Agenda item - Antisocial Behaviour in Social Housing Task & Finish Group Report

13.1 Cllr Cattell, as Chair of the Task & Finish Group, introduced the report saying: Antisocial behaviour in social housing can have a profound and lasting impact on residents’ wellbeing, feelings of safety, and sense of belonging within their communities. For many people, their home should be a place of refuge; when antisocial behaviour occurs nearby or within shared spaces, that sense of security can be deeply undermined. It was in recognition of this impact, and the concerns consistently raised by residents and councillors alike, that the People Overview & Scrutiny Committee established this Task & Finish Group.

Over the past months, the Task & Finish Group has undertaken a detailed and thorough examination of how antisocial behaviour in social housing is addressed across Brighton & Hove. We have drawn on a wide range of evidence, hearing directly from council officers, housing associations, the police, community safety teams, other local authorities, Members of Parliament’s offices, and—most importantly—residents with lived experience of antisocial behaviour. I would like to thank everyone who gave their time to contribute openly and constructively to this work.

What quickly became clear is that while antisocial behaviour presents complex

challenges, many of the frustrations experienced by residents stem not only from the behaviour itself, but from how cases are communicated, progressed, and resolved.

Recurrent themes across our evidence included the importance of clear and regular communication, effective expectation setting, timely use of enforcement tools, and better partnership working between agencies. We also heard powerful and deeply troubling accounts of racism related antisocial behaviour, underscoring the need for a clearer, more proactive, and explicitly zero tolerance approach to racially motivated harassment within housing environments.

This report recognises that no single intervention will eliminate antisocial behaviour altogether. However, the recommendations set out here are practical, evidence based, and informed by best practice from across the sector. If implemented, they have the potential to significantly improve residents’ experiences—ensuring people feel listened to, supported, and confident that concerns are being taken seriously, even when cases are complex or lengthy.

I am particularly grateful to the residents who shared their experiences with the

group. Their testimony grounded our work in reality and served as a constant

reminder that behind every case file is a person, family, or community affected

day?to?day by these issues.

I’d like to thank Jackie O’Quinn for her work on this Task & Finish Group as its

original Chair. I’d also like to thank the members of the group for their hard work over many months to gather the evidence for this report.

I commend this report and its recommendations to the Council, partnerships, and housing providers across the city. I hope it will act as a catalyst for continued improvement, stronger collaboration, and a renewed focus on putting residents at the heart of our collective response to antisocial behaviour.

13.2 Dr Anusree Biswas welcomed the report and the work that had gone into it and asked if the committee could ask the Cabinet to ensure that any ASB action plan includes a specific hate-related ASB framework, with clear escalation routes, reasonable adjustments, language access, staff training, community reassurance and equalities monitoring of outcomes by protected characteristic.

13.3 Cllr Shanks asked about recommendations with cost implications and if they had been costed. Cllr Cattell said that they had not been costed as it would be up to cabinet to decide whether they would be taken forward or not, including the cost in their decision making process. She did say that many did not have cost implications such as lobbying for a special housing court.

13.4 Kendrick Tugwell asked if considerations had been made for children whose lives would be impacted by antisocial behaviour suffered at home. Cllr McLeay, who sat on the Task & Finish Group said that it was a really good point that the group hadn’t considered during its investigations.

13.5 Adam Muirhead asked about a more asset based approach and supporting residents to support themselves. Cllr Cattell said that it was difficult as many residents were afraid to come forward in the first place for fear of being identified by the perpetrator.

13.6 Cllr Miller asked about the process and if it would come back to committee at some point. Giles Rossington, Scrutiny Manager, explained that the report would go to cabinet, who would accept or reject each recommendation. Then at a later committee meeting an update would come back outlining progress of the accepted recommendations. He said that committee could ask to continue receiving these updates until they were happy that all of the accepted recommendations were completed or acknowledged that any remaining were not going to happen for whatever reason.

13.7 Cllr McLeay asked if the report had been shared with witnesses yet, and thanked scrutiny staff for their work supporting the Task & Finish Group. Luke Proudfoot, Overview & Scrutiny Officer, said that he had not yet shared the report with witnesses as he was waiting for approval of the report from the committee before doing so.

13.8 Cllr Cattell thanked Cllr McLeay and Cllr Fishleigh for their excellent contributions to the Task & Finish Group, particularly around casework examples as she does not get such casework.

13.9 Dr Anusree Biswas asked about the process of the suggestions put forward. The Chair said that the report could not be changed at this point but any additional points raised by members would be shared with the appropriate officers.

13.10 RESOLVED People Overview & Scrutiny notes the Antisocial Behaviour in Social Housing Task & Finish Group Report attached as Appendix 1; and Refers the findings of the Task & Finish Group Report on Antisocial

Behaviour in Social Housing to Cabinet for consideration