Agenda item

To consider the following motions on the theme submitted by members of the council:

 

·  Genuinely Affordable Council Housing for Southwark

 

·  Major Works and Housing Repairs

The meeting had agreed that there would be a single debate on the two motions on the theme.

 

MOTION 1 - GENUINELY AFFORDABLE COUNCIL HOUSING FOR SOUTHWARK

(see pages 3 – 4 of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Richard Livingstone, seconded by Councillor Darren Merrill, moved the motion. 

 

Councillor Michael Bukola, seconded by Councillor Nick Stanton, moved Amendment A.

 

Councillor Toby Eckersley, seconded by Councillor Lewis Robinson, moved Amendment B.

 

MOTION 2 - MAJOR WORKS AND HOUSING REPAIRS

(See pages 4 – 5 of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Anood Al-Samerai, seconded by Councillor Catherine Bowman, moved the motion. 

 

Councillor Gavin Edwards, seconded by Councillor Neil Coyle, moved Amendment C.

 

At 9.15pm the meeting adjourned, reconvening at 9.20pm.

 

Councillor Neil Coyle apologised to Councillor Anood Al-Samerai for comments that he had made about her whilst seconding Amendment C.  Councillor Anood Al-Samerai accepted Councillor Coyle’s apology.

 

The meeting then debated the two motions and three amendments (Councillors Peter John and Poddy Clark).  Following points of personal explanation from Councillors Ian Wingfield, Poddy Clark and Mark Williams at 9.30 pm the Mayor announced that the time allocated to the themed section of the meeting had expired.  The clerk announced that each motion and amendment which had been moved and seconded would be voted on separately.

 

Vote on Motion 1 and Amendments A and B – Genuinely Affordable Council Housing for Southwark

 

Amendment A was put to the vote and declared to be lost.

 

Amendment B was put to the vote and declared to be lost.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assemblywelcomes the fact that the current Labour administration is:

 

·  Investing £326 million to ensure every council home in Southwark is warm, dry and safe by 2016

 

·  Building 1000 new council homes in Southwark over the next eight years - more than have been built in all of London in the last 10 years

 

·  Engaging in a borough-wide consultation into the proposals put forward by Southwark’s groundbreaking independent housing commission which explored future housing options for strategy over the next 30 years

 

·  And rejecting the government’s definition of affordable housing as up to 80% market rents, by ensuring rents on phase 1 of the Heygate were lowered from 65% to 50% market rents to reflect the wishes of local residents.

 

2.  That council assembly regrets the complete failure of the previous administration when it came to housing, including:

 

·  No new council homes approved between 2002-2010

 

·  An unworkable and unfunded decent homes programme which was millions of pounds over budget and left many Southwark residents without decent homes.

 

·  7,800 fewer council homes in Southwark by the end of their time in office.

 

3.  That councilassembly believes the Tory Liberal Democrat government’s housing policy is not geared towards providing more affordable and social housing and opposes:

 

·  The housing benefit cap

 

·  “Affordable rent” of up to 80% of market rent

 

·  The ending of secure tenancies

 

·  The slashing of the social housing budget by £3.9 billion

 

·  The Growth and Infrastructure Bill which allows developers to deliver 0% affordable housing on new developments

 

·  Right to buy discounts of up to £75,000.

 

4.  That council assembly notes that Simon Hughes MP and the Liberal Democrats have supported all of these measures.

 

5.  That council assembly notes that sites for the first phase of the council’s 1000 new homes have already been identified throughout the borough and calls on cabinet to draw up plans for consultation on the next phase of new council homes.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

Vote on Motion 2 and Amendment C - Major Works and Housing Repairs

 

Amendment C was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly regrets the incident at Draper House and notes that the council is doing everything in its power to ensure people feel safe in their homes. It notes that:

 

·  An investigation was immediately begun into the cause of the incident and that the council has agreed to fully adopt any recommendations to ensure residents' safety.

·  Properties where similar work was carried out are undergoing inspection by the council's compliance team to ensure work has been done properly and to the required safety standards.

·  The council has also alerted the health and safety executive as safety is its top priority.

 

2.  That council assembly notes that at Four Squares the project has been completely turned round. The uncertainty for residents caused by the previous Liberal Democrat administration’s failed housing investment programme and failure to complete security works has now been replaced with certainty as the works start driving forward the £26 million investment on the estate. The cabinet member for housing and council officers have met regularly with residents throughout the process and the first of the packaged works is now being delivered on time, despite some unforeseen structural issues.

 

3.  That council assembly welcomes the steps taken by the current administration to improve major works project management and performance it inherited from the Liberal Democrats, including:

 

·  Labour’s £326 million warm dry safe programme which is realistic, fully-costed and sets out a clear timetable so residents know exactly when their works will take place.

·  A substantial programme of fire risk assessment works, refurbishment of hostels and a programme of improvement to tenants and residents association halls - with 2013/14 individual heating programme brought forward into 2012/13, meaning inefficient boilers are being replaced with more efficient models helping to deliver savings for resident and tackle fuel poverty.

·  The restructure and the setting up of project management teams to give improved focus to project management on site and a more open and transparent culture where problems can be quickly identified and resources committed accordingly.

·  A comprehensive resident consultation process “Putting Residents First” which ensures the council is clear with residents from the outset about what we are delivering and how they can be involved.

 

4.  That council assembly notes the good progress has been made in improving the repairs service but acknowledges that the service started from a low base thanks to the arrangements put in place by the previous Liberal Democrat administration. It notes that contracts have been terminated with Just Housing, Morrison and the council is a few months away from bringing the call centre in-house. It notes that overall contract management is improving. There is a greater focus on completing repairs quickly and to a high standard leading to reduced costs and a reduction in duplication. Repairs completed right first time is improving as is satisfaction with the repairs service.  Complaint escalations are at an all time low as are the number of overdue orders.

 

5.  That council assembly notes that the telephone answering performance at the customer services centre (CSC) for repairs was poor in the last quarter of 2012.  This is because the repairs contractor for the south of the borough changed which caused some disruption and resulted in an increase in demand for the telephone service that lasted longer than we predicted.  It notes that the council provided further resources and call waiting times have reduced considerably in the first two weeks of 2013.  It notes that a customer access strategy has been developed to improve the quality of customer services, ease of accessibility and reduce costs and that the new My Southwark, customer service point opened at The Blue in Bermondsey in mid December and represents the prototype for the future of face to face customer services in Southwark.

 

6.  That council assembly believes an immediate review of major works will be to the detriment of tenants with regards to their works and upgrades being completed on time and would result in severe costs to leaseholders.

 

7.  That council assembly therefore resolves on cabinet to:

 

·  Continue to deliver its £326 million housing investment programme which will make every council home in Southwark warm, dry and safe by 2016.

 

·  Continue to improve management of major works contracts and to develop its customer access strategy which will help to improve the quality of the council’s customer services.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.