Agenda item

(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; and

(b)       That the Chairman liaise with the Facilitator to send a personal letter to the Housing workforce to express the Committee’s appreciation for their hard work over the years.

The Director of Community Services introduced a report for the Committee to note and consider the 2012/13 Quarter 3 (October to December 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.  He reported on the improvement of many key performance indicators including some which had exceeded their targets but recognised that some major challenges remained.  He thanked the Committee, senior Members, Head of Housing and teams for their positive contributions which had led to the improvements.

The Director 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.

The Cabinet Member referred to a report from some years ago which had been highly critical of the Housing service, including spend on bed and breakfast accommodation.  She said that the comments made by Councillor Attridge, the Executive Member at that time, had led to a commitment given to improve the situation.  She said that this had been a challenging journey and that the appointment of the Head of Housing had resulted in significant improvements to the service.  In thanking the Head of Housing, management team and workforce for their achievements in performance, she said that this backed up the commitment given to housing tenants who had voted in the ballot.

The Director commended Simon Abbot for his work on the report and gave assurance that the increase in sickness absence figures was being addressed and progressed through the Council’s procedures.

Councillor G. Hardcastle asked if the Chairman would send a personal letter to the Housing workforce to express the Committee’s appreciation for their hard work over the years.  The Chairman agreed to liaise with the Facilitator on this.

Councillor A.M. Halford asked what steps had been taken to reduce sickness absence levels and whether there was any link between this and the inconsistency in carrying out appraisals.  The Director assured Members that sickness absence had been identified as a key area for improvement within Housing services with declining figures on four out of the five service areas.  The differing issues behind short and long-term absences had been recognised and addressed by separating these types of absences.  When intervention was required on absence levels, this was recognised and taken forward and a more flexible approach taken to help employees return to work from long-term absences by offering them more appropriate duties.

The Head of Housing said that the report highlighted an increase in sickness absence levels in the Asset Management Team but that accidents at work were more likely to occur in this area.  Appraisals included discussion with the employee on their performance, which was impacted by attendance.  She agreed that regular appraisals would help to manage attendance and also spoke of the importance of one-to-one meetings with the workforce.  Issues in fully complying with the new Sickness Absence Policy had been addressed and appraisal timeframes were now in place.  The inconsistency in carrying out appraisals had been due to training required for Team Leaders to effectively carry this out.  There had also been sharing of good practice during senior management team discussions.

In relation to trades staff who were returning to work from long-term sickness with an injury preventing them from carrying out their usual duties, the Housing Asset Manager said that efforts were made to accommodate them in other suitable areas whilst taking consideration of skills matching and office capacity.

Following comments from Councillor R. Dolphin on an incident in a pensioner’s bungalow, the Cabinet Member for Housing confirmed that there were communication links between the Capital Works team and Social Services for Adults and Children.  The Director also gave assurance of shared communication between Social Services and Housing, but pointed out that officers would be unable to intervene if a person refused assistance.  He confirmed that work was in progress for Warden services to be accessible to as many residents as possible.  Councillor Dolphin welcomed the piloting of the Financial Awareness workshops and asked if a letter could be sent to residents advising them of any available option for payments to be taken out at source.  The Head of Housing advised that there was an option for vulnerable people to opt for direct payments but that this would be time limited.  A ‘jam jar’ account was available through the Credit Union where payments could be directly allocated to pay for rent etc.

In response to a request by Councillor Hardcastle, the Housing Asset Manager detailed the procedure for dealing with sickness absence.  He also confirmed that in regard to trades staff returning to work, the same rate of pay applied regardless of the duties allocated.

Following a query by Councillor Halford on the average number of days that homeless households spent in other temporary accommodation, the Head of Housing commented on the challenging nature of this performance target as some families refused offers to move on which meant that they remained in temporary accommodation for a longer period.  The example cited in the report related to a family who had been adequately housed and were awaiting permanent accommodation and it was likely that the penalty points had arisen from a previous tenancy.  She said it was important to note that the temporary accommodation was good quality housing and was not bed and breakfast provision and went on to say that once residents had moved to another property, the support would continue to ensure that they managed their tenancy successfully.

Councillor Halford asked if a scheme similar to the ‘Genesis’ project was available to help families improve their life skills.  The Supporting People Manager said that the Supporting People service did not provide specific support aside from the financial awareness course and that services to help residents were more cost effective than dealing with homelessness.

On gypsy-traveller accommodation, Councillor Halford sought an update on the Riverside site from the Housing Strategy Manager who was present in the public gallery.  He reported that a ground condition survey had been completed and that the results of a flood risk assessment were awaited.  A planning application for an extension to the site would be submitted upon completion of the flood risk assessment, however access remained an issue.  The findings of the Gypsy-Traveller Needs Assessment had been agreed by Local Authorities and would be submitted for approval.  In addition, consideration would be required on the content of the White Paper on Local Authorities’ duty to make provision for gypsy/traveller accommodation and the need to include site provision in the Local Development Plan process.

In welcoming the decision to split sickness figures between long and short term absences, Councillor P.J. Curtis pointed out that sickness absence was an issue in other areas of the Council and was not unique to Housing.

Councillor A.M. Bragg advised that she had written to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in relation to concerns about direct benefit payments made to vulnerable people under Universal Credit.  A response from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office had referred to the launch of six demonstration projects throughout the UK to prepare for these changes.  Councillor Curtis stated that Torfaen Council were involved in one of the projects.  The Head of Housing was aware of a project mentioned under discussion on welfare reforms which may be the same report.

On empty homes, Councillor M.A. Reece welcomed the progress made by letters sent to homeowners which offered assistance.

The Chairman referred to the improvement in rent arrears performance and asked if there were plans to provide additional resources in the Income Maximisation Team to deal with the upcoming significant challenges.  The Head of Housing said that although the target had not been achieved, good progress had been made by reducing rent arrears by £50K from the same time as last year.  To address the impact of welfare reforms, additional temporary resources were being considered for the Welfare Rights team in assisting Council tenants to claim additional benefits.

On the ‘bedroom tax’, Councillor Dolphin asked for clarification on whether a box room would be classed as a bedroom.  The Head of Housing explained that in line with criteria in Welsh Government guidance, a bedroom should be classed as such if a bed could fit into the room.  Members who were aware of genuine cases where this should not apply were encouraged to refer them to the Housing section.  It was acknowledged that each case would need to be considered on its own merits, however any re-assessment of bedrooms may possibly impact on the HRA.

The Cabinet Member for Housing commented that properties with a separate dining room and living room could also be categorised as having an additional bedroom.  The Head of Housing agreed, saying this was included in legislation.  She also advised Members that visits to tenants identified as under-occupying properties had resulted in only a very small number being deemed as such.

RESOLVED:

(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; and

(b)       That the Chairman liaise with the Facilitator to send a personal letter to the Housing workforce to express the Committee’s appreciation for their hard work over the years.