East Kent Housing Canterbury Area Board Meeting held at Thanington Resource Centre on 29 January 2013 Present: EKH staff: Gwen Boyce (Area Board Chair) Rita Martin (tenant member) Margaret Smith (tenant member) John Shilling (tenant member) Geoff Bradley (tenant member) Rona Hamill (tenant member) Jo Ryan (tenant member) Carole Barfoot (tenant member) Margaret Stirling (tenant member) Sheila King (tenant member) Councillor Joe Howes Martin Goard (Tenant Board Representative) Foronda Smith (Area Manager) Andrew Nicholls (Senior Survey) Denise Kennett (Tenant Participation Officer) Graham Tidmarsh (Tenant Participation Officer) Apologies 1) Welcome and introductions Gwen opened the meeting. Apologies had been received from: Amy Grieg (tenant member), Michelle Simmonds (Housing Services Manager),Jackie Spencer (Housing Services Manager), Keith Cane (Head of Housing Management), Councillor Charlotte McCaul. 2) Minutes of last meeting Correction to minutes Sheila King (tenant member) gave her apologies. The minutes were agreed as a true record of the meeting held on 31 October 2012 (proposed John Shilling, seconded Martin Goard). Matters arising Rita Martin confirmed that she attended Franklyn House. She felt that the finish was very good to both the flats and the corridors and that the most had been made of the available space. She was concerned that there was no gate on the carpark and fence to the garden. People using the train station could park and youth could get
close to the windows and could tap on them and bother the residents. She asked Foronda to let the Scheme Manager know that, if problems do arise, the TCG can ask for a gate and fencing from the environmental improvements budget 3) Monitoring and Scrutiny a) Complaints and compliments 14 complaints had been received in the third quarter. The majority of these were by email which is good as this means that EKH were capturing all complaints (including those submitted to individual members of staff) and dealing with them correctly. The turn around time had improved to 92% against 75% in the last quarter. Margaret Stirling asked the question as to why a complaint about Swale Heating not turning up to an appointment was only partially up held. Foronda will look into the detail and provide her with a full explanation. b) Performance Report The circulated performance figures included comparisons with the other three areas of EKH. Foronda drew attention to the following: The call centre s average waiting time had gone down. The statistics are starting to be more about EKH rather than other housing issues such as lettings and the waiting list. Canterbury s property re-let time is worse than the other areas. Foronda explained that this in part was due to some of the things Canterbury do differently from the others such as: The numbers of transfers (24%) where there is no notice Don t take notice on people going into residential care Don t take 4 weeks notice at the death of a tenant To be measured against the other three areas on an even playing field CCC policies would need to be looked at. The group agreed that they would like to discuss at a future TCG meeting. Mears are moving to an 8 day void turnaround from April which should also help the re-let times. Rita said that she has not had any voids to look at, as Alan Turner has not contacted her. She is also interested in looking at voids both before and after the work has been carried out. Andrew will speak to Alan about contacting tenant void reps and Jo will ask at the next Mears operation meeting if Rita can go out to look at voids before the work is carried out. Jo queried the fact that the performance figures for turnaround times differ from the ones given to her at Mears. Foronda explained that Mears definition of major works differs from the industry standard of major works and figures at the Area Board reflect that.
Members also queried the impact that the lettings process was having on the voids re-let times. Cllr Howes explained that Housing Options had been under staffed for some time and they are now up to full capacity so the lettings process should speed up. c) Estate inspection report The figures had been circulated with the meeting papers. Foronda explained that EKH hopes to recruit more tenant inspectors this year and re-train the existing ones in line with the provisions of the new grounds maintenance contract. EKH is identifying has identified estates that will be particularly affected by the differences in grass cutting between housing land and KCC land as they will not be cutting the grass as often. EKH will write to the tenants on these estates to inform them of who is responsible for what grass and grounds maintenance on their estate. d) EKH managed budgets Andrew explained that the revenue budget had been overspent by 244,602. This was largely due to works associated with void properties. The heating servicing budget was also overspent as the budget had been set before the contract had been let and therefore the full costs were not known. The capital budget was underspent by 182,800. This will be used to offset the revenue budget and the shortfall had been accepted by CCC. The overspend on void works in 2011/2012 had affected the budget this year but it will not affect next year s budget which had been increased in line with expenditure this year. Capital works that had not been carried out in the current year will be done but they will take longer. The contractors that were carrying out the door replacement programmed had gone into liquidation. The new contractor, when secured, will be carrying out the door replacement programme for all of EKH. The group asked Andrew to provide the group with all contract procurements in the Canterbury area. e) Feedback from the Performance Group on rechargeables The group met on 23 January 2013 and undertook a review of rechargeable repairs performance within the Canterbury district. Key findings were: 67,715 rechargeable repairs were identified in void properties from April to December 2012 Majority of costs arise due to:
o Internal doors: 14,500 o Redecoration: 13,020 o Kitchen units: 10,811 o Cleaning and graffiti removal: 9,707 The most common tenancy termination reasons for residents who leave rechargeable repairs are: o Tenants moving to the private rented sector: 17 cases o Tenants transferring to another Canterbury City Council property: 13 cases The average recharge per property is 1,058 The highest recharge for any one property is 5,000 The lowest recharge for any one property is 80 Suggestions why tenants leave their properties in a poor condition included: Some people are suspicious of authority and so choose not to notify us of repairs needed People are not given clear instructions about the standard to which their property should be maintained People may be physically unable to carry out the work themselves People may not have the right skills to carry out the work themselves People may be unable to afford to pay someone to carry out the work Recommendations and suggestions to bring about improvement were: Carry out regular inspections of properties to ensure they are being maintained to an acceptable standard Take deposits at sign-up so that these can be withheld if needed to cover the cost of repairs Give clear expectations as to how the property should be left Within a week of receiving notice, attend to inspect the property and reiterate the standards required. Visit again on the day the tenancy ends to collect the keys and identify if the tenant has completed the works; if not they should sign to confirm they accept that they will be charged for us carrying out the work Give Neighbourhood Managers responsibility for their own void budgets When we receive a reference request for tenants who wish to move to a Housing Association or private rented property, visit to inspect the property and explain that any work required must be completed before we give a reference. At a second visit, if the work has not been carried out explain that the tenant will be recharged and while a reference will be given, it will state that the tenant has left the property in a poor state of repair and the amount they have been recharged
Foronda confirmed that there is no policy to stop tenants transferring to other properties when they have rechargeable works in their current property. Cllr Howes explained that the allocations policy was being consulted on at this moment. Members of the group felt that CCC were not involving them on issues and they only seem to find out about things when decisions have already been made. Cllr Howes will take their feelings back to the council and ensure this is rectified. Foronda confirmed that there is currently no way to collect rechargeable works in a cost effective way. A computer system that has a debtors system is needed. The work carried out by the Performance Group does give other ways to tackling the problem which will prove invaluable. Denise will send out a copy of the Performance Group s report to Area Board members. f) Items for Performance Group to consider Foronda suggested the void process up to the return of the key by the tenants, covering things such as pre-term inspections, standard letters etc. Members were asked to bring their suggestions to the next TCG meeting in February. g) Area Board survey results There were no comments on the Area Board survey results. The group asked to see the results of the delivery plan survey. Foronda will bring these to the next meeting. 4) Matters for information and consultation EKH a) Area Manager s Report The under occupation part of welfare reform is on target for April 2013. Of the 429 tenants in the Canterbury district that will be affected, 129 of them are already in arrears. Approximately 100 have already been contacted personally and the majority do not want to move. Housing benefits are looking at re-considerations for some people who are disabled and need carers, and in some cases discretionary housing payment could be awarded. EKH is piloting a mutual exchange system in two areas, one in Canterbury and one in Herne Bay. Tenants will be able to use a card, complete their details and put the card on a board. This will help people that would like to exchange to something smaller or larger in the local area that have not got a computer.
EKH had appointed two Welfare Reform Officers that see tenants on a one to one basis. The benefit capping (which caps a benefit for a single person at 350 and a family at 500 each week) is going to be trialled in 4 London boroughs from April. It is due to be rolled out across the country by September, and it will affect 36 council tenants in the Canterbury area. Foronda will give more information on this when it is available. Universal credits are on target to start in October. Foronda will give more information on this when it is available. b) Summary of main Board decisions Martin attended a board meeting on 28 January where he was given a brief presentation on the profiling questionnaire. 20% of tenants in the Canterbury district replied including 77% of all sheltered scheme residents. A new vice chair was elected as Lyn Simms has resigned due to ill health. The management fee for 2013/2014 for EKH has been agreed. Hopefully, the management fee will be agreed for the next three years which makes EKH budgeting easier. The council has proposed a 5% reduction in the annual management fee starting 2014/2015. Martin explained that this equates to a saving of approximately 400,000 in the first year. It is not yet clear whether the savings are to come from bulk procurement or the management fee that covers staff costs and the Tenant Participation budget. Members said they were promised by CCC that there would be no further staff reductions as services would suffer. The question was asked where the proposed savings to the HRA account would be spent. This item will be discussed further at the next meeting. c) Grounds Maintenance contract EKH, working with the Area Board / TCG, need to develop and agree the criteria for what performance information they would like to see. This will help EKH monitor the grounds maintenance contract. This item is to be deferred to the next meeting. 5. Matters for information and consultation CCC Allocations review Steve King. Deferred item 6. Matters to be added to Area Board forward plan
Ground Maintenance Contract Single IT system Proposed 5% reduction in the management fee Draft deliver plan survey Allocations Review Notice periods on transfers, death and going into residential care 7. Matters to be referred to EKH main board None 8. Date and time of the next Area Board meeting Thursday 25 th April 2013, 7 9pm 9. Items from the Tenant Consultative Group / any other business Jo attended the Mears Cluster Group meeting and it had been decided that this will remain separate from the Mears operation meetings.