Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development detailing performance information relating to Neighbourhoods and Housing.

(Report attached.)

The Director of Neighbourhoods and Housing presented the Board with a report detailing performance information in relation to the Best Value Performance Indicators for the department in quarter three. Neil Evans, the Director of Neighbourhoods and Housing attended the meeting to present the information and respond to Members’ questions.

Board Members first asked the Director general questions around the  following areas:

-  Progress on the merger of Leeds ALMOs and the fact that Executive Board were not seeking to impose any restriction on Elected Members being appointed as Chairs;

-  Reported changes in the service charge levied on some Council flats and the consultation process undertaken before any changes were implemented;

-  Issues surrounding the capacity of Area Committees to take on more responsibilities within their wards and the resource implications of any further devolution;

-  Concerns over plans to reduce the number of Area Managers from five to three to bring into line with the new ALMO structure and Primary Care Trust boundaries.

During consideration of the Performance Report, discussion ensued on the following topics:

-  BV-203 (the percentage change in the number of families placed in temporary accommodation) and the moves being made to tackle this issue as a matter of urgency;

-  Moves being made by the Authority to release land in order to encourage the delivery of more new build social housing and affordable housing;

-  The progress of work undertaken by the Empty Property Team to tackle the number of houses previously let to students in Headingley which were now falling empty and encourage them back into use;

-  A request for more detail on the indicators listed at the end of the report which currently contained no data;

-  Whether CP-CS50 (Reduce overall crime levels in Leeds by 35% in 2008) which was currently not on target to be achieved, was a fair indicator, given that the Scrutiny Board currently had no function to scrutinise the performance of the Police and the indicator had been accepted by the wider Safer Leeds Partnership, not the department itself;

-  The many successes the department had achieved over the past four  years as part of the Safer Leeds Partnership in reducing crime levels in the city but the recent negative effect of the release of a number of prolific offenders on the performance figures;

-  The work of the Crime and Disorder Team in tackling prolific offenders through drug treatment programmes to get them back into work or more constructive activities.

Following on from the discussion, the Chair suggested that the Chair of the Safer Leeds Partnership and the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police be invited to an additional meeting to further discuss the issues raised. It was agreed that the viability of an extra meeting be investigated.

RESOLVED –

a.)  That the contents of the report be noted; 

b.)  That the Principal Scrutiny Officer investigate the possibility of an additional meeting in order to invite the Chair of the Safer Leeds Partnership and the Chief Constable to an additional meeting to further discuss the issues raised.

(Councillor Hyde joined the meeting at 10:10 am and Councillor Gabriel joined the meeting at 10:35 am, both during consideration of this item.)