Agenda item

Councillor Ian Wingfield, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for housing management to introduce this item. 

Alice Orr-Ewing, Resident Involvement Coordinator to present.

(formerly agenda item 10)

Following the break, the chair reminded the meeting of the code of conduct and the community council procedure rules, and warned two individuals about their disruptive conduct. All communication at the meeting had to go through the chair, and disruptions would not be tolerated.

Councillor Ian Wingfield, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for housing management, introduced the item by saying that the current housing crisis was partly historic and caused by chronic underinvestment over at the least the last 30 years. In order to change this, the council had put in place the independent housing commission in 2011, which took evidence from tenants and leaseholders, and had conducted the housing conversions. There had been a wealth of information generated, which would feed into the report to cabinet next month. The commission’s remit had been to explore options for the future financing, ownership and operation of Southwark’s council housing stock beyond 2015/16, and to examine proposals and make recommendations for an investment strategy for up to 30 years.  This was done in light of the council’s difficult financial situation. The only stipulation the council had set the commission was that council housing should be preserved. Around 30% of Southwark Council’s rented properties at present did not meet the Government’s ‘Decent Homes’ standard and required large amounts of investment. The council had an investment programme planned up until 2015/16 that would make all homes warm, safe and dry.  The process so far had thrown up many interesting ideas and while there was a limit on budgets, the council had a commitment to retaining council housing stock. There were, however, different options as to how the stock should be managed. He underlined the council’s commitment to council housing, and a firm financial footing for council housing.

Alice Orr-Ewing, Resident Involvement Coordinator, took the meeting through a questionnaire, which had been distributed on the seats.

Alice explained that Southwark currently had around 39,000 council rented properties and around 15,000 leasehold properties, there were also around 15,000 housing association rented properties.

In October 2012, the housing commission had published its report outlining three investment scenarios, as well as three options for how council housing could be managed. The council was now embarking on a wide ranging consultation which sought residents’ views on the following questions: “Who should council housing be for?”; “How much council housing should we have?”; “How should the council’s housing stock be managed?”

In order to canvass the opinions of the attendees, Alice asked the following questions:

• Should Southwark give extra priority to households who make a community contribution? If yes, who do you think should receive this extra priority?
• How long should a council tenancy for new tenants be? 
• How long should applicants for Southwark social housing demonstrate a local connection before they can join this waiting list?
• How much council housing should Southwark have?
• Should external organisations, for example other social landlords, have a role in managing council housing services, and if so which?

The meeting was also asked to which degree they agreed with the following statements:

·  Where services are provided by an outside organisation, tenants and leaseholders should play a greater role in monitoring the contractor’s performance

·  Council housing services would meet the needs of residents better, if they were planned and delivered locally rather than centrally

• The council should increase the number of properties it has, even if it has to build some properties for private market rent, or purchase, to subsidise the low rent council properties

• The council should do all it can to increase the number of estates/blocks that are run by Tenant Management Organisations
• Different types of properties (e.g. tenanted or leasehold, block or street) have different needs, so services should be provided in different ways or by different organisations.

The following comments and suggestions were made in relation to the topics discussed:

• Including involvement in the Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) in tenancy agreements as one of the lessee’s responsibilities
• the importance of a mix of social housing provision
• the danger of the erosion of family housing
• financial implications of decreasing council housing stock leading to private sector landlords exploiting the market
• 35% of new homes in Southwark should be affordable housing
• leaseholds and right to buy 
• local housing companies

Questions from the floor were raised about Tenant Management Organisations. Councillor Ian Wingfield explained that the council would not force TRAs to become Tenant Management Organisations, where this was not wanted, but would be supportive where this was desired. There could also be other local providers.

Alice Orr-Ewing said that everyone who filled in a form would be sent a summary of the feedback. This would also be forwarded to housing forums and community councils.

The chair thanked Councillor Wingfield and Alice Orr- Ewing for attending.

Note: At this point Councillor Lorraine Lauder left the meeting.