Issue - meetings

 Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

Councillor Jonathon Seed presented the report which outlined the proposed actions and timeframes for procuring new contracts for the Repairs and Maintenance service for the upkeep and improvement of the Council’s Housing Stock for the next 5-10years.

Resolved

1.    To approve, in principle, the process that will be followed in order to deliver the required outcomes, including the various stages that will be undertaken and how suitable contractors can be selected.

2.    To note that all options for delivery of services considered within the report in Appendix 1, in light of the report’s conclusions, agrees in principle:

       i.          To progress with the enlargement of the DLO to take on all responsive repairs and voids work, and look to recruit a new managerial structure to lead and co-ordinate this service

      ii.          To extends the current partnership contracts with Ian Williams, British Gas and Wessex Electrical for a further two years and then look to migrate some of these services to the DLO, subject to a further review; and

    iii.          That a further report will be presented to Cabinet in June 2017 with costings and potential savings in support of the above

Reason for Decision:

On average Wiltshire Council plans to spend some £12m from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) each year on the repairs 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 replacement works and meeting the Decent Home Standard.

The majority of this work is currently out-sourced through 4 main contracts and these are either ending or up for extension, so key decisions on how these services are delivered in the future will need to be made. A Repairs and Maintenance (R&M) Steering Group including members of the Housing Board has been formed to advise on progress through a number of stages in order to advise the future of both service delivery models and the most effective route to deliver the required service outcomes.