Agreed on 21 March 2024
1.0 Aims and Objectives
1.1 To operate on behalf of tenants and leaseholders, to advise and make recommendations on the delivery of the fire safety, building compliance, repairs and capital works.
1.2 To promote cross service working between the council and contractors to ensure that residents receive high performing fire safety, building compliance, repairs and capital works services.
1.3 To prioritise Fire Safety Plus projects in line with legal compliance responsibilities.
1.4 In line with the Building Safety Act, to ensure residents are empowered to play an effective role in ensuring their building is, and continues to be, safe.
1.5 To work with officers and contractors to communicate information relating to fire safety, building compliance, repairs and capital works to TRAs and residents.
1.6 To provide an opportunity for tenants and leaseholders to challenge and question Council officers and contractors to enable continuous improvement in services.
2.0 The Role of the Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group
2.1 To monitor the performance of fire safety, building compliance, repairs and capital works services.
2.2 Examine evidence and make recommendations for changes to policies and processes with the aim of improving services for all residents.
2.3 To identify ways in which residents wish to be provided with building safety information.
2.4 To set out methods of improving our approach to engaging with resident in relation to the safety of their home.
2.5 To be involved in the development of tender specifications and evaluation of communications and engagement elements of repairs procurement processes.
2.6 To promote the work of the group to other residents and encourage them to get involved.
2.7 Determine the need to establish sub groups for pieces of work as and when required.
3.0 Membership
3.1 Membership of the Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group is open to all residents living in a property managed or leased from the Council.
3.2 There should be no less than 6 members in the Group. The maximum number of resident members is 12. There can be a maximum of five leaseholders on the group, proportionate to the total number of members of the Group. One of the residents can be a sheltered housing tenant. The Group aspires to have a fair representation of residents from the north and south of the borough, in proportion to the number of properties, 6 from north, 5 from south and 1 from sheltered. The Group also has the aspiration to encourage membership from residents who live in high-rise buildings, from a fire safety point of view.
3.3 Membership is subject to four conditions:
3.3.1 to work co-operatively and constructively as part of a team.
3.3.2 a willingness/commitment to undertake training for the role.
3.3.3 a willingness/commitment to set aside the time necessary to attend meetings and training.
3.3.4 a commitment to abide by the agreed Code of Conduct.
3.4 Members are expected to regularly attend meetings and will be asked about any support they may need to attend meetings and other activities. If a member cannot attend a meeting, they must send their apologies before the meeting takes place.
If a member has not attended three consecutive meetings, a meeting/phone call will be organised to discuss if any additional support can be offered and to identify a plan to support attendance or by mutual agreement, temporary or permanent stepping down from the Group. Members who do not attend three consecutive meetings and/or engage with discussions around their membership will be deemed to have left the group and will not receive future meeting papers.
3.5 Membership of the group will be reviewed annually. If membership falls below 50% (i.e. 6 residents), the viability of the group will be considered. Membership will be publicised on the resident involvement webpage and provided to all Housing Representatives Forum members after the AGM.
3.6 Members of the Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group cannot be both a member of the group and any future Scrutiny Panel. This clause is intended to avoid any potential conflict of interest in the work of both groups.
3.7 Members of the Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group can also be members of one other service improvement group.
4.0 Equalities, Diversity, and Inclusion
4.1 The council believes in a fair society that gives everyone an equal chance to learn, work and live free from discrimination, harassment, and prejudice and recognises that the diversity of our community is an asset to our borough.
4.2 The council will ensure no-one is discriminated against based on their age, class, disability, employment status, ethnic or national origins, race or colour, HIV status, marital status, religious or political beliefs, responsibilities for children or dependants, sex, sexuality, trade union activities and unrelated criminal convictions.
4.3 The Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group will recognise the existence and importance of the different lifestyles within our communities. The Group will work to ensure that no Group or individual will be directly or indirectly discriminated against.
4.4 The council will ensure relevant support is provided so that the membership of the Group is accessible to all. Members must abide by the Code of Conduct which undertakes to deal firmly and promptly with any cases of discrimination, harassment, or prejudice.
4.5 All members are required to undertake relevant training.
5.0 Frequency of Meetings
5.1 The Group will have a minimum of 6 meetings per year. There will not be meetings in August or December. Dates will be agreed at the Annual General Meeting.
6.0 Quorum
6.1 A quorum will be more than 50% of members e.g. if membership is 12, a quorum will be 7. Inquorate meetings should be noted, and decisions ratified at the next quorate meeting.
6.2 If a meeting is inquorate:
6.2.1 absent members will be entitled to present their vote in advance (up to 48 hours before the meeting) in writing.
6.2.2 if required, officers can join the voting panel.
7.0 H&F Accountability & Support
7.1 The Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group will be provided with officer support to co-ordinate activities.
In line with the Social Housing Act 2023:
7.2 H&F will ensure that communication with and information for residents is clear, accessible, relevant, timely and appropriate to the diverse needs of residents.
7.3 H&F will communicate with residents on progress, next steps and outcomes when delivering landlord services.
7.4 H&F will give residents a wide range of meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise their landlord’s strategies, policies and services in relation to the Safety & Quality Standard.
7.5 H&F will provide residents with information about:
a) how they are performing in delivering landlord services and what actions they will take to improve performance where required.
b) how they have taken residents’ views into account to improve landlord services, information and communication.
7.6 Meeting papers will be sent by email to Group members 7 days prior to the meeting date.
8.0 Chairing of meetings
8.1 The Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group will elect a Chair and Vice Chair. The election for both roles will take place annually during the AGM.
8.2 The term of the appointment to Chair and Vice Chair roles will be for one year.
Following this, the Chair and Vice Chair will stand down and an election will take place.
8.3 Residents can only be Chair of one service improvement group, or resident-led forum. Residents can only be Vice Chair of one service improvement group, or resident-led forum.
8.4 The Chair will be provided with updates in terms of group member attendance and will be responsible for discussing any areas of concern in terms of attendance, contribution to the group, or breaches of the agreed code of conduct.
8.5 The Vice Chair will deputise for the Chair in their absence. This includes dealing with any issues in terms of breaches of the agreed code of conduct.
9.0 Area of Business
9.1 The remit of the Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group is to consider the provision and delivery of fire safety, building compliance, repairs and capital works services for all residents.
10.0 Programme of Work
10.1 The Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group will identify and develop an initial programme of work for the year ahead and review this at each meeting. The priority areas for review will be decided using feedback from all available information, including:
- Performance reports.
- Reports from officers and other parts of the involvement structure.
- Contractor meetings.
- Toolbox talks.
- Resident surveys.
- Site visits.
- Complaints data.
11.0 Accountability
11.1 The Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group is formally accountable to the Housing Representatives Forum and the Cabinet Member for Housing & Homelessness.
11.2 The minutes and all reports of the Group will be made available to any resident on request.
11.3 When required, the Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group may request that the Cabinet Member for Housing & Homelessness, Director of Housing, or Assistant Director attend their meeting.
11.4 In the event of the council having concerns about Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group compliance with these Terms of Reference, representatives from the council will meet with the Group at their next scheduled meeting. A joint agreement will be put in place to remedy this.
12.0 Budget
12.1 The Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group has access to a central budget to support them in their work.
12.2 Expenses will be paid in line with the Resident Expenses Policy.
13.0 Training
13.1 All new members will undertake an induction programme and training. Requirements will be assessed and agreed by group members. A training programme will be developed and delivered with resident input. This will be regularly reviewed.
14.0 Evaluation of Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group Activities
14.1 The work of the Fire, Building Safety & Repairs Working Group will be subject to an annual impact assessment and its findings will be reported to the Housing Representatives Forum.