Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: Keith Mack 0113 3783330  Email: keith.mack@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

36.

Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

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.

Minutes:

None.

37.

Late 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.)

Minutes:

JG notified the board of his intention to add an additional item to the list of potential scrutiny topics – the ‘out of hours repairs service’.

 

38.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Roderic Morgan

 

JG proposed that RM, having not attended any scrutiny meetings for a number of months, should have his membership of the board discontinued. The board were in agreement, and KM offered to contact RM and inform him of the decision.

 

39.

Minutes - 4th October 2019 pdf icon PDF 336 KB

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 4th October 2019

Minutes:

RESOLVED – The minutes of the previous meeting held on 4th October 2019 were passed as a true record.

 

40.

Chairs Update pdf icon PDF 177 KB

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

 

Draft minutes of the meeting held on 12th September (Minutes of meeting held on 17th October 19 not yet available)

 

Minutes:

JG informed the board that he had attended the VITAL meeting on the 9th of October to provide an update about the board prior to the beginning of the next investigation. Following previous advice that the TSB should remain independent from VITAL, it has been realised that having representation on the VITAL board would allow for closer working between the groups and will help to increase engagement with the board. The groups can also be advertised more to tenants as they can be promoted simultaneously as part of a developing communications plan for VITAL. JG proposed that it should not just be the Chair and/or Vice Chair of the TSB that attend, and that attendance can be opened up to all board members to rotate between. The board agreed that this should be implemented moving forward. KM provided an explanation of VITAL and its place within the wider tenant engagement framework for the benefit of new board members.

 

JG introduced DL as a full member of the board, DL told the board about some of her previous experience on similar panels.

 

KM offered to meet with DL, SBu and SBa to explain more about the work and history of the TSB. SBa enquired what her role will be, KM explained it is to add input to his induction overview from the perspective of a long standing board member and as the Vice Chair of the board. KM to contact SBa, SBu, and DL to arrange meeting before the 29th of November.

 

41.

Consideration of new Inquiry pdf icon PDF 226 KB

Board discussion to finalise scope of new inquiry and programme/timescale.

 

Minutes:

JG suggested that each item on the suggested enquiry topics is read through in turn and discussed, and put to a vote once members had formed their own opinions following discussion. The board agreed.

 

1. Effectiveness of the HAPs

JG reminded the board that should this topic be chosen it might include a lot of work with other tenant volunteers who might be sensitive about the work that they do. It would also be unwise to suggest an increase in funding as it could potentially be asking for something outside of the control of Housing Leeds. KM explained that the money for HAPs comes from the housing revenue account (HRA), and the intention is that funding is primarily allocated to benefit tenants and in turn the wider community. KM noted that applications for HAP funding are approved and therefore also allocated by tenants. Tit was understood that the total HAP budget has decreased over time, to which KM commented that extra funding is often sought from other internal and external partners to match fund a bid and help the money go further. KM reminded the board that Cllr. Anderson’s suggestion was not how much money the HAPs have, but how effectively what they have, is spent, JG agreed that he has previously seen HAPs supporting bids that in his opinion should be the remit of existing council departments. KM replied that each bid is different, and where JG’s point was a concern, funding is often allocated for projects which might go above and beyond what the council can offer for a particular service.

 

KM was asked to explain the makeup of HAP’s and advised members that membership is dictated by the number of wards represented by each of the 11 HAP’s. Areas with one or two wards can have 10 tenant members and 2 councillors; two wards can have 11 tenants and 3 councillors; and four wards can have 12 tenants and four councillors. Applications to the HAPs can come from any source, but all applications are checked and approved prior to being presented to the HAP to ensure they comply with the HAP criteria. JG asked if it is true that money cannot be allocated for bids that last for more than one year, KM confirmed that each bid must fall within the same financial year, but that it does not stop repeat bids for funding being made by an applicant each year. It was noted however that repeat bids should be discouraged to encourage applicants develop and seek additional funding instead of relying on the HAP each time. KM noted however that it is up to the HAP to determine what can be funded, and that each HAP has its own priorities which may change year on year as they are revised. The budget within a HAP area is based on the number of council homes, which can fluctuate if homes are bought under the right to buy scheme or new homes are built or boundary changes are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

42.

TSB Workplan pdf icon PDF 312 KB

Confirmation of dates of meetings for the forthcoming year and the future workplan (which will be dependent on what investigation the board wishes to undertake)

 

Minutes:

SBa and MF agreed to attend the next VITAL meeting on the 13th of November, IP to contact before the meeting.

 

JG reminded board members that he will be uncontactable from the 8th to the 25th of November so members should contact KM or IP with any issues

43.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

1.00pm Friday 29th November 2019, Committee rooms 6/7 Civic Hall

 

Minutes:

The next meeting will take place at the Civic Hall on Friday the 29th of November, from 1pm - 3pm.

 

 

THE MEETING CLOSED AT 3:00 PM