Agenda item

Considered – The draft final report arising from the Lettable Standard Task Group review detailing the Task Group’s recommendations and their associated implications.

Councillor Bob Packham introduced the report drawing attention to the key decision points at paragraph 3.14 of the report, which had been agreed by the Task Group as within the scope of the review.  He provided an outline of the work undertaken and thanked officers for their support.  Finally, he drew attention to the review recommendations.

Other members of the Task Group commented on their positive experience of undertaking the review and again thanked officers.

Attention was drawn to the review conclusions, specifically the lack of historical data on void property works and their associated costs from the legacy council’s, and the difficulty that had created in regard to fully understanding the financial implications associated with the review recommendations.  It was noted that this had led to the Task Group’s final recommendation that a review of the revised policy be undertaken in a year’s time to assess the effectiveness of void property works and understand the actual costs associated with voids.  It was noted that this would require the collection of appropriate data in the first year, as detailed in paragraph 9.3 of the report.

Councillor Steve Mason questioned the council’s building insurance, and it was confirmed that the Council did not make claims for damage done by tenants to individual properties.  They did however recharge tenants for any deliberate of malicious property damage.  It was also confirmed the council currently had three separate building insurance policies.

The Chair thanked the Task Group members for their work on the review, and it was

Resolved – That:

i.      The draft final report be noted, and the review recommendations endorsed for presentation to the Executive Member for Culture, Arts & Housing.

ii.     That a review of the revised Lettable Standard be added to the Committee’s work programme for September 2026.