Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting - online. View directions

Contact: Sheila Dykes  Email: sheila.dykes@kirklees.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

28.

Membership of the Panel

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor Amanda Pinnock.

29.

Minutes of Previous Meetings pdf icon PDF 302 KB

To approve the minutes of the meetings of the Panel held on 26th October 2021 and 10th November 2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings of the Panel held on 26th October 2021 and 10th November 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

 

30.

Interests

Councillors will be asked to advise if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion or vote on an item, or any other interests.

Minutes:

No interests were declared.

31.

Admission of the Public

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private

Minutes:

All items were considered in public session.

32.

Deputations and Petitions

The Panel will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on a particular issue of concern, relevant to that body’s terms of reference. In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2) members of the public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting subject to the petition relating to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities

Minutes:

No deputations or petitions were received.

33.

Public Question Time

The Panel will hear any questions from the general public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.

Minutes:

No questions were received.

34.

Fire Safety Resident Engagement Framework

A presentation will be given in respect of the Fire Safety Resident Engagement Framework.

 

Representatives of the Tenant Advisory & Grant Panel, the Housing Advisory Board, a High-Rise Tenants and Residents Association and a Fire Safety Champion have been invited to attend the meeting to speak with the Panel.

 

Contact:

Michelle Anderson-Dore - Head of Partnerships, Homes and Neighbourhoods

Minutes:

Representatives of the Tenant Advisory and Grants Panel (TAGP), the Housing Advisory Board (HAB) and a Fire Safety Champion (FSC) were welcomed to the meeting to speak with the Panel about the Fire Safety Resident Engagement Framework.

 

These were:

Antoinette Cooper and Mel Spencer from the TAGP

Isaac Dziya and Brooke Reed from the HAB

Paul Lee, a Fire Safety Champion.

 

Michelle Anderson-Dore - Head of Partnerships, Homes and Neighbourhoods and Graham Sykes, General Manager Partnerships gave a short introduction outlining the background to the development of the Framework, as part of the Fire Safety Management Plan, and the approach to engagement and communication with residents to ensure that the voice of the tenant was strong and effective.

 

Naz Parkar - Service Director, Homes and Neighbourhoods and Eric Hughes - Head of Business Assurance and Transformation were also in attendance.

 

Antoinette and Mel gave a presentation and explained that:

·       The TAGP members were all tenants of Kirklees living in different places.

·       Fire safety was an item on all TAGP agendas. Updates and answers were demanded and expected on issues raised previously.

·       Issues could be escalated through the management structure if it was considered that a quick enough response was not being achieved, but excellent support was given by officers.

·       The Panel had a tracker to follow-up on actions, which was reviewed at each meeting.

·       The Panel could be very persistent and would provide challenge when needed.

·       Tenants provided feedback in various ways such as directly to individual members of the Panel, or via the Tenants and Residents’ Associations (TRAs) and Community Voices.

·       It was considered that the fire safety information provided for tenants in the high-rise and six storey blocks had been significantly improved.

·       The Panel recognised that individual tenants, and their visitors, had responsibilities of their own and that the Council, as landlord, had responsibilities to ensure that the policies and procedures were carried out.

·       The Panel was fully aware of how an issue could be escalated and how to pursue an issue until resolved including, ultimately, to the Health and Safety Executive or the Ombudsman.

 

Questions and comments were invited, with the following issues being covered:

 

·       In terms of the position of more vulnerable tenants, there was a ‘stay safe’ policy in place and every tenant was aware of this or had the opportunity to be aware of it. Information notices were provided near lifts.

·       In respect of how the Housing Advisory Board held the Council to account; Isaac and Brooke explained that the Board had looked at the strategies, plans, finances and risks associated with all programmes and would hold the Authority to account, querying any variances and the underlying reasons for these. It was considered that there was a good working relationship with Council officers, but members were clear on the need for assurance in terms of due diligence and accountability and would escalate issues if necessary. The Board took its responsibilities very seriously and were very thorough. The Head of Building Safety provided an informative  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.