Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 12th September 2018.

The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 12th September 2018 were confirmed as an accurate record.

All members will make a declaration at each meeting if they have an interest in any item of business on the agenda which would affect them more than tenants or residents of the ward(s) affected generally.

No declarations of interest were made.

A verbal update by the Head of Strategic and Private Sector Housing to update the Board on the progress of the Sheltered Housing Scheme review.

The Head of Landlord Services advised the Board that the item had been deferred as aspects of the review were being presented at an informal Cabinet briefing to get their views before bringing it before the Board.

RESOLVED that the Board would receive an updated report in due course.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services to consider the draft Tenancy Support Policy 2019 – 2022.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services was considered by the Board updating them on the draft Tenancy Support Policy 2019-2022.

Discussion points raised:

·         The Board was advised that updates had been made to the existing Policy that included: a better explanation of the service, a new section covering Universal Credit, an update on partner working and the organisations who can offer support.

·         Tenants were assessed at an early stage to identify what support level was required. This would determine the level of support needed.

·         The Board was given an update on the staffing situation: there were 4 Tenancy Support Officers in post, 2 Financial Inclusion Officers, 6 Income Officers and a new Universal Credit Officer just appointed. The Board recorded their appreciation for the hard work completed by the entire team to support tenants.

·         In future it would be helpful when reviewing existing policies to highlight the actual changes made in the document.

·         Performance data on tenancy support would be considered by the Performance Scrutiny Panel at its meeting in February 2019.

RESOLVED that the draft report be approved including the comments from the Board.

Reason

To acknowledge the Board’s consideration of this matter.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services to enable members of the Board to consider important issues before the draft budget report goes to Cabinet in December 2018.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services to enable members of the Board to consider issues before the draft budget report goes to Cabinet in December 2018 was considered.

Discussion points raised:

·         The Board was in agreement with the submitted pressure for the electrical testing programme as this was a statutory requirement.

·         The Board was also in agreement with the submitted budget pressure for the maintenance of external wall insulation.

·         The future use of the garage sites was discussed in terms of protecting revenue streams. The Board was informed that a broader review of garage sites was currently underway, including the demand for garages and an assessment of their condition which would inform investment decisions and future charge setting.

·         Shop rents were discussed and some interest was expressed by the Board in using empty shops as pop up shops and to help local residents to start their business.

·         There was some flexibility in the budget regarding the planned maintenance on communal areas and external works. The areas with most hazards had been highlighted as priority areas but there was an option to look at other areas if residents had specific concerns.

Action: the Board to receive the findings of the garage site review once completed.

RESOLVED that the Board’s comments above be considered by the Head of Landlord Services when submitting the service budget to Cabinet.

Reason

To acknowledge the Board’s consideration of this matter.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services to update members of the Board on the progress of the New Decent Homes Contract mobilisation.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services to update on the mobilisation of the New Decent Homes Contract was presented to the Board for consideration.

Discussion points raised:

·         The Board was advised that there had been a challenging start for the contract but there were more staff being employed now to meet the demand and plenty of resources in place. Fortem were also recruiting more staff to add to their onsite team to achieve more self-delivery.

·         The Board was in agreement that the timescales for work had been too long but that the quality of the work was good. They wanted to see significant improvement soon to alleviate their concerns.

·         There had been a lack of communication between Fortem and the residents and there needed to be an improvement. The Board was advised that there was an increase in customer facing staff and the director was looking at the customer journeys to identify and areas for improvement.

·         The backlog of disabled adaptation works was being addressed and so far 17 out of the 76 properties had been completed with the others being worked on or programmed in.

Action: the Board to receive an updated programme of works.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

Reason

To acknowledge the Board’s consideration of this matter.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services to update members of the Board on the progress of the communal cleaning consultation.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services was considered updating members on the progress of the communal cleaning consultation.

The Head of Landlord Services advised the Board that the Framework provider was no longer in operation and so another company had been approached to price up the work. Once a pricing structure had been compiled the consultation would begin.

RESOLVED that the report with current progress to date be noted.

Reason

To acknowledge the Board’s consideration of the matter.

In accordance with the Board’s decision members of the Board were asked in advance of this agenda being published whether they had any questions on matters within the remint of the Board that they wished to ask, for response at this meeting.

On this occasion Councillor Draycott asked the following:

“Could an update on the outstanding work re Fire doors being inspected and declared safe according to current Standards, be provided to the HMB”

In accordance with the Board’s decision at its meeting on 22nd March 2017 (HMAB Minute 24.1), members of the Board had been asked in advance of the agenda being published whether they had any questions on matters within the remint of the Board that they wished to ask, for response at this meeting.

On this occasion Councillor Draycott asked a question regarding the outstanding work on the fire doors in the communal flats, being inspected and declared safe.

The response to the question was as follows:

The Council was aware that doors manufactured by Permadoor with glazed windows are those affected. However other doors may be affected and so a visual survey of all doors had been conducted with 1741 out of the 1918 doors inspected so far.

In line with government guidance the Council had published information to all tenants regarding the fire doors along with general fire safety advice. An article appeared in the October 2018 newsletter and the information was to be sent directly to tenants by letter.

The Council’s specialist fire risk assessors Fire Safety First had advised that no further measures were required at this time and that the existing “stay put” policy should remain in place.

More recently the Council had received information from some fire door manufacturers regarding new doors which are expected to meet the new testing regime. This information needed to be assessed before the Council agreed to any new doors.

A report of the Head of Landlord Services to enable the Board to review and agree its Work Programme, together with meeting dates for 2018/19.

For information further meetings of the Board are scheduled as follows in 2018/19:

Wednesday 7^th November 2018 at 4.30pm

Wednesday 16^th January 2019 at 4.30pm

Wednesday 27^th March 2019 at 4.30pm.

The Board received a report of the Head of Landlord Services to enable the Board to agree its Work Programme (item 10 on the agenda).

Members of the Board could identify matters that they considered required looking at over the next few meetings of the Board, including any already listed on the Work Programme but not yet scheduled. Officers present could provide advice as to whether items might be appropriately considered at the time proposed.

RESOLVED

1. that the Planned Maintenance Works Programme be added to the Board’s Work Programme for January 2019.

2. that an update on Customer Engagement be provided to the Board in January 2019.

3. the Head of Landlord Services to investigate the position regarding Tenant Champions and report back to the Board at its next meeting in January 2019.

4. the Head of Landlord Services and the Head of Strategic and Private Sector Housing to produce a report on void properties for the Board’s next meeting in January 2019.

5. the Board’s Terms of Reference to be revisited at its next meeting in January 2019.

6. that the Board’s Work Programme be updated to reflect all decisions made above and earlier in the meeting.

Reasons

1 - 5. so that it can be considered by the Board.

6. To ensure that the information in the Work Programme is up to date.