Agenda item

The Chief Executive, the Leader of the Council and the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities to submit a report to propose the adoption of a Housing Improvement Plan in order to address current resourcing issues, manage health and safety obligations and to deliver changes within the housing and landlord service to enable the Council to effectively manage and maintain its housing stock. 

The Leader proposed the recommendations in the report and noted the following:

(a)  over the last 18 months, the Council had reinvested in housing services, following a number of years of decline and under investment.  In 2018 the Council worked to rebuild the tenancy function, creating two housing officer roles and three neighbourhood support officers to refocus on  priority neighbourhoods.  In early 2019 the Council introduced a new Fire Safety and Scooter policy and through the newly established Fire Safety Management Group had worked closely with the fire service to improve all the Council did in this important area;

(b)  despite these positive steps, over recent months it had become increasingly apparent that over a number of years the Council had not invested sufficiently in its housing stock and some significant issues had developed which now must be addressed.  Since 2010 the number of non-decent homes had steadily risen to an unacceptable level, without effective intervention or oversight. The HRA Business Plan was last published in 2012 and was in significant need of a refresh.  Over a number of years the Council rationalised and eroded resources in housing services, unnecessarily in his view, and when things started to deteriorate there did not appear to have been any effective strategic action to address them prior to my time as Leader.

(c)  he was convinced that one of the key reasons for this was the significant lack of strategic grip and transparency caused by the former governance processes. In 2018 as part of the LGA Governance review, they were clear that there were significant issues in terms of leadership and accountability at the Council and that the old committee system was a key part of the problem. That was why he was delighted that the new Cabinet had made resolving these issues such a key part of its early work.  Councillor  Pearson had shown great leadership and determination to put these issues right and he was delighted that the work he had done with officers in developing the Housing Improvement Plan provided such a strong and rigorous response to the issues faced.  No-one could now say there was no transparency or accountability and that as a Council they were now  demonstrating a desire to put this right;

(d)  The Council had much work to do and it would take some time to put it right. The Council was taking immediate action to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements and would work closely with the Regulator for Social Housing and Local Government Association to ensure the Council had  the support required to make the improvements.  The Council would be  creating a new housing directorate, investing in more officers and refreshing the HRA Business Plan to ensure the Council was clear and focussed on what needed to be done.  The Council had  come a long way over the last two years and he was very confident that with the additional resources and actions proposed in this report that the Council would  rebuild its housing services and ensure that tenants had the high quality homes and landlord services they deserved.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak until later in the debate. 

During debate the following points were noted:

·         Councillor Evans stated that the position outlined in the report was unfortunate and Melton borough Council was not wholly responsible.  Funding cuts and lack of investment by Central Government had made it very difficult to mange this service effectively;

·         Councillor Cumbers and Councillor Holmes highlighted the work of the Housing Voids and Temporary Accommodation Task and finish Group.  The Group had found that the quality of some housing was very poor and that void periods were costing the Council in excess of £150,000 per year.  The group were collecting evidence from key stakeholders and were hoping to provide some recommendations for improvement within the scope of their review early in 2020;

·         Councillor Chandler knew of examples of tenants who had had to wait a significant amount of time for electrical rewiring and she felt they were insufficiently compensated for required redecoration by being given only £50;

·         Councillor Browne had been asked to review the report and recommendations therein by the Leader.  Councillor Browne believed that the issues in landlord health and safety had come about due to poor governance and leadership from members and officers, resulting in neglect of the service between 2012 and 2018.  Tenants had been let down, but there was now a clear commitment to turn this around by Members and the new leadership team.  In 2018 there had been a report which suggested that the Council was 100% compliant with Landlord Health and Safety checks, this did not now appear to represent the true picture.  There was a period where there had been lack of investment in the housing stock leading to the current situation.  Most of the leadership team during this period had now left the Council, but Members should still reflect and ensure that this did not happen again, the consequences of these issues could have been very serious.   There was finally a plan in place and these issues would now be dealt in an open and transparent way, thanks to the commitment of the Chief Executive and the Director for Growth and Regeneration;

·         Councillor Illingworth accepted the criticism towards the previous administration, but that tenants were also responsible for ensuring that properties were maintained and vacated in a good state of repair;

·         Councillor Wilkinson noted that it was unacceptable that around 30% of the Councils Housing was considered non decent.  He believed that now more than ever the council’s new Governance model would be important.  He asked for assurance that the nine new fixed term posts being created be subject to regular reviews;

·         Councillor Higgins emphasised that this report was not about tenants behaviours but about the Housing Stock and Landlord Safety checks.  He urged all members to seek out more information about the Housing Revenue Account;

·         Councillor Child noted the open and transparent approach to coming to these proposals through Cabinet and Officers working together;

·         Councillor Freer-Jones commented that reflecting on the past to make things better for the future was a positive way to proceed.  It was reassuring the see how the customer had been kept at the forefront in considerations as reflected in Section 6.20 of the report;

·         Councillor Pearson, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, noted that the Council was investing in people through housing, providing the right conditions through better quality housing would have a positive impact overall on the lives of tenants.  Members had historically received information that did not show the full picture, now that issues had been identified the council was responding as quickly as possible.  The new Executive Model of Governance would provide adequate transparency, safeguards and scrutiny.  The government Green Paper on social housing recommended giving more power to tenants, so they could demand safe places to live.  This plan would allow investment in people through the housing stock;

·         Councillor Orsen, Leader of the Council, confirmed that the report had the support of the Tenants Forum Executive Committee.  A letter had been received from the Regulator asking for further information, with a timeframe for response.  The focus was now on the safety of tenants through implementation of the plan.  The changes to the governance structure had been difficult to implement but this was a good example of how the changes had resulted in greater accountability and the ability to respond in a timely way when issues were identified.

RESOLVED

(1)   To APPROVE the Housing Improvement Plan at paragraphs 6.10 to 6.18 of the report and any associated financial and resource commitments;

(2)   To DELEGATE authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Director for Corporate Services to access the HRA Development and Regeneration Reserve to fund works in support of the HIP and Health and Safety Works;

(3)   To NOTE the specific remedial actions taken and proposed with regard to landlord health and safety;

(4)   To NOTE the proposed governance arrangements as set out at paragraph 6.19 of the report to ensure effective oversight and monitoring of progress in relation to the Housing Improvement Plan.