Agenda item

Councillor Paul Smith, Cabinet member for Housing, outlined the history of tenant/leaseholder participation in the Council and the reasons for re-establishing the Housing Management Board at this time:

·         The previous Housing Management Board had not met for some time and its membership had included tenants/leaseholders appointed by Housing Officers;

·         In re-establishing the Board, the Council wanted to give it higher prominence by:

o   convening it as a public meeting under the Council’s committee structure;

o   ensuring that tenants/leaseholders agreed their own representatives  on the Board at the six new local Area Housing Forums;

o   appointing a representative from this Board to sit on the Bristol Homes Board, which was a partnership of representatives from private and public bodies with an interest in housing, including private developers, housing associations, homeless charities, Bristol Disability Equalities Forum and Triodos Bank;

o   giving tenants/leaseholders the opportunity to influence decisions and identify priorities in a formal setting following the Government decision to remove the cap on Council borrowing to build new homes;

o   enabling tenants/leaseholders to challenge him in his role as Cabinet Member for Housing;

o   enabling tenants/leaseholders to consider the future direction of the service, following Julian Higson’s recent appointment as Director of Homes and Landlord Services and his subsequent evaluation of the service and proposals for change.

The following points were raised:

·         In relation to the new Local Housing Forums, it was noted that attendance had been low at the first meeting and that this could be the result of the closure of the area housing offices and increase in online transactions which had led to a decrease in the visibility of the Council for tenants.  Councillor Smith responded that the Council’s Housing Scrutiny Panel was looking at the issue of tenant participation and how to engage with tenants, and the Council would be continuing to produce paper copies of newsletters for those who were not online as well engaging with those who were via social media;

·         It was noted that there were six councillors on the Board as well as the Cabinet Member, to reflect the political proportionality of the Council, many felt that this was top heavy and may be overwhelming for tenants/leaseholders.  Councillors accepted this point and reassured tenants/leaseholders that they welcomed being challenged and acknowledged that tenants/leaseholders were bringing their own expertise to the Board;

·         In relation to the suggestion that a tenant could be appointed as Chair of the Board, concern was expressed that chairing a meeting would inhibit a tenant from participating in the discussion and it was agreed that an independent chair be sought;

·         It was agreed that a Council Tenant representative should be sought to sit on the Bristol Homes Board in the future and it was noted that meetings of that Board were open to the public and anyone was welcome to attend as an observer;

·         It was agreed that any further comments on the terms of reference be forwarded to Sarah Spicer.

Actions:

(1)    An independent Chair to be sought for the Housing Management Board;

(2)    The Housing Management Board appoint a representative to sit on the Bristol Homes Board at a future meeting;

(3)    Any further comments on the terms of reference to be forwarded to Sarah Spicer.