To receive and, if so determined, to agree as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2019.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held 13 November 2019 be agreed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

Members to give notice of any interest and the nature of that interest relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the adopted Code of Conduct.

No additional interests were declared.

A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to public questions submitted in writing to Democratic Services (democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk) by 4 p.m. on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must be relevant to the remit of the Committee and will be submitted at the meeting in the order in which they were received.

No questions from the public were received.

To receive a report from the Executive Member for Public Safety, Governance, and Reform.

The Corporate Director of People introduced the report that had been circulated with the agenda. As Members had already had chance to read the report the Chair asked the Committee if they had any questions. A Committee Member asked how the Council had come up with the target for preventing people from becoming homeless. The Corporate Director of People did not know what had led to that target and would pass the information onto the Committee after the meeting.

A Committee Member asked whether the report went to the other Scrutiny Committee’s agenda’s given that a lot of the information was more closely to their remits. The Governance Officer responded that it was not currently listed to go to the other Scrutiny Committee’s and that the Chairs would be contacted to see if they would like it to be added to their work programme.

Another Member of the Committee noted that the report was for quarter 2 and asked whether there was any more up to date information as to the Council’s performance for Delayed Transfers of Care. The Corporate Director informed the Committee that there had been a delay in reporting due to the purdah period for the recent general election. The Corporate Director said that she would get further information to pass onto Committee Members.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That the Chairs of the Health Scrutiny Committee and Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee be asked if they would like to receive performance reports going forward.

3)    That the Corporate Director of People provide answers to Committee Members questions after the meeting.

To consider an update from representatives of Trafford Housing Trust.

Note the content of this update is expected to contain exempt information as defined by Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, paragraph 3 as amended by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, and is therefore not for publication.

The Chair brought item 10 on the agenda forward and into the public part of the meeting as the Chair felt that the Committee’s questions did not relate to any confidential information. The Chair advised the representatives of Trafford Housing Trust (THT) that if they felt that they could not answer a question without revealing confidential information to notify the Committee that was the case.

The representatives from THT introduced themselves and stated that the trust was committed to being as open and transparent as they could be, especially with regards to this issue. Committee Members were then given the opportunity to raise any questions.

The Chair noted the timeline that had been given to the Committee was not going to be met. The Chair then asked what was happening regarding re-cladding and if there had been any progress regarding the possible roll out of sprinklers in THT buildings. The THT Representatives informed the Committee that worked had started but there had been some delays.

The cost of the replacement was to be paid by the government through Homes England and as such THT had been diligent in capturing all the information relating to the cost of the project which had taken longer than originally thought. Work on three towers was underway and it was predicted that all five towers would be complete by summer 2020.

Since Grenfell THT had kept the residents in the 5 affected buildings updated on the situation within those buildings. THT had implemented a 24/7 waking watch in all five buildings which consisted of two fire wardens patrolling each building hourly. 

A Committee Member asked who would sign off the buildings as safe once the work was completed. The representatives of THT responded that the building would be signed off by Thomson’s who were their appointed experts to ensure that all works were completed and were safe.

Another Committee Member noted that a number of other providers had moved quickly to remove the ACM cladding and they asked why THT had not acted sooner. The THT representatives responded that THT had planned to remove the cladding in 2018 but they had been advised by GMFRS not to remove the cladding until it was being replaced. Other organisations had removed the cladding and were criticised for doing so as it actually made the situation worse.

A Committee Member then asked whether residents were clear on what they should do in case of a fire given the changes that had been made. The THT representatives responded that THT had spent £7 million on communication, engagement, and fire safety since Grenfell and they were confident that all residents knew what to do if there was a fire.

The Representatives from THT then told the Committee about the work that they had been doing with regard to retrofitting sprinklers in buildings. The work included taking residents to Sheffield to view a retrofitting programme that had been completed there and so they could ask questions of other residents who had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To receive a report from the Executive Member for Public Safety, Governance, and Reform.

The Chair of the Committee introduced the report to the Committee and asked if there were any questions. One Committee Member asked if this report went to the other Scrutiny Committee’s. Another Member noted that there had been a significant payment award and asked why the amount had not been disclosed to the Committee. The Governance Officer noted the questions and would contact the relevant officers to get answers for the Committee.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That the Governance Officer is to raise the Committee’s questions with the relevant Officers.

To receive a report from the Chair of the Committee.

The Chair briefly presented the report highlighting the main points to the Committee. Following the introduction Committee Members were given the opportunity to raise questions prior to agreeing the report but none were asked.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted and its recommendations agreed.

To receive a report from the Chair of the Committee.

The Chair presented the Overview Report to the Committee and asked if there were any questions. No questions were raised and the report was noted.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.