Agenda and minutes

That the Chair be authorised to host the DMC as a remote meeting due to the exceptional circumstances as a result of the Coronavirus National Emergency.

RESOLVED –

THAT the meeting be held remotely via Zoom due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

Appendix A lists those Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations (TRAs), which have satisfactorily completed the registration process at the date of despatch of this agenda. It gives details of the representatives of those Associations to be co-opted onto the DMC, in accordance with the constitution, together with the names of the substitutes.

Appendix B lists those TRAs whose registrations have lapsed. If a TRA wishes to register it must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM), open to all members, once a year (with an independent observer in attendance). The minutes must be sent to the Tenant Participation Team together with a membership list and a completed registered form.

RESOLVED –

THAT the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lists be noted.

There were no apologies.

There were no announcements.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no notifications of any items of urgent business.

Report of the Director of Housing Management.

This report outlines what has been happening in Camden during the Covid-19 outbreak, how the Council has responded to support residents and the impact on housing services. Where possible it will give an update on what the next steps are in terms of recovery from the ongoing situation and what is planned to address any further future outbreaks. In addition the final part of the report will outline the impact of the pandemic on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and the capital programme with any early indication that can be made about the impact on rents and service charges for April 2021/22.

Each DMC will continue the consideration of the item following the discussion at the meeting with the Cabinet Member for Better Homes, the outcomes of which will be reported back to Councillor Apak later that evening.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Housing Management.

Members from some estates expressed concerns about the caretaking service during lockdown, as they did not feel a satisfactory service had been provided. They noted that residents had been paying for an enhanced caretaking service from April. However, Councillor Apak stated that – due to the coronavirus related disruptions – the enhanced caretaking service could only be launched from October.

Attendees reported that they had had difficulties with contacting housing staff during lockdown. Officers said that most housing officers and other council staff were working from home, but should have been able to receive phone calls and emails.

A resident expressed disappointment that the Council had not used TRAs as a conduit to convey information to residents during lockdown. She said that communication had been fairly good for residents who had internet access and took the initiative to look up matters of interest, but not everyone was in that position.

A representative from Peckwater asked about the football pitch on the estate being open during lockdown. Angela Spooner, Head of Landlord Services, said that the Council had kept its open spaces open to enable people to engage in sport and exercise.

Questions were asked about the provision of care packages for vulnerable residents who were shielding. There was praise for where the system had worked, but there were fears that some residents had been missed and it was difficult to contact council staff to let them know this was the case.

It was suggested that the Council conduct a survey of residents to ask what they felt had gone well and gone badly during lockdown.

The Chair asked about the impact of the coronavirus and lockdown on the 5-year capital programme and on rent arrears. Rhys Makinson, the Director of Housing Support Services, said that coronavirus had caused delays in undertaking works but that there were still some tasks, such as external works, that could be done while maintaining social distancing and staff were carrying them out where possible.

In terms of rent arrears for council housing, Mr Makinson said that rent arrears had risen by £2m. Some of this was due to the Universal Credit delays, as an increasing number of people had had to claim UC during the pandemic.

He added that the Council also faced rent arrears from commercial tenants, many of whom had not been able to trade for the 2^nd quarter of 2020 and, even when re-opening, might have fewer customers. Members noted that larger firms should be expected to pay their rents, but felt there needed to be forbearance for smaller firms who had suffered in the pandemic to ensure that they were still able to keep trading.

A resident voiced discontent with the system for reporting repairs, which she felt was cumbersome. Astrid Kjellberg-Obst said that a new prioritisation system for repairs would be introduced in mid-October, which should enable better handling of repairs.

Concern was voiced about the difficulties  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report of the Head of Tenancy Services.

In line with the DMC funding guidelines, TRAs will be asked to provide an update to the meeting regarding the progress of agreed bids, including an update on the associated spend. TRAs are invited to circulate any relevant information in advance through the clerk.

TRAs are encouraged to submit bids as soon as possible, so they can be properly assessed and prepared by officers, ready for submission to the DMC. TRAs are reminded that verbal bids cannot be accepted at DMC meetings as, in line with the guidelines, officers need to be able to assess bids before passing them to the DMC.

For more information on DMC bids, please see our webpages: www.camden.gov.uk/dmcbids.

Consideration was given to a report of the Landlord Services Manager (South).

Tara Cookson introduced the report. Momota Khatun spoke to the £100,000 bid from St Pancras Way, which would be contribution towards a community hub.

Ms Khatun said that a community hub would bring into use a disused area of the estate which had become a magnet for anti-social behaviour. Funding was being sought from a number of sources, including the CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy).

Tom Dobson addressed the DMC as the officer who had conducted the feasibility study. He agreed with the view expressed by the TRA that the community hub would be a way of tackling an area that was currently the site of ASB. He also pointed out that the estate formed part of the one of the most deprived areas in the UK according to government statistics, and so the area was in need of more facilities.

There was a discussion on the bid, and the point was made that residents of estates needed to be encouraged to visit areas of interest and facilities outside of their estate. Angela Spooner emphasised that, in order to safeguard council funds, a good governance structure needed to be put in place for the community hub.

The bid was agreed in principle, pending the necessary preparatory work around governance being done.

Members gave consideration to the other bids. With regard to the bids for Christmas hampers and festive gifts from Maiden Lane and St Pancras Way, the TRAs were advised to apply for Special Projects Grants to fund these. The other bids were agreed.

RESOLVED –

THAT the following bids be agreed:

There was no urgent business.