Issue - meetings

The revised 2017/18 and 2018/19 Housing Investment Programme budgets together with the proposed programmes for 2019/20 to 2023/24 were approved by the City Council on 13 February 2017.

The Council Housing Repairs & Maintenance Budgets for 2017/18 and 2018/19 were approved at the Housing Executive meeting on 23 January 2018.

The purpose of this report is to inform members of the spending proposed for the next financial year for revenue and capital funded maintenance and improvement programmes together with Housing IT Business Software and to seek approval to incur expenditure in respect of the capital schemes and rolling programmes and to show how the budgets have been allocated on an area office basis.

RECOMMENDED

(1)  That the area programmes and allocation of finance for the funding of the Revenue Budgets for repairs and maintenance of dwellings be noted.

(2)  That the capital budgets listed in Appendix B and Appendix C commencing in 2018/2019 be approved and the Local Authority Housing Manager be authorised under Financial Rules, Section B14 to proceed with schemes within the sums approved.

(3)  That the Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer financial appraisal be approved for the capital programme - global provision.

The Cabinet Member for Housing agreed:

(1)  That the area programmes and allocation of finance for the funding of the Revenue Budgets for repairs and maintenance of dwellings be noted.

(2)  That the capital budgets listed in Appendix B and Appendix C commencing in 2018/2019 be approved and the Local Authority Housing Manager be authorised under Financial Rules, Section B14 proceed with schemes within the sums approved.

(3)  That the Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer's financial appraisal be approved for the capital programme - global provision.

Meredydd Hughes, Assistant Director, presented the report on behalf of the Director of Property and Housing, explaining that after the Council budget approvals this report gave details of the capital schemes as well as the yearly programme of works to be undertaken in the housing geographical areas.  The Housing members had been briefed on the details of the IT capital schemes by Graham Fairbrother. In response to a question from Councillor Wood it was clarified that the Windows 10 upgrade had been a council-wide project, so was outside of this software budget.

Maria Cole, on behalf of the Residents' Consortium, asked about asbestos removals and the preparations for the roll out of Universal Credit.  Steve Groves, Asset Manager, reported that asbestos in properties is safe when in good condition but it is removed as and when it is found to be in poor condition in properties.  James Hill, Director of Property and Housing, reported there had been a slip in the date for Universal Credit, which could now be in November, but staff across the council were already preparing to cope with the changes.  Adrian Blackwood, also from the Residents' Consortium, asked about the Residents' Initiatives Bids allocation of £50,000 and James Hill suggested that Bill Moody (Service Development Partner) give further information on how this budget was spent to benefit residents, such as for community events.

In response to Councillor Wood's question about fire safety of properties Steve Groves reported that after the joint inspections of housing high rise blocks had been undertaken with the Hants Fire & Rescue service,  some schemes had been identified as a result of the joint inspections and included in the planned programme.  The outcome of the Grenfell Tower review is still awaited.

Councillor Jennie Brent, as Cabinet Member for Housing, thanked the officers for the impressive, joined-up working to produce this comprehensive programme of works.

DECISIONS - The Cabinet Member for Housing agreed:

(1)  That the area programmes and allocation of finance for the funding of the Revenue Budgets for repairs and maintenance of dwellings be noted.

(2)  That the capital budgets listed in Appendix B and Appendix C commencing in 2018/2019 be approved and the Local Authority Housing Manager be authorised under Financial Rules, Section B14 proceed with schemes within the sums approved.

(3)  That the Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer's financial appraisal be approved for the capital programme - global provision.