(Exempt under Paragraphs 3 and 9 of the Act (accommodation provided by the Council/negotiation of terms).
Minutes:
Alison Palmer, Neighbourhood Development, submitted a report on the formation of the Arms Length Management Organisation and the Section 27 Application aided by a powerpoint presentation.
The Council must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval under Section 27 of the Housing Act 1985 to appoint the ALMO as its agent for the delivery of housing management services. The Secretary of State will wish to be satisfied about a range of issues including compliance with the ALMO guidance and authorities must complete a prescribed questionnaire (Appendix 1). The 18th February, 2005, deadline for submission had been met.
As part of the Section 27 application, details of the functions to be delegated to the ALMO and to be retained by the Local Authority (Appendix 2) and, once granted, the Authority may formally sign and bring into force the management agreement with its ALMO. A summary and copy of the draft management agreement were appended at Appendices 3 and 4.
Under the terms of the management agreement, the ALMO should produce and regularly update a Delivery or Business Plan setting out its works programme and target. It should be jointly endorsed by the Local Authority and the ALMO and should reflect a partnership delivering continuous improvement to tenants and the delivery of neighbourhood management over the long term. Targets should be clear and measurable and be linked to the key objectives of the ALMO. A draft delivery plan was attached to the report at Appendix 5.
Appendix 6 set out the progress made on Service Level Agreements for the provision of support services from the Council to the ALMO.
It was noted that the report had been the subject of an All Members Seminars on the 15th, and considered by the Cabinet on the 23rd February, 2005. It would hopefully be adopted by full Council in March, 2005.
Discussion ensued on the document with the following points raised/clarified:-
- The Council had the final say in the event of any disputes as it owned the ALMO.
- If the ALMO defaulted, the Council had to give it time to rectify whatever the fault was. As part of the Agreement, there was an order that could be imposed on them and the service could be taken back. It was not thought that would have any implication on the funding as the service would still be provided and at the level agreed.
- The table in the report projected loss of stock based on Right to Buys over recent years. It was projected that Right to Buy would reduce as stock did not meet the Decent Homes Standard and people did not have the means or desire to exercise the Right. The ODPM would expect the projections to be revised on an annual basis and submitted each year.
- The Right to Buy rules were altering i.e. £25,000 maximum discount and had to have been in the property five years.
- The Government were looking into the freedoms allowed for ALMOs.
- A copy of the updated management arrangements was available in the Members’ Room.
Resolved:- That the establishment of the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), 2010 Rotherham on 4th April, 2005 be supported.
(Exempt under Paragraphs 3 and 9 of the Act – accommodation provided by the Authority/negotiation of terms)