Agenda and draft 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 and Cllr Barnes.

Cllr Cawley Harrison was in attendance as a substitute for 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.

There were no declarations of interest.

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. 

In response to a point raised in the minutes of the last meeting, the Cabinet Member advised that work around the LCP Framework was progressing, and that all of the pre-tender engagement had been completed. There were two in-person events lined up for potential bidders to attend. The next stage of the process was expected to start in 2025. It was acknowledged that it was a long process.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the previous meeting on 26^th September were agreed as a correct record.

The Panel has invited representatives from a number of housing associations that operate in the borough to attend, in to provide information on key resident satisfaction metrics, and to provide assurances on how well they communicate with tenants and the Council. The Panel Members will also be putting questions to the organisations present.

·         Hornsey Housing Trust

·         Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing

·         L&Q

·         Peabody

·         Clarion – to follow.

The Panel invited a number of representatives of Housing Associations that operated in Haringey to attend the meeting and provide an update around some key resident satisfaction metrics, including things like repairs performance and work to tackle damp and mould. The submissions were published as part of the agenda pack and Members took these as read, in order to focus on putting questions to the registered providers. Hannah Adler,  Head of Housing Strategy and Policy introduced a report which provided some background to Housing Associations and the relationship between housing associations and the Council, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 17-20. Talia Knoble-Gershon, Housing Partnerships Officer was also present for this item, along with Cllr Sarah Williams Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning and Deputy Leader of the Council.

The following housing association representatives were present at the meeting:

·         Hornsey Housing Trust (HHT)– Euan Barr (Chief Executive)

·         Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) - Surinder Bains (Head of Housing -North London/Central) & Maxine Gordon (Director of Housing)

·         L&Q – Angela James (Head of Housing)

·         Peabody – Tracey Packer (Managing Director NE London) & Vatel Ntankeu Mbami (AD Customer Services)

·         Clarion – Felicity Dunmall (Head of Housing North London)

The following was noted in discussion of this agenda item:

a.    The Panel put forward a suggestion that ward councillors should be invited to attend walkabouts of estates in their wards when these were undertaken but housing association staff. In response, the Cabinet Member commented that this seemed like a good idea and that these had happened in the past but tended to differ from provider to provider.

b.    The Panel commented that there seemed to be very little interaction between the registered housing providers and ward councillors, other than when Members were following up on casework. The Panel questioned how the Cabinet Member thought Councillors could be better utilised by housing associations. In response, the Cabinet Member set out that this could be complicated by the fact that a number of estates had multiple providers operating there, and that they could have a different relationship i.e. one could be the freeholder and another could be a leaseholder. Officers advised that there were examples of ward councillors being involved with specific providers in individual wards, and that they would be happy to help facilitate more of this. It was also suggested that there could be scope for ward councillors to be involved in relation to positive developments such as a tour of new developments.

c.    The Panel questioned whether the Council still maintained a list of preferred housing providers. In response, officers advised that they did not.

d.    In response to a question, officers advised that the Council had nomination rights to place people on its housing register into housing association properties. The Council tended to have 100% of first lets available for nomination rights and 75% of secondary nomination rights when a property became void.

e.    The Panel questioned to what extent housing associations required the local authorities agreement to undertake  ...  view the full minutes text for item 200.

To follow.

A Member of the Panel raised an issue with a lack of TA Housing units and delays in turning around voids. It was questioned whether there was an underlying policy issue behind this. The Panel agreed to look at this as part of a future update on various policies coming to the Panel, including the allocations policy.

The Panel agreed to undertake a short piece of scrutiny work around the TA Allocations and Discharge of Duty Policy.

RESOLVED

That the outcomes from the Scrutiny Survey and Scrutiny Café were noted

That the Work Programme for 2024-26 was agreed.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

N/A

·         21^st November (Budget)

·         6^th March

Noted as:

·         21^st November (Budget)

·         6^th March