Agenda item

Report of the Directors of Housing and Property Management.

This report updates the DMCs on progress of the Housing Transformation programme, raise awareness of key pieces of work and immediate priorities within the programme.

Katie Hawthorn (Housing Change and Transformation Manager) and Simon Rathbone (Housing Policy and Change Lead) introduced and summarised the report which updated residents on the Housing Transformation programme and covered the following areas: context of the programme, recent achievements, workstreams and upcoming priorities, and the restructure of Housing Services.

The Chair thanked officers for the update and invited questions and comments from residents. The following was discussed:

·       A resident asked how residents could interact with the Housing Transformation Team. The Chair said there were already various groups and panels for resident engagement and stated that residents’ suggestions were often not followed through in current routes, leading to a loss of faith in meaningful engagement. Officers explained they were working on a participation model to involve DMC representatives and create more opportunities for resident engagement and they planned to recruit a group of residents to work on topics on subject-specific initiatives of their choosing over the course of a year. They noted that while engagement would be with a smaller group, new Tenant Participation Services would also offer broader opportunities for involvement beyond the DMCs.

·       A resident asked how the newly established Housing Policy, Performance and Assurance service would be funded. Officers explained that the justification for the team was an ‘invest to save’ approach. The transformation programme was focused on ensuring value for money. They noted that the team was small, consisting of five people, and would be closely examining how to make services more efficient, with robust business cases behind all initiatives.

·       In relation to the Asset Management Strategy, a resident asked how quality control, pressures, and how to balance multiple goals could all be addressed under the strategy. The resident expressed concerns about the rushed presentation of the Strategy and the lack of time for proper discussion at the previous joint DMC meeting. Given Cabinet’s timing to agree the Strategy, there had been insufficient opportunity for deliberation and meaningful input from residents. The resident also pointed out that the Asset Management Strategy was not on the regular DMC agenda, which they felt showed a lack of respect for residents' involvement in the process. Officers clarified that the asset management strategy would now be presented to Cabinet in January 2025, alongside the rent setting. They added that it had already been discussed at the Joint DMC, the Housing Residents Panel on 14 November 2024, and would also be addressed at the Leaseholders Forum on 4 December 2024.

·       The Chair agreed on the need for more pre-meeting discussions between chairs to set the DMC agenda. They planned to send an email to all representatives to gather input on what topics should be discussed at the next DMC meeting in March 2025.

·       A resident expressed frustration with ongoing issues, noting that despite changes such as a new Head of Repairs and a new system a few years ago, the same problems persisted. They added that tenants were reluctant to attend meetings, believing nothing would change.

·       The Chair expressed a desire for the restructure to involve fewer managers and fewer management levels, advocating for more frontline staff with higher salaries. Officers responded that they were working to make the structure as efficient as possible, including identifying areas to reduce management levels.

·       A resident raised concerns about poor communication between Camden and residents, particularly noting that officers were not responding to emails and residents were not being treated seriously. They also highlighted a recent fire that left residents badly affected, with minimal communication from housing officers, asking if this could be considered part of the transformation process. Officers acknowledged the issue, explaining that work was underway to improve how officers engage with residents. This included implementing a proper triaging model for processing queries within an appropriate timeframe, as outlined in the Housing Front Door report. They recognised the current system was not working and efforts were being made to address it.

·       The Chair expressed concerns about communication with housing officers, noting that there had been issues with staff availability and a lack of updates when officers were absent. The Chair emphasised the importance of clear communication, requesting that residents be informed when an officer is unavailable for an extended period, with an alternative contact provided in such cases, as the current system lacked automatic email updates which was frustrating.

·       A resident stated that the report lacked a focus on outcomes or success measures. They pointed out that while the strategy and policy were discussed, there was no clear indication of progress or improvement. Officers acknowledged the point, agreeing that future reports would focus on outcomes and factual information. The resident also noted the lack of details on the outcomes of the resident action day. In response, the Chair mentioned that feedback from that event had been positive and updates had been shared in previous meetings and information was available on the microsite and in a video.

·       In response to residents, officers agreed to provide an update on the Tenant Engagement Programme of Housing/Council officers visiting every tenant household in the borough.      

ACTION: Tenant Participation