Agenda and draft minutes

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

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor S Khan, for whom Councillor T Skottowe attended as a substitute, and from Councillors L Chesterman and R Lass. An apology for absence was also received from Ardita McHugh, Tenants’ Panel representative.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2024 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2024 were approved as a correct record.

There were no items of urgent business.

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

Councillor Zukowskyj declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of being a Member of Hertfordshire County Council. Councillor Nix declared that she is a Council tenant.

Up to thirty minutes will be made available for questions from members of the public on issues relating to the work of the Committee and to receive any petitions.

There were no public questions or petitions.

Report of the Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change)

The Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change) introduced the report and took the meeting through a presentation which is attached to these minutes.

Members made the following points:

• A member noted the number of repairs that were not completed as a result of no access. Officers said a task and finish group had looked at the customer journey and Morgan Sindall would be asked to increase text messages reminding residents of appointments to see if that made a difference; various suggestions would be presented to the Tenants’ Panel next month. When there is no access, tenants are written to with their duties and responsibilities set out. Additional text messages will remind them the appointment can be rescheduled and if they are not present at a scheduled appointment a card is left inviting them to make contact to rearrange. A ‘getting to know you’ survey will take place next financial year to ensure tenants’ email and phone numbers are up to date. 
• A member asked about the improvement plan. Officers said this is in place with Morgan Sindall: voids have remained on it and a target for major repairs has been added. Future reports will highlight which elements are part of the improvement plan so members can monitor where improvements are being made (action: Assistant Director, Homes and Neighbourhood). The Council’s expectation is that improvements will need to be sustained and so items will remain on the plan until there have been improvements over three consecutive months. 
• In relation to overall satisfaction with the repairs service, a member asked how many homes the survey had been sent to and what work was taking place to increase the response rate and ensure the survey was more accessible to non-responsive tenants. Officers undertook to provide the figures (action: Assistant Director, Homes and Neighbourhood) and noted it was unusual for this to be below target; there had been a larger sample size this time which explained the dip. 
• With planned works, officers advised the number of survey questions had been reduced and incentives offered but this had not led to increased responses. Contractors were also carrying out a survey which the Council has asked to see.
• A member asked about housing complaints. Officers explained there are two stages to the corporate complaints process and if a resident remains dissatisfied they can approach the Ombudsman. There had been no Ombudsman determinations this quarter; future meetings would be informed of any determinations and this is also reported to Cabinet.
• A member expressed concern about the efficiency of the repairs service. Officers acknowledged this was a challenging area for all social housing providers and there was more work to do. Some of the Key Performance Areas (KPIs) were monitored via an improvement plan, including voids and some repair response times; there had been an increase in customer satisfaction in these areas in the last quarter (see later report on Tenant Satisfaction Measures). Staff were discussing the customer journey with the Residents’ Panel which was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

Report of the Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change)

The Assistant Director (Homes and Neighbourhoods) introduced the report. 100% compliance had been achieved in asbestos, fire, water and electrical communal areas. Domestic electricity testing was 98.45% compliant (no access to 150 properties) and domestic gas testing was 99.8% compliant (no access to 15 properties); officers were pursuing a legal route in addressing this.

The Tenants’ Panel Chair wondered if the Council was perhaps being overly cautious in respect of fire doors as there had been conflicting advice from the Council and the fire service. Officers were aware of this and advised they employed an expert whose advice they needed to accept; they were proposing to get the experts together to agree an approach.  

The Panel noted the report. 

Report of the Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change)

The Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change) introduced the report and took the meeting through a presentation which is attached to these minutes.

Members raised the following points:

• A member asked how many instances there had been this year when residents were charged for having their garden maintained and how much income had been raised as a result. Officers said notice could be served if tenants were not maintaining their garden and they could seek recovery of the costs although they would take into account any vulnerabilities of the tenant before doing so. It would be difficult to ascertain how often this happened and what the charges were but incidents like this were rare. The member felt it would be helpful to have income data on this as it was a regular complaint from constituents.  
• A member asked how garden maintenance was monitored. Officers said neighbourhood officers carried out inspections and tenancy audits on a rolling programme which would identify such issues which were also identified by neighbour and/or councillor complaints, and then took appropriate action.
• A member asked whether general tenants could be offered the opportunity to pay for garden maintenance (the garden assistance service offered support to residents who needed it). Officers said they were exploring a paid-for service with the contractor.
• A member noted that a consultation had been carried out with 8,800 tenanted properties on the proposed revised tenancy agreement and asked about the remaining homes. Officers advised that the figure for tenanted properties fluctuated, some properties were used as non-secure properties for temporary accommodation, and the agreement did not apply to leaseholders. The consultation was also only in relation to secure tenancies.  
• The Tenants’ Panel Chair reflected that when consultations were sent out it would be helpful to give a longer response time. Officers said lessons had been learned and in future texts as well as letters would be sent, meaning residents could be immediately directed to the website and more time allowed for post.
• The Tenants’ Panel Chair felt it would be useful for the Council to consider its own grounds maintenance. Officers responded that grounds maintenance had been considered by a recent task and finish group.             

RESOLVED

The Panel:

a)     Noted the content of the report; and

b)     Recommended the revised tenancy agreement for approval by Cabinet.

Update of the Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change).

The Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change) introduced the report and took the meeting through a presentation which is attached to these minutes.

The Panel noted the report. 

Report of the Assistant Director (Finance).

The Income and Home Ownership Manager introduced the report which recommended approval of the rent arrears policy set out in Appendix 1 of the report following a review.

RESOLVED

(Unanimous)

The Panel recommended the changes to the rent arrears policy as set out in Appendix A of the report be approved by Executive Member Decision.

Report of the Assistant Director (Finance).

The Income and Home Ownership Manager introduced the report which recommended approval and adoption of the Former Tenant Arrears Policy set out in Appendix A of the report.

RESOLVED

(Unanimous)

The Panel recommended the changes to the Former Tenant Arrears Policy as set out in Appendix A of the report be approved by Executive Member Decision.