Agenda and minutes

The Chairman informed the Committee that there had been a terrorist attack in Manchester that morning at a synagogue where at least two people had been killed and three had been seriously injured.  The perpetrator had been shot dead by the Police.  The Chairman stated that he had used the word terrorist deliberately as that was the word being used by BBC News. He asked the Committee to stand and hold a minutes silence for those who had died in the attack.

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

None.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Anna Kelly and Councillor Susan Sandall.

Councillor Anna Kelly was substituted by Councillor Tim Harrison.

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

None disclosed.

A question was asked about the number of apprentices referred to in the minutes at minute 12, was this three or four.  The Democratic Officer indicated that she would check the numbers shown.

The minutes were proposed, seconded and agreed.

(On checking the previous minutes it was confirmed that there were four apprentices two in repairs and two in voids).

There were no announcements or updates.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing presented the report which concerned a new draft Corporate Enforcement Policy.   The Policy was last revised in February 2017 and a review and update was required.   The Cabinet Member thanked the Head of Service, Public Protection and her team for the work which had gone into compiling the new Policy together with the Legal colleagues at Legal Services Lincolnshire for their input in assisting and checking the document before the Committee today.

The Enforcement Policy covered a wide range of Regulatory Services including:

Public Protection which included Environment Health, Environmental Protection, Private Sector Housing, Community Safety (Neighbourhoods) and Licensing.

Development Management

Building Control

Finance

Tenancy Services

Each Manager of the regulatory service covered by the Policy would be responsible for its effective implementation through the enforcement activities of their team.

The Policy also incorporated three other South Kesteven District Council Enforcement Policies as specified in the appendices.  The Policy would be going to three Overview and Scrutiny Committees:

Housing OSC

Environmental Health OSC

Rural and Communities OSC

Before going to Cabinet for adoption.

The Policy would ensure that the Council achieves and maintained consistency in its approach to enforcement.

A questions was asked in relation to which Act was used in respect of overcrowding of residences, was it the Housing Act 1985 or the Housing Health and Safety Rating System as set out in the Housing Act 2004 and how did landlords know which was the relevant Act.  Also what safeguards were in place in respect of vulnerable tenants who were at risk of eviction due to enforcement proceedings.

It was stated that it was a combination of both Acts with the Housing Act overarching the HHSRS Act.  Safeguards were in place in respect of vulnerable tenants and each case was assessed and judged together with other housing colleagues.  Enforcement officers were trained to assess each case and what was the best course of action required.

Further questions were raised about the enforcement of Council tenants and how this was balanced.  It was stated that the Enforcement Policy would be followed so there was a consistency in respect of actions taken however, all relevant factors would be taken into account.  More discussion followed on how landlords avoided confusion in respect of the Acts used in respect of overcrowding enforcement and how the Council’s duty as a landlord was separated from their enforcement duty.

The Head of Service, Public Protection stated that she would take the issue away as an action to compile some useable guidance for Landlords and raise the issue at the forthcoming Landlord Forum on 7 November 2025 (TBC).

ØAction

Head of Service, Public Protection to compile guidance for Landlords in respect of enforcement action for houses in multiple occupation.

The Vice-Chairman made reference to the Lincolnshire Landlord Accreditation Scheme for Private Sector Landlords and asked whether it was a compulsory scheme, if it wasn’t, how many landlords had signed up to the scheme.  She also asked a question  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which provided the Committee on an update in respect of the new build and acquisition pipeline. 

The Cabinet Member was pleased to announce that the new build of 20 apartments at Swinegate in Grantham had been handed over to the Council.  The apartments were a mix of one and 2 bedrooms and had been shortlisted for the Best Housing Development for the Inside Housing Development Awards which would take place in November 2025.

Construction of the development at Larch Close, Grantham had started on site. Delays had been due to the original scheme being amended from two 4 bedroom properties to adapted bungalows due to the high demand for these type of properties.  The development was due to be complete in December 2026.

Cabinet had approved the contract award to Lindum for the development at Wellington Way, Market Deeping at their September meeting.  The scheme would provide 11 affordable dwellings comprising of 5 x 2-bedroom houses, 4 x 2-bed flats and 2 x 1-bed flats which would be a mix of terrace, semi-detached houses as well as 3 apartment blocks.

The 12 empty houses at Lumbys Terrace, Stamford which required significant work to bring them up to decent homes standard had been placed on the market and two open house events had taken place.  There had been 19 interested parties in the site with eight offers made from individuals that met or exceeded the Red Book Valuation.  There were also two developers interested in two properties each.

One Member asked about the site at Kesteven Road, Stamford and the Head of Projects, Performance and Climate Change indicated that public consultation was due to take place in relation to the site towards the end of October with a possible 13 units developed on the old garage site plus a small part of green space.

Another Member congratulated the Officers and Cabinet Member for Housing for being shortlisted for the award and asked how many council houses had been lost through the RTB scheme and how many were programmed to replace them.

It was stated that since 1980 when the scheme was started South Kesteven had 10,000 council houses, they now had 5,800.  It was a “drop in the ocean” building council properties as well as slow going.  There was now little green space to develop and whenever the Council tried to develop any green space for social housing, residents protested vigorously about it, this type of development was also not the most cost effective way of using HRA funds.   The Cabinet Member for Housing stated that buying properties from developers was better as after six weeks of purchasing a property the Council had rent coming in from that property.  The average loss of council properties under the RTB scheme had been 40 a year up until last year.  Reference was made to the large number of applications that had been received before the rules around RTB had changed and some of these applications  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which updated that Committee in respect of status and recent activity in respect of Homelessness and Rough Sleeper services.

The Change4Lincs Team continued to deliver outreach and support across the four local authority areas.  A new outreach worker was due to join the Team from 4 October 2025 which would enhance coverage in South Holland and South Kesteven.

There were four known rough sleepers as per mid-September and all were being actively supported.   The Council’s use of supported accommodation including a house in multiple occupation (HMO) was helping to transition individuals into more stable housing.

Members were referred to Table 2 of the report which showed the homelessness case figures.  As of August 2025 there were 247 cases with 70 individuals in temporary accommodation.

Additional funding had been received from Government which had enabled the creation of new roles and expanded support including a Temporary Accommodation Officer and a Resettlement Officer

It was proposed that the night shelter would reopen for the winter months and the Council continued to work closely with partners to meet resettlement obligations.  A proactive and compassionate approach was being taken to tackle housing need across South Kesteven.

The Chairman asked if the HMO in question was in respect of the Community Centre on Thames Road.  It was confirmed that it was the flats above the Community Centre that were being used as temporary accommodation.

One Member asked about work being undertaken in respect of rough sleepers in extreme weather and conversations that had been held with the Ark and Passage.  Also when a firm decision would be made in respect of the night shelter.  A question was also asked about how the HMO’s used for temporary accommodation would be kept safe and well managed and suitable for vulnerable residents.

The Head of Service, Housing stated that re-opening the night shelter had been challenging due to the location and the concern expressed by residents in the location.  Conversations were taking place and as soon as a viable location was known this would be passed on.   The Council was hopeful that a night shelter would be open but as yet the location had yet to be determined.

The HMO that had been referred to was part of the Council’s own stock, was up to the Council’s lettable and decent home standards.  The people placed in the HMO had a support package in place and had regular visits and was managed effectively.

One Member made reference to the number of tents that had previously been within her ward and she was pleased that these had reduced due to the work of the Housing Section getting people in to accommodation.  She asked for more information in respect of the partnership working that was being undertaken by the Council to provide “wrap around care” to people who found themselves homeless.  The Member also asked about having the night shelter opened during the day rather than just at night to give support to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which updated the Committee on the stock condition survey due to take place in respect of garage sites.  Members attention was drawn to the Finance comments at paragraph 1.1 and 1.2 which were incorrect on the paper copies of the agenda but correct in the electronic version.

It was noted that an in-depth quote had been provided by Edge PS, a supplier on the Asset Management Framework for a full stock condition survey of all garage sites at a cost of £38k.  The district contained a total of 830 individual garage units.

A bid had formally been submitted to Homes England for the Council Housebuilding Support Fund for funding to contribute toward the cost of the stock condition survey and feasibility work for sites identified as potential development opportunities. However, it was noted that if the funding bid was not successful there were still funds available within the budget.

A full update would be given to the Committee next year once the survey was completed.

Questions were raised about priority in respect of garages and the number of garages let.  It was stated that a lot of garages were used for storage rather than vehicles but until the stock condition survey was completed numbers were a bit of a “moveable feast”, although it was confirmed that there were 435 currently tenanted.   A question was asked about whether garages were included as part of Right to Buy (RTB) sales and the Director of Housing and Projects stated that they were not part of RTB sales.

Members noted the report.

The Head of Service, Housing gave a presentation on behalf of the Head of Service, Technical.

Repairs Call Handling -  well within target and at the end of August was 96%.

Reactive Repairs – All Repairs

Context was given in respect of figures for earlier in the year and also the previous year.  Although the figures were still showing red the figures had improved significantly.

The Chairman made reference to staffing issues as mentioned in the report, the Head of Service, Housing indicated that she would discuss the subject later in the presentation.

The number of repairs 2,969 in WIP had gone down since August. To give some context the Committee were informed that in  April 2024 this number had been 3,798, therefore Members could see the improvement in the figures even though they were still in red.  The number of overdue repairs was moving downward and the current figure was 1,705.  Again to give some context in April 2024 the figure was 2,965.

Reactive Repairs – In House

Emergency Repairs completed on time was 100% and showed green for August.  The number of overdue repairs was decreasing and for August was down to 1405, in February that figure had been 2,118, so improvement could be seen. 

Reactive Repairs - Sureserve

Systems were being focused on together with overdue jobs in this area which showed a large amount of green within the presentation matrix.

Reactive Repairs – Other Contractors

Again reference was made to the amount of red shown and it was noted that the number of overdues had increased in June, July and August.  In order to tackle the increase, new contractors were being put in place and the Interim Repairs Manager had been replaced with a permanent new Repairs Manager.

Damp and Mould

Reference was made to the red line shown and to give context to the Committee it was noted that in May there had been 406 overdue repairs this had reduced to 241 which was a vast improvement.

Voids

It was noted that the Void slide shown in the presentation was mostly green which showed the massive improvements that had been made by the Voids Team over the last year.  In August the Voids in WIP were down to 68. To put the figure in context it was noted that in January 2025 the number of Voids in WIP had been 119 and as at the end of September that figure stood at 61.

The Chairman made reference to the massive improvements that had been made with Voids and asked if the targets currently in place needed to be revisited. 

The Director of Housing and Projects indicated that work would eventually plateau, currently there were 45 voids a month and the Team were turning over 52 a month to address the backlog in place.  There would come a point when the number of voids received in the month would be turned around in the month.  It was noted that if the figure started to increase then  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Committee to receive a verbal update.

The Director of Housing and Projects gave a brief update to the Committee in respect the independent review that was taking place in respect of service charges at Sheltered Housing complexes. The review was looking at issues such as community room charges, shared laundry charges, how gas and electricity were recharged, a complete report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee.    Every sheltered housing complex was being visited with a comprehensive report being carried out on how the facilities were used and whether under used spaces could be utilised differently. 

Any proposals would come before the Housing OSC and consultation would be carried out with tenants before any proposals in respect of fees and charges were put before Cabinet or Council which would need to be part of the budget setting process for 2026/27.

The Officer was thanked by a Member who had asked for a review to take place and they looked forward to receiving the completed report.  Another Member queried whether the Mobility Vehicle Policy was part of the review and it was stated that the Mobility Vehicle Policy was separate to the review taking place in respect of Sheltered Housing.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which gave the results from the first wave of Tenant Satisfaction Measures Surveys that had taken place.

The Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) Survey was a mandatory requirement placed on Social Landlords by the Regulator of Social Housing to comply with the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard of the Social housing Regulation Act (2023).  Results of the survey are submitted annually to the Regulator who published an annual report which analysed the results for social landlords with over 1,000 homes.

In previous years the Council had undertaken the survey annually, however for 2025/26 the Council had made the decision to conduct the surveys in two waves.  It was hoped that by carrying out the survey in two waves improvements that were being implemented could be monitored for their impact.

The surveys had been undertaken on behalf of the Council by Acuity with methods of collecting data being via the telephone and online using a representative sample of tenants.  275 completed responses had been received plus a further 16 incomplete responses.  Members were referred to Table 1 of the report which provided a comparison of the results received for 2024/25 and for the first tranche of surveys in 2025/26.  The survey included twelve mandatory questions which ensured that the Regulator had consistent data from all landlords to undertake benchmarking.   It was noted that there had been positive movement on all of the results except for TP07 (Proportion of respondents who report that they are satisfied that their landlord keeps them informed about things that matter to them) which had remained the same and TP12 (Proportion of respondents who report that they are satisfied with their landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour) and TP09 (Proportion of respondents who report that they are satisfied with their landlord’s approach to complaints handling) where the scores had reduced.  It was noted that as the surveys were being carried out in two tranches it made it difficult to compare results as satisfaction could fluctuate depending on the time of year.    Reference was made to the reduction in satisfaction in respect of TP12 and TP09 and it was stated that more information would be asked of the company carrying out the surveys to see if the people completing the survey had experience of Anti-Social Behaviour or what their complaints experience was as a lot of work had gone in to the complaint process and the survey did not identify how many were genuine complaints following a failure or service or service requests which were yet to be actioned.

It was again reiterated that the time the surveys were completed could influence the responses given.  A question was asked about comparison with peer groups and it was confirmed that the Acuity who carried out the surveys on the Council’s behalf did benchmark with other authorities once a complete survey was available.

The Committee noted the report.

It was noted that the numbers of veterans was to be included within the Homelessness and Rough Sleeper report.

An update in respect of the Sheltered Housing Review would be given at the next scheduled meeting on 4 December 2025.

A question was asked about garage sites and their development and it was confirmed that an update would be given in the New Year after the survey had been completed.

None.

The meeting closed at 5:01pm.