Agenda and draft minutes

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services to report any changes to the membership.

1.1       It was noted that Councillor Vincenzo Rampulla had replaced Councillor Paul          Dimoldenberg.

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.

2.1       Councillor Holloway declared that he is a board member of CityWest Homes.

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2015 as a correct record of proceedings.

3.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th January 2015 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record of proceedings.

Report of the Head of Member Services.

4.1       RESOLVED:

1.     That the agenda items for the next meeting on the 27^th April be agreed

2.     That the responses to actions and recommendations as set out in the tracker be noted.

4.2       ACTIONS: Include an update on progress in signing up to a Municipal Bonds Agency in the Treasury Outturn report for 2014/15 (Action for Jonathan Hunt, Director of Corporate Finance and Investment.)

An update from the Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration, Business & Economic Development on key areas within the portfolio is attached.

The Cabinet Member will be in attendance to answer questions from the Committee.

5.1       The Committee also received a verbal update from the Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Customer Services on the following aspects of the portfolio:

·                  That the council's budget for 2014-15 was on track and expected to balance by the end of the financial year.

·                  That the council had begun work on medium term financial planning. It was expected that whichever government is elected in May some indication of the grant settlement for 2016-17 and 2017-18 is likely to be given in June with full details announced in December. It was fairly clear, he suggested, given the announcements made by the various political parties to date, that over the next few years there will be continued pressure on local government finances.

5.2       The Cabinet Member was referred to the Budget and Performance Task Group Report on the 2015-16 budget scrutiny. He was asked whether the council's financial systems would be able to cope should certain funding be ring fenced late in the financial year. He was also asked whether the council's budget had sufficient flexibility should the new government introduce further caps to housing benefit.

5.3       The Cabinet Member stated that the council's financial systems are able to accommodate ring fenced funding. The challenge is ensuring that everyone in the organisation understands the implications which might mean other services receiving less. He commented that he was not generally in favour of ring fencing as the more conditions that are applied to funding the less flexibility it gives the Council for manoeuvre. He also did not favour a one size fits all approach as what might be appropriate to spend money on in one council may not be in another.

5.4       With regards to changes to housing benefit payments he stated that the council had worked through a period of change in this area quite recently. It is always easier to bring in changes where there is a fair degree of notice and that when this is not the case it will have implications. The Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration, Business & Economic Development advised that the consequences for Westminster of further caps to housing benefit payments would be that more people would be unable to afford to pay for private sector rented accommodation and would present themselves as homeless. The council has a statutory duty to provide housing under homelessness legislation. Given the cost of private sector housing in the city and in neighbouring boroughs this would place further pressures on the Temporary Accommodation budget (which is driven by a central government set formula based on Local Housing Allowance).

5.5       The Cabinet Member was asked whether the £660,000 saving in the 2015-16 budget from running the Council’s CCTV would involve the loss of any CCTV cameras or any existing coverage. The Cabinet Member explained that the saving has arisen from the existing contract coming to an end and the procurement of a new contract.  He further explained that the council was in the process of commissioning a new CCTV system and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Report of the Executive Director for Growth, Planning & Housing

6.1       The Annual Supply and Allocation of Social Housing and Low Cost Home Ownership report is agreed by the relevant Cabinet Member in March each year and reviews the demand for and supply of social rented housing and low-cost home ownership in Westminster and considers future supply and demand projections.

6.2       The Committee considered a report which described how the supply of social housing in 2015/16 will be allocated to meet the Council’s statutory obligations, meet the varying demands for social housing and to reduce the numbers of people living in temporary accommodation who are waiting for social housing.

6.3       Greg Roberts, Supporting People and Homelessness Strategy Manager, was asked about the processes and measures available to support households moving into the private sector. In response he advised that the council operates a rent deposit scheme for landlords providing a property to a nominated household or provide a set amount to people who find their own private sector properties to help towards a deposit. The council will always check that the property in question is suitable for the size of the family. He further advised, reflected in the report table, that the council has a small quota of three or four bedroom social housing properties which can be provided to private sector households which are overcrowded.

6.4       The committee noted that the council has succeeded in ending the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families over six weeks.  Mr Roberts was asked how the council intends to ensure that it does not breach the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation over the statutory limit for families in future. He advised that this was the main priority of the Temporary Accommodation Commissioning Strategy. Every family in B&B accommodation is monitored on a weekly basis whilst the service aims to increase the supply of self-contained properties. This includes using the council's own properties that are temporarily vacant through the regeneration programme as well as purchasing properties.

6.5       The committee noted that as most applicants currently wait 7-10 years for a social housing tenancy the council now intends to start identifying more households for whom the private rented sector would be suitable and start making offers to them to bring the council's duty to an end. Mr Roberts was asked what kind of criteria the council uses to identify which applicants are likely to be suitable to a move to private rented accommodation. He advised that the council will assess all applicants and will look at their history including whether they have a track record of living in private sector accommodation who are comprising a high percentage of households presenting as homeless. The council would not put forward any applicant who has a severe disability or complex mental health problems or those that would likely result in their not being able to hold down a private sector rented tenancy. It was recognised that it was important for this to be managed carefully to avoid people simply bouncing back onto the list. He further  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Report of the Policy and Scrutiny Manager

7.1       The Committee received a report on the work of the Budget and Performance Task Group and in particular its consideration of the budget proposals for 2015-16.

7.2       Steve Mair, City Treasurer, informed the committee that the draft budget proposals for 2015-16 had been considered by Cabinet the previous week prior to the budget being agreed at the full council meeting on 4 March. He drew attention to the challenging financial environment and in particular to the reduction in government grant funding of £25m compared to the previous financial year and the requirement to make savings of £36 million. He commented that such reductions and savings were likely to continue for several years to come irrespective of the outcome at the next general election.

7.3       Mr Mair was referred to the risks highlighted in the housing portfolio due to the levels of private sector rents remaining the same and the ongoing impact of benefit caps on private sector tenants claiming the Local Housing Allowance. He was asked about the challenging financial environment and in particular at what point further cuts in funding would lead to a tipping point and efficiency savings become ineffective. Mr Mair advised that studies and analysis on the former had been undertaken by among others the National Audit Office and by some of the large accounting firms. He considered that the financial position for 2015-16 is manageable but that the position moving forward was volatile due to a reduction in income particularly from grant funding and business rate redistribution versus the demands of an ageing population. He was of the view that Westminster would be better placed to cope with such demands than most other local authorities. It was possible that the continued reduction in funding would move authorities towards a self financing position. He suggested that after the general election the new government may announce a 1 year grant settlement and there was the possibility that this would be followed by a 4 year settlement which would be unprecedented but would provide some certainty for local authorities to plan and deliver services.

7.4       The City Treasurer was also asked about the importance of the council's reserves and whether he was confident with its level. In response he advised that it was entirely appropriate to have a certain level of reserves as given the volatility and reduction in income it was important to have money to draw on if required. He stated that the finance portfolio had seen a 25% reduction in its budget, however, the financial management transformation programme will underpin improvements in financial management which will also support the whole of the organisation. In response to further questions he advised that to mitigate the financial challenges the Council will need to undergo a radical transformation where it will not be able to do all the things it does now in the same way.

7.5       RESOLVED: The Committee noted the discussion, conclusions and recommendations of the task group as submitted to Cabinet on the 2  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.