The Housing and Communities Select Committee met on Tuesday 16 June 2026 to review the annual performance of the Housing Management and Needs departments, as well as the Communities and Culture department. The committee also discussed the proposed selection process for the Voluntary Sector Support Fund for 2027-30 and began planning its work programme for the upcoming municipal year.

Annual Performance Information for Housing Management and Needs

The committee was scheduled to consider the Housing Management and Needs Performance Report for 2025-2026. This report detailed the performance metrics for key service areas, including electrical and gas safety, fire safety, repairs, estate services, complaints handling, and contact centre operations. It also covered rent collection, anti-social behaviour, safeguarding, domestic abuse, and void properties. The report included Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) figures from 2023 to 2025, benchmarking performance against other London local authority landlords.

For Housing Needs, the report was set to cover performance in homelessness prevention, relief duty, and the number of households in temporary accommodation. It also detailed performance in temporary accommodation voids, housing needs allocations, and current and former tenant debt. Compliance figures for various housing standards were also to be presented.

The report recommended that the committee acknowledge the overall Red-Amber-Green rating for all performance metrics and consider the contents of the report to make any relevant recommendations. It was also suggested that the committee receive this report on a quarterly basis.

Communities Key Performance Information

This agenda item focused on scrutinising the 2025/26 annual performance of the Communities and Culture department, specifically the Consultation and Participation and Community Partnerships teams. The report provided performance information for these teams, highlighting the effectiveness in meeting the council's priorities and statutory obligations.

Key areas of discussion were expected to include the Voluntary Sector Support Fund (VSSF), with data on the demographic makeup of service users and feedback from beneficiaries of the Grenfell Projects Fund. The report also detailed the performance of the City Living Local Life scheme, including the number of applications received, funding awarded, and the impact of projects on community engagement, support for vulnerable groups, and wellbeing. Information, Advice, and Guidance (IAG) services performance was also to be reviewed, including the number of service users supported and the value of income gained through welfare benefit claims and charitable support.

The report indicated that the committee was invited to scrutinise the performance data and make recommendations.

Voluntary Sector Support Fund 2027-30

The committee was asked to review the proposed selection process for the Voluntary Sector Support Fund (VSSF) for the 2027-30 period. The report outlined the due diligence, assessment, and selection stages, including the use of an expression of interest phase followed by a full application process. A panel, composed of council officers from different departments, was to discuss and score applications, leading to the final selection of organisations to receive core funding.

The committee was asked to comment on whether the proposed processes were robust and fair, and to consider any priorities or points of importance for the borough. The report detailed the timeline for the VSSF programme, from late 2025 through to October 2026, when a Key Decision would be published regarding award recommendations. The process included stages for due diligence, assessment of expressions of interest and full applications, moderation, officer panels, and final recommendations.

Work Programme Discussion

This item involved a discussion to assist members in developing the Annual Scrutiny Work Programme for 2026-27. The report set out the principles of effective scrutiny and work programme criteria, detailing the services within the Housing and Communities Select Committee's terms of reference and opportunities for scrutiny involvement in upcoming policies and projects.

Suggested topics for the work programme included:

• Communities: Voluntary Sector Support Fund 2027-30, Grenfell Projects Fund Round 5, Community Partnerships and Consultation & Participation joint performance reporting, update on the implementation of HCSC Consultation Working Group recommendations, management and allocation of community assets, and the Grenfell Curve Legacy Group & North Kensington Community Trust.
• Housing Management: Progress on the Housing Improvement Plan following the C3 judgment, stock condition surveys, plans for reaching 100% decency, Estate Services, recovery post the cyber incident, Housing Management quarterly performance, Fire Risk Management, the World's End Estate, older and disabled access provisions, and the Resident Involvement Strategy.
• Housing Needs: Housing Strategy 2025-30, Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Reduction Strategy, Housing Allocation Scheme 2023, Key Worker & Intermediate Housing Policy 2022, and Temporary Accommodation.

The committee was scheduled to discuss these suggested topics and agree on priorities for the upcoming municipal year.