Item 8 Appendix 1 - Supply, Distribution and Property Delivery Plan 2022-2023
West Dunbartonshire Council · 23 November 2022
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 23 November 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 2022/23 SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTY – Building Services & Housing Asset & Investment Extract
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2 Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Performance Review ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3. Strategic Assessment .................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 4. Resources ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Appendix 1: Action Plan .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
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3 1. Introduction Supply, Distribution and Property comprises a wide range of services covering Corporate Asset Management, Building Services, Housing Asset & Investment and the Corporate Procurement Unit (CPU). It is one of 8 strategic areas responsible for delivering the Council’s Strategic Plan. Key actions to help achieve that are set out in this Delivery Plan, together with actions to address any performance issues and service priorities identified in the planning process. The progress of this Plan for will be monitored and managed by the management team and reported to Housing and Communities Committee for Building Services and Housing Asset & Investment, at mid-year and year-end. 2. Performance Review The Supply, Distribution and Property management team completed a detailed review of 2021/22 performance, focusing on the following: • 2021/22 Delivery Plan year end progress; • 2021/22 Quality Standards year end progress; • Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) comparative data; • Telephone Survey feedback; • Complaints; • Continuous Improvement (Fit for Future reviews) • Other benchmarking/feedback. This review highlighted our key achievements in 2021/22 as well as the challenges to be addressed in 2022/23. These are summarised below. Key Achievements in 2021/22 Listed below are some of the major achievements in each service area. Despite the unprecedented challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created including restrictions and additional duties, each service within SD&P has found new ways of continuing the delivery of critical front line services. The service achieved many other outcomes throughout the year which are not recorded here but are as important Housing Asset & Investment
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4 Monitored the HRA capital investment programme to support the delivery of: • Over 3500 internal upgrades including; kitchens, bathrooms, showers, adaptations, central heating, smoke detectors, windows and doors • Over 700 environmental improvements including bin stores • Over 600 external improvements including; new roof coverings, external insulated render and tenement structural refurbishments • Over 300 New Build Homes as part of the Strategic Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) • Continuation and working towards SHQS & EESSH compliance performance and reduced SHQS abeyance numbers through the strategic planning and management of housing assets. Building Services • Improved capacity, capability and skills by through agreed structure changes which will provide additional skills, experience Managed the recovery from the pandemic, focusing and completing the significant backlog of (non urgent) repairs. Improved/ maintained performance in some Performance Indicators despite COVID-19 restrictions. • Implemented hand held devices (IHMS) across the craft workers and continued to support learning and changes to process • Progressed the programme of the Council Assets capital funded improvement projects. Key Challenges from 2021/22 Workforce. • The principle challenge has continued to be in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Including adapting to changing legislation and guidance to ensure continued delivery of front line services and safe working conditions for employees. • The turnover coupled with the time taken to replace, recruit and train employees across Supply Distribution and Property was a particular challenge in 2021/22 when demands on all services were higher than normal as a result of the pandemic. • Exceptionally high levels of sickness/ isolation particularly in Building Services had significant impact on our ability to deliver maintenance and repairs and projects. • The national skills shortage of qualified and experienced officers in Building Services, Procurement and Corporate Asset Management, resulted in reduced workforce numbers, increased demands on existing teams and a high staff turnover. This has resulted in alternative service delivery models being introduced. Capital Projects • Progression of key capital projects, including the new Renton Campus Clydebank Care Home and the Housing Investment Programme faced disruption due to COVID-19 where a significant period of time has been lost.
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5 • Increasing issues relating to supply of labour and materials, due to increased energy, transport and raw material costs, impacted on supply chains, and third parties and our ability to carry out works within budget and on time. • Construction inflation with labour and material costs increasing over the last year. • Increased scrutiny at both local and national level including funding applications, monitoring and reporting required a significant amount of management time impacting on service delivery. Building Services • Due to the nationwide buoyant building sector following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the team experienced difficulty in the recruitment and retention. As a result some capital funded improvement projects targets’ were not fully achieved and impacted our ability to meet performance target dates on all repairs. • As a result of not meeting service demands, there was a significant increase in enquiries and complaints from tenants, residents and elected members. • Efforts to complete the backlog of repairs and difficulty in recruiting resources did impact on the team overall performance, time to respond to emergency repairs and average days taken to complete non-emergency repairs with the annual targets not being achieved. 3. Strategic Assessment The Supply Distribution and Property management team completed a strategic assessment to determine the major influences on service delivery and priorities in 2022/23. These are summarised below. Financial Challenges The entire public sector is facing significant financial challenges. The Council are currently faced with an estimated cumulative funding gap in 2023/24 of £18.3m rising to £24.2m in 2024/25. Funding pressures relating to COVID-19 will continue in 2022/23, and whilst there is still some carried forward COVID-19 funding from the Scottish Government available for use in 2022/23, it is difficult to assess whether it will continue to be sufficient due to the ongoing unpredictability of the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives and local businesses. We will continue to monitor the overall financial position of the Council and updates on estimated future budget gaps will be reported to Elected Members throughout 2022/23.
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6 These challenges mean further action is required to balance our budget and protect services for residents. This will mean that, within Supply Distribution and Property available funding will be reduced and we will need to reconfigure how we work and what we do to deliver further efficiencies Budget Sensitivity Analysis In reviewing the service budget projections, consideration has been given to sensitivity of these budgets, in particular for higher risk/ higher value budgets which may have a significant impact on budgetary control and future budget projections. The analysis has considered sensitivity around demand, costs and charges, and income levels. Within this service, budgets which have been identified as being more susceptible to fluctuations include: • Building Materials; 2022/23 budget - £3.5M. Nationally there has been a significant inflation in cost of building supplies and materials as well as challenges with supply due to increased energy, transport and raw material costs. Higher material costs will be passed onto client budgets through service recharges and any cost increase will put pressure on client maintenance and investment budgets. • Labour costs; 2022/23 budget - £20.1M. Nationally there continues to be challenges in recruitment and retention of staff due to a skills shortage of qualified and experienced officers. This impacts both our workforce and that of sub-contractors. • Transport fuel costs - 2022/23 budget £750,000. The price of petrol/diesel can fluctuate a great deal based on market prices. Higher fuel and hire costs will be passed onto client budgets through service recharges and any cost increase will put pressure on client maintenance and investment budgets. • Capital Plan - Nationally there has been a significant inflation in cost of building supplies and materials and in some cases shortfall in supplies. For some projects this may need to increased costs or slippage in delivery of the capital projects. Housing Asset & Investment Housing Capital Investment Programme A refreshed HRA Capital Plan for period 2022/26, totalling £47m was agreed at Council March 2022. The programme will help deliver the requirements of the Scottish Housing Quality Standards (SHQS), the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) its landlord obligations, health and safety responsibilities and deliver the Council’s new build programme. Delivering the programme in line with the budget, timescales and implementation plan is a significant priority. Housing Capital Improvements
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7 The refreshed Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Plan 2022/26 together with the Corporate Asset capital improvement projects, sets out the significant operational programme of work for Building Services. • Corporate asset upgrades and improvement projects; • Council housing reroofing programme; • External wall insulation and render programme; • Council housing kitchen, bathroom, shower, heating, special needs adaptations and uPVC window and door installation programmes; and • Appropriate statutory works and projects. Building Services Improvement Plan for Building Services – workforce The review of Building Services and the subsequent action plan is a strategic priority and a critical influencing factor for Building Services. Progress of phase 2 of the 5 year business plan, including implementing new structure which will enhance both capacity and capability at management level. Significant actions require to be addressed 22/23 including individual performance management, workforce planning, working arrangements and remuneration. Improvements of Buildings Service Phase 2 of the review will involve other areas of the service including planning, supervision stores operations. Improvements to customer experience, speed of delivery, quality and consistency of the repairs provision, and working practices are significant priorities within this plan. Council Wide Climate Change Strategy The Council has developed a Climate Change Strategy in response to Scotland’s climate emergency and to provide a route map towards meeting Scotland’s national net zero carbon target by 2045. This Strategy has informed the development of a Climate Change Action Plan for 2022/23 to ensure environmental actions are devolved to relevant service areas and climate change action is mainstreamed across council policies, operations and the wider public. Progress against the actions assigned to SD&P will be monitored. Continuous Improvement To support continuous improvement, the Council has an established programme of Fit for Future service reviews. Using a range of tools, that encapsulates service design, maturity assessments and employee engagement, information is gathered and reviewed to identify improvements
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8 and to ensure our services are efficient and that we make best use of our resources. During 2022/2023 we will assess the performance of the services within SD&P with a view to determining if any service would benefit from a Fit for Future service review. Action Plan The challenges identified in Section 2 and the key factors identified in Section 3 have informed SD&P priorities for 2022/2023. Appendix 1 sets out the action plan to address them. It also includes: • performance indicators and targets that will enable progress to be monitored and reported to stakeholders; • strategic workforce actions to address workforce issues identified in the planning process; and • strategic and/or service risks, including those relating to the pandemic. The Council has identified risks at both a strategic and service level. Strategic risks represent the potential for the Council to take advantage of opportunities or fail to meet stated strategic objectives and those that require strategic leadership; while service risks relate to service delivery and represent the potential for impact on individual services, or the experience of those who work within the services, i.e. employees, partners, contractors and volunteers or service users and clients in receipt of the services provided. In identifying the relevant risks for 2022/2023 and actions to mitigate them, the aim is to improve or maintain the current position (i.e. the current risk score) set out in the appendix. 4. Resources Finance Supply Distribution and Property has a net revenue budget of £2.73m (net income) and a capital budget of £6.20m in 2022/2023. A breakdown by service area is set out below. We will make the best use of the resources available to deliver on key priority areas and secure external/match funding where this is possible. Service Area Gross Expenditure 2022/23 (£m) Gross Income 2022/23 (£m) Net Expenditure 2022/23 (£m) Capital Budget 2022/23 (£m) Consultancy Services 0.845 (0.235) 0.610 0.000
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9 Corporate Assets 2.628 (4.781) (2.153) 0.000 Capital Investment Team 0.557 (0.719) (0.162) 2.785 Private Sector Housing Grant 0.525 (0.446) 0.079 0.000 Corporate Asset Maintenance 4.862 (5.128) (0.266) 3.337 Housing Asset Maintenance & Investment 0.494 (0.412) 0.082 0.000 CPU 0.981 (0.500) 0.481 0.000 HMTA 18.395 (19.796) (1.401) 0.078 Total 29.287 (32.017) (2.730) 6.200 Employees Employee Numbers (data to be confirmed) The headcount and full time equivalent staff in each service area (as of 31st March 2022) are as follows: Absence in 2021/22 The quarterly absence statistics for Supply Distribution and Property are shown below together with the Council average for the same periods for comparison. The figures have been higher that the Council average throughout 2021/2022: Function Headcount FTE Corporate Asset Management 43 36.10 Housing Asset & Investment 10 8.80 Maintenance & Repairs 347 336.12 CPU 19 17.14 TOTAL 419 398.16
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10 Absence in 2021/22 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Annual FTE days lost per FTE employee Supply, Distribution & Property 5.4 5.00 4.41 4.56 17.20 COUNCIL WIDE TOTAL 3.27 3.58 4.5 5.03 14.55
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11 Appendix 1: Action Plan 2. Our Environment Objective 6. Our neighbourhoods are sustainable and attractive Performance Indicator Owner Percentage of repairs appointments kept Martin Feeney % of properties that require a gas safety record which had a gas check and record completed by the anniversary date Martin Feeney Percentage of reactive repairs carried out completed right first time Martin Feeney % of tenants satisfied with the repairs and maintenance service Martin Feeney Average length of time taken to complete emergency repairs Martin Feeney Average time taken to complete medical adaptations Alan Young % of council dwellings that meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard Alan Young Average time taken to complete non-emergency repairs Martin Feeney % of council houses that are energy efficient Alan Young
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12 Action Due Date Owner Ensure the Council’s Housing stock maintains compliance with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard and reduce the number of properties held in abeyance. 31-Mar-2023 Alan Young Deliver the HRA Capital Investment programme for 2022/23 31-Mar-2023 Alan Young Ensure the Council’s housing stock progresses towards the achievement of the energy efficiency standard for social housing. 31-Mar-2023 Alan Young Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Owner Failure to deliver medical adaptations in agreed target timescales This is monitored to ensure target timescale of 60 days average for housing medical adaptations is adhered to ensure satisfaction with the service and support those in need of this service. 01-Sept-2022 Angela Wilson Failure to maintain Housing Stock The risk that Council’s Housing Stock are not fully fit for purpose with consequent adverse impact on our ability to deliver efficient and effective housing for Council tenants. 01-Sept-2022 Angela Wilson 4. Our Council
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13 Objective 10. Our workforce is resilient and skilled where digital technology supports service delivery for our residents Action Due Date Owner Develop and implement wellbeing, employee engagement, equality and training plans to enable capabilities, improved resilience and promotion of a diverse workforce. 31-Mar-2023 Martin Feeney; Alan Young Develop and implement employee life cycle plans in line with the People First Strategy to attract and retain the workforce. 31-Mar-2023 Martin Feeney; Alan Young Implement service review process including role design, use of new technology and new ways of working to add resilience, address gaps, and establish opportunities for efficiencies 31-Mar-2023 Martin Feeney; Alan Young Develop and implement training plans and development opportunities to improve capabilities and resilience within the workforce. 31-Mar-2023 Martin Feeney; Alan Young Objective 11. Our Council is adaptable and focused on delivering best value for our residents Action Due Date Owner Implement improvement plan for Building services – Phase 2 31-Mar-2023 Martin Feeney
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14 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Date Reviewed Owner Failure to implement improvement plan to ensure Building Services are fit for purpose The implementation of the improvement plan will enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and best value of Building Services 01-Sept-2022 Angela Wilson Failure to implement IHMS system across building services The effective implementation of the IHMS system will delivery efficiency, improve case tracking, capture customer satisfaction and improve service delivery. 01-Sept-2022 Angela Wilson Failure to meet citizen expectation and service standards Risk of citizen dissatisfaction due to us not doing what we say we will when we say we will or not completing required works first time. 01-Sept-2022 Angela Wilson Failure to demonstrate robust financial and productivity systems within building services The development of new costing model will mitigate against this financial risk. Process change and review will improve the system for charging of works 01-Sept-2022 Angela Wilson
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