RESIDENTS got a surprise this week when Sandwell’s housing supremo turned up with maintenance teams to get a taste of the front line of housing emergencies.

Councillor Simon Hackett, cabinet member for housing, shadowed rapid response employee Neil Plowman who has to deal with between eight and 12 urgent jobs a day. Having seen Neil repair a toilet and replace a front door lock, Cllr Hackett then shadowed technical repairs officer Mark Dean, and his maintenance team who carry out larger jobs including carpentry, plastering and slabbing work.

Cllr Hackett said: “I decided to go out with some members of the Sandwell Homes’ repairs and maintenance teams as I wanted to see them in action for myself.

“I sometimes deal with enquires from Sandwell Homes’ tenants about repairs, so I thought it was important to get another perspective on this.

“I was impressed with the dedication of the all the people I met. They do a good job, sometimes in difficult conditions.”

Sandwell Homes responds to around 118,700 urgent and general repairs for its tenants each year and manages and maintains the borough’s 29,000 council properties on behalf of Sandwell Council.

Councillor Hackett saw how new hand-held devices, which allow jobs to be logged electronically, and are being used to improve efficiency.

He added: “I was also interested to see how the company is adopting new technology to reduce the amount of paperwork needed, and deliver a more efficient service to tenants.”