The Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to discuss the draft Hackney Housing Strategy 2025-40, recent scrutiny reports, and the commission's work programme for the 2024/25 municipal year. The meeting was also set to review actions from previous meetings. The commission was expected to focus on affordable housing delivery, private sector housing, and supported housing and living.

Hackney Housing Strategy 2025-40

The commission was scheduled to discuss the progress of the new Hackney Housing Strategy 2025-40, ahead of its planned adoption later in the year. The report pack included a presentation from Housing Policy & Strategy, the Hackney Housing Strategy Position Statement 2024/25, and the Hackney Private Sector Housing Strategy 2025-30, including its delivery plan.

The Hackney Housing Strategy Position Statement 2024/25, which was included in the report pack, stated that it:

ensures that Hackney has a clear position on its housing priorities for 2024–25 and sets the context for the forthcoming 5-year Housing Strategy, due in 2025. It outlines how the Council will meet its housing needs and objectives ahead of the publication of the new 5-year strategy in 2025, as well as the Council’s key achievements since the publication of the previous Housing Strategy.

The position statement covered:

• Housing Services and Council Homes
• Affordable Housing and Regeneration
• Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation
• Private Sector Housing and Housing Association Partnerships
• Supported Housing and Supported Living
• Housing Design and Sustainability
• Places and Communities

The report pack noted that Hackney faces challenges including social housing regulation, the Renters Reform Bill, high interest rates, rising homelessness, inflation, and the refugee and migrant crisis. It also noted that Hackney is the 2nd most deprived borough across London.

The report pack stated that Hackney needs 3,342 affordable dwellings each year, but is only delivering 1,780. The average waiting time for a one-bedroom property is three years, but for a five-bedroom property it is 39 years.

The report pack also included the Hackney Private Sector Housing Strategy 2025-30, which set out how the council planned to support the improvement of housing and management standards in the private sector.

The strategy had four key themes:

1. Improving property and management standards in the Private Rented Sector
2. Increasing the supply and access to good quality, well managed, affordable homes in the Private Rented Sector
3. Ensuring that housing standards and living conditions in the sector contribute towards better health outcomes for all
4. Ensuring that Hackney is a place where people want to live and are proud to live

The report pack stated that the council planned to consult on proposals to introduce additional and selective licensing for the private rented sector across Hackney.

Scrutiny Reports, Letters and Responses

The commission was scheduled to review recent reports and letters made by the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission, outlining recent findings and recommendations for improvement. The report pack also included any responses received from the Executive or external partners to the Commission’s recommendations and/or suggestions for improvement. The report pack noted that the commission had not finalised any reports or letters or received any responses to their work since the last formal meeting.

Actions Tracker 2024/25

The Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission’s actions tracker was included in the report pack. The tracker brings together the agreed actions and information requests from previous meetings of the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission and any subsequent action, outcome and result.

Items listed on the tracker included:

• An update on the timescales for the delivery of the new approach to the Safer Schools Partnership, the scope of engagement with parents and young people.
• An update on the local approach to improving the treatment of and response to women and girls when they are in contact with the police in Hackney.
• An update on the engagement and communications activities being undertaken to address the perception of crime.
• A response to follow up questions on Hackney Prevent, and Violence Against Women & Girls.
• A response to follow up questions on CCTV and Surveillance.
• What other services are engaged to support residents in the event of a lift breaking in an estate block.
• What mechanisms are in place to hold contractors to account for poor performance, and financial penalties imposed or contracts terminated where necessary.
• What are those service level agreements (SLAs) in place for follow up inspections after a surveyor has visited a property.
• For the expected inspection wait times for each different type of repair jobs (e.g. damp and mould, plumbing leaks, gas, pipes and boilers, heating systems, toilets, baths and sinks etc) to be shared with residents and local councillors.
• What types of issues fall into different priority categories and, in practice, what is the prioritisation process for emergency calls coming into the contact centre.
• Does the Cabinet Member feel the council has sufficient funds to address repair backlogs and ever increasing demands in respect of capital (including retrofit), maintenance and general repairs over the next few years, or does he foresee us having to ask for a bailout from the government too.

Living in Hackney Work Programme 2024/25

The report pack included the work programme for the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission for the 2024/25 municipal year.

Items listed on the work programme included:

• The Council’s approach to the long-term viability and future use of community halls.
• The challenges and opportunities in developing supported accommodation in regards to housing strategy, housing delivery and strategic property.
• The Council’s progress against the key priorities of the Parks & Green Spaces Strategy 2021-31.
• An update on the Council’s progression delivering the Green Infrastructure Strategy 2023-30 & Biodiversity Recovery Plan 2023-30, and plans to develop a Local Urban Forest Plan.
• The local Safer Schools Partnership arrangements given the recent Met Police review into the role of Safer Schools Officers to ensure their deployment harboured no disproportionate impact on Black students.
• The implementation of the agreed recommendations made by the Living in Hackney and Children & Young People Scrutiny Commission following their work on housing support for care leavers in 2021/22.
• The North West London Waste Authority and Constituent Boroughs Joint Waste Strategy 2024-42.
• The impact of recent changes made to the Council’s domestic waste and recycling collection service.
• Work to improve trust and confidence in local policing.
• The progress made in addressing serious violence and gang violence.
• Housing Services’ approach to tenancy sustainment for council-managed homes.
• The performance of the Council’s housing repairs and maintenance service.
• Future plans for Hackney Carnival activities.
• The Council’s draft Housing Strategy 2025-30.