Housing Committee

Agenda Item 9

Subject:                    Anti-Social Behaviour Review

Date of meeting:    22^nd June 2022

Report of:                 Executive Director of Housing, Neighbourhoods & Communities.

Contact Officer:      Name: Justine Harris

                                    Email: justine.harris@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Ward(s) affected:   All

1. Purpose of the report and policy context.

1.1 The purpose of this report to share the recommendations of the anti-social behaviour (ASB) policy review.

1.2 The aim of undertaking an ASB review is to improve overall satisfaction of Housing’s ASB service and outcomes for residents.

1.3 The response to cases of ASB sits within several areas of legislation. Changes to the policy as a result of the review will be set within this legal framework.

1.4 The handling ASB cases is carried out in conjunction with multiple services, including internal and external teams. such as the police, third sector agencies and community groups. Whilst the review considers how we work collaboratively with partners; it is focused on ASB within the context of Housing and the tenancy management procedures.

1.5 The ASB Review Recommendations were considered by Area Panels. Feedback is reflected in the draft report.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That Committee note the outcome of the ASB review and its recommendations.

2.2 That Committee note that from the review we will develop a new ASB policy which we will bring back to a future Housing Committee for approval.

3. Context and background information.

3.1 The aim of the review is to improve overall satisfaction of Housing’s ASB service and outcomes for residents.

3.2 It was conducted by undertaking tenant and staff surveys, the establishment of a resident Task and Finish group, peer review of other council services, analysis of ombudsman complaints and closed ASB cases. It also included feedback from external agencies.

Common themes:

• Better communication with residents once a report has been made– in relation to case management, decision making and legal processes.
• Taking responsibility to deal with a case, regardless at what stage of the process it is at.
• More sensitivity and awareness of the impact of ASB on victims.
• Clearer information on the council web pages.
• Clearer performance reporting.
• Clearer information on how to report ASB.
• More sensitivity when responding to residents with poor mental health.
• A range of training and support for staff.

Additional feedback was received from external areas. This included a social housing barrister. Key feedback included:

• The policy and procedure to be separated into to two separate documents.
• The ASB policy to be reader friendly.

Recommendations:

• Revise the current policy and procedure.
• Provide training to staff.
• Review how we effectively resource our response to ASB.
• Increase use of satisfaction surveys.
• Review Sensitive Lets policy.
• Devise a rapid response strategy.
• Explore the use of Community Protection Notices (CPN).
• Explore the use of an App.
• Publicise statistics on court outcomes.

3.2  It is envisaged that improvements in the response to ASB will be managed within existing resources. If more resources are needed, a request will come to Housing Committee for consideration.

3.3  An action plan will be devised to implement recommendations.

4. Community engagement and consultation

4.1  The review has was undertaken by Housing’s Tenancy Management team, with    vital input from residents. A total of 140 tenants were surveyed who were experiencing ASB or had experienced ASB. Some were contacted by telephone, and all were sent an online survey. There were a total of 18 responses.

4.2  A resident Task and Finish Group was established. This group initially comprised of 13 members. Of those 13 we were able to have meetings with 9 members, both in person and virtually.

4.3  The results of the community consultation are contained within the report.

4.4  Additionally, we surveyed 36 tenants who had suffered hate related ASB. The response was particularly low for this survey, with only three respondents, one  of which skipped all the questions.

4.5  A recommendation of the report is to explore ways of increasing resident feedback including better engagement with community groups, including organisations where third party reporting of hate crime is taking place.

4.6 The report was taken to Area Panels, comments are reflected in the draft report.

5. Conclusion.

6.1  The ASB report sets out the findings of the review and how these will inform the policy.

6.2  Implementation of the review recommendations will start in July 2022.

6.3 We are planning to publish the new policy in January 2023 subject to Housing Committee approval.

6. Financial implications

6.1       There are no financial implication arising from this report. The costs of the review and any actions needed to implement the recommendations of the review will be met from within current budget resources. As stated in paragraph 3.2, if it becomes apparent that more resources are needed to address the issues raised from the review, this will be reported to Housing Committee.

Name of finance officer consulted:Monica Brooks        Date consulted: 30.05.22

7. Legal implications

7.1 No legal comments to be made at this stage, will review subsequent report.

           Name of lawyer consulted: Simon Court       Date consulted 8.06.2022.

8. Equalities implications

8.1  An equalities impact assessment will be carried out prior to the publishing of the updated policy.

9. Crime & disorder implications:

Implementation of the new policy in conjunction with new procedures will improve Housing’s response to crime and disorder in the context of anti-social behaviour, including improved support for victims.

Supporting Documentation

1. Appendices

1. The Anti-Social Behaviour Review Recommendations Report.