Agenda item

The Panel will consider a presentation setting out an update on the Future of Housing Homes and Neighbourhoods

 

Contact:

 

Naz Parker, Service Director , Homes and Neighbourhoods

 

The Panel considered the presentation ‘Future of Housing Homes and Neighbourhoods’ which set out progress and developments within the service following the transfer of the previous ALMO- Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH) into Council Management which was presented by Naz Parker, Service Director – Homes and Neighbourhoods. Councillor Cathy Scott, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Housing and Democracy was also in attendance. It was noted that:

 

·         In April 2021, the ALMO transitioned to Council Management but prior to this the Council were notified of fire safety risks in some high-rise properties.

·         As a result of fire safety issues in May 2021 the Council self-referred to the Regulator for Social Housing.

·         In June 2021, the ad-hoc scrutiny panel was established to review health and safety in the housing stock.

·         Since the introduction of the social housing white paper the regulatory environment was fast changing.

·         This led to a ‘Triumvirate of Regulation’ which included the Regulator for Social Housing, the Housing Ombudsman and the Building Safety Regulator

·         Progress Since the Transfer included:

o   In becoming more data led, oversite of key challenges and priorities were maintained.

o   These were, tenant safety, the Decent Home’s Standards (including issues around damp and mould) tenant satisfaction, systems and data integrity and culture.

o   Residents were being kept safe through the ‘Waking Watch’ and Fire Door Programmes.

o   The building safety inspection/reinspection programme was well embedded.

o   There was a constructive, open and transparent dialogue with the Regulation Partner.

o   Strong Governance arrangements had been established but were to continue to be strengthened.

o   This process included taking into account the recommendations from the ad-hoc scrutiny panel/external independent review.

·         The Ad-hoc Scrutiny Panel:

o   The report from the ad-hoc scrutiny Panel was considered by Cabinet on 21^st December 2022 and 17 recommendations were endorsed.

o   The recommendations broadly related to greater political oversight, robust policies and improvements to IT systems and data.

o   Some recommendations also linked to the wider compliance review.

o   The recommendations were now included in an action plan with timescales for implementation.

o   The progress made on recommendations would be reported to the Homes and Neighbourhoods Improvement Board.

o   A 12-month update would also be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to report on progress.

·         Progress on High Rises

o   In July 2021, Cabinet gave approval to the strategy for remediation and renewal

o   The risk profile had been lowered and there had been a focus on high-risk Fire Safety works.

o   Some of the work completed included the installation of fire doors, architraves to flats and fire retardant windows.

o   There were also other mitigations such as 24 hour CCTV, the Waking Watch and regular checks.

o   In relation to Harold Wilson Court Cabinet had approved a £3.5m remediation strategy.

o   This included plans to remove and replace external wall insulation, install a sprinkler system and carry out further compartmentation works. 

o   The estimated start for works on site was anticipated for April/May 2023.

o   In relation to Buxton House Cabinet had approved a £13m ‘remediate and refurbish option.

o   In addition to safety improvements this included to remodel where appropriate and acquire property interests.

o   The decant was due to start July 2023, with an anticipated start on site date in quatre 4 of 2024.

o   In relation to Berry Brow Cabinet had approved the demolish and re-build option.

o   Lettings were suspended and tenants were engaged with and kept informed of future plans.

o   The decant was underway and 70 tenants had been rehoused prioritising those most vulnerable.

o   The pre-demolition noticed had now been issued.

·         Low Rises:

o   Cabinet approved a tender for fire safety works in March 2022.

o   Pre-contract negotiations concluded that contractual changes would open up procurement challenge and risk.

o   Work was now being undertaken to develop a new procurement approach considering the lessons learned. 

o   The estimated start on site date was April 2024.

·         6 Storey Blocks and Retirement Living Schemes:

o   It was important to note that x12 6 storey blocks across the district did not qualify as high rise but there were a range of fire safety and condition issues. 

o   Detailed intrusive surveys had been conducted and the full report was due 31^st October.

o   Full design and project management services were appointed and risk based prioritisation and phasing complete.

o   There were 19 blocks (ranging from 2-3 storey) under the retirement living scheme. These had a range of safety mitigations in place.

o   1 residency had more significant issues, and Cabinet gave approval to discuss rehousing options with residents in this area.

·         Complaints Handling

o   An external review identified several areas to improve complaints management and the customer journey.

o    These included taking a restorative approach, entrenching a culture of learning from complaints, clear escalation routes, links with other services and compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

o   There had been improvements in performance and compliance response timescales increased from 54.77% to 70.3%.

·         Decent Homes Standards improvements included:

o   The data had been cleansed and reconciled following an Internal Audit.

o   Moved from a ‘whole house’ to a worst-first approach.

o   The first time fix approach had been piloted and was now being scaled up.

o   4300 condition surveys had been carried out in- house.

o   External Validation of the surveys approach showed that they were fit for purpose, but work was being undertaken with consultants on benchmarking, performance modelling and asset strategy.

·         The key challenges included:

o   Unprecedented pressures on the housing register and the council’s stock.

o   Inflationary pressures continued (particularly in construction).

o   The Investment needs of Fire Safety and Decent Homes.

o   Recruiting and retaining the right calibre of staff was challenging.

o   Culture needed to shift from transactional to relational.

o   Being data led meant other issues may be identified.

·         There was a focus on getting the basics right (i.e., continuing to implement Fire Safety strategy for high rises, strengthening staff capacity, re-setting the relationship with the tenant) whilst planning for transformational priorities which included:

o   Culture change - desire to drive a cultural shift in customer relationships - moving away from a transactional led approach.

o   Compliance-   further work needed to ensure compliance standards are continually met and that the governance and reporting and the processes that underpin them are robust.

o   Core business processes – the move from a fragmented approach to developing end to end processes that are designed from the customer’s perspective.

o   Data and intelligence – improve the quality and integrity of data.

o   Technology – greater understanding of current service-wide system infrastructure was needed, alongside better integration between systems.

 

The Panel noted the presentation and asked a number a question around tenant satisfaction, engagement and the process of reviewing the feedback given. The Panel also wanted to know how capital projects may had been impacted by reprogramming due to the budget pressures.  The Panel recognised the amount of hard work put into the service from the transfer and asked the Cabinet member if it was all worth it?

 

Councillor Scott responded to highlight the value added by the review undertaken by the ad-hoc scrutiny panel and expressed the transfer to council management had been an important move. The tenants exsprence was of the highest importance which had increased the importance on getting the survey right and tailoring the questions to suit need. Naz Parker agreed that in bring KNH to council management was to strategically align the service with the Council as one organisation with shared outcomes and priorities.

 

In response to the Panel’s question in relation to engagement, Naz Parker highlighted the variety of avenues used to consult with residents. The Panel were reassured that response rates were good but engagement with the public was to be reviewed to ensure alignment with the new tenant satisfaction measures.

 

In response to the question around the re-programming of projects, Naz Parker advised that the business plan was modelled on a 30-year basis taking into account fiscal, economic and operational changes annually. There were significant challenges arising from the economic climate and the scale of the investments, but the Panel were reassured that the safety programmes were being protected. However, the new build programme had been impacted, and capital funds had to be transferred to invest in existing stock. 

 

The Panel asked a question in relation to complaints handling and asked if specific local issues could be taken offline (such as violence and anti-social behaviour).  In response Councillor Scott agreed to discuss this further with the Panel Member. 

 

Naz Parker advised that persistent wider estate issues required a strong multi agency response, including the council and key partners such as the police. It was also important to work with communities and tenants to try to address some issues, whilst being sensitive to potential vulnerabilities on both sides. Councillor Cathy Scott also highlighted it was important to ensure mediation options where possible.

 

Councillor Smaje - Chair of Scrutiny,  raised concerns around ensuring that properties procured were suitable to tenants needs to make sure the best outcomes were achieved from the strategy.

 

Naz Parker responded to reassure the Panel that officers were mindful of this, and work was being undertaken to ensure learning from past procurement. A meeting had been held around contracting and the specification to make sure the right properties were being acquired to meet needs and ensure social value and support other council priorities such as health and wellbeing. It was noted that challenges would also always arise onsite, and it was important to ensure there was provision in any contract to respond. Naz Parker also added that there was a priority for Dementia Friendly design incorporated in fire safety.

 

Councillor Smaje welcomed the comments around Dementia friendly design and improving independence. In relation to the decanting process of the high-rise flats, Councillor Smaje asked how residents were being supported through the move to temporary accommodation.

 

In response, Naz Parker advised that the temporary Berry Brow accommodation was being expanded to make best use of assists where housing stock was not available. The residents moving out of Berry Brow in the longer term were statutorily entitled to ‘Home Loss and Disturbance’. The Council would also support residents with removals where there were hardships. As residents were moved out of bed and breakfast, as this was inappropriate, Housing Solutions provided furniture packs where needed to temporary accommodation. In moving into permanent accommodation as soon as a property becomes available the lettable standard then ensured all repairs were carried out on properties before tenants moved in. 

 

Councillor Smaje asked what priority was being given to damp and mould repairs. In response Naz Parker advised the data was being reviewed, to identify vulnerabilities, prioritise cases and respond as quickly as possible.  Volumes had increased which had led to some capacity issues, an in-house model was being established to improve response times.

 

The Panel asked further questions around whether Harold Wilson Court had kept within budget, how it was predicted that external partnerships would develop and were Tenants and Residents Associations (TRA’s) the best way of engaging with residents when considering different means such as linking in with the Councils Community Cohesion Teams for example.

 

In response to the question around Partnership development, Naz Parker advised that the role of the tenants and residents association played an important role in the engagement, involvement and empowerment strategy.  The Tenant Advisory Grants Panel also reached out to TRA’s to seek their views and take them into account around decision making. Councillor Cathy Scott added that there had been a review on TRA’s and found that some were no longer existing, in some circumstances the TRA officers had been converted into housing stock where possible to help alleviate some housing pressures. Councillor Scott further highlighted that TRA’s were important but as the engagement approach evolved there were new avenues for tenants to have their voices heard in addition to TRA’s.

 

In respect of the question around external partnerships, Naz Parker advised that the there were a range of registered providers worked in Kirklees and between them they had a stock of around 6000 homes. Regular strategic partnership meetings were held with registered providers to ensure the Council could maximise its nominations rights to these properties which were built with public subsidy. Key partnership work also included discharging obligations around preventing homelessness.

 

In response to the question around the budget for Harold Wilson Court, Naz Parker explained that Harold Wilson Court will keep to budget, but this project hadn’t started on site yet and final contract price was still to be secured. Naz further reassured the Panel that the contract price would be secured as the budget and would be kept to this. 

 

RESOLVED: The Panel noted the presentation, Future of Housing Homes and Neighbourhoods and it was agreed that:

1.    The Cabinet Member for Housing and Democracy consult further with Councillor Butt in relation to addressing complaints in specific areas.