Agenda and minutes
PDF 131 KBVenue: Ground Floor Meeting Room G01A - 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH. View directions
Contact: Adam Wood, Scrutiny Officer Email: adam.wood@southwark.gov.uk
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
|
APOLOGIES
To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Emily Tester and Councillor Catherine Rose. |
|
|
NOTIFICATION OF ANY ITEMS OF BUSINESS WHICH THE CHAIR DEEMS URGENT
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 late items of business. |
|
|
DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS AND DISPENSATIONS
Members to declare any interests and dispensations in respect of any item of business to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: Councillor Hargrove declared a pecuniary interest as tenant of a Housing Association property and gave his intention to recuse himself from Item 5.
Councillor Livingstone disclosed his employment as a Senior Caseworker for Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, making the disclosure for transparency given that the Housing Associations present would have separate, direct relationships with the MP. |
|
|
MINUTES
To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 2025. Supporting documents: Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 2025 were approved. |
|
|
REVIEW OF SOCIAL LANDLORD COMMUNICATIONS WITH RESIDENTS AND PARTNERS, AND SOCIAL LANDLORD PERFORMANCE
To hear from invited social landlords and housing organisations operating in Southwark about their approaches to Awaab’s Law, repair response times, Damp and Mould performance, ASB and community safety and a range of other issues affecting residents.
Representatives of the following organisations have confirmed their attendance: Clarion Housing Association; Hexagon Housing Association; Hyde Housing Association; L&Q; Leathermarket JMB; Notting Hill Genesis; Peabody; Southern Housing; Wandle Housing Association. Supporting documents: Minutes: The Chair, Councillor Jason Ochere, provided background to the Item, noting that the Council had been working to develop collaboration with Housing Associations (HAs) including, going forward, via a Council-HA forum.
The Chair also clarified the Council’s and HAs’ roles and relationships to each other, noting that:
The Chair then invited representatives of the Housing Associations to spend 5 to 7 minutes introducing themselves and to respond to the Commission’s particular points of interest (previously emailed to the organisations). These included: HAs’ approaches to complying with Awaab’s Law; damp and mould; repairs; ASB and community safety; and service charges, among others.
The following Housing Association representatives attended and responded:
The HAs each presented data on key aspects of their organisation’s performance as well as identifying current challenges and strategies for development – topics which were then explored in greater depth via members’ questions.
In response to a Commission question asking how ward councillors could support residents in contacting the right personnel within Housing Association organisations, the HAs noted their dedicated elected member contact channels. The Chair asked for each HA to outline their escalation / elected member contact procedure. In general, this happened via dedicated email contacts for councillors to help with directing enquiries to the right person/team within the Housing Association. The Housing Associations would share these contact email addresses with the Commission after the meeting.
The Commission then asked about processes for dealing with damp and mould, and whether these tended to be caused more frequently by a building’s structural issues or by overcrowding. The HAs noted:
|
|
|
COMMISSION DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO CABINET
To discuss potential recommendations to Cabinet from the Commission’s work in the 2025/6 Municipal Year. Minutes: Discussion focused on the process for reviewing draft recommendations and finalising these at the Commission’s next meeting on 5 March 2026. It was agreed that the Scrutiny Officer would forward a document with links to recordings of the various Commission discussions across the year’s meetings. A pre-meeting could then be used to collate and refine the recommendations to be discussed and agreed on 5 March 2026 in addition to any arising from the discussions and interview with the Cabinet Member for Council Homes scheduled for the same meeting. |
|
|
WORK PROGRAMME 2025-2026
To consider the work programme for the 2025-2026 year. Supporting documents: Minutes: The Commission discussed the content and arrangements planned for its final, 5 March meeting.
It was agreed that the Scrutiny Officer would ask for written reports: (a) updating the Council’s progress implementing the recommendations from reviews of the Canada Estate, Fair Street / Devon Mansions and Kirby Estate and from its own investigations; (b) on progress implementing The Good Landlord Plan; and (c) on the Council’s work on Empty Homes, Voids and related issues.
The interview with the Cabinet Member for Council Homes, Councillor Portia Mwangangye, planned for the meeting, would therefore include discussion of the topics of the written reports, above, and on the Council’s work supporting social landlord performance and communications (i.e. the evidence and discussion it had heard this evening from Housing Associations).
Meeting ended at 10.05pm. |