Cabinet Member for Housing
Decision:
MCa/18/40 – PART 1 – BABERGH MID SUFFOLK BUILDING (BMBS) BUSINESS PLAN 2017 – 2023
It was RESOLVED:-
1.1 That the revised Business Plan be noted and endorsed (Appendix A). |
Reason for Decision: To ensure that BMBS can focus on achieving the ambitious targets set out in the revised Business Plan.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
The other option considered would be the removal of BMBS as a service provider and the work outsourced to Contractors via the competitive tender process. It is deemed that this option is not appropriate at this stage.
Any Declarations of Interest declared: None
Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes:
77.1Councillor Gowrley sought clarifications as to the purpose of the report?
77.2 In response the Assistant Director for Housing informed Cabinet that the report had been presented to Cabinet on a number of occasions over the year primarily because of the strong and keen interest by Members in relation to figures and performance and being a newly created service area where a directly employed labour force was now managing housing repairs across the two districts. As a result of an internal audit on the financial aspects of the business plan it was felt prudent to bring an update on the financial aspects to Cabinet detailing the updates that had been made and to show the focussed overall net cost of the service and any contingency sitting below the bottom line.
77.3 Councillor Otton queried whether a stock condition survey needed to be undertaken so soon after the last one?
77.4 In response the Assistant Director for Housing stated as a provider in relation to stock condition the Council had recently carried out a stock condition survey, which actually amounted to 23% of stock within the Mid Suffolk district. That included both the external and the internal areas. The stock survey totalled about 800 dwellings and a number of larger blocks of flats as well. That meant that the Council now had up to date accurate stock condition data for that 23%. Best practice suggested that you should be surveying your stock every 5 years, or no more than every 5 years and the previous stock condition data was now some 7 or potentially 8 years old. Having done a sample stock condition survey the Council had been able to clone that data and look at the stock which was not surveyed as part of that process. Based on that data it shows that 63% of the stock was decent and 37% could potentially be non-decent. As a result of this a business case has been worked up to employ 2 stock condition surveyors that would, on a yearly basis survey 20% of the stock across Babergh and Mid Suffolk, and therefore every 5 years it would ensure that all of the stock had been surveyed and the data used to plan future planned and capital maintenance works.
77.5 Councillor Wilshaw asked how this would be funded?
77.6 In response the Assistant Director informed Cabinet that the cost of the stock condition survey would be funded from the housing revenue account. Any business case that was approved to employ staff, would be funded from the housing revenue account as well. A paper would be brought forward to an Administration Briefing solely devoted to stock condition in terms of summarising what had been said today and what the next steps would be.
77.7 Councillor Otton queried whether the decision to employ external contractors would be a Cabinet decision?
77.8 The Assistant Director for Housing replied that the decision would most likely be taken under officer delegations once a robust business case has been produced.
77.9 Councillor Gowrley asked what had happened to the information and data base from the 100% stock survey that had previously been undertaken by Ridge and why that had not been used to inform the Capital Programme and asked for that information to be brought back to Cabinet.
77.10 In response the Assistant Director for Housing informed Cabinet that the report would include that information, however that survey was now over seven years old so where it had highlighted properties that were of a non-decent standard the expectation would be that works have already taken place to those said properties to make sure that they were decent. But obviously the Council was dealing with a continuous rolling situation in which new tenants were moving in, tenants were moving out, and tenants who were maintaining their properties in whatever way and therefore that constant review of the said properties needed to be done to make sure that the data was accurate at all times.
On the proposal of Councillor Wilshaw and seconded by Councillor Whitehead
It was RESOLVED:-
That the revised Business Plan be noted and endorsed (Appendix A of the report).
Supporting documents: