Agenda item

This report was presented by Mr Porter, outlining performance between October and December 2019. Crucially that:

·  Rents arrears continued to increase. EKH explained that it was largely due to the roll-out of Universal Credit. However the data also seems to indicate that even rent arrears by individuals not on Universal Credit was increasing. This issue required further investigation;

·  Capital Programme delivery was a long way short of the target as in previous years, with some significant projects that remained un delivered;

·  Performance on Voids had been deteriorating. EKH explained that the properties affected by asbestos required asbestos surveys and major asbestos removal works. This issue also needs further investigation in order to improve Voids performance;

·  Health and Safety issues were highlighted by Internal Audit. They pointed some areas that required improvement and there were now some measures in place to address those concerns;

·  EKH had started providing a monthly update on Health and Safety. The most recent report provided this week still reflected some areas that were still non compliant;

·  The performance improvement action plan was being updated. This Plan (a voluntary undertaking by TDC) would be discussed and agreed with the Regulator before it was published;

·  Data integrity was previously a big issue. However reasonable assurance had been received from Internal Audit. The integrity performance rating had since moved up significantly;

·  Gas safety which previous had limited assurance had now been moved to substantial assurance by Internal Audit;

·  Water safety had moved to reasonable assurance;

·  An external consultant had been recruited to conduct spot checks which could be compared to the contractor’s data;

·  Quarterly performance reports would continue to be presented to the Panel.

Members responded with the following questions:

·  Were rent arrears rising because of universal credit?

·  Did other councils respond similarly to the gas safety checks information?

·  Tenant repairs were low, but should they not be done by the external contractors?

·  Why was there a significant lag on the number of complaints closed on time?

·  How could we ensure there wasn’t a slip in performance? What specific measures could be put in place?

Mr Porter responded as follows:

·  East Kent Housing did make contact with people moving on to Universal Credit. It was not as a result of a shortage of staff struggling to collect rent payments, but it is harder for universal credit tenants to meet payment commitments;

·  All other councils in the East Kent Housing group responded the same as Thanet to the reports on gas safety checks; 

·  The question on low tenant repairs would best be directed to East Kent Housing. There had been a recent change in their gas contractor. While EKH advised that they were getting through their workload, that seemed not to be the case;

·  The significant time lag in complaints being closed on time should be acknowledged as not being good enough; 

·  TDC was committed to continuing the services that were currently being provided by EKH;

·  Senior officers met monthly with EKH officers to monitor performance;

·  The Chief Executives of all four partner councils now made up the East Kent Housing Board membership. This ensured that EKH performance was discussed at a senior level;

·  A Transition Manager had been recruited, and an external consultancy firm recruited to carry out extra health and safety checks;

·  A transitional budget had been agreed and  set aside by Cabinet;

·  With the above arrangements in place, TDC was watching the impact of service delivery carefully. Additional resources could be put in if performance did slip, in line with the Cabinet agreement.

The report was noted.