Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Ground Floor Meeting Room G02A - 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH. View directions

Contact: Amit Alva  Email: Amit.Alva@southwark.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

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    To receive any apologies for absence.

    Minutes:

    Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Jane Salmon, and Ina Negoita (Co-opted member).

     

    Apologies for lateness from Councillor Richard Livingstone who joined the commission meeting for Agenda item 7 onwards.

2.

Notification of any Items of business which the chair deems urgent.

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    In special circumstances, an item of business may be added to an agenda within five clear working days of the meeting.

    Minutes:

    There were no items of business which the Chair deemed urgent.

3.

Disclosure of interests and dispensations.

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    Members to declare any interests and dispensations in respect of any item of business to be considered at this meeting.

    Minutes:

    There were no disclosures of interests or dispensations.

4.

Minutes

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    To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2021 (to follow) and 7 February 2022 (to follow).

    Minutes:

    The Minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2021 and 7 February 2022 are to follow.

5.

Temporary accommodation

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    To receive a report from officers Ricky Belott, Head of Housing Supply and Councillor Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Council Homes and Homelessness on temporary accommodation. (To follow)

     

    Minutes:

    The Chair explained to the commission that he was unaware that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had also agreed to look into Temporary Accommodation as part of the previous Budget Scrutiny hence the commission would not be discussing this Agenda item to avoid duplicating work. The Chair will pass on the message to incoming Chair and commission members to consider this topic in the next municipal year if membership to the commission changes.

6.

Recommendations to Cabinet on new council homes on existing estates

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    The commission to finalise recommendations to Cabinet on new council homes on existing estates.

    Minutes:

    The Chair took the commission through a PowerPoint presentation on the draft recommendations that were emailed across to the commission members prior to the meeting on new council homes on existing estates.

     

    On recommendation 1 below, the Chair explained to the commission that it’s important that Scrutiny is seen as a means to ensure there is an outlined robust process followed to achieve the objectives of projects such as Brenchley Gardens and that the report submitted in October 2021 did not reflect the issues faced, mistakes made and lessons learned for the future.

     

    Recommendation 1: Given the issues with the written report provided to the Housing Scrutiny Commission in October 2021, the Cabinet member takes steps to ensure all officers in housing to understand the function of scrutiny and the importance of providing a full and accurate assessment of where things may have gone wrong, for lessons to be learned for the future. 

     

    On recommendation 2 below, the commission discussed the need for better visibility on new projects being launched, better communication and consultation processes especially with key local stake holders such as residents. The commission agreed that it is important that such communications, consultations and discussions are carried out early in the project to ensure perspectives of ward councillors, Tenancy Management organisations (TMOs’) and Tenants and Residents Associations (TRAs’) are considered. The below recommendation 2 is to be amended to reflect the discussion later in the meeting.

     

    Recommendation 2: Cabinet member asks officers to arrange a webinar where ward councillors, TMOs and TRAs can explain their perspective on new housing projects, and how councillors seek to input into these.

     

    On recommendation 3 and 4 below, the commission agreed that due consideration should be given to incorporate all the principles of the Southwark Group of Tenants Organisation (SGTO) Consultation Charter into the Council’s own consultation protocols. The Cabinet might not agree on all aspects such as ballots on planning applications of the SGTO charter but should take account of the recommendations in the charter. 

     

    Recommendation 3: The Cabinet should give due consideration to incorporating the principles of the Southwark Group of Tenants Organisation (SGTO) consultation charter into its own consultation protocols.  

     

    Recommendation 4: The Cabinet member asks officers to implement a consultation protocol which prioritises clear, consistent and timely communications for all development projects where the council is building on existing estates. This protocol should take account of recommendations made in the SGTO consultation Charter.

     

    On recommendation 5 and 6 below, the commission discussed the need for robust protocols on the consultation process, Council’s project team should not consider TMOs and TRAs as a replacement for all residents. The Cabinet should also review consultation practices with a view to cover all residents through non-digital alternative routes (amended in recommendation 6 below) instead of just a single route of communication to obtain consultation feedback given the issues faced with effectiveness of the Commonplace website as a tool for engagement.

     

    Recommendation 5: The Cabinet member should ensure that the protocol on consultation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Recommendations to Cabinet on the private rented sector

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    The commission to finalise recommendations to Cabinet on the private rented sector.

    Minutes:

    The Chair then took the commission through recommendations on the private rented sector emailed across to commission members prior to the meeting.

     

    On recommendation 1 below, the commission heard that the a large number of private renters who were covered under the original scheme between 2016 and 2020 would now fall out of regulation under the new scheme and could suddenly be at a detriment by seeing a dramatic drop in the standards of housing or protections that they would have otherwise fallen under. The commission agreed that it was important an impact assessment is carried out by officers.

     

    Recommendation 1: The Cabinet Member asks officers to carry out an assessment of the impact on the private rented sector which once fell under regulation (between 2016 and 2020) but is now outside of regulation. Have housing conditions for these tenants got worse as a result?

     

    On recommendation 2 below, the commission heard that currently the landlords that apply for “gold standard” license receive a reduction in their license fee as an incentive for providing higher standards of housing maintenance and facilities. The commission agreed that in light of the influx of refugees from Ukraine and other parts of the world trying to escape war and terror from oppressive and fascist regimes, landlords that offer affordable housing to refugees should also receive this incentive.

     

    Recommendation 2: Landlords who apply for the current “gold standard” license receive a reduction in their fee as an incentive.  The Cabinet Member should extend this incentive to landlords who offer affordable housing to refugees arriving in the borough.  This recommendation is clearly of a more urgent nature because of recent tragic developments in Ukraine.  

     

    On recommendation 3 below the commission discussed that the parameters and reasons for a home to be classed as empty need to be defined such as length of time it’s been empty and reasons for it being empty such as passing away of occupant to make it financially viable for Council to chase those landlords. The commission also considered whether including energy efficiency of the property in the licensing scheme might be beneficial in the wake of the climate emergency. The commission agreed to revise recommendation 3 to reflect this discussion. The commission also agreed to formulate another recommendation 5 to link energy efficiency of properties into the licensing fees.

     

    Recommendation 3: The Cabinet Member considers extending landlord licensing to cover those who own empty homes. Some elements will not be relevant to them but extension of those elements which could help tackle negative environmental impacts and discourage landlords from leaving homes empty.

     

    Recommendation 3 (revised): The Cabinet Member considers extending landlord licensing to cover inhabitable homes that have been empty for more than three months. Some elements will not be relevant to them but extension of those elements which could help tackle negative environmental impacts and discourage landlords from leaving homes empty.

     

    The commission considered and agreed recommendation 4.

     

    Recommendation 4: During our scrutiny of this issue, it became clear that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Overall performance statistics of Southwark Repairs Service including in house and heating contractor services

9.

Work Programme 2021/22