Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedures for the operation of hybrid meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on hybrid meetings be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Meric Apak, Cabinet Member Better Homes, Glendine Shepherd Director of Housing, Mark Davidson, Ryan Heng and Jo Rose.

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

Webcasting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live to the internet and would be capable of repeated viewing and copies of the recording could be made available to those that requested them. Those participating in the meeting were deemed to be consenting to being filmed.

Mark Davidson

The Chair advised the meeting that Mark Davidson had been promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner and would be moving on to pastures new. He was being replaced as Borough Commander by David George. She wished him well for the future and welcomed David George onto the panel.

There were none.

There were none.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th October 2022

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th October 2022.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th October 2022 be approved as a correct record.

To appoint a Resident Panel Member to Co-Chair the proceedings

At this point in the proceedings, Gul Begum, Resident Co-Chair, stood down from the chair so that she could participate in the item. Melissa Dillon, Resident Safety Engagement & Governance Lead, took the chair for this item.

The meeting then sought nominations for the position of Resident Co-Chair. Gul Begum was the only nomination and the meeting agreed that she be the Resident Panel Co-Chair for a further 12 months.

RESOLVED –

THAT Gul Begum be appointed Resident Co-Chair for a further 12 months.

Gul Begum then continued chairing the rest of the meeting.

Report of the Director of Property Management

The report reviews the range of issues the Panel (FS&CAP) has considered over the last 12 months, The FS&CAP terms of reference (section 9.1) require that they are reviewed annually.

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

Melissa Dillon, Resident Safety, Engagement & Governance Lead, took the meeting through the report and gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The TMO liaison group would be considering making an appointment to the membership of the Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel (FSCAP), and it was expected that this would be done before the next meeting of the FSCAP in April.

·       The Council would be seeking to develop and then undertake an extensive communications and engagement programme for tenants and residents following the publication of all necessary regulations arising from the Fire Safety and Building Safety Acts, and the Social Housing Bill. This would include the mechanisms used for reaching out to tenants and residents. Details of how this would be undertaken would be reported to the FSCAP for it to consider at a future meeting.

·       The Council had developed a performance management framework for the delivery of the outcomes arising from Fire Risk Assessments, and information on progress was available for tenants and residents to view on-line through the Council’s website.

·       The Council was still awaiting the publication of the specific regulations regarding the approach that needed to be followed in relation to Emergency Evacuation Information sharing. It was though recognised that different approaches would be needed depending on needs of individual residents and the type of accommodation they were living in. For many properties it was safer for residents to remain in their homes in the event of a fire and the Stay Put evacuation strategy/advice applied, whereas for others a simultaneous evacuation plan would be required.

·       The Council was using a home visits programme by housing neighbourhood officers to help ascertain a person’s need, and from that see if a person centred fire risk assessment was required. This was especially important for vulnerable tenants and residents, as it would provide the appropriate authorities with as full a picture as possible. Information would also be obtained from caretakers who often knew who the vulnerable people were living on an estate, along with adult and children services. This information would then be pulled together and shared with the appropriate authorities.

·       The London Fire Brigade had just published details of the building information it wished shared with them, and this would include information they wanted to see in the secure information boxes for residential buildings.

·       Officers from the new Building Safety Manager Team would be working and sharing with tenants and residents living in high-rise blocks with information on how to live safely in their buildings and in their homes.

·       Information from the London Fire Brigade regarding ‘staying safe whilst saving money’ was available on their website and a link would be shared with FSCAP members.

ACTION BY: Borough Commander

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

This report explains why the Council is undertaking a lock change programme to street properties and TRA halls installing suited universal key systems and how system will work.

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 Dominic Johnson, Head of Safer Homes, and Angela Spooner, Head of Landlord Services, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The Council had the statutory authority to carry out fire and building safety compliance checks. Gaining access to the communal areas of properties formed part of the approach being undertaken to meet this requirement. Unfortunately, this was not always easy to achieve and on occasions the Council had to force entry to communal areas to make sure these checks could be undertaken.

·       The universal key system being put in place would allow access for these areas to so the Council could undertake these essential safety checks in future.

·       Items now found in communal areas were being labelled and it was made clear that in future, if they were not removed then the Council would do so and they would then be disposed of. As part of this process officers were putting in place a prioritisation approach regarding these items, and they would be determining whether they needed to be removed quickly (e.g. within 48 hours) or slightly later (e.g. within 7 working days). 

·       This approach would ensure that the Council did not have the added burden of storing the items for long periods, and appropriate items were removed quickly. Clear communication was always given to tenants and residents and enforcement action would be handled sensitively.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Housing

The report sets out Camden’s approach to refreshing and updating the Tenants Guide to reflect changes in fire and building safety legislation and the prospective changes to the regulation of social housing being introduced by the Social Housing Regulation Bill currently before Parliament.

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

Angela Spooner, Head of Landlord Services, took the meeting through the report and she along with Melissa Dillon, Resident Safety, Engagement & Governance Lead, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The Council was still awaiting the formal requirements that it need to undertake arising from the Social Housing Bill and the Fire Safety and Building Safety Acts, regarding the changes that would need to be made to the tenants guide. This information was expected to be available in the next few months, and following that officers would make appropriate revisions to the tenants guide which would then be brought to the FSCAP for consideration before being finalised and shared with tenants and residents.

·       Officers would look into the issue regarding empty void homes remaining safe whilst empty with the panellist directly.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

This report updates the Panel on new requirements for the inspection of fire doors in residential buildings over 11metres in height and the Council’s approach to specifying closure mechanisms and building entrance doors to residential buildings and internal communal area doors.

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

Dominic Johnson, Head of Safer Homes, took the meeting through the report and he along with Melissa Dillon, Resident Safety Engagement & Governance Lead, gave the following key responses to questions:

·       All doors would be surveyed/measured internally and the contractors surveyor would recommend the type of door closure to be fitted depending on the building layout, size and weight of the doors. They would assess whether there was adequate space within the hallway to accommodate an overhead door closure. The surveyor would consider any vulnerability issue when deciding on the type of door closure to be fitted.

·       If a resident or a member of their household was identified as having difficulty in operating the proposed new door set (the door and door frame it fitted into) this information would be discussed with Camden’s Project Manager and further adjustments would be made. If necessary Camden’s project managers would contact the Occupational Therapy Team to ensure adaptations were made for the individual residents to enable them to operate the door without struggling.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

The report summarises protections for qualifying leaseholders from the costs of removing dangerous cladding and remedying building safety risks related to the spread of fire and structural collapse in qualifying residential buildings.

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

Melissa Dillon, Resident Safety, Engagement & Governance Lead, took the meeting through the report and gave the following key responses to questions:

·       The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced protection for ‘qualifying leaseholders’ from having to pay bills to make their homes safe. The Act made Building Owners and/or those who or were responsible for any historical safety defects legally responsible for meeting the costs of any essential safety repairs.

·       Qualifying leaseholders living in building above 11 metres in height or with at least 5 floors would be covered by the protection. The leaseholder protections covered work to correct a ‘relevant building safety defect’, as defined in the Building Safety Act.

·       The Building Safety Act made it illegal for building owners and landlords to pass on costs above a capped level to qualifying leaseholders.

·       Whilst publication of statutory guidance was awaited the Council was preparing for the implementation by carrying out a review of all Camden Council freehold and leasehold residential buildings over 11 metres in height or with at least 5 floors. This would take approximately 12 months and would confirm which buildings were covered by the protections and in-turn the qualifying leases/qualifying leaseholders living in those buildings.

·       Camden had a small number of buildings that would require the removal of external rendering and high pressure laminates. The Council had programmed these works as part of its capital programme, and the programme for the works would be provided in the report going to the FSCAP in April.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

The report suggests a possible work programme for future meetings of the panel.

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

The meeting agreed to receive a report combining the items identified in the yet to be programmed list regarding ‘Proposals for resident information about safety in the home and in communal areas’ and ‘a communication programme about new rights and responsibilities for tenants and leaseholders’. This report would include information obtained following the Bourne Estate pilot, along with how the proposals would be shared with tenants in street properties. This report would be submitted to the April meeting.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD/SA)

The meeting noted that officers would discuss with the Borough Commander the best approach to sharing information with the panel regarding the item on the yet to be programmed list regarding ‘Emergency Services Communication’.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD)/Borough Commander

The panel noted that the revised tenants guide would be submitted to a future meeting, after the appropriate regulations had been published.

                                                              ACTION BY: Director of Housing

The meeting noted the proposed dates for future meetings as follows,

21^st June, 17^th October, 15^th January 24 and 17^th April.

New items in bold

20^th April 2023

·       LFB Annual Performance report

·       Capital Programme fire safety programme

·       Communications programme for tenants/residents on the new rights and responsibilities

Yet to be programmed

·       Emergency services communications

RESOLVED –

THAT the work programme and dates of meetings as outlined above be agreed.

There were none.