Minutes of the meeting of the MILTON KEYNES COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM held on THURSDAY 18 MARCH 2004 at 7.30 PM

Transcription

1 Minutes of the meeting of the COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM held on THURSDAY 18 MARCH 2004 at 7.30 PM Present: Hazel Taylor (Chair) - Greenleys Residents Association Ian Leach - Bradville Residents Association Pat Warner - Bradwell Common Residents Association Brian King - Bradwell Common Residents Association Stephen Pierrepoint - Castles Residents Association Gordon Parkes - Castles Residents Association George Byfield - Conniburrow Community Association Terry Field - Conniburrow Community Association Charles Allum - Downs Barn Residents Association Cliff Parker - Downs Barn Residents Association Pauline Work - Fishermead Community Residents Action Group Andy Work - Fishermead Community Residents Action Group Jeanne Baker - Great Linford (Parish nomination) Jeanette Marling - Lakes Residents Association Peggy Grantham - Leaseholders Action Group Stephen Bridges - Leaseholders Action Group Julie Ormston - Mellish Court Residents Association Len Bagnall - Netherfield Residents Association Jeanette Bobey - Netherfield Residents Association Sandra Luckett - Netherfield Residents Association Mark Feltham Rickard - Shared Owners Forum Barbara Moore - Williams Close Residents Association Others: Officers: Councillors I Henderson and Fraser and Alistair Weir (Jeakins Weir) John Holman (Director of Housing), Simon Aslett (Tenant Participation Manager), Paula Mason (Tenant Participation Officer), Debra Cater (Performance and Quality Officer), Alison Owen (Responsive Maintenance Manager), Jim Saunders (Interim Tenancy Services Manager), Martin Rance (HBS Interim Building Services Manager) and Gavin Lane (Committee Manager) Apologies: Alice Carey - Bellfounder House Jackie Cullen - Bellfounder House Yvonne Rourke - Bellfounder House Margaret Burke - Bradville Residents Association John Blake - Central Milton Keynes Residents Association Sarah Basketfield - Central Milton Keynes Residents Association Anthony Mercer - Eaglestone Residents Association Paul Wright - Eaglestone Residents Association Tina Armstrong - Fishermead Residents Action Group Fred Smith - Greenleys Residents Association Lynn White - Lakes Residents Association Pete Lindop - Mellish Court Residents Association Gwen Murphy - Meads Close Residents Association Jane Osbourne - Meads Close Residents Association Angela Castle - Netherfield Residents Association Nellie Farran - Lords Close Residents Association Colin Bradford - Pennylands (Parish nomination) Don Campbell - Shared Owners Forum Pauline Prop - Tinkers Bridge Residents Association Judy Kennah - Tinkers Bridge Residents Association COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 1

2 1.0 MINUTES ACTION That the Minutes of the meeting of the Forum held on 19 February 2004 be deferred for consideration until the meeting of the Forum scheduled for 20 May MATTERS ARISING ACTION The Chair had received the following question from Fred Smith in relation to Minute Item Six. The question was read aloud to the Forum by the Committee Manager: I wish to bring to the notice of the Finance and Business Manager that the tenants had two increases in rent for the year 2002/03 and only one of these was passed on to Shared Owners so I feel that the 15% rent increase which the tenants had in February 2003 and was the increase for 2003/04 was done in February because the housing finances were in a bad way. Therefore the increase in rent for the Shared Owners for this year should be the 15%, which the Finance and Business Manager said in his reply to Jeanette Marling. Can he tell this Forum how big was the increase for the Shared Owners for the financial year 2003/04? If it was not the full increase which the tenants had then I feel that the rest of the increase which the tenants had should be the increase which the Shared Owners should have this year 2003/04 to bring them up to the same as tenants. The Forum noted the letter and the Chair stated that the question had been partly answered at the last meeting. George Byfield stated that the increase in previous years rent applied equally to both tenants and shared owners and that the percentage allocated to the shared owners only was equal to the percentage of increase in rent. Jim Saunders replied to Barbara Moore s question on OAP redecorations that following the last meeting, and in close cooperation with Dave Green, a letter was to be dispatched to all OAP s currently on the redecorations list before the end of April Jim stated this was to be undertaken in knowledge of the housing budget and housing priorities. Alistair Weir noted that any issues and concerns brought up at Forum surgeries would be fed back through the Council and to the tenants themselves and that he would begin to do so starting with that evenings Forum surgery. COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 2

3 Dave Green replied to Pauline Prop s question on smoke alarms and confirmed that all hard-wired smoke alarms also possessed sealed, fail-safe lithium batteries that when fully charged would potentially last for around a decade. The Chair noted that Forum Members would soon receive training sessions on smoke-alarms from the Fire Brigade. Jim Saunders replied to Stephen Bridges point regarding the reporting of crime numbers in cases of vandalism. Jim stated that the Home Ownership section would now refer such cases directly to the Police and details of Police contact numbers would be dispatched to tenants shortly. 3.0 ADVANCE NOTICE OF ANY OTHER BUSINESS ACTION (a) Charles Allum requested to speak on the issue of contractors renovating felt roofs on Netherfield that had been disposing of debris recklessly from roofs. (b) Paula Mason requested to speak on the issue of the pending Harrogate Conference (15-18 June 2004). (c) Barbara Moore requested to speak on the Affordable Housing Working Group and training issues. (d) Stephen Bridges requested to speak on the standards of service received by leaseholders. (e) Simon Aslett requested to address the Forum on the issue of the Options Appraisal Steering Group. (f) Brian King requested to address the Forum on efforts to illuminate the school signs on Bradwell Common. (g) Peggy Grantham requested to speak on the increase in families with children at Mellish Court. (h) Jeanette Marling requested to speak on the Social Care, Housing and Health Overview Committee. 4.0 HOUSING PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ACTION Jim Saunders, Tenancy Services Manager, presented the Forum with a report on the Housing Performance Indicators for January 2004 and received questions. Forum Members were asked to note the report and comment on the Performance Indicators for Home COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 3

4 Ownership and Tenancy Services and their presentation. Representatives heard that Performance Indicators were monitored weekly and were displayed in the Housing Offices and reception of Saxon Court and Civic Centre. The Forum was informed that the housing service had shown an improvement on the performance of previous years though not all targets were actually being met. In these cases, recovery plans were now being implemented. The Forum was informed of the following developments: Net Arrears for January 2004 were 2,135,744 against a target of 1,980,000 for the year. The backlog in processing housing benefits, following the transfer to a new computer system, had increased by six weeks, creating an adverse affect on arrears. Net Repairs completed within local time limits were at 94.5% for January 2004 compared to a target of 95%. The average for repairs completed had fallen due to a backlog of jobs that were being cleared. The backlog had arisen due to contractors resource constraints but a recovery was anticipated by March. On gas servicing there were 828 properties at the end of January 2004 that had not been serviced when due, but the gas service was achieving a 92.9% completion rate against a target of 95%. On appointments for repairs from the data that had been received it was estimated that 55% of requests had an appointment made and kept. On tenant satisfaction the responsive repairs service showed that 47% rated the service as excellent, 37% as good, 8% as fair and 8% as poor. The following Performance Indicators were to be implemented in February 2004 following the appointment of Interim Managers as stated: (a) (b) (c) 90% of complaints of anti-social conduct were to be responded to within five working days. 90% of anti-social conduct cases where the complainant and perpetrator were to be interviewed, completed in ten working days. 90% of new tenancy visits to be conducted within two weeks of tenancy commencement. COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 4

5 (d) (e) (f) 100% of complaints of racial harassment to be responded to within twenty-four hours. Twenty tenancy audits to be conducted per Estate Management Officer per month. Two tenancy group meetings to be attended per Estate Management Officer per quarter. Charles Allum queried whether performance in regard to the collection of rents was an improvement on last year and what performance forecast was anticipated for next year. John Holman stated that performance in regard to the collection of rents was improving and collection rates had increased by around 0.5% since January Arrears of 2.1M were still outstanding and the number of tenants with debts amounting to several thousand had remained constant, in contrast to the number of tenants with arrears in excess of 200, which had fallen. Tenants in arrears would be supported through tenant interviews to assess their predicament and ensure access to available benefits. Stephen Bridges praised the performance of housing staff in carrying out visits to all new tenants within two weeks of commencing their tenancy and stressed their success during the tenure of the Development Corporation. Stephen emphasised the need to ensure that new tenants in flats received the tenant compact, meter-box keys and were briefed regarding sensitive issues, including noise. Stephen stressed the need for performance indicators pertaining to leaseholders and shared owners to record the total number of queries received; the number of accounts in query; and data regarding the time taken to process individual queries. Stephen stated the need to advertise the fact that tenants and shared owners could direct complaints to the Complaints and Services Improvement Officer (Samantha Samuels), as many were not aware that this option existed. Jim Saunders stated that Officers explained the rights and responsibilities of new tenants when tenancies were granted. The Introductory Tenancy Scheme was also in operation that supported tenants during their first year and culminated in a review before the tenancy was confirmed. JS Jim noted the request for inclusion of an additional performance indicator for the total number of queries COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 5

6 received and would report to the Home Ownership Team. Jim stated that a leaflet had been drafted for release in the next month regarding the complaints process, including the role of the Complaints and Services improvement Officer and contact details. A similar complaints leaflet had also been drafted for leaseholders. Gordon Parkes enquired whether the average target time for the processing of a Right-to-Buy S125 applications was being consistently met as he was aware of a case where a tenant was obliged to reapply for a mortgage after the Council failed to process an application within 3 months. Jim Saunders stated that he was not aware of this case, but affirmed that such examples highlighted why this performance indicator had been developed. Jim promised to investigate the specific case mentioned with Managers. Charles Allum requested clarification regarding the figures relating to tenant satisfaction and wanted data regarding the return and evaluation of tenant satisfaction cards. JS DC Debra Cater, Performance and Quality Officer, clarified that 13% of the satisfaction cards distributed to tenants were returned and she would provide feedback to Charles regarding the exact number of cards returned by tenants. Len Bagnell noted that rent arrears were currently in excess of 2M and questioned whether it was possible to compare and contrast rent arrears with Council tax arrears to highlight any potential relationship between the two. Jim Saunders replied that the Council acknowledged that backlogs in the processing of housing benefits had contributed to rising rent arrears and was conscious that mitigating circumstances were sometimes responsible for tenant arrears. He stated that larger benefit problems had existed in the past and that efficiency and diligence were still required in the collection of rents. Housing staff also advised tenants on the full range of benefits available to assist them with the payment of Council tax and rents. Len Bagnell requested clarification regarding how the level of Council tax arrears compared with Council rent arrears. Councillor Henderson replied that such a comparison was not valid because the two levies were qualitatively different, but around 50% of Council tenants received benefit while only 20% of Council Tax payers did. Councillor Henderson clarified that the backlog in the COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 6

7 processing of benefits was due to the migration to a new computer system by the Benefits Office in addition to the administration of the Pension Tax Credit, not human error. George Byfield stated that the indicator for rent arrears should be revised to exclude those cases that were the product of the present backlog of housing benefit in order to calculate a more reliable and valid figure for rent arrears. John Holman stated that the proportion of present rent arrears due to backlogs in the payment of housing benefits was not presently known, but stressed that other authorities also assessed arrears as a whole without reference to mitigating benefits issues that might influence HRA arrears, although court costs were taken into account in the arrears total. He stated that training sessions by John Bate were available to Forum Representatives on arrears issues. Councillor Henderson praised the addition of performance indicators for tenancy services and the home ownership team, but emphasised the need to gauge the number of repeat complaints received regarding cases of anti-social conduct and racial harassment perpetrated by individual tenants. Jim Saunders informed forum representatives that officers strove to strike a balance between quantitative and qualitative performance indicators and welcomed a steer from Forum Representatives on which measures were most useful. He emphasised that the performance indicators were a dynamic, living measure and subject to revision on request. Barbara Moore counselled on the need for any future migrations to new computer systems by the Benefits Office to be deftly organised to prevent a repeat of backlogs. Charles Allum and the Chair both praised the efforts of the Tenant Participation Team in aiding the creation of a number of new residents associations across the borough. 5.0 JEAKINS WEIR RESPONSIVE MAINTENANCE AND VOID TERMS CONTRACTOR ACTION Alison Owen, Response Repairs Manager, presented the Forum with a report on the performance of Jeakins Weir, for the period of 1 April 2003 until 10 February Alison informed Forum Representatives that Jeakins Weir were one of three term contractors. As well as covering COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 7

8 Central Milton Keynes and Netherfield and Newport for responsive maintenance and voids and Bletchley for responsive maintenance, they also provide an out of hours emergency service for the whole borough. Alison stated that data generated from the First Housing system showed that the number of overdue jobs had begun to steeply increase, despite a reduction in December Weekly operational meetings were being held with Jeakins Weir to address these issues in addition to a monthly monitoring meeting to evaluate contractor performance. The increase in overdue jobs since Christmas 2003 was due to mitigating factors including the two weeks of leave taken by contractors over Christmas and difficulties experienced from labour provided by sub-contractors, particularly on roofing work. She confirmed that if priority were given to resolving outstanding jobs, performance targets would be achieved by the end of the financial year. Alison stated that the Council were planning to introduce an appointments system in the new financial year to provide tight control over contractor workloads, to reduce missed targets and enhance monitoring. Customers would be given an appointment when reporting repairs and would no longer have to await confirmation from the contractor. Alistair Weir confirmed that Jeakins Weir were pleased that its contract had been extended until July 2004 and were expecting tender papers for a possible further five-year contract. Alison clarified that a Practically Completed job meant that a completion certificate had been received from the contractor confirming that a repair was fully completed. For large repair jobs, an inspection of the work was conducted and noted on the computer system before a certificate was issued. Alison explained that all repairs were issued through the First Housing system and classified on a priority basis. When finished a completion certificate was issued by the contractor and a completion date recorded. Until that certificate was received, the repair in question was deemed to be live and this could result in a variance in the number of orders raised and the number of jobs fully completed. John Holman suggested that the definition Practically Completed be replaced by the term Completed in order to eliminate any confusion surrounding this jargon. John noted the decline in the number of repairs completed COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 8

9 since July 2003 and queried the source of the problem. Alison stated the problem was due to difficulties with subcontracted labour shortages, particularly with regard to the key areas of plumbing and roofing, since Christmas John stated that these difficulties were the responsibility of the main service contractor who employed the subcontracted labour and that this problem required resolution. Alison stated that these difficulties were to be remedied by the introduction of agreements for contractors that placed emphasis on the provision of direct labour at the expense of sub-contracted labour to enhance performance. The introduction of an appointments system would also help resolve difficulties by increasing Council control over the issuing and monitoring of repairs orders, which were currently administered directly by contractors themselves. Alistair Weir confirmed that Jeakins Weir directly employed its own plumbers and only sub-contracted electricians and specialists required for technical works, like felt roofing. Len Bagnell requested clarification as to what works were classified under the headings Void 1, Void 2 and Void 3. Allison stated that the three classes of void were given different levels of priority for treatment based on the value of the works required. Void 1 repairs were works with a low value requiring minimum labour and Void 3 referring to repairs with a high value needing significant labour. She drew attention to a mistake in the report and confirmed that Void 1 repairs were to be treated in 5 working days, not 15. Len noted that contrary to the figures provided in the report he had expected more repairs in the minor Priority 3 band than in the more extensive repairs classified as Priority 1. George Byfield endorsed the view that it was the responsibility of contractors to deal with sub-contractors. Allison confirmed that a weekly operational meeting was held with service contractors and that actions relating to sub-contractors were delegated to contractors themselves. Ian Leach queried why it was not possible to have a separate figure for those jobs completed in a specific repairs period from those not fully completed, for the purposes of clarity. Allison stated that the technical restraints of the First Housing system prevented a clear separation of these COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 9

10 categories because until a completed date was recorded they were still classed as live and no selection filter could be applied to differentiate between the two categories. The Chair concluded by reiterating that the repairs free phone line was published in the last newsletter as stated: REVIEW OF TENANT PARTICIPATION COMPACT ACTION PLAN ACTION Simon Aslett, Tenant Participation Manager, presented the Forum with a progress report on how the Tenant Participation Team was striving to realise the objectives stated in the Tenant Participation Compact Action Plan. Simon stated that a new edition of the Compact was issued in January 2004 with the Action Plan enclosed describing how the Council would deliver its annual tenant involvement objectives besides stating the lead officer, the required resources, and targets for completion and update. He confirmed that the Council was committed to monitoring and reviewing the Action Plan formally every quarter via the Housing Forum and that the Action Plan formed part of the team plan of the Tenant Participation Team. The Forum was informed of the following developments: The Housing Forum Grant was under-spent and there had been a number of recent applications. Training opportunities were provided but take-up was low. Publicity was planned via the Housing Newsletter and information on the website. A Training Open Day was planned for summer The Tenant Participation Team aimed to contact Parish and Town Councils to encourage them to make use of their nomination rights to the Forum to improve representation from tenants in rural areas and other un-represented areas. The Chair confirmed that Parish and Town Councils only possessed the authority to nominate a representative to the Housing Forum in areas without a Residents Association. Barbara Moore stated that she rarely saw publicity on the Tenants Resource Centre in LiveMK magazine. COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 10

11 Simon Aslett confirmed that the April 2004 edition of LiveMK would feature the Tenants Resource Centre. Stephen Bridges stated that as LiveMK was delivered with the MK News, not via the post, it would not reach flat dwellers, as delivery staff could not access Council flats. Councillor Henderson stated that LiveMK had always been delivered alongside the MK News and confirmed that two editions had not been produced, including the last edition, which was set to feature the Tenants Resource Centre. Simon informed forum representatives that the Tenant Participation Team and the Housing Forum Officers Group had met with Pinnacle plc and would conduct a review of current Tenant Participation arrangements. He stated that any specific actions would be added to the Compact Action Plan and Forum Representatives would be updated regarding new developments. Simon stated that the Healthcheck undertaken in December 2003 specifically identified local Tenant Participation Compacts as a key area for development and details would be incorporated in the Compact Action Plan. Forum Representatives were to be invited to local meetings being organised by Jim Saunders in the three contract areas to facilitate local Tenant Participation Compacts development. The Chair stated that LiveMK was a Council magazine and space wasn t always available. Councillor Henderson corrected the Chair that Housing had space in every issue. JH Peggy Gratham complained that Mellish Court failed to receive LiveMK, but she had arranged with Simon to have surplus copies delivered to the local Parish. She asked for Officers to ensure that Mellish Court did receive copies. John noted the Tenants Resource Centre accommodation was presently being shared with the Police and queried whether revenue was being generated via rent charges. Simon confirmed that the Police were currently being charged rent, but had not yet occupied the premises, and the revenue generated was channelled into the Tenant Participation budget that was at the disposal of Forum Representatives. COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 11

12 7.0 ASBESTOS WITHIN THE HOUSING STOCK ACTION Dave Green, Building Services Manager, presented the Forum with a report to update forum representatives of the current position regarding asbestos in the housing stock. Dave stated that the asbestos survey was proceeding and the aim was to have compiled a complete register of asbestos in Council stock by 21 May 2004 as required by Government legislation. The register must stipulate: What type of asbestos was present. Where it was in the property. What was to be done. When it should be inspected next. The Forum heard that asbestos had been a common building material until the mid nineteen-eighties and was present in many modern buildings, although it did not pose a threat unless disturbed or damaged. Dave stated that the Health and Safety Executive advised that asbestos should not be removed unless essential, but encapsulated instead. Dave stated that the asbestos budget for 2004/05 was 1M and was to be reviewed as the asbestos plan developed. Dave confirmed that once all tenants has been notified of the position regarding asbestos in the Council stock, owners of former stock would be informed of instances of asbestos found in properties similar to their own and encouraged to engage a private survey for their home. Forum Representatives were informed that the Stock Condition Survey was to begin and would involve on-site inspections of tenants properties. Letters had been sent to tenants and the inspections had been advertised in the press. Dave confirmed that if tenants had any doubts regarding granting inspectors access to their home they should call David Siddals on the following number to confirm their identity: Barbara Moore queried the definition of a cloned property. Dave stated that a clone property was one similar to that sampled in previous inspections from which they extrapolated the probability of certain trends being present. COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 12

13 Barbara Moore requested clarification regarding whether asbestos down-pipes in old properties were to be removed. Dave reiterated that asbestos would not presently be removed unless damaged, but sealed to prevent spores. Stephen Bridges relayed a case to the Forum when a burst water pipe flooded a leaseholders roof that was fortified with asbestos. The housing services were not aware of the asbestos and it was therefore not given a high priority and so the cost of repairs quickly spiralled to around 40,000. Stephen stressed the need for the repairs services to have access to asbestos survey information to determine a rational order of priority for future repairs. Dave stated that one of the aims of the asbestos survey was the rational management and prioritisation of asbestos issues to prevent such incidents, but could not guarantee that such unfortunate cases would never arise in the future. Charles Allum enquired about the incubation time of asbestos related-illness should any tenants have been exposed and whether the Council would take action in such cases. Dave stated that the Council would take action in any such cases, but the incubation time for asbestos related-illness was around forty years so it was very difficult to diagnose. 8.0 OFFICER S REPORT ACTION The Forum received the Minutes of the Officer s meetings of the Housing Forum held on 10 February 2004 and 24 February No meeting was held on 17 February George Byfield endorsed John Holman s request for an item on asylum seekers on a future agenda of the Forum. 9.0 REPORTS FROM ASSOCIATIONS ACTION (a) Stephen Bridges praised the Council and Councillor Saunders on behalf of the residents of Saint Georges Way, Wolverton for work on the local flats. (b) Brian King drew attention to the circulation of a bogus fly-tipping leaflet contrived by a private individual threatening to prosecute those dumping of rubbish. Brian stated that the Council, the Parish Council and the Residents Association had all been COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 13

14 accused of circulating this leaflet, but all three bodies denied responsibility. Brian was granted permission by the Forum to issue a notice of denial. Brian praised Council inspection teams that were proving successful in facilitating rubbish collection. (c) George Byfield praised Simon Aslett, Tenant Participation Manager, for prompt action in supporting his campaign for bus shelters on Conniburrow, which would be erected in April (d) Len Bagnell praised Dawn Brawn, Estate Management Officer, on behalf of Netherfield residents for the recent estate inspection that helped facilitate rubbish collection on the Estate. (e) Ian Leach notified the Forum that at the Annual General Meeting of the Bradville Residents Association on 26 February 2004, Margaret Burke was elected as Chair and Ian elected as Treasurer ANY OTHER BUSINESS ACTION (a) Charles Allum informed the Forum that contractors renovating felt roofs on the Netherfield Estate had been disposing of debris from the roofs with disregard for health and safety concerns. Charles requested an apology for the tenants of Netherfield to be published in the local press to supplement the letter of apology to be posted to all local residents. Martin Rance, Interim Building Services Manager, confirmed this problem had been identified in Farnborough and that the contractor had been approached by the Council to ensure that safety protocols were adhered to. Debris shoots had now been installed to facilitate safe disposal and a letter of apology would be issued to tenants the next day. Brian King stated that a similar problem existed on Bradwell Common where Wheldons were installing new heating systems. He stated that radiators were often disposed of outside tenant house where they became the subject of attention from children. Brian requested that Wheldon be instructed to dispose of redundant radiators safety on the day of removal. Martin Rance confirmed that he would contact Greg Knight, Engineering Services Manager, to ensure MR MR COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 14

15 Wheldons disposed of redundant radiators daily. Len Bagnall complained that roofers had been transporting wheelbarrows across private roofs and caused considerable mess on the front of his home. The Chair stated similar problems regarding roofers had been encountered on the Greenleys Estate. Martin Rance confirmed that he would investigate any complaints received regarding the failure to use safety toe-boards and reiterated that contractor operatives had been informed that walking across private roofs was deemed unacceptable behaviour. MR (b) Paula Mason confirmed that the main theme of the pending Harrogate Conference (15-18 June 2004) was the Focus on Communities. Two delegate places were available for tenants representatives and a day-trip to the exhibition was being organised. (c) Barbara Moore requested an update regarding the Affordable Housing Working Group, as she hadn t heard anything yet. Gavin Lane, Committee Manager, stated that the Group had not yet been constituted, as nominations had not been received from all the respective political parties. Once all the nominations had been received the Group would be formally established, although nominations had been received from Councillor Nigel Long (Labour) and Councillor Williams (Lib Dems). Barbara also asked whether tenant reps would like her to feedback to a future Forum or an informal presentation at the Resource Centre about a training course she attended called the Tenants Jury. (d) Stephen Bridges complained that many leaseholders believed that the standard of service received from Council staff was not on a par with that provided to tenants. Stephen requested that further training in customer service be provided to Council staff and that Officers contact the Home Ownership team to acknowledge this issue. Stephen requested that the housing service bureaucracy be rationalised in order to facilitate more efficient service provision. He stated that long delays regarding repairs could result in prosecutions and litigation against the Council. John Holman stated that the provision of excellent customer service was given a high priority in the COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 15

16 housing service and that most housing staff had now attended a customer care course. He encouraged feedback from tenants regarding provision. He stated that mystery-shopping exercises confirmed that glass repairs were now being addressed within 24 hours. Stephen requested permission of the Forum to recommend to leaseholders and tenants that they use the query mailbox to report urgent repairs or the complaints method to guarantee speedy repairs. John counselled against this method to avoid the complaints service being inundated with requests and stated that the repairs service should remain the first point of access for the reporting of repairs work. (e) Simon Aslett informed the Forum that the Chair, Jeanette Marling and Charles Allum had been nominated to the Options Appraisal Steering Group. (f) Brian King queried whether Simon Aslett had any success in promoting the illumination of school signs on Bradwell Common. Brian stated that the finance for illuminating the school signs had been withdrawn by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). Simon confirmed he had consulted with the Assistant of the Road Officer and asked him to contact Brian. (g) Peggy Grantham complained that the Mellish Court Residents Association and Councillor Bristow had been attempting to arrange a meeting with Mike Ekoja, Home Ownership Manager, to discuss the increase of families with children at Mellish Court. Peggy expressed dismay that no response had been received and protested that families were not permitted at Mellish Court and no consultations had taken place on the revision of criteria for residents. JH Peggy also commented on the increase of vandalism and anti-social behaviour at Mellish Court. John Holman promised to contact Peggy and meet with her to discuss the issue of child-rearing families and vandalism at Mellish Court. (h) Jeanette Marling requested that nominations to the SCHH Overview Committee be included as a formal agenda item at the next meeting of the Forum. COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 16

17 11.0 DATE OF NEXT MEETING ACTION The Forum noted the following dates for future meetings of the Milton Keynes Council Housing Forum: 22 April 2004 at 7.30 PM in the Council Chamber. 20 May 2004 at 7.30 PM in the Council Chamber. THE CHAIR CLOSED THE MEETING AT PM COUNCIL HOUSING FORUM 18 MARCH 2004 PAGE 17