The Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee met to discuss property licensing, review the third quarter housing performance, consider draft recommendations for community centres, and review the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) annual report. The committee noted the actions taken to publicise the property licensing consultation and considered the property licensing proposals. The committee also reviewed and noted the draft recommendations for community centres and the VCS annual report.

Property Licensing Consultation

The committee reviewed the ongoing consultation on property licensing in Islington. The consultation, which opened on 13 January 2025 and is due to run until 13 April 2025, focuses on two proposals:

• Re-designating the borough-wide Additional Licensing Scheme for a further five years. This scheme applies to houses or flats shared by three or four unrelated people from different households.
• Expanding the Selective Licensing Scheme to nine additional wards: Barnsbury, Caledonian, Tufnell Park, Mildmay, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Canonbury and Clerkenwell. This scheme currently covers Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington wards, and applies to privately rented homes occupied by one or two people or a single family.

The council is working with MEL Research, a specialist market research consultancy, to support the consultation¹. As part of the contract, MEL Research has been undertaking face-to-face surveys, telephone interviews and focus group sessions with landlords, renters, and their representatives.

The report before the committee stated that:

Property licensing aligns with the priorities of the Islington Together 2030 Plan as it will help to improve the safety and health for occupiers of private rented accommodation by ensuring that the required standards are met, and any hazards are removed.

The report also noted that the administration of Additional and Selective Licensing should be self-funding over the five-year licensing period.

Quarterly Review of Housing Performance

The committee reviewed the Quarter 3 Performance Report for measures relating to homes and neighbourhoods.

• Decent Homes Standard: 4% of homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard² in Quarter 3, 2024/25.
• Repairs: 72% of non-emergency repairs were completed within the target timescale (20 days). 97% of emergency repairs were completed within timescale.
• Building Safety: Islington benchmarks either similar to or better than the London median in gas, fire, water and lift safety checks. However, asbestos safety checks were below the London median due to a significant reduction in resources in the corporate asbestos team.
• Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB): End of year projections estimate 48 antisocial behaviour cases per 1,000 properties, which is higher than the London median.
• Complaints: End of year projections for stage 1 complaints estimate 64 complaints per 1,000 households, which is better than the London median. However, Islington receives more stage 2 complaints per 1,000 households than the London median.
• Temporary Accommodation: In Q3, 15 per 1,000 households were in temporary accommodation, which is lower than the London median.
• Rough Sleeping: The number of people sleeping rough this quarter (10) is lower than last year (14).
• Repairs Fixed First Time: 84% of repairs have been fixed first time this year, hitting the target of 85%.
• Rent Arrears: In Q3, rent arrears as a proportion of rent roll was 5.2%.

Community Centres Scrutiny Review

The committee considered the draft recommendations from the Scrutiny Review 2024/25 regarding community centres in Islington. The recommendations included:

1. Maintaining a register of all community centres and other assets in the borough.
2. Mapping all existing ‘community’ spaces across the borough.
3. Including a clear overview of utility and operating costs in the register.
4. Devising a measurable framework to underpin the understanding of current operations and delivery of the community asset review.
5. Developing a full stakeholder engagement and communications plan to better understand the need and demand for community spaces across the borough.
6. The Communities team should work in partnership with the Corporate Landlord service to identify and utilise spaces which are vacant for community use.
7. Engaging ward members in the work of community centre committees.
8. Developing governance principles and a framework to guide and support community centre management organisations.
9. Council services should increase collaboration with Community Centres to establish local networks to support service delivery, participant engagement and advertisement of spaces / activities.
10. Establishing a clear repairs and maintenance framework for community centre managing organisations.

Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Annual Report

The committee reviewed the VCS 2024 Annual Report by the Executive Member for Equalities, Communities and Inclusion. The report provided an update on the work carried out within the Community Partnerships Team, which focuses on building strong, cohesive, and resilient communities by supporting local organisations and residents to engage in their community and help each other. The report highlighted the following:

• The Community Partnerships Team is working with stakeholders to produce a VCS strategy that will set out how the council and VCS can work in more effective partnership.
• The council has a core grant programme known as the VCS Partnerships Grants Programme.
• The Local Initiatives Fund (LIF) in Financial Year 2024/25 has a total of £231,883.
• Islington Council’s Community Chest (ICCC) is a partnership between Islington Council and Cripplegate Foundation, with a total of £204,000 per annum available in funding.
• The council has a Discretionary Rate Relief Policy 2023-26, committing the council to providing Discretionary Rate Relief to not-for-profit organisations and charities in an amount of £410,000 a year.
• The Islington Compact is a partnership agreement setting out how the statutory sector and the VCS will work together.
• The council has a portfolio of more than 40 estate-based community centres, including Andover Community Centre, Jean Stokes Community Centre and Vibast Community Centre.
• The We Are Cally Community Plan sets out the shared ambitions for the Caledonian Road area.
• The council funds various estate-based programmes through the Housing Revenue Account, including the Arts on Estates Programme and the Active Spaces Programme.

Work Programme 2024/25

The committee reviewed the work programme for 2024/25 and noted that officers have extended an invitation to one of the Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in Islington to attend a committee meeting in May, with details to follow.