Agenda item

RESOLVED: To

1.1.         Consider:

1.1.1     The feedback received from the Homes Scrutiny Committee held on 23^rd October,

1.1.2     The feedback received on the draft Housing Strategy 2023-2028 from residents and partners via the engagement and consultation process as detailed in Appendix B, and

1.1.3     The Equalities Impact Assessment detailed in Appendix C

1.1.4     The Housing Delivery Plan detailed in Appendix D

1.2.         Delegate authority to Corporate Director to make minor amendments in conjunction with Executive Mayor and Cabinet Member prior to publication.

1.3.         Agree the Housing Strategy 2023- 2028 as detailed in Appendix A; and

1.4.         RECOMMEND the Housing Strategy 2023- 2028 to Full Council for adoption.

The Executive Mayor introduced the Housing Strategy 2023-28 report and highlighted that over the past eighteen months the council had seen improvements in the new housing repairs contractors, a new Residents Charter to ensure residents had a voice in decisions that affected them, the redevelopment plans for Regina Road, and a reshaping of the Housing Directorate to better serve residents.

The Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Lynne Hale spoke to the report and shared with Cabinet that the strategy and delivery plan were important in enabling council to address the increasingly complex and challenging context within which the council delivery the housing services. As such, the strategies which included the Asset Management Strategy, the Resident Engagement Strategy and the Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy, demonstrated a step-by step, forward thinking and a proactive approach to shaping the future of the Housing services. Positive feedback to the draft priorities and objectives of the housing strategy 2023-28 through consultation were detailed within the report and had been incorporated into the strategy. The co-production to the strategy had involved officers from across the council and key issues for the housing services had been identified, such as: the provision of appropriate accommodation for care experienced young people, older people and the development of the local plan.

The Corporate Director for Housing, Susmita Sen, added that the strategic document would underpin a number of strategies and ambition to protect services for residents with particular focus on the landlord’s function and the regulator of social housing and this also formed part of the voluntary undertaking.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Chrishni Reshekaron welcomed the housing strategy, though noted that the strategy could be stronger in the following areas: improving standards in the private rented sector; tackling antisocial behaviour in all tenures; meeting the net zero commitment; and improving housing options from victims of domestic violence and asked whether these four areas required sufficient attention in the strategy.

The Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Lynne Hale responded that though all the areas mentioned were important, the current focus was to have the housing service in order to provide good decent services to residents. The Executive Mayor added that the elements mentioned would be addressed within other areas of the council such as the antisocial behaviour through the community safety plan, and the net zero and carbon area addressed within the local plan, to name a few, highlighting that these elements fall in other areas within the council and not just within housing.

The Executive Mayor in Cabinet RESOLVED to:

1.1.         Consider:

1.1.1     the feedback received from the Homes Scrutiny Committee held on 23^rd October,

1.1.2     the feedback received on the draft Housing Strategy 2023-2028 from residents and partners via the engagement and consultation process as detailed in Appendix B, and

1.1.3     the Equalities Impact Assessment detailed in Appendix C

1.1.4     The Housing Delivery Plan detailed in Appendix D

1.2.         Delegate authority to Corporate Director to make minor amendments in conjunction with Executive Mayor and Cabinet Member prior to publication.

1.3.         Agree the Housing Strategy 2023- 2028 as detailed in Appendix A; and

1.4.         RECOMMEND the Housing Strategy 2023- 2028 to Full Council for adoption.