Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2021 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2021 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To note any declarations of interest made by members in connection with an agenda item.  The nature of the interest must also be specified.

Members are asked to discuss any possible interests with Democratic Services prior to the meeting.

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

To note any issues raised during the public participation period.

No issues were raised in the public participation period.

To receive a presentation on the progress made against the new compliance policies now in place

The Panel received a presentation providing details in relation to compliance of the Council’s responsibilities as a housing landlord.  A series of policies had been approved in 2019 and 2020 in relation fire safety, legionella, gas and electrical safety, lifts and lifting equipment, and playgrounds / play equipment.  The policies set out the legislative and statutory duties.

The Council’s Asset Management Database, Keystone was explained.  All information in relation compliance was stored in the database.  This included servicing records and gas and electrical certificates, whilst it was noted the system was easily accessible to housing staff.

An overview of the compliance for the year was detailed to members, which had been collated on 28 February 2021.  This included, for example, that 98.58% of properties had received their annual gas inspection and 81.82% of through floor lift inspections had been carried out.  Members noted that the compliance rate had improved since the statistics had been gathered. 

The challenges of accessing properties to carry out gas and electric inspections during the coronavirus pandemic were highlighted to the Panel.  Measures had been put in place to reassure tenants that it was safe for operatives to enter properties and well as to protect members of staff from the risk of coronavirus whilst working inside properties. 

A brief overview was provided of the types of compliance checks which were carried out.  For example, passenger lifts and communal stair lifts needed to be serviced and inspected every six months.

The Panel noted that Fire Risk Assessments had been carried out in all of the housing blocks (204 in total) during 2019-2020.  The actions identified had been categorised and put into an action plan to inform a programme of work.  It was noted that there were no high risks, 528 medium risks and 37 low risk actions.  The actions would be addressed on a priority basis over the next year.

Three new positions had been approved for Building Safety Officers.  Their role would be to carry out, for example, weekly fire alarm checks, block and estate inspections, health and safety checks as well as engaging with tenants on the safe management of the building in which they live.

Members asked about the safety of the cladding used on the Council’s housing blocks and it was noted that no cause for concern had been identified at the current time.

To receive a report providing an overview on the Housing Ombudsman’s new Complaint Handling Code and the requirements for the Council to ensure full compliance.

The Panel considered the report providing an overview of the Housing Ombudsman’s new Complaint Handling Code and the requirements for the Council to ensure full compliance.

The new Code had been published in July 2020.  It provided a high-level framework to support effective handling and prevention of complaints alongside learning and development.  The Code set out the expectations to ensure that landlords respond to complaints effectively and fairly.  It also helped tenants to know what to expect from their landlord when they make a complaint and how to progress any complaint.

All landlords were expected to self-assess against the Code by the end of 2020 and to publish their results.  It was noted that the Council had a clear complaints procedure, which set out how complaints would be addressed.  Following any complaint, the Council would carry out a review to consider whether there were any learning points to improve the service for customers in the future.  The Code also required the Council to share its learning from complaint outcomes with its tenants’ and it was expected that the Tenant Involvement Group would assist with this.

Members asked whether any assistance would be provided to landlords in the private rented sector.   It was noted that a Landlord’s Forum was proposed to be set up in 2021.  The District Council wanted to provide support to private landlords and develop good relationships, whilst ensuring they were aware of their responsibilities.

RESOLVED:

That the requirements within the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code be acknowledged.

To receive an update on the progress of the Housing Strategy and HRA property development and acquisition programme.

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

By the end of March the District Council was expecting to have completed an additional 212 properties over the last three years, which included buy backs of ex Council properties, Section 106 purchases, commissioned schemes, acquisitions and NFDC conversions.  The Panel noted that a number of general needs schemes had been completed across the District, including properties at Crow Lane, Ringwood and Kennard Close, New Milton.  The Council has also increased its temporary accommodation provision with 4 units at 129 Ashley Road and 4 units at Blackfield Community Centre, Blackfield.

The achievements of the Housing Strategy and development programme were highlighted to Members.  These included setting up a Building Contractors Framework which would reduce the tendering time frame for schemes, approving a policy for Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership and securing external grant funding and capital subsidy.  It was also noted that the first Council owned properties for shared ownership had been sold, subject to contract.

Contractors were currently working on site at Tourlands and Blease Court in Lymington to provide additional temporary accommodation units and further schemes were expected to commence during 2021. 

The former Testwood Social Club site in Totton, purchased by the Council was at pre-planning stage.  The proposal was to provide a greener housing scheme using the future homes standard.  This included for example, the installation of air source heat pumps and triple glazing.

The Panel noted that the Housing Strategy had set a target to deliver over 600 new homes by 2026.  The direction of travel in order to achieve this was presented to members.  It was confirmed that 212 additional homes were expected to be completed by the end of March 2021.  130 homes formed a firmer pipeline for the next 3 years, whilst other potential early stage opportunities and openings had been identified that could, if successful, result in a further 178 homes, creating a current overall potential for 520 new properties to 2026. 

Given the current position and with five years remaining, it was felt that the 600+ target was still achievable however further work would be needed to continue to identify new development opportunities and build the pipeline.  Good progress had been made but  barriers and challenges still needed to be overcome.  Some ‘big wins’ would be necessary.  Smaller rural schemes were especially testing, and for larger developments sensitive balances were having to be maintained around planning interests and viability, and to ensure that affordable housing land values and costs were not overheated.

To receive an update on homelessness.

The Panel received an update on homelessness, the presentation is attached to these minutes as an Appendix. 

A summary of the headline statistics of the housing register was reported.  There were currently 1,267 live applications distributed across all four housing bands.  294 applicants had been rehoused since January 2020.  Social housing had been offered across all four housing bands.  88 full duty homeless cases had been moved on from temporary accommodation during the last financial year. 

The Panel noted the statistics presented to them relating to applicants on the housing register and their preferred area of choice for housing within the Forest.  The urban areas of Totton, Lymington and New Milton had the highest levels of demand for social housing.   Statistics were also provided for the bedroom requirements of housing register applicants, with one bedroom properties being most in demand.

The District Council had been required to provide a snap shot of rough sleeping in November 2020 to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.  The Panel noted the rough sleeping statistics for individual authorities across Hampshire, including how the District Council compared to other authorities.  Other statistics were presented across Hampshire for rough sleepers being provided emergency temporary accommodation in response to the coronavirus pandemic and those who had been moved on to settled accommodation / supported housing.

The Panel noted there had been a peak of 22 rough sleepers in the District in November 2020, but the current number of known rough sleepers in the District was now 4.  Each of these had refused the offer of accommodation but were in receipt of regular welfare checks. 184 households had been offered Emergency Temporary Accommodation since 1 March 2020.  56 households were currently in external accommodation.

The programme of future work included the appointment of two new support workers.  They would be embedded within the Tourlands Project to provide support to those living there.  These positions had been funded for three years.  Additional new temporary accommodation was expected to become available over the year and would reduce the need for B&B accommodation.  A new Homelessness Prevention officer would also be appointed specifically to dealt with prevention.

Members noted that discussions were taking place with mental health services across Hampshire to work in partnership together.  Pilots and initiatives were being developed with local district partners which would be shared with the Panel.  There had also been a focus locally on mental health partnership working.  Discussions were taking place with the community mental health team and inpatient hospitals to look how to prevent inpatient hospital admissions and reduce the burden on the Community Mental Health Team.  It was recognised that many clients in temporary accommodation suffered from poor mental health.  Last month out of 50 single people in temporary accommodation, 37 of them had a mental health condition.

A further bid had been submitted to sustain the previous funding received to support rough sleepers and to fund a Mental Health Practitioner within the support team.  It was proposed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

An opportunity for the Portfolio Holder to provide an update to the Panel on any issues.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing Services reported that the Housing Services team were continually working hard to move forwards, this had been demonstrated at the meeting in relation to compliance, for ensuring that safety checks were made, for example.  Work also continued in order to deliver more homes to local people.

The Portfolio Holder addressed the key performance indicators which were identified in red on the performance dashboard.

The Council has a duty to prevent homelessness.  During early 2021 over 60% of applicants which had presented themselves as threatened with homelessness had been prevented from becoming homeless, in line with the Corporate Plan target.  273 households had been prevented from losing their home so far over the current financial year.  To date this represented successful prevention of 50%. This figure was explained, and it was noted households had ended their engagement with the Council, without becoming homeless, as opposed to a fall in successful preventions.  The housing team had worked hard, particularly over the last year to ensure better outcomes for those being faced with homelessness. 

Private sector lease properties were required for families to use as a stop gap between Emergency Temporary Accommodation and settled Council accommodation.  The success of the housing allocations policy in moving families from these properties and the reduction in family homelessness due to covid19 had allowed officers to assess the quality, location and type of lease accommodation coming back to the Council as empty.  As a result it was noted that this resulted in a net reduction against the KPI target, using fewer private sector lease properties which was considered to be a positive outcome by members of the panel. 

In terms of external B&B Accommodation, the introduction of “Everyone in” and “Protect Plus” Central Government guidance had had an effect on the number of households placed into B&Bs.  The Council had helped 184 applicants into accommodation.  The housing teams had worked hard to move those applicants onto alternative accommodation and whilst supporting those remaining in B&B accommodation.  More temporary accommodation would be provided over the forthcoming year and this would lead to a reduction on the need to use external B&B accommodation.

To consider the Panel’s future work programme and make changes where necessary.

RESOLVED:

That the Work Programme be agreed.