About SLAs
The Barbican Residential Estate is the heart of the Barbican development which includes the Barbican Arts Centre, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the City of London School for Girls.
The aim of the Barbican Estate Office (BEO) is to maintain the Barbican Estate as a prestigious residential district within the City of London through effective management and efficient service delivery.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are the services currently provided and included in residents’ service charges. These include the five key agreements which have been developed by the Barbican Estate Office in consultation with residents.
These agreements underpin the services which are managed by the Barbican Estate Office and set out key performance targets which are reported on a quarterly basis to the Residents Consultation Committee (RCC) and Barbican Residential Committee (BRC). The performance against these targets highlight any areas of concern and enable the targeting of resources.
The establishment of clear timescales and targets promote accountability with service providers and assist with the development of strategies to improve performance for the benefit of residents.
Whilst service level agreements are an essential tool in promoting service improvement, it is the focus of officers on the quality of service delivery which make the difference. The primary contact for residents are the House Officers, who provide a proactive element to highlight and resolve any service provision concerns prior to them becoming an issue.
Every quarter, each of the SLAs and Key Performance Indicators are reviewed and any variations or amendments are implemented in consultation with the Service Level Agreement Working Party and the RCC.
All services to residents are delivered through a dedicated management organisation, the BEO, which has a dual role - as client for the commissioning of services and as first point of contact for residents for the services it provides and for customer care.
The BRC is the Committee of the City of London Corporation that determines policy on the Barbican Estate. The RCC with representatives from both the City Corporation and the residents is the main formal channel of communication between the Landlord and residents. Residents of the estate are either long lessees, sub-tenants or tenants who rent their property from the City Corporation on a short term basis.
The BEO is a division of the Community & Children’s Services Department of the City Corporation. It is assisted in the provision of the services described here by the Property Services Division (PS), the Department of Open Spaces and by other departments of the City Corporation with whom internal Service Level Agreements apply. Services are delivered by directly employed staff and by specialist contractors employed in conformity with the City Corporation's procurement regulations.
These SLAs covering the five service areas administered by the BEO, have been drawn up in conjunction with the RCC to provide residents of the Barbican Estate with a statement of the minimum specification of the services and standards they can expect. It is the aim of the BEO to exceed these minimum standards whenever possible.
The services covered by these SLAs are charged for in accordance with statute and terms set out in the lease for each property. The majority of the costs are included in paragraph four and the fifth schedule of the lease.
The five service areas are:
- Customer Care, Supervision & Management
- Estate Management
- Property Maintenance
- Major Works
- Open spaces
The BEO will measure the quality and performance of all services to ensure the maintenance of high service standards. This will be achieved through the inspection and assessment of service delivery by the House Officers against targets set out in the appropriate SLA or contract specification.
Performance information is collated monthly and reported at agreed frequencies to the BRC and to the RCC at the scheduled meetings.
The House Officers issue service delivery monitoring reports, including action points and timescales, to appropriate managers, officers or contractors to ensure that targets set out in the SLA s and contract specifications are met.
Residents are regularly consulted on an individual basis through satisfaction surveys. Consultation is also undertaken with residents through the recognised consultative bodies, the House Groups and the RCC.
Accurate performance data are maintained by the BEO and available to residents on request or via the City Corporation's internet RCC meetings and minute page
All enquiries should be directed to the appropriate contact at the BEO.
Complaints about services should be addressed to the designated House Officer at the BEO, for logging, in the first instance. These will be disseminated to the appropriate officer for resolution.
Complaints will be analysed on a quarterly basis to identify if there are any underlying trends or issues. If complaints cannot be easily resolved, residents are able to use the City Corporation formal complaints procedure. Details of the complaints procedures can be found on the Barbican Estate section of the City Corporation website.
All services are subject to periodic reviews as identified in each SLA and will at least be in accordance with the City Corporation’s statutory duty to achieve ‘Best Value’.
An annual performance review shall be conducted by the BEO and the SLA Working Party. In addition the BEO, the RCC and the SLA Working Party shall look to review and improve the SLAs and they may be varied by agreement.
Elements of the services may be expanded to meet the needs of individual House Groups. These will be identified and discussed by the House Groups and the House Officers.