Housing Committee
Agenda Item 75
Date of meeting: 15 March 2023
Report of: Executive Director Housing, Neighbourhoods & Communities
Contact Officer: Name: Diane Hughes
Email: diane.hughes@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s) affected: All
1.1
This report illustrates progress against Housing Committee
work plan 2019-23 priorities and targets, as well as other Housing
service targets. The report covers
Quarter 3 of the 2022/23 financial year and is attached as Appendix
1.
1.2 Some key headline results from the quarter include:
· Customer feedback – 82% of stage one complaints responded to within 10 working days, an increase from 74% in the previous quarter
· Private sector housing – 65.00% of Houses in Multiple Occupation have met all special conditions (of those licensed for over 12 months) at the end of Q3, an increase from 62.92% in the previous quarter.
· Housing needs – there were 1,795 households in temporary and emergency accommodation on the last day of the quarter. This is a decrease and a positive step toward our end of year target.
· Housing adaptations – the average time taken to approve major adaptations to council homes decreased from 21 weeks in Q2 to 11 weeks in Q3
· Council housing – empty homes – The average re-let time for empty council homes continues to improve and the number of empty council homes also reduced from 153 to 144 between Q2 and Q3.
· Council housing repairs and maintenance –59.0% of routine repairs were completed within 24 hours, a slight increase on the previous quarter. Of the 4670 tenants surveyed about recently completed repairs, 97% were satisfied with the standard of work and 97% were satisfied with overall customer service.
1.3 This report also provides an update on progress with mitigating the Council’s Strategic Risk, SR21 – unable to managing housing pressures and deliver new housing supply.
2.1 That Housing Committee notes the report.
3.1 The report uses red, amber and green traffic light symbols to provide an indication of performance, and also trend arrows to provide an indication of movement from the previous quarter.
3.2 This report also provides an update on progress with mitigating the Council’s Strategic Risk, SR21 – unable to managing housing pressures and deliver new housing supply.
3.3 The council has a Strategic Risk Register (SRR) to ensure strategic risks for the organisation are proactively captured and appropriate mitigating actions are in place. Audit & Standards Committee approves the Risk Management Framework, and the respective committees are responsible for having an oversight of Strategic Risks linked to their areas of business. In discussion with Audit & Standards Committee members, it has been agreed that each policy committee will receive an annual update on the progress of their strategic risk(s).
3.4 As of Quarter 3 2022/23, the Council’s Strategic Risk SR21 is rated Amber, as per the Council’s Risk Management Framework, with adequate controls in place to manage the risk, including the delivery of the Housing Committee Work Plan, the implementation of an affordable housing policy in the City Plan, and the development of a Strategic Housing Needs Assessment.
3.5 Progress against the Housing Committee Workplan is outlined within Appendix 1 of this report.
3.6 The 2021/22 Authority Monitoring Report indicates that in this period, 1,073 net new homes were completed in the city, of which 479 (or 44%) were affordable. Additionally, City Plan Part Two was also adopted in October 2022 and twenty priority sites for housing development have been identified.
3.7 The Strategic Housing Needs Assessment, which will help determine the city’s future housing requirements, has been commissioned with a final report due in Spring 2023.
4.1 This report is for noting so alternative options are not required.
5.1 This report went to Area Panels in February 2023 for residents to comment and enquire upon and discuss.
6.1 There continue to be areas of strong performance, with 25 Housing Committee Work Plan objectives on track for delivery and 13 performance indicators on target. Furthermore, there has been an improvement in 16 of the performance indicators since the previous quarter.
6.2 The council has a robust Risk Management Framework and approach to key strategic risks, as evidenced by this report. There are a number of well established, existing controls in place to ensure the council is taking action to manage housing pressures and deliver new housing supply.
7.1 The financial implications of the Housing performance indicators are incorporated in the monthly HNC Targeted Budget Monitoring (TBM) Process through which action is taken to manage spend within budget wherever possible.
Name of finance officer consulted: Monica Brooks Date consulted: 14/02/23
8.1 There are no significant legal implications to draw to the committee’s attention arising from this report.
Name of lawyer consulted: Liz Woodley Date consulted: 02/02/23
9.1 There are no direct equalities implications arising from this report.
10.1 Although this report is for noting, the workplan updates within it include progress on objectives relating to sustainability, as well as monitoring of the average energy efficiency rating of council homes.
11.1 There are no other direct implications arising from this report, which is for noting
Supporting Documentation
1. Housing Committee workplan progress update and Housing performance report - Quarter 3 2022/23