Agenda and minutes

None.

RESOLVED - that the minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2022 be confirmed and signed by the chair.

To approve the Committee’s Terms of Reference for the municipal year 2022 to 2023.

The Service Delivery Manager: Legal & Democracy presented the Terms of Reference for the municipal year 2022/2023 to the committee, noting that Full Council had delegated responsibility or the final confirmation of Terms of Reference to each Committee.

RESOLVED - that the amended Terms of Reference set out in Appendix A be approved.

To agree the Business and Finance Scrutiny Committee work programme for the municipal year 2022 to 2023.

The Service Delivery Manager: Legal & Democracy, presented the Business and Finance Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2022/2023.

The Committee heard that the work programme had been presented at Scrutiny Management Board and Scrutiny Assembly. The items had been suggested by a number of stakeholders, from Councillors, to Cabinet members and Senior Management. The Service Delivery Manager: Legal & Democracy mentioned that discussions over the work programme would continue through keeping in touch meetings with the Chair. Members were informed that the document presented was a working document and any alterations would be communicated to Members by Democratic Services.

RESOLVED – that the work programme for the 2022/2023 municipal year be approved.

To receive the annual update on the Housing Improvement Programme. The Service Delivery Manager: Housing Investment Programme will attend for this item.

The Service Delivery Manager: Housing Investment Programme gave the committee an annual update on the Housing Investment Programme (HIP) with Nuplace.

The Committee received an update from the Service Delivery Manager: Housing Investment Programme regarding the programme's objectives. It was explained that the programme started 7 years ago and was a response to the Borough's housing need for quality rental homes and places to live. It was heard that the programme is to support the Council's ambitious growth agenda as well as investment into the Borough. The Service Delivery Manager: Housing Investment Programme explained that another objective of the programme was to raise the standard of rental provision in the Borough in terms of the quality of the rental homes and the quality of the landlord service in areas such as responding to repairs in a timely manner.

In addition, members heard that HIP had an objective to enhance the Council's knowledge and expertise of housing delivery and management. It was explained that this was being carried out through the use of in-house resources to undertake the development, management and maintenance of the portfolio of rental properties.

Further to this, the committee was told that HIP and Nuplace had an objective to generate a long term income stream for that council that would contribute to the protection of frontline services that would otherwise by affected by budgetary constraints. It was further heard that this would help to stimulate local economic growth through job creation during both the construction and operational phases of the programme.

The last two objectives that the Service Delivery Manager: Housing Investment Programme discussed was to regenerate brownfield and stalled sites and to breathe new life into existing housing stock.

Following this, members heard about the achievements so far with HIP and Nuplace. At the time of the meeting Nuplace's housing portfolio comprised of 442 homes with a further 442 planned or in delivery. It was explained that the growing portfolio provided a range of homes across the Borough with houses available in the north and south of Telford and also included properties in Newport. In a December 2021 satisfaction survey, 96% of NuPlace tenants said that they would recommend NuPlace to friends and family. At the time of the meeting, circa 1,200 people lived in NuPlace properties across ten sites.

Further to this the Service Delivery Manager: Housing Investment Programme said that voids for the financial year 2021/22 were approximately 1.35%, below the Budget assumption of 3.1%. The programme has regenerated 23 acres of brownfield land, with a further 38 acres being regenerated at Wild Walk, Muxton.

Members heard how the programme had delivered added value to the Borough in terms of local employment, apprenticeships, supply chain development and the delivery of a range of community projects. An example was the partnership working with Lovell over the last 5 years to provide jobs to local people during the construction and development stages.

The HIP has generated a cumulative net incremental income of £7.8m to  ...  view the full minutes text for item BFSC59

The Chair informed the committee that the next meeting would be on the 13 December 2022.