Issue - meetings

A.     Date of Next Meeting

It was noted that the date of the next meeting was not yet known and members of the Board would be circulated with the date at the earliest opportunity.

B.      Uses of Community Rooms

LC reported that Judith Davis had requested that “Use of Community Rooms” be included on the agenda for discussion at a future meeting. 

RESOLVED - that Use of Community Rooms be included as an agenda item at a future Housing Management Board meeting.

C.      Bristol Homes Board Representative

In considering whether a member of the Board would be interested in representing tenants at the Bristol Homes Board, Peter Daw offered to take on this role. 

AGREED

(1)   That Peter Daw represent the Housing Management Board on the Bristol Homes Board;

(2)   That a standing item be included on future agendas of the Housing Management Board to allow PD to feedback any issues from the Bristol Homes Board.

D.     Future Chair of Housing Management Board

In response to a question from Board members to Alex Marsh about whether he would be willing to take on the role of Chair, he confirmed  that he would like to meet with JH to discuss the role of the Housing Management Board before making a decision.

To Seek Housing Management Board views on proposals to undertake a consultation exercise with tenants and leaseholders, to better understand their aspirations and priorities.

JH informed the Board that over the next few months the Council’s Housing Department was looking at its service with a view determining what people thought the service should be doing, what it should be like and how services should be delivered.   He confirmed that there would be two strands to the consultation, internal with staff and external with residents and tenants and that a range of mechanisms would be used including surveys, meetings and roadshows.

The following comments were raised;

·         A lot of tenants felt the loss of the local service when the Council closed the local housing offices and it was anticipated that this could be one of the main issues raised by tenants;

·         Although there was not the resources to reopen local housing offices, the Council could look at using other community facilities, a mobile unit and/or sharing space with other organisations;

·         The consultation needed to be extended to aspiring tenants as well as existing tenants;

·         There was an inequality in age as older people were more likely to secure Council accommodation than a young single person and this was something the Council should look at as an issue.

JH asked for the support of the Board in publicising the consultation and engaging with tenants.