LONDON BOROUGH OF CAMDEN

At a meeting of HOUSING AND ADULT SOCIAL SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held on TUESDAY 22nd APRIL 2008 at 7.00 p.m. in Committee Room 1, Town Hall, Judd Street, London WC1H 9JE.

MEMBERS PRESENT

Councillor Chris Philp (Chair)

Councillor Abdul Hai

Councillor Syed Hoque

Councillor James King

Councillor Roger Robinson

Councillor Keith Sedgwick

Councillor Jill Fraser

Councillor Arthur Graves

The minutes should be read in conjunction with the agenda for the meeting.

1. APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Chris Naylor, Executive Member for Housing.

2. DECLARATIONS BY MEMBERS OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS IN RESPECT OF ITEMS ON THIS AGENDA

There were none.

3. DEPUTATIONS

Nic Masters – Tenant Participation

A deputation request had been received from Nic Masters regarding Tenant Participation, but he decided to put this request to the next meeting of the scrutiny committee when it would be considering the wider report on Tenant Participation.

Camden Association of Street Properties (CASP) – Call in Housing Capital Programme – Year 1 Schemes – Investing in Camden’s Homes

This deputation was taken during the discussion on the report.

A deputation request was received from Kathleen O’Donoghue, from CASP (Appendix A attached). Where she felt it was important to receive clarification on the resources that could be available for Camden to bid for from the Mayor of London’s housing fund. She also felt that Camden should seek to bid for these resources as a matter of urgency.

The Chair then thanked Kathleen O’Donoghue for her presentation.

RESOLVED –

THAT the deputation requests be received.

4. ANNOUCEMENTS

There were no announcements.

5. NOTIFICATION OF ANY ITEMS OF BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIR DECIDES TO TAKE AS URGENT

The Chair agreed to accept the report on the Call in of the Executive Member for Housing decision on 31st March 2008 – Integrated Reception Systems, as the scrutiny committee meeting had been specifically called to deal with all the Call ins, so that the views of the scrutiny committee could be referred to the Executive on 23rd April 2008. In order to meet this deadline it had not proven possible to circulated the papers with the main agenda.

6. CALL IN OF THE EXECUTIVE DECISION OF 19TH MARCH 2008 – FUTURE FUNDING OF TENANT PARTICIPATION SERVICES

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Housing and Adult Social Care that included the details of the Call in submission.

Councillor Keith Sedgwick questioned whether the scrutiny committee should continue, as the Executive Member for Housing was unable to attend to answer questions regarding why he and the Executive had made the decisions they had so that they could be held to account.

The Head of Legal Services representative advised the meeting, that the Constitution did not require the Executive Member to be in attendance and it was not unusual they were not present when a Call in report was being considered. An officer response had been provided to the points raised in the Call in submission, and the scrutiny committee could continue to consider the report.

The scrutiny committee felt that they should continue with the consideration of the Call ins but in future they would like the Executive Member to be in attendance.

Councillor Keith Sedgwick outlined the reasons for the Call in of the Executive decision taken on 19th March 2008 as identified in the report, on behalf of Councillors Abdul Hai, Syed Hoque and Roger Robinson.

David Padfield, Assistant Director of Housing, took the Members through the officer response contained in the report.

Meric Apak, Chair of the COMPACT Monitoring Board informed the meeting that they have worked with the Council to finalise the proposed contract and were committed to delivering it. The COMPACT Monitoring Board have accepted the proposals agreed by the Executive on 19th March 2008 as the way forward on this issue.

Officers then gave the following response to questions from Members:

· The contract provided a new focus for the Camden Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations (CFTRA), where they would better become the independent voice for tenants and residents.

· Funding had been reduced for the CFTRA and these resources had been put to creating a new in-house Tenant Participation Team. This had meant that the overall cost of the proposals were neutral.

· The reduction in funding had meant that the CFTRA did not have to go through a competitive tendering process, that could have meant that it would have lost all of its funding.

Councillor Keith Sedgwick then summed up on behalf of Councillors Abdul Hai, Syed Hoque and Roger Robinson. He stated that he did not accept that it was good for the tenants and residents of the borough to bring the service in-house; that an open competitive process should have been undertaken by the council; and the proposal to only provide one-years funding would not guarantee that resources would be made available for the provision of an independent voice for tenants and residents in future.

The scrutiny committee discussed the information that they had received then went to a vote on this matter and following a tied vote the Chair cast used his casting vote to decline the Call in.

RESOLVED

That the original decisions taken by the Executive on 19th March 2008 regarding the Future Funding of Tenant Participation Services be endorsed.

7. CALL IN OF THE EXECUTIVE DECISION OF 19TH MARCH 2008 – THE EXETENSION OF THE CURRENT SOCIAL HOMEBUY PILOT TO EXPAND AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS ACROSS THE BOROUGH

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Housing and Adult Social Care that included the details of the Call in submission.

Rhys Makinson, Assistant Director of Housing, took the Members through the officer response contained in the report.

Councillor Keith Sedgwick then summed up on behalf of Councillors Abdul Hai, Syed Hoque and Roger Robinson. He stated that policy lacked proper evidence for its conclusions; their was no connection to the amount of money spent on repairs to the overall value of the property; the policy lacked a timescale for its completion; and it undermined the Council’s Community Strategy in seeking to achieve sustainable communities by allowing unrestrictive sub-letting.

The scrutiny committee felt that they would like to look at this issue in more detail in the future. They also felt that in order to ensure that the process for determining incentives and the specific disposals were transparent, that the Executive Member for Housing should take these decisions and not officers.

Arising from this extensive discussion by the scrutiny committee, it resolved unanimously that the following resolution should be referred to the Executive for consideration.

RESOLVED

i) THAT the Executive agree that the authority to approve the amount to be offered as an incentive to tenants to purchase through Social Homebuy, along with all specific shared ownership disposals and 100% disposals be delegated to the Executive Member for Housing to approve and not officers

ii) That the Executive agree to review the operation of the policy in six months time, following consideration by the Housing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee.

ACTION BY: Director of Organisation Development (GF)

8. CALL IN OF THE EXECUTIVE DECISION OF 19TH MARCH 2008 – HOUSING CAPITAL PROGRAMME – YEAR 1 SCHEMES – INVESTING IN CAMDEN’S HOMES

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Housing and Adult Social Care that included the details of the Call in submission.

Gavin Haynes, Investment Strategy Manager, took the Members through the officer response contained in the report.

Members of the scrutiny committee considered the information arising from the deputation from Camden Association of Street Properties (CASP).

Officers then gave the following response to questions from Members:

· The actual resources that will be available under the Mayor for London’s housing resources was approximately £175 Million that would open to all London Borough’s to bid for and was open to all types of housing tenure. Should the Council be able to access some of these resources then it could only fund a small number of schemes.

Councillor Keith Sedgwick then summed up on behalf of Councillors Abdul Hai, Syed Hoque and Roger Robinson. He stated that the policy should be ‘no sign off no pay’; the case for the use of timber frames had no been made; and local ward Councillors should be give a role in helping to shape the final list of properties.

The scrutiny committee felt that the current proposals did not put the tenant and leaseholder at the heart of the decision-making, regarding the signing off of repairs and this need to be revised to ensure that they had final approval. The Members felt that local ward Councillors should be given a role in helping to shape the final list of properties, as often they would know the current condition of an estate; also the case for the use of timber window frames against PVC had not been made as evidence from Walker House showed that the timber frames already had problems only three months after they had been installed.

The whole issue of the standard of housing repairs and use of contractors was going to be looked at a future meeting of the scrutiny committee

Councillor Chris Philp agreed to contact the Mayor of London’s office to seek clarification of the resources that would be available for investing in Council homes, and he would make the response known to CASP.

Arising from the extensive discussion by the scrutiny committee, it resolved unanimously that the following resolutions should be referred to the Executive for consideration.

RESOLVED

i) THAT the Executive agree to introduce a policy of proper tenant and leaseholder sign off of works before a contractor is paid, with the Executive coming back with specific proposals, following consideration by the Housing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, regarding how this will be applied in practice (this to include a materiality threshold)

ii) That the Executive agree to reconsider its decision to only use timber window frames, as evidence had come to light that those timber window frames that had been put in place in Walker House were now rotting three months after being installed

iii) That the Executive agree to put in place a mechanism that will allow ward Councillors an opportunity to be consulted (at least two weeks) before the final list of estates is agreed

iv) That the Executive endeavour to seek resources from the Mayor of London to help Camden meet the Decent Homes Standard as soon as possible.

ACTION BY: Director of Organisation Development (GF)

9. CALL IN OF THE EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR HOUSING DECISION OF 31ST MARCH 2008 – INTEGRATED RECEPTION SYSTEMS

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Housing and Adult Social Care that included the details of the Call in submission.

Councillor Keith Sedgwick outlined the reasons for the Call in of the Executive Member for Housing decision taken on 31st March 2008 as identified in the report, on behalf of Councillors Abdul Hai, Syed Hoque and Roger Robinson.

Gavin Haynes, Investment Strategy Manager, took the Members through the officer response contained in the report.

Councillor Keith Sedgwick then summed up on behalf of Councillors Abdul Hai, Syed Hoque and Roger Robinson. He stated that the overall costs for leaseholders and tenants were too high; that leaseholders should be able to pay over the same period as tenants; that the proposal were not fair for those tenants who did not wish to have access to so many channels and this should not be forced upon them.

The scrutiny committee felt that the current proposed costing for the service seemed very high, and felt that officers should look into this matter to ensure that both tenants and leaseholders were receiving value for money. The Members felt that leaseholders and tenants should be treated the same with regards to paying for the service. The scrutiny committee also felt that the scheme should be revised to allow for different approaches for estates and street properties to ensure that they get the IRS system.

Arising from the extensive discussion by the scrutiny committee, it resolved unanimously that the following resolution should be referred to the Executive Member for Housing for consideration.

RESOLVED

i) THAT the Executive Member for Housing ask officers to go back to suppliers to get a better deal for tenants and leaseholders regarding proposed IRS installation charges, especially regarding the recent Office For Fair Trading report regarding the pricing practice’s of contractors.

ii) That the Executive Member for Housing explore the option of leaseholders paying the installation charges over the same timescales as tenants.

iii) That the Executive Member for Housing consider revising the scheme to allow for one approach for estate blocks with different configurations, one for street properties and another for estates.

ACTION BY: Director of Organisation Development (GF)

10. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS

It was noted that the future programme of dates would run as follows:

27th May 2008

22nd July 08

9th September 2008

14th October 2008

9th December 2008

27th January 2009

24th February 2009

11. ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIR CONSIDERS URGENT

There was none.