MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE WREXHAM TENANT AND MEMBER PARTNERSHIP HELD AT HOUSING SERVICES, RUTHIN ROAD, WREXHAM, ON FRIDAY

7 JUNE 2013 MEMBERS Representing Wrexham County Borough Council Councillor Andrew Bailey I David Bithell MBE Terry Boland Terry Evans Mrs J M Lowe Councillor Carole OToole Mark Owens Ronnie Prince Paul Rogers Barbara Roxburgh

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Representing Wrexham Tenants Ms Sonia Benbow-Jones Mr Charles Devlin Mrs Jacqui Finn Miss S B Honkova Mr Stan Humphreys *Absent Also present Councillors R Alun Jenkins and Bernie McCann. Ms Dorothy Mitchell Mr Eric Moore Mr Geraint Roberts Mr Joe Skerritt Mrs Dilys Torrens

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Appointment of Chair

AGREED That Councillor Andrew Bailey be appointed Chair for the ensuing year. 2 Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Mark Pritchard, Terry Evans and Mark Owens and Tenant Members Geraint Roberts and Eric Moore. Geraint Roberts had tendered his resignation as a member of the Partnership and therefore there was now a vacancy on the Partnership for a Tenant Member. 3 Appointment of Vice Chair

AGREED That Mrs Jacqui Finn, Tenant Member, be appointed as ViceChair, for this meeting only, and a new Vice Chair would be appointed at the next meeting.

2 4 Minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Wrexham Tenant and Member Partnership held on 26 April 2013 were submitted. Note Fred Czulowski, Landlord Services Manager, reported that the HomeSwapper event scheduled to take place on 26 June had been cancelled and put back until a later date. AGREED That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 April 2013 be received and confirmed as a correct record. Matters Arising A Tenant Member raised a query regarding CRB checks for WCBC employees. Fred Czulowski reported that CRB checks were only undertaken on employees dealing directly with young or vulnerable people. Within the Housing Service this was Tenancy Support Officers and Sheltered Wardens. Fred Czulowski also confirmed that all contractors and sub contractors carried identity cards. If they are not produced or there is any doubt about the validity of any workers they should not be let into a property. If there was any doubt, tenants should contact the Call Centre to confirm the validity of the contractor. It was agreed that an item should be included in a future Housing Hotline to remind tenants and consideration is to be given to including a reminder on rent statements. 5 Declaration of Personal Interest

There were no declarations of interest. 6 Proposed Work Programme

Fred Czulowski introduced his report outlining the proposed Work Programme for Wrexham Tenant and Member Partnership. He stated that there may be a report on the WHQS at the next meeting in July. Other items listed in the programme to be scheduled for future meetings. AGREED That the Work Programme be noted. 7 Welfare Reform

Julie Francis, Manager for Older People and Supported Housing, gave a detailed verbal update and presentation on Welfare Reform and responded to questions accordingly thereafter. During discussions, the following points were noted, in particular:-

3 Tenants were still getting into debt Council housing was still the preferred option Meetings had been held with Community First Area Clusters Under the Housing Act, for the purpose of overcrowding, bedrooms below 50 sq.ft in Llay do not count. This will be used as a basis for redesignating properties where appropriate A newsletter will be produced and sent out to all tenants Concern from a Council Member regarding tenants switching back to direct payments. DWP Directive is that tenants can switch back to direct payment to landlords if they had been identified as being vulnerable. Council Member asked if there had been many moves as a result of the Spare Room Subsidy (SRS). It was confirmed that moves have been taking place but not at a level that would make a significant impact. Council Member asked if any checks were made on what type of property people were moving to in the private sector. It was confirmed that leavers were not followed up.

The Chair thanked Mrs Francis for her informative presentation. AGREED That the update be noted. 8 Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS)

Fred Czulowski, Landlord Services Manager, briefly outlined the content of the recent meeting with the Welsh Government Ministerial Task Force. He apologised that he was unable to facilitate members of the Partnership attending the meeting, as previously requested, due to its short notice and limited participation. He reported that during discussion, the following issues were raised: Stock Condition Survey Asset Strategy and Plan Service Charges Procurement and delivery of the work Financial risks to the level of borrowing required

Fred Czulowski stated that he would like to bring a report to the next meeting of the Partnership on 26 July. It was likely that a report would be presented to Executive Board in September. Paul Spruce, Principal Accountant, gave a verbal update that the Welsh Government had accepted our Business Plan, with the following points: Timescale to reach WHQS had been moved to 2020 Cash flow position over the last three years had improved Cost base had reduced

4 Borrowing spread over a seven year period No borrowing cap at present but there would be in future Awaiting the outcome of negotiations with HM Treasury Should know by the Autumn what the current position would be as the Housing Bill was due to be published in the Autumn It was envisaged that the new rent policy would be introduced in April 2014 Providing cap does not come in, the HRA Business Plan was achievable. Plan does address costs over the next 30 years A Council Member said that this was positive news.

AGREED The verbal update be noted. 9 Tenant and Leaseholder Participation Strategy 2013-2016

Jonathan Edwards, Service Development Manager, submitted a report (HHPP/50/13) which is intended to guide and outline the Councils aspirations in relation to tenant participation. Councillor Barbara Roxburgh declared a possible interest as an employee of the Wrexham Tenants Federation. Mike Schirwing, Tenant Participation Co-ordinator, outlined the report and gave a presentation on the revised Tenant and Leaseholder Participation Strategy, which is to be recommended to Scrutiny Committee and then to Executive Board. In April WT&MP approved the draft Strategy, subject to further consultation During discussion of the report and supporting presentation, the following points were noted: Tenant Members wanted to retain the name Wrexham Tenants Federation A Tenant Member raised concern about awareness. A Council Member suggested a job description be devised for tenant members to be made aware of what was involved in being a member of the Partnership Training would be provided by whoever the Group chooses SLA to be formalised between the Council and the Tenants Federation System in place to replace any tenant members who resign from the Partnership Subject to adoption, existing membership to continue until December meeting of the Partnership Recommendations approved subject to some minor amendments to the Terms of Reference

5 A Council Member wished to thank all Federation members and Assembly members for their involvement and stated that the two away days were excellent and positive and showed that joint working could be positive A Tenant Member did not support the proposals in the report AGREED: i) General agreement to adopt the new Terms of Reference, the Revised Strategy and Action Plan ii) Recommending that they be submitted to the Homes, Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee and Executive Board for approval 10 Digital Inclusion

The Landlord Services Manager submitted a report (HHPP/52/13) to inform Members of the Partnership on the current situation regarding digital inclusion for tenants. The report was presented by Glyn Chaplin, Housing Systems Development Co-ordinator. During discussion a query was raised by a Tenant Member regarding problems being experienced logging into My Council House, which would be investigated after the meeting. A Tenant Member raised an issue regarding poor reception in the Ceiriog Valley. A directory would be developed to direct tenants to facilities that were available in their area. A Local Member requested the Ward Information be sent out to all local members and this would be actioned following the meeting. AGREED That the report be noted. 11 Management Report Wrexham Central

The Landlord Services Manager submitted a report (HHPP/49/13) informing the Partnership on performance and issues arising within the areas managed by the Wrexham Central Estate Office. Tracy Hague, Estate Manager, gave a presentation which included further details under the following headings: Properties Managed Waiting List/Allocations Voids Rent Arrears Environmental Schemes Future Schemes

6 Working in Partnership Capital Works Community Involvement The new developments at Kings Mill Road and Rivulet Road, Wrexham

The Chair thanked Mrs Hague for her informative presentation. AGREED That the report be noted. 12 Complaints Procedure

The Landlord Services Manager submitted a report (HHPP/51/13) for Members to consider information about the Corporate Complaints procedure and details of the number of complaints received by Landlord Services. Fred Czulowski stated that complaints were now dealt with as part of the Corporate Complaints system. At the last meeting Members asked for further information which had been included as Appendix 1 to the report. AGREED That the report be noted. 13 Assisted Gardening Scheme

The Landlord Services Manager submitted a report (HHPP/53/13) providing Members with an update on the Assisted Gardening Scheme for Council tenants. Ryan Rogers, Housing Officer (Administration), outlined the findings of the report which were: 168 tenants had responded to the survey, of which 145 tenants were satisfied with the service 23 tenants were not satisfied with the service

The Chair thanked Mr Rogers for his presentation. AGREED That the report be noted. 14 Proposed Dates for Future Meetings

Agreed as follows:Friday, 20 September 2013 Friday, 25 October 2013 Friday, 6 December 2013 Friday, 24 January 2014 Friday, 7 March 2014 Friday, 25 April 2014 Friday, 6 June 2014 Friday, 25 July 2014

All meetings to be held at 10.00 a.m. in Ruthin Road. 15 Date and Time of Next Meeting

AGREED That the next Meeting will be held on Friday, 26 July 2013 at 10.00 a.m. in Ruthin Road. 16 Any Other Business

The Landlord Services Manager reported on the receipt of a letter of thanks from Mrs Dot Rimmer, widow of Dave Rimmer, for holding a one minutes silence at the last meeting.

Councillor Andrew Bailey Chair