Agenda item

Housing Revenue Account - Rents and Service Charges - Response to the pandemic and future provision

 

To consider a report outlining the success of the new service model, the response to the pandemic and the development of future provision.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report outlining the success of the new service model for the Housing Income Recovery Service, which was restructured in 2018; the response to the pandemic; and the development of future provision. The Transformation Programme was designed to reflect current thinking in the field and had been built upon a set of principles encompassing contemporary operational practices, placing the customer at the heart of the service delivery model, despite the service having the ability to deliver life changing sanctions.

 

The outcome of the 2018 Transformation Programme was to create a Housing Income Recovery Service, restructured and very specifically focussed on maximising housing income in all its forms, with a joining up of responsibility for the collection of both current and former tenants’ rent arrears. In addition, a new and better-equipped Financial Inclusion and Tenancy Support Service was created. This part of the service developed and delivered practical interventions and projects to enable tenants to get the maximum benefit from their income. 

 

In 2019, the Advocacy and Appeals Team also became part of the Financial Inclusion Service, to deliver debt advice and specialist benefit advice to people living with cancer.  The appeals part of the service supported people with appeals on Employment Support Allowance (ESA). It was shown through quantitative figures and qualitative individual narratives that the Appeals part of the service has a strong performance record of making a difference in material outcomes for individuals.

 

The success of the transformation of the Housing Income Service was demonstrated through performance data. Although official year-end data was forthcoming via Housemark, RMBC outperformed all others in the Northern Benchmarking group (which include organisations such as Sheffield CC, Hull CC, Wakefield, St Leger Homes, Nottingham) on rent collection.  At the end of the 2019/20 financial year, rent collection was the highest for over a decade.

 

Facts and figures were presented to show how many properties of which types the Council managed as well as information around how the pandemic had affected rents collection and tenant arrears. It was remarked that there had been on average a £5.17 decrease in the balance of residents in arrears. It was noted that the team had won awards and had developed a reputation for sharing good practice.

 

It was observed that the period of the pandemic and initial recovery had shown that the service was not only high performing but also able to flex to meet the needs of its customers with staff maintaining high levels of performance while working from home. It was noted that practical support and advice had been developed and sent to all tenants through a leaflet developed in response to the pandemic.Collaborations had been undertaken with the Employment Solutions Team within Financial Inclusion to help meet the emerging needs of tenants following the pandemic. These efforts included provision of technology courses and support for finding work opportunities, preparing for interviews, or with moving to an area where work could be obtained. Other efforts including redeployment of staff to meet the demand for Universal Credit applications processing were also described. Finally, it was advised that projections for the future must be made only cautiously, as the pandemic continued to play out with possible extended furloughs and the possibility of debt that could be offset by Universal Credit or other benefits.

 

In discussion, Members commended the teams for their work. Appreciation for the information design in the leaflet was also expressed.

 

Members requested additional clarification around whether arrears were caused by the Bedroom Tax. Assurances were provided that clear communication was maintained with tenants about what their responsibilities would be and any financial implications for the Bedroom Tax on residents would be clear. This tax is only on those who are on UC or Housing Benefit who are not of retirement age, which means many tenants are not responsible to pay it. Nevertheless, support was provided to tenants if needed. Ultimately, it was a political decision whether or not the Bedroom Tax was collected, which was outside the purview of officers.

 

Members also inquired as to the trigger points that the team were monitoring to ensure the earliest, most effective response. It was clarified that a sophisticated IT kit, operating on a series of algorithms, was utilised to track tenant payment history over the past 12 months. The kit identified changes in payment behaviour, so that at the point that it is needed, the team could draw on that intelligence to take the recommended action to support the tenant. The team  also were responsible to follow government protocols, which require the consideration of factors such as whether the tenant in question were a vulnerable tenant, for example. The importance of keeping people with a roof over their heads was emphasised, not only for the cost savings involved; therefore, the team strive to sustain a tenancy under these kinds of circumstances. Even so, there are some tenants who cannot and will not pay, and as a last resort those cases would have to go to court, albeit as a last resort.

 

Further inquiry was made into the measures in place that ensure the team are operating on the very latest information from government. The response explained that the team utilised a number of training platforms to ensure every staff member kept current with the latest information and best practice. It was noted that the financial inclusion team leader had continued to conduct virtual training Teams meetings on the changing government guidance throughout the pandemic so that all team members stayed fully informed.

 

Members also expressed curiosity as to how the team responded to residents who preferred to pay in cash. In response, officers noted that while cash is an option, the preferred method of payment was recurrent debit card payment rather than by bank transfer, because this payment type precluded additional fees to the payer if there are insufficient funds to cover the payment.

 

A further question was asked about the possibility of investigating a specific individual case, to which it was agreed a response would follow outside of the meeting.

 

Further elaboration was requested around expanding the appeals team. Officers responded that a further staff member would be recruited to be added to the team as an initial measure. The team were recently relocated from R&E into Housing Financial Inclusion, which represented a change from a corporate service to a service now available more broadly to all tenants and residents. This restructuring formed part of the next phase of the Advice Service Review.

 

 

Members also expressed interest in more information about how the Service will respond to debts of people on Universal Credit. In response, officers provided assurances that at the start of COVID-19 pandemic, the government chose to increase the amount of UC people could receive for the year by about a thousand pounds. The service also had supported anyone with a claims benefit, to make a Universal Credit claim. Using a system that directly access and see the status of the claim at any time, the team also helped claimants. Teams also screened potential new tenancies. The team also monitored for any new redundancies at the end of the furlough scheme, and eight new staff were being trained to support people into employment and training to meet that upcoming need. This was because Universal Credit was not the long-term answer, but the answer was to support people into skills and employment.

 

Members also expressed the desire to know more about the kinds of contracts which would still be possible after the E.U. exit. Officers responded that contracts both temporary and permanent would be available, and that there were further project announcements through Sheffiield City Region through 2022.

 

Resolved:-

 

1.    That the details of the report be noted.

 

2.    That a further update in respect of Rents and Service Charges be provided in six months or at an appropriate future date.

 

3.    That the outcome of the Advice Service Review be circulated as part of the next update in respect of Rents and Service Charges.

 

Supporting documents: