Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance and the Director Resources

Having declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this agenda item Councillors C Hay, Driver, Smith and Williams left the chamber and did not participate in the debate.

The Mayor informed Members that proceedings would return to standing orders.

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report and said this budget was not just good news for the Council but for tenants, leaseholders and the town as a whole. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was in a healthy financial position with revenue reserves of three and a half million pounds with projections forecasting a reserve balance of four million pounds by March 2017 and an increasing surplus of operating income year on year. This provide an opportunity to fund very substantial investment in the housing stock, together with better services for tenants and leaseholders.

The Cabinet Member Finance noted that the capital programme being proposed for 2014/15 was £8,249,000. This included investment in property improvements and major repairs, adaptations for disabled people and environmental works. He also reminded members that CBH planned to spend a million pounds over three years on services for tenants, including support for older people, disabled people and young people, the expansion of employment services to tenants and benefits and money advice. £353 000 was budgeted for 2014/15 which was the second year of this programme.

The Cabinet Member then explained that 2014/15 was the final year of the Government’s rent restructuring scheme, designed to bring rents up to the formula rent. The proposed rent increase for next year was in line with national rent restructuring guidelines. Income generated as a result would be used to deliver the best possible value to tenants, leaseholders and where possible to the wider community.

The Council and CBH were keen to build new homes and work was progressing on St Pauls Phase two and a number of garage site developments in the town. It was now being proposed to set up a new reserve within the HRA to fund new build. £0.6 million was being proposed to help with site set up costs for new build progrects with a proposal to add to the reserve by transferring funds from the HRA surplus, to be considered each year at outturn. 

Finally, the Cabinet Member thanked management and staff at CBH for their achievements.

A member expressed concern about the 4% increase in rents, recognising that this was in line with national guidelines. He noted however that there would be significant funds invested back into the service to the benefit of tenants. The Cabinet Member Finance added that tenants should be assured that they would be getting value for money for their rent which included not only improvements to their properties but also the provision of specific services. The Cabinet Member Housing and Safety then referred to the positive feedback on the budget proposals received from the CBH Tenant Scrutiny Improvement Panel. He thanked CBH for the hard work it had undertaken over the last year.

A recorded vote having been requested, upon a vote the recommendations in the report were all CARRIED unanimously.

RESOLVED that

1. the revised HRA budget and capital programme for 2013/14 as set out in Appendices 2 and 3 be noted.
2. the HRA budget proposals for 2014/15 including a proposed average rent increase of 4.03% (applied in accordance with national rent restructuring guidelines) and increases in other rents and charges as detailed at Appendix 5 be approved.
3. the proposed HRA capital programme for 2014/15 as shown at Appendix 3 be approved.
4. the creation of an earmarked revenue reserve to finance future new build in the HRA be approved, the value of funds to be transferred to this reserve to be considered by Cabinet and approved by Council as part of the review of HRA outturn for each accounting year.