Agenda Document Pack - Communities and Housing Policy Board - 16/08/2022
Renfrewshire Council · 16 August 2022
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Notice of Meeting and Agenda Communities and Housing Policy Board Date Time Venue Tuesday, 16 August 2022 13:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN MARK CONAGHAN Head of Corporate Governance Membership Councillor Jacqueline Cameron: Councillor Gillian Graham: Councillor John Hood: Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes: Councillor Alec Leishman: Councillor Mags MacLaren: Councillor Colin McCulloch: Councillor Janis McDonald: Councillor Cathy McEwan: Councillor Jamie McGuire: Councillor Iain McMillan: Councillor John McNaughtan: Councillor Emma Rodden: Councillor Marie McGurk (Convener): Councillor Robert Innes (Vice Convener): Webcasting of Meeting This meeting will be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site – at the start of the meeting the Convener will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed. To find the webcast please navigate to https://renfrewshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home Hybrid Meeting Please note that this meeting is scheduled to be held in the Council Chambers. However, it is a hybrid meeting and arrangements have been made for members to join the meeting remotely should they wish. Members of the Press and Public Members of the press and public wishing to attend the meeting should report to the customer service centre where they will be met and directed to the meeting.
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Apologies Apologies from members. Declarations of Interest Members are asked to declare an interest in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest. 1 Police and Fire & Rescue Services Scrutiny Sub- committee Minute of meeting of the Police and Fire & Rescue Services Scrutiny Sub-committee held on 7 June 2022. 1 - 6 Finance 2 General Services Revenue, Housing Account and Capital Budget Monitoring Report Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 7 - 16 3 Community Empowerment Fund Report by Chief Executive. 17 - 22 Housing 4 Communities and Housing Services - Annual Health and Safety Plan 2022/23 Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 23 - 36 5 Scottish Social Housing Charter - Annual Return 2021/22 Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 37 - 60 6 Tenant Participation Strategy 2022 – Draft for Consultation Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 61 - 88
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7 Draft Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023/28 Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 89 - 118 8 Housing-led Regeneration and Renewal Programme for Renfrewshire – Year 1 Update Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 119 - 132 9 Last-in-the-block Sale and Acquisition Policy Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 133 - 138 10 Land at Maple Drive, Johnstone Castle - Regeneration Phase 2 Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 139 - 144 11 Private Sector Housing Investment Programme 2022/23 Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 145 - 150 12 Housing Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Programmes: 2022/23 Award of Funding Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services. 151 - 154
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Minute of Meeting Police and Fire & Rescue Scrutiny Sub-Committee Date Time Venue Tuesday, 07 June 2022 15:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN PRESENT Councillors J Hood, R Innes, M MacLaren, M McGurk and I McMillan. CHAIR Councillor McGurk, Convener, presided. IN ATTENDANCE O Reid, Head of Communities & Public Protection and C Dalrymple, Communities & Regulatory Manager (both Communities & Housing Services); R Devine, Senior Committee Services Officer; K O’Neill, Assistant Democratic Services Officer and D Pole, End User Technician (all Finance & Resources). ALSO IN ATTENDANCE D Duncan, Divisional Commander; R Fraser, Chief Inspector and B Anderson, Chief Inspector (all Police Scotland); D McCarrey, Area Commander and M Hill, Group Manager, (both Scottish Fire & Rescue Service). RECORDING OF MEETING Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Convener intimated that this meeting of the Sub-committee would be webcast via the Council’s website. Thereafter the Clerk undertook a roll call of members in attendance at the meeting, indicating those in the Council Chamber and those participating remotely. APOLOGIES No apologies were intimated. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting. Item 1 CHAS160822 Page 1 of 154
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1 POLICE SCOTLAND PERFORMANCE REPORT There was submitted a report by the Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland, relative to service performance and activities in the Renfrewshire area during the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The report summarised the key performance indicators and provided statistics relating to the specific key objectives detailed in Police Scotland’s Policing Priorities 2021-22, comparisons were made against the previous five-year average. The volume of recorded crime and offences had fallen by 11% on the five-year average. The report provided, in an infographics format, local updates in relation to Renfrewshire Policing Priorities 2018- 22 of drug dealing and drug misuse; violence & antisocial behaviour; dishonesty and road safety. A continued focus and proactivity drug supply and misuse had contributed to an increase of 14% in the number of detected drug supply offences, compared to the previous five-year average. In the reporting period, 143 crimes had been reported to the Crown. Overall violent crime had fallen by 3.5% on the previous five-year average and had risen by 8.2% against the previous year when COVID -19 restrictions would have limited opportunities for interpersonal violence to occur. Housebreaking crime continued to follow a declining trend and had fallen by 34.3% against the previous five-year average to a total of 239 crimes. Fraud was one of the few crimes of dishonesty for which an increase had been recorded—with reported crimes rising 52% above the five-year average to a total of 441 crimes. Road injuries and deaths had increased by 23.5% on the previous year, to a total of 45 (three fatalities and 42 serious injuries). This was almost certainly linked to an increasing volume of traffic on Renfrewshire’s road network following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 2 POLICE SCOTLAND SPOTLIGHT - MENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONERS WITH COMMAND AND CONTROL (C3) B Anderson, Chief Inspector, provided information to the Sub-committee on the Modernised Contact and Engagement Programme for engagement with Mental Health Practitioners. He advised that the Mental Health Pathway was a collaborative project between National Health Service (NHS) 24, the Scottish Ambulance Service and Police Scotland to deliver ‘the right care at the right time’, which enabled callers to be directed to receive the most appropriate support from Mental Health practitioners. The Chief Inspector advised that this Pathway was divided into two phases. Phase 1 was the collaborative arrangement to allow direct referral of calls to Police Scotland from someone in mental health crisis to NHS24, this had already existed for 3 years and worked very successfully. Phase 2 was the introduction of trained mental health nurses from NHS24 into Police Scotland Contact and Control Division (C3) to jointly Page 2 of 154
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deal with triage incidents involving mental health to assist in identifying the most appropriate support option. Five Mental Health Nurses now worked in this area, to determine whether their clinical experience and knowledge could offer better support. This service was provided in the west of Scotland and would be evaluated before being rolled out to the rest of Scotland. A number of benefits such as improved outcomes and earlier access to the right care for those in mental health crisis and reductions in the number of unnecessary Police and/or Scottish Ambulance deployments had already been identified. DECIDED: That the information provided be noted. 3 HM INSPECTORATE OF CONSTABULARY IN SCOTLAND (HMICS) SCRUTINY PLAN 2022-25 There was submitted a report by the Director of Communities & Housing Services relative to the publication of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Scotland (HMICS) Scrutiny Plan to deliver a planned inspection programme for 2022–25. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, (HMICS) had a statutory role to report on the state, effectiveness and efficiency of both Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. HMICS had first issued a consultation on their forward workplan 2014-17 in November 2013. Since then, each HMICS Annual Scrutiny Plan had included an appropriate focus on issues that were relevant and had been highlighted by the Council. The 3-year plan for 2022–25 would supersede the previous one and regular reviews would follow. Previously, HMICS had highlighted some of the areas they wished to focus on, however this year, as was the case in recent years, they did not provide a draft report but offered the opportunity for consultees to raise issues or concerns that they would like included in the inspection programme. From a Renfrewshire perspective, local relationships with Police Scotland and with the Scottish Police Authority were excellent and it was anticipated that the areas highlighted in the recently published Scrutiny Plan would further strengthen Police Scotland’s working and effectiveness across Scotland. The HMICS purpose, values, framework and approach were outlined as part of the Scrutiny Plan. Within the plan there were four types of review: Strategic Reviews, Collaborative Reviews, Thematic Reviews and Audit and Assurance Reviews. The reviews had several phases divided across the three-year programme and details of which reviews would be progressed in each year were provided. DECIDED: That the publication and content of the HMICS Scrutiny Plan 2022-25 be noted. 4 SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE - QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT There was submitted a report, by the Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) relative to SFRS performance and local fire and rescue service plan priorities in the Renfrewshire area during period 1 January to 31 March 2022. Page 3 of 154
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The report provided updates in relation to Renfrewshire activity, accidental dwelling fires and casualties, unintentional injury and harm, deliberate fire setting, non-domestic fire safety and unwanted fire alarm signals. Non-fire casualties remained static from this period last year with a total of 17 casualties. Of the 17 casualties nine were as a result of Road Traffic Collisions (53%). Incidents involving Assisting Other Agencies accounted for 41% (seven incidents) of all the activity within this indicator. Tragically, two fatalities were recorded this period. The first incident was effecting entry for multi-agency partners, the second was a recovery operation from a river in Renfrewshire. The report identified a decrease of 9% (three incidents) in Accidental Dwelling Fires and detailed factors which contributed to these. An increase in deliberate fire setting of 3% (four) incidents was reported compared to Q4 last year. The report also provided information on Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals (UFAS) which had shown an increase of 40% (75 incidents) year on year, a breakdown of the number of incidents and where these occurred was also provided. DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted. 5 SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE SPOTLIGHT ON 'THE DRAFT STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2022/2025 - CONSULTATION' The Sub-committee were advised that the Draft Scottish Fire and Rescue Strategic Plan (The Plan) 2022/2025 was now available for public consultation. The Plan identified the service mission as a confident, modern, efficient, outward looking, learning organisation, which would continue to evolve, adapt, grow and transition into whatever was required to secure the safety and wellbeing of communities. In addition to responding to more traditional emergencies, they would further strengthen the work to prevent fires and other accidents occurring. The service would continue to reflect the changing needs of different localities and communities across Scotland. The Plan identified that they work with partners to protect the most vulnerable members of society, help address inequalities within our communities; respond when people are in need and respond to the growing climate emergency. They would support the safety of Scottish businesses in order that they may continue to grow and deliver a sustainable and inclusive economy for Scotland. DECIDED: That the information provided on the consultation of the Draft Scottish Fire and Rescue Strategic Plan 2022/2025 be noted. 6 LOCAL ISSUES Councillor J Hood sought clarification from Police Scotland about a recent incident in the Johnstone area. The Chief Inspector was able to provide assurance that Police Scotland were treating this as an isolated incident and advised that essential work on the case was ongoing at the location but that the scene of crime would be cleared soon. Councillor R Innes sought assurance from Police Scotland that the level of policing in the Linwood area was sufficient. The Chief Inspector advised that the level was sufficient and if required more Police could be deployed if necessary at short notice. Page 4 of 154
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DECIDED: That the information provided be noted. Page 5 of 154
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0 To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 Report by: Director of Finance and Resources Heading: General Services Revenue, Housing Account and Capital Budget Monitoring as at 24 June 2022 1. Summary of Financial Position 1.1. The projected outturn at 31 March 2023 for all services (including the housing revenue account) reporting to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board is an overspend position of £0.138m (1.1%) against the revised budget for the year. This can be further analysed as a projected overspend in general services activities of £0.138m and a break even position in the HRA. 1.2. The projected capital outturn at 31 March 2023 for projects reported to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board is a breakeven position of £28.087m against the revised budget for the year. 1.3. This is summarised over the relevant services in the table below and further analysis is provided in the Appendices. Item 2 CHAS160822 Page 7 of 154
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1 Table 1: Revenue Division / Department Revised Annual Budget £000 Projected Outturn Core £000 Total Projected Outturn £000 Budget Variance £000 Budget Variance % Housing Revenue Account (HRA) £0 £0 £0 £0 0% Communities & Housing Directorate £11 £11 £11 £0 0% Housing - General Services (Not HRA) £4,941 £4,941 £4,941 £0 0% Communities and Public Protection (excluding Regulatory Services) £3,766 £3,766 £3,766 £0 0% Economy & Development (£189) (£51) (£51) (£138) (73.0%) Criminal Justice £3,713 £3,713 £3,713 £0 0% Table 2: Capital Division / Department Revised Annual Budget £000 Projected Outturn £000 Budget Variance £000 Budget Variance % Housing Revenue Account (HRA) £26,795 £26,795 £0 0% Other Housing PSHG £1,292 £1,292 £0 0% 2. Recommendations Members are requested to: 2.1. Note the projected HRA and Revenue outturn position detailed in Table 1 above; 2.2. Note the projected Capital outturn position detailed in Table 2 above; and 2.3. Note the budget adjustments detailed at sections 4 and 6. 3. Revenue 3.1. The Revenue Budget Monitoring report at Appendix 1 identifies a projected overspend of £0.138 million (1.1% of total budget) for all services reporting to this Policy Board. Detailed division service reports can be also be found here, along with an explanation of each significant projected variance. 3.2. The projected outturn is based on information currently available, and assumptions made by service budget holders. Any changes to these projections will be detailed in future reports to the Board. Page 8 of 154
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2 3.3. The main reason for the projected outturn positions are indicated below the tables showing both the subjective analysis (what the budget is spent on) and the objective analysis (which division is spending the budget). 3.4. The projected overspend of £0.138 million, includes an estimated under- recovery in planning fees of £0.080 million. This represents c. 10% of targeted income and reflects a reasonable estimate of income in the current economic and financial climate. 4. Revenue Budget Adjustments 4.1. Members are requested to note from Appendix 1 that budget adjustments totalling £0.934m have been processed since the previous finance report to board. These relate wholly to: • £0.009m – Adult Social Care pay uplift • £0.240m – Council motion for fly-tipping enforcement • £0.060m – Duke of Edinburgh Scottish Attainment Funding • (£0.004m) – Right For Renfrewshire Savings • £0.660m – Additional funding for Criminal Justice outwith settlement • (£0.031m) – Planning Services service budget realignment 5. Communities and Housing Services Capital 5.1. The Capital Investment Programme 2022/23 to 2026/27 was approved by the Council on 3rd March 2022. For Communities and Housing Services the approved capital spend for 2022/23 is £28.087m. 5.2. The Capital Monitoring report at Appendix 2 indicates net budget adjustments in the approved capital programme for Communities, Housing and Planning Services for the year of (£2.954m) largely within HRA to reflect revised cash flows following contract awards. 5.3. Further detail, including reasons for significant variances (where applicable), can be found at Appendix 2. Page 9 of 154
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3 6. Capital Budget Adjustments 6.1. Since the last report, budget changes totalling (£2.954m) have arisen which reflect the following: Budget Carried Forward to 2023-24 from 2022-23 (£2.800m): • HRA o Improvements to Existing Properties (£2.800m) for updated cash flows following award of contracts for improvement to existing properties and heating upgrades; Budget Reduced (£0.400m) in 2022-23 to reflect revised estimated costs after award of contracts were lower than estimated costs: • HRA o Improvements to Existing Properties (£0.150m) for lift refurbishments; o Regeneration (£0.250m) for demolitions at Tannahill. Budget brought forward from 2021-22 to 2022-23 (£0.246m): • PSHG o To reflect cash flow timings of payments (£0.246m). ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of this report 1. Financial – The projected budget outturn position for Communities, Housing and Planning Services Revenue budget is an overspend of £0.138m (1.1% of total budget). All Income and expenditure, in all services within the department will continue to be monitored closely for the rest of the financial year and, where necessary, steps will be taken to mitigate any overspend. The projected outturn position for Communities, Housing and Planning Services’ Capital budget is breakeven. The Capital programme will continue to be monitored closely for the rest of the financial year and, where necessary, steps will be taken to mitigate any overspend. Page 10 of 154
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4 Any changes to current projections in either Revenue or Capital budgets will be reported to the board as early as possible, along with an explanation for the movement. 2. HR and Organisational Development None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning None directly arising from this report. 4. Legal None directly arising from this report. 5. Property/Assets Capital projects will result in new build Council housing stock and improvements to existing stock. 6. Information Technology None directly arising from this report. 7. Equality and Human Rights The recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because for example it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health and Safety None directly arising from this report. 9. Procurement None directly arising from this report. 10. Risk The potential risk that the Council will overspend its approved budgets for the year will be managed at a Council-wide level by the Chief Executive and Directors. 11. Privacy Impact None directly arising from this report. 12. 13. Cosla Policy Position N/a. Climate Risk None directly arising from this report. __________________________________________________________________ Page 11 of 154
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5 List of Background Papers Housing Revenue Account Budget & Rent Levels 2022/23 and Housing Capital Investment Plan 2022/23 to 2023/24; Non-housing Capital Investment Programme, Prudential Framework and Treasury Management Strategy, and Capital Strategy 2022/23 – 26/27. ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Kevin Festorazzi - Principal Accountant Ext 4885 John Kilpatrick– Finance Business Partner Ext 6132 Page 12 of 154
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Appendix 1 Objective Summary Approved Annual Budget Budget Adjustments Revised Annual Budget P3 Projected Outturn Core Business Total Projected Outturn £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 % Housing Revenue Account (HRA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Communities and Housing Directorate 11 0 11 11 11 0 0.0% Housing - General Services (Not HRA) 4,932 9 4,941 4,941 4,941 0 0.0% Communities and Public Protection (excluding Regulatory Services) 3,470 296 3,766 3,766 3,766 0 0.0% Building Standards (158) (31) (189) (51) (51) (138) (73.0%) Criminal Justice 3,053 660 3,713 3,713 3,713 0 0.0% NET EXPENDITURE 11,308 934 12,242 12,380 12,380 (138) (1.1%) Objective Heading Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Communities and Housing Directorate Housing - General Services (Not HRA) Communities and Public Protection (excluding Regulatory Services) Building Standards Criminal Justice POLICY BOARD : COMMUNITIES AND HOUSING - All SERVICES Overall the HRA is projecting a break even position at the year end. Employee costs are projected to underspend due to the ongoing recruitment to vacancies within the service. The resultant underspend is currently forecast to allow for an increase in debt repayments at the year end in line with the councils financial strategy of debt smoothing. Repairs and Maintenance budgets have been increased in line with expectations for 2022/23, this however remains a potential pressure and will be closely monitored throughout the year. No significant projected year end variances to report. No significant projected year end variances to report. The ongoing recruitment to vacancies within the service will continue to be monitored closely. No significant projected year end variances to report. The ongoing recruitment to vacancies within the service will continue to be monitored closely. Key Reasons for Projected Variance RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING STATEMENT 2022/23 1 April 2022 to 24 June 2022 Budget Variance (Adverse) or Favourable No significant projected year end variances to report The projected overspend relates to staffing costs where vacancies are filled as they arise to maintain service provision, meaning turnover targets are not being achieved. In addition, Building Standards fee income remains impacted by the current economic and financial climate with a projected under-recovery of c. 10% of targeted income. Page 13 of 154
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Appendix 1 Subjective Summary Approved Annual Budget Budget Adjustments Revised Annual Budget P3 Projected Outturn Core Business Total Projected Outturn £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 % Employees 8,998 497 9,495 9,648 9,648 (153) (1.6%) Premises Related 1,633 0 1,633 1,617 1,617 16 1.0% Transport Related 182 0 182 197 197 (15) (8.4%) Supplies and Services 1,960 0 1,960 1,923 1,923 37 1.9% Third Party Payments 85 0 85 86 86 (1) (1.5%) Transfer Payments 2,633 (231) 2,402 2,359 2,359 43 1.8% Support Services 1,247 0 1,247 1,245 1,245 2 0.2% Depreciation and Impairment Losses (23) 0 (23) (23) (23) 0 0.0% GROSS EXPENDITURE 16,715 266 16,981 17,053 17,053 (72) (0.4%) Income (5,407) 668 (4,739) (4,673) (4,673) (66) (1.4%) NET EXPENDITURE 11,308 934 12,242 12,380 12,380 (138) (1.1%) POLICY BOARD : COMMUNITIES AND HOUSING - GENERAL SERVICES (excluding HRA) Budget Variance (Adverse) or Favourable RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING STATEMENT 2022/23 1 April 2022 to 24 June 2022 Page 14 of 154
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Appendix 1 Revenue Account Subjective Summary Approved Annual Budget Budget Adjustments Revised Annual Budget P3 Projected Outturn Core Business Total Projected Outturn £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 % Employees 10,467 101 10,568 10,223 10,223 345 3.3% Premises Related 16,719 (367) 16,352 16,327 16,327 25 0.2% Transport Related 103 0 103 103 103 0 0.0% Supplies and Services 807 (70) 737 737 737 0 0.0% Third Party Payments 26 1 27 27 27 0 0.0% Transfer Payments 4,000 (100) 3,900 3,900 3,900 0 0.0% Support Services 2,490 0 2,490 2,490 2,490 0 0.0% Depreciation and Impairment Losses 20,425 350 20,775 21,145 21,145 (370) (1.8%) GROSS EXPENDITURE 55,037 (85) 54,952 54,952 54,952 0 0.0% Income (55,037) 85 (54,952) (54,952) (54,952) 0 0.0% NET EXPENDITURE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING STATEMENT 2022/23 1 April 2022 to 24 June 2022 POLICY BOARD : COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND PLANNING SERVICES - Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Only Budget Variance (Adverse) or Favourable Page 15 of 154
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Appendix 2 Prior Years Approved Budget Revised Projected Expenditure Budget Adjustments Budget Outturn Total Approved Projected to 31/03/2022 2022-23 in 2022-23 2022-23 2022-23 Budget Outurn Project Title to 31-Mar-27 to 31-Mar-27 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 HOUSING(HRA) Improvements To Existing Properties 0 10,967 (3,250) 7,717 7,717 0 0% 57,167 57,167 0 0% Regeneration 5,233 4,738 750 5,488 5,488 0 0% 20,565 20,565 0 0% Other Assets 0 2,640 0 2,640 2,640 0 0% 7,795 7,795 0 0% Non Property Expenditure 0 350 0 350 350 0 0% 1,750 1,750 0 0% Council House New Build 33,782 9,000 0 9,000 9,000 0 0% 62,782 62,782 0 0% Professional Fees 0 2,300 (700) 1,600 1,600 0 0% 7,700 7,700 0 0% Total Housing(HRA) Programme 39,015 29,995 (3,200) 26,795 26,795 0 0% 157,759 157,759 0 0% HOUSING(PSHG) Private Sector Housing Grant Programme 0 1,046 246 1,292 1,292 0 0% 1,292 1,292 0 0% Total Housing(PSHG) Programme 0 1,046 246 1,292 1,292 0 0% 1,292 1,292 0 0% TOTAL COMMUNITIES, HOUSING & PLANNING BOARD 39,015 31,041 (2,954) 28,087 28,087 0 0% 159,051 159,051 0 0% *Rolling programmes have a prior year year expenditure of £0 as the expenditure is not directly linked from one year to the next as a singular project. RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL CAPITAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY 1st April to 24th June 2022 POLICY BOARD: COMMUNITES & HOUSING Current Year 2022-23 Full Programme - All years Budget Variance (Adverse) or Favourable Budget Variance (Adverse) or Favourable Page 16 of 154
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Board On: 16th August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Community Empowerment Fund ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval from the Communities and Housing Board for the award of grants from the Community Empowerment Fund. 1.2 The key objective of the fund is to support community organisations to acquire and develop community assets. The fund aims to support and develop community organisations, with a specific focus on assisting those organisations that wish to acquire and develop community assets. 1.3 Three new applications were received through this round as detailed within Section 2 and Appendix 1. 1.4 The next deadline for applications is 18 September 2022. Item 3 CHAS160822 Page 17 of 154
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2 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the board approves the recommendation as detailed in Section 4 and Appendix 1, to award: • £50,000 to Renfrew Victoria to refurbish and upgrade the internal areas of the Kirklandneuk Pavilion. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 At its meeting on 2 March 2018, Council agreed to commit £1.5million (£0.5million in revenue and £1million in capital) to establish a Community Empowerment Fund that will be used to support community asset transfers, by providing up-front investment in the condition of assets prior to transfer. It should be noted that the £1.5million represents a one-off investment fund. 3.2 On 20th June 2018, Leadership Board agreed the key objectives and criteria of the fund, and agreed that applications to the Community Empowerment Fund be submitted to Communities and Housing Board for final approval. 3.3 The key objectives of the fund are to support and develop community organisations with a specific focus on assisting those organisations that wish to acquire and develop community assets in three ways: • Project: Support the development of the Business Plan for an asset • Organisation: Develop the organisational capacity to manage and develop an asset • Property: Upfront investment in assets prior to or after transfer 3.4 The fund is comprised of £0.5million in revenue funding and £1million in capital funding. As such, it is anticipated that revenue funding will support applications to develop the project or organisation, and the capital funding will be used to support property costs. 3.5 It will be important applicants to the fund are able to demonstrate the following: • Able to demonstrate positive impact for local communities • The community are involved in the design and delivery of the project • Good working relationships and partnership with others Page 18 of 154
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3 • The project is financially sustainable • Strategic fit with the fund objectives and criteria • Value for money and leverage of additional funding and/or resources 3.6 The award of funding from the Community Empowerment Fund does not commit the Council to a particular outcome as part of the Asset Transfer process, which will be subject to a separate decision making process through relevant governance arrangements. 4. Summary of applications 4.1 Three new applications were received by the deadline date of 4 July 2022. The total value of requested grants through this round is £101,321.00. 4.2 A cross-service panel of officers has been established to review and assess the applications against the agreed objectives and criteria outlined at Section 3.2 and 3.3 of this report. 4.3 The officer recommendation is: • To approve the application submitted by: Renfrew Victoria Youth Football Club (£50,000.00) for refurbishment and upgrading of internal areas within the Kirklandneuk Pavilion. • To defer the applications submitted by Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust and Western Desert Recce Group SCIO to allow for further work to be carried out with groups relating to their proposals. 4.4 A summary of the recommendation for award can be found at Appendix 1. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - Council approved the allocation of £1.5million to establish the Community Empowerment Fund in March 2018. 2. HR & Organisational Development – Not applicable 3. Community/Council Planning – The Renfrewshire Community Plan 2017-2027 states “There are new opportunities for communities to use, manage or take ownership of Page 19 of 154
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4 public sector assets and also to participate in the planning and delivery of services through the Community Empowerment Act. Over the last few years, there are over a dozen examples of community groups that have taken over public sector buildings or land in Renfrewshire, and more community groups are now thinking about assets and participation requests. As a partnership, we are committed to supporting this wherever we can.” The Renfrewshire Council Plan also has a number of relevant priorities as part of the ‘Building strong, safe and resilient communities’ outcome. These include: • Strengthening existing community networks and empowering local people to become more involved in their area and the services delivered there. • Working with communities to support the regeneration of some of our most disadvantaged areas. • Ensuring all towns and villages in Renfrewshire are better connected and able to participate in social, cultural or economic activities across the Renfrewshire area. 4. Legal- The establishment of this fund supports the delivery of a number of the Council’s obligations as part of the Community Empowerment Act 2015. 5. Property/Assets - The development of this fund will support Asset Transfer and support the Council to meet its obligations as part of the Community Empowerment Act. 6. Information Technology – None 7. Equality & Human Rights - It is anticipated that the fund will have a positive impact on equality and human rights, and applications for the fund will be assessed to ensure they take relevant equalities implications into account. 8. Health & Safety – None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk – None 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. Cosla Policy Position – None Page 20 of 154
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5 ______________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) Background Paper 1 – None _____________________________________________________ Author: Annabelle Armstrong-Walter, Strategic Partnerships and Inequalities Manager, 0141 618 5968 Page 21 of 154
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1 Appendix 1: Recommendation for award Organisation Amount Requested Purpose Recommendation Additional Info and/or Areas of Concern Renfrew Victoria Football Club £50,000.00 The purpose of the project is to regenerate and refurbish the pavilion built in 1976, with a Community Asset Transfer agreed in 2019. The purpose of the project is to enable the club to follow the Scottish Football Association playing pathway by starting a girls’ section and growing this to levels of the boys’ group. The project will allow a greater match and training day experience by increasing the size of the changing area and refurbishment of the shower areas to Sport Scotland standards. This refurbishment will allow the club to increase membership and usage of the playing fields by having facilities to change and shower after activities. The refurbishment will have an environmental impact as the project will provide 100% renewable energy for lighting and heating due to the installation of 21 solar panels and 2 battery units. £50,000 The Panel felt that funding would allow Renfrew Victoria Football Club to progress their plans to upgrade the facilities at Kirklandneuk Pavilion, and progress capital works required to split utility provision with the Community Centre in line with the Community Asset Transfer agreement. The panel also felt the funding package would support the group to lever in additional external funding, for example from Sport Scotland. Page 22 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ TO: Communities and Housing Policy Board ON: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ REPORT BY: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ HEADING: Communities and Housing Services - Annual Health and Safety Plan 2022/23 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1. The Council’s Corporate Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-22 requires that all Services produce an annual Health & Safety Plan. The Communities and Housing Services Plan is attached at Appendix 1 and reviews the Health & Safety performance of Communities and Housing Services in the previous financial year 2021/22 and sets out the future objectives in an Action Plan for the current financial year, 2022 to 2023. 1.2. This report therefore summarises Communities and Housing Services approach to Health and Safety and demonstrates the continued drive to enhance the arrangements in place for the management of Health & Safety and continuous improvement in relation to Health & Safety performance. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1. It is recommended that the Communities and Housing Policy Board: (i) approve the Communities and Housing Services Annual Health and Safety Plan 2022/23. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1. With approximately 400 FTE members of staff, Communities and Housing Services aims to create, develop, support, protect and empower Renfrewshire’s communities. This includes managing and investing in our housing stock of approximately 12,350 properties and providing services to council tenants, alongside housing advice and support, assisting homeless people and those threatened with homelessness and ensuring people have safe and healthy places to live. Item 4 CHAS160822 Page 23 of 154
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3.2. This work links closely with our community protection role safeguarding public health and protecting the environment, consumers, workers and local communities. Within these communities, we encourage people to fulfil their potential and ensure they have equal access to a range of learning and development opportunities. Community Learning and Development teams work to build this capacity in young people and other individuals, families, groups and communities. 3.3. In delivering the above, it is of paramount importance that the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff is maintained. 3.4. The Communities and Housing Health and Safety Representative Chairs the Health and Safety Working Group with relevant Managers and also sits on the Renfrewshire Council Corporate Health and Safety Working Group. The Officer reviews and oversees accidents and incidents and disseminates anything raised by Corporate Health and Safety. 3.5. For governance purposes, health and safety (both Corporately and at a Service level), is a standard agenda item that is discussed at the quarterly Communities and Housing Resilience Management Team - chaired by the Service Director. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Potential exists for financial liability from property damage, civil or criminal prosecutions through the outcome of accidents and/or ill health. This report demonstrates Communities and Housing Services compliance and commitment to Health and Safety policies and procedures. 2. HR & Organisational Development – The report supports the Council’s commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of employees. 3. Community Planning Renfrewshire is well – Communities and Housing Services will improve the physical and healthier wellbeing of staff across the Service through participation in the ‘Healthy Working Lives’ and ‘Your Health Matters’ programmes and any other corporate initiatives promoting a healthier life. Renfrewshire is safe - Recognising that the employees are its most valuable asset, Communities, Housing and Planning Services will provide training and support to allow them to develop within the organisation and gain the skills and experience necessary to provide a quality service to customers. 4. Legal – Compliance with statutory legislation and Corporate Health and Safety policies and guidance. 5. Property/Assets – The maintenance of an asbestos register with respect to domestic council properties and an obligation to conduct workplace inspections. 6. Information Technology – None Page 24 of 154
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7. Equality & Human Rights - a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – This report supports and demonstrates Communities, Housing and Planning Services commitment to ensuring effective Health and Safety management. 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk – This report and plan looks to mitigate potential prosecution or civil action from work related accidents. 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. CoSLA Policy Position – N/A 13. Climate Change – N/A __________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Chris Dalrymple Email: chris.dalrymple@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 25 of 154
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Appendix 1 COMMUNITIES AND HOUSING SERVICES ANNUAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORT AND ACTION PLAN 2022/23 Page 26 of 154
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Foreword This annual report and action plan is prepared by Communities and Housing Services in accordance with Renfrewshire Council’s Health and Safety Policy and Plan, the purpose of which is to evaluate the health and safety performance of the Service and to set future health and safety objectives. The report and plan demonstrate the services commitment to the corporate health and safety policy and to fulfilling any legal obligations placed on the service by the Health and Safety at Work etc, Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Page 27 of 154
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1. Introduction 1.1 The Council’s Health & Safety Policy and Plan requires that all Services produce an annual Health & Safety Plan. The plan reviews the health and safety performance of the Service in the previous calendar year, 2021/22, and through the action plan, sets future health and safety aims and objectives for 2022-25. 1.2 The action plan sets key performance indicators for 2022-25 and future performance will be measured against these indicators. 1.3 Communities and Housing Services aim to create, develop, support, protect and empower Renfrewshire’s communities. From managing our housing stock of approximately 12,216 properties and providing housing advice and assistance to vulnerable people, we ensure people have safe and healthy places to live. This work links closely with our public protection role safeguarding public health and protecting the environment, consumers, workers and local communities. 1.4 These services are delivered by approximately 521 employees (which equates to 390 FTEs). Across the service, there are 111 vacant posts, which equates to 95 FTEs. The service had a gross expenditure budget of £15.6m for general fund activities in 2021/22, and £53.7m in the Housing Revenue Account, which is ring fenced for the provision of social housing. 1.5 The Communities and Housing Services health and safety policy reflects the commitment of the Director, Heads of Service and Managers to ensure that the main priorities are achieved within a safe environment which is not harmful to the health of employees, clients and other users of the service. 1.6 It is intended that this report demonstrates the service’s commitment to maintaining and developing the Communities and Housing Services health and safety strategy and highlights our intention to maintain a high level of health and safety performance. 2. Management of Health and Safety within the Service Broad context of health and safety policy 2.1 The Director of Communities and Housing Services is responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare at work of employees within the service. The Director is assisted in this by Heads of Service, managers and employees who are expected to co-operate in the implementation of Communities and Housing Services health and safety policy. 2.2 Health and safety is managed through quarterly Resilience Management Team meetings and the Health and Safety Joint Committee and Planning Group meetings which have representation from senior management, the health and safety coordinator, corporate health and safety and trade unions. 2.3 The joint Health and Safety Committee and Planning Group meetings are chaired by the service’s Health and Safety Coordinator and consider: (a) Accidents - statistics, trends, investigations and other information to identify causes and provide so far as is practicable for their prevention. (b) Workplace inspections (internal) and audits (Corporate and external) (c) The planning, performance management and review of our approach to Health & Safety Page 28 of 154
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(d) The monitoring and implementation of the Health & Safety action plan (e) The identification, assessment and recording of risks (f) Actions arising from the deliberations of the corporate Health & Safety committee (g) Actions arising from the corporate and service Risk Management and planning arrangements, and (h) New developments in Health & Safety arising from legislation and Government and Council policy 2.4 The joint Health and Safety Committee and Planning Group comprises of managers or section representatives from each of the Communities and Housing Services divisions, the Service’s Health and Safety Co-ordinator, representatives from Corporate Health and Safety and representatives from trade unions. 2.5 The joint Health and Safety Committee and Planning Group meet quarterly, and meetings generally align with Corporate Health and Safety meetings. Minutes of the meetings are distributed to the Director, Heads of Service, Senior Managers and trade union representatives. 2.6 The overall objective of Communities and Housing Services is to ensure that health, safety and wellbeing is an integral part of its business, and all service areas continually seek to develop a positive culture and attitude amongst their staff to achieve this. 2.7 The health and safety policy will provide a framework for the management of health, safety and wellbeing within Communities and Housing Services. 3. Organisation for implementing health and safety management Health and Safety Planning Group 3.1 The Resilience Management Team (formerly the Crisis & Resilience Management Team) review all Communities and Housing Services health and safety issues. It is chaired by the Director of Communities and Housing Services with senior representatives including, Heads of Service, Principal Officers and a Senior Health and Safety Officer from Finance and Corporate Services. This group meets quarterly with health and safety as an agenda item. 3.2 The Communities and Housing Services, Health and Safety Co-ordinator attends the quarterly Corporate Health and Safety Committee meetings. At these meetings information is provided by Corporate Health and Safety officers regarding the latest Health and Safety initiatives and any updates or revisions on Health and Safety Legislation or Corporate Policies. Consultation mechanisms 3.3 Information on health and safety issues are communicated to employees using various internal channels such as strategic meetings, operations meetings, trade union meetings, workload reviews, performance reviews, toolbox talks, e-mail and notice boards. Page 29 of 154
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3.4 The joint Health and Safety Committee and Planning Group provides a forum for the exchange of views and consultations on Health & Safety issues between management and Trade Unions. This ensures that information is exchanged and disseminated to all employees. 4. Planning and setting standards Setting of health and safety objectives 4.1 The Joint Committee and Planning Group is responsible for developing and promoting a positive health, safety and wellbeing culture throughout Communities and Housing Services. This is achieved through continual assessment, monitoring and review of the health safety action plan. 4.2 In setting clear health and safety objectives, the group will consider matters such as: a) Developments or changes in the regulation of health and safety in the workplace or in working practices, and b) The identification of areas where there is a need for improvement that may entail the implementation of safe working practices or investment in equipment, and c) The need for training and raising awareness in relation to health and safety issues. 4.3 When setting objectives, the Joint Committee and Planning Group takes cognisance of the Council’s corporate strategic aims, Corporate Policy on Health, Safety and Welfare and the aims set out by the “Our People, Our Future 2021-2026” document. Training 4.4 Communities and Housing Services recognises that health and safety training is a key factor in the reduction of accidents and prevention of ill-health. The service actively supports, organises and carries out such training. Page 30 of 154
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4.5 The following i-learn Health and Safety training was carried out in 2021-22 across the Service: Module Count of Username Accident & Incident Reporting (RIDDOR) 6 ACT Awareness 2022 e‐learning 12 Display Screen Equipment Awareness 374 Driving at Work ‐ Light Vehicles 74 Equal Partners in Care Level 1: Carer Aware 3 Fire Module 20 Guidance on Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 2 Introduction to Food Hygiene ‐ Module 1 (unaccredited version) 3 Ladder safety awareness 46 Manual Handling Module 9 Personal Hygiene ‐ Module 4 (unaccredited version) 1 Remote Health and Safety Module 16 Safe Handling and Storage of Food ‐ Module 3 (unaccredited version) 2 Supporting Employees Experiencing Domestic Abuse 26 Types of bacteria and food poisoning bacteria ‐ Module 2 (unaccredited version) 1 Using the Lifepak Defibrillator 12 Watch your step ‐ intermediate course 20 Watch your step ‐ introduction to slips and trips 23 Grand Total 650 5. Measuring performance 5.1 The action plan from the current annual Health & Safety plan is monitored on Pentana, the Council’s performance management system. Quarterly reports are produced to monitor performance against the key performance indicators detailed in the plan. Monitoring 5.2 The quarterly accident/incident statistics are scrutinised by the Joint Committee and Planning Group to identify any trends and implement initiatives to address them. The number of reported accident/incidents for Communities and Housing Services for the period 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022 was 18. The summary of this year and previous years accident/incidents are summarised in the table below. It should be noted that the services included changed when we moved from Communities, Housing and Planning Services to Communities and Housing Services therefore statistics no longer include Planning or Building Standards who now sit within the Chief Executive Service. Page 31 of 154
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5.3 All reported incidents and accidents are investigated, and associated risk assessments were reviewed and amended as necessary. There were no recorded RIDDOR reportable accidents or incidents nor were there any HSE interventions during the recording period of 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022. 5.4 The total number of accidents/incidents increased from the previous year from 9 to 18. Employees returning to their normal work role following COVID may have contributed to this increase, and we have also tried to promote the reporting of incidents through Business World in 2021-2022. 5.5 The table below shows a breakdown for the type of accident/incidents in 2021/22. Violence and aggression cases are clearly the most common type accounting for 10 out of the total 18 (55%). This is comparable to previous years, in 2020/21 7 out of 9 (78%) reported accident/incidents were due to violence and aggression. Due to this the issue of violence and aggression has been a common focus at the joint Health and Safety Committee and Planning Group and this is reflected in the action plan (see Annex 1). Type of Accident Total Violence and Aggression 10 Struck by an object 2 Slip, trips and falls 1 Injured by an animal 2 Fall from Height 1 Other 2 Total 18 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/2020 2020/21 2021/22 Total number of accidents/incidents 10 18 8 37 9 18 (1 was an incident with no persons involved) Accidents/incidents involving employees 7 11 7 24 4 4 Accidents/incidents involving members of the public / people employed by someone else 3 7 1 13 3 13 Page 32 of 154
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5.6 Communities and Housing Services contractors are assessed for their Health and Safety competence in two stages as part of the PQQ process, prior to award of contract and continuous monitoring throughout the contract. Any contractor identified breaking Health and Safety guidelines is issued with a “Notification of Site Hazard / Unsafe Practice” notice. This requires the contractor to address the issue on site immediately and to respond to the follow up investigation by the Service’s Health and Safety Co-ordinator and Corporate Health and Safety, as required. 6. Review of Health and Safety Management 6.1 The Communities and Housing Services joint Health and Safety Committee and planning group will continue to review Health & Safety management issues across the service. Page 33 of 154
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Annex 1 Communities and Housing Services Health and Safety Action Plan 2022-2025 Health and Safety objective 1: Monitor and review risk assessment and safe system of work. Key themes: Audit and inspection, Related actions: 1: Undertake a regular programme of risk assessment and safe system of work reviews. 2: Compile departmental risk assessment and safe system of work register. Health and Safety objective 2: Aim to reduce the number of workplace accidents and incidents. Key themes: Violence and aggression Related actions: 1: Undertake regular programme of health and safety training and information sharing for all staff. 2: Undertake violence aggression training for all at risk employees. 3. Make staff aware of the new health and safety incident reporting system and encourage reporting of incidents and near misses. 4: Continually monitor accident trends and statistics to identify risk and provide, so far as is practicable, for its prevention/reduction. Page 34 of 154
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Health and Safety objective 3: Aim to improve Mental Health and Wellbeing of staff Key themes: Mental Health, wellbeing and addressing stress Related actions: 1: Encourage staff to take part in the Health, Safety and Welfare training opportunities. 2: Continually monitor accident trends and statistics to identify risk that could be contributing towards stress and provide, so far as is practicable, for its prevention/reduction. 3: Promote the People Strategy- Our People Our Future within the Service and support its aims. 4: Promote the use of Mental Health First Aiders within the Service 5: Continue to provide up to date information to staff on Mental Health and Wellbeing support. 6. Promote the corporate Health and Wellbeing survey (due August 2022) and use the results to focus CAHS work on Health and Wellbeing. Health and Safety objective 4: Ensure appropriate health and safety training is delivered and recorded. Key themes: Audits and inspection, Related actions: 1: Record and report on all health and safety related training Page 35 of 154
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Health and Safety objective 5: Aim to support staff in COVID recovery Key themes: Health, Safety and Wellbeing Related actions: 1: Keep staff up to date with COVID procedures and working conditions as they are revised. 2: Continue to support staff who have been shielding. 3. Review and update COVID risk assessments as guidance from corporate health and safety and SG is updated. 4. Promote the People Strategy- Our People Our Future within the Service, particularly its post pandemic aims. Health and Safety objective 6: Undertake a programme of regular health and safety audits and inspection. Key theme: Audits and inspection Related actions: 1: Undertake a CAHS staff survey to establish current health and safety awareness among employees. 2: Continual monitoring of all actions contained within the CAHS health and safety action plan. Page 36 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Scottish Social Housing Charter - Annual Return 2021/22 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords are required to submit an Annual Return on the Charter relating to service performance to the Scottish Housing Regulator by the end of May each year. 1.2 This report provides details of the Council’s Annual Return for 2021/22 and, taking account of the challenges faced during the Covid pandemic, highlights the key priorities for the housing service as part of recovery planning activity. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) note the submission made by the Director of Communities and Housing Services on the Scottish Social Housing Charter for 2021/22 as summarised in appendix 1; and (ii) note that this report also contains the results from this year’s Tenant Satisfaction Survey. 3. Charter Report for 2021/22 and service priorities 3.1. The report attached as appendix 1 gives a summary of outturn performance information for Renfrewshire Council for 2021/22. • Section 1 provides a summary of Renfrewshire Council’s performance against the Charter indicators along with comparative information for the last four years. Item 5 CHAS160822 Page 37 of 154
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• Section 2 gives details of some core contextual data submitted as part of the Charter return. • Section 3 provides additional service and performance management information for 2021/22. 3.2. The Charter data for 2021/22 reflects the challenges faced by the Council in continuing to provide core essential housing services during the Covid pandemic. The key areas of service performance most significantly impacted by the pandemic were: • The Percentage of stock meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) (Indicator 6) dropped this year to 57%. This was a direct consequence of the fact that for the first time, compliance with 5 yearly EICR checks and the new smoke and heat detector standard was included within the assessment of SHQS compliance. The Council’s programme of EICR checks and smoke detector upgrades has been significantly affected by the impact of Covid on the construction industry and was not complete by March 2022 as planned. This programme is nearing completion and as such our compliance with SHQS will increase significantly in next year’s return. • The percentage of homes meeting the EESSH decreased to 78.4% from 86.6% (Indicator C10). The reduction was due to around 8% of the Council’s stock’s now being included in approved demolition programmes within our regeneration areas and as such being exempt from EESSH but not considered as a pass. • Non-emergency repairs average time (Indicator 9) increased to 14.6 days. This is due to the volume of repairs post Covid and ongoing issues affecting the construction industry, including supply chain issues and fluctuating levels of resources. It should be noted that both these issues are likely to continue to have an impact over the forthcoming year. • The number of times in the reporting year that a gas safety check was not completed within 12 months of a gas appliance being fitted or its last check (Indicator 11). In 2021/22, there were 142 occasions where this was not completed before the anniversary date. These have now all been completed. • Expenditure on adaptations increased to over £600,000 over the past year as the easing of Covid restrictions allowed this type of work to recommence. During 2021/22 the Service completed 244 adaptations. At the end of March 2022 there were 107 households waiting for an adaptation (Indicator 19) compared to 129 in the previous year. The average time to complete adaptations (Indicator 21) also increased substantially to 142 days from 79 days in 2020/21, which reflects the lengthy period of time when adaptation works were unable to be completed due to Covid restrictions. • The average length of time taken to re-let properties in the last year (Indicator 30). The easing of pandemic restrictions has accelerated the overall letting process, which has seen the average re let time improving to 66.0 days from 85.7 days from the previous year. However this remains an area of special focus for the Service so that a further reduction in re-let times is achieved. Page 38 of 154
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3.3. Despite the challenges of the last 18 months, there were several areas of improvement or stable performance: • Percentage of new tenancies sustained for more than a year remained stable across tenant groups, with the overall level of tenancy sustainment remaining stable at around 92%. (Indicator 16.) • Percentage of tenants satisfied with the repairs and maintenance service improved from 92% to 95%. (Indicator 12.) • Despite the challenges noted above there was only a slight increase in the time taken to complete emergency repairs, from 6.2 hours last year to 7.1 hours. (Indicator 8.) • Gross rent arrears increased to 8.0% of rent due at the end of March 2022 compared with 6.4% in March 2021. This increase in arrears can in part be attributed to the impact of the initial lockdown where traditional methods of payment, such as cash payments, were not available to tenants. (Indicator 27.) 3.4 Last year’s Board report set out areas for the Council’s recovery plan. The number of properties re-let has returned to normal levels and the average days to re-let has improved. 3.5 Lets to people who are homeless exceeded our target but dropped from 49% to 42.9%. The actual number of lets to people who were homeless increased. 3.6 The pandemic has presented a number of specific challenges for the repairs service, which has been adversely affected with issues of supplies and restrictions to complete jobs. The Service will continue to address these challenges by utilising contractual arrangements with external contractors to assist our in-house service provider in meeting these demands, but issues with material supplies and fluctuating resource levels will continue to limit the extend of improvement which can be achieved. These issues will also have an impact on void turnover and the associated re let and rent loss to voids indicators. 3.7 Complaint performance dipped during 2021/22 and although we were able to restart the carrying out of repairs following the lifting of Covid restrictions at various points throughout 2021/22, there was still a high volume of repairs and the impact on repairs and other service issues due to the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic which led to a higher number of complaints answered outwith the timescale of 5 days. We expect performance to improve over the course of this year as we have focused additional resources to support this. 4. Reporting Performance to tenants and benchmarking performance 4.1 The Scottish Housing Regulator publishes all social landlords’ performance on its website in August each year. In common with other Councils and RSLs, the Council will be required to report its performance against the Charter to all tenants in October. Page 39 of 154
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4.2 In accordance with guidance from the Scottish Housing Regulator and practice over previous years, tenants will be consulted with on the preferred format for the Tenants’ Report. A report will be presented to a later meeting of this Policy Board which benchmarks Renfrewshire Council’s performance in 2021/22 against other Social Landlords. 5. Tenant Satisfaction Survey 5.1. Between March and April this year, the Service commissioned a Tenants Satisfaction Survey. The Charter has a number of satisfaction indicators that all landlords must ask tenants about. Generally the survey highlighted that satisfaction levels have remained relatively stable or improved over the past two years. These indicators are referenced in appendix 1 of this report and a full copy of the report is available on request. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – None 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community/Council Planning Building strong, safe, and resilient communities – Improving and maintaining neighbourhoods and homes. Working together to improve outcomes – Increasing resident satisfaction with neighbourhoods and communities 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets – None 6. Information Technology – None 7. Equality & Human Rights – The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website 8. Health & Safety – None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risks – None Page 40 of 154
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11. Privacy Impact – None 12. Cosla Policy Position – N/A 13. Climate Change – None ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None. ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 41 of 154
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Appendix 1 Scottish Social Housing Charter Outturn report 2021/2022 Item 5 CHAS160822 Page 43 of 154
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Scottish Social Housing Charter 2021/2022 Outturn report Contents Section 1 Outturn Report Section 2 Contextual Indicators Section 3 Management Information Page 44 of 154
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1 SECTION 1: OUTTURN REPORT (2021/2022) Overall Satisfaction No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 1 Percentage of tenants satisfied with the overall service provided by their landlord. (a)88.0% (a)88.0% (b)88.8% (b)88.8% (c)82.4% The most recent data relate to the 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Sources: (a) 2018 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (b) 2020 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (c) 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey 1. The Customer Landlord Relationship Communication No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 2 Percentage of tenants who feel their landlord is good at keeping them informed about their services and decisions. (a)82.2 (a)82.2 (b)88.4% (b)88.4% (c)91.1% The most recent data relate to the 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Sources: (a) 2018 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (b) 2020 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (c) 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Complaints No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 3/4 The percentage of all complaints responded to in full at Stage 1 N/A N/A 99.7% 100% 95.1% There were 704 Stage 1 complaints received. All were responded to in full, in an average of 6.56 days. The average time in working days for a full response at Stage 1 N/A N/A 3.6 days 4.97 days 6.56 days The percentage of all complaints responded to in full at Stage 2. N/A N/A 94.1% 100% 96.2% There were 25 stage 2 complaints received. All were responded to in full, in an average of 16.6 days. The average time in working days for a full response at Stage 2. N/A N/A 14.6 days 13.9 days 16.6 days Note: The complaints indicators have been revised by the Scottish Housing Regulator Participation No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 5 Percentage of tenants satisfied with the opportunities given to them to participate in their landlord’s decision- making processes. (a)87.8% (a)87.8% (b)93.7% (b)93.7% (c)99.0% The most recent data relate to the 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Page 45 of 154
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2 Sources: (a) 2018 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (b) 2020 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (c) 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Housing quality and maintenance Housing Quality No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 6 Percentage of stock meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS). 93.5% 94.5% 94.6% *80.1% 57.1% See note below This year has seen an increase in the percentage of failures as 2 new elements are now included within the calculation of this PI. For the first time, compliance with 5 yearly EICR checks and the new smoke and heat detector standard are included within the assessment of SHQS compliance. The council’s programme of EICR checks and smoke detector upgrades has been significantly affected by the impact of covid on the construction industry and was not complete by March 2022 as planned. 24% of our stock has been affected by these delays and therefore fail SHQS. Both the EICR and smoke detector programmes are still ongoing and when complete will give a significant increase in properties passing SHQS. At the end of 2021/22, 6,976 of the stock of 12,216 met the SHQS standard. There are 957 properties not in scope as they are part of approved demolition programmes and 253 properties currently in abeyance due to tenant refusal of works. 7 Percentage of tenants satisfied with the quality of their home. (a)83.9% (a)83.9% (b)86.1% (b)86.1% (c)79.9% The most recent data relate to the 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey C10 Percentage of homes meeting the EESSH N/A 73.6% 78% 86.6% 78.4% 9574 properties meet the EESSH 2020 Standard. *Last year we initially reported an SHQS figure of 91.7%. We resubmitted our SHQS return when the SHR advised that if a property has an EESSH failure it cannot be SHQS compliant. After we resubmitted our data, the revised figure for percentage of properties meeting SHQS was 80.1% Sources: (a) 2018 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (b) 2020 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (c) 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Repairs, maintenance and improvements No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 8 Average length of time taken to complete emergency repairs. (hours) 5.1 5.1 5.5 6.2 7.1 Just over 18,000 emergency repairs were completed in 2021/22 (slightly less than the number completed in 2020/21). The average time to complete increased from 6.2 to 7.1 hours. 9 Average length of time taken to complete non- emergency repairs. (days) 7.1 6.9 7.8 10.7 14.6 Just under 27,000 non- emergency repairs were completed in an average of 14.6 days. This is an increase in the length of time taken to complete non-emergency repairs. 10 Percentage of reactive repairs carried out in the last 90.2% 88.1% 82.6% 85.1% 84.9% Of the 26,748 reactive repairs carried out in 21/22, over Page 46 of 154
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3 No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes year completed right first time. 22,700 were completed right first time. 11 How many times in the reporting year did you not meet your statutory obligations to complete a gas safety check within 12 months of a gas appliance being fitted or its last check? 3 3 17 1471 142 Renfrewshire Council have at all times followed the Scottish Government guidance and the more detailed guidance from Gas Safe and HSE. In 2021/22 we carried out over 10,000 services in 20/21. There were 142 occasions where a service was not completed by the 12-month anniversary date. The majority of these were due to access issues arising from issues with Covid. All of these services have been completed and there are no outstanding gas services. 12 (was 16) Percentage of tenants who have had repairs or maintenance carried out in last 12 months satisfied with the repairs and maintenance service. 98.3% 92.5% 90.8% 92.0% 95.0% Satisfaction with repairs has improved since last year. Of the 943 tenants asked for their views 896 were satisfied or very satisfied, 22 were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 25 were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the repair and maintenance service received. (12) Source: Point of service survey 3. Neighbourhood and community Estate management, anti-social behaviour, neighbour nuisance and tenancy disputes No. Indicator 16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 Notes 13 Percentage of tenants satisfied with the landlord’s contribution to the management of the neighbourhood they live in. (a)83.2% (a)83.2% (b)84.5% (b)84.5% (c)87.0% The most recent data relate to the 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey 14 Percentage of tenancy offers refused during the year. 37.7% 46.5% 40.2% 24.1% 39.6% From 1499 formal offers there were 593 refusals. 15 Percentage of anti-social behaviour cases reported in the last year which were resolved. 95.0% 96.0% 99.4% 99.8% 99.7% 349 of 350 cases were resolved. 13) Sources: (a) 2015 Tenant Satisfaction Survey, (b) 2018 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (c) 2020 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Page 47 of 154
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4 4. Access to housing and support Tenancy sustainment and tenancy turnover No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 16 Percentage of new tenancies sustained for more than a year, by source of let. Note that these figures relate to tenancies which commenced between April 2020 and March 2021. Overall sustainment levels have remained steady, with improvement in the proportion of tenancies sustained for more than 12 months by tenants who were on the Housing List (up from 92.8% to 94.5%). Slight dip in the proportion of existing tenancies sustained for more than 12 months (down from 95.5% to 93.5%). Existing tenants 91.2% 94.2% 95.4% 95.5% 93.5% Homeless applicants 84.6% 82.1% 80.4% 88.4% 89.4% Housing List applicants 89.3% 90.0% 91.7% 92.8% 94.5% Other 66.7% 00.00 0 0 0 Overall 88.5% 88.5% 88.5% 92% 92.2% 17 Percentage of lettable houses that became vacant in the last year. 9.2% 9.7% 9.5% 6.6% 8.31% There was an increase in the number of lettable houses that became vacant in the year, with 964 this year compared to 772 last year. 18 Percentage of rent due lost through properties being empty during the last year. 1.3% 1.4% 1.5% 1.58% 2.0% There was an increase in the rent lost through void properties this year. Housing options and access to housing No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 19 Number of households currently waiting for adaptations to their home N/A N/A 46 129 107 During 21/22 the Service completed 244 adaptations, at the end of March 21/22 there were 107 households waiting for an adaptation (Indicator 19) compared to 129 in the previous year. The average time to complete adaptations (Indicator 21) also increased to 142 days from 79 days 2020/21, due to our addressing the backlog of adaptations and supply issues. 20 Total cost of adaptations completed in the year by source of funding (£) N/A N/A £402,000 £86,152 £608,555 21 Average time to complete adaptations 33.6 56.8 36.2 79.4 141.9 22 Percentage of the court actions initiated which resulted in eviction and the reasons for eviction. 25.0% 27.4% 20% 0% 0.8% All court activity was suspended due to the pandemic. However full rent recovery processes have recommenced, Page 48 of 154
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5 No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes Non-payment of rent 24.6 26.7% 20% 0% 0% and this figure is likely to increase next year. Anti-social behaviour 0.4 0.7% 0 0% 0.8% Other 0 0 0 0% 0% Homelessness No Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 24 Homelessness (LAs only) – the percentage of homeless households referred to RSLs under section 5 and through other referral routes. N/A N/A 26.3% 32.1% 32.0% The Council continues to work with RSL partners to refer households through the section 5 and Nomination Agreement routes. Note: Indicator 23 is for RSLs only 5. Getting good value from rents and service charges Value for money No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 25 Percentage of tenants who feel that the rent for their property represents good value for money. (a)75.8% (a)75.8% (b)78.2% (b)78.2% (c)83.4% The most recent data relates to the 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey where satisfaction has increased. Sources: (a) 2018 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (b) 2020 Tenant Satisfaction Survey (c) 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey Rents and service charges No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 26 Rent collected as percentage of total rent due in the reporting year. 100.2% 100% 99.5% 99% 98.2% Last year £46,810,268 of rent was collected from a total of £47,658,100 rent due. Arrears escalation activity had been suspended, but resumed in November 2021. Officers are continuing in their attempts to contact tenants to check on financial, health and well‐being and offering advice, support and signposting to relevant services where required. 27 Gross rent arrears (all tenants) as at 31 March each year as a percentage of rent due for the reporting year. 4.88% 5.8% 5.7% 6.4% 8.0% There has been an increase in the level of gross rent arrears over the past year. The national local authority average has also increased during the pandemic. Page 49 of 154
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6 No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Notes 28 Average annual management fee per factored property. £90 £90 £108 £0 £58 Charges were re-introduced to owners after the pandemic 29 Percentage of factored owners satisfied with the factoring service they receive. 56.7% 61.0% 60.8% 62.4% 60.4% This indicator has remained relatively stable. 30 Average length of time taken to re-let properties in the last year. (days) 38 38 45 85.7 66.0 There were 923 re-lets in 21/22. Measures were put in place to address performance relating to re‐ letting properties. There has been improvement over the past year, and it is anticipated that there will be further improvement over the coming year subject to contractor capacity and availability of materials. (33) Source: Annual owners services survey Section 6 Other Customers; Gypsies/ Travellers No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 31 Gypsies/travellers – Average weekly rent per pitch. Currently there are no gypsy/traveller sites in Renfrewshire. 32 For those who provide sites - percentage of gypsies/travellers satisfied with the landlord’s management of the site. Page 50 of 154
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7 SECTION 2B: CORE CONTEXTUAL INDICATORS Last year the Scottish Housing Regulator reduced the number of contextual indicators from 32 to 6, these relate to the stock and profile of our service users. Not all of these are reported by local authorities. The core contextual indicators are included in the table below: No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 C2 Number of lets during the reporting year, by source of let Existing tenants 191 194 265 154 228 Housing List applicants 520 509 523 200 343 Mutual Exchanges 17 2 15 Other sources 0 0 0 0 0 Homeless applicants 301 357 352 245 369 Total number excluding exchanges 1,140 599 940 C3 Number of lets during the reporting year General Needs 980 1030 1101 571 902 Supported Housing * 32 30 39 28 38 C14 Types of tenancies granted for the reporting year Occupancy agreements 0 0 0 0 0 Short SST 3 2 4 3 6 SST 1009 1058 1136 596 934 C15 Housing Lists New applicants 3189 4450 3015 2464 2976 Applicants on list at end of year 5532 5553 5253 5901 5347 Suspensions 96 94 98 99 61 Cancelled 3281 3232 3464 1646 3271 C4 Abandoned properties 133 155 125 49 122 C30 Number of notices of proceedings issued 1942 1802 1494 4 112 The number of orders for recovery of possession granted during the reporting year 106 127 87 0 6 C29 Average number of reactive repairs completed per occupied property 4.4 4.5 5.1 3.2 3.7 C16 The Landlords wholly owned stock 12163 12002 12066 12,212 12,216 C17 Stock by house type House 2558 2561 2612 2695 2696 High Rise 1001 1001 1000 1000 1000 Tenement 4777 4609 4602 4635 4637 4 in block 2781 2781 2802 2831 2832 Other flat/maisonette 1046 1050 1050 1051 1051 C20 Number of self-contained properties void at the year end 289 358 391 641 619 Void for more than 6 months 8 9 2 209 196 C5 Rent increase 1% 2% 2% 1.5% 2.0% C6 Number of households for which landlords are paid housing costs 7947 7323 7203 7587 7478 Page 51 of 154
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8 * Sheltered housing only No. Indicator 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Value of direct housing cost payments received during the year £28,048,646 £27,737,100 £25,753,700 £27,893,800 £27,385,200 C7 Percentage of former tenant rent arrears written off at the year end 50.45% 26.9% 31% 14.5% 15.84% Page 52 of 154
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9 SECTION 3: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION Allocations and Managing Tenancy Change In 2021/22, 940 properties were let by the Council. Most of these lets (91.2%) were made through the group system. Within the group system, 43% of lets went to Group 1 (Homeless) applicants. Table 1 notes the number of applicants on housing list. 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Number of applicants on housing list - at 31st March 2022 5553 5253 5901 5347 Of which number who have their application on hold 1118 1016 1034 936 Table 2 provides the source of housing applicant from the common housing allocation policy. Group 20/21 21/22 Applicants %age Applicants %age Statutory Homeless 254 4.3% 215 4.02% Mobility 435 7.37% 479 8.96% General Applicants (not landlord’s own tenant) 3859 65.4% 3400 63.59% Transfer Applicants (with housing need) 745 12.62% 676 12.64% Transfer Applicants (no housing need) 608 10.3% 577 10.79% Total 5901 100% 5347 100% Table 3 shows lets made through and outwith the group system. 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Number % Number % Number % Number % Lets through group system 990 93.4% 1074 94.2% 500 83% 857 91.17% Lets outwith group system 70 6.6% 66 5.8% 99 17% 83 8.83% Total Lets 1060 100% 1140 100% 599 100% 940 100% Table 4 shows lets to each group and the target for lets to each group. 20/21 21/22 Targets Group Lets % Lets % % Statutory Homeless 245 49% 368 42.94% 49% Mobility 74 14.8% 117 13.65% 10% General Applicants (not landlord’s own tenant) 128 25.6% 255 29.75% 23% Transfer Applicants (with housing need) 47 9.4% 117 13.65% 15% Transfer Applicants (no housing need) 6 1.2% 0 0 3% Total 500 100% 857 100% 100% Table 5 gives details for lets outwith the group system. 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Category Lets % Lets % Lets % Lets % Sheltered 30 42.9% 32 42.7% 30 42.9% 39 46.2% Special Lets 25 35.7% 28 37.3% 25 35.7% 40 48.9% Regeneration 15 21.4% 15 20% 15 21.4% 4 4.9% Total 70 100% 75 100% 70 100% 83 100% Page 53 of 154
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10 Graph 1 shows the percentage of lets by property type. Last year saw a percentage increase in lets in tenement flats and a decrease in lets in houses. Graph 1 Lets by Property Type Table 6 shows Section 5 and Nomination Lets for 2021/22. Table 6 Nomination & S5 Lets Council nomination lets % of overall lets to Council nominations Section 5 lets % lets to Section 5 % overall lets to Council General stock Specialist/sheltered/supported Total stock 16/17 64 37 12.3% 78 12.2% 21.9% 17/18 100 7 14.3% 117 18.6% 29.8% 18/19 75 17 12.2% 130 20.9% 29.4% 19/20 47 9 6.9% 134 19.7% 23.4% 20/21 19 1 3.25% 165 31.8% 30.0% 21/22 74 3 8.58% 174 24.20% 27.98% Section 5 = general stock only (excludes specialist) The total number of lets increased from 616 (20/21) to 897 (21/22)– this is due to the increase in lets to Council nominations for RSLs from 19 (20/21) to 74 in (21/22) along with a slight increase in Lets to S5 lets to RSLs, from 165 (20/21) to 174 (21/22), Overall there has been a slight decrease in the % of overall lets to the Council from 30.03% (20/21) to 27.98% (21/22). This being due to the increase in RSL letting Activity, 431 (20/21) to 646 (21/22). 0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50% Lets by Property Type 20/21 % 21/22 % Page 54 of 154
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11 Repairs In 2021/22, over 45,000 repairs were carried out and 93.56% of these were completed within the target timescale. This is a decrease compared to 2020/21 when 96.2% of repairs were completed within target. The impact of Covid restrictions to safe working practice and risk assessments for the construction sector also impacted on the throughput of repairs to void properties with this currently being assessed together with Building Services to assess impact and prioritise resources going forward. Table 7 provides data in respect of repairs performance completed by category of repair: • an emergency repair is classed as one where there is a threat to health and safety or where we need to take quick action to prevent damage • ‘right to repair’ qualifying repairs are urgent repairs which must be carried out within a specified timescale in terms of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 • routine repairs are everyday repairs which are required as a result of normal wear and tear of the property • programmed repairs are generally non-urgent general maintenance repairs which are carried out on a programmed basis rather than carrying out individual responsive repairs (usually larger scale repairs within common ownership) Table 7 – Repairs % completed in target time Category of Repair 19/20 20/21 21/22 Emergency Completed 98% 98.7% 97% Right to Repair Completed 100% 99.5% 100% Urgent Completed 94% 87% 86% Routine Completed 90% 90% 87% Programmed Completed 97% 98.8% 100% Total Repairs Completed 95% 96.2% 93.56% Table 8 provides information on Customer Contact Centre performance in relation to housing repairs calls. This shows the volume of calls in 2021/22 and the outcomes for calls received. Over 66,000 calls were made to report repairs and 89% of these were answered. This is similar to last year’s performance when 89.5% of calls were answered, although there were around 7,000 fewer calls, at 55,000. The Ren Repairs App saw a decrease over the same timeframe with 4121 repairs generated from 5501 logged in this manner in 2020/21. Table 8 - Customer contact centre Indicator Number Percentage Total calls attempted 66215 Calls answered 51941 89% Calls abandoned 6956 11% Calls answered within 40 second target time 27502 47% % of all attempted calls answered within 40 sec target (service level) 42% Average waiting time 00:02:56 Maximum waiting time 00:04:56 ‘Ren Repairs’ app (email correspondence) 4518 ‘Ren Repairs’ registered repairs 4121 Page 55 of 154
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12 Homelessness and Housing Advice During 2021/22 the number of people presenting as homeless that require assessment increased and there was an increase in housing advice. The number of applications where the Council has a statutory duty to re-house also. All assessments were completed within 28 days. Table 9: Applications and Decision Making 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Number of homeless applications requiring assessment 860 848 874 832 909 Total number of service users – those who were homeless, threatened with homelessness, or requiring housing options advice. 1,962 1,956 1,941 2084 2256 Number of applications assessed as ‘homeless or threatened with homelessness’ (i.e., the Council had a duty to rehouse) 692 705 731 682 712 Proportion of assessments completed within 28 days 96% 96.5% 98.9% 99.7% 100% From April 2021 – March 2022, 100% of service users were satisfied with the quality of advice and the quality of service received, satisfaction with temporary accommodation also increased in 2021/22 Table 10 – Satisfaction 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 % pleased with the quality of advice and information they were given 97.5% 97.3% 98.7% 96.3% 100% % pleased with the overall quality of the service they received. 98.4% 98.3% 99.6% 96.3% 100% % Satisfied with temporary accommodation 89% 92.1% 90.8% 94.7% 98.3% Page 56 of 154
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13 SECTION 3: Rent Arrears The total arrears owed increased by £484,710 from 2020/21. Table 11 shows that the annual rental income due to be collected is over £47.6m. At the end of March 2022, £2,334,578, was owed in arrears. The increase in arrears can in part be attributed to the impact of the initial lockdown where traditional methods of payment, such as cash payments were not available to tenants. The focus for Housing Services at this stage was health and wellbeing of tenants. In line with Scottish Government guidance arrears cases were not being escalated, however, the Service continues to work with tenants to reduce the debt owed. Table 11 - Current Tenant Rent Arrears 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Annual Rental Income £45,654,500 £45,895,000 £46,460,700 £47,627,600 £47,658,100 Number of Tenants 11,371 11,294 11,305 11,121 11,036 Total Arrears Owed All £1,146,600 £1,141,900 £1,363,500 £1,849,868 £2,334,578 Table 12 shows the recovery action taken, with all new court actions and evictions resumed in November 2021. Table 12 – Recovery Action 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 NPRP issued 1942 1802 1494 4 106 All Cases calling at Court 974 1112 885 67 22 Decrees Granted 106 127 87 0 3 Evictions enforced S/Officer 9 10 6 0 0 Average time first calling 10 weeks 9 weeks 11 weeks 11 weeks n/a Average time recalled at court 7 weeks 4.5 weeks 11 weeks 23 weeks 4 weeks Graph 2 highlights the status of debt from post and pre court. The amount of debt pre court has increased due to no court activity during the pandemic. Graph 2 Status of Rent Debt £0 £200,000 £400,000 £600,000 £800,000 £1,000,000£1,200,000£1,400,000£1,600,000£1,800,000£2,000,000 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Status of Rent Debt Arrears Rent Direct Arrears Post Court Arrears Pre-Court Page 57 of 154
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14 Graph 3 provides a profile of arrears by value, noting that arrears with a value of over £1000 has increased by around £500,000, the other arrears values have remained stable. Graph 3 Arrears by Value Graph 4 shows the amount owed by tenants by age profile which shows that the main group with the majority of arrears are those in the 25 to 49 age band. Graph 4 Arrears by age £0 £500,000 £1,000,000 £1,500,000 £2,000,000 £2,500,000 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Arrears by age Under 25 years Between 25 & 49 years Between 50 & 60 years Over 60 £99,700 £101,700 £107,300 £110,900 £109,500 £170,900 £169,800 £186,300 £183,100 £187,500 £386,200 £323,200 £323,600 £359,400 £333,700 £538,100 £551,900 £524,700 £710,100 £1,219,200 £0 £200,000 £400,000 £600,000 £800,000 £1,000,000 £1,200,000 £1,400,000 £1,600,000 £1,800,000 £2,000,000 16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 Under £250 Between £250 & £500 Between £500 & £1,000 Over £1,000 Page 58 of 154
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15 Graph 5 provides summary information on benefit levels comparing with previous years. Benefit uptake remains high with 76% of our tenants in receipt of some form of benefit. 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 Housing Benefit Number of tenants Tenants with benefit Tenants without benefit Page 59 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Tenant Participation Strategy 2022 – Draft for Consultation ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report seeks the approval of the Board to undertake consultation on the Draft Tenant Participation Strategy (appendix 1) and to report the outcome and final Strategy to the Communities & Housing Board. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) Approves the Draft Tenant Participation Strategy 2022 and authorises the Director of Communities & Housing to undertake consultation and to submit a report in relation to the outcome of the consultation and the proposed final Strategy to the Communities & Housing Policy Board for approval. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Council recognises that liaison and consultation with tenants and residents is a positive and vital Landlord function and to this end is fully committed to meeting its legal duties and regulatory standards in terms of tenant participation and engagement. Item 6 CHAS160822 Page 61 of 154
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3.2 The 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act requires local authorities and registered social landlords to: prepare a strategy for promoting tenant participation which includes provision for obtaining and taking account of the views of tenants and tenant organisations and an assessment of the resources required to implement the strategy: maintain a register of tenant organisations; and notify tenants and tenant organisations of proposals which would have a significant effect on tenants (eg policies on housing management, repairs and maintenance), standards of service and tenant participation strategy. 3.3 The section on ‘customer/landlord relationship’ in the Scottish Social Housing Charter includes the following outcomes for all social landlords: “Every tenant and other customer has their individual needs recognised, is treated fairly and with respect, and receives fair access to housing and housing services; ‘“Tenants and other customers find it easy to communicate with their landlord and get the information they need about their landlord, how and why it makes decisions and the services it provides; and “Tenants and other customers find it easy to participate in and influence their landlord’s decisions at a level they feel comfortable with.” 3.4 Current arrangements for tenant participation are based on the Customer Engagement Strategy approved in August 2010, with subsequent amendments approved in January 2011 and incremental additions over recent years. 3.5 At its meeting on 17 August 2021 the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board agreed that consultants should be appointed to review current arrangements for tenant participation and develop a new Tenant Participation Strategy. 3.6 In October 2021, following a procurement exercise, The Tenants Information Service (TIS) was appointed to undertake the review and develop a new Tenant Participation Strategy. 3.7 TIS established a steering group consisting of tenant representatives and Council officers to oversee the development of a new strategy. The document set out in Appendix 1 identifies key areas that the new strategy has incorporated and includes: A wider range of ways for tenants and residents to get involved at a local and Renfrewshire wide level; Digital participation opportunities should be expanded to increase tenant involvement, to support the more traditional face-to-face methods; Tenants need support and training to be able to get involved online; Page 62 of 154
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The requirement to get more groups of people involved to reflect the diverse communities across Renfrewshire, particularly young people; Local Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations need support to sustain and grow their membership; Support tenant involvement in the regeneration areas so that local communities have more of a say; The role of the Neighbourhood Forums and the Council Wide Forum should be reviewed; and Tenants’ groups would like more opportunities to come together to network and work in partnership. 3.8 The Draft Strategy and accompanying Action Plan (appendix 1) sets out how these objectives will be achieved and it is proposed that an online period of consultation is carried out to allow tenants and elected members to offer their comments and opinions of the proposed strategy. 3.9 The intention will then be to return a Finalised Plan to the next meeting of the Communities & Housing Policy Board for approval and a commitment to review the Action Plan each year with progress reported to tenants and the Board annually. 4 Key features of the Draft Tenant Participation Strategy 4.1 The key objective of the strategy is that participation should be easy and accessible for everyone. To achieve this, the strategy is shaped around four key commitments: That tenants and residents are able to access/engage expanding digital participation opportunities; That tenants are listened to and their views are considered before decisions are reached; That it promotes real opportunities to participate in and influence housing services; and That participation is adequately resourced and supported. 4.2 Each of these commitments is supported with statements of intentions and actions to implement the strategy. 4.3 The past two years have seen changes in working with tenants’ representatives. Meetings with tenants have continued online. The new strategy acknowledges this and is specifically aligned to the Council’s Digital Strategy to ensure that the Service and tenants can maximise online consultation. __________________________________________________________________ Page 63 of 154
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none arising directly from this report. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is thriving – effective tenant participation gives tenants the opportunity to influence decisions about housing services and gives the Council stronger links with local communities. 4. Legal – none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology – to support tenants the new strategy will be aligned to the Council’s Digital Strategy. 7. Equality & Human Rights - the Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – none 9. Procurement – external consultants will be commissioned in line with the Council’s requirements on the procurement of services. 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – N/A 13. Climate Risk – N/A _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) Report to the Housing and Community Safety Policy Board, 10 August 2010, ‘Outcome of Consultation on draft Customer Engagement Strategy’ (b) Report to the Housing and Community Safety Policy Board, 18 January 2011, ‘Consultation with Tenant Groups’ (c) Report to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, 27 October 2020, ‘Housing Customer Engagement Annual Report 2019/20’ (d) Report to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, 17 August 2021, ‘Review of Tenant Participation’ Author: Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, (ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk) Page 64 of 154
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Appendix 1 2022‐2027 Renfrewshire Council Tenant Participation Strategy (Draft) Working together to improve services Page 65 of 154
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Contents Foreword Section 1 ‐ Welcome Section 2 ‐ Your key messages Section 3 ‐ Legal rights to tenant participation Section 4 ‐ What we want to achieve Section 5 ‐ What we will do Section 6 ‐ How we will measure success Our Action Plan Page 66 of 154
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Foreword by the Director of Communities and Housing Renfrewshire Council has a long history of working with tenants and residents to shape the services that we provide. In housing, we have many excellent examples of working with tenants and residents both through formal Registered Tenant Organisations (RTOs), and through other engagement mechanisms such as our Neighbourhood Forums, Quality Circles, and Tenant Scrutiny Panel. Over the last couple of years, the way we have provided services and engaged with tenants and residents, has had to adapt to take account of restrictions on face‐to‐face contact brought about by the COVID‐19 pandemic. New ways of keeping in touch and engaging have been developed, and this includes much more use of digital technology and new tools – including virtual meetings that have provided us with new, convenient, and innovative ways to connect. The development of this new Tenant Participation Strategy takes account of the changing context we are working in and the opportunities that we now have to modernise and enhance our approach to customer engagement and which aligns with our Council Digital Strategy. This five‐year strategy will be pivotal in helping the Service engage with tenants and residents in the delivery of our strategic objectives, which include: Regeneration and renewal of housing areas Building new council housing Investing in improving the quality of our housing Improving housing services Meeting the challenges of climate change We have developed this strategy following extensive consultation, discussion, and feedback and building on the years of experience we have of working with tenants and residents. We recognise that we must continue to improve how we engage with our stakeholders and to widen our engagement to reach all of our diverse range of customers, and to do this in ways in which suit their needs. There are many opportunities for people to get involved and influence how our service develops in the coming years, and these are outlined in this strategy. Meaningful and effective customer engagement is crucial to improving and developing the services we provide, and I would encourage anyone who has an interest in helping us shape and develop our services to do so. Kind regards, Mary Crearie Director of Communities and Housing Page 67 of 154
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Section 1 ‐ Welcome Welcome to Renfrewshire Council’s Tenant Participation Strategy. This strategy sets out the range of opportunities available to tenants and residents to get involved and to influence decisions about the housing services we deliver. We have a long‐standing commitment to involving tenants in shaping our housing services and this strategy builds upon the excellent partnership work that has been carried out by tenants and Renfrewshire Council. “ Involving tenants is at the heart of how Renfrewshire Council plans and delivers its housing services. We benefit hugely from the knowledge and contributions of tenants and residents in the delivery of excellence in our services. Their views are crucial to our work in planning ahead. Derek Murray, Housing Services Manager, Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire Council’s values were central in developing this strategy, where more than 4,000 voices including our staff, local residents, partners, young people, and community members helped to identify the values that best describe what people can expect of us. These values have been formally adopted by Renfrewshire Council and will guide how we deliver services and make decisions every day. Living our values We are fair We treat each other and everyone we deal with respectfully and work hard to build trust. We are helpful We care about getting things right and are always approachable. We are great collaborators We work as one team and with people who care about this place. We value learning That supports us to innovate, improve, and deliver better services. Looking ahead The work and commitment of tenant and resident volunteers is greatly valued across Renfrewshire. We realise the importance of taking tenants’ views into account before we develop and review our services and policies – this helps us to get things right! In moving forward, we want to increase the number of tenants and residents that get involved to shape our future services. This strategy sets out how we plan to expand participation opportunities over the next 5 years. Page 68 of 154
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Section 2 ‐ Your key messages In October 2021, the Council commissioned TIS (Tenants Information Service) to carry out a comprehensive review of tenant participation arrangements across Renfrewshire Council, and to develop a new Tenant Participation Strategy for the next five years. TIS is the leading tenant participation organisation in Scotland, working with tenants and housing organisations to develop effective and innovative tenant participation practice. A Working Group was established to work with TIS to undertake this review. The group had representation from the Tenant Scrutiny Panel; the Council’s Housing Service; and members of local Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations (TARAs). “ The independent review highlighted that whilst tenant satisfaction results are high across Renfrewshire Council, the number of tenants who actively engage with the Council is low and this is a critical area to address in the new strategy. Covid lockdown has significantly changed the way we work. The Council has embraced working and communicating online and has seen a demand for online support and resources. A priority in going ahead is to develop more digital opportunities that will support the more traditional face‐to‐face engagement. Ilene Campbell – Chief Executive, TIS You said A series of tenant and resident focus groups was held during 2021 to consider “what needs to be in place to encourage more tenants and residents to get involved”. Here is what the focus groups said: There needs to be a wider range of ways for tenants and residents to get involved at a local and Renfrewshire wide level. Digital participation opportunities should be expanded to increase tenant involvement, to support the more traditional face‐to‐face methods. Tenants need support and training to be able to get involved online. The Council needs to highlight the value and benefits of tenant participation and to share good practice examples. We need to get more groups of people involved to reflect the diverse communities across Renfrewshire, particularly young people. Page 69 of 154
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Local Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations (TARAs) need support to sustain and grow their membership. We need to increase tenant involvement in the regeneration areas so that local communities have more of a say. The role of the Neighbourhood Forums needs to be reviewed, to ensure local people have more of an input about environmental budgets. The role of the Renfrewshire wide Council Forum needs to be reviewed. Tenants’ groups would like more opportunities to come together to network and work in partnership. It would be useful to have more estate inspections and walkabouts, and this will encourage more tenants and service users to get involved. The Council should ensure that all information provided is accessible, that tenants’ and residents’ views are considered before a decision is reached. Tenants require feedback on the outcomes of every consultation exercise. The grant scheme and budget for local Tenants’ and Residents’ groups needs to be reviewed to ensure that it is “fit for the future”. A training and support programme for housing officers needs to be in place to ensure a consistent approach to developing tenant participation. A new Quality Circle should be set up to focus on estate management issues. Tenants’ groups need staff support to apply for grants and funding. Page 70 of 154
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Section 3 ‐ Legal rights to tenant participation In Scotland, a legal framework for Tenant Participation was introduced in 2001, with the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. Tenants have the right to: Form independent representative associations. Access information about housing policies. Be consulted on issues that affect them. Participate in decisions that affect the services tenants receive and be given adequate time to fully consider proposals. Our Council has duties to: Produce a Tenant Participation Strategy. Make sure that our Tenant Participation Strategy complies with equal opportunities requirements. Set up a register of tenant organisations, in line with Scottish Government guidance. Consider feedback made by individual tenants or tenants’ groups. Inform tenants and Registered Tenant Organisations (RTOs) of proposals for housing management, standards of service and the Tenant Participation Strategy. Social Housing Charter In 2010, the first Scottish Social Housing Charter (The Charter) was introduced in the Scottish Parliament. The right to adequate housing is a human right in international law. The Charter supports this right by setting the standards and outcomes that social landlords should achieve for their tenants and other customers by delivering good quality homes and services. The Charter came into effect in 2012 and was last reviewed in 2022. The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) The SHR is the independent regulator of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and Local Authority housing services in Scotland. The SHR is responsible for monitoring, assessing, and reporting on how well social landlords achieve the Charter’s outcomes. Annual Return on the Charter (ARC): The Council is required to provide information each year to report on our performance against the Charter. Following the submission of the ARC report, the SHR then produces an independent report on our performance by the end of August each year. This report is available to the public on the SHR website and can be used to compare performance between landlords and against the national average. Annual Performance Report: The Council is required each year to produce an Annual Performance Report to tenants to communicate the outcome of the SHR assessment and performance information. Annual Assurance Statement: In October each year, we are also required to submit an Annual Assurance Statement to the SHR. The Council needs to confirm to the SHR that it is complying with all regulatory requirements and standards. If it is not meeting these requirements, we must advise Page 71 of 154
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the SHR and say what we are doing to address the issues. Once it has been approved, the Statement is signed and submitted to the SHR and then made available publicly on the Council’s website. More information on SHR responsibilities and landlord annual reports on the Charter can be found at ↘ www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk Tenant scrutiny Housing organisations have been involving and consulting with their tenants for many years. But the Charter introduced a requirement for landlords to be more proactive in self‐regulation and to involve tenants to analyse and challenge their performance and decision making through a process called tenant scrutiny. Ensuring equal opportunities The Equality Act 2010 was a major landmark in re‐enforcing and promoting equal opportunities in Scottish housing. The Act requires landlords to approach Tenant Participation in a manner that encourages equal opportunities and observes equal opportunity requirements laid out in the Act. The Charter also includes an outcome on equalities which states that social landlords perform all aspects of their housing services so that: They support the right to adequate housing Every tenant and other customer have their individual needs and rights recognised, is treated fairly and with respect, and receives fair access to housing and housing services This outcome describes what social landlords, by complying with equalities legislation, should achieve for all tenants and other customers regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. It includes landlords’ responsibility for finding ways of understanding the rights and needs of different groups of tenants, for example victims/survivors of domestic abuse and delivering services that recognise and meet these. ↘ Click here to find out more about the Equality Act 2010. The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 sets the National Standards for Community Engagement and the values that provide the basis for successful community engagement. ↘ Click here to find out more about the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Page 72 of 154
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Section 4 ‐ What we want to achieve Our vision is to increase the number of tenants and residents that are involved in shaping and influencing our housing services and to increase your satisfaction with all services provided. We want to make participation easy and accessible for everyone. To achieve this, we have set this strategy around four key commitments: 1. To ensure tenants and residents are well informed by expanding digital participation opportunities. 2. To listen to tenants and make sure your views are considered before decisions are reached. 3. To promote real opportunities to participate in and influence housing services. 4. To provide resources and support for participation to empower you to get involved in the development and review of housing services. In working with you, we commit to meeting the following good practice principles: To have trust, respect, and partnership in the work that we do. To share information, ideas, and power. To listen to tenants before decisions are reached. To recognise the independent role of tenants’ and residents’ groups. To provide adequate time for responses. To agree the agenda jointly with tenants. To provide adequate resources, support, and training to encourage tenant involvement. To report on the results of all consultations. To ensure equal opportunities for everyone to get involved in a way that suits their needs. Page 73 of 154
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Section 5 ‐ What we will do Our plan is to make participation easy and accessible for everyone. We aim to increase the number of tenants and residents that are involved in shaping and influencing our housing services and to increase your satisfaction with all services. Priority 1 To ensure tenants and residents are well informed Our objective: Good communication is essential if tenants are to be in a position to influence housing services. We will ensure that tenants have access to all the information they need to make informed choices. We will listen to and take tenants’ views into account before decisions are reached. What we will do: Provide good quality information that meets the needs of tenants and residents. Provide information that will be easy to read and in plain language. Provide information in a range of formats to suit your needs (for example, large print, audio CD and in community languages). Use a range of communication methods (online and offline). Provide opportunities for tenants and residents to tell us the types of information they are interested in receiving. Ensure you can speak to a staff member if you need support to complete a survey or form Provide a range of ways for you to give your feedback. Always ensure that enough time is provided to give your views. Listen to tenant feedback before decisions about your housing services are reached. Guarantee that the results of consultations will be reported and kept under review. How we will keep you well informed: Newsletters. Information leaflets. Tenant satisfaction surveys. Housing consultation register. Council’s website. Meetings and open days. Council’s social media (for example, Facebook and Twitter). By telephone, email, and text message. Practice examples The Charter report Each year you will receive a report on how well Renfrewshire Council is doing to meet the standards set in the Scottish Social Housing Charter. This gives you information about our performance and areas where we plan to improve upon. Page 74 of 154
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Tenant Satisfaction Survey Every 2 years the Council gets an independent Tenant Satisfaction Survey carried out to find out your views on how we deliver your housing services. In the most recent survey 99% of tenants were very or fairly satisfied with the opportunities to participate. Our Digital Vision COVID‐19 has significantly changed the way that we work and communicate. We have embraced working and communicating online and have seen a great demand for online support and resources. A priority going ahead is to develop more digital engagement opportunities that will support our more traditional face‐to‐face engagement. In expanding digital opportunities, we are aware that a significant number of people do not or cannot access the internet due to challenging factors such as affordability, connectivity, lack of confidence and skills, and access to technology. Our Tenant Participation Strategy will provide a unique blended approach to ensure technology is being adopted in a way that supports and enriches our traditional offline services. This will contribute to the delivery of the Council’s Digital Strategy and in particular the Digital Citizen workstream. We will create opportunities to join our work up with Digital Citizen to avoid the duplication of work and resources and strengthen our efforts by working in partnership. What we will do Build on using these new technologies to complement our traditional strengths, improve business performance, and support the delivery of services more efficiently and with more choice. Adopt and expand digital platforms to develop tenant participation that sits alongside the new Tenant Participation Strategy and links with the council Digital Strategy in particular the Digital Citizen workstream. Ensure we are represented on Citizen Voice which currently feeds into Digital Citizen and maximise opportunities for working together. Look to expand the use of video calling technologies, including Microsoft Teams and the “Near Me” application to increase tenant engagement. Support and enhance current interactive online communications with tenants, residents, and groups such as email, text, and explore good use of social media, online community engagement tools such as CONSUL, and smart phone apps Support tenants and residents to gain access to digital resources and information where possible. Review and expand training programmes to support tenants, staff, and Elected Members to have the new skills required for digital participation and moving towards a blended learning approach. Review the staff capacity and resources to deliver the new Tenant Participation Strategy. Continue contributing to the Digital Board, maximising opportunities for collaboration, and keeping pace with council digital strategy delivery plans. Embed digital engagement across Renfrewshire. Page 75 of 154
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“ Digital platforms are essential for tenants to participate fully with their local council, providing greater accessibility and a flexibility of time and place which are crucial in this age of digital living, and this strategy fully supports digital in its vision. Ross McNicol ‐ Digital Participation Officer, Renfrewshire Council Practice examples Renfrewshire Council Digital Strategy A key element of the Digital Citizen workstream of the Council’s Digital Strategy is to empower tenants and residents to increase digital skills, confidence, and participation, and promote digital public services and digital partnership. We are working in partnership with the Scottish Centre for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) to ensure digital inclusion in four phases: Step 1 – Find out and report on what are the key local digital inclusion barriers, successes, and priorities. Step 2 – Work in partnership with the public and third sector stakeholders to develop co‐ produced priorities and solutions through a network called Citizen Voice. Step 3 ‐ Prioritise and target service delivery to where we know digital exclusion exists i.e., older adults, social housing, BAME population, poverty, care experienced and disabled, etc. Step 4 ‐ Develop a way to evaluate and report on progress made, celebrate, and share success and learning back to key stakeholders. Priority 2 To listen to tenants and make sure your views and priorities are considered before decisions are reached. Our objective: We will provide a range of ways for tenants and residents to give their views to shape housing services. What we will do: Encourage and make it easy for tenants and residents to give their views. Increase the number of tenants and residents that we engage with. Provide a range of ways for tenants to give their views in a way that suits them. Listen to tenant feedback before decisions about housing services are reached. Page 76 of 154
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Develop new methods of engagement with groups who often do not get involved, such as young people. Guarantee that the results of consultations are reported and kept under review. How we will do this: Tenant satisfaction surveys. Complaint and compliment feedback. Annual rent consultation. Feedback on service delivery. Consultation on changes to housing service delivery and policies. Consultation in regeneration areas. Meetings and open days. We are committed to hearing tenants’ views before we make decisions. Here are some examples of consultation methods the Council use. Rent consultation Each year we consult tenants on the rent proposal and take feedback into account in setting our rents. Digital Participation Officer A Digital Participation Officer has been working with homeless applicants living in temporary accommodation and sheltered housing tenants to support them to develop essential digital skills. Better Futures, a new web‐based tool has been introduced for tenants in sheltered housing, to enable housing support service users’ needs to be recorded over a period of time.” Private rented Private Sector Officers from the Owners Services team provide support to private owners, landlords and tenants in the private rented sector. The Council engaged with over 1,851 owners during the year to consult on and organise repairs in common blocks. Housing Support Service A new Development Officer has been appointed to contribute to the development of services and implementation and monitoring of change across Housing Support Services. The Housing Support Service publishes a six‐monthly newsletter which is distributed to all Council tenants who receive Housing Support. Page 77 of 154
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Neighbourhood Renewal Groups There are plans to set up Neighbourhood Renewal Groups in each of the eight regeneration areas, which among other things would consult tenants and residents on the plans for their areas. “ The Renfrewshire Tenant Scrutiny Panel has produced tangible results in helping to improve housing services since its inception nine years ago. We work with staff to deliver results which hopefully are beneficial to everyone. All our reports and recommendations are independently compiled and written by the panel members. Chris Gilzean, Tenant Scrutiny Panel “ I have been involved in the Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations (TARA) for a number of years. There are 16 active associations, and most groups meet on a monthly basis to deal with local issues that affect our neighbourhoods. We meet with the police, community wardens and elected members and deal issues from play parks, anti‐social behaviour, neighbour disputes to updating residents on issues arising in Renfrewshire. The role is very varied and interesting, and we work to make our communities better places to live. Shirley McLean, TARA member “ I am involved in the Quality Circle in the High‐ Rise flats. We are a group of tenants and residents living in the High‐Rise Flats, who go round with housing staff to review how services are working and improve the lives of those who live in them. Margaret Dymond, Quality Circle Member Priority 3 To promote real opportunities to participate and influence housing services Our objective: We are committed to working with and supporting tenants’ groups to identify and deal with problems and improve our housing service delivery. What we will do: Provide a range of tenant participation opportunities to suit the needs of all tenants. Increase the number of tenants and residents who participate. Page 78 of 154
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Continue to recognise the independent role of tenants’ and residents’ and scrutiny groups. Continue to work with and support TARAs across Renfrewshire. Replace the Enhanced Registration Scheme with one registration scheme that fulfils. legislative requirements and encourages group “sign up”. Increase the number of young people who get involved. Review the role and remit of the Council Wide Tenants’ Forum and Neighbourhood Forums. Develop partnership working with the Tenant Scrutiny Panel. Expand the work of the Quality Circles. Provide opportunities for tenants’ groups to meet and work together. Practice Examples: Our Council has a long‐standing commitment to tenant participation and value the work of tenant and resident volunteers. We have a wide range of groups who work to make a difference in their local communities. Tenants’ and Residents’ Groups (TARAs) There are around 16 tenants’ and residents’ groups (TARAs) in Renfrewshire. These groups are made up of local tenants and residents who work to ensure tenants’ views and priorities are considered by the Council. Council Wide Tenants’ Forum This forum is open to local tenants’ and residents’ groups and meets once a year to discuss issues such as energy efficiency, housing service reviews, Tenant Scrutiny Panel activities and consultation on the annual rent increase. Tenant Scrutiny Panel The Panel is made up of local tenants, who independently review housing services to ensure tenants’ and residents’ perspectives are considered. Neighbourhood Forums The Neighbourhood Forums meet to address local areas issues and for tenants to influence the local environmental budget. Page 79 of 154
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Quality Circles There are two Customer Scrutiny Quality Circles, one that focuses on multi‐storey blocks and the other on sheltered housing complexes. The groups meet four times a year and have tenants and residents on them. Priority 4 To provide resources and support to empower tenants and residents to influence decisions about housing services. Our objective: We recognise that successful tenant participation requires to be adequately resourced and supported. We will empower local communities to help shape our services What we will do: Provide a Tenant Participation budget specifically for tenant participation and tenant scrutiny. Have this budget reviewed each year by tenant representatives and the Council to ensure it is “fit for purpose”. Fund and support all tenant and scrutiny groups to participate fully. Provide training to ensure tenants and residents have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to participate. Ensure that tenant participation is a key part of all staff’s role, and that staff are trained and supported to ensure that tenant participation is an integral part of service delivery. Continue to have a dedicated tenant participation team to support Tenant Participation raising awareness of good practice with other housing colleagues. Recognise the role of volunteers in supporting the development of Tenant Participation. Ensure tenants have access to independent support and training opportunities. Have a training programme in place to support tenants, staff, and Elected Members to have the new skills required to deliver the new Tenant Participation Strategy. Review the staff capacity and resources to deliver the new Tenant Participation Strategy. Section 6 – How we will measure success A monitoring group consisting of tenants and housing staff will be set up. This group will meet at least four times each year and will be responsible for ensuring the strategy is effectively implemented and outcomes are monitored. An Action Plan will be reviewed annually. This group will produce a report each year to report to Elected Members and tenants’ groups on progress being made. Page 80 of 154
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Renfrewshire Tenant Participation Action Plan – August 2022 to March 2024 Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale To ensure tenants and residents are well informed. o We will provide good quality information that meets the needs of tenants and service users o All information will be easy to read and in Plain English o We will provide information in a range of formats to suit your needs (for example, large print, audio CD and in community languages) if requested o A range of communication methods (online and offline) will be provided o We will find out from tenants what types of information they are interested in receiving o We will ensure there are opportunities to speak to staff if you need support to complete a survey or form o We will provide a range of ways for you to give your feedback o We will always ensure that enough time is provided to give your views o We will listen to tenant feedback before decisions o We guarantee that the results of consultations will be reported and kept under review In consultation with tenants and service managers, produce at least two issues of the People’s News each year. In consultation with tenants, publish Renfrewshire Council’s Tenants’ Report on the Charter. All information will be published in a range of formats and platforms to widen access to information. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review June 2023 Page 81 of 154
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale o We will share good practice and publicise the benefits of tenant participation. We will develop our digital participation opportunities and embed digital engagement across Renfrewshire o We will build on utilising digital technologies to complement our traditional strengths, improve business performance, and support the delivery of services more efficiently and with more choice o We will align with the digital strategy to develop tenant participation that sits alongside the new Tenant Participation Strategy o We will look at strategies to deliver and ensure digital inclusion o We will expand the use of digital applications to maximise tenant engagement o We will continue to improve our interactive online communications with tenants, residents, and groups through better use of social media, email, text messaging and smart phone apps o We will ensure that Tenant Participation is adequately resourced o We will enable tenants and residents to become digitally confident. We will make use of suitable digital platforms to increase and improve participation, such as Near Me, Microsoft Teams and Consul. Support will be provided to tenants and residents to gain access to digital resources and information. Training will be available to support digital participation through the use of existing resources and Council partners where possible. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer (Digital Participation Officer) Review December 2023 Page 82 of 154
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale To listen to tenants and consider their views before decisions are reached and promote real opportunities to participate and influence housing services. o We will provide a range of ways to gather the views of tenants and residents o We will aim to increase the number of tenants and residents that we engage with o We will listen to tenant feedback before decisions about housing services are reached o New methods of engagement with groups who often do not get involved, such as young people, will be developed o We guarantee that the results of consultations will be reported and kept under review o We will develop a Renfrewshire “Tenant Approved” stamp for publications to tenants. o We will provide a range of ways to encourage tenants and residents to participate fully Commission and report on Tenant Satisfaction Survey results, taking account of comments to improve services Continue to undertake Rent Consultation Surveys prior to any proposed rent increases Continue to carry out tenant satisfaction surveys for key services areas and undertake service improvements where identified from feedback, for example: Standard of temporary Accommodation Repairs Satisfaction Quality of home satisfaction Owners’ survey New build satisfaction We will make use of digital platforms to maximise how we gather tenants’ views, e.g., Survey 123. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review June 2023 Page 83 of 154
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale Increasing Tenant Participation opportunities o We will identify the gaps in the groups or communities who currently do not participate and prepare a strategy to address these gaps. o We will focus support work to increase the number of young people who get involved in housing Publicise the benefits of tenant participation in Peoples News. We will develop and maintain a bank of interested tenants for feedback on service matters. We will work with tenants and other stakeholders to develop methods to involve usually ‘excluded’ groups. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Local Tenants and Residents Associations (TARAs) o We will conduct annual ‘health check’ of TARAs across Renfrewshire to identify their training and support needs o We will support a recruitment campaign for TARAs. o We will make use of digital platforms to increase and improve communication between groups. o We will provide opportunities for groups to come together to share views and ideas. o We will gather and share good practice case studies to highlight the impact of tenant participation. o We will replace the Enhanced Registration Scheme with one registration scheme that fulfils legislative requirements and encourages group “sign up.” A ‘health check’ will be devised to help TARAs. We will continue to provide ongoing support for TARAs. We will work with tenants and stakeholders to simplify the Enhanced Registration Scheme. Use and promote digital platforms, when possible, to improve communications. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Page 84 of 154
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale o We will provide Officer support to seek and apply for funding. Council wide Tenants’ Forum and the role of the local Neighbourhood Forums o We will merge the work of the Council Wide Forum with the Neighbourhood Forums o We will review the role and remit of the Forums regarding the number, format, and agenda for meetings to make this format more effective. o We will review how the Forum links with the work of other tenants’ groups. o We will ensure tenants are involved in the agenda setting process. o We will support the Forum to develop Terms of Reference for the Forum so that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of its role and remit, accountability, links with other groups and reporting arrangements. o We will work with tenants to review the role of the forums and agree Terms of Reference which clarifies their role, remit, links with other groups and reporting arrangements. We will look to establish two Council Wide Forums per year, one of which will be devoted to Neighbourhood Forum business. We will make use of digital platforms to host the CWF for blended meetings. Review the Neighbourhood Forum process and how it can work with the Council Wide Forum. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Page 85 of 154
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale o We will look to introduce a participatory budgeting approach for the Neighbourhood Forums. Tenant Scrutiny Panel o The Panel will develop an Annual Workplan of its work areas to support it to forward plan. o We will work with tenant representatives to produce a scrutiny framework that details the roles and relationships of all stakeholders involved in scrutiny. o We will provide training for tenants, staff, and Elected Members on the role of tenant scrutiny where required. o We will support more opportunities to do onsite inspections as part of its scrutiny work. o We will arrange training to be provided to the Panel on the role of the Assurance Statement so they can participate fully. o We will arrange meetings with the Panel to discuss the draft Annual Assurance Statement to seek tenant feedback on this. Promote and develop the Tenant Scrutiny Panel, by: Promoting benefits of scrutiny Attracting new members Delivering training Supporting Scrutiny Panel Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Expand the Quality Circles o We will establish a new Quality Circle focusing on estate Promote and develop Quality Circles in other service areas by: Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Page 86 of 154
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale management issues. Establish a new quality circle for estate management. Deliver training Support existing Quality Circles Participation in regeneration areas o We will use this strategy as a cornerstone to develop more tenant involvement in regeneration. o We will have a tenant training and support programme in place. We will continue to support the Neighbourhood renewal Groups Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer/Housing Regeneration Manager Review June 2023 To provide resources and support to empower tenants and residents to influence decisions about housing services o We will provide a Tenant Participation budget specifically for tenant participation and tenant scrutiny o We will review the grant scheme required for TARAs. o This budget will be reviewed each year by tenant representatives and the Council to ensure it is “fit for purpose” o We will fund and support all tenant and scrutiny groups to participate fully o We will provide training to ensure tenants and residents have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to participate Continue to support existing Tenants’ & Residents’ Associations and assist in establishing new Tenants’ & Residents’ Associations where there are none and there is a demand for such representation Continue to support RTOs: ‐ Offer advice and assist to associations with the annual RTO registration procedure ‐ Visit each enhanced registered association to offer support, advice and assistance Offer grant funding to enhanced RTOs (start‐up, annual & one‐off) Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review June 2023 Page 87 of 154
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale o We will ensure that tenant participation is a key part of all staff’s role, and that staff are trained and supported to ensure that tenant participation is a key part of our values o We recognise the role of volunteers in supporting the development of Tenant Participation o Tenants will have access to independent support and training opportunities if required Continue to encourage groups to participate in external / national events We will work with tenants to review tenant participation budget matters Page 88 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities & Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Draft Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023-2028 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The draft Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023-2028 sets out the priorities for investment and projects that will benefit from the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme support over the next five years. 1.2 Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan is reviewed and updated each year in consultation with developing Housing Associations and the Scottish Government. 1.3 The draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan for the period 2023 to 2028 is attached and will be subject to a 4 week consultation. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: (i) approves the draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 to 2028 for consultation, before a finalised plan is presented to the Communities and Housing Policy Board for approval. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan sets out how Scottish Government funding for affordable housing will be targeted to achieve the priorities set out in Renfrewshire’s Local Housing Strategy and supports the delivery of a range of affordable housing projects across Renfrewshire. Item 7 CHAS160822 Page 89 of 154
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3.2 Through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, the Scottish Government allocates grant funding (known as Resource Planning Assumptions) to local authority areas. 3.3 The Scottish Government has confirmed the level of funding allocated to Renfrewshire to support the delivery of affordable homes for the period to 2026, as set out below: £17.189M in 2022/23; £17.140M in 2023/24; £17.200M in 2024/25; £17.485M in 2025/26. 3.4 Resource Planning Assumptions support the delivery of new affordable homes across Renfrewshire by providing grant support at a benchmark rates. The Scottish Government benchmark grant rates are set at £71,500 for new Council homes and £78,000 for new social rented homes delivered by housing association partners. 3.5 In addition to the grant benchmark rates, additional grant funding is also available where affordable housing developers meet Scottish Government criteria in relation to specific quality and design features including: zero emissions; the installation of automatic fire suppression systems; electric vehicle charging points; space for home working; and digital connectivity. 4. Draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 - 2028 4.1 In accordance with current Scottish Government guidance, the draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 to 2028 takes a flexible approach to programme management. By including a degree of over-programming, affordable housing projects can be brought forward within the programme, taking advantage of any additional resources that may become available to Renfrewshire. 4.2 The draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan also contains funding provision for newbuild Council housing in the four Housing Regeneration and Renewal areas where newbuild housing is proposed. 4.3 Consultation on the draft Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan will take place between August and September 2022 involving all housing associations operating in Renfrewshire, local stakeholder groups such as Community Councils and tenants and residents’ associations, community planning partners, other stakeholder groups and Renfrewshire’s residents. 4.4 Following consultation, the Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023-2028 will be finalised and presented to this Policy Board for approval. ___________________________________________________________________ Page 90 of 154
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Provision has been made within the HRA Budget in relation to the projects where the Council is the developing organisation. 1. HR & Organisational Development – None. 2. Community/Council Planning – Building strong, safe and resilient communities - Increasing the supply of affordable housing and regenerating communities. 3. Legal – Conveyancing work associated with land disposals. 4. Property/Assets – Disposal of HRA land to housing associations for affordable housing. 4. Information Technology – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights - (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – None. 9. Procurement – The procurement of contracts in relation to Council newbuild projects. 10. Risk – Risks will be identified and managed for individual projects. 11. Privacy Impact – None. 12. COSLA Policy Position - None. 13. Climate Risk – The Draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan aim to deliver high quality, energy efficient homes in sustainable locations across Renfrewshire. ___________________________________________________________________ Appendix 1 - Draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 to 2028 ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Sharon Marklow, Place Strategy Manager. Tel: 0141 618 7835; Email: sharon.marklow@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 91 of 154
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Draft Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 to 2028 Page 92 of 154
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1 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Draft Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan Preparation and Consultation This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 to 2028 has been prepared for public consultation following initial discussions with Registered Social Landlords operating in Renfrewshire and the Scottish Government. As part of the consultation process, engagement on the Strategic Housing Investment Plan with Renfrewshire residents, local Tenants and Residents Associations, Community Councils and other key partners for comment is key and we will consult and engage by a range of methods. The comments and feedback received as part of the consultation process will be considered and will shape the finalised Strategic Housing Investment Plan for the period 2023 to 2028. The finalised Plan will be submitted for approval to the Council’s Communities and Housing Policy Board on the 25th October 2022, thereafter it will then be submitted to the Scottish Government. Following submission to the Scottish Government, a Strategic Local Programme Agreement for Renfrewshire will be agreed which forms the basis of individual agreements between the Scottish Government, Renfrewshire Council and Registered Social Landlords on funding for specific affordable housing projects. This Draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan is to be published for consultation from 22 August 2022 to 23 September 2022. Comments should be returned by email or by post to: Email: strategyandplace@renfrewshire.gov.uk Economy and Development Team, Chief Executives Service, Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1WB Page 93 of 154
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2 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan sets out how investment in affordable housing will be targeted to meet the Strategic Priorities of Renfrewshire’s new Local Housing Strategy and support the delivery of the right homes in the right places. The Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme sets out a framework to deliver local housing projects and priorities to assist in the provision of safe, energy efficient homes that meet people’s needs and contribute to the creation of sustainable thriving communities. The Scottish Government allocate grant funding to Councils through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to facilitate the delivery of projects within the Strategic Housing Investment Plan. As part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme process, local authorities are required to prepare and update a Strategic Housing Investment Plan each year. The Scottish Government’s Housing Programme The Scottish Government published their ‘Housing to 2040 Strategy’ in March 2021 which set out their approach to increasing the supply of homes across all tenures. In terms of affordable housing, the ‘Housing to 2040 Strategy’ included a target to provide 110,000 affordable homes over the 10- year period to 2032 with at least 70% of these homes to be developed for social rent. The ‘Housing to 2040 Strategy’ is ambitious and will require ongoing partnership working between the Council, affordable housing providers, private developers, the construction industry and the Scottish Government. Continued financial support in terms of future funding commitments from the Scottish Government will also be essential to support the delivery of Renfrewshire’s contribution to national affordable housing delivery targets. Page 94 of 154
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3 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 The Scottish Government’s Housing and Planning Delivery Framework (HPDF) In addition to the ‘Housing to 2040 Strategy’, this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan takes cognisance of the Scottish Government’s Housing and Planning Delivery Framework (HPDF) which promotes more efficient collaboration between Housing and Planning Services in relation to the Local Housing Strategy, Housing Need and Demand Assessment and Scottish Planning Policy. Renfrewshire's Strategic Housing Investment Plan, the Local Housing Strategy and the Local Development Plan all aim to support the implementation of the Housing and Planning Delivery Framework which aims to increase the supply of housing; make the housing system more responsive to demand; improve long term housing affordability and reduce volatility in the housing market. Affordable Homes for Renfrewshire The Council are working with local authorities across the Glasgow City Region to prepare a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA3). This assessment will identify the amount of new affordable homes that need to be delivered across Renfrewshire. An additional comprehensive 10-year affordable housing assessment of the Renfrewshire area has also been commissioned to support the delivery of the Strategic Priories contained within the new Local Housing Strategy. This detailed research will complement the wider HNDA 3 by identifying housing need at a Renfrewshire sub-area level across Renfrewshire’s towns and villages. This comprehensive evidence base will also inform the application of the new Affordable Housing Policy in Renfrewshire. The amount of new affordable homes that require to be delivered will be set-out in the emerging Renfrewshire Local Housing Strategy. There continues to be need and demand for different types of affordable housing across Renfrewshire, the projects included in this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan reflect these needs. The delivery of affordable housing will be further strengthened over the next five years working with private sector partners to ensure effective delivery of mixed tenure developments throughout Renfrewshire as part of the new Affordable Housing Policy. Page 95 of 154
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4 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Resources for Housing Delivery It is important to maintain a healthy, flexible and ambitious affordable housing development programme to ensure that sites can be progressed quickly to meet local needs while making best use of available funding and resources. The Scottish Government provide local authorities with multi-year Resource Planning Assumptions (RPA’s) to support long term planning and delivery of projects within the Strategic Housing Investment Plan. For the four year period 2022/23 to 2025/26, the following minimum levels of grant funding have been confirmed by the Scottish Government: ▪ £17.189M in grant support for the financial year 2022/23; ▪ £17.140M in grant support for the financial year 2023/24; ▪ £17.200M in grant support for the financial year 2024/25; and ▪ £17.485M in grant support for the financial year 2025/26. Revised Scottish Government Grant Benchmarks and New Affordable Housing Design Features Resource Planning Assumptions support the delivery of new affordable homes across Renfrewshire by providing grant support at flexible benchmark rates for each affordable home developed. In late 2021, the Scottish Government increased benchmark grant rates following discussions with COSLA, local authorities and housing associations with new flexible benchmark rates now set at £71,500 for new Council homes and £78,000 for new social rented homes delivered by housing association partners. Over and above the increased flexible grant benchmark rates, additional grant funding is available from existing Resource Planning Assumptions to affordable housing developers who meet Scottish Government criteria in relation to specific quality and design features, including: ▪ The delivery of homes to Silver Level of the 2019 Building Regulations in respect of Energy for Space Heating; ▪ The provision of balconies within flatted developments where the provision of private or communal outdoor space is not possible; ▪ The provision of space for home working or study where it is not possible to incorporate such space within the design of the homes under current space standards; ▪ By ensuring that all new social rented homes are digitally enabled with tenants able to arrange for an internet connection without the internet service provider having to provide additional cabling to the premises; ▪ The installation of ducting infrastructure for electric vehicle charge point connectors; Page 96 of 154
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5 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 ▪ The installation of automatic fire suppression systems; and ▪ Installation of heating systems which produce zero direct emissions at the point of use. The increased flexible benchmark rates of grant and additional grant being made available to affordable housing developers who incorporate enhanced design elements is being met from current known Resource Planning Assumptions. This may have an impact on the number of new affordable homes being delivered as the level of grant for each property increases. Renfrewshire new Local Housing Strategy A new draft Local Housing Strategy which covers the period 2022 to 2027 has now been developed with a 12 week public consultation now complete. All feedback is being reviewed with a finalised Local Housing Strategy to be submitted to a future meeting of the Communities and Housing Policy Board. The new draft Local Housing Strategy takes account of current local and national policy priorities as well as new research and evidence and looks to build upon past successes whilst aiming to meet need and demand for both housing and housing related services. The new draft Local Housing Strategy has been a collaborative process with local communities, the third sector, key stakeholders and partners all contributing to the development of the new draft Local Housing Strategy. The new draft Local Housing Strategy includes 5 strategic priorities as shown below. New draft Local Housing Strategy Strategic Priorities 1. The supply and delivery of housing is increased across all tenures to meet the housing needs of different groups and create attractive and sustainable places; 2. People live in high quality, well managed homes in sustainable neighbourhoods; 3. Address the challenges of the climate emergency, delivering homes that are warm, energy efficient and fuel poverty is minimized; 4. Preventing and addressing Homelessness with vulnerable people getting the advice and support they need; and 5. People can live independently for as long as possible in their own home and the different housing needs of people across Renfrewshire are being met. Page 97 of 154
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6 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Meeting Renfrewshire’s Housing Need New build affordable housing must reflect local demographics with both private sector and affordable housing developers delivering flexible homes across a range of property types and sizes with a proportion of all new homes to be developed as accessible, including some wheelchair standard housing. All affordable housing is built to Housing for Varying Needs standard and should have flexibility built into its design to allow for future adaptation and reconfiguration to meet tenant and resident’s future needs. ▪ In 2021, 179,940 people lived in Renfrewshire according to the latest official population and household statistics from National Records of Scotland. Renfrewshire’s population was spread across 87,910 different households with an average household size of just over two people. ▪ By 2028, the number of households in Renfrewshire is expected to increase to around 90,600 through a combination of small projected increases in the population combined with an increasing number of people living alone which places upwards pressure on the overall number of households. ▪ Renfrewshire’s population like Scotland’s is ageing with people living longer. In 2021, almost one fifth (19.6%) of Renfrewshire’s population was 65 years of age or older. New build social rented housing, St Ninian’s Crescent, Paisley (Link Group) New build Council Housing for social rent, Auchengreoch Road, Johnstone Page 98 of 154
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7 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Renfrewshire Affordable Housing Investment Priorities All projects included within this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan have clear links to the Strategic Priorities of the new draft Local Housing Strategy. Together with our partners, Renfrewshire Council acknowledge the important contribution good quality affordable housing makes to people’s lives with good quality housing having a positive impact on health, general wellbeing, educational attainment and the reduction of child poverty. Good quality affordable homes also contributes to enhancing Renfrewshire’s towns and villages by encouraging a sense of place and community with place making principles employed when taking projects forward to foster housings role in creating successful and sustainable places. This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan supports the provision of a range and choice of affordable housing of the right type and size to meets the needs of different groups throughout Renfrewshire. This will be achieved through new build affordable housing development and through the purchase of appropriate homes on the open market where this is the most appropriate option in line with the priorities of the Local Housing Strategy. This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan includes a range of projects that will meet the needs of individuals, families and those who require accommodation to meet a particular housing need such as housing for older people and housing to meet the needs of those with physical disabilities. This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan identifies projects for both general and particular needs with particular needs provision included as standalone purpose-built accommodation as well as within mainstream general needs developments. This provision alongside appropriate support will assist people to live independently and successfully for as long as possible in their own homes and communities. Affordable homes delivered through the Strategic Housing Investment Plan process requires to be of a high quality, be energy efficient and be able to meets people’s needs and aspirations both now and in the future with homes able to adapt to meet people’s changing needs over time. In recent years, affordable homes have been delivered through the Strategic Housing Investment Plan process across a range of affordable tenures, this approach will continue to support the delivery of a range of affordable housing options. Page 99 of 154
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8 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 The draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan also supports delivery of affordable homes on larger private sector sites by making appropriate use of Renfrewshire’s Affordable Housing Policy to support delivery of affordable housing in areas of pressure and to promote the creation of mixed tenure communities. As well as new build affordable housing, this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan places a strong emphasis on making best use of existing stock where possible and taking any necessary action to address issues in terms of housing quality and sustainability. This includes progressing Council plans for targeted regeneration activity with new build Council development and/or significant investment and improvements to existing homes. Millarston, Paisley (Link Group) The draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan will support the delivery of the new Local Housing Strategy by: 1. Supporting local housing regeneration programmes; 2. Including new affordable housing provision to replace social rented housing no longer fit for purpose; 3. Addressing mismatch between the current supply of social rented housing and the housing people need and want to live in, taking account of type, size, quality and location; 4. Increasing the supply of affordable housing in areas where there is demand but limited provision; 5. Supporting the development of sustainable mixed communities by including affordable provision on private sector development sites; 6. Expanding the supply of housing for older people and those with particular and complex needs, including those who are homeless or on a repeat and persistent cycle of homelessness; and 7. Continuing to support town centre regeneration through residential development. Page 100 of 154
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9 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Renfrewshire Council Regeneration and Renewal Programme Renfrewshire Council have approved an investment of at least £100 million over the next 10 years to deliver modern, high quality, energy efficient, affordable Council homes. The Council’s £100 million investment programme is intended to significantly improve the Council’s existing housing stock through enhanced investment in homes, including works to the external fabric of properties as well as environmental improvements. This significant investment will also support the delivery of new build Council homes were enhancement and improvement of existing stock has been determined not to be viable following consultation with local communities. Phase 1 of the Council’s regeneration programme identified 8 initial areas to participate in a first phase of regeneration activity with each of these areas identified based on having a combination of one or more of the following factors - low demand, high void rates, high turnover, estate management issues, high current repair costs and high future investment requirements with these areas often also forming part of the most deprived areas of Renfrewshire according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020. For each of the eight areas, a range of regeneration and renewal proposals were developed and consulted upon. In some areas, these proposals included selective demolition with plans now being developed for newbuild housing on any resulting cleared site or where redevelopment is not possible, on alternative sites nearby. Grant support from the Strategic Housing Investment Plan will be required to support the delivery of new Council homes in 4 regeneration areas where existing stock is being demolished as part of phase 1 of the regeneration programme. These areas are: ▪ Howwood Road Area, Johnstone; ▪ Thrushcraigs Area, Paisley; ▪ Broomlands Area, Paisley; and ▪ Springbank Area, Paisley. Other areas identified for improvements to existing stock include: ▪ Auchentorlie Quadrant/Seedhill Road, Paisley; ▪ Howard Street, Paisley; ▪ Moorpark, Renfrew and; ▪ Waverly Road, Paisley It is the Council’s ambition that this housing led regeneration becomes a catalyst for wider regeneration and a means to address inequalities including heath inequalities, recognising that good quality housing can be a contributor to positive health outcomes. Page 101 of 154
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10 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Particular Housing Needs The new draft Local Housing Strategy highlights the need for housing that meets the particular housing needs of a range of client groups with a particular focus on homelessness prevention (Strategic Priority 4) and enabling people to live independently for as long as possible in their own home with their different housing needs being met (Strategic Priority 5). This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan carries forward a number of projects to address identified particular needs with these projects having been refined since the last Strategic Housing Investment Plan. ▪ 16+ Amenity standard housing at Abbey Quarter Phase 4, Paisley which will sit alongside general needs housing; ▪ Amenity standard housing at Station Road, Paisley with around 45 amenity standard homes being developed for social rent; ▪ Older Persons housing reprovisioning, Erskine with around 24 new older persons homes being developed to replace existing provision. Regular discussions take place with Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) when planning new developments with it recognised that there is a continuous need to investigate the requirements for particular needs developments at an early stage to ensure that projects are viable, sustainable and capable of meetings tenants and residents’ needs. Wheelchair Accessible Housing Renfrewshire Council and its Housing Association partners aim to deliver a range of property types and sizes to meet people’s different housing needs, this includes the development of homes that meet wheelchair accessible standards. Moving forward, all new build developments proposals will be required to design homes that are able to meet occupants changing needs over time and the needs of an ageing population by providing accessible and adaptable homes. In line with Scottish Government guidance, targets for the inclusion of wheelchair accessible homes as part of all tenure new build developments have been identified as part of the development of the new draft Local Housing Strategy 2022-2027. The new draft Local Housing Strategy proposes that: ▪ New residential proposals must provide a minimum 10% of all dwellings designed to be easily adaptable for residents who are wheelchair users; and ▪ 5% of all new homes must be designed to wheelchair accessible standard. Page 102 of 154
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11 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans Renfrewshire Council and partners worked together to prepare a Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) covering the 5 year period to 2024. The Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan details how those who are homeless will be provided with settled accommodation more quickly; spend reduced time in temporary accommodation and have more access to up-scaled support. The strategic housing priorities contained within this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan are aligned with and consistent with the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan with this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan supporting delivery of homes to meet the requirements of different needs groups, household types and sizes. Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan recognises the fundamental role housing has in tackling child poverty. This Strategic Housing Investment Plan aims to support the delivery of a range of property types and sizes that meet the needs of families of all sizes through the creation of high quality energy efficient homes in sustainable communities that support health, wellbeing and educational attainment. Gypsy/Travellers The Renfrewshire Local Development Plan includes a policy which supports the identification of new privately-owned transit or permanent sites. Should a requirement for accommodation/sites be identified to meet the needs of Gypsy/Travellers, future updates of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan will include details of these projects with funding potentially also being sought from the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund where appropriate. Addressing the Climate Crisis in Renfrewshire Tackling the Climate Crisis is a major priority for Renfrewshire Council with work currently being progressed to develop Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero with actions to achieve Net Zero to be embedded in related Council plans and strategies. It is recognised that changing climate has a direct impact on Renfrewshire’s current housing stock and that some residents will be more vulnerable to this than others. The Council’s £1m Climate Change Action Fund, which funds innovative projects and initiatives, supports engagement and partnership working across Renfrewshire and accelerates the pace of change of existing projects in order to tackle the climate crisis. Page 103 of 154
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12 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Climate Change Adaptations Projects included within this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan aim to tackle fuel poverty by maximising opportunities for innovative energy efficient development with greener measures included within new build developments. Both Renfrewshire Council and our housing association partners are looking to incorporate additional energy efficiency measures as part of new build design and will actively target reduced carbon emissions from new build development. Council Tax on Empty and Second Homes At present, there is no direct funding allocated to the affordable housing programme in Renfrewshire from revenue raised from empty homes. However, the Council actively use other mechanisms available to promote the delivery of affordable housing. This includes the Council’s Empty Homes Officer who works with and encourages owners of empty homes in Renfrewshire to bring their properties back into use, offering advice and assistance and access to the Empty Homes Loan Fund where applicable. Over the last 3 years, the Council’s Empty Homes Officer has successfully helped to bring 63 long term empty homes back into the effective housing supply (2018/19: 14 homes, 2019/20: 26 homes and 2020/21: 23 homes). Acquisition of Private Housing (Rental Off the Shelf) As part of this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan, provision is made for a proportion of available resources to be used to assist social housing providers - both the Council and housing association partners - to purchase appropriate properties for social rent on the open market where this would help to meet identified housing needs or enable social landlords to undertake pro-active management and maintenance of housing stock. This provision will support the acquisition of a range of property types including empty homes and other types of property where the acquisition of these properties align with the Strategic Priorities of the new Local Housing Strategy and the Council’s Acquisitions Strategy. Available resources will continue to be prioritised to support the delivery of new build affordable housing with open market acquisitions supported where there is slippage in the programme in any given year and funding may therefore be available. Where funding is available, grant support may be made available to the Council and housing association partners to support these strategic acquisitions of up to £40,000 per property to support strategic acquisitions. Page 104 of 154
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13 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Consideration will only be given to properties in line with the Council’s Acquisitions Strategy with properties required to: ▪ meet an identified need in terms of stock type, size and location; ▪ meet particular needs which may be difficult to address within the existing stock base; ▪ represent good value for money, taking account of repair and investment requirements as well as purchase price; ▪ located close to the stock base of the acquiring landlord, for management and maintenance purposes; and ▪ assist in allowing common works to be progressed on mixed tenure blocks. To be eligible for grant support, affordable housing providers will be expected to investigate all other available funding options alongside grant support from the Council’s Resource Planning Assumption/Affordable Housing Supply Programme. Ukrainian Refugee Resettlement Following the outbreak of conflict in the Ukraine, Renfrewshire Council have been working with the Scottish Government and COSLA to determine what Renfrewshire can provide in terms of matching refugee arrivals from the Ukraine to empty properties in Renfrewshire that are available from either the Council’s or our housing association partners affordable housing supply. To date, most accommodation required has been smaller with one or two bedrooms being used due to the arriving household size – this is challenging due to local needs pressures on the supply of smaller properties. At present, the exact number of homes required to support Renfrewshire’s contribution towards this national resettlement scheme is unclear. However, this additional housing need may in part be met through strategic acquisitions of private housing with grant provided in line with the proposed grant support levels for other strategic acquisitions on the open market. Page 105 of 154
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14 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Delivering New Affordable Homes in Renfrewshire As shown in Appendix 3, plans are in place to deliver significant levels of new affordable homes throughout Renfrewshire. Regeneration activity remains a key focus with this Strategic Housing Investment Plan reflecting the strategic importance of regeneration activity across Renfrewshire. The importance of strategic regeneration is reflected in the projects currently on site or proposed to be taken forward over the next five years as shown in Appendices 1 and 3. Detailed information with regards to ongoing and proposed affordable new build developments can be found in Appendix 1. Renfrewshire Council New Build Programme This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan rolls forward the Council’s own ambitious new build programme and follows the completion of new build Council homes at both Dargavel Village, Bishopton and at Johnstone Castle in Johnstone in recent years. Other new build Council housing projects are currently progressing well with completion of new Council homes anticipated at Auchengreoch Road in Johnstone in Summer 2022 and at Ferguslie Park, Paisley in early 2023. The Council's regeneration programme will also deliver new Council homes in the Howwood Road area of Johnstone, Thrushcraigs area of Paisley, Broomlands area of Paisley and in the Springbank area of Paisley. Programme Management and Project Prioritisation - Core and Shadow Programme This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan splits projects in to two groups through the use of a ‘core’ and ‘shadow’ programme. Projects within each group are shown in Appendix 3. Projects within the ‘core’ group will be progressed in the earlier years of the programme (normally years 1-3) where there is grant availability and where developers finances allow. Projects included in the ‘shadow’ programme will be progressed as ‘core’ projects complete or funding becomes available or where there is the ability to ‘front fund’ projects to allow projects to proceed earlier. This may mean that project timescales are subject to change. Page 106 of 154
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15 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 In terms of front funding, the Council or the housing association partner may initially fund the early stages of project development costs from their own resources, with grant being paid to developing organisations at the first available opportunity as funding becomes available. The inclusion of a ‘core’ and ‘shadow’ programme allows for more effective management of available resources whilst allowing an element of flexibility that assists in addressing slippage on projects due to draw down grant support in any given year. Projects in the shadow programme may require extended lead in times to allow for site investigative works, site assembly or to arrange the necessary private finance to enable a development to proceed – all of these aspect influence how projects are prioritised within the programme. Additional new projects may be added to the programme should appropriate opportunities arise over the next 12 months prior to the next update of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan. Any additional projects brought forward will need to align with Local Housing Strategy Strategic Priorities. Delivery The Council will continue to explore options for joint working around innovative delivery mechanisms that support the delivery of affordable housing throughout Renfrewshire. Both the Council and our housing association delivery partners will continue to look for efficiencies in construction methods and will work with the construction industry and design teams to determine the suitability of non-traditional construction methods for projects included with the Strategic Housing Investment Plan. Housing Infrastructure Fund In recent years, a number of Renfrewshire projects have successfully accessed the Housing Infrastructure Fund with housing association partners continuing to look at options to bid for support from the Housing Infrastructure Fund as and when required. At present, no project developer within this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan is looking to access Housing Infrastructure Fund support, however this may change as developments move on site. Page 107 of 154
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16 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Monitoring Progress A range of project management activities are used to ensure resources are managed effectively with projects progressing as planned. These project management activities include: ▪ Ongoing liaison between services within the Council and between the Council and Registered Social Landlord partners on specific projects; ▪ Multi-agency project group meetings; ▪ Quarterly tripartite meetings involving the Council, individual developing Registered Social Landlord partners and the Scottish Government; and ▪ Six weekly internal officer group meetings to review progress. Throughout the duration of this draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan, progress will continue to be monitored to support project delivery. Draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan Appendices and Priorities Appendix 1 details progress with projects currently on site as well as future proposed projects over the lifetime of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan. Appendix 2 shows recent affordable housing completions. Appendix 3 lists projects that are currently progressing and/or expected to draw down grant funding and/or be completed during the lifetime of this Strategic Housing Investment Plan. Appendix 4 gives details of sub-areas and settlements within Renfrewshire. Page 108 of 154
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17 DRAFT RENFREWSHIRE STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN 2023 TO 2028 Equalities This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan includes housing provision for a range of different needs groups with provision included for older people and those with physical disabilities with a range of development sites supporting the provision of both clustered accommodation which is being developed to meet an identified need as well as mixed developments that support inclusive and independent living with blended general and particular needs accommodation. This draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan has been prepared in consultation with the Health and Social Care Partnership to ensure that projects take account of opportunities to deliver housing that meets the needs of a range of households with an identified specific need. In line with The Equality Act 2010 and the associated protected characteristics, an Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment has been prepared alongside the preparation of the draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 to 2028. The aim of this assessment was to identify the likely or actual effects of this Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2023 to 2028 on people. This includes identifying where there will be a positive impact and further opportunities to further promote equality. Where there are any potential negative impacts identified, we have identified actions required to eliminate or mitigate these negative impacts. New build Council Housing for social rent, Auchengreoch Road, Johnstone Page 109 of 154
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Appendix 1: Renfrewshire Affordable Housing Project Updates 1A: Projects currently on site and expected to complete in full during 2022/23 Development Units Status Comment Millarston, Paisley 99 On site, due to complete in July 2022 This development of 99 new homes for social rent add to the mix of affordable homes in this area. Completion expected July 2022. Auchengreoch Road, Johnstone 39 On site, due to complete in July 2022 This development of 39 new Council homes adds to the affordable housing supply in South- West Johnstone. Completion expected July 2022. Bishopton Phase II, North Renfrewshire 58 On site, due to complete in September 2022 This second phase of development within Bishopton Community Growth Area (CGA) (Dargavel Village) will provide 58 social rented homes by Loretto Housing Association. Completion expected September 2022. Ferguslie Park, Paisley 101 On site, due to complete in January 2023 This development of 101 new homes being developed by the Council will assist in the regeneration of the Ferguslie Park area. Completion expected early 2023. Albert Road, Renfrew 42 On site, due to complete in February 2023 This social rented development of 42 homes by Williamsburgh Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in Renfrew. Completion expected early 2023. Page 110 of 154
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1B: Projects currently on site or due to start on site in 2022/23 (includes phased completions in 2022/23 and beyond) Development Units Status Comment Abbey Quarter Phase IV, Paisley Town Centre 81 On site, Due to complete August 2023 Link Group are on site delivering 81 new affordable homes. This fourth phase of development will complete the redevelopment of the former Arnott’s site which is a key strategic location in Paisley Town Centre. This development will complete in phases during 2022/23 and 2023/24. Napier Street, Linwood 51 On site, Due to complete August 2023 This social rented development of around 51 homes by Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in Linwood. Woodend House, Houston, West Renfrewshire 14 Due to start on site August 2022 Link Group are providing 14 new homes for social rent within a larger private sector development in Houston, West Renfrewshire. These affordable homes will all to the supply of affordable homes in West Renfrewshire. The overall development will complete in phases during 2022/23 and 2023/24. Orchard Street, Paisley 47 Due to start on site in late 2022 Plans are progressing for a Comprehensive Tenement Improvement (CTI) project at Orchard Street/Causeyside Street, Paisley following 5 blocks of flats being designated as a Housing Renewal Area (HRA) in March 2017. The overall development is expected to complete in 2023/24. Johnstone Castle Phase II 68 Due to start on site in March 2023 Link Group are progressing plans for a second phase of affordable housing in Johnstone Castle. This second phase of development will provide around 68 new homes for social rent as well as associated infrastructure and green spaces. This development will complete in phases during 2023/24 and 2024/25. Bishopton Phase III, North Renfrewshire 62 Due to start on site in March 2023 This third phase of development at Bishopton Community Growth Area (CGA) (Dargavel Village) by Loretto Housing Association will provide around 62 affordable new homes for social rent. Page 111 of 154
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1C: Projects expected to start on site in 2023/24 or later or when a projected site start date has still to be confirmed Development Units Status Comment Cartha Crescent, Paisley 31 Due to start on site in April 2023 This social rented development of around 31 homes by Williamsburgh Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in central Paisley. Gibson Crescent, Johnstone 28 Due to start on site in October 2023 This social rented development of around 28 homes by Williamsburgh Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in Johnstone. Station Road, Paisley 45 Due to start on site in October 2023 This development by Linstone Housing Association will provide amenity housing for older people (around 45 new homes). Gallowhill, Paisley 60 Site start date tbc This social rented development of around 60 homes by Renfrewshire Council will add to the affordable housing supply in the Gallowhill area. Site Investigations at this location are currently ongoing. Paisley West End, Sutherland Street 22 Site start date tbc Sanctuary Scotland are progressing plans for the redevelopment of this site as part of the regeneration of Paisley’s West End with 22 new homes developed for social rent. Paisley West End, Underwood Lane 13 Site start date tbc Sanctuary Scotland are progressing plans for the redevelopment of the former University of the West of Scotland student accommodation site as part of the Paisley West End Regeneration Masterplan. It is anticipated that 13 new affordable homes will be developed. Paisley West End, Phase II 111 Site start date tbc Sanctuary will progress the later phases of the Regeneration Masterplan to deliver around 111 new homes at Well Street and Clavering Street East as part of the Paisley West End Regeneration Masterplan. Westburn Avenue/Blackstoun Road, Paisley 22 Site start date tbc This social rented development of around 22 homes by Ferguslie Park Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in the Ferguslie Park area. Page 112 of 154
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Ryefield, Johnstone 36 Site start date tbc This social rented development of approximately 36 homes by Linstone Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply of houses in the Johnstone area. East Lane, Paisley Town Centre 48 Site start date tbc This social rented development of around 48 homes by Loretto Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in central Paisley. Older Persons Housing Reprovisioning, Erskine 24 Site start date tbc Bridgewater Housing Association are progressing plans for a new purpose built older persons housing development that will replace existing scattered older persons housing provision across Erskine. Stirling Drive, Linwood 64 Site start date tbc This social rented development of around 64 homes by Linstone Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in Linwood. Foxbar Rivers, Paisley 40 Site start date tbc This social rented development of around 40 homes by Paisley Housing Association will add to the affordable housing supply in the Foxbar area of Paisley and bring vacant sites back in to use. Foxbar Rivers, Paisley 40 Site start date tbc This social rented development of around 40 homes by Renfrewshire Council will add to the affordable housing supply in the Foxbar area of Paisley and bring vacant sites back in to use. Paisley Town Centre 48 Site start date tbc Efforts will continue to identify a potential site for affordable housing in Paisley Town Centre to promote mixed tenure communities and the growth of the resident town centre population. Bishopton Phase IV & Future Phases 136 Site start date tbc Additional sites will be identified and progressed for affordable housing within Bishopton Community Growth Area (CGA) (Dargavel Village). West Renfrewshire Villages 44 Site start date tbc Efforts will continue to identify potential sites for affordable housing in West Renfrewshire to meet affordable housing need in this area. Howwood Road Area, Johnstone 120 Site start date tbc Following public consultation, plans are being progressed to deliver new Council housing in the Howwood Road Area. Thrushcraigs Area, Paisley 45 Site start date tbc Following public consultation, plans are being progressed to deliver new Council housing in the Thrushcraigs Area. Broomlands Area, Paisley 39 Site start tbc Following public consultation, plans are being progressed to deliver new Council housing in the Broomlands Area. Page 113 of 154
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Springbank Road Area, Paisley 120 Site start tbc Following public consultation, plans are being progressed to deliver new Council housing in the Springbank Road Area. Private Sector Acquisitions that meet identified Housing Need An allowance will be made within the programme for private sector ‘off the shelf’ acquisitions where such purchases meet a specified criteria and contribute to meeting local housing need. Local Development Plan Affordable Housing Policy Future Requirements An allowance will be made within the programme for new affordable homes within new development sites as part of the new Affordable Housing Policy in Renfrewshire. Page 114 of 154
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2017/2018 Sanctuary Andrew Avenue Phase I Renfrew 77 77 2018/2019 Sanctuary Inchinnian Road (Western Park) Renfrew 67 Sanctuary Andrew Avenue Phase II Renfrew 60 127 2019/2020 Sanctuary Paisley West End (Phase I (Co-op) Paisley & Linwood 39 Sanctuary Love Street Paisley & Linwood 132 Link New Sneddon Street Paisley & Linwood 24 195 2020/21 Link Smithhills Street Paisley & Linwood 26 Renfrewshire Council Bishopton Phase I North Renfrewshire 80 Williamsburgh HA Milliken Road, Kilbarchan West Renfrewshire 18 124 2021/22 Renfrewshire Council Johnstone Castle Johnstone & Elderslie 95 Link Group Amochrie Road, Foxbar Paisley & Linwood 36 Link Group Thrushcraigs Phase II (St Ninians) Paisley & Linwood 23 Paisley HA Westerfield House Paisley & Linwood 16 170 693 Sanctuary/Paisley HA Glenburn Paisley & Linwood 131 Link Group Millarston Paisley & Linwood 99 Renfrewshire Council Auchengreoch Road Johnstone & Elderslie 39 Loretto Bishopton Phase II North Renfrewshire 58 Renfrewshire Council Ferguslie Park Paisley & Linwood 101 Williamsburgh HA Albert Road Renfrew 42 470 Completions between 2017 and 2022 & estimated completions 2022/23 Appendix 2 2022/2023 - Estimated Completions Page 115 of 154
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Appendix 3 - Core & Shadow Programme Projects in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme Millarston, Paisley 99 £10.618 £10.618 £0.000 £0.000 Auchengreoch Road, Johnstone 39 £2.302 £2.302 £0.000 £0.000 Bishopton Phase II, North Renfrewshire 58 £1.057 £1.057 £0.000 £0.000 Ferguslie Park, Paisley 101 £6.112 £6.112 £0.000 £0.000 Albert Road, Renfrew 42 £3.317 £3.317 £0.000 £0.000 Napier Street, Linwood 51 £4.280 £4.280 £0.000 £0.000 Woodend House, Houston, West Renfrewshire 14 £1.322 £1.322 £0.000 £0.000 Abbey Quarter Phase IV, Paisley 81 £7.893 £7.893 £0.000 £0.000 Orchard St/Causeyside Street (HRA), Paisley 46 £4.382 £3.174 £1.208 £0.000 Johnstone Castle Phase II, Johnstone 68 £11.802 £2.350 £9.452 £0.000 Bishopton Phase III, North Renfrewshire 62 £4.836 £0.500 £4.336 £0.000 Gibson Crescent/North Road, Johnstone 28 £2.381 £0.000 £2.381 £0.000 Cartha Crescent, Paisley 33 £2.806 £0.000 £2.806 £0.000 Station Road, Paisley 45 £4.590 £0.308 £4.282 £0.000 Gallowhill, Paisley 60 £4.290 £0.094 £4.196 £0.000 Sutherland Street/UWS site, West End, Paisley 35 £4.155 £1.838 £2.317 £0.000 West End Balance, Paisley 111 £7.994 £2.795 £5.199 £0.000 Westburn Avenue/Blackstoun Road, Paisley 22 £1.716 £0.082 £1.634 £0.000 Ryefield, Johnstone 36 £3.664 £0.400 £3.264 £0.000 East Lane, Paisley 48 £3.744 £0.000 £3.744 £0.000 Older Person's Housing Reprovisioning, Erskine 24 £1.872 £0.150 £1.722 £0.000 Private Sector Acquisitions that meet identified Housing Need 60 £2.150 £0.350 £1.100 £0.700 LDP Affordable Housing Policy Future Reqs tbc tbc £0.000 tbc tbc 1163 £97.283 £48.942 £47.641 £0.700 Shadow Programme Projects in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme Stirling Drive, Linwood 64 £6.936 £1.168 £5.768 £0.000 Foxbar Rivers, Paisley (Renfrewshire Council) 40 £2.860 £0.000 £2.860 £0.000 Foxbar Rivers, Paisley (Paisley HA) 40 £3.120 £0.000 £3.120 £0.000 Paisley Town Centre 48 £3.744 £0.000 £1.872 £1.872 Bishopton Phase IV & Future Phases 136 £10.608 £0.000 £5.304 £5.304 West Renfrewshire Villages 44 £3.432 £0.000 £1.716 £1.716 Howwood Road Area, Johnstone 120 £8.580 £0.000 £3.500 £5.080 Thrushcraigs Area, Paisley 45 £3.218 £0.000 £1.000 £2.218 Broomlands Area, Paisley 39 £2.789 £0.000 £1.394 £1.394 Springbank Road Area, Paisley 120 £8.580 £0.000 £0.000 £8.580 696 £53.866 £1.168 £26.534 £26.164 Sub-Areas 1. Paisley & Linwood All Units Core + Shadow Core + Shadow Core + Shadow Core + Shadow 2. Renfrew 1859 £151.149 £50.110 £74.175 £26.864 3. Johnstone & Elderslie 4. North Renfrewshire 5. West Renfrewshire Number of Affordable Units Total Grant Requirement (£M) Estimated Total Spend by End March 2023 Estimated Grant Requirement (Yrs 4-5) 2026/27-2027/28 Estimated Grant Requirement (Yrs 1-3) 2023/24-2025/26 £ Million Core Programme Number of Affordable Units Total Grant Requirement (£M) Estimated Total Spend by End March 2023 Estimated Grant Requirement (Yrs 1-3) 2023/24-2025/26 Estimated Grant Requirement (Yrs 4-5) 2026/27-2027/28 Page 116 of 154
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Appendix 4 Renfrewshire sub-areas Page 117 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Housing-led Regeneration and Renewal Programme for Renfrewshire – Year 1 Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1 Summary 1.1 Renfrewshire Council’s Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme will deliver modern, high quality, energy efficient, affordable Council housing that will not only significantly enhance the Council’s housing stock but will also contribute to the wider transformation of communities and will be central to the economic and social recovery of Renfrewshire. 1.2 This ambitious programme was approved by the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 18 January 2022 with amended proposals for 3 of the 8 regeneration areas also approved on 15 March 2022. The programme is being taken forward as a key Council priority, designed to deliver maximum benefits for residents and with the active involvement of services across the Council and Community Planning partners. 1.3 This report provides members with an update on the progress made to date in year one of the Regeneration and Renewal programme and provides a timeline for the delivery of works scheduled throughout this ten-year strategy. __________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) Approve the baseline programme for delivery of works across all 8 areas of the ten-year Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme (appendix 1) and instruct the Director of Communities and Housing Services to provide regular updates on progress against that baseline. __________________________________________________________________________________ Item 8 CHAS160822 Page 119 of 154
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3. Progress to Date 3.1 Following the approval of the ten-year programme by the Policy Board in January and March 2022, tenants, residents and owners have been issued with regular updates advising them of the plans that were approved for each area by the Communities, Housing and Planning Board. The Council’s website also has dedicated Housing Regeneration pages which are regularly updated to ensure that residents are informed of progress. 3.2 Given the scope and complexity of the Regeneration Proposals, a phasing strategy has been developed and is set out in appendix 1, which takes account of a number of factors including delivery timescales, rehousing requirements, contractor availability, maximising grant support for owner participation and consideration of development constraints. 3.3 Neighbourhood Renewal Plans are being developed involving Council Services and community representatives in each of the eight Regeneration Areas which will operate in parallel with the physical regeneration plans. These will be tailored to the needs and circumstances of each area, going beyond housing and the immediate external environment and taking account of broader issues such as links to health and wellbeing, access to outdoor space and sustainable travel and employment or training opportunities to maximise the benefits achievable for local residents. There will be ongoing engagement with residents and Councillors will also be provided with opportunities to view the areas and to discuss the improvements proposed. 3.4 In this context, ‘pop-up’ events have been arranged in each regeneration area to continue our active and ongoing engagement with tenants, residents, owners and local communities. These events will be held on the following dates: Area Date Ferguslie/Broomlands Thursday 25 August 2022 Auchentorlie & Howard Street Area Friday 26 August 2022 Howwood Road Area Monday 29 August 2022 Waverley Road Tuesday 30 August 2022 Thrushcraigs Wednesday 31 August 2022 Moorpark Thursday 1 September 2022 Springbank/Mossvale Friday 2 September 2022 3.5 Feedback received during the consultation phases will continue to be utilised to ensure issues raised by tenants and residents about property condition and the wider environment are addressed in the programme of works for each area. This includes where tenants advised us of works that they feel should be prioritised, including the internal and external fabric of their blocks, condition of common areas and the external environment surrounding their homes. Page 120 of 154
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3.6 The programme aligns to the Council’s wider net zero ambitions. Newbuild houses will be built to a standard specification evolved in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and John Gilbert Architects, which will see new build homes that are “net-zero” in terms of their embodied, operational and end-of- life carbon emissions. 4. Timescales for Delivery of the Investment Programme. 4.1 The information provided below is summarised to provide an update on progress in each area to date, with appendix 1 providing information on the anticipated timeline for the investment, demolition, newbuild and rehousing initiatives where this is relevant for each individual area. (An extract of appendix 1 is also included at the start of the discussion below of each of the eight Regeneration Areas.) Where newbuild housing is proposed, a key objective of the regeneration programme will be to deliver homes of a suitable type and size to meet current and future needs and to enable existing households to remain in the area where possible. 4.2 All Council tenants affected by demolition will be offered suitable alternative accommodation in line with the Council’s housing allocation policy and will be entitled to apply for home-loss and disturbance payments subject to qualification criteria where the move is in accordance with the phasing strategy that facilitates this regeneration initiative. 4.2.1 Howard Street Area, Paisley Addresses Council Private Total Investment – on site target date Q4 2022–23 Clarence Street 19, 21, 22 and 24 Howard Street 11, 13, 15 and 17 Ladyburn Street 10, 12 and 14 Lang Street 11, 13, 15 and 17 Violet Street 2 and 4 Demolition: McKerrell Street 35, 37, 39, 41 and 43 Ladyburn Street 9 Howard Street 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 Total 79 55 134 29 11 40 108 66 174 Pre‐cont 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Ownership Consolidation Demolition RehousingStrategy Investment ‐ On‐site Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Page 121 of 154
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Subject to owner participation, this regeneration area will see up to 17 blocks receiving a package of enhanced capital investment to include improvements to the external environment and common areas, including closes, backcourts, bin stores and recycling facilities as well as the external fabric of the buildings. The plans for the Howard Street Area will also see 11 blocks being demolished to provide a new area of amenity open space and to reduce the overall building density. While there are no plans at present for newbuild on that site, given the density in the surrounding area, there may be newbuild provision on another nearby site. Officers have commenced liaison with tenants in the Howard Street area to discuss their rehousing requirements and with owners to discuss their options where voluntary acquisition is being sought. 4.2.2 Auchentorlie, Paisley Addresses Council Private Total Investment – on site target date Q4 2022–23 Auchentorlie Quadrant 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 13 Seedhill Road 74 Demolition: Auchentorlie Quadrant 5, 7 and 9 Total 44 17 61 16 1 17 60 18 78 Subject to owner participation, this regeneration area will see up to 10 blocks receiving a package of enhanced capital investment to include improvements to the external environment and common areas, including closes, backcourts, bin stores and recycling facilities as well as the external fabric of the buildings. Fabric works will be tailored to the buildings in each area and will adopt a whole house retrofit approach with measures to improve energy efficiency and help reduce energy costs for tenants and residents. Demolition Pre‐cont 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 OwnershipConsolidation RehousingStrategy Investment ‐On‐site Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Page 122 of 154
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The plans for this area will also see the removal of 3 blocks to reduce the overall density in the area and improvements made to the surrounding environment in and around the Auchentorlie area. This could include opportunities for Growing Grounds/Allotments on the neighbouring land if this is considered as being a priority for the local community. Officers have commenced the rehousing of tenants in properties identified for demolition in the Auchentorlie area (some of which have been affected by fire damage) and negotiations have also commenced where voluntary acquisition is being sought. 4.2.3 Waverley Road, Paisley Addresses Council Private Total Investment – on site target date Q2 2023–24 Waverley Road 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32 Demolition: Waverley Road 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56 Total 47 68 115 1 4 5 48 72 120 This regeneration area will see 8 blocks receiving a package of enhanced capital investment to include improvements to the external environment and common areas, including closes, back courts, bin stores and recycling facilities as well as the external fabric of the buildings. Fabric works will be tailored to adopt a whole house retrofit approach with measures to improve energy efficiency and help reduce energy costs for tenants and residents. The plans for the Waverley Road area will also see 12 blocks being demolished to reduce the overall density in the area and improvements made to the surrounding environment. Officers will commence liaison with tenants in the properties highlighted for demolition on Waverley Road in line with the phasing strategy shown on appendix 1, with a view to discussing their rehousing requirements. Negotiations are ongoing with private owners to discuss their individual circumstances and options where voluntary acquisition is being sought. Pre‐contract 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Ownership Consolidation Demolition RehousingStrategy Inv ‐On‐site Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Page 123 of 154
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As previously detailed to the board, the assessment of the viability of the area to be cleared at this location indicates that the steep topography of the land would make the construction of housing expensive and uneconomic, due to the requirement for retaining walls and ongoing maintenance costs. It was therefore agreed that replacement housing be built on nearby sites in the Foxbar Rivers area which were previously identified for housing in the Local Development Plan and Strategic Housing Investment Plan. 4.2.4 Moorpark, Renfrew Addresses Council Private Total Investment – on site target date Q2 2024–25 Barclay Square Birmingham Road Jessiman Square Knockhill Road Mitchell Avenue Paisley Road 168–170, 200–208, 214, 220–224, 236, 242 and 248–254 170 147 317 The Moorpark area has a high proportion of private owners and participation of owners will be essential to ensure the successful delivery of the investment programme. Given that investment work is not scheduled until year 3 of this 10-year programme, officers are reviewing the Council’s ownership and block make up to identify any ownership consolidation opportunities to assist in the future delivery of investment works. Subject to owner participation, this regeneration area will see blocks receiving a package of enhanced capital investment to include improvements to the external environment and common areas, including closes, backcourts, bin stores and recycling facilities as well as where possible, the external fabric of the buildings. Fabric works will be tailored to the buildings in each area and will adopt a whole house retrofit approach with measures to improve energy efficiency and help reduce energy costs for tenants and residents. Officers are continuing to explore opportunities for funding which may be available to assist in reducing the cost of participation for owners. D Pre‐contract 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Inv ‐On‐site Ownership Consolidation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Page 124 of 154
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4.2.5 Ferguslie/Broomlands, Paisley Addresses Council Private Total Investment – on site target date Q2 2023–24 Ferguslie Walk 21–25 and 16–28 Ferguslie 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 Broomlands Street 56–62 and 64–70 West Campbell Street 2–8 Carbrook Street 1–7 Demolition: Ferguslie 18–20 and 22–24 Knox Street 2–8 West Campbell Street 1–7 and 10–16 Total 77 64 141 82 16 98 159 80 239 Newbuild: Ph 1 – site at Carbrook St (approx 25 units) – on site target date Q4 2023–24 Ph 2 – brownfield site (approx 25 units) – on site target date Q1 2027–28 The Ferguslie/Broomlands area has a large number of private owners and owner participation will be necessary if we are to deliver the investment required successfully. This regeneration area will see mixed tenure blocks (subject to owner participation) receiving a package of enhanced capital investment to include improvements to the external environment, bin storage and recycling facilities as well as the external fabric of the buildings. Fabric works will be tailored to adopt a whole house retrofit approach with measures to improve energy efficiency and help reduce energy costs for tenants and residents. A technical assessment has been carried out to assess the viability and cost of newbuild housing on the former Carbrook nursery site, taking account of any constraints and capacity issues, and this indicates that approximately 25 newbuild affordable units could be constructed. Demolition Pre‐contract Newbuild (Ph 1) Pre‐cont (Ph 2) Newbuild (Ph 2) 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 OwnershipConsolidation RehousingStrategy Investment ‐ On‐site Pre‐Cont (Ph 1) Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Page 125 of 154
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This area will be further transformed with the later removal of 5 deck-access blocks and the development of a further mix of newbuild Council homes on the cleared sites as shown on appendix 1. The community will be invited to contribute to development plans for this area, including the future of the communal laundries and, possibly, a proposed new entrance to Ferguslie Gardens. Properties at 21 to 25 Ferguslie Walk require further site appraisals and geotechnical survey work and will be subject to an update to a later meeting of this Policy Board. 4.2.6 Howwood Road Area, Johnstone Addresses Council Private Total Investment – on site target date Q4 2024–25 Craigbog Avenue Craigview Avenue Craigview Terrace Duncraig Crescent Dundonald Avenue Greenend Avenue Highcraig Avenue Demolition: Craigenfeoch Avenue 1–47 Dundonald Avenue 52–122 Greenend Avenue 34–64, 121–199, 211–289 Highcraig Avenue 1–23, 2–24 and 41 & 47 Plus 4no commercial properties in Highcraig Avenue (2no Council, 2no Private) Total 124 163 287 71 15 86 195 178 373 Newbuild: Ph 1 – former school (approx 75 units) – on site target date Q3 2024–25 Ph 2 – brownfield site (approx 75 units) – on site target date Q2 2028–29 Demo (Ph 1) Pre‐contract Newbuild (Ph 1) Pre‐contract (Ph 2) Newbuild (Ph 2) 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 OwnershipConsolidation Rehousing(Ph 1) Investment ‐On‐site Pre‐Contract(Ph 1) Demo (Ph 2) Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Rehousing(Ph 2) Page 126 of 154
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It is proposed that a first phase of newbuild homes will be constructed on the former Cochrane Castle school site. A technical assessment has been carried out to assess the viability and cost of newbuild on this site and early indications show that up to 75 newbuild Council homes of varying sizes could be delivered in this first phase of development. When developing plans for the newbuild housing for this area, we will gather the views, needs and preferences of people who currently live in the area and are affected by these regeneration proposals. It is anticipated that rehousing of tenants displaced will take place on a phased basis following completion of the first set of newbuild homes, with two phases of demolition and at least one phase of newbuild thereafter as detailed in appendix 1: the first phase of demolition comprising properties between Craigbog and Highcraig Avenues; and the second properties between Highcraig and Craigenfeoch Avenues. There are 15 privately-owned properties to be acquired in the Howwood Road area. Officers have commenced discussions with private owners to identify any re-housing needs and coordinate the voluntary acquisition of privately owned properties in the area as required. Along with the development of the former Cochrane Castle Primary School site, officers are addressing wider flood-risk and drainage issues around the site of the former St David’s Primary School. Treatment may provide opportunities to provide enhanced open space in this location in addition to the possible location for new shopping provision in the area. Subject to owner participation, this regeneration area will also see significant investment in existing stock with a package of enhanced capital investment including improvements to the external environment, garden areas, bin storage and recycling facilities as well as the external fabric of the buildings. Fabric works will be tailored to adopt a whole house retrofit approach with measures to improve energy efficiency and help reduce energy costs for tenants and residents. 4.2.7 Springbank/Mossvale, Paisley Rehousing (Ph 1) RH (Ph 2) Demolition (Ph 1) Demolition (Ph 2) Pre‐contract (Ph 1) Newbuild (Phase 1) Pre‐contract (Ph 2) NB (Ph 2) 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 OwnershipConsolidation Investment ‐On‐site Rehousingstrategy Inv ‐pre‐contract Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Page 127 of 154
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Addresses Council Private Total Investment – on site target date Q4 2023–24 Russell Street 1–19 Mossvale Street 24–38, 40–52, 54–66, 31–35 and 37–55 Demolition: Springbank Road 47–53, 55–61, 63–69 and 71– 77 Russell Street 6–20 Mossvale Square 1–19, 2–20 and 22–48 Mossvale Street 2–22 (Plus 16no lockups at 1-16 Russell St) Total 31 118 149 66 36 102 97 154 251 Newbuild: Ph 1 – brownfield site (approx 35 units) – on site target date Q1 2026–27 Ph 2 – brownfield site (approx 65 units) – on site target date Q3 2029–30 The Springbank/Mossvale area has the largest number of private owners where acquisition is required to facilitate demolition. Rehousing of tenants and private acquisitions will therefore be phased to allow the clearance of land for each phase of newbuild development. Housing options advice will be provided to tenants and residents of demolition properties on a phased basis as detailed on appendix 1, the first phase comprising the five blocks nearest the town centre and the second phase four of the others. Displaced tenants will be provided with a permanent tenancy elsewhere while reserving their rights to be considered for the newbuild homes following their completion if desired. (This replicates the process successfully delivered in Johnstone Castle where rehousing was necessary to allow development of the newbuild homes on the footprint of the former flats.) Officers have been working with private owners to identify any re-housing needs and coordinate the voluntary acquisition of privately owned properties as required to facilitate development. This area will be further transformed with the investment in the remaining stock (subject to owner participation in mixed tenure blocks) including surrounding environmental improvements. Page 128 of 154
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4.2.8 Thrushcraigs, Paisley Addresses Council Private Total Demolition: Thrushcraig Crescent 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 51 and 53 Rowan Street 101 and 103 90 6 96 Newbuild – brownfield site (approx 50 units) – on site target date Q2 2026–27 The plans for the Thrushcraigs area involve the demolition of 16 blocks to make way for new affordable housing on the cleared sites. The newbuild housing to be delivered will be planned taking account of the views, needs and preferences of people affected by these regeneration proposals. The regeneration work in this area will include enhancements to the surrounding environment and will reduce the overall density. Officers have commenced liaison with tenants in the Thrushcraigs area to discuss their rehousing requirements and with owners where voluntary acquisition is being sought. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – the financial background to this investment programme was detailed in the report to Council on 17 December 2020. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None. 3. Community/Council Planning Our Renfrewshire is well – this investment programme is contributing to improved wellbeing and quality of life for residents. Our Renfrewshire is thriving – this investment programme will deliver a diverse range of economic and community benefit packages over the lifetime of the project Our Renfrewshire is safe – ensuring our neighbourhoods are safe and attractive Pre‐contract Newbuild 2030/312029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 Ownership Demo RehousingStrategy Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Page 129 of 154
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4. Legal – work will be required with respect to acquisitions, disposals, conveyancing and title changes as necessary. 5. Property/Assets – as we progress through the phases of the investment programme, there is an element of property acquisitions and disposals and demolition of some existing properties as approved by the Board. 6. Information Technology – N/A 7. Equality & Human Rights – (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – N/A 9. Procurement – a Procurement Strategy has been developed to ensure the delivery of the investment, demolition and newbuild programmes and to ensure community benefits are delivered locally from each contract. 10. Risk – a risk register has been developed to consider various risks including those relating to financial and procurement as referred to in the implications section of this report. This risk register will be maintained throughout the delivery of the Housing led Regeneration and Renewal programme. 11. Privacy Impact – N/A 12. COSLA Policy Position – N/A 13. Climate Risk – the investment programme will contribute towards meeting the Council’s targets on climate change. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers Report to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, 15 March 2022, ‘Housing-led Regeneration and Renewal Programme for Renfrewshire’ Report to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, 18 January 2022, ‘Housing-led Regeneration and Renewal Programme for Renfrewshire’ Report to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, 18 May 2021, ‘Housing-led Regeneration and Renewal Programme for Renfrewshire’ Report to Council, 17 December 2020, ‘Housing-led Regeneration and Renewal Programme for Renfrewshire’ Author: Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk, 07483 146814. Page 130 of 154
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Appendix 1 – Baseline timescale Staff and resources Pre‐cont Demolition Pre‐cont Pre‐contract D Pre‐contract Demolition Pre‐contract Newbuild (Ph 1) Pre‐cont (Ph 2) Newbuild (Ph 2) Demo (Ph 1) Pre‐contract Newbuild (Ph 1) Pre‐contract (Ph 2) Newbuild (Ph 2) Rehousing (Ph 1) RH (Ph 2) Demolition (Ph 1) Demolition (Ph 2) Pre‐contract (Ph 1) Newbuild (Phase 1) Pre‐contract (Ph 2) NB (Ph 2) Pre‐contract Newbuild Thrushcraig Demolition & Newbuild Springbank/Mossvale Investment, Demolition & Newbuild Auchentorlie Investment & Demolition Howard Street Area Investment & Demolition Waverley Road Investment & Demolition Moorpark Investment Ferguslie/Broomlands Investment (inc pre‐1919 tenements), Demolition & Newbuild Howwood Road Area Investment, Demolition & Newbuild, including on school site(s) 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 Applicable to all areas 2030/31 Regeneration Area 2029/30 2031/322021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 OwnershipConsolidation Ownership Consolidation OwnershipConsolidation Inv ‐ On‐site Ownership Ownership Consolidation OwnershipConsolidation Investment ‐ On‐site OwnershipConsolidation Demolition Demo Demolition RehousingStrategy RehousingStrategy RehousingStrategy Rehousing(Ph 1) Ownership Consolidation RehousingStrategy RehousingStrategy Rehousingstrategy Investment ‐ On‐site Investment ‐ On‐site Pre‐Contract(Ph 1) Investment ‐ On‐site Pre‐Cont (Ph 1) Inv ‐ pre‐contract Investment ‐ On‐site Inv ‐ On‐site Demo (Ph 2) Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Stakeholder Engagement Benefits Realisation Rehousing(Ph 2) Page 131 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Last-in-the-block Sale and Acquisition Policy ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This paper sets out a proposal to amend the current policy approved in May 2014, which allows the sale of the last house in a block in certain circumstances. 1.2 Of the Council’s 12216 properties, almost 70% are flatted, with many in mixed tenure blocks. 1.3 Mixed tenure flatted blocks can present difficulties when delivering investment programmes, because the delivery of such programmes in most circumstances will require the agreement of co-owners. 1.4 With the imminent commencement of the £100m Housing Regeneration investment programme, the issue of mixed tenure blocks will become critical to the successful delivery of the investment programme. 1.5 This paper sets out a proposal to amend the current policy for last house in the block, to include any flatted blocks (currently it relates to blocks of more than 5 properties), and also to include a provision to enable rehousing of tenants with their agreement where the Council is a minority owner. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) Approve a change to the “last in the block sale and acquisition policy” as set out in section 3 of this report and in full accordance with the approved Council Scheme of Delegation and Financial Regulations, in order to allow: Item 9 CHAS160822 Page 133 of 154
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a. Re-housing of tenants (with their agreement) to allow disposal; b. Disposal of flats which are “last-in-the-block” but where the block has a connection to other blocks; c. Disposal of last in block flats regardless of the number of properties in the block; d. The use of receipts for acquisition of properties to increase Council ownership in other mixed-tenure blocks.; and (ii) authorise the Director of Communities and Housing Services to seek the consent of Scottish Ministers as required. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 As of 31 March 2022, the Council had a stock holding of 12,216 properties as reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) and as detailed in the table below. Only 22% are houses, with the majority – 69% – being flats. Apartments Houses High-Rise Flats Tenement Flats 4-in-a-Block Flats Other Total 1 80 34 57 47 199 417 2 256 310 1,750 965 404 3,685 3 1,380 656 2,253 1,179 396 5,864 4 883 0 547 560 49 2,039 5+ 97 0 30 81 3 211 Total 2,696 1,000 4,637 2,832 1,051 12,216 3.2 In blocks of flats – except where permitted under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 – the consent of a majority of the owners is required to allow work to proceed, and therefore work promoted by the Council; ranging from basic repairs to investment to reach the requirements of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH), may not go ahead unless a majority of the owners within the block agree to participate in work programmes. 3.3 Whilst there is often a positive resolution using the provisions of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, it can be difficult to secure consent in blocks where the Council only has a minority ownership interest. The table below highlights the Council’s stock position on a block type basis and that in 56% of blocks the Council is a minority owner. Common block type Council ownership Total Majority Minority, >1 unit Minority, 1 unit only 4-in-a-block 398 431 564 1,393 Other 1–4 units 299 128 125 552 5–6 units 446 191 45 682 7–8 units 49 48 11 108 >8 units 62 45 7 114 Multi-storey 14 0 0 14 Total 1,268 843 752 2,863 Page 134 of 154
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3.4 On 13 May 2014, the Housing and Community Safety Board approved a report requesting authority to sell single Council dwellings in larger common blocks, where the Council owned 1 property in a block of 5 or more, when it became vacant. To date, over 50 of the 106 properties identified in the 2014 report have been sold as they have been vacated by tenants. 3.5 Therefore, it is considered that within the context of the £100m Regeneration and Renewal Programme, there could be situations where negotiations to include owners in the investment programme will not be able to proceed as the Council has only one tenanted property in a block. These properties are reported as an abeyance each year in our annual return to the SHR. Some actual but anonymised examples are as follows. Example 1 A Council tenant is in the only Council-owned property in a 4-in-a-block where private owners have refused to participate in investment works on several occasions, but where the surrounding Council and mixed-tenure blocks have received investment works. This Council tenant would currently need to remain in this property and apply to the Council for rehousing in line with the Council’s Housing Allocation Policy but may have no current need to move. It is proposed in this situation, where numerous attempts to agree works with owners have failed, that Council tenants may discuss their housing options with a view to moving to a property where works are planned, or have been completed, to ensure that they benefit from the energy efficiency works in line with other Council tenants – and that the property that they vacate would be sold. Example 2 A property is clearly in common-sense terms the last Council-owned property in a block, but the block has a connection to other blocks with some Council ownership and so the property in question is deemed not to be last in the block for disposal purposes. In circumstances where this has been brought to our attention, the properties are void and this report requests that the definition of last in the block for this purpose refers to the properties accessed by the main door or close of the address and not any wider block described in the title. 3.6 This report also proposes that the previous minimum number of flats in a block (five) be removed so that any flat – including specifically four-in-a-block flats – could be included in the policy. (A number of two-in-a-block flats have also previously been sold.) Page 135 of 154
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3.7 Receipts from the sale of such properties would be used to acquire properties that could assist in facilitating investment works in other mixed tenure blocks or meet other housing needs by adding to the supply of affordable housing for social rent across Renfrewshire. As a consequence, it is anticipated that there would be no loss to the stock (acquiring additional properties will depend on their availability and affordability on the market), and overall repairs and improvements would be easier to deliver going forward. 3.8 For the avoidance of doubt, if the changes recommended in this paper were implemented, it is not proposed that all properties which would become eligible for disposal as a result would be disposed of immediately – only a small number would be marketed at any given time, so as not to reduce in any significant way the Council’s stock of affordable housing. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – any acquisitions would be funded by disposals and grant finance so there would be no negative effect on the Housing Revenue Account. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none. 3. Community/Council Planning Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all – the changes proposed would allow more tenants to benefit from improvement programmes. 4. Legal – work will be required with respect to acquisitions, disposals, conveyancing and title changes as necessary. 5. Property/Assets – none. 6. Information Technology – none. 7. Equality & Human Rights – (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – none. 9. Procurement – none. 10. Risk – a risk register has been developed for the Housing led Regeneration and Renewal programme and it includes risks associated with owners’ reluctance or refusal to participate in investment programmes. The change recommended would mitigate these risks. Page 136 of 154
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11. Privacy Impact – none. 12. COSLA Policy Position – none. 13. Climate Risk – the changes proposed would allow more tenants to benefit from improvement programmes with consequent reductions in carbon emissions. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers Report to Housing and Community Safety Policy Board, 13 May 2014, ‘Single Council Dwellings in Larger Common Blocks’ Report to Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board, 20 August 2019, ‘Acquisition of Private Housing’ ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk, 07483 146814. Page 137 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Land at Maple Drive, Johnstone Castle - Regeneration Phase 2 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report updates the Board on a proposed disposal of land at Maple Drive, Johnstone to Link Housing Association for the development of affordable housing. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) Declares the area of land at Maple Drive, Johnstone, outlined and hatched on appendix 1 (drawing E3228A), extending to 2.24 hectares or thereby, as surplus to requirements; (ii) Authorise the Head of Economy and Development and the Head of Corporate Governance to negotiate terms for the disposal of the site to a housing association for development of affordable housing; and (iii) note that the proposed sale terms would be either submitted to the Infrastructure Land & Environment Board for approval or approved in terms of the Scheme of Delegated Functions, as appropriate, prior to completion of the sale. ___________________________________________________________________ Item 10 CHAS160822 Page 139 of 154
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3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan sets out how investment in affordable housing will be targeted to achieve the objectives of the Local Housing Strategy. 3.2 The Communities, Housing & Planning Board of August 21st 2018 identified an area of land in Johnstone Castle extending to 2.02 Ha as suitable for development by a housing association. The site was declared surplus following the demolition of existing Council housing on Cedar Avenue, Elm Drive and Maple Drive and Council officers were given authority to negotiate disposal to a housing association for affordable housing. 3.3 Discussions have been ongoing with Link Group Limited for a number of months and these discussions have highlighted the requirement to adjust the boundaries of the site to accommodate the planned development layout. 4. Updated Proposal 4.1 The Council has demolished all but one of the former housing properties on Elm Drive and Cedar Avenue but seven blocks of flats remain on Maple Drive, which will be demolished as part of this proposal. The remaining block on Cedar Avenue will be demolished following acquisition of the last remaining privately owned property in the block. (Please note that the block in question is not within the curtilage of the land being declared surplus.) 4.2 The site boundaries have been adjusted to reflect: (a) the adjoining land ownerships (the route to the sub-station between 13 and 17 Maple Drive has been excluded); (b) the design layout produced by Link following consultation with planning officers (the Cedar Avenue and Maple Drive carriageways, layby parking and footways are now included); and (c) best practice asset management avoiding small strips of isolated land remaining in Council ownership (the solum under the footways and carriageways up to the centre line of the road is included where appropriate). The site now extends to 2.24 Ha or thereby and is shown on Appendix 1 (drawing E3228A). The plan attached to the 2018 Board paper is Attached as appendix 2 for comparison purposes. 4.3 Council officers will continue to negotiate terms for the sale of the land to Link and the subsequent agreement will be referred to the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board or approved under the Scheme of Delegated Functions dependant on the value of the transaction. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Subject to valuations and negotiations by the Head of Economy and Development, there may a capital receipt for the sale of the site. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None. Page 140 of 154
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3. Community/Council Planning – Building strong, safe and resilient communities – Increasing the supply of affordable housing and regenerating communities. 4. Legal – Conveyancing work associated with land transfers. 5. Property/Assets – Transfer of HRA land to General Services for disposal. 6. Information Technology – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – None. 9. Procurement – Small one-off instructions for valuation and QS advice in relation to the value and developability of the site. 10. Risk – Risks will be identified and managed for individual projects. 11. Privacy Impact – None. 12. COSLA Policy Position – Not applicable. 13. Climate Risk – None. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) Report to Communities Housing & Planning Policy Board, 21 August 2018: ‘Draft Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2019/20 to 2023/24.’ ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk, 07483 143814. Page 141 of 154
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C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L C L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L CEDAR 610 61.2m 8 El 175 4 1 171 153 Sports Facility 182 Sta 63.8m 184 169 9 LARCH PLACE 170 166 68.7m 67.9m 13 139 Play Area 24 166 2 22 19 64.7m Shelter 18 143 13 164 10a Sub 23 17 RANNOCH ROAD 15 MAPLE DRIVE 173 ELM DRIVE 1 176 10b Ordnance Survey Mapping - © Crown Copyright and database right 2022. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100023417. Aerial Photography 2009 - Cities Revealed ® copyright by The Geoinformation ® Group, 2009 and Crown Copyright © All rights reserved. Aerial Photography 2004/6 - © 2004 Getmapping plc © 2006 Getmapping plc Aerial Photography 2001 - Cities Revealed ® copyright by The Geoinformation ® Group, 2009 and Crown Copyright © All rights reserved. Historic Map Data - © Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2012. All rights reserved. 1:1,250 I Land at Johnstone Castle Report Plan Ref. E3228A Notes: Date: 12/05/2022 Legend Area extends to 2.24 hectares or thereby JW Appendix 1 Page 142 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities & Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Private Sector Housing Investment Programme 2022/23 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 On 3 March 2022 the Council approved a report entitled ‘Non Housing Capital Investment Programme 2022/23 – 2026/27’ which includes funding provision for capital and revenue Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) expenditure for 2022/23. 1.2 Based on the Council budget approval and taking account of the most up to date expenditure projections, this report updates the programme requirements for the period 2022/23 to support owner participation on a range of programmes. 1.3 As noted by the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 12 March 2019, there are funds held in reserve to support owners involved in the Orchard Street Housing Renewal Area tenement refurbishment project and for future Housing Regeneration areas. 1.4 There is a requirement to manage PSHG resources in a flexible manner in terms of the drawdown of funds, to reflect the timing of the settlement of final accounts associated with owners in the Housing Investment Programme and the renewal of the contract for private sector adaptations. 1.5 The contract for Private Sector Adaptations expires on 31 March 2023 and Communities & Housing Services are working closely with Health & Social Care Partnership to procure Care & Repair services for the next few years. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) Approves the Private Sector Housing Grant Investment Programme for the period 2022/23 as set out in Appendix 1. __________________________________________________________ Item 11 CHAS160822 Page 145 of 154
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3. Background 3.1 The Private Sector Housing Grant supports a range of services to private sector owners. This includes Disabled Adaptation grants, support costs for Care & Repair Renfrewshire, support for the pilot project to pay ‘Missing Shares’ and support for homeowners involved in Council Housing Investment Programmes involving common works carried out as part of ongoing external works programmes. 3.2 Appendix 1 sets out the proposed programme for 2022/2023 showing proposed expenditure of £1.247m. 3.3 The key elements of the proposed programme currently are as follows: (i) Adaptation Grants (Assistance to older and disabled owners) The Council provides grant to assist owners with adaptations to make dwellings suitable for a member of the household who is disabled. Responsibility for determining the strategy for support for disabled adaptations across all tenures (excluding Housing Associations) transferred to the Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board with effect from 1 April 2016. The Council is required by legislation to provide a minimum of 80% grant support to homeowners referred by HSCP, Occupational Therapy Services. Demand for adaptation grants continues to grow with the number of referrals for adaptations continuing to put strain on the available budget. An annual allowance of £550,000 to support the delivery of private sector adaptations has been the available grants budget over the past few years. Due to Covid pandemic and lockdown last year the number of job completions and grant drawdown slowed in 2021/22 and as a consequence £150,000 has been carried forward into year 2022/23. The total budget proposed in Appendix 1 for financial year 2022/23 is therefore £700,000. Bridgewater Housing Association (Care & Repair Renfrewshire) currently manage private sector adaptations and small repairs services in Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire Councils and this contract is due for renewal in April 2023. (ii) Housing Investment Programme Since achieving compliance with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) in April 2015, there has been an ongoing requirement to ensure our housing stock continues to be maintained at least at this standard. There is an over- arching emphasis on improving the housing stock to the latest energy efficiency standard to bring the stock up to the standards as set out in the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing by 2032 (EESSH2). The Housing Investment Programme is therefore focussed on common works in blocks of mixed ownership and accordingly the PSHG programme will continue to support future external improvement works in mixed tenure blocks and offer grants to homeowners involved in these programmes. Page 146 of 154
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Energy efficiency grants also continue to be made available to eligible households through the Scottish Government’s Energy Efficient Scotland Area Based Schemes (EES:ABS) and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, where applicable. An allowance of £100,000 is proposed to support grants to homeowners. As noted within this report, uncertainties around the exact timing of projects and the application of grants to owners will require programme flexibility to be maintained with this and future years. (iii) ‘Missing Shares’ Pilot Project On 21 August 2018 the Policy Board approved an allowance of up to £100,000 for the development of a “missing shares” pilot project, initially open to owners of older traditional privately owned tenement flats. This pilot is to assist owners in a block to get essential common repairs done where they are having difficulty receiving contributions from other owners who are unable or unwilling to pay their share. The Council will agree to pay up to £10,000 per missing share for eligible works and will seek to recover these and associated administrative costs from non paying owners. To date, the Council has paid out £52,000 in missing share payments for seven tenement block repair projects that have been completed and has approved a further £23,000 for four other proposed tenement repair projects. The Council has subsequently recovered £17,000 of missing share payments and therefore a balance of £42,000 is available for other missing share projects in 2022/23 in the Private Sector Housing Programme. (iv) Salaries Private Sector Housing Grant funds salaries for a range of posts where staff are engaged in works directly related to supporting private sector homeowners with a wide range of information on grants, loans, and energy advice. This includes staff within the Owner Services team engaged in works on private sector investment, as well as the posts of Empty Homes Officer and Energy Advocate. An allowance of £180,000 has been made for salaries for 2022/23. (v) Support to the Private Rented Sector /Miscellaneous Fees An allowance of £10,000 is included to fund the Private Landlord information and training events undertaken in Partnership with Landlord Accreditation Scotland who provide training for private landlords and letting agents throughout the year. These events are currently delivered online. Page 147 of 154
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3.4 The nature of the Private Sector Housing Investment Programme means that flexibility is required to adjust spend between projects during the financial year for a number of reasons, for example because of differences between the estimated and actual grant required once the test of resources is applied to individual owners, slippage in projects, difficulties securing the participation of some owners, increased demand for private sector adaptations to ensure that full spend is achieved and thus best use is made of the resource available. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The PSHG programme for 2022/23 totals £1.247 million. 2. HR & Organisational Development - None 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is thriving – the support offered to private owners will help to improve housing conditions, making Renfrewshire a great place to live Our Renfrewshire is well – the support provided to older and disabled owners will help enable people to live healthier, for longer, in their own homes Reshaping our place, our economy and our future – investment in the refurbishment of housing stock will create jobs and contribute to the economy 4. Legal - None 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology - None 7. Equality & Human Rights (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - None 9. Procurement - None 10. Risk - None 11. Privacy Impact - None 12. COSLA Policy Position – N/A. Page 148 of 154
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13. Climate Risk – Grant funding to private homeowners to support their participation in housing investment programme works will help to improve energy efficiency in privately owned properties, which will contribute to residents using less energy, thus reducing emissions. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers a) Report to Council on 3 March 2022 – Non Housing Capital Investment Programme 2022/23 – 2026/27 b) Report to Housing & Community Safety Policy Board on 12 March 2019 – Private Sector Housing Investment Programme 2019/20 c) Report to Housing & Community Safety Policy Board on 21 August 2018 – Scheme of Assistance for private owners and missing shares pilot project The foregoing background papers will be retained within Communities & Housing Services for inspection by the public for the prescribed period of four years from the date of the meeting. The contact officer within the service is Ian Mackinnon, Mixed Tenure Manager, 07483 376 245, ian.mackinnon@renfrewshire.gov.uk ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Ian MacKinnon, Mixed Tenure Manager, 07483 376245, ian.mackinnnon@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 149 of 154
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APPENDIX 1 PROPOSED PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSING PROGRAMME 2022/2023 Category 2022/2023 Adaptation Grants £700,000 Care and Repair – Revenue Support - Contracted £215,000 Capital Programmes – Owners Grants £100,000 Missing Share Tenement Pilot Scheme £42,000 Capitalised Salaries £180,000 Miscellaneous Costs (including support for the private rented sector) £10,000 Total £1,247,000 Page 150 of 154
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 16 August 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities and Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Housing Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Programmes: 2022/23 Award of Funding ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Renfrewshire Council has been awarded up to £1,657,500 for qualifying projects under the Scottish Government’s Energy Efficient Scotland Area Based Schemes (EES: ABS) programme for 2022/23. 1.2 The report updates members on the funding process that has secured this investment and the projects which will be supported. __________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) Homologates the action taken by the Director of Communities and Housing Services in accepting the funding of up to £1,657,500 that has been awarded for qualifying projects within the Renfrewshire Council area for 2022/23 under the Scottish Government’s EES: ABS programme; and (ii) Authorises the Director of Communities and Housing Services to oversee delivery and operational management of the programme. 3. Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES:ABS) 2022/23 3.1 The Scottish Government’s EES: ABS programme was formerly known as the Home Energy Efficiency Programme Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS: ABS) which was introduced in 2013/14. The programme is targeted at private sector homeowners to assist their participation and ensure projects to improve energy efficiency can proceed. The key objectives are to address fuel poverty, reduce carbon emissions and demonstrate an appropriate strategic fit and approach to improving energy efficiency. Item 12 CHAS160822 Page 151 of 154
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3.2 The potential benefits of EES: ABS support a wide range of social housing initiatives including maintaining stock at the levels required by the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) as well as the requirements of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) and local authorities act as coordinating agents for all EES: ABS programmes for their area. 3.3 The Council made an application for up to £1,657,500 of the 2022/23 funding and was advised on 6th July 2022 that the application had been successful. Details of the projects included within the bid are set out below: 3.4 As in previous years, the projects within the bid focussed on mixed tenure blocks of solid wall construction type to support social landlords in meeting the requirements of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH), as well as an allocation of funding to support private homeowners in houses or wholly private blocks which will be delivered through a Managing Agent. 3.5 The Council has secured the services of a Managing Agent with the intention of offering this support to private homeowners in areas where the Council has previously carried out investment programmes, where houses and/or blocks were not included in our programme due to them being wholly privately owned. The costs of the Managing Agent role will be met by the EES: ABS funding. 4. EES: ABS Programme 2021/22 4.1 The delivery of the 2021/22 EES: ABS programme was significantly impacted by a range of issues which caused delays as the construction industry emerges from the restrictions put in place during the pandemic. These issues include delays with material supplies and fluctuating labour supply as the demand for construction work is exceeding the availability of labour resource. 4.2 Accordingly, there has been the need to reprofile the timetable for the EES: ABS investment programme with works being rescheduled over this year and next year. 4.3 Members should note there continues to be complexity and a degree of uncertainty around the programming schedule due to the ongoing issues being faced by the construction industry. This may impact on the scheduling of works and the timetable for drawing down EES:ABS funding, which will be managed by the Director of Communities and Housing in line with the Scottish Government’s funding criteria timescales. ___________________________________________________________________ Project Value of EES:ABS (£) Renfrewshire Council Mixed Tenure Blocks External Wall Insulation 1,101,600 Managing Agent for Wholly Privately Owned Properties 502,800 Linstone Housing Association Project 53,100 Total £1,657,500 Page 152 of 154
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial – EES:ABS allocation of £1,657,500 for 2021/22 to support owner participation in a range of projects within the Renfrewshire area 2. HR & Organisational Development - None 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is thriving – assisting private owners to participate in programmes to improve housing conditions, making Renfrewshire a great place to live Our Renfrewshire is well – improving housing conditions benefitting tenants and private owners. Addressing fuel poverty. Reshaping our place, our economy, and our future – investment in the refurbishment of social rented and private dwellings will create jobs and contribute to the economy. 4. Legal - None 5. Property/Assets – Improvements in the energy performance of both social rented and private dwellings 6. Information Technology - None 7. Equality & Human Rights (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - None 9. Procurement – Procurement of suppliers to deliver some elements of this programme of work. 10. Risk - None 11. Privacy Impact - None 12. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Risk – Projects will contribute to reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency of both social rented and private dwellings. _________________________________________________________ Page 153 of 154
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List of Background Papers (a) Report to Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 17 August 2021 – Home Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Programmes: 2020/21 Award of Funding (b) Report to Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 20 August 2020 – Home Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Programmes: 2020/21 Award of Funding (c) Report to Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 20 August 2019 – Home Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Programmes: 2019/20 (d) Report to Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 12 March 2019 – Home Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Programmes: 2019/20 The contact officer within the service is Louise Feely, Housing Asset and Investment Manager, 0141 618 6049, louise.feely@renfrewshire.gov.uk __________________________________________________________________ Page 154 of 154