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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – (i) That a Task and Finish Group be set up - Behaviour Change and Decarbonisation agreed, with the following terms of reference:- · Behaviour change for both inside and outside the organisation, with an aim of reducing vehicle journeys. · Fleet review to look at both reduction in vehicle usage, how vehicles are utilised, reduction/removal of grey fleet mileage and carbon reduction of council owned-fleet. (ii) Membership of the Group – Councillors Paul Pemberton, Paul Rogers, Robert Ian Williams, Brian Apsley, Steve Joe Jones, Jeremy Newton and John Phillips. (iii) Future Decarbonisation reports be reduced in frequency to twice per annum. (iv) The Biodiversity/Open Space Strategy will be considered at the February 2023 meeting. (v) A report on Lettings will be considered at the May 2023 meeting which will also include an update on latest Welsh Government guidance relating to lettings and its implications and impact on the current processes. (vi) That the report in respect of Housing repairs be considered at the June 2023 meeting.
AGREED - (i) The Lead Member and Officers be thanked for the report and the work outlined therein showing the reduction in the current level of voids compared with recent years. (ii) That when details are released by the Welsh Government the Committee consider the scheduled report on WHQS 2. (iii) That a site visit be held to show work carried out on voids to bring them up to lettable standard.
An apology for absence was received from Cllr Paul Blackwell
The Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 14 December, 2022 were submitted. Correction to Minutes – Apologies for absence should have been recorded from Councillor Robert Ian Williams AGREED - That subject to the above correction, the Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 14 December, 2022 be signed as a correct record.
Agenda Item 5 – Update on Empty Properties, Housing Voids and Major Refurbishment Works Councillor John C Phillips – Personal and Prejudicial – A family member works for the Voids Team, and his employer sub-contracts for several primary contractors working on void properties. The Councillor withdrew from the meeting for this item taking no part in the discussion and voting thereon.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (i) That a Task and Finish Group be set up - Behaviour Change and Decarbonisation agreed, with the following terms of reference:- · Behaviour change for both inside and outside the organisation, with an aim of reducing vehicle journeys. · Fleet review to look at both reduction in vehicle usage, how vehicles are utilised, reduction/removal of grey fleet mileage and carbon reduction of council owned-fleet. (ii) Membership of the Group – Councillors Paul Pemberton, Paul Rogers, Robert Ian Williams, Brian Apsley, Steve Joe Jones, Jeremy Newton and John Phillips. (iii) Future Decarbonisation reports be reduced in frequency to twice per annum. (iv) The Biodiversity/Open Space Strategy will be considered at the February 2023 meeting. (v) A report on Lettings will be considered at the May 2023 meeting which will also include an update on latest Welsh Government guidance relating to lettings and its implications and impact on the current processes. (vi) That the report in respect of Housing repairs be considered at the June 2023 meeting.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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The Chief Officer Governance and Customer submitted a report COGC/06/23s which allowed Members to consider the revised work programme of the Homes and Environment Scrutiny Committee. The Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report, referring in particular to the proposed changes which were highlighted in the work programme (as attached at Appendix 1 to the report). AGREED – (i) That a Task and Finish Group be set up - Behaviour Change and Decarbonisation agreed, with the following terms of reference:- · Behaviour change for both inside and outside the organisation, with an aim of reducing vehicle journeys. · Fleet review to look at both reduction in vehicle usage, how vehicles are utilised, reduction/removal of grey fleet mileage and carbon reduction of council owned-fleet. (ii) Membership of the Group – Councillors Paul Pemberton, Paul Rogers, Robert Ian Williams, Brian Apsley, Steve Joe Jones, Jeremy Newton and John Phillips. (iii) Future Decarbonisation reports be reduced in frequency to twice per annum. (iv) The Biodiversity/Open Space Strategy will be considered at the February 2023 meeting. (v) A report on Lettings will be considered at the May 2023 meeting which will also include an update on latest Welsh Government guidance relating to lettings and its implications and impact on the current processes. (vi) That the report in respect of Housing repairs be considered at the June 2023 meeting.
Decision as recorded
AGREED - (i) The Lead Member and Officers be thanked for the report and the work outlined therein showing the reduction in the current level of voids compared with recent years. (ii) That when details are released by the Welsh Government the Committee consider the scheduled report on WHQS 2. (iii) That a site visit be held to show work carried out on voids to bring them up to lettable standard.
(Members declarations of interest in relation to this item are set out in Minute 20 above). The Lead Member for Housing submitted a report COH/04/23s providing members with an update on the on Empty Properties, Housing Voids and Major Refurbishment Work. The Lead Member introduced the report and in doing so thanked the Officers concerned who had achieved a reduction in the number of voids. He updated Members on the significant investment and ongoing improvements that are continually being made to the Council housing stock. This will ensure that tenants have the highest standard of accommodation we can deliver and deliver stock which will require minimal on-going investment. The report also outlined: · A summary of the next steps for empty properties and the proposed changes from the current version of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) to a new and updated standard, WHQS 2023. · An overview of the current position regarding the numbers of empty properties, as well as providing details of the significant overall reduction of empty properties since the last report to this committee on this matter. · The current lettable standard which was agreed by the Wrexham Tenant & Member Partnership and reviewed by Scrutiny Committee, adopts a ‘whole house’ approach to the refurbishment of Council housing and goes above and beyond the current version of the WHQS. · As a result of this standard, tenants are receiving a high quality, affordable product that will be their home for many years to come, which should be free from major defects such as plastering defects, damp and any structural issues. · The management of this programme is challenging as the properties are geographically spread around the County Borough, and each property is different. This requires the detailed process in place for managing the empty property programme The Head of Service – Property addressed Committee and in doing so informed Members that whilst there are different internal teams that are involved with the empty property refurbishment programme, there is an internal meeting that takes place every fortnight to discuss progress, performance and to highlight any matters or issues that arise. He informed Committee from the proposed changes from the current version of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) to the WHQS 2023 will create budget implications. The Officer shared a presentation and highlighted the following points: · In terms of live properties that are under repair, this stands at 294 properties (December 2022), which has reduced by 231 properties from December 2020. This is a reduction of 44%. · The lettable standard was introduced in December 2016. To date, 3,523 properties have been refurbished to this new, high quality standard. This equates to 32% of the housing stock. The refurbishment total from December 2016 is 4,155, however, this includes sheltered units, which have not been fully refurbished. · Since the introduction of the new standards in December 2016, there has been only 247 of the 4,155 properties that have been empty more than once. This suggests that the objective of creating more sustainable tenancies is working. This equates to 5.9% of the refurbishment total since December 2016. A discussion ensued and Members raised the following points and responses: · If a contractor does not meet the deadline date for completion and the schedule is delayed, the Contractor is charged for the rent on that property for each week there is a delay. · Concerns in relation to the numbers of homeless people in the area and the possibility of housing them in properties awaiting refurbishment. · There will be significant additional funding required, beyond that currently identified, to meet the requirements of WHQS 2. · Support for not reducing the lettable standard, due to the positive affects it is having on housing stock and the improved condition of property for tenants. · The Right to Buy scheme is no longer applicable in Wales. · A full refurbishment of a property could cost from £20k to £25k. These costs have risen due to increases in inflation. · Changes in technology may address some of the issues related to Decarbonisation of the housing stock. AGREED - (i) The Lead Member and Officers be thanked for the report and the work outlined therein showing the reduction in the current level of voids compared with recent years. (ii) That when details are released by the Welsh Government the Committee consider the scheduled report on WHQS 2. (iii) That a site visit be held to show work carried out on voids to bring them up to lettable standard.