Agenda and minutes

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

1.2Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Rathbone.

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

3.1 There were no declarations of interest.

4.1 The Chair opened the item by explaining that the Commission was keen to hear about the progress made in retrofitting and promoting better energy use across Council-owned and managed housing stock, and in encouraging retrofit and energy monitoring across housing association, private rented sector and owner-occupied housing stock.

4.2 The Commission saw this discussion as timely given the adoption of Hackney’s Climate Action Plan in May 2023, in which retrofit was identified as a key priority. The Commission was also keen to follow up on its previous work on retrofit as part of the Scrutiny Panel’s overarching Net Zero Review in 2021/22, and review progress against the Council’s objectives since.

4.3 Representing London Borough of Hackney

·  Cllr Clayeon McKenzie - Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation

·  Rickardo Hyatt - Group Director Climate, Homes and Economy

·  James Goddard - Strategic Head of Strategy, Assurance and Private Sector Housing

·  Sinead Burke - Head of Property and Asset Management

Council owned and managed housing stock

4.4 The Chair invited the Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation Head of Property and Asset Management to give a short verbal presentation. The main points are highlighted below.

4.5 The Council was committed to achieving net zero by 2040 for its housing stock. In addition to a significant reduction in the Council’s climate emissions, it would also mean the homes it manages would be comfortable, offer value for money for residents and be more resistant to damp and mould.

4.6 Officers had carried out valuable research on the technical potential of its retrofit of homes, and as planned were now moving to begin pilot projects. The Housing Services Resident Engagement Strategy would provide a framework for how the Council engages with residents on retrofit.

4.7 It was important to understand the challenges the Council faced in retrofitting its housing stock. It would require significant levels of investment, which was currently unaffordable even with grant funding. As well as this, the Council needed to ensure it focused on key issues such as fire safety and regular maintenance.

4.8 Since the last update in November 2021, Housing Services had appointed consultants to carry out feasibility studies for a possible net zero retrofit project. At this stage, the purpose was to understand detailed costings, technical potential, funding models and resident impacts.

4.9 It had also placed a successful bid for wave two funding of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. This was worth up to £4.5 million and could contribute to energy efficiency improvements for up to 550 homes.

4.10 Housing Services was working to appoint consultants to manage the project, and contractors to deliver the work. The timescales associated with the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund were very tight, with funding needing to be spent by March 2025.

4.11 It had placed a successful bid for £100k of the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme to improve the efficiency of one network as a pilot project which may be rolled out to other networks in the future.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1 The Chair explained that during 2019/20 and 2020/21, the Commission undertook a Housing Associations Review which looked at the practices and approaches of housing associations in Hackney, and their relationships and partnership arrangements with the Council.

5.2 Last municipal year, the Commission looked into a number of topics relating to the accountability of all registered social landlords in Hackney, which included reviewing progress against the implementation of the Charter for Social Housing Residents, and exploring issues of local concern such as nominations and lettings, tenancy sustainment, repairs, complaints, safety and resident engagement.

5.3 The Commission had agreed and finalised its response following these pieces of work, which was sent to the Executive and Housing Association partners for response in June 2023.

5.4 Members noted the agreed letter to the Executive and Housing Association partners in Hackney.

6.1 The Chair explained that in March 2022, the Children and Young People and Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commissions undertook an investigation into the nature and level of housing support for care leavers in Hackney.  As a result, the Commissions developed a report in October 2021 setting out ten recommendations for the Executive.

6.2 The Cabinet response to these recommendations was published on 16th June 2023 and was considered and approved by Cabinet at its meeting on 26th June 2023.

6.3 It would be important to continue to monitor and review the recommendations to ensure that it remained a high priority. The Chair would therefore be meeting with the Chair of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Commission to plan and agree the next steps and will update members in due course.

6.4 Members noted the Cabinet response and the next steps outlined to follow up the agreed recommendations.

7.1 The Chair explained that the following stakeholder groups had been consulted on their views for the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission work programme 2023/24:

·  Members of the Commission

·  Non-Executive Councillors, Cabinet Members and Senior Officers

·  Resident Liaison Group

·  Local residents

7.2 The Chair & Vice-Chair had developed a shortlist based on these suggestions, which, subject to Commission Members’ comments at the meeting, would be discussed with Cabinet Members, senior officers and key stakeholders before the work programme was finalised.

7.3 The Chair & Vice-Chair would present the finalised work programme to the Commission at the next meeting in September 2023, and to the Scrutiny Panel at its next meeting in October 2023.

7.4 The Chair then invited Commission Members to make any comments on the 2023/24 work programme shortlist.

7.5 A Commission Member supported the suggestion to look at the interim findings of the Intermediate Housing Panel, which was being commissioned by the Council to look into the delivery of intermediate homes in Hackney.

7.6 A Commission Member supported the suggestion to look at progress made against the improvement actions put in place by the Council to improve housing repairs and customer care, and suggested that the item had a focus on the expansion of the Direct Labour Organisation (DLO).

7.7 A Commission Member supported the suggestion to undertake a review into the Council’s approach to the long-term viability and future use of community halls, and addressing the challenges faced by local organisations and groups in securing adequate spaces from which community and/or statutory services can be delivered.

7.8 A Commission Member made a suggestion to look at the barriers faced by some residents in accessing the Council’s customer services, although it was noted that this would likely fall outside of the Commission’s remit.

7.8 A Commission Member supported the suggestion to look at the multi-agency approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour, particularly in terms of prevention and early intervention and engaging with communities.

7.9 A Commission Member made a suggestion to look at the Council’s draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, with a particular focus on the inequalities and barriers faced by those with protected characteristics in accessing homelessness services in the borough.

8.1 The draft minutes of the previous meeting on 12th June 2023 were presented.

8.2 Members agreed the draft minutes as an accurate record.

9.1 None.