The following
representation was submitted by Mr S. Raja.
- Fire Risk
Assessments (FRA) & Compliance
- The recent FOI
response (Ref: FOIA 33570) confirmed that while all council-owned
residential properties have an FRA, 700 properties have not had an
assessment in the past three years.
- Can the council
confirm its timeline for conducting up-to-date FRAs on these
properties?
- Will residents be
given access to FRA schedules for their buildings?
- If the council was so
confident in the FRA from 2017, how has January 2025 on one of
seven hundred properties found concerns? Were the internal reviews
flawed?
- Fire Safety
Concerns & Transparency
- The council claims
that no inquiries from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service
(LFRS) have gone unanswered.
- However, can the
council provide a record of past concerns raised by LFRS, action
taken, and deadlines met to ensure full transparency?
- Right to Buy (RTB)
Delays & Complaints
- The council has
refused to provide data on financial losses or complaints related
to RTB delays, citing retrieval costs.
- Given the significant
increase in RTB applications, does the council have sufficient
staffing and resources to process applications without unnecessary
delays?
- Can the council
commit to publishing RTB complaint statistics quarterly to improve
transparency? I understand there is no measure at present and so
the leadership demonstrates they have no control over potential
improvements.
- I request a
measurement of the RTB (Right to Buy) team's case response rates.
How long do they currently take per case? Will the council commit
to an improvement plan? Currently, there are no publicly available
statistics, meaning no transparency or accountability on this
matter.
- RTB Lease Pack
Charges & Accountability
- The council charges
£125 per lease pack but does not track total revenue from
these charges.
- Shouldn’t this
be a recorded financial transaction, given that it involves
resident payments? How does the department ensure the finances are
allocated correctly back to RTB or Housing?
- Can the council
provide a breakdown of what this charge covers and how it is
justified? If no account is kept, then how have they made up this
figure and justify it?
- Impact of RTB
Sales on Affordable Housing Supply
- Given the budget
strain expected from the spike in RTB applications, what specific
measures is the council taking to offset housing stock
depletion?
- Can the council
outline its strategy to replenish lost social housing in
the coming years?
- Estate Management
& Housing Services
- The last Scrutiny
Commission meeting highlighted concerns about fly-tipping and
estate maintenance in council-owned housing. I would think
the estate maintenance would include commitment to fire
safety.
- What enforcement
strategy is in place to tackle fly-tipping, particularly in
council housing areas?
- Given the confusion
around the roles of City Wardens vs. Estate Wardens, can a clear
responsibility guide be provided to tenants?
In Mr Raja’s
absence, the representation was taken as read. The Director of
Housing provided a summary response, and it was noted that:
·
The full, written response was to be sent to Mr Raja in due
course.
·
All council-owned blocks of flats have a Fire Risk Assessment, the
frequency of which are based on the block risk. The block this
enquiry referred to held the lowest risk and there was no mandatory
timescale for conducting the assessment. The FRA was last carried
out 7 years ago. The new FRA had now been completed and it
identified a few minor issues that had since been completed. The
process was not felt to be flawed.
·
Leicester City Council’s working relationship with
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service was very good. Independently
chosen sites were audited, and any further requests for information
had to be met by a specific date which had always occurred on
time.
·
There had been a significant increase in Right to Buy applications,
which has affected turnaround times.
·
The lease pack charge of £125 reflected administrative costs
and established financial governance procedures had been followed
to ensure appropriate management of payments.
·
Estate Wardens carried out regular ongoing maintenance of estates,
while City Wardens worked with Housing officers to address
instances where waste had been fly-tipped, and tenants needed to be
interviewed and possibly fined for the offence.
The Chair asked
whether members had any questions or comments. It was noted
that:
- City wardens were
going to be working outside of their usual locations for several
weeks, meaning more pressure may fall on Housing Officers.
Appropriate communications were suggested.