Agenda item

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

            Councillor Kevin Stewart declared an interest due to a discussion that took place throughout consideration of the following article by virtue of his membership on the NEM SITA Management Board. Councillor Stewart did not consider it necessary to withdraw from the meeting.

With reference to article 7 of the minute of its meeting of 11 January, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Housing and Environment which presented key management information and performance indicators for the Housing and Environment Service which consisted of two sections, namely:- (1) a progress report by the Director; and (2) a summary in the format of a Performance Indicator Balanced Scorecard, with detailed information supporting those indicators being considered this cycle.

At this point the Head of Housing Management advised that the Director of Housing and Environment was not available to attend this meeting due to ill health, and so continued to speak to the report.

In relation to page 50 of the report, Councillor Hunter intimated that he had been made aware by a number of City Wardens in the Urquhart Road/Park Road area that they had been provided with uniforms that did not fit them, and that not all members of staff had been provided with waterproof uniforms.  The Head of Housing Management suggested that the members of staff concerned contact their supervisors or line managers in this regard.  The Committee queried as to whether the Council currently had a full complement of City Wardens, and the Head of Housing Management advised that the Council was in the process of appointing ten City Wardens which would take the Council to a full complement.  Mr Stirrat further explained that the closing date for applications had been extended to allow for the former Police Wardens to apply for these positions should they wish to.   A number of members intimated that they were aware of occasions when City Wardens had acted above and beyond the call of duty, and requested that officers pass on the Committee’s thanks to the staff concerned.

With further reference to page 50 of the report, the Committee commended the Bethany Christian Trust, its volunteers and the churches who had opened their doors for this project, for providing this service, especially due to the adverse weather that had been prevalent in Aberdeen over the past weeks.

Page 51 of the report explained that the Building Services Team had encountered a high demand for emergency assistance from Council tenants and Grampian Police during recent weeks, due to the adverse weather conditions experienced, predominantly for burst and frozen pipes and consequential damage of this.   Contingency plans had been put in place, extra trades resources had been brought in, and overtime worked to cope with this demand.   The report continued that from 5 January, 2010 onwards, the Building Services Team had taken the unprecedented step of deploying twenty three trades staff on pavement gritting duties around multi storey buildings and paths surrounding sheltered housing cottages in order to assist Roads and Grounds colleagues during the exceptional weather conditions.   The Committee requested that officers pass on their thanks to all of the staff involved during this difficult period.

With regard to the update provided in relation to the New Build Council Housing, Councillor Graham enquired as to whether there were any drawings or sketches available for the new build associated with the former Marchburn School site.   The Head of Housing Management undertook to circulate a copy of this illustration to members.   The Committee conveyed their thanks to the contractors involved in the demolition of Marchburn School, and asked that these comments be passed on by officers.  

With regard to the update provided on the environmental walkabouts that officers were undertaking, Councillor Collie enquired as to how issues identified on the walkabouts were followed up.   The Head of Environmental Services advised that during subsequent walks conducted by officers, there were checks undertaken in order to ascertain whether previous actions had been undertaken, but Mr Steed did suggest that this system may require to be refined.

The Committee highlighted the Loo of the Year Awards as a particular achievement for the staff involved, and noted that the staff themselves had also received awards, in addition to the actual buildings, and commended staff in this regard.

With reference to page 65 of the report (rent loss due to voids as a percentage of gross rent due), the Committee noted that this indicator was under target at the present time.   The Head of Housing Management advised that this was primarily due to properties within the central area of the city (generally multi storey properties) being difficult to let, and advised that officers were reviewing this to see if there was still a requirement for these properties to be categorised as Housing for Varying Needs, and also if the properties required to be refurbished.  

With reference to page 72 of the report (percentage of statutory homeless applicants housed who have sustained their tenancies for more than 12 months), the Committee noted that this was well above target and thanked all staff involved in this regard.  

With reference to page 92 of the report (percentage of waste recycled and composted), the Committee enquired as to why the last update for this indicator had been provided in August.   Officers explained that there was a two month lag with information being presented to them from SITA, and thereafter officers were required to ensure that the figures provided were robust.   Officers further advised that the figures for the present period did look to be on target. Councillor Kevin Stewart undertook to raise, on behalf of the Committee, the issue of SITA’s reporting mechanisms.

With reference to page 94 of the report (period for completing analysis process relating to target expectation), Councillor Cooney enquired as to why this indicator seemed to have a variable outturn.   The Head of Environmental Services advised that this was a composite statistic which was formed from a range of different indicators.   Mr Steed further undertook to provide details of this to Councillor Cooney.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to thank the City Wardens for their work, which was noted as often being above and beyond the call of duty; and to request an update an the next meeting on the progress being made with regard to the recruitment process being undertaken;

(ii)        to thank the Bethany Christian Trust for running the night shelter for homeless persons;

(iii)       to thank the Building Services staff for their hard work during the recent period of adverse weather; 

(iv)       in relation to the Council’s New Build Phase 1 project, to:- (a) request officers to provide illustrations of the development to all members; and (b) to thank the contractors who demolished the former Marchburn School for their work in this regard;

(v)        in relation to the Environmental Walkabouts, to request that officers refine the report circulated to local members following the walks to include details of the actions which had been identified and completed, and those which were still outstanding;

(vi)       to request that in future, coloured copies of the scorecard indicator report be emailed to members of the Committee for ease of reference; 

(vii)      to thank the staff involved in sustaining the “homelessness tenancies”;

(viii)     to note that Councillor Kevin Stewart would raise with SITA, on behalf of the Committee, the issue their reporting mechanism;

(ix)       to note that the Head of Environmental Services undertook to provide Councillor Cooney with a detailed explanation as to why the “period for completing analysis process relates to target expectation” indicator was so variable; and

(x)        to commend and congratulate the staff involved in the Loo of the Year awards.