Cornwall Housing (CHL) has today started the process of finding a new contractor for its home safety checks – and the project brief includes essentials that residents say are top of their priority list.
Ian Frazer, CHL’s Executive Director of Asset Management, said: “We promised to listen to our tenants and put their feedback at the heart of our service provision. The project brief contains standards which residents say are most important to them –and the contract will be awarded to the successful company on that basis.”
Today’s tender launch is a milestone in CHL’s repairs project announced on 09 July. Working to similar timescales, CHL is speaking to 3 additional contractors who will deliver an interim everyday repairs service over the next 2 years until long-term arrangements are in place. CHL has split the county into three areas to help contractors cope with demand so each will carry out repairs in a specific patch.
These interim arrangements will be awarded using procurement frameworks and will follow a similar process to the home safety checks tender exercise.
Listening to residents
Consultation with residents is central to redesigning both the home safety checks and everyday repairs service.
So far this has included a survey of 191 residents who had recent home safety visits and an online discussion group and face-to-face workshop involving 38 tenants.
What residents want from the new repairs service
Tenants’ top priorities included DBS checks and ID cards for all engineers, at least five days’ notice of appointments and flexible working extended to evenings and weekends.
Using residents’ views to design the new service
The issues residents say are most important to them are included in the new repairs contracts in the form of 44 separate actions.
Full details of the feedback and how it’s being used to co-design the new service are available here:
CHL will be inviting residents to join a panel to put their questions to successful contractors during “engagement days”.
Why should residents believe the repairs service will improve?
Ian Frazer has this message for tenants: “I understand that residents might be sceptical that things are going to get better. We know Cornwall Housing has made mistakes in the past but this really is the dawn of a new era.
“We have a new management team, we’re updating IT systems to closely monitor repairs so we can nip potential problems in the bud and we’re completely redesigning the way the service is delivered.
“Change won’t happen quickly, and I ask tenants to bear with us while we tackle the inevitable teething problems which come with introducing a new way of working with new contractors. But we’ve started building the bedrock for a high-quality repairs service which our tenants have every right to expect.”
Residents should continue to report repairs in the usual ways – webform, email or phone.
If residents or contractors have any questions about the repairs project, please email info@cornwallhousing.org.uk
Email: info@cornwallhousing.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 1234 161
