Agenda and minutes

To consider any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Meric Apak and Tommy Gale.

It was noted that Councillor Larraine Revah would be substituting for Councillor Tommy Gale.

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.

Supplementary Agenda

The Chair advised the meeting that there was a supplementary agenda that contained the report regarding the response to the Cabinet Adviser’s report on Leaseholders.

Re-ordering the agenda

The Chair advised the meeting that she would be taking item 8 before item 7.

Joint letter from faith leaders

The words written by Imam Qari Muhammad Asim MBE, Chair, Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, The Most Reverend Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury, and Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis regarding the 7^th October attacks and the start of the war in Gaza and beyond, were read out at the meeting.

There were none.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th July 2024.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th July 2024.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th July 2024 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 Director of Property Management

This report introduces a presentation to the Housing Scrutiny Committee covering the new regulatory Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) for 2023/24 related to tenant satisfaction, compliance and management information. This information was submitted to the Regulator and published on the Council’s website in July 2024.

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

Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, took the meeting through the report and he along with Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The Housing Scrutiny Committee would at its next meeting have a report on Landlord Services which would enable the committee to have a wider discussion regarding the Council’s approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour. The report would seek to include comparative year’s data regarding anti-social behaviour, information on the reporting process for complex cases, the number and types of housing anti-social behaviour cases that had been taken to court, and an outline of the training programme. Officers agreed to append the anti-social behaviour policy to the report along with sending them a copy in advance of the meeting.

ACTION BY: Director of Housing (MJ)

·       The Tenant Satisfaction Measures seem to have had identified that Camden maybe recording anti-social behaviour differently from other local authorities, with Camden allowing the tenant to self-identify as having suffered from this. This might have meant that more issues were included in Camden’s definition of Anti-Social Behaviour, which in turn had meant its figures were higher.

·       Camden’s Anti-Social Behaviour Policy had been co-produced with its tenants and residents, and would clearly identify what services would be taking the lead on dealing with the issues as set out in the criteria identified. This would also cover when an issue would need to be escalated for more senior colleagues to get involved.

·       Officers would provide information regarding whether officers in the Community Safety Team dealing with anti-social behaviour had been trained or had a mental health background.

ACTION BY: Director of Public Safety

·       Housing officers worked closely with colleagues in social care and public health when dealing with mental health issues relating to anti-social behaviour. A pilot had been trialled to look at dealing with complex cases in targeted estates and areas, and this had now been consolidated with the team running this approach being made permanent. 

·       Following the restructuring of Landlord Services, officers would be required to undertake appropriate housing services training that would include issues like trauma.

·       Officers would ensure that staff always undertook conversions with tenants in safe spaces that could not be overheard by others when dealing with confidential issues.

·       Officers would ensure that future reports provided a Camden housing tenure context (e.g. number in temporary accommodation and sheltered housing) in relation to the borough as a whole so the data sample could be compared to the numbers in each type of tenure.

·       All landlords used the same methodology in relation to obtaining the Tenant Management Survey data. The Housing Regulator would be undertaking its own benchmarking, using its own methodology and they would be doing their own analysis of the information provided by all local authorities.

·       The Council was still awaiting the final report of the Housing Ombudsman.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

This report provides information on the repairs service and the delivery of capital works to Council homes.

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

Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, took the meeting through the report and he along with Susanne Afra, Head of Capital Works, Tony Castle, Head of Repairs, and Scot Reid Head of Property, Customer Services and Engagement, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The Council was working with the Skills Centre in Euston, to seek to ensure more people took up apprentices in the housing trades the borough needed, to ensure that the were high quality operatives to undertake those roles in the future.

·       In relation to the works on the Weedington Estate, officers engaged with residents regarding the works to be undertaken in their property, had show flats available to be viewed by tenants, provided documentation informing them of what was happening, had resident engagement sessions to advise tenants on the progress of the works, had an experienced project manger overseeing the project, the contractor had a resident liaison officer based on site throughout the project, worked closely with the neighbour housing staff and when vulnerable tenants were made to them worked to ensure that they were provided with the required assistance. Even with all this support and information a number of tenants had not though allowed the contractors access to their homes. The position on lack of access had now changed with these tenants now reaching out to the contractor, and as result of this the Council was now developing a mopping up programme to finish the required works. During this period those tenants who had not allowed the contractor access had been offered electric heaters until the works had been completed.

·       When necessary the Council did offer vulnerable tenants a packing service that would help pack and unpack their belongings during works. Officers would contact anyone that the councillors identified who may need of this service.

·       Officers would provide tenants and residents with an update regarding West End Siding’s Estate heating project.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (SA)

·       Officers would provide an update regarding the specific grant funding that had been secured for sustainability work over the last few years.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (GH)

·       Officers had processes in place that provided information regarding lift performance so that appropriate action could be taken to deal with issues when they broke down, along with having information on the lifts overall reliability over time. As part of this officers had now started a process of sending text messages to tenants and residents, where they where sent information when a lift had broken down, then regular updates until the lift was working and when available, why the lift had broken down in the first place. Officers would also seek to contact vulnerable tenants and residents to see how they could be supported whilst the lift was out of order. This approach would now be taken forward in relation to heating system breakdowns.

·       Officers would produce a paper for the next DMC cycle regarding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of Cabinet Member for Better Homes

This report sets out commentary and actions in response to Councillor Slater’s Cabinet Advisor report on Improving Services to Camden Leaseholders and Advocating for Leaseholders.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Member Better Homes, as set out in the supplementary agenda.

Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, Cabinet Member Better Homes, took the meeting through the report and she along with Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing and Sean Scott, Head of Leaseholder Services and Housing Income, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The service would been putting in place a Dispute Resolution Team that would seek to deal with difficult cases raised by leaseholders and stop issues escalating, once the Housing Transformation restructuring had been completed.

·       The Private Renters Bill and the Leaseholder Reform Bill would both have an impact on future services in those areas. Prior to the legislation in these areas being enacted, the Council was seeking to take forward its own service improvements this included ensuring service charge bills accurately reflected the service the leaseholder had received.

·       Leaseholder works billing regarding retrofitting could be complicated as some measures could be considered an improvement rather than maintenance works.

·       Leaseholder bills did provide a breakdown of the charges that the leaseholder had to pay, where this was an estimate then the information would be less detailed and further information was available on request.

·       All service charge bills were sent out in February based on estimated costs for the year ahead, and at the end of the financial year these were reassessed based on actual spend and then this was rectified with the leaseholder. The bill would provide a breakdown of charges along with an overall summary, with further information regarding the expenditure being available from Leaseholder Services. For major works then the leaseholder would be sent an itemised account but following the views of leaseholders, the service was reviewing how this information could be better shared with leaseholders. Leaseholder Services also offered surgeries and advice sessions where staff could go through issues with leaseholders.

·       As part of the improvement programme Leaseholder Services would be looking at its evidence and record keeping so that more detailed information was available to leaseholders through the Camden Account.

·       Camden did have a number of payment options and terms that were available to leaseholders whose circumstances had changed. This could also mean placing a charge on the property so that the bill did not need to be paid until the home was sold.

·       Leaseholders could not automatically revert their leaseholder into becoming a Council tenant again, but the Council would always work with individuals to help them through challenging circumstances.

·       Leaseholder Services would seek to work with leaseholders in relation to concerns they had regarding bills that they sought to challenge regarding issues like disrepair.

·       Camden’s capital works programme was published on its open data site so that information was available to leaseholders regarding future schemes the Council was seeking to undertake. A report was scheduled to be submitted to the Cabinet and the Housing Scrutiny Committee for the December/January cycle regarding the Council’s overall Asset Management Strategy that would outline the works that needed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

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.

The scrutiny committee asked that the following matters be added to the provisional work programme, along with the further information required regarding items:

·       Outcome from the Council meeting on 14^th October regarding the themed debate on Private Rented Sector (yet to be programmed)

·       TSM Housing Regulator update (yet to be programmed)

·       Housing Ombudsman report on the Council when available (yet to be programmed)

The scrutiny committee asked that a copy of Housing’s Anti-Social Behaviour Policy be circulated to members in advance of the November meeting.

                                                              ACTION BY: Director of Housing

Also the scrutiny committee asked officers to ensure that the information requested at the July meeting regarding the Homelessness Scrutiny Panel update on voluntary and community sector contracts and out of hours provision, was included in the update report going to the November meeting.

                     ACTION BY: Director of Housing (SM)

Programme of meetings 2024/25 (new items and information requests in bold)

12^th November

·       Housing & Repairs Transformation Programme

·       Landlord Services update on: Anti-social Behaviour Policy, Estate Parking Report, Feedback from Tenancy Visits, Voids lettings, policy on dangerous dogs

·       Landlord Licensing Scheme (also covering conditions of homes and enforcement action)

·       Homelessness Scrutiny Panel Officer Update (to include update on voluntary and community sector contracts and out of hours provision)

·       Rough Sleeping Services Review Update

·       Cabinet Member Better Homes update

·       Work Programme

10^th December

·       Asset Management Strategy (Cabinet Report)

·       Procurement Strategy for a Retrofit at Scale Pilot (Cabinet Report)

·       Allocations Policy Report

·       HRA Budgeting Report

·       Insight, Learning and Impact Report (Quarter 2 2024/5)

·       Cabinet Member Better Homes update

·       Work Programme

13^th January 2025

·       HRA Budget & Rent Review 24/25

·       CIP annual report

·       Domestic Abuse Report Update

·       Cabinet Member Better Homes update

·       Work Programme

25^th February

·       Housing Associations Annual Performance Report

·       Cabinet Member Better Homes Annual Report

·       Work programme

Yet to be programmed

·       Council 14^th October 24 – response on themed debate on private renter sector housing.

·       TSM Housing Regulator update

·       Housing Ombudsman report  

RESOLVED –

THAT the report work programme be revised as outlined above.

There were none.