Agenda, decisions and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 31 October 2012.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The minutes of the meeting held on 31 October 2012 had been circulated with the agenda.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(a)       That the findings of the North West Wales Gypsy-Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTNA) be noted; and

(b)       That the approach to develop a dedicated Gypsy-Traveller Strategy for Flintshire be endorsed.

The Head of Housing introduced the report to consider the Gypsy-Traveller Needs Assessment that would inform the development of a Gypsy-Traveller Strategy.  The Housing Strategy Manager detailed background including the Council’s involvement in the North West Wales Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA), the findings of which were attached to the report.  Councillor P.J. Curtis pointed out that the privately owned site at Dollar Park was located in Holywell and not Greenfield as stated in the report.

The assessment of sites across North Wales indicated that Flintshire was the most significant provider, which raised concerns amongst Members at the lack of progress made by the other Councils in the area.  The Housing Strategy Manager commented on the expectation by the Welsh Government (WG) for all Councils to make provision where the need was identified.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said that he would endeavour to persuade other Councils in North Wales to be as proactive as Flintshire in the provision of sites and to share the responsibility, in line with WG guidance.

Councillor A.M. Halford enquired as to the latest position on the Council owned Riverside site in Queensferry.  The Housing Strategy Manager explained that a flood risk assessment had been commissioned by the Environment Directorate and that if a positive conclusion was reached, a planning application would be submitted for the extension to the site.  Access to the site was the subject of ongoing negotiations and a small amount of WG funding would be available.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said he was hopeful that the site would be extended with provision for a transit section.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the findings of the North West Wales Gypsy-Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTNA) be noted; and

(b)       That the approach to develop a dedicated Gypsy-Traveller Strategy for Flintshire be endorsed.

(a)       That the comments/observations of the Committee are fed back to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of improvement targets;

(b)       That the Head of Housing and Member Engagement Manager raise with the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee the suggestion for future absence reports to separate figures for long-term and short-term sickness absences;

(c)        That the Head of Housing pursue queries raised by the Chairman and Councillor Curtis on allocated void properties in their wards;

(d)       That the Head of Housing provide a briefing note to Council tenants and Members on the Welsh Water Assist Scheme; and

(e)       That the Head of Housing pursue the enquiries made by Councillors Curtis and Dolphin and provide responses.

The Head of Housing Services introduced a report for the Committee to note and consider the 2012/13 Quarter 2 (July to September 2012) service performance reports, note the position of the Strategic Assessment of Risks and Challenges (SARC) and progress made against the Improvement Targets contained within the performance reports.

The Head of Housing gave a short presentation on performance, outlining work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within the report.

People & Customer Indicators

Councillor G. Hardcastle asked why there had been a downturn in complaint handling during the period.  The Head of Housing explained that under the Corporate Complaints procedures, each service area manager was responsible for responding to complaints in their areas.  The downturn in figures for Housing was due to insufficient prioritising of responses to complaints, however a review had been undertaken and assurances were given that work would be carried out with managers to improve this.

Councillor J.E. Falshaw referred to the increase in absenteeism in the section, which also occurred in some other areas of the Council, and asked how this could be improved.  The Head of Housing said that changes to Council policy in reducing Human Resources involvement at early stages of absences meant that more responsibility was given to service area managers which she felt was positive in alleviating any possible delays.  She pointed out that although the figures in the report were split between different sections of Housing, this did not reflect the number of long-term absences within each section which had a significant impact on figures.  Proactive work was being carried out by managers to help employees return to the workplace as quickly as possible such as analysing the causes of absences, helping individuals to access Occupational Therapy services at a cost to the section and considering the potential for employees to carry out the part of their job that they were able to, although they may be unable to undertake the full duties.

In response to a question from Councillor A.M. Halford on the process for employees accessing Occupational Therapy services, the Head of Housing said that HR assistance was needed on promoting services and approaching employees to discuss phased return to work.  The Director of Community Services added that HR resources dedicated to assisting the Directorate were small but were committed to supporting managers through the sickness absence process.

Following queries raised by Councillor Hardcastle, it was confirmed that return to work interviews were undertaken and that the sickness absence target for all Council employees was no more than 9.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) days per annum.

Councillor P.J. Curtis felt that this target should be reduced and suggested that long-term absence figures should be separated in future to reflect a clearer position.  The Head of Housing agreed that this would be helpful and had been raised on previous occasions with the suggestion for a summary of long-term absences to be given.  She went on to say that no absences had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

That the draft Forward Work Programme be agreed, with the inclusion of progress reports on mobile PDA devices and Capita.

The Member Engagement Manager introduced the report which gave Members the opportunity to consider and update the Committee’s Forward Work Programme.

The Committee agreed to the suggestion for progress reports on mobile PDA devices and Capita to be scheduled into the Forward Work Programme.

Councillor P.J. Curtis and other Members welcomed the detailed and informative reports which were being received from the Housing section.

RESOLVED:

That the draft Forward Work Programme be agreed, with the inclusion of progress reports on mobile PDA devices and Capita.

There were no members of the press or public in attendance.