Agenda and minutes

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:

  No exempt items have been identified.

There were no exempt items.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

There were no late items.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2015.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2015 be approved as a correct record.

To receive an update from the Chair on scrutiny activity, not specifically included on this agenda, since the previous Board meeting.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report which provided the Chair of Tenant Scrutiny Board with an opportunity to update Board Members on some of the areas of work and activity since the November meeting.

The Chair advised that he had attended Scrutiny Board (Environment & Housing) on 17 November 2015, at which landfill, waste strategy and housing lettings policy were discussed.

The Chair also reported that he had now received a formal response following issues raised by Mr Ilee.  This had been circulated to Board Members.  Housing Leeds were thanked for its quick response on this matter and agreed that no further work on this matter would take place.

Finally the Chair reported on a recent meeting held with the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development in relation to the future administrative support to the Tenant Scrutiny Board.  This would be discussed at the Board’s March 2016 meeting.

RESOLVED – That the above update be received.

To receive a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development regarding the Board’s Inquiry into the Environment of Estates.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report which presented information as part of the Board’s Inquiry on the Environment of Estates. This included a summary of the responses received from Leeds City Councillors following a questionnaire sent by the Board in relation to estate walkabouts.

The following Councillors were in attendance:

-  Councillor Adam Ogilvie, Beeston & Holbeck Ward

-  Councillor Angela Gabriel, Beeston & Holbeck Ward

-  Councillor Caroline Gruen, Bramley & Stanningley Ward

-  Councillor Kevin Ritchie, Bramley & Stannigley Ward

-  Councillor Sharon Hamilton, Moortown Ward

These Councillors represented those estates visited by the Tenant Scrutiny Board as part of its inquiry.

The following officers were in attendance:

-  Sharon Guy, Housing Manager (Customer Relations, Tenant Scrutiny, Tenant Involvement and Equality)

-  Lee Ward, Neighbourhood Services Officer.

By way of introduction, the Chair provided a summary of the purposes of the Inquiry and work undertaken to date.  The Chair also outlined the draft timetable for completing the review.

The attending Councillors were invited to share in turn with the Board their own perspective of the issues facing estates, their particular frustrations and the frustration of tenants as relayed to them.  This was followed by a broad discussion.

A number of common themes emerged from these discussions.  Those being:

·  A general consensus that one of the biggest issues on estates was the management of waste and general issues around litter.

·  The standard a grass cutting.

·  The speed of repairs and quality of work.

·  The management of gardens and the understanding tenants have of their responsibilities under their tenancy agreement.

·  Dog fouling and initiatives to improve deterrence.

·  The importance of good relationships between local ward members and housing officers.

·  The need for Housing Officers to be known by and be visible to tenants.

·  The management of repair requests and other tenant service requests at the housing office front desk.  It was suggested that consideration be given to the technical feasibility of introducing an on line tracking system so customers can track the progress of their repair/service request (in the same way that customers can track progress of on line shopping).

·  To what extent the Council uses its enforcement powers.

·  Whether Council officers are aware of the consequences of not getting it right first time.

·  Whether tool banks could be rolled out across the City

Specifically in relation to estate ‘walkabouts’ and the feedback from Elected Members to the questionnaire, the following was noted:

·  32 Ward Councillors representing  25 out of the 33 wards responded

·  100% of Councillors had attended a walkabout , 98% in the last 12 months

·  All stated that the process was useful.

Positive comments included

ØIdeal way to develop relationships with housing officers

ØImportant for tenants to see that councillors and officers are interested   and care

ØImportant to see estates for oneself

ØGood way of identifying other ‘personal’ issues

ØGood way to share perspectives and establish good practice

ØProvides the opportunity for ward Councillors to set clear   expectations and to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Wednesday, 6 January 2016 at 1.30pm

(pre-meeting for all Board Members at 1.00pm)

Wednesday, 6 January 2016 at 1.30pm (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 1.00pm)

(The meeting concluded at 3.10pm)