The Housing Investment Team have set clear customer service standards which are established within each and every improvement project. We have committed ourselves to providing clear and informative customer information. Within each project we also hold local information events, where appropriate, and all external contractors are trained to our own Customer Service Standards prior to any contract commencing. It is also a requirement that all contractors go through our Customer Care induction prior to commencing any works within our properties and common areas.
Customer feedback is essential to ensure that we as a Council are meeting our quality standard and tenants' expectations. All the comments and feedback that we receive is used to help us improve the service that we provide.
The Housing Investment Team continues to monitor comments and returns from survey forms. Our wet wall panels being fitted as part of our bathroom programme continue to be well received by our tenants.
A lesson learned from previous feedback and projects has led to a closer review of the programming of works, in particular electrical re-wiring and central heating replacement. As we now have a four-year term contract for both heating replacement and safe electrical rewiring, this has enabled us to plan upgrades to minimise disturbance for our tenants. Previous central heating contracts were sometimes grant-dependant and did not allow this flexibility of lead-in time.
Furthermore, we have now improved and revised the key information we supply to tenants prior to contracts commencing through enhancing our information booklets. This covers information in greater detail for key upgrades such as central heating replacement, safe electrical re-wiring kitchen and bathroom replacement, electrical testing and roof and wall upgrades. We are also giving enhanced information on the contractors carrying out the work within our properties.
Following a review of the results from our electrical testing programme, a decision was taken to carry out testing prior to carrying out programmed electrical rewiring upgrades. We have found that often many of the properties just require an electrical upgrade as opposed to a full rewire given the condition of the current electrics. This has limited inconvenience for tenants minimising disruption through avoiding a full rewire.
We have also listened and learned from our tenants by ensuring glazing panels within common close doors rather than metal side screens. This allows greater natural daylight into common areas and reduces the reliance upon lights. This was a specification change following tenant feedback. This change has been very well received.
Through the course of the year, as well as answering enquiries from customers, the Housing Investment Team also receive formal requests for information from our local MP and MSP, Elected Members and formal complaints from customers. The Housing Investment Team strive to answer these as quickly as possible within the agreed corporate time scales. Our performance in responding to these is as follows:
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % Responses within timescale | Number | % Responses within timescale | Number | % Responses within timescale | |
| MP/MSP Enquiries |
9 |
88% |
17 |
88% |
14 |
71% |
| Councillor Enquiries |
26 |
92% |
48 |
96% |
51 |
82% |
| Formal Complaints |
7 |
86% |
15 |
87% |
16 |
69 |
Housing Investment Team
Kelliebank, ALLOA, FK10 1NT
Tel: 01259 452000
Email: hraconstruction@clacks.gov.uk