Agenda and minutes

To note any substitution of Panel Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

The following substitution of Committee Members had been made in accordance with Council Procedure Rule:

Councillor C. Stanbury for Councillor J. Cragg

Councillor J. Bond for Councillor S. Tunstall.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J. Cragg and S. Tunstall.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2022 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2022 were approved as a correct record by the Chair.

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on this Agenda.

Councillor F. Thomson declared a non-pecuniary interest in items on the agenda as appropriate by virtue of being a Member of Hertfordshire County Council.

To receive a presentation on the Social Housing White Paper Update.

Members received a presentation from the Housing Strategy Manager on the Social Housing White Paper Update.

The Social Housing White Paper came about following the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. The resulting enquiry identified failings of the Social Housing provider and the Government subsequently committed to a programme of reform for social housing tenants.

Consultation in 2018 produced the Government’s social housing white paper called ‘The Charter for Social Housing Residents’ which had to be considered in conjunction with other Government measures introduced such as The Building Safety Bill, The Fire Safety Bill and the Housing Ombudsman’s New Complaint Handling Code.

The Social Housing White Paper outlined seven key commitments; these were:

·       to Be Safe in your Home,

·       to Know your Landlord is Performing,

·       to have your complaints dealt with promptly and fairly,

·       to be treated with respect backed by a strong consumer regulator for tenants,

·       to have your voice heard by your landlord,

·       to have a good quality home and neighbourhood to live in,

·       to be supported to take your first step to ownership.

Since the publication of the social housing white paper, significant work has been done in preparation, despite much of the detail only recently being published. Moving forward, the council have A Social Housing Reform (SHR) Project Group, developed a comprehensive and fluid action plan, made the Social Housing Reform Bill a standard agenda item at Senior Leadership Team, committed to a progress update at every Cabinet Housing Panel meeting and committed to updates through the council’s project reporting system.

Members noted that it was unknown when exactly the Bill will become law, but the council are working towards the month of April 2023 as this aligns with the Social Housing Regulator’s new tenant’s satisfaction measures that will come into effect.

The following points were raised and discussed:

·       Members were happy to see the seven new standards and making sure the tenants came first.

·       Members stated that the White Paper was expected to come into effect in 2023 but in the presentation, it states it ‘becomes law in 2022’.  Officers said this was regarding the Ombudsman powers that had to be introduced quite quickly after publication of the White Paper.  Officers clarified that ‘becomes law in 2022’ meant that as the bill is progressing through, additional items are being published as part of it. 

·       Officers said this is not yet law and that it is a code of guidance that the council have to adhere to and when the Bill passes, the code of guidance will then become law.

·       Officers said that the officer project group, would remain officer only. The group has developed a social housing matrix where the council have assessed the service as it was back in 2020 to what the council felt it needed to be, to meet regulatory requirements by the time it became legislation. With every new piece of information that gets published, the group looks at it and determine whether the service meets that requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) on the Performance Report for Quarter One for the year 2022/23.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) on the Performance Report for Housing for Quarter One for the year 2022/23.

It provided a summary of the strategic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and comments about performance by exception. The KPIs are monitored quarterly by the Strategic Management Team and Cabinet members at the council’s performance clinic meetings.

It was noted that the KPIs for Housing Compliance had not been included as they were reported separately on the agenda.

The following points were raised and discussed:

·       Members asked about BPI 29 - number of households living in temporary accommodation, in particular the maximum time that they are expected to stay in temporary accommodation until they get re-housed. Officers said there is no fixed or guaranteed timescale for how long someone could stay in temporary accommodation, it comes down to their individual circumstances and the size of the unit that they are staying in. Officers said they will circulate information after the meeting on the average waiting time from the past 12 months, including the average size of those households.

·       Members noted the KPIs say ‘we are also experiencing an increase in the number of reviews that are requested’. Officers clarified that at any point anybody can ask for their case to be reviewed, a service manager or team leader would then review the steps that have been taken so far and consider if anything needs to be done differently.

·       Members asked what measures are being put in place to improve this. Officers stated that the managers in those respective teams are always looking at ways in which they can improve their processes and to link up with private sector properties or Registered Social Landlords (RSL) so they can move people on from temporary accommodation as quickly as possible.  Officers said they can provide more detailed feedback on the measures after the meeting.

·       Members asked about BPI 63, about targets not being achieved because of staff turnover and increase in caseload. Officers said that the team managers have been working hard with the new recruits to embed them into the team and give them the support they need so they are able to start dealing with cases and help the team as much as possible.

·       Members asked about BPI 89 regarding rough sleepers where it says that some people are refusing assistance and we are exploring more options in terms of self-contained accommodation. Officers stated that in terms of the emergency offer of accommodation, the majority tends to be shared accommodation rather than self-contained. Service managers have been liaising with other third parties to see whether there are other organisations that could provide a limited offer of individual accommodation to people who have that requirement.

·       Members asked about BPI 30 and the number of private sector homes significantly improved following an intervention and if there has been any improvement on what communication or support the council are giving. Officers said fewer cases have come through for intervention to the Private Sector Housing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) on the Housing Compliance position and progress on the Improvement Plan.

Report of the Service Director (Property Maintenance and Climate Change) on the Housing Compliance position and progress on the Improvement Plan. Officers stated that the report followed on from the last report at CHP in July 2022. Fire Risk Assessments were 100% compliant. There were still some actions outstanding from the fire risk assessments that mainly relate to fire doors, and there was a programme in place to complete the fire doors.  Asbestos was 100% compliant, electricity in the communal areas was 100% compliant.  The domestic testing was 99.1% compliant. Gas had two parts so domestic was 99.98% while communal was 100% compliant.  Lift compliance was 100%.

The following points were raised and discussed:

·       Members were happy that there were improvements being made to Housing Compliance.

·       Members asked when the council anticipate completing the Fire Door works.  Officers noted that the Fire Door programme had another four years left on it. The high and medium risks will be completed by the end of this financial year and will be looking at the low risks and making sure that the council have a programme to complete damaged doors.

·       The Chair asked about the electrical domestic inspections soundness as it was 99.1% and still no access to some properties. Officers said they must have a certain number of appointments before action can be taken, then look at welfare issues, concerns and hoarding issues. The council must go down the legal route and this does take a significant amount of time, so one property would normally take around 12 weeks. Previously the figure for no access was around 300 and now it has been significantly reduced and the council will continue to work on this. The council has seen significant improvements with communication with residents and hopefully with the Social Housing White Paper, communication will be stronger.

·       Officers said that electrical testing is an area of the sector that generally struggles with access. It is a new area for residents and the White Paper is improving communication around compliance, and safety in homes.  There are strong numbers for gas because this is well embedded, and it happens every year, so tenants and residents are used to it.   Electrical testing is every five years where previously it was 10 years. Numbers with no access is now at 86 which is a good position and numbers are coming down. Moving forward, with the new Bill coming out, the council will be putting more information out for tenants on all areas of compliance.

·       Members said it was impressive to see the improvements in the compliance statistics, but it only covers the 9,000 homes that the council were responsible for out of 45,000.  Members asked what service it provides to the 80% Private residents and Owners and should they also be communicating to them about the need for electrical checks, gas checks, Co2 checks etc.   Officers said that they can put information out there to all residents and can offer advice to people, but there is no  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.