HOUSING
AND HEALTH COMMITTEE 17
January 2001
(5.30
– 8.15pm)
PRESENT: Councillors
Nimmo-Smith (Chair), Gilchrist, Griffiths, Howell, James, Liddle, Overhill,
Smart, Stebbings and Talbot
Co-opted
Members: Mr H Gault
(Cambridgeshire Social Services), Mr M Jones (Cambridge Housing Partnership),
Mrs L Dockerill (tenant representative), Mrs K Harris (tenant representative),
Mr B Haywood (tenant representative)
FOR THE
INFORMATION OF THE COUNCIL
01/g/01
MINUTES
(i) Presentations
from Voluntary Organisations (Minute Number 00/g/69)
In
answer to a question from Councillor Smart, the Director of Community Services
said that he did not know whether presentations from voluntary organisations
who received grants from the Committee had yet been arranged, but he would
pursue this.
Action by: Director of Community Services
(ii) Review of Mobile Warden and Sheltered Housing Service (Minute Number 00/g/67)
In
response to requests, the Head of City Homes said that he would let Councillor
Talbot have a copy of the results of the consultation with tenants on the
proposed changes to warden services, and would let Councillor Gilchrist have a
breakdown of the costs of the new arrangements.
Action by: Head of City Homes
(iii) Adoption
The minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2000 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
01/g/02
APOLOGIES
An apology for
absence was received from Wendy Forster, the Housing Associations
representative.
01/g/03 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor
Stebbings declared the following Code of Conduct (non-financial) interests:
·
In minute number 01/g/07 – Housing
Revenue Account Revised Budget 2000/01 and Original Budget 2001/02 – as he was
a Council tenant.
·
In minute number 01/g/11 – Wulfstan
Way Bungalows Modernisation Project – as his mother was a tenant in one of the
Wulfstan Way bungalows.
In each case,
he remained in the room and took part in the debate and the vote.
The following
Code of Conduct (non-financial) interests were declared in minute number
01/g/16 – Cambridge City Council’s Priority List of Bids Received for the
Housing Corporation’s Investment Programme, 2001/02:
·
Councillor Griffiths as a member of
the English Churches Housing Advisory Group.
·
Councillor Talbot as an occasional
volunteer at the YMCA.
Both remained in the room and took part in the
discussion.
01/g/04 PUBLIC
QUESTION TIME
No members of the public wished to address the
Committee.
01/g/05 SERVICE
CHARGES FOR SHELTERED SCHEMES AND CARETAKING
The Director of
Community Services presented a report which set out the proposed level of
service charges for sheltered schemes and caretaking for 2001/02. He added that there was an error in the last
sentence of paragraph 3.2 of the report; the sentence should have read, “It is not
expected that tenants will suffer any loss as a result of these changes”. A revised version of the report from that
included on the agenda had been circulated in advance of the meeting.
Mr Jones said
that there was a danger that, as a result of the increased charges, only
tenants receiving benefits would be able to afford to live in sheltered
accommodation. The Director of
Community Services responded that the Council had no option but to charge for
its sheltered accommodation provision, and, unfortunately, it could be
difficult for some people on occupational pensions to afford the cost. The same system of charging would be used
when the Government’s “Supporting People” scheme was introduced in 2003. Councillor Smart suggested that all tenants
should be given an opportunity to receive financial advice, to ensure that they
were claiming all the benefits to which they were entitled.
Councillors
Talbot and Gilchrist stressed that it would be important to continue consulting
with tenants, to gain feedback on how they felt the new scheme of mobile
wardens for sheltered housing was operating.
Councillor Talbot proposed that a questionnaire be sent out to all
tenants after six months of the start of the new arrangements, and that the
results be reported back to the Committee.
In answer to
questions from Mr Haywood, the Director of Community Services made the
following points:
·
Some schemes were charged more for
heating as they used more. He did not
know why some schemes used more, but any exceptionally high heating bills were
investigated. Councillor Talbot
suggested that residents should be given advice about heating, and the Director
of Community Services agreed to pursue this.
·
When tenants received a
rent-increase letter, the charges were broken down. In future, tenant representatives would be more involved with the
setting of charges.
·
Tenants would, in future, be
informed on a rent-increase letter of the subsidy they were receiving.
Action by: Director of Community Services
Resolved (with
no votes against) that
1) The charges for sheltered schemes set out in the appendix to the report
be approved as the basis for service charges for 2001/02.
2) The caretaking service charge be increased by inflation in order to
recover the full costs of providing the service and, when the review of the
provision of the service has been completed, a further report be made to the
Committee setting out any proposed changes.
3) A questionnaire, to be agreed by the Chair and party spokespersons, be
sent to all residents of sheltered schemes six months after the introduction of
the new wardening arrangements, asking for their views on the operation of the
arrangements; the results to be reported to the Committee in November 2001.
4) Advice be made available to all residents of sheltered schemes regarding
their eligibility for benefits.
01/g/06 GENERAL
FUND REVENUE BUDGETS 2000/01 (REVISED), 2001/02 (ORIGINAL) AND CAPITAL BIDS
The Head of Accounting Services presented a report which described the latest position for the Committee’s General Fund budgets. She also tabled amendments to paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 of the report.
The Chair asked members to reconfirm the Committee’s Priority Project
Fund bids.
Resolved (with no votes against) that
1) Changes to the budgets be noted and the final figures confirmed for
submission to City Board.
2) The Committee’s Priority Project Fund bids be reconfirmed.
Action by: Director of Community Services, Director of Environment and Planning, and Director of Finance
01/g/07 HOUSING
REVENUE ACCOUNT REVISED BUDGET 2000/01 AND ORIGINAL BUDGET 2001/02
The Head of
Accounting Services presented a report which described the latest position for
the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget and recommended a rent increase in
line with the Government guideline of 4.5% with effect from 1 April 2001,
together with a similar increase for garage rents. She added that this Committee had the power to approve the HRA
budget and rent increases; recommendation 2.1(c) in the report should therefore
be amended to read, “Approve the budgets for submission to City Board for
information”.
The Chair
stated that, although the HRA was on a more stable footing than it had been
this time last year, it was still heading towards a deficit in 2004/05. Each year, Government subsidy would reduce
incrementally by £500,000. It would
therefore be very difficult to respond to the repair and maintenance needs of the
Council’s stock and to provide adequate support to social landlord schemes. It was important that further efficiency
savings were found, and it was hoped that the business-planning process would
be a useful means of doing this.
Councillor
Talbot agreed that the business-planning process would be vital. He also pointed out that the Major Repairs
Allowance would bring in extra income to the Council and that the Council would
be able to apply for further funds.
In response to
remarks from Councillor Talbot, the Head of Accounting Services said that, in
future HRA Committee reports, separate figures for management and maintenance
would be shown, and the budget figures for the previous financial year would be
given.
Councillor Howell said that the proposed rent increase was too high. Efficiency savings could be made, so that the increases could be kept lower, for instance by reducing the amount of time that properties were empty and by cutting management costs as the stock was sold off under the Right To Buy scheme. If the Housing Stock Transfer had gone ahead, rents would have been increased by only inflation plus one per cent. He therefore proposed that a rent increase of inflation plus one per cent with effect from 1 April 2001 be approved. On being put to the vote, this proposal was lost by 1 vote to 5. Councillor Howell asked for his vote in favour of the proposal to be recorded.
In response to
a question from Mr Haywood, the Director of Community Services stated that the
proposed increase in garage rents was necessary, as it would bring in valuable
funds to the Housing Revenue Account that could be spent on services to
tenants.
In answer to a
further question from Mr Haywood, the Director of Community Services said that
tenant representatives would be more involved in rent-setting in the future,
particularly during the business-planning process.
Resolved (by 6 votes to 1) that
1) A rent increase of 4.5% with effect from 1 April 2001, in line with
final Government guideline rents for Cambridge, be approved.
2) An increase in garage rents of 4.5%, in line with the rent increase in
1) above, be approved.
3) The budgets be approved for submission to City Board for information.
Councillor
Howell asked for his vote against the resolution to be recorded.
Action by: Director of Community Services and Director of Finance
01/g/08 AREA-BASED DELIVERY OF GROUND MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING
SERVICES
The Director of City Services presented a report which described proposals for area- based working covering ground maintenance and cleaning services.
In response to a question from Councillor Talbot, the Director of City
Services said that tenants’ representatives would be consulted on and involved
in the implementation of the proposals.
The Chair added that tenants had been consulted on the proposals at public
meetings, and they would remain involved and informed.
In answer to a further question from Councillor Talbot, the Director of
City Services stated that the staff would be fully trained in all the work they
were expected to carry out. Some
specialist services, such as play area inspection and graffiti removal would,
at least initially, continue to be provided on a city-wide basis.
Councillor Smart said that it was vital that the Estate Rangers/Champions worked closely with the staff based in their respective areas. The role of the Estate Rangers/Champions should be examined as the scheme progressed.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the
geographical basis chosen for area-based working for ground maintenance and
cleaning services be supported.
01/g/09 BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE PLAN: PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND TARGETS 2000/01 AND SERVICE
IMPROVEMENT PLAN MONITORING REPORT
The Director of Community Services and the Head of Environmental Health
and Waste Strategy presented a report which set out the performance indicators and
targets for Housing Services and Environmental Health and Waste Management
which it was proposed to include in the City Council’s Best Value Performance
Plan to be published by 31 March 2001.
The report also set out information on service improvements achieved in
2000/01 arising from the implementation of continuous improvement plans, and
proposed service improvements for 2001/02 arising from completed Best Value
Fundamental Service Reviews or continuous improvement plans.
Two
additional pages of the report not included on the agenda had been circulated
in advance of the meeting. Councillor
Talbot said that these pages appeared to show that Cambridge was not performing
well when compared with the other CWOIL authorities. The Head of City Homes responded that the figures Councillor
Talbot was referring to were from 1998/99.
Cambridge’s performance had improved considerably since then; he would
circulate to all members of the Committee the CWOIL figures for 1999/2000,
which illustrated that Cambridge now compared well with the other CWOIL
authorities .
Action by: Head of City Homes
On BVPI 66c –
local authority rent collection arrears: rent arrears of current tenants as a
proportion of the authority’s rent roll – Councillor Talbot said that he was
concerned that the large amount of write-offs was anticipated to remain
static. The Director of Community
Services responded that write-offs were necessary to keep accounts clear of
false assets. The Chair added that
write-offs could still be collected if the opportunity arose.
On AC-D3 – the
percentage of all current tenants owing over 13 weeks’ rent (net of Housing
Benefit) excluding those owing less than £250 – Councillor Gilchrist asked why
over 13 weeks’ rent was owed in some cases.
The Director of Community Services responded that such situations arose
for various reasons, for instance if a tenant failed to submit a Housing
Benefit claim promptly. It was also the
Council’s practice to negotiate at length with tenants before taking eviction
action as a last resort. The Chair
added that there was a good practice group looking at rent arrears which could
examine this issue. Councillor Howell
stressed the importance of reducing the amount of arrears and suggested that,
although this Indicator would no longer be used from 2001/02, it should be
retained as a Local Performance Indicator.
On BVPI 68 –
average relet times for local authority dwellings let in the financial year –
Councillor Howell said that it was extremely important that the Council
improved its performance: the longer
the relet times, the greater the loss of money to the authority. He proposed that the target for 2001/02
should be 30, rather than 40 days. The
Chair felt that 35 days would be more realistic, and this was agreed.
Councillor
Howell proposed that a report be brought to the Committee setting out proposals
to improve the Council’s performance in rent arrears and relet times, and this
was agreed.
On BVPI 65a –
the average weekly cost per local authority dwelling of management – and Local
Indicator – management costs “net” of service charges – the Director of
Community Services explained, in answer to questions from Councillor Gilchrist,
that management costs per dwelling were rising as the stock was being reduced
by the Right To Buy scheme; however, the overall management costs were going
down. Cambridge was still in the bottom
third of its Family Group authorities in terms of management costs. The Head of Housing Services would be
contacting the authorities with the best performance in this field, to
ascertain whether they were interpreting the figures differently from
Cambridge, or whether any good practice could be learnt from them. He would report his findings to the Housing
Performance Monitoring Panel.
Action by: Head of Housing
Services
On BV64 – the
proportion of private sector dwellings which have been vacant for more than six
months at 1 April 2000 and which are returned into occupation during 2000/01 as
a direct result of action by the local authority – the Head of Environmental
Health and Waste Strategy suggested that the target for 2001/02 be raised from
50 to 60 properties, as he would have additional staffing resources; this was
agreed.
On LPI 1 –
number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) registered in the year –
Councillor Gilchrist expressed disappointment that only 53 out of the target of
100 HMOs had been audited during 1999/2000.
The Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy explained that this
was as a result of a lack of staffing resources, a problem which was now being
addressed. A seminar with letting
agents had been arranged, with the aim of bringing about improvements in the
condition of HMOs in the city.
The Head of
Environmental Health and Waste Strategy stressed that the improvements listed
in his Service Improvement Plan for 2001/02 would depend on bids being approved
by City Board.
Resolved (with no votes against)
1)
To
confirm the inclusion in the March 2001 Best Value Performance Plan of the Best
Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs), Audit Commission Performance Indicators
(ACPIs) and Local Performance Indicators (LPIs) as set out in Appendix A to the
report, with the following exceptions:
·
On
BVPI 68, the target for 2001/02 be changed from 40 days to 35 days.
·
On
BV64, the target for 2001/02 be changed from 50 properties to 60 properties.
2) That the targets set against indicators for the year 2001/02 be agreed.
3) That the Service Improvement Plans for 2001/02 be approved.
4) That the revised Housing Services Best Value Fundamental Service Review
and Continuous Improvement Programme timetable (as set out in Appendix D to the
report) be approved.
5) That a report be brought to the Committee setting out proposals to
improve the Council’s performance in rent arrears and relet times.
01/g/10 SPENDING ON
OWN STOCK – 2001/02
The Director of
Community Services presented a report which sought to revise the programme of
spending on own stock in line with the latest resource estimates and set out
details of the latest Government guidance regarding the use of the Major
Repairs Allowance (MRA), together with the subsequent changes to resourcing
some schemes that would arise from this.
An updated version of Appendix B to the report had been circulated in
advance of the meeting.
The Chair said
that, during this financial year, the Council had been able to spend more money
than in previous years on its housing stock as a result of a one-off transfer
from General Fund reserves. With the
introduction of the MRA, a similar level of spending looked likely to be
possible over the next two years. There
would be a range of improvements for tenants, including more replacements and
less “patching” work. However, there
would not be as much money available to help fund new social housing schemes.
In answer to a
question from Councillor Smart, the Director of Community Services confirmed
that, as part of the monitoring process for the MRA, the Council would be
checking on how many response repairs were carried out and looking to reduce
these.
Resolved (with no votes against) that
1) The programme for MRA works, as set out in the amended version of
Appendix B to the report, be approved.
2) The programme for Direct Revenue Funding to the Capital Programme, as
set out in the amended version of Appendix B to the report, be approved.
3) A scheme for replacement of gas boilers, to be funded from the Repairs
and Renewals Fund up to a total value of £110,000, be approved.
Action by: Director of Community Services and Director of Finance
01g/11 WULFSTAN WAY BUNGALOWS
MODERNISATION PROJECT
The Director of Community Services presented a report
which described proposals for carrying out the modernisation of 16 bungalows,
the demolition of six bungalows, and the new-build of four bungalows, all in
Wulfstan Way. A page of the report that
had been inadvertently omitted from the agenda had been circulated in advance
of the meeting. Architects’ plans of
the proposals were tabled at the meeting.
Members thanked the officers for their work in
consulting with tenants and bringing forward these proposals. Mr Haywood also congratulated the Council on
involving tenants in the development of these proposals and the Whitefriars
scheme.
Councillors Smart and Gilchrist expressed their
support for option 2 in the report.
This involved the creation of two-bedroom (rather than one-bedroom)
bungalows. Single people or couples
currently living in large family houses would be more likely to vacate them to
move to a two-bedroom bungalow.
In answer to a question from Councillor Talbot, the
Director of Community Services explained the proposal to use the same
contractor for the Wulfstan Way project as for the Whitefriars project. The competitive tender submitted for
Whitefriars would be used as a basis for agreeing the costs for the Wulfstan
Way project. The negotiation process
would be overseen and evaluated by an external quantity surveyor. This form of
negotiation had been used on some previous Council housing projects and did
result in works starting much earlier than could otherwise be achieved, whilst
maintaining quality and good value.
In response to questions from Mr Haywood, the Director of Community Services said that all the properties would meet full mobility standards. It would be a question of choice for the tenant as to whether a bath or shower was installed. It would not be particularly expensive to install a bath instead of a shower or vice versa should this be the wish of a future tenant.
The Committee noted the issues surrounding the financing of major modernisation works to local authority stock in future years, as set out in section 8 of the report.
Resolved (with no votes against) that
1)
Design
option 2 for the Wulfstan Way bungalows scheme (as set out in paragraph 4.3 of
the report) be approved, including the connection of the bungalows to the
mobile warden service at an estimated cost of £1,214,692.
2)
Standing
Order 66.4(c) be waived as part of the strategy for implementing Egan
principles in relation to the selection of the works contractor (as set out in
section 6 of the report), with the proviso that any delay on the work at
Whitefriars which could impact on the timetable for work on the bungalows at
Wulfstan Way would require officers to revert to the traditional tendering
process.
01/g/12 THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL
SERVICES FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE IN CAMBRIDGE
The Director of Community Services and the Chair of
the Cambridge City Primary Care Group (Dr Michael Knapton) presented a report
which described the findings of research carried out into the current medical
services for homeless people in Cambridge and made recommendations for future
service development.
Members thanked the officers and the Cambridge City
Primary Care Group for producing an extremely comprehensive and clear report.
The report recommended that the “Primary Care” model
be developed as a feasibility study.
Councillor Talbot felt that the feasibility study should also include
the “One-Stop-Shop” model, for the following reasons: the “medical model” had beleaguered care services in the past;
there was not a large difference in the scoring between the two models; and he
was not convinced that a building to house a “One-Stop-Shop” would need to be
much bigger than one for the “Primary Care” model. The Chair expressed a preference for the “Primary Care” model,
because the lead-in time might be less while allowing for phased addition of
other services, but agreed that it would be useful for the feasibility study to
include the “One-Stop-Shop” model.
Dr Knapton said that he would be happy to include the
“One-Stop-Shop” model in the feasibility study. It had been omitted from the initial recommendations partly
because of concerns that the feasibility study might not be approved on grounds
of cost. The Director of Community
Services added that the report had favoured the “Primary Care” model partly
because there was a feeling among consultees that homeless people should be
integrated as far as possible into mainstream services.
Councillor Talbot suggested that Cambridgeshire Social
Services should be asked to contribute towards the cost of the feasibility
study, and the Director of Community Services agreed to pursue this.
Action
by: Director of Community Services
Resolved (with no votes against) that
1)
The
report entitled “The Development of Medical Services for Homeless People in
Cambridge” (which was appended to the agenda report) be approved.
2)
The
“Primary Care” and “One-Stop–Shop” models, identified in the report as options
for meeting the needs of homeless people in Cambridge, be developed as a
feasibility study.
3)
The
use of £4,000 from the Single Homelessness and Rough Sleepers budget be
approved to match-fund with the Cambridge City Primary Care Group for the
preparation of a comprehensive business case and feasibility study.
Action
by: Director of Community Services
01/g/13 HOMELESSNESS
APPEALS SUB-COMMITTEE
Resolved (with no votes against) that meetings of the
Homelessness Appeals Sub-Committee be scheduled for the following dates in
2001:
Wednesday 28 February
Wednesday 28 March
Wednesday 25 April
Wednesday 23 May
Wednesday 20 June
Wednesday 18 July
Wednesday 12 September
Wednesday 10 October
Wednesday 7 November
Wednesday 5 December
All meetings to start
at 10.00am.
Action
by: Committee Manager
01/g/14 SUPPORTING PEOPLE ADMINISTRATION
COSTS – 2001/02
The Committee noted this item, which described urgency action taken by the Director of Community Services, following consultation with the Chair and party spokespersons, regarding the preparation for the implementation of “Supporting People” in 2003.
01/g/15 EXCLUSION
OF THE PUBLIC
Resolved (with no votes against) that the public be excluded
from the meeting for the next item on the grounds that if they were present
there would be disclosure to them of information defined as exempt from
publication by paragraphs 7 and 9 of Part I of Schedule 12a of the Local
Government Act 1972.
01/g/16 CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL’S PRIORITY
LIST OF BIDS RECEIVED FOR THE HOUSING CORPORATION’S INVESTMENT PROGRAMME –
2001/02
The Director of Community Services presented a report
which described urgency action taken by himself, following consultation with
the Chair and party spokespersons, to approve the proposed priority list of
projects requiring Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme funding
in the financial year 2001/02.
Following a question from Councillor Griffiths, the
Director of Community Services agreed to prepare, in collaboration with Social
Services, a briefing note for members of the Committee regarding the progress
of English Churches’ Cambridge YHP Phase 2 scheme, explaining, in particular, the
reasons for Social Services’ withdrawal from the scheme.
Action
by: Director of Community Services
The Committee noted the report.
The meeting closed at 8.15pm.
CHAIR