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Update on delivery of the 500 Council Housing Programme.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Housing and Homelessness
Decision published: 20/08/2020
Effective from: 23/06/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
The report provides 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.
iii.
Noted the risks and impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on the 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.
In response to the report the Committee commented that it was
disappointing that the Kingswat project was delayed
by UK Power Network (UKPN). The Strategic Director (FB) explained that these
delays were unavoidable as UKPN were dealing with Covid
19 emergency works. Council staff were currently working on new ways to engage
with them to ease the progress of future projects. The Head of Maintenance and
Assets explained as this was a refurbishment the issues with the cabling were
not known before works started.
In response to a question about the risk ratings in the report the Head
of Housing Development explained that these related to the specifics on the
projects not the overall programme which even with potential for delays was low
risk in terms of achieving the March 2022 SOS target for the funding.
The Head of Housing
Development said the following in response to Members’ questions:
i.
Confirmed that the first Housing Pods to ease rough
sleeping are to be installed across three sites around Cambridge. Four more
Pods were available and would be installed as soon as suitable sites had been
identified.
ii.
Suggested that staff would be monitoring how the
Pods worked for individual users.
The Committee resolved by 5 votes to 0 and 3 abstentions 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.
Lead officer: Claire Flowers
Note the progress the council is making on rehousing rough sleepers and the key principles in the action plan.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Housing and Homelessness
Decision published: 20/08/2020
Effective from: 23/06/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
i.
At the end of March 2020,
and in line with lockdown measures introduced at the time, the Government asked
local authorities to ensure that rough sleepers were provided with emergency
accommodation to help reduce the risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus.
The City Council, along with partner organisations,
working in the homelessness sector, and the County Council had worked in
partnership tackle the significant logistical task of identifying those rough
sleeping and at immediate risk and securing accommodation offers for all of
them. The Government gave an initial financial commitment (see 8a of the
Officer’s report) and an invitation to apply for further funding as required.
ii.
The report updated members
on progress to date, broadly outlines phase two of the council’s plan - to
secure longer term housing options for those currently accommodated on a
temporary basis – and explains how officers would manage the process. It
explained why the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, previously due for
publication this month, had been delayed and will now be brought before Housing
Scrutiny Committee in January 2021.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Housing
i.
Noted the progress the Council has made on
rehousing rough sleepers during the Covid-19 pandemic and endorse the proposed
principles for delivering the phase two action plan.
ii.
Noted that a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping
Strategy will be brought to Housing Scrutiny Committee in January 2021.
iii.
Agreed that a monthly
update report on the progress of the Phase 2 action plan will be circulated to
members of the Housing Scrutiny Committee for the critical time
period between now and September.
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 report and thanked officers for their
hard work in achieving the temporary housing of so many rough sleepers under
difficult circumstances.
ii.
Expressed concerns about the stress on staff and
sought an assurance that staff were being fully supported.
iii.
Sought assurances that those housed in hotels would
not be evicted back onto the streets now that hotels are about to re-open.
The Head of Housing said the following in response to Members’
questions:
i.
Confirmed that staff would be attempting to assist
all those temporarily housed. Most people had complied with support
arrangements and had behaved in an acceptable way. However, assisting those
whose behaviour was unacceptable, or criminal was more problematic.
ii.
When the Police were involved an individual’s
licence could be ended quickly. A multi-agency approach was used, including
management of prison release.
iii.
Housing and support had been set up very quickly
and lessons would be learnt for the longer term.
iv.
There were some concerns over the longer-term
funding for this initiative.
v.
Confirmed the individuals housed had a range of
vulnerabilities, including one with a registered disability.
vi.
The new pod housing was currently not in use but
might be suitable for some of those in temporary housing.
Councillor
Martinelli proposed and Councillor Porrer seconded an additional recommendation
as follows:
A monthly update
report on the progress of the Phase 2 action plan will be circulated to members
of the Housing Scrutiny Committee for the critical time
period between now and September.
The Committee supported the additional
recommendation.
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.
Lead officer: David Greening
This item is for debate and not for decision.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Housing and Homelessness
Decision published: 20/08/2020
Effective from: 23/06/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
The report
provides an update on the Estates & Facilities Service Review and
information on compliance related work within the service, including a summary
on gas servicing, electrical testing, recent audit actions and fire safety.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Housing
i.
Noted the
progress of the service review and compliance related work detailed within the
report.
ii.
Agreed that an update
report on the progress on the works to be brought to the September Housing
Scrutiny Committee.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the
Officer’s report. the progress of the service review and compliance
related work detailed within the report.
Any Alternative
Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny
Considerations
The Committee
received a report from the Head of Housing Maintenance and Assets.
The Head of
Housing Maintenance and Assets said the following in response to Members’
questions:
i.
Confirmed that two council properties were non compliant with gas safety
certificates. This was a result of the occupants shielding. Those properties
would re visited as a priority as soon as the
occupants felt comfortable with other people inside their homes.
ii.
Fire Risk Assessments had been undertaken in
respect of a number of maisonettes that are above
ground floor level and necessary work identified would be undertaken as soon as
possible.
The Committee raised concerns regarding the recent fire at Kingsway
Flats. It was suggested that residents had reported problems with communal
lighting, lack of internal fire doors, communal alarms not working and blocked
stairwells. The Head of Housing Maintenance and Assets responded and stated
that the emergency lighting had been tested regularly and no faults had been
found. All tenanted flats entrance doors will
be replaced with fire doors that meeting current standards and orders
have already been placed with contractors. There was no requirement for a communal fire
alarm. The fire was under investigation and more information would be available
at a future date.
The Asset Manager stated that there was an on-going program
to install heat detectors. Additional funding is likely to be required as
this three-year programme also requires work to existing smoke detectors in
dwellings.
The Committee thanked housing staff for their prompt and caring approach
to rehousing victims of the fire.
Councillor Porrer
proposed and Diana Minns seconded an additional recommendation as follows:
That an update report on the progress on the
works to be brought to the September Housing Scrutiny Committee.
The Committee supported the additional
recommendation.
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.
Lead officer: Lynn Bradley
(i) Recommend to Council to approve carry forward requests for revenue funding from 2019/20 to 2020/21, if appropriate, as detailed in report appendix.
(ii) Recommend to Council to approve capital funding rephasing from 2019/20 to 2020/21, where relevant, as detailed in report appendix.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Housing and Homelessness
Decision published: 20/08/2020
Effective from: 23/06/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision
The
report presented, for the Housing Revenue Account:
i.
A summary of actual income and expenditure compared
to the final budget for 2019/20 (outturn position)
ii.
Revenue and capital budget variances with
explanations
iii.
Specific requests to carry forward funding
available from both revenue and capital budget underspends into 2020/21.
iv.
A summary of housing debt which was written off
during 2019/20.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Housing
Under Part 1 of the Housing Scrutiny
Committee Agenda, the Executive Councillor Housing Scrutiny Committee:
i.
Approved carry forward requests totalling
£1,431,300 in revenue funding from 2019/20 into 2020/21, as detailed in
Appendix C of the Officer’s report.
ii.
Approved a delegation to the Head of Finance to
make the
necessary changes
to the 2020/21 base budgets to remove the impact of inflation in all non-pay
and non-contractual revenue budgets.
iii.
Approved carry forward requests of £6,560,000 in
HRA and General Fund Housing capital budgets and associated resources from
2019/20 into 2020/21 and beyond to fund re-phased net capital spending, as
detailed in Appendix D of the Officer’s report and the associated notes to the
appendix.
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 made the following comments in response to the report:
i.
Expressed disappointment at the failure to deliver
the Decent Homes Standards to all tenants and the associated underspend.
ii.
Sought clarity on the council tax liable on void
properties.
iii.
Suggested that some underspends could be diverted
into energy efficiency measures.
iv.
Welcomed the progress made with disabled
adaptation.
The Assistant Head of
Finance and Business Manager said the following in response to Members’
questions:
i.
Explained that tenants had the right to refuse
improvement work such as kitchen or bathroom refits. Some had taken good care
of existing facilities and did not want the disruption of replacement work.
ii.
Confirmed that the authority is liable for the
majority of the Council Tax on void properties, with homes vacated for
redevelopment causing the majority of spend. Confirmed that only short-term
discounts or exemptions are available (one month in most cases).
iii.
Confirmed that there had been no change in policy
of discretionary repairs. However, there had been a change in procedures with
council staff no longer undertaking works which were the tenant’s
responsibility.
iv.
Clarified that carry forward requests this year
were higher than last, but that so were the budgets, so that proportionally the
capital carry forwards were not hugely different. Highlighted that Covid-19 is
delaying repairs and planned works in 2020/21 and may affect the ability to
appropriately invest funds carried forward. Further details on the catch up process would be available later in the year.
The Committee resolved by 10 votes to 0 with 3 abstentions
to endorse part 1 of the recommendation
The Committee resolved by 5 votes to 0 with 3 abstentions to
endorse part 2 of the recommendation.
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.
Lead officer: Julia Hovells
To adopt the Addendum to the Greater Cambridge Statement of Community Involvement 2019
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Planning, Building Control, and Infrastructure
Decision published: 16/06/2020
Effective from: 29/05/2020
Decision:
Matter for
Decision: |
To agree the
Addendum to the Greater Cambridge Statement of Community Involvement 2019. |
Why the decision had to be made (and any
alternative options): |
To respond to restrictions related to Covid-19 and to enable the
planning process to continue whilst continue to enable full involvement of people in planning matters.
Updating the Statement of Community Involvement also reflects recent
government guidance. |
The
Executive Councillor’s decision(s): |
That the
Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces agreed: To adopt the Addendum to
the Greater Cambridge Statement of Community Involvement 2019. |
Reasons for the decision: |
Cambridge
City Council adopted the Greater Cambridge Statement of Community Involvement
(SCI) on 25 June 2019, jointly with South Cambridgeshire District Council. The
SCI for planning sets out how and when we will involve the community and key
stakeholders in preparing, altering and reviewing our plans and guidance to
guide future development. It also explains how we will involve the community
in planning applications. The
Councils are committed to keeping essential services running during the
Coronavirus outbreak. Planning has an
important role to play in supporting our economy and our communities. It is
important that we find a way to keep the planning process moving forward.
There are a number of ways in which the Councils are having to adapt the
approach to planning applications and plan making while movement restrictions
are in place. It
is therefore proposed to add an Addendum to the SCI, to set out which elements
are impacted by current restrictions, and how the Councils will continue to
enable full involvement of people in planning matters. Updating the SCI
reflects recent government guidance. Each of the changes proposed is
explained in the Addendum, included as Appendix 1 to this decision. When
the SCI was adopted it was subject to Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA). A
review of this assessment has been undertaken to consider the impacts of the
Addendum. It is not considered that any changes to the EQIA are required, no
changes to the impact of the policy were identified each of the protected
characteristics identified. |
Scrutiny consideration: |
The Chair and Spokesperson of Planning and
Transport Scrutiny Committee were consulted
prior to the action being authorised. |
Report: |
Briefing
Report, Greater Cambridge Statement of Community Involvement 2019 – Addendum
May 2020 and EQIA; These papers can be viewed at
the following link. |
Conflicts
of interest: |
None known. |
Comments: |
No comments made. |
Wards affected: (All Wards);
Lead officer: Jonathan Dixon