Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies from any Members of the Commission.

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 he had family members who were council tenants.

Councillor Joshi declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting in that he had family members who were council tenants.

Councillor Westley declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting in that he had family members who were council tenants.

Councillor Alfonso declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting in that she had a family member who was a council tenant.

Councillor Corrall declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting in that he had family members who were council tenants.

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

The minutes of the meeting of the Housing Scrutiny Commission held on 20 August 2018 have been circulated, and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the Housing Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 20^th August 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

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

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

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

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received.

The Director of Housing submits a report to update Members of the Housing Scrutiny Commission on the progress that has been made since the decision to decommission and demolish Goscote House was made on the 24th April 2018.

In addition, the report will provide an update on the current situation regarding the installation of sprinklers to the high-rise blocks of flats since the decision was made in July 2017, that the Council would install sprinklers in all 5-council owned high rise blocks.

The Director of Housing updated Members of the Commission on progress made since the decision on 24^th April 2018 to decommission and demolish Goscote House. The report also provided an update on the current situation since the decision in July 2017 to install sprinklers in all five council-owned high-rise blocks of flats.

Simon Nicholls, Head of Service for Housing, presented the report and made the following points:

·         The decision to demolish Goscote House was made at the same time as the decision to refurbish Maxfield House.

·         Lettings were closed and any vacant flats closed on the Northgate housing system, and tenancies were being allowed to decline naturally.

·         Forty-two tenants were affected by the demolition. Twenty-four permanent residents would be moving to Maxfield House. Officers would work closely with other tenants to find new homes in areas they wanted to be in.

·         Refurbishment of Maxfield House was due to be completed at the end of December 2018, subject to the installation of sprinklers, so Goscote House would remain partly-occupied until Summer 2019.

·         Goscote house would be used by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) to train fire-fighters on how to deal with a fire in a high-rise block.

·         The timeline for the demolition of Goscote House was outlined in the report Phase 2 had commenced with the appointment of a Project Team and was awaiting completion of Phase 1.

·         The demolition of Goscote House would hopefully be completed by the end of 2019 and would use the same methodology as New Walk Centre.

·         The decision to retrofit sprinklers was made following the tragedy at Grenfell. It had involved a comprehensive process of carrying out surveys, and block safety strategy on how to act in case of fire.

·         Officers in the Council had worked with LFRS to ensure the sprinkler system was fit for purpose and had followed a compliant procurement route.

·         Contractors were in a position to start sprinkler installation at Maxfield house, and later the remaining four blocks.

The Head of Service responded to the following points raised by Members:

·         Some tenants had been disturbed, but disruption was likely to reduce over time. The sprinkler installation was a much smaller job than the refurbishment.

·         A revised quotation had been received at circa £400k and would be added to the HRA capital programme.

·         There was a loss of 134 units, but the department was working to replace the loss through increase housing development.

·         A decision had been made to redevelop the site and a scheme would be brought back to the Commission later. It was anticipated that the scheme would be low-rise housing, but as the site was constrained officers would work carefully with planners on a scheme that was viable to replace the affordable housing lost.

·         The Council was moving forward with its Housing Company proposal and it was envisaged more than 300 affordable units would be developed over 2019-2021 to compensate for (or offset) the loss of the 134 units.

·         The current tenants of Goscote House would not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

The Director of Housing submits a report to provide an overview and update of the Housing System Replacement Programme and Housing Channel Shift.

The Director of Housing submitted a report to provide an overview and update of the Housing System Replacement Programme and Housing Channel Shift.

Charlotte McGraw, Head of Service for Housing, presented the report and drew Members’ attention to the following points:

·         Customers and tenants were being encouraged to access services online through Channel Shift, but the Customer Service Centre would still be available for face-to-face contact for the vulnerable and elderly.

·         The service would continue to provide face-to-face and telephone contact.

·         Key drivers for Channel Shift were to reduce costs and improve customer service by providing 24 hours a day online access to services.

·         The highest call volume into Customer Services was for housing calls – 38%, with a significant number reporting repairs.

·         From Spring 2019, tenants will be able to log certain repairs, including pictures for the repairs needed, and select an appointment.

·         The Council has purchased a new mobile working solution; Total Mobile, which will improve reporting, assist managers with resource allocation, and enable repairs to be completed more quickly.

·         The use of E-communications (text messaging, email functionality, text reminder to people) should reduce the number of tenants not in. Text messages could also be sent to people who had missed payments.

The following points were made in discussion:

·         Officers reported to the Digital Transformation Board. There was a structure in place with clear plans and deadlines for the delivery of the Housing System Replacement Programme and Channel Shift. Also, the Tenants’ Forum had been consulted on a number of occasions. A significant amount of work had been undertaken over the past year and tenants would start to see the benefits of increased reliability.

·         There were targets in place with outputs clearly identified. It was not envisaged that for any of the services that there would be hard stops; no reduced calls or face-to face interaction, but a delivery of Channel Shift alongside.

·         The 38% increase in calls for housing did not necessarily mean the service was not performing well. There were occasional spikes in the number of calls which could relate to other things; seasonal demand could increase call volume, or more people could be contacting the service rather than face-to-face.

·         There were a number of larger scale events outside of the Council which would also have an impact, for example ‘Beast from the East’ the severe cold weather experienced earlier in the year; a failure of IT systems; roll-out of Universal Credit and advice wanted on the impact on benefits; Homeless Reduction Act 2018 – all of which would add to the number of people contacting the Department.

·         Figures provided about the calls were for the total number of calls answered. Customer Services had been asked to monitor calls and abandonment rates. Members with specific concerns could pass them on to the Heads of Service to address directly. Members requested a report be brought to a future Commission meeting on data on the type of calls, including the number of calls that dropped off with people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

The Director of Housing submits a report to provide an update on the Division’s performance on the completion of responsive repairs to council properties. The report will also provide an update about the implementation of service changes.

The Director of Housing reported on the Division’s performance on completion of responsive repairs to council properties and the implementation of service changes.

Ian Craig, Head of Service, presented the report, and the following points were highlighted:

·         There was an improvement in the electronic customer satisfaction monitoring with timely satisfaction / dissatisfaction data reporting.

·         With the roll-out of the mobile working solution, there was an ongoing programme of hardware replacement of hand held PDAs / tablets.

·         There were enhanced communications around materials deliveries to homes which informed tenants at all stages of the repairs process.

·         A report on the pilot for the delivery of glass from the supplier would be provided to the Assistant Mayor for Housing as part of efficiency savings.

·         Internal tracking devices monitored driver behaviour and provided an efficient service with the allocation of drivers to jobs.

·         A managed stores service for materials would be procured during 2018-19.

·         A de-scaling programme for soil and vent pipes, particularly in high rise flats, would be introduced in 2019.

·         A programme of planned work would be launched across the city, commencing with communal areas.

The Chair congratulated the department on its apprenticeship and employment policy; this was a great example to the private sector and construction industry which for decades had failed to provide the training base needed for its long-term stability. He asked if there was a period of time once they had qualified that they had to stay with the Council. The Head of Service reported that there was a two-year agreement that if people left within that time, they would have to pay back the cost of training, on a sliding scale over the two years.

In response to Members’ questions, the following information was provided:

·         Approximately 10% of tenants were not available for previously arranged appointments. Officers had tried ways to reduce the figure, for example by texting people the day before, on the day, and en-route to the job. With the new mobile working solution, operatives would be able to phone the tenant on the way, or ring the tenant if they got to the property and they were not there.

·         Quite a few issues had been raised about waste stacks on St Matthews. Officers were moving forward with a proactive programme of waste stack cleaning/descaling

·         Issue of feeding pigeons raised – a practice which also encouraged other pests. Officers were looking at installing signs advising against feeding birds and on how to dispose of rubbish correctly.

·         There were repeat offenders who were not allowing operatives to gain access for repairs. Tenancy management would investigate to find out if people were actually living at the property. Sometimes there were genuine reasons for no access, for example, a crisis. It people were not in, the job would be cancelled, unless it was dangerous not to complete the job. The last step taken would be to gain entry under landlord powers to access the property.

·         Operational challenges to completing jobs on first visit could be caused by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

Members of the Commission will be asked to consider the work programme and make suggestions for additional items as it considers necessary.

The Commissions work programme was submitted and noted.

The Commission was informed that a report on Private Sector Housing would be taken to the meeting of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission on 5^th December 2018. Housing Scrutiny Commission Members would be invited to attend the meeting.

Consideration would be given to a possible task group review on an insurance scheme for tenants to cover household contents. A discussion would be held with the Chair.

There were no other items of urgent business.

The Director of Housing submits a report on the council’s proposed response to the government’s consultation on the future of Right To Buy.

Members are asked to note the report and make any amendments.

The report is attached for Members only, as it is still in draft form.

“In accordance with Rule 1 of Part 4B of the Constitution (Access to Information – Procedure Rules) the report is not available in the public domain as it is in ‘draft’ form and is only circulated to Members of the Committee at this stage. Should Members wish to discuss specific circumstances, the Monitoring Officer may need to advise Members to exclude the public and press, and discuss the issues in private session.”

In accordance with Rule 1 of Part 4B of the Constitution (Access to Information – Procedure Rules) Cllr Westley moved the resolution to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the report to be discussed, as it was only in ‘draft’ form and only circulated to Members of the Commission, and was not available in the public domain. This was seconded by Councillor Alfonso.

AGREED:

1.    That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the report.

The Chair stated that comments from Members of the Commission would be sent to the Director of Housing for inclusion, where relevant, to the submission on the Government’s Right to Buy Consultation on Tuesday 9^th October.

Members were supportive of the draft submission.

The meeting closed at 6.50pm.