Southwark Council has announced a plan to fix its housing repairs service for tenants and leaseholders.
A report approved by cabinet on Tuesday, September 12, outlined a series of measures aiming to improve the service.
Southwark’s Liberal Democrat opposition branded the plans “unfunded” and “hot air”.
The action plan includes pledges to answer calls within five minutes, give vulnerable residents priority support and recruit dedicated neighbourhood repair managers.
Council Leader Kieron Williams said: “I want to very explicitly say as a council we absolutely see improving our repairs service as one of the top priorities for the whole council.
“That’s a message we’ve heard very clearly from our residents and a message we’ve made very clear politically within the council.”
Residents often complain about the repairs service – which many claim is characterised by unanswered emails and slow response times.
Last year, it was revealed that Southwark Council tenants report disrepair nearly three times a year on average.
Southwark Council has pledged to make numerous changes to its housing repairs service, with some taking place this year and others in 2024.
The use of new technology, changes to contractors’ work practices and improved response times feature heavily.
Southwark Lib Dem Leader Victor Chamberlain said: “Housing Repairs under Southwark’s Labour Council are in chaos. Exactly like their unfunded housing targets, this is all just hot air.
“These warm words from council bosses aren’t worth the paper they’re written on if they can’t actually fund them and they will be no comfort to the thousands of residents dealing with damp and mould if they don’t turn into real action.”
Southwark Council brought its repairs service in-house in 2018. In its report, Southwark Council admitted since then “we have not made as much progress as we wanted.” It attributed this to Covid-19 which it said forced it to focus on “emergency repairs only”, resulting in a backlog.
Research conducted by the News in April found that post-pandemic, 25 per cent of repair cases went unfixed for over 31 days, compared to 21 per cent before the pandemic.
Southwark Council’s Promises
Quality repairs completed right first time
2023
- Sending the right person, with the right skills, tools and materials to complete the repair first time.
- Making sure all vans have the right equipment
An exceptional customer experience
2023
- Calls will be answered within five minutes and emails within 48 hours
2024
- A system that flags vulnerable residents on our systems so they are automatically given priority support
Your voice will be heard
- All complaints will receive a response within ten days and for complex issues, residents will receive a clear timeline for fixing problems
- The recruitment of repairs managers for neighbourhoods who understand the local area
Investment in homes to prevent problems happening
- Using new technology to get rid of damp and mould before it spreads
- Staff will report all issues when they visit and not simply deal with planned work
Yep council elections next May let’s make empty promises again then we’ll forget about it after the election again!!