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 Blake and Cllr Hymas.

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).

None

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 20^th September were agreed as a correct record.

The Housing Panel received a report that provided an update on key aspects of voids performance, including context on the service’s past and recent performance, and also provided an update on the work in progress to improve voids performance under the Housing Improvement Plan. Accompanying the report was a presentation tabled by officers and set out in the published tabled papers pack, that provided further information around voids performance. The report and presentation were introduced by Jahedur Rahman, Operational Director, Housing Service and Building Safety. Cllr Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning was also present for this item, along with the Director of Housing and Placemaking. The following arose during the discussion of this agenda item:

1. The Panel sought clarification about some of the most common reasons a property became void and the reasons that a particular property might not be re-let after it became void. In response, officers advised that the Neighbourhood Moves scheme often led to chunks of voids becoming available in a particular ward as people were transferred from a regen property to a new property. The Council was looking at how it could make sure that it spent less time doing works and that it could turn properties around quicker. Officers set out that social housing properties often became available because of a death and that some of these could require extensive works as the tenant had either not reported disrepair or had undertaken renovation work themselves. Officers advised that they would like to be able to get into those properties much earlier and to undertake repairs as and when disrepair arose.
2. The Panel queried whether there was a process in place for vulnerable tenants and their carers to report disrepair and whether this was acted upon. In response, officers advised that the Housing Management team should be aware of vulnerable tenants and that Housing officers should then be undertaking frequent checks on vulnerable residents and picking up repair issues as part of those visits.
3. The Panel enquired about the extent to which Housing was joined-up with social services. In response, officers advised that the relationship was there and that since coming in-house Housing services had been building the relationship with colleagues in Children’s and Adults. Officers advised that they would like to be able to share more of the data held by those services.
4. The Panel sought clarification around the revised liveable standards. In response, officers advised that they had condensed the liveable standards down from around 12 pages to 4, with the aim of making them easier for residents to understand and also easier to turn around properties.  An example noted of where an improvement had been made to those standards was that they now offered a much greater range of paint colours to new tenants of previously void properties. Rubber mats were offered to reduce vibrations from the washing machines of neighbouring properties and new residents were also given the chance to keep the flooring from previous tenants (as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 140.

The Panel received a report which provided an overview of the proposed new Housing Strategy, its context, and the processes through which it had been developed. The draft Housing Strategy 2024-2029 was attached as an appendix to the report.  The report set out the content of the draft Housing Strategy agreed by Cabinet in March 2022, the consultation on that Strategy carried out between September and December 2022, and the changes made to the draft Strategy as a result both of that consultation and of new financial, regulatory, and legislative contexts. The Panel were asked to provide comments on the draft Housing Strategy, in advance of December Cabinet. 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 25-138.  Also present for this agenda item were David Joyce, Director Housing and Placemaking; Robbie Erbmann, Assistant Director of Housing; Hannah Adler Head of Housing Strategy and Policy; and Marc Lancaster Housing Policy & Strategy Officer.  The following arose during the discussion of this agenda item:

1. The Panel sought clarification around London Affordable Rent versus formula rent. In response, officers advised that that houses build under the previous grant programme 2016-23, would be built using London Affordable Rent. New Housing schemes built under the current 2021-26 scheme were limited to social rents using the formula. This was set by the Mayor of London’s office and the Council had no control over it. It was noted that there were some limited exceptions such as building using Right to Buy receipts and possible future changes to supported housing, that may allow the Council to use LAR. 
2. A Panel member commented that he would like to see a holistic approach taken to estate improvements, so that the railings were painted at the same time as major works were undertaken. It was suggested that this approach was cheaper and caused less disruption to residents.
3. The Panel also commended officers and the Cabinet Member on the quality of the design of schemes being built in Haringey. It was suggested that members would like to see some of the LBH schemes put forward for awards.
4. A Panel Member commented that by not using LAR, the Council was severely limiting the number of houses that it could build. In response, officers reiterated that the GLA funding for the 2021-26 programme did not allow the Council to use LAR for the current scheme. Officers sought to reassure members that the Mayor was giving Haringey a very large grant settlement, one that was double the previous allocation. The AD for Housing advised that he was happy with the viability of the scheme and that there were around 500 homes in the programme.
5. The Cabinet Member advised that part of the reason that the Mayor’s Office had agreed to give Haringey a substantial settlement was due to the trust that had been built up with them, particularly in terms of the fact that LBH has started  ...  view the full minutes text for item 141.

The Panel received a report which provided an update on the progress of the Strategic Asset Management and Property Improvement Plan 2023-28 and the associated action plans, set out in appendix one of the report, which captured the recommendations from previous internal and external audit reports. 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 139 to 202. Also present for this agenda item were David Joyce, Director of Housing and Placemaking; Jonathan Kirby, AD for Capital Projects and Property; Amanda Grosse, Head of Strategic Asset & Accommodation Management; and Sarah Lavery, Head of Property Change. The following arose during the discussion of this report:

1. The Panel queried whether the Council would be seeking to acquire additional property/assets, rather than divesting them, and also sought clarification about whether the Council would be seeking to acquire assets outside of Haringey. In response, the Cabinet Member gave the example of Pendarren House as an asset that Haringey had outside of the borough and explained that the reason for this was that it served a strategic objective of the Council.  The Council would acquire additional assets if in doing so it was serving a strategic objective. Examples of recent acquisitions were 46 homes at the Gourlay Triangle and the acquisition of property from Grainger on the Wards Corner site. Officers advised that the Council had to demonstrate a direct strategic link to its needs in order to acquire properties outside of the borough.
2. The Panel noted that the report set out that the value of the Council’s assets was £2.8 billion and queried how this compared with neighbouring authorities. In response, officers advised that this figure included everything, including school estates, not just the commercial portfolio. Officers agreed to come back with a written response to members about how the value of Haringey’s assets compared to neighbouring boroughs.  Officers suggested that Haringey had held on to a lot of stock, but that also came with challenges due to the age of some of the stock. (Action: Jonathan Kirby).
3. The Chair sought clarification about the scope of assets captured in the Plan and whether this related to the General Fund. In response, officers emphasised the fact that the plan set up a firm structure so that any decision on acquiring or divesting an asset would go through the governance structure set out in the report. Officers advised that the assets referred to everything that was non-residential and included any acquisition or disposal of assets regardless of the category of property. This excluded council housing tenancies.  
4. The Panel queried the use of flexible capital receipts, referring to paragraphs 7.2.4 & 7.2.5 of the report, which stated that the Council intended to continue with the current stipulation that capital money could only be used on a project that delivered cost reductions or transformation, after the government loosened the rules around this. The Panel commented that it would like to see  ...  view the full minutes text for item 142.

RESOLVED

That the work programme was noted.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

N/A

·         18 December 2023

·         26 February 2024

·         18 December 2023

·         26 February 2024