Agenda and minutes

The Council welcomes engagement from members of the public. To speak at this meeting please register no later than 24 hours prior to the date of the meeting via democracy@southkesteven.gov.uk

An email had been received from Karen Oliver from Helping Hands who made the following statement. 

Helping Hands was a new community group which had started up 25 weeks ago.

Helping Hands Grantham opened up to help the public with the cost of living by taking in donations and giving them back out but we now find ourselves with homeless people that are actually rough sleeping coming to us for help as they feel the council have failed them. 

SKDC say you can only have a hotel room if you meet priority needs which I fully understand but we have several cases that meet priority needs but are refused even though they have provided evidence about their complex medial issues.  We have had these decisions turned around because of our persistence but why are these people being let down and left on the streets?

Who is medically trained to understand the medical records that are requested from the public?

We have had a letter from SKDC saying they don’t want to engage with us but we been given no choice in this matter as the public are signing GDPR statement asking us to help them.

We have several homeless clients who are willing to come to a separate meeting to explain how they been treated and spoken to and I think this would be a good idea to build a better relationship with the public that find themselves homeless.

3.4 on Agenda

In July 2024 the report says it was reported 5 individuals sleeping rough this figure is not correct as our emails to SKDC in that period report 10 which we can name them all. So the figure is the same as last year if that figure for 2023 is correct.

The Leader of the Council asked for clarity in respect of the business was it a charity, business or CIC.  The business was a Community Group.  A further question was asked about whether or not it had a constitution to which Ms Oliver stated that it had.  The Leader stated that he would like to meet with the group in the future.

The Cabinet Member for Housing stated that when a client approached the Council as homeless, an assessment was conducted to see whether the Council believed they were a priority need as defined within the homelessness legislation. The Homeless Code of Guidance, Chapter 8 on priority stated that when determining whether an applicant, in any of the categories stated in paragraph 8.14 was vulnerable, the housing authority should determine whether, if homeless, the applicant would be significantly more vulnerable than an ordinary person would be if they became homeless, this is the assessment that the Council’s housing team must complete.  This did not require the team to be medically trained but rather trained in assessing whether any medical issues declared would have an impact on a person’s vulnerability should they be street homeless.  It is for the Housing Options Team to make this decision, not external agencies  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

The Chairman stated that with the Committees agreement he was altering the order of the agenda and that the item on homelessness would be moved to agenda item 6.  It was proposed, seconded and AGREED to move the item on homelessness to agenda item 6.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Anna Kelly who was substituted by Councillor Charmaine Morgan and Councillor Habib Rahman who was substituted by Councillor Tim Harrison.

Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

None, however, Councillor Charmaine Morgan declared an interest in respect of the agenda item on Build and Acquisition update as she was the Chairman of Planning and took no part in the discussion.

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2024 were proposed, seconded and AGREED.

The Cabinet Member for Housing informed the Committee that Alison Hall-Wright had been appointed as Director of Housing and Projects and that Sarah McQueen had been promoted to Head of Housing. 

The Chairman of the Committee congratulated the Officers.

The Cabinet Member for Housing updated the Committee on the current position on the status of homelessness and rough sleeping within South Kesteven.  The report appended to the agenda also detailed what the Council’s homelessness duties were and provided details of existing interventions to address homelessness and rough sleeping.

There had been an increase in homelessness applications in the last two years which was in line with the national homelessness figures.  In comparison there had been a decrease in the number of rough sleepers compared to last year’s figures.

The spend on temporary accommodation for 2023/24 where the Council had a duty to house people was £500,000 which had exceeded the set budget.

The report outlined the Councils duty when dealing with homelessness applications and rough sleepers and detailed other initiatives that the Council explored which included partnership working, early preventions and interventions.

The Director of Housing and Projects stated that the 2023/24 base budget had been £50,000 but it had been increased to £467,000 through the receipt of grant funding.  As part of the budget setting process last year the Council had increased the base budget from £50,000 to £200,000 which recognised the increased pressure that had been placed on the Council through its statutory homelessness duty.  A further grant from the Homelessness Prevention Government Grant of £268,000 had been received for the current financial year which had increased the total budget to £468,000.

The following comments/questions were raised:

·       Priority Need and the Council’s response if a person did not meet the definition of Priority Need

·       The increased trend in homelessness both locally and nationally due to the housing crisis and what the Council’s strategic response was so that it was not reliant on short-term hotel spend or bed and breakfast accommodation.

·       How homelessness was managed, this was dictated by the Homelessness National Guidance manual and priority need primarily dictated who the Council had a duty to provide short-term accommodation for.

·       If a person did not meet the priority need, legislation guided the Council in relation to what other duties could be undertaken. 

·       If a person was not provided with temporary accommodation the Council looked at what other options were available.   Such as access to the housing register or private rental options or rooms in shared houses.

·       Partnership working - improving relationships with Private landlords to see if the private sector could be accessed for accommodation.

·       Demand for stock and affordable housing outweighed supply.

·       Working with other districts if the person wished to relocate, however this could be challenging.

·       Accommodation was not always the answer in relation to both homelessness and rough sleepers who often had extremely complex needs which was where partnership working came in.

·       Partnership working included mental health support providers, adult social care.  If accommodation was provided it was important that a holistic support package was in place to support the person in their accommodation.

·       Did the Council have any specialist accommodation – the Council did not have any specialist supported accommodation; it would work with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Committee to receive a verbal update.

The Director of Housing and Projects gave an update in respect of the Stock Condition survey.

In 2020 the Council commissioned a stock condition survey to be carried out.  During this process approximately 2,100 properties were not accessed.  A temporary contract had therefore been awarded to Penningtons to undertake the stock condition surveys for the properties not accessed to undertake the survey, as properties need to meet the decent homes criteria.  To date 1244 out of the 2100 had been surveyed.  The outstanding properties had been handed over to ImpartLincs who would be carrying out the stock condition surveys for the next four years and these would be starting in October 2024.  This will be an annual rolling programme with 1,000 properties surveyed per year.  As part of the stock condition surveys EPC ratings would also be carried out to enable comprehensive EPC data to be loaded on to the APEX housing system.  A comprehensive report was planned to come before the Committee in March 2025.

One Member stated that it was vital that stock condition surveys were undertaken to find out the condition of the Council’s housing stock.  He asked what happened to the information over the rolling six year period.  The Director of Housing and Projects replied that it informed the improvement programme and the 30 year business plan.  Work was programmed to avoid any major “spikes” in the programme to keep it running smoothly.

A further question was asked about scheduled works that were planned and it was stated that these would be programmed as part of the improvement works required through the stock condition survey.

ØAction

A report on Stock Condition to be added to the Work Programme for March 2025.

Committee to receive a verbal update.

The Head of Housing updated the Committee on the recent changes that had been made to the Housing Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code.  The Code had taken effect from 1 April 2024 and had brought improvements to enhance the consistency, transparency and fairness to the complaints handling process by social landlords.   The Code re-enforced the importance of reaching a resolution where possible informally. The new Code had introduced a new five day window where complaints could be acknowledged and gave the Council the opportunity to contact residents/tenants to try and deal with the issue.  If communication was the issue, then a phone call could actually resolve the complaint. 

Another significant change was the requirement for more detailed and transparent reporting on complaint handing.  Complaints data is published but more detailed information is now required, what was the outcome, how long it had taken to resolve the complaint to enable greater accountability.  The Code also emphasised the need to learn from the complaints made and a working group had been set up to look at the outcome of complaints and the outcome of any Ombudsman rulings to learn from them.

New enforcement measures mean that non-compliance with the Code and complaints not being dealt within in line with the Complaints Policy, could result in the Council being held accountable.

The new Code provides clearer expectations for landlords and better protection for tenants focusing on accountability and transparency which in turn would mean continued improvements for housing services.

Members noted the update.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which updated the Committee in respect of the ongoing situation with the heating system at the Riverside Sheltered Housing Scheme in Grantham.  A comprehensive feasibility study had been completed by Pick Everard in respect of the communal heating system and this was appended to the report.  The feasibility study made recommendations in respect of remediation and enhancement works to ensure the continued operation of the system in the short-term and also provided long-term options for the system.

The Cabinet Member for Housing referred Members to Table 1 within the report which listed short-term rectification/enhancement works. The Cabinet Member for Housing together with the Director of Housing and Projects and other Officers had gone through the list and confirmed those items that were essential to be completed.   Special mention was made in relation to the boilers and the provision of a control panel which would alert officers immediately if there was a problem to enable it to be addressed before the building became cold.

Reference was made to the common room in the building which was not really used sufficiently to have work carried out.  Although the boilers are within their expected lifespan it had been decided that they would be replaced.  The Council is working with the current contractor to plan a programme of works to commence as soon as possible.

It was noted that a complete review of the sheltered housing provision was required across the district and until this was undertaken the long-term options outlined within the report would be deferred.

The Ward Member for the Riverside area who was sitting on the Committee asked if any of the proposed works would interrupt supplies to properties and if so, were provisions in place to address this. He felt that clear communication needed to be sent out to tenants in respect of the work proposed and a timeframe.  The Cabinet Member for Housing stated that as soon as everything was confirmed than the residents and the Ward Councillors would be advised accordingly.

The Director of Housing and Projects stated that there was likely to be some interruption depending upon when the work was carried out, as the boilers would have to be taken out and replaced.  All the flats except for eight, which were on an old system and would be looked at separately, had an immersion heater.  Officers had visited 45 flats to date, to check which immersion heaters required to be wired up.  Once all flats had been visited work would be undertaken to wire the immersion heaters up to enable residents to be able to access hot water whilst the boilers were being replaced.  Officers also checked those properties that had had an electric shower installed as part of the improvement programme.  Once properties without an electric shower were identified, work would be carried out to install an electric shower.  It was stated that all properties should still have portable heaters in from when the system failed the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

In introducing the report, the Chairman reminded the Committee that the new Government had stated that they would be carrying out a complete review of the Right to Buy (RTB) Scheme.  It was noted that the review would take several months and results of the review would not been known until Spring 2025.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which provided the Committee with details in respect of the current RTB Scheme and the number of properties sold.  The report detailed the criteria that had to be met by tenants who wished to purchase their properties under the RTB Scheme and the amount of discount they received which depended on length of time the tenant had been with a public sector landlord, whether the property was a flat or house and the value of the property. 

If the Council had incurred expenditure in building or maintaining the property, the cost floor rule would be applied which ensured that the purchase price was not lower than the investment in the property.  

·       For properties built or acquired prior to 2 April 2012 the total expenditure incurred over the last 10 years is calculated.

·       For properties built or acquired after 2 April 2012 the total expenditure incurred over the last 15 years is calculated.

If a RTB property was sold within 10 years of it being purchased, then it must be offered back to the Council to purchase.    Paragraph 2.6 of the report listed the discounts to be repaid if the RTB property was sold within five years of purchase.

In July 2024 the Government introduced increased flexibility for the use of RTB receipts for the period 2024-25 and 2025-26 which allowed the Council to fund 100% of the cost of replacement affordable housing from RTB receipts, previously this had only been 50%.  The cap on the number of replacement properties that could be acquired had also been removed.

As previously stated a wider review of the RTB scheme would be taking place and a consultation would be taking place in Autumn 2024.

Appendix 1 to the report detailed the RTB data from 1980 – 2023 and the Cabinet Member for Housing thanked Charles James for his work in putting the information together.  These thanks were also echoed by the Chairman of the Housing OSC.

A question was asked in respect of properties that had been adapted and it was stated that these properties were ringfenced from the RTB Scheme.  The Vice-Chairman asked if this ring fence also applied to sheltered housing properties which was confirmed by the Director of Housing and Projects.  A further question was asked about de-designation of properties particularly in sheltered accommodation and it was stated that this would be addressed once the result of the consultation by the Government was known.

Members noted the report.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the regular report which gave the status of the compliance figures in relation to the Council’s landlord function.  Legionella, Asbestos, Fire Risk Assessments and Lift Inspections were all 100% compliant.  Electricity inspections were at 92.41% with numbers remaining consistent.  Gas inspections were at 99.14% compliant, after a dip in July due to a number of rescheduled inspection dates by tenants.  The ability to cap properties who failed to allow access had played a significant part in the figures before the Committee.  The new contractor Aaron Services had worked hard to reduce the back log created by tenants and the outgoing contractor. 

Of the 40 households reported as non-compliant this had reduced as five tenants were in hospital and 20 had been added to the Court warrant for external capping for September 2024.   It was stressed that capping was only used as a final resort to enable access to properties to ensure they are safety compliant.

The format for reporting damp and mould had been amended to provide greater details for reporting damp and mould works.  Information had been previously held in different formats but everything had been amalgamated to one spreadsheet to allow for greater scrutiny.  Currently there were 758 properties in total, of these, 410 had been completed, 348 had outstanding works within the programme, 564 had works outstanding, 371  are with the contractors and 193 were with the Council’s own damp and mould team which had been set up to be dedicated to damp and mould cases.  It was noted that some properties may have more than one outstanding task.

Questions were asked about the capping of properties and it was stated that three attempts to contact the tenant were made either by letter, phone, email or in person before capping was considered with each case being looked at individually to ensure no vulnerable person was put at risk.    The Compliance Officer asked for the Committees support to continue to pursue the external capping of gas appliances at the point of expiration of the safety certificate.

Members discussed the figures with comments being made in respect of:

·       the checking of smoke and Carbon monoxide detectors, when access was granted to a property these were checked at the same time as other checks that were made.

·       The progress made in respect of work in relation to damp and mould in properties.

·       Clarity in respect of visits to properties it was stressed that tenants did have the opportunity to state a time and date for a visit.

The Cabinet Member for Housing asked the Committee for their view in respect of withholding non urgent repairs to a property which had an outstanding request for access to the property to carryout safety checks, this was not in respect of any urgent repairs such as a burst water main but just non urgent repairs.  Those Members present were minded to support the suggestion put forwarded.

Further discussion followed and it was noted that the capping of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

Members received a progress report in respect of the Earlesfield Project. To date a total of 64 properties had either been completed as part of phase 1 or work was currently being undertaken as part of phase 2.

A meeting was held on 13 August 2024 which was attended by the Director of Housing and Projects, the Contract Manger and United Living’s Contract Manger, Director and Tenant Liaison Officer.  Despite previous assurances by United Living in respect of the project, the recent performance figures and the number of property completions did not suggest that the project was on track.  At the meeting it was reiterated that the project completion date was 31 March 2025.  United Living had now provided a project plan which provided assurance that all properties should be complete and returned to the Council by 28 March 2025.      Monthly meetings were still taking place to ensure that the project remained on track.  As part of the Social Value element of the contract with United Living a new kitchen was due to be installed at the Grantham West Community Centre shortly to benefit all those using the facility.  The value of work was estimated at £5,000.

One Member raised concern about what he saw as delays with the project.  Although he had no problem with the project itself, he asked what reasons had been given for the further delays.   The Director of Housing and Projects stated that there had been some slippage which had been down to the capacity of the workforce.  However new tradespeople had been sourced and single points of failure had been removed.  Monthly meetings to monitor the project were ongoing and there was no reason that the project would not be completed on time. 

Reference was made to the asbestos surveys which had impacted work at the beginning of the project but this had now been resolved.  It was asked whether extra work had been added to the contract to which the Director of Housing and Projects stated that no extra work had been added, but some of the decanted properties had required new flooring and decoration but this had not impacted the project.

The Chairman commented that any major project of this nature would encounter “bumps” however, any issues raised by tenants had been rectified as soon as possible.  A question was asked in respect of the appendix and what “P” stood for, to which the Director of Housing and Projects responded.

Members noted the current updated position.

The Cabinet Member for Housing updated the Committee on the last position in respect of new builds and acquisitions.

(Councillor Charmaine Morgan declared an interest in this item as Chairman of the Planning Committee and took no part in the discussion)

The scheme of 20 units at Swinegate, Grantham was progressing and was on target for completion by July 2025.

The Council received the completed development of four units at Elizabeth Road, Stamford on 23 August 2024, the handover had been attended by the Cabinet Member for Housing.  All units had already been let.

The Planning Committee had granted planning permission for the 21 units at Larch Close, Grantham in November 2023. However, a new planning application will be submitted to change the original 2 x 4 bedroom requirement to 4 x 2 bed properties due to the higher costs of building materials and rental income associated with these properties.

Following feedback from a public consultation exercise the infill development at Wellington Way, Market Deeping had been reduced from 14 units to 11 units and a planning application was due to be submitted in September 2024.

Pre application and feasibility work was still being undertaken in respect of sites at Gorse Rise, Grantham, Kesteven Road, Stamford and Bourne End Road Estate, Colsterworth.   Purchases of properties in Stamford and Grantham were currently ongoing and more information would be available at the next meeting of the Committee.

A question was asked in respect of replacing housing stock to which the Director of Housing and Projects responded.

Members noted the current position.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which provided the Committee with an update in respect of the Council’s garage sites and sought support for the development of a Garage Site Action Plan.

Currently the Council had 830 individual garage units of which 455 had been assessed with regard to their suitability for development.  Seventy-one units across the district had been reported by residents as needing repairs which would be completed by the repairs team to ensure that they remained safe and usable.

It was proposed that a Garage Site Action Plan be put in place to ensure that the management of the garages and surrounding land was both effective and efficient.  The plan would aim to maximise rental income for the Council and identify development opportunities for affordable housing on land where garages were no longer needed.

The Action Plan would be based on the following key considerations:

·       Deliver Sites for Development – the Council’s Corporate Plan identifies the need to “Build more houses on derelict land”.

·       Improve Sites where demand is High – these sites would be prioritised for investment

·       Consider Alternatives where development is not viable and demand is low – options may include demolishing garages to create parking spaces.

One Member asked for a list of garage sites and was referred back to the meeting in March 2024 at which a comprehensive list had been appended to the garage site report.  It was noted that if there were any particular sites that Members were interested in, they should contact the Head of Corporate Projects, Performance and Climate Change.    Another Member made reference to being able to build flats above garages but currently this was not something that was being considered due to the size of the garages and also the possible presence of asbestos within the flat roofs.

The Garage Site Action Plan would be added to the work programme to come to the Committee in March 2025.

ØAction

Garage Site Action Plan to be added to the Work Programme for the Committee in March 2025.

The Committee noted the report and the proposal for a Garage Site Action Plan.

The Chairman assured one of the Members present that Voids would be included on the Work Programme for the November meeting of the Committee.

The following regular updates were down for November:

·     Housing Compliance Monitoring

·     Earlesfield Project

·     New Build & Acquisitions

Together with KPI’s 2024/25: Mid-year (Q2) Report

A question was asked about the rolling programme in respect of fob maintenance.  The Director of Housing and Projects stated that she would email Members with the current details.

ØAction

The Director of Housing and Projects to email the Committee with the current fob maintenance schedule.

Other items to be included were the Stock Condition update which had been referenced during the meeting and the Director of Housing and Projects asked that Change4Lincs be also added to the agenda for November 2024.

None.

The meeting closed at 4:33pm.