To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 22 September 2015, as a correct record.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 22 September 2015 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interests not already registered

No additional declarations of interest were made.

There were none.

The Portfolio Holder’s update was noted.

There were none.

To note the minutes of the meeting of the Health Liaison Board held on 25 November 2015. (To follow)

The unpublished draft minutes of the meeting of the Health Liaison Board held on 25 November 2015 were tabled, which the Committee noted.  The Chairman of the Heath Liaison Board advised that there had been a good presentation from both Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) which linked well with the Council’s own priorities.  There had been a good discussion with regards to the Council’s own health priorities and how they could be absorbed within all the Council’s activities.

The work plan was noted.

Update on the work of the Under Occupation Officer, Emerald Homes, Life time tenancies and anti social behaviour.

The Chairman welcomed Colin Wilby Chairman of the Board of Management, and Deborah White Housing and Communities Director of West Kent Housing Association (WKHA).  Members had submitted some questions in advance which had been forwarded to West Kent Housing prior to the meeting.  A fuller response to questions answered by the WKHA was given to Members after the discussion.

•         How do you deal with tenant’s anti-social behaviour?

The Housing and Communities Director advised that there were a range of different methods used to deal with tenant’s anti social behaviour which included: encouraging neighbours to talk and to take responsibility, for example by logging everything; depending on the severity of the situation there was mediation and restorative justice with a view to change behaviour.  If nothing worked then they had the power to apply for an eviction as had mandatory grounds to now, however even then it had to be proved to a judge that it was reasonable and proportionate and all other routes had been exhausted.  This year, from January to November 2015, 307 cases had been closed out of 315 reports.  Some as there had been no evidence or had been withdrawn.  In 2014 three people had been evicted due to anti sociable behaviour.  This was a big step and judges did not do it lightly.  In response to a question she advised that a community impact assessment was always completed, but a court order order was still required for a conviction.  Cases which had been successful were where the evidence had been supported by neighbours as this had a good impact on the judge.

In response to a question on follow up practices, she advised that they encouraged people not to give up on filling out log sheets even though it could be disheartening.  It was not a quick process and they tried to support people. Procedure should be followed and it should be agreed with the complainant how they were to be contacted, in what format and how often they were to be kept up to date.  Unfortunately the amount of information possible to relay was subject to the Data Protection Act and this could also cause frustration

In response to question she replied that there was no mechanism for instant eviction even for a serious criminal conviction.  An application could not be made

until conviction and they would still have to follow the same eviction procedure.

•         Are your responsibilities for dealing with anti-social behaviour detailed in any policies or tenancy agreements?

Within the tenancy agreement there was a section on the use of the property and nuisance and harassment. The tenancy agreement was what was used to demonstrate any breach of tenancy.

•         Do all new tenants have a starter tenancy and can this be extended? How many tenants on average per annum, with starter tenancies are not given assured tenancies?

The Housing and Communities Director  reported that all new tenants who had never been one before, were given a starter tenancy,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.