Issue - meetings

Councillor Jemima Milton, Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Housing, presented the report on behalf of the Cabinet Member.  The report invited Cabinet to consider a proposal for developing a new model of governance for the Housing Landlord Service.  In moving the recommendations in the report, Councillors Milton asked that the proposed deadline for the setting up of the Management Board (recommendation 1 refers) be amended from April 2013 to May 2013 in view of the elections in May.

Public participation

At the Chairman’s invitation Mr Brian Warwick commented on the report, commenting that he supported the proposed approach, and seeking confirmation that the Council would encourage Housing Associations to take the same approach.  Councillor Milton confirmed that this was the case, and it was agreed that officers and Councillors would put this message to Housing Associations.

It was noted that recommendation 1 referred to “equal numbers of Councillors, tenants and independents”, whereas this was at odds with paragraph 3.2.  Officers noted that the recommendation was correct and that exact numbers would depend on the skills and experience of the individuals.

Resolved:

That Cabinet

1.    Approves the setting up of a Management Board for the governance of council housing consisting of an equal number of Councillors, tenants and independents, with a recommendation that such a panel should be in place by April 2013. This will enable full consultation to take place in line with the Compact and  to  carry out  a transparent recruitment process.

2.    Approves the setting up of an advisory panel of two Councillors and two tenant representatives to oversee the project of setting up a management board.

3.    Endorses the proposal to work with tenants to review other methods of tenant involvement such as the Tenants Panel to ensure that broader tenant participation :

a)    Compliments any governance arrangements that are developed

b)   Develops a strong area base locally

c)    Works for all groups of residents including younger adults and the more vulnerable tenants.

Reasons for Decision

To seek Cabinet approval to extend and strengthen the governance arrangements for delivering an excellent Housing Landlord Service.

The Localism Act has given additional freedoms to councils and tenants to determine their future housing services and priorities under the term ‘co-regulation’ Tenant participation has evolved to an extent where tenants expect and are encouraged to work closely with the Council to have more of a direct say in the decision making process.