Agenda item

Yvonne Fox, Assistant Director – Housing Management

a.    presented a report to

                      i.        advise Members of the current performance against indicators normally reported to scrutiny

                    ii.        consider how performance information could be monitored and reported.

b.    advised that performance information was reported to Housing Scrutiny Sub Committee on a quarterly basis. Targets were reviewed on an annual basis with both tenants and the committee at the March meeting.

c.    advised that due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the committee due to take place in March was cancelled and therefore targets were not agreed to measure performance 2020/21

d.    advised that throughout the lockdown period, normal management information had been collated but performance against targets had not been formally reported to date.

e.    highlighted appendix A which provided details of the performance measures that were normally reported against the targets that would have been proposed at the March meeting.

f.     referred to appendix A of the report and advised that the some indicators could not be reported on  as normal repairs had not been carried out.

g.    explained that there had been delays in repairing and allocating empty properties due to the pandemic and Government instructions on non-essential moves and holding empty properties for homeless households. Therefore performance in voids was significantly below the target that would normally be reviewed against but should be viewed against external restrictions on performance.

h.    presented an assessment of current performance against key performance indicators carried out by Housemark and advised that this document would be circulated to members following the meeting.

i.      advised that the main focus from Housemark was:

·         Void rent lost

·         Arrears

·         ASB

j.      explained that rent arrears had increased but compared to other authorities nationally the council were doing well

k.    invited committees questions and comments

Question: Had the targets been agreed with LTP?

Response: Yes, they would also have been presented at the last meeting of Housing Scrutiny Sub Committee, however, it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Question: Referred to Performance Indicator 48 relating to percentage of homes with a valid gas safety certificate and asked if it was an area of concern?

Response: Usually the target would be reached by the end of the year. Further clarified that gas safety checks were continuing through the pandemic, but officers were reliant on tenants allowing them into the properties.

Question: Referred to unoccupied arrears and asked what this covered?

Response: This included rent loss from voids properties and properties not tenanted.

Question: How was homelessness and rough sleepers funded?

Response: Homelessness and rough sleepers were funded by the General Fund as well the Everyone In Campaign. The Council had also received grants for homelessness. To clarify the statutory duty to house someone would come from the General fund. If that person then chose to be a tenant it would come under the Housing Revenue Account like any normal tenancy.

Question: Referred to the average re-let period performance indicator and asked why they were taking longer to process?

Response: The current voids processing times needed to be improved. There had been delays due to external contractors that had furloughed their staff, the supply chain had slowed down and it was difficult to source materials and also due to social distancing as only 2 operatives were allowed to work in a property on the same day.

Question: Referred to write-offs and asked if they could become a tenant again?

Response: At present there was a moratorium for evicting tenants with arrears as the courts were not operating. Under normal circumstances if a tenant built up large arrears and they were not making an attempt to pay then the Council could apply for possession of the property. If someone terminated their tenancy with arrears the Council would seek to recover that amount so it would not be written off instantly. A debt had to be legally written off if the person was declared bankrupt. If a person acknowledged the debt it could not legally be written off for 7 years and they would not be allowed back on the waiting list. If the 7 year period had passed they could apply to be statutory homeless and the Council would legally have to house them.

Yvonne Fox, Assistant Director Housing Management shared the Housing Performance Model that was used operationally and asked if the committee would like the information incorporated into future performance updates.

The committee confirmed the at the information would be useful.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.