Agenda and draft 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.

None.

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

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

None.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Stanley Burton (SBu), Peter Middleton, Maddy Hunter

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 21^st May 2021

RESOLVED – The minutes of the previous meeting held on 21^st May 2021 were approved as a true record.

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

JG informed the board that he attended the meeting on the 14^th of June for the panel members of the various citywide forums of Leeds, and thanked the TSB members who also attended. JG had a further meeting on 17^th of June with YD and PG to discuss the outcomes of the meeting and the next steps. An update for the board is an agenda item for the present meeting.

Councillor Rafique, the new Executive Member for Environment and Housing has contacted JG to introduce himself, and has asked for a meeting to get an update of the present work of the TSB. JG will be providing an update to Councillor Rafique in the coming weeks.

JG informed the board that the report that had initially been scheduled for review at the present meeting had not yet been finalised but that it will be ready in time for the July meeting. JG noted that previous scrutiny board reports had taken up to ten weeks to be finalised and so the current timeframe is not unusual.

Including reflections on June 14^thcitywide meeting

JG once again thanked the board members who were present on the 14^th of June, and noted that the meeting was an effective vehicle for conversation for the citywide panel members to express their opinions about the proposed changes to the involvement forum structure. Regarding the creation of a single tenant voice panel, JG informed the board that he expressed the previously agreed ideas of the board that the move would be a positive step to increase the growth and diversity of involved tenants in Leeds, though there were participants in the same meeting who did not agree with the proposal for a variety of reasons. JG told the panel he received phone calls from members of the other forums following the meeting who expressed their concerns about the proposals.

JG told members the changes as they were presented might affect the plans of the board moving forward into phase two, so it is important to outline the next steps for the board as phase two begins. With this in mind, the Chair laid out the plans for phase two which are as follows:

1.  Invite Mandy Sawyer and Ian Montgomery as the managers of the Tenant Engagement team to present evidence to the board supporting changing to a single tenant voice panel.

2.  Gather evidence from the tenants who are currently members of the other existing city wide forums – VITAL, VOLT, The High Rise Strategy Group, and The Repairs and Investment Group. Also invite opinions from wider tenants using Your Voice Leeds and any other effective methods.

3.  Invite Yvonne Davies to present evidence to the board about how other housing authorities interact with their tenants with similar approaches.

4.  Collate all of the evidence and produce a report.

JG clarified that these plans should see the board ready to produce a report in December, though the board members should keep their own detailed notes with their own thoughts after each meeting to make writing the final report easier.

IM agreed with the outlined proposal and offered his support to the board, including access to any staff who are required for evidence and assistance with contacting the other panel members as necessary. IM agreed that the city wide members meeting did not seem to sit well with all of the attendees and that this approach will allow for more input from the panel members, and for the ideas to be introduced more gradually.

JG noted that any outcome will take time, but that other housing associations prove that engagement can be carried out effectively with a single panel, and if the city wide panel members are involved in the discussions then it should result in better and more informed outcomes. IM offered to share the slides from the city wide meeting as well as some further updates from the present meeting with all of the city wide panel members to keep them informed of the discussion.

The idea of co-opting some members of the city  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

PG informed the board members that following the conclusion of phase one, the election for Chair and Vice Chair of the TSB can now take place as previously agreed by the board members. The application form will be sent to all board members in case they wish to apply, with a return date by the Friday the 2^nd of July. If multiple applications are received for one of the Chair seats, the board agreed to cast their vote via an email to PG, with the results announced at the July TSB meeting.

1.00pm Friday 16^th July 2021, via Zoom

The next zoom meeting is scheduled for Friday 16^th of July at 12:45 for a 1.00pm start