Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Spall.

There were no declarations of substitute members.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a)   Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b) Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c) Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d) Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e) Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f) Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 1 December 2022 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Meeting was informed that officers will be facilitating a site visit to view void properties, that this will be an opportunity for members to have a better understanding of the whole process.

Chair advised that having attended a housing conference on Regeneration a few days ago which was very enlightening, it was reassuring to note that Islington Council is taking a lead in that area.

Meeting was informed that questions received from a co-optee unable to attend the meeting in relation to Peabody’s development at the Former Holloway Prison site will be forwarded to relevant Executive Member and officers to respond.

None

The order of business would be as per the agenda.

For members of the public to ask questions relating to any subject on the meeting agenda under Procedure Rule 70.5. Alternatively, the Chair may opt to accept questions from the public during the discussion on each agenda item.

·       Committee received a presentation from Matt West , Assistant Director – Housing Property Services on the Council’s response to Damp and Mould issues within its housing stock and the following issues were highlighted –

·       In terms of definition, the director advised that damp is a case where there is excessive moisture in a building, whilst condensation is moisture in the air forming on cold surfaces and in the case of mould which is harmful and hazardous which is fungus growth on surfaces thrives on food and moisture.

·       Meeting was advised of the importance of identifying the causes of damp in order to address it and includes repairs, building design, overcrowding and fuel poverty.

·       Director advised that in the last 3 years, the Service has received over 4510 requests for inspections in 3661 properties (13%), that 95% of in which have been resolved in one or two visits and 5% have required more than two visits.

·       Presently there are 20 on going live legal cases about damp and mould, that data does suggest damp cases exist in all wards and property types with some estates experiencing higher incidents and notably fewer cases in communally heated estates.

·       Members were advised that the Council is ensuring that it is easy to report incidents of damp and mould, that there is now in place a dedicated phone line, that priority is given to vulnerable cases where damp keeps returning or tenants have particular vulnerability. Also all cases are logged and cannot be untracked until survey works and a three month check have been completed,

·       Director informed the meeting that although not a solution in the long run, priority is given to mould wash so as to remove any risk of it spreading.

·       The Director highlighted other support such as its links with support for fuel poverty by providing advice or signposting residents to available council support, it also ensures that its Capital works programme consider damp as part of its programme and that it ensures the heat map highlights multiple properties in the same block so we can check on other residents.

·       On revisiting cases where damp and mould have been reported in the last 3years, the Council is offering a visit to every property, that it uses a mix of data to assess the risk of each case and are visiting the worst cases first. Basis.

·       The Service made 150 contacts with its residents in January of which 22 have  been resolved and in the month of February, it will embark on bulk call to all cases.

·       Training has been provided for all people who enter properties to recognise and report it, that the Council’s approach is being designed with a range of partners, that it will be creating a way to share information and flag concerns.

·       Meeting was advised that there is a recognition that damp and mould  is more wider and complex than just repairs, that the council is now being proactive around supporting residents with heat poverty, the need to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

Committee received a presentation from Matt West, Assistant Director – Housing Property Services on how the Council manages its void properties and the processes involved and the following issues were highlighted –

·       In terms of delivery, meeting was advised that keys received, left items are itemised by Housing Management Teams, survey is carried out, the clearance of lumber goods, works are carried out by contractors or In House repair officers, then it is put through the Choice Based Lettings/Viewing Process Works completed and Certificate and Quality check.

·       In terms of performance meeting was advised that in January the number of voids in progress is 172, that the average days to clear lumber on a yearly basis is improving noting the difficulty in the last few years when performance was low due to covid and the transfer of some street properties in house.

·       Meeting was advised of the high numbers of voids, approximately 1000 in 2022-2023 compared to 750 in 2021-2022) due to the increased works required in the voids, Fire risk assessment (FRA) to be undertaken and asbestos surveys 

·       In addition, there have been more vulnerable allocations which have required last minute adaptations and works, also the loss of white goods and recycling supplier and meter changes have caused delays

·       Director advised that the Service is currently looking at new contractors regarding supply of meters and that a new supplier is now in place for white goods supplier.

·       Meeting was advised that the Service is reviewing its end to end process, to ensure that it hands over repairs and sign up residents as quick as possible.

·       In terms of the Buy back Scheme, Council is purchasing ex right to buy properties which is to be used for temporary accommodation, that additional 130 properties have been acquired for homeless families to remain in the borough rather than using private sector rental.

·       Members were advised of the increased pressure on Voids section to bring voids up to standard, furnished and supplied with white goods but this has been very challenging as these properties have been out of council’s control and management for quite a while and will require surveys and additional resources.

·       In response to a question, meeting was advised that a void is a property that is designated as empty at the end of the tenancy and this could be when a council tenant receives an eviction notice or tenant dies and the property returned to the Council which will then be reserviced and a new tenancy commences with a new tenant.

·       An empty property is a case where either the tenant is not living in the property because they are in care or hospital, that this is not a tenancy management issue to resolve. Meeting was informed that in some cases maybe due to the tenant’s capacity a decision about the tenancy cannot be taken and will only be taken by the tenant or resolved by the courts involvement and this can take a long period unfortunately.

·       Meeting was advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

Committee received the above report. Councillor O’Halloran, Executive Member for Homes and Communities and the Assistant Director responded to some of the issues raised in the report. The following issues were highlighted-
 

·       Meeting was advised that in terms of the number of people sleeping rough in Islington the council has rehoused almost 200 people over the last 12 months, and that only 3 people are sleeping rough on Islington streets tonight. These three people have been offered accommodation and support, but at the moment these people have refused the offers of accommodation and support. These people are not local to Islington, but the council wishes to end rough sleeping. Members were reminded that data from the GLA shows that over 1700 people are sleeping on the streets in the last quarter.

·       On the rent arrears, meeting was advised that the Council is owed £8m, with an average £1,017 per tenant and that the Council is supporting tenants - look at Ian’s response

·       In terms of council homes, 153 homes will be delivered this year, that conditions are very challenging in light of Brexit affecting skilled workers and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine affecting supply chain.

·       On the number of affordable new homes, a member requested that the inclusion of shared ownership and social rented in the data being reported was misleading and should in future be separated.

·       With regards accessibility to the Council’s hardship funds and whether it was only restricted to residents in council housing stock, meeting was advised that funds are available for residents living in Islington.

·       The Director acknowledged that building new homes is a challenge, that all efforts to lobby the government to address how Council’s borrow money and restricting the Council’s right to buy receipts.

·       On the issue of rent arrears, meeting was advised of an average of £1,017.17, a total of £8.7m from, that about 8,453 out of the 26,000 + households are in some form of rent arrears.

·       The Director noted that most of these arrears are a result of the welfare reform which has had a huge impact on our residents due to the introduction of the universal credit.

·       Meeting was advised that as noted in the report and the Council’s aim to build social rented homes, there is a place for shared ownership and that in the last year 586 Council rented homes and only 24 shared owned properties.

·       On the resident satisfaction surveys meeting was advised that this is related to capital works and not first time fixes, that officers are considering a better way of reporting measures, that the use of independent company rather than that carried out by the Contractor.

·       The Hardship funds is not managed by the Housing Department but Corporate Resources , that it is accessible to all that reside in Islington and not solely for Council tenants

Islington’s Director Housing Needs and Strategy informed the meeting that a report on the draft allocation scheme was considered at the Executive meeting on 12 January, that it is now out for public consultation till 17 March.

·       As community leaders, Members are encouraged to invite the wider community to be involved, that 76% of residents on the council’s Housing Register and residents of Islington Council and 86% of Partner agencies are in favour of the changes to the scheme.

·       On the question regarding the new generation scheme and whether anyone whose parents own properties would be part of the scheme, the Director advised that nothing has been agreed and welcome all feedback.

·       On the household total income figures provided, meeting was advised that these are from the GLA threshold used for low cost home ownership and intermediate rental scheme.

·       Meeting was advised that the online consultation exercise is an opportunity for all to participate, that all feedback is welcomed, it is not guaranteed that all areas subject to the consultation framework will be incorporated in the final scheme, that it will be an open and transparent process


RESOLVED:
That the draft report on the allocation scheme be noted

Islington’s Director Housing Needs and Strategy informed the meeting that the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TMS) is a requirement of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) that all social landlords have to collect and report on - 

·       That measures are based around a series of themes important to tenants and have been introduced to demonstrate the individual performance of landlords to their tenants and to allow RSH to compare performances between landlords.

·       Consultation was carried out in March 2022, that the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard sets out the reporting requirements for TMS and was published in 2022.

·       Landlords are required to collect and report on 22 metrics across 5 themes of which 10 will be measured by landlords through their performance indicators and 12 will be measured by an annual tenant perception survey.

·       The Tenant Satisfaction measures does not apply to leaseholders and that landlords will need to start data collection in April 2023, that landlords with 1,000 or more homes will send first years worth 2023/24 of tenant satisfaction measures results to the RSH in summer 2024.

·       The Director advised that TMS will be considered by Committee in its quarterly performance report.

·       In response to a question on if Housing Associations TMS could be made available for comparison with those of the Council, the Director advised that in the future, it will be published on the government website, that at the moment landlords will have to volunteer to allow Housemark which is a benchmark club. Members were reminded that Islington’s Satisfaction measure is presently 65% up from 60% which is still below the national average is 79%, that there is room for improvement going forward.  

RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.

Islington’s Director Housing Needs and Strategy informed the meeting that Council has entered into wayleave agreement with two providers and negotiations continue with BT Openreach and GNetwork

The work programme set up for the next 2 years and details will be made available at the next meeting.

RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.

The Chair informed the meeting that committee will be taking evidence from Islington Planning Service regarding its policy and process on addressing overcrowding within Islington.


RESOLVED:
That Islington Planning Service be invited to the meeting in March to give evidence/presentation on its process and policy to address overcrowding in Islington homes.