Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Moyeed.

Apologies for lateness were received from Cllr Harrison-Mullane and Cllr Barnes.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business (late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with as noted below).

There were no items of urgent business.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

None

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s Constitution.

None

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting. 

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting on 27^th June 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

The Panel received a report and a verbal presentation that provided an update on the progress of the Housing Improvement Plan, which was approved at Cabinet on 18^th April 2023. The report and the Housing Improvement Plan, attached at Appendix A of the report, was included in the agenda pack at pages 11-88. The presentation was introduced by Jahedur Rahman, Operational Director of Housing Services & Building Safety as set out in the tabled papers pack. David Joyce, Director of Placemaking and Housing was present for this item. Cllr Williams, the Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning was also present for this item. The following arose in discussion of this agenda item:

a.    The Panel queried why there weren’t performance milestones in place regarding repairs from the outset of the improvement plan. In response, officers advised that in order to drive the levels of improvement required that there would need to be a period of time for the changes to be embedded in the service. Officers set out that they were in the process of introducing a new category of repairs for a five to seven day turnaround, but that they needed to ensure that the staff and technology were in place do this. Officers emphasised that they wanted to make sure that they were able to deliver what was promised.

b.    The Panel members raised concerns about delays to repair work and multiple visits being carried out by different operatives before repair work was undertaken. In this context, the Panel queried how productivity would be measured by repair staff. In response, officers advised that the number of jobs carried out per day would vary according to the type of work that person undertook. It was suggested that five to six jobs a day was a reasonable, for non-wet work. Officers confirmed they monitored where jobs took longer than they should and were trying to recruit operatives that were multi-skilled and could undertake a variety of trades.

c.    In response to a question about the process for repair jobs being logged, officers advised that they was logged through the call centre and emphasised the importance of being able to accurately diagnose the problem/repair to ensure that repairs were not unnecessarily delayed.

d.    The Panel sought clarification about whether the council was monitoring claims of legal disrepair. In response, officers acknowledged that there was a concern around rising legal costs in relation to disrepair and that the service was discussing with legal colleagues about how to reduce this. It was suggested that, ultimately, a better repairs service would bring the number of cases down.

e.    As a follow-up, it was suggested that this should be monitored as a performance indictor as it was indicative of where things were going wrong and cases of severe resident dissatisfaction. Officers responded by reiterating the need to put the right structures in place to reduce legal disrepair claims. Officers advised that legal disrepair claims were a symptom of a wider problem and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128.

The Panel received a report which provided an overview of the Council’s progress towards delivering 3000 Council homes for Council rent by 2031. Work had begun on 2027 homes as of August 2023, of these 199 homes had been finished and new tenants had moved in. The report was introduced by Cllr Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for  Council House Building, Placemaking and Local Economy, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 89-114. The Director of Placemaking & Housing, the Assistant Director of Housing and the Head of Housing Development were also present for this agenda item. The following arose as part of the discussion of the report:

a.    The Panel raised concerns about how the first new properties were let and sought assurances about what lessons had been learned. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that the first batch of flats were let at the same time and that lessons had been learned so that in future this would be staggered and would not happen over the Christmas period. Housing officers would also be onsite for the period when people moved in.

b.    The Panel sought assurances about stoppages being caused by contractors going bust. In response, officers advised that this was a national issue and was being discussed with colleagues on a regional level. Officers from Placemaking and Housing were working with procurement colleagues to assess the financial health of contractors before entering into any contracts as well as expanding the assessment of contractual risks.

c.    The Panel commented that they were impressed by the design of the new housing blocks and questioned how the additional up-keep of green spaces would be managed by Parks. The Cabinet Member welcomed these comments and commented that she was very positive about the design of the blocks on Ashley Road. Officers set out that they were working closely with Parks to ensure that there was a common approach to maintaining these spaces and that the seasonal variation in parks staffing was considered. Similarly, wider considerations about the design of open spaces and whether this contributed to ASB was also being considered for each scheme. 

d.    The Panel questioned how the cost of building new homes stacked up against buying existing properties. In response, officers advised that this was done through the Haringey Community Benefit Society and that there they currently let around 300 properties. In general, the Panel was advised that, new builds tended to be cheaper to build due to grants from the GLA for new housing schemes. The purpose of the scheme was to build homes on council land. Where it was more cost effective to purchase existing properties this would be done but it tended to be leaseholder properties on a limited number of estates. The Cabinet Member clarified that within the commitment for 3000 new homes, some of these would be acquisitions as well as new build properties. On the Hale Wharf development, 77 properties had been acquired by the Council.

e.    The Panel sought assurances around  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

The Panel received a report which provided an update on the recommendations to a Scrutiny Review carried out by the Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Panel on the future of Seven Sisters Market (SSM) in 2022. The report also provided an update on the current position with SSM, including works to create a temporary market with both indoor and outdoor space. The report was introduced by Toussainte Reba, Head of Area Regeneration, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 115-262. Cllr Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for Council House Building, Placemaking and Local Economy and the Director of Placemaking & Housing were also present for this agenda item. The following arose as part of the discussion of the report:

1. The Panel sought assurances about how the different groups of traders were being brought together. In response, officers set out that TfL had undertaken one to one meetings with every trader who had a stall in the previous market to understand their requirements. TfL had appointed an independent chair to the Partnership Board and that the chair would provide a level of mediation. A temporary market operator had been appointed by TfL and they would be looking to engage with tenants on rents. The Council’s general position on rents at the market is that the rents should reflect the fact that SSM was a community asset.
2. The Panel sought clarification about whether any contact had been received from another bidder that wasn’t involved with the CBS and Community Plan. Officers advised that this process was being managed by TTLP (TfL) but that no other bidders has been received for the long lease of the market site so far but that there was some work needed to be done to flush out whether there were any other bidders. 
3. In response to a follow-up about possible interest from the Creative Land Trust, officers advised that they had not received any communication about this but reiterated that they were expecting TfL to seek expressions of interest for the long-term lease of the site and that this would bring the process along. The Cabinet Member emphasised that she and officers were pushing TfL, and that this was as much as they could do at this stage.
4. In relation to a questions around hardship payments, officers advised that all 36 eligible traders had received payments, which equated to around £30k each over a three year period.
5. In response to a question, officers advised that 38 different traders was the figure that TfL were working towards in terms of designing the new market site.
6. In response to a question, officers confirmed that two independent Spanish translators were provided at meetings with the traders.

RESOLVED

The Panel noted the update on progress with the implementation of the HRSP recommendations relating to the Seven Sisters Markets site, which were agreed by Cabinet in July 2022.

RESOLVED

That the Panel noted the work plan.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

N/A

·         14 November 2023

·         18 December 2023

·         26 February 2024

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·         14 November 2023

·         18 December 2023

·         26 February 2024