Agenda item

Resolved: the committee noted the report.

Kevin Sheehan (Executive Director for Housing, Regeneration and the Public Realm) introduced the proposed budget cut, C-10 Housing Services Review.

The meeting was adjourned at 19:15 due to technical problems with the webcast.

The meeting and webcast restarted again at 19:42.

1.1  The proposed budget cut for the housing service, C-10 Housing Services Review, will be achieved through action in four areas: doing more work online and over the phone and significantly reducing administration costs; investing in IT and rolling out an integrated housing IT system; investing in IT for private sector licensing and transferring the administrative burden back to landlords; and working across silos to target resources more effectively.

1.2  This will result in the current housing service’s workforce of 148 posts being reduced by 10 to 15 posts over the next two years. The council will look to use the natural staff turnover and other mitigations such as redeployment. There will be formal consultation with staff and trade unions.

1.3  The committee expressed concern about the potential impact of the proposed budget cut on the service at a time when an increasing number of resident may need to use it.

1.4  The committee also noted that a significant number of residents will not be able to access services online and queried how the council is going to work with third sector to meet the needs of resident who need extra support. 

1.5  The investments in efficiencies that the council has made will allow services to be provided as effectively as they have been in the past. In many cases the service will be more accessible and quicker for residents. There is also flexibility in the grant regime during the Covid pandemic which can be used to address particular challenges that might come up.

1.6  The council also recognises that homelessness isn’t just a housing issue and that it will need to be more holistic in dealing with clients in the future.

1.7  The Chair explained at 19:52 that there had been a technical problem with the webcast and that the meeting had been adjourned. Because of this the Chair asked the Executive Director to repeat his introduction to the budget cuts.

1.8  The council is facing a very challenging financial position following ten years of austerity policies by the government. The council has had 11 years of cuts to its budget and this is likely to continue.

1.9  The Local Government Association estimates that there is a £4bn shortfall in local government funding nationally.

1.10      The council has a statutory responsibility to produce a balanced budget. This is particularly challenging following the Covid-19 pandemic and the resources the council has had to spend to support the most vulnerable residents.

1.11      The council needs to make cut of £40m over the next three years. £28m of this needs to be made in the first year, 2021/22. The housing service’s proportion of this is £600k over the next two years.

1.12      The Covid-19 pandemic has created considerable financial risks for the council. It has affected the council tax and business rate collection rate. There is likely to be a significant increase in unemployment, which could also affect the council tax collection rate. It has also affected the income generated thought the council’s commercial estate.

1.13      The housing service had been investing in a programme to modernise and move more interaction online and phone prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The service invested £1m in a new integrated housing IT system to reduce administration and is working across silos to be more efficient.

1.14      The committee queried how the proposed budget cuts are going to affect the more vulnerable residents who will still need face to face services, and how the cuts are going to affect the council’s home-building and buying programmes, noting the need for larger 4 and 5 bedroom homes?

1.15      It was confirmed that there will always be provision for those people who need to access the council’s services in a way that’s suitable for them. It was also confirmed that the council’s home building programme is likely to deliver more homes than it set out to do.

1.16      The committee asked to be provided with further details of where to direct residents who can’t use online and phone services.

1.17      The committee queried how officers came to the figure of £600k cuts for the housing service; whether it will involve any outsourcing; how the cut will fall across the three parts of the housing service; and whether there will be any budget implications from the council’s proposed allocations scheme.

1.18      The council’s budget process has been collaborative. The overarching financial strategy is presented to directorates, but services generate the specific proposals and engage with staff. Outsourcing is not part of any of the proposals. The impact of the proposed allocation scheme is expected to be cost neutral.

1.19      The committee agreed not to make any specific recommendations on the budget cuts to the Public Accounts Select Committee.

Resolved: the committee noted the report.