Agenda and minutes

(Director of Governance) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

No declarations of interest were made by members of the Committee pursuant to the Council’s Code of Conduct.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 19 January 2017.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 19 January 2017 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record, subject to the correction of the reference to Councillor J. M. Whitehouse in Minute 42(d) (Risk Management – Corporate Risk Register (Risk 9 – Safeguarding)), to read ‘Councillor J. H. Whitehouse’.

Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, requires that the permission of the Chairman be obtained, after prior notice to the Chief Executive, before urgent business not specified in the agenda (including a supplementary agenda of which the statutory period of notice has been given) may be transacted.

The Committee noted that there was no other urgent business for consideration at the meeting.

(Director Communities) To consider the attached report (FPM-027-2016/17).

The Director of Communities reported that, in April 2014, the Council Housebuilding Cabinet Committee had reviewed the resources available for the Council’s Housebuilding Programme and options available for expanding and accelerating the programme. Members noted that one of the drivers for the review had been the increasing amount of one-for-one replacement Right to Buy (RTB) capital receipts (141 Receipts) that were accumulating and which needed to be spent if the Council was to avoid paying over such receipts to the Government. The Committee was advised that the Cabinet had subsequently decided to:

·                 increase the number of affordable homes developed in Phases 3-6 of the programme from 20 to 30 per year;

·                 extend, in principle, the programme by a further 4 years to 10 years with an additional 30 new affordable homes provided each year;

·                 make no decision on the most appropriate way of funding an extended Housebuilding Programme, but that consideration be given at an appropriate time in the future, and before any commitments are made or expenditure incurred;

·                 seek grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), initially, for Phase 2 of the Housebuilding Programme at Burton Road, Loughton; and

·                 re-profile the Council’s HRA Self-Financing Reserve, in order to release funds for the Housebuilding Programme in earlier years of the HRA Business Plan, by increasing contributions to the reserve in later years, whilst ensuring that sufficient resources have been accumulated within the Reserve to repay the first loan on maturity; and

·                 develop a contingency plan to purchase properties from the open market, should the amount of 141 Receipts still be in excess of the maximum amount that can be spent on the Housebuilding Programme, in order to avoid having to pass any 141 Receipts to the Government, with interest.

Members were reminded that, in September 2015, the Committee had considered a report on the options available to ensure that the HRA did not fall into deficit, as a result of the Government’s requirement that all social landlords reduce rents by 1% per annum for four years from April 2016. The estimated loss in rental income to the HRA had been assessed at that time at around £14m over the following four years and around £228m over the following 30 years and the Committee had considered a number of options to recast the HRA Financial Plan for the future, including:

·                 ceasing some or all of the funding currently available within the Financial Plan for future housing improvements and service enhancements for HRA services;

·                 reducing investment in improvements to the Council’s housing stock and reducing the Council’s Modern Home Standard accordingly;

·                 reducing/ceasing the Housebuilding Programme; and

·                 further borrowing for the HRA, repaid by the end of the Financial Plan period.

The Director of Communities reported that the Committee had concluded that, since no immediate corrective action was required at that time, no major decisions should be made to re-cast the HRA Financial Plan until further information became available on the effect of the Government’s separate proposal to require the sale  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.