Agenda item

To receive the draft minutes of the above meeting.

The Chair of the RCC was invited to provide headlines from the meetings of 27th November 2023 and the Special Meeting on 17th January 2024, for which the minutes had been circulated.  Members noted the following :

a)         Officers were seeking to source an energy auditor and residents would not be charged for the past year, pending a resolution on incorrect charges.

b)         Issues with Lambert Jones Mews roof and the Brandon Mews canopy are outstanding.

c)         The Service Level  Working Party not been able to monitor KPIs due to an IT error but this was being resolved.  The KPI workstreams would be reviewed at a meeting this week, together with the role of the Consultant.  

d)         A proposal was awaited on the deferred payment scheme, to assist those residents who might be having problems paying their service charges.

e)         Issues with the windows had been outstanding since July 2021 and whilst some had been repaired on an ad-hoc basis, this negates the benefits from having warranties in place.

f)          Following the extension of the Repairs and Maintenance Contract, residents felt that it was not necessary to undertake any more surveys.

g)         Officers were thanked for their swift action in respect of the asbestos issue.

h)         There had been concerns about the presentation of the budget reports, which would be covered later on this agenda. 

The Chair thanked the RCC Chair for this summary and noted the themes emerging in respect of clarity and commitment, which still need to be addressed.    Members noted the additional document circulated at the weekend in respect of variances in service charges and the Chairman asked that, should it become necessary to go into detail on any staffing matters, it must be reserved for the non-public part of the meeting.  

Due to technical issues during the meeting, the following update on energy was provided afterwards by the City Surveyor:

Following a failed procurement exercise the Energy Team have undertaken discussions with a variety of providers and have now received a service proposal. The Energy Team have a meeting scheduled for the 30th January to discuss the proposed scope of service, with the Revenues Manager and three resident representatives, to evaluate whether it meets residents’ requirements. The provider has stated a minimum time required of 3 months to conduct the forensic audit of electricity costs associated with the underfloor heating.   It is proposed that the findings of the audit will feed into a more traditional audit of the electricity element of the services charges, which will be conducted by the provider currently auditing Barbican service charges.

RESOLVED, that – the draft minutes of the RCC meetings of 27th November 2023 and the Special Meeting on 17th January 2024 be received.