Agenda and minutes

1.1The Chair updated those in attendance on the meeting etiquette and that the meeting was being recorded and livestreamed.

1.2 Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Rathbone.

2.1 There were no urgent items, and the order of business was as set out in the agenda.

3.1 Councillor Ogundemuren declared that he was a London Borough of Hackney resident.

4.1 The Chair opened the item by explaining that the Commission had requested this item as it was keen to hear about how the new Lettings Policy had affected residents since its implementation.

4.2 The session would cover the advice and guidance in place for residents that no longer qualify for the housing register, and to those that face a long wait or are unlikely to get housed, and the impact of the policy on prioritising residents in the greatest need and providing more predictable outcomes.

4.3 Representing London Borough of Hackney

·  Councillor Sade Etti, Mayoral Advisor for Housing Needs and Homelessness

·  Rob Miller, Strategic Director of Customer and Workplace

·  Jennifer Wynter, Head of Benefits and Housing Needs

·  Marcia Facey, Operations Manager - Benefits and Housing Needs

·  Andrew Croucher, Operations Manager - Benefits and Housing Needs

·  Zoe Tyndall, Change Support Team Manager - Digital and Data

4.4 The Chair invited the Mayoral Advisor for Housing Needs and Homelessness to give a short verbal presentation on the context of local housing needs in Hackney. The main points are highlighted below.

4.5 In 2001, the average house price in Hackney was £139,000. This had since increased to £705,000, meaning an increase of over 407%. This represented the biggest increase across all local authorities in the UK.

4.6 For anyone to be able to buy a house in Hackney, they would need to have a household income of £140,000 and a deposit of £70,000. This did not reflect the financial circumstances of most residents in the borough.

4.6 The key support that the Council had provided over the past decade to low-income households that were renting in the private sector was the Local Housing Allowance.

4.7 Before 2013, the Local Housing Allowance was linked to the local cost of rent, meaning that it went up to reflect the rising cost of rent in the borough. However, since 2013 the legislation that provided for this increase had been removed and the allowance had been frozen.

4.8 In addition to this, in 2016/17 there were around 1229 council homes available to local residents in need. In 2019/20, this had decreased to only 409 council homes.

4.9 This had led to a variety of issues for local residents, including overcrowding and exploitation by rogue landlords. It had also meant that many families have had to leave the borough to find more affordable housing options.

4.10 The Chair then invited the Head of Benefits and Housing Needs and the Operations Managers to make any follow up points on the presentation. The main points are highlighted below.

4.11 Over the last few months the housing crisis had worsened further, with increasing volatility in the property and housing markets. This had led to an increase in families presenting to the Council as homeless, particularly those fleeing domestic abuse and gang violence.

4.12 Such families have needed to be provided with emergency temporary accommodation, at a time in which there were 30% less privately rented properties  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1 The Chair opened the item by explaining that the Commission had requested this item as it was keen to hear about how the cyber attack had affected residents on the housing register and whether the service had returned to business as usual.

5.2 Representing London Borough of Hackney

·  Mayor Philip Glanville, Cabinet Member for Digital and ICT

·  Councillor Sade Etti, Mayoral Advisor for Housing Needs and Homelessness

·  Rob Miller, Strategic Director of Customer and Workplace

·  Jennifer Wynter, Head of Benefits and Housing Needs

·  Marcia Facey, Operations Manager - Benefits and Housing Needs

·  Andrew Croucher, Operations Manager - Benefits and Housing Needs

·  Zoe Tyndall, Change Support Team Manager - Digital and Data

5.3 The Chair invited the Strategic Director of Customer and Workplace to give a short verbal presentation. The main points are highlighted below.

5.4 The cyber attack in October 2020 affected all systems hosted on the Council’s servers. Many of these systems had already been transferred to a Cloud based service and, whilst the cyber attack was hugely impactful, this therefore meant that some vital systems such as the Council’s website, emails and telephone system were not affected.

5.5 However, the attack did lead to the loss of the Universal Housing system. This removed the ability to process new applications to the housing register and changes of circumstances for existing applicants.

5.6 The bidding system was not affected. However, without access to the Universal Housing system, it had meant that officers had to make manual changes to allow residents to bid for appropriately sized properties.

5.7 The service had been developing an in-house IT system prior to the cyber attack to manage the housing register and replace the Universal Housing system, which included a front facing online form and back office processing and administration.

5.8 The online application form sought to make the process easy to understand and complete for residents, reduce the number of questions and make applications aware upfront of expected waiting times and other housing options. The administration tool would make it easier for officers to view, assign and manage applications.

5.9 There had understandably been delays in replacing Universal Housing due to the cyber attack. The service was prioritising those households that had been negatively impacted, for example those where a change in circumstances would shorten their waiting time or they were close to successfully bidding for a property.

5.10 The Chair then invited the Mayor of London Borough of Hackney to make any additional comments.

5.11 The Mayor, as Cabinet Member for Digital and ICT, had attended weekly meetings as the Council responded to the initial cyber attack, followed by bi-weekly and monthly meetings during the recovery phase. Individual Cabinet Members also attended to respond to issues that affected their service areas.

5.12 This aimed to bring a level of political oversight and sometimes critical challenge to the recovery process. The Audit Committee also had oversight of the recovery process, and Member briefing sessions were also used  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1 The draft minutes of the previous meetings held on 17th January, 7th March and 13th July 2022 were agreed as an accurate record.

7.1 The Chair explained that this item was to consider and agree the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission work programme for the 2022/23 municipal year.

7.2 The draft work programme had been drafted by the Chair and Vice-Chair taking into consideration the suggestions made by Commission Members, as well as suggestions made in the public survey, by officers and by Cabinet Members.

7.3 The Chair then invited Commission Members to make any comments on the draft 2022/23 work programme.

7.4 A Commission Member suggested additional work programme items on the effect of the cyber attack on housing benefits and the Council’s approach to tackling homelessness.

7.5 A Commission Member suggested that a written update be provided to the Commission on the progress of retrofitting since the last discussion held on 8th December 2021.

7.6 A Commission Member suggested that a written update be provided to the Commission on the progress of the programme of weekly housing surgeries across the Council’s housing estates.

7.7 A Commission Member suggested that the Commission explored a potential joint piece of work with the Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission on the policing of drugs in Hackney.

7.8 The draft work programme for 2022/23 municipal year, as included in the agenda papers, was agreed by Commission Members.