Agenda item - Field Officers

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Agenda item

Field Officers

A Field Officer’s update on their work.

Minutes:

62.1    Brett Stacey introduced the update on the Field Officer team.  The team was originally recruited in July 2018 with a plan to start in September 2018, but the first recruitment phase was delayed therefore did not begin until November 2018, thus giving rise to an incremental start.  He confirmed that they were starting with a number of different areas of work including:  planning, housing, parks, environmental health.  They are now also offering the additional resource of enforcement work for 7 of the 9 services.  Brett confirmed that from this week they were also undertaking drug prevention and ASB work on estates. He confirmed that these were pilot test tests and may be rolled out more widely in the future.  He confirmed that the team had also been involved in the new estate inspections procedure and that there was a split between repairs and improvements.  He stated that Field Officers (FOs) were part of the “Don’t Walk By” initiative but in terms of environmental improvement there would be more formal procedures put in place for residents and these could be fed back to the Estate Development Budget.  He confirmed that there was a lot of detail to be worked out  on this and thus it would not be made fully available until Summer 2019, to coincide with the timing of the first consultation .

 

62.2    A resident asked if the new procedures would include Area Reps going through their requirements for inspections with the Field Officers and  Brett Stacey replied that this was no longer  being continued in the same way, as it had not been supported by residents.  He confirmed that there would be a meeting where residents could bring their concerns and there would be reps from the new Repairs service present. He added that they hoped to have a broader view of improvements, so that repairs could be reported at any time. 

 

62.3    A resident asked if it was possible to email the FO team with their list of concerns to be addressed and Brett Stacey replied that he did not have the tools to address this within the team.  He stated that the “Don’t Walk By” initiative demonstrated how resident could report anything directly to the relevant service and that there was a new online system and App being developed and should be available in the near future.  Alistair Reid added that the Field Officer team was an extra resource, but that residents would still be directed through to the housing teams as they had previously.

 

62.4    A resident stated that regarding estate inspections, residents really appreciated when the same person – rather than a whole team was active on their behalf and both reported and followed up on issues. Brett replied that this was more of a problem associated with the Repairs team previously and that it was not now the part of the FO role to follow up on previous and historic calls and complaints.

 

 

  62.5  A resident asked about the area of gardens and trees which required maintenance and whether this would still happen within the new system of inspections.  Brett answered that  this area  would now be addressed within the “Don’t Walk By” initiative.  Martin Reid added that there was now an extra resource around garden maintenance that had been introduced.

 

62.6    Councillor Barnett asked that if a list of problems or requirements was dropped into Victoria Road Housing Office regarding inspections, would they receive feedback on this. She confirmed that since the recent lack of estate wardens, there had been a deterioration in the estate inspections, which she felt was not acceptable for tenants.  Martin Reid confirmed that if a list was left the issues could be reported as usual and that this could be left with Housing management team to be dealt with.

 

62.7    A resident asked if estate inspections were detailed in the tenancy agreement?  Brett Stacey confirmed that it was in the tenancy agreement and that these issues were not being ignored but that the FO Team was a separate area. It was stated that it was worthwhile for the Council to have this stated within the tenancy agreement since there was now money in the budget for this and  they would have to spend money cleaning flats and homes before the next tenant moved in.  It was confirmed that Jake Willard was the contact on this via customer service.

 

62.8    A resident asked how many FOs there were and what their role was currently within the team.  Brett confirmed there were 8 FOs and one Manager at present in the team and their role involved a number of different areas including evidence gathering and enforcement which was generally a 2- 3 stage procedure. He also added that they were assisting with any area previously covered by Housing Officers such monitoring noise and disruption such as people gathering in stairwells.

 

62.9    Councillor Gilbey checked about the availability of FOs after 8pm.  Brett Stacey replied that the FO standard hours of working were before 8pm ,but that there was an option for FOs to extend their working hours when required.  He stated that most complaints occurred during the period of 5 – 8 pm and that monitoring noise late at night did not work as way of prevention.

 

62.10  Councillor Barnett asked whether estate inspection queries would be dealt with immediately, since there had been a case Hangleton which had continued for many months and that since it involved temporary accommodation, the landlord should have been involved at a much earlier stage.  Martin Reid replied that Jake’s role was in connection with the outside and garden areas, so they were trying to increase the activity on this on the estates and that letters were being sent to residents and that they wanted to help them resolve these issues.

 

62.11  A resident stated that they had a problem with 2-3 people sleeping underneath the stairs in the communal areas of one block and Martin Reid confirmed that the FOs could assist with this and liaise with St Mungo’s on finding these people more suitable accommodation.  Brett Stacey confirmed that this situation should be reported and the FOs could visit them to sort this problem. He added that there were no new channels of reporting for FOs – they are just an additional service that can be utilised. He also stated that Cityclean may pass a job on  to the FO team for specialist enforcement support.

 


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