David Hucker unveils action plan after council's second zero-star rating for repairs
Birmingham council has come out fighting after the Audit Commission described its repairs and maintenance services as one of the "poorest performing" in the country.

For the second time in two years, Britain's largest council landlord was awarded no stars by commission inspectors.

The repairs and maintenance service will now be subjected to an ongoing programme of "support and supervision" led by the Audit Commission – in effect, becoming the largest authority to be placed under supervision by the commission.

The news compounds a catastrophic run of events for the council's housing chiefs, starting with the failure of its stock transfer bid in April last year and ending in the departure of its director of housing this month (factfile).

In response, David Hucker, one of the housing experts brought in last month to help reverse the council's fortunes, has unveiled plans to tackle the backlog of 48,000 repairs and rebuild the housing service. These include:

  • a re-assessment of the council's contractor agreements. The current working arrangement with the council's two main contractors – AWG and Accord Birmingham – costs too much to administer. Hucker hopes to simplify the process of identifying and recording jobs

  • the coordination of housing management and maintenance. Celia Huxtable, former chief executive at Aldridge and Brownhill Housing Trust, will work on improving communication between managers and the repairs service

  • an audit of repairs. Hucker plans to contact every tenant on the waiting list to check what remains to be done. All outstanding repairs will be given a schedule for completion

  • a new performance improvement plan. The existing plan will be tailored to take account of commission recommendations. It will sit alongside a detailed plan for gas repairs, void management and day-to-day repairs.

Hucker said: "The council is not going into defence mode. Culturally it has resisted change for too long and it has recognised that it is time to address its problems."

According to Audit Commission figures, average repairs and maintenance in Birmingham cost just over £14 per house per week. The equivalent median figure for metropolitan councils is £12.

Michael Kent, chief executive of major local landlord Bromford Housing Group, said: "What we need is a period of stability and continuity."

A spokesman for the ODPM said: "The ODPM will continue to take a close interest in Birmingham's housing service and expect to see rapid and sustainable improvements."

Meanwhile, Fylde council in Lancashire was also placed under Audit Commission supervision after an inspection report this week.

Birmingham’s tale of woe

April 2002 Tenants voted overwhelmingly against Birmingham council’s plans to transfer its homes. About 65% of voting tenants said “no”.

December 2002 The council received the lowest possible score – one out of four – for its housing and social services. It also got a “weak” two-out-of-four comprehensive performance assessment rating from the Audit Commission. The council said out-of-date information had been used.

January 2003 Birmingham announced that it would hand over its homes to community-based housing associations within four years. The council backed recommendations made by an independent commission chaired by Professor Anne Power of the London School of Economics.

March Eight out of 10 Birmingham council homes will not meet the decency standard, it was revealed.

September Birmingham director of housing David Thompson left on secondment to the Local Government Association. It appointed David Hucker and Michael Irvine to manage its housing.

The council admitted that it would miss seven out of 11 of its own performance targets for housing.

Source

Housing Today