Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1. Notes the contents of the report.

2. Agrees to receive a further update in six months’ time.

Consideration was given to the report which detailed the outcomes of the 2024/25 Tenant Satisfaction Measures survey. Overall satisfaction stood at 78.2% (+1.3% from last year). A key area of progress was tenant satisfaction with repairs: overall satisfaction had increased to 78.6% (a 4.5 percentage point rise), and satisfaction with the time taken to complete the most recent

repair had improved to 77.6% (up by 5.5 percentage points) compared with 2023/24.

All tenant perception measures were above the national median, with 10 out of 12 falling within or just outside the upper quartile based on 2023/24 data published by the Regulator of Social Housing. However, there remained areas requiring further improvement, particularly in satisfaction with complaints handling, the condition of communal areas, and anti-social behaviour (ASB) management, where scores had declined slightly from the previous year.

A number of actions had already been taken to address the areas that required improvement, with further improvements planned for 2025/26. Key initiatives included:

·       The launch of a tenant-led Learning from Complaints Panel.

·       A refreshed ASB policy and improvement plan.

·       An additional £135,000 investment in caretaking services.

·       Renewed focus on tackling ASB, with eviction proceedings already initiated against two persistent perpetrators in the current financial year (2025/26).

·       The ten council-reported TSMs remained strong. Repairs performance was a particular strength, mirroring the positive perception survey results:

o   96.7% of non-emergency repairs were completed within target timescales (15 percentage points above the national median).

o   98.6% of emergency repairs were completed within target (3.5 percentage points above the national median).

In addition, the Council achieved full compliance on all health and safety-related measures, including fire, asbestos, lifts, and water safety. Notably, there had been significant progress on the Decent Homes Standard: the proportion of non-decent homes had reduced from 12.0% to 7.2% year-on- year. This improvement was expected to continue following the successful launch of the Stock Condition Survey programme in April 2025.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the contents of the report.

2.    Agree to receive a further update in six months’ time.