Council housing service performance 2026

AW01 - Number of potential emergency hazards reported

AW02 - Number of potential significant damp and mould hazards reported

AW03 - Percentage of potential emergency hazards investigated and safety works completed within 24 hours of becoming aware of the hazard

AW03a - Percentage of potential emergency hazards investigated within 24 hours of becoming aware of the hazard

Replacing AW03 from July 2026

AW03b - Percentage of potential emergency hazards for which safety works completed within 24 hours of becoming aware of the hazard

Replacing AW03 from July 2026

AW04 - Percentage of potential significant damp and mould hazards investigated within 10 working days of becoming aware of the hazard

AW05 - Percentage of written summary of findings sent out within 3 working days of the end of the investigation

AW06 - Percentage of relevant safety work undertaken within 5 working days at the end of the investigation, if the investigation relates to a significant damp and mould hazard

AW07 - Percentage of supplementary preventative works completed within 12 weeks time period

Exception report - March 2026

The percentage of relevant safety work undertaken within five working days at the end of the investigation, if the investigation relates to a significant damp and mould hazard reduced to 88.9% in March 2026. This was driven by high reporting levels, access issues, appointments agreed outside target, resourcing pressures, data quality limitations during the transition to graded damp and mould reporting, and the completion of historic backlog cases outside the five working day timescale. As older overdue cases are cleared, the reported percentage may reduce in the short term, however, this reflects underlying progress in addressing backlog and strengthening the overall recovery position.

As at March 2026, 80 mould treatments/ works started within five working days out of 90 significant cases, equating to 88.9%. The damp and mould recovery plan is on track for the internally managed compliance elements, including triage, survey response, case management, reporting controls and backlog recovery. The plan forecast backlog reduction to near parity with incoming reports within eight weeks from implementation in April 2026, and this has now substantially been achieved. Open cases reduced from 110 at week ending 10 April 2026 to 41 at week ending 8 May 2026; cases over two weeks old reduced from 47 to 22; and cases over three months old reduced from 15 to 10. The Damp and Mould team have confirmed that the surveying team has caught up and is responding within timescale to new reports. The service has therefore moved from backlog recovery towards a more stable live case management position, with the internal elements of the recovery plan remaining on track for recovery by the end of May 2026 and moving towards sustained compliance.

The remaining focus is damp and mould repairs work in progress (WIP), specifically jobs outside the internally agreed 12 week operational target. This is an internal operational benchmark rather than a prescribed Awaab’s Law timescale. In relevant cases, the hazard has already been triaged, assessed and mitigated through treatment/ hazard removal, with follow-on works managed through the repairs programme. At week ending 8 May 2026, damp and mould repairs WIP stood at 662 jobs, of which 224 were over 12 weeks old. Oxford Direct Services (ODS) has an action plan in place to reduce the aged repairs backlog while continuing to complete in-target repairs, with the aged position expected to reduce through May 2026 and be brought back into a manageable position no later than the end of June 2026.

Exception report - April 2026

Damp and mould performance improved during April 2026, reflecting the positive impact of the Damp and Mould Recovery Plan implemented following earlier non-compliance with inspection timescales. Performance against the requirement to investigate potential significant damp and mould hazards within 10 working days increased to 98.3%, compared to 64.7% in March 2026, demonstrating substantial progress towards recovery and full compliance.

Performance against AW03 fell below the 95% target during April 2026 due to one emergency case being attended outside the required timescale. Given the relatively low volume of emergency cases reported during the period, individual cases can have a disproportionate impact on overall performance. All emergency reports continued to be triaged and prioritised, with risks assessed and managed appropriately. Access constraints remain an operational challenge across a small number of cases and continue to be managed through proactive resident engagement and escalation through the Council's no-access procedures.

Performance against AW06 reflects the completion of mould treatment works completed following reports of significant damp and mould hazards. This includes both initial treatments undertaken following inspection and repeat treatments where mould reoccurred prior to completion of permanent remedial works.

Strengthened case management processes, enhanced monitoring and additional survey capacity have enabled the service to manage new demand within target timescales whilst continuing to reduce the historic backlog through a risk-based approach. Compliance controls introduced through the recovery plan are now embedded within service delivery, providing improved performance and supporting ongoing recovery.

Whilst progress continues in reducing the associated repairs backlog, this remains the primary area of recovery focus. Oxford Direct Services (ODS) continues to deliver targeted recovery to reduce aged repairs whilst maintaining performance on new works. Overall, performance in April 2026 demonstrates continued progress against the Damp and Mould Recovery Plan, with improved compliance, strengthened governance and ongoing recovery of historic inspection and repair cases.

Exception report - May 2026

Damp and mould activity reduced during May 2026, with emergency cases decreasing from seven to four and significant cases reducing from 58 to 38. The lower-case volumes mean that individual cases have a proportionately greater impact on percentage based performance indicators. In May 2026, one emergency case requiring access was not completed within the required timescale, resulting in compliance of 75.0%.

Performance against the investigation and written summary indicators was also affected by a combination of cases that remained within their reporting timescales and a small number of noaccess properties. Of the 12 significant investigations reported outside target, six were not yet due for completion, four were awaiting access and only two were completed outside the required timescale. Regular attempts continue to be made to contact residents and progress outstanding cases through the Council's agreed no-access procedures.

The number of completed damp and mould treatments continued to exceed the number of new treatments required, reflecting both initial treatments following inspection and additional treatments where mould reoccurred prior to permanent remedial works being completed. Recovery activity remains focused on reducing the historic repairs backlog whilst maintaining timely responses to new reports, with strengthened case management and monitoring arrangements continuing to support service improvement.

Exception report - June 2026

Reports of damp and mould continued to reduce during June 2026, with emergency cases reducing from four to two and significant cases reducing from 38 to 28. Emergency cases were completed within the required timescales. The four significant investigations reported outside the target timescale were not due to delays by the service. Two cases were affected by difficulties gaining access and two by tenant availability, meaning inspections could not be completed within the required timeframe. 

The service continues to focus on reducing the backlog of outstanding damp and mould remedial works being delivered by ODS. Whilst the backlog continues to reduce, it remains the primary operational focus, supported by regular performance monitoring and case management to ensure outstanding repairs are progressed and completed as quickly as possible. 

During June, a review of the performance reporting identified that the measure for remedial works was being calculated against individual work orders rather than properties. This could result in reported performance exceeding 100% where multiple work orders had been completed at a single property and reduce visibility of properties where remedial works remained outstanding. From July 2026, the reporting methodology has been amended to report at property level, providing a clearer reflection of performance.

Exception report - July 2026

Damp and mould performance during July 2026 should be considered alongside changes to the reporting methodology which moved relevant safety works from works-order to property-level reporting. This has removed the potential for multiple orders against one property to produce performance above 100% or obscure individual exceptions. A further refinement will apply from August 2026, measuring cases against those reaching their applicable due date within the reporting period, so that each case is recorded once as either compliant or non-compliant against the relevant timescale.

Two emergency hazards were reported in July 2026. Safety works were completed within 24 hours in both cases (AW03b), although one investigation could not be completed within 24 hours due to access (AW03a). For significant hazards, AW04 was reported at 83.3% (25 out of 30 cases), the five cases outstanding at the end of July 2026 were due in August 2026, so they were still within their permitted 10 working day completion period, meaning no investigation which had become due during July 2026 was completed outside target. 

AW05 was reported at 71.9% (23 out of 32). Of the nine outstanding written summary of findings, one emergency investigation was not carried out due to no access, five significant investigations were not due in July 2026 and the remaining three significant hazard investigations were confirmed service failures arising from an internal handling/ cover issue during July 2026. This is not an acceptable reason for missing the required three-working-day timescale, and management action has been taken to reinforce ownership and cover arrangements.

AW06 was reported at 60.0% following the move from works-order reporting to property-level reporting. Of the 30 cases in July 2026, 18 had been completed by month end, five remained within their permitted five working day completion period due in August 2026 and were therefore not overdue, and seven had exceeded the required timescale. The five cases which were still within time at July month end were subsequently completed within their required timescales. From August 2026, the revised methodology will measure cases when they become due, avoiding cases which are still within time being shown as incomplete within the reported percentage.

The supplementary preventative works backlog remains the principal area of operational focus (AW07). 291 works were overdue in July 2026 compared with 248 in June 2026, including 17 aged less than 3 months, 199 aged 3–6 months, 67 aged 6–12 months and eight over 12 months, no-access accounts for 46 of these cases. The backlog has subsequently begun to reduce, but not at the pace expected. Oxford Direct Services (ODS) has introduced additional management capacity and revised delivery arrangements, including batching works, and the position remains subject to focused client-side performance management. The expectation is for these measures to deliver a sustained reduction in the backlog.

Note: RAG (on-track/off-track) status has been applied from April 2026, in line with targets set for the financial year 2026-27.