Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

Councillor Ted Palmer declared a personal interest as a Council Tenant.

Councillor Ted Palmer declared a personal interest as a Council Tenant.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 14 December, 2022.

That the minutes of the meetings held on 14 December be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 December, 2022 were approved as a correct record, and moved and seconded by Councillor Bernie Attridge and Councillor Rosetta Dolphin.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meetings held on 14 December be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)        That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the current Forward Work Programme for consideration.

The Facilitator commented that there were no proposed changes to the items listed for future meetings.  In referring to the actions arising from the last meeting, the Facilitator reported that all actions had been completed and that the recommendation from the Committee on the use of reserves to reduce the number of void properties would be considered by Cabinet at its next meeting on 17^th January, 2022. 

            The recommendations, as outlined within the report, were moved by Councillor Bernie Attridge and seconded by Councillor Kevin Rush.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)        That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

(a)       That the latest financial position for 2022/23 rent collections be noted;

(b)       That the Committee support the ongoing work to manage the impacts that welfare reform has, and will continue to have, on some of the most vulnerable residents along with implementing support via Welsh Government support measures to mitigate the cost of living crisis; and

(c)        That the Chair, on behalf of the Committee, write to the Department for Work and Pensions to seek their agreement to share information with the Local Authority on which tenants received Universal Credit, to allow for appropriate assistance/support to be provided for any tenants falling into arrears.

The Chief Officer (Housing & Assets) introduced an operational update on the latest welfare reform response impacts and current levels of 2022/23 housing rent arrears.  The report provided an update on the impacts that welfare reforms continued to have on residents and the work that was ongoing to mitigate many of the challenges and to support households through the cost-of-living crisis. 

The Service Manager - Housing Welfare and Communities provided a detailed update on the latest position for welfare reform and cost-of-living crisis mitigation, outlining a range of measures that had been developed to help those affected by the cost-of-living and the support provided to residents to help mitigate the negative impacts.  A further update was provided on each of the following areas, as outlined in the report:-

• Spare Room Subsidy
• Benefit Cap
• Cost of Living Support Scheme
• Unpaid Carers
• Winter Fuel Support Scheme
• Welfare Support
• Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP’s)

The Service Manager - Revenues and Procurement provided a detailed update on the latest position of rent arrears, advising that the collect of rent continued to remain challenging with the rise of cost-of-living and the impacts on some tenant’s ability to pay.  The Rent Income service had experienced increased workloads with a 1.2% increase in cases where tenants needed to be contacted and the service continued to signpost tenants with referrals to specialist teams across the Council, including Supporting People and Welfare Response teams. 

The Service Manager - Revenues and Procurement highlighted the current level of rent arrears and number of evictions for rent arrears, as detailed within the report.  The challenge for collection of rent from those tenants in receipt of universal credit continued to present a risk to the Council with more tenants migrating across to universal credit and the delays experienced with putting management payment arrangement for some tenants where the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) deduct rent payment as source.

As part of the Councils ongoing response to mitigate the impacts on tenants and ensure the long-term financial stability of the Housing Revenue Account, in 2021 Audit Wales undertook a comprehensive review to assess the effectiveness of the Council in supporting tenants.  The Audit Wales review acknowledged the proactive measures already taken by the Council in supporting tenants and stabilising rent collections during a period of unprecedented change, especially with the rollout of Universal Credit and the impacts of the pandemic.

Councillor Rosetta Dolphin thanked the officers for the report and welcomed that there had been only 1 eviction, which she felt avoided causing further pressure on the homelessness service.  She referred to the table showing the banded arrears for 2022/23 commenting on the different levels of rent paid by tenants, and asked if the levels of rent could be identified within the table in future reports.  The Service Manager - Revenues and Procurement agreed to look into whether this could be provided in future reports. 

            Councillor Dennis Hutchinson thanked officers for the report, which he felt provided the most accurate and up to date information  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

(a)       That the Committee support the levels of progress and confidence in the achievements of priorities as at mid-year within the 2022/23 Council Plan;

(b)       That the Committee endorse and support overall performance against 2022/23 Council Plan performance indicators as at mid-year; and

(c)        That the Committee is assured by the explanations given for those areas of underperformance.

The Chief Officer (Housing & Assets) presented the monitoring report to review mid-year progress against the Council Plan priorities identified for 2022/23.  The out-turn report for the 2022/23 Council Plan showed 59% of activities were making good progress.  70% of the performance indicators had met or exceeded their targets, 9% were being closely monitored and 21% were currently not meeting target.

The report was an exception-based report and concentrated on those areas of performance which were currently not achieving their target.  The performance indicators which showed a red RAG status for current performance against target, relevant to the Committee, were detailed within the report.      

Councillor Bernie Attridge commented on the total number of mandatory large disabled adaptations and the average number of days to complete a mandatory large disabled adaptations and asked for an explanation for the delays with planning applications for large jobs.  He also asked if there was a delay with Occupational Therapist visits.  The Service Manager - Housing Welfare and Communities explained that the planning delays were due to the backlog and complexities around some of the disabled adaptations which needed to take place.  She also explained that a new framework was imminent which would enable the Council to use local suppliers and increase the number of quotes.  With regards to Occupational Therapists, she explained that there was currently a number of vacancies to fill within the service, and added that it was an area that was currently hard to recruit in.  Work was progressing to link with Universities to see if they could assist with recruitment.

The recommendations, as outlined within the report, were moved by Councillor Bernie Attridge and seconded by Councillor Dennis Hutchinson.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee support the levels of progress and confidence in the achievements of priorities as at mid-year within the 2022/23 Council Plan;

(b)       That the Committee endorse and support overall performance against 2022/23 Council Plan performance indicators as at mid-year; and

(c)        That the Committee is assured by the explanations given for those areas of underperformance.

There were no members of the press in attendance.