Agenda item

B Report of Director of Housing.

1.      Cabinet noted the Director of Housing’s response to the Overview and Scrutiny Call in.

2.      That Cabinet approved the proposed Housing Area Meetings, to begin work on the review and development of service standards.

3.      Cabinet resolved to receive a report at its September meeting on progress to wards meeting the October deadline of informing tenants on progress towards meeting the Tenants Services Authority’s standards.

Councillor Mildren addressed Cabinet and referred to the Call-In on 28 October 2009 and referred to paragraph 3.1.2 (3) as to how the Council was going to be proactive to ensure a good turnout at local meetings.  He also noted that by October, the Council needed to show tenants how well it was doing against the standards set by the TSA.  He commented that the timing was very tight.

Councillor Clarke addressed Cabinet and commented that Overview and Scrutiny had found that the Council had failed its tenants in terms of tenant participation and that these failures were in terms of leaflets and meetings.  He noted that the goal posts appeared to have been changed in mid game.  The Chair asked Councillor Clarke which part of the Overview and Scrutiny report he was referring to.  Councillor Clarke commented that the Council had failed to hold proper consultation and that the current proposals were unsatisfactory.  He believed that the Council was at the bottom of the league in respect of tenant participation and enquired what Cabinet what it was going to do to deal with the failures identified by Overview and Scrutiny.  He suggested that Cabinet reject the report, as it did not answer what had been raised in the Call-In. 

Councillor Beardsworth, as the Portfolio Holder for Housing, submitted a report that set out the response of the Director of Housing to the recommendations made by Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2 following the Call-In of the new Tenant Participation Structure on 28 October 2009.  She commented that since the Call-In, the TSA (Tenants Services Authority) had been established and had now published its expectations that Councils explore a variety of methods of consultation with its tenants.  Tenants were already being asked to vote on the schemes that had been agreed during estate walkabouts that had also involved tenants.  Councillor Beardsworth referred to other initiatives such as tenant auditors and mystery shoppers, which were already in place and proving successful.  She stated that traditional committees were not necessarily representative of the whole constituency.  She referred to the Appendix, which set out all the mechanisms of consultation with tenants that the Council was adopting.  The TSA were very clear that the Council needed to try to get to all tenants and to go out to them.  The intention was that tenants should be able to influence service delivery and the proposed area meetings would be part of this arrangement. 

The Director of Housing noted that in terms of the addresses made to Cabinet in respect of the PFI project, that this report did not impact on that although it was accepted that quicker progress should have been made and that arrangements to start up the Steering Group should have been further advanced.

The Chair commented that it was recognised that the report to Cabinet following Overview and Scrutiny’s recommendations was beyond the usual timescale but that was because of the new situation and different expectations placed on the Council.  It was proper for the Council to properly understand the advice issued by the TSA before reporting.  The circumstances would be reported back to Overview and Scrutiny.

The Director of Housing noted that in terms of the PFI project for Eastfields and Thorplands, tenants would be involved in the Steering Groups and that Overview and Scrutiny had accepted an area based approach as opposed to a Borough wide body. 

Councillor Church stated that he agreed with Chris Swinn that the lessons from the past needed to be learnt.  Most importantly, that previously the majority of tenants had not been involved with the arrangements that the Council had established and that the individuals involved had not been representative of the wider tenants’ group.  He believed it important that the behaviour of a few individuals should not drive other interested people away.  It was confirmed that the area meetings would have terms of reference that would cover issues such as respect for others. 

In answer to a question, the Director of Housing commented that some advice had come forward as to how co-regulation might work but there was still a concern as to what “local standards” actually meant; for example, did this mean Borough wide or in terms of individual estates.  In either case the intention was to get information down to the grass roots level and to build up trust and joint working over time. 

RESOLVED (1)That the Director of Housing’s response to the Overview and Scrutiny Call In on 28 October 2009 be noted.

                        (2) That approval be given to the proposed Housing Area Meetings to begin work on the review and development of the service standards.

                        (3) That a further report be submitted to Cabinet in September in respect of progress being made towards the October deadline to inform tenants of the Council’s achievements towards the standards set out by the TSA.