Agenda and draft minutes

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting]

Cllr Anwen Muston, Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised it wasalso being live streamed to the press and public

Apologies were received from the following members of the panel:

Cllr John Reynolds

Cllr Rohit Mistry

Cllr Stephanie Haynes

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]

[Shaun Aldis, Chief Executive, and Julie Haydon, Director Corporate Services  Wolverhampton Homes, to present report]

The Chair invited Julie Haydon, Director Corporate Services, to present the briefing and the presentation to the panel.

The Director advised the panel that the briefing would provide an update in relation to the Wolverhampton Homes customer contact and access arrangements for tenants, leaseholders, and residents/non-city residents who access its services.

The Director advised the panel that following an earlier report on improvements to customer communication service report presented in September 2023, it was agreed that an update on progress would be presented after six months.

The Director outlined the recommendations and key questions for the panel to consider at the end of the presentation.

The Director gave a summary of the specific areas of concern and challenge and the development of the improvement plan which is considered to be proportionate. 

The Director highlighted examples of current and future planned improvements and key achievements and progress on the three areas of concern raised at the meeting in September 2023.

The Director commented that Wolverhampton Homes continues to work closely with colleagues in the Housing Strategy Team to ensure that the offer to customers is consistent. The service has a presence in person at the Civic Centre working alongside colleagues the Council’s customer services team. The Director commented that the initiative has been successful and has had positive feedback from people who have used the service.

The Director advised the panel of progress made following the publication in 2023 of the Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy which gives all employees the opportunity to take two days a year to support local community activities, such as clearing gardens. In total 54 volunteers have volunteered for the first round. The Director commented on the success of initiatives such as ‘Money Smart’ which provide food bank referrals and hardship payments. In total 400 hardship payments have been made to date and 1400 referrals have been made in the last three months.

The Director outlined future planning to further support the change in employee culture and to improve the effectiveness of the service.

The Director invited panel members to comment on the briefing paper, linked appendixes and the presentation.

The Chair thanked the presenter for the report and invited panel members to comment and ask questions.

A panel member commented on the reference to efforts to encourage residents to use the Wolverhampton Homes app but had concerns about for residents who either do not have phones or struggle to get through on the telephone helpline. The panel member shared an example of an elderly resident who contacted the Councillor because of her difficulties in trying to contact Wolverhampton Homes.

Shaun Aldis, Chief Executive, acknowledged the range of difficulties facing some tenants but suggested that the Councillor share details of the case and agreed to investigate to see what support can be offered. The Chief Executive acknowledged the concern about the promotion of the app to tenants but reported that 14,000 people had registered on the site at the end of 2023 and very surprised by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[David Pattison, Chief Operating Officer, and Perminder Belu, Head of Green Cities and Circular Economy, and Simon Oliver,Service Manager – Green Cities, to present report]

The Chair invited David Pattison, Chief Operating Officer, to introduce the report and presentation. 

The Chief Operating Officer advised the panel that Cllr Craig Collingswood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, would be making some introductory comments before Perminder Balu, Head of Green Cities & Circular Economy, present the detailed report.

The Cabinet Member commented that the purpose in attending the meeting was to give assurance about the importance that the Council places on the climate change agenda. The Cabinet Member reaffirmed the commitment to deliver the pledge to achieve Net Zero across all the Council’s core activities by the end 2028.

The Cabinet Member commented that the Council made a climate change pledge at full Council in 2019 and since then there has been an approximate one-third reduction in the carbon footprint.  The Cabinet Member commented on the key achievements of the Council to date and future plans for the next few years to build on the progress. 

The Cabinet Member invited Head of Green Cities & Circular Economy to present the report.

The Head of Green Cities advised the panel that the presentation would give an update on the 2041 Net Zero Strategy Development, a summary of progress to date and future plans for the next few months. The presentation would also set out plans for partnership working opportunities with external bodies.

A copy of the presentation is available.

The Head of Green Cities gave an analysis of the Wolverhampton carbon footprint as of 2021, and commented how Wolverhampton compares favourably with regional authorities across the West Midlands in terms of the reduction in carbon emissions per person and in absolute emission levels.

The Head of Green Cities can a summary of the draft list of 20 actions in development and how they link to core themes such as transport and cross cutting themes, such as the circular economy. The Head of Green Cities commented on the monitoring, reporting and governance arrangements, the key policy outcomes, and chart showing the key stages of the Whole City Approach to Net Zero.

The panel were invited to support the recommendation to endorse ongoing actions and way forward together with providing any additional recommendations as appropriate as outlined in the update of the Net Zero 2041 Strategy for the City.

The Chair invited the panel to comment on the report and presentation.

A panel member expressed concern that the panel were being asked to endorse a detailed action plan which lacks detail and highlighted the challenges to delivering the reductions in the carbon footprint for heavy transport as an example. The panel; member was also concerned about the level of public support for the plans.

The Head of Green Cities commented that the plan is still  at the development stage and work is being done on the detailed actions. The Head of Green Cities added that the reason for bringing the report to the panel was to provide an update on progress. In the next few weeks further details and costings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.