NOTTINGHAM CITY HOMES LIMITED GOVERNING BOARD MEETING Date:

THURSDAY 26 MAY 2016

Time:

5:30 PM

Place:

GREENWAY CENTRE, TRENT LANE, SNEINTON, NOTTINGHAM. NG2 4DF

Directors of the Board are requested to attend the above meeting on the date and at the time and place stated to transact the following business:

George Pashley Company Secretary

AGENDA 1.

Page No.

Time

5.30

INTRODUCTORY ITEMS 1.1

WELCOME

-

1.2

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

-

1.3

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

-

1.4

ITEMS FROM THE CHAIR

-

1.5

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 28 APRIL 2016

1.6

MATTERS ARISING

2.

Attached

3-8

5.35

Attached

9-11

5.40

GOVERNANCE 2.1

3.

COMPANY SECRETARY’S REPORT Report of the Company Secretary STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP

3.1

GROUP TENANCY SUSTAINMENT STRATEGY 2016-2019 Report of the Assistant Director of Housing Operations

Attached

12-55

5.50

3.2

GROUP CUSTOMER SERVICES STRATEGY 2016-2019 Report of the Head of Customer Experience

Attached

56-79

6.00

3.3

SOCIAL HOUSING EQUALITY FRAMEWORK (SHEF) INSPECTION OUTCOME Report of the Company Secretary

Attached

80-91 6.10

3.4

HOUSING AND PLANNING ACT 2016 REPORT Report of the Strategy and Research Manager

Attached

92-101 6.20

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4.

FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE MONITORING 4.1

5.

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT 2015-2016 Report of the Performance Manager, Business Improvement and Development

Attached

102-116 6.30

ITEMS FOR NOTING 5.1

6.

FEEDBACK FROM AUDIT COMMITTEE

6.40

CLOSING ITEMS 6.1

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

6.2

DATE OF NEXT MEETING Thursday 30 June 2016 at Mary Potter Centre, Hyson Green.

7.

CONFIDENTIAL 7.1

CONFIDENTIAL MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 28 APRIL 2016

7.2

MATTERS ARISING

Attached 117-122

6.50 6.50

Members wishing to raise matters under Any Other Business should note that items will only be accepted if referred to and agreed by the Chair of the Board prior to commencement of the Meeting. Members wishing to submit their apologies should do so by contacting the Company Secretariat on 0115 746 9485. This agenda was issued by email on 19 May 2016

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ITEM:1.5 THE BOARD 26 MAY 2016 NOTTINGHAM CITY HOMES LIMITED THE BOARD MINUTES of the PUBLIC MEETING held on 28 APRIL 2016 at Sheila Roper Centre, Baslow Drive, Lenton Abbey, Nottingham, NG9 2SU Board Members Alex Ball Dave Bennett-Bull (Chair) Bill Blincoe (from agenda item 1.5) Scott Campbell Anne Dean Victor Haven Patience Ifediora (from agenda item 1.3) Mike Khouri-Bent Julian Owen Trish Nixon (from agenda item 1.4) Sarita-Marie Rehman-Wall (from agenda item 1.5) Steve Young Also in Attendance: Emily Braham (for Item 1.2) Cathy Dobb Chris Culleton Steve Hale Rebecca Hart (for item 4.4) Gill Moy Nick Murphy George Pashley Jonathan Shaw

Head of Sustainable Energy Head of Governance Director of Repair and Maintenance Director of Property Services Women in Construction Officer Head of Housing and Customer Services Chief Executive Company Secretary Director of Investment and Business Service

1.

WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS & CHAIR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

1.1

Chair opened the meeting and welcomed Board Members.

1.2

The Chair introduced Emily Braham, Head of Sustainable Energy, who gave a presentation on the Energy Team’s work, and NCH’s External Wall Insulation Projects.

1.2.1

A new energy team was created last year, to lead on energy, sustainability and fuel poverty. The energy team cuts across all Nottingham City Homes (NCH) goals. Fuel poverty is a significant threat to our customers, and the work we do can save lots of money for tenants, as well as making an impact on our neighbourhoods. The team also aims to generate new income for NCH through

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bringing in grant funding and delivering work to private customers. 1.2.2

The team has launched an environmental E Learning module and Board Members are invited to take the course. Commitment to environmental matters throughout the organisation helps to improve NCH’s SHIFT and ISO14001 accreditations.

1.2.3

The PlugIn Project has saved enough water to supply 24 homes. Our Decent Homes specification now includes water saving fittings. The Team have received funding from Nottingham City Council (NCC) to implement the Grow Your Own Christmas Dinner which encourages tenants to grown their own vegetables.

1.2.4

Fuel poverty affects 14% of homes in Nottingham. It causes cold and damp homes, which can lead to many adverse impacts on health.

1.2.5

The fuel poverty officer is training front line staff to spot signs of fuel poverty and so far 87 front line staff have received training and are now able to give basic advice to tenants and to refer where necessary. The first two tenant Community Energy Champions have now received training enabling them to reach out to the wider community.

1.2.6

People are in fuel poverty if they have a low income and high costs. They have high costs because their properties are not energy efficient. As a social housing provider, we can have an impact on the latter, and ensure homes are energy efficient. Energy efficiency projects are delivered under the Greener HousING brand which is joint project with NCC.

1.2.7

Solid wall insulation saves a household up to £400 pa. NCH has already undertaken the majority of cheaper measures; roof insulation, new windows and doors and cavity wall insulation. However lots of solid wall properties remain uninsulated and large amounts of heat (35%) is lost through walls. Since 2013 NCH has insulated more than 3000 solid wall homes cross tenure.

1.2.8

The current projects have gained national recognition as best practice in the delivery of energy efficiency projects. The Bonfield Review visited Lenton Abbey in April. The Prime Ministers special advisor also visited Nottingham.

1.2.9

The Head of Sustainable Energy confirmed that the cost per semi house for external insulation in Windmill Lane was projected at £7.5k but has come in just over £6k. This was due to the project being procured on quality rather than price, and this led to the contractor working in a better way which meant fewer delays and no additional variations, which in turn meant a lower cost. Green Deal Communities target of 1360 homes has been successfully delivered. The next phase of the project will include Aspley, Windmill Lane, Woodthorpe and Winchester, Colwick Wood Court, and the introduction of Smart Metering by 2020.

1.2.10 The services are also available at a price to non-tenants. Private residents can take advantage of NCH’s lower rates. NCH has currently completed around 1500 private homes. It has cost between £1,200 to £2,500 per private

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household with the remaining cost being paid through funding which has been available to date. 1.2.11 The REMOURBAN EU project in Windmill Lane includes extending the district heating scheme, which burns waste for heat rather than sending it to land fill. The residual heat from the high temperature heating used in Bentinck, Manvers and Kingston Court will be used to heat the low-rise. This could enable NCC to roll out domestic heating to more houses. 1.2.12 There are 3000 homes left to complete and the in-house team will be doing 100 a year. The Chief Executive stated that there was also a joint programme with NCC with installing solar panels and another roll out has just completed 1000 homes and they are now looking at how to take it forward. The Head of Sustainable Energy is due to start work on an environmental strategy in the near future and this strategy will be presented to Board. The Chair thanked the team for their work. 1.3

The Chief Executive introduced Angela Stanton, who was Tenant of the Year in 2014 and who has also benefited from the External Wall Insulation Scheme. Angela stated that when they were looking for a pilot project, she was keen to be involved. Tenants could feel the difference very quickly, and tenants have said that since October, they have saved £60 already.

1.3.1

NCH is working with the Sheila Roper Centre to refurbish the facility. The centre will have new doors, and windows, lighting, flooring, disabled access, Wi-Fi, and will be decorated. The outside will also be improved with cladding. The Tenant Academy will also be coming to the Sheila Roper Centre and it is hoped that the community will access the centre more.

1.3.2

The Chair stated he would like to share Angela’s thoughts and comments in the NCH Newsletter and to include comments from neighbours also.

2.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from Glenn Harris MBE and Janet Storar MBE.

3.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None declared.

4.

ITEMS FROM THE CHAIR

4.1

The Board wished Janet a speedy recovery.

4.2

This was Steve Hale’s last Board Meeting and the Board wished to give a big thank you to Steve for all he has done and achieved over the years.

4.3

Chris Culleton was introduced to the Board as the Interim Director of Repairs and Maintenance. The Board introduced themselves to Chris Culleton.

4.4

Nottingham City Homes achieved the UK Housing Award for Outstanding

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Approach to Leadership and Diversity for our Women in Construction scheme. The award was presented to Rebecca Hart, Women in Construction Officer. Rebecca also informed the Board that today was the second year running of Bring your Child to Work Day. 53 employees and children joined NCH and this year was an even bigger event than last year. 5.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 31 MARCH 2016 These were agreed as a true record. The Chair signed the minutes.

6.

MATTERS ARISING

6.1

Victor Haven was requested to forward notes from the National Housing Federation Board Member Conference held in London on the 5 and 6 February. Victor confirmed that these will be emailed to all Board Members by Monday 2 May 2016.

7.

COMPANY SECRETARY’S REPORT

7.1

NOTTINGHAM CITY HOMES REGISTERED PROVIDER UPDATE

7.1.1

The Company Secretary introduced the report by stating that the detailed application for registration of the Registered Provider subsidiary was submitted to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) on 13 April 2016. The HCA advises that it takes a minimum of three months from the time that an applicant submits the detailed application for the regulator to have assurance that the applicant has demonstrated whether it meets the registration criteria. We are expecting that the HCA will request additional information as part of this process. RESOLUTION: The Board agreed: 1. To note the submission of the detailed application for the Registered Provider subsidiary.

7.2

REGISTER OF PEOPLE OF SIGNIFICANT CONTROL

7.2.1

The Company Secretary stated that there is a new legal requirement for Companies to maintain a Register of People of Significant Control (PSC) which is contained in a revised Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006, as amended by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The requirement is effective from 6 April 2016. The register should be an accurate record of persons with significant control over the company. Individuals who hold significant control over a company are referred to as PSCs.

7.2.2

Under the Act certain bodies are deemed “individuals” for the purposes of the PSC Register. This list includes “local authorities” and so for the purpose of the register a local authority is treated as a PSC. NCH’s register will therefore reflect that the PSC will be Nottingham City Council, Loxley House, Station Street, NG2

6

3NJ, Local Authority of England and Wales. 7.2.3

Board sought assurance that advice had been obtained on the definition of a PSC. The Company Secretary confirmed that both internal and external advice was sought and the Chief Executive also had correspondence from an external legal practice which supports NCC being the sole PSC on the register. RESOLUTIONS: The Board agreed: 1. To note the requirement for NCH to maintain a Register of People of Significant Control.

7.3

USE OF COMPANY SEAL

7.3.1

The Company Secretary explained that the Seal was affixed on the 30 March 2016 for the purchase of 83 Ransom Road, St Anns, NG3 3LH for £75,000.

7.3.2

The Seal was also affixed on 30 March 2016 to the Intra-Group Agreement between Nottingham City Homes, Nottingham City Homes Registered Provider Limited and Nottingham City Homes Enterprises Limited.

7.3.3

The Seal was again affixed on the 31 March 2016 for the purchase of 50 Marham Close, Nottingham, NG2 4GR for £108,500. RESOLUTION: The Board agreed: 1. To note the use of the Company Seal.

7.4

REGISTERED PROVIDER SHADOW BOARD MEETING DATES

7.4.1

The Company Secretary stated that as the Registered Provider application has now been submitted, it is likely that the requirement for the Registered Provider Shadow Board to meet on a monthly basis is no longer required for the time being. It was therefore proposed to hold the next meeting of the Registered Provider Shadow Board when there has been an update from the Homes and Communities Agency on the application. RESOLUTION: The Board agreed: 1. The next meeting date for the Registered Provider Shadow Board will be convened when there is an update available. 2. To consider the future meeting schedule for the Registered Provider Shadow Board.

7.5

CHAIR APPOINTMENT PROCESS UPDATE

7.5.1

The Company Secretary stated that Board Members were recently issued with an updated Chair of the Board Job Description that had been reviewed by the

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current Chair of the Board. He stated that Board Members who are interested in submitting a Letter of Application for the position of Chair of the Board are asked to include in their letter how they best match the job description and competencies of the role that are contained in the job description. 7.5.2

Board Members were reminded that the following timetable will be implemented: • • •

7.5.3

Current Board Members submit a Letter of Application for the position of Chair by the week commencing 16 May 2016. Interviews to take place week commencing 23 May 2016. Elections of suitable candidates to commence / external advertising of Chair position week commencing 6 June 2016.

The Chair encouraged all Board Members to consider applying for the post and to speak to the Company Secretary if they are unsure if the post was for them. RESOLUTION: The Board agreed: 1. To note the update on the process of appointing a Chair of the Board.

8.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

8.1

Anne Dean fed back on the National Federation Conference of ALMOs on 19 and 20 April in Birmingham, she stated that over all the conference was well attended – NCH were ahead of the game of the issues raised. The Impact of Universal Credit seems to have been underestimated. There was also a discussion on health and the NHS, Assistive technology how it aids our tenants.

9.

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING The Board agreed that date of the next scheduled meeting was on the 26 May 2016 at the Greenway Centre, Trent Lane, Sneinton, Nottingham. NG2 4DF

The meeting closed at 18.25

SIGNED…………………………………………………… DATE …………………….. Return to Agenda

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