Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1.RESOLVED: that the minutes of the last meeting be agreed as a true record.

1.1.RESOLVED: that the minutes of the last meeting be agreed as a true record.

2.1.Councillor Cooper declared an interest as a service manager for Community Advice Works- which provides advice and advocacy for people regarding housing matters in Lewisham.

2.2.Councillor Harding declared an interest as a private tenant in a L&Q managed block in Lewisham.

2.3.Councillor Penfold declared an interest as an employee of the Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network- which provides advice to refugees and migrants in Lewisham.

2.1.Councillor Cooper declared an interest as a service manager for Community Advice Works- which provides advice and advocacy for people regarding housing matters in Lewisham.

2.2.Councillor Harding declared an interest as a private tenant in a L&Q managed block in Lewisham.

2.3.Councillor Penfold declared an interest as an employee of the Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network- which provides advice to refugees and migrants in Lewisham.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Chair of the Committee would discuss this response further with the Cabinet Member for Housing Management & Homelessness and report back to the Committee.

The Committee expressed their disappointment with the response from Mayor & Cabinet regarding the Committee’s comments on the retrofitting work done by Social Housing Providers in Lewisham, mainly Regenter B3.

The Committee understood that Regenter B3 wasn’t obligated to do any retrofitting work as part of its current contract with the Council. However, it was responsible for ensuring that all properties had an EPC rating of C. The Committee wanted to ensure that this goal was achieved so that when the contract ended in 2027, the housing stock would be in the best possible state.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Chair of the Committee would discuss this response further with the Cabinet Member for Housing Management & Homelessness and report back to the Committee.

RESOLVED:

·         That the updates provided by Clarion Housing Group, Hyde Housing, L&Q, Peabody and Southern Housing be noted; and that Clarion Housing Group provide further information on the lessons that had been learnt from recent Ombudsman cases, including the corrective actions that had been taken to ensure mistakes were not repeated.

The Committee had invited 5 housing providers to provide an update on their repairs service. These 5 housing providers were Clarion Housing Group, Hyde Housing, L&Q, Peabody and Southern Housing.

Susan Clinton (Head of Operations) presented the update from Clarion Housing Group, followed by questions from the Committee members. The following key points were noted:

4.1. An incident such as an uncontainable flood in a property or anything that impacts immediately on the health and safety of the residents was classed as an emergency repair. Emergency repairs were completed within 24 hours. The target to complete routine repairs was 28 days but appointments could usually be made within 5-10 working days.

4.1. Condensation, damp and mould cases had been challenging to resolve not just due to in-house resources but also due to supply chain issues in obtaining materials and support from external contractors. A central team had now been set-up that was dedicated to looking at condensation, damp and mould cases.

4.1. Clarion had good levels of staff retention but did experience significant challenges in recruiting surveyors.

4.1. Clarion currently had 160 active disrepair cases in South London. Information would be sent to the Committee members around how many of those cases were in Lewisham and also around Clarion’s disrepair budget.

4.1. Customer Satisfaction for repairs was generally high based on the sample survey that was conducted quarterly. The target for overall customer satisfaction was 85% and was generally met or exceeded. Both transactional and perception surveys were used.

4.1. According to the officer from Clarion, most of the condensation, damp and mould cases had an element of lifestyle causes. Overcrowding was also a huge factor in these cases. The Council had 100% nomination rights to properties managed by Clarion in the borough so there was very little Clarion could do when it came to rehousing but they recognised that supply of accommodation was a big issue in the housing sector.

4.1. A member of the Committee mentioned that it was important to have pictures of female surveyors in the report along with male surveyors to ensure both were equally represented.

4.1. The Committee enquired about how Clarion was preparing to manage the cost implications of the amendment to the Social Housing Regulation bill and was informed that Clarion would be reducing its Planned Maintenance Program and may need to reassess its New Build Programme.

4.1. From March 2022 to October 2022, Clarion had 40 cases before the Housing Ombudsman. After every Ombudsman determination, the relevant Heads of Service were tasked with completing a lessons learnt template to ensure that learning from those determinations informed how resources were allocated and how their processes could be improved.

4.1. On being asked about what lessons had been learnt by Clarion so far from the Ombudsman cases and other complaints, the officer from Clarion stated that one of the lessons had been around operatives struggling to gain access to a property to complete the repairs work after a schedule of works had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

RESOLVED:

·         That the committee noted and was pleased with the progress that had been made since this report last came to the Committee in November 2022.

Margaret Dodwell (Chief Executive, Lewisham Homes) and Sarah Willcox-Jones (Director of Repairs, Lewisham Homes) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

5.1. In September 2022, Lewisham Homes identified the need for specialist support in helping them improve the performance of their repairs service. This led to the appointment of an experienced Interim Repairs Improvement Lead in October 2022 and the development of a Repairs Improvement Plan in November 2022.

5.2. Due to staff shortages around Christmas, the Repairs Improvement Plan was paused for 2 months and recommenced in February 2023.

5.3. Lewisham Homes had launched a recruitment campaign for 41 new repairs staff including 25 operatives. 16 operative jobs had been filled.

5.4.  Along with increasing the number of operatives, support contractors were being onboarded to assist with reducing the aged work in progress. This support would go-live in early April 2023 for approximately 10 weeks.

5.5. Lewisham Homes launched the Localz app on 23^rd of February which was being used to request satisfaction feedback and identify when work was not completed satisfactorily.

5.6. Repair calls regarding an existing repair were going down. They were now at 30% compared to 50% in October 2022.

5.7. In 2022, on some days the average time to answer calls was around 25 to 30 minutes but now it was going down and was as low as 5 minutes on some days.

5.8. Lewisham Homes advised that they were still having IT issues and had several system outages or issues with internet access in Laurence House. Their current telephony system was dated and based on Skype. An early move to the Council’s telephony system was being discussed and would hopefully resolve these IT issue to some extent.

The Committee members were invited to ask questions. The following key points were noted:

5.9. Lewisham Homes had a major works contract with United Living that focused on the properties in the South of the borough. United Living would now be assisting Lewisham Homes with their aged work in progress. This would be covered under the current contract but with a letter of intent so there would be a slight variation to the initial contract. They would start by assisting with work in the South of the borough whilst options were explored for the North of the borough. The work would be around damp and mould as well as other specialised areas such as glazing.

5.10. In the meeting of the Committee in November 2022, officers from Lewisham Homes stated that they were approximately 1000 repair jobs over where they needed to be. This figure was currently at 750.

5.11. Officers stated that the outstanding recruitment of 10 operatives should hopefully conclude by end of April 2023/ early May 2023. They hoped to be fully staffed by summer of 2023. Biggest challenge in recruitment was recruiting surveyors.

5.12. There was a ring-fenced team that looked after leaks, damp and mould cases. Early intervention visits were also being undertaken by Lewisham Homes officers so that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

RESOLVED:

·         That the report be noted, and information circulated to the Committee on the targets being proposed for the strategy’s Action Plan, before the strategy is presented to Mayor and Cabinet for approval.

Fenella Beckman (Director for Housing Services) introduced the report, followed by questions from the Committee members. The following key points were noted:

6.1. The current Homelessness & Rough Sleeping strategy was agreed in 2020 and ended in 2022. Since then, there had been a significant change in demand with an increase in the number of people approaching the Council as homeless.

6.2. The new Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy was a continuation of existing practice but also reflected on the latest challenges in Lewisham and London more widely. It focused on the fact that there had been an increase in demand and a decline in the supply of accommodation amidst ongoing overall pressure on the Council’s budget.

6.3. A reduced supply of accommodation meant there were significant challenges in moving people out of temporary accommodation (TA). This had caused an increase in the numbers of households in TA which was now just under 2800.

6.4. Spending a prolonged period of time in TA had a detrimental impact on people and therefore reducing the number of households in TA was a priority. This required a focus on increasing the supply of affordable accommodation. The Council had recently agreed an Accommodation Procurement strategy which set out the action plan for ensuring a sufficient supply of accommodation for homeless households.

6.5. New data demonstrated an upward trend in the number of people sleeping rough across London, including Lewisham.

6.6. This new strategy had 4 main priorities and officers had developed a series of actions, initiatives and KPIs for each priority which would form the Action Plan. Officers would be developing specific and measurable targets against each action. These targets would be monitored regularly throughout the life of the strategy and would be used to assess the impact of the Action Plan. It was proposed that a note/report would be circulated to the Committee members updating them on the targets being proposed for the strategy’s Action Plan before the strategy was presented to Mayor and Cabinet for approval.

6.7. In 2022-23 YTD, 2412 households approached the Council for homelessness assistance and 569 main duty acceptances were made. Officers would confirm the number of households that were owed a prevention duty and a relief duty in 2022-23 YTD.

6.8. One of the priorities of the strategy was to increase access to information and advice about homelessness prevention including more face-to-face contact with households at risk of homelessness. Officers informed the Committee that plans were being developed to reopen Laurence House for face-to-face interviews with clients who request an appointment for a detailed homelessness assessment. This reopening was planned for May 2023.

RESOLVED:

·         That the report be noted, and information circulated to the Committee on the targets being proposed for the strategy’s Action Plan, before the strategy is presented to Mayor and Cabinet for approval.

RESOLVED:

·         That the completed work programme for 22-23 and the Committee’s suggestions for the 23-24 Work Programme be noted.

The Committee discussed suggestions for the 23-24 work programme and the following key points were noted:

7.1. Since the ALMO coming back in-house would be a major focus this year, it was suggested that the Committee hear from Lewisham Homes about the challenges they have faced and discuss how the Council plans to tackle those challenges.

7.2. It was suggested that Clarion Housing Group be invited to provide a further update to the Committee in 23-24.

7.3. The following topics were also suggested for the 23-24 work programme:

·              Advice and guidance to private renters in the deepening Private Rented Sector

·              Impact of homelessness and housing on different groups of people in Lewisham

·              Choice based lettings

RESOLVED:

·         That the completed work programme for 22-23 and the Committee’s suggestions for the 23-24 Work Programme be noted.