In accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders, the Leader of the Opposition shall be given the opportunity to raise one matter relevant to the Borough that has arisen since the last meeting of the Council. The Leader of the Council shall then have the opportunity to advise the Council of matters relevant to the Borough that have arisen since the last meeting.
Decision:
The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Phil Bibby CC, asked the following question:
“In the light of the recent Ombudsman ruling against the Council where it had fallen short in dealing with a vulnerable resident’s issue with a secure Door Entry System, could he have assurances that this situation would not happen in the future?”.
The Leader of the Council replied that the Council had acknowledged the letters that had been received from the Secretary of State (Michael Gove MP) and the Housing Ombudsman, who had previously committed to writing to every social landlord who had been awarded an adverse finding of severe maladministration and had recognised that there were missed opportunities to avoid the failures identified in the case. The Council had rightly apologised to the tenant around the failings that had occurred.
The Leader of the Council advised that the Regulator for Social Housing had concluded from its own investigations that the case did not indicate a systemic failing and that the consumer standards had not been breached and, hence, they would not be taking any regulatory action.
The Leader of the Council commented that, as was the case with other Registered Providers, the work of the Housing Ombudsman Service continued to support the Council in driving forward improvements to its services. The Council had taken on board the learning from this case, which had resulted in several actions including:
· Improving the Housing complaints handling policy and processes;
· The introduction of a team of dedicated Strategic Complaint Managers, each responsible for an area of housing, who would work together on cross-service cases, ensuring a thorough and holistic approach to complaint handling;
· The establishment of a Member-led Housing Management Board that would continue to monitor and drive good performance, compliance, resource allocation, risk management and tenant communications and engagement; and
· the holding of fortnightly complaints clinics with the aim to ensure effective Member and management oversight and to look to continuously improve complaints handling across the housing service.
The Leader of the Council was committed to the further improvement of the Council’s repairs and voids services to ensure they were cost effective and responded to the tenants’ needs. Improvement work in this regard was underway and was being led by the Assistant Director for Building Safety and Housing Property Services.
The Council then received updates from the relevant Executive Portfolio Holders on the following matters:
· Graffiti Blitz;
· Climate Change Community Fund Schemes;
· Co-operative Councils Innovation Network Annual Conference;
· Pin Green Association;
· Council of the Year Award: Affordable Housing Awards;
· New Reception / Customer Service Update;
· Arts and Heritage Update;
· No More Service Evolve Framework;
· Safer Streets;
· Creation of a new Space Catalyst in Stevenage; and
· Securing Inward Investment.
The Leader of the Opposition commented that Hertfordshire County Council would be prepared to work in partnership with the Borough Council on the ongoing removal of graffiti across the town. The Leader of the Council thanked him for offering to work together on this project for the betterment of the town.
Minutes:
The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Phil Bibby CC, asked the following question:
“In the light of the recent Ombudsman ruling against the Council where it had fallen short in dealing with a vulnerable resident’s issue with a secure Door Entry System, could he have assurances that this situation would not happen in the future?”.
The Leader of the Council replied that the Council had acknowledged the letters that had been received from the Secretary of State (Michael Gove MP) and the Housing Ombudsman, who had previously committed to writing to every social landlord who had been awarded an adverse finding of severe maladministration and had recognised that there were missed opportunities to avoid the failures identified in the case. The Council had rightly apologised to the tenant around the failings that had occurred.
The Leader of the Council advised that the Regulator for Social Housing had concluded from its own investigations that the case did not indicate a systemic failing and that the consumer standards had not been breached and, hence, they would not be taking any regulatory action.
The Leader of the Council commented that, as was the case with other Registered Providers, the work of the Housing Ombudsman Service continued to support the Council in driving forward improvements to its services. The Council had taken on board the learning from this case, which had resulted in several actions including:
· Improving the Housing complaints handling policy and processes;
· The introduction of a team of dedicated Strategic Complaint Managers, each responsible for an area of housing, who would work together on cross-service cases, ensuring a thorough and holistic approach to complaint handling;
· The establishment of a Member-led Housing Management Board that would continue to monitor and drive good performance, compliance, resource allocation, risk management and tenant communications and engagement; and
· the holding of fortnightly complaints clinics with the aim to ensure effective Member and management oversight and to look to continuously improve complaints handling across the housing service.
The Leader of the Council was committed to the further improvement of the Council’s repairs and voids services to ensure they were cost effective and responded to the tenants’ needs. Improvement work in this regard was underway and was being led by the Assistant Director for Building Safety and Housing Property Services.
The Council then received updates from the relevant Executive Portfolio Holders on the following matters:
· Graffiti Blitz;
· Climate Change Community Fund Schemes;
· Co-operative Councils Innovation Network Annual Conference;
· Pin Green Association;
· Council of the Year Award: Affordable Housing Awards;
· New Reception / Customer Service Update;
· Arts and Heritage Update;
· No More Service Evolve Framework;
· Safer Streets;
· Creation of a new Space Catalyst in Stevenage; and
· Securing Inward Investment.
The Leader of the Opposition commented that Hertfordshire County Council would be prepared to work in partnership with the Borough Council on the ongoing removal of graffiti across the town. The Leader of the Council thanked him for offering to work together on this project for the betterment of the town.