SUMMARY/PURPOSE
1.
The Housing Investment Programme funds the provision
of new affordable housing schemes on the Island and the provision of assistance
for housing renewal. The purpose of this report is to provide information and
seek approval of the spending plans outlined that underpin our delivery of
affordable housing and housing renewal programme.
CONFIDENTIAL/EXEMPT
ITEMS
2.
There are no
confidential or exempt items.
BACKGROUND
3.
On 22 February 2006 the Full Council made a budget
resolution for 2006/07, including the budget for capital investment for
affordable housing. The amount allocated to housing capital investment was
provisionally £1,769,000. The final resolution will be dependent on the final
allocation that the Island receives.
4.
An additional resolution of £800,000 was made for
Disabled Facilities grants for the 2006/07 financial year. The overall allocation is made up of an
allowance of £420,000 from the Department of Communities and Local Government
(DCLG) and £380,000 match funding from the Isle of Wight Council. The Island
allocation of £380,000 will be a first call on capital receipts, subject to the
final allocation for the Island.
5.
The allocation of funds for affordable housing schemes
are dependant on the amount of investment allocated to the Island by the Housing
Corporation. For the 2006/08 period the Island has received an allocation of
£7.9M which will enable the provision of 232 affordable housing units.
6.
The allocation of £1,769,000 has therefore been split
as follows:
§
Affordable Housing £1,284,000
§
Housing Renewal £485,000
7.
The Housing Renewal allocation supports the work of
the Housing and Community Support Services department that has responsibility
for:
§
Funding for disabled adaptations,
§
Funding for fire safety in Houses in Multiple
Occupation,
§
Minor repairs grants to enable people to stay safe in
their own homes,
§
Funding to enable the provision of loans for home
repairs,
§
Empty property grants and,
§
Additional funds for the most unfit areas on the
Island.
8.
The provision of £1,284,000 will enable the provision
of an additional 40 units of affordable housing during the 2006/07 financial
year and we will continue to work with our Housing Association partners to
drive down the cost of future provision.
9.
The funding for affordable housing each year will
deliver around 150 units of affordable housing of all types. Therefore in order
to achieve our aspirations we will either need to increase the amount of
investment into affordable housing or rely on increased provision through
section 106 planning obligations.
10.
Therefore there will be a need to increase our
partnership work with private developers or look at new ways of working to
bring forward development sites to meet this additional need for affordable
housing.
11.
We will also ensure wherever possible from 2007/08
schemes that we fund will meet ECO Homes Excellent and that we fund the
provision of homes that meet the lifetime homes standard as set out in our
Local Area Agreement.
12.
In setting the allocations to the Housing Associations
the Isle of Wight Council had to plan for the following:
§
Existing commitments to schemes in progress where
funding had been allocated and not spent within the financial year,
§
Schemes that were of strategic importance,
§
Unsuccessful bids made to the Housing Corporation
which were supported by the Local Authority.
13.
The Isle of Wight Council is therefore able to support
the delivery of affordable housing schemes totalling £3.289M during the 2006/07
financial year and has made the following affordable housing allocations:
§
South Wight Housing Association £2.279M (of which £1.381M was previous commitments to
Oakfield
§
Medina Housing Association £1.010M
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
14.
The Housing and Community Support Services section has
responsibility for enabling the provision of new affordable housing units as
set out in our Housing Strategy “Building Better Island Homes” 2004-2009 and
delivering our Housing Renewal Assistance programme as set out in our Housing
Renewal Strategy “Creating Decent Island Homes” 2003-2008.
15.
The Isle of Wight Council, with its partners on the
Island Strategic Partnership, have identified the need to increase the
provision of affordable housing, both for rent and for home buy.
16.
The Isle of Wight Council’s Aim High plan sets out the
following goals for the department:
§
Reduce homelessness and avoid use of temporary and
inappropriate housing,
§
Provide healthy safe, affordable housing according to
the needs of Island people, especially those with least housing choice,
§
Ensure housing choice
17.
The main measures of success that underpin the goals
are:
§
The number of cases where homelessness is avoided
through intervention measures,
§
The average time in temporary accommodation
§
The number of households accepted as homeless
§
The number of units of affordable housing per year
§
The percentage of affordable new homes built to
Lifetime Homes Standard
§
The number of properties brought back into use per
annum
§
The number of homes made suitable under the Health and
Safety Rating system
§
The number if households assisted in securing private
rented accommodation
18.
The Local Area Agreement underpins Aim High by
identifying three critical factors that will improve life for residents on the
Island:
§
Number of
units of affordable housing built per year
§
Percentage of
affordable new homes built to Lifetime Home standard
§
Number of
homes made suitable under Housing Health & Safety Rating System
19.
The Housing and Community Support service plan makes
specific reference to the need for additional resources for affordable housing
if the department is to meet the target that has been set of enabling the
provision of 200 units per annum. The department will also look for ways that
service improvements can be made to increase the amount of units that can be
delivered for the existing allocation.
CONSULTATION
20.
In determining the split between housing renewal and
affordable housing consultation was undertaken with the following:
§
Cabinet Member for Care, Health and Housing
§
Housing Needs Manager
§
Housing Renewal Manager
§
Medina Housing Association
§
South Wight Housing Association
§
Vectis Housing Association
21.
Consultation with the Housing Renewal manager
highlighted the need for assistance to be provided for fire safety in HMO’s.
Consultation with the Housing Associations involved discussions following the
Housing Corporation announcement in March 2006. Schemes that were not funded by
the Housing Corporation were prioritised and funding allocated accordingly.
Consultation with the Housing Needs Manager highlighted the need to provide
affordable housing to meet our Local Area Agreement objectives.
FINANCIAL/BUDGET
IMPLICATIONS
22.
The Supported Capital Expenditure (SCE) approved by
the Council of £1,769,000 was an estimate based on the 2005/06 financial year
expenditure. It is normal for the DCLG to notify the Local Authority of the SCE
for the forthcoming year in advance of the budget being set, but this has not
taken place to date.
23.
The financial implications of delivering this
programme have been set out in this document as allocated by the Isle of Wight
Council’s budget 2006. The costs identified are accurate and
comprehensive.
24.
We will work with the Housing Associations and other
partners to make external bids for funding to enable us to meet our aspirations
for affordable housing.
LEGAL
IMPLICATIONS
25.
The provision of grants to Registered Social Landlords
in respect of expenditure incurred in connection with Housing Activities is
covered under the Housing Act 1996, section 18.
26.
The provision of Housing Assistance for Housing
Renewal is covered under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act
1996 as amended by the Regulatory Reform Order 2002.
OPTIONS
27.
Option 1 - To approve the Housing Investment Plan as
set out in sections 6 to 12 of this document.
28.
Option 2 - To suggest an alternative split between
affordable housing and housing renewal programmes.
29.
Option 3 - To only fund specific affordable housing
schemes and inform our partner housing associations that some schemes will not
be supported.
EVALUATION/RISK
MANAGEMENT
30.
Option 1 is being recommended. The delivery of our
affordable housing programme in partnership with our Housing Association
partners needs to be planned in advance to enable successful delivery of
schemes and to enable the Isle of Wight to meet objective of enabling the
provision of 200 affordable housing units per annum.
31.
Affordable housing schemes need careful planning and
the majority of schemes are not deliverable within one calendar or financial
year. Therefore to deliver successful housing schemes there is a need to plan
in advance to enable the Council to ensure that not only its Capital resource
allocated for building is spent during the financial year but also to provide
comfort to our partner housing associations that the funding will be available
when acquisition, start on site or practical completion happens.
32.
Option 2 has not been considered because Housing
Services has been able to financially plan for all but one of the schemes that
did not receive funding from the Housing Corporation. This additional scheme
far exceeds the funding set aside for housing renewal programmes.
33.
Option 2 has also not been considered because Housing
Services needs to make provision for housing renewal assistance which is a key
driver to enable the department to meet Aim High and Local Area Agreement measures
of success.
34.
Option 3 has not been considered because the
department would not be able to meet Aim High and Local Area Agreement measures
of success.
35.
In making these recommendations this department will
manage the risk of ensuring that our Housing Capital allocation for the 2006/07
financial year will be spent. Monitoring of this risk will be undertaken on a
monthly basis in close liaison with budget accountants and exception reporting
made available on request.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
36.
Option 1 - To approve the Housing Investment Plan as
set out in sections 6 to 12 of this document.
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BACKGROUND
PAPERS
37.
Housing Corporation National Affordable Housing
Programme 2006-08 www.housingcorp.gov.uk/server/show/nav.446
APPENDICES
38.
None.
Contact
Point : Peter Griffiths.
[email protected]
01983 823058
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PETER
GRIFFITHS
Head of Housing Services
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CLLR
DAWN COUSINS
Cabinet Member for Care, Health and Housing
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