Agenda, decisions and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

No declarations of interest were made.

Nominations will be sought for a Vice-Chair for the Committee.

That Councillor G. Hardcastle be appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.

The Chairman sought nominations for a Vice-Chair for the Committee.  A nomination for Councillor G. Hardcastle was duly seconded and on being put to the vote, this was carried.  No further nominations were received.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor G. Hardcastle be appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2013 (copy enclosed).

That, subject to one amendment, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2013 had been circulated with the agenda.

Accuracy

Councillor M.A. Reece reiterated his suggestion that employees in the Repairs and Maintenance Team could be offered the opportunity to return to work from sickness absence to carry out inspections on kitchen refurbishments.  He asked if this could be included in the minutes.

Matters Arising

Minute number 66: Update on the Repairs and Maintenance Service - The Head of Housing confirmed that a memo had been circulated to staff to express the Committee’s gratitude for the hard work undertaken during the severe weather.

Minute number 67: Anti-Social Behaviour Policy - Councillor G.H. Bateman sought clarification on comments which had been made by the Neighbourhood Housing Manager on potential actions which could be deployed by the Council to help resolve situations.  The Head of Housing said that for lower levels of anti-social behaviour (ASB), an external organisation may be engaged to act as mediator between the parties concerned.  She also gave examples of practical physical environmental improvements which could be used.

In response to a query by Councillor A.M. Halford, the Housing & Learning Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator explained that details of tenants with rent arrears and ASB issues had been forwarded to the Committee following the previous meeting, but that she would re-send the information to Councillor Halford.  The Head of Housing gave an update on positive progress relating to a long-standing ASB issue in Holywell.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to one amendment, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(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 forthcoming Forward Work Programme workshop include prioritising of the topics suggested.

The Director of Community Services introduced a report for the Committee to note and consider the 2012/13 Quarter 4 (January to March 2013)/Year End 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 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.

Councillor W.P. Shotton welcomed the improved result in rent collection, particularly in view of the impact of Welfare Reforms and asked whether the modelling of community based hubs had responded to the identified needs.  The Director replied that the hub services were bedding in but that further progress would be made.  The Supporting People Manager said it was acknowledged that the hubs would require a period of adjustment during transition and that information was being collated on needs assessment for the remaining hubs.  On the issue with the contractor, the Director reported that there had been a reduction in the number of concerns but that officers remained vigilant in enforcing robustly.  When asked about penalty clauses, the Housing Asset Manager explained that default notices had been issued to the contractor.  In response to a further question on Flintshire’s first Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, which was one of the first in Wales, the Housing Renewal Manager confirmed that this related to external solid wall insulation.

Councillor R. Dolphin noted the downturn in dealing with urgent repairs during Quarter 4 despite achieving the target and said that tenants would pay attention to issues such as this.  On voids properties, she said that some tenants felt obliged to sign-off on properties rather than miss out.  She referred to an incident where a tenant moving into a void property had paid for their garden to be cleared and that Council officers had then refused to remove the garden waste.  She said that the previous tenant should have been charged for this before the new tenant moved into the property.  The Head of Housing asked if details could be provided following the meeting so that she could follow up.

Councillor J.E. Falshaw asked how many void properties had been brought back into use during the last year and commented on statistics from another Authority.  The Head of Housing advised that this was between 550-600 Council properties.  Information on private properties was contained in the report and around 33 available empty stock had been brought into use.  The Housing Renewal Manager said that the figures for Flintshire represented additional activity not related to Houses into Homes, for whilst the loans were being provided, the first properties had not yet been fully completed and occupied.  Responding to a comment on the allocation of additional funding, he explained that £2.3m had been apportioned to North Wales of which £550K was directed to Flintshire during the last financial year.

Councillor M.A. Reece referred to a property in his ward  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be updated accordingly; and

(b)       That the White Paper on Renting Homes and topics raised at today’s meeting be included in discussion on populating the Forward Work Programme at the workshop on 15 July 2013.

The Housing & Learning Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced a report to enable the Committee to consider the Forward Work Programme.  She gave a reminder that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at Llys Eleanor in Shotton and requested that Members arrive at 1.30pm for a site visit prior to the meeting at 2.30pm.  Directions to Llys Eleanor would be provided to the Committee.

The Facilitator suggested that the Housing Plan and Community Services Directorate Plan be received at the July meeting and that the three scheduled items be included in discussion on populating the Forward Work Programme at the workshop on 15 July, along with the items raised today.  The Committee was in agreement to this.

The Head of Housing reported that the White Paper on Renting Homes had been received from the Welsh Government, which dealt with consistency of the types of tenancies granted by Councils and Housing Associations.  It was agreed that this would be dealt with as part of the Forward Work Programme workshop and that the White Paper would be circulated to the Committee in advance.

Councillor M.A. Reece thanked the Director of Community Services for his assistance during the recent fire at the Mainetti factory in Greenfield.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be updated accordingly; and

(b)       That the White Paper on Renting Homes and topics raised at today’s meeting be included in discussion on populating the Forward Work Programme at the workshop on 15 July 2013.

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