Agenda item

Agenda item

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION - QUARTER 4 2020-2021

A report of the Head of Landlord Services.

Minutes:

The Head of Landlord Services submitted a report for the Board to consider performance at the end of Quarter 4, 2020-2021, up to the end of March 2021 (item 6 on the agenda).

 

The Landlord Services Manager attended the meeting to assist with the discussion of this item.

 

The Board were asked if they wished the performance information to remain a standard agenda item and whether they wanted any information added or removed.

 

The Board were advised that;

 

(i)            The performance information was being considered as part of the main agenda as opposed to going after the formal agenda as it had at previous meetings.

(ii)          A number of officers had complied the information, including indicators on:

·         Repairs

·         Gas Servicing

·         Rent Collection

·         Rent Arrears Percentage

·         Tenancy Management

·         Anti-social Behaviour

·         Supported Housing

·         Customer Satisfaction

·         Rent Arrears and Universal Credit

·         Targets not met within a 5% tolerance

(iii)         Performance indicators were divided between those which had achieved a target and those which had not, along with explanations for why they had not.

(iv)         The indicators on rent arrears and Universal Credit were looked at in detail as there was comprehensive information on Universal Credit.  Universal Credit had now become embedded within the system of rent payments and the balance of Universal Credit and Housing Credit was tipping in favour of Universal Credit.  It was further thought that around 2,000 people on Housing Credit would move over to Universal Credit in future.

(v)          The Compliance Report mainly concerned gas servicing, electrical servicing and asbestos giving a position on a quarterly basis on how the Council was performing on these high-risk areas of compliance.

(vi)         Anti-social behaviour (ASB) was looked at in detail as requested by members and considered breakdowns of where ASB was happening, actions taken, the number of live cases and the number of closed cases and whether they were satisfactorily resolved.

 

 

 

 

In response to questions from the Board it was explained that:

 

(i)            Rent-loss from voids was unrecoverable, but in theory rent arrears were recoverable even if a tenancy had ended.  The percentage recovered was reflected in the number of arrears at any one time.  A more telling performance indicator was the percentage of rent collected, this was a corporate key performance indicator.  The income team worked to get the rent in, this also included arrears brought forward.  The percentage seen earlier in the report reflected a percentage of rent debit plus the brought-forward rent arrears.

(ii)          The ASB statistics reflected live cases that were open and involved a council tenant.  There had not been a significant shift in resolution rates in the past 15 months during the Covid-19 pandemic, however, there had been a significant increase in caseload.

(iii)         ASB cases described as duplicate and/or entered in error were a consequence of the ASB case-reporting system.  This system (Sentinel) was a country-wide police system of case recording.  When cases crossed into each other where there were multiple incidents that were part of the same case duplication occurred and this needed to be taken into account in statistics.  Where there was a duplicate case it needed to be closed down.

(iv)         Under the rules for Universal Credit there was no default entitlement for the housing element to be paid directly to the landlord.  Direct payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could be requested in situations such as then there were high arrears or where there was a situation with a vulnerable tenant, however, such arrangements were temporary and open to review.  Tenants could not voluntarily ask the DWP to directly pay rent.

 

Action: Landlord Services Manager to update Councillor Bolton on resolution rates for ASB and how they compare with previous years.

 

The Vice-Chair praised the work of the service, particularly those in customer service and the rent team, for their good performance and helping people to get on-track during a difficult time.

 

The Vice-Chair requested that the number of kitchens, bathrooms and roofing completed by the new contractor along with the contractor’s social value in terms of what it had done for the community be added to the performance information.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    that the report be noted.

 

2.    that the works completed on bathrooms, kitchens and roofs by the new contractor be added to the performance information.

 

 

3.    that the social value of the new contractor be added to the performance information

 

4.    that Quarterly Performance Information be added to the Board’s Work Program as a main item.

 

Reason

 

1.    To acknowledge the Board’s consideration of the matter.

 

2&3. The information had been requested by the Vice-Chair.

 

4.    The item had been requested by the Board.


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