Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

The Executive is asked to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2019.

The Executive considered the minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2019.

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 30 May 2019 for signature by the Chair.

A copy of the Register of Interest for each Selby District Councillor is available for inspection at www.selby.gov.uk.

Councillors should declare to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest in any item of business on this agenda which is not already entered in their Register of Interests.

Councillors should leave the meeting and take no part in the consideration, discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Councillors should also declare any other interests. Having made the declaration, provided the other interest is not a disclosable pecuniary interest, the Councillor may stay in the meeting, speak and vote on that item of business.

If in doubt, Councillors are advised to seek advice from the Monitoring Officer.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report E/19/4 presents the corporate performance for Quarter 4 2018/19 (January to March) and Year End 2018/19.

The Leader of the Council presented the quarterly performance report which provided a progress update on delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-20 as measured by a combination of: progress against priority projects/high level actions; and performance against key performance indicators (KPIs). 

The Executive made the following comments about the reports:

• The Executive acknowledged the positive performance in relation to the processing of planning application and housing delivery. Additionally it was noted there was positive performance in relation to the number of missed bin collections and the number of visits to combined leisure centres.

• It was acknowledged that the performance in relation to the average time taken to re-let vacant Council homes was still a concern. The Director of Corporate Services and Commissioning explained that during quarter four, 83 properties had been let in an average of 53.2 days. It was noted that some of these properties had required major works before they could be re-let. The Executive was informed that the current figure to re-let homes stood at 41.4 days.

• Discussion took place on whether council tenants could refuse to allow improvement work to be done to their property. The Director of Corporate Services and Commissioning explained that a tenant could refuse the council access to the property unless it was an emergency which then meant they would have to apply to the high court for access. It was queried whether the Council could amend the contract with the tenant to ensure they were allowed access for improvement works to be undertaken. It was agreed this would be looked into and a response provided.

• The Executive noted that the performance indicator relating to council housing rent and arrears collected was lower than the target however they acknowledged that the team had done well to maintain the performance in light of the introduction of Universal Credit.

• A query was raised regarding the performance indicator relating to the renting of industrial units particularly in Sherburn. The Director of Corporate Services and Commissioning explained that a funding bid had been submitted to allow improvement works to industrial units however this was subject to a further report being submitted to Executive and this was currently being worked upon. It was noted that currently the Council was unable to re-let units once they became vacant as work relating to energy needed to be carried out before the units could be re-let.

• A query was raised regarding the confidence levels of achieving the savings target for 2019/20 considering the Council was short of the target for 2018/19. The Chief Finance Officer explained that a savings plan was in place for 2019/20 and savings had been identified with a medium or high risk. It was noted that the Council was aiming to push on with projects to assist savings such as the digital strategy and the housing management system.

• It was noted that the performance indicator listed under the processing of planning applications should state 13 weeks rather than 3. A query was raised whether the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report E/19/5 sets out, as part of the Council’s Housing Development Strategy for increasing its supply of affordable housing stock and Empty Homes programme, the case for the potential purchase of empty properties and former Right to Buy Council properties where the Council has first refusal.

The Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture presented the report which sets out, as part of the Council’s Housing Development Strategy for increasing its supply of affordable housing stock and Empty Homes programme, the case for the potential purchase of empty properties and former Right to Buy Council properties where the Council had first refusal.

The Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture explained that the Council had the potential to purchase empty properties and former Right to Buy council properties where it had first refusal. It was noted that each purchase would be dependent on a business case and the Council was able to drawn down from the funding provided by Homes England in respect of the purchase and repair of empty properties.

The following discussion took place on the report:

• In response to a query concerning the price of purchasing, it was noted that the Council would always negotiate the best price for the property to ensure it wasn’t overpaying.

• Discussion took place on how the demand for the buyback of council properties. The Executive was informed that around 20 former council properties were sold each year with around 10 being offered back to the Council.

• It was noted that if the property was sold by the buyer within 10 years then the Council had a legal right to know and that this should be flagged by the mortgage company or the solicitor. Furthermore, it was explained that if it was sold within five years of purchase then the seller would be required to pay back the discount they had received. It was noted this would be calculated on a sliding scale up to the five years. A query was raised whether this appeared as a local land charge on the property. It was agreed a response would be sought on this.

• In response to a query concerning if a seller could go back on the council housing waiting list after selling a property, the Head of Operational Services explained that this would only happen in certain specific circumstances.

• A query was raised regarding the works required to the properties to be purchased. The Head of Operational Services explained if work was required to the property, this would be identified in the business case.

It was proposed and seconded that the following amendments be made to the recommendations:

• It was proposed to remove the reference to leisure for the Lead Executive Member in resolution three as this was not under their portfolio.

• It was proposed that resolution two include a reference to liaising with the Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources to ensure there was Member input.

RESOLVED:

i)             To approve extension of the Empty Homes and Housing Development programmes to include the purchase of former Council houses previously sold under the Right to Buy scheme;

ii)            To delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Director of Corporate Services and Commissioning and the Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.