Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented a report on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) estimates, rents and other related charges for 2016/17.

The Cabinet Member advised that the main issue affecting the HRA was the Government’s decision last summer to impose a 1% per annum reduction on tenants’ rents for the five-year period commencing 1 April 2016.  The change would reduce HRA income by £3m in 2016/17 and by a total of £33.6m over the full five-year period, significantly impacting on the Council’s ambitious plans for the regeneration of estates and the refurbishment of its housing stock to Decent Homes standards.  An additional consequence of the new arrangements imposed by the Government was the forced abandonment of the Council’s five-year rent convergence policy agreed by Cabinet on 16 February 2015 (Minute 94 (iii)).

The Cabinet Member also referred to the potential implications of the Government’s plan to impose the £40,000 per annum earnings cap for those living in social housing, which had been alluded to earlier in the meeting.  From April 2017 those exceeding the earnings cap would be required to pay market rent which for those living in a Council property in Barking and Dagenham could mean a doubling of their monthly rent.  Members questioned the Government’s motives for the change and suggested that it would lead to many individuals choosing to leave employment in order to fall back under the threshold or for parents to ask their working-age children to leave the family home.

In response to the imposed 1% reduction on rent levels, the charges for other services had been reviewed with the aim of achieving full-cost recovery and, as a result, increases were proposed to several aspects including tenant service charges and refurbished garage rents.  It was also proposed to extend the Safer Neighbourhood project, ran in partnership with the Police, across the Borough and to apply the 50p per week charge to all tenants and leaseholders.  The Cabinet Member commented that the increases would enable the Council to continue to improve the range, quality and choice of homes as well as the quality of information and services to all tenants and leaseholders.  It was also noted that a full business plan review would be conducted during 2016/17 to inform the position for 2017/18. 

Members spoke in support of the Cabinet Member for Housing’s proposals and particularly welcomed the expansion of the Safer Neighbourhood project, which had achieved excellent results and was much valued by housing estate residents, and the review of amenity green provision and charges which was to be undertaken during 2016/17.  The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Social Care suggested that the amenity green review should focus on the benefits that green spaces bring to local areas, with less emphasis on the parking pressures that could be eased through their conversion.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree the Housing Revenue Account estimates for 2016/17 as detailed in Appendix 6 to the report;

(ii)  Agree an overall average Council dwelling rent reduction  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83