‘Additional strain’ on housing service after high-profile scandals

Cannock Chase council says this is down to a number of factors – and cites among them the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017 and the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died from the effects of damp and mould in his home in Rochdale in December 2020.

Cannock Chase Council has around 5,100 properties in its housing stock. Its housing maintenance service delivers around 12,000 repairs a year, councillors were told at a recent scrutiny committee meeting.

But it needs to improve its customer service and the way it interacts with its tenants, a report said.

This will done in part by introducing a new text messaging service which will improve how repairs are reported and how tenants are communicated with about the works.

The committee report said: “Any financial outlay to improve the repairs reporting aspect of the housing service will serve to create efficiencies, improve the customer experience and improve morale amongst the housing maintenance service.

"Additional strain has been placed on the housing maintenance service due to circumstances beyond its control and contributed to repairs reporting issues which has instigated this scrutiny, i.e. the pandemic duration, the huge increase of disrepair claims, the outcome of the Grenfell tragedy and the recent Rochdale Boroughwide tragedy linked to condensation mould."

A group of councillors has reviewed the repairs reporting process during recent months.

Members monitored the contact centre and back office repairs team, as well as attending repair jobs and inspections, reviewing complaints made in the repairs survey and visiting a neighbouring housing association to see how their repairs reporting process worked.

Councillor Peter Kruskonjic, who chaired the working group, has now put forward a series of recommendations to improve the repairs reporting process. They were agreed by fellow committee members and will now forward to the council’s cabinet for consideration.

Councillor Kruskonjic said: “I welcome the recommendations and see them as a starting point to improve the services we offer. Although some of the recommendations may seem insignificant they will improve the effectiveness of our workforce.

“The text service will improve communication between the council and tenants. Tenants will know the exact time the maintenance crew are due to arrive.”

The report added: “Housing maintenance is going through a transitional period with a new team structure being implemented, a new computerised system being procured and a new Service Manager due to start employment in April 2023. Housing maintenance needs to improve its customer service, its service interactions and its complaints levels aligned to corporate KPI’s (key performance indicators), particularly following the Social Housing White Paper introduced during 2020.”