Agenda and minutes

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 13 December 2023 and to approve them as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 13 December 2023 be approved as a true record.

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

Cllr Wyatt raised a non-pecuniary personal interest as a holder of a Council tenancy in relation to item 7 – HRA Business Plan, Rent Setting and Service Charges 2024/25. He remained present for the discussion but did not vote.

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public or press.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

There were no exempt items.

To consider a report of the Assistant Chief Executive focusing on the activities in the Year Ahead Delivery Plan and the Council Plan performance measure data for Quarter 2 of the 2023-24 financial year.

Recommendations

That Cabinet note:

1.             The overall position in relation to the Year Ahead Delivery Plan activities.

2.             The Quarter 2 2022-23 data for the Council Plan performance measures.

3.             The performance reporting timetable for the remainder of the 2023-2024 year.

The Chair invited the Chief Executive to introduce the report. Also in attendance were the Leader of the Council, Assistant Chief Executive, Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Public Health, Strategic Director for Children and Young People’s Services, Strategic Director for Finance and Customer Services, and Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment.

In January 2022, the Council adopted a Council Plan for 2022-25 and a Year Ahead Delivery Plan for the period up to 31 March 2023. The Council Plan was informed by public consultation and sets out the Council’s vision for the Borough and priorities for serving residents and communities.

To enable the Council to work towards the Council Plan outcomes and achieve its commitments, a Year Ahead Delivery Plan was also developed, detailing the key activities to be delivered over the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2023.  The Year Ahead Delivery Plan was updated for this financial year and approved by Cabinet on 24th April 2023. Attached at Appendix 1 was the mid-year report for 2023-24, the first of the two planned reports.

The report focussed on the progress made on the activities in the Year Ahead Delivery Plan to date and the Council Plan performance measure data for Quarter 2 of the 2023-24 financial year. The report outlined the progress made against the 98 actions and milestones in the delivery plan. A high-level overview of achievements and challenges was outlined in the appendices to the report. It was noted that OSMB members had previously requested that achievements and challenges be captured in a single section of the report.

It was noted that 82% of activities were complete or on track, 18% of activities were delayed (which equated to 10 actions delayed by less than three months and eight actions that would not be completed within three month of the original target date).

The Chief Executive gave a brief summary of significant achievements in the last period. This included the successful delivery of the Rotherham show with an estimated audience of over 88,000 people; the re-opening of the Thurcroft library and neighbourhood hub; the completion of housing developments; the launch of an online resource for families to access support around emotional health and well-being; the start of initial construction work on the markets and library development; and the opening of two business incubation centres.

In terms of performance information, of 65 performance measures within the Council Plan, 45% on target (which equates to approximately 30 measures). Management action was taken to address performance issues.

The Chair invited questions from Board Members and a discussion on the following issues ensued:

·      In respect of unmet targets, clarification was sought about how learning was applied to their revision. It was outlined that as part of management action, key themes were examined to review and identify areas of challenge. It was noted that the volatility in markets around construction costs had affected delivery of some projects. The Leader explained that targets were kept under review to ensure that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

To consider a report of the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Public Health outlining expenditure and income relating to the provision of Council housing and related services, and a proposed HRA Business Plan setting out the Council investment priorities over a 30-year period.

Recommendations

That Cabinet recommends to Council to: -

1.             Approve the proposed 2024-25 Base Case Option C for the HRA Business Plan.

2.             Note that the Business Plan will be reviewed annually to provide an updated financial position.

3.             Agree that Council dwelling rents are increased by 7.7% in 2024/25 (Option 3).

4.             Agree that the Council should retain the policy of realigning rents on properties at below formula rent to the formula rent level when the property is re-let to a new tenant.

5.             Agree that shared ownership rents are increased by 9.4% in 2024/25.

6.             Agree that charges for garages and parking spaces, communal facilities, cooking gas and use of laundry facilities are increased by 6% in 2024/25.

7.             Agree that the District Heating unit charge per Kwh is set at 15.27 pence per kwh, a decrease of 4.2% (0.67 pence per khw).

8.             Agrees that the decision to reduce the price of District Heating Charges further during 2024-25 be delegated to the Assistant Director of Housing in conjunction with the Assistant Director of Financial Services following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing. The delegation would only be used to respond to a change in Government policy or a significant change in the Ofgem price cap that has the effect of necessitating a lower unit price.

9.             Approve the draft Housing Revenue Account budget for 2024/25 as shown in Appendix 6.

The Chair invited the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Neighbourhood Working to introduce the report. Also in attendance were the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Public Health, Assistant Director of Housing and Service Manager (Business and Commercial). It was a requirement that the Council sets out its investment priorities over the 30-year period in an annual report. The proposed 2024-25 business plan made funding provision of £126 million for new council homes. It also committed £856 million for investment in housing stock, alongside day-to-day housing management and repairs and maintenance costs.

The Deputy Leader referred to the HRA business plan and areas for prioritised investments. These included:

·       Continued delivery of housing growth;

·       Safety and quality of the housing stock, including damp and mould;

·       Preparation for proactive consumer regulation from April 2024;

·       Meeting statutory minimum energy performance standards in the housing stock by 2030;

·       Refreshing the Council’s stock condition data by 2026.

The draft report recommended an increase in housing rents, non-dwelling rents, district heating charges and other charges. It was recommended that the Council dwelling rents are increased by 7.7%. It was outlined that the rent standard was published by Government and was set at the consumer prices index (CPI) plus an additional 1%. The CPI was measured at the end of September at 6.7%. The 7.7% increase equated to an average weekly increase of £6.54. It was established that around 73% of Council households would have the increase covered in their benefit entitlement and would therefore not feel a direct impact of the proposed change. The report outlined recommended options and presented modelling on alternatives. It was also noted that properties that were let for the first time or relet to a new tenant would be aligned to a formula rent level. The report also outlined shared ownership rent; charges for garages and parking spaces; and charges for cooking gas and district heating unit charge. It was noted that the report recommended a decrease in this charge of 4.2%.

It was highlighted that delegation had been assigned to the Assistant Director of Housing (in consultation with the Assistant Director of Financial Services and Cabinet Member) to review and change pricing structure if there were further reductions in fuel prices.

The Assistant Director of Housing added that the operating environment was extremely challenging for social housing landlords, with 18% cost inflation over the last two years and it was noted that new proactive consumer regulations would be applied in respect of building and fire safety and damp and mould. It was outlined that the waiting list for council housing was in the region of 6500 households and homelessness rates were the highest they have been for the Council. This was also reflected nationally. The business plan continued to prioritise housing growth with the objective to extend the benefits of secure, affordable homes to as many residents as possible whilst ensuring that there was sufficient funding available to keep properties in a good standard.

It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

To consider the Board’s Work Programme.

The Senior Governance Advisor outlined the work programme for February and March 2024.

Resolved: - That the Work Programme be approved.

To receive updates from the Chairs of the Select Commission on work undertaken and planned for the future.

The Chair deferred this item to the next meeting.

The Chair requested that members submit suggestions for future items for pre-decision scrutiny.

Resolved:

That the Forward Plan of Key Decisions be noted.

To consider any issues referred for call-in from recent Cabinet meetings.

There were no call-in issues.

To determine any item which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board will be held on Wednesday 7 February 2024 at 10.00am at Rotherham Town Hall.  

Resolved: - That the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board will be held at 10am on Wednesday 7 February 2024 at Rotherham Town Hall.