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To engage Local
Government East (LGE) (on a draw down basis) to provide additional
support, via specialist resource, to support the delivery of the
Housing Repairs Service.

Reasons for the decision

Regulatory
expectations for housing services have increased, at the same time
as a well?documented national skills shortage
in specialist local government roles, particularly building
surveyors and social housing professionals. This has created a
highly competitive recruitment market affecting councils nationally
and making it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain skilled
staff.
 
Within this
context, two members of the Housing Repairs Service management team
have recently secured alternative employment at neighbouring
authorities and, together with an existing vacancy, all three
management posts will be vacant by 5 March 2026. Previous
recruitment exercises have failed to attract suitably qualified
candidates, indicating that both the resignations and ongoing
vacancies reflect wider national labour?market pressures.
 
To ensure that
sufficient management resource is available as timely as possible
to ensure the delivery of the housing repairs service.

Alternative options considered

To continue with
the recruitment process, without having a suitable management
structure within the housing repairs team.  Effectively this would maintain the currently
unacceptable risk of a suitable candidate being found within an
unknown timescale, having had two failed recruitment exercises so
far to date.  
 
Further, the
recruitment and retention challenges affecting the Housing Repairs
Service reflect wider national labour?market
pressures rather than any Tendring?specific
issue. Local government nationally is experiencing acute shortages
in technical and professional housing roles—particularly building surveyors, housing repairs
managers and compliance specialists—due
to long?standing skills gaps and a highly
competitive market.