New Forest Borough Council Housing and Homelessness Overview and Scrutiny Panel Meeting

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2021 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

No declarations of interest were made by members in connection with an agenda item.

No issues were raised in the public participation period.

The Panel considered the revised Corporate Plan which had been reviewed in light of the changes to the Cabinet structure and the portfolio holder responsibilities.  The Plan also reflected on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and placed greater emphasis on sustainability as well as supporting the local economy.  The next meeting of the Panel in January 2022 would consider the Portfolio Holder Performance Dashboards, incorporating the new responsibilities.

RESOLVED:

That the revisions to the Corporate Plan 2020-2024, ‘Community Matters’ be noted and supported.

The Panel considered draft policies in relation to the Control of Asbestos and the Control of Contractors.  It was noted that these were the latest in a suite of compliance policies which had been brought to the Panel.

The Policies had been written to ensure that both the Council and its contractors complied with current legislation, regulations and clarified roles and responsibilities.  Members noted that an officer led asbestos working group would be set up to regularly oversee the Council’s approach and ensure good practice.  The Panel would receive annual compliance reports in relation to these policies.

In response to a member question regarding the active removal of asbestos in buildings, it was noted that asbestos was not normally dangerous unless it had been damaged or was disturbed.  Many buildings had asbestos within them, however, the majority of the asbestos would be low risk. 

RESOLVED:

That the proposed Control of Asbestos Policy and the Control of Contractors Policy be supported.

The Panel received a presentation providing an update on the Supply Chain and Logistics model in relation to the supply of goods and materials to support the housing maintenance and repair service.  The presentation has been attached to the minutes as an Appendix.

The presentation outlined the background to the supply chain model, noting that £1 million was spent each year on goods and materials on reactive repairs on the Council’s housing stock.  82% of this expenditure in 2018/19 had been on over the counter sales.

The Council had used the Pretium Framework to establish a longer term arrangement with a ‘Master Vendor’ (Travis Perkins) to better understand the flow of materials to actual demand.  A greater understanding of purchasing would drive improvements in efficiencies, cost management, etc.  Most importantly, it meant that the Council’s trades team could focus better on fixing tenants’ properties and reduce the travel time through continuous improvements to van stock profiling. 

The contract had commenced on 1 June 2020. The Council now receives a monthly invoice.  Prior to the contact over 10,000 invoices per annum in relation to housing maintenance. 

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic had affected the housing maintenance and repair service.  Travis Perkins had worked with the Council to ensure that trades operatives had access to the stock they required in order to carry out repairs.  Materials such as timber, plaster and metals had been more difficult to acquire.  There had also been price fluctuations for timber (an increase of +149%), copper and metals due to supply chain issues.  A price increase of 4% had been agreed over the next 12 months, which had been carefully scrutinised.

The framework agreement offered rewards back on the percentage of operating sales.  £3,844 had been credited to the Council in early 2021 for the part year contribution during late 2020.  In addition to the rewards, a social value fund had been set up, where 0.75% of the total Council spend was allocated to a fund for social value projects.  Examples were provided on the type of projects.  It could include, for example, Tenant DIY days.  The balance of the fund to date was £10,167.  Members views were invited on suitable projects.

In response to a member question about benchmarking with other suppliers to ensure that the Council was getting good value for money, it was noted that a basket of the top 50 used items were reviewed on an annual basis and price matched.  Under the terms of the contract framework, Travis Perkins were required to meet these prices.

The Panel received a presentation on Resident Involvement and how residents were proposed to have more powers to scrutinise the Council, should the intentions of Central Government’s White Paper – Charter for Social Housing Residents gain approval ahead of a proposed launch in 2023.

The benefits of resident involvement were recognised. The Council was actively working with tenants through, for example, the Tenant Involvement Group (TIG) as well as seeking feedback from residents following activities such as housing repairs.  This enabled officers to review the service provision and identify areas for improvement.

The current Social Housing Regulations were explained to the Panel and the changes proposed in the Charter for Social Housing Residents (White Paper).  The intention was that tenants and landlords would work together more closely.  The White Paper proposed a greater deal of accountability, with a named individual being responsible for meeting consumer standards.  Tenants would also be able to influence their landlord more and hold them to account. 

The Government expected landlords to start working with tenants now to improve the services to tenants, noting that the white paper set out the direction of travel.  The District Council was currently planning for this change.

The issue of tensions between tenants was raised and questioned whether the charter would address this.  In response, it was stated that landlords would be required to have a greater visual presence within neighbourhoods and communities and carry out more regular inspections.  It was hoped that through a greater visual presence any areas of concern would be identified at an earlier stage, relationships between landlords and tenants would improve and any problems would be resolved before they escalated further.

Members asked how the Council would ensure that any tenants who volunteered to get involved with the council would be representative of all areas of the community.  It was noted that officers try to get a good representation in terms of different age groups and backgrounds, etc.  In response to a question regarding those tenants who do not have access to digital services, it was noted that information would be promoted in other ways, such as through face to face meetings.  Consideration was also being given to the provision of paper surveys.   It was however, reported that through Homesearch, the majority of tenants had online access and all new tenants had email addresses.

Amanda Rogers, local resident addressed the Panel in relation to properties being purchased and renovated, to be used as holiday rentals, such as AirBnB.  The demand for this market raised the prices of properties and was preventing local residents from purchasing properties, in particular those not yet on the housing ladder.

The Panel noted the concerns of the local resident and that the issue crossed over a number of different Council departments, including for example, business rates, planning and economic development.  It was proposed that officers research this matter and present the findings to a future meeting for the Panel.

The Panel received a presentation on the Private Sector Housing Strategy which had been adopted in 2020 (the presentation is attached to these minutes as an Appendix).  A recap was provided of the five strategic priorities and the work carried out to date on each of them, as follows:

Strategic Priority 1 – To achieve high standards in the private sector 

161 property inspections in the private sector had been carried out between April 2020–March 2021.  The inspections had identified 42 Category 1 hazards and had been resolved in cooperation with the landlords.  The District Council currently had 40 licenced HMOs and had been working proactively with hotels which provided staff accommodation to ensure they sought an HMO license, if one was required.

A case study was presented to the Panel of the private sector housing team working with a hotel which provided staff accommodation.  A site visit had been carried out which identified a number of issues, a major one being in relation to fire safety and the lack of a suitable fire exit.  Officers had worked with the hotel, involving Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to ensure that this issue be addressed.  An HMO application would be submitted when all the matters of concern had been fully rectified.

Strategic Priority 2 – Enabling Safe Independent Living

167 disabled facilities grant works had been completed between April 2020-March 2021.  Officers continued to support and work in partnership with New Forest Disability Service in order to ensure that residents have access to adaptations and the support needed for those to moving back home from hospital.  A new DFG surveyor had been appointed which would help to reduce the time taken to assess and install adaptations.

Strategic Priority 3 – Empty Homes Strategy

Following approval of the Empty Homes Strategy in September 2021, officers were working with the owners of properties which had been identified as being vacant for two years or more with the aim of bringing them back into occupation. 

Strategic Priority 4 – Energy Efficiency

A range of work was presented to the Panel to improve the energy efficiency of homes in the District.  This included for example joining a consortium with Portsmouth City Council in a bid for a Sustainable Warmth Grant, which if successful could have a value around £32.7 million to upgrade 2,600 across the southern region.

Strategic Priority 5 – Create a fully integrated housing service within the Council

A new fit for purpose IT system had been installed to bring about better integration of services within housing.

The Panel thanked officers for the update.

The Panel received a presentation providing an update on homelessness, which has been attached to these minutes as an Appendix.

177 placements had been made into emergency accommodation as well as 191 being moved on from this accommodation over the last year.  The Council’s aim was to reduce the reliance on externally provided emergency accommodation (EA).  There were currently 44 households living in external emergency accommodation.

The Panel noted the statistics for the end of the relief duty and the end of the prevention duty.  Accommodation had been secured for 6 or 12 months for 231 households which had been threatened with homelessness in the private sector.

It was reported that there currently four rough sleepers in the District.  The recently opened emergency accommodation, Tourlands in Lymington was accommodating three rough sleepers and support was being provided to these residents.  An update on staffing was provided, which included a new Mental Health nurse who would work in partnership with Mental Health Services.  Work was also continuing with other Hampshire authorities in relation to healthy homes, mental health and the discharge protocols.

Members asked what the main causes of homelessness in the District were.  The largest group of those presenting themselves as homeless was single people being evicted from family and friends, often where relationships break down and no formal tenancy arrangements were in place.  This had been particularly prevalent during the coronavirus pandemic.  Officers work with families to mediate and try to alleviate the situation to prevent a breakdown occurring. 

In response to a question regarding communication and links with the emergency services to report any concerns, it was noted that work was ongoing with the ambulance service to ensure they had the mechanisms and contact information for the District Council.  It was noted that the Council also work with neighbouring authorities to share information on homelessness and rough sleeping. 

The Panel questioned how the ban on evictions had affected those presenting themselves as homeless.  It was noted that there had been peaks and troughs, however, whilst the covid eviction ban had been in place, residents had contacted the Council at early stage which had enabled discussions to take place prior to any eviction.  Officers reported that a campaign, “Call before you Serve”, would be launched shortly.  This sought to encourage landlords to talk to the Council before serving a notice on their tenants.  The Council would work with the landlord, to try to resolve any problems with the tenant, with for example, failure to pay rent on time or antisocial behaviour to try to resolve these issues rather than them being evicted. 

The Panel received a presentation providing an update on the progress of the Housing Strategy and HRA property development / acquisition.  The presentation is attached to these minutes as an Appendix.

The main headlines were presented to the Panel of the work being carried out to provide more affordable homes in the District.  It was noted for example that works were progressing on site for the Old Bakery, New Milton and that completion was expected in November 2021.  A bid had been submitted to Homes England for Gorse Close, New Milton and work was due to commence on site shortly. 

The current development programme of affordable homes was presented to members.  To date, 211 homes had been completed.  There had been an increase in the potential to provide more affordable homes since the last meeting, however caution was expressed as some of the figures quoted were speculative and were subject to change. Work would continue to identify further affordable housing opportunities.

A question was asked regarding the acquisition and development of affordable homes to ensure that the offering matched the needs of residents, in terms of the number of bedrooms required.  It was noted that there were regular meetings to identify the housing need so that the future affordable housing offering was focussed around the needs of those who required affordable housing.

In response to a question regarding the demand for adapted accommodation.  It was noted that this was a consideration in the provision of new affordable developments.  The Testwood Social Club site, for example, had been designed to provide fully adaptable units on the ground floor.  However, the provision of accessible units was dependent on the opportunities which arise for affordable housing and this would need to be balanced against the cost.

The Portfolio Holder had sent her apologies to the Panel.

RESOLVED:

That the following dates of meetings for 2022/23 (Wednesdays at 6.00 pm) be agreed:

·       15 June 2022

·       21 September 2022

·       18 January 2023

·       15 March 2023

RESOLVED:

That the Work Programme be approved.