Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has today Chaired a meeting of MPs who put questions to FirstPort’s Managing Director Martin King over the company’s improvement programme.

 In January FirstPort were summoned in front of a group of 18 MPs from across England after a deluge of complaints about a worse quality service, despite rising service charges, as well as poor communication and transparency around charges.

At the time, Managing Director Martin King said that the company would “work with MPs on a longer-term basis to demonstrate how the changes we are making at FirstPort will improve services.” Today [Wednesday 12 November] the management team gave an update on what they had done, and how the changes that they made had resulted in a 32% reduction in complaints.

Caroline raised the lack of transparency in service charges and the lack of oversight of the contingency fund at Pilbrow Court. FirstPort said that they would circulate information to residents about what oversight was provided, and sought to reassure MPs that the company was taking steps to reduce service charges and increase transparency.

Caroline said: “I’m grateful to FirstPort’s management for coming to see us today and setting out what they have done to improve services for our constituents. Whilst some improvements have happened there’s still a long way to go to give residents the transparency and communication they deserve.

“Constituents should get in touch with my office at caroline.dinenage.mp@parliament.uk if they want to see a copy of FirstPort’s detailed Service Update.”

FirstPort Managing Director Martin King said: “We appreciated the opportunity to return to parliament to outline the changes we’ve been making to our business.  We recognise that there is work still to do, but are confident that the investment we have made in our regional teams and our customer service is having a positive impact for residents.  We are determined to continue that work and our Quarter 3 Service Update highlights the continued improvements we’re delivering and reinforces our commitment to greater transparency across the sector.

“We welcomed the constructive dialogue around challenges with current regulations, and the reforms needed to allow property managers to make the right decisions for residents.  We look forward to continuing these conversations as we head into the new year.”