The Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee met to discuss homelessness, temporary accommodation standards, and housing complaints. The committee reviewed evidence for the Scrutiny Review on Homelessness 2025-26, including a report on challenges finding face-to-face help with homelessness applications and a London School of Economics (LSE) report on temporary accommodation. Members also discussed surveying standards in council-owned temporary accommodation, the annual housing complaints report, and a quarterly review of housing performance.

Scrutiny Review on Homelessness 2025-26

The committee reviewed evidence for the Scrutiny Review on Homelessness 2025-26. This included:

• Homelessness Performance: Councillors reviewed the latest statistics on homelessness in Islington, including initial assessments, prevention and relief duties, and temporary accommodation usage.
• Challenges of Finding Face-to-Face Help: The committee considered the report, Closed Doors: The challenges of finding face-to-face help with homelessness applications, and the impact on hospitals in London by King’s College London. The report highlighted that many London local authorities no longer offer in-person services for homeless applications, which creates barriers for vulnerable individuals and increases pressure on hospital services. The report recommended reintroducing face-to-face appointments, setting clear timeframes for responding to inquiries, and creating dedicated communication channels between local authorities and hospitals.
• LSE Report into Temporary Accommodation: The committee discussed the findings of The temporary accommodation subsidy gap in London: Analysis and implications, an LSE London report, which evidenced the financial and social impact of the gap between expenditure on temporary accommodation (TA) by London local authorities and related income. The report noted that London accounts for 57% of English households in TA, and that 66% of London TA households have dependent children. The report recommended raising the TA Housing Benefit subsidy rate to current Local Housing Allowance¹ (LHA) rates, funding a crisis package for boroughs at risk of financial collapse, and providing capital funding for boroughs to build or acquire additional homes.

Surveying Standards in Council Owned Temporary Accommodation

The committee reviewed a report on surveying standards in council-owned temporary accommodation. As of July 2025, Islington Council had 1,736 households living in temporary accommodation, with 582 in ex-right to buy properties or council-owned Reception Centres. The Housing Needs Service conducted a survey of residents in these units to assess their views on support and accommodation standards.

Key findings from the 50 surveys returned (9% return rate) included:

• 72% of respondents said the temporary accommodation met or exceeded their expectations.
• 84% were happy with the support received from council officers.
• 62% found it very easy to report repairs.
• 72% said repairs were conducted promptly.
• 90% had never had to complain about the standards of their temporary accommodation.

The committee agreed to:

• Regularly refresh the survey to ensure standards are maintained and issues are addressed.
• Merge the survey with a Homeless Link review on customer focus groups for homeless households to develop an improvement plan.
• Facilitate a service user engagement event regarding standards in buyback temporary accommodation.
• Improve the ease of reporting repairs for households in council-owned temporary accommodation.

Annual Housing Complaints Report

The committee considered the Annual Housing Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report for 2024/25. The report highlighted that the council lacked a corporate approach to complaints prior to 2023, with fragmented management and unreliable performance data. The GovMetric Casetracker system was implemented in January 2024 to improve complaints management, but its initial setup focused on operational decisions rather than data and reporting needs.

Key performance data from 2024/25 included:

• 1,807 stage one complaints were received for housing, with an average response time of 17 working days.
• 35% of stage one complaints were responded to within 15 working days.
• Delays in repairs were the top reason for complaints.
• 445 stage one complaints were escalated to stage two, with 92.8% acknowledged within 5 working days and responded to within 20 working days.
• The Housing Ombudsman determined 89 complaints, with 144 findings of maladministration.
• The overall maladministration rate was 75%, an improvement from 82% the previous year.

The report also detailed several corporate and local initiatives to improve complaints management, including a review of open complaints, a corporate improvement plan, enhanced staff training, and website improvements.

Quarterly Review of Housing Performance (Q1 2025/26)

The committee reviewed the Quarter 1 Performance Report for 2025/26, which tracked progress against key indicators related to homes and neighbourhoods. The report included data on tenancy satisfaction measures (TSM) and other housing performance metrics.

Key performance highlights included:

• 5% of homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard, benchmarking in the upper London quartile.
• 79% of non-emergency repairs were completed within the target timescale, similar to the London median.
• 96% of emergency repairs were completed within the target timescale, above the London median.
• Building safety measures (gas, fire, asbestos, water) were generally in line with or better than the London median.
• The number of households in temporary accommodation was 17 per 1,000, lower than the London average.
• The number of people sleeping rough was 16, lower than the previous year.
• 85% of repairs were fixed first time, hitting the target.
• Rent arrears as a proportion of rent roll was 4.6%.

The report also noted improvements in complaint handling, with a decrease in stage one complaints and a high percentage of stage two complaints responded to within timescales.

Work Programme 2025/26

The committee reviewed its work programme for 2025/26, which included upcoming discussions on housing associations, homelessness data, service charges, asbestos complaints, tenant satisfaction measures, and tenant management organisation (TMO) performance.