Apologies had been received from Councillor Connal.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting of 16 April 2013 were submitted and signed.

To consider residents’ views on the Watford Community Housing Trust’s repairs service

The Task Group agreed that the meeting with tenants had been a very useful exercise.  The Chair said that the quality and detail of tenants’ responses had been excellent and he noted that a pleasing number of residents had attended the session. 

The Group noted that tenants had raised the following points:

·               Communications – Tenants found the information in newsletters and individual letters difficult to understand with complicated language.  Councillor Collett felt that information should be written in more simple, plain English.  She noted that some tenants needed support with reading.

·               Void properties – It would be valuable to know what happened when a property was left empty.  Two of the tenants at the meeting had stated that meters had not been changed nor repairs managed prior to them moving in.  

·               Quality Control – It appeared that staff did not check that repairs were completed satisfactorily; there were no inspections. 

·               Cleanliness of the communal areas was an issue for many tenants.

·               Contractors did not arrive at the appointed time.

·               Tenants would like to fill in a satisfaction slip after work had been completed

·               Many tenants felt that there had been no improvement since take-over from the Council’s management. 

Communication

Councillor Collett noted that tenants had reported that they had had no response when telephoning the trust.

The Chair pointed out that the average reported response time between December 2012 and May 2013 had been 89 seconds.  He added that whilst there was a strict set of rules with regard to response times the Council was unable to monitor this. 

Members suggested that when one phone had rung for 30 seconds, the call should be diverted to another officer’s phone.  Members also questioned whether additional staff were employed during busy periods. 

Councillor Collett expressed concern that some tenants had difficulty interpreting letters from the Trust.  She said that the Trust should be asked whether individual letters were sent to those with special needs and whether the Trust was aware of which tenants might have a disability and consequently need help in this area.  She suggested that the Trust be asked how communication was made more simple for tenants.

The Task Group agreed that it would be wise to determine in detail how the Trust communicated with tenants, specifically those with a disability and whether there was indirect discrimination.  

The Task Group was also interested in tenants’ experiences with staff at the Trust; tenants at the ‘drop in’ session on 30 May had complained that officers were not always polite during telephone conversations.  The group proposed that the Trust should be asked:

·               Whether the Trust was aware that some tenants felt intimidated by officers

·               Whether the staff were trained in diversity awareness and how to deal with vulnerable tenants

·               Whether a record was kept of which tenants had disabilities which made communication difficult

Service Charges

Councillor Collett suggested that clarity with regard to the maintenance charges was required.  Tenants of the Trust felt that whilst they had to pay these charges under  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To agree the date for the next Task Group meeting

The next meeting would take place on 21 August 2013 at 7.00 p.m.  The Chief Executive of the Trust had agreed to attend and a list of areas of concern for the Task Group would be sent to her prior to the meeting.