Annual Report to Tenants 2020-21

How we are doing and where we need to improve

Residents reported satisfaction levels of 83.36 per cent with grounds maintenance, 76.20 per cent for external cleaning and 77.64 per cent for internal cleaning.  We want to do better than this and these results have influenced our decision to bring the cleaning service in-house.

Satisfaction with the handling of anti-social behaviour (ASB) cases dropped to 37.5 per cent from 65 per cent last year. Although it’s likely that lockdowns and restrictions will have contributed to this, we are committed to improving.  Our newly established ASB team is working hard to carry out enforcement action on cases we have previously been unable to resolve through informal measures.  We also now have a mental health nurse working with the ASB Team two days per week.  

The team have been working closely with the police to achieve results in more serious cases of ASB, securing court orders in response to issues highlighted by residents.

Despite these successes, we recognise we still need to make improvements in managing lower-level cases, such as noise nuisance and neighbour disputes. This will be our focus for 2021-22.

In total, we have added £1,592,040 in value to the estate and wider North Kensington in terms of income, donations, grants and other benefits that have a clear financial value and have also provided nine apprenticeship opportunities to our growing in-house repairs teams.  

Resident Satisfaction Survey

Performance measure	2019-20	2020-21	Target 2020-21
Tenants - How satisfied are you with your neighbourhood as a place to live?	74%	No survey	-

Performance measure	2019-20	2020-21	Target 2020-21
Number of new antisocial behaviour (ASB) cases reported	207	229	-
Resident satisfaction with the handling of their ASB case	64.56%	37.50%	>=70%
Resident satisfaction with the internal cleaning service	74.74%	77.64%	90%
Resident satisfaction with the external cleaning service	74.14%	76.20%	90%
Resident satisfaction with the grounds  maintenance service	83.25%	83.36%	90%

Coronavirus Support

During the pandemic we set up a dedicated Covid-19 Hub to help residents identified as ‘clinically vulnerable’, where they could get food, medical supplies and other support to help them through this difficult time. The Hub was also a point of contact for residents who were not shielding but needed additional support.

Many of our staff were redeployed from their regular roles to work at the Covid-19 Hub or to make welfare calls to residents.  We’re still contacting over 80 households on a weekly or fortnightly basis, to offer help and advice.    

By April 2021, we had attempted contact with 3887 households and made successful contact with 3371.  At the peak of the pandemic, we made 623 calls per week in early May 2020, with average weekly calls at April 2020 (403), May 2020 (546), June (442) and July (363). 

We know that after multiple lockdowns some residents may be struggling financially or worried that they may soon face financial difficulties. We are still offering help and advice to guide residents through this difficult time.

Neighbourhood Management

• Neighbourhood Management made over 450 referrals to specific support agencies in the last year. They also provided support for a number of residents during the recent flooding, and have provided support around safeguarding issues, alcohol misuse, hoarding, tenancy issues, financial hardship, employment, repairs, anti-social behaviour and mental health.  
• Our Annual Home Visits were largely on hold during the pandemic as we limited the spread of the virus and focused on providing welfare checks over the phone.  We have now employed three Visiting Officers and as restrictions have lifted, annual Home Visits have resumed for residents, as part of our commitment to visiting all our tenants.  
• Sheltered Housing were able to maintain essential welfare checks and access to services for sheltered housing residents throughout the pandemic.  They carried out their work through a mix of remote working and working onsite at the schemes.  They also worked jointly with the Covid-19 Hub, social services, volunteer organisations, and Neighbourhood Management to provide additional support for sheltered housing residents and their families.
• Sheltered Housing consistently met or exceeded their targets, including completing 100 per cent of individual resident reviews and risk assessments, and received 97 per cent customer satisfaction with the overall service.
• The Community Alarm Service were able to maintain 24/7, all year round services throughout the pandemic.  They completed 99.8 per cent of all emergency visits within target time, and a received 100 per cent customer satisfaction with the overall service.
• This consistency in performance was reflected in the Community Alarm Service achieving the Telecare Services Authority (TSA) industry standard re-accreditation in July 2020, and again in 2021.

Local area cooperation

• Plans for the first phase of Kensington and Chelsea’s ambitious New Homes Programme have been approved by planners. We intend to build over 600 new homes on Council-owned land, including at least 300 at social rent. Planning applications for our four Phase One sites have already been approved. Kensal Road, Acklam Road, Hewer Street and St Helens Gardens will deliver 97 new homes with many going to residents on our Housing Register.
• The Council has reviewed various schemes to find ways of incorporating sustainability measures into our Capital Works Programme where possible, given the critical importance of retrofitting Council housing stock to meet the ambition of net zero emissions for the Council by 2030. We have already begun our window replacement works and are carrying out studies on boiler houses to see which sustainable options are practical and achievable.
• Lancaster West is leading the way on becoming a carbon-neutral estate. We have been working through the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team to apply for relevant funding as it becomes available for energy-efficiency measures, including bio-solar rooftops at Camelford Court, Clarendon Walk and Talbot Walk, that will generate thousands of pounds worth of electricity every year.  
• In March and April our Environmental Services and Grounds Maintenance teams installed bird boxes on estates across the borough to sustain and improve wildlife and biodiversity.
• As mentioned previously, the Estates Team consulted tenants on the communal cleaning standards around their homes through the Residents Cleaning Satisfaction Survey (August 2020).  Residents asked for improvements in cleaning, better equipment, direct lines for reporting issues and faster resolution. In response we have designed a new Estate Care service, using key feedback from the survey and the Residents Steering Group, who the Council met with throughout the year.  From October 2021, the Estate Care cleaning service will move in-house, following the end of the previous contract with OCS.  Key features of Estate Care will be to deliver a local caretaking service and to keep communal areas clean and safe for residents. Residents, together with Caretakers and Estate Service Managers will help shape the cleaning schedules according to the needs of their block, to provide a tailored service to individual sites. 
• Our estate and environmental services will now be managed by the Estate Services team, allowing us to better monitor issues based on urgency. The newly created Communal Repairs team and grounds maintenance crews will work across the borough to complement the service, improving cleaning of large communal areas.  A window cleaning service will be introduced in the new year, as a direct result of residents’ requests.  We will be closely monitoring our performance and work to reach our targets for the year upcoming.
• We are working on obtaining the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance's (DAHA) accreditation. We want to improve our response to domestic abuse and gaining this accreditation will ensure that our policies and procedures are of the highest standard, and staff are trained appropriately to support domestic abuse survivors and identify perpetrators.

Antisocial behaviour

• Despite a challenging year which has been dramatically affected through legislation changes as a result of coronavirus, we have still continued to tackle antisocial behaviour so everyone living in the borough can peacefully enjoy living in their home and local area.  We recognise that satisfaction around antisocial behaviour is not where it needs to be and we are working to improve this.  
• In December 2020 we recruited a dedicated antisocial behaviour manager and officer to investigate the most serious cases of ASB.  Over the year we have seen an increase in ‘cuckooing cases’, where vulnerable tenants are taken advantage of and their property is taken over, commonly by criminals.  To tackle this, the ASB Team set up regular meetings with the police to discuss these issues and safeguard residents.  In partnership with the police, we secured two closure orders to combat these problems.  We were also granted three injunctions by the courts to prevent anti-social behaviour on our estates. One example of this was when we liaised with the police to execute a warrant at a property, at which a number of weapons were then found.  Despite the courts operating virtually and on a reduced schedule, we were still able to take enforcement action against the most serious breaches of tenancy or safeguarding standards.
• We experienced a significant increase in reports of low-level neighbour disputes during last year’s lockdowns.  To resolve these, we encouraged residents to take part in mediation and restorative justice.  Across the year, we referred 15 cases for mediation.  
• This year, the new ASB Team organised our inaugural ASB Resident Feedback Panel. The purpose of this panel was to seek feedback from residents on their experience of our service following their ASB complaint. The feedback we received was vital in order to improve our service. This feedback is being used to understand what is important to tenants and to shape our case reviews.