Issue - meetings

B Report of the Director of Housing Services

The current position is noted and Officers are instructed to consider and incorporate any suggestions from the consultation, if appropriate, and submit the final draft Agreements to the next meeting of Cabinet for formal approval.

Councillor Mildren addressed Cabinet expressing the hope that those involved in the consultation had learned from previous mistakes and that issues of equality around civil partners and vulnerable tenants be addressed in the Agreements, when produced.

Councillor Clarke addressed Cabinet and referred to unresolved problems with tenants’ participation.  He remained unconvinced that all the proper processes had been undertaken in the consultation exercise and that all tenants had been given the opportunity to have their say.

Councillor Beardsworth, as Portfolio Holder for Housing Services, presented the report to Cabinet to update them on the progress in developing new secure and introductory tenancy agreements.  Officers had made every attempt to engage all council occupants and had made a special effort to involve normally hard-to-reach tenants. Owing to the late contribution of some residents to the consultation, the production of the agreement had been delayed but it was important that all tenants’ views were properly considered.  The new document would be more concise and lay out more clearly the responsibilities of both the tenant and the landlord.

Confirmation was given that a preliminary notice of variation had been sent to all tenants, along with an explanatory leaflet.  All tenants had been given the opportunity to comment and to attend drop-in sessions and extra activities, which had been widely advertised.  The consultation had also included the Council’s forums and comments had been considered from the Disabled Peoples Forum and the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Peoples Forum.

Councillor Beardsworth then recorded her appreciation and congratulations to the Director of Housing and her team for the work that had been put into the project.

RESOLVED

That the current position be noted and officers be instructed to consider and incorporate any suggestions from the consultation, if appropriate, and submit the final draft Agreements to the next meeting of Cabinet for formal approval.