Issue - meetings

This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor Fran Smith, Housing

Report Author: Kerry Prisco (Management Accounting and Reporting Lead)

This report provides an update on the projected outturn financial position of the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the financial year 2021/22 (as 31 December 2021).

The Portfolio Holder for Housing introduced the report:  

·        Noted that the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was still experiencing the after-effects of Covid-19.  

·        Updated that the HRA overspend had been reduced to £354,000 since the last report to the Committee.  

The Management Accounting Lead provided a further introduction to the report:  

·                   Raised that the management team had taken a number of steps to reduce the projected overspend and ensure reserves could be preserved. This included improving the voids position by letting an additional 50 garages and reviewing the voids process.  

During the debate the following points were raised: 

·                   It was asked what else had been done in terms of efficiency measures to control costs and whether anything which had been done had impacted upon service delivery. Officers responded that the reduction in spending on the capital programme, partly because ofCovid, had contributed to the reduced overspend. Services had not been impacted by efficiency measures. Efficiency measures which would be taken had been detailed in a previous report brought to the committee.  

·                   It was asked how many garages remained unrented and whether thought had been given to putting electric vehicle (EV) charging points in garages ready for people with electric vehicles. Officers responded that the number of currently void garages could be provided after the meeting. EV charging points in garages had not been considered and could be looked into. Investing in EV charging points was something the Council was looking at engaging in for some of the new homes the Council was creating but there were costs and challenges which could mean that it would take time to be able to invest in EV chanrging points in garages. 

·                   It was asked how the figures for depreciation were reached. Officers responded that the different components of buildings such as boilers and windows were considered, and it was calculated how much it would cost to replace these elements at current market rate. Those depreciation funds were then set aside and used to fund the replacement of these elements in properties which then leads to appreciation.  

·                   It was asked about the projected underspend on compliance surveys of £326,000 mentioned in the report but that there was also mentioned in the report increased costs due to compliance requirements increasing. It was responded by officers that the compliance budget had been an estimated value and that not as much had been spent as anticipated. The paragraph which mentioned the increasing compliance requirements related to risks and uncertainty around compliance regulations which had not been accounted for in the budget estimates for the year.  

The Committee resolved to note the recommendations in the report:

2.1 This report is to be noted as the HRA’s forecast financial performance and projected reserves position for 2021/22 financial year as 31 December 2022.