Purpose

To agree proposals for
enhancements to the estate caretaking service specification and
associated costs.

Decision

 

ROTHERHAM METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

RECORD OF OFFICER EXECUTIVE DECISION

 

Date of Decision:

25th February
2025
 

Title:

Housing Estate
Caretaking Service – Enhancements to Service
Delivery.

Decision Maker:
(Including Job
Title)

Ian Spicer, Strategic Director,
Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.
 
 

Details of Specific Cabinet
Delegation
or Delegation contained in the
relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.
 

SECTION 4C: OFFICER DELEGATION SCHEME (EXECUTIVE
FUNCTIONS)

 

Strategic Directors will be required to maintain a
sub-scheme of delegation for their directorate and publish such
sub-schemes following the Annual Meeting of the Council.

 

Sub-scheme of delegation. Strategic Director of
Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.
 

The Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and
Public Health is authorised to discharge executive functions
through the commissioning and provision of social services for
adults and public health services for the whole population and
delivery of housing for the Borough, including:-

 

Housing

(a) Business and Commercial Development

(b) Contract and Service Development

(c) Housing and Estates

(d) Housing Options

(e) Housing Strategy and Investment

 

Decision:

The Strategic
Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health approves the
additional Housing Revenue Account budget investment required to
deliver the proposed enhancements to the estate caretaker
service.
 

Reasons for the
Decision:

Recent customer feedback, from
the 2024/25 Tenant Satisfaction Measures Survey and a separate
sample survey of customers engaged in the Council’s
‘Tenant Connects Pool’, has indicated a decline in
customer satisfaction with the quality of communal areas and the
estate environment.
 
The Council’s Repairs and
Maintenance contract partners, who deliver estate caretaking
services, have indicated that service resources are under pressure
to deliver to Council and customer expectations. This is due to new
and significant work activity which has been introduced to the
scope of work since the commencement of the service contract in
2020.
 
Reflective of service delivery
pressures and the need to increase the quality of communal areas,
the wider estate environment, and in turn customer satisfaction,
proposals have been developed by the Council and contract partners
to enhance the current service offer. 
 
The proposals will require
additional financial investment from the Housing Revenue Account
into the estate caretaking service. This investment will support
the appointment of seven additional estate caretakers. This will
enable contract partners to deliver a higher specification of
cyclical programmed work and a separate dedicated team to respond
to day to day estate issues which require immediate action, to
maintain a safe estate environment.
 

Details of alternative
options considered and rejected:

Maintaining the current level
of service scope and delivery capacity will not generate the
required enhancements to the overall quality of the estate
environment, or in turn, improved customer
satisfaction. 
 

Conflicts of interest
declared by any Cabinet Member consulted by the decision maker
which relates to the decision:

None known.

Dispensations
Granted:
(If any)

None.

Reports or parts of
reports considered

Briefing - Housing Estate Caretaking Service –
Enhancements to Service Delivery.
 

 
 
 
I
certify that this is a true record of the executive decision to
….
 
Approve the additional Housing Revenue Account budget investment
required to deliver the proposed enhancements to the housing estate
caretaking service.
 
Signed by the Decision Maker  
 

 
Dated:         
25/02/2025
 
Name:
         Ian
Spicer                        
 
Job
Title:    Strategic Director