Agenda and draft minutes

Including any notices of motion and any other items of business submitted as urgent for consideration at the meeting.

Members should declare any financial and non-financial interests they have in the items of business for consideration, identifying the relevant agenda item and the nature of their interest.

If any.

Minute of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee of 1 December 2022 – submitted for approval as a correct record

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee Work Programme

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee Rolling Actions Log

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee Business Bulletin

By Councillor Campbell – Damp and Mould

“Committee

Notes, following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak who died of a respiratory condition caused by mould in his home, that the Scottish Housing Regulator wrote to all social landlords to request that they “consider the systems they have in place to ensure their tenants’ homes are not affected by mould and dampness and that they have appropriate, proactive systems to identify and deal with any reported cases of mould and damp timeously and effectively.”

Notes that the current process was agreed by the HHFW committee in June 2021 and includes assurance that the council will:

·       give tenants the name of a person that will look after their case,

·       organise a full dampness survey to be carried out in their home

·       let tenants know what the survey finds

·       organise any repairs, including fixing emergency issues like leaks,

·       put right any cosmetic damage,

·       keep tenants updated on what happens next,

·       check if tenants are happy with what we have done.

Notes that many tenants are not experiencing this process in full, particularly in terms of the named person to look after their case, having survey results shared and being kept updated on the process.

Further notes that an update report to committee in January 2022 included actions at 4.15 which included:

·       Recruitment of surveyors specialising in damp and mould

·       Administrative support for case management

·       Enhanced contract management

·       Review of training and support for staff

Agrees to receive an update report on damp and mould in one cycle which:

·       Sets out detail of the current systems in place so that councillors can consider these in line with the request from the Scottish Housing Regulator including analysis on performance

·       Detail of current cases including case length and location, timeframes for repairs to be completed, tenant satisfaction , performance on ‘getting it right first time’ and causes of damp and mould

·       Updates on the outstanding actions at 4.15 from the report in January 2022

·       Sets out an additional decant process to be added to the current commitment which includes a risk assessment and looking at the health and wellbeing of tenants including risk factors such as age and existing health conditions such as respiratory or other illnesses

·       A heat map of damp and mould cases across the city aligned with the a map showing the proposed capital programme for whole house retrofit

·       Detail of the process for using damp and mould repairs case data to help inform the long term capital programme and asset management strategy

·       Detail of how data from damp and mould repairs cases can be used to prioritise the sequencing of stock condition surveys”

Sorry `By Councillor Caldwell - Taking stock of affordable housing by ward in the City of Edinburgh

“Committee

Notes

1)    The 2017 - 2022 Council term’s committed target to producing 10,000 affordable homes by 2022.

2)    The 2022 – 2027 Council term’s committed target to producing 25,000 Council affordable homes by 2032.

3)    That this needs to be achieved in partnership both with existing Council-owned land and developments, and developers within the private sector.

4)    In 2022, the Council approved an annual HRA budget strategy which included a 10 year £2.9bn capital programme and £1.3bn revenue programme, predicated on a minimum 2% annual rent increase, and that Council deferred decision on the agreed FY 2023-24 3% rent increase expenditure to the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee due 11^th May 2023.

5)    There is disparity between both SIMD quadrants and Council wards across the city in terms of both affordable housing amenity and deprivation levels.

6)    Land value and cost of development varies across the city and is further complicated by other local factors such as the number of conservation areas.

Requests

A report within one cycle on the last 5 years (FYs 2017-2022), split into the 17 wards, that make up the City of Edinburgh detailing;

1)    How many affordable homes, as part of the HRA Business Plan, during those years have been;

·       Granted planning permission.

·       Underwent construction by the end of FY2022.

·       Built to completion.

2)    How many planning applications were granted where a commuted sum was agreed for the affordable homes.

3)    How many approved affordable homes have been delivered within each ward and, in cases where that was not possible, what has happened to the commuted sum.

4)    What were the main barriers to affordable housing being delivered on site and what is being done to overcome this.

5)    The percentage of housing-led development sites (by ward) which did not include affordable housing as part of the New Homes Strategy.”