Agenda item

Housing Landlord Service - Compliance Assurance

To provide assurance to Cabinet on the Housing Landlord Service’s performance against key statutory compliance measures(report of Assistant Director – Housing enclosed).

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Housing which provided assurance to Cabinet on the Housing Landlord Service’s performance against key statutory compliance measures.

 

The Portfolio Holder – Strategic and Operational Housing presented the report, which provided a comprehensive overview of performance against key statutory compliance measures. The report aimed to assure the Cabinet that compliance arrangements were robust and continuously improving.

 

The report covered various statutory safety requirements. As of 31 January 2025, officers had completed 100% of safety checks in several critical areas, including asbestos, gas, legionella, lifts, and fire. Additionally, 99.25% of electrical safety checks had been completed, with access issues being escalated. This data and progress on remedial actions was scrutinised on a monthly basis at the Housing Compliance Clinic, with high level data presented quarterly to the Performance Monitoring Panel.

 

Over the past 12 months, officers had made significant efforts to improve the handling of reports of damp and mould. A new policy was adopted in May 2024, departmental training was delivered, and a dedicated Damp and Mould Co-ordinator role was established. However, damp continued to place pressures on the service, a situation that has been further highlighted by the initial stock condition survey findings. Consequently, a further review of the damp policy and performance measures was currently being conducted and was due to be presented to members in the first quarter of 2025/2026.

 

In January 2025, the Governance and Audit Committee received a reasonable assurance opinion on housing compliance, stating robust controls and oversight were evidenced and continued to be developed. However, there was always more that could be done and it was important to continue to extend oversight and assurance in this area, particularly focussing on remedial actions and service improvements which would be shared with the Performance Monitoring Panel.

 

Members considered the report and the following issues were raised:

 

·       Decisions were based on data – how confident was the Portfolio Holder that the data upon which decisions were made was reliable?

  • The Portfolio Holder responded that she and the Assistant Director – Housing had discussed the issue of data at length, acknowledging the need for data to be reliable and robust. A lot of control testing was undertaken departmentally, internal audits were undertaken, and the external contracts had quality assurance built in also, with officers holding the contractors to account robustly. A statutory coordinator was also in place whose role was to follow all compliance through. The Portfolio Holder believed that the data was robustly tested and accurate.

 

·       How were tenants informed of the safety of their homes?

  • All tenants received a copy of their gas safety certificates and electrical certificates. Last year the annual report that was published was also sent to all tenants (this reported on all compliance testing). There was a tenant webpage that was updated quarterly which also included compliance data. Currently there was also a roadshow underway which focused, among other things on the tenancy engagement strategy – tenants views were sought on what made them feel safe and secure, and what else the Council could do to demonstrate this.

 

·       Paragraph 2.21 (Fire Safety) within the report stated that 100% of fire risk assessments had been carried out, with work outstanding on some properties – what assurance did tenants have that their homes were safe?

  • The Portfolio Holder advised that the fire risk assessments were carried out by an external contractor who were specialists in this work and it provided an independent view. Yearly inspections were undertaken, and any actions arising from them were triaged and dealt with. At any point during the process the team would be aware what was outstanding. The Facilities team undertook weekly basic checks at community centres and communal buildings, with a more in-depth check undertaken monthly. Again, the statutory compliance officer tracked this work. The Portfolio Holder stated that there was a lot of assurance in place and that tenants should feel safe.

 

·       With regard to the 2 actions outstanding from 2022/23 (paragraph 2.21 of the report – Fire Safety), the report stated that contracts had been awarded – what was the timeframe for this?

  • The Housing and Property Services Manager advised that the 2 significant actions around the capital works, involving compartmentation work – 1 of the schemes was finished shortly after Christmas and the second was due to finish within the next 3-4 weeks. The final scheme was subject to further structural works and further timeframes were awaited however it was anticipated that this work would complete no later than Quarter 1 2025/26. The 13 actions from 2023/24 related to repairs or replacement of fire doors. This contract had gone through a tender process and was due to be awarded next week with timeframes then to be agreed.

 

·       Was there anything that should be in the report that was not currently?

  • The Portfolio Holder advised that she and the team were confident that the correct areas were being measured. The compliance clinic had evolved over time and it was important to be flexible and bring in issues that arose over time.

 

DECISION:

 

1)    That the report be noted;

 

2)    That Cabinet’s observations and comments on information presented to them regarding the Housing Landlord Service’s performance against key statutory compliance measures be noted in the minutes;

 

3)    That Cabinet’s observations and comments, and the report be considered by the Performance Monitoring Panel as part of the scrutiny process

 

(Other options considered:

·       Do nothing – To not consider information presented regarding the performance of statutory compliance.  Cabinet is responsible for ensuring that the Council, in its role as a registered provider, is meeting the regulatory standards set.  This option is not recommended;

·       To not receive any information prior to Performance Monitoring Panel.  This is not recommended as it is beneficial for Cabinet to have considered this information prior to Performance Monitoring Panel scrutinising the performance;

Reasons for decision:

·       The purpose of this report is to provide Cabinet, council tenants and leaseholders with the assurance and confidence that the Housing Landlord Service’s arrangements for monitoring compliance areas are robust and are subject to ongoing review and improvement).

Supporting documents: