The Scrutiny Homes Sub-Committee met on Monday 29 January 2024 to discuss the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Housing General Fund budgets for 2024-25, and to receive an update on responsive repairs contracts. The committee reviewed the proposed budgets, noting concerns about the impact of data collection on budget accuracy and the ongoing challenges in the repairs service.

Housing Revenue Account and Housing General Fund Budgets 2024-25

The Sub-Committee reviewed the proposed budgets for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Housing General Fund for 2024-25. Councillor Lynne Hale, Cabinet Member for Housing, introduced the report, highlighting that a 7.7% increase in social tenant rent and tenant service charges was proposed. This increase, discussed with the Tenant and Leaseholder Panel, was understood by members who stressed the need to see improvements reflected in services.

Key points from the discussion included:

• Budget Overspend and Repair Backlog: The forecasted overspend in the 2023-24 budget was deemed necessary to address a significant repair backlog. The 2024-25 budget would be informed by four priorities identified in resident surveys.
• Stock Condition Surveys: The findings from stock condition surveys, expected to be more comprehensive by summer, would inform Croydon's Asset Management Strategy and the HRA Business Plan. The Sub-Committee expressed concern that much of the data gathered was still to be analysed, posing a risk to budget delivery.
• Voids and Disrepair: The Council aimed to complete 700 voids in the financial year, with 641 completed by the end of December. The £3.4 million overspend on disrepair, legal, and settlement costs was attributed to an overspend against the budgeted figure, with a future focus on prevention and ensuring repairs were completed correctly. The Council committed to clearing legacy repairs and voids within 18 months.
• Savings and Staffing: Savings were primarily achieved through a service restructure and vacancy factors within the general fund budget. Officers estimated that approximately one-third of savings were due to vacancies, with two-thirds from efficiencies and improved working methods. The Housing directorate was reported to be close to full staffing, with agency workers being replaced by permanent staff.
• Damp and Mould: The budget for the next year was based on this year's data, with plans for additional damp and mould training to enable a more proactive approach to early detection. The damp and mould team would remain permanent.
• Right to Buy and Housing Acquisition: The proposal to use funds from the Right to Buy scheme to acquire twenty properties was at an early stage, with other funding options, including grants and Greater London Authority (GLA) funding, being explored. The Council was confident in its ability to acquire at least 20 homes in the current financial year.
• Housing Strategy and Budgets: A greater focus on using data to inform decision-making was evident, with stock condition surveys playing a crucial role in identifying investment needs for a more accurate budget. The budget development was informed by resident feedback and identified priorities. The budget for tackling anti-social behaviour was increased through investment in estates and caretaking.
• Domestic Violence and Abuse: The budget for tackling domestic violence and abuse was managed by the Violence Reduction Network. Officers expressed confidence in this budget and highlighted plans to review officers' remits to clarify the role of housing officers in addressing domestic violence and anti-social behaviour.
• Temporary Accommodation and Homelessness: The Council was acquiring a dynamic purchasing system for emergency and temporary accommodation to deliver cost savings. While acknowledging budgetary challenges due to wider economic conditions, initial signs of economic improvement and increased central government support were noted. The saving target of £653,000 for 2024-25 was based on reducing approximately 250 temporary accommodations, with 100 already reduced. Occupancy checks were being prioritised, with significant progress made. The average length of stay in temporary accommodation varied, driven by the supply of affordable housing. The Council was exploring options for acquiring new property for temporary accommodation, including using GLA funding. Discussions were ongoing with Travelodge to establish a corporate account to minimise the use of commercial hotels.
• Building Safety: A significant budgetary increase from £8.6 million in 2024-25 to £42 million in 2025-26 was linked to the anticipated completion of stock survey data, which could necessitate costly refurbishments or rebuilding of large panel blocks.

The Sub-Committee concluded that while the Housing Service had a good understanding of its pressures and priorities, total reassurance on the 2024-25 budget could not be provided due to the ongoing collation and validation of data.

Responsive Repairs Contract Update

The Sub-Committee received an update on repairs performance, the procurement process, damp and mould overview, and asset management.

• Increased Call Volume and Repair Orders: Since the new repair contracts went live in August 2023, there had been a significant increase in call volume (around 2,000 additional calls per month) and repair orders (around 1,500 per month). This was partly attributed to a notion of repairs suppression by the previous contractor.
• Contact Centre Performance: Issues in the contact centre were primarily due to high sickness absence among temporary staff. Plans were in place for a refresh of the contact centre and a new training programme, with targets for shorter wait times. The Sub-Committee noted that while staffing levels were informed by recent intelligence, a high staff turnover was expected in contact centres, necessitating ongoing planning.
• Heating Repair Contractor Performance: The performance of the heating repair contractor, K&T Heating, was noted as low in November 2023. Targets for emergency repairs were four hours for attendance and 24 hours for completion, and 14 days for non-emergency repairs. The Council acknowledged problems during the first winter period of the new contract, partly due to higher demand than resourced for. Additional resources had been deployed, and the Council was working with the provider to prioritise emergency repairs.
• Recruitment and Staffing: The recruitment process for contact centre staff was delayed due to the previous contractor providing staff transfer lists late. Only five staff transferred to the new in-house contact centre, requiring the recruitment of approximately 22-23 full-time employees. New permanent staff were expected to join in late February and early March. Currently, seven out of 23 contact centre staff were permanent.
• Gas Safety Checks: Performance on gas safety checks had improved, with a compliance level of around 99%. The Council aimed to be close to 100% by the end of the financial year.
• Stock Condition Surveys: By the end of December, 33% of stock condition surveys were completed, with a target of 40% by the end of March. Challenges included data format issues, poor quality photographs, and a lack of access to properties (50-60%). The Council was using forced entry for gas checks as an opportunity to undertake stock condition surveys.
• Customer Satisfaction: Overall satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service had decreased, with a significant proportion of tenants dissatisfied. The Sub-Committee welcomed confirmation that the number of gas safety checks completed had improved, but agreed to continue monitoring performance.

The Sub-Committee commended the team for the work delivered since the mobilisation of new contracts, particularly given the backlog of historic repairs. They agreed that data validation was key to service improvement and that contractor performance would need to be revisited once this process was complete. Capacity remained a key issue for the service, and planning staffing resources for the contact centre would be an ongoing challenge.

The Sub-Committee recommended that the Council's reporting on void turnaround times be brought into line with other local authorities, differentiating between lettable voids and major voids. They also recommended that homes with no repairs recorded for a significant period be reviewed to identify any unreported issues.

Cabinet Response to Scrutiny Recommendations

The Sub-Committee noted the report detailing the Cabinet's responses to previous scrutiny recommendations.

Work Programme 2023/24

The Sub-Committee noted the report on its work programme for 2023/24.