To consider questions (if any) by members of the Council of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Assistant Director (Chief Executive’s Unit).
Minutes:
Members of the Cabinet:
Councillor Williams, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Community Leadership
The Leader of the Council made no announcements.
Councillor Griffiths, Portfolio Holder for Housing
Year-end rent letters going out soon
The letters to advise our tenants of the weekly rent they’ll need to pay during the year ahead will arrive on tenants’ door steps by 7 March.
This year, instead of the usual increase, our General Needs tenants will be notified of a 1% decrease in rent. The government is imposing a 1% rent cut for council tenants every year for the next four years.
Supported Housing tenants will see a small increase, due to the fact that the Supporting People Charge is increasing by 1% and rent by 0.9%.
STAR survey clocks up 1,000 calls!
The STAR survey is now complete. STAR is the survey of tenants and leaseholders we’ve carried out every two years since 2012. In the past we’ve posted a survey form to every one of our 12,000 tenants and leaseholders, but we’ve been able to save around £8000 by phoning a large sample of them instead. During January and February we phoned more than a thousand tenants and leaseholders to see whether satisfaction with the housing service has changed since our last survey in 2014. We also asked some questions to find out more about how our tenants use the internet.
Some of the questions are used
to compare our performance with that of other social landlords
using Housemark’s benchmarking
service. Almost everyone who received a call from us gave up ten
minutes of their time to chat to us and tell us their
experiences.
We will be publishing the results in Housing News and Views once
all the data has been analysed.
Tunstall Alarm upgrade
We are investing nearly £900,000 in upgrading our community alarm system. Improvements to our infrastructure include the latest digital cablings that enable ‘telecare’ and ‘telehealth’ add-ons to help keep tenants independent. The new digital system will enable other remote services to be offered to our tenants.
The immediate benefits for our tenants will be:
· Clearer speech when compared with analogue system
· More features to support independent living
· Ability to leave messages
· Quicker transfer of calls to control centre as calls will no longer ‘stack’ against each other while the first is being answered
Dog microchipping
From 6 April 2016, all dogs must be microchipped and registered to an approved database by the time they are 8 weeks old.
The keeper of a dog which is not microchipped will be notified of the new requirement.
The Housing Department works together with the Dog Warden to offers free microchipping for Council Tenants. We have already microchipped 336 dogs in the Dacorum area to get ahead of the new legislation. DBC’s Housing Service Pet Policy has been awarded the RSPCA’s ‘Gold Footprint’ for the past three years in a row.
There’s more information about responsible dog ownership on our website: http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/environment-street-care/environmental-health/lost-and-stray-dogs/responsible-dog-ownership
Strategic Housing
Strategic Housing are continuing to work very closely with DENS to ensure the effective management of The Elms. Further development of the service has been undertaken with additional service agreements now in place. Additionally DBC have seconded an employee for an initial 3 month period to the Hostel Manager post at The Elms, this is to aid DENS during their continued efforts to appropriately recruit to the post, continue the strong partnership that is in place and ensure that staff and the service to clients is effectively managed.
Partnership has been a key focus and we continue to have regular liaison meetings with key partners. These meetings have also been used to develop our Enhanced Housing Options tool (EHO) with the aid of our partners. The EHO is now live and enables, customers to ‘self serve’ and access advice about their housing situation online https://www.movingwithdacorum.org.uk
New build programme is progressing well – London Road is due to complete at the end of April which will provide 36 new flats. There will be a local lettings plan which will be the same as previous new build schemes to ensure a balanced and mixed community. The Local Lettings Plan will be available on the Councils website shortly when the properties will begin to be advertised in the usual way.
Able House will begin on site in April
Property and Place
Gas safety compliance and servicing remains consistently high with only 1 property requiring a service due to the death of the resident. Satisfaction also remains high which is very positive.
New lift has been installed at Dudley house which has been
well received by the residents due to the upgraded features in the
car that make it more user friendly for those with sight or
mobility issues.
Total Asset Management contract the first quarters audit has been completed and savings of 105k have been reinvested in the programmes for this year.
Overall the performance has been good with the main programmes of
work being completed with high levels of satisfaction.
The repairs service showed a decline in performance around
appointments being missed and Dacorum's
surveyors have been doing some analysis of the background to this
trend. Osborne have moved one of the
senior management team into the repairs function to ensure this is
addressed.
The Building Research Establishment delivered some training
regarding the control of condensation in tenants homes, to staff from both Dacorum and
Osborne. The incidence of cases this year has peaked due to a
number of factors including persistent periods of rainfall with
limited drying cycles and high fuel cost which results in tenants
not adequately heating their homes. The slides are available to any
members who are interested in understanding the issue in more
detail.
The Longlands flats refurbishment is
nearing completion and the external landscaping and car parking
spaces are underway and the six new flats have all been offered to
tenants.
Questions and answers
Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said she was delighted to hear that all dogs will be microchipped and hoped the service applied to all dogs not just those belonging to council tenants. Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked the Portfolio Holder for Housing if it would be possible to take DNA from those dogs to address the issue of dog fouling and trace the owners.
The Portfolio Holder for Housing said that the Council will pick up the bill for Council tenants. The other matters fall under Councillor Marshall’s remit.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor Harden, Portfolio Holder for Residents and Corporate Services
PEOPLE GROUP
Human Resources
Sickness Absence
Sickness levels are running slightly higher than last year. To ensure we are doing all we can to reduce these, a corporate sickness project has commenced. The key actions of this project will be:
· Analysing of sickness absence trends
· Reviewing of staff with high level of sickness Absence
· Benchmarking against other organisations with low levels of sickness absence
· Drafting a Wellbeing Strategy
· Delivering Sickness Absence Training
· Incentivising good attendance
· Reviewing the Sickness Management Policy
E-Cigarettes
CMT have agreed that staff/visitors are not permitted to smoke E-cigarettes on Council property. The same rules that apply to cigarettes will also apply to E-cigarettes. Communications will be going out shortly.
Communications & Consultation
Website Content - Refresh
In preparation for the new website launch in early March 2016. A Digital Dacorum project is looking at reducing the content on the website to assist in improving the user experience. The project so far has reduced the amount of web pages by a third and will continue to work with managers to reduce this further over the coming months.
LEGAL GOVERNANCE
We successfully prosecuted for the unlicensed sale of alcohol at Bovingdon Market. The defendant received a 12 month conditional discharge and £600 costs.
Projects & Performance
Research and Innovation
o We are working with housing to re-design procedures for rent arrears, decants, mutual exchanges, clear landings, breach of tenancy and ASB.
o We have also been supporting housing in the development of an electronic tenancy pack
o We are working with environmental services to re-design their processes and deliver efficiencies on the waste rounds
o We have produced a detailed report looking at sickness data for the Council which will be coming to Cabinet and CMT as a sickness improvement project.
Digital Services
Digital Dacorum
o Our new website goes live in March and there’s lots of coverage in Dacorum Digest.
o We have piloted a new online benefits process and we are testing the launch of a new Council Tax portal which will let people check their council tax statement
o We are launching a “digital week” from the 7th – 11th March, which will see a series of digital events, exercises and training days with local businesses, residents and charities.
Project & Performance Management
·
o We are implementing a new performance management system to completely overhaul; the way we manage and monitor performance and data. We are currently working on the installation and development and that will be launching towards the end of 2016.
Corporate Admin & Support
·
Technology and Digital Transformation
· The Web Team are currently dedicated to getting the new look website live, which is scheduled to happen 1st week of March
· ICT are investigating a new Remote Working to allow a broader range of applications to be used from home.
· Detailed project plan for the ICT elements of the Forum is in development
· We have installed and are configuring a new Service Desk system which should allow a greater degree of self-service for users.
Resident Services
ASB
· There have been 2 Premises Closure Orders obtained by the ASB Team since 25th January. One was a DBC property at Marnham Rise and the other is a Housing Association Property in Bayford Close. There were reports of significant ASB at both properties and the use of drugs which were causing alarm and distress to neighbouring residents. In addition to these closures, a further Notice has been served on a property which prevents anyone other than the resident going to there – the application for the order is due to be heard in court in two weeks. The ASB Team have been working closely with the Police on these cases and the properties are closed for a minimum of 3 months but this can be extended. During the closure period the most appropriate action to address the longer term issues is taken by the ASB Team or the landlord however the Closure Orders bring immediate relief for neighbouring residents who have been suffering from the nuisance and disorder associated with the closed properties. Whilst the properties are closed no one can enter them without the ASB Team’s authority and the properties are secured with metal covers to doors as are the windows where necessary.
Neighbourhood Action
· Over half term over 100 young people took part in drama and singing workshops at the Civic Centre and 10 young people entertained residents and volunteered at the Love Your Neighbourhood event.
· On Wednesday 17th February – A Love Your Neighbourhood event was held in Adeyfield. The themes for this event were: - Love Your Health and Love Your Future which related to the evidence of childhood obesity and heart disease in the area and the need for up skilling and employment. Over the afternoon, 236 attend the three hour event 97 adults and 139 children. There were 20 other agencies involved from colleagues in the Neighbourhood Police Team to the Windmill Childrens Centre and Sunnyside Trust who provided a range of information from completing job applications to healthy eating. A great day was had by all!
Questions and answers
Councillor G Adshead asked if the Portfolio Holder was aware that it will soon be the Queen’s 90th birthday and would he support and even attend the street party at Adeyfield.
The Portfolio Holder for Residents and Corporate Services said that Hertfordshire County Council would soon be issuing information about road closures. Also, the Portfolio Holder said he hoped all borough councillors will get behind the ‘Clean for the Queen’ campaign.
Councillor Tindall asked the Portfolio Holder if the Council Tax portal would have provisions in place for those who do not have access to a computer or internet. Would letters be sent to residents to highlight where the portal can be accessed? Councillor Tindall also asked if records would be differentiated between long and short term sickness.
The Portfolio Holder for Residents and Corporate Services said the Council Tax portal would reduce the need and demand on the Civic Centre. Digital Dacorum aims to ensure that residents can access services at home. There will be new kiosks in the Forum for residents to use. With regards to sickness, long term sickness is impacting Council services and the review will highlight and attempt to address the issue. The new First Care system for dealing with and monitoring sickness should enable the Council to collect data and identify trends.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor G Sutton, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration
Hemel Hempstead
Business Ambassadors
Following the launch of the Ambassadors’ scheme, the first in a series of regular events was held at Natural History Museum in Tring on 10 February, where 52 delegates heard from our Assistant Director for Planning, development and Regeneration on our Hemel Evolution programme for town centre regeneration and its success on attracting new private sector investment to Hemel Town Centre. The Number of Ambassadors now stands at 24, and the next event will be held at the Box Moor Trust on 26 May.
Food Court modifications
The final touches of the bus interchange are expected to be completed during March, this includes improved access to the food court area to allow further food offers and a new 65” Real Time Passenger Information screen.
Water Gardens
Between Combe Street and Bridge Street new toeboards are being fitted along the riverbank and work is continuing to the green screen to the Water Gardens North car park. Over the next month the replacement fish passes will also be built. South of Bridge Street the ducting for the new lighting scheme will be laid. The Friends of Jellicoe Water Gardens have gathered more memories of the Gardens, which are shared on the Our Dacorum website. They will also be visiting community gardens to help plan the new planting scheme for the Water Gardens’ friends garden.
Maylands Urban
Realm Improvements
DBC has had the green light from HCC for Loughman to start the works. Work commenced on
18th February and is expected to finish in October.
Loughman’s compound is based at
Wood House, Wood Lane End. The scheme includes a new shared cycle
and pedestrian footway, improved lighting, new planting and gateway
enhancements.
Questions and answers
Councillor Douris asked the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration to join him in applauding the ML1 bus service which provides transport between Hemel Hempstead train station and Maylands Avenue it’s now a commercial service. Councillor Douris thanked Herts County Council for the work that has been put into it.
The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration thanked the work of Hertfordshire County Council and Maylands Business Partnership have been campaigning for this for a long time. The Portfolio Holder said it was extremely important to have easy access to Maylands Avenue.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor Marshall, Portfolio Holder for Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services
Reminder, garden waste collections start in the 2 weeks commencing next week.
To encourage greater food recycling using food caddies, ‘No food waste’ stickers are being placed on all grey-wheeled bins from this week. For the 12 months ending December 2015, the Borough collected total of 4151.80 tonnes and the target was 4,800 tonnes. The Borough has done well, but could we do better. Besides the obvious green benefits, the Borough’s residents have saved over £200,000 by not putting the food waste in landfill.
More recycling opportunity: aka WEEE – meaning “waste electrical & electronic equipment”
Residents can bring their unwanted electrical and electronic items to a special Electrical Reuse and Recycling Event on Saturday 9 April, 10am to 3pm at Cupid Green Depot. DBC and Herts WasteAware Partnership , have teamed up with WEEE Stop (of Milton Keynes) to give electrical items a second lease of life through refurbishing it for reuse or recycling it, irrespective of if the items are broken or working. Residents can bring anything from as small as a mobile phone to as large as a washing machine.
Also DBC has arranged for 3 WEEE banks to be installed at the neighbourhood shopping centres at Chaulden, Bennetts End and Adeyfield for smaller waste electrical items – e.g. toasters, laptops, cameras, cables, DVD players, hi-fi, power drills. Publicity on this will be issued soon.
16 staff from the Clean Safe and Green team have dedicated two weeks to litter pick the A41 bypass. The litter pick started on the 8 Feb and completed last Friday (19 February) and they were collecting on average 1.5 tonnes of litter a day.
As mentioned last month “Clean for the Queen” - Keep Britain Tidy are having a “National Clean-Up Weekend” on the 4-6 March 2016 in celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday under the banner “Vacuum your Villages!, Spruce up your Cities!, De-litter your Lanes!”. Cupid Green is the point of contact for the Borough for groups undertaking the litter picks. 21 groups ranging from a youth group to a church have volunteered. I ask colleagues to encourage litter picks, though obviously do not feel obligated to confine the litter pick to the first weekend in March. Cupid Green will help supply bags and litter pick sticks and will collect the rubbish collected.
Questions and answers
Councillor Chapman asked the Portfolio Holder for Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services to join him in thanking the team at Cupid Green for the new signage on the A5 to tackle the litter problem. Councillor Chapman said it has worked well and hoped the signs would be distributed across the borough.
The Portfolio Holder for Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services said these signs were used initially on the A41 and they are to be placed at hotspots across the borough.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor Elliot, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources
Finance
Budget - The budget is being considered at this meeting after being through a robust process for consideration and challenge and scrutiny. As a lady Prime Minister said “its is your tax which pays for public spending. The Government have no money of their own. There is only Tax payers money.
Payroll - Good progress is being made in order to deliver a new payroll provider in time for April 2016 and we are still on track to meet the timeframe.
Electronic Payment Cards - The team have recently been through a process to select a payments card provider. These cards will help reduce the Councils cost of processing invoices, and provide cashback on spend. The contract is being finalised and the cards will be trialled in four service areas in the coming months.
Revenue & Benefits
The team are currently working hard to make sure that the new year’s council tax and business rate bills, and any changes to housing benefit and council tax support levels are produced quickly and accurately following Council’s decision about the budget tonight.
The good work was confirmed at Audit Committee on the 10th of February. The recent internal Audit of our council tax system and processes was presented to members by Mazars our internal auditor. The report was glowing –the Audit Manager said “ I’ve never seen a council tax audit that good”-and they never give full assurance on the design of controls in a council tax audit ( which is what we got).
This is the sort of comment from an audit is exceptionally rare. Its all down to the teams commitment and thoroughness which makes the Council a much more efficient organisation.
This year they have been working with colleagues in housing to improve our communication with our tenants. This means that tenants who receive housing benefit will receive information about their new benefit award at the same time as they are told about the new rent level, and reduces our outgoing post by around 4,000 envelopes.
Commercial Assets & Property Development
The ongoing work to maximise capital receipt is continuing. The first garage site is anticipated to realise the receipt within this financial year. Offers on the second site have been received and are currently being evaluated. The Asset Management Strategy has been approved by Cabinet and work is now under way to deliver the associated action plan.
As Berkhamsted Councillors are ware there is a major parking problem in the middle of the town and the Council could not just, let it be, therefore a planning application for the proposed Berkhamsted Multi Storey Car Park was submitted on January 20th and the matter is currently in process.
Work is continuing to consider the scope of the Facilities Management Service in the Forum and these are being worked up by a cross council team.
Questions and answers
Councillor Guest asked if the Portfolio Holder would agree that an increase in Council Tax of 1.38 pence per day was good value for residents.
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources said the Council should emphasise the modest increase of 1.38 pence per day. Also, the band D tax is 26% below Watford Borough Council’s Band D.
Councillor Tindall asked the Portfolio Holder if he could re consider the amount allocated to verge hardening schemes due to horrendous parking issues experienced in Hemel Hempstead.
The Portfolio Holder said budgets can be looked at, as a Council they have tried to address this issue and that he believes it will be a sufficient amount to meet the demand in verge hardening.
Councillor Birnie asked the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources who would be in control of the payment cards.
The Portfolio Holder said council officers will be using them for invoices and transactions. From the internal audit, it is clear that the Council runs a very tight ship and he is confident there will be no issues.
Councillor Ritchie asked if Portfolio Holder was aware that the multi-storey car park was passed at the Berkhamsted Town Council meeting on Monday evening. The majority of members and residents welcome the decision.
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources said he was aware and believed the vote was 5-1 in favour of the development and was pleased the process is moving forward.
Councillor Tindall asked the Portfolio Holder if he felt the recent by election result in Berkhamsted was a sign of support for the Council.
The Portfolio Holder noted Councillor Tindall’s comment.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.