Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director of Place (Economic Growth and Housing)

The Cabinet considered the report of the Assistant Director of Place (Economic Growth and Housing) that sought delegated authority for the formal adoption of a suite of council housing policies required to facilitate the management and maintenance of any new Council owned homes as part of the Council Housing Programme; details the future governance arrangements for the management of the Council’s homes; and also sought approval for an Early Acquisition Scheme including delegated authority to acquire additional properties for council housing provision.

The following appendix was attached to the report:

·       Appendix 1 - Regulator of Social Housing Consumer Standards April 2024.

Decisions Made:

That

(1)      authority be given to the Assistant Director of Place (Economic Growth and Housing), in consultation with the Cabinet Member - Communities and Housing, to review and approve a suite of council housing policies to be adopted to facilitate the operational housing management of new council housing;

(2)      authority be given to the Assistant Director of Place (Economic Growth and Housing), in consultation with the Cabinet Member - Communities and Housing, to agree any amendments and/or additions to the suite of policies including the adoption of any future policies that may be required;

(3)      the proposal to create a Housing Advisory Board as part of the future governance arrangements in respect of housing management, be noted;

(4)      the Council be recommended to approve a supplementary capital estimate of £750,000, for an Early Acquisition Scheme to acquire additional properties for Council housing to be included within the Capital Programme, funded through historic right to buy sharing agreement receipts and Homes England grant funding where this may be available and suitable; and

(5)      in the event that the supplementary capital estimate is approved by the Council, authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services and the Assistant Director of Place (Economic Growth and Housing), in consultation with the Cabinet Member - Communities and Housing and the Cabinet Member - Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, to approve acquisitions to the Council Housing Programme up to a value of £750,000 funded through historic right to buy sharing agreement receipts and Homes England grant funding where this may be available and suitable.

Reasons for the Decisions:

To ensure that the Council had the necessary policies and governance arrangements in place ready to manage new council housing. Approval at this stage would allow the Council to progress to be operationally ready to take homes into management.

Given the homes at Buckley Hill Lane were not due for handover until early 2025, there was opportunity for the Council to consider early acquisitions to the Council Housing Programme to bring additional homes into management to help meet housing need as demand for social housing increased. The Council was seeing growing pressures on its homelessness service and temporary accommodation provided and early acquisitions into the programme could help to support this.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

No alternative option in respect of the policy adoption was available. The Council was required to have a range of policies in place that would help to meet legislative and regulatory requirements for the management and maintenance of the Council’s homes.

The Council could choose not to set up and operate a Housing Advisory Board. This option was not recommended. A number of existing stock holding local authorities operated a board type of arrangement. The creation of a Housing Advisory Board provided additional and strengthened governance arrangements to the landlord service that the Council would provide to future tenants. The Housing Advisory Board provided a good opportunity for tenants to help shape the service, be involved in and participate in decision making on key matters of the management and maintenance of the Council’s homes. This also supported the new regulatory standard of ‘Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard’ enabling opportunity for tenants to influence strategies, policies and services. The new standard would take effect from 1 April 2024 as part of the revised consumer standards and Code of Practice published by the Regulator of Social Housing. As referred to in Appendix 1 of the report.

The Council could choose not to support early acquisitions into the Council Housing Programme. However, given the Council intended to be operationally ready to manage homes in advance of the properties at Buckley Hill Lane being handed over, there were opportunities available to start bringing homes into management earlier and respond to the housing and homelessness pressures being faced in Sefton.