An apology for absence was received from Cllr Diane Marsh; Cllr Gary Harding appeared as her substitute.

The minutes of the meeting of the Housing Services Cabinet Committee held on 25 September 2019 were signed by the Chair.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Housing Strategy and Development Manager provided Members with an update on new build housing schemes, please click the link below to view the presentation:

http://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=443&MId=3238&Ver=4

The Housing Strategy and Development Manager fielded questions from the Committee and highlighted the following:

·         The smaller developments at Barr Road, Wilberforce Way and Constable Road/Rembrandt Drive are GBC developments.

·         The ‘Fire suppression system’ refers to a sprinkler system.

·         Electric Vehicle charging wasn’t considered for the St Hilda’s Way development because it wasn’t part of the policy at the time but this will be considered for future developments as well as solar panels and alternatives to gas heating.

·         Waste collection and location of bins etc. is carefully considered for new developments and the Council works with waste management to ensure bin stores are attractive and suitably located.

·         Wheelchair compliant properties have anti-slip vinyl flooring, adjustable kitchens, wet rooms, adjustable bathroom facilities, window sill heights and plug sockets etc. are all taken into consideration. The Council is quite flexible in adjusting the property to suit the needs of the resident.

·         The Council does not put any parking restrictions in place for commercial vehicles on its developments.

The Committee thanked Housing Strategy and Development Manager for an informative presentation.

The Service Delivery Manager (Housing Repairs) provided the Committee with a demonstration of the Housing Repairs Job Scheduling System called ‘Oneserve’ and highlighted the following:

·         The Housing Repairs Team is the only completely mobile paperless workforce in the council.

·         Oneserve allows the team to control where the operational workforce goes with a real-time information system. There is a back office system and a mobile system.

·         Oneserve includes the following facilities:

-       Each appointment is linked to a schedule or rates

-       Health and Safety Risk Assessment

-       Van check report

-       Photos records; before, during and after a job.

-       Notes can be included

-       Voids can be dealt with on the system as well as compliancy programmes.

-       Internal work can also be put through the system (e.g. work on civic buildings)

The Assistant Director (Housing Assets) advised that 66% of work was done in-house in 2016 with the rest going to external contractors. This has now increased to 82/83% and with phase two of the recruitment process due in the New Year the Council is aiming for 90% of work to be in-house.

The Assistant Director (Housing Assets) explained to the Committee that the budget for responsive housing repairs has reduced in recent times. Historically, the budget was set at £5million per year, but was always overspent. The budget over the last two years has been set at £4.3million.

The Committee thanked the Housing Repairs team for all their good work and an informative presentation.