The South Holland District Council cabinet met to discuss the Q4 performance and risk reports, approve operational arrangements for energy efficiency grants, review housing performance, and adopt a new tenant engagement strategy. The cabinet approved East Lindsey District Council acting as the lead authority for the Warm Homes - Local Grant programme and adopted the Tenant Engagement and Influence Strategy 2025-2027.

Warm Homes - Local Grant and Energy Advice

The cabinet approved East Lindsey District Council acting as the lead authority and accountable body for the Warm Homes – Local Grant programme and the Home Energy Advice Service. This decision aims to provide continuity and consistency of grant support and energy advice across the sub-region.

The council was awarded £5.6 million for the next three-year programme, called Warm Homes – Local Grant. The report also sought to roll out the Home Energy Advice Service, piloted in East Lindsey, into South Holland for the next two years. A team of four energy advice officers, supported by the environmental charity PECT, would deliver the service alongside the mobile Energy and Retrofit Information Clinic (ERIC).

Members asked whether Warm Homes grants to private sector landlords would be means tested. Officers advised that a response to this question would be provided to members shortly. Officers also clarified that all staff administering the scheme were in-house and employed by ELDC, with staffing costs being cost-neutral as staff were funded by the grant they administered.

Housing Landlord Service Performance

The Cabinet reviewed the performance of the Housing Landlord Service, focusing on statutory compliance, damp, condensation and mould (DCM), responsive repairs and planned maintenance, and complaints performance.

The Housing Landlord Service maintained high levels of statutory compliance, with 100% of safety checks completed for asbestos, gas safety, legionella, fire safety risk assessments, and passenger lift safety in communal areas. However, 18 properties were outstanding for electrical safety checks due to access issues.

DCM remained a key priority, with over 700 reports responded to during the year. As of 31 March 2025, 44 repairs were overdue due to major works required or access issues.

13,329 responsive repairs were completed during the year, with 91.3% completed within the target timescale of 28 days. The average number of void days was 24.94, significantly better than the national average of 46.4.

The number of complaints received increased, reflecting a positive cultural shift toward transparency and tenant engagement. The council responded to 94.84% of stage 1 complaints and 100% of stage 2 complaints within the Housing Ombudsman Service timescales.

Tenant Engagement and Influence Strategy 2025-2027

The cabinet adopted the Tenant Engagement and Influence Strategy 2025-2027, which was shaped through extensive tenant engagement. The strategy reflects the voices of over 600 tenants and marks a significant step forward in ensuring tenants actively shape the services that matter to them.

The strategy outlines how tenants can get involved and have their voices heard, the council's commitments to tenant engagement and influence, and how tenant voices will feed into existing governance mechanisms. It also details how the council will monitor the success of the strategy and share the difference tenant's voices make.

Q4 Performance Report 24-25

The Cabinet considered the Q4 Performance Report 24-25, which provided an update on how the Council was performing for the period 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025.

The report highlighted areas of under-performance, including the percentage of household waste collected for recycling and composting, the percentage of corporate complaints responded to within corporately set timescales, the percentage of subject requests responded to within statutory timescales, and the average answer rate for Revenues & Benefits.

Members of the Performance Monitoring Panel requested that the 'Council run stall occupancy levels' trend indicator be a target rather than a trend. They also asked for further information regarding why the 'household waste collected for recycling and composting' indicator had been consistently underperforming.

Q3 Risk Report 24-25

The Cabinet considered the Q3 Risk Report 24-25, which provided an update on the Council's strategic risks.

The report detailed the key risks that the council is exposed to, the actions being taken to mitigate those risks, and an up-to-date assessment of their likelihood and impact. The risks covered a range of areas, including failure to meet statutory requirements in regard to general fund assets, external communication, retention of staff, service delivery, technology infrastructure failure, internal communications, and cyber incidents.

Members noted that this was a new report, bringing Quarterly Risk reporting to Cabinet for consideration, in the same way that Quarterly Performance was reported. They also commented that the information within the tables at Appendices A and B was very difficult to read due to the small font size.