Harlow Council has slashed significant waste behind the scenes at HTS, refocusing every pound on better services for residents.
A report presented to the council’s Cabinet this week shows that over the past year the council’s housing and environmental services company, HTS, has undergone a major transformation in how it operates, delivering record improvements in performance, customer satisfaction and financial strength.
This work forms part of the council’s mission to ‘transform our council’ - ensuring every pound of public money goes further and every service is focused on delivering for Harlow residents.
Clear efficiencies have been made, including:
- A significant reduction in senior management roles at HTS
- The HTS Board being streamlined from five independent members to one
- Council and HTS teams being co-located, freeing up office space for rental to local businesses
- Updating systems, streamlining processes and removing outdated practices
- Bringing together council and HTS staff into joined-up, united and focussed teams
These changes have led to a substantial reduction in back-office overheads, meaning more money is now being spent directly on front-line repairs and maintenance, and far less on management and bureaucracy.
As a result, performance over the past six months has improved dramatically, including:
- The average waiting time for housing repairs cut by 90%
- Customer satisfaction with repairs at 98%, one of the highest levels on record
- The lowest ever number of outstanding housing repairs recorded
- Repairs being completed significantly faster across all categories
- A new landscape maintenance plan introduced, ensuring grass is cut every ten days
- Better street cleaning, grounds maintenance and tree maintenance services
Alongside these service improvements, the financial performance of HTS is now very strong, with the company operating on a sustainable footing, delivering significantly better value for money and ensuring public funds are being managed responsibly and effectively.
The report demonstrates that by cutting waste, strengthening financial management and focusing resources where they matter most, the council and HTS are delivering faster, more reliable services and better outcomes for residents.
Harlow Council will continue to drive improvements, ensuring HTS remains focused on value for money, high performance and putting residents first.
Commenting on the progress, Cllr Dan Swords, Leader of the Council, and Cabinet Members responsible for Housing, Cllr David Carter, and Environment, Cllr Nicky Purse, said:
“We are on a mission to transform our council, and that means value for money with every penny accounted for, every process challenged and every inefficiency removed. That is exactly what we have delivered at HTS - cutting back-office bureaucracy, strengthening financial performance and refocusing resources to support our excellent frontline workforce to deliver better services for Harlow residents.
“Spending disproportionate amounts on senior management and layers of bureaucracy that slow services down rather than speed them up is never acceptable. That is why we have taken decisive action to strip out waste and put residents first.
“The results speak for themselves. Repair waiting times have been cut by 90 per cent, customer satisfaction with repairs is now at 98 per cent, and we have the lowest number of outstanding repairs on record. Alongside this, our streets and neighbourhoods are better maintained and visible improvements are being driven to tackle longstanding issues. Furthermore, HTS is now on a much stronger financial footing.
“There is more to do, but residents can already see the difference - faster repairs, fewer people waiting, quicker turnaround of empty homes and better maintained neighbourhoods. That is what delivering efficiency, value for money and a clear focus on performance looks like in practice.”