Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendation.

Councillor Hughes introduced the report and explained that the Housing and Assets portfolio currently operated eight communal heating schemes within Flintshire.  The Council negotiated fuel costs in advance and tenants benefited from the Council’s Industrial and Commercial Contract rate. 

            The Chief Officer (Housing and Assets) explained that new communal heating charges were based on the previous year’s energy use to ensure a more accurate assessment of costs and impacts (negative or positive) on the heating reserve account.

            The proposed charges for 2020/21 were set out within the report.  In the majority of cases, the recharge to tenants had reduced, which as in other years would allow Flintshire to recover the projected costs of the heating charges whilst still passing on the benefit of reduced energy costs to tenants.

            Acacia Close in Mold identified an increase in heating charges of 7%, an average across the three property types of £0.59p per week.  Flintshire County Council’s Energy Team would work with the supplier to install automatic readers on the meters at Acacia Close which would support more accurate and timely billing by the utilities provider and would, in turn, allow the Council to bill tenants based on more accurate information going forward.

            As Chair of Community and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Dunbar made the following observation:

“We have eight Communal Heating Schemes in Flintshire to cover the Communal areas represented in Table 1, in which the authority pays through the Heating Reserve Account then fuel costs are apportioned to each individual tenant to ensure we have an accurate assessment of costs and impacts on the HRA based on each scheme. 

With the cost of energy rising which is out of the authorities hands it was noted in the previous 2018/19 colder years a small increase of usage but the opposite in 2019/20 with a mild winter saw a decrease in the majority of schemes. An upgrade in heating systems in Panton Place Holywell and one area in Glan-y- Morfa Connah’s Quay tenants are billed on their own readings with their chosen supplier, 

In the majority of cases the recharge to tenants has been reduced which allowed Flintshire to recover costs of heating charges and our tenants received the benefit of the reduced energy costs. One exception in Table 1.  Acacia Close Mold a combined increase across the three properties of 7% of approx. £0.59p per week against a reduction of 18% for this area last year, so the Energy Team working with suppliers are installing Automatic Readers to give a more accurate reading to allow billing to tenants to be accurate going forward, this also applies to Glan-Y-Morfa Block 1 later in 2020/21.

On this understanding after many questions the Community & Enterprise Overview & Scrutiny Committee during its meeting on 7^th July supported the Communal Heating Charges 2020/21 report”.

RESOLVED:

That the changes to the current heating charges at council house properties with communal heating schemes as outlined in the table in the report, taking effect  ...  view the full minutes text for item 186