Neighbourhood and Community
How we are doing and where we need to improve
To improve our service, we have expanded our Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) Team and are in the process of recruiting an additional ASB Officer. We have a monthly ASB service improvement group which reviews cases, promotes best practice, and focuses on case management areas and customer satisfaction survey responses. We have supported staff to achieve accreditations in community safety to ensure our specialised officers have the most up to date training.
Following this dedicated approach, we are already seeing this year’s customer satisfaction withASB case handling going up from 50 per cent to 80 per cent.
In the last year we brought our cleaning operation in-house from our previous external contractor. We worked collaboratively with a steering group of residents from around the borough to understand resident’s priorities for the new service. In October 2021 we brought in 104 new estate cleaning staff. We also undertook a restructure to merge our cleaning and caretaking services to improve management of individual areas and estates.
We have introduced a number of value-for-money initiatives, including training and equipping caretakers to unblock chutes themselves rather than using external contractors. We have now unblocked over 75 per cent of chutes in-house, which represents a saving of £50,000 per year.
Our Estate Improvement Team worked collaboratively with residents to complete 51 projects across our estates during 2021-22, including the installation of security gates, the addition of new pram sheds, as well as a number of greening projects including re-landscaping at Acklam Road.
We recognise this year’s cleaning satisfaction is slightly down on the year before. This is largely due to performance in the final months of the old contract and some teething issues in implementing the new service. We still have a little way to go on this, but we’re setting the foundations to create a better, more responsive service for residents, and are continuing to work closely with our outdoor contractors to improve the standards of our grounds.
- Resident satisfaction survey
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Performance measure 2020-21 2021-22 Target 2021-22 Number of new antisocial behaviour (ASB) cases reported. 229 177 N/A Resident satisfaction with the handling of their ASB case. 37.50% 50.00% N/A Resident satisfaction with the internal cleaning service. 77.64% 75.03% >=75% Resident satisfaction with the external cleaning service. 76.20% 75.04% >=78% Resident satisfaction with the grounds. 83.36% 73.39% >=86% - Neighbourhood Management – what we have done
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We were awarded £70,000 from the Government to assist residents struggling with the increasing cost of living. We have already helped 225 households by providing e-vouchers worth up to £150.
The Council is continuing its roll-out of electronic noticeboards to help deliver quicker messaging to residents and reduce the amount of paper notices and letters being printed and have already installed 59 screens.
We have been enhancing communication around mutual exchanges with residents, and have produced an improved application form which is distributed as part of an information pack we provide to residents, along with a frequently asked questions section. We provide confirmation of the outcome of their application within the 42-day target. This year we completed 52 mutual exchanges.
- Local area cooperation – what we have done
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We now ensure the contractors we’ve appointed commit to carrying out social investment projects in the local area, such as providing job opportunities, supporting charities, offering training and skills development, providing digital devices to in-need families or the elderly, improving green spaces, or fixing broken or unloved communal spaces like playgrounds or community centres.
Already in the past year, contractors’ social value contributions have included six new employment opportunities and two apprenticeships with contractors and consultants. They also established a state-of-the-art Digital Training Room for local training providers to deliver taster sessions, employment support, and other bespoke training for residents. A Community Fund has also provided small grants to nine local residents and organisations to deliver projects including:
- Subsidising a local swimming programme
- Supporting a photography and storytelling project
- A cooking programme to support elderly and isolated residents
- Delivering mental health and suicide prevention training sessions
- Supporting a local football team in purchasing kits and equipment
Contractors have also visited the borough’s local schools/colleges to offer support with CV writing, practice interviews, one-to-one role play, and work preparation techniques.
- Antisocial behaviour – what we have done
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The ASB team has worked closely with partners including the Council’s Community Safety Team,the police, and mental health and safeguarding agencies, to strengthen information sharing and ensure ASB issues have a multi-agency response. This has helped to ensure victims and complainants have the necessary support and that there is early intervention. It has also helped us take reasonable and proportionate action against perpetrators.
In 2021-22 the ASB team were successfully granted nine court orders which included closure orders, civil injunctions and possession orders.