Agenda and minutes

To consider any apologies for absence

There were none.

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 10^th December 2024.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 10^th December 2024.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 10^th December 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 Cabinet Member for Better Homes

This report details the review into the current Houses in Multiple Occupation licensing scheme designation and seeks agreement to a statutory consultation on proposals to introduce a new designation for 5-years, upon the expiry of the current scheme on 8 December 2025. Whilst there has been improvements in conditions as a result of the current scheme, more work is needed, due to non-compliance with licence conditions and those seeking to avoid licensing.

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

Darren Wilsher, Private Sector Housing Service Manager, took the meeting through the report and gave the following key responses to questions:

·     The Council was still seeking to obtain the robust evidence and data to support the potential introduction of a selective licensing scheme, as part of the requirement was to demonstrate the need to tackle one of the various issues that a scheme would be required to deal with e.g. poor property conditions or anti-social behaviour. It was expected that the commissioning process to appoint a research establishment to undertake this work would be done during the course of the year. The outcome from this work would be reported to members when it was available.

·       Once the work had been undertaken, consultation undertaken and approval given then the outcomes would no longer require the approval of the Secretary of State so they could be implemented at that point.

·       Licensing Schemes would continue to play an important role in seeking to raise standards for landlords and tenants alike, and proposals like Property MOTs would not be replacing current tools such has HMO and selective licensing schemes.

·       The Licensing scheme sets out the minimum standards to be achieved by a landlord, along with these standards there were management regulations some of which covered waste provision. Waste Management issues were something that would be picked up with landlords as part of targeted compliance inspections. Members could identify and refer properties that were not meeting the required standards to officer to investigate. Where landlords were not meeting these requirements then enforcement action would be taken against them, whether that was through issuing civil penalty notices, formal enforcement or prosecution through the courts. Landlords were always advised that they should ensure that their tenants understood how to live responsibly along with how to undertake basic requirements such as when to place rubbish out for collection.

·       Officers worked with colleagues in environmental services to pick up issues regarding reported community and environmental concerns. This could provide information regarding poor compliance and un-licenced properties so officers in the team could undertake appropriate action.

·       Nationally there was a shortage of environmental health professionals and the service had put in place proposals that would help it develop and support new staff through a new 1-year Diploma. This approach had enabled 4 members of staff to come through the programme this year, with a further 3 coming through next year.

·       The Council was expecting to have in place a new on-line processing and payment system for HMO licensing by March this year.

·       Licence conditions were tailored for each property and landlords were expected to meet these requirements. Prior to renewing a licence checks were completed to determine whether work identified had been completed by landlords and compliance with licence conditions generally, with non-compliant landlords being only issued with a 1 year licence so as to encourage them to complete the works. So far 331 1-year licences had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report for the Cabinet Member for Better Homes

With nearly 23,000 tenants and 9,000 leaseholders, Camden is the fourth largest local authority social landlord in London and the twelfth largest in England. In our role as landlord we have a crucial role in resident’s lives by providing high quality homes for tenants, ensuring our estates support people’s health, and supporting our communities. The Housing and Repairs Transformation programme and the Housing Investment Strategy are critical to fulfilling this role.

The national funding system for social housing is broken. Decisions taken by the previous government have resulted in £168m of lost rental income since 2016. At the same time cost pressures in the form of inflation, interest, fire & building safety, damp & mould and disrepair have mounted up. Together the lost rental income and cost pressures have created a severe financial challenge.

This report sets out how the Council intends to deliver on its strategic objectives for housing in 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 from 1 April 2025 for the financial year 2025/26, which includes savings as part of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) approved at Cabinet in January 2023 and some increases to those savings targets during 2025/26.

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 for Better Homes.

The meeting was advised that the views of the Housing District Management Committees regarding the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget setting proposals, had been circulated to members as part of the supplementary agenda.

Michael Webb, Head of Finance (Supporting Communities), took the meeting through the report and he along with Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The proposed housing rental and service charge increases would ensure that all the inflationary pressures within housing services were being met rather than funding an increase in service provision. The Housing Investment Strategy and the Housing Transformation programme would be the key driving mechanisms designed to improve the Council’s housing infrastructure and tenant’s experience of service provision.

·       The Council was proposing to undertake a review of all services and contracts to ensure that all inflationary pressures were being met wherever possible from existing resources. Should gaps be identified as part of this review process then this would be picked up in the budgetary process for 2026/27.

·       Officers would be considering other ways of securing resources to ensure services were fully funded, de-pooling service charges had been a way of meeting this need in the past and, should it prove necessary, this could be undertaken again in the areas left where it could be done.

·       In delivering the proposed HRA budget proposals officers undertook a thorough review of income and expenditure to see were savings could be made. This process identified efficiency savings that recognised some services could be delivered and resources spent differently. Some of the savings proposals recognised that trade-offs had to be made regarding service provision, and this would be in the area of discretionary services e.g. communal repairs.

·       The Council was not able to do everything that tenants may want it to undertake on their behalf. Here though the Council had sought to empower tenants with information that would help them do things that they could do themselves e.g. through helpful videos of how to do some minor household tasks such as unblocking sinks and how to keep damp and mould at bay.

·       The Hampstead DMC had voted in favour of the proposed increase in rents as they had recognised the need to fully fund services, and they had felt that the Transformation Programme had begun to make service improvements.

·       The Housing Investment Strategy sought to identify how the proposed Housing Asset Management Strategy, which included a large cyclical maintenance programme would be funded over the next five years.

·       A contract procurement process would be undertaken from April this year which would seek an improved level of contractor performance for M&E services such as heating and lifts, delivered through new contracts from 2026 onwards.

·       Some homes would need to receive regular damp and mould support due to the fabric of the building, and the authority would need  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Better Homes

The Council’s ambition is to be an excellent social landlord that places its tenants at the top of its priorities and provides quality housing that meets, and where possible, exceeds regulatory requirements. We aim to deliver services to residents that are easy to access and are underpinned by open and transparent communication. This ambition includes work to make our estates more pleasant places to live, and our homes much more energy efficient, and ultimately zero-carbon. The Council is also committed to increasing the supply of good quality, energy efficient, family friendly homes through its Community Investment Programme, through its Registered Provider Camden Living, and through its acquisition programmes.

This report responds to two key challenges which the Council faces: an urgent need to address the local housing crisis through the development and acquisition of good quality homes, and a significant shortfall in its finances to maintain its existing portfolio to the necessary standards to ensure regulatory compliance and the safety of residents.  These are not independent challenges; and it is therefore essential that the Council takes a holistic approach in its response.

Within this context the report sets out the Council’s Housing Investment Strategy and how it will add to and adapt its housing stock through the Community Investment Programme, Camden Living and acquisition programmes. To support the ambitions of the Housing Investment Strategy, the report also details a 5-year investment strategy for the Council’s current homes, to improve their quality and make sure residents are safe, warm and dry. The strategy responds to significant change nationally in social housing regulation, especially the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and Building Safety Act 2022 and embeds their requirements in the specific context of Camden. It details investment priorities, funding arrangements and the proposed capital works to be delivered. 

The report also considers the outcomes for residents and how some of the Council’s homes are not at the standard they should be, either because of how they are built or because of the investment they need.

The report is coming to Cabinet because it has significant implications for investment in the Council’s homes across all wards, requires the allocation of significant capital budgets, and recommends an active approach to managing the Council’s housing stock, which is focused on securing better homes for Council residents and actively addressing poor quality or high-cost homes.

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

Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, took the meeting through the report and he along with Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, Cabinet Member for Better Homes and Sinead Burke, Head of Property Asset Management, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       At the DMC meetings on 8^th January 2025 the DMCs, especially Hampstead DMC, understood the need for the Council to have a comprehensive approach to tackling its housing investment needs that would involve the sale of a number of poorly performing properties.

·       The Council would continue to work with and put the arguments to the government regarding the need to fund social housing’s investment need.

·       The Housing Investment Strategy put in place a 5 year programme and sought to fund the Housing Asset Management Strategy of the Council. The programme would allow the Council to dispose of up to 60 poorly performing properties during the course of a year if necessary.

·       Each poorly performing property identified would have to go through a rigorous process before it was determined to go ahead with the disposal.

·       The Council had been working through and embedding the improvements recommended by Councillor Slater regarding Leaseholder Services. Leaseholders were also being given opportunities throughout any contract procurement and works programme to give their views on the respective arrangements. Leaseholders were only charged for the specific works that had been undertaken.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Housing

This report provides an update to Housing Scrutiny Committee on the work to achieve Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance Accreditation and work to embed a housing-led response to domestic abuse across Camden.

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

Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing, took the meeting through the report along with Simone Melia, Head of Housing Solutions (Also Domestic Abuse Lead for Housing), Hannah Slydel, Senior Policy Officer, and Caroline Bialobrzycka, Violence against Women and Girls Principal Policy and Projects Officer, gave the following key responses to questions:

·     The policy, handbook, and training programme would provide housing staff with the assessment skills and tools needed to recognise not just physical abuse, but all forms of Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) including coercive control. This included indicators that could mean that a person was suffering domestic abuse or violence e.g. anti-social behaviour complaints, a person being made homeless or at risk of being made homeless being possible indicators.

·       It was expected that once the Resident-facing Housing and Domestic Abuse Policy and the ‘Know your rights’ Survivors’ Housing and Domestic Abuse handbook was launched this year that there would be an increase in the number of case referrals. The case referral process and the number of staff undertaking the Level 1 to Level 3 DVA training programmes, was underpinned by a case management and oversight systems that included DVA Dashboards that allowed for the effective monitoring of cases and monthly reporting to DVA working groups. The Dashboard would be used to monitor access points in relation to case referrals that could be cross-referenced to the training undertaken to see the effectiveness of the process. The policy and the handbook would be supported by an effective communication campaign that places the information in accessible places including the Council’s website. To increase accessibility the domestic abuse and housing overview pages of the handbook had been translated into the six key community languages as well as an in an Easy-read format.

·       All Camden staff had to undertake mandatory Domestic Violence and Abuse training. This was further enhanced by compulsory level one to three domestic abuse training for core housing teams, and bespoke training for teams such as caretakers and repairs staff. 

·       The ‘Know your rights’ Survivors’ DVA handbook had been co-produced by people with lived-experience of domestic abuse, homelessness and housing insecurity. The Policy and Handbook were developed in consultation with external partners, including specialists along with internal staff teams. Officers would continue working in partnership with these agencies on this issue, and as part of this they were developing a learning offer for partner organisations to equip their staff with an understanding of domestic abuse, the housing laws that applied and had knowledge on how to navigate the Council’s processes, procedures and along with appropriate contacts. The Council continued to fund Community and Voluntary Sector organisation through appropriate funding streams.

·       Domestic abuse expertise has been embedded into housing services through two new specialist Domestic Abuse Complex Case Co-ordinator (Neighbourhoods) roles. Also, the Homelessness Team had 2 Domestic Abuse Homelessness Advisors in place to advise on issues that arose. Housing Services would be looking to appoint domestic abuse champions within the service  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the Director of Housing

Camden is in the process of reviewing its Housing Allocation Scheme (the Scheme) with a view to making both minor and major changes to it. The report summarises minor changes to the Scheme which have now been agreed by the Executive Director for Supporting Communities following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Better Homes, and draft opportunity areas for major changes to the Scheme. Any proposed major changes to the Scheme will be subject to public consultation. The report also sets out proposed timescales for the work on major changes.

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

Gerry Crowley, Head of Allocations, Lettings and Private Housing Services,         took the meeting through the report and he along with Glendine Shepherd, Director of Housing, gave the following key responses to questions:

Councillors Anna Burrage and Lorna Greenwood were also in attendance for this item.

·       The Council was focused on maximising any and every opportunity to downsize and free up the supply of bedrooms and family size properties. The current allocations policy allows a tenant to downsize to their assessed level of need. Should a tenant be of state pension age then they were allowed to downsize to their assessed level of need plus a spare bedroom. The revised scheme would now allow for households seeking to downsize to be able to bid for a property which was one bedroom larger than their assessed requirements. This new approach would be promoted widely to ensure that as many tenants as possible were able to downsize, and free up larger homes for families in need.

·       Improvements would also be made regarding the offers and viewing processes and, once the way forward had been determined, then these proposals would go through the appropriate governance processes, and consultation before they could be implemented.

·       The Housing and Medical Points Assessment target was being increased to 28 days as it was felt it better reflected its achievability. This process was often very complex and required the input from a number of sources, and the failure to make the assessment within the target let to the applicant feeling distressed. The 28 day target would allow for a more accurate deadline and the better management of the tenant’s expectations. The process itself was also going to be reviewed as currently points were awarded then taken away, again distressing the applicant leading to complaints being made.

·       Officers would be reviewing the Additional Support Needs criteria to allow for further flexibility, especially around when tenants had rent arrears but had signed up to repayment agreements and were adhering to them.

·       Adult Social Care Services had proposed that the annual housing quota be increased to 20 properties for adults with learning disabilities so they can live independently, and allow the best opportunity to fully utilize the number of properties. A review process would be built in the scheme to ensure that it was working as expected.

·       The Council and other services would continue to work together to try and ensure that adults with learning disabilities who were allocated a home as part of the annual housing quota, were fully supported in their homes so that they received the outcomes they desired.

·       Officers would be looking at putting in place a mechanism to allow for the consideration of exceptional cases.

·       Officers would share the proposed draft bereavement family protocol when it was available.

ACTION BY: Director of Housing (GC)      

·       Officer would also be considering whether the review stage processes could be condensed into a 1 stage process.

·       The proposed major changes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

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 noted that the following changes to the work programme, along with the further information required regarding items:

·      Housing Ombudsman report was now to be considered at an Extra-Ordinary meeting of the Council on the 20^th January 2025, and whether the report would now be considered by the scrutiny committee would be subject to the outcomes from that meeting.

·       Use of AI to improve Housing Services (July)

·       Housing Allocation Scheme major changes (July)

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

25^th February

·       Housing Associations Annual Performance Report

·       Housing Ombudsman report (Subject to the outcome from the Extra-Ordinary Council meeting)

·       Cabinet Member Better Homes Annual Report

·      CIP annual report

·       Draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy (Cabinet Member report)

·       Work programme

Yet to be programmed

·       AI – Improving Housing Services (July)

·       Housing Allocation Scheme major changes (July)

The meeting noted that an informal work programme discussion would be held in approximately June 2025 to discuss developing the scrutiny committee’s draft work programme for the year.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report work programme be revised as outlined above.

There were none.