Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, councillors are reminded that it is a requirement to declare interests where appropriate.

Councillors must also declare if they are subject to their party group whip in relation to any items under consideration.

The following disclosures were made:

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 3 June 2024.

The minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 3 June 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

To answer any questions or hear brief statements from the public which are relevant to the items on this agenda.  The period will end after 15 minutes or later at the Chair’s discretion.

No questions from the public were asked.

To consider report OSC/320 of the Chair of the Housing Associations Scrutiny Panel.

The Commission considered report OSC/320 of the Chair of the Housing Associations Scrutiny Panel.  A ‘spotlight’ Housing Associations Scrutiny Panel was established in June 2023 to seek clarification as to the regulation of social landlords and housing associations. It was felt it would be beneficial to scrutinise the current situation with regards to a limited number of housing associations within the town, together with service standards, satisfaction and complaints received, ideally with witness sessions from various housing associations.  It was important to explore options to improve the work between the Council  and various registered social landlords (RSLs), resulting in a positive outcome for residents.

Following discussions with the Chair of the Panel, Councillor Lunnon, the Commission raised the following comments:

·         Confirmation that the Panel’s scope had included issues faced by residents including maintenance (and repairs), overall environmental appearance,  customer contact/satisfaction as well as anti-social behaviour (ASB).  The ASB Policy for each registered provider operating in Crawley was documented on each of their websites and had been available following the Panel’s November meeting. 

·         There had been challenges for the repairs service within Crawley brought about through the age of stock, cost of materials, supply issues as well as the damp and mould concerns. These had been noted throughout the sector, both from Crawley Homes and the Guinness Partnership.

·         Confirmation sought and obtained as to whether investigation had taken place with sheltered housing schemes.  It was noted that Councillors had been surveyed at the commencement of the review seeking immediate concerns but as a result sheltered schemes had not specifically been included in the scope.

·         The Commission acknowledged that the responsibility of governing and regulating registered providers lay with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).  However it also recognised the lack of response from some registered providers to attend the Panel’s meetings, and therefore there was support for requesting further scrutiny powers.  It was queried if other Councils were in a similar position, but it was recognised that the Council was a stock holding authority, owning and managing approximately three quarters of all social rented housing in the Borough. The remaining quarter was owned and managed by registered providers.

·         Registered Providers play a critical role in the delivery of social housing and meeting local housing need and it was acknowledged the strong partnership working in place between the Council and the number of registered providers operating successfully in the town. The current list of registered providers and number of properties was available on the Council’s website.

·         The recommendation to consider establishing regular meetings with partners and share best practice was welcomed.  (Engagement with tenants was already undertaken within Crawley Homes).

·         Acknowledgement that the factor most heavily influencing tenants during the bidding process (along with the size of the property and any adaptations needed) was the area in which the property was situated. The majority of applicants placed less importance on the landlord, or on the amount of rent and more on the area in which they wanted to live.

·         Confirmation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider report FIN/658 of the Head of Corporate Finance.

The Commission considered report FIN/658 of the Head of Corporate Finance on the quarter 4 budget monitoring, which set out a summary of the Council’s outturn for the year for both revenue and capital spending for the financial year 2023/24. It identified the main variations from the approved spending levels and any potential impact on future budgets.

During the discussion with the Leader of the Council, the Head of Corporate Finance and Chief Accountant, the following comments were made:

·         Clarification was sought and obtained on the rising cost of repairs. High inflation, construction costs and an unpreceded demand were contributory factors. It was recognised that there was now a higher awareness of damp and mould throughout the industry. Prioritisation of repairs had taken place within the service, but it was important to undertake necessary maintenance to avoid properties falling into disrepair.  Stock conditioning surveys were underway with the aim to move from responsive repairs to planned maintenance which should result in efficiencies.

·         Confirmation provided on the funding available from the Better Care Fund.

·         Clarification was sought and obtained with regards to the addition of the Senior Project Manager within the Built Environment Team, together with the demand for the delivery of capital projects.

·         Acknowledgement that the homelessness and temporary accommodation pressures continued to rise and there were many contributing factors including the unaffordability of home ownership, shrinking private rented sector along with higher interest rates, Housing Benefit Subsidy (Local Housing Allowance had been frozen since 2011), the reduction of council and other social housing to meet demand.  Temporary accommodation was expensive, and it was difficult to meet current levels of demand with existing stock required. There was also a shortage of temporary and nightly paid accommodation driving up prices. It was noted households in nightly paid rose from 206 in April 2023, to a peak of 280 in December 2023.

RESOLVED

That the Commission noted the report and requested that the views expressed during the debate, were fed back to the Cabinet through the Commission’s Comment sheet.

To consider report FIN/659 of the Head of Corporate Finance.

The Commission considered report FIN/659 with the Leader of the Council, Head of Corporate Finance and the Chief Accountant. The CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management recommends that Councillors be updated on treasury management activities regularly and the report ensured the Council was implementing best practice in accordance with the Code.  The report provided details of the outturn position for treasury activities and highlighted compliance with the Council’s policies previously approved by Councillors.

During the discussion with the Leader of the Council, Head of Corporate Finance and Chief Accountant, the following points were expressed:

·         Noted that the authorised limit for external borrowing set by the Council was exceeded for a short period during Q4 of 2023/24 and was now back within the set limit.  The Commission was informed that the reason for exceeding the limit was a dip in short term cash flow which was met through short term loans from other local authorities. Since the operational boundary was a management tool for in-year monitoring it was not deemed significant if the boundary was breached on occasions due to variations in cash flow, and this was not counted as a compliance failure.

·         Recognition that the Operational Boundary and Authorised Limit for 2024/25 had since been reviewed with the assistance of the Council’s treasury advisors and subsequently increased.

·         Confirmation sought and obtained on the detailed funding available within the Strategy, particularly the maturity and interest rates, which would be further updated in Q1.

·         Recognition that non treasury investments/commercial properties (excluding town hall) had achieved a rate of return of 8.8%.

RESOLVED

That the Commission noted the report and requested that the views expressed during the debate were fed back to the Cabinet through the Commission’s Comment sheet.

To receive a brief update on the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee (HASC).

An update was provided from the most recent HASC meeting.  Key items of discussion included:

·         End of March 2024 (Quarter 4) Performance and Resources Report

o   Information was provided on the key performance measures as detailed in the report, specifically those key performance indicators relating to Adult Services and Public Health.

·         Forward Programme of Key Decisions

o   Contract Arrangements - Nursing Dementia Residential Care Beds

o   Contract Arrangements - Hospital Discharge Care

The full minutes can be found here.

To consider any requests for future items. Those highlighted items have been referred to the Commission.

Cabinet 4 September 2024

Housing Associations Scrutiny Panel Final Report 

2024-2025 Budget Monitoring – Quarter 1

Crawley Leisure Management Contract Extension – Part B

Ashdown House, High St. Capital contribution to works – Part B

Crawley Innovation Centre – Electricity Infrastructure works

The Commission confirmed the following report:

2024-2025 Budget Monitoring – Quarter 1

The Commission would also be receiving the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Results from Crawley Homes at its meeting on 2 September 2024.

The Commission is asked to consider passing the following resolution:-

That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraphs specified against the item.

RESOLVED

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified against the item.

Exempt Paragraph 3

Information relating to financial and business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding that information)

To consider report SHAP/090 of the Head of Strategic Housing.

Exempt Paragraph 3

Information relating to financial and business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding that information)

The Commission considered report SHAP/090 of the Head of Strategic Housing. The report requested Cabinet approval for the expansion of the temporary accommodation acquisitions programme and to accept the allocation of grant funding from the Local Authority Housing Fund and Full Council is asked to approve the required budget to support the opportunity acquisitions necessary to achieve the objectives of this programme.

During the discussion with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Housing Enabling and Development Manager, the following points were expressed:

·         Recognition that it would allow officers to expand the temporary accommodation stock through acquisition opportunities and viable options, which had significant potential to contribute towards addressing Crawley’s housing needs and assist in reducing the financial burden of using expensive nightly-paid accommodation, including out of borough placements.

·         Clarification was sought and obtained on the financial elements and the various detailed options documented within the report.

·         General overall support for the proposal, as it was noted that the range of opportunities being explored would assist in future development of the areas and amenity, whilst increasing the council’s portfolio of temporary accommodation. 

RESOLVED

That the Commission noted the report and requested that the views expressed during the debate were fed back to the Cabinet through the Commission’s Comment sheet.