Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Mann, Matt Walker and the Chair Councillor Malcolm Taylor.  In the Chair’s absence, Vice-Chair Councillor John Ritchie chaired the meeting.

Resolved – That the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 September 2024 be taken as read and confirmed by the Chair as a correct record.

All Members are invited to declare at this point any interests they have in items appearing on this agenda, including the nature of those interests.

Councillor Yvonne Peacock declared a non-prejudicial interest in the housing related items on the agenda, as a trustee of the Upper Dales Community Land Trust.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice to Melanie Carr of Democratic and Scrutiny Services and supplied the text (contact details below) by midday on Wednesday 20 November 2024, three working days before the day of the meeting.  Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item.  Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak:

·            at this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the Agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes);

·            when the relevant Agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the Agenda for this meeting.

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chairman who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

No public questions or statements were received.

Councillor Simon Myers, Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing attended the meeting to participate in discussions around Housing Growth (Agenda item 6) and other housing related matters on the agenda, and on the ongoing Strategic Leisure Review (Agenda item 7).

Considered – A presentation on Housing Growth presented by Hannah Heinemann, Head of Housing Delivery and Partnership.

Hannah Heinemann provided a detailed overview of the presentation and drew member attention specifically to:

·          The range of delivery mechanisms for the 650 new homes planned, as detailed on page 10, slide 2.

·          The delivery of new homes through the joint venture, which would be on council owned land. It was noted that the new houses delivered via section 106 would be on land owned by others.

·          The various HRA projects listed on slide 3, the majority of which would be on Council owned land.

·          The equal 50/50 share on the costs associated with delivering new homes via the joint venture approach – it was noted the joint venture could deliver housing anywhere not just in areas where a HRA previously existed.

·          The plans around the delivery of new temporary accommodation.

·          The difficulties of building in the national parks – community lead housing / affordable housing etc.

·          The potential surplus council owned land that could be use for house building in the future.

Members raised a number a queries and in response officers confirmed the following:

·          The Council did not take possession of new homes until the expected standard of finish had been achieved and signed off.

·          The council had the appropriately skilled officers to fully understand the costs associated with a joint venture scheme - an overview of the business plan process was given.

·          Members were involved in the process in a number of ways e.g. the principles around planning were agreed by members and decisions to release sites for development were made by the Executive.

·          The ambition was to build both private and council properties on council owned land and for them to be indistinguishable.

The Executive Member for Culture, Arts & Housing confirmed the Council’s future approach to ‘Right to Buy’ would be consulted on in the future.  He also confirmed that short term holiday lets would come under the Local Authority in the future.

Hannah Heinemann went on to provide an overview of the risks associated with the joint venture approach and members suggested that community non acceptance should be a recognised risk.  In regard to the governance arrangements, members noted the Board would monitor delivery progress, milestones, and outcomes.  They also queried whether a member would be one of the NYC representatives on the Board which officers confirmed was not the planned approach.  Members also suggested it might be helpful for the Board to have a seventh independent member to act as arbitrator.  The Committee requested a further update as development of the joint venture progressed.

Resolved – That

i.              The presentation be noted.

ii.             An update on the development of the Joint Venture be added to the Committee’s future work programme.

Considered – An update on the ongoing transition to a single leisure service delivered by Jo Ireland, Assistant Director for Culture, Leisure, Archives & Libraries.

The update included an overview of the transfer process and timetable, and the associated risks and issues. Members noted there would be no change for users where the facilities were being transferred.

The update also included an overview of the new adult weight management service to be launched in January 2025.  It was noted the service would be delivered consistently by Active Leisure staff transferred via TUPE, with clients either being referred by their doctor/health practitioner or via the self-referral route.  Councillor Yvonne Peacock suggested it would be helpful if primary care providers could also refer to private/community provided fitness/sports facilities, as sometimes they were the most conveniently located for residents living in a rural area.

The update also provided feedback on the ongoing ‘Let’s Talk’ consultation.  Members recognised there were factors that were a barrier to people being active and were pleased to note the consultation feedback would be used to help deliver the strategy and develop services.  It was confirmed that how best to apply some pricing consistency for fitness/leisure centre fees was being considered. It was suggested that a tiered approach taking account of the variation in facilities may be a fair way forward and Members requested a further update on the development of a pricing structure as the work progressed.

Jo Ireland went on the provide an overview of the outreach offer, Ageing Well service and the specialist programmes available.  She also provided a brief progress update on the development of the Leisure Investment Strategy.

Resolved – That the Strategic Leisure Review update be noted.

Considered – Consultation on a draft revised Tenancy Policy provided by Carl Doolan, Head of Housing Management & Landlord Services.

Carl Doolan introduced the draft Policy which harmonised the three existing policies from former district councils and drew attention to Appendix B of the report which identified four areas requiring specific consideration.  He went on to confirm:

·          The draft Policy reflected current best practice and ensured compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing’s consumer standards.

·          The social housing inherited rents were based on local wages which did not vary significantly across the county.

·          There were approximately 1300-1400 fixed term tenancies currently in place.

·          Additional professional legal advice was being sought regarding the options on succession rights.

·          There were opportunities to widen out the use of joint tenancies.

·          The ongoing public consultation would close on 20 December 2024.

Members suggested the issue of single tenants living in multi-bedroomed properties needed addressing via the new Policy.  Whilst noting the limited number of one-bedroomed properties for tenants to downsize to, they suggested the introduction of incentives to encourage down-sizing alongside the promotion of the economic benefits.  They also suggested the upkeep of council house gardens needed addressing through the new Policy.

Resolved – That the report and draft Tenancy Policy be noted

Members received a verbal update on the development of a draft Tenant Involvement Strategy and the planned public consultation.

Members noted the draft Strategy was almost complete and thanked officers for their work on the Strategy to date.

Resolved – That the verbal update be noted.

Considered – An update on complaints handling performance provided by Andrew Rowe, the Assistant Director for Housing.

The update included:

·          Progress on the collation of performance data from the legacy councils and a proposal for future reporting arrangements. 

·          An outline of the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code which the Council’s compliance would be measured against.

·          An outline of the council’s housing complaints handling procedure.

·          Feedback on the Tenant Satisfaction Survey 2023-24.

·          A summary of complaints handling performance in the year to date.

·          A brief overview of the four ombudsman’s complaints in the previous year – all from the legacy councils.

Specific attention was drawn to the Landlord Performance data at page 139 of the agenda.  Members noted the number of complaints received and their themes and went on to consider the frequency and format for future reports on complaints handling performance

Resolved – That:

i.              The update be noted.

ii.             A dashboard summary on complaints data be provided at every meeting and a comprehensive report be provided annually.

Considered – A brief verbal update on the work of the Housing Improvement Board, provided by Andrew Rowe, Assistant Director for Housing.

Resolved – That the verbal update be noted.

Considered – A brief verbal Housing Regulatory update, provided by Andrew Rowe, Assistant Director for Housing.

Resolved – That the verbal update be noted.

Considered – Report of the Senior Scrutiny Officer presenting proposals for four Task Group Scrutiny Reviews, to be undertaken in 2025.

The report outlined the proposed remit for each review and identified the optimum timeframe for completion of each review to enable the review findings to inform the draft Policies/Standards and to support the decision-making process.  Members noted the first two named Task Group reviews i.e. the Lettable Standard, and the Grounds Maintenance Policy, included proposed meeting dates, which had been provided to enable members in consider their availability.

It was confirmed that the ideal number of members being sought for each Task group was four but if necessary, they could proceed with just three members.  This led to a number of Members volunteering for at least one of the Task Groups based on their interest in the proposed review topics and their availability for the identified review periods.

Resolved – That:

i.       The four proposed reviews be undertaken during 2025, in line with the timeframes set out in the report.

ii.      A list of the volunteers identified at the meeting and remaining vacancies on each Task Group be circulated to all committee members so that diaries could be checked and further volunteers identified.

The report of the senior Scrutiny Officer inviting Members to consider the Committees work programme for the remainder of the 2024-25 municipal year taking into account the outcome of discussions on previous agenda items and any other developments taking place across the county.

In light of the Scrutiny Review Task Group work agreed at the meeting, it was noted there would be two Scrutiny Review draft final reports for the committee’s consideration at their next formal meeting in March 2025.

Resolved – That the work programme document be updated to include:

i.       Two draft final reports from the planned Task Group Scrutiny Reviews scheduled to be undertaken during January and February 2025.

ii.      A further update on the development of the Joint Venture.

iii.     A dashboard summary on complaints data at every meeting, and;

iv.     An annual comprehensive complaints report.