Issue - meetings

(Director of Communities) To consider the attached report (FPM-021-2015/16).

The Director of Communities presented a report on a proposed Charging Plan for Housing Related Support Services covering the Council’s Careline Service, Scheme Management Service and Intensive Housing Management Support.

The Director of Communities advised that although the Careline Service currently broke even when the income was compared to the expenditure, there was currently a deficit on the income and expenditure for the Council’s Scheme Management Service.  The Council was dependent on funding for Housing Related Support (HRS) services from Essex County Council (ECC), which was reducing in 2016/17 and was likely to reduce further in future years. Therefore the Cabinet had previously agreed that the Housing Portfolio Holder should come forward with a Charging Plan on how HRS charges could be increased each year from April 2016, until the cost of the Scheme Management Service became self-funded, taking account of any annual reductions in HRS funding from Essex County Council. Both the Tenants and Leaseholders Federation and the Resources Select Committee had been consulted and supported the proposals suggested.

The Cabinet Committee considered the current deficit for providing the Scheme Management Service which was approximately £50,250 per annum and the plan put forward to recover the debt over 10 years. The Cabinet Committee had concerns over the time period for the recovery of costs and that the service would need to be self financing sooner and felt that a target of 5 years would be more appropriate, without any cap on the maximum percentage increase on charges made to tenants but to look at the figure increase instead.

The Housing Portfolio Holder commented that further reductions in ECC funding were not known and that if/when further reductions were made this, would also increase the cost of the service to residents.

The Leader asked what the future was for the service. The Director of Communities advised that a report would be brought forward to the Housing Select Committee in 2016 on options for the future of the service including the possibility of providing the service to non Council residents.

Recommended:

(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) - this is the total deficit/surplus to be recovered/repaid;

(b)   The deficit for the Scheme Management Service should be recovered over a 5 year period and should therefore be divided by the number of years remaining between April 2016 and April 2021 - this is 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 - this is 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36