Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Byrne and Cank.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Members were asked to declare any interests they might have in the business to be discussed.

Councillor Aqbany declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting in that family members were council tenants.

Councillor Joshi declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting in that family members were council tenants. He also declared an Other Disclosable Interest in Agenda Item 7, Monitoring the Homelessness Strategy (24 Months) – Feedback of the Consultation Exercise, as he worked for a voluntary organisation for people with mental health problems. He had not directly been involved with the organisations mentioned in the consultation process and approached the agenda item with an open mind.

Councillor Newcombe declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting as family members were council tenants.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, the interests were not considered so significant that they were likely to prejudice the Councillors’ judgement of the public interest. Councillors were not therefore required to withdraw from the meeting during consideration and discussion of the agenda items.

The draft minutes of the meeting of the Housing Scrutiny Commission held on 10 October 2016 are attached, and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

that the minutes of the Housing Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 10 October 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

To note progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting and not reported elsewhere on the agenda.

There were no actions to report from the last meeting.

Most of the items in the recommendations of the previous meeting would be programed into future meetings of the Scrutiny Commission.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures.

In accordance with the Council procedures, it was reported that no petitions had been received by the Monitoring Officer.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statements of case received in accordance with Council procedures.

In accordance with the Council procedures, it was reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received by the Monitoring Officer.

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Housing Scrutiny Commission which provides feedback on the consultation exercise in relation to the proposals that were contained in the report on the first 24 months of the Homelessness Strategy that was presented to the Housing Scrutiny Commission on 11th August 2016.  The Commission is recommended to consider the feedback and responses to mitigate the assumed negative impacts of the proposals, and provide any feedback to the Executive as a result of the consultation exercise.

The Interim Director of Housing submitted a report to the Housing Scrutiny Commission which provided feedback on the consultation exercise in relation to the proposals that were contained in the report on the first 24 months of the Homelessness Strategy that was presented to the Housing Scrutiny Commission on 11th August 2016. The Commission was recommended to consider the feedback and responses to mitigate the assumed negative impacts of the proposals, and provide any feedback to the Executive as a result of the consultation exercise.

The Chair commented on the way the consultation results had been presented, as the figures had included responses from those who did not comment, or had no opinion. He added it had the effect of reducing the impact of the figures in relation to whether the proposal of a budget reduction would have a negative effect. The Chair asked that the figures be re-presented at a future meeting of the Commission, to omit non-responses or no opinion.

The report was presented by Caroline Carpendale, Head of Service. It was recognised that any proposed reduction could have a potential negative impact on service users, but with the number of people seeking assistance rising and the budget cuts, the Council needed to ensure the service could be targeted and offered to as many people in need as possible and be cost effective.

Eric Waweru, Chief Executive, The Centre Project, addressed the Commission at the invitation of the Chair, making the following points:

·         The feeling of most stakeholders was the Centre Project provided a holistic service, and was a link to other services people may need;

·         The removal of grant subsidy meant the service would not be sustainable, and the most vulnerable service users would not have the service as and when they needed it;

·         The proposal that people would go to the ‘Y’ Support Project was not supported by evidence;

·         The equality impact assessment assumed people would go to the Dawn Centre, but for various reasons people had stated they would not – the two services catered for different groups of people;

·         The Centre Project helped people become independent, and provided them with a support network;

·         Support would have to be provided by another centre, so there was not money saving, and was a false economy.

Two attendees hen gave their views;

·         “I used the Dawn Centre when I was homeless for showers and food, but over time I stopped drinking, got a job, and a partner. I left that service behind and now go the Centre Project. I need to move forward and have more confidence. I don’t have to go back. I want all these people behind me to move forward with me and not backwards.”

·         “I still use the Dawn Centre – I use the shower there. There are good people there. Some people have drug problems, alcohol, personal problems. The Centre Project is similar but people there are vulnerable with learning difficulties. The Dawn Centre is a scary place to go. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Housing Scrutiny Commission for noting that provides an overview of the Technical Services Programme.

The Interim Director of Housing submitted a report for noting, that provided an overview of the Technical Services Programme. Phil Davison, Programme Manager, Housing Systems, presented the report.

It was reported that the second phase of the programme was given a total savings target of £7million per annum in savings through contract consolidation; streamlining services; having appropriate staffing levels, and budget consolidation.

In response to questions from the Chair and Members, the following information was given:

·         Transforming Depot Services – a map of the sites across the city which had been closed, how large they were, and what they were used for, would be provided to Members;

·         Stores Transformation Project – procurement of a managed service would combine two main elements; how the service was delivered, and expertise and general management of the services, for example, the purchase of materials at the most competitive price. Decisions over use of a suitable site for the procured Stores service would form a part of this procurement. Decisions over future use of existing sites would be made as clarity around the procurement was achieved. The meeting was informed that staff had undergone a redundancy exercise and staffing arrangements were currently being progressed. Reassurance was given that staff were being kept fully updated with regular communications and supported by Management;

·         Energy and Environment – there was a lot of work to be undertaken in this area. The Energy and Environment Team had just started a review so there was not much to report at the present time, although a £400k saving had been attached to the Technical Services Programme in that area.

·         With regards to site closures and disposals, an exercise to identify sites would be done to see if there was opportunity for development. The streamlining of the process for the disposal of sites would also be looked into, to reduce costs associated with security and maintenance.

·         Contracts with the external stores suppliers was discussed, and the programme manager confirmed the need for robust management arrangements to be in place along with appropriate review, challenge and break clauses associated to performance.

Councillor Alfonso requested further information on the 8 sites identified, what kind of storage of materials were proposed (e.g. stock and scanning, ‘B&Q’ type storage), and what type of contract would be negotiated. She also asked for further information on the figures contained in the report. The Programme Manager said the benefit of an external provider was the authority did not have to carry the cost of holding materials, and the external provider would manage stock, and liability / risk would lie with them. He added that with regard to moving depots, a paper had recently gone to the Programme Board, and costs of upgrading locations if they remained have been factored into the programme.

In response to a question from the Chair, the delivery of target savings of £7million per annum had been presented to the Finance Team and had been confirmed as achievable.

The Chair thanked officers for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submits a report which provides the Housing Scrutiny Commission with information about the STAR (Supporting Tenants and Residents) survey of clients who might have difficulties with gambling.

The Director Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a report for noting which provided the Housing Scrutiny Commission with information about the STAR (Supporting Tenants and Residents) survey of clients who might have difficulties with gambling.

Jerry Connolly, Scrutiny Policy Officer, presented the report, and provided the following information:

·         The survey helped to assess issues facing people who used hostels, etc. and the impact of gambling on vulnerable people.

·         There was no-one collecting information on people’s gambling habits. The survey found that people did not provide straight answers when asked if they had a problem with gambling, but many people who were clients of STAR expressed they had serious difficulties.

·         The information had been passed to the Gambling Commission at their request, the East Midlands Scrutiny Network and the national conference of the Local Government Association. The Deputy City Mayor was due to provide the information to a Select Committee.

·         Some of the data gained was from users who attended Gamblers Anonymous, who had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on fixed odds betting terminals.

·         There was little evidence that Licence holders intervened to stop vulnerable people betting.

The Chair commented it was a really good piece of work undertaken in order to ascertain the background and effects of gambling on residents.

Members noted how the most deprived areas were usually the very place that gambling premises appeared. The Scrutiny Policy Officer suggested the information be fed into the Local Plan to stop licensed gambling premises, and money lending premises being placed into vulnerable communities, close to each other. It was also noted there were issues around addictions to scratch cards and lottery cards, but it was a problem trying to get people to admit they had an issue.

The Chair thanked the officer for the report.

AGREED:

that the Star Gambling Survey 2016 be noted.

The Scrutiny Policy Officer submits for noting the Tenant Forum Meeting Notes from 28^th July 2016 and 29^th September 2016.

The Scrutiny Policy Officer submitted the Tenant Forum Meeting Notes from 28^th July 2016 and 29^th September 2016 for noting by the Housing Scrutiny Commission.

AGREED:

that the Tenant Forum Meeting notes be noted.

The Chair drew attention to the Housing Scrutiny Commission Work Programme for noting.

AGREED:

that the Housing Scrutiny Commission Work Programme be noted.

No other items of urgent business had been brought to the attention of the Chair.

The meeting closed at 9.06pm.