Agenda item

To receive a report from the City Council’s Housing Directorate on operational performance following the transition of CityWest Homes to a new operating model; and on the procurement of new repairs and maintenance services.

5.1       Neil Wightman (Director of Housing) and Jim Paterson (Director of Property Services) presented an overview of the standards and delivery of improvements in the Housing Service, following the transition to the City Council in April. Targets had been benchmarked against high performing London boroughs and set prior to the service returning in-house, and had required an improvement on previous performance levels. Call Centres were performing well, with 80% of calls being answered within 30 seconds against the corporate target of 70%. The City Council’s commitment to providing residents with local, face to face services had been demonstrated by the introduction of the Westminster on Wheels initiative. It was reported that since being introduced, over 1000 residents had engaged with the mobile surgery with 95% being satisfied with the new service.

5.2       A new Director of Housing appointed at the end of May had set out five key priorities for Westminster’s Housing Service. These sought to:

•           Improve the responsiveness and quality of the repairs service and major works;

•           Provide a better service for leaseholders, particularly in relation to major works;

•           Support vulnerable residents;

•           Develop a local offer and increase resident involvement; and

•           Prevent homelessness.

The Housing Service was working towards an October launch date for a number of significant improvements, which included billing and service charges.

5.3       Neil Whitman reported that 65% of tenants had been satisfied with major works; and that targets tended to be fixed seeking an improvement on the previous year’s performance. The Housing Service would also set targets following benchmarking against other London Boroughs with similar stock.

5.4       The Housing Service recognised Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) was a significant issue, and tenants often had to be taken to court several times before a Suspension Order could be obtained. The Committee noted that prospective tenants who were known to be involved in ASB or criminal activity would be investigated before being allocated a property. If nothing was known about the applicant, the Housing Service would follow the normal choice-based letting procedure. Members suggested that residents were not confident that ASB and criminality were being properly dealt with, and Neil Whiting acknowledged that some behaviours and cultural issues needed to change. The Committee agreed that more resources should be allocated to the recovery of properties following tenancy fraud and sub-letting.

5.5       The Committee discussed circumstances in which tenants could be evicted, and noted that there was no direct correlation between eviction and debt.  The Housing Service recognised that rent arrears were usually caused by external factors, so tried to help manage individual debtors on a case-by-case basis with a plan to solve the situation and get payments starting again.

5.6       Barbara Brownlee (Executive Director of Growth, Planning & Housing) reported that the leadership team for the Housing Service had changed, and that measures to remove the previous gulf between leadership and front-line service delivery was ongoing. It was also anticipated that working more closely with other departments in the City Council would enable the Housing Service to respond more effectively to vulnerable tenants or enforcement issues.

5.7       Committee Members highlighted the need to keep residents well informed of developments and changes; and for the Housing Service needed to be aware of the high number of properties that were located within streets.

5.8       RESOLVED: That the Westminster Housing Service update be noted.