Harlow Council has started the transformation of its maintenance company HTS which delivers high-profile environmental and housing maintenance services in the town.
Over the last year the council has undertaken several reviews of different aspects of the HTS business, all designed to improve performance, efficiency and the council’s working relationship with the company.
As part of the transformation on Wednesday 23 August a series of recommendations were agreed by councillors at the Shareholder Sub Committee meeting. These included:
The focus of activity for HTS in this financial year will be to deliver the council’s priorities for Harlow tenants and taxpayers and to secure further efficiencies (savings and improvements in services) in the business.
A new contractual basis for HTS’s work for the council, based more on costs and performance, is to be agreed by December 2023.
A new business plan for HTS for 2024 to 2025 will be developed and agreed by February 2024.
There will be a re-structuring of the company into a single entity, rather than the complex group structure, to provide greater efficiency and focus on delivering services for Harlow. Currently there are three subsidiaries.
A broadening of the Board of HTS to bring in additional non-executive directors with specific professional expertise to support and develop the company.
HTS provides services such as grass cutting and landscape maintenance, street cleaning, dumped rubbish collection, council housing repairs and maintenance. Since June, with the interim Managing Director at HTS in place, Alan Townshend, new working practices have been introduced, alongside the provision of helping to deliver the council’s priorities and clearing long-standing jobs through increased use of local companies.
The council has been pleased with the substantial progress HTS are making towards the delivery of its priorities with highlights including:
Reducing the housing repairs backlog by more than 600 jobs in the last 6 weeks as part of the ambition to clear the housing repairs backlog this year.
Increased turnaround in empty homes (voids), with 82 homes handed back to the council for re-letting to Harlow families in July and August to date.
Introducing new landscape maintenance processes across the town from next month that will see, for example, grass cutting and strimming works undertaken as part of the same programme.
Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said:
“I know that too many tenants and residents feel that the council and HTS does not deliver for them. That’s why transforming the way the council delivers key services through HTS and how it delivers for the town are part of our priorities to fix council housing, restore pride in Harlow and improve council services.
“We are starting to see significant changes in the delivery of services that HTS provide which will benefit residents, council housing tenants and the town. Whilst there is still much more work to do, we are now going in the right direction. There is a positive working relationship between the council and HTS to make improvements and I recently visited some of the HTS workforce to discuss the changes in the way services are being delivered. A close working relationship between the council and HTS will continue as we work together to deliver the council’s priorities for the town.”
It has also been announced that the current chair of HTS Group Ltd and its subsidiaries, Michael Harrowven, will step down from his role as part of his plans towards retirement and his focus on several voluntary and community engagements.
Michael has been integral to the development of HTS from its creation in 2016, as it has changed from being the Kier Harlow Joint venture Company to a wholly owned Local Authority Trading Company, ensuring leadership of the board and stewardship of the organisation. The council thanks Michael for his work over 7 years and his role in the recent transformation.
The council and HTS will recruit a new chair of the board as well as seek to expand business experience with additional non-executive directors into the new company structure. The recruitment of a new chair, and of additional non-executive directors, will be an open process to take place during September with appointments, hopefully, being made in October.
The recruitment process for the permanent Managing Director role at HTS will also start in September.
