Agenda item

That the County Council approve the recommendations of the Cabinet from its meeting held on 17 February 2015 as set out in the report to Cabinet attached to the Council report. 

The Chief Officer (Community and Enterprise) introduced the report to present the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Revenue and Capital Budget for 2015/16.

            Councillor Shotton, the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, explained that the Housing Revenue Account had been considered in detail by the Housing Overview & Scrutiny Committee.  He felt that in times of doom and gloom of austerity in the public sector, this was a good news story for the people of Flintshire, which he welcomed.  In referring to the much improved Housing Service, he spoke of the low points and the record £12m increase spend on Council Housing in the last year.  He commented on the almost £21m in proposed capital funding for 2015/16 and welcomed the negotiations that had taken place at a national level to allow self-financing to be considered.  The outcome would be of great benefit to communities and future tenants and in commenting on existing properties, said that this was the first step to building new Council housing.  The recommendation was seconded by Councillor Bernie Attridge.   

            The Chief Officer (Community and Enterprise) gave a presentation and commented on the following areas:-

·         Housing Revenue Account

·         Self-financing

·         30 year business plan

·         Housing Revenue Account

·         Other income

·         Value for Money tenant services

·         Principles Underpinning Efficiencies

·         HRA Efficiency Proposals

·         Funding for HRA Capital Programme 2015/16

·         Council house building programme

She commented on the well-attended Member and Tenant workshops that had been held to allow discussions on the benefits of self-financing to take place.  She added that it had been hoped that the Council would have been able to enter into a voluntary agreement by the end of January but that this had been delayed for good reasons, which the Chief Officer detailed.  Concerns were raised with Welsh Government (WG) about the rate of the buy-out figure and WG agreed to raise the issue with the UK treasury; discussions were ongoing.  The completion of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) could be achieved by 2020, which had reduced from 2038 initially referred to in the Choices document.  Key assumptions for 2015/16 were detailed which included a new rent policy that had been agreed by Cabinet and included target rents for similar properties in similar areas.  Income from phased service charges was reported and the Chief Officer referred to the HRA efficiency proposals.  Each line of the HRA had been challenged to not only look at services to customers but also the internal costs of supporting the service too.  The Chief Officer detailed the WHQS and non WHQS proposed HRA Capital Programme and added that detailed discussions had taken place with elected Members and tenants.  Officers were in the process of finalising the details of the programme. 

            Councillor Alex Aldridge welcomed the achievements made by Flintshire on the HRA in spite of the unparalleled challenges faced by Local Government and suggested that Flintshire was an exemplar for Councils in Wales.  He suggested that the good practices shown should be referred to the Association of Public Sharing Excellence (APSE).  He commented on the vote not to transfer the Housing stock and congratulated all those who had been involved in the work on the HRA.  He spoke of the tremendous outcome for Flintshire’s tenants and added his delight that the regeneration of Flint would be completed earlier than expected.  Councillor Paul Shotton welcomed the aspiration to build 200 new council houses which would give hope to Flintshire residents. 

            In referring to the Housing Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Rosetta Dolphin welcomed the positive report on the HRA that had been submitted to Members.  She sought clarification on whether the proposed charges for services such as communal cleaning and maintenance of garden areas could legally be imposed.  The Chief Officer responded that, in the first year, the fee would be introduced for new tenants who were eligible to pay for the service and that legally the Council could charge the fee.  For existing tenants, there would be a consultation process to discuss quality and cost of services prior to finalisation.  New tenants would be offered a property at the target rent in addition to charges for services.                 

            On being put to the vote, Members voted unanimously in favour of the recommendations.                        

RESOLVED:

That the County Council approve the recommendations of the Cabinet from its meeting held on 17 February 2015 as set out in the report to Cabinet attached to the Council report.