Agenda
PDF 275 KBVenue: Online only
Contact: Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Note: Due to technical difficulties it has not been possible to provide a recording of this meeting.
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Agenda for 16/12/2020 1. Apologies for Absence
To receive apologies for absence and to note the attendance of any substitute Members.
2. Declarations of Interest and Party Whip
Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests and the nature of that interest, including the existence and nature of the party whip, in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.
Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.
Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting. There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.
3. Questions for Silva, a registered provider of social housing in Bracknell Forest
Andrew McDonald, Lead Customer Relations Partner (Tenancy), and Tom Mason, Lead Customer Relations Partner (Revenue)
will answer the Panel’s questions on allocation, complaints, engaging with residents and relationship with Bracknell Forest Council.
4. Questions for Home Group, a registered provider of social housing in Bracknell Forest
Alan Daniels-Smith, Housing Manager, and Kayleigh Gorrell, Community Housing Assistant
will answer the Panel’s questions on allocation, complaints, engaging with residents and relationship with Bracknell Forest Council.
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Evidence pack Items 2-13 form the evidence pack for this review which is part of the Overview and Scrutiny work programme (Overview and scrutiny work programme | Bracknell Forest Council (bracknell-forest.gov.uk).
The review will take place over a series of meetings. Some meetings will be open to the public and others will be closed. This will be determined by the nature of the session and the sensitivity of the information being shared. The priority will always be the effectiveness of the review. The Panel may produce interim reports as well as a final report capturing good practice, learning points and recommendations.
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Scope of the review Describes the background to and the scope of this review into registered social landlords. |
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Schedule of the review Provides an overview of the approach for this review. |
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Definitions Private Registered Providers of Social Housing
Social housing means low cost rental accommodation and low cost home ownership accommodation as defined by sections 68-70 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.
Registered providers (RPs) are local authorities, housing associations and any other public or private provider of social housing registered with the regulator. Private registered providers of social housing (PRPs) are housing associations and other social housing providers registered with the regulator (formerly known as registered social landlords (RSLs) ).
The regulator uses the term private registered provider (PRP) to refer to not-for-profit and for-profit organisations. The term registered provider encompasses both PRP and local authority registered providers (LARP). All registered providers are subject to the consumer standards and are regulated in line with the regulator’s published approach. The regulator does not regulate LARP against the economic standards as they are not applicable to them.
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Background Bracknell Forest Council does not own any permanent social housing - all social housing in the borough is owned by private registered providers http://www.bfcmychoice.org.uk/content/Information/TheBFCMyChoiceHousingRegister.
The Council does own temporary accommodation properties for homeless applicants, managed by the Housing Management Team. This is distinct from social rented housing.
There are 20 registered providers in the borough. Click below for details and links to their websites: http://www.bfcmychoice.org.uk/content/Information/RegisteredProviders
19 of the borough’s registered providers are listed as members on the National Housing Federation website - the trade body for the housing association sector which influences, campaigns and engages on behalf of their members. Sage Housing is not listed as a member.
6 local registered providers are listed as members of TPAS, a not-for-profit Tenant Engagement Service which promotes, supports and champions tenant involvement and empowerment in social housing across England. AnchorHanover (previously Hanover), London and Quadrant (previously L&Q), Metropolitan Thames Valley, One Housing, Southern Housing and Sovereign are listed as members.
Read more about the National Housing Federation’s and TPAS’s work under Sector Projects in the further reading section.
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Details of registered providers within Bracknell Forest An overview of registered providers in Bracknell Forest. |
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Regulation The Regulator of Social Housing regulates registered providers of social housing. This function was transferred from the Homes and Communities Agency in October 2018. Until April 2012 it was performed by the Tenant Services Authority. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
All social housing providers in England are required to be registered with the regulator, including local authorities, housing associations, housing co-operatives, profit-making organisations and any other form of housing provider.
About the Regulator: Regulator of Social Housing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/regulator-of-social-housing/about
Useful guides: Brief guide to regulation of registered providers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Information for social housing tenants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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Summary of regulatory standards The document provides a high level overview of the main standards considered by the Regulator of Social Housing.
This link provides more detail on each standard: Shelter Legal England - Regulatory standards
The full standards are in the Further reading section. |
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Regulator's approach to a possible breach of consumer standards How the Regulator responds to a possible breach of consumer standards.
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Enforcement The Public Protection Partnership uses the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to assess any complaints about housing standards.
The housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) is a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings. It was introduced under the Housing Act 2004 and applies to residential properties in England and Wales.
This assessment method focuses on the hazards that are present in housing. Tackling these hazards will make housing healthier and safer to live in
Remedial action could include:
The Housing Ombudsman Service The Housing Ombudsman Service is a free, independent and impartial service dealing with disputes involving tenants and leaseholders of housing associations and local authorities who are registered with it. The Ombudsman also informs the Council of any potential systemic (widespread) issues it has come across when dealing with individual complaints about a landlord that is registered with us.
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Local performance data Volumes of service requests to the Public Protection Partnership across private and social housing - to be included when available. |
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Future changes to regulation Social Housing White Paper published 17 November 2020
The white paper sets out the actions the government will take to ensure that residents in social housing are safe, are listened to, live in good quality homes and have access to redress when things go wrong.
A useful overview: Inside Housing - Insight - The Social Housing White Paper: The proposals at a glance
Note: Inside Housing requires a subscription but you should be able to read one free article a week. As you may not be able to access this again easily, only click on the link when you have time to read the article and make any notes you need.
National Housing Federation initial response to Social Housing White Paper: https://www.housing.org.uk/news-and-blogs/news/government-publishes-social-housing-white-paper/
News Article:
The white paper:
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Further reading Standards: Regulatory standards that registered providers are expected to achieve: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/regulatory-standards
Decent Home Standard Section 5, referred to in consumer standards:
Regulatory approach: How the Regulator of Social Housing approaches its work:
In particular, Annex B: Consumer regulation guidance (pg 29).
National performance data: Consumer regulation review 2019/20 (case studies and stats on sources of referral and reasons for referral)
Sector Projects: National Housing Federation - Together with tenants Together with Tenants is a sector-wide initiative focused on strengthening the relationship between residents and housing association landlords. The project has developed a four-point plan, including a new charter that sets out in clear terms what residents can and should expect from their landlord. Over the last 12 months, 130 early adopter organisations have been working with their residents to test out the charter. Their report is included here. Current and past TPAS (tenant engagement) projects:
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