Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

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.

No member declared any interest however Rose Marie-McDonald, PFI tenant representative declared that she is a trustee of Campaign for Holloway.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 2023 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The Chair informed the meeting that since the last meeting he has met Peabody representatives regarding the issue of the recent fire safety regulations and its impact on the provision of social housing.

The Chair informed the meeting that although membership was agreed at Annual Council on 11 May 2023, there is an error in membership as published  in Appendix 1 of the report, however noting that this has been amended on the online version.

Councillor Gilgunn to be included as a member of the committee and Councillor  Jegorovas-Armstrong replaces Cllr Hamdache.

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.

The Chair informed the meeting that committee will be receiving 3 presentations from 3 of Islington’s Housing Associations as part of the Committee’s review into the Overcrowding and their performance issues.

Committee received a presentation from Ruth Davison, Chief Executive, Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association about its work, challenges and future plans as a landlord in the borough.

The following points were highlighted:

·       Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) is committed to building homes of high quality where everyone irrespective of their background has the opportunity to reach their potential and enjoy a good quality of life.

·       ISHA has developed many homes in the borough in partnership with developers and with Islington Council , which enabled ISHA to build 60 homes - 100 percent of which were social rent or shared ownership.

·       Meeting was informed that half of ISHA homes have been built in the last 20 years and it continues to look for opportunities to grow and to build more houses.

·       Chief Executive informed members that in its pursuit to build and help others to build homes ISHA established the North River Alliance(NRA) 15 years ago, a development consortium of 11 small housing associations where both expertise and resources are shared and has over the years delivered 3,500 homes.

·       Meeting was advised that ISHA continues to strive to be a good landlord, that new homes and all re-lets are provided at social rents and importantly it does not carry out affordability checks for social rented homes. In addition, homes are built with great space and high environmental standards.

·       ISHA continues to invest in stock and repairs and have been able to set new standards, which was co-created with residents at ‘action days’.

·       ISHA prides itself as being anchored in the community it serves, it remains the first housing authority to become a London Living Wage employer which is also applied to contractors that carry out work on behalf of the organisation.

·       In response to overcrowding concerns in households, Ruth Davison informed the meeting that due to lack of capacity ISHA is unable to address this but continues to work in conjunction with Islington’s Housing Needs Manager by signposting its residents to available support. Members were informed that a piece of work being carried out in conjunction with other housing associations to find suitable accommodation for tenants interested in downsizing will help alleviate the overcrowding issues in the borough.

·       In response to a question about rents, meeting was advised that tenants pay affordable social rents and only increased by 7%, that ISHA has not made profit as it intends to ensure rents are affordable.

·       In terms of community engagement and consultation, the meeting was advised that efforts are made to ensure participation of its residents and provides transport for vulnerable residents to such meetings.

·       Meeting was advised that ISHA mission is to co-create homes and communities where everyone can flourish, that in its delivery of its strategic plan, it is important that safety is paramount and it aims to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Due to time the Chair agreed to defer the item to the next meeting

Due to time, the Chair agreed to defer the item to the next meeting

The Chair informed the meeting that following discussions with members a number of topics were suggested and it was agreed that in light of the ongoing challenges of supply of homes, the Committee should consider reviewing Council’s New Build homes.

Meeting was advised that over the next few weeks, the Chair, Vice Chair will be meeting with Lead officers to scope the review which will be brought to the committee at the next meeting in July.

In response to  a member suggestion for repairs to be included on the Committee’ work programme, the Chair reminded the meeting of the recent review on this topic and that officers during the year bring an update report on the implementation of the recommendations.  

RESOLVED:

That the main scrutiny topic for 2023/24 Municipal year will be New Build and that a Scrutiny Initiation Document be drafted ahead of the next meeting in July.

That Committee to receive a presentation on the topic at the next meeting