Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Byrne, Corrall, Westley and Willmott.

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 Joshi 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 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 8^th October 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 8^th October 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 inform Members of the Scrutiny Commission of progress over the first quarter from 2^nd July 2018 to 30^th September 2018. Members are asked to note the report.

The Director of Housing submitted a report which informed Members of the Scrutiny Commission of progress over the first quarter from 2^nd July to 30^th September 2018. Members were asked to note the report.

Zenab Valli, Income Collection Manager, presented the report, and the following points were made:

·         Rent collection was at 98.89%.

·         Evictions were a last resort after attempts to save a tenancy were not successful. During the quarter there were 10 evictions for non-payment of rent: eight single people and two families.

·         There were 735 new claims for Universal Credit (UC), of which 465 tenants were already in rent arrears before claiming UC. Average arrears were £269 for UC claimants.

·         Partnership working with DWP was working well and the Council had been granted ‘Trusted Partner’ status, which gave access to the DWP’s Landlord Portal IT system and helped prevent delays in UC claims being assessed. Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs) direct to landlords could also be applied for, but this was not an arrangement agreed for all tenants.

·         The pilot which had seen Income Management Team officers co-located in three Job Centre Plus sites was successful and would be extended for a further three months.

·         Four new Rent Management Advisers had been recruited and offered specialist support. Thirty five council tenants were in receipt of long term support.

The Income Collection Manager responded to questions raised by Members:

·         There was an initial spike in rent arrears during start-up of UC claims. With APAs in place, arrears were stabilising. Other Housing Associations and Councils were reporting a similar turnaround as tenants got used to being on the new benefit.

·         If all information was provided in a timely manner, the first payment would usually take five weeks. There were various reasons for a delay of the first payment to reach an account: there were claimants who did not attend their claimant interview, or information was missing. When an application was made for a managed payment, the initial request was made through the portal and could take up to a couple of months to arrive. Concerns had been raised with the DWP who were working to change the process and have it more as a bank transfer.

·         The Income Management Team continued to heavily promote Direct Debits. There were associated charges with DD if account-holders became overdrawn, and a lot of tenants preferred to pay by cash or standing order. It was hoped that a further two dates in the month on top of the current two dates would be introduced to collect payments from accounts.

·         There was a renewed focus around Clockwise accounts, and rent advisers were now trained to set up accounts. Start-up had been slow, but advisers would continue to push for the accounts to be established.

·         There were no cash payments in any of the offices, but Paypoint facilities were available. Cash payments could be made at Customer Services.

·         7,053 tenants in rent arrears were not in receipt of UC. Tenants could be in receipt of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

The Director of Housing submits a report on sheltered accommodation which includes recommendations and proposed new measures, based on consultation with residents, to improve the living conditions for existing residents, and make sheltered accommodation more appealing to prospective tenants. The Scrutiny Commission Members are recommended to note the proposed improvements and feed back any observations and comments to the Director of Housing or to the Executive.

The Director of Housing submitted a report on sheltered accommodation which included recommendation and proposed new measures, based on consultation with residents to improve the living conditions for existing residents, and make sheltered accommodation more appealing to prospective tenants. The Scrutiny Commission Members were recommended to note the proposed improvements and feedback any observations and comments to the Director of Housing or Executive.

Simon Nicholls, Head of Service presented the report, and drew Members’ attention to the following:

·         397 tenants would be given feedback on the consultation exercise.

·         As part of the consultation, officers had visited other sheltered housing schemes not owned by the Council. It was proposed that Council blocks would be managed in a similar way to other non council sheltered schemes in the city.

Following questions and comments from Commission Members, the following points were made:

·         Statistics on vacancy information not included in the report would be provided to Members of the Commission. It was noted there were no current plans to empty any of the blocks.

·         The vacancy rate was quite high at the start of the process, but there was now managed demand, which was currently sustainable.

·         People could go on the list for sheltered housing accommodation through the usual online process for housing accommodation.

·         It was queried what communal activities were popular and who delivered, them. The report aimed to address this to ensure that the offer provided was consistent. It was noted that some communal areas and activities were well used, and officers wanted to make sure all were well used and refurbished to make them attractive to residents.

·         It was noted internet use was low. It was not particularly expensive and was being installed in all sheltered accommodation.

·         Members noted the joint responsibility for fire safety between Housing and Adult Social Care Departments and asked if there had been any serious incidents involving a fire. It was reported that joint meetings between departments worked well and it was stated within the report that fire safety was a priority issue and was managed successfully. Buildings were fitted with alarms and monitored, fire policies were communicated effectively, and assisted technology helped to ensure people were safe. No serious incidents had occurred.

·         It was further noted that changes in legislation and funding had not impacted on sheltered accommodation. Housing wanted closer joint working with Adult Social Care and Tenancy Management to ensure the offer provided was the same across the Board.

The Assistant Mayor for Housing, Councillor Connelly noted it was a opportune time to review what the Council offered in comparison with other providers, and he looked forward to the fuller plans when they were available.

The Chair recommended that:

·         any strategic proposals for investment in the sheltered housing stock be brought to a future meeting of the Commission; and

·         the outcome of discussion on the management of fire safety in the sheltered housing estate be brought to a future meeting of the Commission.

The Chair thanked the officer for the report.

It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

The Director of Housing submits a report to inform Members of the Scrutiny Commission of the progress to date in implementing Leicester’s Homelessness Strategy 2018-2023. The Commission Members are asked to note the report.

The Director of Housing submitted a report which informed Members of the Scrutiny Commission of the progress to date in implementing Leicester’s Homelessness Strategy 2018-2023. The Commission was asked to note the report.

Caroline Carpendale, Head of Service, presented the report, and made the following points:

·         Further progress had been made and work undertaken on nine agreed key actions as noted in the report.

·         It had been a busy year, and the Council had seen the number of people approaching for assistance and the number of people rough sleeping increase.

·         However in Leicester a lot of work was undertaken for the prevention of homelessness, with a 76% success rate (1,740 households). It was noted that maintaining those levels was a challenge, but the service remained committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness.

·         Partnership working with the voluntary sector was good and provided an opportunity to harness good practice and ensure services were not duplicated. The Homelessness Charter was launched in October 2018 in Leicester Cathedral.

·         The Diocese led on the Charter ‘giving through charities’ where people could pledge support to the Charter in different ways. The Diocese were working on a logo, and anyone working in partnership with the diocese and those signing up could use the logo. People would also be able to donate through the website.

·         There had been changes to frontline services to embrace the Homelessness Reduction Act for example, improved access to housing services and self-serve, and 1:1 coaching support for individuals struggling to take action to prevent their homelessness.

·         Alternatives for accommodation needed to remain fit for purpose; work would continue with mental health services and health care.

·         The Council helped with more than just the statutory homeless and had its own eligibility criteria for access to homelessness services.

·         Work continued to ensure that families did not need to go into hostels when homeless and where there was a need for temporary accommodation it was self-contained and only for a minimum period.

·         There was specialist accommodation for young people and offenders; if coming out of prison and homeless, there was higher risk of them reoffending.

·         As a corporate parent there was joint commissioning with children’s services. Officers were looking at the commissioning to ensure children got the best service.

·         More single people with complex issues were being seen, and therefore different models of accommodation to meet changing needs were required.

Members requested an indication of the numbers of people in the city seeking homeless assistance be included in a future report.

In response to Members’ queries, the following additional information was given:

·         Funding had been received for Homelessness Prevention Officers, but caseloads remained high even though new staff were being trained as quickly as possible.

·         There were a lot of complexities around rough sleepers, different cohorts, rough sleepers with tenancies – officers were working with those individuals to try and get them back into their tenancies. The Outreach Team, Transitions Team tried to get rough sleepers off the street. It was a difficult task to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

The Director of Housing submits a report to update Members of the Housing Scrutiny Commission on the work that the Empty Homes Team are doing to bring long term private sector homes back into use. Commission Members are asked to note the report.

The Director of Housing submitted a report to update Members of the Commission on the work that the Empty Homes Team were doing to bring long-term private sector homes back into use. The Commission Members were asked to note the report.

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

·         Officers reported on properties that had been empty for 18 months, five years and 10 years.

·         There was a 20-stage process to bring properties back into use.

·         There had been a slight improvement on quarter one with the number of empty properties reduced.

·         The vacant post had been filled and the Team was now at full capacity.

·         Not all properties went through the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process.

·         During the process the Empty Homes Team do enter into dialogue with owners, and can negotiate with the owner to purchase the property, this was better than a CPO and less in legal costs.

·         There were ex council tenants that did approach the Council from time to time, and the Council did agree to repurchase leasehold properties.

Members asked questions and the following responses were given:

·         Some homes believed to be empty were in fact occupied, and the Council Tax Team had not been notified.

·         The number of homes that had been empty for a long time hadn’t come down much further recently, though figures compared well with other areas. A lot of intensive work had been undertaken over the past 18 months to get those figures down. Long-term empty properties could be complex and with legal implications, for example, someone with a mental health issue, terminal illness, inherited by siblings that could not decide what they wanted to do with the property.

·         If a property was empty and the owner engaged with the owner, sometimes it would be sold, and the Council relied on the new owner to bring it back into use. When the council sell on a property they have CPO’d a condition of that sale is that the new owner must bring that property back into use within a set period of time.

The Assistant Mayor for Housing, Councillor Connelly thanked the officer and team for reducing empty homes in the city and bringing then back into use for families to move into. He also noted that empty homes could become a blight on a neighbourhood. Can give a family a home.

The Chair thanked the officer for the report.

It was AGREED that:

1.    The report be noted.

The Scrutiny Policy Officer submits for noting the Tenants’ and Leaseholders Forum Meeting Notes from 27 September 2018.

No comments were received from Members in relation to the Tenants’ and Leaseholders Forum Action and Decision Log.

Tenants Forum meeting feedback was circulated at the Housing Scrutiny Commission meeting, and is attached for information.

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

The Work Programme was noted.

·         An update report on the Conditions of Tenancy would be taken to the Scrutiny Commission meeting on 11^th March 2019.

·         The Anti-Social Behaviour Policy to be included on ‘To Be Allocated’. Guidelines and information with challenges and issues faced, and the complexity of the balancing action with anonymised examples.

There being no other items of urgent business the meeting closed at 7.15pm.