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.

(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 Facilitator presented the current Forward Work Programme for consideration and advised that a meeting between the Chair, Vice-Chair and Senior Officers within the Housing & Communities Portfolio would take place following the Committee meeting, and that an updated Forward Work Programme would be presented to the Committee at the next meeting.  There were no proposed changes to the Forward Work Programme as presented in the agenda.

In relation to the actions arising from the last meeting, the Facilitator reported that a response from the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) had been received via Mark Tami MP and had been circulated to all Committee Members.  Information on the number of Occupational Health Therapists had also been received and circulated to the Committee via e-mail.

In relation to the request from Councillor Dale Selvester around the total loss of Council Tax for void properties which had been empty over 6 months, this information was being collated and would be circulated when available. 

The recommendations, as outlined within the report, were moved by Councillor David Evans 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 Housing and Communities portfolio cost pressures be noted; and

(b) That the Housing and Communities portfolio options to reduce budgets be noted.

The Strategic Finance Manager – Financial Strategy and Insurance introduced the report to review and comment on the budget pressures and cost reductions under the remit of the Committee.  She gave a presentation on the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget Setting 2024/25 which covered the following points:

• purpose and background
• additional budget requirements of the Council 2024/25
• additional budget requirement – ongoing risks
• overall position after initial solutions
• summary and conclusions
• next steps for the budget setting process 2024/25
• budget process Stage 2
• budget process Stage 3 – (Final)

The Chief Officer (Housing and Communities) gave a presentation on the Cost Pressures which covered the following points:

• Homelessness demand
• Benefits – Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Councillor David Evans in referring to the report commented that whilst there was a proposed budget reduction option for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, there were no options to reduce the cost pressures associated with the Homelessness demand.  He suggested that since the Minister at UK Government had said that there were no plans to house migrants at the Northop Hall Country House Hotel, could consideration be given to contacting them to house people presenting as homeless in order to reduce the budget pressure.  The Chief Officer (Housing and Communities) explained that there would be a report outlining options to reduce the Homelessness cost pressures presented to the next meeting of the Committee.  A number of avenues were being explored, including how to make better use of the current housing stock and all options would be presented to the Committee as part of the report.

In response to the suggestion made by Councillor Evans, Councillor Linda Thew advised the Committee that the Northop Hall Country House Hotel only had 37 hotel rooms and that the proposals to house migrants included additional containers being placed in the grounds of the hotel.  She also explained that the hotel was currently continuing to function as a hotel and said that she would not want to see people presenting as homeless placed in housing containers.  Councillor Evans explained that he was not suggesting people being placed in housing containers.

Councillor Rosetta Dolphin supported the comments made by Councillor Evans and said that the Council must consider all options in order to reduce the cost pressure on homelessness, and that all Members must be aware of properties within their own ward that could be considered for use.  She also referred to the cost pressures associated with Out of County Placements and asked if information on the Out of County placements for the previous year could be provided.  The Strategic Finance Manager suggested that this information be circulated following the meeting.

Councillor Dennis Hutchinson sought clarification on whether discussions had been held between the Council and owners of the Northop Hall Country House Hotel.  He was concerned around possible liability for the hotel and whether this would fall to the Council if people presenting as homeless were housed there and also the cost to do so.  He felt that any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

That the contents of the report, ahead of the follow up audit work to be completed by the Councils Audit Team, be noted.

The Service Manager – Housing & Prevention introduced the report which provided an update on progress with the Temporary Accommodation Audit Action Plan. 

The audit was presented to the Committee in February 2022 and the Audit Committee in March 2022 and was categorised as a red audit report and highlighted areas of improvement.  An action plan was developed in response to the internal audit and the Council’s Audit Team would be commencing a follow up review of the service to assess progress against the action plan.

The Service Manager – Housing & Prevention advised that a detailed service improvement plan was developed to pick up on all the actions required to deliver on the audit recommendation with a stronger focus placed on the core principles of housing management, support for those in interim housing and move on options in line with the principles of Rapid Rehousing.

A copy of the audit action plan as updated at the end of September 2023, was attached at Appendix 1 of the report.  Whilst progress had been made on all actions, there had been significant challenges impacting on the delivery of the action plan, with some completions dated being pushed back.  The reasons for this were listed within the resource section of the report but all actions would be completed by March 2024.

The Service Manager – Housing & Prevention advised that Senior management had met with the Council’s Internal Audit Team in recent weeks and those actions that were completed would soon be tested and evidence of completion reviewed.  The Committee would continue to receive further updates.  

Councillor David Evans referenced how he felt that the issues faced with people presenting to homelessness linked to void properties, which would be considered later in the meeting.  He referred to the number of households in comparison to the number of void properties and whilst acknowledging that this may be a simplistic view asked how many of the people currently placed in temporary accommodation had been allocated a void property.  The Service Manager – Housing & Prevention said that he estimated this to be around 30/35 but would provide the exact figure to the Committee following the meeting.  He referred to the work that had been carried out by the Service Manager – Housing Assets in bringing void properties back into use which had seen positive results, but it was important to also consider whether they were the right type of property for the person in temporary accommodation.  He reported that 183 of these people were single, with a significant number under the age of 55 and that the majority of void properties were sheltered accommodation.  The options to ease the budget pressures around homelessness, to be presented to the Committee at the next meeting would include the review of sheltered housing, but this wouldn’t alleviate all of the pressures.  The Council wanted to create stable, sustainable communities with all residents suitably housed and feel safe in their communities. 

The Chair asked if the high rise flats in Flint would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

That the Capital Investment Programme, in its next phase of compliance as it moves toward the updated Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS 2023) and its requirements, be noted.

The Service Manager – Housing Assets introduced a report to provide an update on the Council’s delivery of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) through the Capital Investment Programme.

The Council were successful in delivering the WHQS programme of works to all Council stock, a major capital investment of over £100m and were now in the maintenance phase of the programme, delivering further investment works to

those components within properties where required.  The report detailed what had been delivered to date and outlined the focus of the next phase of the Councils WHQS investment programme.

            The Service Manager – Housing Assets reported that the Council achieved compliance with WHQS in December 2021.  Having achieved compliance with WHQS it was important that the Council ensured the standard was maintained and investment was planned accordingly.  There was an ongoing investment programme to maintain the standard and enable the scheduled replacement of components when needed.

An updated version of the existing WHQS guidance was due to go live in late 2023 and the Council would need to prepare itself for the changes that would be required to remain compliant.

Councillor Ted Palmer commented on roofs and windows needed to be replaced and asked if this work should have been carried out as part of the previous scheme and asked if there was a plan to replace them as soon as possible.  The Service Manager - Housing Assets outlined the number of factors on why all roofs and windows were not replaced prior to 2020 which included, not all roofs and windows needing to be replaced which had been identified as part of the stock condition survey.  He outlined the need to protect any Council investment and said that if components could be repaired to prolong their lifespan, then this would be more efficient.

Councillor Palmer asked how repairing roofs and windows sat within the need to ensure that they were energy efficient.  The Service Manager - Housing Assets advised that a whole approach was now being taken to ensure that homes were as thermally efficient as possible with the technology available.  

Councillor David Evans referred to the statistic that for the last 3 years the Council had been 100% compliant with the WHQS and asked whether the Service Manager was finding that there was a reduction in the number of void properties requiring major works due to the work carried out to meet the WHQS.  The Service Manager - Housing Assets confirmed that this was the case and that more void properties were being returned and found to be WHQS compliant.  The major investment works required were around electrical and plastering works which were disruptive to tenants when they were in the homes.  In the main, properties were being returned in better condition due to the investment over the last 5 years.

Councillor Sean Bibby (Cabinet Member for Housing & Regeneration) reiterated the comments of the Service Manager around the major works in void properties being electrical and plastering works.  He said that he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

That the update be noted.

The Service Manager – Housing Assets presented the key figures and key activities against the void action plan, as outlined in the briefing note.

He outlined the number of new voids and those which had been completed and reported that 28 properties had been completed ready for allocation.  He also outlined the following, as presented in the briefing note:-

·         The number of major voids

·         Total overall number of void properties which had reduced to 232

·         The performance of the current contractors

·         Top reasons for terminations

Councillor Dale Selvester commented on the number of void properties completed by capital district area and said that he had been asked to ask on behalf of a resident within his ward whether more properties had been completed in the Mold, Holywell and Flint areas due to the Members representing those areas.  The Service Manager – Housing Assets said that he could categorically confirm that properties were not priorities by ward but by whether those properties were more desirable, required less work or that the Housing Management Team had tenants waiting for the property.  He said that he would like Members to focus on the total number of void properties as presented in the briefing note and said that he would be happy to meet with any Members individually to discuss the number of voids properties within their ward, outside of the meeting.

Councillor David Evans asked if officers had an internal target in terms of the number of void properties to be reduced and asked if an aim for 100 or less by October 2024 was felt to be realistic.  He also commented on the allocated budget for the year of £4.6m and asked how many voids that would bring back into use and was the budget sufficient to complete works on all of the current void properties.  The Service Manager – Housing Assets said that there wasn’t currently a target and that this would be considered once an accurate assessment of all contractor’s performance had taken place in order to assess their work allocation.  In relation to the budget allocated to void properties the Council was able to access grant funding and another bid had been submitted to access further grant funding.  The budget was monitored monthly to ensure adequate funding to bring voids back into use and was set based on the average cost of void properties over the last 10 years. 

In response to comments made by the Chair around hard to let properties, the Service Manager – Housing Assets agreed to provide a list of ‘hard to let’ properties across the County to the Committee following the meeting.

Councillor Ted Palmer asked whether consideration was being given to prioritising 1-bed void priorities which would assist people currently in temporary accommodation.  He also asked what areas were included in the capital district area of Holywell.  The Service Manager – Housing Assets advised that the majority of 1-bed properties were within sheltered accommodation and would be considered as part of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

There were no members of the press in attendance.