Agenda item

Corporate Director Homes and Neighbourhoods presented the Quarter 2 Performance Report and the following issues were highlighted:

·       61% of homeless decisions were made in the target frame in Quarter 2, however performance is below the annual target of 80%.

·       Service continues to experience a significant increase in demand as homelessness increases across the borough and London as a whole.

·       Committee were reminded that in August 2023, London Councils published an article stating that one in 50 Londoners are either homeless or living in temporary accommodation. The increase has stemmed from homeless applicants approaching council due to a combination of domestic abuse, disrepair, lack of private sector housing and cost of living.

·       An improvement plan is being implemented in Islington to address the performance noted above, that Service continues to have a weekly focus meeting on performance for this indicator by increasing the officer target for decision reached and provision of overtime for high performing officers to reach decision within the target time frame.

·       Meeting was advised that in Quarter 2, 1099 households are in temporary accommodation, that latest government statistics on homelessness in England show that the number of households in temporary accommodation has increased nationally , and that there are homeless households living in temporary accommodation in England than any other time in our history.

·       The 50% rise in homelessness is due to a number of factors such as an increase in no-fault evictions in the past year by private landlords, also an estimated 70,000 UK households missed or defaulted on a rent or mortgage payment. It was also noted that one child in every classroom in London is now living in temporary accommodation.

·       Although it is well known that the lack of social housing and high rents in private housing is the cause of homelessness, Local councils nationally continue to lobby central government for funding in other to address this issue.

·       On the Tenancy Satisfaction Measure, the Corporate Director informed the meeting that although there has been a slight improvement of resident satisfaction of the Service, there is still room for improvement.

·       On the Council’s Decent Homes Standard, meeting was advised that performance has improved, that presently only 4% of homes are regarded as non-decent and that when benchmarked against other authorities or housing providers, Islington is performing better than the London median.

·       Corporate Director advised that stage 1 complaints has been impacted by recording challenges in quarter 1, however there is ongoing work to improve the data quality of complaints data. In quarter 2, there were 38 per 1000 properties stage 1 complaints raised which is lower than the London median (42.7 per 1000). It was noted that 60% of stage 1 complaints were responded to within timescale which is below the London median of 77%.

·       In terms of stage 2 complaints, there were 9.1 complaints raised per 1000 properties which is above the London median. 97% of complaints were responded to within timescale which is above the London median of 49%.

·       In response to the omitted indicator measure regarding new build programme, the Corporate Director acknowledged that although not within the responsibility of Homes and Neighbourhood he will ensure that this is included in future quarterly reports.

·       On fire and safety checks and disparity performances with other social housing landlords, Corporate Director acknowledged that there is no specific guidance from central government so landlords report it in different ways and at different times.

·       With regards to rent arrears, meeting was advised that although the introduction of Universal Credit has resulted in an increase of rent arrears, the Council has introduced some flexibility in particular with vulnerable residents by requesting funds to be paid directly to the Council.

·       Gas safety checks are carried out on about 98% of its housing stock within one month of notification, that in the few instances that access into properties is not possible Council will apply to court however this can be a long drawn out process.

·       On the omission of KPI in the report regarding electricity safety checks, the Corporate Director indicated that this will be included in future reports.

·       On the issue about addressing complaints which is costing the Council huge sums, the Executive Member reiterated the need for residents to avoid scams and schemes pretending to act on their behalf, that the Council continuously reminds its residents to contact the Council directly or use its dedicated email address.

·       In response to a question about homelessness, the Director acknowledged that the Council receives 298 housing applications and are approached from residents who live outside the borough as they have historical ties to residents in the borough. The Director reiterated that currently the Council has the lowest rough sleepers in the borough in comparison to neighbouring boroughs. 

·       Council is seeking to buy back ‘Right to Buy’ (RTB) properties to address homelessness and that on the issue of ‘sofa surfing’ where possible the Council will provide advice and support when they approach the Council. Meeting was advised that the Council is reaching out to leaseholders interested in selling, that they will be offered the ongoing market rate.

·       In addition to the above, the Corporate Director noted that government has announced more funding for local authorities to buy back ‘RTB’ properties which is to be welcomed however the solution is to build more social housing and support private renters.

·       Meeting was advised that all health and safety checks carried out by Council officers are independently checked.

·       Home Office has suspended its 7 day eviction notice which had increased homelessness and put a lot of pressure on local authorities. Corporate Director advised that Council do not use Bed & Breakfast  type of accommodation but put families in self-contained type of accommodation with facilities to cook.

·       In response to a question, meeting was advised that the Temporary Accommodation Policy which was adopted at Executive in July 2023 be on the agenda for the next meeting.

·       On the issue of under occupiers the Executive Member acknowledged the challenge especially in light of the cost of living crisis and will be looking at increasing the present threshold amount of £5,000.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted

That the policy on Temporary Accommodation be considered at the next meeting