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

There were no public speakers.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Paul Wood, Councillor Matt Bailey who was substituted by Councillor Gloria Johnson and Councillor Bridget Ley who was substituted by Councillor Tim Harrison.

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

None disclosed.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2025 were proposed, seconded and AGREED.

There were no announcements made.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the regular housing compliance report which gave the status of the compliance figures in relation to the Council’s landlord function. Legionella, asbestos, fire risk assessment and lift inspections remained at 100%.

Damp and mould inspections had increased to 60.53% and electric inspections had increased to 94.62%.  Gas safety inspections were at 99.22% however, there had been an increase in the access refusal rate to properties in February with contractors unable to access properties to replace central heating boilers in some cases.  It was proposed to place an article in Skyline highlighting the need to access properties to enable gas and electric safety certification to be carried out.

It had been 18 months since the Council had been released from being under the Regulator for Social Housing.  Figures for all the areas were now  standardised and monthly meetings continued to be held between the Leader, the Cabinet Member for Housing, the Chief Executive and the Director of Housing and Projects. The Cabinet Member for Housing asked if the Committee would be happy to receive six monthly reports going forward.

Members discussed the suggestion and it was proposed that as long as each area didn’t fall below 3%, Members were happy to receive six monthly updates.  Further discussion followed with reference being made to damp and mould reporting.  The Director of Housing and Projects stated the Committee had agreed to receive regular KPI data for the whole service which could include damp and mould figures.

One Member referred to vulnerable tenants and access to properties and possible disruption which could be a reason to deny access to properties.  It was stated that Officers, wherever possible, took into consideration those tenants with vulnerabilities and complex mental health issues and tried to work with tenants to support them so that they were aware of any impacts.

One Member gave an example where contractors had turned up at the wrong house on the wrong date and therefore were unable to access a property and felt that checks should be made to ensure the correct house/date are known.

The Health, Safety and Compliance Manager stated that safeguard controls were always in place and in respect of gas inspections tenants could choose the date and time but tenants still failed to make the appointments.

Further discussion followed in respect of disruption due to works being carried out particularly in respect of air heat pumps and also whether Ward Members could help when there were issues raised.

One Member asked about the tenancy agreement and access to a property and maybe the Council needed to be more assertive.    Officers stated that in respect of gas inspections, tenants had the chance to make three appointments and they also had tenancy support.  It was confirmed that access to properties was part of a tenancy agreement and failure to allow officers access was a breach of that agreement.

The Chairman clarified the proposal before Members which was for the Committee to receive an update on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

Updating of progress on the Earlesfield Project.

The Cabinet Member for Housing updated the Committee with progress in respect of the Earlesfield Project.    To date 57 properties had been completed and returned to tenants, there were 10 properties that had work in progress with two further properties ready for sign off, although it was stated that these may have been completed since the report had been written. 

The Committee were aware that concerns had been raised with the contractor United Living in respect of poor progress with the project.  However, meetings had taken place and an action plan put in place for the requirements of the project to be fulfilled and the contract delivered.  The Cabinet Member for Housing informed the Committee that there would be a delay in the finish date of the project.  The completion date had originally been 31 March 2025 but due to various factors this had been moved to 31 May 2025.

The Chairman of the Committee who was also one of the Ward Councillors for the area stated that the delay of 60 days was not ideal, however it was not a disaster and the overall impact on the estate of the work undertaken was fantastic. The Director of Housing and Projects reiterated that the contract would be completed on the 31 May 2025. If there was still any works outstanding at this date they would be completed under a separate scheme.

A Member asked if access to properties had been an issue with the project.  The Director of Housing and Projects replied that those properties that presented challenges with decanting to other properties whilst work was completed had been left until the end of the programme.

The Chairman once again placed his thanks on record for the excellent work undertaken on the Earlesfield Estate.

Members noted the report.

Committee to receive a verbal update report.

The Director of Housing and Projects updated the Committee on the progress in respect of new builds and acquisitions. 

The 20 units at Swinegate, Grantham were due to be completed by July 2025.

The planning application for the development of 11 units at Wellington Way, Market Deeping had been submitted and was waiting to be approved following which a tender process would be undertaken to appoint a contractor.

The small six unit development at Gorse Rise was due to be formally submitted to Planning by the end of the month following pre-planning advice.  Again once approved a tender process would be undertaken to appoint a contractor.

The remaining properties which the Council bought via the Local Authority Housing Fund for the Ukrainian and Afghan refugees were completed on 24 January 2025.   The properties were located in Bourne and were in the process of being occupied and offered to tenants.

The Council had been offered two properties to purchase under the buyback scheme one was a two bedroom apartment in Stamford, the other a six bedroom property.

It was stated that a full report, rather than a verbal update would be given to the next Committee meeting.

Ø Action

A written report on New Build and Acquisitions to the next meeting of the Committee.

One Member stated that at the last meeting it was mentioned that certain types of housing was being looked for, was that still the case.  The Director of Housing and Projects stated that there was a complex needs list which was regularly reviewed with the requirements of people on the list.  The Council would then identify whether properties could be purchased on the open market  to meet the needs on the list, bungalows were an example given and whether they could be adapted.  Currently there were 20 people on the list and it was continually monitored.

A question was asked about the buyback scheme and it was stated that if a tenant bought a council house it was written into the documentation that the Council would be offered it first, if it was within ten years of it being sold.

Further comments were made in respect of Serco to which the Head of Service (Housing) replied.

The report was noted.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the Committee with an update on the status and activity in respect of homelessness and rough sleeping.

The Cabinet Member for Housing confirmed the funding received for the Rough Sleeper Initiative of £646,000 for the 2025/26 year.  Currently there were three people in temporary accommodation and there were 18 active support cases.  There was currently an underspend on the Rough Sleeper Initiative Funding which would be ringfenced for future years.  Members were referred to page 35 of the report which detailed the cases between the four Districts within the C4L group.

It was noted that active homelessness cases had increased significantly in January 2025 from December 2024.  There were around 300 active cases, 214 of those were new approaches.  It was noted that the number of people in temporary accommodation did not reflect the 20% increase which had been forecast.  It was confirmed that a HMO had been secured in the centre of Grantham with a partner agency for temporary accommodation.

The Cabinet Member for Housing then spoke about the success of the night shelter.  The shelter had operated for 71 nights and had provided 402 bed spaces and had saved the Council £16,000 in nightly paid accommodation fees in hotel.  The service had ended on 28 February 2025 but a year round provision was being sought and would be opened again if the temperature fell again.

Reference was then made to resettlement pressures particularly in respect of the Urban Hotel and the mix messages that had been circulated from various sources including the East Midlands Migration Partnership. However, following conversations, it had been confirmed that the Urban Hotel had been removed from the resettlement list although the Home Office were supposed to contact the Council with information before anything happened which they had failed to do.

One Member stated that she had two homelessness cases within her ward and it was due to landlords selling the properties. Another Member asked if a strongly worded email had been sent to the Home Office in respect of issue at the Urban Hotel to which the Head of Service (Housing) confirmed this had been done.

Further discussion followed in respect of the success of the night shelter and work to provide the provision year round which the Committee would be notified of any future plans.

Members noted the hard work done by Officers particularly due to other pressures that were happening such as Local Government Reorganisation.

The report was noted.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which concerned a draft Mobility Vehicle Policy.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 required that fire risks in communal areas were assessed and actions taken to reduce these risks.  In residential buildings mobility scooters and other battery operated vehicles pose a fire risk when stored in communal areas and fire escape routes, to residents, council employees, contractors, visitors and firefighters.

A review of the mobility scooter storage facilities at the Council’s Sheltered Housing Schemes had established that:

·       Scooters are being stored and charged inside schemes or externally and adjacent to buildings, potentially causing unacceptable fire and health and safety risks.

·       Residents are using the Council’s electricity supply, which is being consumed at no additional cost to the owner of the scooter.

·       Scooters are being stored in locations which are obstructing fire escape routes.

·       Scooters are being charged outside via an extension lead through the window of resident’s accommodation, which is also a fire risk

A draft Mobility Vehicle Policy had been drawn up and was appended to the report which clearly sets out what Council tenants and Leaseholders of both Sheltered and General Needs Housing needed to follow.

·       The process to seek permission for a scooter

·       Storage and charging of scooters within Council premises

·       The use of scooters within Council premises

·       The ongoing responsibilities of scooter owners

·       Scenarios where permission for a scooter will be refused

·       The impact of failing to comply with the policy

Due to the constraints in respect of space and charging points there was a maximum capacity for storage of scooters at Sheltered Housing Schemes.  The Council had a Mobility Scooter Group which was attended by Council Officers including the Fire Compliance Officer and had reviewed the National Fire Chief Council guidelines and had concluded that, based on 30 minute fire doors a maximum of three mobility scooters should be allowed in a sheltered housing scheme at any one time.  The mobility vehicle can only be stored and charged in designated facilities and on the ground floor only.

Although a consultation had taken place in 2021 the data could not be used as it was too old, therefore a consultation would be repeated to get the views of current tenants and these would be taken into consideration.

The Committee were asked to recommend the draft policy to Cabinet for adoption.

Members considered the draft policy and the following points were raised:

·       Did users of the mobility vehicles have to have the necessary insurance and training – there was no legal requirement for insurance or training

·       That overnight charging should be avoided as it was a serious fire risk

·       That all chargers should be PA tested to make sure they are electrically sound.

·       Safeguards and training would be built in and created by the working group and provided to tenants

It was noted that the draft policy was just the start of what is a complex issue and there were lots of angles to consider and the document  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which updated the Committee on the progress being made in respect of the stock condition programme since it last came before the Committee in August 2024. 

A target of 1,759 stock condition surveys had been set for 2024/25, at the end of February 2025, 1,617 surveys had been completed.  Of those properties surveyed a total of 67 had failed the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System risk assessment of which 33 were category 1.  All those needing remedial works had been booked in with the repairs team.

The stock condition data had been uploaded on to the Council’s Asset Management System, APEX and would be used to plan where future investment was required to maintain and improve the Council’s housing stock.  During 2025/26 a further 850 surveys would be carried out.  Following the stock condition surveys carried out the Cabinet Member for Housing confirmed that 97.9% of the Council’s housing stock met the decent homes standard.  The stock condition surveys were carried out on a five year rolling basis.

A question was asked whether the 97.9% figure included voids to which the Head of Service (Technical) replied that the database included all properties, including voids.  This figure was commended by the Member and this was echoed by the Chairman.

Further questions were asked about whether there was any commonality in respect of those who had Category 1 failures and whether the same contractor carried out the EPC surveys for consistency to which the Head of Service (Technical) responded.    A comment was made about including voids in the 97.9% figure why were they voids and not let to which the Head of Service (Technical) stated that it could be that they were being brought up to the decent homes standard and required the relevant checks to be carried out and were not strictly part of the stock condition survey but were undertaken as two separate pieces of work. 

The Director of Housing and Projects stated that currently there were 66 major voids which accounted for 1% of the Council’s housing stock which were included in the data shown.

A non-Committee Member asked whether subsidence was included within the surveys carried out especially within the ward that he looked after, Harrowby.  The Head of Service (Technical) stated that he did not have the information to hand but if the Member had a specific address he would look into it outside of the meeting.

Members noted the report.

(An adjournment took place between 15:18 – 15:33)

The Director of Housing and Projects introduced the report which updated the Committee on the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund project to upgrade South Kesteven District Council housing stock with energy efficiency measures. 

The average Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the Council’s housing stock was EPC D.  By 2030 there was a requirement for the Council to achieve an average of a least an EPC C across the 6,000 properties to mitigate fuel poverty for the Council’s tenants and contribute to the wider decarbonisation of the district.  If the rating went above a C the properties were not eligible for the grant funding therefore care had to be taken when implementing the measures within the individual properties.

The scheme had focused on installing solar PV panels, air source heat pumps and external wall insulation in properties.  Change requests had been submitted to Government as the scheme had progressed where some people had been reluctant to have air source heat pumps installed and where there was a time constraint on accessing the funding, the Council had looked at where the funding could be allocated to a different measure such as increasing the number of solar PV panels installed on properties.

Work was being undertaken to complete work at 367 properties, 247 solar PV panels, 100 air source heat pumps and external wall insulation on 75 properties.  Reference was made to the project that had taken place at Turnor Crescent in Grantham where external wall insulation had been done at some properties and the Council had taken a whole street approach and had finished off the remainder of the properties. 

The scheme was due to finish by the end of March 2025 and then the Council had two months to complete all inspections and issue the certificates.  The Director of Housing and Projects informed the Committee that the project was on target to be completed by the end of the month.

The Director of Housing and Projects referred to Wave 3 of the scheme which had not been included within the report due to a Government embargo.  Since the report had been published the Council had been notified that it had been allocated £4m of funding.  Wave 3 had been oversubscribed which had necessitated a review of the allocations.  The Council’s original funding request had been £6m.  The £4m allocated would be match funded by the Council and work was being undertaken with a contractor to establish what would be carried out at properties and to begin work as soon as possible.  As the funding was less than original requested, the number of properties to have work carried out had been reduced.

The Committee were informed that there would be a team looking after the project which would include a resident liaison officer who would work with the tenants who were having works carried out on their property, this was similar to what had been in place for the Earlesfield Project which had worked well.

A question was asked about the air source  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report on the Council’s void property management and the progress to reduce relet times.  Reducing the time that a property was void was one of the key priorities for the Council.  A backlog of voids had built up over several years caused by a combination of tenant neglect and the lack of planned maintenance investment over the years.  The issue had been heightened by staff shortages and changes in management and the limited use of external contractors.

The Committee were referred to paragraph 3.1 of the report which showed the number of voids received by the Void Repair Team and the number handed back to Housing Management for reletting.  Section 3.3 showed the number of voids which had work in progress and it was hoped that the new Voids Inspector who had been appointed in February 2025 would significantly bring down the number of properties waiting for inspection.

Section 4 of the report covered the relet times in respect of temporary accommodation voids, major voids and standard void properties.  Chart 5 showed the relet time for All Voids and the Council’s target relet time for 2024/25 as set in the Council’s Corporate Plan is 100 days. This target was achieved in December 2024 and January 2025 had a target of 96 days.

Section 5 of the report covered the average rent loss per property for all void properties based on a typical rent of £110 per property. A reduction in rent loss from over £2,000 per property in April 2024 had dropped to around £1,500 in January 2025.

Considerable work had been completed by the Voids Team during 2024/25 to improve performance and this was listed at 6.1 in the report.

The Chairman congratulated the Head of Service (Technical Services) and his Team for the progress that had been made in respect of voids.  A question was asked about the void period and properties being advertised to which the Director of Housing and Projects replied.  It was also stated that Housemark who were industry experts who collated data for the housing sector were reviewing the entire void process to reduce the length.

Further comments were made about the void backlog and the work undertaken to reduce the backlog including the inclusion of two new void contractors who had helped to reduce the backlog.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Housing Team for the tremendous hard work that had been undertaken in respect of reducing the void backlog.

The Director of Housing and Projects presented the report which provided an overview of the current workings of South Kesteven District Council’s Tenancy Services Team who played a crucial role in ensuring compliance with tenancy agreements and housing policies whilst ensuring that tenants received the necessary support to sustain their tenancies.  The Tenancy Team’s work included direct tenant engagement, enforcement of tenancy conditions and collaboration with internal and external partners to provide a holistic approach to housing management.

The Team consisted of a Tenancy Services Manager, a Tenancy Services Team Leader, six Housing Officers and three Housing Assistants.  The Council also had two Tenancy Support Officers who provided additional one to one support to tenants who were identified as requiring this level of service.  In addition to this team, the Council also had a Sheltered Housing Team which consisted of a Sheltered Housing Manager, the Sheltered Housing Team Leader, Tow Sheltered Housing Officers and Three Caretakers.

The Council’s housing stock was just below 6,000, with each Housing Officer looking after 1,000 properties each.  The Tenancy Team were responsible for conducting tenancy sign-ups for applicants, succession requests, mutual exchange requests and tenancy fraud investigations.  Table 1 of the report listed the work undertaken and the numbers involved for the period November 2024 to January 2025.  Anti-social behaviour took up a significant amount of time and the Team worked closely with the Police and Lincolnshire Legal Services on often complex anti-social behaviour cases.  Table 2 of the report listed the ABS cases for November 2024 to January 2025.

The Tenancy Team were also responsible for investigating and acting in respect of tenancy breaches which included unauthorised alterations, property misuse and overcrowding.  Table 3 in the report listed the number of legal cases for the period November 2024 to January 2025 which covered Notices to Quit, Community Protection Notice Warnings, Community Protection Notices and Notice of Seeking Possession.

The two Tenancy Support Officers main responsibility was to provide help and support to tenants to sustain their tenancies to enable tenants to remain in their homes.  There were often a range of complex reasons why a tenant maybe struggling with their tenancy and the Officers worked closely with third party agencies including the cost of living team.

Currently the Team had 33 active support cases and there continued to be a significant demand for the service which was why a budget bid for an additional Tenancy Support Officer was submitted and approved at the budget Council meeting in February 2025.

The Sheltered Housing Team were responsible for providing support to the tenants in the 30 sheltered housing schemes across the district which included the completion of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan forms for all tenants as many in the sheltered scheme may struggle to evacuate themselves in an emergency.  The Team also maintained the communal rooms in the schemes ensuring that tenants had access to events in the rooms or access to the space to use it.  The Team was responsible for conducting regular fire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

The Director of Housing and Projects presented the report which updated the Committee on the results from the annual Tenant Satisfaction Measures Survey.  The survey was a mandatory requirement placed on Social Landlords by the Regulator of Social Housing to comply with Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2022.  The results of the survey were submitted to the Regulator who published an annual report which analysed the results for social landlords with 1,000 or more homes.  

The survey allowed tenants to scrutinise the Council’s performance, provided information on where services could be improved and provided information to the Regulator regarding how far the Council was meeting the outcomes of the consumer standards.

The survey had been undertaken by Acuity on behalf of the Council and contained 12 mandatory questions which ensured that the Regulator had consistent data from all landlords to enable benchmarking to be undertaken.

The online survey commenced on 28 October 2024 for two weeks and the telephone survey commenced on 11 November 2024 for three weeks.   The results of the survey were outlined at Table 1 at paragraph 2.25 of the report and were compared with the previous year 2024/25.  549 complete responses had been received which was comparable with the previous year.  

There had been a 7% increase in the proportion of respondents who reported that they were satisfied that their landlord makes a positive contribution to their neighbourhood and an 8% increase that they were satisfied with their landlords’ approach to handling anti-social behaviour. It was confirmed that a lot of work had been carried out by Tenancy Services in respect of anti-social behaviour.  There had also been a 14% increase in the proportion of respondents who reported that they were satisfied with their landlords’ approach to complaints handling.   It was stated that a lot of work had been carried out in respect of complaint handling with significant improvements being made.  The Committee were referred to Table 2 of the report and the recommendations and actions highlighted in respect of:

·       Review how complaints are dealt with

·       Property Maintenance

·       Customer Service and Communication

It was confirmed that a Tenant Engagement and Improvement Plan would be coming to a future meeting of the Committee.  Appendix A to the report detailed the results of the survey and these had been uploaded to the website.

Members discussed the responses to the survey and it was noted the responses appeared worse then they were due to the number of responses received, those who had issues were more likely to complete the survey.

A question was asked about the sample taken and it was stated that the sample was representative of the tenants on the data base.

The Cabinet Member for Housing referred to the dedicated housing team that was currently in place and the work undertaken.  She reiterated that complaints should be made through the correct process but for Members to contact her if there were any issues with a complaint to see if it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

The Chairman stated that the next meeting would take place in either May or June 2025.  Possible items on the Work Programme for the next meeting included:

·       Repairs Service

·       KPI reporting

·       Garage sites and their development

·       Rent and service charge policy

·       Decent Homes

·       Sheltered housing allocation review

Further items for inclusion would be those regularly reported to the Committee:

·       Earlesfield Project update

·       Homelessness and Rough Sleeper update

The Director of Housing and Projects asked for the Housing Service KPI’s to be added to the Work Programme as it had been agreed that they would be brought to the Committee on a quarterly basis, also a Choice Based Lettings update.

Before the meeting was closed one Member commented on the tremendous amount of work that had been undertaken in respect of the items included on the agenda for the meeting and she highly commended the Housing Services Team for the work that they undertook.

The Cabinet Member for Housing stated that she was looking into Public Sector awards in respect of the Housing Service due to the amount of work that the Housing Team undertook and she felt that this should be recognised.

The Chairman echoed the comments made about the work undertaken by the Housing Team and although the Committee was there to scrutinise and challenge the work, that did not deter from the fantastic team in place and the work that they did.

None.

The meeting closed at 4:24pm.