Agenda and minutes

To consider any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Samata Khatoon and for lateness from Councillors Sagal Abdi-Wali, Nasrine Djemai, and Nancy Jirira.

There were none.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.’

Any other announcements

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and could be viewed on the website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts were archived and could be made available upon request. Those who had asked to address the meeting were deemed to be consenting to having their contributions recorded and broadcast and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.

There were none.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th December 2023.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th December 2023.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th December 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Requests to speak at the Committee on a matter within its terms of reference must be made in writing to the clerk named on the front of this agenda by 5pm two working days before the meeting.

There were none.

Report of the Cabinet Member Better Homes

This report sets out how the Council intends to continue to invest in its housing stock and services despite the increasingly challenging financial climate that the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is operating in. It sets out a balanced budget and proposed levels of rent and service charges for 2024/25, which includes savings as part of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) approved at Cabinet in January 2023.

The report is coming to the Cabinet because the Council is required to set a balanced HRA budget for each year and set levels of rent and charges for the HRA.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Member Better Homes.

Michael Webb, Head of Finance Supporting Communities, took the meeting through the report and he along with Councillor Meric Apak, Cabinet Member Better Homes, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The Council was being placed in a very difficult position, as not increasing rents would mean it would have to find approximately £10M from service cuts. Such an approach would have a dramatic effect on service provision and directly impact on those tenants and residents most in need. Raising rents was something that the Council did not do lightly as it was very concerned about the impact the rent and service charge increases would have on its tenants and residents.

·       Following the Housing District Management Committee (DMCs) meeting in January, it was noted that 4 out of the 5 DMCs had voted against having a rent increase. The DMCs were the way the Council sought to obtain the views of tenants and residents regarding the proposals outlined in the report. The DMCs themselves, were made up of TRA representatives who had consulted their members regarding the proposals.

·       The Equalities Impact Assessment attached to the report outlined how the proposal would impact on tenants and residents, along with how the Council would seek to mitigate those impacts.

·       The Housing and Repairs Services were undergoing a transformation process that sought to improve the services being offered to tenants and residents, through service and operational changes. This process was on-going and cultural changes were being made that sought to improve the way the Council communicated with its tenants and residents along with improving service delivery. Demands from tenants and residents were changing, along with the expectations arising from the new regulatory regime and housing services were working towards meeting those challenges.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Housing

This report provides an update to the committee on the arrears position for Council rents.

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

Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing, took the meeting through the report and she gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The benefits system now required all new applicants to be considered under the Universal Credit process. The only people who could still receive housing benefit were residents who were in temporary accommodation. To overcome the difficulties facing tenants paying their rent who were on Universal Credit, the Council sought to contact them individually (which included home visits if appropriate), to discuss with them moving to alternative payment arrangements whereby rental income was paid to the Council directly.

·       The specialist rent team undertaking this process were having some success through working with tenants in rent arrears which had led to reductions in the amount owed during October and November this year. Though there had been an expected increase in rent owed in December, they were again on track to see rent owed reductions going forward.

·       There was an automatic escalation process in place that was used to help tenants understand where they were in relation to their rental balance with the Council, though for vulnerable tenants officers from the specialist team could intercept the escalation letter and stop it going out. On these occasions officers would instead make personal contact with those tenants.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Housing

This report provides an update to Housing Scrutiny regarding the various initiatives that have been set up to support those living in the borough, with a particular focus on Camden tenants.

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

Ododo Dafe, Head of Innovation and Improvement, took the meeting through the report and she along with Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       Going forward the Welfare Rights Team wanted to ensure that more people in need were aware of the existence of the service, along with what services it provided. This would be taken forward through appropriate publicity and the use of social media. Also the current intensive tenant participation programme, along with the cost of living bus, was engaging with tenants and raising their awareness of what was available to them, along with assisting them in making applications for available cost-of-living funds. This was leading to tenants then sharing this information with other tenants. The engagement process would be continued through the housing officer tenant’s visits programme that would be recommenced after the current intensive tenant participation programme had come to a conclusion.  

·       The work being done to help tenants during the cost of living crisis was not only seeking to increase the money in their pockets through accessing the benefit support they are entitled to, but also through reducing their costs through the work being done in retrofitting homes with a view to reducing their fuel bills. The Welfare Rights Team also helped tenants meet all their financial commitments - not only paying their rent but also meeting Council Tax and utility commitments.

·       The Council was currently in the first phase of the intensive tenant’s participation programme which sought to cover the Council’s biggest housing estates. The next stage, which would be starting soon, would be covering smaller estates along with street properties. Following the conclusion of the estate action day visits, an estate action plan would be developed taking forward how the issues arising from the visit would be delivered. All these processes would provide the Council with valuable information about its tenants and residents along with the fabric of its housing stock. Also the knowledge obtained from phase 1 of the programme had been used to shape phase 2.

·       The Council was working with a number of community partners to help people understand what support and benefits were available to them, along with sharing knowledge of how this work was being undertaken. The Council was working with voluntary and community groups to help share the knowledge of where help could be obtained by people. Officers would seek to further understand the support and advice voluntary and community groups were giving to tenants and residents to ensure that the right information was being given.

ACTION BY: Director of Housing (OD)

·       Referrals to the Welfare Rights Team came via a number of different sources e.g. housing officers, community groups, schools, individuals, and social workers. Officers worked very hard to ensure tenants obtained the grants and support packages (including Council Tax Support) that were available to be claimed.

The scrutiny committee asked that its thanks be passed through to officers in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Director of Property Management

This report provides the committee with the findings of a case review carried out following an Ombudsman investigation. The report also includes a self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s report ‘Spotlight on Damp and Mould’.

The work outlined in this report supports the ambitions set out in We Make Camden, in particular making sure Camden has enough decent, safe, warm, and family-friendly housing to support its communities.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Property Management.

Scott Reid, Head of Property Customer Services and Engagement, took the meeting through the report and he along with Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing, and Ododo Dafe, Head of Innovation and Improvement, gave the following key responses to questions:

• Officers agreed to contact Councillor Nancy Jirira directly regarding the issue she raised regarding the response from the Council relating to the damp and mould issue she and others had.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (SR)

• The Housing Ombudsman had decided to carry out an investigation in relation to the way the Council dealt with leaks, damp and mould, complaints handling and repairs. They decided to undertake the investigation as they felt the Council wasn’t handling such cases as well as it should. The Council was the 7^th such Londonlocal authority that had been investigated by the Housing Ombudsman in relation to similar issues.
• The vast majority of cases the Housing Ombudsman was reviewing were from 2021, and since then a number of improvements had been put in place in the way the Council handled these issues. This had resulted in their being fewer determinations made against the Council over the last 6 months. The Council was looking forward to working with the Housing Ombudsman to explain what the authority had now put in place to improve its processes, along with listening to the Housing Ombudsman regarding any other changes that could be made to processes and procedures.
• The use of new technology to allow tenants and residents to report issues with the Council had seen a huge change in the way they engaged with the authority. The Council spoke to approximately 300,000 residents a year in relation to housing repairs, half of which was carried out by WhatsApp, SMS, live chat, Camden account and other methods. The feedback in relation to the use of these methods (along with the new Saturday appointment offer) was overwhelmingly positive, as tenants and residents felt that these options enabled them to contact the Council easier, when it suited them and in a way that they wanted. Last month there were 7,000 WhatsApp messages and when the service first started a year ago there was 252.
• The Council had set up a Housing Resident’s Panel that's been up and running for a year. The operation of the panel had been very successful, and the panel had been helping officers shape policies and procedures (e.g. texting residents when lifts had gone out of order). Also the Council would be setting up a new housing resident’s Complaints Panel in Februaryand they would be looking at the complaints that come in across both repairs and housing, as well as looking to see if there were themes and trends that needed to be addressed.

·       There had been a recent article published in Inside Housing in terms of the trajectory of damp and mould cases in relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the Director of Property Management

This report suggests a possible work programme for the scrutiny committee

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Property Management.

Programme of meetings (new items in bold)

FEBRUARY 2024

·       CIP annual report 

·       Report of Cabinet Adviser: Leaseholder billing and service charges

·       Homelessness Scrutiny Panel (provisional date)

·       Housing’s response to domestic abuse: update on progress

·       Cabinet Member Better Homes annual report

·       Work programme

Yet to be programmed

·       Tenants Satisfaction Regulatory Survey (including the operation of the Housing Repairs Call Centre), when it was available.

·       Update reports regarding the Cabinet Adviser reports on Supporting Rough Sleepers, Estates Mission and Tenants Participation.

·       Review of the Rough Sleeping Service

RESOLVED –

THAT the report work programme be revised as outlined above.

There were none.