Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2011.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 5 December 2011 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair subject to the inclusion of Councillor Walter Brett in the list of those present at the meeting.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

To consider call-in items (if any).

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a Joint report of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services and the Service Director (Place Development).

The report provides details of the current offer made by government to Stockport to self-finance its housing service and seeks the comments of the Scrutiny Committee on the work completed to date and the key assumptions to be used in preparing a 30 year Business Plan for the HRA.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to note the report and comment on the draft Asset Management Strategy and Business Plan provided alongside this report.

The Asset Management Strategy is included within the electronic agenda and is also available in each of the Group Offices. Members are encouraged to provide details of questions to officers in advance of the meeting to ensure they can be satisfactorily answered at the meeting.

Officer contact:  Michael Cullen on 474 4631 or email: michael.cullen@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services submitted a joint report of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services and the Service Director (Place Development) (copies of which had been circulated) providing details of the current offer made by Government to Stockport to self-finance its housing service and seeking the comments of the Scrutiny Committee on the work completed to date and the key assumptions that had been used in the preparation of a 30 year Business Plan for the Housing Revenue Account.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Concern was expressed in relation to recent proposals by the Government to increase the current caps on Right to Buy discounts to encourage more tenants to take up the Right to Buy and the impact that this would have on the level of social housing stock in the Borough.  In response it was stated that the Government had set out a commitment that the receipts on every additional home sold under the Right to Buy would be used to fund replacement homes on a one for one basis with a new home for Affordable Rent.

·         The Council was planning to build 56 new properties over the next few years, which while welcome, would do little to assist the many thousands of applicants currently on a waiting list for social housing in the Borough.

·         The transition to self-financing of the Housing Revenue Account would provide for greater flexibility in future years for policy and political choices.

·         The end of the ‘negative subsidy’ whereby revenue from rents returned to central government was less than that received from the national Housing Revenue Account was welcomed.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director of Place.          

The report sets out the Council’s approach to the assessment and allocation of the Council’s housing stock.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on 474 4319, or email: andy.kippax@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director of Place submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the Council’s approach to the assessment and allocation of the Council’s housing stock.

The Allocation Policy incorporated the principles that accommodation should be allocated fairly and in an open and transparent way; that meeting housing need should be the core consideration when allocating homes; that best use should be made of available housing stock; that choice and mobility should be promoted as far as possible; the creation and promotion of mixed and sustainable communities; and that allocations should be fully compliant with Part 6 of the 1996 Housing Act, the 2012 Code of Guidance and relevant case law.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         The revised Housing Allocations Policy had been significantly simplified to reduce its size and accessibility while retaining the points based system which was understood and valued by staff and service users.

·         The Council applied a more stringent test in respect of overcrowding than the two statutory standards, and work was being undertaken to encourage those in underoccupied properties to move into more suitable accommodation to make best use of the available housing resource.

·         Problems had been experienced in certain properties where age restrictions had been lifted and the juxtaposition of age groups had resulted in tensions between tenants.  It was stated that where it was considered that age restrictions be relaxed in the future, this should only be done after full consultation and engagement with existing tenants to secure the necessary buy-in and sense of ownership to make the scheme successful.

·         Financial incentives with regard to rehoming those tenants in underoccupied properties had recently been reduced to £500; however, a comprehensive support package was available to assist tenants in making the move which was often more valued and of greater assistance.

·         A discussion took place in relation to the introduction of a category of points allocations based on the employment status of an applicant and whether this had the effect of undermining the principle of the allocation of housing based on need.  Members expressed their concern in relation to the potential impact of this change and particularly whether this marked the start of a transition in the nature of housing allocations in Stockport.  It was acknowledged that the ‘Employment’ category carried only 10 points, however two similar applications could potentially be differentiated on the basis of an award of points from this category which to some members appeared unjust.  It was noted that there was value in non-working families having support from relatives living nearby which could be undermined through the introduction of an employment category and this could perversely serve to keep these families from seeking employment in the absence of this support.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Corporate Director of Place be requested to submit a further report to the Scrutiny Committee after six months of operating the revised Housing Allocations Policy detailing the impact that the revisions to the policy had made on housing allocations in the Borough.

To consider a joint report of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services and the Corporate Director of Place.

The report provides details and analysis of a pilot project to implement the Empty Property Strategy including the capital funding requirements to support this pilot.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Michael Cullen on 474 4631 or email: michael.cullen@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services submitted a joint report of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services and the Service Director (Place Development) (copies of which had been circulated) providing details and an analysis of a pilot project to implement the Empty Property Strategy, including the capital funding requirements to support this pilot.

It was commented that the proposed pilot extended solely to those long-term empty properties were it had been established that there was no chance of bringing them back into residential use through other means.  The Council had identified nine such properties in the Borough, and the pilot would initially target five of them.  It was noted that there was a cost to the Council in compulsorily purchasing those properties, and accordingly a consequent risk would be incurred, however the risk was considered to be minimal and it was more than likely that the Council would resell the properties at or above the level needed to ‘break-even’.  Any surplus that was achieved through the resale of those properties would be reinvested in potential future acquisitions.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted and the proposals be welcomed.

To consider a report of the Service Director (Strategy and Performance).

The report provides a summary of the recent guidance which has been issued to support the transition of public health functions to the Local Authority and details the progress and activities that have taken place to date.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Donna Sager on 474 3928 or email: donna.sager@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Service Director (Strategy and Performance) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing a summary of recent guidance which had been issued to support the transition of public health functions to local authorities and detailing the progress and activities that had taken place to date.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to note the résumé of the meeting of the Adult Education, Skills and Employability Partnership held on 1 December 2011.

Officer contact: Jonathan Vali Tel: 474 3201; e-mail: jonathan.vali@stockport.gov.uk

The Scrutiny Committee considered a résumé (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting of the Adult Education, Skills and Employability Partnership held on 1 December 2011.

RESOLVED – That the résumé of the meeting of the Adult Education, Skills and Employability Partnership held on 1 December 2011 be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to note the résumé of the meeting of the Safer Stockport Partnership held on 29 November 2011.

Officer contact: Craig Ainsworth Tel: 474 3204; e-mail: craig.ainsworth@stockport.gov.uk

The Scrutiny Committee considered a résumé (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting of the Safer Stockport Partnership held on 29 November 2011.

RESOLVED – That the résumé of the meeting of the Safer Stockport Partnership held on 29 November 2011 be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.                                                        

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Damian Eaton 474 3207 email: damian.eaton@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Democratic Services Manager submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the planned items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items which fell within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.