MINUTES OF THE TENANTS’ AND LEASEHOLDERS’
CONSULTATION FORUM
Monday 27November2017 at 6.00 pm
Directorate / Business SupportPresent:
Laura Quinton (LQ) / Resident - Ashby & TLCF Chair
Sue Carr (SC) / Resident - St Mary’s & TLCF Vice Chair
Hilary Pym (HPY) / Resident - Ibstock
Jackie Seager (JS) / Resident - Coalville
Graham Carr (GC) / Resident - St Mary’s
Colin Statham(CS) / Resident - Coalville
Joan Cox(JCX) / Resident - Coalville
Kevin Vessey(KV) / Resident- AshbyWillesley TARA
Gillian Parker (GP) / Resident - Coalville & Central Court TARA
Chris Gage (CG) / Resident - Coalville, Linford Verdon TARA
Pearl Upton (PU) / Resident - Coalville & Central Court TARA
Bob Dawe (BD) / Resident - Coalville
Phyllippe Aaron (PA) / Resident - Whitwick
Chris Lambert (CL) / NWLDC Head of Housing
Neil Barks (NB) / NWLDC Decent Homes Team Manager
David Moxon (DM) / NWLDC Finance Systems Team Leader
Justin O’Brien(JO’B) / NWLDC Resident Involvement Team Leader
Laura Smythe(LS) / NWLDC Resident Involvement Officer
Peter Warren(PW) / NWLDC Resident Involvement Admin Assistant
Apologies:
Rose Kennedy(RK) / Resident - St Mary’s & St Mary’s TARA
Claire Boden (CB) / Resident - Ashby Westfields TARA
Hilary Prime (HP) / Resident - Coalville, Linford & Verdon TARA
Jeanette Collins (JC) / Resident - Coalville & Greenhill TARA
Laurence Smith (LS) / Resident -Kegworth & Kegworth TARA
Janet Harrison (JH) / Resident - Kegworth & Kegworth TARA
Sheila Halliday (SH) / Resident - Kegworth & Kegworth TARA
Tracey Smith (TS) / Resident - Kegworth & Kegworth TARA
Lesley Pegg (LP) / Resident - Coalville & Greenhill TARA
Cllr Roger Bayliss (RB) / Housing Portfolio Holder
Glyn Jones (GJ) / NWLDC Director of Housing
ITEM / ACTION
Coffee & Networking
1. / Welcome, Introductions and Apologies
Apologies as above.
2. / Minutes of Last Meeting and Matters Arising
Previous minutes agreed as accurate.
3. / AMT Update
NBwas introduced to the forumand presented his update to the panel for period 1 April 2017 to 31 October 2017, in brief:
- Repairs Call Handling: Total calls received 10,777, of which 58 were abandoned, which is 99.46% answer rate.
- The proportion of repairs categorised as Emergency was at 14% and those categorised as Urgent was at 26%, which combined is 41% of all repairs. NB would like to see the combined total to be nearer 30%.
- Repairs Customer Satisfaction was at 97.5% - which is 532 repairs out of a total of 546.
- Complaints volumes: In 2015/16 the number of complaints regarding the Asset Management service was 155; in 2016/17 the number of complaints regarding the Asset management service was 80. In the first seven months on 2017/18 the number of complaints regarding Asset Management service has been 24. Pro-rata this equates to an estimated total of 39 complaints for this financial year.
NB replied that the call handling staff were trained to some degree, but if necessary, an appointment for the job to be inspected would be raised.
LQ mentioned that it would be a good idea to have instructions, perhaps online, to tell you how to change something, such as a bulb in a bathroom light as she had to wait 63 days for hers to be changed
KV added that if it were a sealed bathroom light unit, you need to be a qualified electrician to open them up.
NB replied that we could look into some self-help/ DIY guides, where appropriate.
KV pointed out that the Repairs Customer Satisfaction rate was commendable, however was someone looking at the 14% that were dissatisfied with the repairs service to see what happened. For example, older people do not tend to keep reporting the same issues.
A general discussion then took place about a number of cases concerning older people and repairs.
CLadded that the Complaints Volumes were a great barometer of satisfaction, 155 in 2015/16, 80 in 2016/17 and the estimated 39 for this financial year. With over 12,000 properties, it was inevitable that things would go wrong. CL continued that the repairs platform is now rock-solid, Neil has transformed the service.
LQ asked about the Gas and Solid Fuel Servicing figures.
NB responded that every time we have a property without a valid gas safety certificate, it was because the tenant will not allow access.
SC asked, what about those who were in hospital for long periods.
NB replied that the family will sometimes allow access or we can disconnect and then reconnect the supply when the tenant returns to the property.
BD asked about the Complaints Performance figures from Councillors and MP’s.
NB responded that some tenants will always go direct to their Councillor and MP and some tenants will report to their Councillor or MP as a last resort. NB added, that over half of referrals through this route are the first that the repairs service has heard of it.
BDreplied that some are a result of a complaint not being dealt with properly.
NB added that some Councillors are pro-active in canvassing.
BDresponded that they are canvassing for problems.
CG added that his repairs had always been done to his satisfaction.
SC wanted to pass on her compliments to Reece, who worked on her doors.
NB replied that Reece was young, but an up and coming operative.
HPY asked about the district tour on the 5 December and if letters had been sent.
NB replied that the tour route and start and finish times had been decided and he would pass that information onto the Resident Involvement team to finalise the details.
4. / 2018/19 Budget Setting Context
DM was introduced and advised the forum that the formal consultation would be as follows;
- Letter to involved tenants on 13 December 2017
- Details presented to the Performance & Finance Working Group on 14 December 2017
- Policy Development Group on 10 January 2018
- Full report presentation to TLCF on 29 January 2018
Revenue:
The Work & Welfare Reform Act 2016 mandated that rents would need to fall for the following 4 years by -1%. 2018/19 will be the 3rd of the 4 years.
The 2017/18 budgeted outturn is £142,000.00the surplus at period 6 was £256,000.00
Empty homes performance continued to show improvement with loss of income budgeted at 1.5%, currently running just below 1.0%.
Gas prices which we reduced by 10% last year, are expected to rise slightly during 2018/19. Electricity prices are expected to increase by 12-15% in the same period.
Retail Price Indexis running at 3.9% for September which means that inflation costs will have a higher impact than we’ve experienced for the past number of years.
Opportunities for potential savings include:
- Reduced rent loss on empty properties
- Reduced council tax for empty properties
- Reduced demand for under occupation incentives
- Savings in smoke detector, mechanical air extraction and double glazing - majority of which are paid for within the Home Improvement Programme
- Reduction in Bad Debt Provision as a result of improvements in debt collection
- -1% rent reduction
- 1% staff pay award
- Additional supervisor for the Asset Management Team
- Local Housing set up costs
Capital:
Home Improvement Programme – maintaining the decency in our homes.
Non Decency improvements remedial works.
Car parking demand remains high, we’re planning to maintain the level of investment over the next three years.
Renewable Energy Installations – upgrade insulation and replace solid fuel boilers in off-gas areas. Three year programme proposed for which we will received a significant incentive payment over 7 years.
Housing IT system renewal.
New Build – Two schemes currently proceeding and a further two schemes well advanced. Overall expenditure will be financed from within existing resources.
PA asked if any of the new build properties were bungalows.
DM replied, yes.
PA asked if they were one or two bedroomed and with gardens.
CL added, one and two bedrooms with limited gardens. Some tenants do not want a large garden and we have to maximise the footprint.
CL continued, HRA financed loans totalling £78,000,000.00 to buy the housing stock from the government, the first big payment of £13,000,000.00 is due to be repaid on the 31 March 2022. We have already saved £12,100,000.00 towards the repayment of these loans, some councils haven’t made any provision to repay theirs.
5. / STAR Survey Results
CL was introduced and talked the forum through the STAR Survey Results. Adding that we would continue breaking down the results by area to best understand patterns and issues in specific locations.
LQ asked if local Tenants and Residents Associations (TARAs) would be involved in identifying or helping resolve issues.
CL replied, absolutely – we may even need to create a TARA if there isn’t one to help resolve issues.
LQresponded that neighbouring TARAs could even work together.
CL added that Measham and Oakthorpe had already been identified as areas where further work needs to be done.
A general discussion then took place about Anti-social behaviour and what could be done to discourage it.
6. / Working Groups Update
SCbriefly summarised the TOFFs AGM minutes and asked for feedback or questions.
There wasnone.
JO’B briefly summarised the LSWG minutes and asked for feedback or questions.
There wasnone.
7. / Treasurers Report
JO’B updated the forum on theResident Involvement budget and asked if there were any questions.
CL asked if the TARA grant allocation was conditional on other services in the budget, specifically if the £3,000.00 given to Friends of Westfields was allocated
JO’B replied, yes the £3,000.00 came from the Community Projects budget and it is included in the figures.
BD commented that it had been decided to allocate any surplus budget at the end of the financial year to Friends of Westfields for their Multi Use Games Arena (MUGA) Project.
8. / Forward Plan
JO’B presented the forward plan to the forum and reminded everyone that there wasn’t a meeting in December.
KV added that he was to approach the TLCF in January 2018 for financial assistance.
JO’B replied that it would be an agenda item and we would go to Willesley for the TLCF meeting in January 2018.
LQ asked if further presentations from DM could have a written report included in the TLCF papers, as it was difficult to follow his presentation without it.
CL responded that he had already noted that point himself.
9. / Any Other Business
JO’B reminded the forum that he, LQ and Judith Flynn, an Ashby-de-la-Zouch resident, had attended a meeting with the Housing Minister, Alok Sharma at the Trent Vineyard Conference Centre, Nottingham on 23 November. JO’B continued that even though the Minister was late due to being called to Parliament following the budget, his team of Civil Servants hosted the day and it had been very beneficial.
LQ added that they had made some good contacts.
JO’B concluded that the details of what had been discussed will be shared by the Minister in the New Year.
BD asked if the Resident Involvement Networking Event had been a success.
LS responded that it had been a really good day and we had received very good feedback. LS continued, some members had commented that they had finally been able to get to know other forum or committee members and had been able to share ideas.
JO’B added that we will organise further networking opportunities as this TLCF funded event had cost less that £300.00 and had resulted in some very positive outcomes.
CL concluded that Bev Smith, Chief Executive of NWLDC, had popped into the Networking Event and was delighted with the format and positive feedback. CL apologised that he had been unable to attend due to prior commitments.
LQ and HPY also apologised for not being able to attend.
SC added that it had been a very enjoyable day with a lovely lunch.
11. / MEETING CLOSED 8PM
No meeting in December
Date and venue details of the next meeting: 29 January 2017at 6pm
The Cabin, Ridgway Road, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, LE65 2PL
Action List
Action / Owner / Target Date / Action statusUpdate training request spreadsheet / JO’B/
PW / Ongoing / Ongoing
Update Forward Plan / PW / Ongoing / Ongoing