The meeting covered customer service training, the revised void lettable standard, the early access pilot, repairs and compliance, and the financial position. 

Pilot sessions delivered to the Housing Needs team were a success, and a plan has been developed to roll the training out to 802 employees across Communities, Innovation and Housing (CIH) and BMD.

Three sessions have been delivered so far to 44 employees, with positive feedback. Sessions run for up to two hours, are face to face, and cover what good customer service is and why it matters, empathy and de-escalation, neurodiversity and equality, the complaints procedure, teamwork and communication.

The rollout uses a train the trainer approach. Ten staff will be trained by the end of August to act as customer service champions with the first sessions they lead supported by a training officer.  

The plan is for 40% of staff to be trained by the end of October, 70% by the end of November, 85% by the end of December and all 802 by the end of January. 

Seven briefing sessions regarding the revised void lettable standard have been held so far. Those in attendance have been general maintenance teams, technical officers, void officers, housing officers, housing property officers, housing needs officers and housing assistants.

The feedback to the sessions has been positive overall. Officers raised the handling of common complaints and the retention of appliances as the main points for discussion.  
The document is version controlled and teams begin working to it in September. This is a revision of the existing standard rather than a new one, and most of the content is unchanged. The changes include: 

• plain English descriptions, so the standard can be read without technical knowledge
• confirmation that electrical white goods and appliances will be retained where they are in good condition
• clear direction to retain non-standard items and floor coverings where they are in good condition and carry no risk
• sheds retained where they are structurally sound
• doors replaced where damage is larger than a 50 pence piece
• a section covering buyback properties 

A one-off garden cut will also be introduced, once grounds maintenance staff have completed the licensed training required. Gardens that need attention before then will continue to be dealt with as they are currently.  

The Board agreed that tenant representatives should see the standard and have time to comment before it is publicised more widely. A tenant-facing version and web page are due in October, followed by a briefing for elected members. 

The pre-termination incentivised pilot has covered 10 properties so far, while early repairs access has been lower than expected.  

The pilot has still saved time on scoping, ordering kitchen units and completing rot work surveys. It will be expanded to the East and West localities in September to increase the number of properties involved.

The Board will receive further figures at the October meeting to judge whether the approach is effective at a larger scale. 

The digital solution for Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs) is now in place, as is a digital platform for the electrical wet heating programme.

No gas safety failures have been recorded in the last 12 months. A digital solution has been approved, with BMD gas engineers moving onto the console by the end of the year and the gas service provider following in phase two.

The external fabric cyclical programme, which began at the end of June and covers 1,600 properties, has completed 950 to date and is due to finish at the end of September.

Emergency repairs accounted for 36% of reported repairs between April and July 2026, and 38% across the 12 months to July 2026; a reduction in emergencies through the new arrangements since last year.  

An additional five operatives will join the mobile repairs solution in September, adding 40 one-hour appointment slots a day and bringing the total to 496 slots across 62 operatives.  

A benchmarking exercise with other councils in October will review how emergency repairs are classified.

Work is under way to make sure processes and governance for damp and mould are in place for October. 

Revenue is currently forecast to provide the budgeted £1.65m to take reserves back above £5m, along with £2m of capital funded from current revenue (CFCR).  

Capital spend is forecast to be on budget at £55.163m, although slippage in some areas is expected due to delays in onboarding contracts.  The aim is to offset this where possible by accelerating other work. Both positions were reported to the Executive on 20 August.

The Board asked for an update in October, along with options for maximising spend on the work tenants have raised, such as fencing and paths. 

New strapline assets and guidance are complete and being rolled out in phases. Writing style guidance is finished and prompts to support it are being tested, while a pilot on tenant communication preferences runs in September and October.

The digital team is trialling a single system to track NEC modules and projects in one place, giving a clearer view of progress and resources. Procurement work will be brought forward as the current NEC framework ends in spring

The Board's next meeting takes place on 26 October, with presentations on performance and governance, customer satisfaction, bolt-on skills, the future operating model and NEC priorities.

Staff can keep up with updates on the Housing Transformation web page and Viva Engage channel.