Agenda and minutes

The Chairman announced that the term office for the co-optees would soon be coming to an end and as such this was their last meeting.  She thanked them for all the support they had given her.

There were no Declarations of Interest made at the meeting.

There were no questions from the public and press.

Steve Parry, Safer Rotherham Partnership Co-ordinator presented the submitted report which considered the impact of the Dispersal Order on aspects of crime and anti-social behaviour over the relevant periods and drew comparisons with the same periods during 2006/07 when a Dispersal Order was not in place.

A joint presentation with South Yorkshire Police was also given by Chief Inspector Marissa Cooper to highlight the impact of the Dispersal Order.

The Dispersal Order was agreed by the Council in 2007, to put in place using the boundary of the Rotherham Town Centre Alcohol Exclusion Zone between May 2007 and January 2008.

In line with agreed protocols, the application was supported, taking into account the perceived disruption by offenders to traders and visitors.  These included:

• Daytime problems caused by street drinking and youths congregating and behaving in intimidating and abusive ways
• Night time drink related violence
• Anti-Social Behaviour and offences of violence, including associated intimidation felt by residents, workers and town centre visitors
• To aid the management of football matches and other town centre events and activities

During May 2007 and January 2008, the Dispersal Order was used on 43 separate occasions, involving the ‘moving on’ of 115 individuals, 21 of which subsequently breached their order.  Of this number, the figures for its use of power during the hours defined as ‘night time economy’ was slightly higher at 23 compared with 20 during the day.  The months of June, July and October saw the highest number of use of the power and individuals dispersed.

During this period there were a total of 12 individuals who repeatedly breached the order, 10 of which were issued with 2 Dispersal Notices each.  A further 2 were issued with Dispersal Notices on a number of occasions.

Discussion and a question and answer session ensued and the following issues were covered:-

• Whether it would be possible to extend the dispersal order to other areas in Rotherham.  It was felt that this would not be appropriate as there were other tools which could be used to combat the different areas of crime and disorder.
• Why there had been a higher use of the order in June, July and October. 
• What happened to repeat offenders
• Whether the anti social behaviour was alcohol related during the night time economy.  
• Whether a taxi marshalling scheme would be run every year and if so how would it be funded?
• The introduction of a digital radio scheme and how it was operated.
• The overall lessons learned

RESOLVED – that the Panel note the positive impact that the Town Centre Dispersal Order and other policing and partnership activities, had had on crime and anti-social behaviour compared with the same period during 2006/07.

John Mansergh, Service Performance Manager, presented the submitted report which outlined the 2007/08 key performance indicator 3^rd quarter results and efficiency outturns for the Neighbourhoods elements of the Directorate.

At the end of the quarter, 25 (90%) of key performance indicators were on track to achieve their year end targets. This compared to 79% on target at the end of the last quarter.

The 3 indicators that had been rated as ‘off target’ were

2010 Rotherham Limited

• xBVPI 72  Urgent repairs completed in time
• BV 212  Average void re-let times

Neighbourhoods

• CPA 31 Business satisfaction with trading standards

The indicators had been affected by the flooding and 2010 Rotherham had reorganised the repair delivery teams to better match capacity and demand.  As a result performance had been steadily improving for the last two quarters.

2010 Rotherham reported that the impact on empty property re-let times (BVPI 212) increased during this period by 2 days.  30 properties were held back for 4 weeks as emergency accommodation and lettings staff were also involved in recovery effort which meant that over vacant properties were not let in the initial days following the floods.

The repairs service was the area most affected.  Traffic chaos meant that repair work to non-affected properties was not completed on time or to the original appointment made with the customer.  A total of 3411 working hours were lost during this time and 2010 Rotherham estimated that the impact on xBVPI 72 was a decrease of 0.5%, which would have otherwise meant that performance would have been on track to improve from last year.  An additional £1m would have to be spent by the end of the year to bring decent homes properties back up to standard again.

Discussion and a question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised:-

• Concerns about the number of void properties increasing.  It was felt that it was unacceptable to have such a large number properties left empty for long periods of time.
• Whether these were the same Performance Indicators which were under-performing as the last quarter
• Why Performance Indicator CPA 31 was showing as red, when it was on track to improve.  It was felt that in relation to this, a stretching target needed to be set, and although the indicator was set to get back on target of 96%, it was currently falling short at 95%.
• Management of empty properties and whether it was more important to have quality or speed.  It was felt that re-letting a house in order to fit the target when it may not be in a suitable state of repair would be totally inappropriate
• Whether funding for overtime relating to repair and maintenance work would be taken from the £1m which had been held back. 
• How successful the take up had been in relation to the free training and coaching sessions which had been offered.

RESOLVED -  That the results be noted.

Angela Smith, Neighbourhood Strategy Manager, presented the submitted report relating to the Private Sector Investment Plan.  The plan proposed to target vulnerable households, private rented sector and pre 1919 housing with a range of interventions that would provide residents with a better quality of life.

Rotherham was currently refreshing its housing strategy to align with sub regional working and included the approved 2007 Rotherham Private Sector Housing Strategy key objectives.

The Rotherham Private Sector Housing Strategy focussed on the following key private sector interventions and outcomes:

• Improving the condition of the private sector housing stock and ensuring progress towards Decent Homes targets and satisfactory Housing and Health and Safety Ratings Assessments, particularly vulnerable people
• Improving access to and choice within the private sector, be it private rented or owner occupied, thereby improving choice for residents
• Improving management of the private sector, be it private rented or owner occupied, thereby improving standards and reducing environmental nuisance
• Supporting vulnerable people to stay in their own homes or maintain their accommodation, be it private rented or owner occupied, thereby improving independence and choice
• Improving the energy efficiency of private sector homes and reducing fuel poverty, thereby improving health, quality of life
• Reducing impact of hazards within the homes that may have an impact of the health and well-being of individuals and households

Since the completion of the strategy two key pieces of work had been carried out, which were the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) and Private Sector Stock Condition Survey (PSSCS).  Both provided evidence and analysis to help shape the investment decisions and supported ongoing work.

The findings of the SHMA and the PSSCS which were undertaken and reported during 2007 estimated that:

·        Private sector stock in the borough averages 84,242 dwellings representing approximately 80% of the total housing stock

·        There are currently 2,544 vacant private sector homes

·        The Borough shows better dwelling conditions than those found nationally.

·        21% of all private sector homes are non decent

·        The cause of non decency is predominantly due to poor thermal comfort and category 1 hazards, such as dangerous electrical installations.

·        Highest levels of non decency are found in private rented dwellings constructed pre 1919.

·        The average income in the borough is £22k compared to the national average of £29k, therefore many households cannot afford to buy a home.

·        Nearly 40% of private tenants spend more than 50% of their income on housing with many households in fuel poverty.

·        Average income for newly forming households is only £9k, which does not allow them to meet their aspirations of being able to afford to buy

The evidence masked the very local incidence of severe problems in the private sector within some of the most vulnerable localities.  Two examples of poor quality private sector houses were highlighted within the report.

The private sector investment plan proposals which showed the indicative budget allocation set against housing themes, strategy objectives and project activity was appended to the report.

A discussion and question and answer session ensued and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.

Further to Minute 201 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods held on 17 March 2008, consideration was given to the report relating to options for building new council-owned housing. The report developed the options from an earlier report, and provided a critical analysis of the various models available to Rotherham MBC.

The options available were:

• ALMO direct build
• Local Housing Companies
• Councils developing on surplus HRA land
• Council-owned local delivery vehicle
• Limited Liability Partnership

In terms of overall risk, none of the options were untried; all were in development and/or implementation by other Councils; and all were acceptable to the Department Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

A discussion and question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised:-

• What the timescales were for commencement of building work
• Putting together a strategy outlining exactly what members wanted before considering the options
• The need for careful marketing of the council housing schemes
• Whether there was any scope for going into partnership with other authorities to deliver new housing.
• Would the newly built properties be a mix of rent/lease and privately owned or purely rent/lease.

RESOLVED:-  That the content of the report be noted.

Janice Manning, Manager, Food, Health and Safety, presented the submitted report.  The report provided an update of action taken by the Council to raise awareness and encourage boroughwide compliance with smokefree legislation which came into force on 1 July 2007 and additionally, work undertaken to ensure the Council’s own compliance.

The legislation required virtually all enclosed public places and work places to be smokefree and enforcement of the controls was the responsibility of the Council’s Food, Health and Safety Team.

The approach for securing compliance across Rotherham was developed in partnership with the PCT, South Yorkshire Police, Chamber of Commerce and other key partners, and an Enforcement Protocol was jointly produced and implemented.

The report outlined the work which was undertaken prior to 1 July 2007 which included:

• An Awareness Campaign
• Installation of signs in Council Premises and Vehicles
• Compliance Activity

Between 1 July 2007 and 31 March 2008 a total of 3553 visits were made to premises and returns on this work were made monthly to the Government.  Compliance had been high and approached 100%.

During the period 1 July 2007 and 31 January 2008, 46 complaints had been made to the Council, mainly relating to allegations of people smoking in smokefree premises/vehicles, including a post office, public houses, a residential home, taxis and vans.  All complaints had been investigated and with satisfactory outcomes on compliance achieved.

To date it had not been necessary to issue Fixed Penalty Notices or institute legal proceedings.  However, the legislation had now embedded and a firm position would be taken on non-compliance discovered during the investigation of complaints or spot check inspections in accordance with Council’s General Enforcement Policy.

Members raised concern about the future funding as no further grant was available for 2008/09.  The Manager, Food, Health and Safety confirmed that there would be some pressure on the budget in relation to this.

A discussion took place around non compliance of the legislation in other areas, and the impact this may have over time in Rotherham.  Members were assured that officers were being proactive in this area and monitoring that compliance was being upheld.

The Chair congratulated the officers for the work they had undertaken in relation to compliance with smokefree legislation and looked forward to a further update report in 12 months time.

RESOLVED:-  (1)  That the progress report be received

(2)  That a further progress report be presented in 12 months time.

Consideration was given to the Forward Plan of Key Decisions.  Members requested that a report on Parenting Support be submitted when the next Respect update was available.  Also a request was made for reports to be included on Sheltered Housing Modifications, Private Sector Licensing Options, Garage Sites Review and Enviro-Crime Strategy refresh.

RESOLVED:-  (1)  That the Forward Plan of Key Decisions be received

(2)  That the next Forward Plan include the following:

-          Parenting Support

-          Sheltered Housing Modifications

-          Private Sector Licensing Options

-          Garage Site Reviews

-          Enviro-Crime Strategy refresh

The Panel noted the decisions made under delegated powers by the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods held on 3, 17 and 31 March 2008.

The minutes of the meeting of the Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Panel held on 13 March 2008 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

The minutes of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 29 February 2008 and 28 March 2008 were noted.