Decoration scheme saves cash

Councillors of the Services for Community Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel heard that the assessment of what work is needed is undertaken when the homes are empty, just before being re-let, by the community housing officer. A review of tenant satisfaction with the scheme was taken from the visit that follows four to six weeks after a new tenant moves into their tenancy. There were 646 housing lets during the first year of new programme. The new tenant survey asked: “Did you find the painting pack useful?” Of the 195 tenants who responded, 177 (91 per cent) said they found it useful with nine per cent (18) saying that it was not. There have been no formal complaints. The average annual budget to administer the former decoration scheme, which gave tenants a voucher to buy materials, was £95,000. This excluded the production of the voucher and the costs associated to housing staff in time to administer the scheme and in processing invoices.The estimated budget for painting packs, based on anticipated void turnover, is around £50,000. A review of the cost after the first year of operation of the service shows it has spent £53,056 during that time.