Got net-zero news, project updates, or product launches to share? Highlands housing repairs get major upgrade
Communication improvements within the Highland Council’s housing service have led to a significant reduction in the time taken to complete repairs over the past two years. A performance report presented to the council’s Housing and Property Committee detailed the continued progress made from 2022/23 onwards.
In the first quarter of 2024/25, the average time taken to complete emergency repairs has decreased to 3.4 hours, down from 10.5 hours in the same quarter of 2022/23. For non-emergency repairs, there has been a noteworthy improvement with the time reduced to 6.1 days, compared to the Scotland’s Housing Network benchmark of 8.7 days for 2022/23.
Councillor Glynis Campbell Sinclair, the housing and property chair, praised the improvements made to the Housing Repairs service, highlighting it as a prime example of the council’s commitment to delivering excellence to its tenants. She emphasised the importance of addressing emergency repairs promptly with the available resources, noting that Highland’s teams are now able to complete emergency repairs in just a few hours on average.
One of the council’s overarching priorities is to enhance public communication and improve the overall experience for individuals contacting the local authority. This objective is being pursued through the My Council project, which aims to revolutionise customer experience.
An excellent illustration of the positive impact of improved communication practices is the success achieved in the Housing Repairs Appointments project, a component of the broader My Council initiative. An assessment of data from the Housing Repairs line revealed that a significant proportion of the incoming calls were from tenants seeking updates. Subsequent changes were implemented to prioritise the customer’s needs, resulting in enhanced communication with tenants regarding the progress of works at their residences and a substantial decrease in missed appointments.
The commendable efforts of the Housing Repairs Appointment project were recently acknowledged by its nomination for an award at this year’s The Highland Council Staff Recognition Awards.
Councillor Glynis Campbell Sinclair acknowledged the challenges facing the service, including the need to address a backlog of low-priority repairs to gutters, gates, and fences. Delays in these repairs were attributed to budget constraints, but significant headway has been made in resolving outstanding issues.
