The Community & Housing Overview & Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to discuss the results of a recent tenant satisfaction survey, and to review their forward work programme. The meeting will be held in a hybrid format, with attendees able to join in person at the Lord Barry Jones Chamber, Tŷ Dewi Sant, St. Davids Park, Ewloe, or virtually. The meeting is also scheduled to be live streamed on the council's website.

Survey of Tenants and Residents (STAR)

The committee are scheduled to receive a report on the findings of the 2024 Survey of Tenants and Residents (STAR). The council's housing service is responsible for more than 7,300 homes across the county, including general needs and sheltered accommodation. According to the report pack, the STAR survey is intended to gather feedback from tenants on important issues, understand their opinions on council services, and identify priorities for service improvements.

The survey, which was also carried out in 2022, aims to allow the council to benchmark against other social landlords and track improvements. The 2024 survey was conducted by Strategic Research and Insight (SRI) and was available online, via paper version, and through targeted telephone interviews.

The report pack states that the completion rate for the survey was 18%, with 1,330 completed responses. Key themes identified in the survey results include:

• 74% of respondents were satisfied with the overall service.
• There was a general perception that housing staff are friendly and approachable.
• There were high levels of pride in homes, but slightly lower levels of pride in neighbourhoods.
• There were lower satisfaction rates with repairs and maintenance, being listened to, and getting involved.

The report pack notes that overall scores in most areas are average compared to other local authorities across Wales. However, the results were below average for repairs and maintenance, tenant engagement, participation in decision making, and having a say in service management.

The report pack states that the perception of services is linked to age and property type, with younger tenants and those in general needs properties being consistently less satisfied than older tenants and those in sheltered accommodation.

The report pack also includes a comparison of the results for the core questions between the 2022 and 2024 STAR surveys. The Welsh Government encourages all social landlords in Wales to include twelve core questions in tenant satisfaction surveys to provide a consistent way of measuring performance, tracking progress, and enabling comparison across different landlords.

The following table shows a comparison of the results for the core questions between STAR 2022 and STAR 2024, as included in the report pack:

The report pack states that the feedback provided will be used to improve services.

Forward Work Programme and Action Tracking

The committee are scheduled to consider their forward work programme and action tracking. The report pack includes the draft forward work programme, and action tracking for the committee.

The report pack states that items feed into a committee's forward work programme from a number of sources, including suggestions from members, the public, the cabinet, the county council, and chief officers. Items can also be referred by the cabinet for consultation purposes, or identified from the cabinet work programme and the improvement plan.

The report pack also includes a 'test of significance' to be applied when identifying topics for future consideration, including whether the review will contribute to the council's priorities and/or objectives, whether it is an area of major change or risk, and whether there are issues of concern in performance.

The action tracking details include an update on progress. According to the report pack, at a previous meeting on 7 May 2025, it was agreed that consideration be given to how best the committee could liaise with the Tenants Federation to hear their views going forward. The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator has contacted the Chair of the Tenants Federation to ask if they would like to receive copies of the agenda and attend future meetings.

At a meeting on 9 July 2025, it was agreed that information on the percentage of Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) adaptations carried out at council housing, private housing and private rented housing would be circulated following the meeting, in response to a question from Cllr Geoff Collett.

At a meeting on 9 September 2025, it was suggested that the committee attend a site visit to an empty House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) at a future date, and that a copy of the New Starter Induction presentation slides be circulated to all members of the Community & Housing OSC for information. It was also suggested that a survey be circulated to all new starters to gain their opinion on their role since joining the Local Authority, and that members of the committee provide officers with any specific questions they would like to see in the survey.

Also at the 9 September 2025 meeting, Cllr Sean Bibby made positive comments about his experience with D2 PropCo and a property within his ward, and Martin Cooil agreed to pass on his comments to D2 PropCo.

The draft forward work programme includes the following items:

• Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan
• Void Management
• Cost of Living and Welfare Reform
• Housing Rent Income
• Council Plan Mid-Year Performance Reporting 2025/26
• Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS 2 2023)
• Common Housing Register (Single Common Access Route to Housing - SARTH)
• Update on Installation of Meters
• Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Annual Report
• Variation of Contracts
• Council Plan End of Year Performance Reporting 2025/26

The report pack also notes that a Rent Income Pilot Scheme and a North East Wales (NEW) Homes review are to be scheduled.