Issue - items at meetings - Housing Revenue Account Budget 2012/13

Report of Strategic Director of Place & Director of Finance (copy attached).

77.1    The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director Place and the Director of Finance that presented the Housing Revenue Account Forecast Outturn for 2011/12 as at month 7 and the proposed Budget for 2012/13 as required by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.  Members were required to consider the budget proposals including changes to rents, fees and charges as well as savings and service pressures.  Appendix 1 set out the budget for 2011/12.  Appendix 2 provided a summary of self financing.  Since the report had been written the government had reduced the costs to 18.1 million.

77.2    The Chair welcomed the report.  She informed members that the report  outlined how tenants’ rents would be spent next year on managing council homes and the contribution that council housing would make to addressing wider housing need.  The Chair was particularly pleased to see that through these proposals the council would bring its long term empty homes back into use; improve its existing housing to bring all properties up to the Brighton & Hove standard by the end of 2013; make its services more accessible for residents; provide new targeted support services for people in financial difficulty; and build more new council homes for those who don’t have them.

77.3    The report also outlined how the council would move to a self-financing housing revenue account from the 1 April.  The council would no longer be subject to the outdated subsidy system which tenants campaigned to end.  Self financing would allow the council to take a longer term view when planning how it invested in the housing stock, as it would no longer have to respond to an annual budget determination to government.  However, as part of the settlement the council also had to make a one off payment to government of £18m this year. 

77.4    Councillor Mears welcomed the move to self financing and noted the reduction in costs.  She referred to paragraph 27 of Appendix 2 (Disposals).  Councillor Mears stated that if consent for disposal of council housing assets was no longer required, there would be a need for a vote from tenants before any action was taken.  Councillor Randall assured Councillor Mears that there were no plans to transfer stock.  

77.5    Councillor Mears stated that the money coming in from the LDV was a new innovative way for raising money for housing.  She felt that the LDV should be shown as a separate figure and not shown as part of a lump sum.  Councillor Randall agreed that this should be made clearer. 

77.5    The Head of Finance – Business Engagement stated that LDV capital receipts were shown in the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme report.   

77.6    Councillor Mears stressed that LDV money should be identified for housing and not the general fund.  It needed to be clearly shown.  The Chair referred to paragraph 4.3 of the capital programme report where there was a specific reference to the leasing of properties to Brighton & Hove Seaside Community Homes.  

77.7    RESOLVED –  (1) That the report be noted.

(2)       That it is noted that the report proposes that Cabinet:

(a) approves the  budget for 2011/12 as shown in Appendix 1

(b) approves individual rent increases and decreases in line with rent restructuring principles as determined by the Government.

(c) approves the changes to fees and charges as detailed in paragraph 3.17 to 3.26 of the report.