Venue: Committee Room 5 - Civic Centre. View directions
Contact: Liz Penny, Democratic Services Officer Email: epenny@hillingdon.gov.uk
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: There were no apologies for absence. |
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Declarations of interest in matters coming before this meeting Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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To receive the minutes of the previous meeting Minutes: RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting dated 27 November 2024 be agreed as an accurate record. |
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To confirm that the items of business marked as Part I will be considered in public and those marked Part II will be considered in private Minutes: It was confirmed that all items of business were in Part I and would be considered in public. |
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Select Committee Terms of Reference Update Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED: That the Select Committee Terms of Reference update be noted. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: Richard Ennis (Corporate Director of Finance), Andy Goodwin (Head of Strategic Finance), Dan Kennedy (Corporate Director – Homes and Communities) and Karrie Whelan (Corporate Director – Place) presented the report.
The Corporate Director of Finance noted that these were very challenging times, and national issues were impacting local government.
In respect of housing, the Government's target of delivering 300,000 homes per annum was a goal which had not been achieved since 1969. It was noted that the Help to Buy scheme from the previous Government no longer existed, and affordability in the housing market remained a significant issue, particularly in the rental market.
Members heard that the authority had been drawing on its reserves for a few years and aimed to rebuild them while maintaining transparency. It was noted that Hillingdon was a low-tax authority, resulting in lower resident payments compared to neighbouring authorities, but also less income for services. The Committee was informed that the settlement received had been higher than estimated by about £3.8 million, but this was considered a small sum given the scale of challenges. It was confirmed that the Government had increased National Insurance, but local authorities had not received confirmation of full reimbursement to date. There was a risk that increased private sector contractor costs could be passed on to the local authority.
Officers noted that interest rates were causing financial challenges, with long-term rates touching 5%. The final budget would be presented to Cabinet on 13 February and to full Council on 27 February 2025. The comments from the Select Committees were expected to be helpful in the final stages of the budget process.
The Corporate Director for Homes and Communities informed Members that, with regard to temporary accommodation, Hillingdon had experienced considerable pressure on its homelessness services, with a 24% annual increase in housing enquiries since the pandemic. Temporary accommodation rates for private sector accommodation had increased in cost by 30%, in line with London's 32% increase. Over the last five years, there had been a 40% reduction in the availability of private rented sector accommodation in Hillingdon. Only 5% of private rented properties in the Borough had rent levels met by benefit rates, meaning 95% required some form of subsidy for affordability.
The collective impact of these factors had resulted in significant pressure. The budget position for the year forecasted a £5.7 million overspend on the homelessness budget. Actions in the budget proposals for 2025-2026 onwards aimed to address this, including accelerating the supply programme to take charge of the supply for the next two to three years and building up the pipeline programme.
The Corporate Director for Place advised the Committee that Hillingdon had been focusing on its housing delivery programme, which involved significant capital outlay. The Hayes regeneration programme was already delivering, and there were proposals to accelerate the programme to deliver more affordable homes. The strategy aimed to increase the housing supply by about 800-900 properties over the next four years. This included acquiring properties quickly and building ... view the full minutes text for item 46. |
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Review of Homelessness and the Customer Journey - Review Findings Additional documents:
Minutes: Dan Kennedy, Corporate Director of Homes and Communities informed Members that, further to the Committee’s review of Homelessness and the Customer Journey, a number of smart recommendations had been drawn up in collaboration with the Chair, Labour Lead and Democratic Services.
Members thanked officers for their hard work on the review. In response to questions from Members, it was confirmed that progress in relation to the review recommendations would be monitored on an ongoing basis.
RESOLVED:
1. That the Select Committee considered possible conclusions, findings and early draft recommendations in relation to the review; and 2. That the Select Committee agreed to delegate the final wording of the review recommendations to Democratic Services in conjunction with the Chair and in consultation with the Labour Lead. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan be noted. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED: That the Work Programme be noted. |