How we’re performing so far
During the past year, we have intensified our efforts to support our most vulnerable residents. In April, we launched the Customer Advocacy Team, which proactively manages repairs requests for vulnerable individuals. The team offers advice, proactively cases manages complex cases, and provides immediate home visits to residents that may need welfare checks or an adult services referral.
We are also committed to providing greater opportunities for residents to actively participate in shaping our services. In May we launched ‘Your Voice Counts’ to encourage residents to get involved in opportunities such as participating in the recruitment for senior roles, or the co-designing of service standards setting out how residents want to feel when they interact with our housing teams.
In April, the existing Residents Panel was expanded to become a monthly Residents Forum, open to anyone living in council housing. Attendees can attend in-person or online and we are encouraging a diverse range of participants by working with community partners and promoting the forum through events on our estates.
Below we have highlighted some of the other ways we have delivered throughout the 2023/24 financial year. Although progress continues to be made, we know there is still work to do as we deliver our Fairer Westminster strategy.
Living standards
Our aim is to improve the quality of our homes and ensure they are well managed...
We’ve served 45 enforcement notices against non-compliant landlords. Additionally, following a recruitment campaign, an additional five officers are being onboarded, officers that will undertake work to increase our enforcement against registered providers.
Sustainable homes
Our aim is to improve our housing’s energy efficiency, reduce emissions and lower energy bills...
We have retrofitted 54 homes to at a least an EPC C rating, and are completing roof insulation and PV improvements to more properties that are already rated EPC C. Avenue Gardens PV installation has completed and we are now configuring the system and connecting the electrical grid.
There are challenges to further take-up as residents are reluctant to lose space in their home due to the insulation works. To that end, we are planning trails of a smaller, non-grant funded insulation system. We have explained the benefits of retrofitting through show homes, case studies, community events, councillor-led engagement, articles in newsletters, social media posts, resident association meetings and more.
We have also recently appointed a resident advocate to review the reasons people give for refusing and to help us show how we have enhanced the offer.
Homelessness prevention
Our aim is reduce homelessness in the city by providing support to those in need...
We are implementing a hybrid delivery model for the Housing Solution Service and work will soon commence on staff engagement, dialogue and consultation with unions, and service design with users.
The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy continues to progress and the programme has completed the statutory review. Following a range of early engagement and co-production, we have now completed a draft of the strategy and are now engaged in a public consultation. A lived experience group continues to support this co-production, alongside community and delivery partners.
We are committed to being open and transparent and making information on our progress more accessible to everyone. This way you can always see how we're doing on delivering a Fairer Westminster. The above are just a few of the ways we're measuring how we're building Fairer Housing. You can also find out more at our Open Data page and by reading our Fairer Westminster Delivery Plan:
