Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1.1.          To recommend Full Council to agree the proposed HRA budget for 2024-25.

1.2.          To recommend Full Council to agree the update to the HRA 30 years Business plan based on the HRA budget for 2024-25.

1.3.          To note the assumptions in the Business Plan and the associated risk.

1.4.          To note the ongoing work required on the asset management strategy and the enhanced stock condition surveys that are underway which will further inform the next iteration of the Business Plan.

The Executive Mayor introduced the HRA Business Plan and Budget Update 2024-25 report, which included a £7.1 million increase to invest in council homes and modernise them to a standard fit in line with resident needs.

The Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Lynne Hale, shared with Cabinet that the report sets out the legislative position in a thirty-year Housing Revenue Account (HRA) business plan and identifies the pressures on the plan. Growth of 33% in the response’s repairs budget was proposed to fund an increase in repairs demand caused by a number of factors. New emphasis had been put in place for fire safety requirements, as requirements to comply with the Fire Safety and Building Safety Acts had been put in place. The council had undertaken requisite surveys and building safety case reviews to ensure compliance. The HRA business plan had more focus for the first five years where there was more certainty on costs, demands, and pressures, that demanded and demonstrated that the investment proposals were fundable subject to the assumptions made within the plan and also that the HRA remained sustainable and viable over the thirty-year period. The budget had been set with the most accurate data available reflecting on the significant pressures on repairs and maintenance costs.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Chrishni Reshekaron, had asked whether the risks associated with the capital programme based on a 5% sample survey of the housing stock condition had been considered and had the Improvement and Assurance Panel provided any advice.

The Executive Mayor responded that the service had undertaken the inherited 5% housing stock and noted that by March it was anticipated that the housing stock would be up at 40%, further, that the council was working with the Improvement and Assurance Panel around housing which was an area to improve, and more data once received, would be reflected in the business plan. The Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Homes, Councillor Lynne Hale, clarified that the stock condition survey data would need to be worked through which would feed into the asset management strategy, and would enable the service to conduct a full re-budget review of the whole HRA business plan. The Corporate Director for Housing, Susmita Sen, added that the intention to reach 40% by the end of the financial yearend was achievable though data would need to be uploaded, and from that in addition to the asset management strategy, the direction of work within the procurement strategy would need to be clear to receive very good value for money.

The Executive Mayor in Cabinet RESOLVED:

1.1.         To recommend Full Council to agree the proposed HRA budget for 2024-25.

1.2.         To recommend Full Council to agree the update to the HRA 30 years Business plan based on the HRA budget for 2024-25.

1.3.         To note the assumptions in the Business Plan and the associated risk.

1.4.         To note the ongoing work required on the asset management strategy and the enhanced stock condition surveys that are underway which will further inform the next iteration of the Business Plan.