Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Mary Dooley (Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing), Cathy Jeffery (Junior Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing), and the Chief Executive Karen Hanson.

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items of business to consider.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable

Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the

Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a) any business on the agenda;

b) any urgent additional items to be considered;

c) any matters arising out of those items;

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on the 31^st March 2025.

Moved by Councillor Louise Fox and seconded by Councillor Amanda Davis

RESOLVED that the Minutes of a Customer Services Scrutiny Committee held on 31^st March 2025 be approved as a true and correct record.

(Members should contact the officer whose name appears on the List

of Key Decisions for any further information. NB: If Members wish to

discuss an exempt report under this item, the meeting will need to

move into exempt business and exclude the public in accordance with

the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and Local

Government Act 1972, Part 1, Schedule 12a for that part of the

meeting only).

The Committee considered the updated List of Key Decisions and Items to be Considered in Private.

RESOLVED that the List of Key Decisions and Items to be Considered in Private document be noted.

The Customer Service, Complaints and Standards Manager presented the report to the Committee to provide information on the Council’s performance in relation to its customer service standards and the number of compliments, comments and complaints received for Quarter 4 2024/25 (1^st January 2025 to 31^st March 2025).  The Council’s overall performance for 2024/25 would also be presented.

A breakdown of the key customer service standards by quarterly period, together with the target and the cumulative performance for each standard, were attached at Appendixes 1 and 2.

Revenues had achieved 88% of incoming calls answered within 20 seconds for Quarter 4 2024/25 (the target had been 70%).  Cumulative performance for all 2024/25 was 87% (exceeding the target of 70%).

Benefits had achieved 95% of incoming calls answered within 20 seconds for Quarter 4 2024/25 (the target had been 80%).  Cumulative performance for all 2024/25 was 95% (exceeding the target of 80%).

In Quarter 4 2024/25, Revenues and Benefits had received 2,819 and 1,151 emails.  In Quarter 3 2024/25, Revenues and Benefits had received 2,299 and 1,037 (this data had only been collected from October 2024).

Contact Centres had achieved 79% of incoming calls answered within 20 seconds for Quarter 4 2024/25 (the target had been 80%).  Cumulative performance for all 2024/25 was 77% (the target was 80%).

In Quarter 4 2024/25, Contact Centres had acknowledged all 8,101 email enquiries received within 1 working day (meeting the target of 100%).  All emails had been replied to within 8 working days (meeting the target of 100%).

For the year 2024/25, Contact Centres had received 32,382 email enquiries – 100% had been answered within 8 working days.

Contact Centres had answered 89% of incoming Live Chats within 20 seconds for Quarter 4 2024/25 (the target had been 90%).  Cumulative performance for all 2024/25 was also 89% (the target was 90%).

For the Corporate Telephone Standard, 91% if incoming calls had been answered within 20 seconds in Quarter 4 2024/25 (above standard).

The majority of departments had achieved and exceeded the corporate target of 90%, with the exception of the following: Revenues & Benefits; Planning & Planning Policy; and Environmental Health.

Cumulative performance for all 2024/25 was also 91% (the target had been 90%).

The number of unanswered calls in Quarter 4 2024/25 was 7% (within target).  The cumulative performance for all 2024/25 was also 7% (the target had been under 10%).

59 Compliments had been received during Quarter 4 2024/25.  Go!Active had received 8 Customer Feedback Form Compliments in Quarter 4 2024/25.

15 Comments had been received, with all acknowledged and passed to the respective department within the target time of 5 working days during Quarter 4 2024/25.  Go!Active had received 14 Customer Feedback Form Comments in Quarter 4 2024/25.

59 Stage 1 Complaints had been recorded in Quarter 4 2024/25, with 10 M.P. Enquiries received during the same period.  100% of Stage 1 Complaints and M.P. Enquiries had been responded to within the Council’s Customer Service Standard of 10 working days.

It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item CS6-25/26

The Housing Strategy and Development Officer presented the report for the Committee to consider and provide feedback on the Damp and Mould Policy (the ‘Policy’) – the Committee’s comments would be considered by the Executive before approval.

The Council, as a landlord, was responsible for the maintenance of its properties to be in line with the relevant regulations, legislation and guidance. This included keeping tenants’ homes safe from hazards under the Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) of the Housing Act 2004.  One such identified hazard was damp and mould.

The Housing Ombudsman had published a spotlight report on damp and mould in October 2021, which stated landlords should take a zero-tolerance approach.

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 had also introduced “Awaab’s Law.”  The death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year old child living with his parents who sadly passed away from a respiratory condition, was found to have been caused by the presence of damp and mould in their home.

‘Awaab’s Law’ required landlords to fix reported health hazards within prescribed timescales and provided greater powers to the Regulator of Social Housing to ensure housing providers were managing condensation, damp and mould effectively.

The Housing Ombudsman had published a severe maladministration report in October 2024 specific to damp and mould – timeliness was key.

Awaab's Law would come into force (for the social housing sector) from October

2025, with a phased implementation approach.  Specific to damp and mould, social landlords were required to investigate reported damp and mould hazards within 14 days, with a written report issued within 48 hours.

For hazards posing a significant risk to health or safety, repair work must have begun within 7 days of the investigation.  Emergency repairs, defined as those presenting an immediate and significant risk to residents, had to be completed within 24 hours.  Where work could not be undertaken within the timescale, alternative accommodation would need to be provided.

The Policy, attached at Appendix 1, had the key aim of raising awareness of the issues surrounding damp and mould for those living in Council owned properties and to set out the Council’s zero-tolerance approach to addressing and resolving reports of damp and mould (in its tenanted properties).

In addition, the Policy would:

·       Provide a clear framework for identifying, reporting, and addressing damp and mould issues;

·       Ensure timely and effective responses to reports of damp and mould, and to ensure that repairs to alleviate damp (for example work to guttering and drains, replacing tiles, repairing leaks to pipework, etc.) were carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible, to minimise the impact on the health of the resident and damage to the structure, fixtures and fittings of the property;

·       Promote tenant awareness and provide access to information in a variety of formats, and access to support to help residents prevent and reduce risks of damp and mould in their homes;

·       To ensure all tenants were treated in a fair, respectful, empathetic and consistent way; and,

·       Comply with relevant legislation and regulatory standards,  ...  view the full minutes text for item CS7-25/26

The Housing Strategy and Development Officer explained, as part of the Tenant Engagement Strategy, one of the ways in which tenants could engage with the Council was via the Bolsover Tenants Challenge and Change Group.  This Group delivered the tenant scrutiny function of the tenant engagement and governance structure (attached at Appendix 1).

The Review of Grounds Maintenance had taken place between June 2024 and March 2025,

Tenants had been supported by the Tenant Engagement Officer, the Housing Strategy and Development Officer, and the Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing Manager.

The Housing Strategy and Development Officer invited Mr. Tony McRae, a tenant and representative of the Challenge and Change Group, to present the report

Mr. Tony McRae informed tenants had chosen to review the Grounds Maintenance on Council Estates (provided by Streetscene) as they had shared concerns on the quality of the service, on whether voids gardens were being maintained to the required standard, and the negative impact this could have on neighbourhoods.

The tenants had agreed recommendations across four areas:

·       Clarification of responsibilities for both tenants and the Council;

·       Clarification of the current maintenance programme and potential factors which could impact planned works;

·       Evaluation of the quality of maintenance works and how this was assessed by the service; and,

·       Analysis of complaints related to grounds maintenance and the actions taken.

As part of the review, tenants had spoken to a number of Council officers and  completed site visits to three new build schemes, two existing estates with communal open space, and to two void properties to assess the standard of the grounds maintenance.  Six meetings and one day of site visits had taken place.

Tenants had looked at the different areas of ground maintenance (grass cutting, hedge cutting, weed spraying, assisted gardens service, and tree management and maintenance).

Tenants had also reviewed works schedules and sought clarification on how the service adjusted when impacted by incremental weather.

It was noted that the planning of new trees had not been well maintained.  For existing Council properties, hedges and grass areas had been found untidy.  Staff resources were stretched.  It was found that church / burial grounds were often prioritised over higher-use areas.

12 recommendations were listed in the final report of the review (attached at Appendix 2).

To a question on the parking of vehicles on kerbsides and grass verges / areas, the Housing Strategy and Development Officer informed tenants had shared similar concerns but could not prioritise investigation due to it not being proportional to other concerns and not being able to successfully resolve with any recommendations.

Moved by Councillor Jeanne Raspin and seconded by Councillor Emma Stevenson

RESOLVED that the Customer Services Scrutiny Committee note the recommendations of the Bolsover Tenants Challenge and Change Group in relation to the Grounds Maintenance on Council Estates.

The Housing Strategy and Development Officer, Tenant Engagement Officer, and Mr. Tony McRae left the meeting at 10:40 hours.

The Scrutiny Officer presented the Work Programme 2025/25 attached at Appendix 1, with the proposed agenda items for approval / amendment listed for the new municipal year.

Attention was drawn to the Extraordinary meeting required before the Executive meeting in September 2025.  It was confirmed this Extraordinary meeting would take place on 19^th August 2025.

It was noted the document was fluid and could be changed at any point.

Moved by Councillor Amanda Davis and seconded by Councillor Jeanne Raspin

RESOLVED Members review this report and the Programme attached at Appendix 1 for approval and amendment as required. All Members are advised to contact the Scrutiny Officer should they have any queries regarding future meetings.

To move:-

“That the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion

of the following items of business to avoid the disclosure to them of

exempt information as defined in Paragraph 7, Part I of Schedule 12A

to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Local

Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006)”.

Moved by Councillor Rita Turner and seconded by Councillor Emma Stevenson

RESOLVED that the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of the following items of business to avoid the disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 7, Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).

The Joint ICT Assistant Director presented the report to the Committee which sought recommendation for the Information and Cyber Security Policy October 2024 (the ‘Policy’) to the Executive for approval.

The Joint Information and Cyber Security Policy aimed to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ICT systems and data for the Council, Dragonfly Developments Ltd. and Dragonfly Management (Bolsover) Ltd.

The Policy was essential for maintaining the successful operation of these entities and protecting the information held, processed, maintained, and shared with other public sector organisations.  It was designed to maintain public confidence and ensure compliance with relevant statutory legislation.

The Policy applied to all employees, contractors, partners, agents, and other stakeholders who had access to ICT facilities and data.  It covered all assets owned by the parties, information held or owned, ICT infrastructure used, and the physical environment in which the information and / or supporting ICT was used.

The objective of the Policy was to ensure the highest standards of information security were always maintained across the parties.

UNISON had approved the Policy.

Moved by Councillor Amanda Davis and seconded by Councillor Jeanne Raspin

RESOLVED that the Committee recommends the Joint Information and Cyber Security Policy October 2024 to the Executive for approval.