To consider the following Notice of Motion, which has been submitted by Cr. A.J. Halstead pursuant to Standing Order 9 (1):
“This Council:
-
Notes multiple reports of Housing Associations
in Rushmoor failing to respond to emails, thereby impeding deaf and hearing
impaired residents from communicating with their landlord;
-
Notes that local authorities
have limited powers to deal with poor performance by Housing Associations.
This Council therefore resolves:
- To write to the Secretary of State to request additional powers to sanction Housing Associations, including but not limited to fines and in extreme cases confiscation of housing”.
Minutes:
The Council was asked to consider a Motion which had been submitted by Cllr A.J. Halstead in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 9 (1). It was MOVED by Cllr A.J. Halstead; SECONDED by Cllr K. Dibble – That
“This Council:
- Notes multiple reports of Housing Associations in Rushmoor failing to respond to emails, thereby impeding deaf and hearing impaired residents from communicating with their landlord;
- Notes that local authorities have limited powers to deal with poor performance by Housing Associations.
This Council therefore resolves:
- To write to the Secretary of State to request additional powers to sanction Housing Associations, including but not limited to fines and in extreme cases confiscation of housing”.
Speaking in support of his Motion, Cllr Halstead stated that people had experienced difficulty in getting a response from various Housing Associations in the Rushmoor area. These problems were magnified for anyone with a hearing impairment, where communication was already more difficult. Cllr Halstead knew personally of people who had tried to sort various issues with Housing Associations, including essential repairs and maintenance, without success. Cllr Halstead had himself sent test emails and letters to the Housing Associations and had experienced delays in receiving replies to emails and had not received a reply to a letter at all. It was his opinion that cost cutting and reorganisations had been major factors in the reduction in the level of service received by residents. He also noted that the Housing Association regulator was now less effective than once was the case.
During discussion, reference was made to the Council’s Registered Providers Task and Finish Group, which had been set up by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review the performance of Registered Providers in the Borough. It was recommended that Members should raise any problems experienced with Housing Associations through that Group in the first instance. This would allow the Group to collate the issues encountered and investigate these. It was acknowledged that problems had been experienced with the Borough’s largest housing provider, VIVID. The Registered Providers Task and Finish Group had intervened and this had led to an improvement in performance. Problems had been encountered by some Members in relation to other Housing Associations, including A2Dominion, and a commitment to drive up the performance of Housing Associations operating in the Borough was broadly supported.
In seconding the Motion, Cllr Dibble referred to the problems that had been experienced with VIVID and confirmed that, in supporting the Motion, no criticism was intended of either Rushmoor Members or Council staff. It was his contention that the measures referred to in the Motion were required to enable the Council to successfully drive up the performance of Housing Associations operating in the Borough.
In summing up, Cllr Halstead acknowledged that some improvements had been seen but that these had not been enough to ensure a satisfactory service was being received by Rushmoor residents. He would contact Cllr Bedford, as Chairman of the Registered Providers Task and Finish Group, to provide details of the ongoing issues.
On a Recorded Vote there voted FOR: Cllrs D.M.T. Bell, A.K. Chowdhury, A.H. Crawford, K. Dibble, Sue Dibble, Jennifer Evans, C.P. Grattan, A.J. Halstead, B. Jones, M.J. Roberts and P.F. Rust (11); AGAINST: Cllrs Mrs. D.B. Bedford, J.B. Canty, M.S. Choudhary, Sophia Choudhary, D.E. Clifford, R.M. Cooper, Liz Corps, P.I.C. Crerar, Veronica Graham-Green, Barbara Hurst, J.H. Marsh, Marina Munro, A.R. Newell, M.L. Sheehan, M.D. Smith, P.G. Taylor, M.J. Tennant, B.A. Thomas and J.E. Woolley (19); and, ABSTAINED: the Mayor (Cllr S.J. Masterson) and the Deputy Mayor (Cllr Sue Carter) (2) and the Motion was DECLARED LOST.