Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
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Issue - meetings

Meeting: 10/10/2019 - Babergh Cabinet (Item 180)

180 BCa/19/19 DEVELOPMENT OF A BUSINESS CASE FOR A JOINT VENTURE FOR THE FUTURE DELIVERY OF BUILDING SERVICES pdf icon PDF 446 KB

Cabinet Member for Housing

Additional documents:

Decision:

It was RESOLVED:-

 

1.1           That a business case is developed by officers which explores the opportunities a Joint Venture would create to deliver Building Services.

1.2     That a business case, with a preferred option for the delivery of Building Services is presented to Cabinet, by early 2020, for a decision.

 

Reason for Decision: The delivery of an efficient and effective, value for money building service continues to present a range of challenges. To ensure we provide the highest level of service to our tenants whilst managing costs, the development of this business case would explore the opportunities and benefits to deliver services within an alternative business model in the future.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

1.2           The first option is the ‘Status Quo’ in which officers would continue to manage and develop the Building Service in accordance to the current Business Plan.

1.3           The second option is to consider alternatives to the current business model, which could include outsourcing the service or finding an alternative partner to enter into a joint venture with. However, these have been discounted because there are no immediate opportunities to develop these options.

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Housing introduced report BCa/19/19 and moved the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Davis.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Arthey, the Chief Executive confirmed that this was an executive decision.

 

Councillor Arthey then queried the increased costs in respect of void properties detailed in the report. Councillor Osborne advised that new regulations following the Grenfell Tower incident had led to increased costs such as asbestos checks, fire safety tests etc.

 

The costs of developing the business case for a joint venture to both Babergh District Council and Flagship Housing were discussed. The Assistant Director for Housing confirmed that the business case would be developed jointly and

that there was a cap of £10,000 in place in total for the two districts.

 

The Assistant Director for Housing provided details of a staff event which had recently taken place to provide information and reassurance to existing members of staff.

                                      

By a unanimous vote

 

It was RESOLVED:-

 

1.1  That a business case is developed by officers which explores the opportunities a Joint Venture would create to deliver Building Services.

1.2   That a business case, with a preferred option for the delivery of Building Services is presented to Cabinet, by early 2020, for a decision.

 

Reason for Decision: The delivery of an efficient and effective, value for money building service continues to present a range of challenges. To ensure we provide the highest level of service to our tenants whilst managing costs, the development of this business case would explore the opportunities and benefits to deliver services within an alternative business model in the future.