Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Stuart Parsons and Karl Arthur.  Councillor Karl Arthur was substituted by Councillor George Jabbour.

Resolved – That the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 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.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

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 5 March 2025, 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.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director Community Development providing an update on progress made toward compliance toward the requirements of the Social Housing (Regulation Act) and an oversight of the Council’s Housing Improvement Plan in advance of it being considered by the Executive.

Andrew Rowe, Assistant Director for Housing presented the report which described the root causes behind the Councils non-compliance with consumer standards and included an overview of the lessons learnt.  It also included an overview of the key risks and challenges faced in relation to delivery of the Housing Improvement Plan, with particular focus on performance management information, data assurance and the capacity of the service and Council more generally, to deliver the level of change required at pace.

In regard to the identified lessons learnt, Members noted the draft Plan at Appendix B of the report, and the key indicators and measures identified within Appendix D of the report which were being proposed to monitor performance against the Plan. 

In particular Members queried the degree of confidence officers had to deliver 50% of the stock condition surveys by March 2026 and 100% by September 2026.  Andrew Rowe confirmed 13 new surveyors had been appointed and their work would be bolstered further through use of an external contractor.  Recognising that the use of external contractors would be more costly than carrying out the work inhouse, Andrew Rowe also confirmed that compared to many local authorities, the Council was in a relatively comfortable financial position.  He confirmed that the 30-year HRA Business Plan allowed for a greater level of financial investment in the early years.  He also confirmed that the work of carrying out stock condition surveys would continue past September 2026 as part of a rolling 5-year programme.

The Chair thanks Andrew Rowe for the update and it was

Resolved - That the update be noted

Considered – A presentation provided by Kim Robertshaw, Head of Housing Needs, summarising the findings from the Homeless and Rough Sleeping Review and drawing attention to the current demand and challenges, and the associated work planned for 2025-26.

Kim Robertshaw drew attention to the recent consultation undertaken as part of recent Forum meetings held in late 2024, and provided an overview of the findings.

Members noted:

·          There was currently not enough temporary accommodation available across the county – 156 units (50% council owned).

·          90 new temporary accommodation units were planned for over the next four years, with 50% being provided this year - £11m funding for that development.

·          The cost of using holiday accommodation and bed and breakfasts

·          The stigma associated with homelessness particular for ex-military coming out of service.

·          The good practice example of Harrogate Homeless Project - a good template for the rest of the county.

·          More voluntary sector involvement was needed.

·          The service had good links with the Probation Service but not with the Courts.

·          For some rough sleepers it was their choice to remain on the streets.

·          The relationship between councillors and housing officers needed strengthening to ensure councillors remained aware of the situation across their division.

·          The greatest contingent of homeless appeared to be aged between 40-50, often as a result of addiction or relationship breakdown.

Members noted the likely key themes of the draft Homeless and Rough Sleeping Strategy and the intention to have an associated action plan.  It was confirmed the draft strategy would likely be completed by the end of May 2025, and the Committee agreed to add it to the work programme for their June meeting so that feedback on the draft prior could be provided prior to Executive approval being sought.

Resolved: That:

i.       The findings from the Homeless and Rough Sleeping Review be noted

ii.      The draft Homeless and Rough Sleeping Strategy be added to the committee work programme for their next meeting in June 2025

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director for Community Development providing an update on complaints handling performance within the Housing Service.

Victoria Young, Housing Service Improvement Manager presented the report and confirmed the position was improving.

Attention was drawn to the steady increasein complaints received each quarter since the introduction of the revised complaints’ policy in June 2024 and the potential reasons behind the increase. 

Members were pleased to note that overall complaints handling had improved since the revised policy had been introduced, and that the council’s response and resolution of complaints was being done satisfactorily.  However, they also noted:

·            The increase in the number of complaints being upheld  - Members welcomed the planned investigation into the content of those complaints.

·            Many complaints were not being resolved within the necessary timescale  - Members queried the steps being taken to address this.

Members welcomed the planned launch of a new Corporate Complaints Handling System in April 2025 and the compliance self-assessment planned for June 2025

The Chair thanked officers for the update, and it was

Resolved – That:

i.       The report be noted

ii.       Regular updates on complaints and complaints handling be included in the Committee workplan for the coming 2025-26 municipal year.

Considered – An update report on the ongoing Lettable Standard Task Group Scrutiny Review, providing a detailed overview of the work undertaken to date, the Task Group’s findings and their draft proposed recommendations.

The Scrutiny Officer introduced the report and confirmed that a number of lessons had been learnt by undertaking the review which would be applied to benefit future planned scrutiny reviews.  One of those being to include sufficient time within the review period to explore and evidence a full understanding of the financial and other  implications associated with any proposed recommendations arising from a scrutiny review. 

In the case of the Lettable Standard Scrutiny Review it was noted this would enable the Scrutiny Task Group to fully consider their proposed review recommendations and where appropriate put forward a reasoned argument for why any additional cost should not prevent the review recommendations from being viewed favourably by the Executive.

Councillor Kirsty Poskitt provided feedback on her experience of undertaking the review, on behalf of the other Task Group members. 

Attention was drawn to the next steps suggested within the report and the additional time required to:

·            Allow for fully consideration of the financial implications with support from appropriate officers

·            Consider tenant feedback on the current converged Standard and the Task Group proposed revisions.

The Scrutiny Officer confirmed that if the revised Lettable Standard and scrutiny review final report was to be considered by the Executive on 17 June 2025, it would be helpful to bring forward the date of the Committee’s next formal meeting (currently scheduled for 11^th June 2025). 

It was noted that it was not yet clear whether this would be required as there was a proposal to revise the delegation scheme to allow the Executive Member for Culture, Arts & Housing to approve revised housing related Standards/Policies in order to deliver the level of change required within the Service at the necessary pace (see Agenda item 5 - Consumer Regulation of Social Housing Update).  Subject to that change, consideration of the review final report etc could go ahead as planned at the currently scheduled scrutiny meeting on the 11 June 2025. 

The Committee agreed with the proposed way forward and thanked the Task Group and officers for their work on the review to date.  

Resolved – That:

·          Consideration of the review draft final report be added to the Committee work plan for their next formal committee meeting.

·          The date of the next formal meeting be re-considered subject to the coming decision around a proposed revision to the Council’s delegation scheme, as detailed above.

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

The update drew attention to a number of issues associated with the planned convergence work and the Assistant Director for Culture and Leisure confirmed:

·            There had been positive feedback from staff transferring and all staff in scope had now been tuped across.

·            There was still a mix of terms and conditions.

·            The need for investment to drive return

·            Ongoing maintenance of equipment and conditions was needed in order to maintain/improve income generation.

·            Legacy funding arrangements remained in place for now – the financial and social benefits would be assessed when considering future investment in individual sites.

·            The use of 106 monies to facilitate the delivery of Leisure Services.

Members recognised there was currently a huge discrepancy in  the quality of provision across the county and identified a number of specific issues with the leisure centres within their divisions.

They also questioned:

·          Whether the volunteer led libraries model could be replicated for the provision of leisure services - it was confirmed that the current focus was on consolidating services and that the model of delivery and possible alternatives, would be looked at in the future.

·          The lack of consistency in the parking arrangements at Leisure Centres – It was confirmed that not all Leisure Centres had their own car park, some just had adjacent public carparks, and   parking arrangements were on the list of issues to be looked at in the future.

·          The mechanism for reporting facility maintenance issues – it was confirmed the arrangements were site specific led by on-site management, and where necessary Property Services were involved.

The Chair thanked officers for the update, and proposed that going forward, future updates be  provided biannually instead of at every meeting as currently happening.

Resolved – That:

i.      The Strategic Leisure Review progress update be noted.

ii.     The Committee’s work programme be updated to include bi-annual updates.

Considered – a report of the Corporate Director for Community Development seeking feedback from the committee on the proposed criteria for the selection and review of mobile library stops, prior to the introduction of a new mobile library vehicle in the summer of 2025.

Hazel Smith, Head of Libraries introduced the report confirming the proposal within the report  would enable the service to expand mobile library provision from 21 communities to at least 40 communities and would enhance accessibility and engagement with both library services and wider Council services in underserved areas across the county, and in particular to more vulnerable residents. 

Members noted:

·            The map provided showing the location of libraries and mobile library stops.

·            The new vehicle would be slightly smaller to enable it to travel to more rural areas.

·            The consideration given to the demographic profile of current well attended stops

·            The proposed criteria for selecting new locations to visit and the weight given to them.

·            The proposed change to the length of time for a site visit based on the level of use at each site.

·            The possibility of relocating the stops to a more central location as a result of reducing the size of the vehicle, thereby improving access.

·            The intention to apply the new criteria to existing stops as well as the proposed new stops.

·            The rota would include time for vehicle maintenance and free time to add in one-off visits.

·            An electric vehicle was considered but subsequently ruled out due to the travel distance and weight of the fully stocked vehicle.

Overall Members welcomed the proposals and were pleased to note that more communities would be visited, thereby providing more opportunities for residents to benefit from council services. 

Members suggested it would be worthwhile looking at intelligence gathered on current users to understand where they were travelling from to use the mobile service, in order to analyse the potential siting of new stops and the potential for re-locating existing stops within a village setting.

They also recommended that the service consult with Parish Councils.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

Considered – The draft work programme for the coming municipal year presented by the Senior Scrutiny Officer.

Members took account of the discussions on previous agenda items and other developments taking place across the county and agreed a number of amendments to their draft work programme as follows:

i.      Removal of standing item on Strategic Leisure Review Update for every formal meeting, to be replaced by bi-annual updates, starting at the September 2025 meeting

ii.     The addition of the Lettable Standard Task Group Review draft final report for the June 2025 meeting. 

iii.    The addition of the draft Homelessness Strategy for the June 2025 meeting

Resolved – That the work programme document be updated as above.