The Repairs team at South Tyneside Council’s ALMO, South Tyneside Homes, has reduced the annual repairs spend by more than £1.5million during 2017-18, while at the same time achieving a 6.5 per cent increase in customer satisfaction.  The team reduced the 102,000 repairs to 83,500, with a reduction in the cost of a repair to £75.

Key changes include; reducing the number of occasions the repair is not completed on the first visit by multi-skilling operatives and supplying additional tools; communication with tenants advising them of their responsibilities to reduce unnecessary repairs; planned maintenance programmes to renew or maintain elements in homes; changes in how condensation and damp is dealt with; and a ‘working at height’ team for repairs which require scaffolding.