Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Miles, Councillors Fellows and Councillor Young.

Councillor Ross (Chair) paid tribute to the former Chair of the Committee, Chas Townley, for all his work over many years for housing and for Stroud District Council.

To receive declarations of interest.

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 02 February 2021.

RESOLVED                That the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2021 are approved as a correct record

The Chair of the Committee will answer questions from members of the public submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

There were none.

Carole Wise was introduced and presented an update on behalf of Sandra Longstreth, Tenant Representative. She drew attention to the support that had been provided to tenants during the Covid pandemic, including remedying practical issues, homeseeker assistance, and advice for those requiring financial support. She outlined future plans for consultation with tenants on a range of issues, and for encouraging use of Community Hubs when it is safe to do so. She emphasised how much can be achieved through teamwork.

Councillor Fryer supported the aim to recruit an additional Tenant Representative to assist Sandra Longstreth within the District.

To agree the updates made to the Tenant Led Service Standards.

The Housing Manager introduced the report. She confirmed that consultation on the Service Standards with the Neighbourhood Ambassadors and the Tenants Voice Representatives had taken place in October 2019.  The Service Standards demonstrate that Tenant Services provide a clear and transparent service to SDC’s tenants, leaseholders and residents.  Those involved in the consultation believed that the Service Standards could be further strengthened by making a number of additions and these are detailed in the report.  The Housing Manager explained that, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the Service Standards were not submitted to the Housing Committee in 2020.

The Housing Manager acknowledged that, at present, the number of involved tenants is small, and more work needs to be done to increase involvement.  ARK consultants have been commissioned to look at how delivery of tenant involvement can be improved in the future.  She noted, however, that SDC’s Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Strategy, written with tenants in 2018, provides a solid platform to improve tenant engagement going forward.  The Housing Manager detailed a number of new initiatives to encourage tenants to become involved including through social media, a programme of ‘Love where you live’ events, a digital equality programme, and a restart of Café Conversations when the easing of Covid restrictions allow.

The Housing Manager confirmed that an Action Plan, detailing the implementation of the Service Standards, including the involvement of tenants, and what action will be taken to improve tenant engagement, will be brought to the committee in June 2021.

Councillor Davies asked whether any statistics are available in relation to Tenant Services to measure performance.  The Housing Manager confirmed that these are available through ongoing monitoring of services including allocations and lettings, complaint handling, and anti-social behaviour management.

Councillor Davies asked whether there was any work being done to provide a self-service facility online for tenants.  The Housing Manager confirmed that a new housing management system is currently being developed.  This will look both at self-service capability, such as booking appointments, as well as retaining a telephone service for those wishing to speak to someone directly.

Councillor Fryer expressed some concern about the low number of tenants involved in the consultation on Service Standards and asked how the consultation had been carried out.  The Housing Manager confirmed that the consultation had been conducted with Neighbourhood Ambassadors and Tenants Voice Representatives.  Whilst it is acknowledged that the numbers included are low, there are plans in place to improve tenant engagement in the future including consideration of the recommendations from the ARK consultants’ report.

Councillor Dewey asked whether, when Covid restrictions allow, it is possible for those tenants who are less computer literate to have a face-face meeting with Tenant Services particularly for issues such as anti-social behaviour.  The Housing Manager confirmed that this would be possible once restrictions were lifted, and currently Tenant Services talk to tenants by telephone and go through an action plan with them.

The Motion was proposed by Councillor Braun and seconded by Councillor Fryer.

Councillor Fryer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

To agree that the strategy is fit for purpose and that a detailed action plan is to be presented to Housing Committee in June 2021.

The Head of Housing Services introduced the report. It constituted a new piece of work reflecting a commitment to improve the quality and cleanliness of the Council’s estates. Consultation took place in December 2020 and January 2021 and tenant feedback has been incorporated into the Strategy. Successful delivery of the strategy required collaborative consultation and development of specific standards around levels of cleanliness, and a review to ensure the standards were being met.

Reporting on performance would be a critical part of the transparency of service delivery and a clear indicator of resident satisfaction which had been poor to date. The aspirations of the strategy reflected the need for improvements, through a careful balance of support, education and enforcement. Work had been commissioned to help better understand and strengthen tenant involvement which would be developed and incorporated into future policies and strategies.

The strategy set out the Council’s expectations and aspirations to become an exemplar authority in its delivery of service, by putting communities at the heart of what it does.

The Head of Housing Services highlighted the four key principles and four delivery objectives the strategy was based on. He advised that an action plan was being developed and would be submitted to the Committee in June 2021. This would be more detailed and would outline when consultation and feedback took place, where the service touch points were, and the named person who would own each element.

Councillor Braun asked what the implications of the strategy would be for working with Ubico, and cited paragraph 1.9 of the report which referenced work undertaken by the Environment Committee in relation to the Waste Management Policy. The Head of Housing Services indicated the collaborative work undertaken with Ubico, but highlighted the importance of ensuring Ubico perform to expected Council standards as well as through contractual arrangements. He also emphasised the collaborative work that had already been undertaken between Tenant Services and Community Services within the Council to deliver an improved service across the district.

Councillor Powell asked whether it would be possible to speed up the response to incidents like fly-tipping from now on. The Head of Housing Services indicated that there was an urgency across the district to manage fly-tipping, and that with the right processes and people in place, work would be done to improve response times. This would form part of the action plan and include collaborative work with Community Services.

Councillor Davies suggested that, as the strategy had clear financial implications, it would have been useful to have detailed those in the report as justification for some of the work that was being progressed. The Head of Housing Services agreed to circulate this to the committee.

Councillor Dewey asked about the size of the estate and whether the strategy was likely to be applied more widely. The Head of Housing Services clarified that whilst initially the focus for the strategy would be on Council tenancies, the intention was to expand the work at a later  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To note the updates made to the Tenant Services Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.

The Head of Housing Services introduced the report. He explained that the policy provided an up-to-date approach to the management of anti-social behaviour (ASB) which was a statutory requirement for social landlords, and was in line with the Social Housing White Paper 2020. The last revision to the policy was in 2017.

The Head of Housing Services detailed some of the revisions and additions to the policy:

·       Acts of ASB towards elected members in relation to their Council duties would be included;

·       The service would expand its abilities to take further action using Community Protection Notices against perpetrators of ASB;

·       Drug dealing and substance misuse would be designated as high risk ASB, allowing greater powers to take action through the courts;

·       Details of the use of the community trigger to validate actions taken as a social landlord would be included;

·       A co-ordinated multi-agency framework of support approach would be applied when vulnerable persons were identified;

·       The victim of ASB would be given an Action Plan detailing actions to be taken to resolve the ASB with the appropriate review period.

The Head of Housing Services emphasised that tackling ASB and nuisance effectively was a high priority for the Council’s Tenant Services Team and corporately. The commitment was to tackle ASB swiftly and effectively, making use of legal powers where appropriate. It was important to maintain and improve strong working relationships with other agencies, including neighbourhood police teams and other support services, in order to achieve this. The Head of Housing Services highlighted the support for the policy from the Stroud Neighbourhood Police Team. In addition, staff would be supported and provided with the appropriate skills and knowledge to manage ASB effectively and safely. The Council’s response to ASB must be measured and proportionate at all times, and all complaints must be investigated thoroughly with appropriate professional input to achieve the best outcomes for all.

The Head of Housing Services clarified that reports would be made on ASB cases where any equalities issues were involved, and benchmarking would be carried out against other providers and included in performance reporting. He emphasised the importance of ongoing engagement and dialogue with tenants, including the effectiveness of actions taken to tackle ASB.

Councillor Kay explained that he was aware of a detailed proforma completed which explained the equality implications of this policy but was not included in the report. He asked whether in future it would be possible to include this detail, or to add this as an appendix to the report. The Head of Housing Services confirmed that he would discuss this with colleagues to ensure a uniform approach and update the committee.

Councillor Braun drew attention to the shocking increase in ASB cases reported this year for understandable reasons. She asked to what extent the number had decreased with the easing of lockdown, and when that information would be available. The Head of Housing Services confirmed that he would have expected the number of cases to have reduced slightly because of the proactive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

See Agenda Item 4 for deadlines for submission.

There were none.