Cabinet members last week discussed a draft plan which will shape the future direction of the Councils Housing service with the aim of making further significant improvements by the year 2012. The Landlord Services Delivery Plan is currently a draft and sets out the plan for the landlord aspect of the housing services provided to Council tenants over the next three years.

“The draft delivery plan sets out what our Landlord Services team aim to achieve in the next three years” said Councillor Mary Oates, portfolio holder for Quality of Life. “A number of changes have already been made to improve the service we offer to our tenants; however we are continually striving to improve further. We recognise through self assessment that there are areas for improvement which we aim to tackle in a number of ways including the development of a Financial Inclusion strategy, introducing Choice Based Lettings and developing a sustainable Empty Property policy. We want the service we offer to our tenants to be excellent, and I know that while Team GB will be striving hard to reach their goals for gold in 2012, so will our Landlord Services team.”

Tenants and leaseholders will be asked for their views on the draft policy and what they think the priorities for the next three years should be with the aim of securing future and continuous improvement. Substantial changes have already taken place in order to improve the housing service including:

Increasing the visibility and presence of Housing Officers on estates through estate walkabouts and inspections.

• The introduction of a revised grass cutting service targeting those in need
• Implementing a repairs improvement plan that has seen the introduction of appointments and measures to improve customer satisfaction surveys.
• Significant improvements in Housing Advice through reductions in the use of Bed & Breakfast and other temporary accommodation.
• Further Development and Investment in the Estate Caretaking and Cleaning Team.
• The housing service has also led the approach to customer involvement and tenant participation.