Decision details

The Director – Governance & Organisational Development presented a report following the completion of the Strategic Housing Liaison Panel’s (SHLP) review of the options for managing the Council’s housing stock. At their meeting held on 29 November 2018, the Committee agreed to initiate a review of the housing management arrangements for the Council’s housing stock and it tasked the Strategic Housing Liaison Panel to undertake the review looking at options to either retain the current arrangements whereby Newark & Sherwood Homes (NSH) manage and maintain the stock; or reintegrate the housing landlord service into the Council. To assist SHLP in its work the Council engaged specialist housing consultancy support (Savills) to assess and advise on the optimal way forward taking into account the Council’s objectives for the review. The two options had been assessed against objectives which were grouped into four headings around tenants, operational, financial and reputational. 

The report detailed the work undertaken by the SHLP and summarised the overall conclusions of the Savills report. It was noted that Savills had estimated that a minimum of £0.95m annually could be realised through the discontinuation of NSH and through the reintegration of landlord and the associated support services into the Council and further opportunities arose from the potential release of feed in tariff income up to £0.5m per annum from the HRA, which was currently ‘pass ported’ through to NSH.

The Committee considered the conclusions and recommendations which were set out in the report. The fundamental question was whether there was good reason to retain NSH given the scale of the efficiencies that could be released to the Housing Revenue Account through integrating the service within the Council, particularly given that the initial reason for setting up the Company, to access funding for the Decent Homes Programme, had now ended.

In respect of tenant consultation it was considered that tenants were key to the review process and one of the overriding factors on the future of the housing service must be the benefits provided to tenants. There was also a statutory requirement for tenants and leaseholders to be consulted on any proposal to re-integrate the housing service back into the Council and dissolve the Company as a consequence. The proposals for the wide ranging consultation exercise were detailed in the report. A letter addressed to the Leader of the Council from members of the Tenant Scrutiny Panel expressing concerns over a possible diluted housing service and the desire to be consulted in the process was circulated to the Committee.

During the debate Councillor D Staples proposed and Councillor P Peacock seconded slight amendments to remove the word ‘independent’ in recommendation (b) and add the wording ‘if needed’ at the beginning of recommendation (d). Both of these amendments were lost with 2 votes for and 5 against.

AGREED (unanimously) that:

(a)        the Committee agree in principle to the decision to bring the housing management services in-house for direct service provision by the Council, such decision to involve the consequential winding up of Newark and Sherwood Homes Ltd (NSH);

(b)        the Council undertake an independent consultation exercise with its tenants and leaseholders, (the cost of which is to be met from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA)), and a staff programme to take into account their views on the future of the housing service;

(c)        the Chief Executive consider and design a revised management and staffing structure for the Council to incorporate the housing landlord service, and associated support services;

(d)        temporary housing/project management resource and support be engaged to manage the period between now and the formal end of the contract with NSH to ensure the smoothest service transfer, the cost of which was to be met from the HRA;

(e)        the temporary transition arrangements referred to in paragraph 8.4 of the report be put in place from the date of approval of this report;

(f)        temporary HR resource be approved to provide the capacity to support the proposal as indicated in paragraph 8.3 of the report, the cost of which would be met from the HRA;

(g)        new tenant arrangements be drawn up for their future input into the housing service; and

(h)        a further report on the outcome of the consultations with tenants and staff be submitted to the Policy & Finance Committee for final consideration and determination.

Reason for Decision

To enable the Council to progress the optimum means of delivery of the Housing Management Services for its Council housing stock.