Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any Members appointed to attend the meeting instead of a Member of the Sub-Committee.

Councillor Stanley for Councillor Mitchell.

To receive any declarations of interest.

None.

Up to a total of fifteen minutes can be allowed, each speaker being allocated a maximum of five minutes, for members of the public to present a petition, ask a question or comment on any matter on the Agenda or within the remit of the Sub-Committee.

None.

Of the meeting held on 27^th July 2022 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th July 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

That the Income Management Sub-Committee notes the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

The Committee considered a report on the Council’s Quarter 2 performance for Place and Economic Development for 2022/23. The Head of Finance presented the report and highlighted the main points. Officers responded to questions and comments from Sub-Committee Members.

RESOLVED: That the Income Management Sub-Committee notes the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

That the Sub-Committee notes proposals brought forward for securing housing at affordable rents and agrees to an allocation of up to £10,000 for consultancy advice to scrutinise the proposals.

The Sub-Committee considered a report on a potential scheme for securing housing at affordable rents. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and made reference to the ARK report “Options for Council-Led Housing Development” which was presented to Communities Committee in June 2022, setting out a number of ways in which the shortfall in affordable homes in Worcester might be addressed.

In April 2022, the Council was approached with a proposal for acquiring properties from developments which the Council could then specify and manage as properties with affordable rents, rather than purpose-built affordable housing. The report explained the distinction between “Affordable Homes” and “Affordable Rents.”

The Corporate Director advised that independent scrutiny of the proposal was now required and the recommendation was therefore to seek independent legal and financial advice from a housing specialist prior to submitting a recommendation to Policy and Resources Committee.

The Corporate Director stated that the financial commitment of £10,000 for this piece of work could not be funded from the Housing for Vulnerable Tenants Reserve, as this was not within the control of this Sub-Committee, and funding would therefore need to come instead from the Income Management Reserve.

The Sub-Committee proceeded to consider a summary of the proposal in private. This was presented in an exempt report which was not for publication because it contains commercially sensitive information.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee:

1.    note the proposals brought forward for securing housing at affordable rents; and

2.    agree to an allocation of up to £10,000 for consultancy advice to scrutinise the proposals.

Which in the opinion of the Chair is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.

The Sub-Committee are invited to pass the following resolution:

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

That the Sub-Committee notes the details of the proposal in support of the report on the agenda (Item 6). This report is not for publication as it contains commercially sensitive information.

The Sub-Committee noted the details of the proposal in support of the report earlier on the agenda.

(Exempt – not for publication because the item contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person including the authority holding that information - Paragraph 3)