church with a note on actions that CWH and the Council are undertaking to protect the residents of Kemp House on Berwick Street from the impact of building works being undertaken beneath the building by a private sector developer. (Action for: Ed Watson, Executive Director of Growth Planning and Housing, in consultation with Jonathan Cowie, CWH)