Agenda and minutes

To issue a welcome to those present, and to confirm if there are any apologies for absence.

It was noted that were no apologies for absence.

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

The Chair asked members of the commission to declare any interests for which there were none.

The minutes of the meeting of the Housing Scrutiny Commission held on 11 July 2024 have been circulated, and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The Chair highlighted that most additional information requested at the previous meeting had been circulated and further information would follow and the formal recommendation was being considered by officers.

It was further noted that the minutes for the meeting on 11 July 2024 were included within the papers and the Chair asked Members for comments.

AGREED:

·       It was agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2024 were a true and accurate record.

The Chair is invited to make any announcements as they see fit.

The Chair highlighted that following discussions at the previous meeting about the Council’s acquisition and new build programme, a site visit had been arranged for the Commission to attend the Zip building and members were reminded to confirm if they were able to attend.

It was further highlighted by the Chair that information regarding the proposed inquiry day had been circulated to Members across the Housing and Public Health & Health Integration Scrutiny Commissions and volunteers were being sought to from a task group to look in more detail at health services for homeless individuals, particularly with complex needs.

Any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures will be reported.

It was noted that none had been received.

Any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures will be reported.

It was noted that none had been received.

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Commission to provide an update on the performance of the Housing Divisions Repairs and Maintenance service.

The Head of Service presented the item in which it was noted that:

·       Work has been focussed over recent years to improve voids performance to ensure properties are available for let with significant improvements realised and a reduction in the number of voids held at any one time.

·       Resources are being prioritised to respond to ongoing issues around damp and mould given the heightened awareness following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak. A damp and mould policy has been developed with cross divisional working and a commitment as a landlord to deal swiftly with mould. Greater allocation of resource to ensure inspections are undertaken quicker to assess and identify any works has resulted in some increased work in other areas. Measures to tackle damp and mould include humidity tracking, dehumidifiers and mould resistant paint.

·       Repairs were completed within target time for 85% of cases, although key performance indicators of day-to-day responsive repairs are not meeting set targets. There has been an increase in repairs and issues with resource to undertake works has been a challenge. Recruitment in craft and trade industries can be seen nationally and across public and private sectors. The service have also struggled with the backlog that was created during the pandemic where only emergency repairs were permitted, and a further spike was caused by the cyber attack that prevented access to systems to undertake day-to-day repairs.

·       Improvements have continued with emergency repairs. Tenants are more educated on what constitutes a genuine emergency repair to ensure a better service is provided and responding quicker where necessary.

·       The gas servicing team continue to work to ensure almost 100% compliance with meeting legal requirements for gas safety checks. The team have supported the district heating meter programme, assisting with ensuring systems are operating as efficiently as possible for tenants to pay for what is needed. Three new gas engineers have been appointed through the internal apprenticeship programme and have also been successful in external recruitment.

·       Recruitment continues to be a challenge with twenty vacancies. Issues also persist that when individuals are recruited, other officers may be promoted or moving within the division creating vacant posts again. The service is working with Human Resources to identify how to broaden and attract talent. The apprenticeship programme has been expanded from 30 to 40, with an intention of training, recruiting and retaining individuals.

·       Materials are required to fulfil repairs and the service have advertised a tender for an inventory management system to modernise stores. Also tendering for materials framework for core items to be delivered and provide better assurance that stock will be available in aa shorter timeframe to allow appointments to be booked to complete repairs and provide a more efficient service.

·       A project group is working across the repairs service to identify improvements, including better van stock to enable repair completion on first time visit and grouping works together to prevent multiple visits etc. 

In response to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·       Housing stock affected by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

The Director of Housing submits a report to update the Commission on homelessness in the City and progress in relation to the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy which was last shared with the Commission September 2023.

The Chair noted that the report covers aspects that will be the focus for further discussed as part of the task group inquiry day and therefore enables an introductory discussion on the matter.

The report was presented by the Heads of Service in which it was noted that:

·       It is an extremely challenging time with rising levels of homelessness seen locally and nationally. The Council declared a housing crisis in November 2022 due to the lack of affordable homes in the city which impacts homelessness as well as other factors such as the cost-of-living crisis.

·       The report sets out data and financial pressures on the service. An addition £1m funding was allocated in 2023/24 and further £10m for 2024/25 to help with the additional demand but consequently puts greater pressure on balancing the budget.

·       The number of households approaching services due to risk of becoming homeless is at unprecedented levels with an 11% increase from 2022/23 to 2023/24, equating to around an extra 500 contacts. This is often a result of being asked to leave private rented sector accommodation or family homes. The fast-track national asylum support service is also impacting homelessness services where individuals are granted the right to remain and required to leave Home Office accommodation.

·       Pressures on homelessness services has resulted in increased numbers of individuals and families in temporary accommodation. This includes 520 families, of which 262 were in bed and breakfast or hotel accommodation, and many exceeding six weeks as well as 552 individuals. Hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation is seen as a last resort option as it is acknowledged not to be ideal but increasing demand sometimes requires this provision. Full Council approved £45m funding to purchase 224 properties to alleviate pressures in temporary accommodation.

·       Partnership working is ongoing with a range of agencies working internally and externally to provide a multi-agency approach to services to support individuals and families at risk of homelessness and/or when homeless.

·       A homelessness and rough sleeping action plan was produced in conjunction with partners and published in December 2023. It is an agile action plan to respond to emerging issues with four main areas, including prevention, intervention, recovery and partnership working. The aim is to work collectively to enhance service provision to prevent rough sleeping and homelessness.

Members noted the difficulties and pressures services are enduring and thanked officers for their ongoing work and report. In response to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·       Leicester’s Homelessness Charter is working to bring organisations and individuals together to address homelessness in the city. Successful events have been hosted to inform officers and share resources on how service users can navigate available services. Coffee mornings are also hosted at John Lewis to share information and resources.

·       Communication is a priority within the action plan for the first year to support the delivery of the homelessness and rough sleeper strategy. It is intended to improve communication to ensure service users know how to access services and share information  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

The Director of Housing submits a report to update the Commission on the processes followed for the delivery of adaptations by tenure, council owned and all other and the two funding routes that apply.

The Head of Service presented the report, and it was noted that:

·       The process to determine the need for adaptations is carried out by occupational therapist in the social care and education division. They will conduct an assessment of the individuals needs to identify the level of support and required adaptations.

·       Adaptions required for council tenants and under £1k will be completed by the housing division on equal priority. Adaptations over £1k, such as stair lifts and shower rooms etc. will be completed in priority order. The occupational therapist will allocate points depending on circumstances, but end of life and life limiting cases are often highest priority.

·       The order to complete adaptations is continuously changing dependent on priority and therefore not determined by a waiting list. The service aims to work as quickly as possible to ensure all adaptations are met and those with least priority also have work completed to meet their needs.

·       The Council is committed to delivering adaptations to meet the needs or tenants and has allocated £1.2m-£1.3m each year from the Housing Revenue Account over recent years. This includes funding provision for the adapt-to-let scheme where properties are identified to be able to be reconfigured to be adapted or where they are currently partially adapted and can be made fully adapted.

·       The housing build programme commits to deliver 10% of new builds that meet full wheelchair standards and planning gain also requires adapted properties to be delivered through private sector developments.

·       The disabled facilities grant is available to deliver adaptations for non-council tenants although this is a means tested fund and government limit contributions with a cap of £30k. For individuals who live in private rented accommodation, housing association properties or owner-occupied homes, the social care and education division will commission minor adaptations to be completed directly and major works can be self-fund or applications can be made to the disabled facilities grant.

·       The government have allocated £1.861m million in recent years and the Council have contributed to increase the budget to enable more people to receive financial support to adaptations.

·       Customer feedback is usually positive when adaptations are completed but the benefits and impacts have not always been identified. A feedback questionnaire has therefore recently been implemented to gather data and further information can be shared with the Commission on the impact in future.

·       An Adaptation Strategy is being developed and key themes have been identified. It is intended to share for consultation in the coming months and further information will be shared with the Commission.

In response to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·       Prior to adaptations taking place, tenants are required to sign to acknowledge the works to be completed to meet their needs. Work will be assessed by housing officers from a technical perspective to ensure it meets the required specification and the occupation therapist is required to assess and agree to sign off the adaptation to ensure if meets the tenants’ requirements. If a tenant is not satisfied  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

The Director of Housing submits a report to the Commission to update Members on the ‘headline’ Housing Register and Lettings data from the financial period 2023/2024.

The Head of Service presented the report, and it was noted that:

·       The report covers the period 2023-24, and the snapshot provided was accurate on 1 April 2024. The number of households on the register at that time was 6682 which was an 11% increase compared to the previous year.

·       Overcrowding remained the biggest cause for joining the register. Overcrowded households account for 58% of the applications on the register, which was consistent with the previous year. The number of statutory and critically overcrowded households has increased by 24% from 197 to 245 in the last 12 months.

·       The Easymove scheme was introduced in May 2023 to help address overcrowding. This has worked well, successfully managing 9 mutual exchanges and saved £63,000 in associated costs. The target this year is 10 mutual exchanges and by the end of July 2024, 4 mutual exchanges had occurred so it is hoped that the target will be surpassed.

·       The need for all type of housing is high and demand outstrips supply. The highest need is for 2-bedroom accommodation – 33% of those on the register require this housing. Demand for houses is higher than that for flats or maisonettes so there was a lower wait for this type of accommodation.

·       Housing need in all areas of the city is high, but needs are highest in Abbey Ward, Wycliffe Ward and Castle Ward where the highest proportion of people on the housing register are awarded the highest priority (Band 1). The lowest need is in Knighton Ward and Aylestone Wards, with the lowest proportion of people on the housing register awarded Band 1.

·       Housing demand differs to housing need. This is where people want to live and the bidding patterns show that Western, Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields and Eyres Monsell have highest demand, but the housing needs in the area are lower. It was highlighted that further information on breakdown within wards could be provided.

·       The service would like to increase stock of adapted accommodation and is working on this. The need for wheelchair adapted accommodation vastly outstripped the supply. Waiting times have reduced for this type of accommodation however there is a disparity between the number of Fully Wheelchair Accessible need applicants on the register achieving lets compared to those requiring other types of accommodation.

·       Of all lettings achieved in the 2023/24 period – 74% went to Band 1, 20% to Band 2 and 6% to Band 3. 53% of all lettings were to households who were homeless or at risk of being homeless. The figures are proportionate to previous years and reflects the support given to homeless households to secure settled accommodation.

·       Compared to 2022/23, there was a 4 month increase in waiting times for a 1 bedroom flat, a 5 month increase for a 2 bedroom flat and an 8 month increase for a 3 bedroom house.

·       Lettings to Housing Association and HomeCome accounts for 23% of all lettings in this period. This was proportionate to corresponding lettings in the previous  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

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

The Chair reminded Members to raise items to be considered for the work programme and noted that the next meeting would take place on 12 November, although a site visit and inquiry day would take place in between.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 19.30.