Agenda and minutes

Apologies for non-attendance were received from Councillors Andy Mercer, Gill Mercer and Lee Wilkes.  Councillors Ken Harrington and Tom Partridge-Underwood attended as substitute members.

The Chair invited those who wished to do so to declare any interests in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

There had been no requests to address the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed, subject to:

Minute 74 – Green Burial Options in North Northamptonshire

Point vii – to read ”…funeral directors in the Thrapston Ward area…”

There had been no requests for call-in.

The Scrutiny Commission considered a report of the Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing which provided information around the housing responsive repairs backlog and preparing void properties for re-letting.

During the Covid-19 national lockdowns/tier 4 restrictions in 2020 and 2021, the legacy councils in Corby and Kettering were limited to carrying out emergency repairs and external work only, causing a backlog of outstanding repairs.  Since April 2021, NNC had been working hard to resolve the backlog, alongside new repair requests received, with the same resource levels as pre Covid-19.  An allocation of an additional £900,000 from HRA reserves would be used to increase resources in the coming year to reduce the number of outstanding repairs.  As at 1 March 2023, the number of responsive repair jobs which were out of target timescale was 5,313.

A separate team of four multi-skilled operatives, a surveyor and an administrator had been recruited to undertake the repairs and the booking of appointments.  An estate-based approach to the order in which repairs would be completed was being taken to ensure that the most efficient use of resources, with all outstanding repairs in that property completed at the same time, where possible.

With regards to voids, each year NNC received on average 550 sets of keys from outgoing tenants.  How long a property which had been returned to NNC remained vacant was dependent on the condition in which it was returned.  The average time to re-let a property during 2021/22 was 75.3 days, not including properties undergoing major works.  For the coming year, the target for the length of time taken to re-let a standard void property was 56 days, the equivalent of eight weeks.

During discussion on the report, the following key points were made:

i.        With the new team in place, how long was it expected to take to clear the backlog?  In response the Executive Director advised that the team had an idea on how many repairs could be done and it was estimated that it would take around a year.  However, how repairs were reported varied and until operatives entered a property, it would often not be clear what the actual repairs were.

ii.       In response to a question around how issues such as oil fired boilers in properties in rural areas, where parts would be unable to be obtained, would be approached, the Interim Strategic Lead for Housing Property Services advised that there were currently around 80 oil fired heaters and these would be part of the Capital Programme to replace.  Alternatives would be looked at including intelligent radiators and air source systems.  Heating repairs would not be part of the backlog, which was for general repairs.

iii.      The Executive Member for Housing, Communities and Levelling Up stated that this was an inherited backlog which needed additional resources to address or it would not be cleared.  An ambitious plan was being put in place and there was the political will to deliver it.

iv.      Corby would be replicating  ...  view the full minutes text for item SC/82

Members are requested, where possible, to identify those area they wish to understand in further detail with the report author at least three working days prior to the meeting.

The Scrutiny Commission considered a report of the Executive Director of Finance and Performance which provided an update on the Council’s performance across a wide range of services, as measured by performance indicators.  The report provided a summary of the performance of Council services and further detail including trend lines and exception reports. 

Comments on several specific indicators were made, including:

•        Number of rough sleepers (single night snapshot figure) (AFL12) – was the target of 9 a realistic figure?  The Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing advised that it was about understanding benchmarks and there had been lots of learning during the pandemic.  

•        Number of children without a school place (BBF22) – how many of these children were SEND and how many had been refused a school place?  The Head of Performance, Intelligence and Partnerships undertook to provide a response outside of the meeting.

•        Total number of households living in temporary accommodation (AFL17) – the number was very high but it was hoped that the work discussed earlier in the meeting would help to improve performance.

•        Total active applicants on the Keyways Housing Register (STP04) – an affordable housing policy was needed to help increase the number of homes.  The Executive Director advised that a policy was being looked at.  Situations such as the global pandemic and Ukrainian and Afghanistan refugee projects had not helped the position.  The new recruitment of an Assistant Director post was an acknowledgment that the resources had not right.

•        Vacancies – the vacancy figures had been removed.  The Executive Director of Customer and Governance advised that they had been removed following a data cleanse.  The system was being rebuilt to give the actual position.  It was expected that this would be done for the end of period 3.

RESOLVED:

To note the performance of the Council and its services.

The Chair thanked members and officers for their attendance and closed the meeting.

The meeting closed at 9.55pm.