Agenda item

(Director of Communities) to consider the attached report.

The Director of Communities, A Hall introduced a report on a proposed Charging Plan for Housing Related Support (HRS) services.

The Committee noted that:

·                     HRS covers the Careline Service, Scheme Management Service and the provision of Intensive Housing Management;

·                     For 2015/16, the Council had increased the HRS charges by 50% of the amount that was expected to be required, in order to recover reductions in funding from Essex County Council (ECC) and for the service to become self funding;

·                     ECC had decided very late not to proceed with the planned reductions in funding in 2015/16, but because the charges had been increased and tenants affected had been advised they remained;

·                     The Housing Portfolio Holder had previously presented the Cabinet with 5 options on what action could be taken with the increased income, although even after increasing the charges for 2015/16, it had been noted that to provide the Scheme Management Service there had been a £50,250 deficit;

·                     The Council also relied on the HRS funding from ECC, which had been expected to reduce in 2016/17 and was likely to continue to reduce in further years;

·                     Therefore the Cabinet had previously decided that the Housing Portfolio Holder should produce a Charging Plan on how the HRS charges should be increased each year from April 2016 until the cost of the Scheme Management Service became self-funded and included the potential for annual reductions in funding from ECC;

Accordingly, the Housing Portfolio Holder reported on the Charging Plan that he intended to present to the next meeting of the Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee, and sought the views of the Select Committee on the proposals. The Epping Forest Tenants and Leaseholders Federation had considered the proposals the previous evening and had supported the Charging Plan and associated methodology.

The Housing Portfolio Holder, D Stallan advised that HRS services had been supported by the HRA for over 10 years and that there were other financial pressures on the HRA, therefore it was fairer for all, that the costs were spread over the users of the service.

Councillor J H Whitehouse asked what the difference was between residents on Housing Benefits (HB) and residents who paid; and whether it was fair, as the costs should really be spread fairly across all users of the service and that in most cases there was a very fine line between HB receipts and non HB receipts in this case. A Hall advised that the funding received from ECC was intended to support tenants in receipts of HB, hence the reason why such tenants were now being charged for HRS services, albeit at a much lower charge than those not in receipt of HB.

Councillor S Watson commented that it was a very good idea to spread the cost over a period of time in order to reduce the impact on residents.

RESOLVED:

That the Select Committee considered the proposals of the Housing Portfolio Holder for a Charging Plan for future charges in respect of the Housing Related Support (HRS) Support Services and recommends to the Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee:

(1)        That the separate charges for the Council’s Careline Service, Scheme Management Service and Intensive Housing Management Support be increased annually in accordance with the following principles:

(a)   The expected amount of reduction in ECC funding for the forthcoming year should be added to the current service deficit (or subtracted from the current service surplus) - which was the total deficit/surplus to be recovered/repaid;

(b)   The deficit for the Scheme Management Service should be recovered over a 10 year period and should therefore be divided by the number of years remaining between April 2016 and April 2026 - which was the service deficit to be recovered in the forthcoming year;

(c)   Any deficit/surplus for the Careline Service should be recovered/repaid in the following year - which was the service deficit/surplus to be recovered/repaid in the forthcoming year;

(d)   The prevailing level of annual pay increases, as calculated by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), should then be applied to the total current income received from current charges and added/deducted to/from the service deficit/surplus to be recovered/repaid, in the forthcoming year - this results in the total amount to be recovered/repaid in the forthcoming year;

(e)   The total amount to be recovered/repaid should then be spread across service users, in the same proportions as currently, as follows:

Ø  Scheme management and intensive housing management charges - Sheltered tenants and area tenants; and

Ø  Careline charges – Council tenants and private users;

(f)         The resultant monetary increase (but not the percentage increase) for those both in receipt and not in receipt of housing benefit should be the same;

(g)   The increase for those not in receipt of housing benefit should be no more than 10% in any one year; and

(h)   The methodology used to calculate the increases in accordance with the above principles should be as set out at Appendices 2 and 3;

(2)        That only 50% of the expected ECC HRS funding reduction in 2016/17 was taken into account when calculating HRS charges for 2016/17; and

(3)        Accordingly, using the above principle and the methodology at Appendices 2 and 3, the HRS charges for 2016/17 be set as follows:

            Careline

                        Council tenants:

                                    Self-funders                                        -  £3.60 per week

                                    In receipt of housing benefit                -  £0.55 per week

                        Private users                                                   -  £112 per annum

            Scheme Management

                        Sheltered tenants:

                                    Self-funders                                        -  £8.30 per week

                                    In receipt of housing benefit                -  £1.26 per week

                        Area tenants:

                                    Self-funders                                        -  £2.09 per week

                                    In receipt of housing benefit                -  £0.32 per week

Intensive Housing Management (not paid by those in receipt of housing benefit)

                        Sheltered tenants                                            -  £1.46 per week

                        Area tenants                                                    -  £0.37 per week