Memorandum from Westminster City Council (BDH 28)

 

 

1. Executive Summary

 

1.1 The Decent Homes target is a welcome starting point to improving housing conditions nationally. However, the definition is open to interpretation and does not make allowance for the needs of tenants living in flatted accommodation with communal facilities.

 

1.2 Having met the decent homes standard in 2006, in Westminster we have worked with our residents to develop a beyond decent homes standard which CityWest Homes (CWH), is now rolling out across the stock. This is known as the CityWest Homes Standard. The CityWest Homes Standard reflects changes in resident expectations since the introduction of Decent Homes. The standard includes environmental and communal works. CWH has brought 29% of the stock up to the CityWest Homes Standard.

 

1.3 Long term funding certainty and greater flexibility would encourage closer integration of post decent homes programmes with other initiatives and help to achieve wider sustainable communities and renewal objectives.

 

1.4 Detailed below is our very positive experience of delivering the decent homes standard through an ALMO in central London, our views on beyond decency and our concerns over funding. We also detail some innovative projects we are developing, which are examples of how the decent homes standard can be evolved in partnership with residents.

 

 

2. Introduction

 

 

2.1 CityWest Homes was established by Westminster City Council in April 2002 to manage its housing stock. The ALMO was inspected by the Audit Commission in October 2002 and June 2006 and was rated as providing an excellent three star service with excellent prospects for improvement both times. CityWest Homes is unique in service delivery as a majority its services are provided through partnering contract arrangements.

 

2.2 Westminster owns a housing stock of approximately 22,000 properties of which 58% is tenanted and 42% occupied by leaseholders.

 

2.3 Considerable experience has been gained, not least in the areas of:

· The benefits of an ALMO in delivering Decent Homes with greater resident involvement.

· Working in an inner city environment.

· Refurbishing stock where 90% of the properties are flats.

· Delivering a Decent Homes programme where lessees occupy nearly half of the properties.

· Partnering arrangements.

· Funding issues and works costs.

· Linking to other Council and external agency initiatives.

 

2.4 Westminster City Council and CityWest Homes are working together to deliver beyond decent standards across all the stock. Our particular concern is being able to fund the Programme fully through the Housing Revenue Account, now that the Programme has been agreed with residents.

 

2.5 We have recently embarked on a new Build Programme which we feel will alleviate some of the pressures we experience locally in terms of homelessness and overcrowding. We have ambitious plans to fully regenerate some of our estates most in need of investment, with particular focus on enhancing the range of tenure options available to tenants, tackling overcrowding and promoting work.

 

3. Addressing Decent Homes backlog

 

3.1 We feel strongly that the Decent Homes Standard should be the minimum criteria to measure housing conditions. We are concerned that efforts to address the national backlog in the Decent Homes programme will not be favourable to authorities such as ourselves which currently meet the decent standard. We have over 5,000 properties that will become non decent between now and 2011 and for which will require funding to address this matter.

 

3.2 We are also aware that although nationally it is now recognised that the Major Repairs Allowance is 40-60% less than required, but Government proposals are for only a 23% increase. This funding is crucial to the delivery of our beyond decent programme.

 

4. Lessons Learnt from the Decent Homes Programme

 

4.1 The opportunity to create an ALMO has proved successful for the Westminster City Council bringing residents closer to the decision making process, improving our stock and enhancing customer satisfaction.

 

4.2 Resident consultation has a strong history in Westminster with over 80 active residents associations, 14 Tenant Management Organisations and a coordinating Housing Panel that the Council consults with, ALMO and other relevant agencies.

 

4.3 Residents were core to the delivery of our decent homes Programme and helped us develop the CityWest Homes Standard. Since the completion of the Decent Homes Programme there has been clear evidence of an increase in tenant satisfaction.

 

4.4 During delivery of the Decent Homes programme, we found that partnership contracting arrangements assisted CWH in developing a range of core suppliers. This led to the negotiation of improved prices, standardisation of products, increased levels of quality and performance, better maintenance of goods and a more responsive supplier base.

 

 

 

 

5. Minimum Acceptable social housing standards

 

5.1 Minimum acceptable social housing standards should be amended to take into account environmental standards, fuel poverty and broader neighbourhood environment. We would advocate that this is across all tenures.

 

5.2 The CityWest Homes Standard includes environmental and communal works. Residents involved in the CityWest Homes Standard consultation expressed interest in improving energy efficiency, recycling, and organic waste disposal and were interested in improvements to the estate. These are covered in the CityWest Homes Standard and include bin stores, fencing, boundary walls and estate roads.

5.3 The target for carbon reduction in the UK is 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. To meet this target it will be necessary to incorporate environmental standards. CWH has set a minimum SAP rating in the CityWest Homes Standard to reduce the number of homes in fuel poverty. However, the fuel poverty standard may be difficult to implement as it is out of the control of the Council and is dependent on fuel prices and residents' incomes.

 

5.4 In Westminster, we have proudly achieved a SAP rating of 86 across our stock which is one of the highest national ratings. We will be launching a Fuel Poverty Advice line this Autumn.

 

6. Management Organisations and Funding

 

6.1 It is clear that once an ALMO has achieved decent homes, its role will need to evolve. At Westminster, we are aware of the challenges that CWH will face in terms of delivering within a tight financial regime and ensuring it focuses on its core competencies. However, there are opportunities to broaden the ALMO role and the Council is working with CWH to develop a Regeneration Programme which will include transforming estates and new build.

 

6.2 We believe that ALMOs core strengths are as housing and asset management organisations, not as developers. However, the Council sees CWH as a crucial partner in the delivery of new build and regeneration programmes, using its skills and experience in areas like procurement, supply chain management, major works, housing management and community development.

 

 

 

7. Decent Homes Standard and the devolved system of council housing finance

 

7.1 We are considering the options presented within the HRA review and will be submitting a detailed response in due course. We believe that the Decent Homes Standard should be a minimum aspiration and we welcome proposals to expand the standard to take account of common areas, lifts and some environmental works, previously excluded.

 

7.2 The new system for Council housing finance will need to take account of the main cost drivers in the housing system and must reflect real costs. The new system must meet the needs of the housing stock and the expectations of tenants, enabling beyond decent homes works to be carried out. Most importantly the system must give Councils control over their own HRA. This would give certainty the ability to plan and deliver an efficient forward capital programme.

 

8. Decent Homes Standard, private sector homes and vulnerable people

 

8.1 Westminster has met the Public Service Agreement target which states that 70% of vulnerable people should to be in homes that are up to the decent homes standard. We propose that the target should be revised and included in any new definition of decent homes.

 

9. Future regulation of minimum acceptable housing standards

 

9.1 Currently CWH and Westminster report quarterly to the Homes and Communities Agency with decent homes returns. CWH has been audited on decent homes returns regularly by the Audit Commission. In the future we expect this to continue and have set up systems to monitor different building elements. This will make adaptations to the minimum acceptable housing standards manageable in the future.

 

9.3 The council believes that the crowding and space provisions within the HHSRS should not be also applied to the decent homes standard. While other 'category 1' hazards are valid inclusions, incorporating crowding and space has the effect, in an area like Westminster, of classifying many homes as 'non-decent' without any hope of rectifying the deficiency given the type of housing stock we have. While the properties would meet all other decent homes criteria, overcrowding is not a property feature that is easily rectified like replacing a kitchen or bathroom or installing double glazed windows.

 

 

10. Local examples of innovative best practice with wider post-2010 applicability

 

10.1 The CWH Standard was developed in consultation with residents. Our aim is to bring all our properties up to this standard by 2012. The new standard enables us to keep the stock in good condition and carry out works that go beyond the Decent Homes Standard and where possible meets resident's expectations.

 

10.2 We aim to meet residents' expectations and continuously work with them to review the programme and change it when necessary.

 

10.3 The standard has been set out under 5 main headings:

· In Flat

· Block

· Estate

· Security

· Green Initiatives.

 

10.3.1 In Flat

The Government's Decent Homes Standard is the base standard on which the CWH Standard has been constructed. It includes current Health and Housing legislation that sets a minimum comfort standard for homes to be wind and weather tight, have modern facilities and efficient heating and free from hazards. The works include kitchens, bathrooms, central heating, electrical wiring, secure front doors and replacement of worn out windows and roofs.

 

The CWH Standard also includes a standard regarding Fire Safety. All tenanted homes are to have one hard-wired smoke detector on each floor. Also all smoke detectors/alarms are to be inspected and tested annually under the Planned Preventative Repairs contract. In light of recent events in relation to fire safety and blocks of flats we feel particularly strongly about this being included in a beyond decency standard.

 

10.3.2 Blocks

Additional elements above the decent homes standard include:

· Decoration (Communal and external)

· Communal Lighting

· Walls

· Flooring

· Fire Safety

· Lifts

· Digital TV

· Door entry (if possible)

 

10.3.3 Estate

Included in the CWH standard are Bin Stores, fencing, boundary walls, security and estate roads.

 

10.3.4 Security

Improvements to blocks and estates will be prioritised using:

§ Levels of reported crime and anti-social behaviour.

§ Identified hot spots and urgent projects.

§ Housing data on levels of nuisance and cost of vandalism.

§ Levels of deprivation.

§ Recognised historic commitment.

 

10.3.5 Green Initiatives

Green Initiatives encompass improved SAP ratings, energy management and improvements to communal heating systems. All of these aim to reduce energy consumption and retain Westminster's position as the top performing authority on energy efficiency in London.

 

Improvement to energy efficiency will help those groups who spend a significant proportion of their time at home, including the elderly, disabled and house wife/husbands.

 

11. Conclusion

 

Pressures on the Housing Revenue Account have made the delivery of beyond decent homes standards challenging. While we been successful in attracting grant funding there is still a lack of funding for some areas of our programme. Pooling these resources together and directly allocating these sums to ALMOs and Councils would allow better long term planning of these measures.

 

Overall Westminster's experience of delivery of the Decent Homes Standard has been a positive one which has significantly enhanced tenant satisfaction.

 

The ALMO model has allowed the Council to focus on housing strategy, enabling CityWest Homes to focus on core delivery of housing management, major works and resident engagement. We have developed strong working relationships between the Council and ALMO. However, ALMOs need a clear role beyond delivery of decent homes. This role may change as residents needs change.

 

To enable us to deliver our ambitious aspirations for housing in Westminster, we need a more stable and adequately resourced financial regime.

 

September 2009