HOUSING
AND HEALTH COMMITTEE 14
March 2001
(5.30pm
- 7.00pm)
PRESENT: Councillors
Nimmo-Smith (Chair), Gilchrist, Griffiths, Howell, James, Liddle, Overhill,
Smart and Stebbings
Tenant
representatives - Mrs L Dockerill and
Mr B Haywood
FOR THE
INFORMATION OF THE COUNCIL
01/g/17
MINUTES
(01/g/09) In
answer to a question from Councillor Gilchrist, the Director of Community Services stated that a report would be submitted to the
Committee’s June meeting concerning rent arrears and re-let times.
The minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
01/g/18
APOLOGIES
Apologies were
received from Councillor Talbot and Mrs K Harris.
01/g/19 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Stebbings
declared the following Code of Conduct (non-financial) interest:
·
In minute number 01/g/22 – as he was
a Council tenant.
01/g/20 PUBLIC
QUESTION TIME
No members of
the public wished to address the Committee.
01/g/21 GENERAL
FUND REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGETS, CARRY FORWARDS AND SIGNIFICANT VARIANCES
Resolved to seek approval from City Board to carry forward an estimated total of
£44,810 budgets, detailed in Appendix B to the report, from 2000/2001 into
2001/02.
Action by: Director of Community
Services,
Director of Environment and Planning and Director of Finance
01/g/22 HOUSING
REVENUE ACCOUNT BUDGETS, CARRY FORWARDS AND SIGNIFICANT VARIANCES
The Head of Accounting Services highlighted that the £200,000 planned
repairs carry forward was a result of slippage on the Foster Road roofing
contract.
Action by: Director of Community Services and Director of Finance
01/g/23 CAPITAL
OVERVIEW REPORT 2000/01
The Head of
Accounting Services stated that the unallocated General Fund Reserves,
estimated at £67,000, would be required to balance the proposed
2001/02 Capital Programme. The
Committee was advised that the final value of any slippage in the Programme,
currently estimated at £173,000,
and the resulting need to carry forward resources would be reported to
its June meeting for determination.
Resolved
1) To approve the revised allocation of resources detailed in Table 1 of
the report.
2) That City Board be asked for its approval to carry forward any balance
of the £1.7m use of reserves approved for the Housing Capital Programme in
2000/2001 to fund Housing General Fund activities in the 2001/02 programme.
01/g/24 HOUSING CAPITAL STRATEGY REPORT
The Director of Community Services introduced a report which detailed
new capital financing arrangements from April with the introduction of the
Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) to fund repairs to the Council’s own housing
stock. This would be accompanied by a
reduction in the Basic Credit Approval.
The Chair stated that the MRA would allow more stable planned
programming, although the overall availability of resources would be limited
(because of ring-fencing) as would the current flexibility between HRA and
non-HRA funded housing activities.
The Chair tabled an amendment.
“In view of the pressures on Housing Capital Financing, to ask City
Board to consider whether resources could be made available to fund non-HRA
capital projects as part of its review of the Council’s capital plan in
July”. The amendment was agreed.
The Director of Community Services stated that the most noticeable
effect would be on grants for private sector housing. The Committee was advised that current budgeting indicated that
resources would only be available for mandatory grants, with very little scope
for discretionary grants.
The Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy stated that the
Council’s Performance Indicators would be affected by this change, in
particular regarding unfit properties, empty properties brought back into use
and HMOs brought up to standard.
The Committee agreed that a further recommendation be added: “to
instruct officers to report back on how the Council should prioritise grants in
future and to implement a scheme on a temporary basis prior to the June meeting
subject to consultation with Chair & Spokes”.
Resolved
1) To approve the allocation of resources for 2001/02 as outlined in
appendix A.
2) That officers advise applicants with completed grant forms on hold that
no further approvals will be made in the current year or 2001/2002 except in the
case of mandatory grants and in very exceptional circumstances. The grants
approved in exceptional circumstances and the additional funding required to
meet them will be agreed with Members.
3) That officers investigate grant application on hold to see if any could
qualify for mandatory DFG’s
4) That officers review the funding situation on grants when the HIP bid,
to be made in Summer 2001, is being worked up, with a view to making
non-mandatory grants available again within the overall programme once the current
high level of commitments begins to be dealt with.
5) That in view of the pressures on Housing Capital Financing, to ask City
Board to consider whether additional resources could be made available to fund
non-HRA capital projects as part of its review of the Council’s capital plan in
July.
6) To instruct officers to report back on how the Council should prioritise
grants in future and to implement a scheme on a temporary basis prior to the
June meeting subject to consultation with Chair & Spokes.
01/g/25 FOOD SAFETY ENFORCEMENT POLICY
The Committee received a report which detailed revisions to the Council’s existing policy to meet standards laid down by the Food Standards Agency. In response to a question from Councillor Smart, the Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy stated that the officers would look again at whether it would be appropriate not to prosecute if the penalty was likely to be a conditional discharge (2.6(iii) page 58 refers).
Following a
question from Councillor Gilchrist, the Head of Environmental Health and Waste
Strategy agreed that the summary leaflet to be produced for the Trade and
general distribution would be circulated to members for comment prior to
publication. The Committee also agreed
that the policy/summary leaflet should be made available on the Council’s
website.
In response to
points made by Councillor Gilchrist concerning the use of plain language in the
document, the Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy stated that the
document had been read for clarity by an expert in the field of food safety.
Resolved to approve the revised Food Safety Enforcement Policy as attached in
Appendix 1 to the report.
01/g/26 HOUSING
REVENUE ACCOUNT BUSINESS PLANNING 2002/03
The Chair and the Director of Community Services both acknowledged the
good working atmosphere with tenant representatives during the Working Group
meetings.
Resolved to approve the proposed division of the stock set out in paragraph 3.5
of the report as a basis for the construction of the plan is approved.
Action by: Director of Community Services
01g/27 STANTON HOUSE / DITCHBURN PLACE
The Director of Community Services stated that
officers were working to a current timetable to implement the amalgamation on 1
May.
Resolved
1)
To
proceed with plans to amalgamate Stanton House and Ditchburn Place in order to
facilitate the development of a similar resource to Ditchburn Place at Stanton
House (see letter from Social Services attached to the report).
2)
To
continue to negotiate with Social Services regarding a partnership approach to
the development of rehabilitation facilities in sheltered schemes and report
further to Committee.
3)
That
Ditchburn Place Management Committee be renamed Ditchburn Place / Stanton House
Management Committee and terms of reference be amended to include
responsibility for Stanton House
01/g/28 MOVE-ON ACCOMMODATION FOR
SUPPORTED HOUSING PROVIDERS
The Director of
Community Services circulated an update on the use of winter provision Move On
accommodation (4 December to date).
The Committee
noted that the officers would be looking at ways to improve monitoring of the
scheme and of the individuals who became the responsibility of the Housing
Management section after the initial work by Housing Needs.
The Committee
was advised that take up of places would be reviewed in January 2002 and
reassigned where appropriate (for instance, it was noted that Social Services
had not taken up any of its allocated quota in 1999 or 2000).
Resolved
1)
That
the move-on quotas detailed in paragraph 5.0 for 2001 are agreed and these
quotas supercede all prior agreements.
2)
That
any new requests received during the year are referred to Committee in January
2002.
3)
That
all organisations continue to use the assessment form which requires them to
keep in contact with the applicant and liaise with the Council / RSL for the
first six months of the tenancy being signed.
Action by: Director of Community Services
01/g/29 HOUSING
PERFORMANCE MONITORING PANEL
Resolved to appoint Councillor Howell
to the Housing Performance Monitoring Panel.
01/g/30 DATE OF MEETING – JULY 2001
Resolved that the meeting scheduled for Wednesday 4 July 2001
be rearranged for Wednesday 11 July 2001 at 5.30pm.
01/g/31 EXCLUSION
OF THE PUBLIC
Resolved that the public be excluded from the meeting for the
next items on the grounds that if they were present there would be disclosure
to them of information defined as exempt from publication by paragraphs 7 and 9
of Part I of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972.
01/g/32 LOCAL AUTHORITY SOCIAL HOUSING
GRANT PROGRAMME 2001/02
Resolved
1)
That
Local Authority resources are made available to fund 50% of the Social Housing Grant (SHG)
requirement for the provision of new sheltered housing accommodation at
Wulfstan Court. The proposal is that the scheme is joint funded with the
Housing Corporation.
2)
That
Local Authority Resources are made available for Cambridge City Council to
provide the required 50% match funding for the provision by Cambridge Housing
Society of 9 bedpsaces as move-on accommodation, under the Safer Communities
Supported Housing Fund bid round. The balance of the SHG funding will be
provided by the Housing Corporation.
3)
That
Local Authority resources are made available for Cambridge City Council to
provide the required 50% match funding for the provision by English Churches
Housing Group of a ‘wet’ hostel. The balance of the SHG funding will be
provided by the Housing Corporation under the Safer Communities Supported
Housing Fund bid round.
The Committee noted that there
was insufficient funding available in the Programme to progress the following 3
schemes. However, the recommendations
were approved in the event that if resources became available the schemes would
be progressed in 2001/02.
4)
Local
Authority Resources are made available for the provision of 3 units on the
local authority owned site at Seymour Street, in partnership with King Street
Housing Society.
5)
That
Local Authority resources are made available for the provision of 4 units on
land owned by Hundred Houses at Fallowfield as part of the regeneration of this
sub-standard estate.
6)
That
Local Authority resources are made available for Cambridge City Council to
provide the required 50% match funding for the remodelling of the hostel block
at the YMCA in Cambridge to provide 31 self contained studio flats and 9 two
bedroom self contained flats. As part of the Safer Communities Supported
Housing Fund bid round, the balance of funding would be provided by the Housing
Corporation.
Action
by: Director of Community Services
01/g/33 FORMER
TENANT ARREARS – WRITING OFF BAD DEBT
Resolved to write off eight cases of former tenant arrears totalling £19,815.15.
01/g/34 ANY
OTHER BUSINESS
The Committee was informed that Mrs Dockerill was standing down as a tenant representative on the Committee. On behalf of the Committee, the Chair thanked her for her contribution over the years and wished her well for the future.
The
meeting ended at 7.00pm.
CHAIR