Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Joanna Abeyie*, Deputy Keith Bottomley, Tim McNally*, Eamonn Mullally and Henrika Priest. 

*Members joining the meeting remotely.

The Chair welcomed new Members; Tim McNally and Keith Bottomley and thanked retiring Members; Ruby Sayed, Jamel Banda and Alderwoman Susan Pearson. 

The Chair also welcomed the new Assistant Director for Housing Services, Peta Caine, who had joined the City of London Corporation the previous week.

There were no declarations

To approve the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 30 January 2024.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 30^th January 2024 be approved as a correct record.

Matters arising

Some actions from the Minutes had not been picked up on the Outstanding Actions List and the Chair asked for this to be rectified. However, it was noted that the date of this meeting had been brought forward by 5 weeks, making it very difficult to include all of the items requested.

The Deputy Chair had asked for an informal briefing on the HRA and the Assistant Director agreed to progress this.  The Assistant Director also advised that it might be best to run two sessions; one for the benefit of new and existing Members and a further one to align with the emerging Asset Management Strategy.  The Deputy Chair suggested, and the Chair and Sub Committee agreed,  that these sessions should cover investments, constraints, outstanding items, other funding streams and future programming etc.  The Assistant Director endorsed this approach, noting that it would also determine plans and officer responsibilities.

The Head of Service agreed to provide Members with a further update on automatic doors, noting that quotations had been received for Middlesex Street.

Members are asked to note the Sub-Committee’s Action Tracker.

The Sub Committee received the Outstanding Actions List, noting the comments set out above. 

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services which addressed two actions in the actions tracker.

During the discussion, the following points were noted:

Recent Statutory changes to complaints handling for Landlords. 

The value of effective arbitration,  given the cost of First Tier Tribunals and County Court referrals.  Whilst it was noted that arbitration might need to be funded from the HRA,  improvements to complaints handling and/or a reduction in the number of complaints would reduce the need for arbitration and potential litigation.

The true definition of complaints (which might also take the form of informal comments); the rising number of complaints and the need for an update at each meeting of the Sub Committee. 

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted and the following points endorsed:

The suitability of arbitration as a potential dispute resolution measure for housing complaints.

The Assistant Director for Housing Management acts as the ‘senior lead person’ for housing complaints in accordance with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

The suggestion that the Chairman of this Sub-Committee acts as the Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC) under the same Code.

The Sub Committee receives updates on the complaints process at each meeting.

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services in respect of Member engagement on the City Corporation’s Housing Estates. 

The Chair and Deputy Chair suggested, and Members agreed, that Members of the Sub Committee should act as Allocated Members for the  various Boroughs, rather than the individual Estates.  Members noted that officers would be working on job descriptions; defining the distinction between the roles of Members and Officers in this process and would update the Guidance Notes.    Members also noted the importance of robust communications between the Officers and Allocated Members.

The Chair was confident that this would work well and Members noted the following:

Mary Durcan had volunteered for the London Borough of Islington.

Ceri Wilkins and John Fletcher agreed to continue with the City Estates (Middlesex Street and Golden Lane).  John Fletcher also agreed to continue with Tower Hamlets ( Dron House).

Whilst the Chair and Deputy Chair would not take on a full Allocated Member role; they would step in the event of a Borough generating a high work load.

Members welcomed the regular update reports from Allocated Members to the Grand Committee, noting their value in the scrutiny process.  Whilst the reported tended to contain a lot of technical detail,  it was anticipated that this would reduce as improvements are made. The Chair would like to move to a position where update reports are drafted by officers, in consultation with Members.  

In concluding, Members commended a helpful report and the New Assistant Director and Head of Service agreed to incorporate the above comments.

RESOLVED, that – the report and comments set out above be noted.

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services, which presented the draft Housing Strategy for 2024-2029 for approval.  Members commended a well written and discursive report, which followed the desired direction of travel, which would be dynamic and subject to wide consultation.

During the discussion, the following points were noted:

The link to housing needs assessment and population changes could be stronger, together with references to the City of London and London Local Plans.  

The low attendance at a recent webinar on the Strategy had been disappointing, reinforcing the importance of publicity and communications with residents.

The need for customer focussed, well trained and pro-active estate-based officers.

Voids at the Almshouses and the investment required should be included.

The positioning of leaseholders in the Strategy should be more visible. 

The next iteration of this report should include an implementation plan.

The Chair endorsed the above comments and welcomed further contributions outside of the meeting.  

RESOLVED, that:

The Housing Strategy be approved, noting the comments set out above.

Oversight and scrutiny of delivery be via an  annual report setting out progress against each of the priorities, which shall be presented to the Community and Children’s Services Committee.

External / Independent Members

Members discussed the possible appointment of external/independent Members to the Housing Management and Almshouses Sub Committee, as had recently been agreed for the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Sub Committee.  Members noted that an external perspective had added value to a number of  City of London Corporation Boards and Committees.

Members agreed unanimously to recommend this approach to the Community and Children’s Services Committee.  The Chair and Deputy Chair (of the Sub Committee) were keen to progress this at pace, to enable a recruitment exercise to be underway in the early Autumn.  The Housing Director agreed

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services in respect of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.    The Chair suggested, and Members agreed that, whilst  social and economic disadvantage and care leavers was covered under vulnerability it should be more explicit

RESOLVED, that – the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy be approved for use by the Housing Division, noting the comments set out above..

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services, which sought approval to extend the review date on several current policies, which would avoid the future need for a number of renewals at the same time. However, if a Policy was in urgent need of a review, it would be presented to Members at the earliest opportunity.

Members noted that, whilst officers would retain responsibility for inspections, residents would be more involved in monitoring standards in the future. 

RESOLVED, that:

The extension of the policy review dates be approved, as set out in the report, noting the comments set out above. 

The revised Estate Management Policy for use by the Housing Division be approved.

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services in respect of the major works programme.

The Assistant Director for Housing advised that the format of the appendix to the report would be reviewed, with the current Interim and new Heads of Service, to make it less complex, noting that Members would prefer a high level summary.  Members noted that further enhancements would also align with the Asset Management Strategy and reflect how Members would like to receive the information.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services, which outlined progress made with the Access Audit Remedial Project for the City of London Housing Estates.  The report provided a brief update and noted that the project requires authorisation through the necessary steps of the Corporation’s governance structure and project processes.

The Assistant Director advised that the work underway would be incorporated into the new work on the Asset Management Strategy; the first draft of which is expected at the end of this month.

Members expressed disappointment at  the lack of progress on automatic doors, which should have been relatively simple to resolve and had been outstanding since July 2022. The Assistant Director agreed to progress this at pace and look at possible grant funding to support all estates.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted. 

The Allocated Member of Middlesex Street  had submitted a question in advance about the new heating system, noting that this was sold to residents on the understanding that it would provide maximum user control and metered billing.   However, the metering had since been decoupled from the installation, and the level of heating was restricted to 21 degrees,  to comply with government advice.  The Member was concerned that residents were not advised of  changes and should not have to pay until they are fully satisfied. 

In response, the Assistant Director agreed to investigate these issues, noting that the benefits would not be realised until the meter is rolled out, and agreed to advise Members when this would take place.   The Chair suggested, and Members agreed, that this matter be taken off-line, to ensure a swift resolution,  and the Sub Committee would receive an update at the next meeting.

The Allocated Member for Golden Lane reported a serious drainage issue a week ago, had originally been attributed to residents flushing wet wipes.  However, the blockage recurred shortly after the first response, resulting in raw sewage leaking into the car park and staff at the public house close by becoming unwell. 

The Executive Director and Assistant Director gave assurance that this matter would now be investigated thoroughly and, whilst wet wipes had been a contributory factor, they were not the reason for the drainage failure.   The management of the public house would be contacted and Environmental Health engaged.    Members noted that an interim Head of Repairs and Maintenance had recently left the City Corporation and this had created a temporary skills/knowledge gap.  Members expressed concerns about the perceived lack of a regular drains maintenance programme and the Assistant Director agreed to review this.

Members noted a display of York Way Estate during the meeting and commended an excellent example of infill housing.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item                                                                                         Paragraph

xx                                                                                                        x

To approve the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2024.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on xxxx be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services and noted that, since it passage through the various Committees, the tender process was on track to meet to the target contract date.

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other business.

End 12.25