Agenda item

To update the Select Committee regarding the activities of Wiltshire Council’s Housing Board (WCHB) between October 2023 and November 2024.

Councillor Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing, alongside James Barrah, Director for Assets, and Nick Darbyshire, Head of Strategic Assets Maintenance and Facilities Management, updated the Committee on the activities of Wiltshire Council’s Housing Board (WCHB) between October 2023 and November 2024, and provided an overview of the activities and performance across the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) service.

Reference was made to Paragraph 18 of the report with each of the key achievements over the past 12 months briefly detailed, before listing some of the challenges being faced currently and expected for the future, such as cost-of-living pressures and inflation. It was further explained that from April 2024, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) had introduced an inspection regime for all social landlords based on a revised set of ‘Consumer Standards’. As such, a new regulatory environment had been created for officers, and therefore Members were assured that a lot of work was being undertaken to prepare for any future inspections.

During the discussion, points included:

• Members raised Paragraph 28 to 29 of the report, and queried how many Council owned properties had had their EPC (Energy Performance Certificates) upgraded. Officers explained that there were not EPCs in place for all properties, therefore full stock condition surveys were being undertaken to provide exact data to model from. However, it was highlighted that approximately over the last 4-5 years, 600 component interventions had been undertaken on a phased retrofit programme. As such, officers would soon be able to report on the statistics for both the impact of the EPCs and the componentry that would form part of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Scorecard in the coming months.
• It was further noted that officers were continuing to review and develop improved metrics to evaluate performance with regard to component installations, but that the aim to have all properties with a minimum of an EPC B had not changed. Furthermore, it was confirmed that through the Acquisition Programme, all new properties being built would be carbon zero, but that there were challenges when considering the retrofitting of second-hand stock.
• It was explained that the Build Programme was a mix of housing already in the market, second hand stock, new builds both through, and not through, Section 106 agreements, modular construction homes, and trials in traditional builds to cover the breadth of the market in terms of construction types. Furthermore, property sizes were based on the need of the local area, therefore officers were continuing different approaches to cater for lots of different property sizes across the programme.
• It was noted that for the delivery of work programmes, there was a mixed economy, meaning that there were both Council employed trade teams, but also a reliance on external contractors for servicing activities. As such, the Council was constantly in a position of having to procure different contracts, with examples being given of either refreshing services, ensuring a diverse portfolio of contracts to minimise the risk of single points of failure, and challenges faced within the operating environment such as financial constraints and attracting and employing suitable and competent staff. Following from this, Members were informed that officers were looking to develop Apprenticeship Schemes and to raise the external profile of the services to encourage more people to consider a career in social housing.
• Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) were raised and Members queried how to further improve these. Officers referred to the Table in Paragraph 36 of the report which demonstrated that for many of the scores the Council were either at or above the national benchmark criteria. It was also highlighted that there was a distinction between social housing norms in comparison to the service-based commercial sector, and that HRAs had substantially more resources focussed on customer interfaces. Despite this, officers highlighted Paragraph 18 vii of the report and noted the 100% compliance in the handling of complaints through the new regulatory framework. Furthermore, officers were continuing to improve and refine the level and quality of engagement with residents through regular newsletters and the introduction of the iHousing Portal to improve accessibility to the service. In addition, resources had been put ring fenced to recruit a Customer Experience Manager to mirror best practice in the sector by reinforcing positive messaging, good customer journeys and experiences, and further informing improvement processes.

At the conclusion of the discussion, it was then:

Resolved:

The Committee:

a)    Noted the report.

b)    Requested that the next Housing Board Annual Report is received by the Select Committee.