Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Jan Foster and Agnieszka Wisniewska.

There were none.

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the 15^th January 2025

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15th January 2025.

RESOLVED THAT

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2025 were signed as a correct record.

Objective: An update from the Chief Executive on key issues which may be of interest to the Cabinet Housing Committee.

The Chief Executive addressed the committee and provided an update on local government reorganisation and devolution. He explained that county council elections will be going ahead in May which provides more certainty over the timeline. The government has written to all 2-tier areas and asked councils to submit an interim submission by 21 March, to be followed by the final formal submission in November 2025. It is expected that a new authority would be vested from approximately April/May 2028. There may be an election a year before this to establish a Shadow Authority to allow a smooth transition to take place.

The Chief Executive noted that concern has been raised nationally around the risk to staff retention and the continued delivery of services during the reorganisation. Following housing services being brought in-house in July 2024 we will be trying as far as possible to future proof housing services, so colleagues are not put through multiple rounds of reorganisation. This could be a destabilising factor around the business, and the council want to ensure that service quality, compliance and delivery of the consumer standard improvement programme is not impacted or delayed due to the wider reorganisation agenda. Leadership are currently reviewing service areas to reduce the extent to which housing would be subject to further reorganisation in a future structure so it can instead be transferred wholly.

The Chief Executive explained that progress has been made on the previously delayed stock condition surveys and thanked colleagues and the contractor for working together to speed the process up. We are now close to achieving the 20% of stratified survey samples that will allow informed decisions to be made. He highlighted that this work is essential to the housing improvement journey and assured the committee that we will ensure surveys continue to progress.

The committee’s discussion raised the following points:

• The council already collaborate in a number of ways across Gloucestershire districts, including joint initiatives with Stroud as the only other local council to have retained their housing stock. Any new organisation will ensure officers are working together. This could also be a key opportunity for housing services at Cheltenham and Stroud to tackle the challenge of the housing crisis and increase social housing on a larger footprint. The council will also continue to look at information and data across both Gloucestershire and the wider sector, to ensure we are continuing to consider best practice as the new structure is developed.
• The increased progress on the stock condition surveys has included the contractor reviewing their recruitment and staffing and should not have any impact on the quality of the surveys. A sample audit of surveys will be considered to confirm quality remains high.

Objective: To provide an overview of housing related complaints and compliments from quarter 3, identifying key areas of dissatisfaction and areas for learning and service improvement.

The Director of Housing – Customer and Community Services presented the report to the committee and explained that in quarter 3 62 complaints had been received, with 7 progressed to stage 2, 6 of which was upheld. Complaints have focused on quality of work, poor communication and delays in delivering service which will be the focus for learning going forwards. During the quarter, 30 compliments were received with the majority for the Repair Service. Pleased to note a significant reduction in complaints relating to contractor performance reflecting the impact of planned maintenance meetings and a focus on the quality of contractor work.

The committee’s discussion raised the following points:

• Communication will be increased with tenants who may be struggling to afford insurance to ensure that they are aware that the council offers a very low-cost contents insurance. This will be promoted as part of the updated Tenant Handbook and in a future Tenant Voice publication.
• Information is provided to tenants in the language of their choice and interpreters are used to support communication.
• Complaints received about communication commonly relate to our ability to respond to tenants in a timely manner and keep tenants informed, especially when it relates to more complex service or maintenance requests.

Objective: To update the Committee on the ongoing project to improve the cleaning and maintenance of Communal Areas.

The Interim Housing Transformation Director presented the report to the committee and explained that the Communal Areas Improvement Project had been undertaken as this was a lower scoring area within the tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs). The Estates Maintenance Supervisor highlighted the benefits that had been provided by investing in new equipment including scrubber dryers and new vacuum cleaners. He explained that this had improved efficiency, quality, safety and colleague moral.

The committee’s discussion raised the following points:

• The service is able to respond to anti-social behaviour (ASB) within communal areas including using urine neutraliser and carrying out graffiti removal. More stubborn graffiti is carried out by a specialist contractor who has access to sand blasters and high-pressure washers. The team have seen perceptions change as ASB is consistently tackled, with less complaints received from previous problem areas.
• They aim to respond to reported issues within 2 hours but are partly reliant on tenants and colleagues reporting problems which can cause delays.
• CCTV is being trialled in one of the blocks to discourage misbehaviour and identify perpetrators. The trial has been going well and has identified the number plates of fly tippers. The council does have the power to issue fines but there are strict requirements around time stamps which currently the CCTV system does not meet. A ticket is currently open with the provider to introduce time stamps but we do not have a time scale for when this will be completed. Where tenants have been identified in relation to fly tipping they have been issued letters to advise them of how to dispose of items correctly. The team are aiming to set up sessions to provide education to tenants as misbehaviour is often due to different cultural expectations rather than being malicious.
• The Neighbourhood Team Leader has provided remaining tins of urine repellent paint which will be tested in a corridor with identified issues.
• A local company that provides cleaning products to the council will also be providing maintenance and servicing for the new machinery. There is a 3-year warranty for the batteries and a 1-year warranty for the machines.
• Community action groups can provide an important link between the service and tenants, especially where they may be reluctant to report issues caused by their neighbours themselves.
• Tenant and leaseholder representatives confirmed that they had seen a massive improvement in the quality of the work and improvements in team moral, and that the use of recording (by the community) had discouraged incidents of ASB.
• The committee thanked the team for the hard work carried out and the improvements made. They highlighted that the team’s work improves the quality of peoples’ lives.

Objective: To update the Committee on the ongoing project to improve management of Anti-Social Behaviour.

The Tenancy Services Manager introduced the report and highlighted the importance of managing ASB within the Consumer Standards. He explained that the improvement plan is being managed through 5 projects with initial focus on reaching compliance with the Consumer Standards, and the introduction of transactional satisfaction surveys for customers who have used the ASB service. Scoping has begun with the Comms Team for project 4 - to improve communication and external perception of the ASB service.

The committee’s discussion raised the following points:

• Responses to the transactional satisfaction surveys have been low. This is partly caused by a relatively small potential sample size with only 37 surveys sent currently (12 closed cases and 25 managed through triage). Surveys are sent directly to tenants’ mobile phones or, where a mobile is not available, through a phone call. Ways to encourage tenants to respond are being considered, including the introduction of incentives.
• To ensure qualitative data is also secured alongside the real-time responses from the transactional surveys, the team continue to analyse the feedback from the quarterly phone surveys and will be holding tenant panels with those that have used the service. As community groups have acted as go-betweens between the ASB service and tenants it was suggested that they could provide useful insight during the panels as well.
• Concern was raised that a text message may force tenants to relive uncomfortable or difficult experiences. It was suggested that phone calls may allow a more sensitive and personal response.
• It was noted that the installation of CCTV has made a significant difference.
• It was highlighted that it was important to recognise the difference between ASB and criminal behaviour, such as cuckooing. One of the tenant representatives explained that he had struggled to get the police to take issues within his block seriously, possibly due to attitudes towards social housing. Concern was also raised that council officers may be being put in positions where they have to handle incidents that should be managed by the police. The leaseholder representative noted that they had had a very supportive experience with the police in dealing with drug dealing on their street. The committee agreed that the Senior Police Officer for Cheltenham and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire should be invited to a future meeting to discuss how tenants in social housing can be better supported.
• The link between ASB and homelessness was discussed, and it was confirmed that the team work in partnership with groups across Gloucestershire, including probation and mental health services, on a regular basis. The benefit of such strong relationships was highlighted.
• It was confirmed that all incidents reported are recorded on the QL system even if not every incident will be treated as an ASB case. Where situations are one-offs, for example birthday parties or BBQs, the tenants responsible are contacted to discuss appropriate behaviour and provided advice but may not need ongoing intervention.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Objective: To review the strategic risks relating to housing from the Council’s Risk Register.

The Director of Governance and Customer Services presented the report to the committee and highlighted that:

• The risk relating to stock condition surveys is stabilising as progress is being made
• The risk around regulatory and legal requirements has been reduced slightly now that the response to the self-referral has been received but the focus remains on reaching compliance and being inspection ready
• A new risk has been added in connection to the management of void properties following an increase in numbers, this will monitor and mitigate against increasing costs due to the reduction in rent and the use of temporary accommodation.

Objective: To highlight the ongoing activities of the Tenant and Leaseholder Panels and provide an additional opportunity for tenant and leaseholder voices to be heard.

The leaseholder representative updated the committee on the most recent meeting of the Leaseholder Panel in January. They have agreed that the immediate priority was Section 20s as this was a key concern for members. The Head of Housing Service will be attending the February meeting to provide information, answer questions and explore ways to improve the process for customers. They will also consider how they can work together on the planned review of the Leaseholder Handbook to ensure it meets the needs of leaseholders.

The Director of Housing – Customer and Community Services provided an update on behalf of the Tenant Panel and explained that they had undertaken compliance awareness training in December and would be receiving regular compliance reports in the future. A scrutiny on the complaints handling process is currently being finalised. The Panel will also be working with the Community Investment Manager and the Safeguarding, Equality and Diversity Manager to review equality of access to services.

The committee’s discussion raised the following points:

• It is important to continue to look at how we can improve the service to leaseholders but in terms of the Section 20 procedure the council treat leaseholders reasonably well. There is significant scrutiny on leaseholders’ rights from the government at the moment and it was suggested that the Leaseholder Panel considers inputting into consultation activities to ensure their needs are reflected.
• The committee thanked all the volunteers that work hard to improve the services provided and ensure tenants, leaseholder, refugee and other groups’ voices are heard.
• Updating Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) is not being carried out during stock condition surveys. The majority of properties do have an EPC but if a tenant requires one for their property, for example to access Warm Homes discounts, this can be arranged by contacting customer services.
• It is important that all tenants have access to electronic key fobs as these now operate entry doors, bin areas and garden gates. Broken fobs are replaced free of charge but lost fobs cost tenants’ £10 to replace. Individual circumstances will be considered when tenants may be struggling, and this fee may be waived. It was agreed that it was also important that tenants are made aware fobs will be deactivated when replaced so they are not able to share fobs with non-residents.
  
  

The committee were informed that the April meeting has been cancelled due to proximity with the county council elections. Items to be reviewed will be added to the June agenda.

There were none.

Objective: To provide the Committee with an understanding of the impact of the changes to Right to Buy legislation.

It was agreed that an additional update on the impact of the Right to Buy legislative changes should be provided to the committee at a future meeting.

Objective: To provide the Committee with an overview of recent developments in the housing sector and provide opportunities for horizon scanning.

It was agreed that a report would be brought to the committee on the actions taken to reach compliance with Awaab’s Law prior to its implementation in October 2025.