The Leader introduced the report which would highlight some stories and updates within the Housing department in Thurrock. The report showed a balanced outturn that had been achieved without a decrease in the quality of service despite financial challenges faced by all social landlords. The big three performance indicators for housing management – repairs, rents and void turnaround time, had also seen good progress.

98% of repairs in all categories had been completed within the target timescales and complaints related to Mears Ltd were at an all-time low. Overall, 34% of complaints had been upheld so far this year which was down from 41% last year. It was now below the target of 40%.

Rent collection was at 98% and Financial Inclusion Officers had assisted 500 tenants with budgeting and benefits advice to prevent them from losing their homes. The Voids performance had improved with an average turnaround time that had been below the target level of 30 days for each of the last three months.

Savings on staff costs had been achieved which enabled the staffing budget for the next year to be reduced by £300,000. This had enabled more to be spent on important matters to tenants:

• The Neighbourhood Improvement budget had been protected and increased. The service would be speaking with tenants about how they would like to see the money spent within their local areas.
• Conditions of garages would be improved and the longer-term use of these would also be considered.
• The Sheltered Housing Improvement Project would deliver external and internal improvements to every one of the Council’s sheltered housing complexes.
• The spend of £1 million this year on enhanced fire safety measures in response to the Grenfell Tower Fire.

Adding to the last point, the Leader said the department was waiting on results of the empirical tests of the cladding materials in the Council’s tower blocks which had been commissioned as a ‘double assurance’ previously.

The service department would apply the same approach as covered in the Fees and Charges report of looking for efficiencies to the General Fund activities in the service. Additionally, they would soon be consulting on the phased rents increase for traveller sites which had been subject to increasing management and maintenance expenditure costs in recent years. This increase would reflect the real costs that had not been reflected previously and residents would be asked to make a greater contribution to the services they received.

A similar value-for-money approach had prevented an overspend on temporary accommodation for the homeless. The department had made better use of the Council’s stock to reduce third party costs and spent less of the flexible homelessness grant. A focus on prevention had helped with this as the number of homelessness cases had dropped to a 25% year on year figure.

The recent outcome for the Stock Condition Survey revealed a significant amount of work to be done and money to be spent on the Council’s current housing stock. This would be over the next 30 years which would need to ensure the best value was maximised for the works to be done.

Thurrock’s bid for funding through the national Housing Infrastructure Fund has been successful with £538,000 secured to help with the delivery of new social homes at Claudian Way in Chadwell. Through TRL, the Council would be looking to deliver more new affordable homes along with the recent planning permission granted for Belmont Road. This will push Thurrock into a more modern social landlord that would be able to respond to housing pressures and act creatively to face them.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the assumptions included in the HRA Business Plan, as summarised in the report were noted by Members.

2)    That the HRA budgets for 2018/19 were agreed by Members.

Reason for decision - as stated in the report.

This decision is subject to call in.