Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Moorgate Street, ROTHERHAM. S60 2TH

Contact: Katherine Harclerode, Governance Advisor  The webcast can be viewed online: http://www.rotherham.public-i.tv

Items
No. Item

11.

Minutes of the previous meeting held on 7 June 2022 pdf icon PDF 145 KB

 

To consider and approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 7 June 2022 as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

Minutes:

Resolved:-

 

1.    That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 7 June 2022 be approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

12.

Declarations of Interest

 

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

Minutes:

A personal interest was declared by Cllr Bennett-Sylvester as a tenant of the Council, and a personal interest was declared by Cllr McNeely as a tenant of the Council.

13.

Questions from members of the public and the press

 

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

Minutes:

The Chair advised that there were no members of the public or representatives of media organisations present at the meeting and there were no questions in respect of matters on the agenda.

14.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

 

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

Minutes:

The Chair advised that there were no items of business on the agenda that would require the exclusion of the press or public from the meeting.

15.

Tenant Scrutiny Review - Aids and Adaptations Update pdf icon PDF 379 KB

 

To receive an update report and action plan in respect of housing aids and adaptations.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report providing an update on progress in delivering the actions agreed following a review of the Aids and Adaptations Service by the Tenant Scrutiny Panel. This review had been conducted as part of a continuous programme of service reviews which are undertaken by the Panel. The work of the Panel was facilitated and supported by Rotherfed, the Council’s Tenant Federation provider. The aim of the Panel was to investigate the customer journey for those using the Aids and Adaptations Service in terms of accessibility, clarity and fairness. The Tenant Scrutiny Panel completed its review in Spring 2021 and submitted a report describing the Panel’s findings, together with recommendations for service improvement. A report detailing the findings of the review and recommendations was received at Improving Places Select Commission on 29th June 2021. The Adaptations Manager described the range of actions undertaken in response to the recommendations. Customer contact systems and referral methods, triage stages, budgets and forecasting, efforts to sustain tenancies without moving, benchmarking and matters of policy and staff resource were described. It was noted that the full refresh of the policy had been delayed by pandemic impacts.

 

In discussion, clarification was requested in respect of current numbers of residents waiting for aids and adaptations. The response from officers noted that many referrals come into the service through the Housing Occupational Therapists. The backlog associated with this pathway is 48 weeks due to a NHS staff resource shortage in occupational therapy. Action plans are in place to filter through the backlogs. Team members are working with the occupational therapists to understand the backlogs and trusted assessors within the team are helping to work through the backlogs. Administratively, the case management system in use has also been evaluated to identify and resolve quick fixes. The service is very much cognisant that the qualified occupational therapists are responsible for making the recommendations to ensure the aid or adaptation meets individual needs, but the service were seeking out all fast-track options available to expedite backlog resolution.

 

A supplementary question was offered in respect of the possibility to utilise occupational therapist assistants for cases of less complexity. The response noted that a trusted assessor is a technical officer with experience who can oversee handrails for example. There is a further level required, for example, for level access showers. The service seeks to make best use of housing stock by sustaining tenancies in place where a move can be avoided. Currently, there was vacancy for occupational therapist assistant roles. Working in partnership with the NHS, training requirements in the team have lead times of 2-3 months from training to post.

 

Members noted the two topics excluded from scope of the tenant scrutiny review which were the housing allocations policy and the voids process and requested further clarification in respect of how the right to buy applies to a house with adaptations. The response from officers noted that the tenants aver in writing as part of the referral request that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Tenant Scrutiny Review - Satisfaction with Repairs and Maintenance Service pdf icon PDF 396 KB

To receive a Tenant Scrutiny Review report and action plan in respect of satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report reviewing tenant satisfaction in respect of tenants  experience of council housing. The review focused on performance measures, value for money, and tenant satisfaction. Relevant legislation and regulations were also noted in relation to the review work. Priorities assessed by the review included ease of reporting, quality of repair, and timeliness of repair. An account of complaints received in relation to the delivery of repairs services was also provided. The framing of questions and survey methods were also discussed.

 

Regarding the framing of the survey questions, Members agreed the surveys should be standardised. Officers noted that in terms of right first time and customer satisfaction, the questions are standardised. Previously, a partner asked some of their own questions but has since reverted back to the standard form.

 

Members noted the importance of tracking responses to all recommendations, even where these responses serve only to explain why a requested action could not be taken. The response from Rotherfed noted that during scrutiny reviews, the Tenant Scrutiny Panel will often set as a recommendation at least one aspirational suggestion where inroads may not be possible due to budget or legal implications. Officers invited feedback of specific instances where recommendations had not received response so that any such instances could be tracked down and examined.

 

Clarification of the category of Right first time was also requested. The example was given that, in situations where plastering could not be completed on the same day, there was often a need for additional visits. Sometimes further repair issues that are needed become clear once work has started. It was noted that 9 of 10 are right first time. The definition and the KPI responses received scrutiny, as interrogating these categories was important. Jobs which require additional work were not to be shut down but regarded as follow on work until completion. Examples of the operational process were given.

 

In respect of the customer contact centre, clarification was requested as to flexibility around requests from residents who were in exceptional circumstances. Although not raised by the scrutiny Panel as part of the review, the response from officers noted that sometimes the need is not one size fits all. Customer exceptions need to be reported in a timely way so that the service can respond, for example in circumstances of palliative care. The desire of the service to prioritise calls from vulnerable people and people with exceptional circumstances was emphasised. Furthermore, there was a senior officer prioritising specific types of repairs, for example, asbestos, and for those with immediate risk of life and property. There was also a senior officer within the contact centre to deal with points of escalation for repairs matters.

 

Further details were requested in terms of challenges around communications. The response from officers acknowledged that communications issues occasionally arise. For example, in reference to any temporary fix, there is always a future planned repair. A small wall may have collapsed in a garden, for example; the initial repair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Revised Work Programme pdf icon PDF 355 KB

To consider and approve a revised outline work programme for 2022/23.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to an update report and outline of scrutiny work for the 2022/23 municipal year.

 

Resolved:-

 

1.    That the report and proposed schedule of work be noted.

 

2.    That authority be delegated to the Governance Advisor in consultation with the Chair and Vice-chair to make changes to the schedule of work as appropriate between meetings, reporting any changes back to the next meeting for endorsement.

18.

Urgent Business

 

To consider any item which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

The Chair advised that there were no urgent items of business requiring the Commission’s consideration.

19.

Date and time of the next meeting

 

The next meeting of the Improving Places Select Commission will take place on 20 September 2022, commencing at 1.30 pm in Rotherham Town Hall.

Minutes:

Resolved:-

 

1.    That the next meeting of Improving Places Select Commission will take place on 20 September 2022, commencing at 1.30 pm in Rotherham Town Hall.