Verbal update from David Padfield (Interim Corporate Director of Housing) & Justin Hunt (Head of Tenancy and Resident Engagement).
Minutes:
The Interim Corporate Director of Housing offered his apologies for lateness.
The Interim Corporate Director of Housing informed the Panel that the Council was in the process of recruiting a permanent Corporate Director of Housing, the Interim Corporate Director of Housing anticipated that he would be working at the Council until around the middle of May due to the likely notice period of the successful candidate.
The Interim Corporate Director of Housing then went on to explain that there were a few gaps in the senior management structure, and he would seek recruit more managers on an interim basis to solve this issue. The Interim Corporate Director of Housing informed the Panel that he would hire an extra Director to take on some the duties assigned to the Director of Housing, Resident Engagement & Allocations, which would enable her to focus more on homelessness. The Interim Corporate Director of Housing also stated that he wanted to recruit a Temporary/Interim Director of Tenancy Services.
The Interim Corporate Director of Housing was looking to recruit more staff at Head of Service level, interviews were scheduled for the Head of Responsive Repairs position and for a Head of Policy and Performance. The Head of Policy and Performance would oversee the work around performance and work with the Housing Improvement Board. The Interim Corporate Director of Housing expressed the need for additional managers to assist with the homelessness service and would be looking to appoint 3 Change Managers to help on the change agenda.
The Interim Corporate Director of Housing informed the Panel that the Council had recruited an Interim Head of Tenancy and Resident Engagement who was Justin Hunt, who then introduced himself to the panel.
In response to a question from a resident the Interim Head of Tenancy & Resident Engagement stated that it was a key objective for him to undergo recruitment for a number of roles within the service as there was a need for additional capacity in order to ensure that they were able to meet expectations.
In response to a question from a resident the Interim Head of Tenancy & Resident Engagement explained that the immediate priority for the service was dealing with the backlog of reactive work, including complaints, Member enquiries and basic case work. This why recruitment was a priority within the service.
The Interim Head of Tenancy & Resident Engagement then went on to inform the Panel that he was passionate about grounds maintenance and estates services and was keen to gain an understanding of the relationship between the service charges and the services that were being delivered and how these may be reviewed with the Panel. The housing management software was being renewed and this was hugely important to the service, as this represented a huge opportunity to rebuild the services in a more efficient and modern way.
In response to a question from a resident the Interim Corporate Director of Housing stated that the agreed structure of the department includes two Directors who would report to him and beneath those positions there would be three Heads of Service positions.
RESOLVED – That the Panel agreed to note the verbal update.