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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – (i) That the Flood Risk Management Plan topic selection form be accepted and the report be considered at the September Meeting. (ii) That Officers be requested to provide the report on the Winter Maintenance Policy at the September or October Meeting. (iii) That, subject to the aforementioned amendments, the Work Programme, as attached as Appendix 1 to report COGC/75/23s, be agreed.
AGREED – (i) That the Committee note the work carried out to date and acknowledge and thank staff for the improvements that have been made. (ii) That a further report on Housing Repairs be brought back to this Committee in six months.
An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor Carrie Harper.
The Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 21 June 2023 were submitted. AGREED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 21 June 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.
Members were reminded of their responsibility, under Paragraph 11 of the Members’ Code of Conduct, to declare any interests in relation to any of the business to be transacted at this meeting. The following declarations were made: Agenda Item 8 – Housing Repairs Report Councillors Steve Joe Jones, Claire Lovett, Paul Pemberton, John Phillips and Paul Rogers – Personal – Relative employed by the Housing Department. The Councillors remained in the meeting taking part in the discussion and voting thereon.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (i) That the Flood Risk Management Plan topic selection form be accepted and the report be considered at the September Meeting. (ii) That Officers be requested to provide the report on the Winter Maintenance Policy at the September or October Meeting. (iii) That, subject to the aforementioned amendments, the Work Programme, as attached as Appendix 1 to report COGC/75/23s, be agreed.
The Chief Officer Governance & Customer submitted a report (COGC/75/23s) asking Members to consider the Committee’s work programme. The Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report, referring in particular to the proposed changes which were highlighted in the work programme attached at Appendix 1 to the report. He referred to a Topic Selection Form in respect of the Flood Risk Management Plan, and asked Members to consider adding it to the Work Programme for the September Meeting. In addition, a Member suggested that the Winter Maintenance Policy be added to the work programme for either September or October. AGREED – (i) That the Flood Risk Management Plan topic selection form be accepted and the report be considered at the September Meeting. (ii) That Officers be requested to provide the report on the Winter Maintenance Policy at the September or October Meeting. (iii) That, subject to the aforementioned amendments, the Work Programme, as attached as Appendix 1 to report COGC/75/23s, be agreed.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (i) That the Committee note the work carried out to date and acknowledge and thank staff for the improvements that have been made. (ii) That a further report on Housing Repairs be brought back to this Committee in six months.
(Members declarations of interest in relation to this item are set out in Minute 6 above) The Lead Member for Housing submitted a report (COH/17/23s) to update Members on the current position with Housing repairs, including the active and ongoing repairs list, and to provide an overview of the plan to reduce the registered and active repairs over the next 12 months. The report also provided an overview of the challenges that the team had experienced which had resulted in some of the issues with the active and ongoing repairs list. Attention was also drawn to the Action Plan attached at Appendix 4. The Lead Member introduced the report and the Head of Service – Property, Housing gave a presentation to Members and highlighted the following points: · Update on Housing Repairs · Purpose of the presentation · Stats and Data · Challenges · Action Plan o Using resources better through multiskilling o Prioritising repairs in date order o Recruiting apprentices o Procurement o Improvement in tracking and monitoring of performance o Regular review meetings to monitor progress · Conclusions/Improvements o Improve experience for the contract holder A debate ensued and the following points were highlighted: · Clarification sought with regards to whether there had been any additional budget to manage repairs. Officers confirmed that they closely reviewed the Housing business plan every year with colleagues in Finance, but no additional funding had been provided by Welsh Government. The recent rise in building costs and interest rates had provided a significant impact on the Housing Revenue Account, and whilst there was a major repairs allowance to maintain properties, it was not possible to meet all demand. · Confirmation by the Lead Member that the Authority chose to allocate £247k into the capital programme to help with some of the pressures being discussed. · Acknowledgement that all social landlords were seeing the effects of the pressures, and some private landlords were deciding to sell properties as it was no longer viable to rent them out and this was resulting in an increase in demand for social housing. · Suggestion that in some cases, multiple reports had been made for one repair, which on occasions showed the job as outstanding. A “data cleansing” exercise needed to be done to ensure that jobs showing as outstanding still needed doing. · Clarification sought regarding the possibility of contractors/tradespeople being able to work flexible hours where necessary. Officers advised that maximising efficiencies was something that was being looked at. This would include the flexibility for staff to work later in order to finish a job, rather than having to return to the same property the following day. This had to be balanced against operators building up lots of flexi time which could result in the Service not operating at full capacity as staff took resultant time off. · Clarification sought regarding contract holders cancelling appointments. Officers advised that this was an issue, but if multiple appointments were missed then the Housing Estate Office would be asked to liaise with the contract holder. There was also a possible recharge that could be applied for continued missed appointments. · Contractors had shown a preference to work on empty properties, but it was hoped that new contracts will be secured with them that add value but also contained a commitment to increase their work in occupied properties. · Further information was requested on whether incentives could be provided to encourage apprentices to remain at the Council once they had completed their training. Officers advised that good support mechanisms were in place for apprentices who received regular supervision, and they were encouraged to remain at the Local Authority. It was noted however that working for the Local Authority was very different to the private sector, as they were trained to identify potential safeguarding issues etc. and rates of pay were higher in the private sector. Adding to the comments, Officers advised that in some instances, training costs could be claimed back if the person left. · Confirmation that when trade operatives left the Authority, recruitment exercises to replace them were not always very successful and recent take up had been poor. · Request to receive information regarding rechargeable repairs in the next report to Committee. · Clarification sought regarding incentive schemes for tenants who maintained their property to a high standard. Officers advised that the Estate Offices ran a competition each year for the best kept garden, with tenants winning prizes as an incentive to keep their gardens tidy. Furthermore, Members were advised that under legislation, tenants had a right to request to improve their property, but this had to be closely monitored as there had been occasions where tenants had made changes which were later found to be dangerous. · Confirmation that tenants were responsible for reporting repairs to the Council, and that there was no option for them to report it to a private contractor. · Digital connectivity was being looked at in order to improve and communicate digitally within the service and with contract holders. AGREED – (i) That the Committee note the work carried out to date and acknowledge and thank staff for the improvements that have been made. (ii) That a further report on Housing Repairs be brought back to this Committee in six months.
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