Issue - meetings

         Report by Alistair Cunningham, Corporate Director

Councillor Richard Clewer present the report which outlined the Business Case for enlarging the Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) to take on additional work for the repair and maintenance of the Council’s Housing Stock enabling the Council to continue to deliver a quality Repairs and Maintenance (R&M) service for the upkeep and improvement of the Council’s Housing Stock for the next 30 years.

In response to a question raised by Councillor Brian Dalton, Councillor Clewer stated that he would explore how best division councillors could be kept informed of works scheduled in their area.

Councillor Mathew Deane, Chair of the Environment Select Committee, stated the Committee members had unanimously supported the proposals and welcomed the discretion given to the council to respond appropriately to tenants.

Resolved

1.            To agree the business case for progressing with the enlargement of the DLO to take on all responsive repairs and voids work.

2.            That authority be delegated to the Director of Housing and Commercial Development to agree staffing and contractual changes required to deliver the responsive repairs and voids service by the DLO with effect from April 2019.

Reason for Decision:

On average Wiltshire Council plans to spend around £12 - £14m from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), both capital and revenue, each year on the repair and maintenance of the housing stock. This includes all emergency and day to day repairs, works to void properties, gas servicing, electrical testing, lift maintenance, as well as elemental replacements, such as kitchens, bathrooms and insulation, to continue to meet the Decent Home Standard.

The majority of this work is currently outsourced to contractors (value c.£13m) with just under £1m being directly delivered by the Council’s Direct Labour Organisation.

The key reasons for the proposal for the DLO to take on a greater share of the services are;

• Minimising the risk of contractor failure and the knock-on impact on our Residents
• Developing a more commercial approach to the delivery of repairs and maintenance services in-house in line with the sector
• Generating savings and avoiding paying profit margins to external organisations
• Capitalising on the higher performance already being delivered by our DLO
• Enabling opportunities to improve management of the supply chain for materials and plant as well as fleet and IT
• Providing flexibility to change and innovate in response to national and local policies changes and demands, without the need for protracted negotiations with external providers.