Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chairman welcomed those in attendance to the meeting at Llys Eleanor and praised the wonderful facility which he felt Flintshire County Council should be proud of.  He thanked the staff and residents for their hospitality. 

The Chairman then explained to Members that Gill Conway, the Operations Manager, would be retiring from the Council shortly.  He presented her with a bouquet of flowers and thanked her for the work that she had undertaken during her employment at the Council.     

No declarations of interest were made. 

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2013 (copy enclosed).

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

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2013 had been circulated with the agenda. 

Matters Arising

Councillor Alison Halford referred to the penultimate paragraph on page 5 and asked whether the Income Team dealing with rent arrears were to be invited to a future meeting of the Committee.  The Head of Housing responded that a report on rent arrears would be considered as part of the Quarter 1 performance report at the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 11 September 2013 and suggested that the Income Team attend that meeting. 

RESOLVED:

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

The Chairman indicated that there would be a slight change in the order of business to bring forward the item on the Community Services Directorate Plan. 

That the final draft of the Community Services Directorate Plan be endorsed. 

The Director of Community Services introduced a report on the Community Services Directorate Plan to present the final draft to Members and to seek any final views and comments before approval by Cabinet. 

He provided a detailed presentation on the Improvement Plan and highlighted the four priorities and the sub priorities for Housing which included Extra Care Housing, achieving the Wales Housing Quality Standard and modern, efficient and adapted homes.  The Director then provided a detailed presentation on the Directorate Plan.  It was reported that a user friendly style to the format had been adopted by Community Services in 2012 and this had been retained for the update.  Section 3 of the Directorate Plan detailed the vision and values of the Directorate of Community Services and the performance highlights were reported in section 4.  The extra care facility at Llys Jasmine was on schedule to open in September 2013 and would be similar to the development at Llys Eleanor in Shotton. 

Councillor George Hardcastle thanked the Director for his presentation and report.  He asked whether there had been any significant impacts since the introduction of Welfare Reform.  The Head of Housing responded that as at the end June 2013 rent arrears had increased by £30,000 on the same period last year and even though this was a concern, about 80% of income due was still being collected.  She added that 21 tenants who were being charged for under occupancy charges had been moved to smaller properties.  Discretionary Housing Payments had been made to some tenants following claims and a key issue was ensuring that tenants were aware of the Welfare Benefits Service who could assist in identifying whether they were receiving the benefits that they were entitled to.  On the issue of homelessness, there had been an increase in the use of bed and breakfast accommodation but this was currently being contained within the budget and the impact was being managed.  Following a further question from Councillor Hardcastle on what would happen if tenants had a three bedroom property and there were insufficient one or two bedroom properties available for them to move into, the Head of Housing said that each case was looked at on its merits.  She detailed the approach taken for those who were in arrears before the introduction of the Welfare Reform and those who had not been in arrears prior to April 2013.  She advised that the Council were not yet at the position of taking tenants to court over the rent arrears which had accrued as a result of Welfare Reform but there would be a need to look at how this would be managed for the future. 

Councillor Peter Curtis said that there would be situations in the whole of the country where tenants wanted to move to smaller properties to avoid the extra charge, but the properties were not available for them to move to.  He spoke of the 30 empty properties which were being brought back into use for residential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

That the Housing Service Plan 2013-2014 be endorsed.                   

The Head of Housing introduced a report to seek Member endorsement of the 2013-2014 Housing Service Plan. 

The Head of Housing detailed the background to the report and explained that the service plan set out the housing service’s priorities and key actions to secure continuous improvement in 2013-2014.  A summary of the challenges faced by the service and the opportunities for change and improvement were detailed in the report and included improving performance in void management; working towards delivery of a regional allocations policy and housing register; delivering projects and initiatives to mitigate the effect of Welfare Reform and delivering the Flint Regeneration Housing Scheme. 

Councillor Alison Halford asked for further information on staff appraisals and sickness absence and also on gypsies and travellers.  The Head of Housing said that the target for appraisals was 100% for all staff.  She added that sickness absence figures were improving and she was confident that sickness absence would continue to reduce.  On the issue of gypsies and travellers the Housing Strategy Manager said that consideration was being given to the expansion of the Riverside Site and for a transit site in Greenfield.  Councillor Peter Curtis asked whether there was an update on the Dollar Park site as he felt that there was an unlawful expansion of the site.  The Head of Housing suggested that the Housing Strategy Manager look at the issue following this meeting and advise Councillor Curtis of his findings.  Councillor Gareth Roberts said that the site had been granted permission on appeal until 2015 for 12 pitches but these had not all been used.  He added that if all of the pitches were now being used, it could appear that the site had expanded. 

Councillor Roberts also queried whether there was adequate provision in the other North Wales authority areas.  In response, the Housing Strategy Manager said that in North Wales, Flintshire County Council provided 58% of the sites and Wrexham County Borough Council provided 33%.  There were a small number of sites in Anglesey but Conwy, Denbighshire and Gwynedd County Councils did not have any formal provision for gypsies and travellers.  He referred to a housing white paper which proposed a statutory duty for all authorities to make provision for sites. 

In response to a query from Councillor Mike Reece on the boarding up of some of the maisonettes in Flint, the Head of Housing said that this was necessary due to risks to remaining residents. 

RESOLVED:

That the Housing Service Plan 2013-2014 be endorsed.                   

That the report be noted.               

The Head of Housing introduced a report to outline to Members the variety of financial models available to the Council to facilitate housing development in Flintshire without the requirement for public grant subsidy. 

She detailed the background to the report and explained that the Council needed to rethink its approach to housing development.  It was reported that the Council needed to ensure that the right types of housing offered in the right locations were delivered to meet the needs of existing households.  To attract economically active households into Flintshire, the Council must therefore consider new delivery models, seek out alternative forms of funding and consider different tenures and housing products.   The report raised the issue of what to do with land that was owned by Flintshire County Council and detailed how it could deliver housing in the future.  The Head of Housing spoke of some of the financial models which included disposing of the land at no value or joint venture arrangements.     

Councillor Peter Curtis asked whether options which were used in other countries had been considered and disagreed with the idea of giving land away as he felt that the highest price should be achieved. 

In response to questions from Councillor Alison Halford, the Head of Housing provided further information on a co-operative delivery model.  The Cabinet Member for Housing said that discussions were ongoing and a visit was to be undertaken to view properties built by other local authorities.  Councillor Ray Hughes asked whether building log cabins had been considered. 

Councillor Gareth Roberts felt that the Council would like to be able to build its own Council housing but in highlighting paragraph 3.14, he raised concern that the models suggested in the report were about building properties for others.  He also felt that it was inappropriate to consider undertaking prudential borrowing.

In response to the comments made, the Head of Housing said that it was not the role of the Council to just look at social needs as there was a need to provide adequate housing provision for all.  She spoke of the differences between affordable/social rent and market rents and said that there was a need to look at how to meet all the different needs. 

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.               

That the Forward Work Programme be noted.

The Housing and Learning Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator reminded Members of the Forward Work Programme planning session which was due to take place on Monday, 15^th July.  She circulated a pack of papers for their consideration at the planning session.   

Councillor George Hardcastle asked whether the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 11 September 2013 could be held at the Holywell Flintshire Connects office.

RESOLVED:

That the Forward Work Programme be noted.

There was one member of the press and no members of the public in attendance.