Item 6 - Draft Minute Housing & Communities - 20 November 2024
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 February 2025
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 26 February 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE At a Hybrid Meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Wednesday, 20 November 2024 at 10.02 a.m. Present: Provost Karen Murray Conaghan and Councillors Ian Dickson, Gurpreet Singh Johal, David McBride, Lauren Oxley, Chris Pollock, Martin Rooney, Hazel Sorrell and Sophie Traynor. Attending: Peter Barry – Chief Officer, Housing and Employability; John Kerr, Housing Development and Homelessness Manager; Martin Feeney, Building Services Manager; Nicola Pettigrew, Housing Operations Manager; Laurence Slavin – Chief Officer, Resources; Michelle Lynn, Asset Manager; Michael McDougall, Manager of Legal Services; and Nicola Moorcroft and Lynn Straker, Committee Officers. Also attending: Divisional Commander Gary L’Anson and Chief Inspector Kirsteen McLatchie, Police Scotland; Area Commander Joe McKay and Station Commander Rob Tayor, Argyll and Bute, East and West Dunbartonshire, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors John Millar and Lawrence O’Neill. Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal, Chair, advised that the meeting was being audio streamed and broadcast live to the internet and would be available for playback. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in the item of business on the agenda. RECORDING OF VOTES The Committee agreed that all votes taken during the meeting would be done by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. Item 6
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OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. VALEDICTORY CHIEF INSPECTOR KIRSTEEN MCLATCHIE - POLICE SCOTLAND Councillor Singh Johal advised that this was the last meeting Chief Inspector Kirsteen McLatchie, Police Scotland would be attending. On behalf of all Members of the Committee, he thanked Chief Inspector McLatchie for all her work for West Dunbartonshire and wished her well in her future role. In response, Chief Inspector McLatchie noted thanks to all and advised that Chief Inspector Simon Shanks will be her replacement within West Dunbartonshire going forward. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of the Meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee held on 21 August 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record subject to all references to Chief Superintendent being amended to Chief Inspector. SCRUTINY REPORTS (a) POLICE SCRUTINY REPORT A report was submitted by the Divisional Commander, Police Scotland providing Members with an update on local policing in West Dunbartonshire. After discussion and having heard the Divisional Commander and the Chief Inspector, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update on policing in West Dunbartonshire. (b) FIRE AND RESCUE SCRUTINY REPORT A report was submitted by the Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service providing appropriate performance data measured against priorities in the West Dunbartonshire Local Fire and Rescue Plan. After discussion and having heard the Area Commander and the Station Commander in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update on the Local Fire and Rescue Plan in West Dunbartonshire.
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HOUSING AND EMPLOYABILITY DELIVERY PLAN 2024/25 MID-YEAR PROGRESS REPORT A report was submitted by Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an update on progress of the Housing and Employability Delivery Plan 2024/25. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved. ‘MORE HOMES WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE’ – STRATEGIC HOUSING INVESTMENT PLAN (SHIP) 2025/26 – 2029/30 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability seeking approval for the More Homes West Dunbartonshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) for 2025/26 – 2029/30 which requires to be submitted to the Scottish Government. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) the draft SHIP 2025/26 - 2029/30 as appended to the report, designed to continue the delivery of an ambitious programme of new affordable homes in compliance with the West Dunbartonshire Local Housing Strategy 2022 -2027 (Approved November 2021); (2) to note the impact of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme financial challenges and the mitigation measures being taken to maintain delivery of new affordable housing to meet identified need; and (3) to delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability to implement the Strategic Housing Investment Plan in partnership with relevant stakeholders. ‘MORE HOMES WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE’ – WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY DELIVERY PROGRAMME A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability updating on the progress of West Dunbartonshire’s More Homes Programme which oversees the delivery of the Council’s new home building programme. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the content of the report and the progress made to date in the delivery of the Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach, including the
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first handovers of new homes at the zero carbon Clydebank East development, which represents the 500th new build the Council has developed under the current More Homes Programme; (2) to approve the updated estimated costs for O’Hare (Bonhill Gap site) development noted in paragraph 4.4 of the report and to authorise the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration to conclude the award of the contract up to the updated estimated costs for the development of the new homes at the O’Hare site; (3) to note the revised Resource Planning Assumption (RPA) following the allocation of an additional £309k to support acquisitions related to minimising the use of temporary accommodation referenced at paragraphs 4.5 to 4.8 of the report; and (4) to note the increased Affordable Housing Supply grant benchmark levels, following a review undertaken by the Scottish Government, highlighted at paragraph 4.9 of the report. WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE – EMPTY HOMES STRATEGY 2024-2029 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability seeking approval of the new Empty Homes Strategy 2024 -2029. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to approve the revised Empty Homes Strategy 2024-2029; (2) to approve the target to return 125 homes back into use over the period of the strategy; and (3) to note the feedback from the Scottish Housing Minister as follows: ‘80% of the £40 million will be allocated to the five local authorities with sustained temporary accommodation pressures in both 2024-25 and 2025-26, to properly test the departure from the usual practice of distributing funding across all 32 authorities. However, there will be the opportunity to reconsider the allocation to the other 27 local authorities for 2025-26, which will be led by the SDG and that the Committee write to COSLA Leaders, COSLA Housing Spokesperson and request that when considering the 2025/26 allocation of the £40m that 80% goes to the 27 local authorities and that 20% goes to the five Local Authorities that had received the higher allocation last year.
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HOUSING EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an updating on the Housing Emergency Action Plan (HEDAP) which was formulated to address the emergency following the Council’s housing emergency declaration on 1st May 2024. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the progress to date and the implementation of the key actions of the Housing Emergency Declaration Action Plan as summarised in paragraphs 4.1 – 4.6 of the report and in the action plan update within Appendix 1 of the report; and (2) to note the intention to hold a Housing Summit in early 2025 and that the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability will continue to bring an update report to future meetings of the Housing and Communities Committee regarding the Housing Emergency declaration. HOUSING REPAIRS POLICY A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability seeking approval for the introduction of a new West Dunbartonshire Housing Repairs Policy, which has been developed in partnership with Council tenants. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Building Services Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to approve the revised Repairs Policy attached as Appendix 1 to the report; and (2) to invite the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability to take appropriate actions to ensure the policy is implemented immediately. SCOTTISH SOCIAL HOUSING CHARTER ANNUAL BENCHMARKING AND MID-YEAR PROGRESS REPORT A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing benchmarking information relating to 2023/24 and a mid-year update in terms performance, against the Scottish Social Housing Charter indicators and meeting the requirements of the Scottish Housing Regulator’s Regulatory Framework. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Housing Operations Manager, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:-
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(1) to note the content of this report recognising how the Council performed compared to peers during 2023/24 and mid-year progress in terms of meeting the outcomes of the Scottish Social Housing Charter; (2) to note that following the approval of the Annual Assurance Statement by the Committee on 21 August 2024 that, this has now been submitted to the Scottish Housing Regulator as per regulatory requirements; (3) to note that the annual Charter Performance Report for 2023/24 has now been published and a summary would be provided to all tenants with the winter edition of the Housing News; and (4) that a full annual progress report on the Scottish Social Housing Charter and Regulatory Framework will be submitted to the August 2025 meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee. ‘INVOLVING YOU TO IMPROVE HOUSING SERVICES’ - WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL’S TENANT PARTICIPATION STRATEGY 2025-2028 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability highlighting statutory obligations in relation to tenant participation and seeking approval for the new Tenant Participation Strategy entitled ‘Involving You to Improve Housing Services’ covering the period 2025-2028. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the progress and achievements made in relation to the implementation of the previous Tenant Participation Strategy 2021- 2024; and (2) to approve the draft West Dunbartonshire Tenant Participation Strategy 2025- 2028 and associated action plan. HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES BUILDING SERVICES UPDATE A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability advising of changes to Building Services establishment and delivery model and seeking approval to continue with procurement and tender processes. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Building Services Manager in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the contents of the report; (2) to approve the procurement processes to tender the requirements listed within the table in paragraph 4.6 of the report; and
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(3) to delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration to award contracts to successful bidders HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT (HRA) BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT TO 31 AUGUST 24 (PERIOD 5) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing advising of the 2024/2025 HRA revenue budget position on 31 August 2024 and the forecast HRA reserves position as of 31 March 2025. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability in further explanation, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the HRA revenue account currently forecasts an adverse variance of £2.174m. If required, the adverse variance would be offset by using HRA reserves of £0.968m and a General Fund reserve contribution of £1.205m; (2) to note that the HRA will be expected to develop a repayment plan to reimburse the General Fund for any contribution that the General Fund makes towards a HRA deficit and note that the HRA will need to develop a plan to replenish HRA reserves to the HRA prudential target; (3) to note that work will continue to identify efficiencies across all areas of the HRA revenue account budget, to minimise the adverse variance, including reviewing loan charges as highlighted in paragraph 4.5 of the report; and (4) to note that there is limited scope to further reduce spend in 2024/2025 beyond the significant actions set out in the report. GENERAL FUND HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES FINANCIAL REPORT 2024/25 AS AT 31 AUGUST 2024 (PERIOD 5) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update financial performance to 31 August 2024 (Period 5) of General Fund Revenue services under the remit of the Housing and Communities Committee. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability in further explanation, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the contents of the report showing the revenue budget forecast to underspend against budget by £0.029m (0.9 %) at the year-end; and (2) to note the progress on efficiencies incorporated into budgets for 2024/25.
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HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES CAPITAL MONITORING REPORT TO 31 AUGUST 24 (PERIOD 5) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on the HRA capital programme to 31 August 2024. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability, in further explanation the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the current position of the 2024/2025 HRA capital budget and the HRA capital plan; (2) to note that in year financial performance is monitored against a 2024/2025 capital expenditure budget of £73.664m and a 2024/2025 capital income budget of £10.003m, a one-year borrowing requirement of £63.661m; (3) to note that project life performance is monitored against a five-year project life expenditure budget of £319.738m and a project life income budget of £54.577m, a five-year borrowing requirement of £265.161m; (4) to note that there were six projects reporting off-track, with an anticipated over/under spend against 2024/2025 budgets, with a forecast net overspend of £0.334m in 2024/2025; and (5) to note that all projects are currently on-track to achieve the planned completion dates and to deliver within the respective five-year project life budgets. The meeting closed at 11.52 a.m.