Agenda item

To present the report of the Head of Housing Services.

The report of the Head of Housing Services incorporating the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan for 2025 to 2055 was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The HRA Business Plan sets out how resources will be spent to maintain, improve, and develop the Council’s housing stock.

The report was presented by Councillor Robin Williams, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing who explained that councils in Wales with a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) are required to prepare a HRA Business Plan for submission to Welsh Government in order to qualify for a Major Repairs Allowance. The Plan sets out the Council’s strategies for maintaining and improving its housing stock as well as demonstrating its commitment to the Welsh Housing Quality Standards 2 2023. The Portfolio Member said that formulating a viable Plan this year had been more challenging due to the fact that rental income has not kept pace with costs and is now insufficient to meet all the Council’s housing expenditure arising from the requirements of WHQS 2 2023 and other expenses.

The Head of Housing Services in confirming that the Plan to be submitted for Executive approval at the end of the month will incorporate all the relevant financial details, referred to highlights within the Plan in terms of housing development and investment in existing housing saying that over the 30 year period the Council is aiming to develop 1,400 additional units with £252m of expenditure on the current housing stock. Over five years, £38m will be spent on responsive repairs, 225 additional units will be developed including the planned extra care provision in Menai Bridge and £49m will be spent on upgrading the stock to comply with WHQS 2 2023. This level of expenditure will entail borrowing of £70m.

The main points of the ensuing discussion were as follows –

·      Suggestions were made about linking the Council’s social housing policy to the Welsh language and specifically integrating the language within the definition of “local” in order to preserve and promote the language and Welsh speaking communities on the island.

The Head of Housing Service advised that among the qualifying criteria for social housing specified in the current housing allocations policy is a connection with Anglesey which includes but is not limited to having been resident or employed in the area for five years. Applicants with a community connection would have priority over those with no connection in line with the policy thereby helping to preserve communities. The Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing said that he would be willing to look at any evidence of communities having been affected from a language perspective by the application of the current allocation policy.

·      The ways in which the HRA Business Plan enables the Council to realise the priorities of the Council Plan 2023-2028

The Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing explained that the HRA Business Plan in setting ambitious targets for housing development, bringing empty homes back into use and buying back former council houses seeks to fulfil the vision of the Council Plan for Housing that ensures that everyone has the right to call somewhere home.

·      The risks involved in implementing the Council’s proposed expansion programme to increase its housing stock and the affordability of the programme.

The Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing cited increasing costs as one of the main risks which applies to the acquisition of land, construction materials and labour. Another challenge is the Welsh Government’s cap on rent increases with the maximum rent uplift for 2025/26 across the housing stock set at 2.7% leading to a growing disparity between the Council’s rental income and its housing costs and expenditure needs. The Head of Housing Services in referring to the risk of not being able to develop the right type of houses in the right places provided assurance that the risk is mitigated by the housing needs assessment undertaken lately which identifies the housing needs in different   areas of the island.

·      Whether the Council has considered leasing privately owned properties from/on behalf of property owners particularly in cases where a person may have acquired a property through a relative and is not in a position to renovate meaning the property is empty and may be subject to Council Tax premium. A suggestion was also made in relation to turning around void properties that in cases where extensive works are required the Council should be aiming to ensure that the work is completed in one co-ordinated effort (“one hit”) within the 35 day timescale rather than task by task by separate tradespeople.

The Head of Housing Services advised that the Council is one of the authorities taking part in Leasing Scheme Wales which enables property owners to apply to lease their property to their local authority for a guaranteed rent for the length of the lease with grants available to bring properties up to standard. He confirmed that seventeen such properties are part of the scheme in Anglesey and that information about the scheme is available on the Council’s website. With regard to void properties, the Head of Housing confirmed that two contractors have been added to the contractor framework who will be able to undertake kitchen and bathroom refurbishment on void properties where required in addition to carrying out those works as part of the planned upgrading and WHQS programme.

It was suggested by committee that the Leasing Scheme Wales needs to be publicised more widely to reach potential participants who may not be aware that it exists. It was further suggested that the scheme be also included as a topic at a Members’ Briefing Session to bring it to all members’ attention.

·      The achievability of the priority of working towards the Welsh Housing Quality Standards 2 2023.

The Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing confirmed that the Council is committed to achieving the WHQS 2 2023 and that given the challenges involved, the endeavour has to be prioritised. The Portfolio Member restated that one of the main barriers is the rent cap which limits the income the Council is able to generate from rents which in turn reduces the revenue available to fund the upgrades needed to meet the WHQS. While no one wants to increase rents, rent levels should reflect the work done to improve the properties. In response to further questions, the Portfolio Member clarified that it could make more financial sense to buy new build properties on developments by housing associations rather than renovating older council properties which require major works to bring them to standard.

There was some debate in the committee about the achievability of WHQS 2 2023 and although accepting that they are aimed at improving the quality of social housing, members sought clarification of whether those councils in Wales with their own housing stock had raised concerns about the challenges of meeting the standards with Welsh Government. The Head of Housing Services confirmed that the message that it will be difficult to deliver the WHQS 2 2023 especially in relation to decarbonisation without additional support had been conveyed to Welsh Government via the Heads of Housing Services. In order to reinforce the message the committee asked the Portfolio Member to use political channels/networks to press Welsh Government for a dialogue on WHQS 2 2023 to consider ways of making compliance more realistic.

Having reviewed and scrutinised the documentation and noted the assurances provided in response to the issues raised, the Corporate Scrutiny Committee resolved to recommend the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2025-2055 for the Executive’s approval.

Additional actions –

·      To ask the Housing Service to consider ways of publicising the Leasing Scheme Wales more widely in order to promote and raise awareness of the scheme with landlords/property owners.

·      The Leasing Scheme Wales to be included as a topic at a Members’ Briefing Session in order to bring the scheme to all members’ attention.

·      To ask the Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing to use political channels/networks to press Welsh Government for a dialogue on WHQS 2 2023 to consider ways of making compliance more realistic.