Agenda item

Committee received an update on the Housing Estate Passenger Lifts – presented by Matt West, Service Director, Housing Property Services, Wesley Carlisle-Goldthorpe, Group Leader Capital Programme and ….. The following issues were raised:

·       The Director advised meeting that Council is in a good place, noting that the low TMS( Tenant Management Satisfaction) indicator with regards the lift safety that was reported at the last meeting was due to an issue with one of the contractor . This has now been resolved by bringing a new contractor and now it is up from 95% to 100%.

·       Meeting was reminded that despite the challenges including an aged lift stock, the availability of lifts to residents has remained consistently at 95% or higher over the last 24 months.

·       An asset programme has been put together by the team to identify which of the lifts to be replaced, that £12m of works is envisaged to be undertaken in the next 2 years and a 5 year programme that will identify the priority lifts.

·       Council recognises the impact on residents when lifts breakdown, that processes have been put in place to supporting residents and informing ward councillors.

·       In response to concerns raised by Internal audit and its recommendations, meeting was advised that the Housing Safety and Compliance Team considers it has fully implemented all but 1 of the Internal Audit recommendations, which will not be taken forward as it is impractical and offers limited benefit.

·       In terms of capital works, focus is to replace the worst performing lift within the 5 year programme and the good news is that works has commenced on sites.

·       Meeting was assured that despite the challenges compliance remains at 100%. It was noted that although there have been additional cost to the Council due to the engagement of the support Contractor, noting that although any additional expenditure is unwelcome, the additional costs incurred are considered reasonable in the context of legal compliance, the TSM/BSM standards and ultimately, resident safety.

·       It was noted that Amalgamated Lifts are not currently performing to the Councils expectation or contractual requirements, in respect of remedial works and include work arising from LOLER inspections, other safety related checks (SAFed) and issues arising from the quality assurance process and that they are currently on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), which is being monitored closely by the lift service and the Contracts Team in Housing Property Service.

·       Due to the age of the passenger lift stock, Amalgamated Lifts are experiencing difficulties in sourcing replacement components for some older lifts, and this is likely to continue to increase over time.

·       In response to a question, meeting was advised that it is likely however that older lifts which require replacement parts may take longer to return to service, although not currently reflected in the statistics.

·       Meeting was informed of the current works on site and the value, Harvist Estate, 8 lifts at a value of £3,400,656.00, St. Luke’s Estate, 8 lifts at a value of £1,769,250.00 and Conrad House and Beckford House to the tune of £1,102,754.66.

·       In response to a question, the Director advised that start on site for works to tall blocks is subject to BSR (Building Safety Regulator) approval which is a new requirement to obtain BSA approval for works to tall blocks, noting that it is significantly increasing the timelines to get lift works on site

·       In terms of lift replacement, priorities are based on Service repair history, condition survey undertaken by a specialist in house lift engineer prior to undertaking works; peer review of proposed works by Group Leader and priority schedules which are continually re assessed pending feedback from repairs department.

·       In terms of compliance, quality Control and Health & Safety, meeting was advised that this is established at pre-tender stage and managed throughout the life cycle of the cycle, first of all the contractor submits the detailed design for client review / comment prior to commencement of works, then Islington’s in-house lift engineers review the contractors design for compliance with the performance specification, after which the installing contractor undertake their own quality control, compliance and Health & Safety in accordance with the requirements of the Islington contract.

·       As part of the process, the lift engineer inspects and verifies quality control and compliance at 1st fix, 2nd fix and at the commissioning stage.

·       In response to a question, meeting was advised that prior to commencement of work the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) reviews all installation designs at preconstruction stage and in terms of tall buildings according to Building Safety Act 2022, the Council is required under BSA to submit all completed works records for quality control management to the BSR.

·       The Chair thanked officers for their work, reminding officers to forward the specific figures which officers were not able to provide.

RESOLVED:
That the report be noted