Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2013 be signed as an accurate record of the meeting.

1.1      Councillor De Ryk updated the committee on the recent visit that she and Councillor Johnson had undertaken to the 999 Club in Deptford. The key points to note were:

           - The core activity of the 999 Club is their day centre which is open all year. They do a lot of work in the local community.

           - Councillors had undertaken a visit to the night shelter, which is normally open between November and March, which has since closed early this year due to a shortfall in funding.

           - There was a welcoming and non-judgemental atmosphere in the night shelter

           - The 999 club is not a major charity and does not receive a lot of statutory support

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2013 be signed as an accurate record of the meeting.

2.1             Councillor Bell declared a non-prejudicial interest as a Lewisham Homes Board Director.

2.2             Councillor Hall declared a non-prejudicial interest as a Phoenix Community Housing Board Director.

Resolved: The evidence presented to the committee be noted and the information provided by the Passfields Residents be shared with Whitefoot ward councillors, Council officers, the local MP and Phoenix Community Housing.

3.1       The Chair introduced Ted Stevens (Chair – National Self Build Association) who presented a series of Power Point slides on self build to the committee. The key points to note were:

- Lewisham was responsible for igniting the self build movement in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s with the self build homes at Segal Close in the Borough. These homes were designed so they were simple to build. With builders requiring very little training.

- The Self Build Market peaked around 1997 with almost 20,000 completions per annum

- Research shows that over half of UK residents want to build their own home at some stage, 30% want to do it within 5 years and 400,000 searched Rightmove.co.uk to try and find a plot in September 2012.

- Finding sites is difficult and despite the demand it is likely that very few of those interested will eventually go on to build their own home.

- Self build does not need to be a “Grand Design” – the majority of self build homes are more modest structures including those built in Lewisham

- Self build homes are not necessarily as high quality as those built by Council or Developers however self builders benefit from an enhanced sense of community with self builders living in their homes for an average of 25 years.

- National and regional planning policies, including the National Planning Policy Framework, do now include sections on self build and Ted suggested that councils must measure local demand.

- The local economy can be boosted by self builders hiring in local tradesmen and shopping in local builders merchants.

- Information was provided on a series of self build projects elsewhere in the UK.

3.2       In response to questions Ted Stevens advised the committee that:

            - The cost of building a self build home is dependent on the size of the property however a very basic home can be built for between £30,000 and £40,000. Ted suggested that a house could be built to a “social housing specification” for around £100,000 as self builders do not have the other costs and overheads such as advertising and marketing associated with large developers.

            - It is relatively straightforward to get a mortgage for a self build scheme however it can require extra administration, and associated fees, as money is usually released in stages so the bank can check on work.

            - The Financial Services Authority rules now mean that it is unlikely that councils will be able to offer mortgages. Ted Stevens suggested that he knew of one Council offering a mortgage through an intermediary.

            - There is a Greater London Authority (GLA) funding scheme that is seeking applications from groups of self builders.

            - There is an opportunity for self builders to lead on the design process but self builders tend to benefit from the help of someone with a knowledge of the construction industry

            - Other local authorities (LAs) looking at self build schemes are looking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

RESOLVED:  The report be noted; the chair of the housing select committee to act as the main Designated Person and the remaining members of the HSC will act as designated people where there is a conflict of interest or the chair is unavailable.

4.1       Peter Gadsdon introduced the report. The key points to note were:

            - The Localism Act 2011 has introduced changes to the way complaints against social landlords are handled prior to referral to the Housing Ombudsman (HO) – once a complainant has exhausted the Council / Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) / Housing Association (HA) complaints procedures a referral to the HO must now come in writing from a designated person (DP) unless the complainant waits for a period of 8 weeks.

            - A DP can be any elected member of the Council, a local MP or a tenants panel.

            - The report recommends that the chair of the Housing Select Committee (HSC) and two additional members of the HSC are appointed as the main Designated People in Lewisham in order to create a system that is easier for residents to understand.

            - Conversations with the top 9 partner HAs in Lewisham have lead officers to conclude that they are not considering setting up a tenants panel and Lewisham Homes are not currently planning to do so either.

            - Based on current trends officers would expect to see 20 complaints referred to a DP each year.

            - The report advises that corporate complaints will support the Designated Person in their role.

4.2       In response to questions from the committee members were advised:

            - Corporate complaints can support any member acting as a designated person in relation to a social housing complaint.

            - MPs have not been approached to take on the role of main designated person.

            - Under the Localism Act all members are designated people.

RESOLVED:  The report be noted; the chair of the housing select committee to act as the main Designated Person and the remaining members of the HSC will act as designated people where there is a conflict of interest or the chair is unavailable.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted; and that the answer to the recent council question on the costs of Temporary Accommodation is supplied to the committee.

5.1       Colin Moone introduced the report. The key points to note were:

- In 2012/13 the Council expect to house a total of 1774 residents on the housing waiting list. 20.1% of these residents came from band 1 of the housing waiting list, 25.7% from band 2, 32.9% from band 3 and 1.7% from band 4.

- Lewisham are nearing completion on large decants at Heathside and Lethbridge, Excalibur and Milford Towers.

- In 2013/14 the Council expect to house 1515 households in total.

- Lewisham are currently accepting more applications in band three of the Housing waiting list than they are housing each year.

- Lewisham are housing households more than many other boroughs in London.

- Appendix 8 of the report provides a breakdown of the demographics of the households that have been housed in the period between April and December 2012.

5.2       In response to questions from the committee officers advised that:

- Members of the armed forces are categorised under “any other band 1” in the report.

- Households on the waiting list may be staying in a number of locations including Bed and Breakfast accommodation, in their current home, in private sector rented accommodation or a hostel.

- The exceptional cases referred to in the report relates to those on the waiting list who have been taken out of turn and moved quicker than expected.

- “Priority homeless” refers to any household on the housing waiting list.

- On current projections the housing waiting list will continue to grow in the coming years

- Lewisham are likely to dip just under last years letting target based on the current rate of re-housing

- The annual lettings plan is a projection based on the knowledge and experience of officers – it is difficult to be completely accurate.

- The Homesearch system allows officers to prioritise certain groups for housing if necessary – i.e. in the event of a decant.

- The lettings plan allows the council to keep track of who they are housing each year.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted; and that the answer to the recent council question on the costs of Temporary Accommodation is supplied to the committee.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

6.1              Standing Orders were suspended at 9.55pm

6.2              Colin Moone introduced the report. The key points to note were:

- The CIS has an annual budget of £200,000 and unspent funds can be rolled forward resulting in a budget of £565,869 for 2013 / 14.

- The report proposes increasing the cash incentive to approximately 15% of the average market value of the same size property.

- Paragraph 4.5 of the report sets out the market value of properties locally

- Paragraph 4.6 sets out the cash incentive for releasing each property type locally up to a maximum of £44,000.

- The scheme will allow residents to move anywhere in the UK with restrictions including not being allowed to buy a property at auction, not moving into a houseboat and not buying a right to buy property (RtB)

6.3       In response to questions the committee were advised:

- RtB has prevented some spend on the CIS as it offers more favourable terms to the prospective buyer.

- A mortgage must be secured before the cash incentive is released – residents are not being offered a payment simply to leave their home.

- It is possible to pay residents to leave their home and this has been tried in other London boroughs including Brent.

- Although the CIS and other incentive schemes exist there is currently very little incentive to leave a council tenancy

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

RESOLVED: That the draft work programme is noted; the suggestions of members be included in the draft work programme report for the April meeting; members would pass on any suggestions on what to cover as part of the Emergency Services Review; and the concerns of the committee regarding the ongoing Housing Matters consultation be referred to Mayor and Cabinet.

7.1       Joseph Dunton introduced the report. The key points to note were:

- The report sets out the draft work programme for the 2013 / 14 municipal year.  

- Members are invited to suggest any ideas for an in depth review or items they wish to add to the work programme.

- There is a proposal from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the committee to undertake a review into Emergency Services in Lewisham and the scrutiny manager can bring a scoping report to the next meeting.

- There is a proposal arranging a visit to a self build scheme if the committee want to do more research

7.2       Members of the committee suggested that they could forward any issues they may wish to look at as part of the Emergency Services review to the Scrutiny Manager in advance of the April meeting.

7.3       Members of the committee suggested further items to be added to the select committee work programme:

            - An item on the progress with the 250 housing units being built in Lewisham as part of the Housing Matters Programme.

- A paper on the Local Authority borrowing cap and any upcoming developments

- An update on the Newham Licensing Scheme

7.4       The committee noted that some residents had raised with them their concerns that the ongoing Housing Matters consultation process is not giving equal consideration to the two remaining options.

RESOLVED: That the draft work programme is noted; the suggestions of members be included in the draft work programme report for the April meeting; members would pass on any suggestions on what to cover as part of the Emergency Services Review; and the concerns of the committee regarding the ongoing Housing Matters consultation be referred to Mayor and Cabinet.

8.1       The committee decided to refer the concerns of some residents as noted in paragraph 7.4 of these minutes to Mayor and Cabinet.