Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Daniel Wemyss.

Councillor Corkery made a declaration of interest as a council tenant.

Purpose of Report

The Council Housing Repairs and Maintenance Revenue Budget for 2024/2025 was approved within the Council Housing Budget (including rents) 2024/2025 at the Housing and Tackling Homlessness Cabinet Decision meeting on 26 January 2024.

The Council Housing Repairs & Maintenance Capital Budget (Major Repairs Dwellings) for 2024/2025 was approved within the Portsmouth City Council - Budget & Council Tax 2024/2025 and Medium-Term Budget Forecast 2025/26 to 2027/28 by the City Council on 13 February 2024.

The purpose of this report is to inform Members of the spending proposed for the financial year 2024/25 for revenue and capital funded maintenance and improvement programmes for the City Council's retained housing stock together with the HRA Assets (Non-Dwelling) capital scheme (including Housing IT Business Software) and to seek approval to incur expenditure in respect of the capital schemes and rolling programmes.

The report will also update the Cabinet member on the year end position on the delivery of the 2023/24 Repairs & Maintenance programmes, the forecast spend against the approved budget and to highlight any future issues.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1.    The Cabinet Member notes the allocation of finance for the funding of the Revenue Budgets for repairs and maintenance of dwellings listed in Appendix A.

2.    The Cabinet Member approves the allocation of capital budgets listed in Appendix B and Appendix C for 2024/2025, and the Director of Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services be authorised to seek approval from the Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer) under Financial Rules, Section B11, to proceed with schemes within the sums allocated.

3.    The Cabinet Member notes the year end position and progress of the 2023/24 Repairs and Maintenance budget plan and capital spend.

4.    The Cabinet Member requests that a mid-year report is brought to provide an update as to in year revenue expenditure and progress of the HRA capital programme.

Adam Hardwick, Assistant Director Building Services, Alan Denford, Housing Finance Manager, and Merrick Trevaskis, IT Business Partner, presented the report, the purpose of which was to inform Members of the spending proposed for the financial year 2024/25 for revenue and capital funded maintenance and improvement programmes for the City Council's retained housing stock together with the HRA Assets (Non-Dwelling) capital scheme (including Housing IT Business software) and to seek approval to incur expenditure in respect of the capital schemes and rolling programmes.

The report was also to update the Cabinet Member on the year end position on the delivery of the 2023/24 Repairs and Maintenance programmes, the forecast spends against the approved budget and to highlight any future issues.

Resident Consortium

There were no comments or questions.

Members' questions

In response to members' questions, officers clarified:

·         The service needed to prioritise and target their work, particularly on the capital side.  The scope of the service was around the asset management strategy and providing clarity on what may or may not be repaired and would provide clarity to residents and service providers in their understanding of the scope.

·         There was a detailed service criteria for service providers on Voids to ensure the right repair is completed at the right time.  For instance the guidance on when to replace a kitchen or bathroom whilst still maintaining these to a good standard, had led to a reduction in replacements, resulting in cost savings but ensuring good standards for the next tenant coming in.

·         The Charles Dickens heat network replacement would be with a gas powered system.  For the scale of installation, there were no alternative renewable energy sources that could be used without leading to additional works to the building.  The Charles Dickens heat network was in Barkiss, Nickelby, Copperfield and Pickwick Houses.

·         The service had been undertaking numerous surveys of all blocks which was still ongoing. The reports were due back in the next couple of months and the programme of works would then be reviewed and resourced accordingly.

·         Part of the reason for the increase in the Building Safety Budget was to allow for additional works in relation to cladding. The service was registered with the Government Cladding scheme and would be making an application for funding to cover the replacement costs and offset the internal expenditure.

·         Nontraditional properties had been chosen for decarbonisation works as they were often hard to treat properties with the inherent construction types.  The aim was to increase the EPC energy rating to at least a C.  Nontraditional properties are typically post-war system built of concrete or steel framed.

·         The whole housing stock was being assessed within the Asset Management Strategy and would consider many aspects including energy efficiency.

·         Management of temporary accommodation and the provision of white goods sits within the Housing General Fund despite there being a contribution within the HRA for white goods in temporary accommodation.  The Housing Needs and Temporary Accommodation Team would be asked to provide members with further information in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Purpose of Report

The purpose of the report is to inform members of new Local Authority Housing Landlord Services Complaints Policy and to seek approval for implementation of the policy.

The policy will apply to anyone who has been directly affected by Local Authority Housing Landlord Services.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1.    The Cabinet Member for Housing and Tackling Homelessness approves the Local Authority Housing Landlord Service Complaints Policy (Appendix A - Local Authority Housing Landlord Service Complaints Policy V1.6) and that Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services implement the policy from 1 April 2024 to support the ongoing response to The Charter for Social Housing Residents, Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and Housing Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code.

2.    The Cabinet Member to note the following key points are covered within the policy which will complement the Corporate Complaints Policy:

·         The management of Landlord specific complaints to sit within Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services to enable accurate reporting and improved customer experience.

·         Clarity of the customers that are affected by the policy and circumstances under which is applied.  This includes tenants, leaseholders, former tenants as well as anyone acting on behalf of someone who is affected by actions or decisions made by Portsmouth City Council as a Local Authority Housing Landlord.

·         The introduction of the Complaints Lead role who will be responsible for implementation of the policy and overall ownership and development of the policy as demand is understood through clear reporting and measures from the start of the service delivery.

·         Clear definition of the meaning of a complaint and the way in which a landlord specific complaint will be defined to allow purposeful management of complaints relevant to the service.

·         Clarity around expected response times to Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints and details of how customers can expect complaints to be managed within the stages.

·         Details of how complaints can be made to the new service, including guidance around Verbal and Anonymous complaints as well as complaints raised via a representative or advocate.

·         Clear information regarding the new complaints procedure, detailing Landlord responsibilities in terms of investigation and response to assist customers understanding and expectations of the service, as well as information about how complaints relating to contractors will be managed.

·         Information relating to the Housing Ombudsman is included to be available from the outset, ensuring compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

·         Specific details explaining the communications that a customer will be able to expect from the service and process, along with examples of the types of remedies that could be expected and how Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services would manage these outcomes to demonstrate ongoing learning from complaints.

·         Information about how the process will be monitored and reviewed to ensure constant improvement as well as offering the assurance of ongoing compliance in relation to all relevant guidance and legislation.

Louise Jones, Business Compliance & Projects Manager, presented the report, the purpose of which was to inform members of new Local Authority Housing Landlord Services Complaints Policy and to seek approval for implementation of the policy.  She noted the policy would apply to anyone who had been directly affected by Local Authority Housing Landlord services.

Resident consortium Questions and Comments

In response to Resident questions, officers clarified:

·         Complaints are dealt with by the Complaints Manager who would work with the complainant to understand the nature of the complaint and the resolution being sought.  It would then be passed to the relevant manager to investigate and provide a full written response.

·         The new policy goes through a similar process but would be more visible within the Housing Directorate leading to a better focus on the learning outcomes.

·         The final point of redress now lies beyond the internal investigation to the Housing Ombudsman.  Currently complaints go to the Local Government Ombudsman.   There is now a distinct Local Authority Complaints Policy which covers all Tenant and Leasehold Complaints. 

Member's questions

In response to members' questions, officers clarified:

·         The complaints process is currently managed corporately. The team track the timing of responses to ensure deadlines are met.  Stage one complaints are signed off by a Head of Service or Senior Manager.  Stage two complaints are investigated by a more senior manager (via the Director).  After this it will be referred to an ombudsman.  The change in process now is that a complaint can be referred to the ombudsman at any point, not just after completion of stage two.

·         Face to face meetings are offered, usually for more complex complaints, but the new policy offers the chance to refresh the process and training for officers and to promote this where appropriate.

·         Statistics on all directorate complaints and compliments are reported corporately to the Governance, Audit & Standards Committee.  The new policy will allow further differentiation of those that are to do with the local authority.  Statistics will be published to tenants and leaseholders in Housetalk and a report bought to the Housing meetings.

Chair's Comments

The Chair requested an additional recommendation to ensure an annual update of complaints and compliments, as part of the wider communication strategy to tenants and leaseholders, is bought to a future decision meeting.

The Chair also requested that face to face meetings, where possible, are promoted to tenants and leaseholders.

He noted how complaints are handled was important, and should be via a clear and open process.  The addition of a Housing Ombudsman was a positive step forward.

DECISION

The Cabinet Member:

1)    Approved the Local Authority Housing Landlord Service Complaints Policy (Appendix A - Local Authority Housing Landlord Service Complaints Policy V1.6) and approved that Housing, Neighourhood and Building Services implement the policy from 1 April 2024 to support the ongoing response to The Charter for Social Housing Residents, Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and Housing Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code.

2)    Noted the key points within the policy which would complement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Purpose of Report

The purpose of the report is to update members of the Council's Housing Services processes for managing Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and to approve the ASB policy

To seek approval to implement a new policy for dealing with ASB.  It covers all incidents:

·         Involving our local authority homes owned by PCC and our tenants or members of their household.

·         That occur within a neighbourhood in which we manage properties and the ASB involves PCC residents, or

·         That take place at our 'workplace' affecting or caused by tenants and leaseholders in Portsmouth and Havant, taking into account the wider strategic picture.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Tackling Homelessness approves the new ASB Policy (Appendix A - ASB Policy) and asks Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services to implement the new policy with immediate effect.

Lauren Rackham, Head of Community Safety, presented the report, the purpose of which was to update members of the Council's Housing Services processes for managing Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and to approve the ASB policy.  Also to seek approval to implement the new policy for dealing with ASB which would cover all incidents that:

·         Involved local authority homes owned by PCC and tenants or members of their household;

·         Occurred within a neighbourhood in which PCC manage properties and the ASB involved PCC residents;

·         Take place at PCC 'workplaces' affecting or caused by tenants and leaseholders in Portsmouth and Havant, taking into account the wider strategic picture.

Members' questions

In response to Members' questions, officers clarified:

·         Permission of the people involved in reports of Anti-Social Behaviour is required before they can be passed over to the mediation or assessment service.

·         The Assessment service will look at mediation to understand the root cause and to look at acceptable agreements, dependant on what the complaint is and what ASB is involved.  All complaints go to a housing officer in the first instance.

·         The current partnership working with Police is the strongest it has ever been.  There is a designated neighbourhood officer who is closely linked with the local housing officers to stop complaints being passed back and forth.

·         The website had been updated to make it clearer how to report ASB and the distinction between what is a Police matter or a housing related matter.

Chair's Comments

The new process and the relevant numbers should be included in the New Member Induction pack following the local elections on 2 May 2024 as part of the induction process. 

DECISION

The Cabinet Member approved the new ASB policy (Appendix A - ASB policy) and asked Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services to implement the new policy with immediate effect.

Purpose of Report

The report outlines the approach taken by the Estates Service team within the Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services Directorate, and considers how this meets the requirements introduced by the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and the proposed Neighbourhood and Community Standard due to come into effect from April 2024.

Phil Bentley, Head of Estate Services, presented the information only report, the purpose of which was to outline the approach taken by the Estates Services team within the Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services Directorate and considered how this met the requirements introduced by the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and the proposed Neighbourhood and Community Standard due to come into effect from April 2024.

There were no questions or comments.

DECISION

The Cabinet Member noted the information only report.

Before closing the meeting the Chair noted this was the last meeting of the municipal cycle and thanked everyone for their hard work throughout the year.  He also thanked his Councillor colleagues for their challenge and comments which were appreciated.