Minutes:
The Director of Housing presented a verbal update on the year ahead for Housing and the key priorities for the service in the coming 12 months.
Corporate picture
The recent transformation process has had an impact on our services as a Local Authority with the new adapted and streamline ways of working. Due to the grant from the Government ceasing in the next financial year we need to make sure that we can financially sustain our future and generate other savings.
During the transformation process, services to tenants has caused some disruption with changes in personnel and gaps in service and our response time, which we are trying to address. Services will continue to stabilise and improve.
There have been changes to our leadership of the new Council with the Liberal Democrats now in power and the leading opposition group being the Independent group. The new leadership have come in with energy, ideas and a new corporate plan that has two key features, one is housing and the other is a strong drive for climate change. This will be echoed in what we are trying to do in our housing services. Our new Chief Executive brings a sense of focus and urgency to get things done in our communities and is very keen for us to get out into the community and stretch ourselves and improve the customer experience across the district.
With the recruitment of the new directors the organisation will be divided into four directorates and housing will be one of those four. There will be some recruitment as the new structure will have a greater emphasis in some key areas, firstly around development. Our business plan review will allow us to take more borrowing on with removal of our debt cap, this will allow us to build more new homes than we can at present and finance those safely within the business plan.
Compliance
The key themes around this would be fire safety implications, we need certainty about what we can build and can’t build, what safe materials we can use and to make sure that the correct components were fitted. Tenants would be involved in the decision making as we need to ensure that a range of tenants have their say. Clarity would be sought on this as soon as possible and reported back.
Actions around fire risk assessment works have taken place, we need to get back to clear hallways, upgrade windows that open into hallways, fire doors and bin stores.
We are continuing with our electrical safety installation tests with a catch up programme ongoing.
Gas safety checks are good, and we need to maintain this.
Social Housing Regulator – in January we will be subject to regulatory intervention around consumer standards and for the very first time our rent standard will be scrutinised along with the regulator for social housing. The regulator has been scrutinising the social housing sector for many years, they rate and assess on their governance and viability and also some discussion on the standard around tenant engagement. This would drive us to perform at a higher level to make sure that we are doing a good job and to keep standards high.
Development and regeneration – our debt cap has gone. We have been working with Savills to ascertain how we can borrow money to build more homes. It was established that over the next 5 years that we can borrow money to build 500 new homes, this includes the North Taunton development.
Regeneration – The North Taunton development would deliver a great housing scheme which would add to our stock of social housing.
Woolaway – we have plans to regenerate these remaining Woolaway homes.
Climate Change – the Council needs to lead the way to address climate change. When new kit is to be installed in properties we need to make sure that we sell the product to the tenants successfully as we are still getting some refusals. The standards on new builds will also need to be discussed with zero carbon being an option on some properties.
Efficiencies – leads on the big three processes, income, repairs and voids. There has been some strong engagement with the team.
Communities – ensuring our services are to the benefit of the customer and supporting communities where we know that there is ongoing hardship.
Comments from members included;
· Have we higher properties at present? We do not have anything over four stories;
· Are you looking at external bin stores? This is flagged in the fire risk assessment programme;
· What is the rough age of our oldest properties 1950’s