The Housing and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Panel met to discuss several key issues, including updates on grounds maintenance and refuse, responsive repairs and empty homes, and leaseholder charges. The panel also reviewed the use of powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

Responsive Repairs and Empty Homes

The panel received an update on responsive repairs and empty homes, noting significant operational changes over the previous three years, including team restructuring and a transformation programme.

• Empty Homes: The number of empty homes has been reduced by approximately half between 2022/23 and 2024/25. The average re-let time has also decreased from 87.69 days in 2022-23 to 61.13 days in 2024-25.
• Repairs Transformation Programme: The programme has included the implementation of a new in-house damp, mould and condensation (DMC) specialist team, a dedicated ‘follow on’ phone line service for plumbing, carpentry and plastering jobs, and redesigned webforms for residents to report repairs.
• Pay and Reward: An agreement with Trade Unions has led to a flat rate salary scheme for trade groups, aiming to bring salaries closer to the industry standard.
• Performance: Satisfaction with repairs has improved, with the repairs service deemed to be performing well and representing the biggest driver of positive resident sentiment, at 80.4%. However, the length of time taken to complete repairs remains a key driver of resident dissatisfaction.
• Contact Centre Performance: Callbacks have been reduced by almost 30% due to training and process improvements.
• Members Repairs Board: A Members Repairs Transformation Board was created and chaired by Councillor Pat Slattery, Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, to monitor the progress of the Repairs Transformation Programme.
• Capital Programme: A new Asset Management Strategy has been written and will be presented to the council’s Cabinet in the coming months.

Grounds Maintenance and Refuse

The panel received an update on grounds maintenance and refuse collections on Royal Borough of Greenwich Housing estates.

• Grounds Maintenance: The Parks, Estates and Open Spaces (PEOS) teams maintain soft landscaping across housing estates, with tasks including grass cutting, shrub maintenance, and leaf clearing. The frequency of these tasks ranges from every three weeks for grass cutting to monthly for leaf clearance.
• Challenges: The service faces challenges including wet weather, building maintenance restricting access, fly-tipping, and staffing turnover.
• Initiatives: Initiatives include a fleet renewal programme with new ride-on mowers, a review of the equipment budget to replace two-stroke hand-held equipment with electric alternatives, and improved communication and joint working with caretaking teams.
• Waste Collections: Street Services provides weekly recycling and garden & food waste collections, and fortnightly general waste collections. Missed collections remain consistently low, below the service KPI of 0.058%.
• Challenges: The service faces challenges including low resident engagement in recycling, contaminated communal recycling bins, access issues, and stolen communal bins.
• Initiatives: Initiatives include partnership working with caretaking colleagues, the need for behavioural change, and statutory service changes imposed by central Government, such as separate food waste collections for residents in flats from April 2026.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Update

The panel considered a report on the use of powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) for the period November 2023 – January 2025.

• There were two RIPA authorisations between November 2023 and 31 January 2025, both for Trading Standards.
• The Director of Legal Services acts as the Senior Responsible Officer, maintains the Central Record of all authorisations, and maintains a programme of training for officers involved in authorisation or operations.
• A review of the RIPA Policy has been completed, with changes made in respect of communications data, extraction of data from electronic devices, and use of social media resources.
• The council is subject to inspection by the Office of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPCO), with the last inspection taking place in 2023 and the next anticipated in 2025.

Leaseholder Charges

The panel received a verbal update on leaseholder charges from the Assistant Director, Housing Needs & Tenancy. No further details were provided in the documentation.

Declarations of Interest

The panel noted the list of councillors’ memberships as council-appointed representatives on outside bodies, joint committees and school governing bodies. Councillor Leo Fletcher, Chair of Housing and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Panel, declared that he was a council tenant. Councillor Roger Tester informed the Panel that he was an electrical contractor and carried out EICR reports professionally.