Issue - meetings

To consider the report.

DECISION

a)     To accept and note the report.

b)     To receive a progress report within a year's time.

c)     To ask the Cabinet Member and the Housing Department officers to contact the housing associations to see if they could attend a meeting of the scrutiny committee and organise ways of facilitating communication between the councillors and the housing associations.

The report was submitted, explaining that the intention of the One Stop Shop was to operate as a front door for all housing service enquiries and to facilitate the process for the customer. It was explained that a report on this had been submitted to the Committee in the past but work had substantially developed since that report had been submitted.

To begin, it was explained that consultation sessions had been held with key partners, including the housing associations and third sector organisations, over the past 18 months to identify opportunities to strengthen current arrangements and any potential impact on the nature of the contact that individuals would have with the organisations. Discussions had also been held with all department services to gain a better understanding of the contact with residents in the context of the enquiries the One-Stop-Shop would support.

It was noted that an initial consultation with the public had been held in January 2023 to receive feedback on the general experiences of Gwynedd residents who had contacted the housing service. It was noted that 154 responses had been received and that the majority of these had been positive. The fact that the consultation had highlighted a clear desire by the public to be able to complete an on-line application form for social housing applications was recognised, with over 70% of responses noting that this would be a positive development. It was noted that this had already been identified as a priority for the department but there was no capacity within the current system to enable people to complete applications on-line. The consultation had also highlighted that some members of the public believed there was a need to improve communication between the Council and the customer and, therefore, better on-line presence to receive information without having to pick up the phone or e-mail would be beneficial.

Another key development noted was appointing a leader for the One-Stop-Shop in February 2022 which had enabled the department to research how an appropriate structure could be put in place for the shop's operation. In light of this, it was resolved to incorporate the Housing Options Team Unit in the One-Stop-Shop as this was the work area that received the majority of enquiries by the public. It was explained that the team's structure was now nearing completion as a deputy leader had been appointed in May 2023.

It was noted that the department had researched a new system that would enable them to store comprehensive and up-to-date information in one place. It was explained that the system chosen would modernise the service offered to the public and that the ongoing programmed work included arrangements to establish the system, a trialling period and dates for relevant training. It was also explained that the department had decided to use the FFOS internal system for the work of receiving calls and the shop's day-to-day administrative work as it was already linked to the Council website and website accounts.

In addition, it was noted that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6