The City Solicitor will report the names of alternate Members who are attending the meeting in place of appointed Members. 

Cllr Choudhry attended for Cllr K Hussain, Cllr Stubbs attended for Cllr Ahmed.

(Members Code of Conduct - Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)       Members may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(2)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

In the interests of transparency, Cllr Choudhry disclosed an interest in agenda item 5 and 6:- The Council’s Affordable Housing Programme and the Draft Housing and Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategies (Minute numbers 13 and 14).

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Asad Shah - 01274 432280)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

There were no referrals to the Committee.

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “V”) is provided for information in order to update members on progress in relation to delivery of the Council’s Affordable Housing programme and recent developments influencing the governance of the housing stock.

Recommended –

Members are requested to consider the content of the report and comment as appropriate.

(Lorraine Wright – 01274 432516)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “V”) provided an update on progress in relation to the delivery of the Council’s Affordable Housing programme, and recent developments influencing the governance of the housing stock.

Officers explained that in 2010, a time when the housing delivery in the district was relatively low in terms of affordable housing, the Council started delivering new Council housing and was demonstrating leadership in the sector by taking a role in increasing the supply.  The table at paragraph 2.6 of the report summarised the affordable housing delivery to date.

In March of this year the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published guidance that placed a requirement on Local Authorities to open Housing Revenue accounts (HRAs) where their stock exceeds 200 units.  Bradford Council will be setting up an HRA in the next financial year.

The HRA is a ring fenced account. Rental payments are ring fenced to pay for services that are of benefit to tenants such as repairs, maintenance of the properties and also providing new housing stock.

Questions were asked in relation to the affordable housing targets. Officers replied that the targets were Core Strategy targets and were minimum targets.  At present the Council is struggling to meet these targets, although this is a problem experienced by many other local authorities.

A member raised concerns that he was aware of a number of major developments where the developers have come back with a deed of variation often asking for the affordable housing element to be moved or reduced in number.  They questioned if this was a growing problem, and what policies are in place to address this?

Officers responded that the s106 standard position is that developers should deliver the affordable housing units at the percentage agreed.  The default position is that they provide the housing within the development itself.  However, this is subject to viability.  If developers can demonstrate (through a lengthy process) that it is not viable to deliver that percentage of affordable housing, then the target can be reviewed. If the developer is not delivering s106 on site they can be required to provide a commuted sum to the Council so that monies can be used to pay for the affordable housing at an alternative site. 

The Housing team are part of the consultation team with regard to planning applications, using documentation such as the Strategic Housing Need Assessment to show what the level of need is across the district.

A member asked if the figure shown in paragraph 3.3 was a net figure, and does that also include Right to Buy figures?

Officers explained that the figure was a net figure.  Returns are submitted to Government each year. A variety of statistics are reported including, net new homes figures, net new affordable homes figure and also figures for demolitions.  The figures are only net new for affordable housing, although the team also report to government of homes lost through the right to buy scheme.  Currently, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The current Housing & Homelessness Strategy, A Place to Call Home, 2014-2019, is undergoing a review and two separate strategies, Housing Strategy and Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy are being produced.

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “W”) provides the draft strategies to Members of the Committee to consider. 

Recommended –

That Members consider the draft strategies and comment as appropriate.

(Yusuf Karolia – 01274 434362)

(Sarah Holmes – 01274 432591)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “W”) provided the draft Housing Strategy and the draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for Members to consider.

Officers circulated an updated draft of both strategies, explaining that since the Committee papers had been published, further comments had been received from Council Management Team which had been incorporated in to the current draft.  Officers explained that Members comments from this meeting will also be incorporated into the final document.

Partners from Incommunities attended the meeting, explaining to members their role in the drafting of the strategies.

A Member asked, if when approaching rough sleepers, they were asked if they had ever served in the armed forces, and if they were aware of where to go for further help.  Officers responded that yes, this question was put to the rough sleepers, and they were referred to specialist charities, it was also something that was monitored by them.  They added that a new post had been established within Leeds city Council dealing with housing and Homelessness across the Yorkshire region.

A Member asked for further information about the role undertaken by this post, as the details would be helpful for the staff working on the Armed Forces Covenant within Bradford Council.

In addition, a query was raised in relation to Empty Homes as to whether the higher rate of Council Tax applied to these properties had resulted in more properties back into use.  Officers replied that the current figure was 4079, and that a report on Empty Homes was to be presented to this Committee in April 2020.

Members welcomed the amendments and inclusions to the strategy since they last saw the document, and commended staff on producing a very good document.

Resolved –

(1)       That officers and partners be commended for their work in          drafting the strategies.

(2)       That members comments be fed into the final drafts of the           strategies.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “X”) provides a further update for members of the Council’s involvement with high rise residential buildings following the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Recommended –

That the Committee note the report and request a further update on the work relating to high rise residential buildings in 12 months.

(Justin Booth – 01274 434716)

The Strategic Director, Place submitted a report (Document “X”) updating members on the Council’s involvement in high rise residential buildings.

A report was brought to this Committee a year ago. At that time officers had identified those high rise buildings with aluminium composite materials that were considered a threat to life.  There are two within the district, and officers are working with the owners to get buildings remedied. There is a delay in this process due to financing, the considerable cost of replacing the cladding and the complex nature of the application.  The Government have recently established a fund (managed by Housing England) that private landlords can apply to assist with the cost of remedying buildings. Officers understand that applications for the two buildings are currently in progress.

Officers explained that the Government have now widened their request for information, and are now asking about insulation materials and certain other types of cladding, as they perceive there may be some level of risk.  Data collection is taking place in the authority, although this task is quite complex as many of the buildings had building regulation compliance overseen by private companies, so we don’t have details in relation to these.  In addition to this, there are different types of cladding that all look the same, but have different performances when tested.

The future of these high rise buildings and they way they will be dealt with is uncertain at the moment.  The Government has stated its intention to undertake a substantial rewriting of the fire standards side of the building regulations, but no date has been set for this.

Officers further explained that the way to ensure safety in high rise buildings is to have a regulatory body that oversees them from inception to demolition, through the entire lifetime of the building and to oversee maintenance of the existing properties.

A member asked how the issues of concern were flagged up.  Officers responded that the Fire Service is a consultee as part of the process.  Joint visits are undertaken with the Fire Service to look at completed schemes.

A question was raised as to whether the requirements around fire safety had been strengthened as a result of the Grenfell disaster.  Officers explained that all high rise buildings in the District had been closely looked at since the Grenfell disaster and where risks have been identified, officers have worked with the building owners to try to alleviate the problems. Aluminium cladding has been identified in other properties, although as they are not over 18 metres tall they are not currently being addressed.  The focus is on the priority buildings, which present the highest risk.

Resolved –

That an update report be presented in 12 months to include details of any request for information from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) regarding further data collection in relation to High Rise Residential Buildings.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

The report of the Chair of the Regeneration & Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Document “Y”) includes the Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2019/20.

Recommended –

That the Work programme 2019-20 continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

(Licia Woodhead – 01274 432119)

The report of the Chair of the Regeneration & Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Document “Y”) invited Members to consider the Committee’s Work Programme for the 2019-20 municipal year.

Members had a general discussion regarding the prioritisation of certain issues.

Resolved –

That the Work Programme 2019-20 continues to be amended throughout the year.

ACTION: Scrutiny Lead