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RESOLVED:
 
1. 
The proposal to establish the Housing Advisory Panel
was approved.
2. 
The draft terms of reference for the panel, including
quarterly reporting to Cabinet, were approved.
3. 
The principle of remunerating the non-Council panel
members was approved.
 
REASONS FOR DECISION
 
To approve the proposed establishment of
an Housing Advisory Panel to strengthen
the overall governance of the housing landlord service and provide
Cabinet with the assurance it needs that the social landlord
service is delivering a quality service to its residents.
 
The Housing Advisory Panel will comprise up to
three independent members from within the social housing sector
enabling the focus of the panel to be on the technical elements of
the delivery of the service, where the panel members bring their
professional expertise to the table to challenge the service. The
panel will be chaired by one of the sector professionals and all
meetings will be attended by the Cabinet Member for Housing
Management and Regeneration and Directors from the Housing Service.
In accordance with the Regulator of Social Housing’s
Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, a key role of
the Housing Advisory Panel will be to advise the Council on the
most appropriate route to ensure that residents are able to
effectively influence and participate in decision making for the
service. This includes the ability to co-opt residents to the panel
as required.
 
To ensure the independence of the panel,
professional members would not be able to work for, or hold a
position with a partner of the Council, or a contractor of the
Council. Any tenants and leaseholders who are co-opted to the
panel, would not be able to hold a position within the existing
resident engagement structures, i.e. Tenant and Resident
Association (TRA), Housing Scrutiny Panel, Area Panel or the
Resident Liaison Group (RLG).
 
It is critically important to the success of
the panel that we attract the right individuals. It is therefore
proposed that the members of the panel are remunerated, the exact
detail of the level of remuneration will be determined following a
review of the market.
 
It is proposed that a quarterly advisory
report would be prepared by the chair of the panel which sets out
how the service is delivering against key performance measures
(including compliance with the RSH Consumer Standards) and delivery
against improvement actions set out in the housing improvement
plan. The report would be submitted to Cabinet on a quarterly basis
and Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission twice a year. 
 
DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND
REJECTED
 
Do nothing - doing nothing is
not an option as this would not be in keeping with the requirements
of the new regulatory standard, the expectation of the RSH in
respect of assurance or most importantly our tenants. 
 
Establish an advisory panel
comprised only of elected members - this option is not deemed
to be viable as elected members would not be able to provide the
necessary technical challenge required. 
 
A key finding from the critical friend review
into our preparedness for the new regulatory environment and our
ongoing engagement with the RSH following our self-referral, is
that the existing governance arrangements are not delivering the
level of assurance that the regulator would expect to
see.  While this approach would add
another layer of governance, it could be argued that it is more of
the same. 
 
Establish an advisory panel
comprised of independent members and tenants & residents -
an advisory panel that brings together social housing professionals
with tenants and leaseholders would provide the external and
professional challenge to ensure that the Council assures itself
that the service is delivering. 
 
Independent members from the social housing
sector would be able to bring their professional expertise to the
table to challenge the service. Including tenants and leaseholders
on the panel would also ensure that the residents voice is at the
heart of the challenge to the service and its delivery.
 
However, a key element of the decision making
and governance structure of the Council, elected Councillors, are
not involved in this approach.