Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Tenant Representative Lulu Agate.

 

Name	Item	Reason
Councillor Thittala	All	Personal:  Council tenant
Councillor Cantrill	20/10/HSC	Personal: Trustee of Winter Comfort and Volunteer for Cambridge Churches Homeless Project. Did not take part in the vote on this item.
Kay Harris	20/6/HSC	Personal: Council Tenant and lives in the area under discussion
Councillor Hadley	20/10/HSC	Personal: Partner used to work for one of the agencies receiving a grant.

 

 

The Minutes of the meeting of the 26^th September 2019 were signed and agreed as a correct record.

None

None since last meeting.

None

This item was Chaired by Diana Minns (Vice-Chair)

 

Matter for Decision

     I.        The Council owned a number of blocks of flats built in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of these flats had structural concrete elements. Estates and Facilities had been identifying and surveying blocks that had three stories or more and we had identified an initial list of properties where structural repair works were required as a priority. Detailed designs had been carried out and the work now needed to be tendered in order to award a contract to a building contractor.

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

     i.        Approved the issue of tenders and, following evaluation of tenders, authorise the Strategic Director (following consultation with Executive Councillor, Chair, Vice Chair and Spokes of the Committee) to award a contract to         a contractor to carry out structural repairs and associated repair works to Council housing flats.

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Asset Manager.

 

In response to the report Leaseholder Representative, Diane Best suggested that the Tenant Representative / Vice Chair, Diana Minns be added to the consultees. The Committee agreed the recommendation was amended as follows (additional working in bold).

 

Approve the issue of tenders and, following evaluation of tenders, authorise the Strategic Director (following consultation with Executive Councillor, Chair, Vice Chair and Spokes of the Committee) to award a contract to a contractor to carry out structural repairs and associated repair works to Council housing flats.

The Asset Manager stated the following in response to Members’ questions:

     i.        It was expected that the work would begin in the summer months. This would be dependent on successful completion of the tender process

    ii.        Confirmed that preventative programmes of work were in place and it was anticipated that this would be a rolling programme due to the ageing stock profile.

  iii.        Balcony repairs had been identified as a health and safety matter and repair work had begun over five years ago.

  iv.        A five-year rolling stock survey would dictate the future programme of cyclical repairs.

   v.        Drainage repairs works were also planned for the future.

  vi.        Agreed with the Tenant Representative’s suggestion that tenants needed to be reminded to inform their household insurer of any works involving scaffoldings.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the amended recommendation.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

This item was Chaired by Diana Minns (Vice-Chair)

 

Matter for Decision

     i.        The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has upheld a complaint relating to a housing allocation to a vulnerable customer who subsequently became the victim of anti-social behaviour (ASB) from a neighbouring tenant.

    ii.        The report summarised the complaint, acknowledged that there were shortcomings in relation to working practices and set out the action taken in response. 

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

     i.        Noted the findings of the LGSCO in respect of this case and the actions taken by the Council in response to these findings.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Head of Housing.

 

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

     i.        Questioned the resource implications of the increased numbers of vulnerable tenants and how they would be supported.

    ii.        Suggested that an annual tenant churn of 500 to 800 would be difficult to manage if significant numbers of those new tenants had support needs.

 

The Head of Housing stated that the small internal Tenancy Sustainment Team offered a bridging service to direct those in need to other support services.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendation.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

This item was Chaired by Diana Minns (Vice-Chair)

 

Matter for Decision

      i.         The Local Lettings Policy sets out Cambridge City Council’s (CCC) position on the management of its own social housing stock through the use of Local Letting Plans.  A Local Lettings Plan is a set of guidelines or criteria governing which households can be allocated accommodation in a specific designated area. Local Lettings Plans are used to help create balance and cohesion where either a specific set of circumstances need to be addressed or where there are wider strategic objectives, such as helping to support the local economy.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Approved the Policy included in Appendix A of the Officers Report

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Committee received a report from the Head of Housing.

 

In response to Members’ questions, the Head of Housing confirmed that the report would return to this committee should there be any proposals to significantly change the policy.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendation.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

This item was Chaired by Diana Minns (Vice-Chair)

 

Matter for Decision

      i.         The Council had been working with the County Council to develop a Housing First programme for Cambridge City.

    ii.         There were plans to develop and test various Housing First models over the coming years so that the Council can evaluate the efficacy of these different approaches, but also because the needs of customers who sleep rough or who are at risk of rough sleeping cannot be met with a one-size-fits-all option and local consultation suggests they are in favour of a range of options.

   iii.         One of the models being developed involved a ‘caretaker’ living adjacent to customers in designated Housing First flats.

  iv.         The caretaker would be employed by the Council and consideration needed to be given to how to recruit the best person for the role and the process for allocating the accommodation.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Delegated authority to the Head of Housing to allocate accommodation to Housing First caretakers outside of the Council’s Lettings Policy.

    ii.         An update report to be brought to Housing Scrutiny Committee when the initial project had been running for 6 months.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Committee received a report from the Head of Housing.

 

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

      i.         Welcomed the idea but suggested that the pay band might be rather low for what could be a very demanding role.

    ii.         Questioned the level of support that would be provided to the Caretakers.

   iii.         Suggested that there was a lot to be learnt from the first incumbents of the roles and asked if they could be invited to meet members of this committee.

 

The Head of Housing said the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.         The Caretakers were not intended to be support workers.

    ii.         The recruitment process would be rigorous.

   iii.         Confirmed that, in terms of Housing First programmes more generally, extensive research into what had been successful in other areas had been carried out but that the Council had not discovered many examples of this caretaker-type arrangement. However, the Head of Housing had seen a similar model in action in London.

  iv.         This was a pilot project and would be reviewed.

    v.         Caretakers would be line managed by the Supported Housing Service.

 

The Committee suggested that the recommendations should be amended to reflect their desire for feedback from the initial project.

 

The following additional recommendation was agreed:

 

An update report to be brought to Housing Scrutiny Committee when the initial project had been running for 6 months.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the amended recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

Recommendations (part 1) a to k were chaired by Diana Minns (Vice Chair /Tenant Representative) and recommendations (part 2) I to v were chaired by Councillor Todd-Jones

 

Matter for Decision

      i.         As part of the 2020/21 budget process, the range of assumptions upon which the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan and Medium Term Financial Strategy were based, had been reviewed in light of the latest information available, culminating in the preparation of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

    ii.         The HRA Budget-Setting Report provided an overview of the review of the key assumptions. It sets out the key parameters for the detailed recommendations and final budget proposals, and was the basis for the finalisation of the 2020/21 budgets.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

 

Under Part 1 of the agenda, the Executive Councillor resolved to:

 

Review of Rents and Charges

 

a)      Approve that council dwellings rents for all social rented properties be increased by inflation of 1.7%, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at September 2019, plus 1%, resulting in rent increases of 2.7%, with effect from 6 April 2020. This equates to an average rent increase at the time of writing this report of £2.65 per week on a 52 week basis.

 

b)      Approve that affordable rents (inclusive of service charge) are reviewed in line with rent legislation, to ensure that the rents charged are no more than 80% of market rent, with current rent levels increased by no more than by inflation of 1.7%, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at September 2019, plus 1%, resulting in rent increases of up to 2.7%.  Local policy is to cap affordable rents (inclusive of all service charges) at the Local Housing Allowance level, which will result in rent variations in line with any changes notified to the authority in this level if these result in a lower than 2.7% increase.

 

c)      Approve that rents for shared ownership are reviewed and amended from April 2020, in line with the specific requirements within the lease for each property.

 

d)      Approve that garage and parking space charges for 2020/21, are increased in line with inflation at 1.8%, with resulting charges as summarised in Section 3 of the HRA Budget Setting Report

 

e)      Approve the proposed service charges for Housing Revenue Account services and facilities, as shown in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

f)       Approve the proposed leasehold administration charges for 2020/21, as detailed in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

g)      Approve that caretaking, building cleaning, estate services, grounds maintenance, temporary housing premises and utilities, sheltered scheme premises and utilities, digital television aerial, gas maintenance, door entry systems, lifts, electrical and mechanical maintenance, flat cleaning, third party management and catering charges continue to be recovered at full cost, as detailed in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report, recognising that local authorities should endeavour to limit increases to inflation as measured by CPI at September 2019 (1.7%) plus 1%, wherever possible.

 

Revenue – HRA

 

Revised Budget 2019/20:

 

h)      Approve with any amendments, the Revised Budget identified in Section 4 and Appendix D (1) of the HRA Budget Setting Report, which reflects a net reduction in the use of HRA reserves for 2019/20 of £146,310.

 

Budget 2020/21:

 

i)       Approve with any amendments, any Non-Cash Limit items identified in Section 4 of the HRA Budget Setting Report or shown in Appendix D (2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

j)       Approve with any amendments, any Savings, Increased Income, Unavoidable Revenue Bids, Reduced Income proposals and Bids, as shown in Appendix D (2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report.  

 

k)      Approve the resulting Housing Revenue Account revenue budget as summarised in the Housing Revenue Account Summary Forecast 2019/20 to 2024/25 shown in Appendix J of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

Under Part 2 of the agenda, the Executive Councillor for Housing resolved that recommend to Council:

 

Treasury Management

 

l)       Approve the need to borrow over the 30-year life of the business plan, with the first instance of this anticipated to be in 2022/23, to sustain the current level of investment, which includes £10,000,000 per annum for the delivery of new homes.

 

m)     Recognise that any decision to borrow further will impact the authority’s ability to set-aside resource to redeem 25% of the value of the housing debt by the point at which the loan portfolio matures, with the approach to this to be reviewed before further borrowing commences.

 

Housing Capital

 

n)      Approval of capital bids and savings, shown in Appendix D (3) of the HRA Budget Setting Report, to include funding to begin to improve the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock.

 

o)      Approval of the latest Decent Homes Programme, to include an updated recharge of capitalised officer time and timing of decent homes expenditure for new build dwellings, as detailed in Appendix E of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

p)      Approval of the latest budget sums, profiling and associated financing for all new build schemes, including revised scheme budgets for Akeman Street, Meadows and Buchan Street and Campkin Road, based upon the latest cost information from the Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) or direct procurements, as detailed in Appendices E and H, and summarised in Appendix K, of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

q)      Approval of re-phasing of budget for the Estate Improvement Scheme, to also include reallocation of the resource between capital and revenue based upon the projects identified to date, as detailed in Appendix E, and summarised in Appendix K, of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

r)       Approval of the revised Housing Capital Investment Plan as shown in Appendix K of the HRA Budget Setting Report.

 

General

 

s)      Approval of inclusion of Disabled Facilities Grant expenditure and associated grant income from 2020/21 onwards, based upon 2019/20 grant levels, with approval of delegation to the Head of Finance, as Section 151 Officer, to approve an in year increase or decrease in the budget for disabled facilities grants, in direct relation to any increase or decrease in the capital grant funding for this purpose, as received from the County Council through the Better Care Fund.

 

t)        Approval of delegation to the Strategic Director to review and amend the level of fees charged by the Shared Home Improvement Agency for disabled facilities grants and repair assistance grants, in line with any decisions made by the Shared Home Improvement Agency Board.

 

u)      Approval of delegation to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the Head of Finance, as Section 151 Officer, to draw down resource from the ear-marked reserve for potential debt redemption or re-investment, for the purpose of open market land or property acquisition or new build housing development, should the need arise, in order to meet quarterly deadlines for the use of retained right to buy receipts or to facilitate future site redevelopment.

 

v)      Approval of delegation to the Head of Finance, as Section 151 Officer, to make the necessary technical amendments to detailed budgets in respect of the outcome of the review of recharges between the General Fund and the HRA and the outcome of the review of the pension fund deficit contribution, with any net impact for the HRA to be incorporated as part of the HRA Medium Term Financial Strategy in September 2020.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Committee received a report from the Assistant Head of Finance and Business Manager.

 

The Committee noted that since publication of the report, the authority had received final confirmation of the pension figures, which were marginally lower than anticipated. The Assistant Head of Finance and Business Manager highlighted that a delegation to the Head of Finance had been included in the HRA BSR Covering Report to allow the required adjustments to be made once this figure was confirmed, and that this delegation would now be applied.

 

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

      i.         Noted the commitment in the budget to the Housing First Caretaker scheme.

    ii.         Welcomed the Housing First Caretaker roles but suggested that they should be employed on a higher pay grade as the job would be complex and demanding.

 

The Assistant Head of Finance and Business Manager, assisted by other officers (Head of Housing, Strategic Director, Head of Housing Development and Head of Housing Maintenance and Assets) stated the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.         Explained why the figure for disabled adaptations had been reduced. This was based on previous demand trends which had reduced. This was in part due to the number of properties within the portfolio that had already been adapted. Confirmation was given that demand would be reviewed and the budget reconsidered in future years if demand increased.

    ii.         Confirmed that the Energy Officer would initially look at energy efficiency in the Council’s own housing stock.

   iii.         Explained that the Tenancy Auditor was for an initial pilot period of one year. In the long-term any post may be expected to be self-financing as it should help identify tenancy fraud, preventative repairs and tenants in need of additional support services. Extending the project to include Leasehold properties could be considered later.

  iv.         Confirmed that Cambridge had been late in the roll out programme of Universal Credit and the full impact had not yet been seen.

    v.         Confirmed that the net unavoidable revenue pressure in cyclical maintenance was the net position for the cost centre after virements between areas of spending. The officer confirmed that under the Council’s financial standing orders, cost centre managers have the ability to move funds between expenditure heads within a cost centre to better deliver services. The Assistant Head of Finance and Business Manager undertook to circulate the detailed virements that resulted in the net revenue pressure, after the meeting, for information.

 

Councillor Cantrill introduced the Liberal Democrat Amendment to the 2020/21 Housing Revenue Budget.

 

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

 

      i.         Suggested that targeting rent reduction to larger homes would be targeting support to larger families who may not need that support rather than to those on lower incomes. Stated that this would be unfair, and that the reduced rental income would in turn reduce the ability to build more properties.

    ii.         Stated that a move to Passive House Building methods would require an evidenced based analysis of what could be achieved. It would also significantly increase the spend on new build properties.

   iii.         Agreed that further advice on alternatives was needed before gas boilers were replaced like for like.

 

 

The following vote was chaired by Diana Minns (Vice Chair  / Tenant Representative)

 

The Liberal Democrats Group alternative budget: 3 votes in favour to 8 against. The amendment was lost.

 

Resolved (8 votes to 0) to endorse the original recommendations a to k of the budget proposal. 

 

The following vote was chaired by Councillor Todd-Jones

 

Resolved (5 votes to 0) to endorse the original recommendations l to v of the budget proposal. 

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

This item was chaired by Councillor Mike Todd-Jones

 

Matter for Decision

The report outlined grant funding to organisations providing homelessness prevention services. It provided an overview of the process, eligibility criteria and budget in Section 3 and Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report detailed the applications received with recommendations for 2020-21 awards.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Approved the Homelessness Prevention Grants to voluntary, community and statutory organisations for 2020-21, as set out in Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report, subject to the budget approval in February 2020 and any further satisfactory information required of applicant organisations.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Committee received a report from the Housing Services Manager.

 

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

      i.         Requested further information on what level of legal representation the Citizens Advice Bureau were able to provide. The Housing Services Manager undertook to investigate this outside the meeting.

    ii.         Raised concerns that shorter grant fund periods could result in services losing valuable, high skilled workers.

 

The Housing Services Manager said the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.         Confirmed that some previous recipients of grants might not receive full support in future in order to allow other services to be supported.

    ii.         Confirmed that Winter Comfort’s application for a full time Drug and Alcohol Worker had been received at a time of uncertainty regarding dual diagnosis services but that the Dual Diagnosis Street Team had subsequently been reformed.

   iii.         Confirmed that where funding was refused the grants team do their best to signpost applicants to other options.

  iv.         Confirmed that applications were assessed on the value they would be adding and the length of time the service would be required. Services also needed to demonstrate that they had looked for or secured funding from other sources.

    v.         Acknowledged that awarding grants for longer periods assisted applicants to secure additional funding from elsewhere.

 

The Committee resolved (by 7 votes to 0) to endorse the recommendation.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

This item was chaired by Councillor Mike Todd-Jones

 

Matter for Decision

The report provided an update on the programme to deliver 500 Council homes with funding from the Combined Authority.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Noted the continued progress on the delivery of the Combined Authority programme.

    ii.         Noted the funding structure for the Combined Authority programme.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Committee received a report from the Head of Housing Development.

 

The Assistant Head of Finance and Business Manager confirmed that to-date no approach had been made to the Secretary of State regarding cross budget funding arrangements. The current recommendations only relate to housing development and not to the Community Centre.

 

The Committee resolved by 5 votes to 0 to endorse the recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

This item was chaired by Councillor Mike Todd-Jones

 

Matter for Decision

      i.         The report provided details of POD homes for single homeless people to be gifted from Hill Partnership.  This project is proposed to be delivered as part of a wider compliment of Housing First provision.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Delegate authority to the Strategic Director in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Housing to approve use of Council land as sites for PODs on an individual basis based on the criteria set out in this report.

    ii.         Approved the Budget of £140,000 to aid the delivery of PODs programme.

   iii.         Delegate authority to the Strategic Director in consultation with the Executive Councillor to agree the final approach in which the PODS are let, owned and managed, which is expected to be through a third party charitable organisation.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Housing Services Manager.

 

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

      i.         Welcomed the scheme but questioned the size of the units that did not meet space standards.

    ii.         Asked if an approach could be made to the provider of the PODs for larger internal space standards.

   iii.         Expressed concerns regarding integration with existing communities and community safety.

  iv.         Suggested that those offered POD type accommodation might feel they are receiving an inferior option to other housing applicants.

    v.         Questioned why the sites proposed for the initial units were all in the North of the City.

  vi.         Raised concerns regarding on going support and progression option to more settled accommodation.

 

The Head of the Housing Development Agency said the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.         The units were of a standard size and were being offered to a range of providers. They were factory built and needed to be easily transportable on a lorry.
Requesting bespoke options was unlikely to be successful.

    ii.         Proposed sites would be determined by availability.

   iii.         To date there was no feedback on the progress of a similar scheme managed and delivered by Allia.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

This item was chaired by Councillor Mike Todd-Jones

 

Matter for Decision

      i.         There was a statutory requirement for local authorities, in their strategic housing role, to have a tenancy strategy setting out the issues which Registered Providers operating in the local area must have regard to when deciding: the type of tenancies to offer; the circumstances in which they will offer a tenancy of a particular kind; the length of any fixed term tenancy; and the circumstances in which they will grant a new tenancy when a fixed term tenancy comes to an end.

    ii.         The Localism Act also required tenancy strategies to be kept under review.

   iii.         Minor changes were proposed to the requirements laid down in the original strategy published in 2012, reflecting more recent changes to government policy, more recent  data, and the Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy 2019-2023.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Approved the revised Tenancy Strategy attached at Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Committee received a report from the Housing Strategy Manager.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.

 

The Scrutiny Committee resolved to exclude members of the public from the meeting on the grounds that, if they were present, there would be disclosure to them of information defined as exempt from publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

This item was chaired by Councillor Mike Todd-Jones

 

Matter for Decision

As per confidential report.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Approved the Decisions as per the Confidential Report

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Committee resolved unanimously to endorse the recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.