Dear Ms St Mart,

 

Thank you for your request dated 5 September 2022, we have treated this as a Freedom of Information request. You have asked for the following information, please see our responses below in blue:

Please provide me with your contracts between Barnet Homes and their Repairs Service Provider

Repairs are carried out by the in-house Repairs DLO, therefore there is no contract to provide. We are supported by a small number of subcontractors on repairs, but the vast majority of responsive repairs are completed via the in-house team.

Please provide me with your Repairs Service Provider contact number for disabled tenants

We do not have a specific repairs number for disabled customers. They should contact the Barnet Homes Customer Contact Team on the normal number.

Please provide me with information of what provision are in place for disabled tenants with regards to repair

There is no specific provision in place for disabled customers through the responsive repairs team. Whilst individual circumstances may be taken into consideration generally our service is built in the best interests for all our customers. Where disabilities exist, the Repairs Team may be supported by the Adaptations Team to have Occupational Therapist review properties and we may do minor adaptation work where applicable – for example, grab and handrails, electric showers.

Please provide me with the time scale for example a plumber attends from when a tenant book for a repair

This will depend on the type of work raised. Our system generates priorities in accordance with the repair requested. For example, a Emergency is a 24-hour priority and a routine repair which is 10 working days

Please provide me with all documents you have in place for all repairs under the reasonable adjustment for disabled tenants

Please see extract below from the Repairs Policy surrounding vulnerable tenants:

5.12 Vulnerable tenants 5.12.1 The Barnet Group may, wherever practicable, carry out repairs with special consideration for tenants who may be considered vulnerable and in need of additional support. This may include completing some routine repairs within a faster timescale for some tenants if a failure to do so may put them at risk, or (where practicable) providing a female operative to complete repairs for female customers who have experienced domestic violence. Tenants who are at risk of being vulnerable may include those from the following groups: • people with a mental, physical, or sensory disability who are in receipt of or entitled to a state benefit as a result of that disability; • people with learning difficulties; • people with a disability which impacts on the performance of normal daily living tasks; • people with serious long-term, or terminal illness; • people in receipt of, or entitled to, state retirement pension; • people with a recent history of homelessness, rough sleepers, refugees and those with no experience of independent living. • people with a child under 12 months old in the household; • people at risk of domestic abuse; • people with substance misuse problems, e.g., alcohol or drugs; or Responsive Repairs Policy – April 2020 Page 9 of 12 • young people at risk, including those leaving care as well as teenage parents. 5.12.2 These tenants will be encouraged to describe why they feel they need repairs to be carried out with special consideration, and The Barnet Group will assess work delivery based on the information provided. Whilst we take account of these issues when prioritising repairs, we are not able to respond to requests for services that are not normally offered.

Please provide me with your Equality Rights Acts with regards to disabled tenants, your Safeguarding and complaint policy

Please see attachments

Your rights

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review by emailing Talk2Us@barnethomes.org and marking it as an appeal for the attention of the Data Controller.

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45; website: www.ico.gov.uk).

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Kind regards

Carly Williamson

Complaints and Information Manager