Agenda item

(Director of Communities) To consider the attached report.

The Panel received a report regarding the Housing Improvements and Service Enhancements Fund 2015/16 from the Director of Communities.

It was noted that for the past three years, the Cabinet had asked the Housing Scrutiny Panel to consider and recommend a proposed list of housing improvements and service enhancements to the Cabinet utilising the additional funding  received by the HRA which the Panel had last examined in March 2014.

The purpose of the report was therefore:

(a)  To provide anticipated out turns of expenditure for 2014/15 regarding both individual projects and the programme as a whole; and

(b)  To recommend the use of the Housing Improvements and Service Improvements Fund for 2015/16.

Since housing related income and expenditure was ring fenced to the HRA, any annual HRA surpluses not required therefore needed spending otherwise they resulted in increased HRA balances, which was why the Housing Improvements and Service Improvements Fund had been introduced from 2012/13.

There were 7 new housing improvements and service enhancements being undertaken in 2014/15, in addition to the completion of a further 7 projects extending/carried forward into 2014/15. Generally good progress had been made with the delivery of most of the projects during the year to date.

The Council’s HRA business planning consultants identified that the HRA could commit £700,000 per annum for new and committed improvements and service enhancements from April 2015. It was advised that after utilising all of the resources available to the fund in 2014/15, there would still be a further £445,000 and £574,000 available for spending on new projects in the following two years based on current forecasts.

RECOMMENDED:

That subject to the views of the Tenants and Leaseholders Federation, the following recommendations be made to the Cabinet:

(1)  That the latest out-turn forecasts for each of the projects funded by the Housing Improvement and Service Enhancement Fund in 2014/15 be noted;

(2)  That the associated expenditure for any slippages on individual projects in 2014/15 be carried forward for completion in 2015/16;

(3)  That the Housing Scrutiny Panel has already recommended to the Cabinet that the cost of increasing the financial incentives for Council tenants downsizing their accommodation be met from the Housing Improvements and Service Enhancements Fund;

(4)  That the Cabinet has already agreed that the Fund should meet the costs relating  to the Housing Revenue Account of increasing the size of the new Corporate Fraud Team from April 2015 subject to the required General Fund Continuing Services Budget (CSB) bid being agreed;

(5)  That the proposed list of housing improvements and service enhancements for 2015/16 and the associated recommendations for each project, as set out in Appendix 2 of the agenda report, be recommended for approval;

(6)  That the amount allocated from the Fund to the Major Capital Projects Reserve be recommended for increase in 2015/16 from £200,000 to £384,000 to fund future housing capital projects (either in 2015/16 or future years);

(7)  That at its meeting in January 2016, the Select Committee responsible for Housing Services be asked to consider and recommend to the Cabinet the proposed use of the Housing Improvements and Service Enhancements Fund for 2016/17;

(8)  That the Housing Scrutiny Panel’s report to the Cabinet be based on the content of Director of Communities’ report to the Panel; and

(9)  That the Cabinet be asked to record in the subsequent Cabinet minutes all the Cabinet decisions on the recommendations set out in bold in Appendix 2 of the Panel agenda.