Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Resident Experience. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Communities

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FOR THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Adopted the draft Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy to come into effect from 23 December 2025.
   
   
2. Delegated authority to the Director of Environment, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet member for Communities, to make any future modifications to this policy required by changes to legal or regulatory requirements or updates to the Council’s ASB webpages arising in the three-year period before the policy was due for review.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

This newly drafted, clear and accessible policy outlined the Council’s approach to tackling Anti-Social Behaviour. It applied to all Haringey residents, businesses, and visitors in the borough. It reflected the Council’s commitment to fostering safe, harmonious communities and helped the Council meet the Social Housing Regulator’s consumer standards, specifically the Neighbourhood and Community Standard.

Alternative Options Considered

The Council could have continued with an outdated ASB policy. This option was rejected because it would not have met the Council’s needs or those of its residents. Introducing this new policy assisted the Council in meeting the Social Housing Regulator’s Neighbourhood and Community Standard to have a policy on how the Council worked with relevant organisations to deter and tackle ASB in the neighbourhoods where it provided social housing. This option would also not have met the Council’s commitment to introduce updated policies in the Housing Strategy 2024–2029 and the Housing Improvement Plan 2023.

The Cabinet Member for Communities introduced the report.

It was stressed by the Cabinet Member that the Council had a commitment to creating a safer environment for all residents and visitors and that tackling Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) was a key priority. and we were committed to working with partners to support those affected and to hold individuals accountable for unacceptable behaviour. We recognised that ASB could seriously impact the quality of life for residents, communities, and visitors.

This policy explained how the Council would address ASB in a fair, reasonable, proportionate, and transparent way. It was explained that the Council had designed it to be read in conjunction with the Community Safety Strategy and the Tackling Hate Crime Strategy, following their approval in 2024. It was explained that the proposed policy would clarify ASB procedures and highlight the responsibility of each team in tackling it in the Council. It was also explained that the proposals would help the Council to meet the government’s Social Housing Regulator’s consumer standards by setting out how the Council worked with relevant organisations to deter and tackle ASB in the neighbourhoods where we provided social housing.

Following questions from Councillors Arkell and Connor, the following information was shared:

• It was stressed that the Council would utilise the policy to make it clear and easy to understand the definition of definition of Anti-Social Behaviour, as well the processes and procedures clear, to make reporting easier for residents to do.
  
  
• The Cabinet Member explained that the proposals included a multi-agency approach to tackling anti-social behaviour, which included the Partnership Problem Solving Group, which would enable the Council to work across agencies and aid where the Council and other organisations were stretched for resources to help handle anti-social behaviour.
  
  
• It was explained that the Council would maintain a suite of key performance indicators that the Council would monitor to ensure that it was tackling anti-social behaviour effectively across agency partners.
  
  

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Adopted the draft Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy to come into effect from 23 December 2025.
   
   
2. Delegated authority to the Director of Environment, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet member for Communities, to make any future modifications to this policy required by changes to legal or regulatory requirements or updates to the Council’s ASB webpages arising in the three-year period before the policy was due for review.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

This newly drafted, clear and accessible policy outlined the Council’s approach to tackling Anti-Social Behaviour. It applied to all Haringey residents, businesses, and visitors in the borough. It reflected the Council’s commitment to fostering safe, harmonious communities and helped the Council meet the Social Housing Regulator’s consumer standards, specifically the Neighbourhood and Community Standard.

Alternative Options Considered

The Council could have continued with an outdated ASB policy. This option was rejected because it would not have met the Council’s needs or those of its residents. Introducing this new policy assisted the Council in meeting the Social Housing Regulator’s Neighbourhood and Community Standard to have a policy on how the Council worked with relevant organisations to deter and tackle ASB in the neighbourhoods where it provided social housing. This option would also not have met the Council’s commitment to introduce updated policies in the Housing Strategy 2024–2029 and the Housing Improvement Plan 2023.