Issue - meetings

[To review and comment on the performance and any areas for improvement]

Kate Martin, Service Director: Housing presented the report on the performance of Wolverhampton Homes (WH) and the Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs) in managing and maintaining Council owned properties during quarter three of the 2017-2018 financial year.  Generally, there was good performance across all performance indicators.  There were however, a few areas falling short of target. The service would be meeting with WH and the TMOs in the coming weeks to discuss their plans for bringing the targets back on track.

Councillor John Reynolds noted from the report that Dovecotes TMO and New Park Village Tenant Management Co-operative performance on some of the repairs indicators were outside of target.  He asked whether they were undertaking the repairs work themselves or subcontracting it out.  Melissa Green, Housing Strategy and Development Support Officer advised that Dovecotes TMO carried out their repairs through a contract with Wrekin Housing Trust.  New Park Village Tenant Management Co-operative were looking to recruit the services of a contractor to undertake their repairs work.  The Housing Strategy and Development Support Officer undertook to look into that issue.

Councillor Sandra Samuels OBE asked about the impact of the roll out of Universal Credit in Wolverhampton.  The Service Director briefly reported on arrangements for supporting the TMOs with their arrangements to prepare for the change to the benefits system. There were no main issues to report at the moment.

Councillor Paul Sweet commented that following the recent severe winter weather conditions, the Council was receiving calls from tenants about burst pipes.  He commended WH presence on social media in keeping its tenants updated.  He asked about the methods of communication used by the TMOs to speak to and receive feedback from their tenants.  The Housing Strategy and Development Support Officer undertook to take up the issue with the TMOs.

Resolved:

That the performance of the housing managing agents for quarter three 2017/2018 be noted.