The Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Sub Committee will be considering a range of topics relating to the work of Tower Hamlets Council. These include updates on the work of the 'Tenants Voice' resident scrutiny panel, the progress the council is making on its housing delivery targets, and reviewing the council's performance in responding to reports from the Local Government Ombudsman.

The meeting report pack also contains a provisional workplan for the committee for the rest of the 2024/2025 municipal year.

Housing & Regeneration Priorities

The committee will be asked to review the council's housing and regeneration priorities for 2024/25. The report pack includes a presentation from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding, describing the priorities for his portfolio. The presentation names the following priorities:

• Ensuring that the council's housing stock and service delivery are compliant with the Regulator of Social Housing's new Consumer Standards.
• Working with developers and builders to meet the council's target of building 1,000 new homes every year.
• Approving a new homelessness and rough sleeping strategy.
• Continuing the work of consulting on, developing and submitting the new Tower Hamlets Local Plan.
• Identifying a site for a new 'Residents Hub' to be built [in the](Bethnal Green) ward.

Tenants Voice Panel

The Committee has also been provided with a presentation on the work of the Tenants Voice panel. Tenants Voice is a resident led group that was created to provide a formal mechanism to allow the council to consult with tenants and leaseholders on a range of issues affecting the delivery of housing in Tower Hamlets.

The report pack says that the panel has the ability to:

Using performance and complaints data to oversee the operational performance of LBTH housing services for tenants and leaseholders and make recommendations for service improvements

The panel is currently made up of three leaseholders and eight tenants.

The presentation to the committee includes details of the panel's work programme for the rest of the 2024/25 municipal year. The panel is scheduled to undertake a performance workshop to agree what should be scrutinised in the future, and will receive a presentation from council officers on the draft tenant and leaseholder engagement strategy.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Report & Action Plan Responses

The final item in the report pack for the meeting relates to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is an independent body that investigates complaints from members of the public who feel they have been treated unfairly by local authorities.

The report pack contains details of two recent cases that were investigated by the Ombudsman. In the first case the Ombudsman found that Tower Hamlets Council had failed to properly consider the needs of a resident who had applied to be on the council's housing register. The Ombudsman recommended that the council apologise to the resident, pay them £1,000 in compensation, and review its procedures for dealing with applications to the housing register.

In the second case the Ombudsman found that Tower Hamlets Council had failed to properly investigate a complaint about damp and mould in a tenant's property. The Ombudsman recommended that the council apologise to the resident, pay them £500 in compensation, and review its procedures for dealing with complaints about damp and mould.

The report pack contains the council's responses to these complaints, and its plan to implement the Ombudsman's recommendations.