Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

Councillor Ted Palmer declared a personal interest as a Council tenant.

Councillor Ted Palmer declared a personal interest as a Council tenant.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2025.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes (agenda item number 3) from the 15^th January 2025 meeting be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

(a) That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b) That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c) That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented a report (agenda item number 4) to consider the current Forward Work Programme (FWP) and Action Tracking progress.

The Committee agreed with the suggestion from the Chair that a monthly briefing paper on homelessness statistics be added to the Forward Work Programme with the following additional information to be included to the template presented:-

• Total number of people in temporary accommodation broken down into age and gender, overlayed by single people, childless couples and families.

Councillor Allan Marshall asked if an item could be added to the FWP around the number of Council properties that have dampness/mould issues that may be due to the physical construction of the property, which cannot be eliminated by opening windows.  And how much funding was being allocated to the eradication of dampness and mould across the housing stock.  The Chief Officer (Housing & Communities) said that she would speak to the Service Manager – Housing Assets following the meeting and bring a report to a future meeting to address the questions raised.   

Councillor Marshall also asked if a report could be presented to the Committee to investigate the implementation of a solar PV diverter and heater to Council properties and to establish whether there were any WG or other grants available.  The Chief Officer (Housing & Communities) suggested that she speak to the Service Manager – Housing Assets to provide a response to the questions raised, which could be circulated to the Committee and suggested that a broader report on fuel poverty be added to the FWP.

The Chair referred to bolt-on modular home extensions and asked that a report on the possibility of using modular bolt-on extensions as a spend to save initiative be presented at a future meeting.  The Committee supported a report on the use of modular buildings being added to the FWP.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)       That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

The Chair advised that there would be a change in the order of the agenda items to bring forward agenda item number 6 – Common Housing Register (Single Access Route to Housing – SARTH).

(a)       That the Committee note the current levels of housing needs across the county and the growing pressures regarding social housing which was not in line with the supply of available homes locally; and

(b)       That the Committee note te review of the SARTH Partnership and Common Allocations Police and the recent appointment of Neil Morland & Co for this piece of work.

The Service Manager - Housing & Prevention Services presented a report (agenda item number 6) to outline the current levels of housing need across the County and the disparity with the availability of social housing which was not increasing at the same rate as the levels of housing needs that were prevalent within the communities. 

The recommendations and comments made by the Committee would be reported to Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee note the current levels of housing needs across the county and the growing pressures regarding social housing which was not in line with the supply of available homes locally; and

(b)       That the Committee note the review of the SARTH Partnership and Common Allocations Policy and the recent appointment of Neil Morland & Co for this piece of work. 

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting as the following item was considered to be exempt by virtue of paragraph(s) 15 respectively of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

That the Committee support the portfolio’s options to reduce budgets, as outlined within the report.

The Chief Officer (Housing and Communities) introduced a report to consider the cost pressures, proposed cost reductions and associated risks for the Housing & Communities portfolio in advance of final budget setting for 2025/26.  The Committee was asked to review and comment on the options for cost reductions identified in the report.

The recommendation and comments made by the Committee would be reported to Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee support the portfolio’s options to reduce budgets, as outlined within the report.

None.