Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, and Deputy Leader of the Council.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, and Deputy Leader of the Council introduced the report.

It was stressed that nothing was more important than residents’ safety and that the Council was committed to ensuring that the Council’s 20,000 tenants, leaseholders, and their families lived in safe homes where they could thrive. It was explained that these policies were an important next step in the transformation of the Council’s landlord services and that they aligned with broader plans to enhance housing services for tenants and leaseholders and to improve the quality of Council homes, as outlined in the Housing Strategy 2024–2029 and the Housing Improvement Plan.

It was additionally explained that these policies helped the Council meet the government’s Social Housing Regulator’s consumer standards. They outlined the reasonable steps the Council would take to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and communal areas.

It was stressed that the insights and experiences of our residents, particularly through the Resident Voice Board, played a key role in shaping these policies. This Group, comprising tenants and leaseholders, ensured ongoing resident engagement and co-creation in housing policies.

In response to comments and questions from Cllr Hakata, Cllr Connor, the following information was shared:

• It was explained the Building Safety Policies had been written in collaboration with leaseholders and tenants. However, it was stressed that fire safety was paramount to the development of Building Safety Policy and that it would always take precedence. It was explained that experts would determine the operational matters relating to ensuring fire safety. Officers explained that there had been some work undertaken to ensure this safety while also addressing the concerns of residents.
  
  
• It was explained that residents in tower blocks had their own building safety manager, and appraisals were taken on a regular basis, as well as ensure that compliance checks were undertaken to address concerns around building safety. This was to reflect the changes to building safety following the Grenfell Review.
  
  
• It was explained that there was a requirement to regularly review policies and undertake a review if there were any changes in regulations, which would ensure that policies were up to date with central government regulations.
  
  
• Concerns with reporting structure for residents. Resident engagement strategy bespoke to individual high rise buildings, and additionally have an allocated building safety manager who manages building compliance and manage building safety concerns.
  
  
• It was explained that the Council did not undertake fire risk assessments on an ad hoc basis and that it applied the Central Government fire risk appraisal tool, which the Council utilises to assess priority order and frequency of assessments, and the publicly available standard for fire risk assessment.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet

1. Approved the draft:
   1. Asbestos Safety Policy; Access for Emergencies, Safety or Welfare Policy;
   2. Electrical Safety Policy;
   3. Fire and Structural Safety Policy;
   4. Gas and Heating Safety Policy;
   5. Lift Safety Policy; and Water Hygiene Policy

to come into effect from 6 May 2025.

2. To delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Adults, Housing and Health to amend reports to resolve any minor errors.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

These newly drafted, clear, and accessible policies outlined the Council’s approach to building safety for Council tenants and their wider households. The new access policy confirmed the Council’s approach to obtaining access to tenanted and leaseholder homes (including gardens and other outside areas) when necessary.

The new policies helped the Council meet the Social Housing Regulator’s consumer standards, specifically the Safety and Quality Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.

Alternative Options Considered

The Council could have continued with current compliance and access policies. This option was rejected because the existing policies were outdated and no longer met the Council’s needs or those of its tenants. Introducing these new policies assisted the Council in meeting the Social Housing Regulator’s Consumer Standards, particularly the Safety and Quality Standard requirement. This option also would not have met our commitment to introduce updated policies in the Housing Strategy 2024–2029 and the Housing Improvement Plan 2023.