Agenda item

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services on the Service Improvements Following the Tenancy Visits Project

The Head of Housing Management informed the Sub-Committee that the project had come to an end last year with visits to 95% tenancy households within the City of London being visited; this was later complete with further audits and visits. The project was well executed by the Project Manager and the wider team; the Department is now awaiting a new reporting system, which will permit the pathways for further improvements in the way the City of London deliveries its services across the Estates.

This was followed by a Member who queried about the Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for disabled residents, as this is a statutory duty upon the City of London.  The Head of Housing Management informed the Sub-Committee that the Department does not currently have a PEEP for every resident who needs one but will update Members on this later on. He assured the Sub-Committee that the vulnerable resident's list is renewed every three months.

The Assistant Director commented that residents are asked to advise their Estate Offices of any disability or vulnerability so that we can act appropriately in case of emergency.  

The Chairman asked that the PEEP is added to the outstanding action with the intention of a report being brought to the Sub-Committee at a future meeting.  

As the City of London has gathered a large number of email addresses of residents across the Estates and if the plan is to rely on email communication, the City of London needs to be sure that a large number of residents can access to the internet, as we know there are at least 50 families on the Golden Lane Estate who do not have internet access.

The Head of Housing Management responded that at present, the Department has two-thirds of the tenants on the mailing list, which went up significantly as a result of the exercise being  carried out, but the Department  does not have data for all the Estates. With the review of communication strategy, the Department aims to ensure that the residents who can access emails are included within the mailing list.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee noted the report.