Issue - meetings

Report of the Assistant Director - Economic Growth and Housing

The Cabinet considered the report of the Assistant Director - Economic Growth and Housing that explained the requirement for the Council to appoint a Member Responsible for Complaints for its council housing landlord services in order to comply with the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) statutory Complaint Handling Code (the Code). The report also sought to identify the role of the Member Responsible for Complaints within the Council and provide an update to the Council’s Housing Advisory Board, as previously reported to the Cabinet.

The following appendix was attached to the report:

·       Appendix 1 – Member Responsible for Complaints Role Expectations.

Decisions Made:

That

(1)      the appointment of the Cabinet Member - Housing and Highways to the role of Member Responsible for Complaints as required by the Housing Ombudsman Service in compliance with the statutory Complaint Handling Code, be approved; and

(2)      the Membership for the Housing Advisory Board and the proposal to create the Shadow board in October/November 2024 subject to diary availability, be noted.

Reasons for the Decisions:

1        Officers were continuing to work up the operational requirements for the Council Housing Programme and this would progress with the appointed housing management agent in place.

2        In accordance with the HOS the Member Responsible for Complaints was recommended to be the Cabinet Member - Housing and Highways.

3        Creation of the Shadow and later full Housing Advisory Board would provide added governance and oversight to the management of the Council’s homes which would further develop as the Council Housing Programme grew. Training opportunities would be explored and identified where relevant for Housing Advisory Board Members as well as any Members and/or officers with specific identified roles such as those identified within the report.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

If the Council did not identify a Member Responsible for Complaints, it would be non-compliant with the statutory Complaint Handling Code published by the Housing Ombudsman. Alternatively, the Council could identify a Member who was not the Cabinet Member for Housing and Highways. However this would not align with guidance from the HOS which advised that the role for Local Authorities should be a lead member or a Councillor who had oversight in the Cabinet for housing.