Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Callum Wernham  Democratic & Electoral Services Specialist

Media

Items
No. Item

21.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted from Councillors Chris Johnson and Gregor Murray.

 

Councillors Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey and Michael Firmager attended the meeting as substitutes.

22.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 394 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 July 2022.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 4 July 2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to the following comments and minor amendment.

 

·       Page 11 to be corrected as follows – “Why were enforcement penalty notices more expensive in Reading compared to Reading Wokingham?

 

·       It be ascertained what levels enforcement penalty notices were set at in some of our neighbouring Boroughs, and the reason for any differences.

23.

Declaration of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

24.

Public Question Time

To answer any public questions

 

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

 

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

 

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

25.

Member Question Time

To answer any member questions.

Minutes:

There were no Member questions.

26.

Enforcement and Safety Service Update pdf icon PDF 336 KB

To receive an update on the newly implemented Enforcement and Safety Service.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 15 to 22, which gave an update on the new Enforcement and Safety Service.

 

The report provided progress updates in a number of areas, including number of licences issues, environmental health works (inspections and service requests), private sector housing complaints, environmental protection and antisocial behaviour. A total of 611 antisocial behaviour cases had been dealt with by the new service, whilst a number of general enquiries (including advice) had also been dealt with.

 

Ed Shaylor, Head of Enforcement and Safety, attended the meeting to answer member queries.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         Were figures available with regards to the number of antisocial behaviour cases dealt with prior to the service being taken in-house, and had overall satisfaction levels and response times seen an increase? Officer response – This was a difficult area to provide comparisons, however the types of behaviours being reported and dealt with could be compared. There was a desire to request the figures for previous service requests from the Public Protection Partnership, however due to time constraints this had not been undertaken yet. In general, the more a service such as this was publicised the more service requests would be generated.

 

·         Were there plans to capture satisfaction data? Officer response – This was a definite aspiration of the service, however the specific method had not been decided. There was an option to send feedback via emails, however it was worth noting that residents who sent in antisocial behaviour service requests tended to base their feedback on the original antisocial behaviour issue rather than the service received.

 

·         Were staff fully engaged and at capacity? Officer response – The service was very busy during the summer, whilst private sector housing issues were common during the winter. The service was experiencing additional work as they were dealing with issues within the ‘grey area’ between the police and the antisocial behaviour officers. It was crucial that officers had a consistent workload throughout the year, and intervened on appropriate issues.

 

·         It was noted that where officers were engaging with issues which were not necessarily fully within their remit, they should help see the issue through to the finish rather than disengaging midway through the process. Officers were encouraged to never say that there was nothing that they could do, but instead say that there ‘might’ be something that could be done, even it that was just advice or signposting.

 

·         What percentage of antisocial behaviour requests were deemed as valid? Officer response – Officers often spoke of some cases which they felt were not necessarily an issue, however it would be difficult to put a figure on this.

 

·         Had there been improvement in the areas of car meets and residential drugs? Officer response – Officers have been in close liaison with the Police, and the number of car meets within the Borough had seen a reduction since April, although it was accepted that these may have spilt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

27.

Preferred Registered Providers Task and Finish Group Update pdf icon PDF 284 KB

To consider an update on the initial work of the Preferred Registered Providers Task and Finish Group.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 23 to 28, which gave an update on the initial work of the Preferred Registered Providers Task and Finish Group.

 

Shirley Boyt (Chair of the Task and Finish Group) gave a further verbal update. The core aim of the Task and Finish Group was to strive for a parity of quality regardless of whether residents were housed with Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) or a housing association. The contract for our preferred registered providers was up for renewal next year, which would give the group an opportunity to strengthen the requirements therein. Housemark had been invited to a meeting of the group, and it had been alluded to that some of WBC’s preferred partners were not providing a fantastic level of service. A further meeting was due to be held with Steve Bowers, Chair of the Tenant Landlord Improvement Panel, whilst further outreach to residents and housing associations was also to be undertaken by the group. It was important that the task and finish group could have real input and impact into this issue.

 

During the ensuing discussion, members raised the following points and queries:

 

·         It was noted that the group was hoping to report in 5 months’ time.

 

·         It was noted that the membership of the group was Shirley Boyt (Chair), Chris Johnson (Vice Chair), Laura Blumenthal, Rebecca Margetts and Andy Croy.

 

·         It was requested that the Committee be sent copies of the notes of the task and finish group meetings;

 

·         It was noted that WBC currently had 8 preferred partners, with some being very large companies. In addition, there were a multitude of other registered providers who were not on the preferred list. It was requested that members inform the group of housing association properties and any associated complaints within their wards;

 

·         Would housing associations be invited to talk to the group? Response – Yes, however anecdotal evidence was first being gathered to be able to challenge the housing associations.

 

·         It was requested that the current contract be circulated to the Committee. In addition, it was noted that the existing contract was not particularly robust.

 

·         What outputs did the group hope to achieve? Response – A series of recommendations would be presented alongside a report to the Executive. The core aim was to improve the service received by residents regardless of who operated their social housing.

 

·         It was requested that officers ascertain whether it was possible for Loddon Homes (WBC’s housing company) to deliver the majority of new social housing with loans from the public works loan board, to be paid off by rental income.

 

·         It was noted that the Chair of the Task and Finish Group would be writing to all members to seek feedback from social housing issues within their wards.

 

·         The issue of property guardians was raised. This issue may be required to be looked at separately, as it was outside of the scope of this group.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)      The members of the task and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 142 KB

To consider the Committee’s work programme.

Minutes:

The Committee considered their work programme, set out in agenda pages 29 to 34.

 

It was noted that where the relevant Executive member was unable to attend a meeting of the Committee to present their item, the Chair liaise with them with a view to defer that item (if timescales allowed).

 

Members requested that officers include information within the upcoming item on the Local Plan Update including our current position, challenged faced, how over delivery in the past might be accounted for, interim measures to help combat legal appeals in relation to 5-year housing land supply, and the progress on lobbying for a reduction in housing numbers.

 

It was agreed that the Arts and Culture item be moved to the December meeting of the Committee.

 

It was requested that an item be considered on the issue of the pressure on the voluntary sector in relation to the cost-of-living crisis, with a particular focus on Citizen’s Advice Wokingham. Officers were tasked to liaise with the Hardship Alliance on this matter.

 

RESOLVED That the above actions be noted.