Agenda item

(Housing Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-001-2015/16).

(Housing Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached addendum report (C-001a-2015/16).

(Housing Portfolio Holder) The attached letter is a background paper for this item.

(1)        That, having regard to the comments of the Epping Forest Tenants & Leaseholders Federation tabled at the meeting, the approach to Housing Related Support (HRS) charges set out in Option 5 within the report be taken, namely to continue with the agreed 2015/16 charges and increase charges further from April 2016 over a period of time until the cost of the Scheme Management Service was self funded, and that:

            (a)        the HRS charges made to Council tenants and private Careline users for   2015/16 be continued for the remainder of the current year; and

            (b)        in advance of the budget cycle for 2016/17, a plan on how much HRS charges      should be increased each year from April 2016 until the cost of the Scheme   Management Service became self-funded, with regard to any annual reductions in     HRS funding from Essex County Council, be recommended by the Housing Portfolio           Holder to the Cabinet;

(2)        That the Housing Select Committee be requested to:

            (a)        consider whether more properties specially designated for older people on             housing estates should be de-designated, with future vacancies used to meet the    increasing demand for younger housing applicants;

            (b)        review the associated level of staffing required to provide the Scheme        Management Service to determine if staffing costs (and therefore HRS charges) could         be reduced as a result; and

(c)       make recommendations to the Housing Portfolio Holder accordingly; and

(3)       That letters be sent to all service users in February 2016, once the Cabinet had determined the HRS charges for 2016/17 and the amount of HRS funding to be received from Essex County Council for 2016/17 was known, explaining the proposed approach and the reasons.

The Housing Portfolio Holder presented a report concerning Housing Related Support Charges and properties designated as being suitable for older people.

The Portfolio Holder reported that the Council had increased its Housing Related Support (HRS) charges to private Careline users and Council tenants living in sheltered and other housing designated for older people by amounts higher than inflation for 2015/16. This was mainly to cover an expected significant reduction in support funding to the Council from Essex County Council (ECC) of at least £133,000 (42%), which Officers from the County Council had advised would be made from April 2016, although it was also to achieve a position whereby the Council’s Careline Service was fully self-funded.

The Portfolio Holder informed the Cabinet that, at a very late stage, the County Council decided not to proceed with the planned Housing Related Support funding reduction for 2015/16.  However, since the Council had already implemented the increased charges and advised all affected tenants, the Housing Portfolio Holder had decided to provide the Cabinet with a report on the main options available to respond to the associated implications of this late decision by the County Council.

The Portfolio Holder outlined the five options available to the Council, with an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each one. This exercise had also highlighted the fact that, due to annual reductions in Support funding from the County Council since 2003, the combined income from Housing Related Support charges and the County Council’s funding no longer bore any resemblance to the cost of the providing the service. Consequently, all other Council tenants, who did not receive the service, now subsidised the cost by around £10 per property per annum. Therefore, the preferred option was to continue the previously agreed Housing Related Support Charges for the reminder of 2015/16 to Council tenants and private Careline users, and for the Portfolio Holder to present a plan to a future meeting of the Cabinet for how much the charges should be increased each year from April 2016 until the Scheme became self-funded, with regard to any further annual reductions from the County Council.

The Portfolio Holder apologised for the tabling of an addendum report, but it indicated the Tenant & Leaseholder Federation’s reluctant support for the preferred option, along with a request that future Housing Related Support Charges be increased over as long a period as possible.

The Portfolio Holder added that the number of properties on housing estates previously designated as being suitable for older people had been reducing, to meet the demand for general needs housing. It was proposed to request the Housing Select Committee to consider whether more properties should be de-designated and to review the staffing levels for the Scheme Management Service to determine if the costs of the Scheme could be reduced further. The Select Committee would be requested to make recommendations to the Portfolio Holder accordingly.

The Cabinet noted the rationale behind the recommendation of the Portfolio Holder and was reassured by the fact that the Tenants & Leaseholders Federation understood the situation that the County Council had placed the District Council in. In response to questions from the Members present, the Portfolio Holder added that it was not known at the current time how long it would take to make the Scheme Management Service self-funded, as this would depend on future budget decisions made by the County Council, and that support for people in need had been provided with a subsidy from the Housing Revenue Account in the sum of £58,000 for 2015/16.

Decision:

(1)        That, having regard to the comments of the Epping Forest Tenants & Leaseholders Federation tabled at the meeting, the approach to Housing Related Support (HRS) charges set out in Option 5 within the report be taken, namely to continue with the agreed 2015/16 charges and increase charges further from April 2016 over a period of time until the cost of the Scheme Management Service was self funded, and that:

            (a)        the HRS charges made to Council tenants and private Careline users for   2015/16 be continued for the remainder of the current year; and

            (b)        in advance of the budget cycle for 2016/17, a plan on how much HRS charges      should be increased each year from April 2016 until the cost of the Scheme   Management Service became self-funded, with regard to any annual reductions in     HRS funding from Essex County Council, be recommended by the Housing Portfolio           Holder to the Cabinet;

(2)        That the Housing Select Committee be requested to:

            (a)        consider whether more properties specially designated for older people on             housing estates should be de-designated, with future vacancies used to meet the    increasing demand for younger housing applicants;

            (b)        review the associated level of staffing required to provide the Scheme        Management Service to determine if staffing costs (and therefore HRS charges) could         be reduced as a result; and

(c)       make recommendations to the Housing Portfolio Holder accordingly; and

(3)       That letters be sent to all service users in February 2016, once the Cabinet had determined the HRS charges for 2016/17 and the amount of HRS funding to be received from Essex County Council for 2016/17 was known, explaining the proposed approach and the reasons.

Reasons for Decision:

It was felt that the under-recovery of costs for the Scheme Management Service was unfair on other Council tenants who did not receive the service, and was untenable in the longer term.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To rescind the 2015/16 increase in HRS charges and, where considered appropriate, refund payments made by tenants back to April 2015.

To rescind the 2015/16 increase by reducing the 2015/16 HRS charges mid-year to an amount below the 2014/15 HRS charge, in order to off-set the increased charges made from April 2015, and refund where appropriate.

To continue with the 2015/16 charges and take into account any increase above that required as a result of the expected ECC funding cut when setting charges for 2016/17.

Implement variations to the options above for different categories of service user.